#snippet of a larger au that's been on the brain too

[lorelune]

(continuation here)

"do you remember me?"

"no."

blade stares at you, tilting his head to the side with a blank expression. you wish you could see any recognition on his face. but it's blank. nothing behind those eyes-- nothing for you, anyways. his hands twitch and itch in his binds. he's coiled, ready to strike. not you though.

(you can delude yourself into thinking that this makes you special. that him not pulling at his chains to hold a sword to your throat or squeezing your neck until it snaps, makes you different. perhaps his urges are curbed at the sight of you--)

(this is wishful thinking.)

he should, maybe you deserve it. it's your sin to bear and remember, maybe. you couldn't dare to tell jing yuan of all of... this, hence why your trip to the shackling prison was in secret. why you're holding your body so tightly.

"i thought so." but i hoped differently. you sigh.

"... why should i?" blade asks, voice hoarse and rough. you can't tell if its from disuse or overuse. he's lived too long.

"we knew each other, once."

('knew'. you're simplifying things for the sake of convenience. lessening the story you share, the lore you carry on your back like a uneroding stone. it's not like blade would care to hear it. you've read his file. he has only a few goals, which he doesn't hide upon interrogation. only one relates to the past, to a different face that you can only scorn along with him.)

(it's all in hate. anguish, under that. nothing of love. nothing at all.)

you laugh, weakly. it feels useless.

your phone vibrates in your pocket. you think it's jing yuan, without even looking at the message. probably wondering where you are. you're a few minutes late for your lunch date.

jing yuan knows this ache too, you think. he knows the feeling that's bloomed in your chest over the course of your visit. how each step that brought you closer to blade's cell pulled and tugged at your ribs like an overgrown flower. petals slicing flesh from the inside out.

(longing that would kill you, maybe. if you could die like that.)

"unsatisfied with my answer?" he asks. there's a soft quality to his voice, just for a breath. it makes you horribly nostalgic.

you need to leave.

"perhaps." you kick the scuffed metal of the floor. the sound rings out through the room as blade's chains jingle. like bells. "it was foolish of me to think you'd have any recollection of it."

"you seem unimportant to me."

it cuts through you. like a knife. as if you didn't once hold the world up for the man in front of you. as if you didn't beg and scream and raze anything in your path for his sake. as if you didn't bear his many burdens. as if you didn't labor to find something, anything, that could've prevented your fates. your current situation.

a prisoner and one freed. aeons know which of you is which.

"goodbye, yingxing." you don't know if he'll recognize his old name-- a name that isn't him anymore. your once-lover is simply a tool now, and he's taken the name of one. you knew this before you entered the prison. and yet--

(you ache with it.)

you turn away without taking in his expression. blade remains silent as you exit his cell.

(part of you prays he'll call out to you. that he'll sound like he once did. that there will be a kind reunion.)

(he doesn't.)

but that's alright, you tell yourself. it's misplaced hope after all. jing yuan is waiting for you, and you know he'll already have ordered your favorite dish. yanqing may join you, given the time of day. he would have just finished up his mornings spars.

all you have to do is compose yourself by the time you reach the general's favorite picnic spot.

(you almost collapse once you leave the shackling prison. the moment you are alone, tucked into an alleyway, you cover your mouth with your palm and weep. you cry until your chest hurts. you cry with a grief that guts you, as it always has. over and over.)

[porcelainbirdss]

college au hcs with jock phainon and nerd reader?

cw: gen. neutral reader, nerd!reader, jock!Phainon, college/modern au, fluff, headcanon form+a short snippet || wc: 1.5k

truth be told, you can’t exactly pinpoint why Phainon decided to stick with you, but it happened.

and now, you, being a relentless nerd, was dating a jock.

he took interest in you — not because you were especially flashy, or anything. actually, you didn’t really stick out from the crowd, unlike Phainon.

your nose was constantly buried deep in textbooks, as your major was pretty demanding, and you had no time for genuine relations. all of your friendships were based on group works, or sending each other notes.

but, something made you appealing to Phainon, hence why he now practically clung to you wherever you went.

the man was a vivid contrast to you — an upbeat character, popular, utterly optimistic. people often perceived him as rather shallow, deeming his demeanor as a way of gathering a larger crowd around himself.

that wasn’t true, though. well. it’s a shame, but you could have considered yourself one of those judgmental people too — that is, until you saw who Phainon truly was.

aside from being the soul of the party, excelling at sports (football, specifically speaking), he was also kindhearted. unbearably so, you sometimes caught yourself thinking.

his major was physical therapy, because, as he himself stated, he wished to help others recover from their injuries.

in addition, he was a fierce volunteer. it was both admirable and concerning at the same time. how is it possible a single person can contain this much energy?

anyway, Phainon noticed you rather early on. at first, you were almost perplexed by his attitude towards you, because… well. aren’t jocks known for taking out their dismays on quiet, closed-off individuals like you?

it was raining, heavily at that. the downpour caused you to shiver at the mere thought of stepping out of the college’s library — you, being utterly intelligent as always, forgot to check the weather, so now you lacked in umbrella. before you manage to scramble yourself to the closest bus stop, you’ll be completely soaked.

still, you had bigger worries now — specifically speaking, your studies. for whatever reason, you had a hard time focusing today, your thoughts scrambled around the space of your seemingly empty brain. it was unlike you, so you gripped the textbook’s pages harder, trying your best to zero your vision on the long sentences. you’ve been sitting there, huddled in this corner for long enough, and the only thing you wished for is to finally leave.

as your mind seemed to placate itself, mercifully gracing you with the proper headspace, you heard a noise. it was rapid, and a few people turned their eyes towards the source with grimaces painted across their features. you, of course, followed in tow, scrutinizing the culprit who caused you to snap out of your focused state so violently.

a man of ivory locks, looking around himself with an abashed expression. you knew him. it would be hard not to, when majority of the girls fawned over him, sending buttery-eyed looks whenever he passed them by. truthfully, you don’t know why they found him appealing. right now, this person looked completely out of place, picking up the books he accidentally knocked over. you briefly heard him murmur some apologies, as if the inanimate objects actually possessed feelings of their own.

then, after he put everything back into its place, he straightened out, and started to drag his feet closer in your direction. what was his name again? Pha… Phainon? something of the sort. well, this Phainon guy right there surely appeared disoriented, his irises jumping across the shelves in search for something.

you decided to ignore him, going back to reading. you reached for your pen, but the tool rolled off the table’s corner, hitting the ground with a quiet noise. you sighed heavily, bending to pick it up — before your fingers could even grasp it, another hand came into view, startling you. your eyes flickered up, meeting with the bright twins of blue.

Phainon smiled at you kindly, gently placing the pen back on its desired spot. you blinked at him, suddenly not knowing what to say. you weren’t exactly shy — so why did you feel as your tongue was tied into a knot?

the man chuckled. "gods, i swear those things have a mind of their own. trust me, mine tries to escape me all the time."

you wanted to laugh at his joke, maybe offer another one in return — alas, all you could do was send him a meek smile, muttering a quiet: "thanks."

he shrugged nonchalantly, taking a step forward without pushing any further. then, he hesitated. “hey, uh… you’re in intro to anatomy, right? with professor Anaxa?"

you nodded slowly in response, mindlessly fumbling with your pen.

now, a grin split his face into two. "thought so. oh, by the way— i’m Phainon. y’know, the one who sits with the tall, blond guy in the back."

why did he think the first thing you’d recognize him from was his seat mate? you snickered lowly under your breath, recalling the scoldings he and his friend would receive for bickering in the middle of the class. to be honest, he irritated you back then — but now, perhaps, you realized your judgement of him was faulty.

upon your laughter, Phainon seemed to brighten up even further. "you always look like you know what’s actually going on, so…" the man paused, scratching his nape, "if you ever feel like saving my clueless self, i’ll owe you a coffee."

it appeared as if what he just said was a jest, however not entirely. you nodded tentatively, thinking you could help him out. "maybe. if you bring your own pen, that is.”

…and that’s how your first meeting went.

ever since then, you and Phainon shared studying sessions, with you tutoring him.

at first, you didn’t think you’d enjoy his company that much — after all, you were from two completely different worlds. he preferred sports, and you liked books better than anything.

still, you hit it off, and you realized Phainon (no matter how silly he may have appeared sometimes) actually possessed an intelligent insight on many stuff.

he was one of the few people who didn’t mind how quiet you were, his verbose tongue always leading the conversation. it made you happy, because most expected to 'fix' you, forcibly pulling you out of your comfort zone.

Phainon was different from the rest, using humor or simple kindness to coax you out of your shell.

as your friendship grew, you shared music, went to campus events together, and for the first time in your life you felt included.

then, of course, you developed an involuntary crush on him, and the rest was history.

now, you constantly got people looking at you with envy in their eyes. you try your best to ignore them.

as the relationship between you progressed, you learnt new things about Phainon.

…his love towards dogs, for example.

whenever the two of you hung out, he would show you a countless of dog videos, scrolling through the multitude of accounts he followed.

you had to nag him, telling him to focus on his studies instead of sitting on his phone. he always groaned in response, showing you yet another funny dog.

well. you usually caved in.

if not that, then watching goofy comedies.

you don’t know what you were expecting, but when he first offered you stay the night, you were forced to watch a long marathon of movies.

and you liked them. unfortunately.

you are also the first person Phainon invites to his games.

if you agree, he’s jumping around you excitedly (like a small puppy, you often thought), swearing he’ll do his best. and he always does.

then, after the game, he runs up to you, all sweaty and out of breath, and scoops you into his arms. no matter if his team won or lost.

however, if you don’t agree, well… congrats! now you have a sulky boyfriend, moping and whining.

you have to placate his dramatic sadness with your food, because as it turns out, Phainon cannot cook.

he is absolutely terrible at it. there was this one time when you invited him, and offered to bake something together.

and he almost burnt your kitchen.

how did he accidentally set the stove on fire? you still don’t know to this day.

anyway, Phainon loves you terribly. his friend — Mydei — always points out how unfocused he is, constantly daydreaming.

fortunately, the blame is never put on you. even when Phainon scored a faulty point, the ball gracefully falling into the opponents goal. you remember groaning in embarrassment then, watching as literally every single one of the teammates gathered around your boyfriend, scolding him.

you have to remind Phainon not to think of you when he’s playing, and surely not to ramble about you to his friends (because you’ve already received a few complaints).

well, summing up, you make a great duo. Phainon never told you, but he’s searching for an apartment to rent for the both of you. such a sweetheart.

[stormsthatrage]

Prisoner AU snippet:

Kisuke sinks into the shadows of the corner of Yoruichi’s office, crossing his legs and tilting his head up to stare at the bare wood of the ceiling.

It just doesn’t make sense.

Forget the how — he’s still stumped on the why. For what possible reason could the Ryoka have killed Lieutenant Aizen?

It’s incredibly clear that the Ryoka isn’t playing a long game. No, if anything, the Ryoka was planning on the game having ended far before now. Kisuke sincerely doubts he even meant to be alive this long.

Kisuke closes his eyes, imagines the moment he first saw the Ryoka. It’s an easy scene to call up. Something about it has Kisuke on edge, and not for the obvious reasons. Ever since it happened, he’s found himself going over it again and again, his brain unable to let it go. Something about that moment felt so wrong — still feels so wrong — and he can’t pinpoint why.

The Ryoka had been kneeling next to Aizen’s corpse, arms drenched in blood from the elbow down. The shorter blade of his zanpakuto (and wasn’t that interesting — a dual wielder) had been shoved under Aizen’s chin, up into his brain. The larger sword was on the ground, gore covering its edge. The body had been covered in gashes; before going for the head, the Ryoka had, in no discernible order, stabbed the lieutenant in the lungs, cut his torso open from high between his ribs down to his gut, slit open his femoral artery, severed his spine, and ripped his heart out of his chest — thoughtfully placing the displaced organ next to the corpse’s left ear.

Kisuke, the first one to track down the missing lieutenant, had still gotten there well after the blood had cooled.

The Ryoka, knees in the bloody mud — (and how long, Kisuke wonders, had he been there?) — had turned his head towards Kisuke. “I’m pretty sure he’s actually dead, this time,” he said, conversationally, as if commenting on the flavor of a good tea.

Kisuke had drawn his blade, then. The Ryoka, strangely enough, made no move to retrieve his own. Instead, he had just sat there, staring at Kisuke.

And then his gaze had drifted downward, towards Benihime’s bared edge, and it seemed for all the worlds that in that moment the Ryoka lost every bit of energy that makes a person a person.

Before Kisuke’s eyes, the Ryoka slumped, and his gaze went vacant. Like he had been a marionette, and all of a sudden his strings were cut.

Kisuke had waited for backup before approaching the Ryoka, although even then, he had doubted there would be a struggle.

He had been right. The Ryoka had let them take his zanpakuto from him, let them put him in chains, and had let them lock him in one of the onmitsukido cells. There had been no resistance.

Since then, the Ryoka hasn’t tried to escape, let alone attempted to kill anyone else. He barely moves. Nothing seems to bring life to him. Even if Kisuke were allowed to use physical methods to extract information, he doubts the Ryoka would fight back.

Killing Aizen was the end goal, that much is obvious. But why?

For a brief time, Kisuke had entertained the thought that maybe the Ryoka had been meant as a distraction. But for what? He had quickly discarded the idea. Any heist would have been easier than sneaking into the Seireitei without notice and murdering a Shinigami Lieutenant. And if a second, higher-ranking assassination had been the goal, it would have been best done before killing Aizen; predictably, people were now uneasy, and guard rotations had increased dramatically.

Kisuke uncrosses his legs, stretching out one in front of him. “So why did you do it, then,” he murmurs.

Revenge against the Court Guard? No, he would have tried to kill more than just Aizen had that been the case. With his power and ability to go unnoticed, he probably would have succeeded, too.

Revenge against Aizen? An absurd thought, one certainly not worth wasting his time on.

Kisuke drums his fingers against his knee, trying to think. Why? Why would someone murder Lieutenant Aizen so viciously? What could possibly be —

He freezes.

“Kisuke?” Yoruichi says, catching the flare of alarm in his spiritual signature.

He ignores her, desperate not to let the thought fade.

Vicious.

Vicious.

A vicious murder.

The way the Ryoka had done it had been so vicious, hatred obvious in every wound inflicted. And the Ryoka, he had had no interest in continuing his warpath, after. He had given up, as soon as it was done. It was revenge. Of course it was revenge. All the signs are there, why had he not thought of that before. Why did he —

But he had, hadn’t he? Just a few seconds ago, he had —

He had dismissed it, but he doesn’t do that, he’s trained, he knows better than to discard a theory based on personal assumptions —

Why did he have that personal assumption?

Because it was Lieutenant Aizen. He would never have done something —

But —

Captain Hirako. Didn’t Captain Hirako chose Aizen as a lieutenant because —

And then. And then that time someone broke into his lab, and he —

He can’t remember.

He can’t remember.

“Oh, fuck,” Kisuke breathes.

There are gaps in his memory, and now that he’s focusing on it, he can feel where a foreign power, a… a zanpakuto’s power, fading, now — he can notice it because it’s fading, it’s power is lessened — is trying to affect his thought patterns.

Trying to keep him from thinking about how… about how dangerous Aizen was. Trying to keep him from remembering when… when…

Aizen had broken into his lab. Stolen research on… no, theories, it was theories about the —

The —

Hogyoku.

“Oh, Soul King,” Kisuke breathes, horror washing through him, ice-cold.

He has the worst feeling that the Ryoka, sitting in an underground cell several floors below Kisuke’s feet, may have just saved them all.

[minophisch]

VRAINS-posting

Today marks the eighth year since the airing of episode 1 of VRAINS!

I watched VRAINS for the first time a little over a year ago on a whim, and I can say now that it has definitely become one of those series that has really stuck in my brain. I haven't wanted to create so much for a fandom in a long time - in a way it feels like it's reignited a creative spark. And it's been a lot of fun to be a participant in our small but mighty fandom.

I don't have anything new prepared for today, but in line with Yusaku's habit of counting in threes, I'll be sharing works, others' and my own, in the spirit of celebration! The categories are:

3 works that I made, that I like.

3 visual artworks that I like.

3 fics that I like

Note this is not a "top 3", that would be too difficult, so these are just things I want to share / shed some light on. With that, the rest is under the cut.

Here's to another year of sharing and creating!

3 Fan works by me

Confessions of a Thief: My longest work is Fanservice Fanfare (WIP), but I'd actually like to highlight this 360ish word drabble, which I still feel proud of as something that is concise but emotional.

Subterfuge: Single illustration with many layers of lore.

WuWa AU Yusaku and Ryoken: One of the very few color pieces I did last year, that successfully combines two of my interests! I still like how these turned out.

3 Fan arts by others

Illustrations by yasaiiiii: Gorgeous illustration series with layered colors and shapes.

Comic by lktosea: (R-15 content) Little morning after comic that always grabs me by the throat and makes me feel a little feral. Datastormshipping.

Photo set from VR2022_Edit: VR2022_Edit has incredible imagination for figure / doll / standee photography and really opened my eyes to it as a sort of art. This photo set inspired me to buy my own Playmaker Figma (but unlike them, I'm not doing anything innovative with mine haha).

3 Fan fics by others

I saw it online!: By TheEvilAuthoress. Incredibly fun, lighthearted disastershipping fic that explores the potential of our main characters discovering their online fandoms. Set in an sort of post-canon universe.

stop and rewind: Beautifully written, and at times, humorous (though there is a panic attack depicted later in the fic) Ryoken POV snippet of a larger Yusaku POV story by the author, stardustupinlights. Datastormshipping.

The Shots You Do Take (and its NSFW companion, Fool Me Thrice): Snappy action, fancy galas, and budding romance - this fic by my friend, MasterLillyclaw has it all! And absolute treat, and: there's Yusaku in a dress, and Revolver with a Revolver. Fool Me Thrice is an NSFW outtake and spicy as hell - a classic (for me) in the datastormshipping books.

[musicoftheheart]

oh my gosh okay so I wanna ask about all ur wips honestly but that kind of defeats the purpose soooooooo

4,7,8,14

4 because it sounds really ominous, 7 because the title makes me think someone (probably james) freaks out every time someone else (probably regulus) speaks french and a third person (probably sirius) thinks hes having an allergic reaction, 8 because this sounds like a sequel to hold me tight (and never let me go)??? and I have been loving that fic so far and cant wait for you to finish it (but no pressure, take ur time of course), and 14 because thats funny as shit

also, I remember you saying a while ago you might write a snooker au? is that happening? (again no pressure, I just wondered if u forgot to list it since you mentioned having brain fog recently (which is a cool name for it btw and I will be using it in future))

hi!! thanks for asking! <33

so ive covered a couple of these in another ask, so ill only sum them up here (you still get rambled at though dw <3)

4. dont walk too close

so! as i said in another ask, this is a fic following sirius (and regulus, later) starting hogwarts as walburga’s obedient heir, only to end up in gryffindor and learning that life isnt quite the way he’d been taught. his revelations and his sorting end up causing tension at home in the yule holidays, and a series of events end up with regulus in gryffindor too. im sure we can all imagine how that one goes. i posted a snippet in the other ask here

7. french epi fic

HA okay i love your guess, but— well, actually, youre closer to the truth than you might’ve thought. sort of.

regulus has just escaped his parents’ clutches and moves across from france to the one place he hoped he might be welcome: sirius’ home in england. its set in yorkshire, because thats where i grew up before i had to move away, and i miss it :( regulus’ english is poor as it is, but meeting sirius’ ridiculously attractive housemate, james potter, muddles his brain enough where the few basic greetings he knew were gone

james has epilepsy (thats where the ‘epi’ in the title comes from), remus gets them all free donuts, and sirius refuses to flirt on behalf of either james or regulus with the other. its chaos, its fun, and im enjoying it so far despite only being a few thousand words in. here’s a snippet:

Regulus slowly set his eyes back on the house. “It’s so big.”

Seeming to finally catch up on Regulus’ surprise, Sirius explained, “Effie and Monty helped us get on our feet, but with what Alphard left…”

”Mon dieu,” he breathed. But this time, it wasn’t at the house. It was at the man stepping out of it.

Stood at the front door, one hand shielding his eyes from the sun that had emerged from behind the rain clouds, was the most beautiful man Regulus had ever laid his gaze upon. His dark brown hair was tussled in a mess of curls on his head, but almost like it was purposefully messy rather than just uncontrollable. Round golden glasses sat upon his bronze skin, framing his chocolatey eyes perfectly, and a wide grin pulled at his mouth and revealed a little dimple on his left cheek.

When Regulus was eventually able to tear his eyes from the man’s face, his breath caught again at the sight of the rest of him. He clearly worked out, if the muscles making his t-shit stretch were anything to go by, but he wasn’t tall — perhaps only a couple of inches larger than Regulus himself, and he reached only a measly 5’7. Something shining in the sun caught Regulus’ eye, and he saw a thin metal bracelet on one of the man’s wrists.

”Hey, James!” Sirius called, climbing out of the car and snapping Regulus out of his trance. He’d made it to the boot to pull Regulus’ suitcase out before Regulus had even managed to open the passenger door.

”Padfoot!” James called with just as much enthusiasm — that was, far too much considering they lived together and had presumably seen each other just a few hours ago before Sirius had left to pick Regulus up. “And mini Pads!” he added, spotting Regulus finally getting out of the car.

Regulus shot him a swift glare for that nickname. He may be cute, but looks could only get him so far.

8. the warmth of your arms rivals the sun (its burning out)

this is another ive covered in another ask but i love it so im still gonna talk about it. youre exactly right, by the way — it is a hmt sequel! i guess the naming conventions were similar enough ahaha. its very james-centric with background storylines, and focuses on much heavier themes than those in hmt. i wont go into what they are, but anyone who was around during chapter�� four? five? i dont remember, but it was early on. i added some tags, then took them away once i decided id split it into two parts. if anyone remembers those tags, that’s what twoya will cover :))

14. sirius is actually helpful for once wtf

this is planned to be a shorter fic, but still multi chapter. its pretty much just sirius shipping jegulus and doing everything he can to get his two favourite people together :) not written yet, but ive got a fair bit planned so far

bonus: snooker au

okay so, i would love to say i’ve worked on this some more since then but… i haven’t :( i really want to, but i want to do it well, which i know will take a lot of time. but, the details i have so far:

its the snooker world championships. regulus black’s first, but james potter’s third. sirius black — former world champion — is the estranged brother of the newbie regulus black, and the mentor and best friend of james potter, who was second place two years ago, but couldnt compete last year due to an unrelated injury, though healed up now. james, of course, is head over heels for regulus. regulus, of course, pretends hes not pining madly for the boy who stole his brother. sirius, of course, pretends hes not offended or hurt that regulus wont even try to fix their relationship. he also just happens to be stealing glances at remus lupin, who came fourth last year and seemed rather close to regulus. theyre all hopeless, and determined to win.

thanks for your ask! <33

[gyorklady]

Li'l Candela ficlet snippet

So I've had this scene, or a version of it, percolating in my brain for a while, but my recent convos with @inconmess about the Grimm family have inspired me to post it. I see it as part of a larger one-shot, set either before the events of Tide and Bone or in an AU that doesn't end in a TPK. I don't know if I'll ever expand on it, but here it is.

Oscar leaned forward in his chair, studying his son’s face in the dim light of the lamp on the nightstand. Cosmo’s fever had finally broken after two fright-filled days, and Oscar was starting to feel hopeful that his son would pull through. As he had many times already this night, Oscar dipped a washcloth into a basin of water that sat on the night table, then reached over and gently wiped the sweat from his son’s face. Putting the cloth aside, Oscar reached out and cupped his other hand against Cosmo’s cheek, and found it cool to the touch.  

“Oh, thank the gods,” the elder Grimm murmured in relief. Underneath his hand Oscar felt his son stir, and his breath caught in his throat as Cosmo’s eyes fluttered open. His gaze, bleary but lucid, focused on Oscar. 

“Papa?” Cosmo’s voice was weak and confused, and Oscar felt his heart break; it had been a long time since Cosmo had called him ‘Papa’, instead using his first name, and rarely ‘Father’ when they were in private. But at the same time, to Oscar it was the sweetest sound in the world. 

“Yes; yes, sweet boy,” he answered, joy and relief threatening to choke his own voice. “Papa’s here. You’ve been very, very sick for a while, but you’re going to be just fine now.” 

Cosmo blinked tiredly, his muddled mind trying to make sense of what was going on and failing. It was an effort that he just didn’t have the strength for right now. Instead, he turned his attention to a more pressing need. “...I’m thirsty,” he whispered.  

“Okay. Okay.” Reluctantly, Oscar pulled his hand away from his son’s cheek before turning back to the nightstand, pouring water into a cup from the jug that sat there. He slipped one arm around Cosmo’s thin shoulders to prop him up as he brought the glass to his lips. “Easy; small sips, now,” Oscar cautioned. Slowly, Cosmo managed to drink several sips of water before the effort became too tiring, and Oscar gently laid him back down against the pillows. “Go back to sleep, sweet boy,” he said gently. “I’ll be here when you wake, I promise.” Cosmo’s lips twitched briefly into a smile before his face went slack and he drifted back to sleep. Oscar smiled softly as he pulled the blankets up over his son’s shoulders and tenderly brushed his hand over Cosmo’s hair. 

[shrinkthisviolet]

Talk Shop Tuesday - you've mentioned that one good way of getting a multichap done is to write it all in one document, but is there any other ways you manage to motivate yourself? Also how on Earth do you keep your WIP list so low - what do you do if you're attacked by wild plot bunnies??

For my larger AUs, I have a snippets doc for each! My mind tends to jump around between arcs...especially to the s3 arc of the Morgan AU. So when I get inspired to write the later parts of an AU, I usually do so and stick it in the snippets doc. That way my current inspiration is fulfilled, and I have it saved for later when I might need it (and if not, there's always the outtakes doc)

A more general form of motivation is the prompt fills. Writing shorter ficlets is a fairly low-pressure way for me to write and keep my writing juices flowing. And, as a bonus, I get to write for multiples ships (romantic and platonic) that I find compelling but likely wouldn't write about otherwise (and I get to write more about the ones that I have written about but still love so much—like Barry & Morgan, one of my brotps 🥰)

Also also, an outline helps too ofc. When it comes to long fics, having an outline is great because if I get stuck, I can go back to it and go "okay, this is what I need to happen. How can I get myself there?" And there's always the trick of deleting the past sentence (or few sentences) to unstick myself.

Watching the source material is kind of an obvious one 😅 but yeah, that too.

Also taking breaks, knowing when to step away from writing, reading other things (that may or may not inspire me but provide a good distraction for my brain in any case)...all of that is important too! Avoiding burnout is key.

As for the latter part of your question...hey, I get attacked by plenty of plot bunnies, thank you very much 😂 this fic is a prime example of that (a prompt fill from yesterday that spiraled into an ambitious idea and ended up as a 1k-word fic, my longest fill to date), and so are any oneshots I've written on a whim (like the the Saviris fic, and the Savitar-centric s9 finale fix-it fic, to name another couple). I have so many ideas swimming around in my head...the reason I don't have a lot of WIPs is because of how I define them: ideas that have been plotted in a doc and written in fic form, even just a little. Mostly because I don't like making promises I can't keep...a number of the plot bunnies in my head will never be written, and yet I do think about them (also sometimes plot bunnies come and go like a revolving door, ideas are a dime a dozen).

Some of them end up as oneshots because although I can't outline them as a long fic, I want to write something for them. It's also why I prefer a series of oneshots over a multichap: former is less pressure, if that makes sense— go into it knowing there's a possibility that any oneshot could be the last one ever posted, while for multichaps...there's a bit more of an expectation of completion. Or maybe I'm overthinking it 😅 and that approach definitely makes it easier to skip around in time…which is useful if you wanna start in one place and fill in the earlier stuff later (as I did with the Morgan AU!)

talk shop tuesday!

[bytebun]

👀👀📓?

sorry coats you are getting less of a brain baby and more of a feral multi-headed hydra worm. i love outsider perspective, i eat that shit up, and when my brain is too tired to do the knitting of multi-threaded plots it goes right to "media personnel in the clone wars watches local space warrior monks do some extremely whacko shit, bewildered, more news at 10".

(kitty cat au is 90% about obi-wan & a bunch of locals in a mission fic looking at this guy like What Is Wrong With Him. why is he talking to that cat like a human. when that's honestly the least weird thing about him).

right now, my favourite one to rotate is an epistolary history podcast episode made by some guys in the "new republic" about the clone wars, titled "the man behind the myth". i'll never write this one because I think it works much better as an actual buddy-buddy podcast lol.

A: Now everyone knows about Bail Organa. But we can't speak about Organa without speaking about Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi.

with the sort of vibe of, a lot of stuff here is being omitted because they assume everybody listening knows about the current state of things, haha.

B: Now Kenobi is much less known, despite his prominent role in the war. A: Mm, much less known. Unlike his contemporaries, he didn't leave any writing behind. B: We've got sources saying he was a real impressive orator, but of course most records, if there were any, would be lost during the burning of the Jedi temple. A: Biggest library in the Galaxy, and all that knowledge goes up in flames. I know C thinks it set civilization back by a thousand years. B: Well, C wrote their dissertation on the Ruusan Reformation. I'm sure that doesn't bias their decision at all. A: Ha. B: I'm personally more pissed about the Sith reseting the Republic Archives. Seriously, talk about a taxation disaster.

interspersed with some snippets of speeches or news segments or whatever. basically on and on painting obi-wan as this larger than life war hero accomplishing the impossible, and then vanishing into obscurity - most of what we know about him being from correspondence with close friends like bail organa.

which all seems pretty canon-compliant except a few things that seem off. and you slowly get the sense that this is a fix-it, of sorts, actually, and there's name drops about ezra and kanan and trilla, etc. and a new jedi order that is quite a bit larger than luke skywalker. and some talk about the Republilc jedi's role in the war, and how it differs from the current jedi order, which is much more scattered and smaller in scale and. well. much more like a bunch of isolated temples than a real player in any galactic politics.

B: It took them 10 years to catch the Sith lord, but he actually wasn't the only one. The few preserved Jedi records we have talk about the rule of two. A: You'd think one tall dark and evil psychic knight going around shooting lightning would be easy enough to spot, let alone two, but I guess not. B: That second Sith died on Coruscant, though none of our sources specify how. As far as we can tell... it was Kenobi who killed him. A: And no wonder. Anakin Skywalker, the Hero with no Fear, was one of the Jedi killed by Darth Vader. [dramatic pause] And he was Kenobi's student. Had been, since he was nine. B: I've heard Jedi aren't really supposed to do the revenge thing, but I'm pretty sure Kenobi deserves a free pass on this one.

the podcast ends, and we break from the epistolary style.

the scene switches to Obi-Wan, standing in the temple, ash and dried blood all over his face, lightsaber out. Anakin's body is still smoking from a blaster shot, straight through the temple.

He turns his 'saber off, drops to his knees. The 212th troopers have already started on clearing out the rubble, under a grim-faced Commander Cody.

"It's --" Obi-Wan Kenobi is tucked away, and Master Kenobi comes out. "It's alright, now. It's safe, you can come out." the first youngling clambers out, hesitant. tripping over their own feet, all the awkward stiffness and shock of a baby deer, born to a new and cruel world. but soon the whole gaggle is running to him, clinging, sobbing - and bent nearly in two over their little heads, he cries with them.

[greyeyedmonster-18]

sirius and potters is my fav trope ever. he's the potter wispherer and they in return are sirius black wispherer. the amount of love shared between all of them is insane and i love it. i love how sirius is often seen as this big larger than life one of the strongest characters in hp world and the elder potters and James took one look at him (literally James even on train was like Slytherin's suck but if you get sorted there I'm wearing a green scarf and supporting you even though it might kill me inside) and were like small bebe. protect. snuggle.

one thing I'm curious of your take on about how sirius would react when james and lily got together like would he give her a peptalk for how If she ever hurt james it wouldn't go very well or a peptalk on how amazing the potters are and while their love seems overwhelming just enjoy it

do you also have any sirius and the potters hc that you haven't really shared before?

uhh also one hc that i have in perticular is an an au world where sirius introduces regulus to james just to maybe show him the difference from how blacks operate and the meeting is classic grouchy cat reg and human puppy personified james.

reg: this is scary people are talking to me and telling me they love me and what is this wrapping their arms around me that makes me feel safe???

potters: should we stop?

reg: no do it more

okay, i love this ask. so much. sirius and the potters (all potters from all walks of life) is one of my favorite things to write about, despite how little i do so on here.

so alll your curiosities will be answered under the cut for my takes on this that only one person asked for. <3

how would sirius react when james/lily got together?

so, you'll see more of this in no matter the wreckage and i've written a holiday dribble on it before, but i HC sirius and lily as having been friends before james and lily started dating.

they bonded over their shifting family dynamics as early as first year and just...were friendly. and then got to be like actual friends around 4th year (sirius took arithmancy, lily took arithmancy, james did not. sirius is super good at magical numerology in my brain; also could unpack that sirius was top of the class in most things and him and lily had this on-going academic compeition (you're absolutely incorrect if you think The Blacks would've let Sirius just *skate by* it'd be THE BEST or nothing, especially since he was already a "dissapointment" by being sorted into gryffindor. i really dislike fics that make sirius...a slacker for this reason alone. like...You think Orion/Walburga Black would've let that happen? but also that sirius is smart, and if he keeps his grades up, guess who stays off his back???) ANYWHO. Lily and Sirius were friends! James and Sirius were ride or dies!

But, Sirius is James over everybody else in the world, right? i wrote a scene in NMTW where Lily hurts james feelings and sirius literally gets up from where he's sitting at the table to make a physical barrier between lily and james. and has remus and peter and marlene and everyone follow. I think Lily got a talk for sure. I actually think that James would've been like "Mm, you need to meet Sirius" and Lily would be like "...I've met him? We're friends? We're literally studying tonight" and James is like "Nah, it's different now that we're dating" and it'd be like this BIG CHARADE.

but YES to sirius being like lily just...let it happen. let him love you--you want another snippet from NMTW?

“James is a lot. He is...intense and too much and a handful, however you want to say it. But, when has having too much ever been a bad thing?” Sirius asked her, “Too much money? Too much candy? Too much fun? That’s not bad.”

“You get a stomach ache.”

“Yeah, if you keep all the candy to yourself like a selfish-tosspot. But James doesn’t. It’s like...he loves too much with his heart outside his body, which I realize sounds incredibly stupid but I don’t much care. Everything he loves is outside of his body and you’re a part of it.”

“I don’t want to date him.”

“Great. So don’t. But you don’t have to be a dick to him either. You don’t have to act like you hate him especially when you clearly don’t as evidenced by you’ve been talking about him for the past half-hour all because you think you might have hurt his feelings.”

“I--”

“His heart is on the outside of his body, Evans. He has really intense feelings all the time. And as annoying as it is sometimes, it’s...actually something spectacular if you just learn to let it happen. So let it happen, and stop being rude for no reason. He’s just trying to be your friend.”

sirius and the potters headcanons?

i haven't shared alot of my thoughts on them to be perfectly honest. here are a few though:

-the first summer sirius was there, sirius tested all the boundaries known to man to see what would happen.

-i know this is canonically false, but it's the way it has to work in my brain or else i can't do it, sirius runs away winter of fifth year. so that first short holiday really is just sirius being like "what the fuck is my life now" and kind of....uh, *searching for the word* oh, okay, damage control. it's damage control. the summer is when shit really kicked up. it took like a month for sirius to get comfortable talking at the dinner table with the potters so candidly (speak when your spoken to blahdeyblahdeyblah) and the first time he did sirius was so nervous but was just hyped up by all the potters.

-sirius is active, but james is a new level of active. sometimes i think sirius would go to work with Mr. Potter just for some like...quiet break.

-i think sirius and james relationship during this summer is like...one of the most poignant things for character development? and like deflating james's head because he finally got to see the dark and dirty shit sirius had tried to keep from him for so long. and sirius was finally held accountable in a way that was non-punitive/self-damaging. could probably write a whole fic about this summer alone.

-sunday afternoon tea.

-i think the potters (effie and monty) had FRIENDS. and hosted PARTIES all the time. that were so full of life and different people. and it was the best.

- the potters got a piano just for sirius because they knew he liked to play, even if he pretended he didn't.

- sirius cooking with Mrs. Potter. sirius gardening with Mrs. Potter.

regarding reg:

yes. 100% but i think what's important to note is sirius was ALSO like this? maybe not to the same extent regulus was (because dispositions are different) but sirius was absoluely like "this is really fucking weird" when he first got to the potters.

like, even james showing up to breakfast in his pajamas. and sirius was like ???? because if he ever did that at number 12, nope. nope. so sirius shows up to breakfast every day like dressed and ready to go. and james walking in shirtless is like what the heck.

[queenofdenest]

Title: currently untitled Rating: Teen Fandom: Hetalia Characters: hws nyo!liet. hws nyo!lat. hws nyo!est. tags: human au, inspired by the room (2015), not fully tho,

Summary: "That doesn't make sense – no one borrows others just to be companions." It was like something out of an old fairy tale – or a horror novel.

(or. Viktorija and her cousin, Aija, had been minding their own business at a family get together in the park when they are kidnapped in broad daylight by a crazy man.)

A/N: ack! i'm excited (and scaredandotherweirdemotions!) so it's almost my birthday - literally tomorrow! - and i wanna show you something i'm working on. i'm actually really proud of this au, and of this little snippet! it was the first thing i showed my beta concerning this fic and they were really interested in it, hope you all will be too! it was semi-inspired by the room (2015) movie + book, as well as by several true crime podcasts and my own brain watching The Simpsons videos & theories at 3 am as i attempt to fix my sleep schedule that got ruined by my insomnia several weeks ago!

anyway, this au will be much much larger and (hopefully) be making it's way across your computer screens sometime in the next few months, but until then, please enjoy!

"It's not that bad here," is said so softly that Viktorija felt a bit bad for the girl. Not so bad that she doesn't curse her in her own thoughts, but bad enough that she nodded her head along with the words being said. The other girl had turned her back on them, eyes roaming the hall, before she spoke again, "Really, Father Zima is a kind man and his daughters are kind as well – I think you'll come to like it here, both of you."

Her eyebrows furrow and she reached forward to grab the shoulder of her cousin who seemed to want to follow the other girl as the stranger began walking down the small hallway. "Like it here?" She hissed just as softly as the other had spoke, she didn't know if there were hidden cameras around or not, but she wasn't going to risk being overheard speaking so loudly. "We've been kidnapped!"

The other girl, the one that had helped the man lure them from the park they were at, stopped and faced them. Her eyebrows were lifted in confusion and her lips were down turned, sea colored eyes boring right into Viktorija's own as she walked back towards them. "You shouldn't think of it like that," she replied, shrugging slightly as she came to a stop in front of them. "It's more like you're being borrowed."

"Borrowed?" Her chest filled with anger at the word. They weren't being borrowed; borrowed meant going home, not being held in a strange man's house with some foreign girl and his weird family. It meant other things, things that weren't kidnapping and accessory to kidnapping, and whatever else was going to happen to them!

"Father Zima'll take you back home after the girls grow up, he promised." It was said with a tinge of desperation but still Viktorija didn't care. Her and Aija had thought this girl needed help – which she probably did though more in the way of police and a therapist – and had wandered away from their family to help, only to end up shoved in a strange bearded man's trunk and knocked out somehow.

"I know it's not idea," the girl continued, seemingly ignoring the rising red flush to Viktorija's face, "but the girls need companions and that's more important than anything else."

No, what was most important was Viktorija and Aija going back home – away from crazy blondes who helped creepy men lure other children away from their families; away from what seemed like a cult or some Manson family going ons; away from trouble. Shaking her head, she spoke, "That doesn't make sense – no one borrows others just to be companions." It was like something out of an old fairy tale – or a horror novel. "And who are these girls? Who's Father Zima? Why is your dad doing this?"

The girl sighed lightly. "The girls are Father Zima's daughters, they're not the best at making friends." Her words paused and her arms crossed over her chest, "As for who they are, I was going to wait for introductions until supper but I'll tell you a bit about them as we walk."

"We're not-"

"Okay!" Aija cut in, bright blue eyes shining. "Where are we going?"

Traitor.

"Aija." Viktorija tried her best maternal voice but she fell short; her voice sounding nothing as strong as Aunt Laima's or her mothers. Instead, to her own ears, she sounded tired and scared, her voice shaking on the last syllable of her cousin's name. "What are you doing?"

"We said we'd help." The girl sounded so confused, so earnest. It was upsetting.

About to speak, Viktorija was cut off by the strange girl answering Aija's question. "The bedroom for you two," she said, brightening slightly. "Me and the girls spent all day yesterday making sure the room was very nice. Father Zima bought all brand new sheets and comforters; brand new beds and dresser set – there's even a full length mirror! It's wonderful."

It sounded like a room meant to induce Stockholm Syndrome, Viktorija thought, with all it's fun comforts and brand new shiny items, but her outraged face was ignored by both the strange girl and Aija, who had 'ooh-ed' at the idea. It made sense on why the younger girl would do so; their family wasn't at the place where they could afford brand new versions of all that, instead most of their things were hand-me-downs brought over from family that left their home countries, but it still bugged her. Gaining a fancy new bedroom was nothing in comparison to what they were losing.

"Great." Viktorija huffed out a breath as she felt her cousin begin to walk forwards, the hand that Viktorija had placed on Aija's shoulder tightened. She didn't want to let go, but Aija turned to face her and frowned.

"Trust me?"

Viktorija sighed, and she watched the blonde girl walk a distance away from them slightly. Confused eyes turned on them once the other noticed they weren't following and Viktorija felt her heart stutter. "I trust you," she said softly, "I don't trust her."

"I'm not asking you to," Aija whispered, her hands clutching together as she spoke. "I'm asking you to trust me."

It was tough – Viktorija was the eldest of the two, the more responsible. Or at least, she was supposed to be. Yet, she was the one who had basically led them into the trap set by this girl, truly thinking that the other had needed help finding her little sister. At the same time, Aija was nearly 16, and while she was naive – and overly trusting and kind and easily led – she was also really smart, a budding chess master that had already won some master leveled games.

Did that even matter though, Viktorija wondered, when they were being held by a group of crazy people?

"Are you coming?" The girl asked.

Aija gave her a look and Viktorija nodded, the word coming out of her mouth like sandpaper.

"Yes."

[indiaalphawhiskey]

I don't know if you've been asked about this before, but may I ask how can one just "focus" on their WIP to finish it. I've been making my Our Flag Means Death AU for a month now but I can't help myself to make other fics as well, the ideas are just drowning my brain tbh 😔. Any tips or what to do ?

Hi darling! ❤️

Oh, wow. That’s quite the dilemma.

Okay, so first off, I have to say I know exactly how you feel — I have prompts and AUs swirling around in my head all. the. time. It’s crazy, and sometimes, it makes me sad when I realize there’s no way I could possibly write all of them in this lifetime, in a way that does each story justice.

I think that’s just how creative minds work — it’s so easy and so tempting to find a new AU in the everyday that it’s just hard to stop. I don’t have a surefire fix for the problem, but I can suggest some things.

1) When you’re writing longer fics, it’s easy to get distracted by AUs because thinking up an idea is usually the most fun part of writing. It happens to me when I hit a wall or an issue in what I’m actually writing, because it’s just more fun to let your mind drift to a story that doesn’t need you to work. But then, you have to remind yourself that each AU is going to have its problems, and while a new story may seem easy at first, there’s always going to be a moment where the writing is a struggle.

2) Not all prompts have “meat” to them. Some of them are just cute ideas that don’t necessarily have a larger story, and you tend to realize that when you sit with the idea for awhile. You’ll find that not every idea can be expanded into a full fic, and some AUs really are just going to be drabbles or meme ideas.

Which leads me to…

3) Write drabbles and ficlets and time stamps. Sometimes, your brain needs a break from the plot of it all. Sometimes, you just need to write a fun little scene where you don’t have to think about too much exposition or backstory. Sometimes, you just wanna write smut with zero build up. 🤷🏻‍♀️ let yourself do that. Bang out a 500 word scene with no pressure and no context in one of the ‘verses you’re interested in, and post it on tumblr or as a snippet series on AO3. Usually, this change of pace will help you both attend to your craving to test drive that new AU, and clear your mind so you can refocus on your bigger fic with refreshed energy.

4) It’s okay to write slowly and table fics for awhile. Something I learned after I started writing was that there are stories that will demand to be written, no matter how many times you try to put them down or how many other smaller things you write in between. It took me three years to complete OLNF. I didn’t look at that document for 7 months, and I still ended up finishing it because the story demanded to be written, however slowly. Sometimes, you can’t put a timeline on creativity, and as hard as it is to accept that, you have to trust your creative timing and your creative process, no matter how frustrating.

Hope this helps! Good luck! 🍀

[robinrunsfiction]

OTPTOBER - DANCE

AN: Two in one day?! What?! Well, this isn't really a fic, it's a snippet from a larger Royalty AU that has been gnawing on my brain for a few days now. I didn't really have a direction for it until tonight, so enjoy! Let me know if this is something you wanna read more of!

~

"Michael," the matriarch beckoned him over.

"Yes grandmother?"

"Who is that young woman over there, sitting alone?"

"That's the girl we were speaking of before, Princess Mercy of Essenglade. She's staying with us because of the-"

"Oh yes, the nastiness, I remember now," his grandmother nodded. "Go ask her to dance."

The young prince blinked for a moment, trying to process the order he had just been given. "What?"

"Go ask her to dance. It's inconsiderate to leave a guest of your kingdom, and of your household, sit alone like that with no one to converse or dance with."

Mikey nodded, while still trying to process what he had been instructed to do. "Excuse me?"

Mercy looked up at him. "Yes?"

"Would you umm, care to dance?" He asked, holding out his hand to her.

"Oh," she said softly, looking from his face to his hand and back up to his face. She gently placed her hand in his as he guided her through the crowd to the dance floor.

Once amongst the other dancing couples, he placed his hand gently on her waist and she placed her hand upon his shoulder. 

"I apologize in advance if I step on your toes," he smiled nervously. "I'm not the best dancer."

"Would you like me to lead?" Mercy smirked.

Mikey was rendered speechless for a moment. "No, no, I can do it."

"Lead away then," she nodded.

Mikey took a moment to listen to the beat of the orchestra before starting to move. A small smile formed on Mercy's face as they began to waltz.

"You're doing really well," she said softly.

"Really?" He asked, a smile finally appearing on his face too.

The princess nodded. "Indeed. What do they teach princes anyway if not to dance?"

"Umm, well, there's history and political negotiations, horseback riding, weaponry, things of that sort."

"And how do you expect to woo a potential wife with that?"

"I… I don't know," he stammered. "I hadn't thought of that."

"I could help you if you'd like?"

"Help me?" He asked as the song finished and they stopped dancing.

"Fine, I will," she smiled.

Mikey stood stunned as she walked off the dancefloor.

[mamabearcat]

Inuyasha WIP ask: Saving Grace

Thanks @sassybratt9791

Saving Grace is the modern AU I’m writing - I’ve already released some snippets.

Kagome is a freelance reporter. She loves her work, but is looking for a really good story to make a name for herself.

Inuyasha is the entrepreneur behind HanYo! - a website that connects hanyou around the world. It features listings for job openings, available housing, goods for sale, services for hire, relationship seeking, emotional support and online counselling and general topics of discussion, like recommendations for hanyou friendly workplaces and restaurants. It started small, but rapidly became a worldwide phenomenom.

He’s a media recluse (there’s a reason for it) and doesn’t give interviews

Kagome is offered a chance to try and get a story about him - it will be a substantial pay for her, and also a chance to get noticed by larger publications, so she takes a chance to travel and try to get an interview.

While she’s in his hometown tracking down leads, she steps in to stop a mugging, and gets shot.

It turns out that the woman she rescued is Izayoi, Inuyasha’s beloved mother. She insists that Kagome recuperate at their home.

Inuyasha is at first a little shy around her, but is gradually becoming to like Kagome. And Kagome likes him.

And then she’s got to decide. Should she write a story that will make her career, but probably break Inu’s trust and ruin any chance they have at a relationship?

I think I’ve posted this particular snippet before, but anyway, have it again!

A small sound of distress had her turning.

There was a woman standing near the ATM she’d just vacated, around her height but older judging from the long thick plait of dark grey hair threaded with silver running down her back. Her eyes were wide and frightened as she pushed numbers on the machine, her fingers shaking. The man behind her was standing close, much too close, and then Kagome noticed a glint of reflected light from the overhead streetlight above coming from something held in the man’s hand.

He pushed it forward, nudging the woman in the lower back with it as he snarled at her to hurry up. A hand gun. The woman choked back a sound like a sob, and Kagome was instantly swamped by a feeling of rage.

She didn’t even stop to think. Didn’t think of the consequences. All she could see was a small woman old enough to be her own mother who was terrified, with no one to help her. She wasn’t about to stand by and watch someone get robbed at gun point.

She pulled her phone out of her back pocket and took a photo, focusing in on the man’s face, then yelled as loudly as she could.

“Hey! I’ve already called the police! Drop the gun and leave her alone!”

The man’s eyes whipped to hers, and then there was a flash and a loud noise. She was knocked off balance, like someone had just punched her in the shoulder. The older woman screamed, and then there was a rush of hot liquid running down her back and her arm, splattering onto the concrete below. Red liquid, so bright against the dirty grey pavement. It was still dripping, coating her fingers, making them slip against each other.

Sweat popped out on Kagome’s forehead, and she swallowed, trying to make sense of things as she swayed dizzily, and then her shoulder was burning with pain. She collapsed onto her knees, watching in a daze as the man tossed the gun into a nearby bin and sprinted away down the street.

The older woman was racing towards her, dropping her handbag and tugging off her hoodie as she ran. She dropped to her knees beside her and gasped out a breathless apology as she tied it tightly around Kagome’s shoulder, making her grunt in pain.

She listened as the woman talked on the phone to someone. Was she calling the police?  Kagome blinked slowly.  Everything was a little fuzzy and her mouth felt dry. There had been a gun, but it seemed ridiculous that she’d been shot. That couldn’t be right. Besides, there was something she needed to say, something important. Her fingers that weren’t currently covered in blood clenched around her phone, and she remembered.

“I took a photo of him”, she gasped, tugging on the woman’s sleeve as she finished the call, pushing her phone into the woman’s hand. “The man. I took a photo. It’s on my phone.”

“Shush sweetheart, don’t try to talk.” the woman said soothingly, putting the phone in her lap. “What’s your name?”

“Kagome. I’m Kagome.”

“It’s going to be okay Kagome. The ambulance is on it’s way. Everything will be fine.”

“I’m sorry he frightened you. Are you okay?” Kagome panted.

The woman nodded, turning her attention to Kagome’s injured shoulder.The searing pain in her shoulder seemed odd, separate, like it didn’t really belong to her. She blinked, trying to make sense of things. Black spots appeared in the corner of her eyes and she tried to blink them away, but they kept coming. The amount of the warm wetness running down her arm was disconcerting, and she knew it wasn’t a good thing for some reason.

What had happened again? There had been a man. And an older lady who was frightened. The woman in front of her was pushing her hands on either side of her shoulder, really hard. That seemed an odd sort of thing to do.  It hurt. 

“Are you the lady?” Kagome slurred.

The woman’s worried eyes flicked from her Kagome’s shoulder to meet her eyes. There was blood on her sleeves. She seemed upset.

“Don’t try to talk dear. I’m sure the ambulance will be here any moment.”

“But are you her? The lady. Is she okay?”“She’s just fine sweetheart. You were very brave.”

“Was I? That’s good. She reminded me of my Mama.” The woman made a small sound that sounded like a swallowed sob.

“I’m sure if your Mama were here, she’d be very proud of you Kagome”, she said, her voice a little wobbly. “I’ll call her and let her know how brave you were, as soon as you’re safe in hospital, okay?”

“That’s good.”

Kagome blinked again. Her brain felt syrupy, and her body felt cold. She could hear a siren. Then there were bright lights and more voices. Someone made her lie back and lifted her, and she grunted in pain as her shoulder moved. They asked her name.

“I’m Kagome. Kagome Higurashi. Is the lady okay?”And then it was blessedly dark. 

[apprenticegamemaster]

Pern Au Lore Snippets

Will I ever actually write this au? Probably not. But I DO want to get this nonsense out of my brain, so here’s some bits of lore. Feel free to snag for your RPs or fanfiction or the like if you want, heaven knows I’m probably borrowing from half a dozen other things I’ve seen people write.

The larger holds didn’t always have the large outbuildings and surrounding cots that they do in the “modern” day. Back before the Plague of Moreta, pretty much the entirety of a hold’s population would live within the cliffs, sometimes far enough in that the air was pretty much always stale despite whatever vents were put in when the hold was first carved out. The plague, being a respiratory-based illness, meant that suddenly it was far more important than ever for holders to have access to fresh air both to avoid the illness and to avoid aggravating the lungs of the survivors afterword. The big holds built out more than they carved in from that point on, and eventually many of them kinda forgot about some of the back passageways and rooms.

Speaking of Holds, the majority of cots and small holds are structurally similar to single or multi-generation homes do on Earth, but the major holds tend to operate similarly to Ancient Roman apartment blocks- basically, an individual person might have a room for themselves or share it with a few other people, but sleeping’s about the only thing the whole wing might be set up to do. Bathrooms, restrooms, kitchens, etc, are all in other parts of the hold. Wealthier families might have something closer to a modern college dorm with a suite or pod of rooms that all share a bathroom, but hall-style dorm living arrangements are far more common if the sleeping quarters have a nearby bathroom at all.

Mixing a bit of the “Crafthalls are not Monoliths” lore from another post I saw a while back with something I vaguely remember from the Todd books: There’s been a good handful of schisms in the past between the main crafthalls, the biggest one on my AU being between the Eastern and Western Harper Halls. Generally speaking, most of them were caused either by a few rogue Masters or Journeymen running off to do their own thing or just by way of being too physically far apart to keep from going their separate ways.

Still, the biggest split is between the people who got apprenticed to the various Halls and the people who are engaging in the craft in a vernacular manner, e.g. the guy who learned to make furniture via being apprenticed to a Master versus the guys in the smaller halls that are making furniture because their Hold needs the stuff and it’s too expensive to get something made elsewhere, or the locally-woven cloth versus the stuff made in Weavercrafthalls. In my AU there’s quite a few people that can paint frescoes and the like, for instance, but your local man is probably going to be more along the lines of your average medieval monk’s artistic ability (aka not particularly detailed or realistic), versus the more Romanesque and Renaissance-styled artists you can hire out of the Eastern Harper Hall. There’s a strong element of classism there, but the crafthalls like to think they’ve got the One True Way of doing things even when they really don’t.

Bees made it to Pern. There’s no way that half the crops the colonists brought would’ve made it if the bees didn’t.

Similarly, I’m replacing the llamas that I saw mentioned in the Dragonlover’s guide to Pern with Alpacas, specifically the Paco-Vicuna variety, because llamas are Mean and Paco-Vicunas are Nice creatures that are Extremely Soft. The High Reaches have the overwhelming majority of the herds of them, and has a small Weavercrafthall set up just to make luxury woolens from them. Local holders call them llacuanas or something similar, though, because while the guy who brought them knew what they were, pretty much all the other holders just thought they were llamas and a few wires got crossed.

Cinnamon specifically might have failed to transplant to Pern, but the majority of spices did well enough once the right climates were found for them- mainly in Igen (Ingen? what is spelling). The area’s surprisingly wealthy as a result, similarly to how spices made the Arabian peninsula area wealthy during the days of the Silk Road and the like.

Tillek may be pretty rainy, but that’s because the climate is close to the Pacific Northwest- it’s a lot of temperate rainforest in that area. Pity the local flora doesn’t lend itself to woodcraft- most of the trees are either stubby and spindly and really only decent for firewood (if you can dry it out) or are the super-tough stonewoods that’ll pretty much break any ax or saw if you’re not careful... or if you’re just not lucky. Lots of marshes and fens and the like, too, so fishing really is pretty much the main way to go there.

Fort and Boll are accordingly north and south California. Nerat has a few parts that mimic Florida, but most of it’s tropical rainforest. Benden is just the middle coast of the USA. Heck, to an extent you can just mirror the Continental USA onto Pern’s Northern Continent- there’s general principles to how climate works re: coasts and interiors and the like and it’s just the same on Pern.

There’s been a few tries to get colonies up and going on the various island chains outside the Northern Continent, but none of them really stuck, even as a penal colony. The wyers just can’t extend protection over the oceans during Passes, and getting wooden ships to go out that far when threadfall is a thing was just too much of a risk, and it turns out that 50 years plus however long it took to send out the next few boats was generally long enough for things to go Horribly Wrong. There’s still a few landmarks there that dragonriders can Between to- mainly a couple Stonehenge-like setups- since the cattle that were released/escaped on the two biggest islands have done pretty well, making it a tasty stopoff for dragons. Plus whatever fruits and the like the wyers can scavenge. Most interesting thing otherwise is the unique subspecies of fire lizards, which have larger wingspans with a bit more patterning to the wings. They tend to migrate up and down the island chains as the seasons go.

The Southern Continent as a whole is held in about the same regard by sailors as Medieval kings held the mythical kingdom of Prester John- a super cool legendary location that TOTALLY exists, but is actually nowhere near as mystical and majestic as the stories say. It got lost pretty much the same way the islands got lost- the wyers just couldn’t spread out enough to cover the ocean passage, even if they could cover the landmass areas. By the “modern” time in my AU pretty much only the sailors near Ista and Boll give it any credit at all, and only because there’s always That One Ship that gets seriously unlucky and/or just has a shit navigator and ends up on the other side of the equator before they figure out how to get home. Boats from the Nerat area generally can’t stock enough in their holds to make it to the Southern Continent, much less make it back.

[callunavulgari]

Scrapbook 2021 | Part II

For anyone that’s new to this, this is how I keep track of all of the things I enjoy and/or create throughout the year. I have literally been doing this since I had a livejournal. I think the first one was 2011? Maybe? In which case, woohoo, ten years of scrapbooking!

It’s a nice little snippet of my life and helps to organize my brain.

A reminder:

Normal font - Indifferent/Neutral Italicized font - Enjoyed bold font - Loved with an asterisk* - All time favorite (bracketed titles) - Re-watches/Re-reads strikethough - Disliked

Goals are: read 80 books (as of today, i am at 31 books, which sounds not great but goodreads assures me that it’s only 1 book behind schedule), finish five video games (at two at the moment... mostly because I keep dragging my feet on actually finishing P5R), write more than 20 fics (at... 6) or something larger than 20k (negative), and write either an original short story or start a novel (i have started plotting for the novel? does that count?)

Past Years

MOVIES

May

Mortal Kombat

(SW: The Phantom Menace)

(SW: Attack of the Clones)

(SW: Revenge of the Sith)

(SW: Rogue One)

(SW: A New Hope)

SW: Clone Wars

Enola

Wonder Woman 1984

Dark Phoenix

(Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring)

June

(Princess Mononoke)

Sailor Moon: Eternal

In The Heights

Wish Dragon

July

Luca

(Thor: Ragnarok)

(Doctor Strange)

(Guardians of the Galaxy)

Black Widow

Space Jam 2 Electric Boogaloo

August

The Green Knight

Godzilla vs Kong

(Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)

BOOKS

May

These Violent Delights | Chloe Gong [Fin]

The Midnight Library | Matt Haig [Fin]

The Galaxy, and the Ground Within | Becky Chambers [Fin]

Unconquerable Sun | Kate Elliott

People We Meet On Vacation | Emily Henry [Fin]

The Soulmate Equation | Christina Lauren [Fin]

June

Unconquerable Sun | Kate Elliott [Fin]

September Love | Lang Leav [Fin]

One Last Stop | Casey McQuiston [Fin]

The Chosen and the Beautiful | Nghi Vo [Fin]

Lumberjanes, volume 2 | Noelle Stevenson [Fin]

For the Wolf | Hannah Whitten [Fin]

The Sandman | Neil Gaiman [Fin]

Mister Impossible | Maggie Stiefvater

July

Mister Impossible | Maggie Stiefvater [Fin]

TAZ: The Crystal Kingdom | The Mcelroys [Fin]

She Who Became the Sun | Shelley Parker-Chan

A Psalm for the Wild-Built | Becky Chambers

The Universe of Us | Lang Leav

August

She Who Became the Sun | Shelley Parker-Chan [Fin]

A Psalm for the Wild-Built | Becky Chambers

The Universe of Us | Lang Leav [Fin]

Lumberjanes, volume 3 | Noelle Stevenson [Fin]

Lumberjanes, volume 4 | Noelle Stevenson [Fin]

PODCASTS

May

The Penumbra Podcast, s3-END

June

The Magnus Archive - Fear Winners 1 & 2

July

Gods of Appalachia, Eps 1-6

(Wolf 359)

Janus Descending

August

(Wolf 359)

Mabel

(Zero Hours, ep 7)

Time:Bombs

TV SHOWS BY SEASON

May

Watcher Entertainment, Are You Scared?

Castlevania, s3, s4 [Fin]

Word of Honor [Fin]

Buzzfeed: Kelsey in Control?

Demon Slayer, s1

June

Demon Slayer, s1 [Fin]

Kim’s Convenience, s4

Leverage, s5 [Fin]

Watcher: Too Many Spirits, s3

Loki, s1

Lucifer, s2, s3, s4

Trese, s1

(Buzzfeed Unsolved: True Crime, s3, s6?)

(Buzzfeed Unsolved: Supernatural, s1)

Sweet Tooth, s1

Love, Death & Robots

July

Loki, s1 [Fin]

Watcher: Too Many Spirits, s3 [Fin]

Watcher: Dish Granted, s3

Shark Week

Lucifer, s5

Masters of the Universe: Revelation

August

The Owl House, s2

Watcher: Dish Granted, s3

Watcher Weekly+

Buzzfeed: Ruining History

Star Trek Discovery, s1, s2, s3

What If..., s1

VIDEO GAMES

May

Monster Hunter Rise, 12 hours

Mass Effect 1: Legendary Edition, 25 hours

Pokemon Go

June

Mass Effect 1: Legendary Edition, ? hours

Pokemon Go

Animal Crossing: New Horizons, ??? Hours

Persona 5 Royal, ??? hours

July

Persona 5 Royal, 167 hours

Pokemon Go

August

Persona 5 Royal, 167 hours

Pokemon Go

Ori and the Blind Forest [Fin]

DELIGHTFUL FIC

May

The word is help. by spqr | Star Wars | Din/Luke | 9k | In a flash, Fett has his blaster out and pointed at Luke’s head. “You’re right,” he says. “Turnabout’s fair play. So maybe I oughta shoot you.”

Don’t be afraid. by spqr | Star Wars | Obi-Wan/Anakin | 12k | “Padawan Kenobi,” Yoda says, after a moment. “Complete your training, Master Skywalker will.”

who carried the hill by spqr | Star Wars | Din/Luke | 22k | Din’s about to head up the ramp onto the newly-repaired Razor Crest when a string pulls taut around his heart and yanks him into the sky.

Tapestry by spqr | Star Wars | Obi-Wan/Anakin | 8k | In March, Obi-Wan drags Anakin to another faculty party, where Anakin gets all sorts of wrong ideas about Quinlan Vos and decides to fellate Obi-Wan in a coat closet about it.

wonderterror by peradi | Star Wars | Leia/Han/Luke | 6k | Anakin Skywalker is the son of the Force.He’s half human and half something monumental.What does that make his children?

Xen Gardens by denimwrapped | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan & Shane | 1k | Shane Madej saves the day.A strange man comes to congratulate him.

A Series of Better Decisions by SassySnowperson | Star Wars | Padme/Obi-Wan/Anakin | 9k | "Kill him. Kill him now!" Chancellor Palpatine hissed, as Anakin held the two blades against Dooku's neck. "No," Anakin said. "It's not the Jedi way."

Futurus (-a -um) by cadesama | Star Wars | Padme/Anakin/Obi-Wan | 60k | Cracked hyperdrive? No problem. Just hold it together with the Force. Time travel? Well. That could be a bigger problem.

Comfort in Wartime by Rosbridge | Star Wars | Padme/Obi-Wan/Anakin | 4k | Obi-Wan is exhausted, drunk, and just about out of fucks to give.

spark me up, i'm a firework (i'll burst into light) by coffeeinallcaps | FATWS | Bucky/Sam | 7k | "You know how the super-soldier serum makes everything, well, super? I guess you could say that's what happened to my sex drive."

Thaw by spqr | Star Wars | Din/Luke | 6k | That’s what hope does to you, Luke remembers now. It lingers at the back of your mind, whispering maybe, maybe, so that knowing a plan is stupid isn’t enough to keep you from trying it.

Christ in Repose by spqr | Din/Luke | 8k | More on this story as it develops. Subscribe to HNN’s JEDI WATCH newsletter for instant updates on Jedi sightings throughout the galaxy.

Insufferable by perkynurples | Word of Honor | Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu | 3k | Wen Kexing asks a question. Zhou Zishu only hesitates to answer for a little while.

parasitic, parasocial by brawlite | The Untamed | Song Lan/Xiao Xingchen/Xue Yang | 45k | Xue Yang stumbles upon the channel of Fuxue, a popular videogame streamer, and immediately becomes completely and utterly obsessed with him. Unfortunately, Fuxue has a boyfriend -- but that's fine: Xue Yang loves a challenge.

Aaron Burr has Hamilton's RSI and he isn't pleased about it. by DragonBandit | Hamilton | Hamilton/Aaron Burr | 3k | Aaron knows 2 things about his soulmate: The first is that they're angry about everything. The second is that they need to fucking sleep.

dinluke lawyer au by spqr | Star Wars | Din/Luke | 31k | At 1:18 a.m., just when Luke is starting to think he might’ve gotten away with something, Biggs Darklighter shows up on the other side of his desk and says, “I can’t believe you called in sick to get shotgun married to a Mando.”

like, comment, subscribe by DeHeerKonijn, Roselightfairy | Lord of the Rings | Gimli/Legolas | 90k+ | Legolas meets Gimli for lunch - unfortunately, he meets someone else, too.

a jackal; a thief by brawlite | Word of Honor | Wen Kexing/Ye Baiyi | 11k | This is not the first time Wen Kexing’s body has been poisoned like this.

you're the trouble that i always find by sundiscus | Word of Honor | Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu | 27k | “Do you know him?” Jin Wang asks.The ringing in Zhou Zishu's ears gets louder. “No, Wangye,” he says.At Zhou Zishu’s voice, the prisoner freezes.

vampire!wwx threadfic by sundiscus | The Untamed | Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji | ??? words | in which vampires exist in a modern cultivation au, lwj is investigating a string of strange deaths, and wwx is a vampire he can’t seem to kill.

Velle by DeHeerKonijn, Roselightfairy | LotR | Gimli/Legolas | 29k | Velle (Latin): to want.

June

May All My Wounds Be Mortal by hansbekhart | Word of Honor | Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu | 10k | Peeled out of his many robes, Wen Kexing’s body reveals itself to be mostly leg. He strips eagerly, grinning up at Zhou Zishu as if this is another joke between them. See? Wen Kexing’s body seems to say, I have no secrets from you.

drop by brawlite | The Untamed | Song Lan/Xue Yang | 4k |  Xue Yang has had this dream before.

Splenda by Tierfal | FMA | Ed/Roy | 19k | WIP | A sugar daddy AU that barely even qualifies as a sugar daddy AU, because these two can't do anything right.

From the Ashes by blacktofade | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Shane/Ryan | 3k | “This doesn’t need to leave this room,” Ryan had said that first time. “Casual is my middle name.”

Whale Songs by denimwrapped | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 2k | It could be humming, he thinks. Some distant angelic humming. What it’s humming about, he’d have to find out the hard way. All he can hear in his mind’s ear is come closer. There’s so much more in the depths than you’ve ever known.

A Good Bargain by Neery | Word of Honor | Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu | 11k | The Window of Heaven captures the Ghost Valley's master. Zhou Zishu is put in charge of interrogating him.

So Why Not Crack Your Skull When the Mind Swells by greenteafiend | The Untamed | Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian | 13k | Or, Wei Wuxian is cursed to feel terrible pain when he and Lan Wangji aren’t touching.

the agony and the irony by arostine | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 44k | WIP |  Ryan has a lot on his plate right now. He’s one of three members of his species employed at BuzzFeed, and the only male omega, and his boss keeps asking him to do videos about being an iterant ‘to educate the humans,’ when what he really wants to do is videos about ghosts.

the rest of your life by bestliars | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane/Sara | 30k | MYSTERY DISAPPEARANCE IN THE MIDWEST! The year is 2034. Successful video producer Ryan Bergara uproots his whole life to take care of his friend’s children.

sit in my circle and hold my hand by soda_coded | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 14k | Ryan and Shane work for the metaphysical department of the LAPD, fool around and get cursed.

Idle Hands (Do the Devil's Work) by ma_malice | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 4k | In which the only upside to being a demon stuck in a seasonal Chicago snowstorm is the ability to abandon your body and possess your boyfriend in LA.

Shell Game by Giddygeek | The Magicians | Quentin/Eliot | 20k | Or, Quentin can’t believe he never thought to ask if there was a magical time in Fillory when people swapped bodies with the last person they slept with.

Contention by hollybennett123 | Word of Honor | Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu/Ye Baiyi | 3k |  The Zhou Zishu of ten minutes ago, who first agreed to the whole thing — the evening’s conversation and general bickering over drinks taking an unexpectedly filthy turn — had been thinking only about the imminent pounding on offer and not, well, everything else that might come with it.

Necrocafé by etothey | Locked Tomb Trilogy | Gideon/Harrow | 2k | Harrowhark Nonagesimus isn't sure which confounds her more: the new boxes of bones she is to animate, or the hot redheaded courier who brings the boxes.

simple man by spqr | Loki | Loki/Mobius, Loki/Loki | 6k | “Tell you what,” says Mobius, shortly after the Timekeepers have sentenced Loki to death, “why don’t I take care of this?”

(Un)disclosed desires by Springandastorm | Loki | Loki/Mobius | "That's not how I see you at all, Loki." Mobius said, unexpectedly earnest. "We all play roles sometimes." 

sources of light by brawlite | Word of Honor | Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu | 3k | Zhou Zishu makes a difficult choice in order to save Wen Kexing's life. The morning after is not an easy one.

warm company, cold nights by janonny | Word of Honor | Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu | 23k | He gave Zhou Zishu a lingering look from beneath his lashes. “Your virtuous wife will accompany you of course.”

July

the potential of broken things by icarusinflight | Harry Potter | Drarry | 11k | "Can you feel that? Some things want to be what they once were. The original spell is still there, and it wants to work again. All it takes is a little push and then"—Draco clicks his fingers of his free hand—"snap, everything will go back into place."

little beast by brawlite | The Untamed | Song Lan/Xue Yang | 7k | Payback's a bitch.

you, undeniable you by returnsandreturns | Brooklyn Nine-Nine | Jake/Amy | 1k | “Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Jake asks, for the fourth time. “Because we can just ditch that thing, toss it out a window, do it missionary like the founding fathers intended.”

Car Talk by drunkbedelia | Loki | Mobius/Loki | 1k | ‘When I pruned myself, I thought I might be able to find Loki,' Sylvie said.

one too many by sarcasticfishes | Watcher | Ryan/Shane | 1k | “Stay here,” Ryan says, just casual enough, “I’ll drive you home tomorrow.”

Tencent and Chill by quoth_the_ravenclaw | The Untamed | Nie Huaisang/Nie Mingjue | 2k | “Da-ge,” Huaisang whines, all for show, as much a performance as the actors on screen. He wiggles his toes. “My feet are so sore, you worked me too hard.”

The House at the End of the World by Hopetohell | Loki | Loki/Mobius/Sylvie | 1k | What will they do, now that they can do anything?

moderate the middle by ElisAttack | Loki | Loki/Mobius/Sylvie | 9k | People only smiled with their eyes when it was real. Unless they were a Loki. No matter the differences between the variants, their tricky grins were a constant as much as they were indiscernible.

Lost and Sound by snack_size | Loki | Loki/Thor/Sylvie | 5k | “Sylvie, did you help my brother defeat the Time Police?”

push the button (and let me know) by dinosuns | Loki | Loki/Mobius | 5k | “How about this?” hands folded on the table, he watches Loki intently. “If you tell me why, I’ll answer.” 

We're (not) all villains here by sir_not_appearing_in_this_archive | Loki | Loki/Mobius/Sylvie | 19k | WIP | Alone and friendless (once again), Loki has to find a way to set things right, or at least right enough he can comfortably sneak off into the sunset, which starts with one thing: saving Mobius's lost memories.

what remains by dinosuns | Loki | Loki/Mobius | “You’re no analyst.” Mobius sounds stunned. They are not aligned, they are not in tandem. But there are wistful glimmers of what is now agonisingly out of reach.

worth a shot by thereyoflight | Loki | Loki/Sylvie | 2k | When Loki and Sylvie are moments away from being cornered on the train in Lamentis, they resort to desperate measures.

Bug Problems by xorabbit | Marvel | Grandmaster/Loki | 7k |  Loki ends up on Sakaar, of course, with just that many more schemes to scheme. However, the Grandmaster is not altogether too terrible--a bit of fine luck, for once--and perhaps it's all right to have a better-natured fling while one works out what's next.

our way, no takebacks by dinosuns | Loki | Loki/Mobius | 20k | "Nice speech," Sylvie drawls, but the sarcasm doesn't land.

August

Vennen min by spqr | Loki | Loki/Mobius | 12k | The day they let Mobius out of the infirmary, Loki gets assigned to a new handler. This, Mobius is pretty sure, is where the trouble starts.

new terms by dinosuns | Loki | President Loki/Mobius | 21k | For the first time in his life, Loki triumphs. How fitting then, for the end to swiftly barge in unannounced.

Icarus by Waako | Loki | Loki/Mobius | 5k | When Mobius got pruned, he expected two different outcomes. Either eternal peace or eternal emptiness. He certainly didn’t expect a grey sky, ruins of old buildings looming over him, and a Loki variant watching him like he was a piece of fresh meat.

Stress Relief by spqr | Loki | Loki/Mobius | 3.5k |  “Let me read you something,” Loki says. He rifles through the pages, clears his throat, and Mobius puts a hand over his eyes because he knows what’s coming before Loki even reads the first word—“Pēdīcābō ego vōs et irrumābō—“

just like the weather by sarcasticfishes | BFU | Shane/Ryan/Sara | 6k | “Y’know,” Ryan shrugs. “Friends have kids together sometimes. Like if a same-sex couple has a friend surrogate for them. Or sometimes people just co-parent.”

Woodash and iron and leather by iffervescent | The Witcher | 9k | Jaskier is the only person Geralt's ever been around who doesn't smell of fear

Food of Love by tanktrilby | The Witcher | Geralt/Jaskier | 22k | I brought a dead princess back to life through the power of song is the kind of thing that would have got an eyebrow raise even from the stone-faced Geralt of Rivia, so it's a good thing he and Geralt will probably never see each other again.

If The Morning Light Sets In by nagia | Castlevania | Sypha/Trevor/Alucard | 45k | Save the Belmonts, save the world.

halfway by ivelostmyspectacles | Castlevania | Sypha/Alucard/Trevor | 12k | Vampire attacks are happening again. Unprovoked, strange, humans and vampires dying alike. A disease. Alucard assures them that he isn't susceptible.

lonely lonely heart by spqr | Loki | Loki/Mobius | 7k |  Mobius looks down at the paperwork, gets a sort of flustered farmboy look on his face, looks back up at Loki and says, “You offered to give a cop fellatio in the middle of Central Park.”

Bedrest by Lise | The Untamed | Xiao Xingchen& Xue Yang | 3k | Xiao Xingchen's newest patient is causing him problems. He just won't stay put.

too little, too late. by raisesomehale | Miraculous Ladybug | Adrien/Marinette | 6k | WIP |  “Ladybug.” Chat’s voice cuts in like molten steel.

DELIGHTFUL FANVIDS

May

Jesper Fahey | 99 Problems

Jesper Fahey | OLD TOWN ROAD

Kaz & Inej | I Can't Pretend

human | kaz brekker

bucky barnes || humble

The Mandalorian || Warriors

The Mandalorian | I'll See You Again

Hope is the light.

►Zhou Zishu & Wen Kexing | Beautiful mess

Kaz & Inej | I Can't Pretend

versailles at night | alina & the darkling

look what you made me do | the darkling

Bucky Barnes | Rasputin

Obi-Wan || dirty work

Blood in the water [the Witcher]

MARVEL || Astronaut in the Ocean

Enola Holmes || Unstoppable

Shadow & Bone || Fire Meets Fate

Mo Dao Zu Shi Season 3 AMV/Trailer - Teeth

Kylo Ren | STAR WARS

June

MARVEL || Rasputin

MARVEL || Astronaut in the Ocean

i dont enjoy hurting people | Loki [1x01]

loki laufeyson • unsteady [⚠ 1x01]

MARVEL || Levitating

Shadow & Bone | Paint It Black

Glitter & Gold | Jesper Fahey

Shadow and Bone | Levitating

wen kexing ✘ zhou zishu | put your lips on mine

Erik Lensherr - Magneto

The Crows || Circus

The Crows | Thrift Shop (Shadow & Bone)

Zemo & Bucky — RASPUTIN [tfatws]

Cruella | Feeling good

Percy Jackson || Watch Me

THE KILLING KIND || The Magnus Archives Animatic

LOKI || Glorious Purpose

The Darkling | Black Heretic

Sam x Bucky || Handclap [HUMOR]

Loki || Lovely

Doctor Strange || Dystopia

Loki & Sylvie || I’m not your friend

Loki || Hate Me

MARVEL || River

Loki & Bucky || Paint It Black

Wanda Maximoff || The Scarlet Witch (WandaVision)

Play With Fire || MARVEL || Loki Doctor Strange Scarlet Witch

MARVEL || Warriors

Loki || God of Mischief || You Do You

(Marvel) Loki | You Will Never Be A God

Marvel's Horror Cinematic Universe

community gardens || the magnus archives PMV

July

Thor || Rise

Loki & Sylvie - Demons in my head [ep.3]

//HUMANS// THE MAGNUS ARCHIVES

Loki | Lost

A Quiet Place

Loki & Sylvie || Strange Birds

Loki & Sylvie "I won't let you down" | (+1x05)

♚ Loki & Sylvie | If You Love Me (1x04)

Loki & Sylvie | If our love is wrong [Loki +1x04]

Loki and Mobius | Hold On [Loki +1x05]

loki laufeyson • in the end [+ 1x04]

Loki and Sylvie || Feeling Good

Marvel || Black Widow - Counting Stars || Natasha Romanoff 

Cruella || Little Wicked

MARVEL || This is My Time || Shang-Chi Trailer Music

Sylvie | Unstoppable (Loki +1x03)

Loki and Sylvie (Lady Loki) || Play With Fire

Wanda and Vision || Dancing With Your Ghost

Wanda Maximoff and Loki || You Should See Me In A Crown

Loki and his Variants ⚔ King of Space [ep.5]

Loki & Sylvie ❤ This world is slowing down [ep.5]

Sylvie || Confident (+1x04)

•Loki x Sylvie ⱠΞⴼ King and Queens•

Loki - In The End | Marvel

Loki & Sylvie ❤ Out of Control [ep.4]

Loki & Mobius | Dynasty [LOKI/+1x04]

Loki & Sylvie ❤ Love War [ep.6]

(Marvel) Loki | Glorious Purpose

(MARVEL) Loki | Chaos

Loki | In The End [+1X06]

Loki x Sylvie | Another Love

Loki & Sylvie | Arcade [ Loki +1x06]

MARVEL || The Assembled Universe (c/w ASTrix UI)

August

Natasha & Yelena || Do It Like A Dude

Black Widow || Smells Like Teen Spirit

MARVEL || Uptown Funk

MARVEL || 1 in a Million

MARVEL/DC || Dies Irae

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness TRAILER #1

MARVEL || Loki 

DELIGHTFUL MUSIC

May

The Wild One - Suzi Quatro

What’s So Funny ‘Bout - Sharon Van Etten

Levitating - Dua Lipa

The Underground - Meg Myers

You Won’t Find Me - Narrow Skies

Elixir of Life - Leah

Salt and the Sea - The Lumineers

ERROR - Niki, Kradness

Runaway - AURORA

Butterfly Water - Pastelle

Close to the Sun - Porcelain Pill

Selkie-boy - The Lost Words

Good Riddance - Annapantsu

Die Anywhere Else - Julia Henderson

Heat Waves - Glass Animals

Down - St Vincent

Word of Honor OST

Welcome to the Pleasuredome - Frankie Goes to Hollywood

Shy Away - Twenty One Pilots

Follow You - Imagine Dragons

I’m Not That Girl - Kerry Ellis

Meant to be Yours - Ryan McCartan

Ex Wives - Six

Euphoria - BTS

Walls - Cher

96,000 - In the Heights

Sun Goes Down - Lil Nas X

Enough For You - Olivia Rodrigo

Brutal - Olivia Rodrigo

Ziti E Buoni - Maneskin

Shum - Go_A

Loco Loco - Hurricane

Space Ghost Coast to Coast - Glass Animals

The Horror and the Wild (whole album - The Amazing Devil

Chant - Hadestown

Titans - Major Lazer, Sia

Bones - Galantis

Golden Dandelions - Barns Courtney

Le Nozze di Figaro - Hybrid

Save Your Tears - The Weeknd

Psycho - Post Malone

Gold Lion - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Close to Me - Ellie Goulding

And So It Went - The Pretty Reckless

help herself - bbno$

Fire For You - Cannons

Twist the Knife - Chromatics

He Said She Said - Chvrches

Face Down - The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

Campus - Vampire Weekend

Your Power - Billie Eilish

Reach - Eternal Eclipse

1 Last Cigarette - The Band Camino

Insertion - Hans Zimmer

from the edge - fictionjunction

The Devil Is a Gentleman - Merci Raines

Meet Me In The Woods - Amarante

Fire - Saint Mesa

Smells Like Teen Spirit - Saint Mesa

Appetite - Casey Edwards

All Things Devour - aeseaes

Throne - Saint Mesa

Witchcraft - Vian Izak

June

The Shrine / An Argument - Fleet Foxes

It’s Tricky - Run

Darjeeling - Barrie

Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings - Father John Misty

Picture Me Better - Weyes Blood

Loch Lomond - Mackenzi Tolk

Punta - Matzzy

Touch It Clean - DJ Raulito

Oh No - Kreepa

Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land - Marina

Sofia - Askjell

The Boy - Shannon & the Clams

First Steps - Lena Raine

The Power of Balance Rearranged - Rush Garcia

And So My Heart Became a Void - Ursine Vulpine

Paper Mache - Iris Lune

Catch Me If You Can - Desert Belle

Darkroom Double - Moon & Pollution

Serotonin - girl in red

In the Air Tonight - Natalie Taylor

When Your Heart Is a Stranger - Friends In Paris

Moon Effect - Sailor Moon Eternal OST

In A Black Out - Hamilton Leithauser

Forever - CHVRCHES

Way Less Sad - AJR

Helter Skelter - Detention

The Devil You Know - X Ambassadors

TVA - Natalie Holt

Honeybee-The Head and the Heart

Home All Summer - Anthony Ramos

In the Shadows - Amy Stroup

My Way - Lucifer Cast

In the Air Tonight - Jon Howard

The Beast - Old Caltone

The Beast - Delta Rae

Freak Like Me - Adina Howard

Only the Good Die Young - Billy Joel

Winds of Change - Scorpions

good 4 u - Olivia Rodrigo

If I Could See The World - Patsy Cline

Ends of the Earth - Lord Huron 

The Killing Kind - Marianas Trench

Bones - Wens

Kiss Me More - Doja Cat

How Not to Drown - CHVRCHES

July

Dark Moon - Bonnie Guitar

Free Smiles - Tia Ray

Sundown Blues - Joanna Levine

Citta Vuoto - Mina

If You Love Me - Brenda Lee

Very Full - Tom Hiddleston

Loki Green Theme - Natalie Holt

Wrecked - Imagine Dragons

The Wolves - Cyrus Reynolds

Cure For Me - Aurora

Theory of Light - Eternal Eclipse

Fate of the Clockmaker - Eternal Eclipse

Potential Breakup Son - Aly and AJ

transparent soul - travis barker

My Love Will Never DSie - AG, Claire Wyndham

Happy Together - King Princess

Atomise - Temple

Darkside - Oshins

Someone to Watch Over Me - Lucifer Cast

This is Ours - Peter Sivo

Love and War - Fleurie

Take Me To Church - MILCK

Devil I Know - Allie X

East of Eden - Zella Day

Shadow Preachers - Zella Day

Losing My Religion - BELLSAINT

Hard to Kill - Beth Crowley

Dark Side - Blind Channel

Tanz Mit Mir - Faun

My Jolly Sailor Bold - Ashley Serena

Stuttering - Fefe Dobson

August

Monsters and Fairies - Savannah

Chosen - SVRCINA

IAN HA 3BYK - GO A

Freya - Verdandi

Sick on Seventh Strett - Sarah and the Safe Word

Tarah - Sae Sae Norris

Suspicion - Sherwood Roberts

Fjorgyn - Osi and the Jupiter

Fight to Make It Up - Takenobu

The Edge of Dawn - Rozen

Innocence - Cannon Diviision

A Stray Child - .Hack//Sign

The Kiss - Luigi Rubino

Any Kind of Dead Person - Ghost Quartet

The Great Unknown - Dominique Gilbert

Smells Like Teen Spirit - Saint Mesa

over the rainbow - misterwives

Fireflies - Cullen Vance

My mother Told Me - Nati Dreddd

Athetosis - Crywolf

Major Tom - Shiny Toy Guns

Novacaine - 10 Years

Right Here Right Now - Jesus Jones

NDA - Billie Eilish

Trouble’s Coming - Royal Blood

Completing the Circle - Gareth Coker

There’ll Always Be Another Monster - Brian D’Oliveira

POSTED FIC

May

take my hand and i'll drown you with me | Star Wars | Rey & Ben Solo | 2,157 words |  “You brought this upon yourself,” the creature told her, its voice serene.

June

keeping me restless and whole | Loki | Loki/Mobius | 1,584 words | Mobius was very young when he encountered his first Loki.

July

feed me lies until i'm dead | Loki | Thor/Loki | 3,476 words | “Don’t you think we should talk about it?” Thor asks.

the ghost of us can linger here | Loki | Loki/Mobius/Sylvie | 4,432 words | “So, how do you crazy kids want to do this?” Mobius asks them in a stage whisper, mouth twitching. At her back, Loki laughs, burying the sound against the curve of her neck.

there's a whisper in my bones | Loki | Loki/Mobius/Sylvie | 2,794 words |  “All right,” she says. “Fine. Let’s make things more interesting. Take off your clothes.”

east of eden | Loki | Loki/Mobius/Sylvie | 2,202 words |  “How long have you been fucking him?”  Mobius asks, stroking his fingers against the place where leather meets skin.

Triptych in C Minor | Loki | Loki/Mobius/Sylvie | 1,647 words | Pt 1 | There is a house at the end of time, past the last storm, pushed up against the very edge of the unknown. It is a castle, a manor, a fortress - all depending on who inhabits it. But one thing that it never is, is a home.

August

N/A

WIPS | UNPUBLISHED | ORIGINAL

May

2k of Reylo mermay fic

June

N/A

July

1k+ of Xue Yang being a slut for Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen

300 words of vampire Song Lan

7k of Green Knight AU

August

10k of Green Knight AU

1.5k of hair dye shenanigans

FANMIXES/GRAPHICS

May

yearning: a playlist for the heart

June

the chosen and the beautiful: a mix for jordan baker

July 

kings & queens of the ruckus: a mix for loki and sylvie

August

N/A

[b-else-writes]

the tiger shark and the sun

New chapter posted for my Star Wars/Avatar the Last Airbender  RebelCaptain fusion AU! We’re reaching the climax of ESB!

Read on AO3 | Read from the start

Pairings: Jyn/Cassian, minor Han/Leia and Baze/Chirrut, random minor background pairings

Rating: T

Summary: Star Wars/Avatar the Last Airbender fusion AU. When exiled firebender  Jyn Erso lands on his doorstep the day Cassian, last southern  waterbender, meets the Avatar, she seems just another obstacle in ending  the War against the Fire Nation. An obstacle he would willingly remove.  But as their paths keep crossing, and the twins discover that destiny  and balance are more than they expect, Jyn and Cassian find that they are more alike than they ever thought possible.

Snippet under the cut!

She is standing in the green field of Lah’mu. She can smell the grass, the salt of the sea and volcanic soil. A long black robe covers her, trailing as her bare feet leave imprints in the dirt. There is something wrong about her face. It feels soft, loose, the skin dripping off. In the sunlit field, Cassian is gathering the harvest.

A white snake slithers across the soil. Its sinuous body spirals over her body towards her face. It speaks with Krennic’s voice. “They say that belonging is the essence of humanity. Are you tired, yet?”

“I’m not tired.”

The snake’s face pauses inches from hers. “Just relax. Give into it. Shut your eyes for a while.”

Her eyelids feel heavy. What a tempting, reasonable offer.

“No, Jyn!” A black feathered serpent curls towards her, speaking with Bodhi’s voice. “Don’t listen!”

Cassian seizes her hands. “The stars are fire,” he tells her.

“What does that mean?”

“The stars are fire,” he repeats. She looks up. A red star bleeds across the sky and the field burns. It is her. The flames spread out from beneath her feet, and Cassian and the black dragon with Bodhi’s voice draw away. She sees the others in the field, watches as they ignite. Luke and Leia blow like ash in the wind. “Did you think we would appreciate this?”

In the white snake’s eyes, she sees her own are yellow. “Sleep… like Lyra.”

Jyn extends her hand. The white snake sinks its teeth into her scarred skin.

  Jyn awoke, gasping. Her body was sticky with sweat. The other women slept on. For a moment, she lay and stared at the ceiling. Lyra had spoken often on the nature of dreams, of the ways in which the Spirits could touch you, or you to touch their world, if your mind was open enough. Jyn was more concerned about her brain falling out of her head by being that open. Wiping her body down, she watched Leia and Enfys twitch in their sleep. They had let her sleep beside them for so many weeks now. Her fingertips traced her face. Her temples were pounding. She felt feverish. Yellow eyes…

She stood in front of the mirror for a long time.

When she stepped into the kitchen, Cassian was there, as always. “I want to go to a temple,” she said abruptly, “Can you…”

Only tilting his head at her rudeness, he got to his feet, pocketing a few oranges. Together they started out on the already bustling streets. There were many roadside shrines, as there were in the Fire Nation and across the Earth Kingdom. Jyn was looking for something larger. Cassian peeled an orange, handing her a slice. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a temple,” he said, as she chewed, “We just have a communal shrine in the South Pole.”

Jyn nodded. “Bodhi told me once, because we were always on the water, that a temple is just a sacred place. It's just about how you look at it. I guess he missed Jedha, a lot, then.”

In answer, he handed her another orange slice. His fingers were sticky with juice. This too, is sacred, breakable. “What temple are you looking for? There are temples and shrines in Mon Cala for all Four Nations. Though the Fire Nation ones are probably in disrepair.”

“Coruscant, too.” Jyn frowned. “I remember there was an abandoned Water Tribe shrine, near the harbour. My mother took me there once, when I was very young. She was really interested in other cultures. We didn’t ask permission, I mean, there weren't any attendants anyways,” she added hurriedly, “But we didn't touch anything or pray to the Spirits. Anyways, no Fire Nation Shrines. That would...be dangerous.”

Cassian began to lead them onto another path. “I wouldn't have been upset if you had prayed to the Water Tribe Spirits.”

“They're your Spirits, Cassian, they aren't for my people.”

“Spirits aren't for anyone, they belong to themselves and nature. We just chose them.”

“Well, I don't think they believe in me.”

“Not even after the North Pole?”

Jyn made a face. Perhaps, in Cassian’s eyes, the rampage of the Ocean Spirit was some kind of blessing upon his sister tribe. Trust the Spirits. The Ocean Spirit had spared her and Bodhi. The world isn't done with you yet, they seemed to say. Cassian gave her a nudge. They had arrived at an Earth Kingdom temple. She looked up at him and smiled. A middle ground.

Even if XoXaan had tried to eat her.

Continue reading on AO3