#this's been sitting in my wips folder since ???????? APRIL

[gonchillunchis]

Day 4 - Period Piece Re-versioning of that iconic Sino-Soviet friendship poster, you know the one...

[dragscore]

this world has lost its clarity, there’s no justice - no morality. even with all the good in this world, all it takes is a single blow. // the balance of good and evil - kill or be killed, we’re all fighting for freedom. so is this the meaning of life? can you hear me roar?

[eddiediazismyhusband]

WIP ask game. Tell me a bit about

3. somewhere in a haze (got a sense i’d been betrayed)

Or if it was already asked

2. something med school did not cover

(if you've answered both then just tell about any one you haven't been asked about yet)

I have not answered about either of these so i am SO glad you asked 🤭🤭

3. somewhere in a haze (got a sense i’d been betrayed) is probably one of the angstiest fics i’ve worked on— i haven’t written much of it, and it’s been sitting in my wips folder for a while, but i really wanted a fic that dives into how lack of communication, stress, and secrets can deteriorate a relationship. It’s a story from Buck’s POV, it’s set a few years down the like and he has taken over the Captaincy at the 118 after most of the team transferred out after Bobby’s retirement. Chimney is now the captain of the 136, Hen went back to med school, and Eddie (who is now married to Buck) has stepped back since he can’t be married to his own captain. Ravi is really the only familiar face on the team, and Buck takes him under his wing- almost in a similar dynamic to Buck and Bobby. Outside of work, Eddie and Buck are expecting a baby via surrogate, now that Chris is in his senior year of high school, and the two of them can start to focus on more kids. Chris is distant, Buck is working longer hours, and Eddie is disappearing off into the night at random times. Buck is concerned that Eddie is street fighting again, but one night when Eddie gets home in the early morning hours- messy hair, disheveled appearance, and flushed cheeks- Buck begins to suspect that Eddie is having an affair.

2. something med school didn’t cover

this is a fic i started right around the beginning of season 7, and i have not worked on it since about mid-April. It has some angst, but nothing as dramatic as #3– it’s a different meetings au where eddie is an ER nurse and meets Buck when he comes in multiple times to be treated. Hen (who left the 118 to become a doctor) is an ER resident and takes Eddie under her wing when he starts at the hospital. She knows Buck, and immediately begins teasing Eddie over his little crush on Buck (which Eddie denies having). They become best friends quickly, Chris and Abuela (whom Eddie has moved in with) quickly falling for Buck’s charm (as in canon). Eddie is estranged from the rest of the Diaz family after Ramon and Helena’s mistreatment of Shannon and subsequent homophobia when Eddie came out to them, and Pepa played devils advocate. When Eddie begins dating to try and get over Buck, he unknowingly meets someone from Buck’s past and the two begin dating- much to the displeasure of Buck and Hen when they find out. Eddie has to battle his feelings for Buck, the mess he’s made with hurting his two best friends in LA, as well as trying to patch things up with Pepa after she betrayed his trust, raising his son and caring for his abuela, all while working as an ER nurse.

I really do need to start back working on both of these, but they are both longer-form fics and I want to finish my current long-form wip before i reopen these, but I love both premises and really wanna see them to fruition!

Thanks for the ask, bestie 💕💕

[urrone]

wip amnesty - jordan eberle/taylor hall

Full disclosure, I think I've posted this before, but I'm officially posting it again just to get it off my chest and out of my active fics folder. It's never getting finished. At the end I will include my notes for how I would have ended it if I had the willpower to do so. I created this document in the year of our eldritch horror TWO THOUSAND THIRTEEN so that's how long it's been muddling through existence.

--

the new normal

It’s not that Taylor hasn’t heard of Oklahoma before, of course he has, though he doubts he could have ever picked it out on a map of the US. He’s just never, like, had to physically acknowledge its existence with his own presence, and it’s weird. 

“Is it as flat as you thought?” Jeff, the intern the team sent to pick him up at the airport, carefully keeps his hands at 10 and 2 on the wheel. Bringing his truck down from home hadn’t made sense given he’s sure he won’t be here long, but Taylor misses driving already. 

“I didn’t really think about it,” he says, and that’s definitely true. Foreign places always resemble a slightly different Canada in his mind until he sees them. And it’s not like anywhere in the US is really that different, not like going overseas. 

And honestly, it does kind of remind him of Edmonton, only with fewer trees. 

Jeff laughs when he says it out loud, and starts pointing out landmarks on the way to the apartment Taylor will share with Jordan. He’s never lost this much playing time before, and he isn’t sure if it’s that or seeing Jordan for the first time since April that has him wiping sweat off his palms every five minutes. 

Taylor lets Jeff’s inane chatter ease him all the way to his new front door, on the second floor of a low rise apartment building that Jeff assures him is only a five-to-ten-minute bike ride from the arena. “It doesn’t look like a lot, but there’s some good stuff in Midtown,” Jeff says, gesturing vaguely to the road behind them. 

Taylor doesn’t know how to respond to this but it doesn’t really matter because Jeff’s already gone.

--

“Are you telling me you actually brought your dirty laundry from Canada to wash down here?” Jordan says, looking at the pile of clothes in front of the washer. “You moved down here just so I'd do your laundry again, didn't you?”

Taylor laughs and chucks the socks he'd been wearing on top of the pile. It’s almost a relief to just fall back into chirping each other like they always used to. It helps him talk through the fluttery bits in his stomach. “Yep, it had absolutely nothing to do with finally being able to play again. I got tired of washing my own socks.”

Jordan picks one of the socks up and flicks it back at Taylor's face. “It doesn’t look like you’ve washed a sock since last season.” 

Taylor bats it away, laughing around the new tight feeling that’s taken up residence in his chest. He'd really missed just being in the same room with Jordan, sitting on their mutually owned couch playing xbox, buying groceries they’d forget to eat, watching Jordan sort their dirty laundry.

“Why aren't you holding up your end then?” Jordan asks. He's given up bitching and started dumping the pile of clothes into the washer. “When's the last time you went grocery shopping?”

“Chill out, I just got here.”

“We can't eat at Earl's every day, dude.”

It's weird that he can eat at a place called Earl's in two different countries. Did they run out of restaurant names? The one down here doesn't have the variety of Edmonton’s, but their brisket is delicious, and Taylor doesn't see why they can't eat it every day if they want to. He says as much.

“The nutritionist might object.”

Fair point to Jordan. “Do you think Tubes would let me borrow his car?”

Jordan snorts. “No.”

Taylor flops down on the couch. “Well do you think he'd give me a ride to the grocery store?”

“Depends.”

“On what?”

“Whether or not he's already going to the store.” Jordan flops down next to him, and it's not their awesome giant wrap around couch that Jordan’s mom bought them when they moved in, so next to him is kind of on top of him given the way that Taylor's sprawled, but Taylor doesn't mind. He likes Jordan's warm weight against him, even though it's kind of hot in their apartment, despite the air conditioning. It's weird that it's 30C in late October anywhere in the world.

“If we had Vespas we could go to the store.”

“How is grocery shopping with a Vespa different than grocery shopping with your bike?”

Taylor tries to shrug but his shoulders are stuck to the leather. “I'd get there faster?”

“Do you even know what a Vespa is?” Jordan nudges Taylor with his foot. “You still wouldn't have anywhere to put the groceries.”

Taylor doesn’t want to admit that no, he still doesn’t know. “I wouldn't get much. It's not like you're going to cook it.”

“Can't fit a lot of coconut water on a Vespa.”

“I could fit enough.” He nudges Jordan back with his knee, since his feet are currently trapped under Jordan's calves.

“Hey, Cheds.” Sometimes Taylor regrets ever telling Jordan about that nickname, but sometimes he likes that Jordan is the only one to use it anymore.

“What?”

Jordan won't make eye contact with him for a minute, which is weird because it's Jordan and Jordan has never been uncomfortable around Taylor, not even when they first met. “I just. I really missed you.”

It's weird to say his heart flips in his chest, because hearts don't actually do that, really, but Taylor might finally know what people mean when they say that, like this sick warm weird feeling right there behind his sternum. It's awesome and terrifying and he doesn’t know what to do with it. 

He waits until it passes and pats Jordan's shoulder, because Jordan's still looking weird. Which, granted, they hardly ever talk about their feelings for things other than food or hockey, but still. “I missed you too, you non.”

Jordan doesn't even smile at that, and Taylor suddenly feels like they're having two different conversations. “No,” Jordan says. “I mean. I missed. Jesus, Taylor, it was like <i>six months</i>.”

“No it wasn't, I was back in Edmonton that whole time. I mean, except for the surgery.”

“Not on the ice.”

“Well no, but—”

“Not over the summer.”

“We never spend the summer together.”

Jordan's looking at him now, but it's with the distinct impression that says Taylor's missing something big, and fuck if Taylor knows what it is. He kind of does though, because even when he'd been out with his ankle his rookie year, they'd still been around, and it hadn't been some planned thing like his shoulder where they knew it'd go through next season. 

The shoulder thing had kind of scared him, and he guesses it must have scared Jordan a bit too. He puts his hand on Jordan's shoulder again, but leaves it there and holds on. “I get it,” he says, even though Jordan's still looking at him like he really doesn't. “I really did miss you too. And playing with you. And winning with you.”

Jordan looks kind of okay with that, and he reaches up to pat Taylor's hand.

“You want to hug it out?” Taylor asks.

Jordan laughs at that and smacks his hand away and things feel normal again, but a different kind of normal. “Fuck you, turn on the TV.”

If this is going to be their new normal, Taylor could be okay with that. 

–

Practice is weird and it isn’t just because he hasn’t actually had a team practice since last season.  Jordan and Ryan have been down for a month already, since before the home opener, and Taylor hates feeling a step behind. He knows some of the guys from training camp last year, but Schultz is new and Ryan follows him around like a duckling. 

He’s also missed out on several months worth of inside jokes, which he hates almost more than feeling winded after sprints. During practice Justin hip checks Jordan and they both say “sauce” and crack up laughing. Taylor doesn’t feel bad at all when they both land on their asses and get yelled at. 

Tubes laughs at Taylor when he mentions the grocery store, but Hamilton takes pity on him. (Taylor hadn't really planned this well and asked in the locker room. If anyone chirps him about it, he's totally throwing Jordan under the bus about the laundry. Cereal is way better than socks.)

“We can go after practice,” Hammy says. “I've gotta go anyway.”

They end up driving way further north than Taylor's been before, he hasn't really made it past 23rd St on his bike, and stopped there because there wasn’t a bike lane. He figures if it isn't in the confines of downtown, he doesn't really need it.

“But you do,” Hammy says. “Because they don't have a Whole Foods down there.” He then spends about fifteen minutes bitching about the grocery store situation in Oklahoma, because apparently the liquor laws in the States are different than Canada, and for some reason that means no good grocery stores exist in this state. “It's a big fucking mess,” Hammy finishes, just as he parks. He catches Taylor giving him whatever look must have been on his face, because really, <i>grocery stores</i>. “What?” Hammy asks.

“I had no idea someone could have so many feelings about grocery stores.”

Hammy just pushes him into a parked car, and they both run when the alarm starts blaring.

–

“Did you know it's not even called KD down here?” Taylor asks, neatly arranging the offensively labeled blue boxes in the cupboard.

“I did, actually,” Jordan says, not even looking up from the TV.

“You could have warned me.”

“I'm sorry, was it a shock to your delicate nature?”

Taylor lobs one of the wet sponges on the sink at Jordan's head, and fuck yeah he's got excellent hand-eye coordination, it hits Jordan right in the ear. Jordan yelps and comes at him, and Taylor barely gets out “I'm sorry, was it a shock to your delicate ear?” before Jordan has him pinned on the kitchen floor, laughing into the tile. 

Taylor gets his hands under him and shoves up. He's got height and weight on Jordan, which has always made wrestling pathetically unmatched, especially when Jordan forgets to do shit like pin his hands. He gets Jordan wedged into the corner between the cabinets and the floor, and even with Jordan squirming and kicking his truly massive thighs around, he can't dislodge Taylor. Taylor is the fucking master of pinning people.

“Say it,” he says. It's unfortunately a little muffled because he's got Jordan's shoulder pinned with his head, and his mouth is full of Jordan' shirt. Still, it's a familiar enough routine by now, and Jordan's face is free and clear.

“No.”

Taylor presses down harder, his feet hooked over Jordan's legs and their arms tangled. It'd be horrible form if either of them had ever actually officially wrestled in any kind of formal manner, but there aren't any rules here. They're touching knee to head and it’s apparently part of the new normal that Taylor notices this time. Notices exactly how they line up, how Jordan's thigh flexes between his, how Jordan's breath pants across Taylor's forehead as he struggles. He doesn't know why he's never thought about this before, how good everything feels. He's missed it. They've had to be too careful about Taylor's shoulder for so long.

“Say it,” he says again, and hopes his voice doesn't sound as wrecked as he feels.

“You're better than me!”

“At what.”

Jordan sags against the floor and Taylor finds himself resisting absolutely nothing, and then they're just two guys, cuddling on the kitchen floor. “At literally everything,” Jordan says.

Taylor lifts his head. “That escalated quickly.”

“Fuck you, don't quote <i>Anchorman</i> at me.”

“Don't say ridiculous shit.”

Jordan shrugs and Taylor feels it with his whole torso and remembers that, oh yeah, he's still basically laying on top of Jordan, and it isn't for wrestling reasons anymore. He gets up and offers a hand to Jordan. “NHL 13?”

He laughs when Jordan slaps his hand away. “I'm gonna kick your ass,” Jordan says, levering himself up against the cabinets.

“Yeah, we'll see.”

–

Taylor's first week playing with the team for real and not just practicing involves a road trip down to Texas. On a bus. Taylor remembers taking buses to games, it honestly hasn't been that long, but the drive from OKC down to Houston is going to be like eight hours. And because he’s who he is he decides to complain about it out loud in the middle of Earl’s. “Welcome to the AHL,” he mutters.

“It's not that bad,” Jordan says.

“You're like a foot shorter than me, of course you don't think it's that bad.”

Jordan flicks a fry at him. Taylor tries unsuccessfully to catch it in his mouth. “I'm like inches shorter than you,” Jordan says. “Very few inches.”

“At least two,” Ryan says helpfully.

Justin nods. “But not more than six.”

“Fuck you both, it's not six inches.”

Taylor flicks a pickle at Jordan. Fries are too precious to waste, and he's really not a fan of pickles. “I can see over your head without even trying. It's enough.”

“You cannot.”

“I can.”

“Prove it.”

“Right now?”

Jordan gets up from their booth and stands next to it, hands on his hips. “Yes, right now.”

“You look stupid.” Taylor looks at Ryan and Justin, but they're both concentrating really hard on eating right now and are exactly no help. “Seriously?”

Justin looks up from his barbecue. “It makes Nugget really uncomfortable when his parents yell at each other,” he says, with a truly impressive deadpan expression. Taylor is forced to begrudgingly admit, only to himself, that Justin could teach lessons.

Taylor sighs heavily and ridiculously and throws his napkin down. “Fine.” He knows he's exaggerated his and Jordan’s height differences. Jordan knows he's exaggerated their height differences. Literally everyone knows he's exaggerated their height differences, and he stands up and his eyes are right on Jordan's forehead and of course he can't see shit over his head and he hates that he had to stand up and leave his barbecue behind. “Whatever, you non. Fine.” He sits back down again. “Two inches. Why were we talking about this again?”

Jordan is insufferably triumphant with his shit-eating grin. “The bus,” Jordan reminds him. “It's not that bad, so quit your fucking whining.”

“Language, Ebby,” Taylor says. “This is a family establishment.”

Jordan kicks him under the table, and it's really fucking hard actually, but then he leaves his leg pressed up against Taylor's until they leave.

–

Taylor shifts around for the millionth time in as many minutes. The bus is too hot and too cold and too cramped and too . . . everything. He's got his iPad out and has Dexter queued up but can't find a good position for the iPad and his legs and his shoulders. Jordan shotgunned the window seat on the way to the bus and at first Taylor thought that the aisle would be awesome, more room for his legs, but then Arco spread out a blanket, grabbed his pillow, and camped out in the aisle. It's a mad genius idea and Taylor wishes he'd thought of it first, but now he's got nowhere for his legs except under the seat in front of him.

“Stop squirming,” Jordan says, shoving at his shoulder. “I can't sleep when you squirm.”

“I can't get comfortable,” Taylor says, shoving back. “This is the worst.”

House kicks his seat. “Tell us again how wonderful the Oilers plane is, seriously.”

Taylor hunches down in his seat. This is the worst, the absolute worst, but he might be down here for the whole season, given the way the negotiations are going, and he doesn't really want to be <i>that guy</i>.

“Here, just.” Jordan starts manhandling him a bit. “Sit up a minute, will you?” Taylor does and Jordan pulls his leg up behind Taylor and Taylor does not at all see how this is going to be comfortable? But then Jordan grabs his shoulders and turns Taylor away from him and pulls his back into Jordan's chest, so Taylor is basically reclining in a Jordan chair. Taylor tries really hard and really unsuccessfully to not think about every point of contact between them. 

He swings his legs up onto the armrest across the aisle, basically right over Arco's head, but he's asleep and Danis is all alone across the aisle and sleeping with his face mashed against the window and obviously not using the arm rest right now.

“Better?” Jordan whispers, and it's right in his ear and that's definitely what makes the goosebumps spread across the back of his neck. He wonders what Jordan will attribute his full body shudder to, but Jordan doesn't actually ask. Also is it better? No. And yes. 

“Yeah,” he says, just as quiet. It really has no business being comfortable, because they're still two tall, muscular dudes shoved into a seat made for people roughly half their size, but somehow it is, and it’s weird that it is. 

Jordan slings his arm over Taylor's shoulder, because it's that or leave it mashed between Taylor and the seat. He can feel when Jordan falls asleep again, because his breath gets deep and even against Taylor's shoulder.

Taylor puts his earbuds in, props the iPad against his knees, and hits play. He’ll deal with how good all of this feels later.

–

It’s Justin’s idea to go see Cloud Atlas. Taylor doesn’t really like going to movie theaters, he gets bored just sitting there trying to follow along with a plot he doesn’t really care about. He relents when Jordan tells him to stop being a non and promises to buy him a popcorn and lemonade, so he gets on his bike and follows them all down the street to the theater. 

Somehow, when they all go to sit down, Taylor ends up on the end of the row next to Justin, and Jordan’s on the other end next to Ryan, and all Taylor has is his watery lemonade. Ryan and Justin do this thing during the previews where they do a thumbs up or down on whether or not they’ll go see the movie. Jordan starts giving his opinion after he sees Ryan and Justin doing it. 

Taylor keeps his thumb down the whole time and eventually Justin stops turning to ask. 

He only makes it thirty-seven minutes into the movie. By the sixth time a new storyline is introduced and he’s leaned over again to Justin to ask if that’s still Tom Hanks under all the makeup and Justin has shushed him yet again, he just gets up and leaves. He waits in the lobby to see if anyone follows him but eventually Taylor has to concede that they might not have even noticed he’d left. Or maybe they just thought he was taking an extended bathroom break.

The lobby of the movie theater is boring and doesn’t have any couches and he’s actually pretty close to home because everything is pretty close to their apartment, so he just leaves.

He bikes around downtown. There’s a little canal area near the theater and a big statue of a covered wagon. He likes the canal. It’s absolutely nothing like the river in Edmonton but whatever, it’s trying. He stops outside Toby Keith’s restaurant to tweet about the movie and laughs at Whits’ response. 

Most of the time he’s not sure if it’s Oklahoma City that he likes or his anonymity. No one recognizes him here. No one stops him on the sidewalk to ask about their Cup chances. No one laments to him about their godawful power play, or how long it’s been since their last playoff run. No one gives him their insider tips or advice on going top shelf or five hole. He hasn’t been this anonymous in a really long time. 

If he’d stopped to think about it, and he never had, obviously, he’d have assumed he’d find it lonely, isolating. The first time he’d left the country, to go someplace that wasn’t the United States, he’d gone all the way to Russia for hockey. They had people to help them around, translators assigned to help them order dinner and find their way to the bathrooms. And, other than thinking they were obnoxious tourists, the Russians hadn’t really cared much about who he was. He keeps thinking about that time, about being in the middle of a crowd of people and completely unable to communicate with any of them unless they spoke English. 

They speak English in Oklahoma but it’s the same feeling, like there’s something lost in translation between him and the people strolling along the canal. 

He’d never been alone in Russia though, Jordan had been with him. He wonders why he feels more alone now, and he kind of hates it. 

As he’s contemplating that feeling, he realizes he’s hit the highway. And because he’s hit the highway, he doesn’t actually know where he is. It should be easy just turn around and go back the way he came, plus all the streets in Oklahoma City are numbered, but he can’t figure it out. He lets Siri direct him back to the apartment.

-

That's where it ends, these are the notes:

Lockout ends and they go back and Taylor is still pissy and doesn’t know why

Jordan confronts him about it

Taylor finally says that OKC was balls but he missed feeling like they were about to start something, like they were removed from their normal lives in a place where anything could happen

Jordan calls him an idiot and kisses him

“It was like. Anything could happen there. We could have just been two normal guys. And it made me think, if we were just two normal guys, what would I do.” 

“But you didn’t do anything.” 

Taylor shrugs. “We still weren’t normal guys, even though it felt like it.” 

“What’s normal? Nothing’s normal. There’s no such thing as normal.” 

“You know what I mean.” 

“So we make a new normal,” Jordan says, and kisses him. 

Okay but now that I’ve been reminded of it I need to add something in there about bonking their heads together as they kiss. 

[secretsofthemourning]

Find your 3 oldest WIPS. Then list for each:

The inspiration- Why it's still a WIP- Will you finish- Why or why not-

Try not to mean to yourself!

@sailoreuterpe, I'm sorry it took me almost a week to answer this. I need to get on Tumblr more often, but here we go!

My Three Oldest WIPs:

Oldest WIP: Untitled Bob's Burger's Fic -

Inspo: I began this fic in April 2020 after I finished "Here's To Belcher Growing Up." It's intended to be a multichapter fic in the same vein as "Here's To Belcher Growing Up," it's unrelated but my enjoyment of writing the previous fic was the inspiration, as they were quite similar.

Why: It's been sitting in a forgotten Google Docs for over 4 years nearly completely forgotten about, mostly because I use Word now. I should convert the Google Doc to Word while I'm thinking about it, actually...

Will It Be Finished: Yes!

Second Oldest WIP: Untitled Yuri!!! On Ice AU

Why: I've cherished the idea of finishing this fic! I thought this one would have been done over three years ago. The outline will probably be undergoing major changes since I've also changed as a writer, but I love this fandom and adore writing stories for it.

Slightly Newer Wip: Untitled Yuri!!! On Ice AU

Inspo: The costumes the characters wear in the anime.

Why: This one, too, has been forgotten in a Google Docs folder since early 2022 and I need to convert it to a Word doc, so I can work on it in a place I can see. I'm also secretly worried I won't be able to capture the personalities of the characters accurately and its caused some writer's block.

Will It Be Finished: God I Hope So! (Yes?)

Third Oldest WIP: "Blood Is Thicker Than Water"

Inspo: Ending of Wednesday (2022) season 1.

Why: I wanted to write what I thought season 2 would look like. Or what I thought would have happened in the events immediately following the end of the show and some of the events from the end of the season that weren't covered.

Will It Be Finished: No. As of right now, I do not plan on it. I have even orphaned this story, actually, as I don't like having unfinished works associated with my AO3 account.

[claudiajcregg]

s5pAU (a folder with many “Chapter XX” inside) for the WIP ask meme?

Welp, I forgot I hadn't answered these! Apologies! (These are from this WIP ask meme.)

s5pAU is my short way of referring to “S5 Pregnancy AU,” and it's… what it says on the tin! Sort of. Basically, the entire ridiculous concept is “what if CJ got pregnant at the end of S4?” (Around Zoey's kidnapping, in this case.) It's 11 chapters so far, with only a bit of 12 written… And it was my main WIP for the better part of 2023, even if I took months here and there.

(I had written a lot of unneccesary backstory that I've tried my best to summarize into the important parts. It's still long, sorry. It's just been the WIP, for most of 2023. It's sitting at over 76k words already!)

I have a note on my phone with a list of most ideas I kept having while rewatching the show last year. This one was part of it, and it jumped at me for how ridiculous it is. I recall having a mental image of a scene that was too OOC, but could work, around late February? Early March? It's definitely not a realistic idea, but there was something about some of her moments in S5 that I felt would be interesting (and not that different) to explore under new circumstances.

Before I started writing it properly in June, I did a few outlines (two detailed ones, in March and April), with the idea of having 1-2 chapters per semester, maybe some interludes here and there. I also started a playlist with ✨ vibes ✨, but though I thought a lot about it… I wasn't really writing it. Until I just needed to get so much stuff out of my head.

If I had to say, I think it is following the outline, but also not… Because I am being far more detailed than I intended to be, the show's actual timeline is a mess (not that the one I tried to create is better, but at least I know what month it is), and some story beats happened differently, hopefully still organically.

Anyway. This is boring. It still doesn't have a proper title, not that I'd change the folder's name (not really); it's not done (haven't written anything new since November, and it goes for everything); I could see this becoming some sort of series/universe by the nature of it.

Snippet! The part I always feel most self-conscious about. (Can't remember if this is the snippet I posted on the server, forever ago.)

“What’s up, Daniel? I was about to… Can’t it wait?” “It could,” he conceded with a dejected expression. One that told her this was hard to broach. “I didn’t even notice the time.” C.J. didn’t move, awaiting whatever it was that he was going to say. “And well?” She moved a stray strand of hair from her eyes. She couldn’t wait until her hair finally grew out, that was for sure. “You planning to stand there all night?” “I have to go, C.J. I have to go back to my post.” Whatever retort she had thought up for the first part died on her lips when she heard the second part. Her heart sank, and she chided herself. The second she had believed this day to be ordinary had been her first mistake: once you perceived anything as ordinary, you should know the universe would make it so it was anything but.

[charaznablescanontoyota]

5, 10, 18!

5. Name a fandom you hope to write more for next year.

next year is the year i finish the fma fic that's been sitting in my wips since april. i can feel it in my bones. uhhh also slightly beside the point but next year i would like to actually finally write the scp article i got greenlit like. a full calendar year ago lmao

10. What’s the longest work you wrote this year?

on my ao3 - 2,765 words on thought i saw stars, but it was the rain

in my wip folder - 5,602 words in my doc of loosely chaptered interstitial infinity ficlets (all finished i just keep adding new ones when the mood strikes me)

original fiction (just for kicks) - 52,153 words collaboratively on chapter 20 of prairie song

18. share a favorite fic title from this year.

"i went to claire's and all i got was this stupid anxiety disorder" from something i can't publish yet

[nephilimsims]

hold onto what makes your soul shine!

these have been sitting in my wip-edit folder since April 2022. Oops

[fandom-trauma]

Hello hello! Ive been gone a while. Lots of things have happened, and I'm still in the thick of my final year project, but it's (mostly) coming to an end mid-Feb! Thought Id do a little post (mainly for me and the 4 followers I have) on my current WIPs Ive picked up, and what I plan to be doing. Personal update under the Read More.

First of all, I have like a million art and fic WIPs related to Immortal Desires and Perfect Match 2. No biggie, I just have... lots and lots of thoughts about Poly!PM MC and Poly!ID MC. Yes, this means I do have a fix-it fic about how that end of book confession goes... maybe even a rewrite of the entire last chapter... but hold that thought!

Now that I'm a little bit more versed in Twinery (see second point below for why), I'm a little bit tempted to make my rewrite interactive as well. Just text tho lol, but either way, an ending rewrite is a ways away, and also I kinda wanna wait till Bk2 is released to really start working on it. (I didn't realise ID was GOC so you bet I binged it within three fuckin days when I did. It's a bloody amazing book. I also finally finished my playthrough of PM2, so that explains why these books are giving me immense brainrot.)

SECONDLY, 'A Date with Bryce Lahela' is about halfway done! I'm not exactly sure if I've ever shared the idea publicly to the fandom, but this is the basic gist of it: Date is an attempt on my end of trying to recreate those TF Date Specials, but with the one and only Bryce Lahela. Cool, right? Unfortunately, it's only in text format, bc I'm learning Twinery Harlowe.

What's left of Date? When can I play it/a demo? Pronoun choices, smut scenes and equipment variations, a whole activity is uncoded, trackable achievements, load/save functionality, and after that it's just making sure the whole damn thing works. As for a demo... ;) .. ... Joking. The entire predicted gameplay is short enough to not really need a demo, so there won't be a public one. I aim to have this done by, god, hopefully end of the year? This damn thing's been sitting in my WIPs for two whole years, so I would really like it done and over with, haha, but it's a lot of work for one person.

THIRD, I have a 1.2k word rewrite of Foreign Affairs Ch12 Tatum diamond scene that has been in the making, and rotting away in my WIPs, since 2 April 2021. Honest to god, it's a little bit of a vent fic, and I've been slowly chipping away at it whenever I've been stressed. The rewrite isn't because I see the scene as bad, but I do wish there was a liiiiiittle more hurt/comfort in it lol.

FOURTH, well... I have a few Bryce x M!MC smut fics that, uh, really should be finished and see the light of day. Or, at least escape the WIP folder and experience the cool damp corner of my tumblr blog.

So, that's my WIPs so far! Personal stuff under the read more.

----- ----- ----- -----

My 3D animation final year project wraps up a couple of weeks before my graduation. I knew the workload was going to be larger than what I've had with my previous 2D animation projects, but boy it really hits different when you're actually working on it. I won't go into it too detailed, but if you're curious, feel free to ask about it!

My 2023 started off as a... mixed bag. Low lows and high highs, I guess. Won't go into it, but yeah, not great.

Me having Date in semi-working condition is purely because of a NYE group gift exchange and my hubris at making a working product within 2 weeks. It was... yeah, no, I've been humbled, but man was the result such an endorphin rush.

I've also got really into making custom content for The Sims 4, so that's where the bulk of my free time went, really. I'm active in a few TS4 discord servers, so if you see mothy-simmie, say hi :P

[kiilea]

everything I do is bittersweet you could tell me secrets that I’ll propably repeat I’m not trying to hurt you, I just love to speak It feels like we’re pulling teeth so bittersweet 💕

[storyofarts]

Where could they be going?

[lookingforluna]

Take You Down || ksj

☾Pairing: MicDrop!Jin x Reader  

☾Word Count: 3.5k 

☾Rating: M 

☾Genre: smut, fluff, romance, idol!au, established relationship! 

☾Warnings: explicit language, smut, intercourse, spit play, creampie, dirty talk (i probably overdid it yikessss), teasing, filming, sex-tape, unprotected sex, big dick Jin, just super sexual  

☾Summary: Your boyfriend, Kim Seokjin, knows how to put on a show for his fans. You decide to attend one of his concerts even though he told you to wait at the hotel. Little did you know he’d make you put on a show for him in front of cameras because of that decision.     

☾A/N: This is another fic that has been sitting in my WIPS folder since April of 2020! So it has been two years, and I finally finished it. I apologize for taking so long, there has been a lot going on in my personal life and I haven’t been feeling the best. I powered through this tonight and I hope you all enjoy it!  <3

The sound of thousands of fangirls screaming causes you to smile while watching your boyfriend perform Mic Drop on the stage. It’s difficult to look away from his tall frame when he looks good enough to devour. The stylists took their time in deciding his outfit today. His fans were probably more ruined than you the moment he stepped on stage, the chunky black boots making their appearance before he did. The black Balenciaga sweater also made warm feelings arise as it hung loosely on his broad shoulders and tightened as he performed the choreography.  

Your jaw tenses as the prominent bulge in his black cargo pants becomes noticeable during a particular hip thrust. The eruption of ear-splitting screams fills the stadium, and you note the faint smirk on your boyfriend’s lips. 

He has always been so cocky, but for some reason, that’s what drew you to him, and clearly, his fans felt the same. Of course, they only saw little glimpses of it because of the worldwide handsome image he had to keep, but he was always that way with you behind closed doors, and you loved it. 

Overall, his outfit made you ready to jump his bones, but your favorite part had to be the black headband and purple hair. The last thing you ever expected to see was your boyfriend with purple hair. Of course, he could pull off any look, and he often changed hair color, but this purple look did something to you. It caused your insides to turn, and a warm feeling spread down below. 

It wasn’t often that Jin wore headbands, but you couldn’t help but stare when he did. There is something about how he looks with his purple hair pushed back and forehead exposed. You knew it was wrong, wanting him here during one of his concerts, but you couldn't help it. 

As the song finishes, the boys run off the stage, sweat dripping down their face and neck, and into the back where you stand. They had no idea you would be attending the show, and surprise spreads across their faces.

"Noona! You actually came," Jungkook smiles as he pulls you into a quick hug. 

Laughter fills the backstage area as Jungkook spins you around in the air before placing you down. Jungkook reminded you the most of your younger brother out of all of the boys. He was always cheerful and playful whenever you were around, and having that little connection was heartwarming.

After being with Jin for five years, all of the guys were like brothers to you, but you bonded with Jungkook the most and eventually Jimin and Taehyung. Yoongi gives you a quick hug before he hurries off to change for his solo performance, shouting that he’ll talk to you after. The rest of the boys surround you, hugging you as stylists swarm them wiping off sweat, re-touching their makeup, fixing their hair, and giving them water. 

"Of course, Kook. I couldn't miss this. You guys were amazing out there," you grin as you look at the young boy, clearly worn out yet trying his best to hold up the conversation. 

"Noona! I know you only came because of me," Taehyung smirks as he sends you a flirty wink before laughing out loud. You feel the heat rise to your cheeks and try to avoid his flirty eyes when he’s dragged away by Joon and Hobi.

Out of all the guys, Taehyung is the one that loves messing with you the most. This only occurred once he found out that you had biased him before dating Jin. After that, he always made a point to bring it up every chance, especially since it ticked Jin off. 

"You know he's only teasing you, Noona," Jimin laughs as he wraps his arm around Jungkook's shoulders, chuckling at your blushing cheeks. Instead, you quickly nod and avoid their eyes, letting them wander around the backstage area.

 "Well, we'll leave since someone is waiting for you," Jungkook says while motioning his head in your boyfriend's direction as he leans against the brick wall, his intense gaze fixed on you. The two walk away to the dressing room, whispering and laughing before glancing back at you and hurrying off.        

Chocolate brown eyes make contact with yours across the stage, causing you to freeze in your spot. Just with one look, Jin could have you trembling with nerves. His stares were always intense, causing you to bite your lip out of habit. He's not happy from the look on his face, yet you manage to muster up the courage and walk over to him. 

He had every right to be vexed with you at this moment. There was a mutual agreement that you would remain in the hotel room until he returned. It was because Jin didn’t like you walking around without him, especially in an unknown city. He could send his bodyguard with you, but it never felt the same as having him by your side. With him, you always felt safer, and for some reason, he thought no one could protect you better than him. When you went wandering out on your own, it also made things trickier since his fans didn’t know about you yet. This agreement was set in place for your safety, and you appreciated that, but the truth is you were bored and wanted to see him perform. 

"Come here." 

His tone is low and steady from where he stands. He leans on one shoulder against the gray brick, both hands folded across his chest. 

The fans' cheering continues to get noisier as your heartbeat becomes faster with each step closer in his direction. Finally, music starts to play as Yoongi begins his performance of Seesaw, but the sound of your heartbeat drumming in your ears overpowers everything. 

As you stop in front of Seokjin, his intense brown orbs scan your frame from head to toe, eyes scanning without a single movement of his head. 

"What are you doing here?" He question, tone hard and cold as his jaw tightens. There’s a lump forming in your throat as you try to keep yourself together while looking back at him. 

"You know the rules," he continues, his voice deep as he bites down on his bottom lip, a look of agitation clear in his eyes. He was right. You knew the rules, but here you were backstage at his concert, breaking them instead of waiting in your hotel room. 

"I know, but I wanted to see yo-" your voice softly begins to say before his deep tone cuts you off. 

"No." 

"N-no?" You stutter as your eyes widen while looking at him, shocked by his sudden interjection. A smirk falls onto his lips as he kicks his foot off the wall while shaking his long purple hair out of his eyes. 

"You know the rules," he states again as his hand rests on your hips, his heavenly scent invading your senses. 

"Right, sweetheart?" Jin mumbles into your ear as his fingers squeeze the flesh at your hip tighter, his hands sneaking further under the fabric of your shirt before he moves it back into place. You feel the heat rise to your cheeks as you feel flustered by the sudden use of the name reserved for the bedroom. 

With a quick nod, your gaze finds the ground as Jin looks down at you, his other hand gripping onto your wrist and giving it a tight squeeze. Your eyes flash up, connecting with his, only to notice the little glimmer of excitement as he runs his wet tongue over his pink lips.

Suddenly aware of the eyes on the two of you, the nerves increase. Staff members act as if they don’t notice the closeness between the two of you as some scurry off, and others pretend to occupy themselves. 

"Come with me," Jin mutters as his eyes glance at the several pairs of eyes concentrating on the two of you. He truly did not give a shit about who saw the two of you, and he cared even less about what they would have to say. Everyone in the company knew of your relationship, but it wasn’t something staff members spoke about with the boys. You were part of Seokjin’s personal life, and he liked it that way. They could look all they wanted as long as they had nothing to say about you or the relationship.  

Stumble over your feet; it’s difficult to match Jin's quick pace as his hand wraps around your wrist and pulls you in his direction. His legs are longer than yours, and his strides wider, forcing you to jog to keep up with him. 

"Where are w-," you let out a squeak, losing your train of thought as Jin pushes you up against a doorway, your back digging into the door handle. Instead, you find yourself fumbling with it, your arm bending at an awkward angle as you try to open the door while giving in to Jin's needy kisses. 

"Jump," Jin groans as he pushes the door open the second his hands make contact with your ass, hoisting you onto his waist. The two of you tumble into a secluded white room full of camera equipment and the same equipment used to film their Run BTS episodes. Jin hadn’t mentioned anything about them filming new episodes, but maybe they would begin again. It was possible since they would sometimes film episodes during the previous tours.  

“Fuck,” you moan out loud, head falling back as he mouths kisses down your throat, nipping and licking on the skin. His teeth pinch that sweet spot on your neck, causing your hands to pull at his hair, purple strands becoming a mess between your fingers.

“Stay right here,” Jin breathes out as he lowers you into one of the black chairs in the middle of the room. 

A whine escapes your lips as you grab for his sweater, trying to pull him back. This was the attention you were searching for all night, and right when you were receiving it, he was pulling away.

 His slender fingers gently wrap around your throat, tugging you into a deep kiss as he bites your lip before letting go. He leaves you breathless. Eyes still closed as you mewl for more.  

“Be a good girl and wait,” he instructs, suddenly noticing him stepping over to the cameras. He fumbles around, fingers pressing various buttons on the equipment, and suddenly a red light flashes. 

Your breath hitches as you realize his intentions, and before you can finish, he’s standing a few feet in front of you, hands swiftly removing his sweater to reveal his chiseled abs. A wave of wetness floods your lower regions, eyes roaming over his body and landing on his strong, broad shoulders. As much as filming yourself excites you, worry also overwhelms you. 

“Jin, we can’t,” you say, standing up out of the chair and beginning to walk over to him. With two long strides, he’s in front of you, hand pushing you back into the chair, your chin in between his fingers. The screams from the fans were still echoing throughout the stadium, but all you could focus on was the touch of his fingers on your face and the intense look in his eyes. 

“There’s nothing to worry about. It’s only for us,” Jin assures you as his thumb rubs over your bottom lip. He can still see the hesitance on your face and realizes it’s not enough. 

“I want to be able to hear your beautiful moans and see your wet pussy bouncing on my cock whenever I’m away, sweetheart,” he says, thumb finally slipping into your mouth. His tongue swipes across his lip as your own sucks him in further, tongue swirling slowly around his digit. 

“Don’t you want to see yourself stuffed with my cock whenever I’m gone, baby?”

He groans as you release his finger with a sweet-sounding pop.

Jin always had a way with his words, but you swore that he somehow became even dirtier with his words and more convincing during this tour. 

Being able to watch yourselves anytime and anywhere you wanted was enough to convince you. But the thought of Jin watching it when he was away and missing you was even better. 

Your eyes flash over towards the steady red dot filming your every move before returning to Jin’s warm and comforting eyes. A soft smile graces his lips as he registers your nod and how your body suddenly relaxes. Just as quickly, though, he returns to his previous state, ready to take control. 

“Open,” he says, watching as you follow directions, mouth easily falling open and awaiting. 

He lets out a hum of approval before he leans over, suddenly letting his spit fall into your mouth, something he had started doing more and more as you both experimented in the bedroom. 

Groaning softly, he crashes his lips down onto yours, swallowing the moans that fall from your lips. He kisses you with passion and desire, his tongue pushing into your mouth, racing to taste every inch of you.

Suddenly, just as Yoongi’s solo is nearing the end, he’s pulling away in haste. It would be a few minutes before it ended, and Jungkook would perform Euphoria. He didn’t have much time and needed to make the most of this moment. 

You silently commend yourself for choosing to wear a skirt and making this moment that much easier. Within seconds Jin has the two of you flipped, his body now on the chair and you straddling him. A surprised gasp leaves your lips as you land on his stiff boner, instinctively grinding your hips down. 

“We don’t have much time, Sweetheart. Do you think you can take me?” He whispers as your fingers release his dick from his fitted jeans, mouth already watering at the sight of his tip, red and dripping with precum. If you had enough time, you’d take it into your mouth, savoring every drop until you were drowning in his sweet taste, but you couldn’t. 

“Fuck, yes, I can take you,” you whine as your fingers lift your skirt, not wasting any time trying to take your clothes off. Finally, you move to take off your panties when suddenly Jin’s patience wears off, and he tears them from your body instead. 

“I’ll buy you new ones,” he assures as he slides his dick between your lips, hissing when the leaking tip catches onto your hole. 

“Fuck baby, you’re soaking my cock,” he moans as his hands guide your hips back and forth over himself, getting his dick nice and slick with your wetness. 

“Please give it to me,” you beg as your nails dig into his shoulders, the hardness of his cock against your lips becoming unbearable.

Jin was bigger than average, and he was proud of it. His fans always said it, especially when they discovered the king-sized condom in the background of a picture he posted once. If only they knew that you were lying naked on the bed and teasing him with your legs spread on the other side of that picture. Jin always made it a point to remind you that no one could fuck you better than him. He knew that after the first fuck you’d be hooked to him. 

He wasn’t wrong. 

“Are you sure you can take my dick in this pretty little pussy, baby?” Jin asks as he smacks your clit a few times before circling your center with his big cockhead. 

“Yes, please, I can take it,” you nod desperately, your entire body burning up with desire as your fingers find themselves at the nape of his neck, pulling at a few strands of hair. 

“Well, if my pretty baby wants my cock, then that’s what she’ll get,” he mumbles against your lips as the head of his cock finally pushes inside, the stretch so pleasurable and painful at the same time. You don’t think you’d ever get used to his size, every fuck feeling like the first. 

As you clench around the tip, Jin drops his head back, a long moan escaping. You felt so hot and wet, and he could explode from just you clenching around his tip. 

“F-fuck baby, you’re so big,” you whine as Jin pulls you down, his cock drowning deeper in your pussy and stretching you out even further than before. The moans continuously tumble out of your mouth as he guides you up and down, enjoying the long, hard, and deep strokes he fills you with. 

Jin’s face is covered in sweat and entirely flushed as you press your lip against his, desiring his touch all over you. 

“Show the camera how creamy you make my cock, baby,” Jin grunts as his fingers grab your ass and spread your cheeks apart. Frantic whines fall from your lips, loving the feeling of being so exposed and on camera with Jin’s cock drilling into you. Then, grabbing onto the back of his chair,  you move faster, dragging yourself up and down his cock, chasing your release. 

“I-I need more, please,” you cry in desperation as you toss your head back and ride even harder and faster than before. At the sound of your begging and the image of your blissfully fucked out face, Jin loses all control. 

The sudden hard thrust of his dick meeting your movement forces a scream to leave your mouth as his body moves off the chair. Suddenly, he’s standing, chair knocked over as he pistons his dick in and out of your hot heat. Sweat drips down the side of his forehead, and you can feel the familiar twitching of his cock, signaling his oncoming release. 

“You’re gonna look so pretty dripping with my cum, baby,” Jin moans as his lips attach to your neck, sucking on the skin there and leaving a pretty mark for the world to see. 

“Please, fill me up. I want your cum. Please. I want it,” you moan in desperation as that familiar warmth starts to brew in your center. 

“Fuck, you’re creaming all over my cock, baby,” Jin breathlessly grunts as your fingers furiously rub your clit, causing your eyes to roll back as wave after wave of release hits you. 

Loud groans erupt from Jin’s lips against your neck as his cock twitched, and he painted the walls of your pussy with his warm cum. The feeling causes your legs to shake as you milk him dry of everything he has. 

“Mmm, I feel so full,” you sigh at the feeling of Jin’s hard cock sealing all of his cum inside of you. Even though Jungkook’s song is nearing the end, you want to remain like this for a little longer. 

“I love you, baby,” Jin whispers as he caresses your face with one hand before planting a gentle kiss on your swollen lips. 

“I love you too, Jinnie,” you softly reply as he carefully places you down and makes sure that you’re okay. 

He begins to dress, and you watch as he runs his fingers through his hair, smoothing out the tousled purple strands. Then reaching down to the ground, he sends you a wink before stuffing your torn panties into the pocket of his pants. 

The feeling of his warm cum still deep inside you causes you to bite your lip and rub your thighs together. Then, glancing at the camera equipment, he walks over, turning everything off before pulling out the tiny chip that holds the footage of the two of you. 

“Here, keep this safe until I finish the concert,” he states before handing you the tiny chip. Then, just as you’re about to say something, the door opens, and Taehyung runs in. 

“Hyung, we’ve been looking for you! We’re about to go on,” he shouts, clearly out of breath from searching everywhere for your boyfriend. 

“Ah, I’m coming, Taehyung,” Jin replies to the younger boy before looking at you and smirking. 

“Keep my cum inside of you until the concert is over,” he orders as his finger dips beneath your skirt and slides between your slit and into your dripping hole. A loud moan slips out of you as you look at him with desire, suddenly feeling needy and ready again. 

Just as quickly, Jin removes his finger and slides it into his mouth, causing your mouth to water at the act you just witnessed, your boyfriend sucking the mixture of your juices and his cum off of his finger. 

With one last lick, his lips meet yours quickly, and you taste the sweet mix as he begins to walk away. In front of him stands a shocked and wide-eyed Taehyung as he adds up the pieces of everything that just unfolded before him. 

“Let’s go, Tae. We have a show to finish,” Jin grins as he wraps an arm around Taehyung’s shoulder and tugs the younger boy out of the room.

Taglist: @theresasaysthis​ @gukkmoans​ @enchantingbrowneyedgirl @bjoriis​ @starbtslove​ @soeur-de-ame​ @angeltothecore​ @lidda​ @sabinesuss​

❥ Don’t forget to like, comment and reblog! I love to hear your thoughts 💙✨

❥ If you would like to be added to the taglist for future fics/series, please fill out any of these forms! ✨

[amor-immortalem]

The Dream

This was going to be a return to comic based story telling but I’m tired and I put too much work into this not to at least show the first part of it since its been sitting in my WIPs folder since April plus I kind of lost interest in working on the project overall so…

Masterlist

[clearwillow]

A new oneshot for you today! It’s been sitting in my wips folder since last April and I really did not want to let a full year pass before I finished it (cause we’ve got literally a couple weeks so I’m cutting it close XD) It’s canon-divergent, has humor and smut. At least I hope it’s funny. I laughed as I edited, so I hope you will too.

Summary: A plan. That’s what they were gonna call it. A decent plan had a contingency plan in case things went sideways. This was insane. What was she going to do if she was caught? If she got hurt? How could she explain herself?

Somehow the words “Sango put me up to spying on Inuyasha naked” wouldn’t hold up no matter how much she begged for forgiveness.

Rated: E

AO3 | FFN

If you would like to read updates to ongoing and new fics sooner, I post early on patreon. You’ll get access to wips, polls, and lots more! All patrons from the Sparkling tiers and up get weekly doujinshi updates for Mating Fever as well!

Tag list below the cut; let me know if you’d like to be added

@keichanz @lemonlushff @dawnrider @mamabearcat @inuykago @sailorbabydoll92 @zelink-inukag @itzatakahashi @superpixie42 @sticky-llama-perfection @the-rebel-alchemist  @digitl-art-monstr @theinuyashareader @eternalnight8806-3 @cstorm86 @sarah-writes-stories @animelove1313 @nartista @smmahamazing @xfangheartx @cyncyn981 @bluejay785 @witchygirl99 @lady-dark-69 @kazeinori @willowandfog @lavendertwilight89 @gaysonthefloor @senneth-pendra @ruddcatha @pinkpigeonstudio @shinidamachu @cammysansstuff @little-inukag-obsessed @arcprz @liz8080 @trying-not-to-loveu @wulfintheforest @memusicmuse @princessinume @hnn-wnchstr @that-weird-kid-charlie @cannibalsforbreakfast @mr-fairywings @nsr0716 @eringobroke @ladyphoenix0711 @malditamigs @fawn-eyed-girl  @littlestuffstohide @smh1821 @karina-inuphantom @dreaming-of-soup @irrationalandimpossible  @boostyourmind-blog @anisaanisa @inussunflower @sacred-arrow @nillavanilla21 @yusukesmomjeans @lordofthechips @bluehawaiicat @kawaiichan67 @kagometaishostory @hopidoodle   @omgitscharlie  @themusicalshoo  @heynikkiyousofine @preciouslyours @roseheartwhitefox @brokenangelwings22 @banra-yar @knittingknots @scaponigifs @shardetector

[starspangledbigbang]

Welcome to the 2021 Star Spangled Big Bang!

The Star Spangled Big Bang is a chance for writers and artists to collaborate and create stories paired with artwork, all of which will focus on the members of Team Cap from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Authors sign up to write stories that are 10k words or longer. Artists then claim stories and create art inspired by them. Creations may be canon, canon divergent, or AU. They must be centered around at least one character from the MCU’s Team Cap/Cap Quartet. All pairings as well as gen fic are welcome.

Friday 5 March - Author & Artist sign-ups open

Friday 2 April - Author sign-ups close

Friday 21 May - Author Check-in

Friday 4 June - Artist sign-ups close, Author summaries due (5k of fic complete)

Sunday 6 June - Author summaries available for preview

Friday 11 June - Claims open, Partnerships announced

Friday 2 July - Author & Artist Check-in #1

Friday 9 July Sat 17 July - Beta Claims

Friday 6 August - Author & Artist Check-in #2, Posting Date Claims

September - Posting period

Content Guidelines

Every creation must be centered around one or more characters from the MCU’s Team Cap or the Cap Quartet. This includes Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, Natasha Romanov, Bucky Barnes, Clint Barton, Scott Lang, Wanda Maximoff, and Sharon Carter.

Any and all ratings are welcome, as well any setting, be it canon, canon divergent, or AU. Authors will be able to outline their preferences on rating, do-not-wants, and collaboration interest level if desired so that artists may take that into consideration when choosing what stories they’d like to collab with. 

Please be mindful of portraying marginalized communities respectfully. This page from Writing With Color has a list of blogs and resources that discuss diversity in writing. Any creations that sympathetically portray hate groups or actively promote racism, transphobia, homophobia, etc. will not be accepted.

All fics must be edited, beta read, and legible. All content must be thoroughly and appropriately tagged.

Code of Conduct 

Please be respectful of your fellow participants, including your mods. This event is designed to be inclusive regarding characters, ships, kinks, etc. and therefore we will not allow kinkshaming or ship/character bashing within event spaces. We are a diverse community and will not tolerate any racism, transphobia, homophobia, harassment, or general inappropriate behavior towards the mods or your fellow participants.

We want to ensure that all participants have a comfortable experience within the event. If your content or conduct does not align with the guidelines and the spirit of the bang, we will do everything possible to foster conversation and resolve the issue on a case-by-case basis. However, the final decision on how to proceed will ultimately be up to the mods. Please remember that the mods are fans just like you, doing this for fun in their spare time to share more Team Cap love.

What sort of content am I committing to if I sign up?

Authors will be required to create one original, cohesive story with a minimum of 10k words (no maximum). Artists will claim one or more stories (depending on the number of sign ups we receive, as well as artist interest) and create one piece inspired by that story. Each collab team will be required to create a banner for the master post as well.

What sort of artwork is acceptable?

All art must be visual, original art. By original art, we mean that the final product must be an original product of the artist. Using photos for reference is fine, and you can use whatever traditional or digital medium you require, so long as the art starts and finishes as your own product. Photo manips are allowed as long as they have been significantly edited, via Photoshop or other programs, to clearly resemble original art. Hit up the mods if you need clarity on an idea.

What ships are allowed?

Any prominent ships featured must include one or more characters from the MCU’s Team Cap or the Cap Quartet (Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, Natasha Romanov, Bucky Barnes, Clint Barton, Scott Lang, Wanda Maximoff, and Sharon Carter.) They may be paired with any other characters, but the Team Cap character(s) should be the main focus of the story. Other than that note, we welcome any and all ships for the main pairings, including polyamorous ships, queerplatonic ships, and genfic. All side pairings are welcome as well.

What canons & universes are allowed?

Any canon or universe is allowed as long as it features one of the specified Team Cap characters. This includes any movies, comic runs, cartoons, etc. as well as non-canon AUs. So, if you wanted to write Planet Hulk Steve or Avengers Assemble Natasha or mermaid Sam, that’s perfectly acceptable!

Are there any age restrictions for participation?

Sorry, but yes. You’ve got to be 18 or over to participate.

Can I use a work that I’ve published previously, or that’s been sitting in my drafts for 3 years?

For this fest, we need all original content, none of which has been published previously. That being said, authors, if you’ve got an outline or a draft that’s been hanging around your WIP folder for too long, now’s the perfect time to dust it off and finish it! Since the art is meant to be inspired by the story, artists must start their work from scratch.

What if a friend and I want to work together?

Writing teams are welcome, but since claims will be anonymous, no author/artist team sign ups will be allowed.

How will claiming work?

Authors will create slides with information on their stories. Claims will take place at the halfway mark, and authors must have a minimum of 5k words written to be considered for claims.

The mods will compile the author submissions anonymously to share with the artists prior to claims. Once claims open, artists will submit their choices via Google forms.

Where are the submissions going to be hosted?

All submissions will be posted on AO3. We will also promote all creations on Tumblr and Twitter.

What if I can’t finish on time, will I get an extension?

We’ll have plenty of check-ins to make sure that you will indeed finish on time! If you’ve got any concerns, the mods will work with you to find a solution on a case-by-case basis. We will also enlist the help of artist pinch hitters if necessary. If you drop before claims, there will be no penalty; however if you ghost us after claims and leave your partner hanging, we’ll take that into account for participation in future events depending on the circumstances.

Can I post work-in-progress snippets on my personal blog?

Prior to claims, all snippets and sneak peeks must be shared anonymously on the starspangledbigbang account; the mods will assist in this process. Once claims are done, you will be able to announce your team and share snippets on your personal blog, as you create. Please keep snippets to 500 words or less, and roughly ⅓ or the artwork or less.

Can the fic &/or art also count towards a bingo fill?

Yes, we will allow cross-posting within bingo-style events, as long as your partner is comfortable. If your partner would prefer to keep your creation to this event only, then we would ask you to respect their wishes. We also ask that all cross-posting be done in good faith and within the spirit of our content and conduct guidelines.

I can’t sign up, but I still want to participate, what can I do?

No worries, there are lots of ways for you to help support the Big Bang! Follow us on Twitter and Tumblr; reblog, comment, and share our posts to spread the word. We’ll also be asking for help with beta reading, pinch hitting, and other cool ways for you to get involved!

Where can I find event info?

Info on the SSBB will be posted on Tumblr (@starspangledbigbang) and Twitter (@starspangledbb), with a collection on AO3. We will also have a Discord for participants.

Who are the mods?

Your friendly SSBB mods are bangyababy, Call_Me_Kayyyyy, HeyBoy, nachodiablo, and velociraptorerin.

I’ve got more questions, help!

No problem, we’re happy to hear from you! Ping us on one of the social media sites above, or email starspangledmods at gmail dot com.

(updated 07/09/2021)

[jbbarnesnnoble]

Hold the Light

Summary: You’re a wildlands firefighter who happens to be dating Bucky Barnes. Sometimes, things don’t go to plan. 

Features: Minor angst, injury to reader character, forest fires

Pairing: Bucky Barnes/Reader

Notes: This one has been in my WIP folder since April. I’m not overly happy with where it went but it felt like the right place to end it. 

Word Count: 2257

You had become a Wildland Firefighter with the National Park Service out of college, just before you met Bucky Barnes. You spent half the year on the west coast in a permanent seasonal position. In the offseason, you had work around the Avengers compound. It worked out for you. The compound had its own fire department because the grounds were so vast with different buildings. 

It was nearing the end of a relatively quiet season when the fire broke out. Containment had been difficult with the weather. The winds weren’t in your favor. You were talking to Bucky before heading out for your next shift. Facetime, he had decided, was his favorite invention of the 21st century.

“Be safe,” he said.

“Buck, I think you’re in more danger going on this mission that’s “classified” than I am going out to do my job today. The winds have died down overnight. We’ll get this thing contained today, chief thinks,” you said. He sighed.

“I worry about you, doll,” he said.

“I know. Listen, I’ve got to get going. We’re due for shift change in thirty minutes and with how much we’ve been working, we can’t be late. I love you,” you said.

“Love you too. Call me when you get off. Even if I can’t answer,” he said.

“I will,” you told him. Brody gave you a look as you hung up with Bucky. He knew you’d lied to Bucky about the conditions. The winds had worsened in the night and there was no chance of containment barring a miracle. Your crew was heading into the thick of it, trying to mitigate damage and hopefully find survivors of a camping trip that hadn’t been heard from since the fires broke out. 

“You know he can just check the news and find out you lied, right?” Brody asked.

“Not where he’s going. He was on the quinjet. Only enough signal for calls. Non-essential usage of the internet isn’t allowed. Steve would throw a fit,” you said.

“So you lied why?” Sasha asked. You sighed.

“He needs to focus on his job and I need to focus on mine. Let’s roll, chief will be waiting and we need fresh legs out there,” you said. 

Your arrival on scene included another debrief on the weather conditions. The winds weren’t working in your favor and were going to make it more dangerous. You’d been around long enough to know that it was the kind of day where lives could be lost in the blink of an eye. 

Your team headed out into the wilderness, You scanned the horizon, smoke in the distance. If the wind shifted, your team would be in imminent danger. The campers had been cut off from getting out at the main road. The only way out was a steep climb down that even the most experienced hikers didn’t attempt. You could only hope you weren’t too late, that the smoke hadn’t overcome them. 

“Last known location of the campers was about a mile southwest. If the winds shift, we’re screwed. This is the only chance chief thinks we have at evacuating the campers. The overnight crew managed to contain this area but with the weather that might not hold,” you said. 

“They don’t call us the Magicians for nothing,” Brody joked. It had been a running joke since your second wildfire season. Your crew somehow always managed to pull off rescues under the worst of conditions, conditions that admittedly, you shouldn’t have gone into a couple of those times. You loved and hated the nickname for your crew at the same time. The underlying message was clear. If the Magicians couldn’t do it, no one could. 

“I hate that nickname,” Sasha lamented. You laughed as your crew headed out. A haze settled over the part of the campgrounds you were in, the smoke lighter than it had been since the fire started. If the campers were still alive, there was no way they were at the campsite. It would have been overcome with smoke throughout the previous day. The fire had quickly spiraled out of control from the time it was reported two days earlier. 

“Hey Blue, think we’ve got eyes on the campsite,” Brody called from up ahead. You rolled your eyes at the nickname. It stemmed from a cookout, three summers prior, where you ended up with a face full of blueberry pie. The nickname stuck, shortened from Blueberry to Blue over time. 

You scanned the site, looking for any hints at where they could have gone. You found a stuffed bunny on the ground beside a set of footprints. You picked it up, looking at it for a moment, hoping that you could reunite it with its owner, that you could find them, alive and well. 

“Looks like the ground was soft enough for footprints headed further southwest away from the fire...well, away from where it was the other day. We follow the tracks. Daniels, let command know we have a lead and where we’re headed. If the winds shift, we’re in trouble,” you said, looking toward Ryan. You had a good crew. Brody, Sasha, Ryan, and Bryce were the ones you were closest too. The five of you were the ones the rest of the team depended on when things were dicey. 

“Should we really pursue the lead?” Sasha asked, worry laced in her tone. You sighed. 

“I don’t know about you, but I’m not about to let people die if we can get them out. We all knew what we signed up for when we took this job. As long as it remains safe to do so, we’re pressing forward. They put us on this for a reason. If we can’t do it, no one will,” you said. 

“My dude, you’ve been spending too much time with Captain America...you heard the woman. Let’s roll,” Brody said. 

Anxiety settled in the pit of your stomach, as if it were a siren screaming about impending danger. But you pressed on, the stuffed bunny firmly in your grasp. You walked for what felt like hours, finding more tracks. You found the campers, looking exhausted, a mile and a half to the southwest of the camp. Winds had shifted in the course of the morning and you could see the smoke rolling in.

“We’re going to get you out of here,” you said. A family of five, the youngest around three. Brody took the youngest from her exhausted father, making sure the toddler was safe and secure. 

“Blue,” Sasha said. You could feel the direction of the wind shift. If you didn’t get out fast enough, you would be in trouble. 

“I know,” you said. You had a limited window to get them out. Fire spread fast and the winds didn’t help. You could hear the crackle of fire in the distance as the smoke thickened. It wasn’t long before you hit an area where the fire was burning. 

“Alright, we’re about a half mile out from command. We’ll be fine,” you said. You were doing your best to stay calm and composed. You heard the creaking of the trees. Some of the trees in the area had been marked for removal that had yet to occur. You heard the snap, moving instinctively  to push the others out of the way as the heavy branch came down, hitting you in the head. You crumbled to the ground, the yells of your team distant as you drifted into unconsciousness. 

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“Sergeant Barnes, I have an urgent message for you,” FRIDAY said as the team disembarked from the quinjet at the compound. The mission hadn’t taken long at all. He’d be able to call you that night once your shift ended. He felt his heart drop at FRIDAY’s words.

“Go ahead,” he said.

“This is Chief Andrews calling for James Barnes,” your chief’s voice came. Bucky froze as he listened to the message. 

He dropped everything, racing to his room, throwing on civilian clothes and grabbing a go bag. Steve had followed closely behind.

“You’re not going alone,” Steve said. Bucky nodded as they reached the jet. Steve took over piloting as Bucky sat staring out the window, worried about what awaited him out west. 

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You were in and out as your crew moved to get the branch off you. The smell of smoke grew heavier.

“We can’t move her, not without a board,” Sasha said. 

“We don’t have time to get a team out here. The winds are shifting. If we don’t get a move on, we’re not getting out of here,” Brody said.

“What do we do then?” Ryan asked.  

“There’s another sturdy branch over there. Deploy your fire shelter and get the cord. See if you can find a third branch to help keep her flat. We can make a stretcher. We need something to stabilize her neck. We don’t know the damage done and we need to minimize making it worse,” Brody said, shifting into crisis mode. Bryce and Ryan went to get the branches while Sasha deployed a fire shelter. She knelt beside you.

“We’re getting you out, Blue, promise,” she said. 

“We need to call into command if we can,” Brody said. Sasha nodded as she unclipped her radio. 

“Magicians to Command, do you read, over,” Sasha said.

“Go ahead,” Chief Andrews said. As the others worked, Sasha relayed the information to command. You were still drifting in and out, your head throbbing. 

“Keep your eyes open, Blue, come on,” you heard Brody say. You felt tired. You were in pain and you were tired. You just wanted a nap. 

The next thing you knew you heard a commotion as you were transferred to a real stretcher with a neck brace. 

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Bucky was pacing the length of the waiting room. With the quinjet, he and Steve had arrived sooner than they would have otherwise. You were in surgery to deal with a break in your arm and an injury to your shoulder. According to the doctor, you had been lucky to avoid a spinal injury. As it was, you had been in and out of consciousness en route to the hospital and likely had a concussion. Preliminary tests had shown you avoided a major brain injury as well. 

“Buck, sit down,” Steve said, yanking his friend into the seat beside him. 

“I don’t want to sit,” Bucky replied, moving to stand up before Steve pulled him back down, bracing his arm across Bucky’s torso as if restraining a toddler. 

“Pacing won’t make things move faster. She’s stable, Buck. They’ll call us when she’s out of surgery. Right now, all we can do is wait,” Steve told him. Bucky sunk low in the chair. Was this how you felt any time he got injured on a mission? He began thinking of all the ways to make it up to you, the times you must have felt like he did in that moment. And all the times he brushed it off. 

The doctor emerged some time later. Bucky was staring at the wall in front of him, counting the specks that dotted the color. 

“She’s resting in her room now. Her surgery went well. She’ll be out of commission for at least three months, with physical therapy to regain the majority of her range of motion back in that arm. We won’t be able complete our testing until she’s awake, but we believe she has at minimum a low grade concussion,” the doctor explained.

“What does that mean for her?” Bucky asked.

“There is a potential for some memory loss, but we don’t expect that in her case. However, we won’t be able to rule that out until she wakes up. She’s a very lucky person today,” the doctor said. Bucky knew what the doctor wasn’t saying. You could have been killed by that branch. You always seemed to have a sense about things and luck when it came to your job and escaping those situations. Bucky wouldn’t be surprised if you had some kind of power or powers you were unaware of, but that was a discussion for later. Now, now he had to go see you, be with you.

Steve stood with Bucky, but didn’t move to follow him to your room after the doctor told them where to go.

“I’ll go make the phone calls. Go see your girl,” Steve said. Bucky nodded before heading in the direction your doctor had indicated. 

He took a moment to collect himself before opening the door to the room. You looked peaceful laying in the bed. But fragile. Fragile was never a term he would use to describe you. You were far from a delicate little doll. No, you were strong, a fighter through and through. You may not go to battle with aliens or battle Hydra, but you were still a hero. You ran toward danger. You saved lives. Seeing you there, it reminded him you were still mortal. You weren’t impervious to injury. 

“Gave me a scare, doll. You and I are going to have to have a long talk about withholding information,” Bucky whispered gently as he took your hand in his. He watched the rhythmic rise and fall of your chest as you slept, waiting for you to wake. 

He had fallen asleep by the time you woke up. You looked over at him, a soft smile on your face, before squeezing his hand and drifting back to sleep. There would be plenty of time to talk in the morning.