#wip: questing beast

[theskeletonprior]

9 Lines, 9 Tags!

I was tagged both by @flowerprose and by @sunset-a-story so I'll supply 18 lines, but I will not be tagging twice as many people. That seems a bit excessive! Thank you both for thinking of me! These are the first 18 lines from a short story that I'm still tinkering with in which a wild king and a chimeric beast do battle and other such intimate things. Coming soon to an itch.io account near you! It just needs, oh, you know. Revisions. Edits. Formatting. Layout. But that's the life, isn't it?

King Pellinore was half-mad with searching. For years, his quarry had eluded him, and this year had thus far been no different. In the blistering summer, the beast had fled before him, its den a mystery as the fall withered all around him, and winter came with blasting ice and snow. It was spring when he picked up its trail again, pressed in the muddy ground. No other creature in all the world left tracks like the Questing Beast, though Pellinore's hunt had brought him across the path of countless others. No bear, no wild cat, no manticore, no dragon had gotten the better of him, but nothing he took mattered, if it was not the thing he had been born to kill. And thus, in this pursuit, though he had seen fen and forest of this beautiful world, it had shrunk, inch by inch, until there was no space in it for anything but himself and his prey. On those rare occasions when he encountered another person, he hardly knew how to speak to them, except to ask if they had seen it. Had they seen a beast with the head of a serpent? With back legs like a hind, and the tail of a lion? "Have you seen," he'd ask, "a monster in these woods?" And as they tried to answer, he could tell by looking at their eyes that they felt they were seeing one at that very moment. Pellinore could not imagine what he must look like anymore. He heard the river long before he saw it, where the beast had sat to drink, before crossing, though he did not see it on the other side. His mount, an old mare whose time was nearly done, snorted and pawed in the mud. "We'll have to find a ford," he rasped, ostensibly to the mare. "I mislike the look of this water. Too deep, and too murky."

Tagging @alexanderflowerbird @carmillasboywife @vacantgodling @void-botanist @ceph-the-ghost-writer @cream-and-tea @wintherlywords and anyone else who sees this and would like to participate! Please feel free to tag me in your response to the prompt.

And for those of you just passing through, a word from our sponsors (aka me in a funny hat with a cup in my hand): If you liked this excerpt and would like to tangibly support me in my work, I do have a ko-fi. I am also available for commissions. Thanks for reading!

[tothesolarium]

Sometimes I like the base layer of painting more than the final. Though I do plan on properly coloring the Questing Beast

[superangsty]

just discovered a merlin WIP I started a couple of years ago and I'm feeling INSAAAANE over it. but probably will never finish it bc i don't remember what the Plan with it was. So anyway. please enjoy what I've got:

---------

Someone’s screaming, Arthur thinks, in his half-awake haze. Merlin. Merlin’s screaming. Merlin’s screaming in a language he’s never heard before, and then suddenly he feels himself being hoisted up onto something – a horse? Too big. But what else –

A dragon. So that was another lie, then. How many more secrets can one man have?

Arthur will never know, now.

They’re in the sky when Arthur closes his eyes for the last time, Merlin’s arms wrapped tightly around him as the dragon’s wings move in great lumbering motions. He’s not in pain anymore, wonders if it’s the magic or if it’s just one last moment of relief that the body affords to the dying. As he drifts away for the final time, he feels Merlin’s hand pressed over his heart and he thinks, ten years and a hundred battles too late, oh.

---

Arthur wakes up.

---

Arthur wakes up, and he feels warmer than he has done in days, weeks even. When he opens his eyes, there’s a plush red velvet canopy hanging above him, there are birds singing outside his window, and he’s still not in any pain.

He runs a hand over his side wonderingly, feels nothing but smooth skin and hard muscle.

Magic?

Gaius had said Merlin is the most powerful sorcerer who ever lived, and it’s not that Arthur doesn’t believe him, but surely no amount of magic can bring a man back from the dead. And Arthur had been dead, or as close as you can get. He’s sure of that.

Maybe they’d been lucky, maybe the dragon had helped them in time. But even so, that sort of thing doesn’t come without a cost.

A fuzzy memory pulls itself to the surface, Merlin, much too young and much too bold, telling Arthur I’m happy to be your servant. ‘Til the day I die. He’d thought Merlin was making fun of him, at the time. Or that Arthur’s brush with death had shocked him into acting with some degree of deference.

Nobody was meant to survive the questing beast’s bite. But Arthur had. And Merlin has magic, and it finally dawns on Arthur that he had been saying goodbye.

Because magic demands a price. A life for a life. It had taken his mother, and it was meant to take Merlin too, though how Merlin had got out of that one – just one more secret, one more conversation they’ll need to have.

But this time, Arthur hadn’t just been close to death. He had died. He had died, and Merlin hadn’t been able to save him, and now here he is. Awake. Alive. Healthy.

A life for a life.

Oh, God. Merlin.

---

He doesn’t bother to get dressed, just pulls on his boots and throws a coat over his nightclothes and runs across the castle to Gaius’ chambers, bursting through the door without bothering to knock.

He stands in the doorway, panting, and Gaius, always impossible to phase, just raises an eyebrow. “May I help you, Sire?”

“Where is he,” Arthur demands, pacing through the room towards the door on the other side.

“Where is who, Sire?” Gaius asks, and Arthur’s not sure why after all this time he’s being deliberately dense, but he opens Merlin’s door and –

And nothing. There’s nothing in there. The room is crammed with stacks of crates and dusty old supplies, and there’s a small wooden bed frame pressed against one wall, but it holds no mattresses, no blankets.

“Gaius,” he says slowly, taking it all in, “where is he?”

“I don’t know who you’re talking about, Sire, I live alone. Are you quite sure you’re feeling alright?”

There’s a knock at the door.

Gaius looks at Arthur with a confused frown, then potters back through to the main chambers to answer it. Something seems off about him, somehow, though Arthur can’t quite put his finger on what it is.

The answer comes soon enough, because when the door is opened and the visitor walks in, Arthur finds himself facing a dark haired boy with piercing blue eyes.

He can’t be older than twenty-three.

Arthur feels like he’s going to be sick.

He rushes over to the foggy old looking glass that Gaius keeps in a corner, tosses the scarf covering it to the floor, and looks with horror at his own reflection.

In his hurry to get to Gaius, he’d briefly wondered what the guards and courtiers must think of the sight of their king sprinting through the castle in his night clothes.

Now he realises that they probably hadn’t thought anything at all, because they hadn’t seen their king running around in his night clothes. They’d seen his son.

He’s not even of age yet. He’s not crown prince, he’s nobody. Arthur Pendragon, the spoiled brat who would be king, who runs around the castle like he owns the place because he’s arrogant in his surety that one day he will.

This cannot have been Merlin’s doing, because the boy he’d tried to fight all those years ago is staring at him curiously, not a trace of recognition, and if he had done this then surely he would know.

Merlin didn’t sacrifice his life for Arthur’s. Merlin is alive. Uther is alive. Lancelot, Elyan, Morgana – everyone Arthur thought he’d said goodbye to for good. All safe. Arthur is twenty-four years old again, and someone, somehow, has given him a second chance.

He faints in the middle of Gaius’ chambers.

---

When he comes to, there’s a damp cloth pressed against his forehead and three sets of eyes peering down at him.

“It doesn’t appear to be a fever, my lord, but I can see no other cause for his delirium. I think it would be best if he rested for a few days.”

“Very well,” says Uther, and Arthur wants to weep in relief.

He’d been bracing himself, waiting for a voice twisted by bitterness and cruelty, the one which a spectre had used to list each of his failings in excruciating detail. Or maybe the hollow, broken mutterings of a man half-mad.

All these years, and he’d almost forgotten the sound of his father’s voice.

He’d forgotten these moments, where he could allow himself to be more father than king. Uther had never been gentle, never been kind, but there is a warmth behind his carefully controlled words that speaks to a lifetime’s devotion to his only son.

“I will send someone down to return him to his chambers,” he continues. “Thank you, Gaius, and – what was your name, boy?”

“Um. Merlin, Sire. I’m Gaius’ new apprentice.”

Uther gives him a nod of acknowledgement and then leaves, his cloak sweeping behind him as he goes.

---

A hand slides behind Arthur’s shoulders, gently raising him up to meet the glass of water being held out for him, and he can’t help but flinch away.

At Merlin’s hurt expression, he tries to put on a haughty glare. “Don’t touch me.”

Merlin straightens up, puffs his chest out. He meets Arthur’s glare with one of his own, and Arthur’s missed this. When did he stop being so – himself? “I can’t help you if I can’t touch you,” he argues, “believe me, I wouldn’t be doing this by choice.”

Arthur snorts at that. “I’m the prince, and I said don’t touch me. I’m not actually ill, I can handle myself.”

He doesn’t mention that the last time he’d felt Merlin’s hands on him, he’d been bleeding out in his arms. The last time he’d felt Merlin’s hands on him, their fingers had been laced together until Arthur’s hand went slack.

Merlin calls him a royal prat, and Arthur has to stop himself from grinning.

--

The weight of the last ten years rest heavily on Arthur’s shoulders, and he knows that second chances do not come for just anybody. Arthur is destined to return magic to the kingdom and unite the lands of Albion. He did not succeed in either of these missions, and whatever went wrong, whatever altered his fate so drastically, was not just a simple mistake made in battle in the final days leading up to his death.

Something is broken in Camelot, something has been broken since he and Merlin first met, maybe even earlier. He just wishes he knew what.

Arthur sits at his desk and grabs a quill and a scrap of parchment, tries to write down everything, every failure, every mistake, every injustice. He’s still writing when the sun begins to set, still trying to make sense of a list that is far too long.

So, he tries to take stock of his current situation. What might be in his power to fix.

-- Merlin has magic. -- Morgana has magic. -- Magic is banned. -- Uther will never lift the ban on magic.

It’s hard, not knowing everything that might have been at play when he lived through this the first time round. What Merlin might have kept from him, what might have been discovered or resolved in the shadows, carefully hidden from Arthur.

He picks up his quill again.

-- There is a dragon under the castle.

There is a dragon. Under the castle. And in a few short years, it will try raze the city to the ground.

-- The last Dragonlord is –

Except that he’s not. Dead, that is. The last Dragonlord is still alive. Everyone is still alive. Maybe this is something Arthur can fix.

He turns to tell Merlin to prepare the horses, but is met with an empty room.

That’s one last problem to add the list.

-- Merlin is not my manservant yet.

---

Arthur stands in front of the throne, suddenly feeling very small in the face of his father. But he has been a king. He has been a better king, so he steels himself and holds his head high.

“My Lord, I have come to raise a growing concern of mine.”

Uther waves him ahead casually. He probably thinks it’s about something trivial, like the knights’ training schedule or some servant’s performance.

When Arthur says “I wish to ask why you hold a dragon under the citadel without its Lord.”

There’s a grim satisfaction that Arthur feels when he sees Uther pale. He watches his father’s eyes dart frantically around the room, looking for someone to accuse, but when they find nothing they meet Arthur’s.

“I am doing no such thing,” he lies.

“We could go beneath the cellars right now, if you like. Or would you rather save yourself the embarrassment?”

Morgana, sat silent and obedient at Uther’s side, glances between the two of them, her brow creased. As Uther’s face reddens in rage, she widens her eyes at Arthur, lips tightly pursed, and jerks her head at his – at their father. She’s trying to tell him to walk it back.

Arthur ignores her and holds Uther’s gaze.

“You insolent boy,” Uther says, slow and steady and perfectly in control. “What do you know of dragons? Of dragonlords? You were an infant when they were purged from these lands.”

“I only know that I do not wish to see Camelot burn,” he replies. “And that to ensure it does not, we will need a dragonlord.”

“There are none left.”

[raiswanson]

New WIP who dis

I will make no excuses for my tomfoolery. My fate in life is to perpetually seed WIPs which take years to sprout and even longer to harvest. Weird analogy aside I come bearing an excerpt from a fun little thing about a famed, fatigued hero who gets sent on a fairy tale quest with a really snarky witch ✨

(full 300~ word excerpt under the cut! Next excerpt [here])

~~

The markings on the cave walls did not belong to a drake.

“It isn’t too big, a warrior like you will have no trouble,” they’d said.

Eodenon’s furry ass it isn’t.

I scowled and ran my hand across the smooth, polished wall. The scales that had rubbed these grooves out belonged to a fully fledged dragon, not a mere drake. Perhaps not a fully grown dragon, if the size of the tunnel was anything to go by, but a dragon all the same. Significantly more dangerous than what I’d been contracted to handle. Were the people of the village fools, or simply cheap?

That had an obvious answer. They’d intended to short me. Wait for me to deal with the beast and then play ignorant, wring their hands and purses, and risk angering me to spare a few coins.

Ought to just leave the thing to eat them all.

Hands on my hips, I stepped back and contemplated turning around. I hadn’t gone too far inside the cave. It might not have noticed my intrusion yet. The cave was still silent and cool, and I’d seen no sign of life yet. I had time to retreat and reconsider the job.

A grumble from my stomach told me to advance anyway. No, if I went back to the village to try renegotiating my fee, the beast might notice it had had a visitor and take to the air, taking my pay with it. A shorted paycheck was better than one never received.

Scrubbing my face, I sighed and resumed creeping down the tunnel. At least, even if they planned to squabble with me over payment, I could still take the additional balance out of their pantries. I knew they had that to spare. The people of Eoden always did.

[hearthouses]

i drool over boy king au's so i HAVE to ask 🔥 + 🏰 . if there are any worldbuilding notes you want to share that wont make it into the fic also please do share! like, maybe what's canonically different? what does Hell feel like or look like to you here? thank you ❤️

🏰 - Beauty and the Beast/Hades and Persephone-inspired Boy King Sam AU set Post-S3 where he rescues Dean from Hell, but has to keep him safe in a house that is constantly moving locations 

Oh you picked the big one. The one with plot that drives me crazy.

So I will explain the backstory because I have not figured out how to fit it into the fic without it being clunky, but essentially it is an AU where Crowley gets wind of the apocalypse plans early and approaches Sam who is grieving Dean after Dean has gone to Hell and offers him a deal that would benefit both of them. Crowley doesn't want the world to end or to free Lucifer and Sam wants Dean back, so the ultimate plan is Crowley siezes power of Hell and they're utilizing Purgatory and monsters as a fighting force because both Heaven and Hell overall want annihilation, but the monsters don't.

There's some things I need to smooth out about what is happening to Sam, but there's elements of him eating alpha monster hearts and gaining their abilities, which makes him more inhuman and look all kind of fucked up if he can't keep up his glamor. People are following Sam because I imagine some demons were not in on the L:ucifer plan and Crowley can explain why that is a horrible idea, but also I just always felt like how did the monsters feel about Heaven and Hell making this huge choice for them. There's literally this alternative fighting force just there.

The problem with all of this is that the actual plot of the fic is about Dean living in his glided cage that moves around the country to keep him safe because they fucked up and got him pregnant pretty shortly after Sam was able to get him back. The fic is told from Dean's POV and is about his isolation while he has to deal with Sam constantly away on mysterious quests and fighting a war Dean can't help with because they're both stubborn and chose to keep the baby, which is risky as hell. So all this information has to be filtered through Dean or inferred by the audience or told to Dean, which is the sticking point. But I do love the fic so much that I will keep plodding along on it and someday it will be finished.

Put a 🔥and a corresponding emoji to a WIP in my inbox to get a campfire tale about a WIP

[wirywyrm]

I want to share more stuff about my Tav, but I’ve been too busy to draw as of late, and even then, I still haven’t shared much about his character beyond the surface level. He has depth- I swear 🥲. I’m just more confident when it comes to making silly little doodles than actually writing/depicting compelling character interactions. I have so many comic scripts and unfinished wips…

ANYWAY. I saw this OC tag game circling around that was originally made by Clericblood and figured it would be fun to fill out, + it gives me an excuse to info dump about Arthur some more. So, here's some more info about my Tav.

General:

Name: Arthur Tavener Alias: Tav Arthur goes by “Tav,” an abbreviation of his last name, Tavener, as a nickname instead of “Art” or “Arty” because he lost those other nicknames to the fey. A piece of advice Arthur would give is don’t get drunk in the woods, and especially don’t play a game of cards with a suspicious man you encounter while drunk in the woods. Gender: Cis Man Age: 45 (≈29 physically) Spoken Languages: Common (Faeruni), Dwarfish (Dethek), and Elvish (Espruar). Sexual Orientation: Bisexual Occupation: Adventurer. Arthur’s background is listed as an entertainer, but he wasn’t famous, wealthy, or part of a band, circus, or actor troupe. Arthur was more or less a traveling busker. His main revenue was whatever coins people would toss him after a performance. So, apart from entertaining, he’s done his fair share of odd jobs and quests to get by.

Favorite: 

Colour: Red Entertainment: Playing card & dice games, sharing stories, reading. Pastime: Journals, restores/mends old books, practices playing the lute, and hums or whistles pub songs, bard tunes & sea shanties. Foods: No strong preferences, he will eat literally anything. Drinks: Cider, Ale, & Tea.

Have They…

Passed University: No. Arthur spent a couple years studying at the bardic College of New Olamn, but dropped out before he graduated. Had Sex: Yes. Although he hadn’t had any long-term relationships prior to Gale. Had Sex in Public: No. Gotten Tattoos: Yes. Arthur has three tattoos. One on his chest, one on his left arm, and one on his lower back. Gotten Piercings:Yes. His ears are pierced. Gotten Scarred: Yes. Arthur has plenty of scars from beast & blade alike. Although only below the chin. He takes particular care to heal any injuries that would result in facial scars, as he doesn’t want to come across as intimidating or unapproachable. For the same reason, he also doesn’t typically introduce himself as an adventurer or sell-sword (because given what the average dnd party gets up to on the Swordcoast, they probably have a very mixed reputation). Had a Broken Heart: Yes. Arthur’s lost a fair amount of friends and family over the course of his life.

Are They…

A Cuddler: Yes. Scared Easily: Yes. Arthur is often scared, especially given the scenarios he’s regularly placed in during the events of BG3 (& even before that), but he does his best to hide it. Arthur will grit his teeth and grin through the most terrifying situations- cracking jokes even when wounded. He prefers to not worry others and keep spirits high. Even if, as a result, he’s neglecting his own well-being. Jealous Easily: Somewhat. Arthur will get jealous when it comes to certain things, but he rarely acts upon that jealousy. He particularly gets a little petty in the company of nobles, sorcerers, and those Arthur believes have had things handed to them on a silver platter. However, getting to know someone will change his opinion of them regardless of any initial jealousy. For example, Arthur liked Wyll despite Wyll being the son of a duke, both due to Ulder Ravengaurd's history as the son of the blacksmith from the lower city and Wyll’s as a folk hero / The Blade of Frontiers. Trustworthy: No. Arthur is unquestionably good aligned, but I would not consider him entirely trustworthy. Arthur primarily trusts his own judgment when making decisions. Even in the case of his party members, if he suspects their end goals do not align with his own and he cannot persuade them to change course, he will potentially go behind their backs or act against them. He’ll actively manipulate, lie, steal, and backstab if he thinks it’s necessary. To answer the question more plainly, if your character is good, yes, you can generally consider him trustworthy; if they’re more neutral or evil, absolutely not.

Family: 

Sibling(s): He probably has several half siblings, but there aren’t any he personally knows.  Parents: Beatrix Tavener, Human (F), Lorin Goldwalker, Sun Elf (M). Although Arthur’s relationship to the guardian-figures in his life is complicated. Arthur’s mother died when he was young. His father was a deadbeat. He was taken in by a party of adventurers for a time. Then, he was primarily raised throughout his teens by his grandparents. Who- are not around anymore given they were human, and Arthur’s over 40 years of age. Children: Maybe? (I’ve been debating wether or not Arthur and Gale would adopt Yenna- the girl who can stay in your camp/get kidnapped by Orin in Act 3). Pets: Formerly. Arthur used to have a dog named Japer. He probably wouldn’t be able to keep Scratch, or the grown up owl bear cub, due to city laws in Waterdeep. Us & Shovel are more like summons. Grub would count - if he adopts Yenna. Lastly, Tara would not allow Arthur to call her his pet. Gale Could. Tav would have very cross tressym he’d have to appease.

[talktomeinclexa]

My Works on Ao3

WIPs

The Royal Guard

Princess Clarke of Arkadia is kidnapped by mercenaries while on a visit to one of the kingdom’s cities. Her abductors treat her well enough, but everything becomes more complicated when their client orders them to execute her. Lexa thought this was just another job. High risk, high pay. But when push comes to shove, will she betray her orders or her heart?

The 13th Kingdom

Lexa, a half-wolf from the 10th Kingdom, is caught “sheep worrying.” Prince John gives her a choice: to rescue the 13th Kingdom’s princess, Clarke of house Griffin, for him, or to spend years in jail. Caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, Lexa accepts. She sets on a dangerous quest, unaware of the troubles awaiting her, the worst of which could be the cursed princess she is sent to rescue.

Clarke The Vampire Slayer

When Clarke, a young student with a clear idea of what her life will be, wakes up one morning with superhuman strength, destiny comes knocking on her door. Sent to Polis to prevent a demon from opening the Hellmouth, she can count on Lexa—the mysterious owner of a magic shop—and new friends to help her dispose of vampires, demons, and other evil creatures. But will she succeed in stopping the Apocalypse?

On the Ground All Can Hear You Scream (Mount Weather Clarke/Heda Lexa)

Novitiate Lexa is captured by reapers and wakes up prisoner in a cage, not knowing that the blonde who finds her there will change her destiny. Unless this enemy turns out to be who Fate had in store for her?

Main part of the On the Ground series

Complete Works

Alpha Your Way Into My Heart

One moment of distraction is all it takes for Clarke to accidentally send a text admitting how much Lexa’s scent affects her to the wrong addressee. Lexa. Her Alpha roommate on the cusp of her rut. The situation would be only slightly mortifying and complicated if Clarke wasn’t also an Alpha. In a world where biology and prejudices often go hand-in-hand, will the two women get their happy ending?

Monsters Among Us

South of France, May 1767. A large beast has been terrorizing the province of Gévaudan for nearly three years, preying on lone boys and girls tending their livestock. The press, idle since the end of the Seven Years’ War, loses itself in conjecture based on the witnesses’ descriptions. What is to blame? A pack of man-eating wolves, a lion, a hyena escaped from a zoo…? Exasperated by the creature’s growing streak of victims and refusal to die, Louis XV dispatches Lexa Woods to the area. After all, who better than a monster hunter to kill a beast that bullets fail to slow down?

Days of Crisis

Sheriff Lexa Woods’s life is turned upside down when a hurricane hits her small Californian town, bringing in its midst Clarke Griffin, a beautiful geologist as smart as she’s brave. But when Clarke returns a few months later to study Polis’s geographical situation and assess the risks in case more natural disasters occur, neither can deny the attraction anymore. Will they manage to open up before a series of catastrophes puts their lives at risk?

The Marriage Pact

Two childhood best friends swear to marry each other if they are still single by thirty-four. As the years pass and no one else seems good enough, the deadline approaches. Will they go through with it? Can one marry their best friend and truly be happy?

On the Groud You Will Grow Strong

A series of snippets taking place before On the Ground All Can Hear You Scream or between Clexa’s first meeting and their reunion 6 years later.

Code Blue at the Zoo

“Code Blue. I repeat, we have a Code Blue at the Snow Leopard enclosure. All personnel, insure the safety of our guests. Officer Woods, please locate Doctor Griffin and find the animal before it harms a visitor.”

Thank You Technical Issues

If Clarke had any hope of hiding how her day went from her mother, it dies the moment Abby sees them. […] “Mom, this is Lexa, my girlfriend.” The lie flies from her subconscious directly out of her lips.

Eternity in Your Arms

How far will Clarke go to save her dying brother? Will she dare make a deal with a creature of the night as beautiful as she’s ancient?

Mend the Heart You Broke (Heal the Wounds You Caused)

Clarke and Lexa led the perfect life. Married, two children, a big house, a group of reliable friends. Until Lexa cheated on her wife and the idyllic picture was smashed to bits. Three months later, Clarke is still trying to put the pieces of her heart together when Lexa slowly comes back into her life. The path to forgiveness will force the artist onto a self-introspection journey that won’t leave anyone unscathed. But isn’t true love worth the fight?

Tackle My Heart

Clarke and Lexa are two young professional football players often pitted against each other on the field. It’s a good thing the two enemies have found a way to relieve some of the tension growing between them.

On the Ground Your Heart Will Go On

When Raven gets her heart broken, Anya takes it upon herself to avenge her. A Ranya interlude in the On The Ground series.

A Feeling More Universal Than War (Enemies to Lovers)

Two soldiers, one Red, one Blue, are brought together by the circumstances after a devastating battle. Despite the animosity between their two countries, they will have to work together if they hope to survive. Can they let go of prejudice and personal grief long enough to make it out alive?

You Put The Wild In Wild West (Sheriff/Bandit AU)

Sheriff Lexa Woods sees the peace in her little town compromised when a gang of robbers, The Delinquents, set their eyes on the best Polis has to offer.

Ad Astra Per Aspera (Roman AU)

Sent into unofficial exile by Emperor Thelonius, Centurion Clarke Griffus Flavius crossed the Roman Empire all the way to Hadrian’s Wall to deliver orders to the garrison. Accompanied by her most loyal friends, she decided to go beyond the call of duty and traveled behind the wall to warn the Romans there of the upcoming dangers. How could she have known that her destiny was waiting for her there, in the middle of a strange land not half as beautiful as the Pict serving as their guide?

Pay It Forward

Clarke is a mess who ends up being arrested after her boyfriend breaks a window. Lexa, the unfortunate owner of the café with said broken window, comes up with a way for Clarke to repay her without ending up with a record. How will that small act of compassion bring them closer?

More Than A Makeover (Queer Eye AU)

The Fab Five are tasked with helping baby gay Lexa Woods come out of her shell and shine. But maybe all the girl really needs is for someone to notice her. For example, a certain blonde camera operator on your favorite Reality TV Show.

A Green Card for a Blue and Yellow Girl (Arranged Marriage AU)

When Clarke accompanied Sean Penn in Ukraine to film a documentary, she didn’t expect to return home with a woman and her son. And when it becomes clear that, in order to stay, Lexa needs a green card, she offers to marry her. That’s what nice people do, right?

The South Tower (Trapped AU)

When a plane collides with the South Tower of the World Trade Center, Clarke and Lexa are trapped inside.

All That Glitters Is Not Gold (Pirate AU)

Lexa, a pirate and the captain of The Flame, has been looking for the treasure of Titus the Bald for years. One day, she finally gets her hand on one part of the map leading to it. But French soldiers are in ambush and take her prisoner. Will Lexa manage to escape and resume her quest? Or will she find herself on a journey she would never have planned for, in the company of a French officer too beautiful and brave for her own good?

Stages of Grief (Bring the Light Back in Me)

Clarke releases the lever and watches as the residents of Mount Weather take their last, deadly breath. Her soul shatters under the weight of what she has done. Will she ever manage to pull herself back together? Can she forgive Lexa for her betrayal? Can she forgive herself? Not all at once, and not easily. But step by step, and one encounter after another, she finds herself closer to acceptance.

Wanna Be My Pandemic Buddy? (COVID AU)

When Clarke, a graphic designer stuck at home during the lockdown hears about the Dutch Institute for Public Health’s official guidance to find someone to “share physical contact with” to limit the risks, she realizes that this might be her chance to get Lexa, her beautiful neighbor, into her bed. They start sleeping together and the chemistry is amazing, but will they manage to get over their emotional constipation before the pandemic ends?

First Date (Modern AU)

The woman who takes the seat across the table is, by far, the most stunning she has ever seen. With her hair in a lazy but sophisticated bun, elegant clothes, and just enough makeup to show that she made an effort, she’s perfect. Lexa should have expected it; she has seen photos of her… But they didn’t do her justice, and for a moment, she finds herself tongue-tied, her mouth open in surprise.

Our Revolution (Historical/Assassin’s Creed AU)

Lexa, an Assassin saved by Titus when she was a child and trained by him since, is injured during a mission and saved by a young physician named Clarke. The two of them rapidly become close, despite Lexa’s dangerous life.

As the French Revolution plays around them and the Templar threat increases, will the two women survive long enough to see it through and get their happy ending?

Where the Sky Touches the Sea (Fairy Tale AU)

Once upon a time, in a kingdom far away from here, lived a sweet and beautiful princess. One day, she saved the life of one of the sworn enemies of her people, a young mermaid with mesmerizing green eyes. How could she have known that this fortuitous encounter would change both their lives forever?

Will You Be My Robinson? (Enemies to Lovers)

Clarke, a promising graphic designer for a marketing agency, is sent to the Philippines with some coworkers to visit the new office there. Their trip ends with a few days of vacation on Palawan Island. When a typhoon comes out of nowhere, Clarke ends up stranded on a deserted island with the one person she can’t stand, her workplace nemesis, Lexa. Will the two women learn to cooperate so they can survive long enough to be rescued? Or will they try to strangle each other before anyone can even notice they are missing?

The Iliad

Lexa, the best warrior that ever lived, and her cousin Anya accompany the Greek army on its way to Troy to recover Helen, queen of Sparta and Bellamy’s wife, kidnapped by the Trojan prince Finn. Will the two lovers and their faithful Myrmidons be able to conquer the impregnable fortress, or will they succumb to fate and the blue eyes of a prisoner?

Where the Wild Things Are (Hunters/hybrids AU)

A determined hunter stumbles onto a clan of hybrids and gets more than she bargained for. A millennium-old hybrid discovers that her soulmate belongs to a prominent family of hunters. An orphaned teenager learns that destiny has more in store for her than she could have prepared for. Threats grow in the shadows, waiting to strike at the hybrids and the hunters. Will old rancors leave enough room for new alliances and feelings to bloom?

Jurassic Park

Lexa Woods, an eminent paleontologist and a professor at Polis University, was invited by Marcus Kane, an eccentric billionaire, to visit and possibly endorse his “theme park” after she gained some popularity on the Internet through a TED talk. A few days later, she finds herself on a remote island with not-extinct-anymore dinosaurs, a beautiful vet, and two kids. What could go wrong indeed?

Eden (Canon Fix-It Post Season 4)

After the second Praimfaya, Clarke finds herself alone on Earth. Or so she thinks until the panther that swallowed the Flame and Lexa’s consciousness leads her to Shallow Valley.

We Met Again (Canon Fix-It Ending)

The last test was taken, and now it is time to face the consequences. Will Clarke finally get her happy ending?

Far safer, of a Midnight Meeting – External Ghost; Than an interior Confronting – That Whiter Host

Depressed teenager Lexa meets Ghost Clarke. The two become fast friends as Clarke helps the girl navigate life’s hardships. But what happens when feelings blossom between the two?

Not All Treasure’s Silver And Gold (Pirate AU)

Captain Clarke is taken prisoner on The Flame, the infamous frigate led by a merciless pirate known as The Commander.

Big Brother Is Watching You

A suspicious Google search history leads to a misunderstanding. Starring: klutzy Clarke and her new neighbor, shy Lexa

Hold Me Tight (Elyza Lex/Alicia Clark; FTWD AU)

On the Abigail, Alicia strikes up a conversation with a stranger on the radio. When the woman shows up uninvited and steals some of their food, neither of them knows that it’s only the beginning of their story. But the dead aren’t quite gone, and the living are hungrier than ever. Will the two women get the happy ending they deserve?

[thesongistheriver]

WIP mumble mumble-day

Tagged by the delightful @mykingdomcomeundone -- thank you, lovely!

From the upcoming (final? penultimate? remains to be seen) of my canon-divergent fix-it Merlin fic:

Arthur wasn’t certain he’d slept for even a candlemark when his eyes opened. Streaks of pink painted the fading indigo of the sky outside the window. His father’s window. I am the king now. It still seemed unreal. Yet here he was, in the king’s chambers, Uther’s body no more than a shape in repose under a sheet. The events of the previous evening were as real as the weight of Merlin asleep on his chest in the chaise. Arthur swept his hand over Merlin’s back in long, slow arcs, the movements gentle enough not to disturb his slumber, and sent his thoughts back over the past few years. So much had changed since the day a dark-haired, impertinent lad had stumbled, rather literally, into his life. And he wouldn’t change a moment of it. (Well, perhaps, if he could, he would avoid getting bitten by the Questing Beast. That had been incontrovertibly awful. Although the aftermath had led to his finding out about Merlin’s magic, so … no, he decided, he really wouldn’t change a thing.)

(first ten chapters here!)

no-pressure tagging @bebravedearheart @imagine-dragonlords @guiltyscarlet @cbk1000 and whoever else feels like it <3

[mythauragame]

Development Update - July 2024

Hi everyone, hope you're having a great summer!

The July 2024 update showcases some extended gameplay footage! In our April 2024 update we showed a clip of a building in 3D space and a player character speaking briefly to Pollis. In just a few short months, Koa and Sark have totally crushed it on the backend development and UI/UX. Plese read on for more info!

We also cover the winners for the Summer Quarter rewards on Ko-fi and Mythauran astrology for the month of August.

Don't forget, we've got a Custom Color Contest! More details below.

Gameplay Demo

We're very excited to share a 3-minute video demo of some gameplay and UI!!

Hopefully you enjoy this brief demonstration of lots of features we've been working on. We'll go into more detail on each feature below!

Please note that these are WIP and not necessarily representative of final gameplay.

New Game Screen

Whether you're starting your first, second, or third playthrough of Mythaura's storyline, you will always begin at the starter screen, where you will be able to customize your starter Beast. Each run you will pick:

Base, Top, Bottom, and Eye colors

Up to 3 Special markings ( up to 1 in first playthrough, 2 in second, 3 in third)

Species (Tier 1 in first playthrough, Tier 2 in second, Tier 3 in third)

Class

Birth element

A Beast's Element and Class will impact its stat distribution, with each one modifying one of a Beast's stats--improving Speed, Hit Points, Attack, Defense, Barrier, or Focus. Additionally, players will have a certain amount of skill points to allocate as they would like to their Beasts' stats. Whether you're opting for more of a roleplay focus or trying to build a more "optimized" build, the character creation system allows players to create the exact Beast that they would like.

New Game +3 and onward will not feature the character creation screen. Instead, players choosing to play through additional times will gain access to a different reward pool. Please stay tuned for that in a future update!

Party Screen/Codex

The party screen will functionally act as the player's home screen. From here, you can check out the Beasts in both your party and Abode, your inventory, the Codex, and more. Your Beast's stats will also show up on the right-hand side of the screen.

The Codex houses pretty much all a player's in-game information. Active and completed (and maybe failed...) quests, player achievements, lore gathered from around the world, and info on all the characters, places, and enemies you encounter in Mythaura are all documented in the Codex.

The base Codex will be a simple, elegant book. Different Codex themes can be earned through various quests, achievements, seasonal rewards, both in-game and premium currency purchase, and other opportunities.

NPC Dialogue

There will be many, many NPCs in Mythaura. Some may not have much to say--a stranger you cross paths with at an open-air market, a merchant's busy apprentice, a parent at a park with their children--but some NPCs have full, fleshed-out storylines of their own. Maybe your character would prefer to keep mostly to themselves, but you will find that engaging with NPCs will uncover information about the world, rumors about other characters, quests, gifts, and more.

Skill Tree Screen

Skill Trees will determine the abilities and moves that a Beast can utilize in battle. Each Beast will have either two or three different Skill Trees that they can invest in, dependent upon their Elements and their Class. Beasts who have the same Element twice--when its species Element matches up with its birth Element--a Beast will have access to a Mastery Tree, which will feature a branch that borrows from other thematically relevant Elements, demonstrating the Beast's complete mastery of their Element.

If a Beast with a Mastery Tree changes to a Species that would give it two separate Elements, all Elements-related Skill Points will be reset in order for the player to reallocate them between the two new trees. The same applies for Beasts that change their Class.

Mythauran Astrology: August

The month of August is referred to as Ghostlight's Pall, representing a pale, ghostly green aurora that stretches across the Northern sky at this time each year--supposedly attributed to the souls stranded by a war that came to a decisive, bloody, and treacherous end during an August many, many lifetimes ago. This month is also associated with the constellation of the Widow and the lepidolite stone.

Those born under the sign of the Widow are resilient, compassionate, enigmatic individuals. There may not be a sign more dedicated to self-discovery and growth. They radiate a quiet strength and boundless compassion that uplifts those fortunate enough to share their journey.

At their best, Widows are soothing, magnanimous, and generous. At their worst, they can be withdrawn, excessively melancholy, and reproachful.

Ko-fi Summer Quarter 2024 Winners

Thank you to all the Ko-fi sponsors who voted for the Summer Quarter 2024 rewards. Next month we will show the finalized artwork for the Venomous Stalker Companion and the Corona Dragon Glamour. Stay tuned!

Custom Color Contest Reminder

In honor of the new color change that we made to a Beast's tongue/mouth, we're opening another Custom Color Contest. We want to offer the opportunity for you to make a permanent impact on Mythaura's color wheel!

This contest is free to enter, and only has the following parameters:

Only one entry allowed

Fill out Google Form by Friday, August 23, 2024 at 11:59pm PST

The dev team will reach out to the winner on September 1 to begin the color design process. Winner will have until September 23, 2024 to complete their color design. Please feel free to use our PSD file, if you'd like!

Winner will also receive 3x copies of the Empemeral Ink that matches their color's base hue (Red, Orange, Yellow, Blue, Green, or Violet).

We're so excited to see what you come up with!

Mythaura v0.30

Over ten new query conditions were added to support dialog and quest complexity.

An interact endpoint was added, allowing players to interact with NPCs using the query builder to power dialog selection.

The game state was refactored to be global, allowing things like "current health" to be maintained outside wild areas.

Query actions have been added, which allow things like dialog to trigger actions in-game.

Various bug fixes made to beast party, beast creation, and beast stats.

Voice types were added to NPCs and beasts.

Beast expression generation was implemented.

NPC tools were added to allow the generation of NPCs from beast codes.

Beast backgrounds have been added.

Thank You!

Thanks for sticking through to the end of the post, we always look forward to sharing our month's work with all of you--thank you for taking the time to read. We'll see you around the Discord!

[sarandipitywrites]

Writeblr Intro

(i should probably make one of these, shouldn't i?)

about me:

hi! i'm saran (they/them). i spend 99% of my free time writing, thinking about writing, making playlists for my writing, rotating my other obsessions in my head (currently jak & daxter; voiceplay; and motionless in white), and sometimes spewing those on my blog as well. this is my primary blog (i can barely keep up with this one, so a sideblog is not likely in the near future), so be aware that you'll see everything that spills out of my head/crosses my blog that i feel like sharing. if you're just here for the writing, that's cool, too! all of my original writing is tagged #my writing, and all longform works and snippets are tagged with their titles. i'm open to tag games, asks, and dms for anything and everything, even if you just need to talk 💜

about the writing:

i both read and write most genres, but fantasy and speculative fiction are my favorite (with a heavy dose of monsters and the paranormal, whether the genre otherwise calls for it or not). i write both original fiction and fanfiction. my main characters tend to be queer, neurodiverse, disabled, or all of the above. i write with an adult audience in mind (my writing has a tendency to delve into heavy topics, including mental health issues and societal commentary, and several of my stories contain graphic violence), so while minors are welcome to follow, i would encourage you to self-curate your experience. i try to tag anything potentially triggering, but i am human and sometimes miss things; if you notice anything that you think needs a tag, please do let me know!

general taglist (ask to be added or removed): @innocentlymacabre

find all the links and tags for my work under the cut:

the WIPs:

Spark Signature (wip intro, tag)

Ten years after their best friend's disappearance, Vy'd almost given up on seeing Jules again. But now that he's come back, and with a plan to steal the Foundation for Magitechnical Advancement's most sinister assets, Vy knows they can't let him pursue his vendetta alone. But the interference of Vy's nosy RPG group-slash-found family forces Vy to choose; will they do what they know is right and help Jules infiltrate the Foundation, or will they keep their head down and try to keep their family safe from the inevitable fallout? (high fantasy sci fi; LGBT+; cyberpunk; heist; thriller; original fiction) Taglist (ask to be added or removed): @leah-yasmin-writes, @mymomsaysbobcipher, @ceph-the-ghost-writer, @mundanemoongirl

The Art of Empty Space (wip intro, tag)

Lienzo's search for a cure for his parent's condition entangles him in a years-old curse with an arcane beast at its heart. As he works to break the curse and free the city of Rookport, he finds an unexpected ally in the beast — and, perhaps, something more. (subversive fairytale; paranormal romance; original fiction)

Taglist (ask to be added or removed): @notwritinganyflufftoday, @mymomsaysbobcipher

Dead Roots, Dark Water (wip intro, tag, Ao3)

After two years of genetic experiments at the hands of Haven City's Minister of Science leave him almost unrecognizable, Jak isn't as eager to go home as Daxter would have hoped. Daxter's rescue mission becomes a quest to undo the damage the dark eco experiments inflicted upon Jak's body and psyche — and the only one who can help them is Haven's most beloved public figure, who also happens to be Minister Acheron's twin sister. (adventure; dark fantasy; dystopian; fanfiction - Jak & Daxter)

Taglist (ask to be added or removed): @sam-glade, @televisionjester, @surroundedbypearls, @rivenantiqnerd

the Short Stories:

A Haunted Home

A haunted house gets its latest in a long string of owners. Is it possible to have a QPR with a house? You're about to find out. cw: implied past domestic abuse

Bodies

The Belltown Butcher takes a trophy from each of their victims. Ness survived, but not before the Butcher took their prize. cw: referenced kidnapping, trauma, eye trauma

Loreley

A cartographical ship picks up a distress signal in the unexplored Groombridge 1618 system. Instead of the lost Kasandra, they find a seemingly-habitable planet.

I Am Alive

A group of friends breaks into the local haunted house for an All Hallow's Eve séance. It doesn't go as planned.

[tothesolarium]

Providing the rainbow metal no one asked for, but the world needs

[mysticstarlightduck]

Kiss Picrew Tag!

I was inspired by this amazing post by @mk-writes-stuff, and decided to make a few of my own with my WIPs characters! I'll go with Song of Thorns, Supernova Initiative, Of Starlight and Beasts and Enchanted Illusions because I had free time and hyperfocus lmao! Let's go!

By the way, if you like this, please reblog, it helps a lot 💕

Augustus & Harriet (Enchanted Illusions)

Aaah, my lovelies! Augustus, the book's resident necromancer, and Harriet, our lovely weirdo. They've got a little blood splashed onto their faces, probably as a result of a battle they've just won, but they don't mind (he is a necromancer and she has seen some stuff, why would they mind lmao?)

Renn & Roselyn (Song of Thorns)

They're adorable and I love them with all my heart, Your Honor, lmao. Renn is a half-vampire fey who was born a noble and became a thief due to unfortunate circumstances, and Roselyn is his sweetheart who is a spirited girl ready to defeat the King.

Elveryn & Cadenza (Song of Thorns)

The Monster Hunter who fell in love with an Elven Fey and both of them had a redemption arc. Technically his hair isn't white (Kane's is, not his) but a very pale shade of blond that the picrew didn't have, and he actually wears precision goggles instead of glasses, but you get the idea!

Tarrant & Aiden (Song of Thorns)

Tarrant (the one with red hair), the Silver Snake, and his lover Aiden (they/he), with whom he has a secret love story (which is a secret he has to keep hidden lest endanger Aiden because of his employer). Somewhat-starcrossed lovers with a dash of them being two angsty fools who are bad at communication lmao.

Jasen & Prince Alaric (Song of Thorns)

The Prince (Alaric) and the Pauper (Jasen), essentially! Again, Alaric's hair is actually a shade between dark auburn and dark blond, but I couldn't find it in the picrew so I went with the next best thing. They haven't had a chance to really kiss in the story but have been pining (without being aware that the feeling is mutual because they sure as heck are bad at reading emotions lmao.) for over a year, and really want to have that chance!

Jack & Lyorna (Supernova Initiative)

Once more, lol, Jack's hair is actually not this shade - he is red-haired, but his hair color is more of a natural auburn than this - but regardless! Lyorna is a young freedom fighter from an alien planet in the Khosmonian galaxies, and they meet during Jack's mission there and fell in love! They are adorable and stubborn.

Deimos & Vesper (Supernova Initiative)

ENEMIES TO LOVERS Y'ALL!!! Actually it's more of a Rivals-to-lovers situation lmao, but still. The Sniper and the Assassin. The Alien and the Cyborg. Both incredibly efficient at what they do, they initially annoyed each other to no end and were infuriated at the prospect of having to work together, but slowly, oh so slowly, started to care for each other and eventually fell in love, begrudgingly lmao.

Arammys & Corah (Of Starlight and Beasts)

The Mage and the Knight! Friends to Lovers! Arammys meets Corah by accident after losing his memories, and the duo embarks on a fateful quest to save the continent from a warmongering queen and break an ancient prophecy, after she (Corah) learns of the land's fate.

(Arammys hai is actually golden but I didn't find the option!)

Tagging (gently): @sleepy-night-child, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @smol-feralgremlin, @oh-no-another-idea, @littleladymab,

@winterandwords, @cowboybrunch, @eccaiia, @sarahlizziewrites, @illarian-rambling

@agirlandherquill, @anoelleart

@leave-her-a-tome, @writernopal, @anyablackwood, @unstablewifiaccess, @forthesanityofstorytellers

@i-can-even-burn-salad, @cakeinthevoid

@lassiesandiego, @thepeculiarbird, @clairelsonao3, @memento-morri-writes, @starlit-hopes-and-dreams and OPEN TAG

[eriquin]

When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let's spread the self-love 💛

Five favorite fics that I've written. Okay.

War of the Broses (SPN, Destiel): This was the first thing that I finished and posted on AO3. I had a lot of fun writing it.

Of Empires, Queens, and Builders (DQB2, pre-relationship Builderoth). This was a big fic with a lot of action. I did a bunch of research into the early Dragon Quest games for it. I also wrote it for the WIP Big Bang, so I had a deadline to finish it, which helps me a lot.

Nightswimming (Stranger Things, Steddie). This is another long fic. I think all my stuff is long, at this point. But it was also for a Big Bang, so I had a deadline to complete it. I feel like it's a little rushed at the end, but it works.

The Trolley Problem (Stranger Things, Steddie). This is a WIP but it's moving along. I'm not sure where to end it. So far, it's been really fun trying to figure out how the story would change if different characters knew in advance what would happen. The other side of it is treating the story like a conscious beast, and it wants things to go in a certain way.

Crown of Thorns (Stranger Things, Steddie) This is another WIP. Eddie with powers. I didn't want to retcon what happened in the show, but I also wanted to go in another direction from the Kas!Eddie theory, so here's where it ended up. I think it started with a sleeping beauty idea of Eddie being in stasis, and then figuring out how he got to that point.

Thanks for the ask, @augustjustice. I'm going to pass it along.

[pearl484-blog]

WIP poll

1. Ephemeral Lament: After finding a journal full of future akumas and their causes, Alya realizes that it is her sworn duty as a hero to stop them, even the impossible ones like Mrs. Dupain-Cheng facing racism, Chat Noir finding his mom's body and...Adrien’s abuse?

2. Senti-beast: During the fight with Kwamibuster, Ladybug accidentally finds out Chat Noir's secret identity. Ladybug isn't sure what she suspected, but it wasn't that her partner was a monster. AU where Adrien is a beastly sentimonster

3. Fathomless Depths: When their bonds to life begin to fade

A Black Cat may decide to stray

And heed a call from the mortal plane

Into the depths of Death's Domain

After a fight with Chat Noir causes him to retreat to the Underworld, Ladybug must go on a quest to save him, but in a realm where dreams are reality and logic is madness, will Ladybug be able to rescue Chat Noir from his terrible fate? Or will both of them succumb to their demons?

4. Reverse Carol: The ghost of Chat Noir takes Ladybug on a tour of his life so she can see the problems of their past and change her ways, before she loses him for good.

5. Disappearing Hack: When a mysterious hacker starts erasing all traces of Chat Noir from the internet and replacing him with other heroes, Alya and Ladybug team up to find the culprit and end this once and for all. Meanwhile, Chat Noir is enjoying some peace and quiet after scrubbing himself off the internet.

[aroeddiediaz]

20 questions for fic writers

Tagged by @cal-daisies-and-briars , @jesuiscenseedormir , @diazsdimples

How many works do you have on ao3?

27!

What's your total ao3 word count?

61,537

What fandoms do you write for?

Currently I’m pretty much exclusively a 9-1-1 writer, but in the past I wrote a lot of Flarrowverse (do they still call it that?). I also have published fics for Fantastic Beasts and a few anime (Given, Haikyuu, Saiki K). Given the number of Bnha wips i have locked away in the vault it’s amazing I don’t have anything published for that.

Top 5 fics by kudos:

(I am omitting all the Flarrowverse fics in my top 5 on the basis that they were written in high school and I’ve changed as a person, and they probably only beat out on the numbers due to being up for years longer)

1. Kabe-Do’s and Kabe-Don’ts (Given, 861 kudos)

2. You’re Not Special (Saiki K, 598 kudos)

3. How Eddie Learned To Stop Worrying And Embrace The Kitten Life (9-1-1, 327 kudos)

4. The Boy Formerly Known As Miracle (Haikyuu, 277 kudos)

5. Under The Hood (9-1-1, 275 kudos)

Do you respond to comments?

Yes!! As many as I can!

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

This probably has to be The Crimes of Queenie Goldstein, in which Queenie is put on trial for her actions during the war. Don’t @ me but Queenie turning traitor was bu far the most interesting part of the Crimes of Grindelwald (the only interesting thing, really). There could be such an interesting story between her and Tina if only JKR would let the movies out of her grasp.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Fuck, idk if I have a happiest ending fic, a lot of them tend to not have that much story arc. (A lot of established relationship fluff or smut lmao). I guess if I had to pick one it would probably be How Eddie Learned To Stop Worrying and Embrace The Kitten Life.

Do you get hate on fics?

Not since that one anti-olicity fic that I wrote while deep in the trenches of Flarrowverse discourse, which I totally deserved :/. I have regrets. Also I should probably orphan/delete that one if I haven’t already. In my defense, high school. I have learned.

Do you write smut?

Yea lol. I think my 9-1-1 stuff has been almost exclusively smut. Idk how it happened. (I do know how it happened smut is fun to write)

Craziest crossover?

I haven’t published any of my crossover fics :( none of them have been complete enough. I have many many unfinished RotBTD wips that have never seen the light of day though.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Who would steal my stuff? Lol

Have you ever had a fic translated?

One time someone offered to translate one of my fics into Russian but idk if that ever actually happened.

Have you co-written a fic before?

Nope

All time favorite ship?

Right now definitely Buddie! Percabeth holds a special place in my heart though <3

What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Ok. After the end of the Heroes of Olympus Series, but before Trials of Apollo was announced, I tried my own hand at writing the sequel that was clearly coming based on all the loose threads in the final book. It was going to be a Solangelo quest to save the Oracle of Delphi from Python, while Akhys tries to poison Percy to turn him into an evil god(?). Half the details have been lost and I desperately want to remember them, because I haven’t attempted anything nearly as cool or ambitious since then. The first 5 chapters are posted on my ao3 (Will Solace and the Oracle’s Cry) and I still think high school me had the most interesting characterization of Will out of everyone else on the internet at the time. Even if it is still very 2015.

What are your writing strengths?

I think I’m good at getting into the heads of different characters. Understanding their motives and weaknesses.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Editing.

Lmao I have a lot of weaknesses but I definitely struggle the most with trying to look back on or change things I’ve already written, even when it’s necessary.

Also my tendency to just drop fics if I stop working on them for too long. Rip to my wip graveyard.

Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

That’s a minefield I’m not willing to play in. Unless it’s Chinese. Very limited amounts of Chinese. Or like, a pet name or phrase that’s already ubiquitous in fandom so I’m not risking anything.

First fandom you wrote in?

Percy Jackson!! That Will Solace quest is the first thing I ever wrote! I definitely had a tendency to jump into the deep end with new hobbies lmao. Like my first ever cosplay that took me 3 years to complete.

Favorite fic you've written?

I think my favorite fic is always going to be the one I’m currently working on writing. But I am very proud of the silly little dramatic ironies in In Hindsight, which I wrote entirely over one long lunch the day after 7x04 broke me. Also I have to shoutout Teacher’s Pet, that one ruler spanking fic nobody ever reads because it’s Eddie/Ana lmao. I enjoyed putting in a bunch of tiny incompatibilities between them. So, uh, I guess my favorite thing in my own writing is dramatic irony?

Tagging: @aspecbuddie @pirrusstuff @jesuisici33 @steadfastsaturnsrings @lemonzestywrites @your-catfish-friend @inkmortal-trash389 @evanbegins s @wildlife4life @eddiebabygirldiaz @epicbuddieficrecs @kitteneddiediaz @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove @coatedpanda16 @nicotinewrites @estheticpotaeto @babytrapperdiaz @snowviolettwhite @wikiangela

[therightgate]

For who could ever learn to love a beast...(aka The Ballroom Project)

LET ME EXPLAIN!: For some reason I was convinced that there was going to be a quest in BG3 that would take place in a ballroom and it would include a dance scene with your companion like in DA Inquisition (I think it was because of all the gorgeous fanart and mods created by other artists that I saw before I even finished the game). So once that did not happen I was OBSESSED with the idea of writing a thirsty story full of longing that would include a ball(masquerade ball maybe).

So here is my dilemma...I want to either write a fic about this or a comic and I can't make up my mind. Since these are very different mediums of storytelling, the story will be different depending on what I end up doing. So I would appreciate some advice from you guys on whether I should I write a fic or draw a comic. Feedback is always greatly appreciated.

Spoilers on this future project that involves what is going on in this WIP under "keep reading".

Tav thinks she fainted in Gortash's arms due to completely innocent reasons. The truth is Gortash gave her a sleeping potion and now he's feeling guilty and regretting his actions. He's contemplating how to proceed.