#the quarantine mood chapter that never was

[literaturewithliz]

I feel like making a sappy post abt PJO rn so here we go!

As the hours go by, it gets clearer and clearer to me that soon, everything will change for the fan base of pjo. And no matter how hard I try to be excited, there is such a beautifully tragic feeling of sadness I get to think about it. About not knowing what will happen when that show comes out.

I never realized just how protective I was of Percy and his group until it was announced that filming had begun for season 1. When I saw Rick’s post, I felt light for a moment, and then a heavy feeling settled in my chest that I still cannot quite describe. The ironic part of all of this is the fact that it has been alarmingly long since I’ve sat to read these books. In fact, the last time I read The Lightning Thief, it was the first time.

It was quarantine, so the mood was already impossibly somber. But what made it such a unique experience for me was the fact that I had depression. My parents had just split which was earth shattering for me, a ten year old, and all I could think about 24/7 was the countless fights they had, their words ringing in my head like a gigantic bell that never did seem to stop. My grandmother (whose house my dad and I were staying in) and my father still had in person work at that point, so I was alone everyday, which gave me all the time in the world to ponder my emotion, or lack there of. I came close to doing unspeakable things, and eventually just stayed inside my room. I hardly ever came out, so hardly anyone physically saw me for a year. I never picked up phone calls, I ate meals in my room, and I spent the day sleeping so that when I woke up everyone in the house would be asleep and I wouldn’t have to talk to anyone.

I had completely lost my identity at that point, because since school was out, there was nothing to try at. All of my validation came from my academic performance, specifically my performance in reading. At this time, I really didn’t like to read at all. I just didn’t love it, my heart wasn’t in it, but I did it all the time because all of my classmates and teachers and both of my parents told me I had a gift, and that I was destined to do something with it. And so I read all the time, and it seemed like that was all I did. But now that there was no one encouraging me, I didn’t see a point.

Until one day when I was scrolling through a YouTube comments section, and one of the comments mentioned the name Percy Jackson, who I had never heard of before. I looked into the replies of that comment and there was just an endless amount of love there. These people who have never seen each other before all still seeming like a family in their own way, bonding over this book series. I remember wondering why I never had that, with all the books that I’ve read. And then next I remember thinking that I really did want it, and begged my dad to buy me the first Percy jackson book. I was very hesitant because I still didn’t care all that much about reading, but I thought that something about this series must be different, if all of these people can bond so much over it.

So I started reading it, and after a couple of chapters, I gave up on it. Because I didn’t understand what was happening, and I didn’t want to. I thought that the group of people I saw were weird for liking such a boring book. And I didn’t pick it up again for about two more month, when my depression was at an all time low. There was hardly anything in my mind except that loud bell, and I was desperate to make it go away. There wasn’t anything to do, and I felt like this really was the end for me, that life was always going to be this never ending storm of awful feelings, and I would be lonely forever.

So I did the only thing I thought I was good at, and I read. I sat there for a solid 3 hours and read that book without putting it down and it was the best thing that had ever happened to me, because I actually loved it. These characters felt personal to me, I felt like I had known them my whole life. I feel like it was also the first time I had laughed in a while.

Percy Jackson showed me that reading didn’t have to be something I did for the approval of others, but it could be amazing. I kept purchasing the series as it went, and by the time it was over, School had started again, and I talked to people every day. My life felt like there was at least a little bit of normalcy to it, and while the bells never really did stop ringing, I now had a whole fandom I could talk and relate with about these books and about life in general. PJO was always like a buoy in the storm for me at that time, and eventually, I read more books. Books that I loved this time. And instead of reading for the approval of others, I read because I didn’t want to do anything else.

Eventually with all of these new books, I fell out of the fandom for the most part, but Percy was always there in the back of my mind. So how odd it feels now, to feel like I am about to cry at the thought that a whole new generation of fans is about to storm in, and we will all be there with open arms. Maybe there is a little girl out there right now feeling what I felt, and this show will be there to be her anchor. Maybe these characters will be there to show her what the world could not.

I feel like I sounds silly and over dramatic and maybe I do, but it is all true. This series changed my life in the best of ways, and for that I will always be protective of it.

Even so, I know that we have deserved a true adaptation, the world deserves to see Percy Jackson as it truly is. And even with my fear and my sadness to see this era go, I am so unbelievably excited to see what happens next. So excited to watch and rewatch these episodes with y’all until I can’t see straight. So excited to hear what people think of it. I think big things are coming. Good luck Leah, Walker, and Aryan. Good luck to every other actor and every set worker and good luck to Uncle Rick, because with this chaotically beautiful mess of a fandom, you will definitely need it.

[stromuprisahat]

What fjerdan breeding facilities do people talk about? I'm sorry there's a lot I missed in the duology.

Nina peered down the row of beds at the women and girls. The youngest looked to be about fifteen, the oldest might have been in her thirties, but the ravages of the drug made it hard to tell. Some cradled small bumps beneath their thin blankets, others hunched over high, protruding stomachs. A few might not have been pregnant—or might not have been showing yet. ... The pregnant girl being walked along the aisle said, “Please. Just a little.” “Not so soon before the baby comes. It could put you both at risk.” The girl began to cry. “But you never give it to the mothers after the babies come.” “Then you’ll just have to get pregnant again, won’t you?” The girl cried harder, and Nina didn’t know if it was hunger for the drug or dread at what the Springmaiden was suggesting that made the girl cover her face and weep.

King of Scars- Chapter 18

“What is this?” said the man in the red cap. “Who are these women? What’s wrong with them?” “They’re … they’re sick,” said the guard. “They’ve been quarantined for their own good.” “There’s no disease,” said Nina from the shadows of the cart. “The soldiers have been experimenting on these girls.” “But they’re all … Are they all pregnant?” Nina let the silence hang, felt the mood of the crowd shift from suspicion to outright anger. “You’re from the convent?” the man asked, and Nina nodded. Let this miserable pinafore and these awful blond braids lend her a bit of credibility. “These prisoners are not women,” sputtered the guard. “They’re Grisha. They are potential threats to Fjerda, and you have no right to interfere.” “Prisoners?” the man in the red cap repeated, his face troubled. “Grisha?”

King of Scars- Chapter 33

To sum up- Fjerdans kidnap Grisha women, repeatedly rape and drug them with parem, so their children get addicted before being born. Pre-made for further use...

Their army and religion is at least partly involved, but never mind that- as soon as people learn what is happening there, they riot and help free those Grisha, because they know them and apparently don't consider them unnatural abominations good only for a pyre.

Accepting region, I guess...

[abbatoirablaze]

Captain Penisi, Chapter 8

Word Count: 1.1k

Warnings:  none really

“Hey…uh…what are you doing here?”

Auggie froze in her tracks.  It’d been nearly a year since she’d seen anyone from Station 24, but Vickie was ever insistent that she renew her bonds with the rest of the station. 

And while it had been some time, the recognition of the voice was instantaneous.

In her time away, she’d spent a lot of time with the two younger McConkys, acting almost like a big sister to them when they would come by the hospital, as they felt abandoned by their older sister when she moved out. 

And Terry had all but accepted her as the long-last daughter he never thought that he would have. 

But she was still shell-shocked when she turned around, trying to balance the tote of items that her and Vickie had gotten together for the station after they’d announced that they were going into a quarantine because of a previous call that left them potentially open to a viral attack that had been fatal for a capuchin.

“Eddie…” she muttered softly, "I-I'm just stopping by...I-"

She had been told by Terry himself that no one was allowed outside of the station’s bubble to ensure that they didn’t possibly infect anyone else. And she thought that she would be safe unpacking the items from her car.

But she wasn't.

“Y-you weren’t supposed to be out here,” she said quickly, looking to the older man, "Vickie and Terry-"

"Ahh, I never listen to what they say," he smirked as he leaned against his car, "why are you here?"

She had to fight back the giggles, seeing him with graying mutton chops and a hazardous materials suit on, “I-I was just dropping stuff off for you guys.  Vickie said that everyone has been miserable...I figured that you guys could use some entertain-“

“You look great…”

The words died in her throat as Eddie stared at her in awe.  She gave him a soft smile, “Th-thank you!”

“I-It’s been a while since we’ve seen you around the station,” he said quickly, awkwardly as he shifted on his heels, “I-I mean, not that I noticed it or anything but I just-“

“Me and Lucy got into an argument!” she said quickly, cutting the captain off.  She and Eddie stood in relative silence while they stared awkwardly at one another, both of them sizing the other up, "and then I mean there's the whole me and Ike breaking up thing..."

“Lola’s kid wasn’t mine!”

“Yeah…Vickie told me that.”

"Yeah…”

“Yeah…”

“I-I’m really glad that it’s you stopping by with supplies!” he said quickly, gesturing to the tote that she was balancing on her hip, “I mean…I’m sure everyone will be really happy to see you.  I-“

“I can’t go in there, Eddie!”

“What?” he asked, his brow raising, “of course you can.  I mean…I know that it’s been a while…but Ike’s gotten over you two breaking up.  And I  know that Lucy misses having you as a friend.  She always-“

“Eddie everyone is contagious with something and no one knows what it is,” she said quickly, shaking her head, “even if I was on the best of terms with everyone I wouldn’t go in there because of that.”

“Oh…yeah…”

“And anyways,” she shrugged, “I’m pretty sure you guys only put up with me because Vickie and Terry like me and treat me as one of their children/good friends depending on their moods on any given day.”

“I-I always liked you!” he said slowly, watching her reaction.  He noticed her lips part ever so slightly and he instantly started to think that he might have crossed a line by subtly admitting that he’d felt something more than platonic friendship towards her, “I mean…I-I can’t speak for anyone else, but I always really enjoyed when you were around!”

She scoffed, “was this before or after you broke my nose?  And poisoned me with seafood, making me have an allergic reaction.”

“I-none of that stuff was intentional.”

She frowned when she noticed the sadness crossing his eyes, “I-I know…I just-“

“It’s easier to put distance between us when you think I hate you!”

This time she looked at him, surprise lacing her own features, “what?”

He took a deep breath before looking her in the eyes, “I-I know this is going to sound absolutely crazy…but just go with it for a second?”

“What are you-“  “ I know that you have a crush on me!”

Anxiety rose up from the pit of her stomach, and flooded every inch of her body.  Her throat went dry as she stared at him, her lips parting ever so slightly, “y-you what?”

“The night of the Tay Tay McVee concert-“

“You mean the time you gave me and Lucy fake tickets?”

He sighed, “i-I wanted to impress you…I didn’t think that they would actually turn you girls away…”

“Why would you want to impress me?”

“The same reason that you kept giving me chances when I thought I blew them,” he admitted softly, “I-I don’t do this kind of thing, so bear with me…but I-I really, really like you Auggie.  That night when you and Lucy snuck into the station and went to the roof to look at the stars, you passed my office.  And I heard the two of you talking.  You admitted to Lucy that you had feelings for me.”

“Eddie-“

“And the more I’d been thinking about it this past year, and why I haven’t seen you…I-I figured that it probably had something to do with me,” he admitted, “and this stupid virus that we have from this capuchin call has had me freaking out…all I keep thinking about is what happens if this is something that’s fatal to us.  We still hadn’t gotten a call from the coroner to figure out what it is, but all I keep hearing is Granny making a panic…and Terry’s eating sandwiches in my bed, and I just…-“

She stood there for another minute, processing everything that the older man had told her, while also trying to figure out what to do next.  But nothing came.

She stared at Eddie like a clueless kid.

“Well?”

“Well what?” she asked softly. 

“Damn it, Auggie,” he growled, ripping his mask off.  He was quick to pull her to his chest, forcing her to drop the tote of items that she’d brought for them.  Instead, her attention went to the man who’s lips were now melting perfectly against hers. Instantly, she felt light-headed as she allowed herself to give into the kiss.   It felt like seconds, but he pulled away, breathless, “I like you too, Auggie…the only thing this stupid quarantine put into my mind is that if I’m going to die from some strange monkey disease then I want you to know how I feel…I want you-“

“Eddie…you just kissed me…”

A small grin fell over his face as he looked at the flushed young woman in front of himself.  She was still wrapped up in his arms, and she’d even managed to wrap her arms around his neck.  Her eyes stared into his, full of a dreamy gaze. 

And then he frowned. 

Realization hit him like  a freight train and worry coated every nerve, “shit…I just kissed you…”

“Yeah…”

“No…Auggie…I’m supposed to be in quarantine!” he said quickly, his eyes going wide, “I-I just exposed you to whatever I have…I just-“

“Shut up and kiss me again!” she begged gently, pulling his face towards hers once more.

Chapter 9

[goshdangronpa]

The case is closed. The victim is avenged. The killer is executed. Further plots twists have been revealed. We’ve reached the end of Chapter 1 in “I DISAGREE: An Ibuki Mioda SDR2 Protag Swap AU,” but it’s not over just yet. Danganronpa games always close out each chapter with a little something extra, and this project will be no different. I think that after all that death and destruction, something light and sweet is needed. (This is a long one.)

We’ll Make It Another Night: Ending Chapter 1 with a Sleepover

Focusing on the positives can be tough, even for someone as positive as Ibuki Mioda. It’s not like that positivity’s done her much good on this island. She tried her best to bring some good vibes into a bad situation, but it stopped being so effective as things got worse. She did what she could to make a difference with the disease patients, but lives were still lost. Even when she saved the day by making so many key contributions to the trial, the reward for her efforts was a decidedly hopeless death for poor Kazuichi.

What hurts most might be what happened with Mikan. Her free time events with Hajime in SDR2 show that she strives to break down people’s defenses and bring out the beautiful soul within. She tried doing that for arguably the person hiding behind the most defense mechanisms in the group. She made some real breakthroughs. More than that, she made the kind of friend she was hoping for when she accepted the invite to Hope’s Peak. All that now seems to be for nothing.

She starts to spiral … but, alone on a bench in Jabberwock Park, she finds someone else feeling even lousier than her.

When Byakuya Togami proclaimed himself leader of the class, he promised to protect everyone. He tried to make good on it by joining the medical staff in quarantine and watching over the island’s most vulnerable people. It ended so calamitously that his classmates accused him of committing murder for his own gain at the cost of everyone else’s lives. His stock as leader could not be any lower.

“Only a fool would still accept me as leader,” he laments, a far cry from his haughtiness.

Ibuki cheers, “Then I’m a fool for you!” She’s not just saying it to be nice.

Mikan’s not the only one she bonded with in quarantine. (Please excuse my one-ship mind.) Ibuki and Byakuya would ramble about life on the road, pester the pretentious Teruteru with requests for greasy fast food, and try to discern each other’s inner selves in long conversations. The investigation and trial saw them work as a team to root out inconsistencies, piece details together, fight false accusations, and catch the killer. Byakuya’s not used to trusting people, but he’s also never met anyone as genuine as this weird girl with no filter and baffling taste in everything. Her cheeky response is that her taste in friends includes him.

“That’s exactly what I mean,” he says, uncharacteristically self-effacing.

“Forget all that!” Ibuki shouts. “Let’s have another room party!”

Byakuya reminds her that she doesn’t have to stay in her hotel room anymore. She knows: with quarantine over, she wants to host the hangout at her cottage, make it a pajama party, and invite everyone! After all, they were planning a shindig before Monokuma threw a monkey wrench. Doing it now will give them, as well as the other volunteers and the surviving patients, a chance to finally hang out with the people who stayed at the cottages.

They send invites to every cottage. Ibuki even slides one under Mikan’s door, though she’s almost certainly staying somewhere less obvious. They go back to Ibuki’s cottage, then wait.

There’s a strong possibility that no one will come. It’s been a long and difficult day for everyone. Maybe no one’s in the mood to party.

Then, when the clock strikes 8, Sonia Nevermind comes a-knocking. The Ultimate Princess has never been to such an intimate party before, especially not as just “one of the girls.” She also likes the idea of the shindig as a way to reunite the two halves of the class, especially because she wants to cast off her role as leader of one group. Right behind her are Gundham Tanaka, who bonded with her over the past few days, and Teruteru Hanamura, who won her favor after apparently showing a more nurturing side during the crisis. That’s enough for a party, especially because the latter brought snacks!

Others come as well, and this time Ibuki’s the one getting help in seeing the bright side. Mahiru Koizumi comes with her camera, eager to finally spend time with and get candids of her quarantined peers. Despite initially dismissing the idea as silly, Hiyoko Saionji is right behind her. Akane Owari and Nekomaru Nidai believe that surviving the disease and trial is worth celebrating. Peko Pekoyama wasn’t sure about going either, but relents when Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu tells her how fun their hangouts were. She’s glad that he’s making friends ("Just a few days ago, he might've dismissed such a gathering as a waste of time ..."). Meanwhile, he’s grateful for Peko’s survival and enthusiastic to publicly celebrate their connection instead of hiding it from everyone.

That’s a lot of people in one small cottage, but Ibuki says the more, the merrier! The party goes late into the night with pizza, make-up, hairstyling, gossip, games, and waiting with permanent marker in hand to draw on the first to fall asleep (Gundham). Gradually, everyone leaves for their own cottages. Sonia wants to stay for her first sleepover experience, but Ibuki promises to do it another night.

Byakuya helps clean up. Proclaiming the party a success, he bids Ibuki good night. “Hey, you’re not escaping that easy!” she says as he touches the doorknob. “You’re staying with Ibuki tonight!” This was her plan all along, she explains. She felt bad that he was the only one who slept by himself at the Hotel Mirai. So despite what she told Sonia, a sleepover’s happening tonight after all.

“That’s a great deal of trust to place in someone during a killing game,” Byakuya says. Ibuki brushes off the notion that he would ever kill her and pinky-swears that she won’t kill him. “People will jump to conclusions when we walk out of here in the morning,” he says. She replies that people can think what they want and she wouldn’t care. “The bed’s too small for both of us to fit,” he says. Ibuki teases him for such a brazen suggestion, then affirms she was going to take the sofa anyway.

“Please stay,” she finally says. That’s when Byakuya realizes that this sleepover idea isn’t just for him. He steps away from the door. They get comfy, Byakuya in her bed, Ibuki on the sofa, and hit the lights. He’ll be sure to wake up early and return to his own cottage before the others can notice. For now, the two friends rest together.

Meanwhile, in another cottage …

Nagito broods. Ibuki and Byakuya’s invite is in his hands, but he barely notices. The boy has too much on his mind. Despite being alone, he talks aloud just to straighten out his thoughts.

“I was going to start the killing game myself. I was planning to help the Ultimates achieve a greater hope to beat back despair, even if it meant sacrificing everyone else to elevate one. But Chiaki’s murder was such a waste. There was no hope behind Kazuichi killing her. And now, Mikan … that an Ultimate could descend into despair like that is maddening! Are they all so weak? Can someone like me really count on them? Maybe … maybe …”

He lifts his left hand and finds the letter crumpled beyond recognition. He’s still ruminating as Chapter 1 of “I DISAGREE: An Ibuki Mioda SDR2 Protag Swap AU” comes to a close.

Next time: ... I'm not sure! I might add a few random notes to round out Chapter 1. I'd love to respond to questions or suggestions if anyone has any (send an ask!). I'm also strongly considering a short hiatus. I know, many a long-term fanwork has died from the creator taking pauses, but I've got other fic-related ideas simmering and I'd like to develop Ch. 2 rather than coming up with it on the fly.

This has been a ton of fun, and I'm just proud that I was able to keep up with a serialized project. Watch this tumblog and we'll see what the future brings!

PREV: Mikan Tsumiki, Ultimate Despair

NEXT: A Few Last Notes on Chapter 1

[randomgentlefolk]

CPC CHAPTER 140

My mood swings like a wreaking ball during this chapter

This review is gonna have lots of photos for the sake of referencing

Aw I like how Becket feels responsible and concerned towards Maria for what he said. He's a sweet guy. I hope he's not gonna get fired (..or maybe fired and then being Maria's lover haha)

I'm sure Gwen will be fine. Maybe some emotional and mental damages, but she'll be fine..probably.

Why is the technical difficulties so aesthetic for some reason? 😭 it's so aesthetically soft in a bloody way.

And Gwen's siblings staying by her side is soooo wholesome

Even in their sleep they still have the protective instinct of an older sibling 😭 I may be the youngest in my family, but I have a lovely cat whom I love and protect very much.

Prez is all of us in quarantine. I'm glad the medicine worked! Science, baby!

I wanna talk about 4 scenes

The first one

This is what I've been wondering the whole time. Where the heck is Jack? How long is this trip? All we know is he's grabbing the omniscient clam and going to wherever he's going. I think the canyon where the princes and the princesses were supposed to get married at? What is taking him so long?

The second and third scenes

We now know how Jamie's dream is. Sunshine rainbows and all, probably because of her sparkly magic. As the witch said: "They're usually mish-mash of each person's memories, acquaintances, and a lot of nonsense"

She also said "sometimes sounds and smells from the external world can seep in" So I'm thinking of this.

When Gwen ended up in her dream, she smelled flowers and heard birds singing from Lorena and Maria protecting her while she's asleep. Because Jamie realize she could be in a bad dream, I'm gonna bet the pastel family, Agatha and Molly, Frederick, heck maybe even cpc will tell her from the external words sweet messages like "You're loved!" "You're beautiful just the way you are" "I love you" "Please come back to us" over and over again.

What about what Gwen will see? Well from the next chapter's thumbnail we know she's gonna see Leopold. Most probably because of that one time where Leopold become a "therapist" for Gwen. Maybe dream Leopold will tell her the same thing he said in chapter 66:

"You'll never learn to love yourself.. if you can't honestly face your own feelings."

Other than that, she will surely meet her family and Frederick there. Maybe even flashback of when Frederick called her ugly.

But! What I really think is gonna happen is this:

Her memories of her mom is gonna appear like a repressed memory. That is definitely gonna happen I hope that will happen.

Okay! Stepping out from the dream..

AKSKAKAKKANAAAAAAAMWKJWJSWN NO NO WHAT IS HE— YO???? WHAT THE HECK NAH BRO C'MON 😭

WHAT DO YOU MEAN LELAND? What do you mean "tomorrow's the big day" the big day to what?! To what?! You know I could've kept my composure but I absolutely LOST it when I saw Lance's face. Like, boy?? Since when he can do THAT? This is bad. This is REALLY bad. Whatever this plan is, I don't think I'm gonna like it. Well, at least they're not being hung upside down anymore..

HAHA I LOVE THIS CLAM ALREADY.

Suddenly remembering when I said this and I HOPE I'M RIGHT.

So Jamie and Gwen ARE twins!! Maybe that's gonna play more role further on?

Ending this review with them because awww look at them :') They're such sweet couples look at how happy Leelathae is <3

See ya guys, gals, and pals

Mono out!

(But still in to listen to your thoughts :) )

[rallamajoop]

Hi !! I've followed your fics across multiple fandoms, and I've always been really impressed by how quickly and consistently you're able to put out works. How are you able to write seemingly so quickly?! Do you use betas? Do you spend a lot of time planning, or are you more of a chapter by chapter writer? I'm always really fascinated by people's process. Thank you if you answer this, and have a good day!! :D

Well, thank you first of all ‒ it's always such an ego-boost to know anyone's following me across fandoms! But as for 'how I write so fast', I think 'seemingly' may be most of your answer. I do like to have some fic to post every week or so, but my consistency on that comes and goes. I've done okay so far this year, but only if you ignore the part where I posted nothing during the whole month of February, or in the entire last quarter of 2023 ‒ and there was a solid 6 month gap where I posted nothing back in 2022 as well.

Back before I hit my current stride in Witcher fandom a few years back, months or longer between fics was even more the norm for me. Productivity on the fic-writing front comes and goes in bursts for me for all sorts of reasons. But it's not unusual for several bits and pieces I've had not-quite-finished for months to end up getting posted close together though, even after I've been quiet for a while, which might help with the illusion I'm better at keeping up that schedule than is really accurate.

Even when I am actually managing to keep that weekly schedule, a lot of what I post is short (2K or less), and gets lumped together into anthology-fics like Spare Parts, Viscera or The Beast of Castle Heisenberg (and other stories) (which also saves on the minor hassle of thinking up proper titles for them all). Coming up with short concepts like that is something I've always enjoyed doing (going all the way back to my time in xxxHolic fandom over a decade ago). Occasionally, I'll come back later and expand them into something longer (another habit that started way back in Holic fandom, actually), but posting them as shorts means that at least I've posted something, even if the longer version never happens. Whenever a fic works as shorter chapters, I'll post it that way ‒ it's just easier to edit in smaller chunks (and I can't really overstate how big of a motivator positive feedback is for me, if it does go down well with people).

Obviously, not everything I post lends itself to being broken down ‒ smut particularly tends to require much longer scenes, but stories like that have often been in progress for months before they actually get posted. At 15K in a single chapter, Quarantine stands out as the longest thing I've posted in years that I couldn't find any way to break down into shorter pieces ‒ and I'd been working on that one on-and-off since around, oh, August last year? Having multiple different things in progress at once works for me, because if I'm not in the mood to work on one, maybe I'm more in the mood to work on another. I'll often bash out rough drafts of various parts of a few different ideas in one spell if I'm in a good mood to just sit down and write, then come back to finish and polish them later. A lot of my ideas build themselves around dialogue ‒ having a good sense of the characters' voices is really central to how I think about writing for them ‒ so a lot of scenes might start as just dialogue, and then I'll come back and flesh out the rest later.

Planning… really depends on the length of the fic? Sometimes you need to know exactly where a story is going just to figure out how to start it, other times you don't realise half of what's really going on in a scene until you're in the middle of actually writing it down. For example, I currently have about three more (very rough) chapters of Follow Me Home sitting in a word document, which is as much of that story as I had planned out in real detail ‒ the rest consists of scattered scenes I know I'm aiming for later on. But in the process of writing them, I realised more or less exactly what needs to happen in chapter 4, so that's encouraging ‒ we'll see where it goes from there.

For years now, I've done most of my writing on laptops ‒ before that, first drafts were mostly scribbled down by hand in notebooks. I own a desktop computer too, but that gets used for so much else (work, gaming, watching videos, etc etc) that I find it's useful to have a separate platform that's 'for' writing, that's portable, something I can curl up with in a beanbag with, and (crucially) presents less distractions. A notebook or a low-spec laptop (my current one is a tiny tablet computer) is also something I can get out on the bus on the way to work or in a cafe while waiting for a meal. I wouldn't say I do most of my writing out of the home like that, but it's definitely a long-established habit.

It does help that I've been writing long enough to be reasonably confident with the general process of sitting down to make a story happen. I'm reasonably lucky just having the time and energy to dedicate to all this fannish nonsense, and to have an enthusiastic beta-reader/BFF who's always encouraging about my work ‒ she's seriously a huge help (and probably too kind with her critiques, if anything). It has taken many years of doing this to get to the point where I can do something like (for a recent example) realise there's a week or two left before the a challenge deadline and go, "oh, sure, I can bash out a few thousand words worth of smut in that time to fill a treat for that prompt I liked." But as a rule, a posting rate of maybe a couple thousand words a week, not every week, isn't that much of an output (it's probably a lot more if you count all the fannish meta I churn out too, but I mostly don't think about that too much). But writing means a lot to me, even if it's mostly fannish nonsense that makes no money, so it's something I'll make time for.

If I've got any advice that might be useful to someone else, it's to suggest that getting yourself to write something is usually better than sitting on something you're blocked on, even if that does mean perpetually getting distracted by the shiny new idea instead of staying bogged down on the huge WIP you promised yourself you'd finish (and maybe you will come back to that WIP later, fresher for having given your brain a change of scene ‒ or maybe not, that's not the end of the world either). Short fic is fine, more words do not automatically make a story better, and unfinished WIPs are just a fact of fandom (or even original writing). Part of the joy of fanfic is that you can jump straight to the novel bits, trusting your readers already know who these people are and how the base story goes (seriously, the number of fics out there that spend chapter after chapter just retelling canon in prose form boggles my brain).

But like all writing advice, if that doesn't sound like it'd be useful advice to you, it probably isn't ‒ what works for people can be terribly individual. No-one's obligated to aim for a couple of thousand words per week (let alone per day, to hit NaNoWriMo or Stephen King levels of productivity) if they're just writing as a hobby.

And I hope you're having a good day too. *g*

[final-girl96]

Firefly Chapter Thirty-Two

Pittsburgh 2023

"How did you know that guy wasn't hurt?" Ellie asked. I looked over at Joel who was clearly trying to avoid answering the question. "Because we've been on both sides," I told her. She looked at us and Joel opened the door. As soon as we stepped outside we saw a pile of ash and bone. "You killed people?" She asked, looking at the pile of bones and ash that was still smoking. "We did what we had to do," Joel told her.

He jumped up onto an outside air vent and up into a fire escape. Ellie and I jumped up to stand beside him. He pointed his finger towards the distance, "we need to get over there to that bridge," he said. In the distance stood the Fort Pitt Bridge. The yellow arce not hard to miss. "Looks so far away," Ellie said, then jumped down over the fence that was below the fire escape.

"El, wait up!" I said, jumping after her. Joel climbed down after us and then we jumped down onto the road that led into the QZ. "Is this the same road we came to before turning around?" Ellie asked. Joel hummed. The road was jammed with cars, trucks, and buses. Some cars were just a blackened shell and some had the skeletons of those who never made it into the zone.

"Your hunter buddies do this too?" Ellie asked. Looking down at a pair of skeletons. I walked up beside her and took a deep breath. "No. Back when they announced there would be quarantine zones, everyone was trying to get in. And when the zones came to their capacity…" I clicked my tongue and she looked up at me. "They just killed them? Even if they were infected?"

"Yup. Even if they weren't infected they still killed them because it was better than taking the chance of them getting infected. Less people…less infected," Joel said and continued walking. We walked through the cars, occasionally looking inside to see if there was anything of use. As we got closer we another bus blocked the main entrance into the zone. Joel's arm shot out in front of Ellie and pulled her behind a car with me right behind them.

There were three men up ahead on top of the bus. "Shit. What're we doing?" I asked. Joel gave me a look that said that was a stupid question. He was going to kill them. I mean it was only three of them. Or at least that we would see, there were only three. Joel pulled his gun and shot. "Fuck!" Ellie said, covering her ears. "I pulled my own gun and shot one of the three men. Before the other one could even process what happened Joel shot him.

After they were taken care of we continued on our way. We walked around looking in the vehicles. "Okay, we need to lighten the mood, ready?" I turned my head to look at Ellie, who was following behind Joel and I. She had her joke book out. "It doesn't matter how much you push the envelope…it'll still be stationary."

Joel looked over at me before directing his attention to her. "What is that?" He asked. "Joke book. No Pun Intended: Volume Two by Will Livingston." Joel sighed heavily and turned around. "Let's keep going." Of course, Ellie being who she is kept going with her jokes. "What did the mermaid wear to her math class? An algae bra.” she chuckled a little at that and kept going.

"I stayed up all night wondering where the sun went, and then it dawned on me," she looked up at me with a smile on her face. Joel jumped up on top of the bus and Ellie put her book away. "Okay, fine. But there will be more!" She climbed up after him and I was last to climb up beside them. "Another abandoned zone?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah, there aren't as many around anymore. Boston is one of few that are still functioning " I told her. We jumped down onto the other side and on the wall read: "give us our reactions." Ellie had stopped and looked at the wall. "Why weren't they giving them their rations?" She asked. Joel stopped beside her and looked at the wall. "It's a way to control people and they started running low on food and supplies."

"That's never happened in Boston," she said. We walked through the line area to get to the entrance into the QZ where they would get people registered. "Happens more often than you know," Joel mumbled. As we got closer we heard voices. "There's more people," Ellie whispered.

I turned and looked at her, "you stay behind me or Joel at all times. If you can't stay behind one of us then you hide until we say it's safe to come out." She nodded her head and followed Joel and I as we crouched down and made our way around to the other side to get a better look. We were outside a bookstore.

Two men were standing outside until the canvas tent that FEDRA had out up. "There are probably more inside. We take them out silently then head inside." I nodded at Joel and followed him around the side of the metal wall. Joel took the one on the left and I took the one on the right. We put them in headlocks, cutting off their airway and then snapped their necks. I heard Ellie whisper, "Jesus." Before we quietly and carefully made our way inside.

Inside on the bottom floor was where people had been registered before being allowed into the zone itself. Joel had separated from me and Ellie, who stayed behind me but also stayed far enough away that if she needed to run she could without getting caught in the crossfire.

I counted four on my side that I could see and when Joel finally made his way back to us and didn't look happy. "There are more upstairs. At least five of them," he said. "There's at least four down here," I told him. He nodded, "okay. We can try and distract them. Get them separated and take them out so they don't gang up on us. Take her and go back outside where we came in. I'll make a distraction and wait near the alley on the other side."

Ellie and I made our way back to where we had come in. Then we heard a big bang and saw Joel quickly making his way to the other side. There were voices from inside the building. "What was that?" One voice asked. "I'll check it out." One of the men, from where we were just at, came out the front door. He slowly walked further out, looking around as he got closer to where Ellie and I were, I quickly grabbed him and shoved my knife into his throat.

There was a strangled cry from the other side indicating that Joel took out another one of them. I grabbed a brick off the ground and threw it at one of the windows causing more men to get curious about what was going on. We took about two more before moving back inside and shooting it out with the rest.

Of course, there was that one that thought hebwas sneaky. He came up behind me, wrapping his arm around my neck and holding a knife to it. The darkness in Joel's eyes would have scared anyone, and it did at least for the asshole behind me. His voice shook as he demanded for Joel to back up. What he wasn't expecting was for me to twist in his arms and stab him just above the waistband of his pants.

Then, when he fell to the ground, my hands wrapped around his head from behind, and I snapped his neck. Ellie looked at me with wide eyes. "You're fucking scary. You know that? Isn't she fucking scary, Joel?!" I could see Joel wanted to say something. To lecture me on needing to be more aware of my surroundings. But he didn't. For once in his life he didn't say anything and we moved on.

[codenamehazard]

.:Chasing Echoes:.

.:InFAMOUS: No Man's Land Chapter 3:.

Hey guys! It's been a while, but I have a new chapter ready for everyone! Big thanks to @rogueshadeaux for helping me out! I'm truly learning a lot on my writing journey from her and I can't thank her enough.

Hope you guys enjoy chapter 3 of InFAMOUS: No Man's Land!

The first rays of sunlight creep over the horizon and into my eyes, slowly rousing me from a fitful sleep. I groan in irritation before letting out a tired yawn and stretching. Sleep was a rare commodity for me ever since the Blast back in Empire City; so being awoken in any way other than by myself always puts me in a bad mood. I slowly sit up, feeling my body protesting. I know I can fall asleep pretty much anywhere in any position; but that doesn’t mean I won’t feel it the next day and I was definitely feeling it. My muscles aching and throbbing from the awkward position I had fallen asleep in.

I reach over to grab my toes, the stretching loosening the taut muscles in my back and relieving some of the soreness. Many things in my life had changed but one thing I kept to was a morning routine to ready my body for the day and whatever challenges it may bring. It did my sanity some good as it was something I had control over for the most part. I turn my head to stretch my neck muscles as well as to survey the area. The fire I had set the night before was now no more than a weak flicker and glowing embers. It wasn’t much, but with a little bit of dry tinder and some coaxing, I should be able to get the fire back enough to warm some water.

Slowly standing up, I grunt as I can feel the muscles in my body continue to ache; at this point I was no stranger to waking up with cricks and kinks. Sleeping on the ground or on hard surfaces more often than not tends to normalize these pains. Once I’m on my feet, I go through my routine of morning warm-up stretches; joints pop, muscles stretch and I groan. The sleep leaves my body. Nothing like a hard sleep to remind me of the passage of time.

With a final back stretch; a satisfied sigh leaves my lips. Now my body won’t be causing any more fuss as I get ready.

I take off my shirt and examine it, clicking my tongue at the state it was in before I give it a hard and vigorous shaking. Flapping it about like I was knocking the dust off of a throw-rug. I know sooner or later I’m going to have to find new clothes. Not the first time I’ve had to do it, but it’s still annoying nonetheless. There’s only so much that can be done to stretch the longevity of clothing, especially with living on the lam. After a few more flaps, I put my shirt back on. It’s no replacement for a good washing, but it will have to do until I can find some place to properly wash up.

I grab my backpack and dust it off, having used it as a make-shift pillow the night before. I smile a bit seeing how even though I have had this backpack for a couple of years, it’s still holding up. Opening it up, I check inside to see what I have, frowning at what I see; While I still have enough rations and water to hold me over for some time, it’s clear I will need to find a place to resupply sooner than later. At the very least to restock on water and food. 

I pull out a thermos and set it to the side as I tend to the fire, making a small divot in the coals to set the thermos in. Once I get the water on to warm, I pull out a breakfast bar from my backpack and begin to eat it. My face curls into a grimace as I feel the dry and scratchy texture in my mouth as I chew; the taste chalky and unpleasant. As much as I didn’t like it; food was food and I was in no position to be picky. Not like I hadn’t been in a similar situation before; I guess the quarantine in Empire City was a warm-up, though I never thought I would be surviving completely on my own in the middle of the Great Plains.

A sigh leaves my nose as I think back. It has only been about 2 years since the Ray Sphere blast changed my life forever and yet it feels like it was a lifetime ago… And I guess in a way, it was. Hell, I could dare say I had gone through several lifetimes in such a short span. I’ll admit, there are times where I miss the creature comforts I once had; times where I miss Zeke and Trish. The only two people in the world that actually gave a damn about me, even if it was conditional. Hell, there are times where I just miss being around people in general; but such is Human nature. Humans are social creatures and while I myself ain’t the most sociable of people, I still do want to have somebody around.

God, how long has it been since I’ve actually talked to a person? I have seen people over the horizon, both Human and Conduit alike: traveling, raiding, looting, battling… But I have yet to go up to interact with any of them. I was enjoying the quiet that dropping off the radar is affording me; still… It had been… What, a month? God-damn… My notebook and audio recorder really are the only things keeping me from losing my marbles completely.

Using the stick I pull the thermos out of the coals and set it aside and open it to let it cool down enough so I don’t burn my hands and scald my throat; but with how the chalky taste of that ration coated my mouth, I’m half-tempted to drink it right now just to get rid of it. Once the water is down to a more comfortable temperature, I grab it and take sips from it; letting out a sigh as the warmth of the liquid runs down my throat and spreads through my body. Nothing like a warm drink to start the day.

I watch the sun rise as I sip; even though I have seen this many times, it never gets old. How the dark colors of the night sky give way to warm hues of the morning; the deep cool purples and blues brighten into the familiar sky blue. There were clouds drifting lazily in the sky, adding shadows and bright spots to this picturesque scene. A faint smile ghosts over my features as I take the last sip of my warmed drink.

After putting the now cooled thermos back in my backpack, I use my foot to scuff dirt onto the embers of the fire and smother it, marking the end of my stay at this particular spot. With my body now fully awake and daylight now peeking down onto the ground, I sling my pack onto my back and begin wandering once more.

I made my way to where I noted seeing activity a few nights before. From where I was, it looked like a camp was attacked and both sides were Conduits. I felt the energy from their fighting from miles away. I figured that place might have some supplies I could scavenge, extend my time before I had to find an actual settlement or rest stop for a little while longer. God do I dread having to go into the cities and towns for amenities, many people don’t take kindly to the Beast strolling up into neighborhoods. Can’t say I don’t blame them, heh. Especially since I was a terror before becoming the Beast and I only got stronger and meaner after that. Still; it is a pain in the ass with a reputation as infamous as mine. Can’t even go into a 7-Eleven to get a damn candy bar without people losing their ever-loving minds. It was funny at first, especially if I was feeling particularly sadistic that day, but over time it gets really old, really fast. So the longer I can stay away from where the regular folk are, the better.

As I get closer to the camp, a tingling sensation itches at my mind, starting at the center of my forehead and spreading out. I place two fingers on my right temple and focus on the sensation. A low frequency pulses out from my body and what I find is something interesting.

Glimpses of a scene play out before my eyes as outlines and shadows play their parts. Darkened figures traveled in many directions: figures of Humans, Conduits and even caravans of vehicles. All rushing around as spectral imprints of the past; the faded marks of those who walked these areas before. However, the freshest imprints didn’t take the form of faint shadows dancing behind a sheet, but of glowing outlines. Vague in detail, but stood out all the same. The green outlines walked slowly, but with purpose, and they were walking to the same location I was heading towards.

The remains of the camp.

I continue on, now almost following the echoes to the location as shadows flickered and ran around me. Even though I knew I was alone, the energy from these trails were still very fresh. Fresh enough to feel present. It is almost like I’m actively with this group. Walking with them, stalking with them. A pang of yearning pricks my heart, but I shake it off and keep going.

I stop before crossing the threshold of the camp to look at the sight before me. My eyes see the ruined remains; yet an outline showed me what the camp originally looked like. Five tents all set up around a fire with people going about their days the best they can. I walk closer and explore the abandoned site as the apparitions of the people continue on, paying me no mind as if the roles were reversed and I was the phantom walking among them.

Two couples and three individuals, all tending to their tasks: be it cooking, repairing, or keeping watch. Whether this group was a family unit or not, I can’t tell; regardless, I could feel the comradery between them all. As I examine the broken cooking pot, I spot the outlines that I traveled with not too long ago slow into a stalking crawl before bursting out. An ambush.

Mouths opened in silent screams and war-cries, but I feel them all the same as the battle begins. The bright flashes of Ray Field Energy lashing out as the two groups of Conduits clash. Every lash, every strike, opens up wound-like imprints within the energy as I watch the fight around me. It was vicious, a fight for survival. Both sides fighting to live. A scene as old as life itself.

As the echoes fall, their outlines fade to nothingness as their life drains away, leaving nothing but a shadow on the ground. Powers and fists collide like claws and teeth, blood spills in vibrant hues as they spatter onto the ground where they currently stain the dirt. It was a vicious battle. The bodies drop and the Raiders steal the precious items held in the camp.

Yet…

Among the fallen shadows, a small outline remained. A Conduit who’s will to survive was stronger than the rest. They were still alive, but barely. The figure held still as the bandits looted what they could; he was playing dead. Clever man, he was. Most people don’t check to see if their quarry is dead. I walk around and check to see if there is anything left of use, but find nothing. Damn it all. Looks like I’m going to have to find some sort of civilization soon after all.

My eyes drift over to the echo playing possum and I can feel my curiosity getting the better of me. My memories flash back to Empire City; if the body was fresh enough, I could essentially view the last memories of the poor son of a bitch before they were killed. It had been quite the handy little trick. Sometimes it would lead me to a person of interest; other times it led me to other goodies. I couldn’t help but to wonder: with my abilities enhanced by the Beast powers, could I read the memories of these echoes? Only one way to find out…

I walk over to the figure before kneeling down, reaching my hand out to where the head is. When my fingers made “contact” with the head of the outline, images flashed in my mind. Scattered and fragmented, but present. Faint memories of a settlement; patchworked and cobbled together from whatever scrap that was found or brought in. Built upon the bones of a long abandoned ghost-town. Flickers of people… No… Flickers of Conduits, walking around without fear. Finally a name: Fracture.

I pull my hand away and shake my head as I refocus on the figure. The raiders leave the camp and the specter slowly stands. The outline of the man looks towards a direction, a path of shadows and memories seeming to flow that way like a river, with the shades joining and leaving. The man staggered to the “dying fire” and absorbed the heat from it before walking towards the river of echoes.

I stand there in the middle of the camp, watching as the outline joins before fading away into the shadows. I’m still not keen on heading towards any civilization, but I would be lying to myself if I say that I’m not slightly hopeful about this prospect. After all, it’s a better option than being among the regular Humans, and a safe haven for Conduits? Surely they may be at the very least more tolerant of my presence there. At least enough so I didn’t have to hide away and I can get shit without being harrassed. Perhaps maybe I could look around a bit as well? There’s only one way for me to find out.

I pull out a water bottle from my backpack and take a sip before putting it back inside; starting my trek towards the now fading stream of shadows and echoes. I do not know how long this trip will take me, but it matters not.

I journey on towards Fracture, cautious and curious. Being part of the parade of shades. Not sure what I will find, but ready for whatever it may be.

Hopefully, my luck will change here in this Conduit oasis in the Great Plains.

[abyssal-ali]

The Batfamily as things my family and I have said (or I overheard), Part 2:

Parts 1 & 3 HERE & HERE

Steph: I'm just living my best life...what, am I the only one?

>Tim, possibly not completely sober in some form, yet still driving: Oh noo...where am I going to park? Please don't do this, I'm a little beansprout...😔

Everyone else: ...what the hekk...<

>Babs: And for the low low price of $30, we ALL can become blue whales!

Everyone else: *white man blinking meme*<

Carrie Kelley: I don't hate dictionaries but it's the only book in the world I would pick to burn

>Dick: *gasps* those are your favourite colours!

Tim: not in cows<

Jason, to Damian: ohh don't bring out the puppy dog eyes I can't stand them....

>Tim: Hello, GCN? I have a news

Steph: *a* news?

Tim: One news!<

(Shades of one crack cocaine from QUARANTINED: RED ROBIN'S TIKTOK ACCOUNT by JustThatOneGirl1815 on ao3 [chapter 29] if you got that reference good for you, you're a legend and I love you)

>Jason: Why is that dog barking so much?

Dick, joking: Don't you just randomly yell when you're happy?

Jason, sarcastic: Yeah, all the time. *muffled* you're lucky I'm never happy<

>Cass: I'm in such a mood for munchies....maybe I'm pregnant.

Steph: yeah, that is a possibility

Cass: no it's actually not

Cass: I haven't looked at a guy in 10 years

Babs, mockingly: what a good girl you are<

>Tim: I'm pretty sure I thought more about dying than you as a child, so I win

Jason: THIS IS NOT A COMPETITION

Tim: Mm kinda. And I'm winning

Jason: GOOD GRIEF CHILD<

>Duke: so you want to practice at life?

Jason and Damian: no I only die once<

Steph: for some reason the first thing that came to mind to express how uncomfy I was was to say "I want to bathe in ketchup"

Babs, finding Dick undercover: that butt looks familiar

Jaysteph: a couple who slays together stays together!!

>Random Civilain Who Does Not Realize To Whom They Are Speaking: oh, do they live on Gotham? (Referring to T&M Wayne)

Bruce: No, they're dead now

RCWDNRTWTAS: Oh....sorry.....

Bruce, lying: it's fine, it was a long time ago<

(The above scenario could also work with Dick, Jason, or Tim)

Duke, espying Tim's Skittles stash: ooh, carnauba wax...gotta have me some of that

[carbo-ships]

Chapter IX

Beginning: Chapter I Previous: Chapter VIII

Papa awoke the next morning to find the angel fast asleep next to him. He'd never noticed how tiny she was before. Papa wasn't a very big man, but she was dwarfed by the pajamas he'd lent her. She looked so vulnerable. He felt bad for the girl—so much was riding on her shoulders, while all she wanted was to make friends. He mentally chided himself. He shouldn't be this fond of her. Terzo would have handled this better, he couldn't help but think to himself. In fact, Terzo wouldn't have even needed the ghouls' help at all. His predecessor would have seduced her within a week and forever carved his name in history.

She soon awoke and they both got ready for the day. "Shall we get breakfast, cara?" he asked once they were both dressed in their day clothes. "You may spend the day with me, if you'd like. Or perhaps Swiss, if you prefer. I am sure he would not mind."

"That might be nice," she said. "Thank you."

"You will have to talk to Aether eventually, though," he reminded her. “I’m sure he’s very worried about you.”

"I know," she mumbled, "I'm just not ready yet."

Papa offered her his arm, and the two of them made their way out of the room.

When Aether arrived at breakfast alone that morning, it didn't go unnoticed by the other ghouls. His sour mood made it obvious that something had happened. Papa and Ardis stepped into the dining room a few minutes later, arm in arm. Her eyes were still a bit puffy, and she huddled close to her new roommate.

Swiss immediately connected the dots and took it upon himself to lead some idle chatter with the other ghouls to cover the heavy silence that would have otherwise hung over the dining room. Ardis's cheeks were flushed and she wouldn't look up from the table. Papa caught Aether's eye and mouthed "we'll talk later."

That afternoon while Ardis was occupied with studying the Bible, the ghouls were all briefed on the recent developments—through no fault of his own, Aether was being benched for the time being. The angel would be on her guard, so their focus should be on regaining her trust while the ministry thought up a new angle. "She's infatuated with you, Aether," Papa explained with a sympathetic smile. "We need to give her time to… cool off, so to speak."

For the next few days, Ardis was too embarrassed to interact with Aether. Her suitcase had been moved into Papa's room, and she spent most of her time with either him or Swiss. Swiss couldn't bring himself to tease Aether as he usually would about anything else. Although Aether was doing his best to remain stoic in front of the others, they could tell how much the sudden change had affected him. Thankfully, Aether soon had something to distract him from the empty space beside him in bed.

The ministry had decided it was time for a new ghoul to join the Ghost project.

"We could use another keyboard player, that's all," Papa explained to Ardis as they prepared for bed the night after the announcement. "It will fill out the sound a bit more. It should be an educational experience for you, though. I don't imagine you've ever seen someone summon a demon before, eh?" he chuckled.

"Oh, I think Aether mentioned something about that at some point. Is that the ceremony you all hold in the forest?"

"Yes, that's right. You are welcome to join us, if you'd like. We would not expect you to participate in any way, but you may certainly come along," he offered. "See the other side's secrets, no? The clergy wants to go through with it tomorrow night, if the weather permits."

"Is it safe?" she asked nervously. "I mean, for me?"

"Of course, cara. The ghouls and I will all be there. You're safe with us," Papa assured her. "You probably won't see much of the new girl for a little while, though. There is a, eh, quarantine period of sorts. She'll need time to get used to being on earth for the first time, get a proper mask fitted, and so on."

The next day, Ardis hardly saw any of the ghouls. Summoning a demon was apparently a very elaborate process. She only caught glimpses of them through the window as they passed in and out of the garden walls. Papa finally led her outside just after sunset. He was dressed in his papal robes and carried a large worn book under one arm. "Things might get a little loud and flashy," he explained as they entered the dark wood, "but you have nothing to worry about, sì?"

After walking down a narrow path through the forest for a few minutes, the trees opened up to a large clearing. Ornaments with strange sigils carved into them hung from the trees that made up the edge of the circle. The ghouls were tending to a large bonfire in the middle of the field. Aether looked up from his work as the pair approached and he caught Ardis's eye. Their gazes lingered. He gave her a small nod of acknowledgment, which she returned with a timid wave. He reminded himself of what Papa had said. She wasn't mad or afraid of him—just embarrassed about how she felt. The blush across her cheeks that he used to pride himself on now stirred up feelings of guilt. 

He couldn't take this anymore. As soon as the summoning was over, he had to talk to her.

"Right this way, cara," Papa said, snapping Ardis back to the present. She nodded and followed him to the fire. Once the preparations were complete, everyone gathered together behind Papa. Technically, Papa could have done this ritual on his own. However, in the unlikely event that something were to go wrong, he would need the ghouls' support to contain the problem. "Tutti pronti?" Papa asked to ensure everyone was ready. The ghouls affirmed they were, and he cracked open the old book he'd brought.

After clearing his throat, Papa began to read out a passage in Latin. The frogs and insects that had made up the ambiance of the forest all noticeably fell silent. As he continued to read aloud, the wind picked up and the fire stretched higher toward the cloudless sky. Papa raised his voice to still be heard over the wind and the crackling flames as glowing embers danced to form peculiar symbols in the air.

Aether glanced down when he felt someone timidly take hold of his arm. It was Ardis. She watched the scene before them warily. He felt a tug at his heart, realizing this was likely a bit frightening for her. She didn't seem overtly scared, just nervous. Without thinking, as if he'd done it a hundred times before, he took her hand in his.

Ardis looked up in surprise only to find that Aether was staring straight ahead at Papa, completely unbothered. There was no teasing grin, no mockery, no acknowledgment of the gesture whatsoever. She could no longer focus on the display in front of her, left to stare up at the ghoul in awe as the light of the flames danced across his silver mask. Once she managed to break herself out of her trance, she turned her gaze back to the fire and squeezed his hand in a silent thank you. His strong tail immediately wrapped around her hip and pulled her against his side protectively. It made her heart flutter, but she leaned into him.

She felt safe.

Next: Chapter X

[artemiseamoon]

Souls on fire

A modern Viking au

An old deleted fic going straight to A03

I’ll upload the chapters as I have time, when thr mood strikes. Chapter 1 up now.

📖Read on A03

Summary: When the world went on lockdown in 2020, Marcelle was stuck in her California hotel room. Her ex-fiancé Bjorn invited her to stay with him and his wife at their home in Big Sur. After some hesitation, Marcelle took the offer. As the weeks pass by, the already awkward situation becomes more complex as repressed feelings and sexual longings surface.

Warnings: quarantine and lockdown, marriage issues, cheating, falling in love with someone else, sexual discovery and questioning, angst, sexual themes and situations, infidelity, infertility, anger issues and outburst.

Background: This started as a quarantine writing challenge one-shot, in 2020. Of course, this was not to make light of the situation, writing at that time really helped me and other people get through it, and feel less lonely. This fic was never finished, though I do have an outline for it, including the ending. I deleted it from tumblr twice. Anyway, I'm called back to it after years so here it is after a big revision, to be archived and finished. I will not be cross posting this, the only place to read it is here. I'm not sure how many chapters this will be yet, the new chapter 1 (below) combines the old chapter 1 and 2.

Moodboards

[lunapwrites]

Omg I'm dying with the titles!!! Can I have something from "waiting room"?

Hi hello yes friend! <3 I am fairly certain this is another bit from LTL, but let me check...

OH NO. Ohhhhh this is from a VERY OLD version of the bathtub scene (still Remus POV!), before I ended up reworking a bunch of things. I'll note what changed under a cut, but uh. Here is a small, inoffensive snippet of this one lol

-

"I can't believe you did this." Dora snorted, squirting different coloured dyes into several small bowls. They'd broken out the good china for this exercise, he'd noticed. "I absolutely can." Sirius sighed dramatically, and Remus was beginning to suspect he'd somehow switched consciousness with his fifth-year self. "I just fancied a change."  "Then paint some walls or something, you prat, not…" He trailed off, gesturing vaguely at Sirius' hair, which truly looked horrid. "Eugh, look, no offence, cariad, blond is not your colour." "You don't think it makes me look like my cousin? My dear old mother used to say we had the same cheekbones." He pursed his lips, tapping his cheek with his index finger. He did have lovely cheekbones, but that was rather beside the point. "Probably why she tried to marry me off to her, come to think of it." "Cissy had actual colour to her hair. This is… erm…" "White?" Dora supplied, grinning as though she weren't at least partially responsible. "Well, that's a word for it, isn’t it? Thank you Dora." Sirius scowled; the effect was rather ruined by how ridiculous he looked. Don't laugh, Lupin, you'll just get him all het up again. Whatever made him happy, right?

Right. "I’m never staying blond, ta very much." Dora winked at Remus, then grabbed Sirius' head firmly and turned him so he was looking straight down into his lap. "Too right you're not, now sit still so I can apply this."

-

OK, so if you want to see the changes...

This was the version where Remus ALSO sat down and let Dora dye his hair (he no longer does this.) Fun fact: this is what my PFP is from lol. I'm still a little sad I lost that bit, but. Oh well. It really wasn't that important.

The hearing never happened in this version, so Sirius was still trying to figure out a legal way to clear his name rather than Remus flinging himself at the situation like an angry cat.

The whole borderline alcoholism angle with Sirius was not addressed yet like it has been in LTL-canon, and the problem was going to be a lot worse. I decided to walk it back a little because he didn't really get the chance to full-on spiral down that particular well like he did in actual-canon.

This version takes place the same night the Weasley kids + Harry show up at Grimmauld Place. I pushed it up earlier in the month instead because it was WAY too messy and honestly I didn't want to put a bunch of anxious teens in the same house as a couple of inebriated adults. As I was writing it out, the discomfort overrode any comic value.

Sirius got to be The Adult In The Room, which... I ended up reworking as a concept into some better/healthier moments, since it's important for his character arc.

The discussion between Remus and Dora re: his past addiction issues was originally going to happen here, and Remus was also going to mentally draw parallels between his past and Sirius' current struggles. I felt it was a little too on the nose.

I had been laying the groundwork for actual UST between Dora and Sirius here, which no longer strictly lines up with where they're headed in LTL.

There was a photograph of Remus with green hair. I will be working this into LTL canon SOMEWHERE, or so help me XD

Remus took paint thinner to Walburga's portrait, and Dora drew a dick on her with a sharpie which she couldn't scream about, owing to no longer having a mouth. While the scene is hilarious, I could not in good conscience keep this as is, and the writing in the dialogue is so genuinely terrible I want to cry lol. (Not like the words they're saying are bad, just I was still in the "need to write the way they sound" mode, and it just isn't a good look, it's going back in the hole forever.)

There's probably some other changes here but yeah, just generally tone and trajectory and pacing and plot alllllll changed from where this was at initially lol.

Thank you for the ask!!

[oh-for-fic-sake]

It’s A Match Chapter One

Masterlist

Disclaimer

Summary: Filming is over and Henry returns home to and empty house. And he doesn't like it, things are getting to him and he doesn't want to be alone anymore. Then his brother suggests online dating, it sounds mad but henry decides to give it a shot. If worst comes to worst he just deletes the profile. He has nothing to loose right?

Warnings: Angst, Swearing, Cheese, Self Indulgent Fic, Rpf, Plus sized reader.

A/N: so I wrote this before the whole 'girlfriend' shock and everything that has followed. I was of two minds whether to ever post it but honestly, this is my blog and I've clearly stated that i am going to continue writing Rpf. I want to do a little ficlet/mini fic and well here we go. It wont be smutty just  somewhat angsty then fluffy. Enjoy~

Taglist: In Reblogs.

Henry slumped back on the seat in his conservatory and sighed, from here he could see his brothers and their wives outside, each snuggled up on the out door wicker sectional he had got to have the family over. It was the first family get together for over a year. He was happy, god it was amazing to see them but... He couldn't help being a tad envious.

They all had a family, wife and kids to go through this shitstorm in. He had no one, well he ha Kal. But that was it he sighed and looked away sipping from his cup slowly takeing a moment for himself. He needed to just chill, but it was getting hard... This year had really knocked him back he was at an all time low he hadn't felt like this for a long time. He knew he was depressed, he felt stupid there was no reason to be but there we go.

Henry had been getting himself all twisted for a while now, filming the Witcher helped but now that was over and he was home alone. Left with his thoughts in a big empty house.

"Sooo little brother want to tell me what's going on or am I gonna have to get mum in here?" Henry jumped at the voice and spun around to face his brother who was keeping a safe distance at the door. Wiping his hands down clearly just having washed them again.

"I ah its nothing, you know me I'm a worry wart" he said waving off his older brother he didn't want to bring down the mood of the small gathering, it was why he had come in here to take a breather.

"You called us all here for a visit hen, out of the blue when lockdown is still being eased out. Its clear you don't want to be alone, yet your sitting in here alone." His older brother said leaning on the door frame folding his arms trying to figure out what was really going on. He could see his little brother was hurting he wanted to help.

"I've got Kal" Henry said with a chuckle and looked about for the bear only to frown and sigh seeing the room was empty apart fro  him and his brother.

"Kal's outside with the kids hen, what's up? You can tell me you know" henry sided as his sibling  moved sitting in the small seat across from him. He knew that his family would listen but he felt so... spoilt like he was asking too much and was being selfish. It wasn't like him.

He grunted leaning back choosing not to look at his brother instead focusing on the cup in his hand. He spun it slightly then heaved a sigh. He wasn't getting away with not speaking about it, he was going to air out his worries one way or another. With his brother or his mother, and he loved his mother but this was? He wanted to keep this issues close to his chest. So far only Kal knew about his problems.

"I... I've had enough... just had enough of fucking covid and being alone... i felt isolated before all this shit kicked off and now?" He vented releasing all the fears he had. It was tough, he was a family man without his own little family, he hadn't managed to find anyone to share his life with and it got to him. He tried being sincere and polite, he took care of himself and tried staying true to himself but... something was missing it had to be! On paper he was a safe bet a good man! Yet his relationships never worked. There were different opinions or his other half couldn't handle the life style or they tried changing him or they couldn't put up with the way he loved so furiously- so openly wanting to always hold and kiss them. It just never quite worked.

"Its- fuck everything has just caught up with me...worries I've had for a few years now I could ignore them you know? I had other stuff going on, was always out and about meetings and press tours I was busy! But now?" He tried putting his feeling into words but he was conscious, he didn't want to whine or bitch about his life. He loved his work and the life he had made for himself he just? Wanted someone to share it with.

"Now after covid you've got all the time in the world to think?" Henry nodded agreeing with his brother. Covid had made him face these fears head on. He has been alone for the best part of a year with the uncertainty of his work and filming quarantines and isolations.

"Yeah, it hurts I'm... I'm in deep and I? I don't know how I'm getting out of this slump" henry finally said outloud, his brother dipped his head listening to him as he ranted. Started letting out all the frustration and anxiety out but stopped short with another growl closeing his hand around the cup tightly hissing in frustration then looked away.

"And what's caused it? I know you hate being alone but?" Henry sighed shaking his head as his brother tried coaxing more out of him. He drew in a shaky breath wanting to cry, he was just so lost and upset over being upset and alone.

"Two lock downs... Two alone- I? If this carries on for the next few years I don't... I don't want to be alone anymore! I want to settle down, I want an actual personal life! A relationship a family and? How? How am I gonna find all that? They want fame or money or something! Women never seem to want me for me, they say the do then judge me for my hobbies- I'm a geek I like tech and games and fantasy! And women don't like that" he spewed the words like they were venom, half ashamed of being so dramatic but the fear was real. Henry was scared, he wanted love. He wanted a family of his own, and it seemed impossible, now more then ever.

"I want to meet someone who will take me as I am, for me and I just I'm giving up. I'm giving up on it I can feel it, almost forty and look, alone unmarried no kids-I have no one to share my life with, it hurts am I not good enough for that?"  He hung his head as he spoke the final words put loud. He felt so vain and full of himself when he said them out loud, his skin crawled.

But it was how he felt, being the muscular decent looking man he was didn't go with his personality. He was a geek and the woman who were drawn to him didn't want that. And the woman that shared his hobbies normally weren't confident enough to even speak to him. Society's views on acceptable couples had put Henry in no mans land.

"What about online dating?" His brother spoke up but Henry just grunted rolling his eyes frustrated.

"What? No I cant do that I'd be fucking swamped" he hissed in irritation frustrated at the mere suggestion of him trying to date online.

"Whoa hold your horses let me finish I mean come on Hen there's bound to be hundreds of shy sweet women on there, I mean girls that are into your hobbies and stuff aren't usually the ones out and about partying and stuff, so its more likely they will be online" his brother quickly explained before Henry could pop off on one and shut him down.

Henry opened his mouth and stopped himself. That was a good point. Many of the women he would click with weren't going to be in bars or fancy parties. They were normally shy and at home most of the time reading or playing games.

"I... You really think i could meet someone? Meet the one online?" He asked in a small voice warming to the idea. His sibling smiled and nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes little brother, your a down to earth guy, just make a profile and have a look, if you don't like what you see you can delete the profile" henry nodded slowly thinking it over. There'd be no harm if he failed well he'd be no worse off, a little disheartened but that's about it.

"Look write down a few things you want in your dream girl, have a pseudo name like fucking I don't know Hank! Or something and say your a runner on set or something" his brother spoke up quickly as Henry sat back and actually thought about it seriously. He was right, henry could tweak things and be careful about what he shared and if he did meet the one then she'd understand... He could explain the predicament he was in. That he just wanted someone who liked him for him. And he would only reveal himself to her if she was the one and he was sure she would understand. As long as he was himself and honest about everything else in his life then there was no harm... and if he used proper photos of himself just... half cropped out then? It wasn't catfishing? Because he was being himself just using the nickname his mother used to call him.

"O-okay so be myself but... Just tweak a few things? So they don't know its me?" He reiterated to his brother still trying to figure out the morality of this whole idea.

"Yes! No full on pictures, no photos of Kal either new photos henry not old, maybe of your eyes up or something? Girls love blue eyed boy- not your right that brown will give you away... you could even fuck em up with a behind the scenes character photo? I mean come on how many men use a superman photo for their profile these days?" He encouraged wanting more then anything to cheer up his little brother.

"I yeah... That could work ,thank you- I'm sorry I got so worked up it... Its just getting to me now" henry apologised but his brother shook his head and chuckled standing up to go back outside to the others that were all happily chatting in the garden.

"I know Hen, look just give it a go, you might be surprized... come on lets get back out there, after all you are the host~ you cant just run off and hide" henry grinned standing and following his brother. It was decided, he'd give online dating a go!

A week later Henry sat at the computer everything was ready, he'd taken some precise photos and had spent the last half hour writing a profile up. He had felt a little guilty about this... Was he lying? Technically it was him, he was going by Hank which was a nickname his parents gave him as a child, luckily this site didn't require a surname because honestly? He had no clue! To fend off some guilt he had thrown in a behind the scenes photo of himself as superman it wasn't much but it helped take the edge off. The other photos were cropped and there were a good few just so that the women knew he wasn't technically a catfish; he even did one with him covering half of his face with a piece of paper with Hank scrawled across it. At the time he felt silly but it helped with his anxiety over the whole thing.

He paused for a second eyeing the screen rereading the profile over and over trying to make sure it was alright and honest. And it was, he had explained a little about himself, his hobbies and interests and his job... Only brushing over he worked for the film and tv industry recently working for Netflix he hadn't exactly explained what he did but there was enough information.

With a deep breath he clicked the button his mouse hovered over going live with the profile. Now all he had to do was wait and hope he caught a good womans eye. Within moments a few profiles popped up, matches. He scanned them flicking through some of the profiles and felt his heart crack. They were all full of badly filtered photos and used slang that to be honest he didn't even understand. What was so hard about using plain English?

He growled growing frustrated clicking through what were clearly a bunch of wannabe sugar babies. Each profile had a main photo a little bit of info then a few more pictures added to them. He scanned each one quickly going through the motions judging each one. 'Too far away... Your clearly not even eighteen?... Oh you like dc? Really hate to break it to you but thor is not a dc character' Henry grunted as he bypassed what felt like hundreds of women each with their own 'duck face' selfie most advertising their Instagram pages some even ballsy enough to add their only fans pages.

'Wait a second who was that?' He paused and scrolled back up and eyed the image on screen. It was a face on photo a cute woman smiling uncomfortably. Unlike everyone else's there was no distorting blur or heavy editing, the only make up was in the form of eyeliner in a set of black slightly uneven cat eyes. A slightly skewed black flicks making a point of no editing on the photo.

She was a full figured woman with proper kissable round cheeks and a sweet nervous grin. Her eyes were what got him, they were kind and genuine he could see she was uneasy about the photo but she was beautiful. She lived about half hour away which wasn't to bad.

Henry clicked the profile and scrolled down she didn't smoke, drunk occasionally and had no children. She did however have a college education in animal care and ran a small business. Centred on dogs by the looks of it. He moved further down reading the profile.

Y/n, 30, business owner, e/c, 5'4, curvy

I'm shy so will take a while to warm up to you. A honest woman, sometimes to honest I don't seem to have a filter 🤗 I'm laid back and tend to be sarcastic and I love animals I'm a kc certified dog breeder as well as run a small successful business that caters to dogs. So if you are allergic or don't like dogs then leave now but thank you for clicking🙃

I spend most of my free time gaming or reading. I enjoy the fantasy genre and love dc and marvel (though I love dc just a tad more🤫)

I have one fur baby in the form of my lovely girl Amii who is a three year old malamute. Yes malamute not a husky or Akita so again if you don't like dogs or big dogs I'm not the girl for you.

I'm looking for someone to have fun and maybe build a life with. Covid has been tough being single and decided that it was about time I tried this whole online dating thing. If you want to chat pop me a message 🥰

I do not have a personal Instagram, snapchat or only fans! Stop asking for pictures!😠😠

Henry's face split into a huge grin. She seemed to good to be true. She was wholesome, successful in her own right and looked fun. She didn't seem to be full of kale and bullshit. Just genuine and? Henry couldn't put his finger on it but there was something drawing him to this woman.

True to her word there was no Instagram link, no only fans or snap chat or anything. He scrolled further seeing photos of her and the biggest fluffiest dog he had ever seen in his life. She was sitting down next to who he assumed was Amii her dog and he melted. Y/n looked happy and content, living her best life.

There was nothing that sent alarm bells ringing, no racey photos or 'Netflix and chill' innuendos. The profile was clean and genuine.  He was right the woman was a little chunky but extraordinarily beautiful. The curves suited her and made her look more... cheerful and he could tell she was strong aswell, you had to be to have a huge dog like that about you.

There were photos of her walking a large pack of dogs in the wood; that he recognised! They were the very same he took Kal to only ten minuets down the road, he even recognised the small logo of her company on the jacket she wore. He had seen dog walkers wearing the same jacket so he knew of her brand. I he remembered correctly the company offered dog walking, grooming and kennel facilities as well as offering Breeding services helping stud dogs and stuff. They also helped advertise registered breeders and took in rescues for rehoming. It was a brilliant little company that he had even used for Kal once or twice to get his teeth cleaned and nails clipped, because Kal was a bugger for his pedicures!

He moved further down seeing more photos of the woman a small section with the games and tv she liked. Witcher was in both the tv and games category aswell as peaky blinders, Vikings and a few other shows.

Henry paused as he saw the chat button. Should he? He but his lip twisting on the spot in he chair rocking from side to side. What harm is there? He could just send a message she looked like a fun loving woman, he shared the same interests and stuff... so why not?

His fingers hovered over the keys ready to type out the words. But he choked. His mind ran blank what does he say? Hi? I saw your profile? Does he ask for a date? What does he do?

He let his hands fall and growled. Then scanned over the side of the message bar seeing a few pre-typed responses.

'It's a match!' 'You look fun, lets chat' 'I like your profile picture'

He winced they all seemed... wrong? Somehow they were polite and all but it- they wasn't personal or anything just... not quite right. He looked down as Kal came padding over and slumped next to him resting his chin on his foot with a loud sigh. With that Henry had an idea typing away a little message and hitting send before he could really think.

You sighed typing away the latest wage slips and added up all the various overtime, you really needed some more staff on now that lockdown was coming to an end. Thankfully animal care was essential so you hadn't been hit too hard a few staff were on furlough as they were extreme high risk and shielding but you were going out of your way to make the premises covid safe. Luckily it wasn't too hard as much of the business was just a few staff and lots of dogs.

You frowned when a chat icon popped up in to corner of your screen. 'Hank?' You though trying to remember if you knew a Hank? Maybe a client or some old friend... but you honestly couldn't recall. You l saved your document and clicked the small icon bringing up a chat and frowned a you read the little message.

'I call my dog bear but he has nothing on Amii, Shes the fluffiest dog I've ever seen in my life she looks perfect for bear hugs😅'

'what the hell?' You cursed scrunching your nose up at the screen rereading the words. That's a bit random... you clicked his icon a small photo of half of his face then froze as a dating profile opened up. 'Oh... shit' you said seeing that your own profile you'd set up a few days ago out of curiosity had garnered the attention of the handsome blue eyed stranger. You swallowed biting you lip thoughts of finishing updating your records now gone as you scanned Hanks profile and a small smile crossed your face.

Hank, 37, works in the film industry. Blue eyes, 6ft, muscular.

Decided to finally try this online dating, unsure what to say other then I'm looking for a life partner. I like to think I'm funny and laid back. I'm fit and active but that doesn't mean you have to be, but maybe my lady could come for walks with me and my four legged son? I promise he's my best freind and a good boy.

My job is tough and I'm away for long periods of time, but when I'm home I like to play games and am into warcraft. I paint miniatures when I can. Fantasy and superheroes are a big part of my hobbies so if you don't like all things geek then I'm probably not for you.

But if they are? Then feel free to message me, I will reply when I can.

You read and re-read the profile And your hands hovered over your chicklet keyboard. Biting your lip, do you respond? He seemed sweet and real... if that made sense. You took a deep breath. What was the worst that could happen? Asking for a plane ticket? You decided to take a chance and typed back a reply hitting send whilst you had your nerve and then flushed.

"And they say fluffy dogs only lure in women~" You giggled to yourself  moving a hand over the huge fluffy girl beside you giving her pets whislt thinking of a reply.

[lsholland]

London Lights (pt. 1) - Tom Holland

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader (1st person)

Genre: Party!Tom

Warnings: swearing; alcohol; nothing much but I don’t recommend -18 to read.

Word count: 1.9k

Author’s note: Hey guys! That’s my first story on this blog. I hope you’ll like it. I’m not native so there may be a few mistakes. I’m trying a new genre of fiction. It’s my first Tom Holland fiction. It’ll be a series of 2-3 chapters. If you want to be part of the master list for Tom please like this post and message me. 

Synopsis: Quarantine has been tough. I’ve lost my boyfriend, and I’m feeling lonely. Clubs and restaurants are open again, but I feel like it’ll never be like it used to. My friends have been pushing me to install Tinder and go on dates. Well, tonight, I’m going on a date. I don’t really want to but I’m going to try and have fun for once. Just a few drinks and I’ll go home. What else could happen?

PS. You can read the story on Wattpad.

What am I doing here? I think to myself.

I matched with this guy on this famous dating app . . . And now I'm supposed to meet him here, at this bar. But I don't want to. I'm just hoping he won't show up so I can escape from this shit-place.

I've been seated at the table for a good 5 minutes. The waitress cleans up the table next to mine and asks if I'm ready to order.

No, I want to leave.

I quickly glance at the drinks menu.

"Ehm . . . A pour over Irish coffee, please."

She nods and leaves. I don't even know what I just ordered. I hope it tastes good. Hopefully it'll make me drunk enough not to remember this awful date.

It hasn't even started yet.

I'm sweating.

"Hey there" says a husky voice right behind me.

I turn around and see my date. His name is Jordan. He's good-looking and I bet he's intelligent, but I don't have this feeling with him. I don't know why I accepted to go on a date in the first place. It's awkward.

"Hey!" I grin.

"Have you ordered something already?" he asks, touching his short, clean beard. "I'm thirsty!"

He looks nice.

*

The waitress hands me my third drink. They help the clock tick a little faster.

He's been talking about his job, his passions. He loves football and practises daily. He has 2 sisters and lives in Camberwell.

Cute.

For a moment, I feel sad for him. He drove all the way to this East London bar, put effort trying to look nice and being cool . . . and yet, he doesn't know it but he has no chance to get lucky tonight. Not with me.

I shouldn't be sorry.

But I am.

I glance around looking for something that might be a little more entertaining than him. I realise I've avoided eye contact since he arrived. I finally glimpse at him. He has beautiful hazel eyes.

Still not enough.

I quickly check my phone. It's getting late. I don't know how to end this.

"Look," I slightly bend over the table. "I'm so sorry but I don't feel like it tonight"

"I noticed." He smirked. "Kinda awkward, innit?"

I chuckle. I am so embarrassed.

"It's okay, though." He added. "I'm just trying to meet new people. I broke up with my ex-girlfriend a few weeks ago. My mates told me I should try these apps."

Okay, now I feel worse than ever. He's been so nice with me and that's how I treat him. I grab my drink and gulp it down.

I shouldn't have done this.

"Let's go dance. I owe you one." I say as I grab his hand and walk towards the dancing area. It becomes difficult to keep my head straight.

I'm drunk, I must admit.

I'm going to regret it, my sober-self shouts in my head.

I don't care is what I reply.

The dancing area is not crowded, but there are already a few people. Most of them are girls.

Girls . . . I wish my friends were not so busy all the time. I would've come to this bar with them instead of wasting my time with strangers.

I start dancing. I stare at him. He looks amused.

A group of guys join the dancefloor and all the girls on my right start screaming. It's so high pitched I cringe.

"What the fuck guys?" I shout, trying to focus on the music.

"Woah, that's Spider-Man!" says my date. He grabs my chin and makes me look in his direction.

No way, I think. It's actually him.

I know he lives in the area, but I've never met him before. It's always weird to see movie stars in real life. They look so much more attractive.

He is so much more attractive.

I try not to be a drunk fangirl and shyly wave to him. He doesn't notice.

"You wanna go and take a picture with him?" my date asks.

"Oh, no, no!" I answer. I'm blushing. "I don't even know what I'd tell him."

He laughs.

The worst thing that could happen is to annoy him during a night out. He needs privacy and I must respect it.

But it's so difficult.

I can't stop staring at him. I don't even control it. Being drunk doesn't help.

"D'you want a beer?" I ask my date whose name I completely forgot.

He nods.

I weave my way through the crowd. I can't believe there are so many people on the dancefloor. The area is so busy since the Spider-Man actor walked in.

Even the bar area is crowded.

I let my body rest against a barstool but quickly lose balance and almost fall on the dirty floor. The flickering lights are making me feel dizzy. I grip the counter and get up. I peer around to make sure nobody saw me.

He did.

I dust off my dress trying to save the dignity I have left.

"Want something?" someone asks behind me. I turn around, it's the barman.

"Two pints of Guinness, please."

I glance back at the same spot, but he's gone. It must've been a dream. I'm so drunk I can't trust everything I think I see.

I'm grabbing both my drinks and look around trying to find my date, but there are too many people. I take a sip of my beer and hold the other one above my head.

Someone hits my arm.

Oh no.

"Oh my God I'm so sorry!" yells the drunk blond girl.

I look at my dress. It's soaking wet. I politely smile at her. "It's okay," I mouth.

What a mess. I glance at the lavatory door. I need to go and save my dress.

"You haven't been lucky here."

I turn around to find out who's talking to me.

It's him. Tom Holland. Talking to me.

"What?" is all I manage to say.

"Do you need a hand?" he politely asks.

I blush so much it's noticeable in the dark.

I'm choking. I'm panicking.

I give him my two beers and walk towards the lavatory. I'm surely starstruck. And drunk. This isn't a good mix.

Once in the room, I grab a handful of tissues and try to soak up my dress. I groan. Did I expect to make that beer mark disappear? Yes. Did it work? Of course not.

I watch my face in the mirror.

I look like shit, I think.

A door slams shut. Two young girls just walked in.

"OH, MY G—THAT'S TOM HOLLAND!" shouts one. They are both panting.

I roll my eyes.

Oh . . . I've given him my beers. What about my date?

"Shit!" I hiss.

I violently open the door and frown my eyebrows as the lights blind me.

He's just here gazing at me. Two beers in his hands. One of them is half empty, the rest being displayed on my dress.

"I'm so sorry!" I say embarrassed as ever.

He smirks. "No worries." He hands me the full glass of beer.

I give him a questioning look as I grab it. What about the other one? Oh, right—He's drinking it.

"What's your na—"

I stop him.

"I know who you are." I peer down. "I'm sorry I didn't wanna disturb you" I say as I'm walking away.

This time I'm smart enough to avoid the crowd on my way out.

"That's rude to leave without saying goodbye!" Tom shouts from a distance.

I turn around and stare at him. He's got a soft smile; he doesn't look drunk at all. I wave him goodbye.

Now, he's approaching me.

"I meant to your boyfriend" he nods in the direction of my date who was dancing with a group of other people.

"He's not my—" is all I can say before he chuckles.

"I figured."

"How?" I clench my jaw. I'm hypnotised by his hand running through his hair. And his smile. And his lips.

"I can barely hear you," he points at a booth in the corner of the room "maybe we could sit there" he suggests.

My mouth softens into a smile.

It's difficult to walk with Tom Holland. Every couple of seconds he's stopped by fans requesting a picture. And he accepts every time.

I'd never be so patient.

"What's that?" he asks.

"It must be so annoying sometimes." I tell him as I sit on the booth.

"When they're nice and ask me, it's cool." He chooses to sit next to me. I can feel his arm touching mine. My heart is racing. He uses his other arm to hold his chin; he looks at me with so much intensity. Sometimes peering down my lips.

His face is so close, but he keeps talking. I can feel his breath on my skin. I'm going to burst into flames. "But when they're taking pictures without asking first, that's delicate."

I nod. I can't really listen to what he's talking about. I'm trying not to lose control.

"So, what's your name?"

He smiles when I tell him. "Why did you leave your date alone?" he asks.

I'm so nervous I stutter. I can't find my words. "I . . . I wasn't in the mood. He knows it. I shouldn't have come here."

"I'm happy you came." He says looking me in the eyes.

I raise my eyebrows. "Are you flirting with me?"

He barks out a laugh and breaks the eye contact. He rests his head on the wall behind us.

He isn't as confident as I thought he'd be. I don't know what's up with him, but I enjoy it.

I suddenly remember he's a movie star. He's always being watched. I glance at the crowd and see flashing lights. They're taking pictures of us.

I'm getting dizzier.

I don't want to see my face on a dumb article talking about Tom Holland's mysterious partner. I don't even know him.

"This is stupid" I mumble.

Tom is intrigued. He hasn't got a clue what I'm talking about. He hasn't even noticed the fans stalking him.

"I'm sorry, I gotta go" I abruptly say as I stand up. "Have a good night."

I grab my phone and leave the venue. I'm upset because I really wish I could've met him in a different context. I open my Uber app: there's no driver available.

Shit.

How's that even possible on a Friday night? In London?

I refresh the app, but it doesn't work. I guess I'll have to walk home.

A part of me wants to go back in this bar and spend time with Tom. He's sweet and I'm sure we would've had so much fun together. I glance through the window trying to see his face one last time, but I can't find him.

"What are you looking for?"

I cringe.

"Oh, sorry I didn't mean to startle you."

It's him. It's Tom.

"What are you doing here?" I ask.

"Going home too. The fun of the party is leaving . . ." he sighs. I smile back at him. I'm embarrassed.

I stand in front of him, none of us say a word. It's awkward. I'm getting anxious and walk away. I'm so overwhelmed.

He grabs my shoulder. "Wait, are you walking home?"

"Yeah, it's okay don't worry." I smile.

"I can drive you home."

"Sorry, but you've been drinking. I won't let you drive me." I curtly say.

He grins. He looks at one of his mates and nods.

"No way I'm letting you walk home alone," he sighs "besides, you're drunk."

"Come with me then" I instantly reply without thinking.

He nods.

What?

He's coming with me. My heart is racing. I won't survive a 30-minute drunk walk with him.

Not with his beautiful glossy eyes staring at me.

Not with my burning desire to kiss him.

[scaarletwiitch]

scaarletwiitch (mellowasinyellow)'s masterlist

You can find all of my fic on Ao3, where I go by mellowasinyellow with the pseud scaarletwiitch, specifically for my mcu fics. Below they are marked if they have a rating of T or higher, but please note this blog is 18+. Everything is Clint/Natasha and there is only one that has a permanent character death and it is marked.

My personal faves

Five signs Lila Barton misses (plus one she notices)

Five times Natasha's family show up uninvited (plus one time she's relieved to see them)

Target Language

Five times Clint and Natasha fall in love in the multiverse (plus one time they fall in love in this universe)

I can see how much you want to kiss me

Multi-chapter fics

Five signs Lila Barton misses (plus one she notices) (Rated T)

Target Language

So, you and Barton?

You're a science teacher and Eating for More Than Two - I can't explain why these are separate stories and not just two chapters, but there we are.

Clintasha Advent 2021

Day 1 - Weather

Day 2 - Hiding

Day 3 - Secret Santa with Friends and Family - Family/Friends (Rated T)

Day 4 - superheroes, gods, scientists, engineers, and... us - Magic/Supernatural

Day 5 - If we could relive it all - Time

Day 6 - Target Language - Language

Day 8 - You're a science teacher - Alternate Universe

Day 9 - Holiday Cards - Domestic

Day 10 - Another Christmas, Another Mission - Missions

Day 11 - Blonde - Colours

Day 12 - Unsolicited Advice - Gifts

Day 13 - The First Sickness - Hurt/Comfort

Day 15 - Christmas Traditions Old and New - Traditions (Rated T)

Day 16 - Five times Natasha's family show up uninvited (plus one time she's relieved to see them) - Around the World (Rated M for graphic depictions of violence and heavy petting)

Day 17 - Bottled Up - Emotions/Moods

Day 18 - Five times Clint and Natasha fall in love in the multiverse (plus the one time they fall in love in this universe) - Tropes (Rated T - tw for school gunman lokckdown)

Day 19 - Familiars - Furry Friends

Day 21 - Waking Up - Senses

Day 22 - Eating for More Than Two - Food & Drink

Day 23 - So, you and Barton? Separation/Reunions

Day 24 - Five signs Lila Barton misses (plus one she notices) - Signs (Rated T)

Day 25 - New Year's Eve - Christmas/Holidays (additionally, this fantastic remix by @cloud--atlas)

Tumblr Ask Box Fics

My ask box is ALWAYS open. I love ask box fics particularly as I feel motivated by knowing someone is interested in reading it!

Wanna Bet? (Rated T) for @determined-overthinkerWanna Bet? (Rated T) for @determined-overthinker

So, you and Barton? chapter 2 for @determined-overthinker

Target Language chapter 2 for @nymphadoraromanoff

Clint Barton takes way too long in the shower (Rated T) for @determined-overthinker

Quarantine for anon

I can see how much you want to kiss me for @mellifluous-affection

The Drive Home for @nymphadoraromanoff

What? The other girls never caught exploding arrows out of the air for you? for @to-kill-a-mockinggirl

Shits and Giggles

Thanos was Right (major character death)

Pumpkin

Hawkeye Hairstudio, 2008 a remix of this AMAZING story by @widows-hawk

[slightlyrebelliouswriter23]

hey so i'm hoping to get some writing advice about creative burnout? like i seem to write in fits and spurts. some months i can churn out a oneshot or chapter everyday and some months i can do one (1) creative thing only. so i'm wondering how to prevent creative burnout and how to just create more smoothly <3 thank you!

Creative Burnout & How To Ward Against It

First, I’d like to preface this all by saying you’re definitely not alone. You probably already know this, but sometimes it’s nice to be reminded.

I know from personal experience that creative burnout can leave you feeling hopeless, detached from yourself—the kind of identity crisis no one needs in 2020. 

So buckle in, folks. It’s a dosy.

I. The Symptoms

Not to be the local WebMD page here, but signs of burnout can include:

Procrastination (more than usual)

Dreading writing and feeling stuck or overly perfectionistic when you try

Physical tiredness and/or irritability

Feeling like everything is monotonous

It’s more than just writer’s block. It’s a physical and emotional exhaustion response to something that goes deeper than a simple lack of inspiration. In my experience, and from a bit of research, I’ve found that what your brain is really looking for is dopamine.

Dopamine is essentially your brain’s chemical reward system for doing something interesting or exciting to you. As someone who is diagnosed with ADHD, I have chronically low levels of dopamine, so this is a constant struggle for me—but it is absolutely made worse by creative burnout.

II. The Problem

Studies have shown that the more we do A Thing the less that thing will give us dopamine (unless a component of the activity changes regularly). This is because eventually our brains desensitise to the stimuli provided by the activity, and subsequently, we become disengaged.

But it’s not necessarily The Thing (i.e. writing) that becomes boring. Actually, more than a few factors could be at play here, and the first step to finding a solution is to identify the problem.

1. ENVIRONMENT LACKS EXCITEMENT/CHANGE—

Sometimes, the monotony of everyday life can feed creative burnout. This becomes especially applicable in quarantine when you’re not leaving your house.

What we don’t realise is that even something as small as the variables of driving to and from work, or interacting with passing coworkers, gives us dopamine. So if you have the same routine every day that does not involve any added variables, your brain will begin staunching that dopamine supply.

2. EITHER TOO EASY OR TOO CHALLENGING—

In 1975, Hungarian-American psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, coined the term “flow”, which refers to a heightened state of creativity and concentration on an activity. Csikszentmihalyi posited that if your skill level is equal to the level of challenge in any given activity, you will experience this state of flow.

The chart below is taken from Csikszentmihalyi’s own study on the subject of flow and motivation. It examines “your skill level” on the x axis in relation to the “challenge level” on the y axis.

Essentially:

Too much challenge + not enough skill = anxiety, worry (which might lead to procrastination and perfectionism)

Too much skill + not enough challenge = boredom, apathy (which might lead to monotony, irritability, and other depression-like symptoms)

Skill level = Challenge level = Flow

3. NOT ENOUGH “ACTIVE” STIMULATION—

When it comes to dopamine seeking, there is a distinct difference between active and passive stimulation in the brain.

Active stimulation is any form of activity that you have to actively engage in. For instance; exercising, doing a crossword puzzle, or reading a book. These kinds of activities not only give you dopamine, they also facilitate critical thinking and problem solving thought processes, which act as catalysts for creativity.

Passive stimulation, on the other hand, comes in the form of television, social media, and YouTube. It’s anything you can consume without having to actively engage. Passive stimulation will indeed give your brain dopamine, however, it won’t activate your creativity.

The problem also lies in the speed at which you receive the dopamine from passive activities. Passive stimulation is so easy to access that the more you consume, the harder it becomes to pick up active stimulation. Your brain expects a hit of dopamine just by picking up a phone or turning on the TV—it becomes addicted to the quick fix of a Netflix binge.

III. The Solutions

Based on the problems mentioned above, I am going to list a few solutions. Keeping in mind that not every solution will work for everyone, these can act as both preventative measures and remedies for someone who is currently burned out.

1. CHANGE UP YOUR ENVIRONMENT/ROUTINE—

Aim to do at least one thing per day that will add “variables” to the monotony. This can be as simple as going on a long walk, dressing up in that bold outfit you always wanted to wear to the office but never did, or sitting at a different workspace in your home.

Anything you can do that’s simple, but might provide an extra variable to your day to spice things up. Note: this shouldn’t be the same thing every day.

2. CHALLENGE YOURSELF MORE—

If you find yourself bored by your work, try challenging yourself more. This could mean setting goals for yourself that go a bit beyond what you’ve been doing. 

For example, if you’ve been writing 500 words per day, see if you can beat your own word count every day for the next week. If you’ve been writing mainly fluff pieces, switch it up and do an angst piece. See if you can write a book in a month, or start a blog where you don’t write fiction at all!

Anything you can do to add a little kick to your workload. Note: Beware of challenging yourself too much! This can lead straight back into burnout.

3. CHALLENGE YOURSELF LESS—

If you’re on the flip side of that coin, and find that you are anxious, procrastinating, and perfectionistic when it comes to writing, fret not. Just because you’re experiencing any of these things, doesn’t mean you’re incapable of doing the job with your skillset.

It just means your perception of the job needs to be shifted.

Procrastination, at its heart, is a fear of failure, which results in actively avoiding the negative emotions associated with the task that causes this fear. Perfectionism is a type of procrastination that is a combination of a fear of failure and a fear of success (or, more accurately, other’s critiques of your success) all at once.

Neither have anything to do with your actual skillset, but they have everything to do with your perception of your skillset. Obviously, this is a harder thing to fix, as it has to do with deeply ingrained levels of self-esteem.

What I can offer you is a tactic to trick your mind into thinking you’re capable.

If you have a task, big or small, and you are feeling overwhelmed by it (like you might go curl up in bed and scroll Tumblr), immediately break that task up into smaller tasks. Keep breaking up the smaller tasks until you have the smallest possible part of the bigger task without doing nothing.

Then do that smallest possible thing.

If your goal is to write a 2000 word one shot, a small part of that task is writing half of it. An even smaller part of that task is breaking the one shot up into “scenes” and writing one scene. For instance:

Jude wakes up to a sore throat, a runny nose, and a fever.

She tries to go to work, but Cardan, being the mother hen that he is, threatens to never make her another grilled cheese sandwich (her favourite food) ever again if she doesn’t stay home.

Jude agrees begrudgingly, and Cardan sits her down in front of the TV with a bottle of Gatorade. He leaves to go get medicine from the store.

When Cardan comes back, Jude is worse than before. He makes her soup and saltine crackers and spoon feeds her.

She complains the whole time and, in her feverish state, threatens to never buy him another bottle of wine (his favourite food) ever again if he doesn’t let her feed herself.

Each bullet point represents one “scene” of about 200-400 words each. Obviously, there will be more details that you work out as you write. But with these five smaller scenes, your goal is no longer writing the 2000 word one shot. Your goal is writing the first of the five scenes.

If you complete the smallest possible task, you can stop, and you’ll still feel like you’ve accomplished something because you can cross off that task from your list. But chances are, by the time you cross off one task, you may have inspiration enough to keep going.

4. ENGAGE IN ACTIVE STIMULATION—

Since active stimulation has been proven to turn on the creative “tap”, try incorporating more of these activities into your daily routine:

Exercise: As the resident couch potato, I hate to say that exercising is good for creativity, but it is. Even if it’s just going on a short walk, so long as you’re moving.

Reading: Sometimes you have plenty of ideas, but no words to fit those ideas. Fill your well of words by carving out an hour or two each day for reading a good book.

The Creative Process: In the writing world, the creative process is a process of about 20-30 minutes that the writer partakes in every day before they start writing. This process should be creative, but also have nothing to do with writing. You can try colouring in a colouring book, painting, organising a page in your bullet journal. Anything that is creative but does not make you think about everything you have to do that day. Think of it as creative meditation.

Listen to music: Having APD, I personally can’t listen to music while I write. However, studies have shown that if you listen to at least ten songs per day, it will significantly benefit your dopamine levels and overall mood. If you’re like me and prefer to work in silence, maybe stick on a couple songs during your creative process. If you can manage music and writing together, get out those headphones!

5. KEEP A REGULAR SCHEDULE—

I know this is the most cliche point in the book, but it’s valid. This doesn’t mean do the same thing at the same time every day over and over, because ultimately we’re looking to avoid monotony. 

But having pillars of structure to bolster the excitement can definitely work to keep you from slipping into burnout. Going to sleep, waking up, and having your meals at relatively the same time every day are good examples of this. 

Feel free to change up the things you do between breakfast and lunch, but make sure you have those pillars of consistency so your brain knows that a break is on the horizon and doesn’t get tired.

6. PACE YOURSELF—

This is particularly difficult for those of us who are coming out of a creative burnout, but I urge you to pay special attention to this one. If we are suddenly hit by inspiration and the writing is flowing and flowing and flowing, eventually we will hit the point of highest dopamine capacity for writing.

Not putting a check on the flood of inspiration coming out of a creative burnout, I’d argue, is actually a guarantee that many of us will experience burnout all over again. It becomes this vicious cycle in which we are trapped.

While it feels great to write non-stop and receive immediate validation for that work, try to limit yourself to how much you’re writing and how immediately you post your writing (if you plan on posting it).

Whenever I finish a one shot or a chapter of something, I like to allow at least one day for editing before I post. This timeframe is important, because it acts as a buffer of rest between writing marathons. 

You can take however long you need for the editing process, but definitely make sure you have a set amount of time in place. Otherwise, your brain might not have enough time to come down from what is essentially a writing high, and you will always need to reach greater heights in order to achieve that same level of dopamine.

~~~~

Overall, the most important things to take away from all of this are: 

Change up your environment

Keep your brain actively stimulated 

Have pillars of structure between which you can run about chaotically to your heart’s content

PACE YOURSELF!

Hope this helped. Happy writing!

-Em 🖤🗡

Writing Tip Masterlist

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