#okay so the majority of my wips center around these two...

[indestructibleheart]

Hi, fam! Okay, so I'm going to be out at an appointment tomorrow morning, so I'm kicking this off a little bit early. It's technically Wednesday in several timezones and very nearly Wednesday in mine. I'm... also a bit eager to share this, ngl.

I know that I've shared a lot of angst lately, but I swear that's not all I'm doing. 😅 In fact, the actor/playwright AU decided to wallop me in the face out of nowhere after sitting in my WIP folder for months. I'm really excited about it, so I'm gonna share the first scene!

(Also, those of you who have been to New York with me will recognize my favorite brunch spot in this scene lmao.)

---

You probably didn't even know I was in the room, but I noticed you straight away. You were talking with your friends, happy and animated and fully alive—a person living in dimensions I couldn’t access—and so beautiful. Your hair was longer then. You were the center of attention, but you weren’t afraid. You had a yellow ipê-amarelo in your pocket. I thought, this is the most incredible thing I have ever seen; I'd better keep it a safe distance away from me. I thought, if someone like that ever loved me, it would set me on fire.

INT. MOM'S KITCHEN & BAR - HELL'S KITCHEN - LATE MORNING

"I'm telling y'all," Alex is saying, punctuating with dangerously large bites of his pancake burrito. "The dude's a dick." 

It's been two hours since the nightmare audition, but Alex has been on this tirade since June and Nora first slid into the retro diner chairs across from him (at least forty-five minutes ago).

They're at Mom's: a restaurant-bar in midtown that can only be described as millennial nostalgia incarnate. The trio fell in love with it two years back—post-karaoke, stumbling in right before closing—when Alex saw God in their Fruity Pebble pancakes.  Since then, it's been his favorite place to eat his feelings.

Mom's is just really fucking comforting in general, honestly; whether it's the televisions cycling through episodes of 'Rugrats,' 'Dexter's Laboratory,' and 'Hey, Arnold!' or  the rainbow straws and Lisa-Frank-looking menus, Alex can't be sure. It doesn't hurt that they've made friends with several of the waitstaff, including an eccentric bartender, Pez, whose pink hair and painted nails fit right in with the decor. 

Today, it's the combination of breakfast sausage, bacon, eggs and cheese wrapped up in a syrup-soaked pancake that's really doing something for him. It could also be the margarita the size of his face, which Pez placed in front of him before making himself uncharacteristically scarce. But it's fine. He's probably just busy.

Alex won't admit it out loud, but what really helps is having June and Nora here to talk to… even though Nora is scrolling on her phone.

"I'm sorry," June says. She pokes an ice cube with her straw, and Alex watches as it bobs around her mimosa like a buoy. "That sounds like it sucked, but if he's really that rude… maybe you didn't want to work with him anyway."

Nora doesn't look up as she pops a home fry into her mouth. 

"Several sources say he's difficult to work with," she adds, evidently reading about Henry on the internet. "Though, in his defense, his dad did just die, like, three years ago… and there was that whole thing when he came out after. Remember?"

Alex does remember. Henry's grandmother, Mary Mountchristen, runs a pretty major company that used to own half the theatres on the West End. When Henry came out last year, she tried blacklisting his shows from her properties to punish him—which totally backfired when it got around. At least a dozen other queer writers and producers started talking about how they were also denied the space, and Mary was stoned on the streets of the theatre district. Like, metaphorically. 

Alex, Nora, and June had just moved to New York, but between June's position at Newsday and both Alex and Nora on the audition circuit, it was all anyone in their new circles could talk about. They were some of the first to know when the Mountchristens were bought out of their properties and Henry moved to the States.

This show is the first of Henry's being produced here—and it's autobiographical, which Alex has to admit is pretty fucking baller. So, yeah, Nora's not wrong. He has reason to be standoffish. Still, it doesn't explain why Alex was only halfway through his audition monologue when Henry abruptly stood up and exited stage left as if pursued by a bear.

He shoves another forkful into his mouth. "It's just, like, they're the only people who let me into the room," he says, barely finishing chewing. "Nobody wants to take me seriously, and I really thought this was my shot, you know?"

June and Nora both know Alex is having a hard time landing serious roles after growing up on a sitcom—Nora more than most, as his former co-star. What they don't know is that losing this role, specifically, feels like a kick to the stomach. From the moment Alex saw the script, he wanted to be a part of it. He can't even explain why, and now he'll never figure it out. Henry wouldn't give him a chance.

"It wasn't your only shot, and you know it." Nora fixes him with a look. "Seriously, I get it—I do—but it's just one play, buddy."

June nods. "Something will happen for you, baby brother."

At that, Alex finally groans. "Okay, calling me baby brother doesn't help me feel better about the entertainment industry infantili—"

"—itty bitty, teeny weeny—"

Alex throws a home fry at her face. 

It bounces off her forehead and into the giant gauntlet holding her mimosa with a very unappetizing splash. Just as Alex throws his hands into the air with a victorious whoop, his phone buzzes on the table. 

A glance is all it takes for him to see that it's his agent, Zahra.

"Damn," he says, deflating. There goes that upswing. "You answer it."

June balks. "Me?"

"I don't need to hear how fucking badly it went. Trust me, I got the message." Alex blinks innocently, like he's six years old again, asking her to lie to their mom about that broken vase. "Please, Bug? Besides, Zahra actually likes you."

"Everyone likes me." June rolls her eyes, but she caves—answering the phone with a haughty, "Alex Claremont-Diaz's office," before breaking into a smile. "Yeah, Z. It's me… No, Alex is feeling a little sensitive today."

(He throws another home fry at her. This one misses.)

To her credit, June's face remains totally blank as Zahra no doubt tells her how Alex insulted Henry Fox's name and all of his inbred ancestors just by showing up, or whatever—which is extremely annoying and unhelpful—but, once she says goodbye and sets the phone back down on the table, her face breaks out into a grin.

"Guess you didn't suck too bad," she says. "They want you for the part."

He doesn't know if it's Nora throwing herself at him or the shock that knocks him onto the floor.

Tagging some lovelies. If you haven't been tagged and you want to be, consider this your tag!

@anchoredarchangel, @barbiediaz, @cha-melodius, @cricketnationrise, @guillermosfamiliar, @hgejfmw-hgejhsf, @hippolotamus, @inexplicablymine, @jettestar, @junebugclaremontdiaz, @kiwiana-writes, @lizzie-bennetdarcy, @missgeevious, @mulderscully, @myheartalivewrites, @ninzied, @nontoxic-writes, @notspecialbabe, @priincebutt, @rmd-writes, @rosedavid, @three-drink-amy, @treluna4, @vanillahigh00, @welcometololaland, @orchidscript, @ships-to-sail, @stereopticons

[anotherbluesunday]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let's spread the self-love 💗

so both @kybee1497 and @ablatheringblatherskite asked me this question a while ago and i forgot to answer. so sorry! life has been a little rough but it’ll be okay. 💜

1.) In My Blood (Wednesday): Basically my take on what should happen in season 2 with all the hallmarks of romance, blood/gore, major character death, friendship, and betrayal! I also introduce my favorite oc Mara in this fic and now she’s become a staple in my Wednesday fics. lol.

2.) Violet Midnight (Wednesday): A college au that centers around two students in the music composition program who learn how to love again through their shared understanding of what it means to hurt and their love for music. This fic is currently ongoing and the next chapter will be releasing soon!

3.) Star Atlas (Wednesday): This story is one I have written and deleted many times for other fandoms and it just seemed to work for wyler. It’s a story of what it’s like to fall in love young as a scientist and the sacrifices that must be made. It will have plenty of action, adventure, and scifi horror laced in as things ramp up. Currently it is a WIP and the next chapter will be released in early August.

4.) Last December (Painter of the Night): This was the last queer romance I wrote before going on hiatus and then returning to writing for Wednesday. It is an unexpected and quiet romance story between a young surgical resident and an art student set against the winter backdrop of New York city. It’s more realistic and stark than my other stories and dives deep into the turmoil of letting go of unrequited love while simultaneously falling for someone else.

5.) Transatlanticism (Attack on Titan): This is the first fic I ever completed and the first one I was ever really proud of because I truly evolved as a writer and a person through this work. It’s a queer love story, as per usual with me, set in Naples, Italy and follows the story of two archeaology students falling in love. However, there’s a timer on their love and soon they will be forced to part ways. This story really focuses on the act of becoming vulnerable with romantic partners and what it means to truly trust someone and love them so deeply it transcends being soulmates. It’s a favorite story of mine and I hope you all like it too.

[starlit-hopes-and-dreams]

Happy STS! I'm curious about Shattered Dreams, since I still don't know too much about it and you say it's your first major piece of writing! How would you say it differs from Hidden Depths, and how is it similar? Is there anything you learned in the course of writing and posting Hidden Depths that's informing the other WIP as you now revise/edit/continue writing? Anything you're enjoying more, or enjoying less? Anything else interesting you can tell us?

Happy STS! Thank you for the ask, Claire!

Oooh, what a fun question! First off, I'm not sure if you've seen my WIP intro, but if not, there it is :)

Okay, this is long, so under the cut it goes lol

Differences and Similarities

So Hidden Depths is set in the same world of Shattered Dreams, approximately 5-ish years prior to the events in the novel. I use the same third person, character-centric style of writing, I've centered my story around two characters, which seems to be a sweet spot for me, and it's still essentially a love story at its core. They are both captivity stories that deal heavily with trauma and recovery from trauma.

Shattered Dreams differs in that I had the time and space for a lot more worldbuilding and complex plotting than I did in Hidden Depths. Now, did I do it well? Meh, going through on this editing pass, I'm noticing more info-dumping than I'd like, so I'm cleaning that up.

Hidden Depths I didn't have that kind of time for. Maybe if I'd started writing more than 3 days before the start of the event, but uh. I didn't. So I started in media res, which I actually ended up liking quite a bit, and I learned a new writing technique!

It also differs in that with Shattered Dreams, I was trying to write the kind of love story I wished I was capable of and where physical affection was important and sought after (I literally made physical touch a basic need for an entire species-they can't go too long without or they'll go crazy lol).

Whereas with Hidden Depths, I wrote the kind of love story more true to my recently discovered aroace-self. It's still an idealization, of course, with an over exaggeration of certain characteristics, but it's been really nice and somewhat cathartic to write.

Learning

Ahh, the learning. Well, the more you write, the better you get, right? So there was that. I could tell writing Hidden Depths that I'd improved beyond what I'd written in Shattered Dreams, which was a really cool thing for me. It made me feel really proud. (and kinda embarrassed when I reread Shattered Dreams bc I'd sent it out for beta 😅)

I definitely learned a lot more about whump writing, and you can bet that I'm using that in my edits to flesh out scenes that were rather vague (or create new ones all together!) bc I was either afraid of the response or just didn't have the depth of knowledge to really do it justice.

I learned that just because I can write explicit sexy time scenes doesn't mean I have to :D especially if they already made me uncomfy to start. Basically I toned them down, because I didn't hold anything back the first go around lol. Maybe they can be bonus scenes so all my hard work doesn't go to waste XD

Just by being here on tumblr, I've learned a lot more about queer and disabled representation, which is not something that I had a lot of exposure to before. I am definitely going to implementing some of that knowledge in Shattered Dreams if I can!

Interesting stuff

Ummm. This has gotten pretty long already lol. Let's see... Alaia and Serin, the two main protagonists, were never meant to be together; he was just a side character I made bc captivity with one character is boring as hell. Well, that went to shit, he ended up as a POV character, and now has an entire character arc I have to write lol. The way these things happen, huh lol.

[multi-lefaiye]

POLYCULE POLYCULE POLYCULE

I know I can ask for in person/over call but consider

I'm feral for this

SUPERNATURAL POLYCULE [the crowd goes wild with applause]

okay also tagging @nicola-writes and @wherearetheplants b/c you two showed interest as well hi <3

so this is kind of in progress rn because i am still deciding on whether or not to add a couple more members to the polycule, but for now this is what we got! going under the cut <3

for context, these are some major characters in my currently unnamed supernatural mystery wip <3 (also cw for a mention of ableism with one character)

[Image Description: A picrew of my OC Henry Blackwell, a man with pale skin, dark curly hair, and a short dark beard. He has a nose ring, pierced ears, a pair of square-rimmed glasses, and uses a hearing aid. Henry is wearing a blue patterned button-up, a dark jacket with a fur-lined collar, and a black choker. He has a smirk on his face and is holding up one hand with a cigarette between two fingers. Behind him are the bisexual and polyamorous flags, with a white circle around his head. End ID.]

HENRY BLACKWELL - HE/HIM

Henry is the only completely normal human in the polycule! He's a private investigator who specializes in finding missing people, and he's a cocky shithead and I love him so much. He comes from a very wealthy family, but his family has all but disowned him for failing to live up to the successful standards of his siblings. Oh, and also for being an openly queer, mentally ill, disabled man. His parents suck, if that isn't obvious. Like, to be clear, he is still in contact with his family, but his parents have made it very clear that they're constantly on the verge of cutting him off financially.

In terms of that, Henry is hard of hearing, and he has ADHD and BPD! With the money he comes from, he has had access to accommodations and aids that a lot of other people may not, and that is something he's very aware of. Henry is kind of the epitome of the Class Traitor™ vibe, but his background still comes into play in his lack of experience with a lot of real-world matters.

The story centers primarily around Henry as the protagonist, and like. When I say he's a cocky shithead, I mean that affectionately. He genuinely does want to help people, he also just thinks he's hot shit.

I also have a lot of thoughts about Henry's siblings because they're very important to the story as well, but I'm just gonna focus on the polycule here.

[Image Description: A picrew of my OC Eden Lomidze, an AU of my D&D character Eden Linnaeus. This version of Eden is a young man with tan, freckled skin, a scar on one cheek, and thick, wavy blond hair pulled back into a ponytail. He has gold stud earrings and a serious, disappointed expression on his face. Eden wears a black baseball cap, a yellow patterned button-up, and a dark jacket. Behind him are the mlm and trans flags, with a white circle around his head. End ID.]

EDEN LOMIDZE - HE/HIM

As it says on the tin, this is a human AU of my D&D character Eden Linnaeus! At least, that's what he's starting as. Yes I can have multiple characters named Eden. I just think that's a good name <3 And D&D Eden is one of my favorite OCs that I have rn so <3

Anyway, this Eden is, for the most part, a normal human, but his experimentation with magic and the supernatural has slowly been corrupting him into something a little less human. He also might be a little bit possessed, but no one's too worried about that just yet. Though he's a pHD student studying for a degree in biochemistry, he has a day job as a full-time clerk for a local corner store. He's incredibly tired, and he's basically the store manager without the actual title or pay.

Eden has fibromyalgia and is autistic, and he may also have NPD but that is something I'd like to do more research into before saying definitively. He uses a pair of forearm crutches as mobility aids much of the time!

[Image Description: A picrew of my OC Pierce (?), a woman with brown skin and a partially shaved head. She has long, pink hair that hangs loosely around her shoulders and a large grin on her face, showing her sharp fangs. She wears a black collared shirt, a pink vest, red tie, and dusty brown jacket, as well as a pair of pink heart-shaped sunglasses. She has one hand held up in a peace sign. Behind her are the pansexual and polyamorous flags, with a white circle around her head. End ID.]

PIERCE/ANGEL/PAX/ABEL/LENORE/??? - SHE/IT/THEY

Here she is, the werewolf of many names!!! So I'm gonna just call her Pierce here, but part of the joke with her as a character is that she kinda hoards names. Which, like, good for you, queen. It's unclear what her actual name is and she's glad to continue making that unclear. She isn't going to tell anyone. She also likes to jokingly call herself a furry, as a cute little reference to the werewolf thing.

I'm still working out how lycanthropy works in this particular universe, but just know that, for the most part, Pierce has a generally good handle on its lycanthropy and doesn't view the whole thing as a curse or a problem. Its lycanthropy is an intrinsic part of who it is, and that's what matters at the end of the day, even if sometimes that makes things harder for it.

Pierce and Eden are pretty good friends, though she's a bit older than him and significantly more chaotic. When she first meets Henry, she doesn't like him, but she very quickly comes to respect him. In terms of who Pierce is, well, that's for her to know and you to find out :3c

[midnightcoward]

🌹 :)

DAVE: arent life and love intrinsically tied together

DAVE: what  about eat pray love rose

ROSE: A terrible oversight on my part. If only I was familiar with such a chump ass prosaicism.

DAVE: we  really need to get around to widening your cultural horizons before you ship yourself off to college

ROSE: I'm fine as I am.

DAVE: pfft

DAVE: your opening line is embarrassing

ROSE: No it isn't. You're embarrassing.

DAVE: i promise no one cares half as much about antigone as you do

DAVE: june says that normal kids hate antigone even

ROSE: I resent the remark, Miss Egbert.

DAVE: you should she said it specifically to spite you chugging along my dms in first class on the hater train

ROSE: The implication that you too are interested- to a degree- in Antigone is hilarious to me.

DAVE: i never claimed otherwise

ROSE: You didn't.

[lividdreamz]

Writeblr Introduction

Not this thing chilling in my drafts since forever.

I’ve been around for about three years now (give or take) and it’s just occurred to me that I’ve never done this intro thing before, so here goes nothing.

Howdy. I’m Gemini Jones (I know it’s a strange pseudonym, just…humour me, I guess).

Queer. POC. Pronouns are in a constant flux, but she/her should be mostly okay. Younger than I look, older than I seem. If I’m not writing, I’m reading, and if I’m not reading, I’m usually procrastinating on my writing. It’s a vicious cycle, really.

While fantasy is my go-to, I write in (and read) just about every genre under the sun. Horror, surrealism, dieselpunk, mystery, noir, literary, dark academia, you name it.

Before I forget, here’s a rundown of all of my current projects. Hopefully, most of these will have WIP intro pages soon.

They Called Him Holy. Supernatural/political court intrigue fantasy about an exiled prince’s return home for his father’s funeral and all that that entails. Lovers to enemies, dysfunctional family drama, murder, and ghosts. Lots of ghosts. Read it for the ghosts. (#tchh)

The Castles Are Burning. Surrealistic dark fantasy. Follows a traveling circus on their tour across a country at the brink of war. Takes place in the same secondary world as They Called Him Holy.

When We Were Eternal. Two detectives decide to solve a missing persons case against their superior’s wishes and uncover a conspiracy that incriminates their city’s political institutions. Routine performances by elves, gang wars, and systemic corruption. Dark fantasy, diesel-noir, enemies-to-lovers-to-it’s-complicated. A novella.

All That Was Sacred. Post-apocalyptic dieselpunk dystopia with dark academia elements. Centers around a group of media and communication majors that get on the bad side of the government when they publicly broadcast their radical opinions on the radio for the entire city to hear.

The Wolf Eaters. Dark fantasy. Political upheaval. Eldritch creatures. Ritual sacrifice. All the goodies.

Always down to connect with other likeminded writeblrs. I walk that fine line between shy and obnoxious, so just pop into my dms or my ask box whenever if you wanna say hi. No pressure or anything.

[47crayons]

THE WICKED WITHIN—A COMIC SANS WIP REINTRO

!!!!! it's here :D the wip that started to consume me and has been continuing to do so since, now with a much better sense of what exactly is Happening

current tww taglist let me know to be +/- !! @a-completely-normal-writer @writing-is-a-martial-art @wannabeauthorzofija @magic-is-something-we-create @croctears @writeblrfantasy @opes-magnas @author-a-holmes @zoya-writes@fuyugomori @ink-fireplace-coffee

transcript is under the cut!!!

[transcript: a powerpoint presentation of black text on white background, written entirely in comic sans.

start slide one the top left corner reads in red, "warnings (most relevant) war, death, drugs (& addiction), poison". in the center, "the wicked within", and underneath it in smaller font, "a comic sans reintro by @47crayons". the comments around the entire slide read "a family that is so found!!!", "gang rivalry :D and gang content in general", "crime found family basically", "childhood friends to STILL FRIENDS", "all queer cast :p", "eat the rich (not quite, but it’s the right sentiment aldskjfls)", "kickass women, yeah bay bee", "nuanced relationships between different groups :D", "morally grey characters!!!", "so many different governments!!!", "a (mostly alsjflksdj) stable relationship!!!" end slide one

start slide two in the beginning of time… there were four gods: eltenjer, he/him, earth; skari, he/him, fire; aenged, they/them, air; thilda, she/her, water. i didn’t /mean/ for them to have genders, but a quiet breeze whispered “psst. i use they/them.” in the beginning? so you mean… they’re not there anymore? kind of! the gods need followers to survive, and after several unfortunate events, they lost the majority of their followers. the aforementioned unfortunate events: the great ruination, in which natural disasters caused several years of famine and other hardship. the restoration era, in which renovation led people to believe they can live without the gods. if the gods are dead, what’s the point? the gods aren’t /really/ dead, closer to dormant. they can’t actively interact with the mortal realm, but IF they had followers, they would come back to life. oh. did i mention that they control the magic. end slide two

start slide three the dormant gods who can't do... anything control the magic??? hey, no one said magic always has to work. foreshadowing alert huge foreshadowing alert. let’s talk about how magic works, shall we :D people use the Spirit to do magic. people have a Vessel (representation of stamina or how much Sprit can be used at once, can be trained!). people also have a Strength (a type of magic that works well with the user, these have varying frequencies which also depends on location). there’s too much i could say here, but the important thing is the main characters’ Strengths. the right depicts an image of a flowchart showing that gods need followers and produce sprit. people need spirit to do magic. end slide three

start slide four okay but where are we??? where could the magic be so fucked? well, here, of course! the left side shows a line art map, split into five parts going clockwise: portingdale, worchester, the hooks, elderwood, unlabeled. the legend shows that there are mountains in portingdale, forests in elderwood, and rivers that run from portingdale to everywhere else. the place where the four labeled regions meet is called the Inner City. the text on the right reads. welcome to Kjer! there are 3 districts. but wait! there are five? sections? and one isn’t even labelled. worchester used to be a district,,, but it left after the war began. the unlabeled section is the disputed region (re: war). let’s talk more about this war. elderwood wanted easier access to water (see: the rivers in the Wetlands) elderwood & portingdale have been fighting there on and off for over half a century. the hooks has three wards: west (hella rich), south (lower income), north (somewhere in between). end slide four

start slide five whomst. skip to the next slide if you want the actual characters. character basics: the unnecessarily-winded-and-cram-a-lot-of-lore-in version. in the North Ward of The Hooks, there are three main gangs. Kaer Styen, meaning “wicked ones”, Ghetfaer Skarnen, meaning “trickster lords”, Ad Knesten, meaning “the grumbles”. that was so many capital letters i don’t like capital letters alskjdflksjd. they have rivalries and conflicts from time to time, but it’s pretty rare. the tww cast is kaer styen !!! their main means of profit is a drug called jezdin. relieves physical and mental pain. lethal in high. quantities/ when tampered with. can also be addictive. they operate out of a dingy tavern-like building, and they live upstairs!!! okay so this is purely for vibes. how did u know. end slide five

start slide six the Gang. literally :3 Kaer Styen, my beloved. the first thing in each of their bios is their Strength (re: the magic slide). artbreeders!!! i fixed quite a few of them, but my artbreeder skills are questionable at best. this slide is split into three columns. the first column shows a white person with short, brown, curly hair and a firm, but not angry, facial expression. len, he/him, pan. Shifter (can manipulate physical properties). cynical, very cynical (because he has killer instincts). “oh people are dying? am i dying? are you dying? why should i care?” in a relationship with cal. the second column shows a person who appears east asian with long, black, wavy hair and fair skin. chloe, she/her, aroace. Chemist (chemistry but magical). literal archery god. also she’s so quiet it’s SCARY. seems welcoming, emphasis on /seems/ she’ll destroy your ass. knows what you’re feeling. she just. knows. the third column shows a white person with dirty blonde hair. they are smiling. cal, they/them, bi. Whisperer (can persuade others through speech/music). so casually funny all your burdens disappear for a hot minute. gets very attached very deeply. grew up in Portingdale which becomes Important later. end slide six

start slide seven cont. also they have piercings!!!! maybe i will make some picrews later (listen, i KNOW i’ve said this before but. maybe i’m for realsies this time, okay?) this slide is also split into three columns. the first a smiling white female with light blonde hair. eden, she/her?, demi lesbian. Healer (healing magic <3). seen hell and doesn’t want others to suffer. still believes in the gods’ existence. we Don’t talk about her awful parents. raised by a lovely woman in the South Ward, known as Nana. this eye (left) is almost PURPLE which i didn’t do on purpose but is honestly such a cool idea. the second column shows a partially smiling black man with short curly hair. jereth, he/him, gay. powerful life magic thing (will be spoilers if i talk any more). joins them at the beginning. honestly kind of scared of them (who wouldn’t be), but wants to live up to expectations. throws himself into stuff to avoid Thoughts. the third column shows a woman with brown skin, black wavy hair, and a small smile. she is NOT a member of Kaer Styen, but i’m talking about her here all the same. adalaide, she/her, bi (i didn’t like the e in adelaide alskdfjlsj). Melder (metals and the like). heir to the Portingdale throne (assuming her dad doesn’t disown her). Cal’s ex from a few~ years ago she’s still a lil’ hung up on them. technically an antagonist but i love her. so all my characters are queer sue me </3 end slide seven

start slide eight some semblance of plot? coming right up!! the four (jereth isn’t there yet!) are attacked in the Inner City. turns out it’s portingdale soldiers. and then they discover that portingdale has been poisoning the southern rivers (affects worchester and the south ward) because worchester doesn’t really contribute to Kjer as a whole. word gets out, and elderwood, naturally, is even angrier at portingdale (remember, they've been at war). so, they try to stop portingdale from being power hungry enough to poison the entirety of a country while learning about why worchester is so isolated while ALSO trying not to get killed by everyone who hates them. end slide eight

start slide nine memes :> the first is the meme of spongebob reading a sheet of paper and burning it. the paper reads, "going into worchester by yourself is going to get you KILLED", and spongebob is labelled "chloe". the second is the levels of brain template labelled "jereth". from the weakest to most powerful: "trying to figure out his magic", "doing it by accident", "saving everyone's lives". the third is the sleeping person and brain meme. brain: "you're going to portingdale". cal: yeah, i know. brain: you'll see adalaide. cal's eyes are wide open in fear. the fourth says "corporate needs you to find the difference between this image and this image". the first image says, "family", and the second one says, "len, chloe, cal, jereth." eden says, "they're the same picture". the fifth is the spiderman copycat meme where jereth is copying len. end slide nine

/end transcript]

[harmony88]

You're Donna Noble.

Excerpt from my current WIP below. 

Series: Forever With You Part 3 

Story: Serpent’s Soul 

Summary: Following an unexpected visit to Torchwood 3 for the first time in nine months, the Doctor and Rose end up taking Donna on a trip by herself, but nothing is quite what it seems, and it appears the universe may just be up to something.

“You are avoiding the party,” the Doctor said with a smirk, and Donna rolled her eyes, looking up at the stars.

“No, I’m not,” she said. “Just wanted a bit of air.”

He watched her, noticing the way she was gripping the edge of her mug as if her life depended on it, and he looked back downstairs, where Rose and Alice were smiling and dancing with the happy couple.

“Can I sit?” he asked.

“Do what you want, spaceman. You’re a grown man,” she muttered, and his brow creased as he took a seat beside her, wrapping his arms around his knees as he tried to spot what she was looking at.

“Orion’s belt,” he mused. “Ursa Major. Ursa Minor. Cassiopeia...Ooh...If Rose and I have another girl at some point, remember that one…”

Donna rolled her eyes and smiled softly, but she didn’t look at him, and his goofy grin fell when he saw the way she was trying to take deep breaths, and he realized she was trying not to cry.

“Donna…”

“I’m fine,” she said, still looking at the stars, but she wiped her cheek with the back of her hand. “I’m fine.”

“What’s wrong?” he asked, concerned, but she just shook her head and fluttered her lips, her gaze dropping to her shoes. “Did I say something rude again?”

She finally looked at him, his joke doing what he hoped, but he clenched his jaw and swallowed when he saw the look in her eye. There was a word for it, he was certain of it, but he couldn’t place it at the moment because all it was making him want to do was pull her into a hug, and that was exactly what he did.

A little to his surprise, she reciprocated instantly, practically squeezing him, and he let out a breath and met Rose’s eyes through the door, who bit her lip but didn’t walk outside, giving them some space. Donna pulled away, sniffing and wiping her nose with her sleeve, and the Doctor just sat next to her, unsure what he was supposed to say.

“I’m happy for them,” she whispered. “You know that, right?”

“Yeah, I know,” he said. “You’ve told them that?”

“Of course I have,” she groaned, and he furrowed his brow.

“Okay, well… Good, then. That’s good, right? Do you want to go back inside or -”

“No,” she sighed, setting her mug to the side, and his eyes never left her face, trying to figure out what was going on. “Not yet. I’m fine.”

“Those two words are some of my favorites,” he said thoughtfully, and she looked at him. “Right next to ‘complicated’ and ‘Allons-y.’”

“Complicated is good,” she whispered, and he reached over and grabbed her hand, choosing not to push her on whatever was bothering her, but at the feel of his touch, her jaw began to tremble, and he pulled away instantly. “Sorry.”

“Do you want to talk about it? I can go get Rose,” he murmured, but she shook her head. “Donna.”

“She’s having fun with Alice, I…. They deserve that, the two of them. She really is beautiful, by the way. Looks so much like her it’s…”

“Yeah,” he said with a smile, and Donna let out a shaky breath. “She’s started to say ‘Mama’ and ‘Dada’. It’s… I cried.”

“Ianto owes me money,” she teased, and he rolled his eyes. “Oh shut up. Of course you cried. Your entire world is those two. We all know that.”

He just winked, and she laughed a little, picking her mug back up and taking a sip, ignoring the fact the tea had started to grow cold. She sighed. “You’re thinking about more kids?”

“Thinking is the operative word,” he said, clearing his throat. “We want to wait a bit. But...well…”

“Hm,” she said in response, and he raised an eyebrow at her.

“You don’t think it’s a good idea?” he asked. She smiled.

“I think it’s wizard,” she said honestly, and he grinned back at her. “You are - if I have to say it - quite the father, Doctor. And Rose is Rose. Your kids will be a force to be reckoned with. Already are.”

“Thank you,” he whispered, and she nodded, then turned her attention back to the stars. “So… what was the ‘hm’ then?”

“Nothing,” she lied, and he waited, because he could tell she was about to tell him more. “Just… things are changing. And it’s good. It’s so good, it’s the best. But I can’t help but feel like there is going to come a day where you have so many kids you won’t be able to have any other companions on that ship of yours -”

“It’s bigger on the -”

“That’s not the point,” she said. “And like I said, it’s good. But Martha and Mickey are getting married. You’re married. Jack and Ianto probably will get married. Gwen has been seeing some bloke she won’t talk about, and I’m just…”

“Donna, don’t do that,” he tried to say, but she shrugged, and he watched her tuck her hair behind her ear and sigh.

“I would have been married for… what, four years now?” she asked, meeting his eyes with hers. “I’ve just been thinking about that today. Wondering, I guess. What my life would have been.”

He didn’t say anything, and she sighed, taking another sip of tea.

“You deserve so much more than bloody Lance Bennet,” he said seriously, and she laughed.

“I know that,” she told him, but he wasn’t convinced, and she shook her head. “I’ve just been thinking, Doctor. But I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” he asked. She nodded.

“Part of me wishes I didn’t wonder about it so much,” she said. “It’s all my Mum wants for me which makes me not want to do it because God do I love pissing that woman off…”

He smirked, and they both chuckled a little until she continued.

“But then… Then things like today happen, and it’s all I can think about. And I’ve never done this before, but I’ve been looking at Alice and Tony wondering if I would have had a kid they could play with, too. And then you go and talk about having more and -”

“I’m sorry,” he said, and her mouth fell closed. “Donna, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize -”

“Stop,” she half-ordered. “Like I said, I think you should. It’s wonderful, seeing you so happy. I remember you two when we met. Whole other story.”

“We were happy,” he said.

“You were two idiots in love,” she teased. “I just don’t think I’ll ever have that.”

“I think you’re wrong,” he whispered, conviction lined in his words, and her breath hitched in her throat. “You’re Donna Noble.”

“I’m nothing special, Doctor,” she whispered, and he stared at her.

“Look at me,” he said, clenching his jaw when she did rather hesitantly. “Yes you are. You’re brilliant. And bright. And brave. And a whole lot of other things. It’s just a matter of time.”

She stayed quiet for a moment, not sure what to say as the words tried to dig into the chambers of her heart, and she took his hand, looking up at the stars again. “Your nougat center is showing again, mate.”

“Maybe,” he said, shrugging. “It’s also the truth.”

She looked at him, wondering how he managed to make her almost believe him.

“I...” she whispered. “Thank you.”

[red-the-dragon-writes]

Today's post is not on the usual "writer blog fare" side. Instead I am going to introduce you to several fun facts about various animals on our planet and then talk about worldbuilding.

1. Lampreys are a kind of "living fossil"- a not-really-so-scientific term for a creature that has lived unchanged for a very long time, so long that we have fossils of them looking the same way they do now. They don't have proper jaws, just a circular sucking mouth with teeth set into it and a tongue designed to strip flesh off of what it touches. They're finless fish, look quite a bit like eels, and have this really alien, uncanny vibe to them.

[id: a long, slender bluish-silver lamprey sitting among rocks. It has a long snout, an eye, and then six small perforations in its side arranged at an even interval sitting behind the eye. The environment it is sitting in is very yellow and green in comparison. end id]

[id: an image of a lamprey from below. The snout ends in a round, flat mouth which is studded with teeth in four concentric circles. The teeth are smallest near the outer edge and largest in the middle, and look like very sharp round points. In the center of this ring is another, smaller circle, where the pointed, tooth-like tongue can be seen, as well as a hole for the lamprey to actually ingest food with. Its eye is visible, as are some of the perforations on its side. This one is a more mottled gray than the first one was, and less shiny. end id]

Sea lampreys, which are the kind i've sort of not really kinda researched, are a major pest in the Great Lakes, where they regularly attack fish. They can get up to two feet in length. Despite this, they are not particularly dangerous towards humans.

2. Horseshoe crabs are also "living fossils." They've been around and virtually unchanged for millions of years. They're not true crabs, and are more closely related to chelicerata species, like spiders and scorpions (and many more). There are a lot of cool features of horseshoe crabs, but one of their most extremely cool, to me, is their blood.

I'm not going to post any images of what I consider to be animal cruelty, so you'll have to take me at my word here, but this is a bottle of horseshoe crab blood. If you're sensitive to images of animal cruelty, I don't recommend looking for proof, but if you aren't, there are plenty of images of the blood coming out of the creature for you to verify this with.

E[id: a bottle of slightly frothy, opaque blue liquid. It is sitting in a row with several other bottles of the same material. end id]

I am a sucker for blue blood, I just think it's neat, so that's all I'd need as an excuse to slam some horseshoe-crab-inspired nonsense in my exceptionally gory and fucked up wips, and if you've been reading along with WiB you may have noticed that blue blood does come into play at some point! But that's not all that's neat about horseshoe crab blood. Unfortunately for the horseshoe crabs, but fortunately for us, their blood is literally the only source of an important compound used for detecting the presence of dangerous bacteria in certain pharmaceutical drugs. (Fortunately, there are replacements that will hopefully become more popular in coming years.)

Now that we've gone over all that, onto the worldbuilding!

I worldbuild by Rule of Cool. Let's just get that out of the way. Every so often people will ask me how my worlds get so expansive (not WiB, WiB i made up on the fly by cribbing from fanfic and like... BBC Merlin. Assume very little of this holds true for WiB) and the answer is largely that I take every interest I have ever had in anything and smash it all together and throw it at my wip to see what sticks. and then I just... like... reasonably attempt to figure out what the natural conclusions will be.

So: we have lampreys. We have blue-blooded ancient sea creatures with spectacularly important and valueable blood. We are writing this into a story that takes place on land, somehow.

- The first option, and the one I'm going to talk about most because I did it, is just to rule-of-cool it into a character. (Or a place, or an item, or whatever, but largely I do rule-of-cool on living creatures and think harder about the world around them.) If you've been keeping up with WiB, you may have noticed that (spoilers) Zero Point is some kind of fucked up magician with a lamprey mouth in their hand who shapeshifts and bleeds blue. This is where I got those inspirations from (along with, like, some other stuff. I promise there are no lamprey assassins, but- continuing in the trend of stealing from sea creatures- the bobbin worm is a spectacularly beautiful, spectacularly deadly creature if you're within its weight range. which is like, goldfish size, but. And cuttlefish are known to disguise themselves as other animals, and can change sexes if the male:female ratio where they are isn't ideal.)

So you can take the elements you like, and just kind of slam them together haphazardly, which is what I did with Zero Point. The trick to this kind of worldbuilding is just to avoid looking too closely at it. The magical assassin has a fucked up mouth in their hand? Yeah, okay, that seems kind of fucked up and creepy. What do they do at all times? They hide it under a glove. So the protags Just Straight Up Never Ask. And voila; it never gets explained, and it never has to.

Same with the blue blood. It shows up, it functions as a plot device because only Zero Point has blue blood; it is never explained or even delved into with much detail. And if it were, it would fall apart instantly, because the justification is literally just "i thought it was neat. No, no one else is like that. I don't even know why they are. i just felt like it"

- The second option is to consider the effects of the things that you're working with, and then work off of that.

Let's take Zero Point again. Strip them of their context (weird assassin with magical powers) and just like, consider the fact that this is a creature with blood that regularly retails for over $10,000 USD, is intelligent as fuck, shapeshifts, has a mouth in their hand that may or may not be their actual mouth, and can exist on land so long as they have suitable access to water. What does that mean for our setting? Surely they're not the only person like that; so you have a whole species of people who are sort of but not really amphibious, shapeshift, and maybe have magical powers, who knows. They can't shapeshift their fucked up lamprey mouths, maybe. That seems like a reasonable limit. So their blood is highly valuable- what does that mean for their relations with other people, or their culture? What kind of foods do they eat? How do they create a sense of culture as shapeshifters; is there even a way that they represent themselves in art? How do they interact with the world? Do they have a "true form" or not? Every one of these questions will spawn new questions. If you answer all of them you'll lose your mind, but if you answer at least ten you'll spawn a much more background-heavy world that can help to shape your story much more effectively than trying to just craft a narrative will. Sometimes it works very well for a story. Sometimes it gets you lost in the weeds.

- The third option is to reference something else, and build off that. Again, let's use Zero Point as the example.

In the original story that the WiB ensemble is from, Closerverse, which may have some mentions on this blog but honestly I have no idea, there is a city that I've done quite a bit of worldbuilding on. This city is called Hudson, and one of the major important features of it is that it is partially underground. (This is a reference to the DFZ of Rachel Aaron's Heartstrikers series). Hudson is intentionally run to be the worst, most unpleasant city in the world, and one of its features are its wildly intelligent, dangerous forms of aquatic life. The lowest level of this city is partially submerged, and all of these creatures plague the people who live down there.

Closerverse was also set during a period of early industrialization, and Hudson heavily referenced US history, especially 1900s-1920s labor history. Tenements, pollution, zero protections for workers, et cetera. Hudson is a nasty, miserable place, and everyone who lives there can feel the jaws closing in on them.

Anyway, in Closerverse you got these fucked up massive eel-like creatures (lampreys, but with extra features) that due to some rather significant meddling wound up growing legs and then got really massive and started eating people. They have blue blood, glow in the dark, and make fairly decent eating as long as they aren't eating you. And they're intelligent. Given the whole "mutual eating each other" thing, the eels and the people of Hudson have some pretty major animosity going on.

Most of Zero Point's stuff is really just me referencing the Hudson Eels, because I fucking love those. They're some of my favorite worldbuilding elements ever. But given that no one else in WiB has ever seen a Hudson Eel, let alone seen their blood get dry on things, or whatever, everything about Zero Point is wildly out of context. And that almost makes it better, because the whole deal with them is that they're mysterious and weird, and having them be a mysterious and weird reference to something no one but I know about most likely is like, fun and neat.

There are, of course, other modes of worldbuilding as well, but I typically aim to stick to the first two as much as possible. The cooler you make something, the more possible questions it raises; the more questions something raises, the deeper your world gets.

Although, a word of advice: sometimes animals just do things. Sometimes bodies just have features. Who would invent fingernails? But having them is mighty convenient, isn't it? For that matter, who would come up with a deeply logical and reasoned explanation for eyebrows- but not having those would be very strange, to us. You can get away with doing a lot by just having that be how it is, and not having the characters comment on it.

Also, the more "shaped" a thing should be, the more you'll want to take the second approach. For house design, something intentionally built, you'll want to know why it was built, and what purpose is this and that room, and why is it painted such and such colors. But if you're talking about adding a second moon, like... fuck dude, who needs to know why there's a second moon? Maybe if you have sailors you have to know what it'll do to your oceans, but that's the kind of thing you can kind of just say exists and move on. You'll figure it out; it gets pretty intuitive.

Anyway, happy worldbuilding!

[missroserose]

"kitten"? (because cats) "somnophilia"? (because sleep) "let us in"? (because I'm curious) and ooooh i can never resist a "touch-starved" ...?

Hahaha, I would never have guessed that “somnophilia” would be so popular!  But as to the others:

“Kitten” was a story I was writing for @flippyspoon, who donated to my Bike MS fundraiser ages ago—she asked for a Harringrove short with a kitten, so I’d started a story about Steve giving post-S3 Billy a kitten, and how having something to care for helped break him out of his depression.  Looking at what I have here, I get the feeling I was never quite able to get the major themes to gel properly, but there are some sweet moments:

To Billy’s surprise, the kitten does stick around.  It’s a little shit, too—he grows used to feeling it stick its nose in his ear in the middle of the night.  He tries hard to ignore it, but finds himself idly petting it now and then.

He does feed it.  He’s not a monster…well, not anymore.  Although, hell, he probably could be a monster and the kitten wouldn’t care, so long as he kept scooping its shit and giving it Purina kibble.  

The kitten, in true cat fashion, runs hot and cold.  Sometimes it wants nothing more than to play.  Other times it just wants to be left alone, and will swipe with its claws if bothered.  Billy can relate.

Billy’s lying on the bed once, the kitten snuggled up against his waist, because why the fuck not?  Nobody’s here to see them, to make fun of him for having a cat.  The kitten, for its part, is rumbling out of all proportion to its size.

“I still would’ve preferred a bag of weed.  But you’re okay.”  It takes a moment for Billy to realize he’s spoken aloud.

The kitten yawns.

“Let Us In” is a little fragment of a psychological horror story; it appears to be Steve being held captive by the Mind Flayer, who’s already absorbed Billy and who’s trying to break through Steve’s mental defenses.  I suspect the idea was that Steve would eventually find what was left of Billy, but I genuinely don’t remember, and don’t seem to have scribbled any notes about it either.  I suspect it was as much an exercise in keeping up with a regular writing habit as anything intentionally created.

“Touch-starved” was meant to be another bit of storm-drenched smut, similar to Quickly, Look Away, except in this one, Billy’s the vulnerable party—he and Steve have been meeting up for NSA sex for some time now, but this time Billy shows up with a serious set of bruises, and Steve manages to put two and two together re: who’s been beating up on him.  I feel like this one never really crystallized; like, there’s some solid-if-not-spectacular smut happening, but I couldn’t quite figure out where the emotional center was.  (Though Billy does have one line—“He only touches me when he’s angry”—that breaks my heart even now.)

ask me about my WIPs!

[seaofthemind-art]

The “Abuse” Trope in MCU Spider-Man Fan Fiction: Part 1

[Edit Note: This first post completely missed my point, and as such is now being continued in "Part 2". I have made several edits and additions to this post for coherence between the two.]

I became interested in these tropes partly due to what seemed to be its abundance within the fandom. Re-reading several stories recently led me to consider how this trope has been handled in the fandom, its variations and ways that it has been turned on its head, as well as stories ideas that have not been explored yet to my knowledge.

Within the "Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)" category on AO3 there are several overarching areas that would come under the trope of abuse.

To put it in context, on the 26th October 2020 there was 28,637 works in the category; this included 626 stories tagged as "child abuse", a total of more than 2% of the stories. Of course, as we well know, tagging on AO3 is not consistent: there will be "abuse" stories which do not use this tag, whilst the tag may also be referring to a range of characters' situations (ie: Tony's childhood, Flash's backstory, OC characters). However, for these posts I'm going to look at stories related to Peter's experiences.

For all the "popularity" of these stories in the fandom, it is just an example of what are wide spread tropes across media. TV Tropes lists several related tropes including Abusive Parents and Foster Kid, showing that it is not only this fandom in which it is common.TV Tropes also makes a good point in its Sliding Scale of Parent-Shaming in Fiction, in that: what one person classes as abusive behavior may be perfectly acceptable to another.

Major Plot Categories

One of the common targets for this trope is "May's Abusive Boyfriend", which seems to have grown in popularity in the last year as Endgame has provided a convenient set-up for this trope:

the second law of thermodynamics by extraordinarythings

"It happens the same way it always does. (It's just discipline. It's not that bad. It's fine, Peter is fine, he'll be fine--). Except he really isn't fine, and Tony knows something's up, and Peter's house of cards is falling apart, and so the story goes."

Who Saves The Hero by CamelotQueen

“May brings home her new boyfriend. Something about him makes Peter feel nervous, but he makes May happy. And if May's happy, then Peter is happy. Then it escalates.”

Fear all else but never me. Please. by Webtrinsic

“May's new boyfriend proves himself to be a grade A-asshole when he decides to abuse Peter. And that doesn't sit well with Tony at all.”

i get by (but it’s eating me alive) by Livinei

““Do you not want to be home?” Tony starts. “No.” Tony considers for a moment. Peter’s never not wanted to be home. Not before… Now that he thinks about it, he doesn’t know a lot about David. Peter doesn’t bring him up a lot, and when he does then he’s not very eager to discuss it for long. Tony hasn’t gotten an impression that Peter’s particularly fond of the guy, though.”

The Homes We Make by iamq

“Peter Parker isn't the type of boy to run crying to Tony Stark because he can't handle a punch. Michelle Jones and Ned Leeds aren't the type of friends to ignore Peter's rapidly declining health. Eugene "Flash" Thompson isn't an idiot.”

to this day by hopeless_hope

“It's months before anyone realizes May's boyfriend abuses Peter. The effects are lasting.”

Promotions Aren’t Always A Good Thing by Agib

“When May gets a new boyfriend, Peter's okay. When Carter moves in, he can deal. When May gets a promotion so she works days and Carter works nights, Peter finds it harder to deal. When Carter starts abusing him, he begins to feel crushed by the weight of it all.”

The Black And The Blue (All That It Takes Out of You) by Buckets_of_Stars

“David wasn't a person Peter would ever want to be around, but with him being May's new boyfriend and all, it makes it harder and harder to avoid him. But it was fine, May was happy and of course, Peter still has Tony. But that was before the hitting started. Before David spit neglectful words in his face and the spiderling begins to question his very worth.Tony, on the other hand, is not having it.”

Vertigo by GalaxyThreads

“Coming back from the dead wasn't nearly as awesome as TV made it out to be. Peter's learning this on the go. And it really doesn't help that May's new husband absolutely hates him. And that May is pretty ignorant of that and him now. But it's all fine. Really.”

Your Heart Changed (mine stayed the same) by @loboselinaistrash​ [WIP]

"Peter Parker is back but 5 years into the future and the world has changed. Peter goes home with May only to find she had moved on, with a husband and two kids. Peter struggles to find his place in this new family with a strict step uncle, the longer he's there the harder he finds it to stay on his good side, uncertain if May will believe him."

A Peter Parker Problem by @spagbol99​ [WIP]

"Peter comes back to find May has a husband and a kid. A new family he has to fit into. But he has done it before, he can do it again. The only thing that feels solid is Tony: the Blip and fatherhood have mellowed him and Peter loves the bond they have now. He knows Tony would be there for him through anything. But Tony needs to focus on his own recovery - not small time Peter Parker problems. When things at home take a turn for the worse, Peter decides that he'll handle it himself. He is Spider-man. He's been to space and fought aliens. He can get through anything. After all, if May is happy, he is happy, right? Right?"

--

This premise has been turned on it's head by a couple of authors with the straight opposite of this trope in "May has a new boyfriend who is decent (and confused)":

The Secrets We Keep by @euphoric-melancholyy​

"May has a really awesome, loving boyfriend who's just a little confused as to why she lets her teenage son stay out til 1 every night and sleep somewhere else every weekend. Also, he’s friends with Tony Stark? Chris - May’s new boyfriend - feels like he’s missing something here."

A Good Kid  by kuragay

"Ricky thinks that May's an exceptional woman, and he thinks that Peter's an exceptional kid. But there's no denying that the Parker household is full of mysteries, and most of them are centered around Peter and his supposed internship with Tony Stark."

--

Then there has also been several stories changing the abuser, such as in the concept of "What if May (or Ben) is the abusive carer?":

Brooklyn by @hailing-stars​ [part of a longer series]

"After leaving Peter with Tony and months of no contact, May shows up in Peter's life again, interrupting Tony's plans to adopt him. Peter has to decide who he wants to live with, but soon learns the decision may really not be his."

Parker Luck by CreepyLittleLullaby

"He never met one, he got left behind by the other, the next one died, and the only one he had left was pushing him away. And he doesn't know what to do. Peter really has rotten luck when it comes to parental figures. No matter how hard he tries. Parker luck will always prevail."

Please, Understand by jipseebree

"When Aunt May discovers that he's Spider-Man, something inside her snaps. She starts to abuse him and he deserves it, doesn't he? After all, people have died because of him. People who wouldn't have died if he was a better hero."

Spiders hunt alone, anyway by karma_is_a_turtle [WIP]

"Ben’s death hits the Parker family hard, May worst of all. May Parker struggles to cope with her husband’s death and her nine-year-old nephew grows up learning how to pick up her slack."

Always Silent, Peter Darling by LlibLo

“After a traumatic experience at age 6, Peter Parker hasn't spoken a word. Most blame it on the fact that he witnessed his Uncle die in a horrible fire, this is only partly true. Now, almost 10 years later Peter is given the chance to finally speak, but will he take it? Or is the fear of his Aunt to much for him to take that chance? Either way, Tony Stark can tell something's not quite right about the kind hearted May Parker.“

It’s All Just Static In My Head by Blue__Dreams

“And then May was shot. Foolishly, childishly, Peter hoped Iron Man would swoop in and save the day again. He hoped and hoped and hoped. And Ben drank and drank and drank. As Ben grew worse, and their fridge grew empty, as Peter’s face became more bruised, and his powers grew, Peter realized, you can’t depend on superheroes. So Peter created his own hero - Spiderman.“

 I told you I had issues by Bergen            

“Tony Stark, genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, and right now, a little exasperated. Because some guy is swinging around New York, shooting webs and making trouble, Fury is breathing down his neck, and his latest intern took off with his coupon for a free coffee.“

--

Another focus for the abuse trope are the "Skip Wescott" stories, which take their concept and the character from a one-shot from the comics. @irondadfics​ has a good rec list for this. Many of the stories take it further than the comic that inspired them, and within the fandom it has also become common to see it re-mixed in variations of “Abused by Other Person of Authority” AKA: Babysitter/Teacher/Foster Carer/etc.

Although Skip is a common character for authors to use when they need a character as the abuser who isn't a complete original character, both original characters do appear as well as other characters from within the MCU.

The Third Option by Uncertainty_Principle

“Ben and May divorced before Peter’s parents died, so when Ben is murdered Peter goes into foster care. It takes just a tiny taste of superpowers for Peter to decide he doesn’t want to put up with his horrible foster father anymore—the streets are infinitely more appealing. All he wants is to be Spider-Man anyway.“

take a look at me now, there's just an empty space by @lyssismagical

“As much as Peter does want to disappear to his bedroom and avoid the awkward attempts at a one-sided conversation or inquiries about the life Tony’s read about, he craves the closeness to another person. The last time he felt properly close to someone was May. Every home in between had people who tried or people who didn’t, either way, it never felt the same. He was just another mouth to feed, another set of house visits and questionnaires from Elaine, another troubled kid under their roof. He was never treated like a human being, like a kid.“

Like A Flame That Flickered Out Too Soon... by @mysterycheerio

““He did this to you?”. Peter nodded. “And this is why you haven’t been talking?”. Another nod. Tony left the room in a hurry. Peter didn’t know where he went. Pepper knew. Rhodey knew. The whole damn neighbourhood around Stark Mansion knew, his yells were so loud.”

The Education Complication by Buckets_Of_Stars

“When young Peter Stark was diagnosed with Asthma, he was given two very important rules to always follow: 1. No long distance running. 2. Always have your inhaler with you. But when a new Gym Teacher with a hatred toward Iron Man gets hired, the 13 year old is going to find that following these two simple steps has never been more difficult.”

--

This is just a selection of the stories which can be found on AO3, from which it should be already clear that these cover a wide range of treatments of the subject.

Across all the categories, the reactions of characters to the abuse is varied; as well as some notable omissions in the range of stories. 

This we will look at in Part 2.

[horsyunicorn]

3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 and 21 for the writer asks!

3. What is that one scene that you’ve always wanted to write but can’t be arsed to write all of the set-up and context it would need? (consider this permission to write it and/or share it anyway)

I don't even know if it fits anywhere in my current WIPs, but I really want to write the scene where:

-it's been established at the start the story that there's some circular stone ruins in a park on a hill overlooking the center of town. They're assumed to be historically significant but no one knows exactly in what way and they're too much bother to excavate or spend actual taxpayer money on an archaeological survey so ppl just leave them alone.

-at the two-thirds mark of the story, character A is exhausted and out of resources and on the run out in some foothills near to a foreign major city. they hide in an abandoned barn or something. they take the opportunity to open up to character B, which allows character B to trust them fully. char B says "okay, we may have a way out of here" and they grab character A and they steal a vehicle, go straight into the major city (making as much noise as possible and being chased by two different bunch of cops now) and they jump straight into a huge energised portal while at the same time char B breaks open a locket they've been carrying this whole time

-the characters are thrown into a vortex and re-emerge from the stone ruins mentioned earlier. char B is like "wow that messed up my hair more than I thought it would. cool" while char A re-adjusts their jacket and starts marching toward the conclusion of the story, completely re-energised

6. What character do you have the most fun writing?

Both player characters (Kassandra, Emily Kaldwin) and the regular characters who have to interact with them on a regular basis.

Emily is the person who spends an hour deciding what she wants at a market stall, immediately shushing any attempts to discuss it because she can't concentrate with people talking sales at her, and then buys a single sleep dart and leaves. Stripes the black market shopkeeper and Alexi are both people who have to deal with that in real time.

Kassandra is both experienced and competent, and also the person who has stubbed their toe, forgot to charge their phone and still turned up to work just on time only to find out their delivery company isn't partnered with subway anymore.

Kassandra would swear and throw her phone at a wall. Her enhanced strength would make the phone go into the wall a bit, but she'd still have to pay like everyone else for a new screen protector and phone case.

9. Are you more of a drabble or a longfic kind of writer? Pantser or plotter? Do you wish you were the other?

I'm more of a longfic writer and plotter. I have detailed plans for several WIPs and haven't gotten around to doing the actual writing.

I'm trying to work on my shorter-stuff writing abilities. My current series Coffee and Cake is like that - the chapters are in general shorter and I'm only planning a little bit in advance of each chapter.

I kind of wish I was more spontaneous. One of the better-received chapters for my older series I Dreamed of An Eagle was written in one go directly inspired by what happened to me in AC Odyssey gameplay just the day before. I edited it once and posted it. It shows I am capable of writing action scenes, just only when I have one hand over my eyes and looking out of the corner of my eye with the other hand on the keyboard typing with one finger. (It's just like my playing PVP in Destiny 2. I do well only accidentally and unintentionally. I just don't have the spontaneous/PVP brain.)

12. Do you want your writing to be famous?

Of course! But only my longer, actually good works. Only my longer mass effect stuff and my dh novel. I want to be taken seriously, y'know.

15. Which is harder: titles or summaries (or tags)?

Titles!

I'm not a naturally concise writer, so, I struggle to think of really good titles. (I should keep a list of good titles to be used, in reserve...)

18. Do any of your stories have alternative versions? (plotlines that you abandoned, AUs of your own work, different characterisations?) Tell us about them.

Quite a lot of my stories have alternate versions; but I don't keep track of them because because I have so many WIPs on the go to satisfy my craving of wanting to write whatever pops into my head, as opposed to having a schedule or plan.

One of these was a a possible sequel to DH2 set partially in Pandyssia after the events of the second game, in a port town newly constructed on the continent. There would be a lot of content based on the colonialism and religious zealotry associated with such a setting; with a High Overseer or Oracular Order Sister being the player character/protagonist. A DLC for this hypothetical game would have you play as a DH1-original Brigmore Witch who gets dumped into the story with her own set of latent abilities. I've used some of the ideas for that in my DH novel.

21. What other medium do you think your story would work well as? (film, webcomic, animated series?)

Most of my stuff would work in short comics. I spent too long doing "justdishonoredthings" memes for my sideblogs that are at most 3 panels long so I struggle to do content that's longer than that, that's really punchy, fun, or relatable.

My longer episodic works like Modern!AU Alexi/Emily and my Dishonored novel would happily go in a TV series. My one-shot mass effect fic with secondary characters would probably fit well in an hour-long film.

thank you!!

[mieczyhale]

~TUA Fic Recs~

for the @tuafeedbackfest !!!! there are so many amazing fics bc this fandom really is insanely talented - i wish i had the time to rec all of the ones i’ve bookmarked tbh - BUT as i don’t:: these are some of my favorites (ones i’ve read multiple times, ones that stuck with me, ones that have just a little extra.. Something??)

Amidst the Chaos by crazynadine [explicit. klave. vietnam] Ten months. Klaus spent ten months in Vietnam, fighting a war he didn't belong in, falling in love with a man he didn't deserve.The long and convoluted tale about how a time traveling junkie and a disillusioned solider found love amidst the chaos of war....

Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene by @obliqueoptimism [klave. vietnam] Klaus says so many horrifying things so casually, and it makes Dave worry.

Bolt from the Blue by @ancientst / TheArchaeologist [mature. parent!klaus. five as klaus’s son] When they were sixteen Klaus successfully escaped for the night, and to celebrate went to the disco with a girl he barely knew. He was young, terribly misguided, but overall the night had been amazing.He just didn't expect to have a baby dumped in his arms nine months later.

can i be the only hope for you by @dancinbutterfly [explicit. klave. vietnam] Klaus is so special the pull of him is overwhelming. Dave doesn’t think he’s strong enough to resist his gravity. He’s too powerful. And fuck it, Dave doesn’t really want to. or (How a fairly ordinary soldier falls in love with Klaus Hargeeves, superhero, time traveler, and medium)

Choirs Threaten in Voices I Only Feel by @veteranklaus [teen rating. klave. typical hargreeves family nonsense] The last time Klaus saw his siblings was at Allison and Patrick's wedding. A lot had changed since then; including the not-so-accidental, irreversible loss of his sight.There's no time to tell them that, though. Not with the return of their long-presumed-dead brother and the impending apocalypse. Plus, it doesn't matter. He's got Ben as a good seeing-eye ghost.

Eggs Benedict for Breakfast by warmhandscoldheart [mature. klave. feral!dave. protective hargreeves] In which Klaus hits his head hard enough to get retroactive amnesia, and Luther does what he thinks is best.

Everyone Gets Here Eventually by @hermitreunited [mature. klave. ghost!dave. tw discussions of suicide] In the afterlife, all it takes to be with your loved ones is for both of you to want to be together. But for some reason, Dave hasn’t been able to reunite with Klaus, so he’ll do what it takes to find him. 

i’d rather lose my limb (than let you come to harm) by @bluebacchus​ [explicit. klave. au. chickens] How Klaus and Dave find each other in a corner of a foreign field in Flanders, 1917. (WWI AU) OR, A story of love, war, and chickens.

If Your Life Won’t Wait by queenbaskerville [teen rating. major character death. family emotions] When Klaus dies on the dance floor, God kicks him out of the afterlife. But she only kicks him out halfway.

i wore his jacket for the longest time by sharkhette [not rated. klave. tw temporary death] Klaus just wants to see Dave again, and he's willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen, no matter the cost. Includes conversations with Ben, Diego, God, a surly preacher, and gratuitous references to certain MCR songs. 

Neon Groves by Livijoyann [mature. klave. vietnam] Klaus Hargreeves travels back to the Vietnam War and falls in love with Dave... and we've seen almost none of it so far. Enjoy a full following of Klaus's time in 1968 from the first kiss to the first "I love you", and ultimately, to the end (with just about everything in between). 

Orange is the New Leather Skirt by Doctor959 [mature. typical hargreeves family nonsense. post-s1] A Misfits/Umbrella Academy crossover (no need to know either fandom to enjoy). The Hargreeves land by a certain community center and shit gets weird

The Light Behind A Cloud by @theseance1968 [explicit. wip. klave. vietnam] An account of Klaus’ time in Vietnam, on a diverged path where Dave survives his injuries. Flowered with opportunities, Klaus chooses to leave his old life behind and stay in the past with him. But how will his decision effect the timeline he abandoned, where his siblings continue to fight to stop the apocalypse in his absence?

The Shadows You Leave Behind by rarae [mature. brothers being brothers. tw discussions of rape and consent] The Hargreeves have stopped the apocalypse and have just returned to the real world from training Vanya in Five's weird pocket dimension. Klaus decides he needs to get some of his things to bring back to the academy and drags Diego along for the ride. They run into one of Klaus’ old ‘friends’ and shit goes down.

the war is over, we are beginning by @karturtle [teen rating. wip. klave. 2019. good brother five] The Hargreeves are slowly beginning to fix things after averting the apocalypse, but Five notices that something is still broken

Two Truths and a Lie by twosidedcoin [general. typical hargreeves family nonsense] “I want to go next,” Klaus announced, “Okay. My eyes are brown. I can see dead people, and I once offered sex to a drug lord to get out of his trunk.”Luther’s fist balled the paper into a ball as he snapped, “The point- Klaus- is to make the lie hard to guess.”Allison nudged Luther with her toe as she corrected, “His eyes are green.”

War is Hell by sauropod [explicit. klave. fix it-ish] Klaus' hands were still filthy with dried blood and muck as he fumbled at the clasps, the combination lock on the top. Desperate, blind hope had his heart going a mile a minute. The dial still read that seemingly random set of numbers it had the first time he opened it on the bus, what felt like a lifetime ago. 0213-18-02-1967“Please.” Klaus choked. “Please work.” He opened the briefcase.

Watch The Heavens (They’re Falling Down) by smile_it_will_get_better [teen rating. wip. typical hargreeves family nonsense] He reached under his pillow on reflex, and there was something there, something hard and rectangular and Five couldn’t help but pull it out.It was a package, encased in brown paper, a small tag attached to the side. Five thumbed it over, ignoring Luther’s inquiries about what it said.To Mr. Five Hargreeves, watch these if you want to survive the apocalypse.

We Only See Each Other at Arrests and Bails by icestorm238 [teen rating. brothers being brothers] aka the five times Diego picked up Klaus from the police station, and the one time Klaus picked up Diego.

Where’s Dave? by multifandom_damnation [teen rating. klaus centric. family emotions] Klaus has a flashback during family time and his siblings finally learn about all the horrific shit he's gone through, a heart to heart ensues and Diego proves how good a brother he really is. It's not a great revelation to have

Wild Eyed Boy by intheflowers [not rated. klave. slow burn. vietnam] Klaus dropped into Dave's life with a flash of blue light.It was the first time Klaus suprised him, but it was far from the last, and while at first he’d wondered if Klaus was maybe a little mad, it wasn’t long before he was certain that he really, definitely was.Not that it mattered much. Klaus had stolen his heart long before then. 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -    ~FIC SERIES RECS~ It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You) by @thefangirlingdead A series of moments between Klaus and Dave, during and post-season one. Definitely a fix-it universe dedicated to giving Klaus the happiness and love he deserves. Hope There’s Someone (Who Will Take Care of Me) by @siriuspiggyback baby that’s just how i am by princex_N He's the only one who tries to get used to it, because what other choice does he have? The others still wait, still ask when he'll be done playing around, still yell at him for being annoying, but no one seems to stop and realize that there's nothing he can do about it.Klaus gets used to it, but he's the only one who does.

[hunnybadgerv]

And for WIP Wednesday. Tease, light, red, and growl ;)

Looking at these words I realize you clearly know me too damn well. I realized when I was looking for in progress WIPs that of late I’ve really been focusing in two places. If I’m not writing Far Cry 5 fics, I’m working on Shenko. So, the choices for this are limited. Honestly, I need to dip back into some of my games and reacquaint myself with the characters and situations. 

Tease: (This one is from a Far Cry 5 fluffy fic that was sparked by a silly video I saw. It kind of took off in its own direction. Here we have Tayen and Sharky being ridiculous.)

Sharky settled beside her; Tayen turned and cuddled up against him, finally feeling that heated skin of his against hers. She pressed soft little pecks over his shoulders and up his neck, until she coaxed his lips to hers.

“You might need another shower, if we keep this up,” Sharky teased, leaning over her.

“Won’t that just put us into a neverending cycle of debauchery?”

He hummed thoughtfully against her mouth. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

Tayen chuckled, hugging him tight against her. “Not at all.” Lying back, she teased her fingertips through the hair above his ears as she blinked up at his smiling face. “I really wish we were all I had to worry about.”

The smile faded from his eyes, and guilt stabbed at her heart for stealing that moment from him. But he didn’t pull away. He dove at her, stealing her breath and smothering her in affection. She could steal a few more hours with him; he was worth it. They were worth it.

Light: (This one is from the little drunken Shenko that sprang up when I was doing a little day drinking for the fuck of it.)

One instant Kaidan was there and in the next. The crash took her by surprise and her eyes snapped open. His laughter sparked her own as she leaned over her legs.

“Are you okay?”

Kaidan gave her a floppy nod and a crooked grin. “I’m good,” he replied flashing her a thumbs up.

Nyx melted off the edge of the sofa and draped herself across his chest. Her hands moved over his head and through his hair. “Are you sure?” She was still giggling lightly, blinking at him slowly.

He nodded at her again, trying to waylay her concern.

“Maybe we should go to bed?”

“Commander?” he said in mock shock. “Are you trying to take advantage of me while under the influence?”

Red: (Here we have another Shenko entry, this one is to fill a smutty and delightful prompt for @painterofhorizons. It turned out quite brilliantly, but these are just the bones. It hasn’t been revised yet. And it was tough to find red in any of my WIPs oddly enough.)

She slipped it onto his forehead at first. Soft kisses deepened and by the time she broke that connection, she’d inched the mask over his eyes. Now, whether he opened them or left them closed, Kaidan would be trapped in darkness. There was one sight he wouldn’t lose entirely, though it was being thrown off by the spiced candles in the room. The earthy fruity scent that wafted through the room bore a strong resemblance to red wine—one of his favorites.

The commander pressed a kiss against his chin, then the center of his throat. She felt the motion of him swallowing beneath her lips, and she couldn’t resist opening her mouth to taste that divine adam’s apple. It earned her another healthy groan.

“How’s that imagination working for you, Major?”

“Little spotty at the moment, Commander. Think you could dial it in for me?”

She grinned against the center of his chest. “Any suggestions?” she asked. Her lips teasing across the bare plane of his chest in a seemingly random pattern.

“Oh, you seem to be in the neighborhood,” he teased with a smirk.

“You always do enjoy that, don’t you?” she breathed against his skin. She dragged her nails down the tops of his thighs, over the thick fabric of his duty uniform trousers.

Kaidan just sighed, the shakiness of it only encouraging her.

“My hands on your hips, grabbing your ass,” she teased. Her kisses and sharp little bites skimmed the waistband while she gripped the tops of his thighs and pressed him against the bed.

“Fuck, Nyx,” he crooned when she flicked the tip of her tongue against his navel.

Growl: (This one is Leah Rook and John Seed post confrontation and realization. They are finding their way more solidly into the “enemies” territory of their relationship.)

It was like so many other times. His gaze pinned her in place, held her there in limbo. She readied herself for retaliation. The tense muscles in her torso that expected a punch did nothing to help her when his mouth crashed against hers. She could taste the metallic tang of his blood on his busted lip when she nipped at it harshly.

When he pulled away from her, she followed brushing her lips against his again. She could have pushed him away when he let go of one of her wrists. Her hand went right to his neck, fingers digging into his skin right under his jaw. But instead of pushing him away, she used her grip on him to pull him closer. His lips parted in a suprised gasp against hers; her tongue thrust into his mouth claiming it, claiming him.

She didn’t think about anything that was happening between them, was only mildly conscious of it all unfolding. His fingers skimmed her thigh, zipping past the hem of her dress. She broke their frenzied kiss with a gasp of her own when his long fingers brushed over her sex.

Glaring up at him, her hand tightened enough to make his breath catch. Beautiful bastard. He looked so irresistible. Blue eyes, pupils blown wide with lust. Bottom lip swelling. This was not what she’d anticipated. Even so, she didn’t stop it. Her grip on his throat eased. She didn’t want him to pass out, not yet. He had something she needed.

Her fingers teased along the column of his neck in an explicitly erotic manner, in a way similar to how she might have stroked his cock if she already had his pants open. But alas, she was fighting his belt at the moment.

A quiver shook through her, when his hand pushed into her panties. His practiced touch went right to the core of her, his middle finger teasing at her entrance before he plunged it into her. Leah gasped and her hand tightened around his throat again. A growl rumbled beneath her palm as he leaned toward her again. She met his lips with hers. Each of them fought to get their tongues into one another’s mouth, battling for the illusion of the upper hand while both of them decisively lost a battle with lust.

[koyacyi-vode]

Kira!! 2, 7, 35, 37 for the fic writers meme?

💖

2. Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at, but really want to?:

oooo hm well i have yet to try any AUs other than canon-divergence (i'm a simple bitch and structure is my friend fkshdh). there's a lot of potential and really fun things you can do with like modern AUs or Fantasy AUs. they are however, significantly harder for me to write so i'd probably say it's unlikely i'll stray too far from the canon universe.

7. Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it:

Okay, so truthfully, I don't consider any of what i write 'prose' as much as I consider it a series of actions propelled entirely by dialogue and dry humor. But I think my favorite thing I've written so far would have to be the opening to Chapter 3 of Jareor:

The sound of a door hissing open was like a bullet, and Fox came back to himself with a jolt. He was at the entrance to the Guard barracks, standing dumbly in front of the open door. The sky outside was dark.

What?

There was a startled gasp from somewhere in front of him. Fox's head snapped to the shiny who had stopped dead in his tracks. The shiny took a step back at Fox's sudden movement, his head tilting up and down nervously, like he wasn't sure what to focus on. He spilled a bit of his cup of caf on the ground. 

"C-Commander?" he whispered, voice high-pitched and scared. "Sir, are y- are you all right?" 

Fox staggered dizzily, bracing one hand on the doorway. The shiny whimpered and jumped nervously at his movement again. Fox wasn't entirely focused but the reaction was pissing him off. Mostly because he didn't know why. Did he really scare them that much?

"I should… kriff, what should I…" the shiny was muttering to himself nonsensically. Enough of this. Fox growled something in his throat that was probably supposed to be a word and started walking forward, intending to leave the shiny alone to his babbling. His head was killing him. 

The caf cup shattered on the ground as the shiny cowered. 

Fox stilled. His senses came back all at once and he became very aware of several things. 

His ankle was either very sprained or broken.

He was holding his vibroblade in a white-knuckled grip.

He was covered in blood. 

He couldn't tell if the blood was his or someone else's.

Fox's grip went slack in stiff increments and the vibroblade clattered to the ground, making the shiny wince. The pain he had been too numb to feel blossomed and spread through his entire body, becoming more intense with each second that passed. Fox swayed. 

"Get Surge."

The last thing he heard was the shiny sprinting down the hall yelling for a medic before it all went black.

--

I guess what I liked with writing this scene was the build up. I really wanted to push the mystery of what was actually going on and not reveal what was happening until there was enough suspense. I also really enjoyed writing the one line about the shiny cowering in front of Fox. It’s the moment that truly snapped him out of the rest of his fugue state. Because to Fox, seeing one of his men openly afraid of him was so upsetting that it brought him entirely back into himself.

35. Would you ever kill off a canon character?

hmm i'm not sure! in regards to canon character death it's definitely a possibility that i'd include that, depending on the route i take. but killing off a canon character in other circumstances might be too hard for me fjdjshsh despite the amount of angst i write i'm firmly rooted in writing happy endings for the most part. so unless im feeling entirely vindictive i likely won't write a fic heavily involving major character death.

37. Talk about your current wips:

So I have a Wolffe and Plo prompt from like a month ago I'm slogging through, i've rewritten it once already but i think i'm getting there with wrapping up the ending! i like this little fic a lot, and would love to write more Wolffe! Plo as well but I find him (and Jedi in general) a bit more difficult to write since it’s hard for my dumbass brain to write wise words and stuff. But this fic explores Wolffe and Plo very soon after the Malevolence and leads to why the 104th changes their armor color.

Another WIP is a currently very early stages Depa/Grey fic from early in the war (i fell DEEP into rarepair hell with these two). It spawned entirely from two things: wanting more content of them and wanting to write a 'huddling for warmth' trope. It's taking longer than I would like because I'm still figuring out how I want to characterize them. It's currently third on priority after the Wolffe and Plo prompt fill and the Jareor update. My hell-brain also is very tempted to write a longfic for them about their entire time in the war together but I'm forcing myself not to think about it yet.

Lastly! My single multi-chapter WIP Jareor! I'm honestly flabbergasted by the response I got for this fic. It started out entirely self-indulgent because I wanted to write about Fox. And it was originally going to only be like 3 chapters. Now it's looking like it might be somewhere around 20. There's a BUNCH i wanna do with this fic. It starts slow and really kind of heavy-handed on Fox angst, but once things start to pick up (in my head) it becomes more of Fox being a reckless BAMF. I wanna do right by this fic though, but I'm not very good at planning and get bogged down by tiny details, which is why it's been some time since an update. But I think I'm getting there! And I've got some fun characters I want to bring in as well! So I really am excited to write it and share it with you guys ;u;

Oh, also I might fuck around and write incredibly self-indulgent oneshot fics about my ocs Kad and Pel because I just really love them. I’ve never centered fics around my ocs though so it will be an interesting challenge!

[rkivepacks]

TITLE: good dreams make you bleed Originally posted on: AO3/dtgloss Pairing: taekook/kookv/vkook (Kim Taehyung & Jeon Jeongguk) Rating: PG13 Genre: Fluff Word Count: 2,081 Trigger Warning/s: Swearing Disclaimer: This work is solely from the idea of the author. Should there be similarities with the works of other respected artists are purely unintentional. This also do not reflect on the real lives of the artists portrayed in this work. Comments, suggestions and any other concerns are accepted in my inbox. Thank you! 

Summary:  i made reservations at a restaurant and the hostess informed me about my company that has already arrived and hey it's you ???? au

Jeongguk is a painter by law. Babysitter by choice.

It started when doing commissions all throughout his junior and senior year of arts school became too much for an arts major to handle all at once because, as his mother once said when he went back home to Busan for a short break ‘you’re in the last two years of your college which also means things get hard and even harder. At some point you have to drop a responsibility or two if you still want to walk the damn convention center and get the diploma yourself.’

Commissions and extra money for better dinner and boba teas be damned. Jeongguk gradually had less commissions coming in and some days and weeks, no commissions at all. He had actual plates and actual student stuff he has to finish unless he wants to repeat his past mistake of almost submitting a commission as his final project.

Jeongguk is officially a graduate. Unemployed definitely not by choice.

The period where he was waiting for his graduation up to the present, the man was busy babysitting on the side, doing some commissions and having art classes for kids during month-long summer camps nearby. Although he hates kids between the ages of six to twelve, it will have to do if he wants to be all mighty and independent as all people born under the sign of virgos do.

“Jeonggukie, Sanhi kept on moving and now my lines are messed up!” One kid from his class that day wailed, pointing to his ruined drawing sheet.

“That’s enough. Sanhi would you mind saying sorry and then finish your work on my table instead?” He reprimands and gives the kid with the ruined sheet, Miri, a new clean one. Jeongguk helps the naughty little boy move farther as not to cause more chaos and goes on with checking the works of the rest of the class.

“Remember to clean your brushes before packing up!” He reminds the kids who thought nodding once or twice would be enough to let their teacher know they heard him.

Eventually he gets tired and sits at the corner, checking the time. Only 43 minutes left until class ends and he can go home and wallow in self-pity. He checks the notifications he didn’t mind during the early hours of the class and figures he can reply to some (hoping some of these were commissions).

From: Joon-hyungoo Jungoo are u gonna go grocery shopping today?? Let me know so I can do it Press 1 for more info.

From: unknown Good afternoon! This is the guardian of Haechin. Do you mind keeping her company for a little while? I won’t be able to make it on time from where I am now. I’m sorry for the trouble.

Jeongguk ponders for a moment before checking the time again, seeing that there are 22 minutes left.

Haechin is the little girl with different hairstyles adorning her head everytime she shows up and her Sofia the First bag she always carries that contains more packed snacks than school materials.

To: Joon-hyungoo Got held up hyung !!!! Can u do it hhhehehek

To: Unknown Hello! I’ll be waiting in the classroom with Haechin. See you!

Later on the kids were dismissed, their parents slowly coming in to check on their child packing up and cleaning. Jeongguk taught the kids that cleaning up the work area is important and all that shit. He calls Haechin over and tells her to occupy the teacher’s table as he cleans up the rest of the materials and his own personal belongings as they wait for Haechin’s guardian.

“Daddy!” Haechin explains and waddles to the door. Jeongguk looks over to where she ran off to, expecting the guardian who was always taking Haechin to and from the art classes only to see a different person this time. He opts to make the connection that this man must be the guardian in the text messages.

Jeongguk shortly wonders if the usual guardian getting Haechin from his classes was the mother or a babysitter. The woman could pass for a mother although she’s young and petite.

The man (in a suit. Definitely not a baby sitter because he doesn’t think babysitters baby sit in suits. Or maybe this is a different household with different house rules?) squishes Haechin’s cheeks to greet her and asks questions about her day before putting his attention to him.

“Hi! Thank you so much. I’m really sorry for this I could not leave for work earlier to make it on time here.” The man in suit who definitely isn’t the babysitter says, extending a hand to Jeongguk.

“Oh. No worries, I don’t have to be somewhere else after this. So. It’s okay, really.” He says, shaking the man (again, in a suit) that was extending his hand to him.

“We’ll get going, I guess. See you soon…” The man trailed off, realizing the two adults do not actually know each other.

“Jeon Jeongguk.” He introduces himself. “I’m the teacher… obviously.” He chuckles.

“Kim Taehyung. I’m Haechin’s dad.” The man in suit says. “It’s getting late so we’ll head out.” He waves and takes a hold of Haechin’s hand.

“See you tomorrow, teacher!” Haechin waves and Jeongguk makes the same gesture before muttering a “bye!” just loud enough for the two to hear. On their way out, voices that could only be attributed to the daughter and father duo in the hallway discusses what to have for dinner and the daughter replying with what she wants for her packed snacks tomorrow instead.

+

The shared apartment sounded eerily quiet and the locked door could only signify that no one was home as of the moment. Jeongguk makes his way to the kitchen only to find a cup in the sink that Namjoon or Hoseok probably used, and assumes that the two went grocery shopping and sending a silent prayer that they don’t miss something essential for Jeongguk’s daily routine (His fortified milk).

The sound of the passcode being punched in outside resonates throughout the apartment, signaling the arrival of the two and as predicted, the sound of numerous supermarket bags being carried into the kitchen. Jeongguk rushes to aid the older men in carrying the large bags before setting them on the counter.

“Why did you get home late? Didn’t I tell you that your curfew is only ten in the evening? Stop spending your lunch money on liquors and cigarettes. Study, Jeongguk.” Hoseok makes a big show of portraying a hardworking mother with a low-class financial background, Jeongguk being the deadbeat son.

“You’re so full of shit, hyung.” He deadpans before laughing at the latter’s antics. Namjoon goes straight for the coldest pitcher of water from the fridge and pours himself a glass, ignoring the usual banter of the two.

Jeongguk checks the fridge if it has been stocked up with fresh groceries (and to make sure his Hoseok hyung does not put another toothpaste in the freezer just because he can. The toothpaste tube ended up in the side of the sink for a whole three days to defrost and to properly be used). Jeongguk decides not to mention the nut tarts that are in the fridge that surely cost more than usual as it was a delicacy being sold in the local supermarket.

After a quick dinner all by himself as he got home late and the two already had their share of the dinner, Jeongguk retreated back to his room to check his other works in progress. One of his wips.

(“The fuck is a wips?” Namjoon asks, incredulously.

“Work in progress, hyung.” Jeongguk answers, half-annoyed his cereal was halted halfway to his mouth. “I thought it meant what in actual phuck.” Hoseok supplements, aiming to high five Namjoon across the table.

The three men laugh at the light joke over instant noodles for snacks.)

“Look at this baby… You’re only lacking a background and a few details, right?” Jeongguk talks to one of the paintings for a client. “Yes… I’m just going to save what’s left of these decent pants and I’ll give my full attention to you.” He sighs, walking over to his drawer full of clothes then to the bathroom.

Jeongguk gets back to his room with his face slightly wet from being washed and a few droplets getting to his top. With a soft playlist of live performances from various ballad artists from youtube, Jeongguk gets to work, opting to not do a grand background and only fixing minor details on the painting.

+

For Friday class Jeongguk had prepared his 17 students their own sheet of paper with a large initial of their first names covering the whole page. The students were bound to think they are in for another game that will surely get the whole class chaotic. Jeongguk promised to never again host another game (someone used a permanent market on the whiteboard that took ages to get off. He looks at the faint mark left on it). Everyone erupts in murmurs and Jeongguk listens to the crazy ideas of toddlers.

“We know how to do the alphabet though.” One wondered aloud.

“Teacher, why is my H bigger than Aehoon’s A?” One asked thoughtfully. “Teacher, Gonghoon wrote on the paper already!” Someone chastised his classmate.

“Okay, listen toddlers.” Jeongguk gathers their attention. Once settled, Jeongguk asks the little children to draw inside the big letters in order to describe themselves. He scans the faces of the children as some were left confused, some already forming ideas, and some were too busy folding the corners of the sheets.

Jeongguk settles to watch over the kids from his place, from where he can see all of them in one vision, with a rough overview of their artworks. Some dived in into work while some were busy watching the others work. He goes around at some point to assist students and to reprimand one for almost ruining a clean sheet of a classmate.

The class ends soon, Jeongguk signhs in relief at the realization that it’s the weekend, he can work on some commissions and rest. He tells all the children to clean up after themselves and to take home the unfinished work and finish it at home. Jeongguk cleans up the rest, only residing to his table once he has managed to fix the mismatched crayons to their proper boxes. He notices that Haechin is tugging at his pants, only the two of them in the room after having the other kids driven home by their guardians and parents.

“Is my daddy not here yet?” Haechin asks.

“Haechin, how about we draw something else? Your father said he’s having trouble looking for your favorite candy right now so he’s running late!” He comforts the child, although he also wonders who’s going to be at the door to get Haechin.

“Haechin?” A familiar voice makes way through the door.

“Daddy, teacher said you got me my candy?” Haechin greets his dad.

“I’m sorry I had to compromise so she wouldn’t feel bad.” Jeongguk rushes to apologize to the distressed father. He does not even know if Haechin is allowed near candies. Save him for panicking.

“It’s okay.” Taehyung smiles apologetically to the man before turning to his daughter. “Baby, your candy is so hard to find, I went everywhere for it but it’s gone?” The father consoles the little child.

As cute as the scene is in front of him, Jeongguk checks the time and he really should be closing his classroom now if he wants to make it home on time before rush hour picks. He tells the same thing (except for the getting home because his car’s coding hits on Fridays so he takes the public transportation) and the father and daughter duo rushes to get home but not before apologizing profusely courtesy of the man.

Haechin waves at him and he manages to choke out a “don’t forget your homework!” and the father smiles at him before the two disappears behind the door.

That night Jeongguk stays up in front of his laptop, using it as a heater on his lap as he browse through his emails and blog. An email confirming a dinner meeting with a new client was opened up to a new window, the secretary of the client of his informing him the details for tomorrow night (as it is the only available time for the busy man, apparently).

+

[end]

[See all works here]