#ptera writes things

[pterawaters]

Chapters: 1/1 (5k words) Fandom: Stranger Things (TV 2016) Rating: Explicit Warnings: Underage Relationships: Jonathan Byers/Steve Harrington Characters: Steve Harrington, Jonathan Byers, Steve Harrington's Grandmother Additional Tags: POV Steve Harrington, Bisexual Steve Harrington, Pre-Canon, Finger Sucking, Frottage, Hand Jobs, Pansexual Jonathan Byers, First Time, Sharing a Bed Summary:

When Steve finds out another Hawkins High student has been keeping his nana company in the nursing home, it only makes sense to invite him over after nana comes to live with Steve and his parents. When a sudden storm traps Jonathan at Steve's house, he does his best to be a gracious host.

[pterawaters]

I've got a story in this anthology! I hope you check it out!

The Kickstarter Campaign for Our First Erotic Anthology is LIVE!

Join us as we crowdfund our first-ever erotica anthology, Many Hands: An Anthology of Polyamorous Erotica!

For those who love their short stories spicy, we're delighted to announce Duck Prints Press's debut explicit anthology Many Hands: An Anthology of Polyamorous Erotica. In this collection of brand-new stories, we celebrate many flavors of polyamory. Orgy? Yes please! Ménage à trois? C'est magnifique! Foursomes and moresomes? Delighted to attend! We asked our contributors to blow our minds with their fun combinations, unusual settings, favorite trope usage, and (of course) super sexy smut—and they didn't disappoint. From a vampire free-for-all to a heartfelt reunion, from surprise soulmates to enemies-to-lovers, this collection has polyamory in lots of scrumptious varieties that lovers of erotica won't want to miss!

This book contains 15 stories, each up to 7,500 words, by our awesome fan-authors-turned-original-fic-authors. The cover is by the awesome Aaron Kotze, and campaign merchandise features art by him, Alessa Riel, reshipkmn, and Speculative Wicktion.

This campaign runs until July 20th, 2024 – there’s no better time than TODAY to become a campaign backer!

It’s also a great time to become a Patreon backer – and you’ll get a free bonus piece of merch if you back both the Many Hands campaign and are a $10/month or $25/month level supporter!

[starified-lizzy]

I figured I should redo my intro to my blog-

ELLO >:DDDD

(Edit/Update:) First of all, because my friend and I just had to deal with an art tracer;

YOU CANNOT TRACE, REPOST, CLAIM MY ART AS YOUR OWN OR *WHATEVER*. MY ART IS *MY ART*. MAKE YOUR OWN. ITS NOT THAT HARD AND EVERYONE STARTS SOMEWHERE.

Reblogs and comments are appreciated tho :3

Also- if you wish to use my art as a profile picture, you MUST give me credit as the first thing in your Bio/About me.

(Back to the original post)

Name’s Lizzy! Or Star! I really don’t give a fuck which you use!

Here’s my pronouns card! https://en.pronouns.page/@starified_lizzy

I draw shit for FANDOMS

I write shit for FANDOMS

I got OCS whom I LOVE and ADORE.

“Can I draw fanart of your fics?” My sibling in Christ, we are married. /pos

“Can I draw fanart of your fanart(like DTIYS)?” My sibling in Christ. /pos

“Can I draw fanart of your OCs?” CHRIST. /pos

RAHHHHHH (it’s really fucking early I shouldn’t be doing this now ;-;)

Here’s a list of my socials, it is very limited because I hate the “standard” socials like Twitter and Insta and stuff like that. So it’s more like- fanfic sites, and any other blogs I own for you guys to check out >.>

I NOW TAKE COMMISSIONS!!!!

My AO3

My Art Fight

My YouTube

My TikTok (basically dead at this point, I only ever like/favorite things on it, but I might start up again with my FNF au instead)

My Pinterest

My Spotify because sure

My FNF au blog

My demonpocalypse blog ([possibly] forever retired due to a severe issue in the community it was for)

Blog for food/recipes I want to try because MMMMMMMMMMM FOOOOD

Wow that’s actually not limited like I thought- hot damn I need to touch some grass.

HERES A LIST OF FANDOMS IM EITHER CURRENTLY IN, OR HAVE RETIRED FROM (Also CCs):

Retired-

DSMP (and MCYT as a whole for the most part), dude our community is in *shambles*. I’m so glad I left when I did, but at the same time O W.

ATLA. Technically I’m still in this fandom, but I only really get back into it/brainrot about it if I get a reminder, otherwise I kinda forget about it

FNAF. Same with ATLA, still technically in it, but I gotta be reminded it exists sometimes.

BATIM. Ditto

Wings of Fire. Ditto

Undertale. Ditto. Lizzy, my main persona, was actually an OC created from Undertale, who just ended up becoming her own person, and then ended up being associated with mine and my friend’s Minecraft au instead.

Onto CCs I no longer watch:

Any of the DSMP ppl, with very few exceptions

Jacksepticeye. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still watch a video of his if it pops up and spikes my interest, but I don’t actively seek his content out anymore.

Any of the old Minecrafters. Like DanTDM, Stampy, Tiny Turtle & Little Lizard. Hell, I don’t even think any of the ones I listed even do YT at all anymore. I’ll still watch their old videos tho.

Current-

FNF. I really could give less of a fuck if y’all think it’s “bad” or “for kids (it’s not, I promise you)”. The music slaps, and quite a few mods are really well made, so eat my ass.

Day of Dragons. The dragons are cool. I don’t care about any drama in the community. I’m here for the cool fucking dragons.

The Isle. Once again, I don’t care about any drama in the community. I’m here for the cool ass dinosaurs because you can customize your own skins and they just look and sound cool (Dilo, Herarra, and Ptera are my faves)

Lethal Company. Do it for the Company.

RainWorld. Scugs and Scups. Need I say more?

Hollow Knight. Sorta falling out of this one, but until I beat the entire game (P5) I am not finished.

Minecraft. Technically in “the fandom”, but not really attached to a specific YTer or anything like that anymore. I just like the game.

CCs I still watch:

Astral Spiff. Sprog is a good gamer.

Smii7y and his friends like Grizzy, Droid, Puffer, Blarg, etc.

Jack Manifold. I only watch his You Laugh You Loose and Ghost Sighting Compilation videos. I don’t even know if he still does Minecraft anymore.

8-BitRyan. While he doesn’t swear in his videos, it’s kinda a breath of fresh air. Plus his edits are quite funny.

Markiplier. Yes. Just… yes…

IGP. His content is just interesting. The way he freaks out over shit is funny as hell. Does he do content with IcyCaress anymore? Their banter was funny, but idk if something happened, cuz I just don’t see much stuff with Icy in it anymore.

As of right now, that’s all I can think of. It’s nice to meet you!

[pterawaters]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Stranger Things (TV 2016) Rating: Explicit Warnings: Underage Relationships: Jonathan Byers/Steve Harrington, Jonathan Byers/Nancy Wheeler Characters: Jonathan Byers, Steve Harrington, Nancy Wheeler Additional Tags: Kissing Lessons, Sex Lessons, Cheating, Accidental Sex Summary:

Gary’s Sex Tips #1002: If she calls out her ex-boyfriend’s name in bed go to his house and kiss him. See what the dick about! See what all the fuss is about!

Nancy says Steve's name while she's with Jonathan. Jonathan needs to find out why.

[effable-as-f]

Nobody asked me but I think the main reason Ninja Steel’s writing suffers is complete and utter lack of subtlety

I feel like all Power Rangers shows do this in some capacity, like it is a kids show, fair, but Ninja Steel way over-relies on the crutch of having characters just explain exactly what’s happening out loud

There’s this scene in Dino Charge in the episode When Logic Fails when Riley’s crawling through the vents, and in the room below he sees Fury and Wrench trying to power up the Ptera Charger while the indistinct glowing figure of Ivan is struggling to break free. They don’t undercut the tension of the scene by having Riley be like “Oh, no! It looks like there’s some kind of energy being emerging from Fury!” His reaction feels a lot more subdued and natural. And it is a genuinely tense scene, because it gives you questions that aren’t immediately answered in the next line of dialogue. Riley doesn’t know what the thing inside of Fury is, and neither does the viewer.

Another thing Ninja Steel does that I don’t think Dino Charge really did (at least, not as much) is where the lesson or moral of every single episode is just spelled out word for word in dialogue. Like in the episode where Preston gets his spell book and Princess Viera was like “Whatever you do, do NOT try to learn them out of order” and I was just like “Ohhhh nooooo, I wonder what he’s going to doooooo”

And then at the end he still needs to have it spelled (heh) out to him that you can’t get good at something by cutting corners and that to fix his mistakes he needs to go back and practice all the spells in proper order this time. The interpersonal conflict of most episodes can pretty much be summed up as

Person A: You know, you shouldn’t do X

Person B: Haha sure (does X anyway)

(X has disastrous consequences)

Person B: Person A, you were right. I shouldn’t have done X. I’m sorry.

Or else the lesson-leaner will be like “At first I thought X. But you showed me Y.” Like word for word

Not to use another Dino Charge example (I’m not actually sorry) but like in the episode where Keeper used the tennis balls to demonstrate to Riley how he and Chase are on different paths to the same goal, that was actually a cool moment. And then in the next episode Riley used that exact same metaphor with the marbles to represent Sledge, Poisandra, and Fury, it shows us how he remembered that lesson and how it affected him without it ever being explicitly spelled out.

In the Dino Charge season 1 finale when Tyler is falling out of Sledge’s crashing ship, he’s fully prepared to accept that he’s going down with Sledge, but then when his friends catch him in the Megazord, he’s like “I knew you guys would save me!” And you know what? The other Rangers never find out that he was lying. You’re just left with the implications of that to think through on your own. Subtlety does work in Power Rangers, and I think it’s the thing that elevates it from a dumb cheesy kids show to something that people of all ages can enjoy.

[pterawaters]

Check out my fic! And big thanks to mayalean for the art!!

Title: Extracurriculars

Author: @pterawaters Artist: mayalean Beta: Arbeds Ghost Characters: Steve Harrington, Nancy Wheeler, Eddie Munson Relationship(s): Steve Harrington/Nancy Wheeler, Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson Warnings: None Rating: Explicit Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - College/University, Romance, Magical Realism, Sharing a Body Wordcount: 11,723 Summary:

After settling in at college on a swimming scholarship, Steve attends a LGBTQ+ meeting as his first step toward accepting his bisexual identity. There he expects to flirt with guys, but ends up encountering Nancy Wheeler, the prettiest and most impressive girl he’s ever met. And she seems to like him in return! Still, meeting a pretty girl is no reason for him to ignore the chemistry he has with his lab partner, Eddie Munson. As Steve grows closer to both Nancy and Eddie, he knows he’s going to have to make a choice before they find out about each other. But both of them are keeping secrets and Steve doesn’t know who to choose.

Extracurriculars by pterawaters

Art masterpost by mayalean

[ofmdbigbang]

Meet the Mod Team!

The ModTeam is currently made up of four people who also ran last year's event.

Ptera (pterawaters, She/Her) - Ptera has been in various fandoms for many years (Buffy, Glee, Teen Wolf, Hawaii 50, and Stranger Things most recently, aside from OFMD). She has been running big bangs, mini bangs, event weeks and the like for the last ten years, and loves bringing creative people together. Her favorite pirate is Ed, and she also has soft spots for Stede, Jim and Lucius, and she participates in BBs as a writer.

CS (poorlyformed, They/Them) - cs has been in fandom for a very very long time (comics, popslash, due south, spn, hp, hockey rpf, dragon age, and good omens being the major ones before ofmd.). They have been involved in numerous fandom events as both participant and organizer. You can find them at stupidlullabies on tumblr and twitter (or check out their art at poorlyformedart on insta and twitter, poorlyformed on tumblr) They are a huge ed/stede fan, but their favorite crew member is Frenchie

Charlie (Jockles, He/Him) - Charlie has been part of fandom for nearly 20 years, starting off in the Discworld and wandering around the Internet picking up hyperfixations and then writing about them since then. He is a chronic event organiser, being part of organising the Reverse Bang as well as last year's Big Bang, and a number of events in between. In OFMD he is an avid Izzy Enjoyer that wants to rattle the rat man around until he cries (affectionate). Charlie can befound on tumblr at multishipperpirateking and on twitter at OriginalJockles.

Sam (abirdonalilactree, They/Them) - Sam has always wanted to be a pirate (and a writer). Their favourite ofmd character is Lucius. Sam has also been in fandom for many years (Major Crimes, Death in Paradise, Midsomer Murders, Lewis, Endeavour, Person of Interest). They may be quieter, but they are always online. (abirdonalilactree on Tumblr and Insta, abirdonatree on Twitter. Feel free to just start talking to them, DMs are always open)

If you think you want to join in with the team and help out, please drop us an ask or email ofmdbigbang@gmail.com and tell us what you think we're missing!

[sproingtrep]

Hey Nightmarionnette is there room at the tea party for another guest?? :O

Nightmarionne is a being of pure class

[tsuki-sennin]

C'mon! Ra-Ra-Rabbit! C'mon! Ra-Ra-Rabbit! C'mon! Ra-Ra-Rabbit!

Buddy Up! Laughing, Crying, Analyzing, Ending! Kamen Rider! Revi! Vice! Revice Final Episode!

The end is nigh for Kamen Rider Revice! And I'd like to take this time to say "thank you". Seriously, I hope that my liveblogging, as scattered, unfocused, and disjointed as it may have been, helped liven up your day, even a little bit. This is all for fun, obviously, but Kamen Rider Revice has been there for me all throughout this year, and as flawed as it might be, writing about it has been both very fun and a great anchor to keep myself grounded; and knowing that even a few people were interested in what I had to say about this show is honestly incredibly humbling.

If you happen to be interested in creative content from me, please check out @tsuki-sennin-creations, my personal creative blog that I got started a few weeks ago. There's not much there yet and it's hardly, but I've got plenty of projects in the works that I hope you'll be interested. Some of them Kamen Rider related, some of them not, but I hope they'll be of interest to you.

Alright, I've put it off long enough! Say it with me now... Spoilers, I guess~!

-Ah right, Ikki's about to forget about Vice.

-...and again, I sure hope that the chaos Vice caused was staged because if not, Ikki's reputation might go down the drain.

-AND SAKURA'S STILL HOLDING THE KETCHUP BOTTLE GIRL WYD

-Ooooooh, Cross Counter Kick!

-"It wasn't make believe" :(

-LOVE-CHAN

-FUCK

-It's okay Lovekov. We all done fucked up.

-:(

-NO DON'T LIVEDEVIL ME

-ARE WE STILL FIGHTING

-Refreshing. Like a long hot bath after a cold day.

-Going all out for Round 2!

-Ohhh, that brief glimpse of them untransformed was super cool.

-Awwww... bath time.

-New song, huh?

-Going back into Ikki by means of terminating the contract.

-Man...

-What a real nasty demon.

-Bon-kun :)

-Everybody's here :)

-This feels like less of an all-out brawl and more of one last day of playtime before a friend moves away. ...it's actually kinda moving in a weird way.

-"Kick his ass, Vice!" Love-chan craves blood.

-Gotta let go of some things eventually, huh?

-Awwww, Genome changing :)

-Ooooooh, fightin' dirty with Remixes, huh?

-OH GODDAMMIT

-You bastards had to sneak it in there, huh? Motherfuckers! Was that the plan all along!? To lure me into a false sense of security and crop-dust me?

-Man...

-We're truly going through them all, huh?

-Oh hey, Ptera Remix.

-We didn't even get to the midseason forms :(

-Man...

-Not goodbye.

-I am you... you are me...

-"I'm gonna remember you... whatever it takes..." :(

-Sayonara... Vice... :(

-Man...

-The fam :)

-There they be.

-Man...

-Been a few months, huh?

-Vice Duck?

-"Revolting?!"

-Blue Bird! With Dai-chan!

-Awww :)

-Trying all over again.

-Hana-chan... Tamaki-san... Even Hiromicchi!

-Kagerou :)

-We deed it.

-Smile :)

-Awwwww, Lovechan :)

-Hello, Hikaru-kun!

-You seem like you're doing pretty good for yourself.

-Gotta study.

-Dr. Sakura Igarashi.

-Muteki da!

-Ahhhh, Mama!

-"Haaaaaaaaaaaaa, get fuuuuuuuucked!"

-Makoto Hatsushiba, stuck in jail.

-"So, want some 'help', huh George?"

-Let's go, George.

-He took his cool rock back :)

-Ayyyyyy, Ikki doin' soccer again!

-Oh hey, it's Kimura.

-Epic.

-That's what every Kamen Rider longs for, huh? No longer being needed, but able to live a normal and happy life with friends and family even beyond the reach of those hardships.

-Oh, who dat?

-Kazuyoshi Miura, currently the oldest known professional soccer player in the world at the age of 55.

-That's pretty neat, actually.

-Wanna go pro, huh Ikki?

-:)

-We're boiling up!

-Still the same old Ikki, huh buddy?

-Ohhhh, he Vice talkin'!

-That was pretty good, Maeda.

-Nearly a whole year has gone by since I started liveblogging Revice.

-Now we need only wait a week or so before we start with Geats.

-Hip hip hooray

-Oh? What that?

-"Mine."

-Oh, there he is! Esu Ukiyo.

-"This random treasure chest outside your family's bathhouse is a Gamer Zone, you little scrublord."

-Ah, so we're not getting a last episode Vistamp.

-"See you soon. >:)"

-...rather refreshing, actually.

-How would I rank the Reiwa era shows so far?

-Hmmm... well, Zero-One was consistently great aside from some stumbles in the middle and near the end that left me only wanting more for certain characters, Saber started on the wrong foot but improved drastically with themes I personally really got behind, then

-Well then… now that Kamen Rider Revice is over, I think I'm gonna spend the day unwinding, pondering... maybe I'll get around to the next episode of Delicious Party Precure today if I'm feeling up to it.

[pterawaters]

Check out this awesome art for the fic I wrote! Chrissy/Nancy, my beloveds!!

crawled inside my head 8k pre series teen first love wheelingham fic by @pterawaters

for stranger things sapphic mini bang hosted by @sapphicstevents

[boudicamelodica]

Happy birthday, @ptera-novaeangliae Sorry, I wasn’t sure where to post it, dsfdhg. 

Thank you so much for writing a whole damn Pathologic NOVEL for our enjoyment. To be perfectly honest, each new chapter has been one of the few things that kept me going throughout this, frankly speaking, awful time, each week I have something to look forward to and I’m not exaggerating. 

Once again, happy birthday and I hope this one treats you kindly, gives you not only inspiration but enough time to act upon that inspiration. 

I really hope I don’t make it too awkward, so I’ll just throw this Murky with Wonderbull at you, ahh. 

[fae-fucker]

Zenith: Chapter 72-75

Chapter 72

We’re in Nor’s POV. She’s moping around in her ruined palace. We find out she ordered the attack on Adhira on a whim after learning Valen was there. Cool.

This entire chapter is about how Nor is doubting herself and how she feels shitty even though this should be a triumph, and Zahn, her boytoy who’s literally described as being “too good” and “too pure” for her, telling that she’s a girlboss. Then they make out and “lust tumbles through her” and the chapter ends on them fucking.

Chapter 73

Last we left her, Andi had angsted herself out of the room after an argument with her dad. She walks the gardens for a bit, thinking about the creation myth of this world. It involves Light Bringers and Night Spirits, and two of them fall in love and from their union a black hole is born, but around it a galaxy forms, and it also creates the Godstars, which are described as “all-knowing beings with the power to give and take, the perfect mixture of darkness and light.”

So with all this wank about light and dark, you bet your ass Andi’s gonna start rambling about how dark and/or light her soul is, which she promptly does.

The creation myth is ... fine? In theory? But something light and something dark falling in love and creating the world is a bit trite, innit? Baby’s first creation myth.

Arcardius was the first planet inhabited by the Ancients hundreds of thousands of years ago, and many believed that the Godstars must have given the settlers this gift to welcome them to their new home. But whatever the reason, Andi was grateful for it. She didn’t want to be in the presence of darkness after everything that had happened. She needed to clear her mind of all that had been clogging it since the beginning of the rescue job.

I think “clogging” is a more apt description than Shinsay realized.

Andi angsts herself to a new place with a floating rock waterfall fountain thing, where Valen is, equipped with his painting gear. We get a description of how hot he is despite having been beaten and starved for two years, because of course.

His brown hair was cropped short and, skinny as he was, it made his strong jaw more pronounced. Everything about his once-soft face was now hard edges. No doubt, with some more meat on his bones, he would be striking.

The boy she remembered from years ago had now become a man.

Damaged as he must be on the inside, at least his physical wounds would heal. The awful things he had experienced at the hands of Xen Ptera would hopefully become a distant memory, as well, and more bearable with time.

The way the “hope he’ll heal emotionally as well, I guess” is tacked on right after “at least he’ll be hot” is wildly hilarious.

Valen asks if he can paint Andi. For some reason he immediately starts putting paint on canvas, because fuck sketching, he’s too fucking good for that. Also what’s the lighting situation like? He’s waxing poetic about the way the light hits Andi’s cheek plates and purple streaks (with red tips that reaches her mid-back), but seemingly doesn’t need any light on his canvas to see what the fuck he’s doing, in the middle of the night? Ok.

Later Valen, with a paint-stained face because Artiste, asks Andi if they can go somewhere else because he needs a break. They go somewhere with a view of the Magical Purple Pinterest Garden, and it’s very breathtaking and shit.

“We’ve been through darkness, Andi,” Valen said. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t still live in the light.”

He closed his eyes, and Andi was left to ponder how much his words echoed her own thoughts from earlier, about the balance between the light and the dark.

Thank you for pointing out the thematic connection from THREE PAGES AGO IN THE SAME CHAPTER, Shinsay. I couldn’t have figured it out myself if you hadn’t held my hand like the imbecile I am. Seriously, I can’t figure out whether this is supposed to be helpful, or if Shinsay really thought they were geniuses and just had to point it out so we wouldn’t miss how cool and deep their writing is.

Anyway, Valen asks Andi to the obligatory ball portion of the story, saying he’ll have to dance as the future ruler of the planet (???) and he wants to dance with a friend rather than a romantic interest.

A friend.

He said the word as if he really meant it. As if, somehow, despite what they’d been through, the horrors they’d shared, Valen had begun to think of Andi as a friend.

Wow ... When he said friend, he meant friend, as in friend? Amazing. What a shocker.

Also, yeah, they did go through some horrors together. Like that time Dex tossed him down a flight of stairs while Andi was somewhere else. Or that time Valen was tortured for two years and Andi wasn’t.

Truly, a friendship of the ages.

I guess this is supposed to be a misdirect, but given how blatantly unrealistic this is and how easily Andi falls for it, it just makes her look a bit like an idiot, doesn’t it?

Chapter 74

This chapter is just Andi heading back to bed but taking a detour to the library, discovering that Alfie has been destroyed while some servants throw his body in the garbage on the way.

Oh no! Not Alfie, who’s only the most annoying character! Anyone but Alfie!

We get this:

As she turned to leave, a small, shiny object on the floor caught her eye. Quickly, Andi reached down and palmed it while the maid wasn’t looking. She didn’t know much about AIs, but the object in her grasp looked like a memory chip.

[...]

It could be nothing, a useless memento, but her gut told her something different. She’d look into it later.

I-is this supposed to be foreshadowing? You literally already told us what it was, why would Andi’s “gut” be telling her something she already suspects according to her narration?

Henlo? Editors? Anyone? Hello?

Hewwo? Mistew Pwesident?

Chapter 75

Dex has been following Andi around like a whole creep and watches her enter the library. He follows her inside and then we get the obligatory “shitty writer praises the magic of literature” bit.

“The general scoured the galaxy for this collection,” Andi said suddenly.

Dex turned. She stood near him in the dark room, softly lit by a beam of moonlight. The sadness in her eyes could almost be felt, like a tangible thing.

“You said Kalee was a reader,” Dex said. He laughed softly. “I didn’t know she was this much of a reader.”

“She loved exploring,” Andi said. “The general loved keeping her close. And so she turned to books for her adventures.”

“The sadness in her eyes was almost tangible.” There, I fixed it. Now shut the fuck up.

“What is it about memories,” Andi said suddenly, walking back toward him, “that gives them the ability to hurt us so badly?”

Dex shook his head. “The past is powerful. I think you and I both know that.”

She finally looked into his eyes. “I’m tired of letting the past control me, Dextro,” she whispered. “Aren’t you?”

I’m tired of letting this book control me, that’s for sure. What is this fucking dialogue? They keep talking in clichés without really saying anything, wasting our goddamn time instead of having an actual conversation.

Anyway, they finally get everything over with, apologize to each other, then make out but decide that uwu they can’t be together because they’re so hurt and damaged and whatnot. And honestly this wouldn’t be so cringeworthy if we didn’t know it’s all just a fucking ploy to drag out the will-they-won’t they subplot that I’m sure you’re all on the edge of your seats over.

The main reason this doesn’t work is that we don’t really get any sense of why this can’t work out? They just mutually agree, after having a hot makeout sesh, that they’re not meant to be for ... reasons? Even though they’re clearly attracted to each other, have no other attachments, romantic or otherwise, and have forgiven one another. Dex thinks they both “ruined” their future together in their own ways, but we don’t get any explanation for why they can’t just ... try to build a new one. Not even a “the memories hurt too much” or “I can’t afford the mental and emotional effort right now” or “there’s no time for it with the galaxy in chaos” or even a simple “I don’t want to.”

Instead it’s “I know we’re not meant to be because we both screwed the pooch last time we tried” and you’re just there like yes and? What’s stopping you from trying again? Give me a reason. IRL that would’ve been fine, but here it just feels like the authors are trying to convince US that they won’t get together, trust me, I promise, don’t even think about it and let it blow you away when they do.

I think, weirdly enough, the reason this doesn’t work for me is the perspective. Andi has actual valid reasons for rejecting Dex and seems like she’s still conflicted about her feelings for him, which would give her plenty of justification to not jump back into the relationship. But instead, we’re stuck with Dex, who’s been desperate to talk to Andi, be around Andi, who thinks about Andi constantly, but now, when a new beginning is within his reach, he decides without reason to not go for it because what, he feels like it’s not right and assumes it’s mutual? It doesn’t track with his previous behavior, which has been constantly focused on Andi up until this point. His sudden and inexplicable decision to not pursue this anymore goes against his behavior and motivations so far, which is why it strikes me as hollow and manipulative writing.

Had he maybe wanted to offer a new start but then Andi said something or he saw how unsure and hurt she still was and decided against it, then it would’ve made sense. Had we been in Andi’s POV and she just straight up rejected him, it would’ve made sense. But here, we get:

“We can’t... This won’t ever...”

“I know,” he said.

And in his heart, he knew that it was true. Their two worlds were never meant to become one. That even through the forgiveness, even with the unavoidable feelings that echoed between them, they could never share a future. They had already had their chance, long ago. They’d both ruined it in their own ways.

Andi doesn’t even give him a proper reason, he just assumes what she’s saying because apparently he’s been thinking the same thing? His “heart” just tells him it won’t work, when all this time, he’s seemingly done everything in his power to fix what he always knew wasn’t fixable? Huh???

I’m not saying this to say that Dex should’ve pestered Andi, he can very well accept her rejection but still pine for her silently. What I am saying is that this doesn’t track with his previous behavior, and just shows the authors’ hands in this as being a cop-out for the sake of melodrama and to keep the romance subplot going through cheap conflict.

Anyway, Dex asks Andi to the ball and she’s like “lmao too late” and then the chapter ends on this note:

When they parted ways, Dex couldn’t help but feel as if he were seeing Androma Racella for the very last time.

God, I wish that were me.

[pterawaters]

Chapters: 1/1 (2,776 words) Fandom: Stranger Things (TV 2016) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson, Chrissy Cunningham/Steve Harrington, Chrissy Cunningham/Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson Characters: Steve Harrington, Chrissy Cunningham, Eddie Munson Additional Tags: Time Loop, Season/Series 04 Series: Part 6 of February Ficlets 2024 Summary:

Ash falls on Hawkins and Steve wakes up a week earlier, knowing he has to change things.

[pterawaters]

Hey, look! It's that book I wrote!

If you're looking for a book to buy with your Xmas money, look no further! Check out Phase Shift, a scifi/horror novel about a small town invaded by aliens and the teens working together to fight them. For fans of Stranger Things and The Goonies! Available now:

Ebook retailers

Paperback: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Blackwell's (UK)

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[duckprintspress]

Meet Aether Beyond the Binary Contributor Terra P. Waters

Another day, another AETHER BEYOND THE BINARY creator to shine the spotlight on!

Before we get to that, just a note: hi, I’m Nina Waters, the lead editor, the person running this campaign, and the one who writes all these blog posts. I’ll be traveling for the next four days (Friday, Jan 12 – Monday, Jan 15) to vend for Duck Prints Press at Arisia in Boston. As a result, I will be slower to answer messages, reply to comments, and post updates (I’m going to try to post one, but I’m not sure I’ll have time). I appreciate your patience while I’m less available. And if by some chance, you’re attending the con, make sure you come and say hi! I’ll be at table D14 in the dealer’s room.

Now, on to Terra…!

About Terra: Terra is a scientist by day who lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family. She has been writing fiction as long as she can remember, and has always told her partner of 17 years that if she wasn’t a scientist, she would be an author. During grad school, she discovered fanfiction and immediately began writing her own. After many years and several fandoms (including Teen Wolf, Hawaii Five-0, and Stranger Things), she returned to writing original fiction. To date, she has self-published two novellas in a 90s-nostalgia polyamory comedy series and has drafted two YA/NA sci-fi novels. When not doing science or writing, you can find Terra indulging her yarn addiction and knitting.

Links: Archive of Our Own | Tumblr (pterawaters) | Tumblr (terrapwaters) | Instagram | Bluesky

Terra has previously published one short stories with Duck Prints Press, a Patreon-exclusive entitled The Wayward Timekeeper, and she also wanted to share a few of her works from AO3: 

Kope Kamekona (Hawaii Five-O, Steve McGarrett/Catherine Rollins/Danny Williams)

Forever’s gonna start tonight (Stranger Things, A/B/O, multiple ships and ot3s)

Other Delicacies (Our Flag Means Death, Ed Teach/Stede Bonnet) – this is the piece that Terra used to apply to Duck Prints Press, and several of us reviewers liked it so much that we sought it out and read the whole thing even though we aren’t in the fandom!

An Interview with Terra P. Waters

What motivates you to create?

My love for the ideas!

How did you pick the name you create under?

I’ve been using the name “pterawaters” since 2009, when I joined fanfiction.net. “Ptera” came from an old gaming character I had, “Ptera the Pterrible,” and “Waters” was a last name I really liked the sound of. For my original writing, I decided to go with a more conventional version of the name. I moved the P from the front of my name to the middle initial as an homage to my fannish writing name.

What do you consider to be your strengths as a creator?

My ability to brainstorm scenarios and know how to outline the plot from there. Longer-form works, where I get to dig into the character motivations and development. World building.

What do you consider to be your weaknesses as a creator?

Short stories, creating characters who serve the story I want to tell, adding enough description around the dialog and plot.

When and why did you begin creating?

I’ve been writing since I was a kid, and even took a lot of creative writing classes during college (aside from my science major). I get a lot of joy out of thinking “what if…” and then turning that idea into a story.

Are you a pantser, a planner, or a planster? What’s your process look like?

I’m most often a planner. I like to outline the story beats of any project before I write. Sometimes, I’ll be more of a plantser. I’ll write 1-2k words of an idea before I do the rest of the outline, so I can see if it’s an idea worth planning out further.

Which of your own creations is your favorite? Why?

I wrote a story called “Entanglement” that was part of a long Stranger Things fanwork series. It’s absolutely my favorite thing I’ve ever written, and I’m excited to get to the point where I can incorporate the rewritten version into my sci-fi series.

What are your favorite tropes?

Polyamory, First times/Getting together, Forced proximity (cuddling for warmth, only one bed), Soulmate AUs, Omegaverse, Fake relationship, Friends to Lovers

What are your favorite snacks and/or drinks to consume while creating?

I like herbal tea, candy, or a crunchy snack like popcorn. I’ve recently gotten into eating roasted lentils, which is a nice substitute for not being able to eat nuts anymore.

What is your “dream project” – the thing you’d see as the culmination of your work as a creator?

I want to finish a series of at least 4 novels and have them all in print.

When you look at your “career” as a creator, what  achievement would you most like to reach – what, if it happened or has  already happened, would/did make you go “now – now I’m a success!”?

I would like to have at least one full-length novel printed and for people to actually buy it!

Tell us about your pet(s).

I have two orange cats, Gadget (the chonk) and Gizmo (anxiety in animal form).

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

Finish the thing. My writing got so much better once I forced myself to finish fan works so I could put them up for other people to read. Practicing the first part of writing a story without practicing how to write the end leaves you never finishing anything.

Terra’s Contribution to Aether Beyond the Binary

Title: Ancient Hearts Unearthed

Tags: academia, alternate history, cancer, character illness (serious), f/nb, f/f (background), fat, first kiss, friends to lovers, getting together, hospital, modern with magic, mystery, non-binary, panic attacks, past tense, phobia (claustrophobia), pining, professor, scientist, third person limited pov

Excerpt:

Victoria turned and ran a hand over the runes again. “What bothers me is that these are early Age of Aether markings. You see the way they’re using archaic forms of our letters?”

Sasha leaned closer. “I’ll be damned. This doesn’t match the bronze-era artifacts in the rest of the cave, either.” They made a tiny humming noise. “Who else would have this much knowledge of ancient runes?”

As Victoria leaned as close as she could to the wall, she asked distractedly, “What do you mean?”

“Obviously, it’s a fake,” they said, mulling over the problem in their head. “Sanderson has wanted my place on the admissions committee since he joined the department.”

“What if it’s not a fake?” Victoria made a tiny, excited noise. “What if this is early Aether Age work? What if this is a secret that’s been buried for almost a thousand years?”

Sasha’s heart swooped at the thought. “We have to find out what that inscription says.”

You've read the interview! You've read the excerpt! Now go back the campaign!

[njavj]

I was tagged by @ptera-novaeangliae and @permian-tropos to post seven sentences of a WIP and then tag seven people to do the same if they’ve got a WIP.

I'll be honest, I'm not working on 'how did we get gere' as a WIP right now bc I'm not the one translating it, and honestly translating my drabbles and writing practices from Russian just for the tag would be too much of a hassle gcvhgfvh so the translation of the text below, as well as the fic itself, is courtesy of my dear co-author! This is from the fourth chapter :)

"Whispers break out in the line. Cherniawsky himself noticed them and was now calling both of them to the entrance, looking right at Daniil.

"What, Dankovsky is here?" A young woman's voice breaks out through the noise. "I saw him! He was here before yesterday, by the security guard!" , "The Daniil Dankovsky? Is he even alive?", "I heard he left the country! He's been recruited by the West!", "Come on, he just retired, things happen, a man gets a wife and kids…", "What do you mean 'kids', Borya, he's a successful scientist, people like him don't retire! They get offered work in a ministry!", "Dankovsky doesn't exist, what are you even talking about? It's propaganda!", "I should've brought a magazine with his article…", "Don't you know Thanatica?" The amount of gossip makes Burakh's ears bleed, and he gives Dankovsky walking beside him a wild look.

"Yeah-yeah, wife and kids", Dankovsky grumbles with discontent, keeping his head held up high as he walks."

i won't tag as many people bc f da rules

@transdankovsky @anactualgoblin @kunoiichi hiii *twirls my hair* do it if you want to who am i to pressure you <3 also anyone who sees this and feels an urge to post the tag hey. you're tagged. officially. by me. do it