#writing courses are about meeting you where you are and developing your knowledge!

[werewolf-transgenderism]

man someone in the notes of that AI post left a several paragraph long response like “but what if students don’t know how to write well? what if they’re socioeconomically disadvantaged and never got good writing instruction? they should be allowed to use AI” no they fucking should not because that is not going to help them develop their writing or benefit from writing instruction if they’re not fucking doing any writing themselves! a student who does their own work and gets a low grade but still actually practices writing is learning at least ten times more than a student who just plugs the prompt into chatgpt and doesn’t write at all

[writteninlunarlight-years]

Hiya! Could you do a one-shot of Alastor x fem! reader who is like Art the clown (from the terrifier movies, all hallows eve and the ninth circle)?

Perhaps they met when Alastor first got to hell and reader wanted to kill him at first but due to his old fashioned ways (the courting and such) along with him being quite sadistic when it comes to killing, she became more curious about him and it led to a relationship?

How would their relationship be? Would it become more of a one sided thing? Would she try to harm him after he comes back from his seven year absence? I’d love to see your interpretation on this!

~ 🕷️

Terrify Me~

(Anon, I promise I did not forget you! I have never seen these movies and call myself a horror fanatic! So I watched them all as I had the time to try and be better at this writing! I hope you enjoy and stay hydrated!) TW: Torture, Death, assault, Suggestive, Sad, Comfort

Hell was far more entertaining than back up on the earth, though yes, it sucked dying to those damn cops. This was where it was at. You had free reign to torture and torment those around you; the good deal was that people didn’t die permanently as long as you used the right tools. This led to such an easy time finding prey to stalk. It also allowed you to develop incredible powers as people begged and pleaded with you for deals on being free from torment. 

You were a terrifying creature, a black-and-white marionette doll with no voice box. Your movements and attention to detail got you through your life in hell. You were sadistic and cruel to whoever became your prey for the time you spent stalking them, hunting them, and slowly driving your enemy mad. You were so good at the job that people recognized you as an Overlord before even discussing it with you. Of course, who would dare get in your line of sight less you make them the next target? 

You didn’t care about hell’s silly hierarchy or games; you only cared about getting your fill. Your mind was on the prize of listening to beautiful screams and cries. Like a masterful puppet pulling strings, your looks did not portray your abilities all that well. You may have looked like the prey, but you were the top predator. You were deadly, mind, body, and soul.

Years had passed of your reign as the queen of torture till a new man arrived on the scene. Alastor, the radio demon, died not too long after your rise to fame and began to make waves in the underworld as he broadcasted screams of the damned and tortured. His show quickly became one of your favorites, and you would play it as you killed and murdered innocent demonic souls, hoping to make a deal with you for safety. 

Eventually, though, your love and passion for the radio demon's show turned to disgust and hate as he began to take your place in the world of torturing the damned. You had found a new prey to stalk, and it was someone who was equally matched. 

Your stalk began small, with just hushed whispers and knowledge of the man you wished to end. You found photos and some video of him, but it was grainy and distorted. He was a handsome man. He would be so beautiful strung up. As you thought of many ways to torture and abuse him, the next phase of your plan was in order.

Though you were an ‘overlord,’ you never attended meetings. However, you did start when it came to hunting Alastor. Watching his every move and emotion, you saw he was good at mimicking and faking just like you. Yet you had to say you were just that much better at it. When you two first officially met, you could visibly see the disdain on his face when you couldn’t speak. Like many powerful beings, Alastor puts weight on words, something you have no control over, always giving you the upper hand. 

You found every excuse to be around and speak to the man. Eager to move on to stage three of your plan to capture and torment this soul. Actively seeking Alastor out, you began to carry a notepad to speak with him. Small conversations that would sometimes run long. You enjoyed his voice, at least. You thought it would sound lovely, screaming in pain and agony. 

Though you had these sick, twisted thoughts about Alastor, you couldn’t help but be curious about the other feelings he elicited. You wanted to hear him sing, watch him smile, and enjoy his murder. His many good qualities interested you even more. You even sought medical help in the man before you as you didn’t understand these stirrings you had around him and him alone.

As the final plan commenced where you would capture and torture him, you were caught off guard by a single black rose being placed before you. Looking at it and holding it gently, you felt your undead heart flutter. This situation happened many times over and over.

You would go to kill or capture Alastor, and right there, every time you would execute your plan, he would have a trinket or doo dad for you to keep as your own. He began to touch you gently, shoulders, face, sides. Things started to shift in you; you were being courted, and it wasn’t until you experienced this love that you realized it happened: Alastor had you under his spell. 

Your plans of killing Alastor were long gone; now, you just wanted to have the joy of torturing others together. Come a year of your stupid game; you were now officially Alastor's partner in crime. It was charming how he always let you get the first stab and helped you stalk and scare others. He even taught you how to cook and kill the dead sinners. Things were well between you two, so well that domestic life began to become a norm for two sadistic sinners. Yet it all changed one day suddenly. You had been out on a kill someone you and Alastor had stalked for months. However, when you returned covered in blood and a dead body in tow, Alastor was nowhere to be found. You waited a year in that small home you two made, and he never appeared.

After seven long years, you returned to the top of the food chain; you were vicious and cold-hearted. Bloodthirsty. You allowed yourself to be blindsided by a man who couldn’t even say goodbye. Anger consumed you as the years passed, and you became known as the terrifier. You were deadly on a much larger scale than your first time on the scene. You were always longing for Alastor just to come back home. You were longing openly to all that you would kill him and make him pay.

While on the town killing, you heard a familiar buzz. Your blood ran cold as the familiar sound flooded your senses. Running to the old home, you two shared the life long forgotten: you hoped so badly to see him standing there as he once did. Would you kill him? Let him live? Fall into his arms again?

As you entered the house, he wasn’t there. It was still empty, still intact, the same as you left it six years ago. Sighing, you left and walked to the nearest brothel to kill some easy dirtbags. That's when you saw the shadow. Was this a game? Some sick, twisted game to make you think Alastor had come back for you.

Following the shadow, you grew more rabid and curious. Eventually, you found yourself atop a hill where the Hazbin Hotel sat. Walking in, it was silent; it was late at night, and you assumed everyone was asleep. Stepping further into the forbidden territory, you looked around cautiously. It was homey and bright, too bright for your liking, yet some of the decor looked like what you saw in your old home with Alastor.

You felt the presence before you heard it, and suddenly, a bright smile overtook your face. He was here; he was back. Seeing before you Alastor, the radio demon, your lost love, you took a step towards him, afraid it was fake. You don’t know what emotion overtook you the most. You wanted to tear him apart, yet seeing him there, everything felt so surreal. His smile, for once, was authentic, and as he opened his arms out for you and you rushed in, you heard the faintest, “Oh, how you still terrify me…”

[ari-the-arotistic]

So I was thinking about pirates of the Caribbean, and each characters unique moral code and way of approaching life, as one does, when I remembered a particular scene about our beloved James Norrington... the very first scene in which Jack and James meet. Now, as a long time Sparrington shipper, I adore the Sparrington fandoms adopted head canon of Jack's compass pointing directly at Jack when James is holding it as having a romantic connotation too it, but this is Disney we're talking about, and a Disney from 20 years ago at that, so it is of course just a head canon. And while it is a beloved head canon, I will always be a writer before a shipper, and what that scene says about Norrington from a writer's perspective is far too juicy not to share... So buckle up for a very long meta post about who James Norrington is as a person, and how it was set up in this scene(and later reinforced in the second and third movie). This is my first real meta post, and I'm very excited for it, so let's jump right in.

First of all, the compass scene.

As we can clearly see in the image above, since the red line that points to the object of the holder's desires is no where to be seen, its relatively easy to conclude that it's hidden from our view by the sun dial in the middle, and thusly is pointing directly at Jack. Elizabeth is off to James's right, and no one is standing behind Jack, so unless the compass was pointing at something in the far off distance that just so happened to be in Jack's general direction(unlikely) its pretty clear what(or who) the compass is pointing at. For most potc fans, this is fairly standard knowledge. But it's what this fact says about Norrington's character that I'd like to focus on. After all, what does it say about a man that a compass that shows you what you desire most is pointing at a pirate, and the very face of piracy at that, instead of your canonical love interest, when you're a Commodore of the Navy? As stated above, Sparrington shippers often point at this scene as proof that James has a bit of a pash on the ruggedly handsome pirate, or at the very least, a thing for men. But from a writer's perspective, this just simply isn't the case, and not because the writer's in this instance are the notoriously homophobic corporation we call Disney. The reason why this is so unlikely from a writing perspective is because given the context clues, we as an audience are meant to draw the conclusion that this is the first time that they meet(I have heard rumors of them meeting as children in the books, but having never read them, and focusing only on the movies, I'm not including that in this post). And since this is the first time they've met, it's highly unlikely that the compass is pointing at Jack because James has a bit of a thing for him. Even if James has heard of Jack's many exploits, he does not truly know the man behind the legend, so having romantic feelings for the pirate at this point in time just isn't believable. And even if James was a closeted gay/bi man, it's still unlikely that the compass would be pointing at Jack of all the men around the Commodore(of which there is a lot, some of whom he is incredibly close with) seeing as Jack is the poster boy of piracy, and at this point in the movie it's made abundantly clear that James vehemently detests the notion and all who practice it. If James were to be holding the compass in Jack's vicinity in later movies and it still pointed at the pirate, an argument could definitely be made that it was because he had developed feelings for Jack, but for their first meeting, it's just not realistic. So it's much more likely that the reason the compass is pointing at Jack is because of James's desire to send every pirate he meets to "a quick drop and a sudden stop" as he so eloquently put it to a young Elizabeth. This is further reinforced in the third movie when it is revealed that Beckett's desire to have Jack dead at his feet would prevent him from using the compass to find Shipwreck Cove if the pirate was not already at the aforementioned location, or, well, dead. This is again, relatively common knowledge. But like I said before, it's what this fact says about James that is the whole point of this post... and that is that James cares more about his career than anything else, even the woman he claims to love. Now for some, that statement alone might seem like a pretty obvious conclusion, but it's how this scene subtlety sets up this core aspect of Norrington's character before we even truly get to know who he is, and how it's brought to it's full height in the second movie, and the core aspect of his redemption and subsequent death in the third that I'd really like to talk about. Which brings us to the next segment of this post...

How James lost his commission to the navy...

And how he got it back

So let's start off with how James lost his commission... it's a story we all know pretty well, and one he tells to Gibbs in the scene shown above, when he plans to either join Jack's crew or get revenge on the man that(he believes) ruined his life. After Jack's escape in the first movie, James grew obsessed with capturing the pirate, so much so that he foolishly followed the Black Pearl into a hurricane, resulting in the sinking of the Dauntless, and the loss of countless lives that had been aboard the vessel. It's unclear aside from James himself who had been on the ship at the time, and who did or did not survive, but the death toll was heavy, with most, if not everyone who wasn't James, having perished in the storm. While it is not the most extreme example(which we'll get too in just a bit), this is a pretty clear example of James prioritizing his career above everything else, even reason and logic. And all just to capture a singular pirate, even at the cost of his own ship and crew, and rather ironically, the very career that he had been so desperately trying to hold onto in the first place. Which brings us to the next scene I'd like to discuss... James stealing the heart of Davy Jones. This moment is the absolute peak of this part of James's character. This is the moment where James takes his obsessive need for his career to the max. This is the moment where James truly prioritizes his career above everything else, even the woman he claims to love(and for Sparrington shippers, above the man he's reluctantly come to care about). At this point in time, when James decides to take the heart for himself to regain his old station, he's been on the Black Pearl long enough to know the full situation. That Jack is in some kind of trouble with Davy Jones, and that if Jack doesn't use the heart to bargain for his freedom, then the Kraken will hunt Jack, and subsequently the Black Pearl, down until he and everyone aboard are dead. And that includes Elizabeth. And yet, despite knowing that stealing the heart would basically mean sealing Elizabeth's death, he still decided to do so. Sure, the argument could be made that he thought Elizabeth would be able to escape somehow, but the chances of her dying at sea, or some other terrible fate befalling her before she could safely make it back to civilization would have been highly likely. Of course we as an audience know that this isn't the case, but James does not. So essentially, James was so obsessed with his career, and maintaining the image of the honorable Commodore that he didn't even truly register that he was putting Elizabeth, the woman he loves and has been trying so desperately to woo for the past two movies, in danger. And he won't fully realize the consequences of his actions until the third movie, in a deleted scene no less(I swear when I find whoever decided to delete some of the most important scenes to James's character...), when Davy Jones informs Governor Swann of his daughters untimely demise on the Black Pearl. Of course, almost immediately afterwards, Beckett retcons that statement by informing the Governor that Elizabeth was recently seen in Singapore, but for a few minutes, James has to sit with the fact that Elizabeth was dead, and it was his fault. And even after learning that she was in fact still alive, James has now finally come to the realization that if she had still been on the Black Pearl when it sank with its Captain, he would've been the one to send her to her death. And for Sparrington shippers, James has to sit with the unavoidable fact that he was the reason Jack had died(even if the pirate does come back), despite the fact that it was Elizabeth's betrayal that was the final nail in Jack's coffin, since she wouldn't have had to do that if the Kraken wasn't after them in the first place. Which brings us to the final scene I'd like to discuss...

James choosing a side, and paying the price

Now, before we fully delve into this scene, I'd like to take a moment to talk about James's own perception of himself, and his relationship with honor and integrity. From the very first scene in which we meet James Norrington, we are made aware that he has a strong moral compass. He firmly believes piracy is evil, and that all who partake in piracy deserve a swift end. He perceives his Commodore persona as being the paragon of honor and integrity, and the sole arbiter of justice. We can infer from the line "By remembering that I serve others, Sparrow, not just myself" that James does have honorable intentions when ridding the world of pirates, that being protecting the innocent citizens under his care, but as seen once again in the first time James and Jack meet, wherein James adamantly tries to arrest Jack despite the fact the fact that pirate had just saved Elizabeth's life, his actions to achieve that goal are not always quite as honorable as his intentions are. This is especially highlighted once again when James gave Beckett the heart of Davy Jones. James's intentions here were once again rooted in honor and integrity - he believes that the only way to keep people safe from pirates is too return to his old station, to the image of honor and integrity he had built around the title of Commodore, and the only way to return to his old station is to give Beckett the heart. But the action itself was far from honorable, seeing as James had to betray the woman he loved just to obtain the heart, and that he was now putting it into the hands of a dangerously unstable individual who planned on using it to commit mass genocide.

And now, we finally get to the scene above... Of course, it's made clear throughout his scenes in the third movie leading up to this one that James is already starting to regret giving Beckett the heart after seeing the damage being caused, but since Beckett is targeting pirates specifically(although we as an audience know that Beckett's definition of pirate is very loose) James figures that the ends justify the means, as he often does in situations regarding piracy. It is not until his reunion with Elizabeth, where he learns that Governor Swann is dead, and that Beckett lied to him about the Governor's whereabouts, that James truly realizes the enormity of his mistake. It is in this moment that James has a sudden realization that fundamentally shakes him to his core, and is the reason behind his change of heart later on. He realizes that the honorable Commodore persona that he had tried to cultivate and keep a hold of for so long had never been truly honorable at all, and that by giving Beckett the heart of Davy Jones, he had effectively tied the noose around the neck of his own honor and integrity, as well as the necks of hundreds, if not thousands of innocent people, with his own hands. And as that one vine goes, this was the moment James knew, he fucked up. Which leads to his decision to change sides in an attempt to redeem himself, and his subsequent death in the process. Of course, part of James's reason for helping Elizabeth escape was that he does care for her, but given everything I've detailed about him so far, I think it's safe to say the main reason that James decided to help Elizabeth and her crew was because he wanted to undo the damage he had done, and he had faith that Elizabeth, Will, and Jack would have some sort of plan to defeat Beckett, and stop any further damage to come from his mistake. And now, for his death scene itself... As much as I love the idea of James surviving and joining the pirates(whether at Elizabeth's side or Jack's is unimportant), I firmly believe that his death was a necessary end of this part of his character arc, and that if he were to survive he would still have to go through a major ego death for this part of his character arc to end properly. Because as Bill turner drives that wooden pike into James's gut, it's not just the physical death of his body, but also the metaphorical death of Admiral James Norrington, and the ideals that James had used to build the persona out of. So even if James survived, the Admiral would still have to meet his metaphorical end, thusly causing James to lose a core part of himself that had been guiding most his decisions so far, in the process, which would start the next part of his character arc, where he would have to deal with the loss of a key part of his personality, and rebuild himself from the ground up to finally, truly become the image of honor and integrity he had envisioned from the beginning.

And that concludes this very long post. I could probably wax enough poetics about this aspect of James's character to write a short novel, but I've said everything important to this post, and if I go on any longer, I'm likely to start repeating myself lol. Thank you for reading, and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments or a reblog! I will always love hearing more about our polished peacock <3

[doodle-pops]

Meeting and Befriending Vampire Reader

A/N: Felt like writing something different for a change. Possibly my start of dipping my toes in the supernatural AU?? And I blame @animatorweirdo, in a good way, for feeding me with their creativity when it comes to their supernatural content *le chef kiss* 🤌

Warnings: (it’s all lightly described) blood-drinking, mentions of being experimented on, lots of comfort, being rescued, happy endings for everyone, platonic relationships

➷ ⋆Feanor

➳❥ So, hypothetically speaking, Feanor does not die the minute he sets foot into Middle Earth and survives all the way through to meet you; an escapee from Angband during the first attack he launched. You stumbled your way a good distance from them, however, seeing that they were newly settling down, you blended in.

➳❥ Having dwelt among them for some time and forcing yourself to suffer cruel punishments of changing your appetite to not be caught and persecuted, you managed to become one of the local elves for years. Chatting and conversing with everyone and working as a healer during the night shifts only (because blood was easier to consume that way).

➳❥ How Feanor stumbled upon you, well it all started with you and Feanor becoming friends from all his late–night trips to the healing wing whenever he injured himself. It developed into a friendship, as he would only demand you treat his wounds. Plus, you never appeared bored or irritated when he prattled your head off about inventing things to blow other things up or reinventing.

➳❥ Somewhere along the lines, conversations always sparked each other’s interest, since he became persistent on spending more time with you due to your knowledge and peculiarities, mostly during the day since he worked at night. Of course, you reject his offer even though you could offer an evening/night session, but preferred the simple friendship you two already had without getting into each other’s personal space.

➳❥ Through constant rejection, which doesn’t sit well with Feanor’s pride, one day he decides to seek you out. Directly heading for the healing wing and learning of the location, he sets out to your house to demand an honest answer, only to discover once he arrives, your house is locked up like a prison cell.

➳❥ Knocking does nothing to bring him a response and your neighbours can’t deliver a suitable response because they never see you during the day, only at night. This doesn’t sit well with Feanor and being the adamant individual he was, he chose to sit guard outside your house until you either came out or showed up.

➳❥ You, on the other hand, were aware of his presence outside your house. It placed you in a dilemma, unsure of whether to walk out and confront him or spend another day indoors, surely he’ll grow tired and defeated. The furthest option he took was begging to at least speak with you to know where your relationship with him sat.

➳❥ Hearing his sorrowful plead, guilt eating at you, there was a split moment where you hesitated before cracking the door open to welcome him in. It was approaching daylight since he waited all night. The minute he entered your house and saw the pitch–black condition, he knew something was wrong with you.

➳❥ A sharp Kingly tone would be spat out, which would make you curl in at the disappointment you were setting yourself up for. At the time, there wasn’t anything suitable enough to spare you from his frustration. So, a quick mumble of you begging him to listen to your story and not judge you would be exchanged.

➳❥ The moment you revealed the truth, you could see his face through the darkness and how his eyes widened as he placed multiple scenarios together to believe you. Feanor doesn’t know how to respond because you never had intentions to hurt him, yet your truth was kept hidden when the enemy was looming about.

➳❥ Millions of questions would realistically fly off the handle wanting to know if you were working for the Dark Lord, and he sent you to spy on him. Of course, not appreciating the comparison to your enemy, you angrily put his claims down, explaining that you were one of the first elves who were hunted and experimented on. His war with the Dark Lord bought you freedom.

➳❥ Feanor doesn’t know where his relationship with you now stands with this new piece of information, however, he makes the most of it by keeping you under lock and key (not literally). He wants to know everything you know and it’s how you prove yourself trustworthy in his eyes when your information aids him in winning another war.

➳❥ Because of your supernatural abilities, he’s baffled by your strength, speed and agility. Heck, he doesn’t need to go through the stress of bending iron when you exist. You are still a part of his Kingdom, and he allows you to continue living as you do but ensure not to kill or harm anyone.

➳❥ He was very grossed out about your blood consumption to survive, yet he was curious to understand how it worked in sustaining your mobility and essence. There were moments he tried experimenting to create other alternatives for you to consume, let’s say it didn’t work.

➳❥ Because there were minimal differences between elf and vampire (minus sunlight and food; and Feanor did make a daylight ring) he was able to overcome the boundaries and maintain a healthy relationship. So long as you didn’t pose as a threat, all was well between you and Feanor.

➷ ⋆Fingolfin

➳❥ Meeting you for the first time would be entirely accidental, perhaps on a walk through the forest to clear his head when he stumbled upon your absolutely still figure, perched on a tree branch.

➳❥ Because there’s no one else in the forest and no settlement for miles, furthermore, given your attire, you must have been from the same Kingdom or his son’s, he would still make his presence known to you before continuing his walk because it was a polite thing to do.

➳❥ It’s when you turn to acknowledge the male figure introducing himself and calling out to you, that he catches a glimpse of your unusual eye colour and stills. You’re aware that he’s aware you’re different from other elves.

➳❥ Fingolfin would have easily picked up on your fëa and hrӧa differing from an elf and would immediately inquire about your identity since he considers you trespassing. His approach would be commanding, using his Kingly aura to have you submit and give in to his wishes.

➳❥ But since you’re not the same as the others who use their abilities for harmful intentions, you’d roll your eyes and casually reveal your name and where you were from before turning around to continue your staring off into God knows where.

➳❥ Not pleased with your curt answer, despite giving him the information he demanded to know, he’d attempt to encroach your tranquillity with more questions on what creature you were.

➳❥ That’s where things take a turn because you’re aware of vampires being destructive and evil forces of nature, so you’re hesitant and cautious the moment you reveal your true nature. However, it’s your lack of aggression and awareness to his astonishment that urges him to continue prodding.

➳❥ You were tempted to snap at his intrusiveness, yet still, you didn’t, keeping in mind that your kind was already a plague to elves. So you needed to keep a level–head for as long as you could before being on your merry way. Unfortunately for you, Fingolfin wasn’t allowing you to disappear anytime soon; not when questions existed.

➳❥ “How are you not evil? Are you evil? Have you ever been? Were you created by the Dark Lord? What do you know of him? Have you come to spy?” His questions to you were generic which gave eye rolls at every one directed at you.

➳❥ Long story short, Fingolfin and you got off on a semi–tranquil and annoying meet but were eventually able to smooth things over after he asked you a million questions and you answered every one as nonchalantly as possible.

➳❥ He keeps you a secret from the rest of the world; your existence is kept by him alone. Through you, he learns secrets about the world he had yet to discover and values your insight on deep philosophical topics. Long, late–night conversations from twilight to daybreak.

➳❥ There are rare days when you would randomly appear on the balcony of his office, mostly during the night, to spend time chatting. He learnt that it was a myth that vampires burnt in sunlight, it was just that you were irritated by it and also didn’t wish to be seen during daylight with your features.

➳❥ What blossomed between you two was an unusual friendship. In the beginning, he was sceptical about having you around more frequently and roaming his lands since you fed off blood—you never gave him details about your hunting activities; however, you reassured him no people were harmed or killed.

➳❥ Sometimes, you provide him assistance given your dislike for the Dark Lord by slipping in and out the cracks of his fortress unseen to spy. He forever warns you about being cautious because he fears that one day, you might never return.

➳❥ You do enjoy scaring the life out of him whenever he steps into the forest in search of your location. Popping out from behind trees or walking behind him the entire time and pretending to be the wind.

➳❥ He once saw you angry and regretted the first time you met because of what could have possibly happened to him.

➷ ⋆Finarfin

➳❥ First time trip to Middle Earth and he came across you during the raiding of Angband. You were trapped in the prison cells in the depths of the mountain along with other foul creatures. To Finarfin’s surprise, he was confused as to why would a normal–looking elf be stuck alongside all those dangerous creatures.

➳❥ Nevertheless, he retrieved and returned you back to his encampment where you were being treated for your wounds. However, due to your lack of hunger and being surrounded by literal food, the healer doesn’t get the chance to properly assess your injuries, because you lunged at one of them for dinner.

➳❥ With the uproar, Finarfin is summoned to the tent where blood is spilt everywhere and a rampant you is being restrained by his best men. However, pity played a great part in his heart when he looked upon your face and saw tears streaming from your eyes. His first thought was literally, “Why would you shed tears for your wrong?”

➳❥ Still cautious of your activities, he’d have you secured aside from everyone and closer to his tent for observations even though his men advised against the idea, wanting to exterminate you immediately. But Finarfin was someone who preferred to be the judge of his own actions.

➳❥ The minute he visited you after your re–captivity, he felt a twinge of sympathy for putting you into chains after you recently came out of them. At first, you were uncooperative due to having a lack of blood in your system, and since he didn’t have any lying about or was going to offer his or his people, he gave orders to the hunters to save the animal blood and deliver it to his tent.

➳❥ You were fussy because the blood of people was tastier than animals, but it was still worth a shot because you were hungry as hell after being chained up and experimented on for years. After stomaching the repulsive blood, you were able to talk, and he learned of how you were once an elf taken from your home and turned into a vampire.

➳❥ The experiments weren’t a complete success since you couldn’t take sunlight, fly or transform. You were able to stay in your elven form while having the basic traits of a vampire. This Finarfin pitied and felt the need to protect and keep you safe.

➳❥ Promising that he would look after you if you promised to control yourself, he had taken you to Valinor and placed you within the Valar care to see how much they could undo the mad scientist’s experimentation. Unfortunately, you were permanently stuck that way until the end of time.

➳❥ Because you had Finarfin at your side who genuinely cared for your existence, he became a familiar face in your life during your healing and learning to control your thirst sessions. You accidentally messed up a few times and attacked because 1) you were being pushed too far, and 2) he had smelt too good.

➳❥ During that moment, it caused a dramatic change in your relationship. Finarfin was slightly terrified when he realised that he was entirely powerless against your strength, even when weakened and found the idea of you feeding from him exhilarating.

➳❥ He didn’t know how to approach you with the latter when he was slightly terrified of your strength and unsure about whether or not he could pull you off him should you be unable to stop. Even so, you had distanced yourself from him after the incident, ashamed of your actions.

➳❥ With some convincing, the best solution was to have you break into the habit of sampling his blood indirectly from the vein, meaning, in a glass. He was amazed at how easily you just drank his blood without a hint of disgust. This would continue over a duration while you consumed animal blood to get a grip on your control. (I’d write about you feeding from the source, but another time maybe).

➳❥ During these moments your friendship with him is built. Late–night conversations, walking through the forest, having midnight picnics under the stars and laughing away. They all assisted with your nerves on how you believed he perceived you.

➳❥ It does sadden him that you could only be out at night, not able to experience all the beauty at came with daylight and you also never be able to see the sun as you were one of the elves stolen before the Great Journey.

➳❥ He would spend all his time describing to you what daylight and sun felt and appeared like, all the birds and flowers, the ocean as it glittered during the sunrise and sunset. All the while he did this, he would consult with one of the Valar, preferably Varda and Aüle to forge a ring you can wear to shield you from the sunlight.

➳❥ During one of your nightly meet–ups, while you’re excitedly informing him about your progress and ability to be around other people without harming them due to the consumption of his blood, he surprises you with the ring.

➳❥ That would be the first time you had ever seen the sun and daylight since your existence. His standards had set him apart from other people you had met along the way, causing him to hold a special place in your heart; for now, you were able to no longer be apart from him whenever he had to separate for his duties. You could follow him anywhere in the world.

Masterlist

Taglist: @lilmelily @ranhanabi777 @rain-on-my-umbrella @mysticmoomin @asianbutnotjapanese @batsyforyou @aconstructofamind @involuntaryspasms @lamemaster @stormchaser819

If you would like to be tagged, click the taglist link.

[innocent-cat]

Hello darling! Is it okay to request a Vax x F!Reader x Percy (love triangle) one-shot? Where the reader is a human sorcereress from a noble family and somehow ends up with Vox Machina, only for Percy and Vax to develop feelings for her (or them, if you are more comfortable) a year later and become rivals and try to impress her.

I hope this isn't too weird! And it's fine if you don't want to do it! Have a wonderful day/night! Stay safe! 🤗💖

OH MY GOD YESSSSSSSSS i actually love this idea so much

Sorceress and noble????? OF COURSE SHE HAS TIESSS WITH THE DE ROLOSSS AND THATS WHY SHE JOINSNSMNNSNS

It's awesome you clarified gender! i only do non-b pronouns when someone doesn't specify the gender. Otherwise I am happy to write for male or female!

sorry im getting excited

Vax'ildan x Reader x Percival

Warnings - idk probably gonna lean towards my bbg percy, not so obvious love triangle, swearing, im literally gonna be using f/n and shit, I'm literally rewatching to remember how to write them as I write this so good luck reading my poor memory of characters, I will use she/her, FUCK I HAD TO USE [name] IM SO SORRY, timeskip because oh my god this is so long,

"Vox Machina's (least) favorite Sorcerer.", Vax x Reader x Percy

.·:*¨༺༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺༻¨*:·..·:*¨༺༻

[F/N] - Family Name

Lady Mystra - Goddess of magic/The weave

[Name] - I was too embarrassed to use y/n

Envonium - The name of the city you are a noble to (Sorry, couldn’t avoid it)

Twinned spell - A sorcery thing that allows a sorcerer to make one spell turn into two to attack two targets, never the same one twice in a row.

You come from a very rich cultured, religious, well mannered, prestigious and otherwise very dependent on magic kingdom. It only makes sense for such a huge part of the culture surrounding the beautiful city known as "The city of the weave", purely for its well known prestigious academies of magic, to have a generally magical culture. Many everyday tasks require magic, or it is commonly frowned upon to do some actions without it.

As a noble sorcerer yourself, your parents couldn't help themselves but give you the education you needed to become stronger as a magic wielder. They began your education at a young age, which proved a struggle for you to connect with companions and school partners who surrounded you. You were always disconnected from the reality of the lives of non-nobles. Other students seemed to feel the same way, and instead of adapting for you or explaining culture to you, they excluded you, making you an outcast in your own kingdom.

Lucky for you, your parents had many allies and peace treaties with those they were more powerful than or equal to, which happened to include the de Rolos. Once they learned of their children, one of which happened to be your age, Percy, they urged them to allow you, their only daughter, to meet Percival and his siblings.

Sadly, your exclusion in school made you awkward around him, and the two of you had trouble holding conversation for a very long time during your visit to Whitestone. It wasn't until your parents mentioned to Lady and Lord de Rolo the education they put you through so you could become a stronger sorcerer, that Percy warmed up to you and began to ramble about sorcery and wizardry, of which you knew much of both.

His curious personality led to conversations that lasted hours only asking the weave, which was tiring. When you began asking him questions back, he could not help himself but go on rants about science, history, and anything he remembered learning, which was a lot. The two of you had a rivaled education.

"That's... not really how the weave works. Where did you even hear that? That's absurd." You'd quip back at his stupid questions(At least, to you, they were stupid.), that you assumed were common knowledge.

"Well- in this book- it speaks of manipulating and changing the weave to cast spells." He was always defensive, quoting books directly and going as far as showing you the page.

With a sigh, "That book is decades old. You don't manipulate the weave, you pull it. Not even pull! It is a very delicate process." You knew it would be hard to explain, because you didn't quite understand it yourself yet.

Every summer, you would visit Whitestone until they suddenly stopped responding to letters, in which your parents cautiously chose to cut ties with the kingdom, without telling you. Whenever you'd ask about it, they'd hush you or change the topic. It confused you, but deep down, you knew they knew something about it.

Of course, this lets you down. You had begun to develop feelings for the boy who showed you kindness and bonded with you over something you were very prideful in. However, you eventually had to give up asking your parents questions about this, and continued your education in the weave.

Of course, your demanding parents practically begged you to practice your magic in real world experiences so you could be truly prepared. When you showed hesitation in doing such a thing, they only pushed harder- in fact, they packed your bags for you. They gave you a lot of gold for the road, a magic bag to hold everything needed, a change of clothes, food for a few days(Bread, cheese, water.), and a map. Not much, but they knew you were more than capable of making due.

Obviously, being a noble of the [F/N] family gave you a target on your back, but it wasn't much of a problem. It seems people underestimate you because you aren't armed with anything but a quarterstaff, but it takes no less than a chromatic orb or a fireball to kill them within seconds.

With background check over, you sit in a tavern.. :3

A group of loud, drunken, lowly mercenaries are shouting across the bar and asking for trouble with several strong looking city dwellers. You can tell they have no real experience in fighting other than bullying people for their money based on their muscles and lack of scars.

You try to ignore the banter, trying to get lost in a pint of beer as you sip on it, the woozy drunk feeling freeing you from an emotional state you get late into the night when left alone to think of your family, your people, and more importantly, all the books you had to leave behind to come here.

You're brought out of your thoughts as a table goes flying over your head, followed by a mug that hits your head, wetting you with the remaining alcoholic liquid left in the cup.

You quickly snap around, rubbing your now pounding head. You ready yourself to cast a spell strong enough to rival the sun against the dirty drunken party, but you realize it was one of the burly men who like to pretend to be tough who threw the table at you. You quickly change the direction of your twinned spell, making quick work of both of them as they fall stunned to the floor. The bar fight ensues as you knock the two of them out, an elf with dark and long hair defends you as another drunken man swings at you with a makeshift weapon. It seemed like it was a leg to a chair, but you couldn't tell in the blur of the quick paced fighting.

Once the quick turned fight ends, a female ranger announces to the barkeeper that 'Vox Machina' will pay back their tab in due time. You roll your eyes, and with a groan, you begrudgingly hand up a small bag of gold to cover their tab and look at the elven woman with an extremely annoyed face. She looks back, surprised you paid their tab, and even more so surprised you have the audacity to look at her with such a face.

A white haired, taller man looks at you with extreme shock. His face is familiar, but you know better than to stare, something he must have forgotten. Your face shifts into a less disgruntled face as the barkeeper speaks to you, thanking you for kindly paying the group's tab.

With the showy smile you were taught, you give him a soft and polite 'You're very welcome. Thank you for your hospitality.'

Your conversation with the barkeeper is cut short when the brunette, elven woman loudly asks you "And who the fuck are you?"

It sounded much more like actual curiosity than impoliteness, so you choose to not respond with the same tone, instead introducing yourself.

"[Name] [F/N]." (Guys im actually so sorry for having to do that, it feels taboo bc no one likes it) One side of you hoped they knew your family name for the sake of fear or authority, but the other hoped they didn't for the sake of having new beginnings.

Their gnome cleric seemed to be working your name out, familiarity reading on her face. You can tell it clicks when she looks up at you thinking of what to say, but she instead introduces herself and the rest of the party.

"Hi.. I'm Pike, this is Grog, the two similar looking elves are twins, Vex and Vax. The druid is Keyleth, and.. Scanlan is the guy pissing on the sign right now." As she speaks you can hear the encouraging smile on her face in her voice, her friendly introduction and personality persuading you to not judge or speak ill of Vox Machina.

You smile at all of them as she introduces them, except for Scanlan, your face rests in disgust watching the half nude gnome piss on a sign, then accidentally piss on a guard of the kingdom.

You turn expectantly to the one Pike seemingly forgot to introduce, the look of disgust still on your face. He seems startled you gave him the sour face, and you quickly fix it. You wave a beckoning motion at him to introduce himself.

"My name is Percival Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III'' You finally realize who he is, and your face contorts to curiosity, but there's a small amount of disgust evident in it as well.

You have no clue what his family might have done to your’s for them to cut ties with his, but it couldn't have been good. Your mother always fought your father to keep as many allies as possible, and it was very rare for them to both agree on cutting ties.

Rolling your eyes at his long introduction, you cross your arms. The wisp of cold night wind swishes through your hair, as you feel it on your neck. You look up at him like scum under your foot, standing a distance of around 4 feet away from him.

"Do.. you guys know each other?" Pike asks you awkwardly, the rest of the party staring at the two of you awkwardly as well, noticing your repulsed face and Percy's face of surprise.

You scoff. "Know each other? No no.. we're only childhood best friends of neighboring kingdoms." Your voice seethes in sarcasm, your gaze not leaving Percy.

A new voice enters the awkward situation, the elven rogue, Vax, who protected you earlier.

"Yeah, you two really seem to be bonded to the core." His sarcasm matches your's, and you laugh softly, finally turning away from the silent Percy.

Walking towards him to converse, your face changes to a more smug than angry expression, your eyebrows still turned downward. The two of you banter for a moment before Scanlan awkwardly reveals a request for mercenaries.

"You guys wouldn't mind if I joined you, right? It's been a long while since I've been part of a party, and even longer since I’ve seen Percy." You ask Pike, who you assume is the leader of the party as she seems most responsible.

"It never hurts to have a few extra hands!" You can tell she's still dwelling on your interaction with Percy, as her tone is sensitive and her words practically dance around what just happened.

(Timeskip because theres literally a gap in writing in the show BECAUSE I DONT FUKCING KNOW WHAT TO DO HELP)

Waking up in the morning and climbing the stairs up to the ruler of Emon was a struggle, and you couldn't help but cast an ice spell to soothe the headache you currently had. Percy had tried to talk to you a few times, but you had shrugged him off at every opportunity. He opted to walk in the front of the group, conversing lightly with Vex and Keyleth.

It was nice talking to Vax so casually, as it wasn't an opportunity given to you often to speak informally. He gave you a few confused glances whenever you slipped up and started speaking formally, and you'd let out an awkward laugh and wave your hand in front of your face to try and get him to ignore it.

"So- what brings you to Emon?"

"My mother and father pushed me out of the kingg..domm.. I just want to practice my sorcery. I haven't really used it outside of learning it in practice." You trail off, when he gives you a weird look after mentioning your home.

"Oh. Really? That sounds.. wonderful. You seem a truly powerful sorcerer." He replies to you with an awkward smile on his face, trying to keep the conversation flowing with you as best as possible.

Once the party reaches the doors, Trinket, Vex's pet bear, stays on the outside of the doors with the guards. The party all make an awkward introduction, and you attempt to quip that you aren’t part of Vox Machina perse, but Scanlan quickly spoke over you in song, and went over you quite quickly, introducing you as “The sorcerer princess of the city of the weave!” And honestly? You had to admit it was better than anything you were expecting him to say about you, even if he had gotten some facts wrong.

A ‘punch in the gut’ feeling washed over you as you remember that you are a high status noble walking among a group of barfing, hungover mercenaries, and you look just as hungover as the rest of them. You quickly straighten yourself out and push around Vax with a soft ‘Sorry..’ and stand next to Percy, hoping to look better next to him, another noble. He seems surprised but ignores it, letting Scanlan bullshit you guys through the ‘meeting’ you had interrupted by walking in. Eventually, Emon’s ruler and a few advisers approve of your group saving the kingdom, in exchange for a very large box presumably full of gold coins.

You all quickly board the boat like aircraft, shuffling to stand near the railing, you find yourself standing next to Percy after not wanting to interrupt whatever was going on between Vex and Vax, opting to not seem rude or nosy. You of course, keep your space between you and him, and lean on the rail, debating on starting the conversation.

And you do.

“So.. what could the de Rolos have done to have angered the [F/N]s?” You ask, sarcastically, but genuinely curious.

Percy turns and looks at you with a face of bewilderment. “What did we do? What are you talking about?” Percy’s voice has anger lacing through it, and he wasn’t trying to hide it, but it’s not like he was trying to show it either.

“I mean, what did you guys do? Lord de Rolo stopped responding to my mother’s letters, and one day both mother and father refused to speak of Whitestone. It was like you guys did some horrible offense against lady Mystra, or, I don’t know, maybe betrayed one of our stronger alliances?” You dig deeper under his skin unknowingly, your face only showing confusion.

Percy’s stance changed, and he turned his body to face you. “My father stopped responding to your mother’s letters because he was murdered. They.. were all murdered. I ran from my kingdom, barely escaping my attackers, and I assumed you did your’s?”

Your mouth drops ever so slightly in shock, but you quickly close it. “I’m so sorry, Percy. I had no clue. I wish I could have convinced my parents to do something.. And no, I didn’t run from Evonium. My parents sent me away to become stronger.. I finally graduated from my academy.” Your eyes are glossy, as if hurt for Percy for what happened to his family. Your expression was soft, and pitiful. It almost completely contrasted the look you gave him at the bar, if it weren’t for that same pitiful look that knitted in your eyebrows as the wind blew against your face.

He turns away, unwilling to think about the look you had given him. He sighs. “It’s quite alright. I don’t blame you for assuming our families crossed one another. If I was in your position I would have done the same.”

You scoot closer to him, but leave room to breathe. You felt selfish for wanting to heal your relationship so fast, so you would let him choose when the wound was closed.

You felt eyes burning into the back of your head, but you tried ignoring it. Unaware it was Vax, you choose not to turn, and hope it was nothing. It seems he doesn’t want the wound to close at all, and he has a face that reads jealousy. He turns back to Vex, continuing their conversation and trying to shake off the feeling he had about you and Percy.

The ship shakes, and quickly levitates to the ground, a small wooden town ahead of you. The tents were torn, and burns were evident in the wood that kept the cloth up. It didn’t look like the work of a reckless wizard or sorcerer, and it seemed like it came haphazardly from above. You slowly walk down the aircraft beside Percy in silence. Scanlan makes some kind of sexual comment to the woman who brought us here, to which she ignores and promptly leaves without a word. You can’t help but roll your eyes at him.

You and Percy walk awkwardly behind everyone else, as Vax walks beside Keyleth, Pike next to Grog, and Vex next to Scanlan, which she was visibly upset about. However, she didn’t seem too upset as the two bantered sarcastically back and forth. The trail to the tents begins to go down hill, the path muddy and slippery. You try to hold onto Percy’s shoulder as you walk down, in which he drapes an arm around your waist in response to, trying to help support you, but it only brings you flashes of your childhood crush on him, and you fail to pay attention to the floor, despite having a staring contest with it.

You slip, falling backwards for only moments before Percy’s hand grips your hip, his arm already behind your back to support you, and pulls you back up. It was a pull with quick strength that was more of a reflex than an action, and it pulls you nearly face to face. You blush, and mutter a quick ‘Thanks, Percy.’, and he looks away with a quickly spoken, flustered, “Yeah! Yes. Of course.” as if he was trying to pull himself together. You pull away, but keep your hand on Percy’s shoulder until fully down the slope.

Vax turns around to look at the commotion, and he catches a glimpse of you blushing at Percy. He can’t help but scoff at it, and turns back around to talk to Keyleth, only really half talking to her, and her only really half talking to him.

[kaledya]

Hey friend, I want to ask you some things about Constantine, I'm planning on making a FanFic about his way from Kid to Prince (Before he re encounters with Charlie).

1. How was his training? Was he trained by Lucifer? Or by Satan?, or by every single Deadly Sin?

2. Why did he lose his Humanity so much? Are there any specific or lots of events that relate to that?

3. When and which enemies he destroyed? If you don’t have it specified don’t worry, this is because after all nobody who fought him lived to tell it.

4. (This one is optional), Would you like to have something important on it? Something you would enjoy? Be honest, after all Constantine is your character.

First of all, I am very glad to hear that you want to write a fafic about him! And of course I will be happy to answer your questions!

1.

In terms of knowledge, he was usually educated by the leading sages of Hell (he had a different teacher for each subject, so he had a well-rounded education) and Lucifer taught him what he knew as much as he could (how to use his powers, how to be a king), while Lilith taught him how to behave in politics, ) Satan was the one who taught Constantine's perception of power in general, Constantine was a person who thought that power came only from knowledge, Satan taught him that power was only power, showed him that he could not survive with only knowledge and taught him that fear was stronger than love and respect.

He also learnt from Leviathan about education and science. He was not very close to the other sins in terms of education. When Constantine went to visit his aunt, it was one of the rare times when he was a child and not a prince, Bee tried to make Constantine happy, not to educate him.

2.

In general, the way he was raised and the training he received did this to him. Lilith and Lucifer had no evil intentions, they wanted their sons to be safe and strong, but they realised a little late that they were destroying the humanity in Constantine with their actions, and when they realised, they were at a point where they could no longer go back, but on the bright side, they did not follow the same thing with Charlie. Plus Constantine was already born with a superior intelligence, which made him less empathetic as he grew up, which came with the responsibilities of being a prince, so he had to grow up early because he had too much on him as a child. And even a normal prince would have to harden himself and control his emotions and act rationalistically in order to rule. Constantine was the prince of hell, surrounded by monsters and nobles waiting to see a weakness in him, and if he wanted to defeat the monsters, he had to become one of them. And Constantine did this, he hardened himself until his weakness or emotions were minimised.

The only person that constantine behaves with his sincere personality is his sister Charlie, I can even say that the face that constantine shows to Charlie is so different that Charlie almost does not recognise her brother at the royal meetings. (In the very later parts of the series, they start to develop a relationship with Serenity like Sherlock and Watson. but this is a very slow developing friendship)

and btw I was inspired to write Constantine by these two books maybe it helps to understand him!

3.Sometimes some demons decide to cross the line and Constantine can execute them. There is no one specific one at the moment, only Lucifer or Charlie can defeat Constantine, no one else in Hell is crazy enough to try to fight him. At least not yet.

4.Thank you for asking but no I've got nothing to add at the moment., and Constantine is my character, yes. but this is your fanfic, you can do whatever you want as long as you keep his personality, have fun! And when you're done writing and publish it on ao3 please tag me on tw and I look forward to reading it!

[artbyblastweave]

worm sounds fascinating, how do I get started reading it? would you recommend starting from the beginning?

(Here we go)

So, first off, the specific questions you asked indicate that I should probably clarify the following: Worm is a single self-contained novel by Canadian author John McCrae (Pen name Wildbow). The book was written and published online for free on Wordpress, at a rate of two-to-three chapters a week, over the course of two years between 2011 and 2013. It's useful to conceive of it as a book written under the same paradigm as a particularly-faithfully-attended-to webcomic, except (and very unusually for a superhero thing) it's entirely prose with no visual elements. All of this is a longwinded way of answering your second question; yes, you should absolutely read it from the beginning, and the beginning is here. The entire book is available online, for free.

(In case that you haven't been able to pull together a broad sense of what the book is about just from perusing my Tumblr, I wrote a broad pitch for the setting at large and the story of Worm specifically here. The gist is that it’s a reconstructive superhero setting where superpowers are ironically tied into the user’s moment of greatest rock-bottom trauma, which is a major explanatory factor in why there are so many unstable kooks in costumes taking out their frustrations on the world; Worm proper follows the upwards-and-downwards trajectory of one Taylor Hebert, a teenaged insect-controller and would-be superhero with the secondary superpower of being able to rationalize nearly anything she does as being in the service of some greater good.)

Worm is divided into 31 arcs; each arc is comprised of 6-to-10 chapters, told in first person from Taylor’s perspective, followed by an interlude chapter told in third-person from the perspective of a member of the supporting cast. This structure is partly a holdover from early in Worm’s development, when the book was conceived as an ensemble piece that would rotate perspectives between different cape teams; as the book picked up steam, it also became a monetization vector, as Wildbow would write additional interludes if his donors hit certain milestones. This is important to note because one failure mode I’ve seen for reading Worm is that people will assume they can safely skip something called a “donation interlude” without missing anything important. You can’t. From a thematic perspective, the interludes are a major method by which the narrative keeps the protagonist honest, as they provide a sane or at least differently-insane perspective on the situation at hand, or on whatever over-the-top bullshit Taylor has pulled recently. From a craft perspective, the interludes are some of the best and most memorable writing in the book, at least in part due to the novelty of each character’s perspective.  From a story perspective, Wildbow was very diligent about making sure that most or all of the interludes introduced information or set up future events in a way that, if worst came to worst, he could incorporate into a regular chapter if the goal wasn’t met. But he did meet those donation milestones, meaning a lot of the book isn’t gonna make sense if you don’t read the interludes. Read the interludes.

You may have caught on to that “31 arcs with 5-10 chapters an arc” factoid and done some quick napkin math. Worm is long. Very Very Long. To my knowledge, Wildbow didn’t miss an update once, and 10,000 words every three days is considered a middle-of-the-road output for him. The effect of his truly insane production rate is twofold. First, the quality of Worm’s prose increases exponentially over the course of the book, going from workmanlike to amazing as a result of the sheer volume of practice he was getting. The second effect is that it’s 1.7 million words long. There’s a piece of apocrypha about how a mail-order copy of Stephen King’s It fell through a mailslot and pulverized the recipients chihuahua. Top researchers hypothesize that a printed edition of Worm could plausibly achieve similar results with a mastiff. This is mitigated by the pageless online format that lets you consume vast quantities of text without noticing the volume of what you’ve read; kinda similar to the infinite canvas trick that make some webcomics unprintable, or the infinite scroll UI trick if it were used for good instead of evil. But the gist is that Worm is very Long, and it’s also essentially a rough draft. Your enjoyment therefore might be contingent on your willingness to extend it a mulligan based on the absurd circumstances under which it was produced.

The very first chapter of Worm has the following disclaimer; Brief note from the author:  This story isn’t intended for young or sensitive readers.  Readers who are on the lookout for trigger warnings are advised to give Worm a pass. Some people interpret this as glib or dismissive on the part of the author; I think what’s closer to true is that he was just saving time, because the alternative would be most of the first chapter just being a ten-thousand-word long list of specifics. I can’t think of a single common trigger warning that isn’t applicable to Worm. Name a fucked-up thing, and it’s in there somewhere. Special mentions going to Bug Stuff (duh), dismemberment, torture, child abuse, incest, implied (and some offscreen) sexual assault, Nazis, animal death, and horrifically fleshed-out descriptions of bullying and institutional apathy, which are heavily influenced by the author’s own experience as a disabled student in public school. Reader Beware.

And, on a related note, the book was pretty clearly trying to be progressive.... by 2011 standards, which means you’re gonna be sucking air in through your teeth at points vis a vis representational issues, if that’s a big sticking point. It would be disingenuous for me to frame this as something that meaningfully detracted from my own reading experience, but it would be equally disingenuous to act like it doesn’t bother anyone deeply, and for valid reasons. To hone in on the queer rep angle specifically, picture the discourse if Ianthe was the only canon-lesbian character with any focus in TLT and you’re getting close to the situation on that front.

Wildbow (AKA Writers Georg, who should not have been counted) continued to maintain the two-chapter-a-week production rate to this day. His other works include: 

Pact (2014-2015) and Pale (2020-present) which are Urban fantasy works set in a universe colloquially known as the Otherverse, a setting in which essentially all magic is fueled by bullshitting the universe so hard that your chosen magical tradition is incorporated into reality as Something That Is Allowed; a major downstream result of this is that the sheer weight of precedent means that no magical practitioner is allowed to explicitly lie, on pain of the universe revoking their magical ability if they’re called out on it. Pact follows the misadventures of Blake Thorburn, a jaded 20-something who gets a target painted on his back after his grandmother- a widely feared diabolist- kicks the bucket and wills him her potentially apocalyptic cache of demonic texts as part of a complicated post-mortem gambit. Pale is a murder mystery/coming of age story. Set in Kennet, a small Canadian town with a subculture of unorthodox magical creatures who’ve managed to avoid being subordinated by more powerful human practitioners, the story follows a trio of pre-teen witches who’re hurriedly brought into the magical fold and tasked with trying to solve the murder of an extremely powerful magical being whose residence in the area was a major warding factor against magicians moving in and trying to bind the locals. 

Twig (2017-2018), a biopunk alternate-history coming-of-age novel set in a universe where, instead of writing Frankenstein, Mary Shelley actually figured out how to reanimate the dead; this kicked off a necroengineering/bioengineering revolution that leads to Britain conquering much of the world by the 1920s, lording over their holdings with everything from Kaiju to designer plagues, with a Royal Family that’s been modified into undying, post-human atrocities who treat their subjects as playthings as best. The protagonists are The Lambs, a group of heavily augmented child-soldiers used by The Crown’s science division as an investigation and infiltration unit; picture here The Hardy Boys or Scooby Doo if every case they were sent out on was in service of Ingsoc.  Alternatively, think of Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan trilogy with the same aesthetic sensibilities, but paired with the balls to portray British Imperialism as backed by genetic engineering as something apocalyptically horrifying rather than as forbidden-love fuel.

Ward (2018-2020) is the sequel to Worm, set in the parahumans universe two years after the end of the first book. Basically impossible to describe in any additional detail without massive spoilers; suffice to say that it was contentious. I liked it personally, and I maintain that it’s main error was not having the same ten years of Pre-writing that Worm got. Other works in the same universe as Worm include PHO Sundays, which were RP threads that Wildbow ran weekly on the official subreddit in which he would post a fictitious forum thread from within the setting’s cape enthusiast forums, PRT Quest, which was a semi-canon Play-by-Vote quest on the Spacebattles Forums, and Weaverdice, which is an ongoing WIP TTRPG for the parahumans universe that he works on in his spare time, and for which he’s written a lot of fleshed out faction documents and character profiles.

There’s probably some level of broad fandom analysis it’d be useful to impart here; one interesting bit of fandom lore is that, by virtue of being a superhero setting that made some effort to be internally coherent, the series received a big bump from the Rationalist community, who you may or may not have run into on here. The series was also a big hit with battle boarders, who-would-winners, and that whole corner of nerddom, since the power system is so well-defined and well-articulated; a consequence of this is that a major Worm fandom Locus is the wargaming-site spacebattles, which was hit with such an ongoing deluge of Worm Fanfiction that they have a designated Worm section on the creative writing board, something no other fandom necessitated. Both of those things have affected the shape of the fandom and the fanfiction scene in ways that I don’t feel qualified to comment extensively on this late in the evening, but it’s a fascinating little abyss to have a staring contest with. At any rate, I’d genuinely would recommend the subreddit for the OC threads, worldbuilding idea threads, and stuff of that nature, the Cauldron discord if you’re into fanfiction, and Tumblr if you’re into rambling character analysis. I would recommend none of these things before you’re actually done with the book.

That’s all I’ve got for the moment. Hope you enjoy the book. Or shun the book, if my sundry disclaimers generated a sort of warding effect. I hope you have a contextually appropriate interaction with the book.

[visionsofmagic]

so this is just me writing so randomly about kratos x f!reader, it contains y/n, and I don't know if I can say this is an one-shot but it's a thing, clearly, so enjoy. ^^

& warning!: this one has explicit language, so, minors do not allow to read!

also I can make part II if you want. ;)

we all know kratos writes a diary in which he explains creatures, people, gods, goddess and all other things. but imagine that he writes so many pages about u. he begins to write about you from the beginning, the moment he meets with you. with times, he begins to write about so many things about u, your relationship with both him and atreus.

he firstly writes specific information about u, telling how you help them to find food, showing them where they can hunt safely without others sights. he tells "she is a strong one." the moment you show your true power. he sees how you have a strength to live alone. then with times, he begins to write in more detail way like how your body and face features look good and strong, how you smile while speaking with atreus, how you both have a bossy and mommy features. he loves to see how happy atreus to have you by his side. he loves to see how you heal him, feed him, give him more knowledge about the realms and show affection. the way you treat to both him and atreus, as well as wolves atreus have and mimir who travel on kratos' belt, he finds happiness and trust.

he nearly writes 2 times in a week, using diary to transfer his unspoken feelings and thoughts to it. his memories of you begin to mark with every word he put to it. he fears nothing. he fears not a single thing but he have an unwanted feeling on his chest whenever you ask him what he writes about you because you know he has a journal thanks to the developed bond you have.

he never tells. he even finds them odd. while writing them, he wants to rip and burn them because they are so personal.

however, he can't. he just find peace in them, reading after awhile, he remembers memories he hold about you.

firstly, he writes a little about you, not wanting to add someone to his life to protect atreus of course but then, he begins to write about u rather than writing events that occurred with you. innocent sentences turn into lustful ones after he sees your liking on him which you show without a shame when you are all alone, mimir and atreus staying in the home. you both give him care and passion, and he likes it.

the sentence "she give me hope that everything will be fine. she is a good friend." turns into, "atreus likes her and so do I. spending time with her is... good.", then, "she looks lovely. whenever I look at her, I see the beauty she holds." and lastly, "I want to woo her."

yes, he wants to fuck you; woo in his words.

he tries to not to write private words in it but he can't help himself. his hand move with its own will, not thinking about any risks like you finding them.

and indeed, you find them. and you read them. firstly, tears appear on your face because of feeling so good about kratos' words. you know kratos holds a delicate heart even if he denies it but also you surprise to see him to show his this side to you. then, tears leave its place to small laughs and smiles. finally, with reading some pages, you feel an arousal rising on you. you can't deny that you love to read them, especially when knowing kratos was the one who wrote all these things.

as you read, "I want to woo her. wishing her to stay under me -" kratos comes.

firstly, he looks at you, then his diary you hold and then again to your innocent looking eyes with thighs crushed against each other, smell of your precum all over the place. kratos keeps his silence posture for a moment, then, he slowly approaches to you. he picks the journal from your hand, putting it to other side, he looks down at your pathetic body.

"you read it without my permission?"

"I -" you try to say, but his deep dangerous voice and posture make you stop. breathing deeply, you try to begin again because of his piercing eyes on you, "I am sorry, curiosity poisoned me. I shouldn't have."

"But you did, indeed." Holding your face from the chin, he makes you to look at his eyes that burn you, not giving you any chance to escape from them. "You know how I don't like disobedience."

"I know," You say with dry mouth, "I am sorry, Kratos."

"Then", he kneels to get closer to your face, "Be a good girl and accept your punishment." He looks at the pages you read the moment he enters the room, then at you again, "If you really be a good girl, I can make those things to you."

Holding your smirk, you say, innocently, "I will. I will be your good girl, Kratos."

THE END.

| masterlist

^^ ehe. thanks for sharing this unholy thing with me (even if it's just a little.)

[ficthots]

Almost

A/N: Jesús I’m so sorry this has taken as long as it has. Anywho, this one was a blast to write! Look at how great that picture is of the man of the hour! As always let me know what you guys think and enjoy! (Friends to lovers) *also I’m posting this on my phone so if the format is weird I’ll fix it later*

Word Count: 7.9k+

Everyone knows the story. The one where she’s the girl next door and she’s hopelessly in love with the boy next door. There can be some variations in the plot depending on the circumstance. For example, sometimes he doesn’t seem to notice her or give her the time of day. Other times they’re best friends and she’s been harboring this ridiculous crush on him since the first day they met. Eventually, the boy comes to his senses, realizes he doesn’t want the extremely popular cheerleader, but the girl who’s been right there his whole life.

Taylor Swift even has a song based on this tale. She’s not the only pop star or country star, whatever she is now, to take this classic and turn it into a massive hit. It’s incredibly corny and unbelievably predictable, but people eat it up each and every time. Were you a part of that group? Not necessarily. Honestly, it was your least favorite kind of love story.

Which is why it’s all the more embarrassing that you were embroiled in it anyways.

Did you enjoy being a stereotype? Nope. Did it mean you weren’t one? Nope. Hopelessly embarrassing was the fact that you ticked off every single marker point.

Girl next door? Check. Boy next door who she’s been in love with since day one? Check. Best friends their entire lives? Check. Boy comes to his senses and realizes that what he’s been searching for has been right in front of him this entire time? Not quite. Again, thank you pop stars everywhere for that infamous line.

You had been friends with Josh since your first day of first grade. Family having just relocated from some bordering state, the new neighborhood in Michigan was full of kids your age. The twins that accompanied their mom to your front door as she delivered fresh baked brownies as a welcome to the neighborhood were the first ones you got the chance to meet.

Hiding behind their moms legs, she encouraged them to say hello to you. When you invited them to play on the new jungle gym your parents had set up for you just a few days prior, the rest was history. Hardly ever apart from that day onward, you took to Josh exceptionally fast. He was much more outgoing than his counterpart, always having you in a fit of giggles.

The crush part? That happened almost immediately as well. Taken by how brave he was by jumping off the swings into the grass in front of him, you were in awe. Ever since that day, you knew you were positively smitten with Joshua Kiszka.

You recalled fond memories and times spent with the boy who had quickly become your best friend. Getting in a fight with some douche in middle school who had called Josh weird, more movie nights then you could count, Josh waiting with your mom after your driving test to see if you had passed.

It was utterly annoying how many of your memories he was in. Even more bothersome that you enjoyed having him in all of those memories. Even though it stung like a son of a bitch that he was.

It was those things which would always cause the feelings to bloom after being dormant for a long winter. Made you nauseous just thinking about it. Sure, most people develop crushes on close friends at one point or another, but in your case it was disgusting how infatuated you truly were with the boy. And did he feel the same back? Not to your knowledge or understanding.

Were there times where you were beginning to wonder if maybe your feelings were being reciprocated. Of course! You were only human for god's sake and not too shabby of a person in your personal opinion. Winter formal was a perfect example of one of those instances.

This was the dance in high school that officially morphed the teenager from an awkward, clunky child to that of a blossoming young adult. It was a big deal.

Nearly everyone had dates to the swanky sophomore event, including your best friend.

You on the other hand hadn’t been asked by anyone. As the dance loomed closer and closer, no prospective dates on the horizon for you, Josh did the unthinkable for a high school boy who understood the importance of this event in your eyes.

He called his date and canceled on her so that he could be your date. What was a heartbroken, insecure young lady now had the best guy of all to accompany her to the dance. Tear streaked face and all, he escorted you to the dance and you two had the best time. Even indulging you with a slow dance. By the end of the night, you thought Josh was looking at you…differently. In a way that you had only dreamed about over the years of friendship.

When he walked you to your front door, you thought this might be it. What better way for it to be happening? He had dropped his date to make sure you weren’t going alone, it had been an incredibly romantic and fun night, this had to be it! Your first kiss, with the boy you were head over heels for.

Instead, he smacked your arm, thanked you for a good night, and walked over to his own home right next door. The ol’ Pittsburgh goodbye they called it. Rooted to your spot dumbfounded and utterly disappointed, you felt so stupid for thinking that he was going to look at you as anything more than just a friend.

Your mom had thrown open the front door, ecstatic to hear about how the dance had gone, but you ran past her. Only muttering that you were fine when asked what was wrong, you bounded up the stairs past your father, too.

You went to your room and sobbed for the entire night. Swearing to yourself that no matter what, you would never get your hopes up like that again. You avoided Josh for as long as you could the following days, but when he arrived at your house wondering what the heck was going on with you, your defenses were down.

It was pure torture living like this. Seriously, straight up hellish. Not able to figure out why you could not get over the man that had held your heart in his hand without even knowing it for years. Danny was even at a loss.

During the course of Josh becoming the front man for Greta Van Fleet, you took to the black sheep brother. Completely by accident, but hey at least you had Danny now as well. It had been after a hang out at his apartment where he had cornered you in the kitchen.

Pestering you until you finally admitted your feelings for Josh. He truly did not understand why you had the emotions and feelings you did for the boy, but he supported you nonetheless. A little too much for your liking.

Over the span of the next several years, he was always whispering in your ear that if you just told Josh how you felt, he more than likely would reciprocate what you were feeling. It didn’t matter how many times you told Danny, he would never understand. Jeopardizing that friendship and bond with Josh just simply wasn’t worth it.

Danny swore up and down that no matter what you said to Josh, you would never lose him like how you swore you would. Agreeing with him, you told him it wasn’t Josh you would lose, but the opposite. Josh would lose you. There was no possibility that you would ever be able to face him or continue on with how things had previously been. It’s just how it was.

You accepted it and you just wanted Danny to as well. He swore he would never understand fully why you would want to put yourself through that time and time again, but you ultimately told him that this was how things were and he needed to be the one to reach that level of acceptance that you had.

Even as you got older, watching Josh turn into the celebrity he was always meant to be, performing night after night, your heart still seized up whenever in his presence. Josh had convinced you to relocate to Nashville, stating that there was no way he could live without his best friend not being as close as you had been for years.

He had only been moved for less than three months when he called you, literally begging and pleading with you that he would do whatever it took to get you there with him. That there was no way he would be able to do this without his guiding star. How he was wandering in the desert and without his fixated star to point him in the right direction, he was hopeless.

Josh always had a way with words.

In layman's terms, you picked up your entire life and moved it. For him. You were so in love with him that it even shocked Danny as he helped the move into the apartment. Only shooting him dirty looks as he stared at you in the befuddled way he was, you realized how ridiculous this all seemed.

But it didn’t matter because it was Josh.

He had kept it secret for years and you knew there was no chance of him saying anything to anyone. Sure, it was unbelievably painful to see the conquests Josh was engaging in as he waltzed around the world with his siblings, but Josh wasn’t the relationship type. Or that’s what you used to console yourself because he had never made an actual move with you.

It was also one of the rotated excuses you fed Danny as he would bring it up to you. Josh had said time and time again that domesticity actually frightened him. He was used to this rockstar lifestyle and just the thought of settling down with someone was enough to set his skin aflame.

This was one of the things you had known about him your entire life. He had sworn off serious partnerships ever since high school. It just wasn’t the life for him. It killed you, but it was his wish.

That’s why when he began dating her, you didn’t think twice about it. Just another fling that he would eventually tire of before moving on to the next, maybe to you. Chances of that were slim, but hope propelled you forward.

Josh brought her up to you on a grocery trip he promised to accompany you on. Grabbing a bag of rice, you hardly stopped when he spoke. “I went out on a date last night,” humming as you checked the item from your list, your eyes moved back up and scanned the racks. “She was great actually. I don’t know what I was expecting, but she was fun to be around.”

Snorting at his words, you gave him the look that screamed, be realistic Josh. “What? I’m serious! I really like this girl,” he laughed through his words, but you only rolled your eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Can you grab me that jar?” Pointing to the one you needed, he scowled at you.

“Thank you for listening and being of help,” his words were dripping in sarcasm, but they had you stop moving the cart as you walked together. “Joshua. Come on, I know you. Relationships aren’t your thing, which were your own words by the way. You see how hard it is on Jake and Sam with their relationships, it’s also why Danny is no longer in one. I just want you to do what’s best for you.”

His brow furrowed as he thought about your words. “So, I’m just supposed to be alone forever then?” Scoffing, you began pushing the cart again. “Not what I said. All I’m saying is just take a moment and really think about this.” He huffed, but followed along with you, grabbing a box of cereal he knew you loved.

“Asshole.” He mumbled under his breath, but you heard. In retaliation you shoved the cart in his direction causing him to topple into the shelving unit. Bursting into laughter, his face was beat red in embarrassment, but couldn’t contain the laughter seeping out as people eyed him.

“You’re gonna pay for that.” And that was practically the last you had heard of her. Josh hadn’t brought her up again. With another tour impending and an album wrapping up, you didn’t give it a second thought when Josh withdrew from you a bit.

This was typically what he did when he needed his attention to go elsewhere. Especially on something as important as an album and tour. Danny on the other hand was constantly bugging you to spend some time with him and when your schedules finally aligned, you trekked over to his house for dinner and a movie.

It was when there was mention of her for the first time from someone other than Josh. Catching you entirely off guard, you and Danny were sitting at his kitchen island, munching on the last remnants of dinner when he brought it up. “He’s still seeing her.” Your brows contorted in confusion, speaking through a small bite of food.

“What?” He set his fork down, eyeing you to see what your reaction was going to be. “Josh. He’s still seeing her. Been a few weeks now.” It felt like a punch to the gut, but you did your best to play it off. “Thanks for the update, I guess?” You laughed, but Danny didn’t match your faux enthusiasm. “I met her for the first time. We met her for the first time.” You only hummed in response, using the napkin to wipe at your mouth, meal now finished.

Thoughts ran rampant in your mind. Was she the reason he was constantly blowing you off? Was she the reason you hadn’t heard from him in a week? This was the longest he had ever spent in a fling. What the hell did that even mean? It didn’t mean anything because at the end of the day it was still Josh.

Knowing you only had another moment to respond to Danny before he noticed something was off, you placed your plate in his sink, acting occupied with this task. Back facing him so he couldn’t see your response that you knew would be plastered to your face you finally answered.

“Yeah. How was it?” You inquired, not because you were actually interested in knowing, in fact it was the exact opposite. You didn’t want to know. At all. He leaned on the kitchen island directly behind you. “He really likes her.” You snorted, finally turning around to see Danny’s apologetic face staring down at you.

Shaking your head, you pointed your finger at him. “Don’t.” His hands went up, a shrug following. “Don’t what? I’m not doing anything.” Your head cocked at him. “You���re giving me that look.” Brows furrowing in response, he feigned innocence.

“What look? I’m not giving you a look.” Your arms crossed soundly over your chest, irritation starting to bubble up. “Yes you are! It’s that look that you give me whenever you tell me about a new Josh interest. I’m telling you, it’s going to be just like the other ones.” The waver in your voice was something you prayed he didn’t notice. Trying to sell yourself that bogus excuse.

Was it bogus?

He shrugged again, arms crossing over his chest, tongue poking his cheek. “I don’t know, star. This one seems…different.” You shook the words off. “Josh would’ve said something to me by now if it was different.” Your fingers made air quotes around the final word.

With your back now to the drummer again, his words sat heavy on your shoulders as they left his mouth. “Would he?” That was a damn good question. Would he? Josh had never shied away from giving you details about various entanglements, but he hadn’t so much as peeped about this one.

Would he?

It was what was replaying over in your head as you sat on his sofa. The first time you two had hung out in almost two weeks. Why was it making you so upset? Because you knew the actual reason why he hadn’t seen you. Traces of her were all over his house despite his efforts to hide it from you. He was outright lying to you. It stabbed you in the chest when he tried to feed you the lie.

They had been adamantly working on getting the nitty gritty details about the tour nailed down. That was what Josh told you. Danny told you something different. He was lying to you. Josh never lied to you. Until now.

Not on purpose anyways.

Of course, small white lies here and there were normal, but given the details Danny was giving you, Josh was blatantly trying to hide her from you. You just didn’t know why. Did she not know about you? Did Josh not want her to know about you? Why?

Josh threw a piece of crumpled paper at your head, laughing when your attention snapped back to the present, pulling you from your thoughts. “Where have you been? You’ve been off in wonderland all night. What’s going on?” You only plastered a smile on your weary face, offering a small shrug.

“Just,” debating on actually talking to him about this or giving him the option to tell you in his own time, you spoke, “just super tired from work is all.” It was Josh. He would tell you. There was obviously a reason why he hadn’t yet. You just didn’t know it.

It turns out the reason why he didn’t inform you of their…entanglement was because of how he wanted to do it. “I want you to meet her.” He finally blurted out one night. This evening had been spent in your home, a proclaimed self care night by Josh. According to him, your shitty moods around him and your constant excuse of work killing you, meant it was up to him to fix it.

So, here you were, sprawled out on your couch with him. Both wearing face masks, nails drying from the new polish he had gotten you, eyes shut with ice packs over your sockets, it caught you off guard.

“Huh?” You questioned, trying not to move your face with the mask on it. “I want to take you out to dinner so you can meet her. Seriously star, you’ll love her. She’s great.” Being able to use the mask as an excuse not to respond, your stomach was doing somersaults at just the thought of sitting at a table with whoever this girl was.

Feeling his finger poke your cheek, you pulled the ice packs from your eyes and narrowed them at him. “I don’t know, Josh.” Giving you the best puppy dog look he could, pushing out his bottom lip. “Please, star? It would mean so much to me. You’re my best friend and I really think you should meet her. Please?”

You gave in. It’s why you were sitting at an incredibly high end restaurant, waiting for them to arrive. Checking your phone to see a message from Danny, asking why the hell you would agree to something like that, you flipped it back over to be face down when you spotted them coming towards the table.

Standing to greet them, Josh pulled you into a tight embrace, a fake smile plastered to your lips as you took her in for the first time. Offering your hand and name, you didn’t hear her response. She was breathtaking. In a ridiculous sort of way that made you question what kind of genes ran in her family. Or if this was class a work done by some surgeon in Florida or California.

Sitting back down, you nervously shifted in your seat. Alone on your side of the table, Josh’s arm draped over the back of hers. Both of them beaming with happiness and joy. Your energy did not match theirs. Josh finally broke the tension you were almost 100% positive only you were feeling.

“Sorry we were late, star. Traffic was a-uh, nightmare.” His small chuckle at the end and the blush tinting his cheeks informed you right then that they had not been delayed by traffic. Waving him off, you chugged an entire glass of wine. “It’s fine. Oh-excuse me sir! Another glass please,” you asked the waiter, tapping the rim to let him know it was urgent.

Your ring clinked against the glass loudly as you repeatedly hit it, nervously waiting for the server to come back with the bottle.

It was truly the only way to get through the night. Yet, you did somehow manage to get through it. It was excruciating, but you did it. Sure, you were a bit past buzzed, losing count after the fourth glass of wine, but it was enough to get you through it.

She was a captivating person, that you could admit. Having traveled so much of the world by such a young age, a college degree under her belt, possibly another in the near future, and working for a fashion app you had never heard of, but apparently was quite popular.

It made you hate her even more.

Not bothering to offer a large goodbye to the pairing, you hurried off in the opposite direction of where they stood, Josh confused by your behavior tonight. Hailing an Uber, you had him deliver you to the only place you could think to go.

When Danny opened the door and saw your mascara streaked face, his seldom gaze met yours. Falling into his open arms, you wailed into his chest. Smoothing down your hair, he patted your back with his free hand. “I know, star, I know.”

You crashed on Danny’s couch that night. Soundly snoring away on his sofa, he sighed, removing the heels from your feet, seeing your phone screen light up repeatedly. Josh asking if you had made it home safe and if you were alright.

He stepped out of the room, dialing Josh who picked up immediately. “Hey, I saw your messages to star and I wanted to let you know she came to my house.” An immediate breath of relief expelling from his lungs. “Thank god. She was a bit,” Danny cut him off.

“Drunk? Yeah, I know. She crashed on my couch.” Josh sighed, telling Danny to have to call him in the morning. It was the last thing you wanted to do. To discuss the events from the night before. Wanting to permanently erase the traces of it from your mind all together.

Not wanting to leave Danny’s a minute before you absolutely needed to, he pushed you out of his front door to see Josh’s car parked in the driveway waiting for you. Pouting at Danny, his stern gaze peered at you. “Go. I’ll be here if you need me.” Huffing you slowly made your way to the Jeep.

Immediately turning down the loud music blasting through the speakers, you groaned. “A bit hungover are we?” He laughed, handing you the sunglasses you always kept in his car. Grumbling in response, he started the drive to your apartment.

“We need to talk about last night, star.” Sighing, you rested your forehead on your palm, elbow on the windowsill. “Pass.” You said, but Josh put the car in park after having got your coffee for the day.

Sipping the cold liquid, you sighed with the caffeinated relief. “Why did you go to Danny’s?” His tone sounded hurt and unsure. “What?” You said with a small laugh. “You get drunk at a very important dinner for me, hardly utter a goodbye, then run off to Danny’s house. Is there something going on between you two?”

Your jaw hung slack, immediately shaking your head. “Oh my god, no. He’s just a good friend. It’s just that he,” trying to decide how to word this properly, you sat on your response for a beat. “It’s just that Danny and I are the two lonesome folk of the group so we hang out to keep each other company. That’s all,” you assured Josh.

There was no possibility of telling him the full truth, but that was pretty spot on for what you could give him. It wasn’t far from the full truth at all, really. You and Danny were the only singles of the group, therefore he could relate to what you were feeling. Kind of.

Josh bought it. Squeezing your hand over the center console, the familiar coldness shocking your system as he did. “I know. I’m sorry,” you offered a reassuring smile, relaxing into the seat and asking him to drive you home. He did and the entire way, he didn’t mention her once.

He never did. Following the disaster of a first meeting, Josh got a sense that you weren’t the biggest fan of his interest so in order to keep things calm, he simply didn’t bring her up. You were fine with that at first.

Until it felt like he was explicitly leaving out most of the details of his life and what was really happening to him. Conversations were growing shorter as he came up with little to talk about given he was around her so often, there were few stories that didn’t involve her. That was when you actually saw him anyway.

Those nights that had once been a comfort and familiarity to you were sparse now. Few and far between to happen. When you would text him asking if he was available, you typically weren’t getting responses for over twenty-four hours. Instead, you found yourself wandering over to Danny’s more often than ever.

He was a true comfort, no longer pestering you about the crush he didn’t understand, but enjoying your presence. Movies, food, even self care nights had seemingly transferred over from your best friend to Danny.

Sitting on his sofa, face masks adorned, a knock on his front door startled you both as you cackled at the movie playing on his tv. Danny hurried to the door and pulled it open to reveal a frizzy haired boy whom you hadn’t laid eyes on in weeks, nearing a month now that you thought back on it.

Josh leaned around the boy after seeing what was on his face and saw you settled on the couch. His brow furrowed and irritation bubbled up. “What are you guys doing? Danny I’ve been trying to get a hold of you,” Danny pulled his phone from his back pocket at those words and saw a few missed messages from the man in front of him.

“Okay, well you found me, what’s up?” Leaning against the front door, your head craned to see Josh. “We’re having a selfcare night!” You called out, watching as Josh’s jaw set. He only hummed in response, eyes never leaving your relaxed figure. A shirt of Danny’s on you as well.

“I-um, we need you to re-record a part of Sacred the Thread. Didn’t come out like we were hoping,” Danny’s brow muddled together. “Yeah, alright, I’ll come by tomorrow.” Josh blinked up at the younger drummer and nodded curtly.

Turning on his heel, he didn’t say anything else as he left. Danny shot you a wild look as you two burst out laughing. “The hell is his problem?” He spoke as he collapsed back down next to you. Shrugging, you hit play as the show started back up. “It’s Josh, you know how he gets.”

When the timer on your phone went off, you grabbed Danny’s wrist, dragging him to his bathroom. “C’mon, masks need to come off.” He followed you without any restraint.

You heard from Josh first thing the next morning. Showing up at your doorstep, he barged into your apartment without any warning. Startling you, you nearly dropped your glass of juice as you shot daggers at him. “What the fuck, Josh?”

His hands landed on his hips, eyes bloodshot and staring at you. “I’m only going to ask you one more time. What’s going on between you and Danny?” Rolling your eyes you leaned against your counter. “I’ve already answered that and I’m not going to again. By the way, this is the first time you’ve spoken to me in what, three or four weeks, and this is how you do it?” Scoffing, you sipped the orange juice.

Noticing that his hands had a small tremble that he was trying to mask, he shook his head fervently, regaining your attention. “Sorry.” It was curt and short, indicating he didn’t truly meet it. Sighing, your eyebrows only raised.

“Anything else?” You questioned, clearly annoyed by how your morning was starting. He released a deep breath that he had been holding in his sternum. “Can-can we hang out sometime next week? Please?”

Your mouth set, shrugging at his question. “You know where to find me.” Not expecting that type of response from you, he looked taken aback. He left your apartment that morning and it was another few weeks before you heard a peep from him again.

The hang out that Josh requested didn’t actually occur until two months later. It wasn’t as easy going and comfortable as you reminisced on how things used to be. He had a permanent look of guilt plastered to his face from the moment he took you in.

It was only an hour later when Josh cleared his throat as you two ate in almost complete silence. Eyes falling to him, you saw a grin appearing on his face. One that you hadn’t seen in your presence in far too long. “I have to tell you something.”

Placing your utensil down, you didn’t speak as he reached behind him and grabbed a small gift bag from the counter. Taking out what appeared to be a small box, he slid it across the table to you, the lid opened.

Anger immediately pummeled you.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, Josh?” Refusing to touch it, you eyed him and the item in pure disgust. He laughed at your appalled reaction, cheeks tinting pink. “Yeah, that’s what Jake said too.” Standing from your seat, you peered down at him. “No fucking shit! What the hell are you thinking?”

He rolled his eyes in retaliation. “I love her, star. I have never felt this for anyone else in my life. Ever. I never knew that something like this could even exist! She makes me so happy and I make her happy. If I know she’s the one, which she is, then why would I wait? She and I can start our forever now.”

Shaking your head at his explanation, you stared at him like he was out of his mind. “Do you realize how insane you sound? It’s been, what, six months? This is a huge mistake in the making, Josh. You need to slow down and really think about this.” His smile never diminished as he stood.

“I have and I’m going to ask her to marry me, star.” You couldn’t stand there and listen to this. Turning, you grabbed your purse from the couch and quickly walked to the front door. With Josh hot on your trail, he was calling out to you.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. Are you seriously that upset? What did I do? Star!” He halted as he saw you get in your car, silent tears making streaks on your cheeks. “Star?” He asked once more, voice diminishing in volume as you pulled out of his driveway and went home.

Ignoring the texts and calls that he was bombaring your phone with, you couldn’t bring yourself to get up from your bed. It felt like your entire world had crumbled around you in the blink of an eye. The boy next door that you had been hopelessly in love with since you could remember had chosen someone else to spend his forever with.

Some people are destined to be your almost. Not everyone gets the fairytale ending of being with the person who they thought they were destined to be with. Just because that person might be meant for you, doesn’t mean you’re meant for them. There has to be people who don’t get the guy. That was your destiny with Josh.

Your almost.

A knock on your door woke you up from your partially sleepy mood. Opening the door, his face was fully covered by an enormous bouquet. Sighing, you leaned against your door as he pulled them down to reveal a small, unsure smile.

“I’m sorry. I’m an inconsiderate asshole. I’m stupid and insensitive.” Lips pursing ever so slightly, you chimed in. “Stupid sounds about right,” snatching the beautiful bundle of flowers, you left the door open behind you as you went to your kitchen and set the flowers in the sink.

Eyeing him, his familiar mauve tracksuit adorned you jabbed at him. “That tracksuit makes you look like a forty year old virgin, you know that?” He shrugged, bottom lip jutting out. “That’s a fair assumption to make.” You hummed.

Slowly approaching you, he gingerly pulled you into his embrace. “I really am sorry. I didn’t realize until you left how it must’ve sounded for you. You will find your person someday. I will make a more conscious effort to tamp speeches like that down from now on. You know how much I like to talk.”

You both chuckled, savoring the feeling of his familiar arms wrapped around your waist in a way you would never tire of. The words stung, but you knew he was being sincere. As sincere as he possibly could anyways. “Thanks Joshy.”

When he pulled back, his cold hands cupped your cheeks, a large smile adorning his face. That small tooth gap that you absolutely adored so visible from this close. “I love you.” You smiled back at him, hands holding onto his bony wrists. “Love you too.”

Josh remained at your house for the rest of the night.

He asked her only two weeks later. It was a big show he had put on for her. Their style you were assuming. If anyone ever asked you to marry them in that fashion you would’ve said no. It must’ve been perfect for her because to everyone's surprise she said yes.

Only six months together and they were engaged. Of course everyone was expecting a long engagement, but in some sick fluke Josh informed everyone at the same time that it was only going to be two months from their proposal date.

You were shocked to your core. According to Josh, they only wanted something small and intimate and because of that, it could be that quick of a turn around. One interaction. That’s all you had experienced with this person who was going to be marrying your best friend. In two months.

Sitting in Danny’s living room with the other siblings, you were all ranting about the pure absurdity of the situation. “This isn’t even like him! Since when has he wanted to settle down like this? And this fast? No, it’s not, Josh!” Jake’s voice was rising with every word he spoke.

Sitting on the couch, your arms were crossed over your chest, steam shooting from your ears. “Star, maybe you can get through to him! He listens to you.” You shrugged, making eye contact with the worried twin, Sam and Danny sitting there in contemplative silence. “I already tried. He is dead set on doing this, Jake. I don’t know what else to do, but this isn’t good.”

He harshly sat on the arm of the sofa, putting his face in his hands. “Fuck!” He yelled, throwing one of the items from Danny’s side table. “Hey!” He yelled at the action, Jake muttering an apology and retrieving the item to put it back in its spot.

You all sat there for hours discussing the situation at hand and what could possibly be done. The answer? Nothing. There was nothing any of you could do. Grin and bear it. The only way you were ever going to be able to do that was going to be to distance yourself from the entire event all together.

Easy enough. Until Josh approached you with a major question.

“Please, star!” You were eyeing him like you had no idea who the person was standing before you. “Josh, listen to what you’re asking me.” He nodded, somewhat understanding your predicament. “I know, but it would mean so much to me.” Sighing, you rubbed tiredly at your eyes.

“It’s weird, right? I hardly know her and-” he cut you off, slight irritation prickling his tone. “Exactly! You hardly know her and I’m about to marry her. She wants nothing more than to be your friend. Just go to the bachelorette weekend, I will pay for you, and just try to get to know her.”

His doe eyes stared widely at you, hope dancing in his dark irises. “Fine, fine. I’ll go.”

That’s how you got to where you currently are. Sitting in a dark hotel room, a bunch of drunk strangers passed out in the suite living room, contemplating your entire friendship with Josh and if this weekend had been worth it.

The door creaked open, startling you in the darkness, but when she appeared you slightly calmed down. The only person you somewhat recognized from the trip. “Hey, sorry I didn’t mean to scare you.” Putting a tight lipped smile on, you flicked the bedside lamp on.

“No worries. You okay?” She pointed at the edge of the bed, silently asking if she could sit there. Nodding, she sat giving you a genuine smile. “Thanks for being so cool this weekend, I know my friends can be kind of a lot.” You both laughed under your breath. “Ah, they’re not bad. Welcomed me right in.”

Her eyes lit up at that. “Good, good! I’m so glad. I wanted you to have fun this weekend and I really wanted to get to know you. You and Josh are so close and you know literally everything about him which I don’t, you know? You should hear how often he talks about you. Seriously, it’s so intimidating being around you. He has this phenomenal opinion about you and I just want us to be friends.” Your breath caught in your throat at her words, feeling it grow tighter with the praise you learned Josh constantly showers you in when you weren’t around.

“No, I’m none of that. Josh just likes to hear himself talk is all.” She bursted out in laughter, her next sentence making you halt your movements and truly question every decision he had made to get to this spot. “Does he really? I don’t know, he’s kind of quiet around me.”

You didn’t knock, the door was more than likely unlocked anyways. Bursting into his home, he was startled to see you in his house like that, but his mood immediately changed when he saw you there. “Star! How was it?”

“What the fuck is the matter with you?” His eyes blew wide, startled by your anger. “Excuse me?” Shaking your head quickly, you battled your thoughts. “How are you marrying this girl, Josh? You don’t know her! She doesn’t know you! At all! I mean for fucks sake you look fucking insane, Josh!”

He tried calming you down as he approached you. “Star, what happened? Did something happen on the trip?” You walked to him and grabbed his face. “Yes! I realized that I have no idea who you even are anymore. This is not you. This is not like you. You don’t do this shit. This is not Josh.” Your words evened out, but he only grew angry.

Pulling away from your grasp, he exploded. “I know what I’m doing. I’m so fucking sick and tired of hearing everyone bitch at me about this. It is my life! None of you, especially you, run it. I do! You are just the same sad and lonely girl that I’ve always known who tears down everyone's happiness, particularly mine when it has nothing to do with you. News flash, my world doesn’t revolve around you and I pray it never will! I’ve grown and maybe you need to too!”

Tears welled in your eyes, sniffling as your eyes fell downcast. His chest was heaving from yelling, but you couldn’t look at him.

“Okay. Well, then I will get out of the way of your happiness and entirely extract myself from your world then, right? Congratulations Josh. Have a great wedding.” He sighed, trying to backtrack on what he said. “Star, no hold on.” You didn’t stick around to hear anything else.

Nearly every single day Josh had hounded your phone trying to get in contact with you. Showing up at your door nearly every other day with a flower delivery for apologies. Each time he returned, the flowers remained on your doorstep.

Getting to the point where you were almost ready to block his number all together, you watched the days tick by, seeing his wedding date get closer and closer. An invitation having arrived in your mail weeks ago, but landed right in the garbage.

There was no way you were going to be able to actually attend the wedding. Of course you understood that his outburst had been in retaliation for the way you had spoken to him, but the burn of the words had yet to scab.

Danny stood in your kitchen, cutting up fruit as he shook his head in shock. “You have to go to his wedding, star. You can’t miss Josh’s wedding, are you crazy?” Rubbing the bridge of your nose, your eyes were pinned shut. “Drop it, Danny.”

Scoffing in response, he talked as he chewed on a strawberry. “No, I will not drop it. This is Josh we’re talking about. You are not going to miss his wedding. It would devastate him.” Grabbing a piece of pineapple, you took the moment of reprieve to craft your response.

You hadn’t uttered a word of the blowout that had occurred between you and Josh that night. Knowing it was an interaction of high stress and tension, you decided it was best to just let it lie. Sure, it complicated matters pertaining to you not attending the wedding, but it was a small price to pay.

Danny on the other hand knew something was wrong. There was no chance that you would actually miss Josh’s wedding simply because you had feelings for him and weren’t a huge fan of his partner of choice. That just wasn’t you.

Wanting to know the full story, if he pestered you enough he knew you would crack. And crack you did. In fact, it was a decade of turmoil and emotion slamming together in a horrific tsunami that would only leave deviation in its wake.

“God, Danny, why don’t you get it? I have been in love with that boy since I was a child! I pictured everything with him. This is tearing me up to witness this. I try to tell him how I feel and he throws in my face that I am sad and lonely and you know what? He’s right! I am sad and I am lonely. I spent so long holding out for someone that will never love me like I love them. I am tired and I just can’t do it!” Sobs wracked your body, face tight from the shed tears cascading down your swollen face, a shaking mess as you hiccuped.

Danny immediately dropped it, Offering comfort the only way he knew how to, he held you while you sobbed over the reality you faced. Your best friend was getting married in a week's time, you weren’t going to be there, you two had gotten into a knock out drag out fight, and to top it all off you were still alone and sad.

So, what did that leave you to do?

Sit on your couch for a week, self loathing and not offering anyone a definitive answer if you were actually going to attend the wedding or not. Instead, you wore an oversized t-shirt you had owned since middle school, hair an absolute mess, watching reruns of your favorite show that you had spent most of your childhood watching with Josh.

Shooting Danny a text that morning that your will not attend was set in stone, he didn’t tell anyone. Not until Josh approached him and asked if you had rode over with him. When Danny pulled him aside to break the news, you were happy you weren’t there to witness that.

It didn’t matter because he brought it to you.

Pounding on your door, a tuxedo-clad Josh stood on the other side of the threshold. You two stood in silence, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. Taking him in before you, you finally spoke first.

“Aren't you supposed to be-” he cut you off before you could finish, “Yes.” You nodded, blinking rapidly as your eyes fell down. “Okay.” Foot bouncing, you finally moved to the side letting him step into your apartment.

Jaw setting, you couldn’t take your eyes off each other. “What are you do-” he cut you off again. “Are you in love with me?” Swallowing thickly, your head began to move in response, eyes welling with tears, cottonmouth setting in. “Because I’m in love with you.”

Lips parting in awe, your chin trembled, tears silently falling from your eyes. “Ho-how?” You choked out, but Josh spoke loudly and quickly over you. “I was in the room, getting ready to head out to get to the altar and I was staring at this ring,” he pulled it from his pocket as he continued.

“Danny had just told me you weren’t coming and I saw her. She’s there fully ready in her dress, getting some photos taken or something, but I didn’t care. All I could think about was you not being there and if I needed you there that badly then maybe,” it was a shaky breath, hand falling as he held the ring still, “then maybe that meant something.”

Crossing the room, he stood directly in front of you. “I love you, star. You are my light, my being, everything I could ever want or imagine in a partner. You are the person I have to spend the rest of my life with because it just doesn’t make sense any other way. This ring is yours. It was only ever meant for you. There is no one else in this universe who I would want to wear this ring. It’s you, star. It’s always been you.”

Your hand covered your mouth as you choked out a laugh, knowing that Josh was offering you his hand right then. You nodded, a teary yes escaping your throat as Josh crushed you to him in a meeting you wouldn’t forget for the rest of your life.

Some people are destined to be your almost. Because not everyone gets the fairytale ending of being with the person who they thought they were destined to be with. Just because that person might be meant for you, doesn’t mean you’re meant for them. There has to be people who don’t get the guy.

That was what you believed your destiny was to be with Josh. Sometimes things work out in ways you never understand. Instead of being your almost, he was always going to be your forever.

Maybe fairytales weren’t so stupid after all.

[staybabblingbaby]

SKZ x Coordi (Chan Part) a1 d4

[Caution: These are not full fics, or even full parts of fics for some, these are part of my writing progress archive!]

Concept: Reader is a successful makeup artist with a notorious and prolific career and no self awareness. Reader joins JYP as a part of Stray Kids' team and encounters their hazing ritual for new coordis: flirting.

Word Count: 640

Notes: This feels more like a drabble than a full part, but I don't really want to add much to it either lol. As everything else, could use some editing for clarity. Maybe better descriptions or transitions? Idk, We'll think abt it later :p

Warnings: None that I know of? Reader has weird self esteem but it's not bad? Reader referred to with She/Her pronouns

Masterlist link :D | Prev Part Link <3 | Next Part Link ;3

The next few weeks pass by in a pattern of work and sleep with no real reprieve. It’s an excellent thing that you enjoy your work and that your coworkers are all very nice.

Ji-Won has you rotating between shadowing the various makeup artists on your team and doing little pieces of whatever look is being put together on each idol. You learn a lot about which shades match best with who’s skin tones and which sorts of styles are generally expected for which member. You don’t think you’ve ever been so thoroughly educated on a specific person’s face before. You’re usually in a whole other country by now.

You get this very thorough rotating education because the role you were hired for was to be a bit of a floater, to fill in where you’re needed. On the other makeup artist’s days off, you’ll be filling in. If someone calls off or the team needs a spare set of hands, that’s your job. You find that it suits you well.

Usually you move pretty quickly between jobs, always on the hunt for the next look, for new knowledge, for new adventures. Right now, though, you’re glad that you’ve stopped a while. Eight lovely faces to gain familiarity with, a variety of different projects to create for, and coworkers who seem very eager to teach and work with you.

You're having a great time and find yourself very glad you'd chosen this route for your career. You will admit that this little game that’s developed between you and the idols is possibly a very large factor.

It stemmed from Han’s little flirtation that first day, of course. The eonni who’d borne witness to it had congratulated you for your composure and explained that SKZ has always had a little game of flustering new coordis to break the ice. Their own form of gentle hazing, she tells you. It helps new coordis not be so nervous around them and, she tells you with a conspiratorial whisper, her personal theory is that it also tells them which coordis they have a chance with. You’re not sure how much you believe that part.

She went on to mention that she was surprised Ji-Won had allowed them to do it though, since your head stylist had been adamant that the whole team be on their best behavior with you. She hadn’t seemed to notice your confusion at her statement, so you chalked it up to Ji-Won doing her best to make the new stylist comfortable. She’d completed her explanation by telling you to expect the other seven to attempt it too before they’d stop.

When, the very next day, Chan prevents you from falling flat on your face and dropping towels everywhere and, like he couldn’t quite help himself, asks if this means you’d fallen for him, you decide that this means war. He immediately bursts into embarrassed giggles and you laugh along but internally you’re planning your retaliation.

As he releases you, still embarrassed with himself, and you steady yourself, you give the most obvious once over you can. As you meet his eyes again, taking in his already embarrassed face and reddening ears, you smile, making sure to lace it with the humor the situation deserves. And then, because you’re a bit of an asshole and you’d never denied that, you gently pat his arm, let the touch linger just a bit, and say “You’re cute. Thanks for the hand.” and walk off with a little nod in his direction before he can remember he’s older than you and technically your boss.

You hear a little pained whimper of embarrassment from behind you and mentally fist pump. Coordis - 2, SKZ - 0. And you’d gotten away with some blatant disrespect just then. It’s always a treat to let social niceties die.

[mostremote]

Fic extract

Rough and silly fic extract (that I will not write in full) of a what-if-Snow-wasn't-executed-and-had-to-ally-with-Katniss-and-co-to-bring-down-Coin situation. And Snow is still obsessed with Katniss but isn't trying to kill her so he just follows her around being insane. And everyone hates that he's there but they need his insider knowledge so they just have to put up with it.

They gather around the table, low-lit, in the cramped underground bunker that serves as the meagre headquarters of the resistance. What was once the resistance against Snow is now the resistance against Coin — and there are so few of them left. Haymitch (reluctant chief strategist), Effie (preparing refreshments), Gale (sulking), Peeta (sulking with more gentility), Johanna (sulking aggressively), Katniss (grey-eyed, exhausted).

And, of course, their newest member: Coriolanus Snow.

Haymitch is stood in front of a board humming with electric blueprints, trying to explain the network of pipes that runs underneath the presidential mansion and the possibilities these might allow for breaking into Coin’s fortress. He is midway through explaining a particularly tricky juncture of pipes when Johanna interrupts him with a slap of palm on table.

‘I’m sorry, are we just going to ignore this?’ She gestures wildly at Snow. ‘Why is he here? Why is he on our side?’

Former-President Snow sits next to Katniss (weary face held aloft by one palm) as though there is nowhere in the world he would rather be. He has somehow acquired a ceramic cup of steaming tea.

‘My dear, I am the reason you have access to those blueprints,’ says Snow, very reasonably. ‘I may be your only chance of reaching Coin.’

This time, Johanna slams both her palms onto the table and Peeta jumps a little. ‘Why. Is. He. Here.’

‘I’m with Johanna on this one,’ says Gale, arms crossed and dour in his chair. ‘He’ll sell us out the first chance he gets.’

‘No, I won’t,’ says Snow mildly.

‘He won’t,’ echoes Katniss. She wishes she could get some sleep. The emotional turmoil of wrangling Snow has become a twenty-four-hour job. ‘We need him to get inside the mansion.’

‘He tried to kill you a dozen times!’ shouts Johanna.

‘That was because she was a threat to my regime,’ says Snow in that same pleasant, conversational voice. ‘I no longer have a regime, as I am sure you have noticed. Therefore, I have no reason to try to kill her.’

Johanna’s eyes meet Katniss’ with daggers. ‘He’ll kill you in your sleep.’

Katniss, who has spent weeks trekking the country alongside Snow, sleeping as far from him as she can and always clutching a knife, has woken many times to see Snow simply… staring at her. She would really rather prefer it if he went back to trying to kill her.

‘He’s here to help. You can trust him.’ Though who knows why?

Haymitch, grimacing, is keen to get this strategy meeting back on track. ‘Okay, so: one plan Gale and I developed is to come up from the sewers right next to the mansion. There’s only one camera, high up, which is where Katniss comes in.’ He taps the electric screen and a blurry image appears of the high mansion wall. A single black-eyed camera stares down. ‘If Katniss can land a shot on that, we’ll make a blind spot in their security of about twenty square yards.’

‘No way she can make that,’ says Johanna. ‘It’s fifty feet high. That’s impossible.’

‘Katniss Everdeen,’ comes Snow’s sudden, deep, commanding voice, ‘is the finest marksman in the Capitol, and perhaps the country. She has nigh-perfect aim. There is no one else who could make that shot as well as her.’

Everyone stares, perplexed, at Snow. He is glowing with pride. Katniss, mortified, tries to shield her face with her hands.

Haymitch forces a grin. ‘Great! Good to know.’

After an hour of poring over the rats’ nest of sewer blueprints, they are no closer to planning a route under the walls than when they began, and everyone is exhausted. When Effie appears, a tray of tea and stale biscuits in hand, everyone is grateful for an excuse to adjourn.

Snow helps himself to an iced biscuit. Effie doesn’t seem to know how to react to this.

Haymitch saunters up to Katniss and drops his mouth to her ear. ‘Can I have a word?’

Katniss will take any reason to get away from Snow for a few minutes, and so she follows Haymitch into a corner. He speaks in a low voice.

‘I gotta say, I agree with Johanna. I don’t like him being here. That man could kill us a thousand ways even without the help of his guards.’

She shrugs. It’s been almost a month since she had a real night of sleep, punctuated by neither nightmares of Snow nor waking to find him watching over her. ‘He’s not going to. I know it sounds weird, but I trust him. He’ll do what I tell him.’ Her brow creases. ‘He seems to, I don’t know… treat me like a daughter, almost.’

Haymitch emits a brash noise that’s somewhere between a laugh and a howl. ‘Girl, your track record with understanding men is bad enough as it is. That man is not expressing fatherly feelings towards you.’

‘Huh?’ Katniss glances at Snow. Even from across the room, he is watching her, stirring his tea with leisurely joy. ‘What do you mean?’

Haymitch fixes her with staring, hooded eyes. ‘Katniss, I think the President likes you.’

‘What?’ She blinks. ‘He’s old enough to be my grandfather.’

Haymitch grimaces. ‘Ye-e-eah, somehow I don’t think that bothers him.’

They both look at Snow. He has still not taken his eyes off Katniss.

Gale, it seems, has also not taken his eyes off Snow. ‘What the fuck are you looking at?’

The room falls silent. Snow takes his time to answer: lifts the teacup, sips, replaces it. ‘I am looking at Miss Everdeen,’ he answers frankly.

‘We’re not just going to put up with this, are we?’ Gale shouts. ‘It’s Snow. Snow! He’s a murderer. He murdered your family, Haymitch, and you’re just putting up with it!’

Haymitch shrugs without passion. ‘I lost the will to care about a thousand bottles ago, Gale. And we need him.’

Gale stares, disbelieving, then quite dramatically draws his gun. Everyone clears out of the way, save Snow (unconcerned) and Katniss (exhausted).

‘We should put a bullet in his head right now.’

Snow smiles: calm, radiant, in total control. ‘If it’s any consolation, my boy, I have no more wish to be here than you do to have me here. Indeed, I have no interest in any of you, and little investment in the bringing down of Coin. I would be quite happy to live out my retirement in peace.’

‘Then what the fuck are you doing here?’ spits Gale.

Snow looks at Katniss, all smiles. ‘I’m here to accompany Miss Everdeen.’

‘Why?’

Snow does not take his eyes off Katniss and says, with total assurance, ‘Because I want to see what she does next.’ He takes a sip of his tea. ‘She is absolutely fascinating.’

No one says anything to this. Haymitch coughs awkwardly. Katniss is trying to melt into the floor.

[justfangirlstuffs]

Okay, so @feralmoonlight 's recent cowboy au art gave me serious brain worms. But I got enough on my plate, so Imma just toss these ideas out cuz I do not currently have the confidence nor the familiarity of the western genre to write any fanfic around it.

So my idea is that it is set in cowboy AU, you are a doctor or physician whatever they call the profession (if I screw up any vernacular I apologize). You come from a really well to do family and you enjoy being a doctor, you're fresh out of medical school and you love helping people. But your parents are expecting you to take over the family business which you're looking less forward to because you're all about helping people and not really much about the business side of things.

You and your family are on a train heading to meet your chosen fiance which you're not looking forward to cuz you really don't have any say in the matter. But then your train gets hit by the most infamous Outlaw duo in the county Sundrop and Moondrop. They board the train steal some loot from them Rich Folk, but alas the authorities are hot on their Trail so they need a hostage. Sun playfully asks for any volunteers. Of course no one says anything. Until you speak up, volunteering yourself because you're a good person and you don't want to see anyone else getting hurt.

They take you with them and of course there is some coldness towards them on your part because you've heard all kinds of stories about the Dirty Deeds and heinous crimes these two have committed. So imagine you're surprised when they treat you incredibly well despite the fact that you're their hostage. They find out who your folks are and get to thinking that they can hold you for a pretty hefty Ransom so they're going to hang on to you for a little while longer. Much to your chagrin.

They take you to their hidden hideout (they blindfold you so you dont know where it is) and you find that they've built themselves a little community that is primarily filled with children. You learn that most if not all of the children there have been either abused or abandoned and Sun and Moon took it upon themselves to take them in and look after them, stealing money so that they can provide them all the food and clothes and comforts that they need. (I also Imagine they called the community Kids Cove, little nod to the game, and maybe one or two other animatronics are there looking after the kids like Foxy.)

When they bring you there they learn that some of the kids are developing a type of illness and you announce that you are a doctor and ask to have a look at them. You use your medical Knowledge and Skills to not only help out the kids but let the Outlaw Duo know what sort of medicine is needed in order to treat the illness. So you decide to make yourself useful and help out the poor kids while you're being held for ransom. However the longer you're there the more at home you feel and the more you come to take a shine to the pair of Outlaws that do so much for all these kids.

And eventually, when they offer to take you home, you asked to stay. And they are only too happy to accommodate you on that.

(Cowboy AU belongs to @castercassette )

[robinsroom]

You can develop your OCs as you go.

...

S- So, like uh, will you, will you, OCs- Uh

🥺🤲

okay so like, i have like a handful of ocs but they were all from when I was younger and the make me cringe so I've only taken one or two with me into my """adulthood""".

~~

Heaven

Ofc one of them is my main OC Heaven who ofc is bascially kind of a self insert but better because who doesn't have one. Shes like part wizard, 10% human or something. I would write about how she would go to school specifcally made for other kids w supernatural powers to hone them and ofc this gave me an established excuse for her to meet characters from large franchies or created by people (on dA or tumblr) who I adored at the time.

Her powers specifically would change from time to time based off of characters I thought were neat like shape shifting, being a siren, telekinesis, rumoring people into doing shit she wanted (props to u if u know where that’s from).

For her personailty, she would go from being a brat to a badass bitch to being the biggest submissive goon you've ever met. It really depended on how I was feeling that day LMAO

Now a-days, since she’s out of school and I’m a bit more mellow (lying) on her whole personality being centered around impressing people, she’s a chill entrepreneur who wants an excuse to stay around in the (this is gonna sound so cringe but here goes) “fandom specific worlds/universes” and make her mark you know?

Right now, in the year of our lord, 2023, since DOL is my obsession, Heaven is apart of the OC group that I’m slowly building for Rape City lmao. I’m not sure how yet though beyond her wanting to take control from Bailey. Maybe??? Mayhaps????? Someday??????

Speaking of Rape City, I have two OCs so far.

Winnie & Skylar and maybe another one who might be coming when I take a break w Sky's play through.

~~

Winnie

Winnie was a coke abusing goof ball who catfishes people for funsies. There's not alot to her backstory right now but basically, she wanted to get out of her home and took a trip to the UK. She ended up getting stuck there after giving some sob story to Bailey about how her parents died in a freak BDSM accident.

I like to think any other persona who might be stupid enough to get themselves in a situation like this, are smart enough to, you know, get tf out of it but Winnie is too much of a goof ball to really care. She has free room and board. She can do pretty much whatever she wants and all she has to do is pay 4k to this guy who is mean but attractive. You can get away w anything if ur good looking, right? Better than being stuck at home with her brothers I guess lmao.

Anyway, she uses her knowledge of catfishing to trick creeps into giving her compromising photos, info, etc. which she then posts publicly be it at school or online. She of course has access to, can’t live without it. Bailey took her shit yeah but he didn’t find her phone which she uses to keep in touch with her mother who assumes that her daughter is having an amazing time!

~~

Skylar

Skylar isss...well no one knows who Skylar is. They just randomly showed up one day, even Winnie swears the room they are in was empty literally the hour before they were there. Anyway, Winnie loves paranormal shit and Sky seems pretty paranormal themselves so they automatically became besties. Although it wasn’t easy at first considering Sky was shy and would rarely leave their room after seeing what the other orphans had to go through.

It was school then straight home.

However, Winnie showed Skylar that they have nothing to fear. Most people who decide to mess with them can be subdued with the 7 cans of pepper spray they have shoved up their ass at one time thanks to their close relationship with Kylar. Eventually, they took to crossdressing and since their naturally androgynous appearance, they can pass as a boy or girl without issue.

Eventually this escalated into them branching out and working at Darryl’s strip club on random nights. In fact, they quite enjoy it especially with how friendly Darryl is. They almost look up to them as some sort of silly goose family member.  Eventually they began skipping school but still visit to see Kylar for longer than a few hours in the park. Despite their delinquent behavior, they maintain good marks (unlike Winnie >.>) and an amicable relationship with their teachers inside and outside of school. But Leighton is a dick and they avoid them at all costs.

Speaking of good relationships, if it wasn’t obvious, they’re deeply infatuated with Kylar who gladly returns the sentiment. Even after being kidnapped by him, they were happy to simply spend the evening with them even if they were a hot mess by the time Kylar came to his sense and let them go.

Sadly, this is all I have for them at the moment, the more I play, the more I’ll come up with eventually.

[garlculean]

@yukikorogashi Asked. HELLO MY FRIEND! ❤️ Before this year ends, I just wanna start by saying-- MAN! I'm just so, so glad that I got to meet your wonderful self??? I will say it's certainly one of my highlights during these last few months, meeting a fella as splendid as yourself!

I already mentioned all of this before to you through our IMs, but you bring so much life to my boy here, and just do him so, so much justice! And I thank you, with my hands holding yours, for giving him the love that he so long since deserved! And of course, I absolutely look forward to him and Itsuki interacting, in developing their hilarious lil' Looney Tunes relationship, overtime! It's gonna be so fun, and another thing to look forward to this coming year!

You are just such talented individual too, Mt Beast, like omgoodness??? Your writing, your art, your graphics-- not to mention the fact that you have been such a pleasant chap to get to know. You really are a marvellous bean, and again I'm so glad I found your blog when I did, and look forward to interacting with you more in the near future!

May next year treat you well, my friend. As you so rightfully deserve! Here's to you! 🍷 AUEHAUWHE!!!!

↳ 2023 is almost over! // 𝐀𝐂𝐂𝐄𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆

      𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐎𝐅𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐇. Y'know, I do not think there are even words to describe the amount of joy and gratitude I felt when reading this. I am SO VERY glad I had the pleasure and opportunity to meet you too Yuki⸺ I can say with much certainty that the feeling is absolutely mutual!

      I can't even construct my words right but just that I'm literally grinning from ear to ear! WHWUAHAHA Hearing you say that and think that for my interpretation // portrayal of Wario means so much more than you think it does for me. It's honestly an honor to hear that I am doing him justice. So thank you⸺ Thank you VERY much. I too cannot wait for Itsuki and Wario to interact. I still think about the plot in my head and the things we spoke about with their possible bond, depending on how things go in RP, but it kills me EVERY time. I may not KNOW who Itsuki is, but shoot I dont think I need to. All I know and need to know is you make her an outstanding joy of a character! You give her such personality that if she acted any other way I don't know if I'd enjoy it as much as I do when she's in your hands HWUWHAHAA!

      I appreciate you enjoying my writing and my art, I do take a great deal of time in it, especially my writing. Drawing comes more naturally for me so to speak its a lot less brain power as opposed to writing. So to know you favor both and not just one over the other is an honest to god best compliment for me to hear If I'm being honest HAHAAHAH. Also I must give credit where credit is 1000% due, @sangdelune did my graphics, I'd commissioned them to do it. They brought my ideas to life in ways I cannot describe. I do not know the floor from the ceiling when it comes to photoshop or anything remotely in that area, I cannot do that. I'm a writer and an artist--NOT a designer. Best editing I do and can do are my reaction icons. THOSE I DO edit. But that's just the most basic bare minimum knowledge one needs to know to edit the reactions; its nothing supreme or outstanding I'd say. I actually plan on bringing them up in a near future post; once I hit my 100+ follower's count ( which seems to be nearing...) give them a segment because since I was/am so new here in this RPC, I felt me doing it with not much of a following would make them go unnoticed. i.e. no on taking the time to go back to read my first post(s) I made here about them. But for anyone who DOES need anything with graphics GO TO THEM. They were a blessing to work with, I had very VERY specific ways I wanted things done and created to really emphasize how I viewed and seen Wario and I wanted my blog to really exert that. So even if you dont read my writing, you still get the FEEL // aura, per say, that Wario emits when youre on my page and they hit it all on the nail and BLEW my expectations away. Very communicative, quick with getting back to you, good with keeping you in the loop of things, and is just an INCREDIBLE designer and an amazing person to work with. I honestly am grateful and LUCKY to of found them.

      SALUTI MY FRIEND! I cannot wait to see what the year to come brings, but I hope whatever it is, it brings a lot more interactions with you!

[mjsakurea]

got sent this one today. of course you can ignore this, but i'm sending it anyway <33 - Fic authors self rec! 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 💖

Okay I'm gonna answer this over a month later lol, sorry! Thank you for the tag! <3

My own favorite 5 fics I've written, I've been thinking about it a lot! It's a tough decision cause I don't tend to reread my own fics after I've posted them. It was fun to think about it deeply though.

Bent Not Broken (fandom: The Untamed)

Summary: In honor of June being scoliosis awareness month 5 times Lan Wangji struggled with his scoliosis and one time he didn’t have to

This one because it was so meaningful to me to write something centered on scoliosis and scoliosis surgery and the after-effects. Everything I wrote about is stuff I've also experienced. It was extremely cathartic to write. But also the reactions to it blew me away, most comments were from people saying that they felt represented in their own scoliosis experiences. I could not have expected nor hoped for such an amazing response.

2. Good Name (fandom: Guardian)

Summary: “Shen Wei,” the letter starts. “Hi, it’s me Zhao Yunlan. If you’re reading this, we’ve switched again. And yeah, switched, I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that when you take over my body, I take over yours. Sorry for drinking alcohol. I didn’t realize you were such a lightweight.” Kimi no Na wa / Your Name AU - no knowledge of the source material is necessary to understand the plot of this story

This is the second longest fic I've ever written and also the only multi-chapter fic that I've fully completed *before* posting. It was a huge test of patience and it paid off! The first fic I got beta'ed also. Being able to post a chapter a week consistently and the satisfaction of it being already finished was great. Also I just personally love the AU and look back on it fondly.

3. The Heart of the Matter (fandom: Guardian)

Summary: Dixingren differ from Haixingren in one very crucial way: their heart is on the opposite side of the body. Zhao Yunlan never thought he'd be so thankful to find out Shen Wei is Dixingren in the worst possible circumstance.

This one because it proved to me that being completely self-indulgent pays off. In terms of kudos, comments, and bookmarks it is my most popular Guardian fic, but I'm not focusing on the statistics here it is just the fact that I thought it was too self-indulgent when I wrote it but then the reaction being so positive made me look at it in a different light and now when I think about an idea being self-indulgent I think back on this fic and tell myself nah I can be as self-indulgent as I want, and that self-indulgent fics are a good thing.

4. love them all for me (fandom: The Untamed)

Summary: He is barely a teenager when he is brought to Koi Tower where he meets a gentle young woman mourning the deaths of her husband and adoptive brother. She shares soup and stories of love and loss. Or Jiang Yanli sees a struggling young Mo Xuanyu and asks, “is no one else going to adopt him?” and does not wait for an answer.

This one because it was a pivotal fic in developing my writing style. This one was hugely experimental for me. I was very deliberate in how I wrote it stylistically. It was also the first fic I ever did in the present-tense. And then I realized I like present-tense better than past tense for my own writing haha.

5. A Fox Cannot Hide Its Tail (fandom: Guardian)

Summary: Li Qian speaks, “You won’t—it sounds—” “Crazy?” Zhao Yunlan cuts in. He smiles and says, “Try me.” It truly must be something strange if they can accept that he would believe them about the sentient shadow but not about this. “The shadow was chased away by a fox,” Li Qian admits softly like she doesn’t want him to hear her say it. “A fox?” Zhao Yunlan asks, eyebrows raised.

Full on recency-bias here lol but it's my current WIP so I want to include it. I am happy with where it's going. And it's the first complete canon-rewrite AU I've attempted! It is also self-indulgent as heck but I've already established that is A-okay!

Honorable mentions to the three fics I posted for the wishlist event just last week cause I love making gifts for people haha

[peter-pett]

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