#time to write up a new draft

[serenescribe]

I’ve been infected with the fever of Lilia’s bats adopting Silver as their non-bat pup, and it’s adorable! I suppose this is just me asking to see Lilia seeing his bats chitter and nuzzle Silver as a child or as a teenager. Whichever you prefer~!

[✐] ficlet frenzy

“Silver? Siiilver?”

No response. Lilia sighs, hands resting on his hips. Now where could his son be at this time of the day?

He’d just returned home after a trip to the market, and had called out Silver’s name in hopes of hearing a sleepy response and the soft pattering of feet before his son emerged at the front door. But today, he heard nothing.

And so Lilia had glanced around the house, leaving the groceries in the kitchen in favour of checking every nook and cranny of their little cottage. At the very least, he can still sense Silver’s presence somewhere, even if he can’t find him. Perhaps he’s playing a game of hide and seek? It’s a distinct possibility, Lilia supposes.

He comes up empty-handed until he tries the one room he had saved for last, for no reason outside of the fact that he can’t think of any explanation why Silver would be in there. With a flick of his wrist, the door to Lilia’s bedroom creaks open, the doorknob turning with the help of magic, and…

“Ah,” Lilia says, as he looks into his room.

He understands now why Silver couldn’t reply. Because Silver had been preoccupied.

Dozens of his bats — those sneaky little rascals! — surround Silver, chittering and flapping their wings at Lilia as he steps into the room. Lilia scoffs, rolling his eyes as he approaches the bed his son lays on. “Don’t give me that attitude,” he lectures, even as the bats huddle closer to the slumbering human boy, pressing against his neck and shoulders, clinging to his clothes and hair. Lilia squints, peering closer. “Did you cover his ears?!”

One of his bats — the largest of the group, and the boldest one, who always makes a habit of clinging to Silver even when Lilia chases the others off — squeaks out a response. Lilia folds his arms, lips twisting into a pout. “I told you, you cannot hoard him for yourself!” Another protesting whine. “‘Why not?’” Lilia echoes. “Oh, for the love of— we’ve been over this already! You can have your quality time with Silver, but you cannot hoard him like this! How heavy do you think you all are, hm, crowding him like that?”

The bats do not seem to care. Bastards, Lilia sulks, tapping his foot against the ground as they nuzzle into Silver, continuing to strategically cover his ears with the thin membrane of their wings in order to stop him from waking at the sound of his father’s voice.

Of course his pesky familiars don’t give a damn. They know the real reason why Lilia keeps fending them off — a deep-rooted jealousy that feels pathetically childish to admit, hidden under the guise of whatever excuse Lilia can think of on the spot.

“You win this time,” Lilia grumbles, throwing his hands up in defeat. “But mark my words, if you make Silver miss dinnertime again, I swear—”

The bats chirp back their protests, and Lilia’s voice pitches.

“You have no RIGHT to criticise my culinary skills when you can’t even COOK!”

[golden-headband]

Lady Time… and your new helpers.

Fem bodied!Reader x ESAU Wukong and Macaque

AU created by @emelinstriker

Macaque appeared as if he was about to whine like a puppy, looking up at you as you lay on the bed, unmotivated, and without energy. Uncomfortable. And slightly irritated.

“Are you sure you don’t need anything?” You heard Wukong ask gently to your right. You turn your head into his arm. You had assured before that just lying down with them near you was enough to sooth you in this time of… well… being born a female.

After they discussed-many times-how they could help, you came up with a position that both of them could stay by your side and help you. Knowing they liked the closeness and that feeling of helping you even when there wasn’t really much they could do. Macaque could lay on your left side, using his portal- or shadow powers- to bring chocolates to you while Wukong laid on your right with his hand over your tummy. Where your pain was centered on. You knew that period pains were different for everyone. For you? It felt like your bladder was turned into a vortex of dull knives. You knew the remedies were either painkillers first thing in the morning, or just having something to eat. Hot beverages, heat over the pain. That’s what worked for you before. And chocolate. Lots. And Lots. Of Chocolate. Hence why they had caught you making chocolate chip cookies a few days ago. You were the kind that kept a calendar marked for every time so you could ready yourself for that messy week- or in your case the first few days of the more extreme pain. And since then, they had been eager in helping you in your time. Apparently they had gone through enough Master Incarnations that they had familiarized themselves with more remedies than even you had thought of. You were honestly amazed at how attentive they were. You had only been with them for about three weeks. This was your first time being their Master with your menstrual cycle arriving.

You had always been told guys get uncomfortable with the mention of periods, so you were more used to dancing around the topic, but here they were talking about all the remedies like you were coming down with the common cold and they would be there to help you the whole while. It was endearing.

“The warmth is enough I don’t need any pain killers…” You assured them. Feeling Macaque nuzzling into your side. Making you smile, almost laugh. “I’m better than I was this morning, I’m thankful for that.” You reassure them, moving your hand to lazily scratch Macaques head, feeling him leaning into your touch. On your right you could feel Wukong nuzzling into the crook of your neck. It was all so soothing.

“You sure you don’t want to hit us?” the dark simian offered, making your heart sink. And making him lower his head. Right. You always forget they can ‘feel’ your emotions through this whole ‘bond’ thing that made them insistent on serving you. You wondered if they also feeling this period pain. You sure hoped not.

“That won’t make me feel better. If anything it’ll just make me worse.” You reminded Macaque. You cared too much about them to take your anger out on them. “Besides, I’m not all that angry. I’m just uncomfortable. The chocolate helps though… thanks for making another batch of cookies. It really helps.” You turned and he rose up, knowing exactly what you were going to do. Your lips touched his forehead, and he melted. Both of them curled into you. Their soft fur soothed you. And gosh darnit feeling their tails around you filled your heart with butterflies all over again. They stayed close… until you had to get up.

“Are you alright?” Macaque hurriedly asked. You knew they already missed the excuse to cuddle with you.

“I’m fine. I’ll be right back.” You didn't look back at what face Macaque was making or the probably concerned look on Wukongs face.

“Do you need us to do anything? We’ll do it right away!” You heard Macaque try to reassure you as you stood up and almost wobbled-the price to pay for not using your legs for so long-focusing on the specific door.

“I don’t think this is something you can help me do.” “Why not?” It would’ve made your heart sink hearing how distressed he was. Like you were dismissing his abilities, no confidence in him after all he's done. But then you turned, and he saw which direction you were headed.

“I’m just gonna use the bathroom. I’ll be right back.” You heard how deadpan your tone was. And seeing their expressions almost made you laugh. But you really did need to go. No matter if you had chocolate, pain killers, or heat… if you needed to go, your pain wouldn’t subside.

You knew as soon as you were done, Wukong and Macaque would be there to be your lil snuggle buddies and take care of you while you ride out this whole period thing. You planned on giving each of them a kiss as thanks for everything they did. But where though? Head? Cheek? Lips? ... eh. All of them. Yep. All of them. You concluded with a smile.

[2hoothoots]

i was having a chuckle to myself last night about Gristol, and how his plans are basically:

Restore Ford Cruller's memory

Find Maligula

???

Profit

but then... of course they are, right? this is Gristol we're talking about. Fatherland Follies drives home again and again that he's still operating on a child's logic, a warped and reductive version of the world that he never bothered to grow out of. both of his memory vaults center on the images of his childhood, this idealized version of the past that he clings to no matter what. and that's still how he remembers Maligula, too - as this saviour figure, who rushes in to help him when he's in trouble.

[ID: Two slides from Gristol's memory vault, Glory to Grulovia! Left: Gristol clings to Maligula's back as she summons waves to sweep away his assailants. Right: Gristol and Maligula waving from a balcony as the people cheer. Gzar Theodore brandishes a dagger in the background.]

like so much else, Maligula represents a return to this idyllic childhood - to the peace and simplicity of his youth, when he was free from worries and responsibilities. in his mind, he doesn't need to make any further plans - once Maligula's back, everything will go back to normal. Maligula will make everything better.

...is what i thought, but then i remembered this line:

[Screenshot source. ID: Gristol, in Truman's body, bows on his hands and knees in front of the newly-awaked Maligula. The caption reads: "Yes, High Priestess! I am here to correct the mistakes made by my father!"]

and that's kind of interesting, right?

to be clear: this happens directly after Maligula sees Helmut-in-Gristol's-body, and recognises him. her line before this is:

"Little Gzesaravich! Have you come to pay for your father's sins?"

my first thought was that Gristol hadn't expected to still be in Truman's body by the time he managed to find Maligula, and this was him trying to placate her and buy some time until he could explain the situation. but watching the cutscene back, that's clearly not what's happening here. Gristol is answering as himself, and his response of throwing himself to his knees before her is, as far as i can tell, genuine.

so what is going on here?

in Fatherland Follies, there's this line in the ride narration that stuck out to me:

"Why didn't the Gzar help Maligula in her time of need? No one knows, but historians agree - it is Gzar Theodore's biggest failure."

other lines mention Gzar Theodore's "mistake", and it's wording Gristol himself echoes in the screencap above. evidently, he believes that his father abandoned Maligula, leaving her to her fate at the hands of the Psychonauts, and it was that mistake that lead to them being driven out of the country - that mistake which he seeks to correct. maybe he even feels like he has a debt to repay to her for his family turning their backs on her all those years ago.

the 'High Priestess' thing, though - that's kinda weird, and threw me for a loop the first time i played the game. it took me until my second playthrough to connect the dots, and remember how the room in the Lady Luctopus - Gristol's room - was full of Delugionist scribblings and symbols.

[Screenshot source. ID: left, the walls of the hidden backroom in Gristol's hotel suite, covered in scrawlings of eyeballs and Maligula's name. Right, the pinboard from the hidden backroom. On its surface are photographs and newspaper clippings connected by pieces of string.]

i mean, look at this stuff! he had a whole conspiracy board and everything!

we learn very little about the Delugionists and their beliefs as a whole during the game, but i think drawing the connection here suggests two important things. one: that Gristol was in deep with this stuff. i don't know how he linked up with them - maybe via old family connections, or just good old-fashioned digging (we know he's skilled at worming his way into peoples' good graces, after all) - but it seems likely that he's begun to internalise their ideas, maybe even warping his own memories of events. and two: the Delugionists themselves are, if you'll pardon the pun, pretty far off the deep end.

like... i understand why PN2 didn't go heavy on the "mass-murderer cult worship" aspect of things, in the end, but man this is such a tantalising glimpse into the wider mythos around Maligula. Gristol is proud and haughty and thinks himself above everyone else; the fact that his first reaction seeing Maligula is to throw himself to the ground at her feet says so much about the way he's come to see her. he's not just trying to bring back Maligula, his childhood bodyguard. he's trying to bring back Maligula, the High Priestess of the deluge, the semi-mythical figure whose supporters believe even death couldn't stop. he doesn't even flinch at the way she confronts him, and maybe it's because he's bought in so completely to this deified figurehead, this idea of Maligula; more a living force of nature than a person. and it all comes back to the same place: an abdication of responsibility, not just to the person who protected him when he was little but to this avatar of floods and destruction. Maligula will make everything better.

i'd write more about my thoughts on the Delugionists but that'd be taking a hard turn into speculation, and this is already kind of long and rambling so i'd better end it here. but what an unexpected and evocative line, right? it's some of the only stuff we have to go off of regarding the Delugionists as a whole, but i think it does such a good job of hinting at the wider story - at teasing another layer to the mythos surrounding Maligula, one whose ripples we see throughout the game but which never quite breaches the surface.

[crybaby-bkg]

cw: mention of previous abuse, dad Dabi, mom reader, mention of childbirth, angst

new dad touya that doesn’t know how to deal with his son. he’s growing too fast and his smiles are so big, but he’s still not sure how to just be with him.

touya isn’t abusive in the slightest, not like his shit for brains dad. he can acknowledge, after you’ve drilled it into his head on cold nights where you had to hold his quivering cheeks in your hand, that he’s better. that he’s trying. that he’s a great dad.

he doesn’t really believe it. it’s hard to believe that he’s a great dad when his son, still covered in that fresh newborn smell, stares up at him with matching azure blue eyes, the little shit, and he finds it hard to smile back. it’d be easier to smile back if he could guarantee a life with no trauma, with the perfect pair of parents, that he’d love him as much as his tiny little face deserved.

touya can still hear the labor and delivery nurse tell him that he must’ve gotten on your nerves for the baby to look so much like him, and that they’ve never seen a baby that fresh out the womb smile so big at their dad. he hands the little bundle back to you, and glares at the nurse who hands him a tissue. he takes it anyway.

touya loves his son. so goddamn much that it hurts, but, he doesn’t know how to be a dad. and he knows that you don’t know how to be a mom either, that it’s a learning process for the both of you. but he’s so scared—he’s terrified that he’ll fuck up this innocent brat with his ruin. with his scars and history and the want to better but never knowing how to just be.

so he leaves. it’s the day after your sons first birthday that you celebrated together in your home.

you thought everything was okay, that he was starting to get the hang of being a dad. he did everything right, why couldn’t he stay? he sat on the floor with your son and changed his diaper and made him giggle those addicting baby giggles? he carried your son everywhere whenever he cried after being sat down without a single complaint? he helped him open his birthday presents? he didn’t smash the cake in his face, only swiped a little icing on his sons nose to hear that addicting baby giggle? he held your son like he could never let him go?

how could he just go like this? you thought he was finally learning and accepting how to be a dad? what happened?

[blutopaz15]

wip wednesday!

the beginning of the next chapter of next time (rated e)

[justalittlebluetiefling]

In non-boop related life updates, I have fully finished an outline for a book and have actually written 3400 words in a first draft and that is a huge deal for me, because I've never gotten this far with original fiction before.

[icewindandboringhorror]

recent lounging babey images

[ohbo-ohno]

i made the horrendous mistake of watching the start of an old rdr2 playthrough while taking a break from writing and it was possibly the worst decision i've ever made

[dino--draws]

Sometimes I mutter to myself "how the fuck do people write SCPs I never have any ideas ever" and then I'll black out and wake up to an impulse written scp that was done in 3 hours, a finished draft, two wip drafts, and a rewrite collab

I've concluded that these things just come like visions from an angry god

[essektheylyss]

I have finally hit 30k on my current book draft and this section is roughly outlined to my liking and I have worked out a number of later plot kinks in the process and truly, if I can get through this and the next section before the New Year, I might actually stand a chance of finishing this thing with some efficiency. And thank FUCK.

[byanyan]

still alive but still struggling

[secretwhumplair]

Whump prompt XXII

Whumper has the ability to mentally puppeteer someone else’s body while they sleep. To the whumpee, it feels like they’re dreaming, except of course they’ll still feel the exhaustion, pain, or any other consequences of what whumper made them do when they wake up.

[abronzeagegod]

ETS WIP Chapter 4: The Problem with Dreams

<first>|<more>

The drive back to the office was quiet and slow.

After turning in the company van and clocking out, Aeth went and found a small room set aside for rituals. There they participated in a deep cleansing ritual and even a protection spell to keep the bad dreams at bay. They knew that this case would be haunting them for days and weeks.

Just as the magic faded and the incense started to dissipate away to just smoke, Lyta stuck her head into the room.

"Hey, I saw you're back. How was it?"

Aeth shrugged, not really up for vocalization.

"I'm about to finish up my shift, you want to go get something to eat? It's my turn to buy."

Aeth nodded. Lyta was a good friend, a great friend, their best friend. She could read their mood and their whole demeanor with a glance.

"Great, I'll order us something to pick up and we can go to my place and eat and watch some TV. You feeling And the Fifth Rose was Black or do you want some truly silly nonsense like Real Monsters of the Sea?"

"Sea," they mutter.

"Great! I need something mindless tonight. Let me get my desk together and I'll meet you in the break room?"

"Yeah."

Before she left, Lyta entered the room and gave Aeth a quick hug.

The day was deeply draining. Aeth felt so very tired, but Lyta had a way of making them feel better about everything. They hope that she doesn't mind.

Even though they know if they asked, she would say that she doesn't mind if it is for them.

Aeth didn't have to wait for Lyta for very long, she just had to grab her stuff out of her locker and then their friend drove to her apartment.

They often worked the same shift, so Lyta almost always drove the both of them to and from work.

Lyta's apartment was small, full, and deeply comforting to Aeth, who made a beeline for the couch, where they plopped down and snuggled up to the plush bat named Bat-tholemew. Lyta had gone into her room to change out of work clothes and put in food order. She knew their likes well enough by this point that she didn't even bother to ask what Aeth wanted.

Eventually, she returned and went to the couch, gently picking up Aeth's feet, sitting down, and letting Aeth lay across her lap.

It was right about twenty minutes into Real Monsters of the Sea (when Urrephetilgoth the Emissary of the Dark Tide was calling out Herominish Lor'gillth as a horror, as if Herominish would be offended by being called a horror) when the food arrived.

By the time the food was consumed and the fight between the two ancient sea creatures had resolved, or at least come to a truce so they could fight with a third friend/enemy/fellow-horror-form-100-fathoms-below-the-sea, Aeth was feeling much better.

It was around the time that they had finished food and the second episode of Monsters was wrapping up that Aeth finally felt good enough to talk to Lyta.

“It was the last job,” they said. “It was a typical family that had their computer for too long and it was starting to give up.”

Lyta didn’t interrupt. She never interrupted when Aeth spoke especially about things that were bothering them.

“But the kid, about seven or eight, believed in the computer enough to create a small god that lives in it and kept it working long past it’s lifespan.”

Lyta reached over and grabbed Aeth’s hand, just held on to it. She knew what was coming next, where it was going, but sometimes it was necessary for the person to say it out loud. After a moment she pulled their hand into her lap.

“She believed in her computer so much. She named it, had a bunch of plastic dinosaurs she named and gave permanent make overs to. She reminded me of me, but, you know, with a better home life.”

Lyta rubbed her thumb across Aeth’s knuckles. A soothing, repetitive gesture.

“Got me thinking about… you know,” Aeth said with significant pauses. “I called the Bureau, and they assured me it’s still in lock up under constant surveillance.”

“It hasn’t tried to get out?” Lyta asked. She was the only person that knew of 3812-B. But even she didn’t know the whole story, not the whole truth of it. That was something too much even for Aeth, something they didn’t even believe or want to share ever again.

“No,” Aeth responded. “They would have told me if it did.”

There was a long silence between the two of them. “How are you doing?” Lyta asked.

“Better now, but tonight is going to be rough dreaming.”

“You can stay here,” she said. Please stay, is what she meant.

Lyta always said stuff like that. Aeth wanted to stay, they really did, but they also needed the comfort and privacy of their own place.

They thanked Lyta for everything and called themselves a car to take them home. Lyta kept Aeth's hand in hers for as long as she could, kissing the back of their hand as they finally had to pull away.

They don't dream that night. At first.

When they did dream it is intense and violent and full of spiders.

Well, maybe it wasn't supposed to be violent.

But all the spells they did to keep from dreaming also kept the underearth spider aspect from sending them their thanks so they increased the power of their dreams until they broke through their thorough magic and it was basically a nightmare.

A nightmare built on the strength of the generosity of a spider aspect, a being from the inner earth, so far below the surface that things are naturally dark and twisted. A nightmare built from their everyday experiences strong enough to pierce through the wards and defenses carefully crafted by a hurt mind.

The thing with gods and their gifts is that one can't refuse them. Not really. Refusing a god outright is a terrible idea, and being coy about it is simply a worse one. Because nothing is more horrifying than a god who has been thwarted in their attempts to thank you.

They had honestly forgotten about it. Especially after the small god.

The corridors Aeth was lost in were twisting, dark, made of stone that was hot to the touch and rough and coarse. They twisted in and back on themselves like the paths of stone were moving, living things. Like a spiderweb turned stone.

Aeth knew something was in the tunnels with them and was chasing them, pursuing them, just like before.

They weren't strong enough to fight them the first time and had only survive through sheer luck.

To fight a second time was something that was just beyond their capabilities.

So they ran as far and as fast as they could, but their legs were loose, and numb. They couldn't move fast or far. They were trapped and this was the end for them they knew.

It was coming.

It was coming for them.

And they were caught in this web and labyrinth.

Suddenly the nightmare tilted on it's side, everything slid to one angle and Aeth found themself face-to-face with a spider aspect.

"Thank you," the spider said enigmatically. They were already big, bigger than Aeth was in the physical world but now they were massive, gargantuan even.

All of their many arms reach out and hand Aeth a thing made of the darkness around them. It is small and soft as they reach out and touch it.

It is unwise to refuse the gift of something that wants to give you a gift, especially one even so tangentially related to divinity.

Aeth took the gift, with only a little hesitation.

They knew that they were still being pursued, it was still coming after them.

"Thank you," Aeth responded, looking over their shoulder.

"It is authentic spider-silk. Very soft. Amazing to sleep upon."

Oh, it was a pillowcase. That made more sense.

Suddenly, the spider tilts it's massive head. They just noticed the thing that was persuing Aeth throughout the nightmare.

"Something is stalking you," the spider pointed out unhelpfully.

There went any hope Aeth had that it was part of the nightmare the spider aspect crafted.

"Yeah," Aeth said. "It's something from a long time ago and it won't ever stop."

"I shall delay them, and you should wake up," the spider said before moving deeper into their nightmare of their own creation.

Aeth wanted to wake so badly. They wanted to free themselves from nightmares and sleep without fear, and they wanted to free themselves from this specific nightmare immediately.

The spider had gone and Aeth could feel wakefulness just beyond the skein.

They rose and tried to break through, they tried to move through the dream, the nightmare, to the waking world where their pursuer was locked away safe, they tried to rise but it was like surfacing through the water, the light was distorted and made the surface seem so much closer than it truly was, the tension of the water holding strong even as they rose fighting against breaking, not letting Aeth leave the nightmare and the thing that wanted to chase them and consume them, even though they had risen seemingly past the surface the water refused to break the skein refused to tear and Aeth then feared truly drowning of facing the thing they had spent so long running from of the thing that had tried to engulf them and would try time and time and time and time again until Aeth awoke, breathing hard, unable to move, unable to do anything besides breathe heavily as they rose out of their nightmare, in their bed, safe and sound.

Their heartbeat was loud, intense, and the only thing they could focus on.

Eventually the cobwebs of the dream left them, and Aeth climbed out of bed.

It was still dark outside, and they turned on lights as they walked through their small apartment to find water. It was something for their shaking and anxious hands to do.

With the lights on and their heart racing, Aeth knew that sleep was basically a lost cause.

They sat in their bed and scrolled on their phone looking at pictures of couatl and memes. They even sent a few to Lyta, knowing that she had her phone muted and wouldn't respond until she woke up.

Despite the distractions, the fading adrenaline, and the threat of terrible nightmares, Aeth's body demanded sleep and rest, so they found themselves slipping into sleep once again.

Mercifully they didn't dream any further.

When they awoke again, they found the lights still on and redundant.

Not feeling particularly rested but awake, Aeth moved through their apartment.

After only being awake for a few minutes, their phone lit up with a notification.

It was from Lyta.

"i'm coming over with coffee and snacks! [kissing emoji]"

Sure enough a few minutes later Lyta had let herself in with her spare key. She had a pair of coffee cups, a bag presumably filled with some kind of pastry, and a giant bag filled with all sorts of things.

"Hey," she said softly when she spotted the tired looking Aeth, "how are you feeling?"

"Tired, and annoyed, but you come with coffee and breakfast so less annoyed."

Lyta smiled as brightly as her yellow sundress.

"You seemed like you were having a bad day."

"How could you tell?"

"You sent me three cute couatl memes at 4am. You only do that when you can't sleep," Lyta responded, the concern in her voice obvious and unmissable. Aeth's heart swelled a little. Lyta knew them so well, and cared for them so much that she dropped everything on her day off to bring coffee and pastry.

"Yeah, the spider aspect from earlier yesterday really wanted to thank me."

Lyta's eyes went wide and she made an "oof!" sound. "And the underearth things always wanna communicate via dreams."

"But I had blocked my dreams since the encounter with the small god."

"Oh no."

"But the spider wouldn't be denied."

"How bad?" Lyta asked.

Aeth didn't speak, just opened an email on their phone and pushed it across the kitchen island.

Displayed was an email from the Catalog and Archive Bureau about Aeth's subject. There was a vicious escape attempt that was thwarted at approximately 3:49 AM. The subject did not manage to escape, and only caused damage to it's holding prison, but as per regulations, the Bureau was required to inform Aeth of the activity.

"Well, I'm really glad I brought this," Lyta said as she indicated the large bag she brought with her.

"What's that?"

"Unless you very explicitly tell me no, we're going to the beach. Leaving you here, inside, alone, seems real bad. So you can come with me to the beach, we can watch the people, look at the creatures in the bay, and play in the sand."

Lyta knew that the temptation hook was landed, Aeth loved to try and build elaborate sandcastles, and Aeth is very susceptible to Lyta in a sundress.

"You don't have to even do anything if you don't want," Lyta said to further sweeten the pot. "I just don't want you sitting in your place moping the whole time, thinking about your dreams. We'll stop and get snacks."

Aeth knew, objectively, that they should say yes, but they were still tired and reluctant.

"I got a new bikini and everything, it would be shame to show it off to no one."

Once again, they knew, objectively, that they shouldn't be so excited to see their best friend in whatever new swimsuit she got, but Aeth was only human and particularly weak for Lyta.

"Sure, I guess."

Lyta smiled brightly (almost as bright as her sundress). "Yay! Drink your coffee and eat your breakfast and then get ready. We'll head over and spend the day in the sun and the sand together."

Together.

Aeth wouldn't admit, ever, how nice that word was.

my kofi where you can read these early

[lunavagans]

Writing out the plot of Shadow‘s part of the CotL!AU series and. It’s uh. Getting very long. It’s the entire game up until Ganon’s defeat plus stances and changes in Shadow’s, the colours’ and the cult’s opinions and beliefs. So far only. Help.

[leqclerc]

Do you have some sebchal recs? I try to look on ao3 but I barely find any, so I imagine most of their fics are more old

Hello! ❤️

Interestingly, I find myself having the opposite problem. I feel like the fandom - and, by extension, the interest in Seb/Charles as a ship - has grown exponentially since 2020. I think there's like forty pages of published works on ao3 right now. Which might not seem like a lot, especially when compared to other juggernaut ships or fandoms, but considering the fact that there were maybe 3 when I first looked up the tag... 😳 Anyway, over time I've kind of figured out what I like and what I don't like in relation to the ship, so these days I tend to be more selective and pick through to find what really speaks to me, what really knocks my socks off, if that makes sense. 😂 We all have different tastes, both as readers and authors, so different people will gravitate toward different things. Not everything scratches the itch, basically. TL;DR: it really depends on what you're looking for and what you like. 👀

That being said, here are some of the fics that made an impression/that I find myself coming back to:

Canon/Canon Adjacent (aka still set somewhere in the realm of F1):

postcards from places that miss you by streetlightsky T | 15,108 words ↳ Seb wanted to leave quietly. That was the one thing he had asked above all else. Or, the one where Seb retires, but Charles refuses to let him disappear. -> I honestly recommend pretty much anything by this author ⭐ immortality on their faces, night at their back by wintrs E | 16,147 words ↳ Sebastian had always wondered about Charles—but maybe he’d known the truth all along, and he’d just never let himself acknowledge it. no flowers, no flashbulbs by superoxide E | 10,736 words ↳ Sebastian frowns, without thinking. They’d both ridiculed the idea of some kind of staged paparazzi friendliness when it had come up. He wonders what has turned Charles around on the idea so suddenly. (Charles has a plan to improve their image; Sebastian is less convinced.) see you falling by redpaint E | 3,653 words ↳ “I can’t— There are no words. No words. I just need to get this out of my head, okay? Before you go.” -> I honestly recommend pretty much anything by this author, especially the 'conflict resolution' series for that 2019 feel⭐ those who miss each other by sionisjaune E | 8,401 words ↳ Charles’s phone is burning a hole in his pocket. This is something he should be filming, but he doesn’t want to. He thinks he shouldn’t, for some reason. He thinks he can keep this encounter for himself. + bonus: (yes I'm sharing my own fic shhhh) been a long year by ssilverarrowss M | 7,123 words ↳ The days stubbornly march forward. Sometimes it feels agonisingly slow, and sometimes it feels like everything is moving too quickly, like Charles is going to blink and all the time he’s spent with Sebastian will be in the rearview, gone forever.

Alternate Universe:

scenes from an american artist by tetrapod M | 9,389 words ↳ Excerpt from an interview with Charles Leclerc. August 1974. Q: How did it all end? CL: The way all relationships end, I suppose. Inevitably. flesh of my flesh by charlotte_stant E | 4,749 words ↳ Sebastian, still smiling, tilts his head and looks at Charles speculatively. “Can I take you for a drive, Father?" he asks. "To continue our conversation. I find myself in need of… spiritual direction.” Charles ought to say no, but he doesn’t even consider it, not really. Sometimes falling is like that: as easy as opening your mouth and saying “Yes.” the language of another world by redpaint G | 2,568 words ↳ Charles is sent down from Oxford (drunkenness, absenteeism, behavior unbecoming of a Balliol man) and becomes the research assistant to a botanist who is doing fieldwork in the Shetland Islands. and VASI to guide you in by anonymous T | 1,375 words ↳ Nobody at the tiny Aeroporto di Maranello Enzo Ferrari can figure out why and how the runway lights manage to stay on through the night—long after curfew and long after the last worker has left the premises, taking the main ops key with them. However, newly promoted Captain Charles Leclerc of floundering charter airline Ferrari Air knows the answer to that question. He just won’t tell it to anyone. Ever. the tools to rebuild by astronomical_light T | 22,645 words ↳ After months of stagnating in his recovery following a high-speed crash, Charles gets referred to a specialist clinic tucked away in the Swiss mountainside that feels as much like a high-end wellness retreat as it does a physical rehabilitation program. He doesn’t have many expectations going into it, but he knows one thing for sure—he definitely wasn’t expecting Sebastian.

Seb/Charles feat. other pairings:

stringe il cuore della stella morente by partywitharichzombie E | 14,634 words ↳ The announcement is almost poetic in its sweet simplicity: a photo of Daniel, aged three, the cavallino rampante a stark contrast against the white of his oversized t-shirt, radiant grin as disarming then as it is now. No caption. None necessary. (Daniel signs with Ferrari for 2021 and beyond. He hopes he and Charles can avoid ending up in a scenario of assured mutual destruction.) high speed weekend survivor by babypapaya T | 18,608 words ↳ Formula Student is a student engineering competition held annually in the UK. Student teams from around the world design, build, test, and race a small-scale formula style racing car. (in) clover by tetrapod T | 5,895 words ↳ “I was thinking we could take the boat out,” Charles said. spacetime invariants by distressedgremlin M | 6,615 words ↳ Lewis arrived midway through the season of dust storms. Sebastian met him on a shabby starport that barely clung to the atmosphere of a frozen-over planet, the only one within forty light-days’ distance that the dust did not reach.

[icewindandboringhorror]

Apparently I can meet my goal of roughly 400,000 words in 6 months if I just somehow write at least 2,200 words a day ghbjh... Almost 2,500 today... huzzah...