#you know that one trope where character a looks in the mirror and instead of seeing themselves they see the one they despise the most

[theoakleafpancake]

Kings of Clonmel, but make it ✨angsty✨

[jellazticious]

bing bong bootleg SS au

very long ramble under the C

stuff are subjected to change

The working title isn't solidified but I'm leaning on either Candy Castle or Pastry Castle

Tho I think I'm gonna go for pastry cuz it has the same amount of letters as castle much like pizza and tower have the same number too

The tower is a gingerbread castle. According to a friend of mine (It's Beefy, it's always Beefy go follow him) that Hispanics love their bakeries and yeah, I guess that makes sense. Not only do I have a theme based on the protag's culture but also the theme gets narrowed down to just baked sweets. Candy in general is too broad, I would die figuring out how to put every kind of sweet in it, and if I did it's gonna be really cluttered hooboy

Noise is called Theo because that's Peppino's name formula. Peppino is a nickname for Giuseppe so I thought I'd give Noise's swap a nickname to Theodore as the main name

Hazel Nutt is pretty self explanatory cuz Noisette means hazelnut in French

Their outfits are pretty simple to mirror Peppino and Gustavo's with just coloured shirts and aprons

Hazel doesn't get a mount because she would have Theo's prototype rocket skates. Just like Gus, she would have different stages of getting used to the skates per floor. First she gets blasted from end to end cuz she can't control the thrust. Second, she manages to turn it off but she's trying to keep balance on it. Third, she catches her breath now that she could stand still without moving or slipping. Next she would make a card castle, in reference to the very castle they're inside. and lastly she'd be holding a box of sweets without giving a shit about the scary floor.

To parallel the og Noisette, Hazel would smile bigger when Theo faces her direction.

Hazel is also Theo's delivery gal to match and switch with how Peppino WAS Gustavo's delivery guy

The "kick the rat" function would be Hazel swinging one of the skates and the cops grabbing Brick would instead hold a weapon detector that also functions as a magnet

Unlike Peppino, Theo is more aggressive than anxious. Imagine an injured cat defending itself from what it thinks is a threat

the name of Pizzaface's swap is Pieface for obvious reasons 😭

but HEAR ME OUT

both pizzaface and pieface are used as insults. pizza face is used for people with so much acne and pie face is used for someone with a flat face or dull expression. It isn't just a pun on what food the characters are made of. Pieface is also a reference to the trope where people headshot other people with pies. With the mech floating towards the protag, it would look like a pie is being thrown and targeted at Theo

Honestly drawing what food makes his face is so fun. Did you know that before the croissant smile it was supposed to be syrup shaped to a smile? The nose was a long whip of cream before turning into a cut strawberry for the mustache effect

Pizzahead's candy version would be called Gingerhead because of how ridiculous it sounds.

Gingerhead is based on Willy Wonka much like how Pizzahead is based on Ronald McDonald which is why he has more of a showman look than a clown look

okay side note, it just occured to me how ironic PH being based on Ronald is considering McDo's isn't a pizza place

actually Wonka doesn't even sell cakes and shit so, I guess it's fair game

Theo has the nickname Muffinman to reference the rhyme. but this time, it's the gingerbreadman chasing the baker

Next up is Mr S, who would be Peppino but he becomes rich. Mr S is the stage name he uses. He is a known celebrity much as Noise is but he is more of a boxer than a host. Like Dwayne Johnson or something. His name is partially a reference to ResEvil's Mr X, another absolute unit of a guy

also the reason why he doesn't wear a shirt. He's committing to the bit. If he needs to cover himself when he isn't playing a role, then there's his robe. He doesn't take out his mask most of the time tho

Mr S's mask is based on the Chef Raider design but also part of the scrapped superhero design much like Pizzano. Actually speaking of Pizzano, S is characterized so similarly to him cuz Pizzano is the only SS character who was actually written well to my standards. To be fair we've seen too much of Peppino to flunk characterizing him sksksk

Since this is Peppino that Mr S is based on, he's not as tech savvy or as self centered as Noise so he doesn't have robots that look like himself. Instead he has ants for a crew

the ants swap the place of rats. the rats in PT reference the new york pizza rat while ants just generally eat your food especially if it's sweet when left alone for five minutes

the ants come from Mr G, who would be Gustavo's swap with Noisette. He's Mr S's lawyer. at the end of S's bossfight, G would snatch him away with Click (the ant) because S would make a foul and embarrassing move on live camera

I can't seperate Gustavo and Brick so Click stays with Mr G instead of assisting Hazel

inside what would be Noisette cafe, instead of Mr G and Click being behind the counter, they would be sitting as customers next to Caraman. the barista isn't seen anywhere

Honestly when I'm writing everyone, my logic of swapping them isn't "make them switch places AND personalities" but more of "write every single one of them with the og personality because giving them a different lifestyle/role would drastically change their motives and how they behave"

I'm practically just swapping each character's place of birth

I mentioned this because it's kinda funny with Noisette and Gus since they play the exact same role of assisting Peppino/Noise so swapping them won't change much in how they act. They also have the same cheery and welcoming personality by default so Hazel and Mr G would act REALLY similar to their og

The only difference is that Gustavo can be threatening whenever Peppino fucks up. It fits right in with being a lawyer for the same goon

Now we got Mel Caraman who would become this au's Vigi. Lemme just say off the bat that Caraman is just as delusional as Vigi. He gets hired as a guard for floor 2 and took it way too seriously that he thinks he's some sort of sentinel. Hired as a guard but thinks he's an ancient guardian or something

his name vaguely references James Bond because you also VAGUELY get "caramel" out of "Caraman, Mel Caraman"

Caraman is a caramel apple but he's half glazed to form an eyemask. he's also got a stick poking out his head that stretches his chorro hat. the big hat makes him look cooler anyways. Bro I was so ready to settle for a shitty wild west mayor hat and I owe Beefy one for suggesting a new hat. I was gonna make him look like Doug Dimmadome with the short brimmed tall hat😭😭😭

but yeah Caraman doesn't have the same dignity as Vigi does. He can fight crime decently on normal circumstances and badass when he's full serious. But like day in day out he's so obnoxious about looking for crime that people get tired of him nor would they take him seriously

he would also be mistaken for a pepper

Next to last, Cam M. Bert or just Bert who would take place of Pepperman. he's an artist who appreciates the world instead of himself, a freelancer also. There was only a bossfight because he was coincidentally commissioned to make a mural for the castle the same time Theo busts in. He didn't like how Theo ruined some of his works with his rush to open the door

Bert is a cream cheese instead of a cheese slime. his beret is actually a little cherry to distinguish him from the other creams.

Bert is really chill and humble, He's like Bob Ross, whenever he can, he'd try to talk about how every beauty in the world should be immortalized through a canvas

In parallel to Vigi's delusion of thinking he's a human, Bert thinks he's actually a living painting (which is completely possible for someone to be in the PT world since Pepperman was able to do it with his own art)

instead of a :{ face that Vigilante has, Bert has a :3 face

the naming formula is taken directly from Vigi

Vig E. Lantte

Cam M. Bert

There is a type of sweet cheese that's really creamy called camembert which his name is a direct reference from. Here is a picture of a camembert since it's hella cute

Camembert cheese was also suggested by Beefy, brother thank you for not allowing me to name this cunt Creamlad

Mr Lardo would be in place of Mr Stick but his motive is that he's collecting Theo's money on BEHALF of Mr Stick. They're probably the only ones who completely stay intact because there's not much canon info of Stick WITHIN the game itself I also feel he's a crossover character from his own "series" with how long McPig has him prior to PT so I just swap the character who makes the "cameo"

The toppins are still called toppins because they'd be used to decorate a cake or pie. They would be

Strawberry - Mushroom

Cream - Cheese

Cookie - Tomato

Icing (in a piping bag) - Sausage

actually I dont know yet for the pineapple but I'll get to it. I've only been figuring out this au since four days ago....

Lastly (of the characters), the Faker in this would be mechanical to match the original Noise's familiarity in robots

Fake Theo (temp name) would be engineered to be "Theo but way better" while actually being succesful with it. Faker would also sort of look like a mini figure of a ballerina. Referencing The Nutcracker

Opposite to Fake Peppino, Fake Theo is more graceful than terrifying but it's so uncanny how unnaturally pretty it is

and now some misc stuff

Title of the final level is When The Cookie Crumbles

the pepper pizza will be replaced with an extremely sweet pie and the immunity is caused by the sugar rush from it

Pizza Time is called Crunch Time

Pillar John would be a giant graham cracker since the walls are made of cookies instead of bricks. Gerome however, is a solidified bar of brownies. like a shittily made brownie that it just turned into a construction brick

Snotty is a pure white cream cheese and that's cuz he's actually made of glue. His name is Sticky

Pigs would either be bears or rabbits with how many times those two animals represented sweets

I'm gonna be clear with everyone here. I literally made this au cuz I'm going insane trying to make swap stuff with Pascal/Stefano when the au itself is so empty. sure it's colourful but it's so empty like I can't draw SS characters outside of poses

I tried like doing fanon modifications as I always do then there's so much I "modified" that at this point it's not Sugary Spire anymore. Just straight up a completely different au. The only similarity is that it's a swap au with sweets

it is what it is yknow. this is my life now. I said fuck it and went with the flow and boom, new personal au that I poured too much into

basically I blame Pascal for this

[pippenpaddlopsicopolisthethird]

Write twins better in three easy steps!

I meet so many people who act so stupid about this to my face, and I basically never see a set of identical twins that are well written in fiction, so here's a couple tips about identical twins. Mostly as a reference for writing them, but also so you can tell people to stop acting like an asshole to any twins you might know IRL.

FACT ONE:

Identical twins are two separate people.

Not one brain in two bodies

Not a hivemind that can read each other's thoughts

They don't speak in unison all the time (but might answer together if you address them as a collective and not an individual)

If they date they don't share the same partner

Can't be counted as one person for the sake of entry admission, airplane seating, employment, school tuition, or voting

Have their own names, even, and would prefer you use them instead of calling them both by the same collective name

I am eternally mad about We-Go from Kim Possible

FACT TWO:

Identical twins don't struggle telling themselves apart from each other. Your difficulty telling them apart is not something they have ever experienced themselves.

They understand the difference between looking at themself in the mirror and looking at their twin.

Yes, even as a young child.

No, they didn't have to learn the difference between a mirror and their sibling.

They never believe their twin to be themself.

They don't struggle to see themself as their own person.

They don't feel like they're looking at their own face all the time.

They don't have constant thoughts about how their sibling looks similar to themself.

The scene from The Parent Trap where one "twin" says 'OMG why do you look just like me??' just isn't realistic

FACT THREE:

Identical twins are, as a rule, not trying to actively deceive you and are sick of people assuming that.

Your difficulty in telling them apart does not mean they are trying intentionally to trick you or make you mess up

They also aren't trying to scare you or murder you and they won't like you if you tell them you're afraid of them

Dating a twin doesnt mean you're going to be parent-trapped (and if you can't tell your partner apart from their sibling, that's not a good look on you)

Some twins just go with the assumptions everyone else is making about them already and play into the stereotype, especially as kids

Literally every fictional pair of identical twins are tricksters already. Come up with something original.

Twins can still be compelling characters without leaning on these tropes

Writing a compelling pair of identical twins doesn't have to be hard if you either write them like other siblings, or understand that the stereotypes that circulate in fiction are some of the biggest issues they struggle against. Here are some good examples of compelling twin plots that I can think of, though not all of these characters are twins or identical:

Mabel's fear at the end of Gravity Falls that growing up meant that her brother would grow apart from her

Stanley Pines struggling to measure up to his parent's favoritism of his brother throughout childhood, but still dedicating his adult life to getting him back when he went missing

Ty Lee running away to join the circus so she could have an identity outside of her parents' curated "matched set" of siblings in AtLA

Vash and Knives in Trigun '99 experiencing the same childhood traumas and interpreting them differently, coming away from them with opposing ideologies in adulthood

Hikaru and Kaoru's trauma over being told they were interchangeable and their desire to find someone who would treat them as individuals in Ouran High School Host Club

[writingwhatiwanttoread]

Help! I've Landed in a Fanfiction

Pairing: fem!OC x Justice League

Genre: OC insert, Soulmate AU, Isekai, Reverse Harem

Characters: OC, Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, Hal Jordan, Diana Prince, Barry Allen, Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, Jason Todd, Damian Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Cassandra Cain, Barbara Gordon, John Constantine, and other DC characters as the story progresses

Warnings: all warnings not tagged, suicidal ideation, domestic violence, general violence and dark, 18+ themes, read at your own risk

Summary: Katie Smith wakes up in a new world, one out of comic books and ridiculously cheesy tropes. All she wants to do is find her way back home, but no one is helping her. Worst of all, they claim to be her soulmates. Surely it's all dream. How can she make herself wake up?

Chapter 1 (This One)

Chapter 2

Chapter One: This Bald Guy is Seriously Creepy

Katie woke up sore and freezing. The soreness was nothing new, of course, but instead of her weighted blanket and soft mattress, the floor under her was hard and chilly. Goosebumps trailed up and down her arms. Groaning, she sat up, keeping her eyes closed to stave off the headache that was forming at her temple. God, I feel so hungover. Given that Katie hadn't touched alcohol since college, however, she shook that thought from her head.

Opening her eyes, she found herself in a small, empty room. There was a large mirror in front of her, spanning the length of the wall. The other three walls were made of cinder block, and she didn't see a door. It looked like a bastardized version of a police holding cell (she had bailed Matt out enough to know that space intimately), but there was no furniture. Shakily getting to her feet, she examined herself in the mirror.

Her hair was messy, and her pajama shorts did nothing to hide the cellulite on her thighs or the outline of her stomach. She cringed as she noticed her plain gray shirt riding up. She pulled it down and stepped closer to the mirror. Her black eye was fading (small mercies) but the wrinkles around her eyes didn't do anything to make her feel better about herself. Matthew would've commented on her ability to make herself look unattractive even in her sleep, and she felt a strong wave of shame come over her. She was about to turn away from the strange mirror when a shock of color visible on her shoulder stopped her. She pulled down her collar to investigate.

A large circle of dark green vines looked to be tattooed on her left shoulder, trailing from her collar bone to above her heart. In the middle were five smaller intersecting circles, golden yellow and almost sparkling. There was a small outline of a dove in the middle, in the same color green as the vines. She was mesmerized. It almost seemed to throb with her heartbeat. She was about to touch it when she shook herself out of her trance. Where was she?

An intercom buzzed overhead. Katie looked up but didn't see a speaker anywhere. She tried not to flinch. A deep, rich voice filled the space.

"I've been waiting all day for you to wake up, my dear. Unfortunately, I can't be there right now to give you a proper welcome."

Katie counted to ten in her head. She heard somewhere that you could get out of dreams that way and was anxious to try it. The voice sounded friendly, but in a dangerous way. She was well-acquainted with that tone and wondered why her brain would dredge it up here, especially since this week Matthew would be gone on a work trip and she was relatively safe. When nothing happened, Katie cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Um. I. I am confused?" She said timidly, lilting her voice into a question at the end.

"Of course, my rules are simple." The voice ignored Katie. She wondered it it was a recording. "Follow my directions and get privileges. Disobey and you will be more uncomfortable than you find yourself now."

"Where am I?"

The lights plunged into darkness and a screen was projected onto the mirror. A tall man in a bespoke suit appeared on the screen. He was sitting behind a desk, holding a scotch in one hand and tapping his other hand on his desktop as if he were already bored with the conversation. He was bald, but looked to be around Katie's age, if not a little older.

"There you are. I imagine you are confused but I don't have the time to explain everything. Rest assured, you will want to listen to me and listen closely. You are under my jurisdiction right now. You will do nothing without my permission. You will eat when I say, sleep when I say, and shit when I say."

"This has got to be a dream." Katie said absently, touching the mirror, wondering at her own imagination. It was the most vivid thing she had ever experienced.

"Are you listening to me?" The man cleared his throat, annoyed.

"Who are you?" Katie tilted her head.

He rolled his eyes. "You can call me Sir."

Katie snorted.

"You find that funny?"

"I mean, that's such a cheesy line. You realize that right?" Katie was still walking around the small cell, trying to find the door with her fingers.

"Look at me." Katie did flinch here, and cursed her dream-self for having the same reaction to a stern dream-voice as she did to a stern-real-world voice.

"I do not have time for this. All you need to know is I brought you here and I can keep you here."

"Mkay. You might want to chill on the villain talk. You sound like a movie character. I'm not calling you Sir, by the way." That's the thing about dreams, Katie thought. Bravery was a lot easier when everything was fake.

"I'll give you time to rethink that then." With that the video popped off and the room was filled with darkness. Katie couldn't see her hand in front of her face, and after bumping into the wall, she decided to sit down. She squeezed her eyes tightly and tried to transport herself to a dream-cabin or dream-beach. Surely she could imagine Hawaii. Instead of feeling the warm sand between her toes, however, all she felt was cold. It was like the room dipped even lower in temperature. She shivered and huddled in a corner. The darkness was oppressive--the silence was too. Her stomach grumbled, and she held it, eventually curling into a ball. She couldn't gauge the time but it felt like hours. She fell into a restless sleep, her last thought wondering if sleeping in a dream was going to send her into an Inception like trance. She laughed to herself, and hoped when she woke up she could forget everything and take a warm bath.

----

Katie woke up, a little warmer, still hungry, and unfortunately not back in her bedroom. She was no longer in the weird cell, but instead tied to a chair. Her gray shirt had been removed, leaving her in her bra and pajama shorts. Her wrists ached with the bindings and her glasses were slipping down her nose. She tried to push them up with her shoulder but couldn't move much.

She was in a large office. There was a window that spanned the floor to the ceiling and she could tell that she was high up, as the only thing visible was clouds and the tops of buildings.

A clearing of a throat let her know she wasn't alone. Katie groaned.

"You again?" The bald man looked affronted.

She felt at her bindings, again surprised that everything was so vivid. It really hurt and she had never thought being asleep could feel so real. She was rethinking her initial hypothesis. Hadn't recovered coma patients talked about feeling sensations in their unconsciousness?

"I realize I was remiss in not introducing myself the other day. So let's start over. Your name is?"

Katie looked incredulously at the man. "Katherine." She spit out.

"Katherine." He sneered. "I am Lex Luthor," he said self-importantly.

Ok then, back to her original hypothesis. Definitely a dream. Katie barked out a laugh.

"Yeah, right. And I'm Batman." She growled mockingly. "Honestly."

The man stepped closer. It's not like Katie was unaware of the comic books and movies, but she had never had time to really dive in. She was too busy managing Matt's schedule and making sure everything was perfect at home. The last time Katie picked up one of his collectibles to dust, she found herself with a lot more than a black eye. It wasn't really something she was interested in anymore. But she knew of Lex Luthor. He kind of looked like she would have imagined him looking, which made sense she guessed, if her brain was making it all up.

He trailed his fingers on her shoulder, tracing the weird design on her chest from her collarbone to just above her bra. She shivered in revulsion but the way she was tied to the chair didn't allow her much movement.

"Interesting." He hummed. "Have you heard of me?"

She looked him in the eyes and then looked away quickly as he smirked at her. "I mean, yeah? Comic book character, Lex Luthor. Superman's nemesis, right? I mean, I've never really read them or anything, but I saw Smallville once."

He was staring at her like a bug under a microscope. "Mm. What else do you know about me?"

Katie quirked an eyebrow. "I am confused."

"I expected that. You don't seem like a particularly bright woman. Definitely plain looking, overweight, extremely unremarkable. It's fascinating, isn't it?"

It's not like any of that was something Katie didn't think about herself daily, but she still felt a bit betrayed by her brain.

"What is?" She bit out.

"That you were chosen out of all the people in your world. That you were the one the whole universe decided upon. It's a shame. I'm sure there were so many more worthy than you."

"What are you talking about?"

"You know me as a character, darling? Tell me. How many people lived in your world?"

"My world? What are you talking about?"

"The global population. Try to keep up."

Katie was confused at what that could mean or why he was asking. She decided to play along since last time ended with her in a cold cell for hours.

"I don't know. Over 7 billion."

"Over 7 billion." He purred, practically petting the weird tattoo on her chest. "How does it feel to know that 7 billion people were sacrificed for the unimpressive specimen you are?"

Katie scrunched her nose. The man cosplaying as Lex Luthor in her mind laughed. "Do you know what this is?" He tapped the tattoo. She stayed silent.

"No. You wouldn't, would you? You don't know much. A world where the greatest minds are comic book characters. Where soul marks don't exist." Soul marks?, Katie mouthed to herself. "I almost feel sorry for you, honey. But at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter, does it? You're here for one reason and one reason only."

He ran his fingers through her messy hair. An alarm sounded in the distance.

"Let the games begin."

[atinyjules]

This is my first time requesting for a Kdrama character. So I want some Lee rang x human reader in the modern time from 1st season. Where reader is a highschool or a uni student. Shes a bit introverted but she can be quite fun too.So how'd they meet and all?

UNDERSTAND - LEE RANG

Ofc! That'd be great! It's like 1 am in the morning right now but I stayed awake hoping someone would request a fic-🤧

Okay so my creative juices are working really good right now! So let's get started!

Thank you for Requesting (´∀｀)♡

Genre: Fluff, romance, strangers to friends to lovers trope, fantasy au, humor.

Pairings: Lee Rang x Human!reader (named)

Warnings: Swearing, violence, mentions of death, blood and Rang just being a misunderstood half demon who just wants to be loved.

Crap.

That's what you felt like as a second year uni student trying to survive the harsh summer heat with two assignments due in two days and continuous tests for the next 4 days. On top of that you were two months behind on paying your rent and one last warning away before you're eventually kicked out of your apartment. But what did you expect?

As an orphan who had no financial or emotional support, you had to support yourself but even after working three jobs a day it still barely covered your tuition fees for a year. Life was hard but you didn't have a choice. These days people looked for employees with excellent social skills and unfortunately being an introvert, speaking and conversing with clients was not your forte.

Which brings us to your second job of the day at a skincare boutique.

Noeul's

"Thank you for you're purchase ma'am, please come again." I said politely as my customer left, smile falling to a frown almost immediately.

"No amount of skincare products will fix that prideful ugly hag's face." I muttered under my breath as I took a deep breath in and looked at my reflection in the mirror.

"Gosh my face looks so tired and exhausted...don't tell me I've been tending to customers like this..." I mumbled as I took a break to freshen myself up.

As I fixed my makeup in the wash room I couldn't help but eavesdrop at my colleagues conversation.

"I heard that your boyfriend proposed!"

"Yes, he did! See!" she exclaimed flaunting her engagement ring.

I let out a sigh internally as their voices started fading away and my thoughts took my attention.

Everyone I know have their lives all figured out and here I am a broke uni student who could get evicted by next week.

I sighed as I felt my emotions skyrocket through the roof and finally crack as I felt my tears pour out after keeping everything bottled up inside me for a month. Fortunately there was no one in the wash room at that moment but I was sure that my colleagues were out gosipping about my melt down. But nonetheless I cried my heart out and by the time I came out my shift had already ended so I went towards the changing room to get out of my uncomfortable uniform.

As I made my way towards the changing room I couldn't help but stop and look at the commotion that was happening in the perfume aisle. I came infront to see a man in a red suit holding another man up in the air with his hands wrapped around his neck as the victim suffocated.

"Aish, people can't mind their own business these days can they?" he said as his eyes connected with mine and he scanned me from top to bottom.

"You work here?" he asked me as I nodded and he threw two perfume bottles towards me. Luckily I caught it and cleared my throat.

"Should I pack it for you, sir?" I asked as he nodded.

"Pack them separately while you're at it yeah?" he asked as I nodded and bowed lightly.

After I was done packing the perfumes he payed for it and took the bags but instead of leaving he leaned at the counter and brought his lips to my ears making me flustered as his warm breath fanned my skin.

"Switch the power off and get under the table when I tell you to...alright? Cause it'd be a shame if you die." he whispered, catching me off guard as I nodded.

He then turned towards the entrance door and locked it, turning around with a menacing smirk as he closed the blinds and put the perfumes in a corner.

"On the count of three." he said and looked at me with a smirk as I grazed my fingers over the switch.

"Three" he said and walked towards the sample section.

"Two....one." he said and I switched off the power and quickly got under the table. And just as I did a string of gunshots and screams began, all I could hear other than those noises were the sounds of furniture breaking and bodies being thrown around. Out of fear I covered my ears and screamed as a body suddenly collided to the table next to the one I was taking shelter in.

"There you are, come on." the man from before said and propped me up on my feet almost immediately and pulled me out of the store with the perfume in his hand.

"W-What are you?" I asked after I saw many bodies splayed across the destroyed boutique.

"Your knight in shining armour." he said and turned to look at me with a smirk as I gasped at the sight of his golden eye.

"W-Wait-" he cut me off my pulling me into an alleyway.

"Keep yourself out of trouble, let's meet again. But until then, try not to die." he said and handed me one of the perfume bottle and a bag.

"They have a really strong sense of smell so I suggest you change your clothes and spritz on a lot of this " he said and smirked at me and walked away.

"What just-wait!" I ran out of the alleyway towards the way he walked to only to see an empty street making me gasp as I quickly ran to the nearest public washroom and did as he said.

"Are these his clothes?" I asked myself as I wore the oversized sweater and shorts that were in the bag. After that I spritz a large amount of the perfume on myself and made my way home.

Two days later I found myself at the park eating a watermelon popsicle, watching as the kids played in the water sprinklers. I smiled and chuckled as I watched them intently wishing I could go back to my younger years at the orphanage I grew up in. Even though I wasn't adopted, my life in the orphanage was quite nice...we had a nice headmistress, good food, loving care takers and a comfortable and safe place to live in. I sighed as I finished up my popsicle, grinning when it read two free popsicles.

"Ah, you're alive." I looked up to see the guy from monday causing me to shriek and flinch.

"Y-You!" I exclaimed as he smirked and sat next to me on the bench.

"Oh, you won." he said looking at my popsicle stick.

As we ate our popsicle, I couldn't help but stare at him.

He was definitely handsome, without a doubt and strong...really strong which brought me to the conclusion that he probably was either not a human or an incredibly strong human, my bet was on the first choice as the grandma who would make our meals when I was little told me that spirits and demons of sorts existed among us.

"If you keep staring at me you're popsicle will melt." he said making me turn a dark shade of red as I quickly chewed my popsicle causing me to have extreme brain freeze.

"Ahhh-" I groaned and clutched my head as he looked at me with amused eyes.

"I've met a lot of humans but you must be the most interesting and amusing one yet." he said as I froze and looked at him with wide eyes.

"Humans? Does that mean..." I trailed as he looked at the bed of roses.

"You like flowers?" he asked me and before I could even respond he already had a bouquet of roses in his hand.

"Take these as a gift for helping me out that day." he said as I looked at the roses.

"I don't take flowers from a stranger." I mumbled as he chuckled.

"I like your personality, the name's Lee Rang but just call me Rang." he said as I looked at him and smiled softly.

"I'm Kang Noeul." I said and accepted the flowers as he stood up.

"Nice name, it suits you." he said as he put on his shades and brought his hand forward.

"Friends?" he asked as I nodded and shook his hand and once again in the blink of an eye he propped me up to my feet.

"A fox always repays kindness, so tell me what you want...anything you wish for I'll get it for you." He said as I thought for a while.

"I don't have friends so...can you be my friend ? Like, a real friend not just for the sake of repaying my kindness but my real friend?" I asked as he chuckled and ruffled my hair.

"I'm not one for befriending humans seriously, but you're an exception." he said and walked in front of me and stopped.

"Are you just gonna stand there? Come on, we have places to be." he said as I furrowed my brows.

"Where?" I asked not realising that the next few months would be filled with me regretting my decisions.

"Who's car was that?!" I exclaimed referring to the car we just trashed as we ran away.

"My elder brother's." he said completely chill as I gasped.

"The one who abandoned you?!" I exclaimed as I picked up my speed.

"Why are you running so fast?" he asked as I continued sprinting.

"I don't want to die in the hands of a pure Gumiho...if you, a half gumiho are that strong I can't imagine how strong he'll be." I said as he held my hand and stopped me.

"Who said I'd let him kill you hm?" he said as he started walking us in a slow pace.

I've been friends with Rang who is not only a Gumiho but also my roommate for about 2 and a half months now...and everyday is filled with us getting in bizarre adventures or causing mischief. Being friends with him somehow unlocked a new version of my self that I wasn't aware I had while still being myself.

Having him in my life not only changed my life but also my feelings for him compared to when we had first met. Sure he was bad, he did bad things and had a long standing grudge on his elder brother who he was currently planning on getting revenge from but nonetheless he made me feel safe, protected and loved...something I haven't felt in years.

"You'd be willing to protect me?" I asked, completely surprised as he scoffed.

"We've been living with each other for than two months and that was enough for me to know that you can't live without me." he said with a smug expression, he isn't completely wrong though.

"Yeah, yeah." I said as he suddenly sat down in a bench and left me standing as he made me stand between his legs and wrapped his arms around my waist and burried his face in my waist.

"You won't...abandon me too will you?" he asked through the fabric of my sweater, catching me off guard.

"Why would you think that?" I asked as he held me tighter.

"My intentions aren't good...I only want revenge and bloodshed." he said as I sighed and ran my fingers through his hair.

"Maybe you're not as good as most people but for me it doesn't matter...I won't make fun of you for that...nor will I judge. But I just want you to know that I won't abandon you and I hope that you won't abandon me too." I said as he chuckled.

"Never, you have my word." he said as I took a deep breath.

"Rang?...can I tell you something?" I asked as he smiled and kissed my forehead.

"I love you too idiot...I can assure you that cause a fox always stays loyal to his mate." he said catching me off guard.

"How did you know?" I asked as he pulled me into a real hug.

"You weren't good at hiding your feelings, I saw and felt the love you have for me enough to entrust you with my heart, I love You Kang Noeul." he said and leaned in making me close my eyes as he pressed a soft yet loving kiss to my lips under the orange skies created by the sun's rays as it set.

"I love you too, Rang-ah."

"Never thought that I'd find

That the one in my life would be so near

And now you're here

I got you, you got me

When it's us, babe, you make me feel complete

You're all I need."

_______________________

I am so sorry if the story doesn't reach your expectations but I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it ♡♡♡

Thank you for reading♡

[bridgertonandchocolate]

Now that Bridgerton has been released for over a week and I've had it on repeat since then it's time to process through some thoughts.

Overall this is my favorite season of Bridgerton. It's not surprising because Polin has always been my favorite pairing since season 1 and friends to lovers is one of my all time favorite romance tropes.

While I am loving the season there are still a few beefs I had while watching it that still irk me, but don't bother me as much as they did in the beginning which will be discussed at the end of the post.

Prepare for a long post and if you read it all thank you! Also SPOILERS ABOUND! Let's start with everything I have loved so far:

Mirrors. There are mirrors freaking everywhere in the season and we all know why. A lot of the side characters have mirrors in their scenes. We see Kate has a bunch of mirrors in her study, the Mondriches have mirrors. Mirrors everywhere to be found. Not only is a mirror going to play a major part in the second part, but it's so symbolic of Colin and Pen's journey of really finding themselves and subsequently each other. But Bridgerton is not subtle this season. There's mirrors everywhere you look.

Colin Bridgerton is a cinnamon roll and must be protected at all costs. My previous post already addressed a lot of the Colin hate floating around out there and I won't hear it. Our man is out there fully falling harder for Pen and not realizing how much he's affected by her. Until he does and then he's properly torturing himself.

The main characters this season are so relatable. Being a mid/plus size late bloomer female who has never received any romantic attention I relate to Penelope so much. I nearly cried in the second episode because I've had the same feelings she was having in that moment of believing you'll never have that in your life. At least she had Colin. But besides my personal connection to Pen compared to the previous two couples I think Colin and Pen are the most realistic and relatable characters.

The book references. I was a little nervous about changing the storyline to Colin having lessons with Penelope and helping her find a husband and Pen having another suitor, but I enjoyed it. It allowed them to bring a lot of humor to the show where we haven't really seen that in this show before. But they also incorporated very key aspects of the Polin relationship. The first kiss was nearly verbatim from the book and the very end of the carriage scene was also straight from the book just some dialogue switched characters. More on the carriage later.

Colin realizes he loves Pen much earlier than in the book. So glad for this change since we already knew Colin was the biggest dummy for not realizing what was right in front of his face. I'm glad we saw sparks of it from him before the first kiss. The garden confession? Please. It was practically a love confession as he was talking about all of the things he likes about her. The boy just couldn't put two and two together. And I'm really glad Pen tried to move on from her feelings it really put Colin into a place where he had to imagine his life without her and the man couldn't handle it.

Here are some beefs I have with the season but again they're pretty minimal and honestly I'm somewhat okay with it now except for one of them:

Lady Danbury not being involved with Polin whatsoever. They name their first born Agatha for heaven's sake. I really anticipated Lady D to be involved with Pen being a wallflower and practically just like her, but .... whatever. They gave Lady D other things to do this season instead.

Pen never asked Colin to help her find a husband. Okay this one still actually bothers me still. In episode 4 Penelope mentions to Colin when they're finished dancing that it was a mistake asking for his help and then in the carriage she says again that when she asked him for his help in finding a husband she didn't know he'd also deny her one (I told you guys I have watched this literally nonstop for a week). But she literally NEVER asked him to help her. In episode 1 he says, "if a husband is what you seek let me help you." At no point was she like "Please Colin will you help me?" I couldn't stand this. The only thing Pen asked of Colin was if he'd kiss her and I stand by this. That's sloppy continuity in the writing.

The brothels. Both scenes were completely unnecessary to me. The first one I've come around on slightly, but I will never get over the second brothel scene. I get what they were trying to do, but with the awkward flirting with all the ladies in the ton that was already accomplished for me that Colin was trying to act like someone he definitely wasn't. I didn't need to see Slut Colin for that. And I get it for the first brothel scene they made sure to hit that home, but the second one? The second one comes after he realizes he's fallen in love with Penelope and I don't fully understand his motivation for going there. I also am just sick of the rake storyline and since we know that's not how Colin is I was upset they tried to turn him into that. But characters must grow. To me it could've been done differently or even better yet not at all.

No flashback to baby Polin. I really was hoping for a flashback. There was a flashback episode for season 1 and 2 but none for 3. I really thought they would have done a flashback of some kind. At least Colin remembers and talks about how they met. "Do you remember when we first met?" Bro please. You don't need to ask Penelope if she remembers it's the moment she fell in love with you, bro. I'm hoping for a callback to this in the second part when she hopefully tells Colin she's loved him for years.

Last beef. That the carriage scene and love realization happened with no LW reveal. I get it. They're pushing this off to the second part. Makes sense for the drama of it all, but it fundamentally goes against season 1 Pen when she was trying to convince Marina to tell Colin that she was pregnant. Like hello. Now she's just doing what Marina did by keeping this from him. And I'm sure that's what part 2 will be about, but I don't like it. In the book he proposed to her fully knowing who she was and now in the show there's this huge chunk of who she is now missing and I DON'T LIKE IT!

This is way too long. Stay tuned for thoughts on the carriage scene, other favorite Polin moments and all my hopes and dreams for part 2.

[cookiesupplier]

Every Rose Has Its Thorns - Part Twenty-Six

pairing: Ricky Olson x ofc x Chris 'Motionless' Cerulli

warnings/tropes: slow burn, soulmates, strangers to enemies to lovers, betrayal, angst, fluff, smut, language, panic attack, stalking, online bullying, mental health issues.

summary: In a world where soulmates inexplicably receive a tattoo that will match that of their soulmate the moment they turn eighteen years old, being famous and covered in very visible tattoos can make finding your true soulmate a questionable fate. For everyone involved.

❗❗ author’s note: This chapter includes serious mental health situations in the past of a character, involving being unwillingly committed into a mental facility. Please beware of this potential trigger. Also, I am in no way a medical professional.❗❗

tags: @tearfallpixie @cncohshit @jordynyingling0219 @faceless-mirror @nyxthedestroyerofworlds @wild-child-7747 @witchyweeb34 @black-damask1999 @jilliemiw86 @ilovesamkiszka @lyschko666 @lacktoesandtoddlerants @bngurngheart @collapsedglasshouses @laurpartyprogram @sunsshinesunny @malerieee

Tag List is Open, please let me know if you would like to be added to it or in general.

Thank You.

She was thanking him, what, Rick as happy as he was that she wasn’t mad at him, she was thanking him, again, for something he didn’t think he deserved. It pained him that she thought she had to thank him for this, thank him for trying to look out for her. Especially when, a moment ago, he thought she was going to destroy him for invading her privacy.

“Sweetheart, you don’t-”

But before he could tell her, again, like this morning, that she didn't have to thank her for treating her with human decency, something he should have done from the start. Chris was reaching for his shoulder to stop him, fingers gripping him with a light squeeze to get his attention and cutting him off.

"It's okay, JellyBean, it's okay.. We're here for you."

When Ricky looked up over her shoulder at him confused, Chris just shook his head, and that gesture just made the feeling even worse. He didn’t get it, what wasn’t he understanding here, was he so out of the loop that he was just missing something entirely? Chris seemed to take pity on him after a moment, especially when it didn’t seem like Talia wanted to let him go yet, wanting to give her a moment to just breath..

Grabbing his phone, quickly working his fingers over the keys, typing out a message, and Rick picked up his phone to silence his messages before it came through and alerted her, assuming that was why Chris sent the message instead of just talking. His phone vibrating when the notifications started coming through, he glanced down to the screen.

Chris: she’s been fucked over by almost everyone in her life Chris: realised she can trust you to have her back with this at least Chris: just let it happen

Looking up from his phone at Chris, letting his face go completely slack for a second, he had got to be kidding him, just let it happen? Really, that was his advice right now, how was that supposed to be helping him, at all? Chris, however, was just smirking, his face all kinds of amused at the pure look of nothing but incredulity on Ricky’s face.. And Ricky just glared at him for it before he felt his phone vibrate in his hand, Chris had sent more..

Chris: don’t be stubborn Chris: trust me

This time he just rolled his eyes, he’d fucked her over in so many other ways though.. And yet, this one thing, just this, the thought of hurting her like this, made him feel fucking sick. Another glance at Chris.. Trust him.. Shit.. he had been right before.. Dammit, okay. Setting his phone back down, his hand moving back to rub down her back.

“We’re here for you, Sweetheart, no matter what.”

So they found himself holding her much like they had been this morning, sitting on the couch. Talia between them, not wanting to let go of Rick, but seeming to enjoy the comfort of Chris because when he’d gone to sit back from her, she’d made a strangled noise into Ricky’s shoulder prompting the other man to glance back at his friend and Chris to move closer to the pair again.

Still, she was far calmer than she had been this morning and so it took a far smoother time than it had then.. And Chris was grateful. Not because of how long it took, but because he never wanted to see her in so much pain like that again. It was soul-destroying to see anyone in that much pain, let alone someone he cared about, and Chris cared about Talia, so much. She had a delightful spirit, and even if she wasn’t Ricky’s soulmate, she was still Ava’s best friend, her sister, and the beauty in her heart, it was just… he swallowed, glancing at Rick over her shoulder. Smiling to him slightly as Talia sat up straighter now. 

She shifted so she was no longer facing Ricky with her back to Chris, glancing to each of them on at a time,

“Maybe we should sit up at the table now, make this conversation easier to have, while we can look at each other more clearly?”

Chris raised his eyebrow, funny that she said it like that, considering while she was talking Talia was dead set on not looking at either of them, just staring down at her hands in front of her, twisting her fingers, avoiding both of them entirely. 

“If that’s what you want, JellyBean.”

He glanced to Ricky, and sure enough, the other nodded, seeming to agree with him. Whether her reasoning was valid, considering she was the one that appeared to be the most uncomfortable right now, if she wanted to move from the couch, then they moved from the couch. Sure enough, soon they were relocated sitting up at the dining table, so they could all see each other easily, just like Talia had suggested, even if her eyes were still a little downcast towards her hands, but it was a start.

Talia took a deep breath, twisting her fingers in front of her, going over in her head what she needed to tell them, but needing to figure out how..

“I’m sorry I freaked out on you Ricky, don’t stop me, I know your opinion on my apologies. Just listen okay.”

Looking across the table at him, he was the one that had the most trouble with her apologising, she knew Chris told her she didn’t have to, but scolding her, and making her tell him off, he’d never gone that far!

“This is going to be hard enough for me to get out, so I need you to just listen, please?”

She took in a shuddering breath when he seemed to nod in agreement, and she smiled, nodding back, grateful that he was willing to accept that she wanted to do this her way this time.

“When I told Ava, Kyle and Jordan that my father tried to commit me, for a short time.. For a short time, he succeeded. Well, six months.”

“Six Months?!”

It wasn’t Ricky who burst out in surprise, and Talia glanced over at Chris who had been the one to speak up right then, only to see Ricky reach out to press a hand to his arm, seemingly as a means of comfort.

“How did Ava and the others not notice anything? I’m sorry, if my best friend disappeared for six months, I’d damn well notice.”

Talia smiled softly, he was so passionate about protecting those he loved and seeing Ricky press his hand tighter against his arm, holding onto him, showing how much he cared for Chris there, she nodded a bit to herself. He might seem so very difficult to deal with, but it was obvious that he had a softer side in there, somewhere.

“Um, well, we were in college, and my family took ski trips to Europe every year. I always hated it, its lavish, and pointless because I couldn’t bring any of my friends, family only and all of that. Usually its only about two months, but that year, instead of leaving for Europe, my parents intervened on my part of the trip.. And as far as my friends were aware, I was off having a wonderful love affair with the gorgeous sights and beauty that is Europe..”

Swallowing, she took in a deep breath,

“And you never thought to correct them.”

When she looked towards Ricky at his question.. She paused, words caught in her thought..

“It took me six months to get out of the facility, six months of being convinced I wasn’t your soulmate.. Six months of therapy and conditioning in how to live a more open and free life.. It was so painful, because the worst part was that, you see, there comes a point.. Where you start to believe it. You start to wonder, would you really be in there with all these people, these people with delusions, if you don’t have delusions either? Would a sane person really be stuck in there?”

Shuddering, she just shook her head for a moment, needing a second to just soothe herself,

“Once I was out, and I moved into Ava’s apartment before my parents could stop me, Ava was too excited to see me to ask why.. Sometimes I wonder if maybe she at least suspects the truth, or something like it, but I don’t dare say it out loud for fear of triggering something, like... like yesterday.”

Her eyes shifted back down to her hands, considering how Ava had pushed for dinner, but then backed off, she wasn’t sure either way anymore whether she thought Ava knew or not.. Maybe she didn’t, maybe thinking she knew was more wishful thinking in the hopes someone, anyone had noticed something had changed her. Of course, there were some people that knew, but the problem was the three friends who knew her well enough, had been excised from her life during the process, and fed so many lies, the web her family had woven, and Talia so easily continued rather than think about the pain after the fact.

“So when you, Ricky started talking about finding out about what was going on about the tattoo, I flashed back, I had been considering talking to my father about the people in the facility thinking the sensations were connected to my claimed delusions and for a moment, I thought I should tell you about talking to them. The moment I thought that I started spiralling, and after that, I just kept slipping further and further the more I tried to come back from the initial kick in the metaphorical gut.”

She took a deep breath now, not looking up from her hands as she talked about her episode that morning, still feeling so drained despite her nap during the afternoon.

“While that admittedly isn’t the start of my trauma, the nuke that dropped, as it were.”

Rick, all he wanted was to move around the table and wrap her up in his arms, but knowing that touching her was a dangerous game right now. Yes, the hugs on the couch had been fine, but that had been while she had been in tears, or near tears, and now she was neither. He did however reach across the table and rest his hand over hers that was clasped in front of her on the table.

When she looked up from her hands, he could almost feel the way her breath caught, and the shock of the sting of his tattoo was of little surprise this time when her wide eyes met his.

“It’s alright Talia, I promise, whether we’re together or not, I won’t let you have to go through any of this alone again.”

Chris looked between the pair,

“Would it help, if I could confirm, that you two are, without an absolute doubt, soulmates.. Because doctor's false diagnosing, parents' stupidity, and fake tattoos, it can all happen, but this effect from your tattoos can’t be faked right here, and you two are struggling with it something awful..”

Chris half cringed at the look Ricky gave him then,

“You knew?!”

“I suspected. I still can only suspect really, there is no proof for this kind of thing. It’s only theoretical, the theory, is that it's a trauma response for soulmates. Your soul bond has responded to both of your suffering, once you met, it must have triggered something, and now it's gone into massive overdrive.. Theoretically, it’ll calm down once the bond has formed naturally.”

And before Talia telling them what she’d gone through, he had no idea her side of it.

“Theoretically?”

He cringed again when Talia asked softly,

“I don’t know anything for certain, JellyBean.. I only know the theory, I have read everything I can get my hands on about the bond between soulmates, ever since.. Well..”

“Ever since when?”

He sighed as he looked at her, now it was his turn for a bit of a confession, wasn’t it? Glancing at Ricky, he knew the story, but Talia didn’t, and it wasn’t an easy one to tell. He supposed she might know of some of it as a fan, but a lot of it was missing, a lot of it never got out, thankfully.

“From my own time being committed.”

Dividers by @saradika-graphics (roses) & @cafekitsune (trigger)

[sizzlinbaconpeach]

I'm sorry but it's ridiculous that you ship them romantically unless there are pictures of Jill and Chris like this, they're just partners and friends in arms and they don't have feelings for each other.

https://64.media.tumblr.com/2f2638883b9d0d8c7e8b2691d5f37667/f71e4854a5101f7a-ee/s640x960/1f0057caacb4c01dfffa18e2f912d87c37ab560b.pnj

Hello! I do not want to start any shipping wars. So, please do not see my replies as an attack on you or your ship. I'm simply sharing what I see in the ship that I enjoy as an explanation to your questions. No hard feelings. I respect your perspective, but I hope you can respect that I have a slightly different one. I fully admit, I want to ship them (Valenfield) romantically, but I can also see them as just work partners and friends.

That's what I like about their relationship - they've worked together for so many years that, in my mind, they practically act like they're married. BUT, I do see how others don't see them as romantically involved (especially since it seems Capcom likes to drop subtle hints and then gaslight them later XD). I haven't seen the newest CGI film (yet), but I bet it just keeps their relationship pretty platonic (which I anticipate).

It's just a pairing that I grew to love as I delved into the RE universe.

RE5 in particular made me ship them haaarrrrdd. They both fought for each other so desperately and it breaks my heart just thinking about it. And it didn't really hit me until I took the time to think about what they've both been through and how much they mean to each other. When I first played RE5 I didn't really understand it. It wasn't until I looked into their history a little more and then read a lot of the surrounding media (like the in game character files, etc) that it struck me just how intertwined Chris and Jill are and have always been in the franchise - then I started shipping them pretty hard.

The first time I watched their reunion scene in RE5, after gaining this new insight, I was trying my best to hold back tears. Like, she died for him and suffered mind-control to save him. And he was the one that freed her from it. He never stopped looking for her (Kind of like the classic lovers trope of knowing the other is alive).

And then the flood gates opened as Chris left the elevator all sad after leaving Jill's side. It was just so obvious to me how much it hurt Chris to have to leave Jill again after searching for her for years.

To me, the writers make it pretty clear just how much Valenfield mean to each other - the real purpose for Chris to even be in Africa was to find Jill. I guess there is a tragedy to their relationship that I can appreciate. Like... how different their lives might have been if bio-terrorism was never a threat. Or at least, if it didn't continually screw with their lives. I can't help but feel like maybe they would have pursued a relationship with each other if things hadn't become so hectic. But instead they were stuck in this 'not the right time' sort of limbo because they have to focus on taking down the next threat. And instead of them being able to enjoy some of their successes in the fight, they come out more battered and bruised. More broken than before. And that's just really sad.

I'm obviously not going to convince you (and that's okay!) as you must have your own preferred ship, but, since this is my blog, I'm going to share more potential romantic (and canon) Valenfield:

Also, some quotes from an official RE5 Japanese guidebook:

"...Chris' chest is filled with an indescribable emptiness. Many comrades have been sacrificed to repair the errors of fools. Even if the world is saved, these friends will never return. He had lost his irreplaceable former partner." "...Chris is staring hard at a statue of a sleeping beauty. He's like a person looking at his lover through a mirror, where the other side of the mirror is a different dimension. [regarding the picture of Jill in a Tricell test tube] ... Despite that, Chris is able to recognize the person. He has been chasing this lead all the while, just so he can repair the missing piece of his heart. This can't be a mistake, nor an illusion. This is a fact."

Indescribable emptiness? Irreplaceable? Looking at his lover? Missing piece of his heart?? Well slap me upside the head and shake the Valenfield outta me, but that's some pretty strong love language if you ask me.

And again, it's totally okay if you don't ship them! I can totally see how they could just be close partners, and you can enjoy whatever ship you'd like.

I only hope I can help you understand a little better why I like the Valenfield ship. And yes, I do admit I'm probably a little too fanatical about it. Sorry ;; BONUS:

[sunnyyflowerrs]

Hi! I’m currently starting my first ever jjk fanfic and I’m wondering if you have any advice, specifically related to fanfic writing and not just writing in general. Thank you! :)

(I’m going anon because it’s still a secret lol)

omg hi anon!!! omg you’re writing a fanfic?? that’s going to be so funnn! i’m super flattered you would ask me, but i also just starting writing fics (and writing in general), which means IM still figuring out what works for me and refining my style. so, keep that in mind and take my advice with a grain of salt ;)

so without further ado: sunny’s tips for writing fanfic!! (under the cut bc this will be verbose)

fanfic specific:

1. characterization. know your characters!

one of the best and worst things about fanfiction is that you did not create these characters. this is good because you don’t have to work to create them, and often (esp in jjk) they are very well thought out characters that feel real. but, this can be difficult or frustrating if they start to feel out of character when you write them. it’s important to critically think about their role in the story, how they interact with other characters, and what things they would or would not do. one thing that i’ve found helps when they feel out of character is to rewatch certain clips from the show to see how they talk with others/present themselves or see a relationship dynamic they have with another person.

for example, when i was writing one fic, i really wanted to get megumi and tsumiki’s relationship right. i knew he looked up to her, but it wasn’t blind admiration - that doesn’t make sense with megumi’s character. so i went and watched some of his monologues on her, and found that specifically, he thought of her as a good person, and used her as a moral compass. he believes that the world isn’t a good place because it’s a place that doesn’t allow for the happiness of good people like her. i wove this concept into the fic, which ended up making it feel more authentic to megumi! (at least imo)

2. understanding the world

another double edged sword in fanfic is that you don’t have to write the world! but also, that means you have to understand the world. i’m not talking about cursed energy stuff bc cmon lets be real, no one understands that /j. if you are writing a serious fic or a character study set in canonverse, it’s important to understand the overarching themes of the story, so that if can fit into canon. if its set in an alternate universe (AU) it’s still important to understand the world of canon so that you can translate things into your own universe. a (shameless) example from my own writing is the firefighter au im writing; gojo is a lieutenant because this is the position that directly oversees the detectives (megumi, yuuta, maki, and inumaki), instead of a captain because a liutenant best mirrors a teacher. a captain would be closer to the principal, and any other police administration would be the jujutsu higher-ups. and gojo has the power to be higher up in the hierarchy in both universes, but he chooses to stay down to mentor the students/detectives. i love reading au’s with well thought out world building where things parallel to canon, and its an exercise in creativity and is super fun to both write and read!

general writing tips:

ok i know you said fanfic specific, but i had to sneak these in here briefly bc in some ways they do relate to how to write fanfic

3. read! reading other authors’ voices can help you create your own. currently reading a book series and I like to take things from how she writes and see how that translates into my own voice (my author of choice currently is RF Kuang). this is a work that is edited and published so you know its good quality! this can happen before or during the process of writing the fic. also because its a fic, reading other good fanfics can help you gain ideas on fun tropes or other ideas.

4. show not tell (but you can tell sometimes): this is the boilerplate writing advice that everyone gives, and yes, it does ring true! make sure that you are implying the action, emotion or themes rather than just saying it. however, I’ve noticed that when writing fluff/unserious ones, you can explicitly tell the audience some things. fanfic is a very easy to read format, and though prose and implication can be really pretty and impactful, sometimes the comedic effect is best said just by telling the reader what happened, or just being very real about what’s happen to increase the giggle effect.

ok that was A LOT of yapping, but these are kinda the things i would say to a beginner fic writer! believe in yourself and your ability, you will do GREAT!

once again i am also VERY NEW to writing, so if some of this is common sense to you, you can skip it, but ngl everything is new to me, so take my advice with that in mind!! i could also be wrong on some things so authors can also add stuff in the comments to help

also there is this jjk writers discord im in run by @fluffy-bacon363 , and the writers there are always so helpful and its nice to workshop ideas with them in there!! i think the link is on bacon’s tumblr

thank you for asking and hope this helps!

now that i’m rereading this i just realized you said first jjk fanfic and not fanfic …. so if i got this completely wrong u can send me another ask and i can yap abt jjk fanfic specifically ;)

[meenawrites]

Kiri and Spider

Don't mind me, just been thinking about these two a lot as I brainstorm their relationship in the fic I want to write. 

First off, Kiri. We can instantly tell that Kiri's connection to Spider is unlike her connection to anyone else around her. They are soft with each other, share the secret of her connection to Eywa, and are physically affectionate with each other moreso than she is with any other character (aside from Tuk who has the privilege of being a cute kid). From the way Kiri acts in the movie, I got the impression of her being at the age where she thinks all boys are stupid (which, fair), especially in the scene where she's being bullied by the Metkayina boys and Lo'ak steps in to defend her. She's seen to be rolling her eyes and looking visibly annoyed at both sides here. And yet, she never seems annoyed at Spider in the brief scenes we get of them through the film, even when he playfully pulls her tail, they just kind of prance happily around each other. 

Now I think that Spider has no doubt in his mind that he loves Kiri. You can tell in the way he looks at her when she's not looking, the way he searches for her and knows where to find her first. They have unbreakable bond that I think lies in the fact that they're both kind of misfits. He's a human orphan who's Pandoran at heart who frankly no one wants, and while she has a loving family she's the anomaly that was born from a soulless Avatar. I think they bond over their outcastedness (I know that's not a word but bear with me) and that's what keeps them so close. 

Another thing that stuck out to me is that she calls him "Monkey Boy". No one else calls him Monkey Boy among the Sully kids. It's purely an affectionate name between him and Kiri which further denotes how close they are to each other. 

I know some people say oh but Spider's adopted by the Sully's or whatnot but as we can see throughout the movie until perhaps the very end, Spider is unwanted and independent because of it. I haven't read the comics but I know he had foster parents he never really connected with and were more caretakers than anything, the scientists don't really seem to care for him in that parental capacity either. Let's not forget that Neytiri can barely stand him and hates that he's allowed to get close to her kids. And Jake, Jake distinctly called Spider a stray at the beginning of the movie. This is further reinforced by the fact that when Spider is captured, neither Jake nor Neytiri have any thought of going after him when we all know that had it been any one of their kids, even Kiri who is their adopted child, they would have started a war to get them back. 

The icing on the cake for me is the moment on the boat where Kiri's mom and Spider's father have knives to the children's throat. It's no coincidence that it's those two specifically who are being threatened in this scene. They chose Kiri deliberately to be there because they've been hinting at the depth of their bond throughout the whole movie. If it had been Lo'ak instead of Kiri for example, the vibes of the scene (for lack of a better word at the moment) would have been very different. But Kiri and Spider being there and begging to spare the other's life in that moment regardless of the peril their own lives are in further solidifies for me that those two have a bond that isn't like her bond with her brother or parents or Tsireya. 

The way I personally think this is heading is the trope of childhood best friends to teenage crushes to lovers. I think Cameron is setting these two up to have a romance that will define the future of the Na'vi / human relations, kind of mirroring Jake and Neytiri's relationship from the first movie, but on a much larger scale this time, possibly in attempts of co-existence. 

Anyway, just something I wanted to put out there for my own benefit and anyone who shares the same thoughts as me. 

[iamafanofcartoons]

How to properly respond to someone mockingly claiming that your favorite show sucks

1. Have Tumblr and Youtube links that support your favorite media handy.

2. If they say “I know tons of people in real life who agree with me” , ask them for screenshots or proof. They’ll say people in real life who agree with them because they may not have people online who do. 

3. If they say “I have tons of people on Twitter/FB/Reddit who agree with me”

Remind them of the toxicity of said sites, and provide a screenshot of said toxicity.

4. If they claim “This show repeats many old and conventional mistakes that should never be practiced”, ask for specific scenes or episodes , and have an article/blog/video ready as a counter-point for their “Grievance”

5. More than typically, they’ll be actually just parroting some random person’s words to sound smart. Such as “I’m studying it, its an example how not to write a show”...they’re just repeating a bad-faith critic, in an attempt to sound high and mighty.

6. More often than not, they will say “This dude writes fanfics better than the writers”. Point out to them how said fanfic writer forcibly removes all LGBT content, embraces the “reason why you suck” trope towards female main characters, and show them how their idea of a superior writing fanfic involves replacing female main characters who are typically queer-coded with a straight white male, while straightwashing queer-coded women into being the ship partner for said straight white male.

7. Given the plethora of hate videos or hate-watchers on youtube, it may not actually work to accuse them of not having watched the show. They probably have hate-watched. Instead, ask them if “are we even watching the same show”. Use certain scenes from different episodes to get their take. Look for examples of cognitive dissonance when it comes to how they look at a scene, which will be mirroring that of hate watchers.

8. Ask them about certain LGBT pairings, female main characters, or male white antagonists. Base your responses and counterpoints to them depending on how they respond.

9. They will no doubt get defensive and angry when you ask them to explain their hatred. Explain to them that you were not pleased with them telling you your show that you like sucks, and if they’re so upset about you picking holes in their bad-faith claim or defending the show, then maybe they were in the wrong to be so negative.

10. Please remember to be respectful and polite when doing so. They’ll accuse you of “toxic positivity”, “unable to take criticism” but remember they’re the ones spewing the negativity and getting defensive over somebody not hating what they hate.

11. Remember...Tumblr is where we enjoy things, and support other people enjoying things. If somebody wants to be hateful and mocking, kindly remind them that there are two sites, twitter and reddit, who embrace shitting on what other people love...and look what has happened to those two sites. Then ask them why are they here if they’re just being haters?

12. Just because they hate your favorite shows, doesn’t mean its bad. Do not give in to negativity...that’s what they want...to tear down your enjoyment of things, so they can shove their badly written fixit fanfics in your face.

This post was for fans of Legend of Korra, She-Ra and The Princesses of Power, and RWBY.

[gotham-citys-third-finest]

Jason Todd and The Female Gaze: A Mini-Essay

I feel like DC still doesn't quite understand Jason Todd's appeal within the fandom. I know on some level they think it's because he's the DC version of the Punisher, and our mouths froth for revenge and guns in a world where the title character famously doesn't kill and detests them.

This post really opened my eyes to something I never considered in why I like Jason until I was on TV Tropes and saw that they described him as impulsive. It rubbed me the wrong way, like petting a cat backwards. Impulsive. He never felt impulsive to me and, in most iterations of his character, he is able to lie in wait for years before striking. But then it struck me that if he were a female character, he'd be called overly emotional instead of impulsive. Too sensitive, too feely to make rational decisions. On one hand, what the fuck is gender anyway? But on my hand, as an autistic woman who was taught to make myself more palatable (pretty) before making people uncomfortable, Jason is a familiar fantasy.

He feels the depths of wrath and envy, is forced to grin and bare the weight of every cardinal sin for some transgression he's made (being poor, being empathetic, being righteous). But he doesn't smile or carry them idly. He wields them.

There's a John Berger quote in Ways of Seeing about the hypocrisy of the male gaze:

You painted a naked woman because you enjoyed looking at her, put a mirror in her hand and you called the painting “Vanity,” thus morally condemning the woman whose nakedness you had depicted for your own pleasure.

DC puts a gun in Jason's hand and makes him a moral parallel to Batman, an alternative. But when it comes time to actually do what Batman can't (refuses to) do and free Gotham from the tyranny of a domestic terrorist, he's now corrupt and can only prove his goodness by following the path of the man who's mislead him in every life he's lived. He is a survivor who has bloomed beyond the confines of Batman's shadow. He is a victim incapable of reason when in his murderer's presence. He is a prisoner of the panels DC boxes him into.

But Jason (to me, to us) is his own Pygmalion and he is an unapologetic master of his own image. And we yearn for his liberation.

[philologique]

10 patpran fic recs (and one inkpa rec)

showing up a doozy of a month later with the fic recs i promised i would deliver “shortly​.” sorry!!

hopefully you follow me and will see these (in which case, message me off anon and I WILL send enthusiastic fic & fanvid recs, possibly less belatedly and probably even when you don’t ask for them lmao). if not, whoever is reading this, i hope you find a fic—or two, or ten—that sparks joy ✨

these basically all require knowledge of bad buddy canon. if you ever want no-context-required fic recs for other fandoms, or bbs recs to scratch a more specific itch, my askbox is open! send me some tropes or vibes you really like/any hard passes and i’ll try to find something for you!!

fic recs under the cut!

OBJECTS IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR MAY APPEAR CLOSER THAN THEY ARE by teaseller (canon divergence, rated t, 3450 words)

“Do you want something to drink? Water? Juice? Tea?” Pran is flitting awkwardly between the kitchen and the living space, seemingly looking for something to do with his hands, or fill the space. Pat attempts to ask for water but instead goes with “I missed you when you were gone.” What will be different, this time?

achingly beautiful and one of THE character-defining pat fics for me. an au where pran was still sent to boarding school after their high school concert, but they ultimately went to different universities. if you watched episode 12 and couldn’t get the thought of pat smiling sadly at their dumpling place and saying “I haven't been home in a long time” out of your head, this fic is for you.

We Can Follow the Sparks by crookedfelicities (bet-era, rated t, 8.8k)

Or, 5 times Pat nearly loses the bet +1 time Pran does.

speaking of Character-Defining Pat Fics, every three sentences of this fic there was a passage that either took my breath away it was so perceptive or made me smile hard enough that my face hurt. the DIALOGUE!! the CHEMISTRY!!! the way crookedfelicities captures pat & pran in that in-between space they built with the bet—their incredible fondness for each other, pat's certainty that this is it for him, his joy in knowing he'll gladly jump into this headfirst as soon as pran is ready! and the +1—the way pran's want is this palpable, heavy thing; the contrast between the weight of his longing and the quick, sharp banter between them. perfection.

Pause by filigreesails (bet-era, rated t, 4,588 words)

On New Year's Eve, Pran is stuck at home with nothing but a sprained ankle and a foul mood to keep him company. Even Pat seems to be ignoring his texts, even though the bet has been dispelling the remaining distance between them at an almost alarming rate, of late. But a companion for the evening may be closer to hand than he expects...

my face hurt from smiling I'm so FOND of them and the whole dynamic they captured of that nebulous, undefined era of pat and pran's relationship. the combination of pran's hesitance and his absolute certainty in the way they feel about each other, the way they each make themselves so vulnerable by putting the competition on pause... it’s wonderful :’)

sidenote: @chamacafeahorrible​​ my ao3 bookmark from april 2022 says ‘rec annie as soon as she watches bad buddy’ so if u ever do watch bad buddy this is specifically for you, along with @miscellar’s zombie fic which. holy shit.

nothing to lose by dekkaisdefyinggravity/@paalove​ (canon divergence, rated g, 1420 words)

Things went a bit further between Pat and Pran before they were found out - now their friends have to deal with it.

this made my heart hurt and then it made me smile like a fool. ao3 user dekkaisdefyinggravity has this unparalleled ability to build a whole, lived-in world in such a short space, and this is no exception; the contours of this au are fleshed out so deftly i’m in awe. i first read this during a break at work and spent the rest of the day thinking idly about this version of pat and pran, so wholly shaped by the circumstances of the au and so immediately recognizable as themselves. I reread it this summer and it still takes my breath away. I could easily read a hundred thousand more words of this universe and not get bored.

Fight Or Flight (Worth The Wait) by Jabber_Moose (canon divergence, rated t, 12k)

Pat still wants to shove him back under, hide him, and pretend none of this is happening. He wants to preserve the bubble of camaraderie they’ve been in as long as possible, because he’s not sure if he’ll get another chance.

Or: canon divergence where Pran is discovered under Pat's bed in ep 2, the trajectory of a story shifts, and Pat bulldozes through in true Pat fashion: determined, full throttle, and not how a friend would do or say anything.

a canon divergence fic that’s so well done it feels obvious in hindsight, even though i hadn’t given it any thought—of *course* the scene with ming in episode 2 was a fork in the road!! i love the choices Jabber_Moose makes here, the places the story veers off from the one we know and the moments where it unexpectedly falls back on track. and pat. PAT!! it’s an exquisitely frustrating delight to follow him as he reacts to one shitty situation after another, guided entirely by emotions he hasn’t come to name yet. reader, i love him.

Breathe by concerningcardigancollection (canon divergence/food allergy au, rated t, 9.6k)

Pat doesn't eat peanuts. This is why.

the fic where instead of a bet pran nearly dies of an allergic reaction and they get their shit together early. I think about this fic all the time. it simply slaps. i LOVE when two characters who secretly Know Things about each other have to reckon with that publicly, and this fic has that in spades. what a good fic!! 

another sidenote: @oswlld​​ sometimes i think of bbs as an inadvertent spiritual successor to that episode of lizzie mcguire where she and kate get paired together for a class project, and this fic reminded me why!

heart in a cage by @sunshinedobi (canon-adjacent wlw au, rated e, 36k)

In another universe, Pran loves Pat. That’s not the universe Pat is stuck with, but that’s ok. She’s getting over it.

OH BOY. WLW PATPRAN. sometimes a fic can feel so personal it’s hard to talk about? I just-- okay. the thing about my relationship to pran is that sometimes it's important to have a blorbo who’s a dude you can project feelings about daughterhood onto from a safe distance. this fic completely eliminated that distance and peeled me like an orange. just. a wonderful fic that rubbed me absolutely raw.

Stuff and Things by aworkingprinter (pre-canon/canon-compliant, rated t, 8.3k)

Pat was careless with his things. New pencil cases, new backpacks, new notebooks. Meanwhile, Pran kept his backpack from the beginning of elementary school until lower secondary, and he had decorated it himself. The important thing, he had decided when he was twelve, was that Pat was spoiled and careless, and he, Pran, was not. It was a basic Pat/Pran divide, as sure as the pink line between their garbage cans and Pat’s interest in drums (and girls.) About the belongings Pat and Pran have kept, abandoned and shared across the years.

i struggled to decide which aworkingprinter fic to rec because they all made my mind whirr in *such* good and different ways. read this when you’re in the mood for meditations on a theme, a series of quiet vignettes set over time and full of perceptive lines that knocked me out at the knees (there are two passages i still think about at least weekly). then, run-don’t-walk to Pinocchio (an au in which pran cannot lie and remains full of secrets, 46k—@raftings​ i think you will LOVE this) and to everything else aworkingprinter has written.

Can't Get Off This Ride by fangurks (canon divergence - soulmate au, rated t, 15k)

"So you think she'll transfer you again?""Yes, Pat! Give me one reason in the world that would not make her send me away!" At that, Pat's expression turned thoughtful, and Pran used the descending silence to wipe at his face and pick up the towel that he had previously dropped. His anger was slowly replaced with exhaustion, as he held out the piece of fabric. "We can't change things anymore anyway. We always knew how us being friends would en-" "What if we were soulmates?"

pretend!soulmate au!! PRETEND! SOULMATE AU!!! pat & pran have so many shared memories that they’ve experienced differently, and shared experiences that they remember differently, and fangurks takes that and runs with it like a gymnastics ribbon. and the way they weave in specific emotional beats from canon?? it’s so good. like...damn, pat. you really do have to stop doing this to him. also i think about the way this fic articulates their families’ respective attitudes towards The Feud all the time. a seminal work in bad buddy scholarship. 

the heart haunts what it haunts by AndSoTheUniverseEnded (canon divergence - ghost au, rated t, 26k at 5 chapters) (WIP as of 2023/07/16)

"Obviously! What else would a ghost do?" "A what?" Maybe Pran hadn't lost his mind. Maybe the rest of the world had just decided to go crazy when he wasn't looking and no one had bothered to update him on the situation. That would be just typical. "What did you think was happening?" Pat asked, incredulously. Pran threw up his hands. "I don't know, Pat! But my first thought, weirdly enough, wasn't that you're haunting me!"

the just like heaven-esque ghost fic of my dreams. i am quite possibly the world’s biggest sucker for a somewhat-light, plotty ghost romance, and this fic DELIVERS. we all know the story: pran transfers back home during his first year at university and finds himself unexpectedly and fortuitously reunited with pat. less fortuitously but even more unexpectedly, the pat who this pran encounters is a ghost. this fic is so good. also not to spoil too much but i love the OCs here?? an elderly queer woman who can talk to ghosts and her dead-but-not-departed wife?? ahhhhh!!!!

heads up this fic was last updated in february 2022— i'm holding onto hope that maybe one day it will be continued, but if not the ride was still absolutely worth it.

yet another sidenote: @icouldhyperfixatehim​ i think this is possibly as specifically up your alley as it is mine?? if you read it lmk how you liked it!!

+1 inkpa rec

not patpran, but it’s summer in the northern hemisphere and this fic feels like taking a sip of lemonade on a hot day

nothing else would ever be better (better) by dekkaisdefyinggravity (post-canon, rated g, 1.5k)

That’s when Paa has the thought: Marry me. The one where our girls get engaged.

this fic left a good taste in my mouth! in classic dekkaisdefyinggravity style, this fic feels so alive and comfortably lived in—I love when side characters have lives that don't revolve around the main characters—and every few paragraphs there was a moment that was just so wonderfully refreshing. i'm also unreasonably invested in the offscreen drama that’s alluded to in passing here. that broken engagement... tell me more 👀

[honeythispodcast]

Hi Maren and EJ! Loved your recent episode exploring the MCR music video discog through the lens of ‘The Feminine Figure’ and their role in film. I got thinking about the I’m Not Okay video and how it heavily references the 1984 film ‘Revenge of the Nerds’. Along with ‘Heathers’ (A queer classic), the film is probably the biggest cinematic influence on the video. Ray’s line ‘and you don’t know karate’ is lifted from a scene in ‘Revenge of the Nerds’ where a jock asks one of the nerds (a character of Asian descent) “Do you know karate? No? Good.” before fitting his head with a used jockstrap.

The I’m Not Okay video subverts the sexist tropes utilised in the 80’s film, in that it refuses to use women as a means for male social upward-mobility or treat them as prizes to be won by our geeky little band. In the film, popular and pretty women are made to suffer at the hand of the Nerds, because their suffering elevates their abusers to that elusive status of ‘A Real Man’. For example, the lead female character, Betty, is sexually exploited by our hero character and later falls in love with him, thereby allowing the nerd character to cuck (emasculate) the jocks. She exists as the vehicle for the titular revenge, and she is also (of course) a cheerleader.

MCR choose to redirect their revenge toward traditional masculinity itself. To mock it instead of aspire to it, and this subversion starts before the very first ‘Have you ever felt?’ appears onscreen. When Gerard utters ‘Maybe I don’t wanna make it, I just wanna-‘ the departure begins. An alternative path to belonging is offered. Through the lens of the ‘revenge against the bullies’ trope we can read Gerard’s line as: “I don’t want to walk the line that this narrative sets up for me. I don’t want to be like them, I want to make it my own way.” Metatextually signifying: “We, as a band, will do things our own way”.

It can’t be overstated how important this video was in setting MCR apart from both their peers and their previous work. The social values of the band are made clear as day, marking a departure from the more typical emo-core lyrical trappings that we see on Bullets and a maturation in Gerard’s songwriting. We see and hear violence on Three Cheers, but its target is not the cheating girlfriend (Honey, This Mirror) or the pretty co-worker that won’t give you the time of day (Cubicles). Instead, we see Gerard turn his anger inward (Helena) and violence itself transformed into something alluringly psycho-sexual (I Never Told You).

In summary: See Gerard Way 2002 “This song’s about killing the head cheerleader just to get a hardon” vs Gerard Way 2022 I am the head cheerleader with a hardon.

Looking forward to the Angels in America episode. Love your work! X

this is SUCH A GREAT ASK THANK YOU!!! This was so fun to read and discuss on the pod. Check out our response at 38:00 in the new episode!

[rawliverandgoronspice]

My time to invade 👏 2. Anything that you'd like to write but feel like you're unable to?

10. Top three favourite fic tropes. 28. Any writing advice that works for you and you feel like sharing? 40. Write a 9-word fic. (Because SOMEONE inflicted this on me so I must inflict it on someone else)

Invade away!! (even though that LAST ONE!!!!)

2. Anything that you'd like to write but feel like you're unable to?

So I mentioned romance/smut, and it's not like I absolutely want to write that well (it's fine to have an uneven writing skillset I think) as much as I feel like that's a missing tool in my trusted toolbox of putting characters in Situations and examine their reaction. And as much as I know myself capable of writing characters isolating themselves and breaking down over time, and the occasional bonding moments and even potential recovery and rekindling of trust and genuine connexion that may ensue (I am an angst writing through and through u_u), I have a hard time letting characters being plainly happy and enjoying themselves and being vulnerable without being punished for it in some way. And it's a shame, because I love when authors manage to pull you alongside a genuinely good time and making you feel like you're building precious memories that will stay with you forever alongside the characters living through them. I'd like to be able to do more of that, and with less effort! Or just, plain unpunished vulnerability. I think that would be nice!

10. Top three favourite fic tropes.

Hmmm in general I'm open to everything as long as it's good, but I guess if I had to pick...

I'd say Hurt/Comfort, I had pretty transcendant experiences reading really good Hurt/Comfort fics that kickstarted a lot of wonderful things in my real actual life, so.

Found Family Tropes (or just platonic/friendship bonds being explored in general, when it's well written it can be so incredibly excellent)

Experimental Bullshit. Aka plays with the formatting, temporality, point of view, crossmedia stuff... If you take fanfic as a genre/format and make it an active part of the text, I am kissing you on the top of your head.

28. Any writing advice that works for you and you feel like sharing?

I think my core advice is pretty generic and maybe stupid, but embracing it helped me a lot so here it goes: there's no good or incorrect way to write. As long as it makes sense to your specific brain, it couldn't matter less whether it happens prettily or not. I tend to write completely out of order, sometimes across an entire project and sometimes in the same scene. I tend to write all of my dialogue at once, then put "//" and highlight it in yellow where I need to come back and add more text. It looks like hell. But I don't care: my brain feels constricted by linearity, so it makes sense, and so I let it happen and I actually write things instead of letting weird expectations about how one "should" write slow me down unnecesserily. It's been particularly helpful in cases where I actually *have* to write and can't afford a writer's block because of a deadline, etc. It's important to try stuff out and accept "bad" habits if they are actually just your own natural rythm.

40. Write a 9-word fic.

(argggh)

(okay so all of my attempts ended up at 12 words for SOME REASON so here's to the best I could do.)

Tetra promised the shore this time would be different.

(and another attempt (MidZel-adjacent!!! I tried!!!!), where I pulled an insane cheat but it wouldn't have fit otherwise I'm sorry ;;)

Lips dusted with mirror-shards, Zelda murmured: I know why.

[eluciis]

A shot in the heart doesn't make it unbreak || Dean Winchester

Notes:

This is reposted from my ao3 (Elucii)

Hello! I've been thinking of starting this story for a while and finally decided to give it a go. I know the child trope isn't everyone's favorite choice for supernatural, but I'm throwing my hand at it anyway and will try to update every week. I admit that it's fully self indulgent, but I hope you enjoy anyway! Kudos and comments are always welcome but not expected.

TW: Minor character death, canon typical violence, Zachariah being a giant piece of shit.

Story title comes from Hayloft II by Mother Mother. Highly recommend it, because it captures some great emotions that'll relate to the story at some point.

The face claim for Jenna Reed is Ellen Pompeo (think early seasons of Greys Anatomy)

The face claim for Nora Reed-Winchester is Katherine Langford (think 13 reasons why)

-Luci

Lifeless. 

The entire house looks lifeless, as if it has been devoid of life for weeks. In reality, it has only been about six days. Nora had been in the hospital for four and with her uncle the other two while the police finished their investigation. It wasn't overly messy (aside from her mother's room) and it hasn't been long enough for dust to accumulate, but that isn't what made it feel lifeless. It's the absence of her mother. The lack of scrubs strung throughout the house from a week of working, no humming in the kitchen, and the missing scent of her favorite candles burning. It's an empty shell of a home without her. 

Nora ignores the deep chill that settles over her and heads upstairs towards her moms room for the first time since her death. She remembers her uncle mentioning that they had a forensic company come in to deep clean the room, but it doesn't make much of a difference in her eyes. She had already seen the damage first hand and no amount of chemicals or scrubbing could erase that from her memory. She's right, because when she opens the door the scent of heavy chemicals hits her before she can fully take a step into the room. She takes in the sight before her and notices just how much is missing. The broken side tables, the dresser with the shattered mirror, and her mom's favorite blue rug. It would frustrate her more, but the dark stain on the hardwood floor catches her attention instead. It's smaller than she remembers and she knows they tried their best to clean the mess, but they didn't try hard enough. If anyone else were to see the stain, they may assume that it's red wine or spilt paint. Not Nora. She knows that spot is where her mother bled to death, where the blood seeped into the wood and would stay there for years to come.

_____________

Nora startles awake to the sound of glass shattering. She's still drowsy when she pulls her sleepy body out of bed and reaches her bedroom door, but rouses back to full consciousness at the sound of her mom yelling at someone down the hall. She practically falls through the door from the speed of her sprint and freezes at the sight of an older balding man towering over her mom. He has one hand in her blonde hair, gripping her tightly as tears stream down her face. Nora lets out a gasp and he turns to her with a creepy grin on his face before he holds a finger up as if to shush her. Whatever he does works, because she can't even get a squeak out.

"I'll get to you in a moment," The man says. Nora sees her mom struggle against him when he says this and he clicks his tongue at her disapproval, "Calm down, Jenna. We both know I can't kill her, she has Winchester blood. We might need her later on," 

"Leave her out of this," Jenna hisses. 

"Tell me where he is and I'll think about it," 

"I haven't seen him in years!" She exclaims.

He gives her this look, one that shows that he knows she's lying, "Are you sure about that?"

"I only saw him in passing. I didn't even talk to him," 

"Let's try that again," He says calmly. He draws back his arm, large and fisted, and strikes her. She lets out a cry and blood is pouring from her nose, but he's still gripping her hair with no reaction.

"Let me go and I'll call him. I'll tell him I want to meet up," 

"Smart but not smart enough. Do you think I'd just walk into a trap like that?" He laughs. 

"I'll tell him that I still love him," Jenna explains. Her voice is shaking, but even Nora can tell that it's genuine. She does still love him, "He'll think it's just drinks," 

"No, he wouldn't." He says, "Thanks for being a giant waste of time," 

In the blink of a second the man is wielding a silver blade. One second his hands are empty and the next the blade appears out of thin air. It feels as if the stuffy air is suffocating Nora, all she can think about is her moms bloody face and the fact that they’re both going to die. They’re both going to die and she’s standing here, gasping for air like a fish out of water. She can’t just stand and let it happen.

Nora doesn’t know how to fight. She’s never been in a fight and she learned everything she knows from crappy cop shows on tv. She knows she can’t take on a man four times her size, she can't even wrestle with her best friend without tapping out immediately and he's nearly the same size as her. She does know that everyone has similar weaknesses. That much she knows. She’s rethinking her choices as she runs at the man, because he looks like a brick wall between her and her mom. She isn't a quitter though and follows through with a hard kick behind his knee. He buckles forward from the unexpected force and she takes the advantage to reach for the blade's handle. 

For two seconds, two very meager hopeful seconds, she thinks she may have managed to get a good grip on the blade. But the hope fades just as quick when he pulls the blade away, slicing her hand open in the process. With the flick of his wrist, Nora flies across the room. She crashes into the wall with a sickening crack and she isn't sure where exactly the sound came from. Electrifying pain bursts through her body in white hot waves and it's hard to pinpoint where it's originating from. She attempts to pull herself back up again, but the applying pressure to her arm makes her buckle with a loud cry.

 Everything feels blurry around the edges, as white stars dot her vision. She sees her mom bloody and screaming out, but the brick wall of a man crouches in front of her and blocks her line of sight. He's uglier up close.

“You’re lucky I can’t kill you. Not yet. Her though,” He waves the blade towards Jenna, “She’s fair game,"

Nora gathers the strength she has and pulls herself forward just enough to spit in his face. It lands perfectly between his eyes, "Fuck you," 

"Big mistake," He glares. With a twist of his hand, she can't breathe. Her lungs are constricting and she's gasping, flailing her hands towards him and digging her nails into the first piece of flesh she feels.

"Please" She chokes out. 

"That's more like it," He grins. 

The pressure in her chest loosens and she falls limp while heaving oxygen into her sore lungs. She's never really thought about breathing in depth, but she is now and she knows not to take it for granted. Her breathing finally slows and she has splinters under her nails from digging at the hardwood floor for stability. He's still watching her with a bored expression as if stealing the air from a teenager's lungs is a normal occurrence for him. His fat fingers reach out and grasp her chin and he forces her to focus her attention on his face. He seems pleased with the watery eyes, splotchy cheeks, and blue tinted lips. 

"Now, if you're ready to listen. I can kill you if I really wanted to, then bring you back and do it all over again. But I think that was a good lesson, right?" He questions. 

"Yes," Nora whispers. Her throat is raw and burns with the single word. 

"Good," He smiles. He runs his thumb over her lip as the shade fades back into its fleshy pink color, "When you find your father, I know that you will, I want you to tell him that Zachariah paid you a visit," 

She closes her eyes and grits out an, "Okay," 

"And tell him that if he doesn't do what we want, we'll just use you and do whatever we'd like with your precious little meatsuit," 

"W-What?" 

He gives her face a few light slaps and stands back up, "He'll understand," 

Zachariah stalks back over to Jenna. Nora can't move and she isn't sure if it's from injuries or the weird power the man seems to have over her. All she can do is watch as he crouches in front of her mom, just as he had done in front of her seconds ago. He moves just enough for her to see her mom's blue eyes staring back at her. She turns her head and forces her eyes shut, but her neck moves against her will and forces her to stare at them once more. 

"It's okay, Nora. It's fine," Jenna calls out. She doesn't sound scared at all.

"Mom," She cries out. 

"Nora Marianne, I love you," Her voice is watery, "Your dad, he'll take care of you," 

"No, I don't-"

Jenna cuts her off, "Baby, find him. I know you two will fight, but it'll be fine. Tell him I love him just like I love you," 

"That's sweet," Zachariah gives them a fake smile, "But enough of that"

Then he brings the silver blade up and slices across her neck with ease. Blood pours from the wound like a waterfall, transforming her once grey sweatshirt into a deep crimson. Her body thuds against the floor moments later, her wide eyes twitching and hands attempting to reach for her neck. Nora's screaming, pleading, and praying. It still doesn't block out the sound of Jenna gasping and the blood gurgling in the back of her throat. She's fighting, trying to move but stays glued to the floor. Zachariah is pacing back to her and she's screaming every curse word she can think of at him.

"Remember this and hopefully it won't be you in the future," Is all he tells her. 

After a swift kick to the side of her head, he's gone. And all she's left with is the horrifying sight of her mother soaked in blood and turning a ghostly shade of white. She's fading into unconsciousness, she knows it. Everything feels cold, dark and raw. Before everything goes dark, she has a single thought she burns into her memory. 

If this is her father's fault, she’ll make his life a living hell.