#prompt voting is coming soon i believe

[ghiralink-week]

hi all! i'm bella (@dykevirgo on tumblr/AO3 and #virgo0916 on discord) and i'm another mod for ghiralink week this year. i'm based in EST time zone and i'm awake and in bed early (so don't expect to see me online at 3am my time 😅).

i will be helping moderate all over but specifically focusing on the tumblr (both NSFW and regular) in terms of reblogging posts from the tag and such. i work full time during the day so i'm mostly available first thing in the morning or in the afternoons. i love ghiralink (and i love ghiralink week) so naturally i volunteered to help cherry out this year 😁

[doctorgerth]

a/n: This one was so much fun to write!! Mihawk is always daunting to write for at first, but I always end up having fun and am usually pretty happy with the results when it comes to him. Want to know if Mihawk gets a smooch? Read on to find out! 🥰

pairing: Mihawk x GN!Reader

word count: 1.4k

candy heart prompt: True Love - Something on their/your lips

MIHAWK + TRUE LOVE

It was the first beautiful day Kuraigana had experienced in quite some time.

The thick fog that perpetually decorated the war-torn land was lifted, and the clouds above were broken enough to allow rays of warm, unfiltered sunshine illuminate the hidden beauty of the gloomy island.The lush greenery and produce the three of you had worked so hard to maintain practically sang in the light of the sun. Leaves glistened with dew, some reaching toward the rare blessing of light as if to grab it and hold onto it. It was a perfect day for farming.

“It’s such a beautiful day,” you sighed happily, stretching your arms out above you. Mihawk grinned from beside you, but you were too busy basking in the comforting warmth to notice.

“It is rather…bright,” Perona stated as she gripped her umbrella tighter.

Mihawk thought quietly to himself, determining that Perona’s discomfort might work to his advantage for once, “Perona, how about you go back to the castle and prepare some snacks. The weather is nice, maybe we can have a picnic.” He felt his heart squeeze in his chest when you smiled widely in his direction, your head nodding enthusiastically.

“Don’t order me around!” She huffed, though a reprieve from the too-bright sun sounded ideal. She turned the other direction and floated towards the castle.

“Oh, and don’t forget to pack something for the humandrills!” you called out to her.  

“What am I, everyone’s servant?” She stomped her foot in annoyance and puffed out her cheeks, “I’m too cute to be bossed around like this…”

When Perona was out of sight, you laughed to yourself, “She’s particularly moody today.”

Mihawk hummed beside you as he dropped some seeds into the earth, “And it’s only going to get worse.” He used a hand shovel to gently pat the dirt back over the seeds.

You peered over at him, “What do you mean?”

He laid the shovel down beside him and wiped his gloves along his dirt-stained pants. Retrieving a folded up newspaper page from his back pocket, he handed it over to you. Your eyes scanned the paper, the bold title Gecko Moria Alive! caught your eyes instantly. It was a strange sensation. You had no ties to Moria aside from his pink-haired subordinate, but still, for Perona’s sake, you felt warm tears well up in your eyes.

“Oh, Mihawk, she’s going to be so happy,” you said in a hushed whisper, though Perona was hardly in earshot, “And also really angry that you haven’t told her sooner. This newspaper is from three days ago.”

He chuckled, “I know.”

You felt a pang in your chest, “I suppose that’s another chick leaving the nest.” You were still recovering from Zoro’s departure and now Perona was soon to follow. You’d grown quite accustomed to your family you shared in the last two years. Though two years wasn’t a very long time comparatively, it felt like it’s always been the four of you.

“It’s for the best,” he replied, “Danger is coming.”

You stiffened, “You don’t mean…?”

“I believe the Reverie attendants are going to vote in favor of the abolishment of the Warlords. That means Marines will be surrounding this place very soon,” he sighed and closed his eyes. “I don’t want Perona to get in harm's way for something that doesn’t involve her.”

You smiled in his direction, “You’re a kind man, Dracule Mihawk.” The tightness in your chest was easily replaced with gentle thumping. If anyone else were to refer to him as kind, he’d scoff in their direction. Hearing it from you, he felt a familiar heat creep up his neck.

Much like Zoro and Perona, Mihawk just ended up being stuck with you a few years ago. He warily offered his hospitality, but miraculously, it didn’t take long for Mihawk to warm up to you. When you proved yourself to him, you became the unofficial first mate to his unofficial crew. Though, with your time together on Kuraigana, you hardly acted as Captain and Crewmate. You tended the land together, sought peace with the humandrills together, and lived your day to day lives in the castle of Kuraigana together. Waking, working, and wasting the days away together. You weren’t sure what you were to Mihawk, but it definitely felt different than a mere subordinate.

“I suppose it’ll just be us again, then.” The thought of it going back to just the two of you simultaneously excited and saddened you. Mihawk looked over to you. He didn’t utter a single word, just stared. Though you’d assumed you’d be used to the intensity of his hawk-like eyes, they still had a way of making you feel embarrassingly shy. You absentmindedly wiped at the sweat forming on your upper lip. The sun was beginning to burn.

Just the two of you. Mihawk always loved the sound of that. Though he’d enjoyed his time training Zoro and cooking with Perona, he often thought fondly of when it was just the two of you. Why then did it make him so nervous to return to that? The dab of soil on your upper lip caught his attention and stole his thoughts.

You had mistaken his silent staring as a denial to your statement, “Unless you intend to send me away with Perona?” Your throat suddenly constricted. Surely he didn’t mean that. “Mihawk, I know things are about to get intense, but I promise I can protect myself and will help you with whatever you need. Just don’t…”

You stopped your sentence when Mihawk shifted beside you to turn and face you. His right hand reached up to your face and you waited with bated breath as you were unable to process what was happening. Mihawk’s never touched you like that before. You gasped when his finger swiped across your upper lip. Holy shit, he was going to kiss you. You instinctively closed your eyes and sighed against his finger, awaiting his lips to meet yours. A cool, empty breeze brushed against them instead.

“I’m sorry. You had dirt on your lip,” he said simply.

How embarrassing. You felt unbelievably hot under the small pockets of sunshine now, “Right, of course. Thank you.”

You wanted to leave his hold, leave the garden, leave the whole entire island, but Mihawk held you firmly; his left hand mirroring his right as they both caressed your face gently, “I’m not going to send you away, (Y/N). I want you by my side.” His face lowered to yours, noses brushing. The words he spoke stole your breath from your parted lips, “Stay with me as long as you wish.”

“Mihawk…” you managed to huff out. His name on your lips, so unfamiliar in this low tone — he could drink it right up. How long has he been holding himself back from falling completely into you?

“Say it, please,” he murmured. The movement of his lips caused them to bump against yours. A tease of a kiss, “Say you’ll stay with me.”

“Mihawk,” you whimpered once more. You weren’t sure you’d be able to say anything else. Not when his intoxicating warmth and tender embrace was robbing you of air. But, you wanted him to know how you felt. How you’ve always felt since joining his side, “I want to be with you forever.”

Your confession was the gravitational pull to at last close the distance between the two of you. His lips slotted against yours with promise, a silent oath to stay with you and protect you for however long you’d want him to. Your skin no longer burned, instead kissed by sunlight as his lips rained down on you, moving with yours as if he’s planned this moment out for years. In truth, he wished he’d done so much sooner.

You pulled away for air, but Mihawk wouldn’t, couldn’t stop. His lips tickled against your tender pulse line as he continued his kisses along your neck, pulling you tightly into him by your waist. He muttered confessions in-between kisses. How long he’s wanted you. How long he’s loved you. How long he’ll continue to want you. How long he’ll continue to love you. Forever, forever, forever. Your fingers tangled in his hair, tugging him back up to your aching lips to let him know you reciprocated his devotion. Years of unchecked desire was evident in the urgency of your shared kisses, spilling forth like an endless fountain as you lost all sense of time against each other’s lips. Nothing would hold either of you back now.  

Perona rounded a corner and caught sight of the two of you embracing each other. She silently gagged, but decided to leave the both of you to your moment. The sun was a little too bright for her anyhow. As she turned and floated away, a smile stretched along her face. She always thought the two of you would be cute together.

a/n: Hate to see him go, but love to see him kissed 💋 We unfortunately say goodbye to Mihawk for this event, but I have a feeling we’ll see him around in the future. 🤭 Thanks for reading!! 

[lucyfrostblade]

i have committed voter fraud for ratgrundlr, may i request a drabble focusing on kristen and kipperlilly? some kipperbees would be a bonus but id love to see anything that focuses on their dynamic in general ^_^ i’m curious how youd interpret them :3

want a drabble? vote for ratgrundlr and submit your prompt. commit voter fraud once and get two drabbles!!

word count: 834

The rune on Kipperlilly's chest pulsed in beat with her heart. It was warming than she expected it to be, made the sweater vests that she'd taken to wearing to cover it up even warmer than they already were. She glared across the cafeteria at Kristen Applebees.

Spring break ended, and the Bad Kids were enjoying the high pedestal they were on. Kristen Appleebees was the belle of the ball, it seemed. No one shut up about her. Kipperlilly heard a thousand whispers about her. How brave she was to go into the Forest of the Nightmare King. How gifted she was to master self-resurrection. How devoted she must've been to bring a dead god.

Kipperlilly's own spring break had been eventful—Porter's knife against her throat while she knelt in front of an alter to another long dead god. She'd had help coming back, but at the end of the day, it'd been her that welcomed in the rage that burned within her chest. Soon she'd bring back a god herself. Soon she'd kill that god and christen Porter the new ruler of her domain.

“You could always talk to her.” Lucy said from her place at Kipperlilly's side.

She kicked Lucy under the table. Her glare remained glued to Kristen Applebees. “Please explain to me why I would ever talk to Kristen Appleebees.”

“Well, you have been staring at her for a while.”

From across the table, Ivy snorted. “Pretty sure she's calling you gay, Kip.”

“If any of you are deluded enough to think that I have any sort of attraction to Kristen fucking Appleebees I suggest you go talk to Jawbone before you hurt yourself.” For the first time since lunch started, Kipperlilly turned away from Kristen Appleebees.

“I believe you, Lilly, don't worry.” Lucy said, and Kipperlilly focused her glare on Lucy.

Lucy pressed her hand to her mouth, poorly suppressing a laugh. “What? Why are you glaring at me now?”

“Really Kipperlilly, you need to learn about to talk to the girls you like without pulling their pigtails. We aren't in middle school anymore.” Oisin added.

***

Kipperlilly glared at Kristen Applebees from across the room. Another Seacaster party raged around her. Music thrummed from the speakers. The scents of milk and vodka and sweat mixed into a truly horrible combination. And the body heat of a hundred or so teenagers crammed into one house left Kipperlilly coated in a thin layer of sweat.

Not very becoming of a presidential candidate. Not that anyone could see Kipperlilly's anyway. She'd kept up invisibility since she slipped into the party, easy to keep tabs on her opponent then. She watched Kristen Applebees with the intensity of the sun that her the unnamed goddess of rage once ruled over.

Her eyes lingered on the sliver of exposed skin where Kristen's tracksuit jacket had slipped off her shoulder, the purple of the sports bra stark against her skin. She blinked, focused back on Kristen Appleebees in the abstract, and not the reality of her across the room.

In the month or so since the start of the school year, Kristen Appleebees's hair had grown a bit more unkempt than it already was. Her bangs were long enough to get into her eyes, and she raised a hand to tuck a few of the worst offenders behind her ear. Kipperlilly's heart rate spiked. It was so horribly presidential, she thought.

She leaned closer to Adaine, whispered something in her ear, but as she leaned closer, some of that horrible milk and vodka combination sloshed out of the red plastic cup and onto her hand. Kristen raised her hand to her mouth and licked the split drink off her hand before it dripped onto the floor. Kipperlilly blinked again.

Kristen Applebees walked away from Adaine then, waved as she walked towards the kitchen.

Kipperlilly pushed herself off the wall and followed. She re-upped her invisibility, just in case. In that moment, in that horribly inopportune moment, Lucy Frostblade haunted Kipperlilly.

You could talk to her. Lucy's words from last spring rattled around in her skull as she followed the path Kristen Appleebees took. She remembered Lucy's hidden laugh, rage bubbled within her chest.

If she saw a flash of blue in the corner of her eye,startled so abruptly that her invisibility dropped, and then realized it was nothing more than a painting of the Hangman on the sea, that was her business

“Didn't take you for the sort to admire art.”

At the sound of Kristen Appleebees's voice, rage grounded Kipperlilly back in Seacaster Manor. “I highly doubt you understand the nuances of admiring art.”

Kristen opened her mouth, shut it as quickly as she opened it, and then downed the rest of her drink. “Fuck it, do you want to make out?”

Kipperlilly clenched her fists, turned to glare at Kristen. Her eyes caught on her lips. “If you tell anyone about this I will bury you, Applebees.”

“Wouldn't have it any other way, Copperkettle.”

[thiswasinevitableid]

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (Fitzier)

The last prompt for yeehawgust! Thank you to everyone who voted on the prompts!

Someday, somehow, Crozier will make damn certain he never has to hear another damned Hank Williams song again. 

Given that he’s hearing the southerner wailing about being lonesome for the same reason he does every year–John Franklin’s birthday–he won’t be free of him until his boss dies, retires, or finds some way to push Crozier from his circles entirely. 

The old man's obsession with the wild west isn’t the sole reason Erebus Logistics moved from London to Seattle, but Crozier is certain it played a role. Still, when he was offered the chance ten years ago to either find new employment or haul himself to a new continent, his obstinance allowed only one answer. 

(His heart had done the same, and while he regrets how that ended less and less with each year, regret it he still does).

So here he stands, boots and a bolo tie his only concession to the theme as his coworkers and subordinates stroll by in various levels of fancy dress. 

Franklin passes him on his rounds, introducing him to some of their investors. The men nod and shake his hand, but turn their attention away as soon as they’re able, Franklin almost shepherding them past like he’s afraid Crozier will ruin them all with one word. 

Why did he stop drinking again?

He glances at the bar, wets his lip with his tongue. 

A hand settles on his shoulder, “Everything alright, sir?”

Thomas Jopson must be part cat. How else does he move so quietly?

“Yes, just lost my bearings a moment. Hard to navigate in these confounded fancy lights.”

His secretary nods, “Mr. Goodsir got here a little while ago and was asking after you. I believe he’s over at the hors d'oeuvres table.”

The table just happens to be facing away from the bar. 

“Thank you, Thomas.” Crozier fixes him with a grateful smile, “now go enjoy yourself, for goodness sake. You’re my secretary, not my nursemaid.”

“And this is a work function.” Jopson retorts politely, head dipping a little when Crozier pats his shoulder. He retreats back to a corner where Edward Little and George Hodgson are animatedly explaining something to John Irving. Little notices him looking and waves a little hesitantly. He’s one of Crozier’s finest employees, yet he always looks a bit like he expects Crozier to bite his head off. 

Harry Goodsir is indeed at the table, and is in fact excited to see him and update him on his plans to arrive a week earlier to the planned trip to southern Alaska to take in the sights. 

Noticeably absent is Silna, their “local relations liaison.” Or, as she once noted, the only person they could send into any communities that might be, reasonably, suspicious of white men. She and Goodsir are seldom seen apart, but she’s never attended one of these functions. Crozier doesn’t blame her. And that’s before even mentioning the incident three years ago where Hickey convinced several of his coworkers to come dressed as dime novel Indians. 

He mentions this, and Goodsir shakes his head with a frown, “Were it not important to keeping up my relationships in the company, I wouldn’t come either. I almost begged off tonight anyway, but Silna reminded me that this caterer is beyond compare.”

Goodsir winks at him, and Crozier notices that Henry Collins, dressed as a cowboy to Goodsir’s frontier doctor, is usually his bulk to hide the fact he’s sneaking various snacks into a tupperware.

“For the road.” Henry shoots him a conspiratorial smile, then drapes Goodsirs shucked coat over the container in his arms. 

Crozier gives an approving smirk back just as a raucous cluster of voices crowds through the door. James Fitzjames and company have arrived. 

Predictably, the whole clutch of men is costumed from head to toe, complete with silly, silver toy pistols on their hips. Le Vesconte, looking like an extra from a John Wayne film, steps aside enough to reveal Fitzjames. 

In a dress. 

His handsome, spotlight guzzling, dashing, obnoxious co-C.O.O is in a red frock down to his ankles, a matching hat on his head and black boots catching the light as he twirls for laughing onlookers. 

“Didn’t see that one coming.” Goodsir murmurs. 

“He looks very nice.” Collins says, earnestly. 

“Mm.” Crozier nods but adds nothing else. It figures Fitzjames would find some way to make sure everyone left for home talking about him. And a silly dress is exactly the way to do that. 

Except. 

As the night drags on and they’re trapped at the executives table together, Crozier has ample time to study the outfit. If the whole point of the stunt was a joke, surely Fitzjames would have chosen something like a saloon girl to mimic, inaccurate lace and pearls and ill-fitting on his tall frame. 

Instead, he’s dressed as if he was really in some dusty, western town. The red dress, the white shirt beneath it with ruffles in what Crozier suspects are the correct places for the period. From close up, it even looks as if Fitzjames has tried to put a curl in his dark hair. 

Too much thought for a joke. Which means it’s something else. 

Fitzjames catches him looking, mouth going to a thin line as he quickly drinks his wine. He’s done that every time he’s caught Crozier’s eye. Which, given they’re across from each other, has been about every five minutes. In Crozier’s defense, half the time he’s not even staring; he’ll simply turn his head and find Fitzjames looking at him. 

Between their final course and dessert, Franklin takes to the small podium to make a speech, as he always does. He talks about how glad he is to spend his birthday surrounded by the company he made and the men he works with. Then he goes on to talk about his excitement at their next venture; Erebus is trying to expand its reach into Alaska, linking together small communities and making itself the largest logistics and shipping firm in both the contiguous and noncontiguous western United States. 

“And it is my esteemed pleasure to announce that heading the operation will be none other than the pride of Erebus, James Fitzjames.”

Cheers from around, Crozier clapping while internally wondering why Franklin didn’t bother telling him Fitzjames would be the man working the project with Crozier.

One glance across the table tells him it’s news to Fitzjames as well.

The evening limps along, and after dessert everyone stands to continue drinking and mingling, and Crozier realizes he cannot stand another moment surrounded by alcohol and unable to free himself from his stress with it. 

He scurries up the stairs to his office. It’ll be dark and quiet, and as he slips in through the heavy door he sighs. Peace at last. 

The door closes, and there’s a gasp of surprise. 

“Holy god!” Crozier nearly jumps clear of his skin, “Fitzjames, you have two goddamned seconds to tell me why in the name of fucking christ you’re in my office, in the dark!”

“I” Fitzjames, noticeably tipsy, sits up from the couch, “I, I’m not sure. I came up here to…to…” He looks away quickly as Crozier turns on his small desk lamp. 

One red sleeve is damp, and Fitzjames sniffles, trying to clear his throat to cover it. 

“Your own office seems a better place for a breakdown.” He turns the guest chair to face the small couch.

“I don’t find it comforting.”

Crozier pauses, hand halfway to the box of tissues on his desk. 

“Memories of arguments are that fond to you?”

Fitzjames finally meets his eyes, “I know where I stand with you, Francis. Even though it is seldom where I’d like to be, at least I know it. John spent the last two weeks rejecting half my ideas. Then he goes and assigns me the Alaska project without warning, in spite of the fact you’ll already be there and be better at leading it. It’s like he’s trying to send me where I cannot bother him.” He wipes his eyes, “I’d asked to go as your second, and he told me that would not do. So I assumed he would not send me at all.”

“You asked to work under me?” 

Fitzjames nods, “Shocking, I know. I also know any time we successfully installed Erebus into an area, it was because you led the way. Your team trusts you, you see situations clearly, adjust accordingly.”

“James.” He moves from the chair to kneel in front of the other man, “you’re the golden boy. Everyone here knows how accomplished you are-”

“-and you and I both know how quickly one can fall from favor.” James pushes a hand through his hair, eyes on his knees, “every move I make I am trying to tell if it will reveal the wrong thing. Even this.” He flips part of the skirt for emphasis.

“I doubt anyone will think you less capable in a dress than without one. Especially when you make such a fine cowgirl.”

“Don’t mock me.” James sighs. 

“I’m not.”

James looks up, surprised. Which makes sense, as Crozier is rather shocked himself. 

“I can appreciate a well-turned calf with the best of them.” He tries to joke, but instead of batting at the dress like he intends to, his hand comes to rest gently on James' knee. How long has he mistaken the heat under his skin when he sees James for irritation instead of something else.

“I…I was secretly hoping you would like it. That would be something of me you did not find lacking.”

“I find very little of you lacking.” Crozier sits back on his heels, both hands now playing with the red cotton, “you’re as talkative as a parrot and wilt without attention, and there are times where you have not respected me as I wished you would. But I am not as sure, now, that I was deserving of respect at the time.” He winces, remembering the days when he was low-level drunk every hour he was at work. 

“You’ve an odd way of cheering me up.” James teases softly.

“Whist and let me finish.” He takes Jame’s hands, “what I mean is that while you have driven me mad in the past, I’m not so big a fool as to not see how clever and determined you can be. I know you’ve spoken in favor of my ideas to Franklin. And when I think on it, I don’t dread traveling with you and tackling this project together.”

“I don’t either.” James murmurs. 

“We can think of it as starting over. The two of us and our crew, traversing the wild north with a better understanding of each other.”

“I’d like that.” James sniffs, blinking away the last of his tears, and reaches for his hat, “we should go back down, if we’re gone too long he might send someone to lasso us.”

“Blanky did once threaten to tie us together until we cooperated.”

A laugh, “I forgot about that.”

“Come along, cowgirl, up you get.” Crozier stands, helping James do the same. 

It’s over in an instant, even as time slows. James leans down and kisses him and Crozier decides he can indeed make it the rest of his life without a drink, as long as he can taste wine on James tongue. In fact, he’s certain he could get drunk on his kisses alone, even if neither of them ever drank a drop again. 

“Thank you for cheering me up, Francis.”

Crozier keeps hold of his hand, wraps his other arm around his waist, “James…”

“Have lunch with me tomorrow. Somewhere far away from work. And we can talk about this. Er, if you want there to even be a a this-”

Crozier tugs him down for another kiss. God above, they ought to have done this sooner, done this the day they met, and never have stopped. 

“Aye. Now, run along ahead. Best if we aren’t seen coming back in together.” He allows himself a pat of James' ass when the other man turns, earning him a swat on the wrist and a laugh. 

He waits until James disappears down the stairs, then follows him in a daze of happiness that lasts until he’s back in the main room. And even Jopson stopping at his elbow, eyebrows raised and whispering, “I like the hat, sir” does nothing to dim it. After all, he can return the hat to his cowgirl tomorrow.

[romaine2424]

Daily Blog June 22, 2023

So that was fun yesterday in starting this blog. I seriously do hope that as time goes by that others will start doing the same. :) I do want to add that in my posts I will be adding some fandom history now and then. Today is one of those days. I may have been a bit self-indulgent. *blushes*

What I'm Reading:

I'm trying to savor the Ginny sorted into Slytherin story I mentioned yesterday. In my first read of it, I raced through it and know that I probably missed enjoying it in it's complete form. I'm on a few Discords and one of them being Harry Potter Fanfiction Club. They have a vote every month to choose what fics the members can read together and discuss. This month they chose for Drarry aideomai's Dwelling. I'd read this masterpiece before but decided to look for a shorter fic by this amazing author. I chose Nice Things. OMG all 22K of this fic is such a treat. If you ever need a warm, dreamylike fic, choose this one. It's an 8th year fic where only 7 of the classmates come back. Ron, Harry, and Hermione are in the mix. Draco is there along with Theo. They are assigned to live in a cottage on the grounds of Hogwarts. The progression of Harry and Draco's relationship is lovely. Read it now or Bookmark it for later when the need for this type of fic hits...as we all know there are times it's needed.

Tumblr Posts of Interest:

I only have one today and that's just because I have a bit to say about it as it holds a special place in my fandom heart.

HD Fan Fair (Career Fair) is open for prompts! They have openings for 250 prompts and so far have 153. Prompt closing is on June 30th. Claiming begins on July 1st.

First of all, I think we need to give a huge shout-out to Fan Fair mod @phoenixacid. This will be her 10th year of modding this fest. I do believe she worked on it even earlier. Anyone who's modded a fest before knows the dedication it takes to see it through. Her co-mod, @sassy-cissa has been involved since 2018.

Here's a little history about this Fest

This fest has been going on annually since 2009, with the exception of 2011. It was conceived by @marguerite26 and myself, with @vaysh11 and Jamie2109 soon joining in. I was unable to mod for personal reasons that first year and only partially the second...after that I pretty much left fandom. Back then, you really couldn't just start a fest when other established fests were already on the calendar. It was considered impolite and it would be posted on LJ about what an arse you were. LOL When hd_inspired closed shop, we jumped in and took their spot in Autumn. Fan Fair started with Career Fair and then moved on to Travel Fair. Since then, they've had Book (books mentioned in HP), Sex, Food, and Pottermore Fairs with repeats for Career, Travel and Food. Both Inspired and then Fan Fair were novel in being a prompt fest as opposed to an exchange fest like @hd-erised (back then it was hd_holidays). We felt it gave greater control to the authors to write to a prompt they liked as opposed to be assigned one, which from personal experience can cause angst and meltdowns. That is why it was called a Fair as opposed to a fest. A fest usually meant an Exchange Fest.

When I came back to fandom, I about cried seeing that @Phoenixacid had not only kept Fan Fair alive but it was thriving. I wrote for it that first year I came back in 2021, and I made a promise to read and comment on every fic and art piece posted for the Fairs. I only skipped one fic last year. It was brilliantly written but was beyond my comfort level for psychological horror. I don't listen to Podfics, I'm sorry to say. When I used to commute hours to and from work, I could but now I don't have the where-with-all to pay attention.

So go PROMPT!!!!! And give tons of love to the two mods!!!! Mods are the backbone of fandom.

For more history on Fan Fair and links to all the previous Fairs and their masterlists, here you go. Fan Fair on Fanlore.

Tumblr Drarry Fic/Art Resource:

Did you know the amazing @snowgall created and maintains a Drarry fanart archive at @snowingalway. She had noticed that fandom art of old was being lost and artists were leaving fandom. The pieces available for viewing are those that the artists have given her permission to archive. She personally contacted the artists to ask for such permission. I think when you visit the sight and view what she's saved, you too will be thrilled and indebted for what she's done for Drarry fandom. Please not she also posts and collect current works, too!

Last Tidbit:

I mentioned yesterday that I'd be reccing a fic today. I'm going to hold off on that until tomorrow. This is long enough. *blushes again*

[dakotawritesif]

Patreon Plans for June

Posting here too for convenience lol!

The Unseelie Release (coming soon as I figure out keys and currency confusion, it was not as clear for me as I thought lmfao)!

Fallen Lights Chapter 3, Part 1!

Finishing up commissions, including any Wraith tiers (please message me if you haven’t already with details)!

The first RO POV (poll will go up later)!

Ezrah’s short story & a poll for the new story! I’m starting a series based on the ROs and a one-word prompt (ex. angst, jealousy, love, etc) and exploring it with each RO. Every two months (as there are 40+ ROs across the games) will have a theme you guys can vote on. They'll be kept under the theme hashtag on Patreon for ease of convenience (for example #angststories or #jealousystories).

Disenchanted is also steadily coming along, Chapter 2 is about 3/4 of the way done, and the update is already sitting at around 30k words, but there will be a lot of editing to do. I believe I’m looking at July for the next Disenchanted release, but maybe we’ll get lucky!

The Reaper’s Bay update will potentially be in July/August simply because I wasn’t happy with a lot of things so I had to do a brief overhaul of the coding.

Polls for voting are also already up! The first RO stories should be out Friday! I might post some sneak peeks of the ROs respective game tumblrs and all that.

[myimaginedcorner]

SMALL UPDATE AND CATCH-UP

Hello lovely readers!

I hope summer is treating you well. Please, stay hydrated and safe!

I am trying not to melt on this heat; summers here can be wild. My workload is also quite hefty, hence why I've been a little absent recently. My apologies for not posting anything, I was trying to get everything sorted out first!

Now, I believe I'm going to have a little bit more time going forwards, so, I would like to stir some activity in this blog. Of course, I hope to be able to come back soon with some news about future ChoiceScript projects, however, meanwhile I would like to continue interacting with you here. I'm going to post a small poll on my current ideas: while some of them (like Torn Page) are a given to come back, I'd like to see what would you like to see first, so I can establish priorities.

Let me know your thoughts, and as usual, I'm one ask away if you have anything to tell me! ^^

[allylikethecat]

ally!!! i have to say i keep growing ever so frustrated at ao3 as at the end of every update you so generously give us it reminds me once again that i am unable to leave you more kudos when i so wish i could spam you with it every five minutes to show my appreciation for these fics!!!!!!

the ducklings update was incredible and i so loved seeing an insight into fictional!george’s mind, i especially enjoyed how much a packet of shredded cheese caused so much trouble hah — whilst i am loving the angst between them, I am also very excited for them to (at some point) actually communicate with each other lol

i have to go on record to say that as a diehard lover of ‘you know where the city is’ that is the fic i voted for this week — this does not mean however that i am not very much eating up all discussions of the vampire fic (& the equestrian fic!!!) and i can’t wait to see what you come up with (on the discussion of vampires & twilight,, i was always team edward and the idea of vampire fictional!george??? amazing.) and I of course was very happy to receive a ducklings update regardless.

also!! these january prompts have been so good and it’s so cool that you’ve stuck with it the entire month — opening up tumblr and finding a little ally fictional!matty and george drabble has been so fun and u should know that they will be sorely missed come february!!!!

yours,

— 💌💌

(p.s. sorry about the obnoxiously long ask lol!!!)

Hello My Dearest 💌 Anon!

First off, NEVER apologize for sending in a long ask!! I am giggling and twirling my hair upon receiving it!! I love writing obnoxiously long responses and so this is perfect!!!

I too very much wish that I could leave multiple kudos on the fics that I read, AO3 really needs to get on it and allow us to do so! I am so thankful and honored to have written a fic that you feel that way about 🥺 Just know that I appreciate YOU so very much and am so grateful for you not only reading but taking the time to send me such a lovely, long, thought out ask! 🥰

AHH Thank you so much for your kind words about the newest Ducklings update!! I'm so happy to hear that you enjoyed it! Shredded cheese is a very important snack option and poor Fictional!Matty thought it was going to solve all of his problems, but alas, halfway through it became the cause of them. I was a little nervous about this chapter since we were changing things up a little bit with a Fictional!George-centric interlude and am so happy to hear that you liked it! We might have a little bit longer to go before Fictional!Matty and Fictional!George get it together and truly communicate but don't worry it is coming and I actually have a plan for it now (huge thank you to @sundrownsthehouse for helping establish DIRECTION for this fic!)

AHH thank you so much for supporting You Know Where the City Is as well!! The 2014-Disaster-Bi versions of Fictional!Matty and Fictional!Taylor are some of my favorite characters I've ever written, and I am so excited for y'all to see how their story unfolds! I will hopefully have that update finished soon, I've been slowly but steadily working on it since the last update!

The Vampire brain rot has become so very real and I am so excited that people are willing to indulge me in it. Once I get the Christmas fic finished, I cannot WAIT to start diving into my new WIPs 🤩

ALSO omg thank you so much for sharing such kind words about the January OPT prompts, it was a little project that I started for myself, and I'm just so flattered that people are also enjoying them, and taking the time to share such lovely feedback on them! They have been hard to keep up with, but I'm very proud of myself for sticking with them so far, and cannot believe we're over halfway through!

Thank you so much for reading, and for sending in this lovely, lovely, ask! I apologize for writing you a small novel in response! I hope you continue to enjoy my works and I hope I'll be able to a You Know Where the City Is update up soon! I hope you have a fabulous rest of your week!

❤️Ally

[ghiralink-week]

Good timezone everyone :D I am Sora (she/her)- one of the new mod additions to the GhiraLink Week moderation team. //You can find me on AO3 (rahchan), tumblr (rahchan-writes-again) or on discord Sora#5056// As I am based in CET I am the one who is awake, while the others sleep hehe

If you have any questions regarding the NSFW stuff - you are at the right address - it's my main focus - but of course you can ask any other question too.

My main languages are english and german, so come forward in any of these questions :D Fun facts some of you do not know yet - I am writing fanfiction since 2004ish with a decade of a break but I am back in the game and love to read and write fanfiction.

I am looking forward to the GhiraLink Week 2023 and am hyped for what will going to happen and I am hyped to look at all the contributions.

[beardedmrbean]

Ohio voters on Tuesday will decide on a ballot measure to make it harder to amend the state constitution, a change conservatives say is needed to protect the state from a radical anti-gun, abortion and education agenda that could soon find its way to other states.

It's an issue that has already prompted a massive early vote turnout – one that has some election offices straining to manage the load. "This is gubernatorial-level turnout," said Regine Johnson, deputy director of the board of elections in Stark County.

As of Wednesday, more than 533,000 people had voted by mail or in-person since early voting began July 11, according to data collected by The Associated Press. That's nearly double the final early voting figures for Ohio's two previous midterm primary elections, which included races for governor and Congress.

Today, ballot measures to amend the Ohio Constitution need only 50% plus one vote to pass. But if State Issue 1 passes, that threshold would be raised to 60% – conservatives say this change is needed to protect the state from outside groups who want to alter the constitution.

"At its core, it's about keeping out-of-state special interest groups from buying their way into our constitution, which we're seeing happen far too often," Amy Natoce, press secretary for Protect Women Ohio, told Fox News Digital. "They're circumventing the legislative process and going directly after the constitution."

Democrat opponents have made the argument that the ballot measure would take away power from voters and give it to politicians.

"The purpose of Issue 1 is to silence the majority of Ohioans, and subject us to the policy preferences of a small group of extremists who have secured the favor of our unconstitutionally gerrymandered legislature," the ACLU wrote about the measure earlier this year.

"Just look at how Issue 1 supporters are framing their argument. They deem their effort the ‘Protect Ohio’s Constitution’ campaign. In fairness, they are desperately attempting to protect our Constitution," the group added. "The key question is, from whom are they protecting our Constitution? The answer is – a majority of Ohioans."

But Mehek Cooke, an Ohio attorney and Republican political consultant, told Fox News Digital the ACLU is putting out a "deceitful message."

"They're lying to Ohio voters when they say that we are taking their vote away," said Cooke, who said the goal is to prevent outside groups from influencing the state. "We're actually empowering Ohioans."

"The Constitution is truly for the structure of government and then fundamental rights, not policies. I believe that's the place for the legislature. So I feel very strongly as a mom, but also a business owner and an attorney that we need to protect a strict analysis of our constitution and not allow these outside groups to dictate what works in Ohio."

Natoce also explained that some of the biggest opponents of State Issue 1, including the ACLU and the Ohio Democratic Party, have internal rules in their organizations requiring a 60% threshold for actions such as removing board members, endorsing candidates, and amending their own constitutions. Cooke said the change would put Ohio more in line with other states that have higher thresholds for changing the constitution.

State Issue 1 would take effect immediately if passed, which means that a November ballot measure enshrining the right to an abortion into the state constitution would need 60% voter approval, not 50% plus one.

Critics of that abortion measure say it is written in such an expansive and ambiguous way, including not mentioning the words "woman" or "adult," that it would take away parental rights when it comes to sex change surgeries and abortion for minors.

The proposed amendment states that "every individual has a right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions, including but not limited to decisions on contraception, fertility treatment, continuing one’s own pregnancy, miscarriage care, and abortion."

Protect Women Ohio has committed $25 million in ads in opposition of the amendment. One of the advertisements released in May includes video of President Biden stating, "There’s no such thing as someone else’s child" and ends by warning, "They’re coming for your parental rights."

Democrats have focused largely on abortion in their opposition to State Issue 1, but Cooke told Fox News Digital that progressives will attempt to strip away gun rights as well as the rights of parents in classrooms and other issues in state’s across the country.

Cooke and Natoce told Fox News Digital that Cleveland's Democrat Mayor Justin Bibb has signaled a plan to push gun control changes to the constitution.

"We can use our real political power to change the culture of guns in this state. It starts by voting no on Issue 1, by the way, to make sure we can maybe put a ballot measure on our state constitution to have commonsense gun reform," Bibb said.

State Issue 1 would also eliminate the 10-day curing period during which citizen-led campaigns may submit additional signatures if they fall short the first time, and increase the number of counties where signatures must be collected from 44 to all 88. But those provisions would come too late to impact the abortion issue, which has already faced both legal and administrative hurdles and is now set for a vote in November.

Polling in July showed that voters are split on the issue with 42% saying they are a yes on State Issue 1, 41% saying they are a no, and 16% neutral.

[stellanslashgeode]

The poll on what fic I should work on was a tie but I took one more vote from someone I know IRL and it put Let's Call it Love over the top. Here's a Saturday snippet of Chapter 5:

Ahsoka was not a particularly spiritual person. Sure, she could likely improvise a twenty-minute oral presentation on her belief system if asked. College had given her those skills, and the life experiences to build up a personal religious belief system. But it wasn’t something that was centered in her life. She did not like having long conversations about it. Hearing another white girl explain what chakras are during her lifetime would drive her crazy. But she did have her personal relationship with the other side.

One thing that she did believe, and deeply felt, was that the dreams that come to you the first night you sleep along side someone you are falling in love with are special. Particularly after making love for the first time. It is like a spiritual pool you take a dip in a scant few times in your life. If you’re lucky. It is a communion. You let your guard down when you first snuggle up during that honeymoon period.

Ahsoka dreamt of a lake of quicksilver with a lavender sky and billowy peach clouds. But it was also a quiet meadow. And Barriss was with her. She was wearing flowing gowns and then her work uniform and then nothing at all. Reality warped and fluxed as is the way with dreams. She knew they were talking. But in that dream sense the words were not intelligible but the meanings were. Just the look in her eyes spoke volumes.

Oh, those eyes.

Then the spell was broken. A sound from the real world intruded upon her dream. She felt her awareness slowly surface from the depths of unconsciousness.

She felt Barriss next to her. She felt her skin and her softness, the pool of heat they had cultivated between them. She felt Barriss stir and silence the alarm. Then slip out of bed.

Ahsoka nearly fell back to sleep but something prompted her to open her eyes. Barriss was across the room, in a pool of moonlight, kneeling on a small rectangular rug. She was wearing a bathrobe. Her hair was askew. She was speaking quietly in Urdu and bowed down a few times. Ahsoka closed her eyes again and let her have privacy. Like everyone she had ever dated Barriss had to balance the intersectional aspects of herself. Her sexuality, her culture, her religious background, her relationship with God. She didn’t need Ahsoka gawking at her as she prayed.

Soon enough Barriss padded over in her bare feet, shed the robe, and slid back into bed.

“Heyy.” Ahsoka whispered.

“Sorry if I woke you. Go back to sleep, it’s still early.”

“Did you say a prayer for me?”

Barriss briefly halted her movements. “Pardon?”

“Did you save it for the morning after?”

“Oh, you.” Ahsoka could hear her smile. Then she felt her kiss on her forehead. “Go back to sleep, silly.”

[eirian-houpe]

TMI Tuesday

Three. More. Days until we say goodbye to this year’s kids (until next year that is, unless they are graduating seniors).  Then two teacher workdays until school is out...  Then I wait for summer school. LOL

I honestly am going to be working on Lover’s Leap just as soon as I get my mojo back.  It recently took a hit, and I’m in that writery limbo of, ‘why bother-ness’. Sad but true. The next story is Still Waters, with a Celtic focus.  

The Rumbelle Showdown third round writing period is in full swing right now - in the meantime, you have the opportunity to vote for your favorite eliminated fic from round two, though you only have until eight am on June 11th to do so. Give them a read, vote, and support your fandom writers.

Please feel free to ask about Lover’s Leap stories (any of them), Still waters, or even any others of my fics.

Here are some suggestions for you.

Ask suggestions

Ask something about any of my fics (full list is below the cut). If you want specifics from some fics that are already outlined, you can ask about:

All Our Past Mistakes, Chapters 11 through 44 Lover’s Leap Series, Stories 15 through 31 Time’s Curse, Chapters 5 through 10 Laer o Faen, Chapter 27 & 28 Stargate: Atlantis, Harms Way or any of the 20 fics in the series.

Ask something of any of my characters in general or you can get really specific if you like - for example you might want to ask Gold from Pawn Shop a question about a chapter, a thought, a feeling… (the world is your oyster really)

Ask about my process as a writer, what makes me tick,, or even ask about me personally. Almost nothing is off limits.

Also, if you want to see a specific character or fic featured in Three Things Thursday, or Saturday Secret, feel free to send in prompts, if no one does, then either the choice will be random or they just won’t happen at all. I made an analogy for why that might be in a different post about a car stuck in the mud with spinning wheels. Those wheels are still spinning!

Please remember: if you read a fic you enjoyed on AO3 or on Tumblr (not just mine), please take the time to comment and/or leave kudos, and to reach out on TMI Tuesday. It means a lot to the writers and artists.

You can find all my fics currently on AO3 here, and there is a full list under this cut.

Storybrooke’s Best Kept Secret - Rumbelle

Darkness In Hyperion Heights - Woven Beauty au

Seven Tastes - Rumbelle

Tuesday - Rushbelle AU

The Language of Flowers Series - Rumbelle

Disparate Pathways - Rumbelle AU

Scattered - Rumbelle AU

All Our Past Mistakes - Rumbelle AU

What the Actual Fuck! - Sutherelle

Breathe - Rushbelle

The Lover’s Leap Series - Rumbelle

Awakening - Rumbelle

War Is Coming To Storybrooke - Rumbelle

Given No Choice - Rush

Thoughts On A Happy Ending Series - Rumbelle

Darker Hearts Series - Wish!Rumbelle

Modern Wonders - a OUAT/Alice crossover

Time’s Curse - Rumbelle

The Pawn Shop On Main Street - Rumbelle

The Mansion On the Edge of Town - Rumbelle with a side of Jefferson

Cobra: In Your Prayers - Cobra/FatWS/UC:Undercover et al

To See Series - Rumbelle

Nobody Knew (Bingo) - Rumbelle

Secret of the Seas - Rumbelle AU

Butterfly and Phoenix - ST:DSC

Laer o Faen - Tolkien

Ship’s Rats - ST: DCS

I Amar Boe Men Heb - Tolkien

Coming Down - Halt and Catch Fire

Armor of Ice - Halt and Catch Fire

Duath i-Achas Eriol - Tolkien

Balance of Terror - Sleeper Cell

What To Believe - UC: Undercover

If: In The End - UC Undercover

Precious - The Mummy Series

Forbidden - The Mummy Series

Power Is - The Mummy Series

Angel of the Heart - The Mummy Series

Star of the Morning - The Mummy Series

Not Yours To Keep - Foundation (TV)

No Saving Throw - Stranger Things

ILP (or IEP) for Rumple.

“Only Remembered For What We Have Done.”

Here are fics that haven’t yet been started, but are in the Muse’s bucket.

The Miner’s Day Festival - Rumbelle

Aftermath - Rumbelle (with a side of madness)

Saving The Dark One (WT) A twist on a twist of Rumplestiltskin.

Brought To You By The Color… (Red)

Calcul(us)

(In)consistent equation

The Boston Storybrooke Line

Breaking the Waves (Movie AU)

One Last Wish

In Service to My Son

Playground Games

Bright Eyed and Bushy Tailed

Librarian: UC

Exquisite Harmonies

Resolutions - Rushbelle in the Deck the Halls universe.

[lucyfrostblade]

I’ll do a voter fraud (even as the grumblr dude) for anything with depression OR asthma lucy

want a drabble? vote for ratgrundlr and submit your prompt. commit voter fraud once and get two drabbles!!

i don't need to tag spencer bc he sent the ask but credit to spencer of giving me the idea of ivy helping lucy when her asthma's bad

word count: 536

Ivy took the inhaler out of Lucy's pocket, held it up, waited for Lucy to part her lips. It'd became an alarmingly commonplace action in the last few weeks—ever since Lucy waded through a smoke filled room at a party and Ivy found her just outside having an asthma attack.

Not that she particularly needed help in that moment. Lucy felt her chest tighten, heard a slight wheeze when she exhaled. But it'd pass, she knew, no need to bust out the inhaler, and even if she did, she was perfectly capable of using it on her own.

Of course, Ivy disagreed. "Come on, Frosty, we are gonna be going out to to woods soon, I know the pollen fucks up your lungs."

Lucy shook her. "I'm fine, Ivy, really." She ignored the fluttering in her stomach at the display of care.

"I think that would be more believable if you weren't hacking up a lung last time we went outside." Ivy rolled her eyes as she spoke.

There was an easy way to distract Ivy from the topic, Lucy had learned a few days before. She looked down at Ivy's lips, then at the red that blossomed on her checks when Ivy realized where was looking. When she leaned a little closer, closer, closer—

"Why can't anyone actually be ready to leave at the time we are supposed to?"

At the sound of Kipperlilly's voice, Lucy backed away from Ivy, and Ivy did the same. By the time Kipperlilly turned the corner that lead to the start o f the path into the Fair Haven woods, there was a perfectly platonic and perfectly acceptable distance between them.

"Hey! Lucy and I were here on time." Ivy protested.

"Lucy is always here on time. She's not included when I complain about the rest of you." Kipperlilly said.

"Fair, I guess, but you are still missing the fact that I was here before you."

"Do you want a cookie for doing the bare minimum?"

Before the argument could escalate, Oisin, Ruben, and Mary Ann arrived, and Kipperlilly turned her ire to them.

The moment Ivy tossed Lucy her inhaler, Lucy knew she would be hearing about it when she and Kipperlilly were alone.

"Can't have you dying out there." Ivy said, bumping into her shoulder as she walked past her into the Fair Haven Woods.

Normally, Lucy was content to walk in the back of the group, always a few paces behind the rest of the group. Sometimes Ruben or Kipperlilly hung back with her and talked to her. Today though, she aimed for the middle of the pack.

Kipperlilly stuck close to her side. She looked at Lucy every once in a while, waiting for Lucy to fall to the back of the pack so Kipperlilly could pull her aside, Lucy was sure.

Even as her lungs started to burn, Lucy kept up the pace. It was practice, she told herself, for when they'd been real adventurers out in the world. She wasn't trying to avoid telling Kipperlilly exactly why Ivy Embra had her inhaler.

"Did Ivy steal your inhaler? What's her problem?"

Well. At least she wouldn't have to explain the situation to Kipperlilly.

[thechasefiles]

A noted Historian contends that the Mia Mottley Government’s decision to remove November 30 as Independence Day is “just one of other changes” that Barbadians may soon have to accept as the rule of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) continues under Mottley. This evening Minister of Home Affairs, Wilfred Abrahams, announced that last week the Mottley Cabinet made the decision to repeal Independence Day to instead mark November 30 as Barbados National Day. But retired trade unionist Robert “Bobby” Morris warns that “it is certainly possible” that next on the chopping block might be January 21 which is celebrated annually as Errol Barrow Day, to recognise the “Father of Independence” and National Hero, the Right Excellent Errol Barrow. In 1996 an attempt was made to do just that by former Prime Minister Owen Arthur but it had to be abandoned after public outrage. However, according to Morris, this action may now become a possibility this time around given Government’s latest move and especially given the fact that the changes to the new Constitution of Barbados have not yet been made public. “[The BLP] would have backed off from moving away from Errol Barrow Day up to this time but we still do not know if that is something that agitates her [Mottley’s] mind. And we are in the process of looking to change our Constitution and I believe you have to wait and see the outcome of that because I believe that in the long run that is not something that is going to a vote. . . . I think that will come from a recommendation that will come from a group of persons to the Prime Minister and that the Prime Minister, once her party accepts the recommendation, will accept,” Morris stated. In the lead-up to Barbados’ move to a Republic state last year, PM Mottley promised Barbadians that her administration would not make any changes to the name of Independence Day. Public condemnation of the move today however prompted Mottley, who is currently on leave, to further explain her decision to walk back on last year’s promise. Read the rest below 👇🏾 https://www.instagram.com/p/Ckcfcc6N1vtK30Czj0XCSOhiDQTvG_7Rw7hrFY0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[foreignerabroad1994]

She Needs Better Coffee: Writing Prompt Short Story

My response to the following writing prompt to u/32624647 on the WritingPrompts subreddit: [WP] The dwarves find the idea that human technology could've ever equaled - let alone surpassed - theirs patently ridiculous. But just to humour the them, they've decided to accept their proposal for an "engineering student exchange program".

Susan pattered away at her keyboard, looking sideways at the... person sitting in front of her desk, propped up on a pile of books on top of the rickety chair she's been meaning to have replaced.

"Name?"

"Gottfried Junior the third."

She blinks at her screen before glancing at her visitor properly. His beard is dark and long, braided meticulously over his rotund shape. His hands, masculine yet small as a toddler's, fiddle with the end of his beard braid in apparent boredom.

"Is 'the third' your last name?"

"Why would I need a last name? I have one name, ma'am."

She puts in "third" as the last name and "the" as the middle, just to appease the software.

"Address?"

"Second tree door to the right of the third degree road on the 7th."

She blinks again. She's going to need about three shots of espresso if more of these people come by in the next few days since the program officially launched on the university's website. For now, she sips her disgusting coffee straight from the lounge's ancient machine.

"I don't have rubrics for that in the system," she informs him.

"I'm moving to your... dorms soon, anyway. You can put in the south-west dorm building, second floor."

She nods, relieved.

"ID number?"

"Don't tell me you still use numbers for identification." The small man seems almost offended, wrinkling his round nose.

"I did not design this software, sir. I just type things so you can study."

He stares at her for a while. "Well, hold on."

He clicks on a little button on his earlobe, which she had assumed was an earing. "Get me an... ID number."

He waits patiently, and she realizes he's not waiting on her as he nods quietly, staring out the window. He then spouts out a number, which the system accepts as valid. Imagine that.

"Department?" is her voice really that monotonous these days? She should probably get laid. Or go to some pottery class. Something exciting.

"Engineering," he says it with a sneer, practically snorting out the word.

"Is there a problem with the department?" she asks conversationally as she scrolls endlessly to find the department number. Her fingers ache from being frozen around her cheap, half broken mouse.

"Just that it's more like studying history, at this level."

She raises a brow. He sighs. "It's this stupid "exchange" program. Not that we get much in this exchange in my opinion, but it's the easiest way to finalize some credits at my institute."

"I see," she grumbles. She's almost offended on the university's behalf, but she's not paid enough to feel emotionally attached to their brand of student loan predation and inherited prestige, so she isn't actually offended.

"It's so aggravating," he continues, emboldened by her easy non-agreement. "It was almost voted out, you know? But the council decided it would be... inopportune to avoid an opportunity for cultural exchange, with all the species diversity talk they've been spouting."

"I wasn't aware you're not the same species."

He balks. "Homo sapiens? More like Homo subpar."

She chuckles. "That's funny." It's not.

He groans and looks up at the ceiling. "I wish I was equally amused."

So, not amused? "Sure."

She keeps asking him the questions she needs answered to fill in his exchange student registration. When she asks him for his ethnicity, he raises a brow, so she puts in "other".

"All set." She takes a sip of her coffee. It's cold and somehow even more disgusting for it, and she winces.

"I can't believe you lot drink that garbage for energy. Couldn't engineer nutrition optimization when you're too busy funding weight loss drugs, huh?"

She looks at him flatly. "It doesn't have to be the best to work."

He considers it, stroking his braid. "Perhaps."

They wait in silence as the ancient printer churns out his paperwork for him to sign.

"I know you lot have digital signatures at least."

"Not at this school we don't."

"Waste of perfectly healthy trees."

"We're well aware, thank you," she slides the pen and paper on the desk in his direction. He bends over them, scanning them with a finger on the little button for a few seconds. Then he nods once and signs.

"Your class schedule will be emailed to you."

"Ah, the infamous 'snail mail', I see."

"No, that's paper mail. Email is not snail mail. Maybe you could use a history class, sir."

He huffs at her and jumps off the chair, stumbling briefly, before collecting the paperwork he'd just dropped. "They gave me the address to my university account."

"I know. I mail that out."

He looks horrified that she has to physically deliver something like this. Join the team, buddy. She's not a fan either.

"Have a nice time in your classes sir."

He opens the door with a sigh, straining to reach the door handle as he mumbles something about adjustable accessibility settings on entryways. She almost gets up to help him, but he manages.

"Have a good day, ma'am."

He hobbles out, and she sits there, giving herself a minute before the next tiny snob walks in. Maybe she could ask for a tablet for digital signatures, really. Progress isn't all bad.

[femininefutbol]

i like it when you talk, a lot

idea from here (35) , request from here

prompt: you are shy and don’t talk much but ona batlle loves it when finally you do 

word count: 1.9k

a/n: i am not all that happy with the way this turned out, it went in a completely different direction than what i had originally planned but i hope you guys enjoy it anyway. also can not believe that this is the first time i am writing about my favourite player <3

-

“What do you think (Y/N)?” Millie sits next to you, wrapping an arm around your shoulder in an attempt to force you to join the conversation that is occurring throughout the locker room. 

You just shrug, ducking your head to avoid the stares of your teammates, not feeling comfortable with all the eyes that are now focused on you. 

“I’m taking that as a vote for Dive” Millie proclaims triumphantly to the group. 

“It only counts if she is coming out with us” Ella retorts, not wanting Millie's restaurant choice to be the one that they have to go out to. 

“Come on (Y/N), you have to come, it’s a team dinner” Millie explains, you can feel her eyes boring into your side even though you aren’t looking at her. 

“Um yeah I’ll come” you speak quietly, your voice drowned out by Millie’s excited cheering as your vote is officially the one that allows her option to win. 

You feel the attention that was just completely focused on you dissipate, likely due to it now being on Millie who is dancing around the room excitedly cheering. 

You take the chance to look up again, as you do you are met with the sight of Ona still looking at you, a softness in her eyes. She notices you looking at her and sends you a small smile, you smile back but almost immediately you bow your head again feeling your cheeks heat up. 

The next few minutes are spent quickly packing your training gear, hoping that you are not roped into any other situations that draw the team's attention towards you. 

Just as you are about to leave the locker room you feel a slight hold on your arm, it isn't rough, in fact the colporate has very soft hands and the grip is in no way uncomfortable or hurtful to you. 

You look towards the person who has a hold on your arm, again meeting the soft eyes of your Spanish teammate. Once you realise it is her you look down again, your vision now focused on her hand that is still wrapped around your wrist and the tingling of your skin from the goosebumps that her touch has given you. 

Ona looks down to where you are looking, immediately removing her hand, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be weird, I just wanted to say that I am really excited that you agreed to come out to dinner with us, it will be a good time” she explains quickly. 

“You weren’t being weird, don't worry. Also um thank you? S-see you tonight then I guess?” you speak awkwardly, getting nervous in the middle of your sentence causing you to slightly stutter and speak in a confused tone which is not at all how you wanted to come across to your new teammate who you may or may not be crushing on. 

“Yep, see you tonight (Y/N)” Ona speaks, her tone so carefree and confident. You wish you were able to be that comfortable speaking but to you any time there is an expectation or form of attention on you when you try to speak you completely shut down. 

“See you then” you whisper, noticing as you speak that Ona has already left the room making you feel slightly dejected. 

-

“(Y/N) you made it!” Millie yells as you walk into the restaurant not even allowing time for the hostess to speak to you. Instead she pulls you away from the hostess stand immediately. At first you assumed it would be to the table where the team are sitting but you instead end up standing at the bar with her as she orders the two of you shots. 

“Take this” she hands you one of the four shots she ordered. 

You do as she says hoping that you won’t regret trusting her later. As soon as you down the first shot she is handing you the second, looking at you expectantly waiting for you to take that one as well. You throw all caution to the wind taking that shot. 

“How are you feeling?” Millie asks after the two shots, hoping that a little alcohol is all you will need to actually feel comfortable speaking to the team. 

“Yeah fine, you aren’t expecting me to feel drowsy or anything, you didn’t spike them right?” a joking tone falling easily from your lips as you tease Millie. 

“There is no way that all it took for you to banter with me was two shots” Millie exclaims in shock. 

“Are you implying I’m easy Turner?” you ask, raising an eyebrow. 

“OMG! I love this so much, come with me now, the rest of the team need to see this” she drags you towards the table where a number of your teammates are sitting. Your eyes caught Ona who is sitting at the end of the booth seating, furthest away from where you are standing with Millie. 

“Okay guys I have something incredible to show you” Millie speaks loudly, catching the attention of everyone at the table, “Go ahead (Y/N), show them” 

“I’m not a dog Millie, it’s not like you just taught me a new trick” you tease, laughter coming from around the table as well as some gasps. 

“What did you do to her?” Mary asks, causing more laughter. 

“Not too much, apparently after 2 shots, (Y/N/N) is down to banter” she explains. 

“Okay is your show and tell over Millie? Can I take a seat now?” you give her an odd look, where one eyebrow is furrowed and the other is raised, it causes her to laugh loudly before she motions her hand towards the table, a sign that you are free to sit and socialise with the rest of your teammates. 

Even though you so badly want to sit and talk with Ona, you instead decide to avoid that end of the table knowing that two shots are definitely not enough for you to confidently speak to the Spaniard you are crushing on. Instead you take a seat at the complete opposite side of the table. 

You sit talking with Ella and Alessia, the two of them firing questions at you, quickfire style trying to find out as much as possible about you in case they don't have the opportunity to speak to you like this again. 

“Favourite colour?” 

“Cerulean” 

“Favourite movie?” 

“Flightplan” 

“Number of siblings?” 

“Eight” 

“Favourite animal?” 

“Axolotl” 

“If you weren’t playing football what would you do?” 

“Work for NASA” 

“Favourite Song?” 

“La Copa de la Vida by Ricky Martin” 

“(Y/N) in the best way possible you are so damn weird, I absolutely love it” Ella exclaims, herself and Alessia giggling at every single answer you have given them not expecting such random answers for everything. 

“Why thank you” you laugh too, you know that your interests and favourite things are extremely random. You are just thankful that they genuinely seem to be laughing with you and not at you like many people had in the past. 

You are brought out of your thoughts by Millie sitting next to her, you smile at her sweetly.

“I’m sorry if the teasing was too much before, I just thought it may be a fun way to break the ice and also I am a lightweight so those two shots definitely did enough for me” you explain. 

“You don’t have to apologise at all (Y/N), all your jokes were hilarious and I am just happy that you are feeling comfortable enough to interact with us more. Although I know there is one person here who you want to interact with but you are too nervous too which is why I got you this” she holds out another shot, encouraging you to take it. 

You take the shot quickly, “who do you think I am too nervous to interact with?” you challenge her, in your head you know you have been too scared to actually speak to Ona but she wouldn’t know that, right? Wrong. 

“I’ve seen you longingly looking at Ona all night, she likes you too just go talk to her” Millie urges you to go and speak with Ona, knowing that there is little chance that you would actually do it on your own. 

“No I’m alright, thanks anyway” you fake laugh off her comment hoping she accepts what you have said and leaves it alone. But of course this is Millie Turner you are talking about so there is no way that she will leave it alone, which she doesn’t. 

Millie grabs your arm, just like Ona had early except her hands aren’t extremely soft like Ona’s are and her grasp doesn’t give you goosebumps like Ona’s does.

She drags you towards the end of the table where Ona is sitting having a conversation with Ivava, she lets go of your arm and pushes your shoulders down into the chair across the table from Ona. 

“Hi” you speak to Ona through a sigh, looking back at Millie who is looking at you, she gives you two thumbs up and a goofy smile before walking away. Ivana also dips out of the conversation she was having with Ona. She turns to talk to another of your teammates, leaving just you and Ona to make conversation. 

“Hey, I’m glad you could make it, are you enjoying the evening?” she asks, a look of genuine interest on her face. Her hands rest on her chin and she maintains sweet eye contact with you, proving that she is ready to intently listen to whatever you have to say. 

“Yeah it has been good actually, I’m glad Millie made me come and that she gave me those shots, it has made things exponentially easier, especially this” you motion between the two of you in reference to the conversation that you are currently having. 

“You think it would be hard to talk to me?” Ona asks, behind the question there is an air of disappointment. Obviously she is aware that you haven’t spoken to the team much before this unless it was on the pitch. She had some hope though that you could possibly feel comfortable talking to her more once you got more settled in but from your tone it seems to her that you are the least comfortable around her. 

“Well I find it hard to talk to everyone but it is a lot harder to gain the courage to speak to beautiful girls” you immediately slap your hands over your mouth as soon as your sentence is complete. 

“I m-meant ahhh look it it’s just-” 

“I like it when you talk, a lot” Ona states, a small giggle escaping her lips as she speaks, finding your nervousness absolutely adorable.  

“You mean that?” you ask in shock. 

“Of course I do, I have been infatuated with you from the moment you walked into the locker room on your first day” Ona explains. 

“Do you want to go on a date with me?” you blurt out, a sudden confidence coming over you. 

“I would love to, also remind me to thank Millie for giving you alcohol, it is the smartest thing she has ever done” 

“It’s the only smart thing she’s done in recent times that's for sure” you joke, the comment causes you and Ona to crack up laughing as the rest of the table watches on knowing they have just experienced the beginning of an adorable love story.