#you're lucky you didn't ask the wip question

[kirstenonic05]

For the fanfic ask game: ♥️, 💕, 🥳,📚, 💛,🎨?

OH BOY SORRY IF I BRAIN SPLURGE

♥️What is your favourite thing you've written in a fic?:

Man do I have many favourite lines, but most of them don't work as single sentences D: So I'll put them under the read more!

💕What is your favourite fic you've written?:

Hmm... Most of my fics are self indulgent... Probably Underground, which I posted on Ao3, but the original version where they're not all JoJo characters! Or Heroes of Sword and Shield, which is my Pokemon x BT crossover. Or Heart's Beat, in which Joseph and Kars fight a stand that uses music to fight. Or the one where my OCs confessed to each other. Ugh, I have so many but I don't post any cause they're entirely self indulgent XD

🥳Why did you start writing fanfic?:

Easy! To put my favourite characters in the same story! I came up with a crazy crossover AU at the age of 10 or 11 and never let go of it. Originated with Sonic, Megaman, Megaman X, NiGHTS and Pit, but now it's mainly Sonic, Joseph, Allen and Mu. It was the first fic I ever wrote actually! Not sure if I should ever post it because it was... a trip. But! It had a lot of lore that I still use to this day! It's somehow still one of my main AUs, and the name has stayed as the Dimensional Defenders for all these years!

📚 Is there a fanfic or fanfic writer you recommend?:

First of all, I recommend you, @nibwhipdragon, for good Joseph content because MAN do you write abt stuff I only think abt. For Caejose, I recommend Riette! For Final Fantasy VII AUs, I recommend AimeeLouWrites! Also Battle Tendency But It's in College and is Almost Nothing Like Battle Tendency... is really good! I also recommend anything that's on my Ao3 bookmarks!

💛 What is the most impactful lesson you've learned about writing?:

Good question... A lesson from writing? Maybe to be patient and to let the story unfold. Sometimes you'll get a spark of inspiration, and when that happens you take it on full storm!

🎨 If someone were to make fanart of your work, what fic or scene would you hope to see?:

Dude I would LOVE fanart for one of my AUs. Alas! No one sees them D: That or fanart for my OCs...

Thanks for the ask! And since you've stayed till the end, it's time for favourite line time!

Gracefully, Kars soared through the opening like a bird through an open window. Floating as elegantly as a swan, he spoke. "What the fuck JoJo."

~

"I need to go to the bathroom."

"Wait ghosts can't-"

"Adios."

~

The hedgehog looked down, only to see...

Allen's disembodied head. "Hello."

"Oh, hey Allen!" Sonic grinned.

~

"You named the heartless Shrimp?!" She almost scolded, ready to call upon her magic.

"Yeah, 'cause he's just a small guy!" The heartless in his arms cooed quietly. "Can I keep him? Please please please?"

"No! Now put it down before you get hurt!"

~

"Do we all need to get clothes?"

Everyone in the room stared at Sonic. A chorus of "Yep" and "Of course" resounded around the room.

~

"By the power of the Joestars," His sword emerged in his hand and he lowered into a fighting position. "I ANNOUNCE YOU DIED! Wait a minute..."

There was a pause. Then a snicker. Then Joseph, Kars and Caesar laughed.

"NO!" Caesar shouted through laughs as his voice peaked in the Discord call. "YOU DID NOT JUST DO THAT!"

~

Turning back towards the duo, I noticed Joseph shaking. Caesar cradled him like a scared cat, seemingly unsure what to do with him.

~

This was followed by Allen walking into his classroom that had all the chairs in test positions. Lovely.

~

"I'm going to get glitter all over the English block," Allen said, playfully deadpan as he attempted to flick glitter off his hands. He continued in the same tone, "I shouldn't have said that next to an open classroom."

Sonic let out a loud laugh. "Joseph should never be allowed glitter. It's just that he has loads of money."

~

"Zamazenta likes coke." Caesar stated as if it was a normal, day-to-day fact.

~

Cloud facepalmed. "And that's how the gang were defeated. They rode into a chasm and died."

Zack whined as Cloud reset from the last save point.

~

His mind was a frenzy, a blur as he panicked and tried to save himself. He couldn't process what was going on. Without thinking, he used his hand to break the plate.

And then he popped back at home.

Cloud, who was building the house, witnessed him appear next to him. "What did you do?"

Chrom scratched his head. "Uh... Pumpkin...?"

Cloud facepalmed.

~

The Lucifenian looked at him in shock; even if he was part wyvern, the winds would rip his boyfr- friend to shreds!

~

It was a bright and sunny day. Birds were singing, flowers were- Okay, enough of the happy crap.

~

So the fae could talk. Check.

"You took me away from my spring, shoved me in a room, and you mean no harm? Bullshit."

And it sweared. Or, rather, he sweared. Check.

~

"For a time I thought I would be alone all my life. Until I met Sonic."

"Aww~!" Joseph cooed.

"But now, thanks to my immortality, I live in fear of outliving him."

"Aww..." Joseph's smile dropped.

~

The swanna crowed. Sonic was quick to translate. "She says you're an idiot who challenged a legendary and needed saving!"

~

"Do I, Angel-Cakes?"

"Call me that again and I will personally send you to hell."

"Sure thing, Angel-Cakes!"

~

Heartbroken: Many things leave people heartbroken, including when: - Your friend backstabs you - That girl you likes turns you away - You get married to two ancient beings and your heart will explode in a month Joseph sighed. Just the usual.

~

In the end they forgot that Sonic stole Caesar's flag and he succeeded in his attempts.

[satoruxx]

PARACOSM OF THE GODS.

PAIRING: gojo satoru x f!reader, geto suguru x f!reader | 11.5k words

SUMMARY: ok here we go, canon au, angst, fluff, best friends being in love, stsg being whipped but unable to express it, reader is clueless as usual, timeskips, canon compliant deaths, bittersweet, longing, mutual pining, emotionally stunted teens, dad!gojo makes an appearance, hopefully that’s it i'm tired of typing

RHEYA'S NOTE: highkey lowkey stressed posting bc this has been sitting in my wips for 4 years now. i honestly didn't have to add much to it i basically just proofread. but yeah when you maladaptive daydream and create a plot where you're a character in jjk and you're also in love with gojo and geto this is what happens. a little sad to let this go but it's time !! plus i can add more parts later. but anyways pls lmk what you think, i'm super curious to know <33

i. the unknown

satoru's first impression of you is anything but kind.  

his words come casually, free into the wind without care, and they aren't meant for you to hear. instead, they fall only to suguru's ears, evoking a deep chuckle and a slight shake of his head. his bangs swish a little with the movement, but satoru is too busy eyeing you over the frame of his shades to notice. 

you're lucky to have not heard it, because the intent with which it was said would have probably made your brow tick with frustration. he says it without a thought, as if he hasn't the slightest bit of interest in you as hints of arrogance fill his tone. 

"who's the rookie?" 

satoru and suguru sit outside against the patio railings of the classroom they had chosen for the day. it overlooks the grounds of the school, where they have a clear view of who approaches the main entrance. suguru absentmindedly clicks his lighter—shoko had gone to get another pack of cigarettes. 

it is from this higher point that they have a clear view of you. you're so obviously new to this, satoru thinks as he watches how you awkwardly stand in front of yaga sensei. 

he already wants to label you as a side character. it's mean, he realizes—cruel even, but he can barely bring himself to care. 

"yaga sensei mentioned that there'd be a new student joining us this week," suguru says, fingering the bangs hanging in front of his eyes. they roam over you with only slight interest before uttering your full name, just as his teacher had said it.

satoru repeats it with a hum. "not a big name or anything. a small-sized family of sorcerers i think." he shrugs carelessly. "but honestly i never really paid attention to all those stupid clan and jujutsu family lessons." 

suguru only responds with a good-natured chuckle, tearing his eyes away from the scene to look at his friend. "no shit." 

the two sit in quiet silence, watching yaga's lips move in structured, emotionless greetings as he shakes your hand. satoru is especially focused on the hunching of your shoulders and the way your eyes nervously dart around. 

suguru is the first to interrupt the peace. 

"maybe she's strong?" 

"are you kidding?" satoru scoffs as he stands up straight, shoving his fists into his pockets. he turns his nose up slightly. "that's not the attitude of someone who's confident in their abilities." 

ii. routine 

"can i ask you guys a question?" 

a cool breeze tickles your skin, goosebumps rising in its wake, and you suppress a shiver. the smell of the air tells you winter is fast approaching. 

"you just did," satoru hums, his snowy hair splayed out against stems of green grass. suguru's chuckle reverberates deep in his chest, and you have to push back an exasperated smile. 

"another one then," you press, leaning over satoru's face to force yourself into his view. his blue eyes pierce through yours over the dark-rimmed frames of his glasses, and even after seeing them so many times, they still feel as dominating as the first. he hums again, and you take that as your cue. 

"what did you first think of me when we met all those months ago?" 

satoru sits up quickly, and you can already feel your shoulders dropping when you catch a glimpse of the teasing smirk on his lips. he shifts so that he's directly facing you, leaning close so that the two of you are barely a palm's distance from one another. 

"thought you were an annoying little rookie~" he sings and you immediately shove at his shoulder.

"'m not a rookie anymore," you huff, and satoru laughs joyously. suguru only grins, his eyes darting between the two of you happily. satoru moves himself into a proper sitting position, digging his long fingers into your bag of chips and popping one into his mouth. you swat at his hand, even though you don't mean it, because though you complain about gojo satoru all the time, you would give him the whole world if you could. 

you and satoru take turns reaching into the bag. you wonder if the sound of crunching disturbs suguru. he's not asleep—he's just doing that thing where he keeps his eyes closed and escapes to his own land of tranquility. you'd like to give him as much peace as you can, so you stay quiet. satoru does too, but you think that's just because you aren't talking to him. 

the quiet is nice when you're with them. sometimes silence makes you feel alone—paranoid. it feels like there is some impending doom hovering over your shoulder, and all you can do is wait for it to come. but with them it is different. you know that any danger in the quiet will be caught by the two of them. maybe that's why it's so easy to let your guard down around them. you trust that they won't let you die.  

"i thought you were weak," satoru pipes up after a few minutes of silence. "you didn't seem like you were confident in your abilities, and that's a sign of weakness." 

after spending so much time with satoru and suguru, the word weak has permeated almost every one of your conversations. later you learned how much more significant it was for them to label someone as strong. you chase after the word—crave it.

"and turns out that wasn't true." suguru adds with a smile, his head leaning back against the trunk of the tree. his eyes are still closed serenely and you wonder if he can feel the way you're gazing at him. 

"yeah and now you act like some big hotshot," satoru grumbles, as though he doesn't want to admit to his old mistake, but you can hear his smile. it annoys you, the way his once degrading little nickname has now somewhat turned into a term of endearment. you would rather die than admit that you like hearing him say it. 

"well, I'm glad that i was able to prove you both wrong."

the conversation ends there. 

shoko returns a few minutes later, tossing you a can of soda and suguru a pack of cigarettes. as soon as she sits down in her spot under the tree you're forcing your head into her lap and kicking your feet onto satoru's legs. you ignore his complaints, because you know that in just a little bit he'll quiet down and his hand will rest over your ankle, fingers soft but firm. they'll occasionally drum some rhythmic tune, or draw nonsensical patterns against your skin.

shoko's fingers thread through your hair, just like they always do, and you know that in a few minutes you'll doze off in her lap, just like you always do. it's clockwork, this thing that you have with them. they make the days keep going—time doesn't stop for you. 

a part of you wishes you could freeze time at that moment. 

but you can't. 

iii. halcyon

"hey suguru?"

"hm?"

"how come you always do your hair the same way?"

suguru glances up from his book. he's seated at your desk, and for a minute, the breeze pushes your curtains so that they block your view of him. satoru groans lightly from your left, turning on his side to snuggle deeper into your pillow, and slumber overtakes him once more. him and shoko remain quiet, faces free of worry as they dream in a land that is so unlike the real world you live in.

"what do you mean?" suguru asks in response to your question. he has an amused smile on his face as he places his book on your desk, though his thumb and pointer finger keep his page.

"well…" you suddenly feel stupid for asking, but he's looking at you so intently now. "you have such nice hair. you could style it in so many different ways."

"are you saying you don't like my hair the way it is?" he frowns.

"no no!" you scramble, shaking your head emphatically. quite the opposite actually you think he's so so attractive—how on earth did you screw this up so badly? "that's not it i just—"

he laughs, tilting his head fondly. "i'm just messing with you, hotshot."

you blanch, before crossing your arms with a huff. "asshole…"

he chuckles, before lifting a calloused hand up to finger the tie that holds his hair in a bun. he glances back at you, before a michevious smile settles on his face. he gives the tie one sharp tug, and the bun falls away. black hair drops, resting on his shoulders, and you stare at him—oddly parched. wind brushes through the open window, tickling your curtains, tickling his now open hair. you had seen his hair down before, of course. in the few seconds after a sparring session when the bun had gotten loose, or when too many strands escaped the tie and fell in front of his face (he always pushed them away with an agitated huff). but now he looks different—good, you realize. he looks good.

"how should i style it then, hotshot?"

his question shakes you out of your daze. you hum in contemplation. "i don't know."

he laughs quietly, as to not wake the other two. "didn't you just say there were so many ways to style it? enlighten me then," he teases, reaching over to grab a small scrap of paper from your desk. he slots it where his fingers are holding place, and then closes the book. he swivels in the chair to face you completely, rolling over so that he's right in front of you.

"well…" you start, biting your lip in thought. "a ponytail maybe?"

suguru bunches his hair into his fist, holding it up against his head. "and? how do i look?"

you grin, eyeing the new style with a stifled laugh. "fantastic."

he laughs again, louder this time, before dropping his hand.

"it looked good though!" you laugh and he rolls his eyes fondly.

"yeah yeah," he dismisses with a wave of his hand. he looks back at you, eyes tracing over your hair before he grins wide.

"i like yours."

you blink. "mine?"

"the way you did your hair today," he points to the half up-half down style you've thrown together. a dark blue ribbon holds the hair in place—satoru had said it matched nicely with your uniform. suguru's eyes gleam as he appraises it. "it's nice. it looks really pretty on you."

something in your chest feels like it fell off a cliff.

"oh—" you stumble, before smiling at him because that's all you can do when he makes you feel like this. "thanks suguru."

"do mine like that," he says quickly.

once again, you blink owlishly and all you can manage is a stupid "huh?"

"do my hair like that," he repeats, getting up from the chair to sit at your feet, back towards you. he crosses his legs and puts his hands in his lap, patiently waiting.

"you can't do it yourself?" you tease, scooting closer to the edge of the bed.

"i can," he replies and you can hear the easy smile in his voice. "but i want you to do it for me."

"okay then!" you laugh before gently parting sections of his hair out. and then you work in silence, putting more effort into his hair than you've ever done with your own.

iv. fragility

"lady riko does not have any relations. when she was young, her family was involved in an accident…since then, i've been her caretaker. so please let her at least spend time with her fr—" 

"—so that makes you her family then." 

suguru's words seem to stun kuroi, the weight of riko's situation finally making itself clear as her face crumbles. 

"…yes." 

you listen to the way her voice wobbles, and try to suppress the poisonous lump forming in your throat. 

"then we do everything we can to make her happy," you say solemnly, leaving no room for argument. suguru seems to agree and says nothing—some deeper part of you feels something more than thankful towards him. 

"you're awfully sensitive for a jujustu sorcerer, you know that?" satoru comments offhandedly. you turn to look at him, meeting his piercing gaze over dark rims. 

"maybe," you concur. "is that considered weak?" 

satoru seems to ponder his answer, before shrugging, a light smile on his face. "to some people, maybe." 

you manage to smile back, and he takes in the expression with an odd look on his face. "say what you want, satoru. but you agree with me, don't you?" 

he looks away, eyes gazing out to the distance where you know riko is currently in class with her friends, trying to live the life she wants, and something in them softens considerably. 

"we'll do things the way she wants us to." 

it's one sentence, said without a smile or laugh, but hearing it fall from satoru's lips makes you beam at him. 

that's just your kindness, isn't it, satoru?

your heart leaps when you notice the tips of his ears tinge with rouge. 

v. longing

riko's hand is warm against the coolness of your fingers. your body feels hyperaware of your surroundings, toes deep in hot sand and salty air sticking to your skin. for some odd reason, you can't seem to relax. unconsciously, you tighten your grip around the young girl's palm. she glances up at you, but when you look down at her, she's wearing the biggest smile you've ever seen. 

satoru's presence makes itself known behind you—his shadow looms over yours in the sand. "it'll be fine," he says.

you can't see his face, nor can you see suguru who stands at his side, but your shoulders drop slightly, and you find yourself smiling back at riko. 

"i'm getting in the water!" she squeals eagerly, before dragging a helpless kuroi with her. satoru laughs—a clear, pristine sound—and follows after her. you watch the three of them with a fond smile, something akin to content settling deep within you.  

"and what are you planning on doing?" suguru asks. you turn to look at him, watching the way his heavy eyes stay focused on you. 

"hmm," you quirk a brow mischievously. "build sandcastles with me?" 

suguru blinks owlishly before he breaks out into a good-natured laugh. 

"deal." he walks closer to the water's edge, where the sand is damper, and crouches down. he turns to look at you over his shoulder. "don't make me do all the work, hotshot." 

you stand there, taking him in—really taking him in. he's just as clear as the sky behind him, and the sun shining on his face makes his smile glow. you want him to continue smiling at you like that well into the future. the waves crash onto the shore, as though the ocean is chasing his radiance, and an overwhelming feeling of unfiltered affection swells in your chest. 

your feet carry you forward, and you think that they might always lead you back to him. 

the sun rises as time passes, and occasionally you spare a glance at satoru and riko, who are screaming as they splash water at one another. and then you catch a glimpse of kuroi, who stands with her feet in the water, a soft smile on her face. 

and in that moment, nothing can be ruined. 

"what's wrong?" suguru's voice calls out, and you tear your gaze away from the others to look back at him. he stands behind you with two strawberry ice cream cones in his hands. 

"nothing," you hum, a serene smile on your face. "everything's perfect."

his eyes trace your face, stopping to linger on your smile, and they soften. "it is, isn't it?" 

he turns to the ocean, watching satoru and riko, and his eyes sparkle. "i hope it stays like this always." 

"me too." 

he bends down to take his place at your side before he hands you a cone. you take it from him. suguru's eyes drift away from you to look down at his castle. 

"i think it looks great," he expresses, before taking a lick of his ice cream. 

you roll your eyes with a huff. "yeah, because you made it look so nice. you're unnecessarily good at this, suguru." 

he laughs, waving his hand dismissively. "no no, we did it together! and yours is nice too!" 

"maybe," you grin, looking at his castle. "but yours is extra pretty." 

he smiles back, before pointing at a small hole in his sand tower. "see this room? it's yours." 

"mine?" you chuckle.

"yeah, all yours," he hums softly. "this is my castle and you get your own room." 

"oh? and why's that?" 

suguru's gaze lingers on you, and his dark eyes soften considerably. "because you'll always have a place in my home." 

you stare at him, speechless—something hammers away at the inner crevices of your chest. 

"and this one—" he points to another hole a few inches away from the first. "—is my room." 

"well in that case, that room is mine too!" you declare.

"what?" he barks out a laugh. "how does that work?" 

"well…" you grin at him, the sun burning into your cheeks. "because my home is wherever you are!" 

suguru's cheeky smile fades and his eyes widen. he looks at you, mouth agape, and you're about to say something else before sticky coolness trickles down your wrist. 

"ack!" you hurry to wipe away the strawberry ice cream dripping down your skin and you completely miss the red that creeps up his neck and seeps into his ears. 

vi. ice bath

shoko's fingers are unbelievably soft. you're grateful that you were unconscious through most of her procedures on your battered body—you don't think you would've handled the pain too well. she's quiet as she works over the large wound that now covers almost half of your torso. the man with the scar on his lip had done quite the number on you, and you don't think you'll ever forget the searing ache of his blade slicing through your flesh. he had left you in a bloodied pile, isolated, and you hadn't seen what had happened to suguru after the man shot riko. you could only lay there, vision swimming as a bitter taste filled your mouth—a reminder of the life you failed to protect.

the pain had been the only thing you could focus on, until satoru was on his knees at your side and tightly gripping your shoulders. your hazy focus was drawn to his lips as he spewed curses and insults at you. 

"why didn't you run away, you little shit," he had shouted, a feral look in his eyes. there was something different about him—a change in his very being that you could see even in the throes of death. "shoko's coming, do you hear me? for fuck's sake, keep your eyes open, hotshot!" 

you swore you saw his eyes shine behind that look of uncontrolled anger. he had been talking a mile a minute and your focus had waned until you could only see his lips move, no sound reaching your ears.

you've never thought satoru looked more godly than he did at that moment.

suguru eventually found his way into your field of vision—knelt at satoru's side. his large hand had squeezed your limp fingers in a death grip. he was sweating, and his eyes were darting back and forth between your pale face and bloodied torso, something akin to guilt swimming in them. you wished that you had the strength in you to squeeze his hand in return. the last thing you remember seeing is his dark hair falling in front of his face as he turned to shout at whoever was approaching.

now you're awake. disoriented and bleary, but awake, and all you can look at is the way shoko's bangs fall over her furrowed brows. she's taken care of the bleeding, and now all that's left is a dull throbbing, reminding you of how close you had toed the line with death. you don't know this yet, but the scar will remain for the rest of your life, and that dull throbbing will be a permanent reminder of your narrow escape. 

shoko hasn't said a word since she noticed your eyelids flutter open. you want to ask her so many things. important things that cannot wait: 

where's satoru? how about suguru? i saw them both. satoru's alive, right? and suguru, too? the man—with the scar. where did he go? he said that satoru—riko….where is riko? and—and kuroi…i—i..couldn't save riko. when did you get here, shoko? and why am i the only one who's being taken care of by you? 

you want to ask her. but she's making a very odd expression as her hands ghost over your body. you've never seen it before, this odd quirking of her lips. her teeth sink into the bottom one, and she chews and bites and nibbles like it's some kind of nervous tell. 

"shoko?" 

it's all you can manage to say—all you dare. your voice is dry, shaky, and sounds almost foreign to your ears. you're going to ask more, at least one of those thousand questions you had asked in your head earlier, but you don't get to because she speaks before you. 

"shut up," she spits, and the wobble in her voice has you pinching your lips shut and feeling closer to death than you did before. 

vii. acid rain

the sound of clapping is deafening. you don't think you've ever heard a sound so horrid in your life before, and you feel as though your ears are bleeding heavily. you can faintly make out the conversation between satoru and suguru, your ears struggling to pick out the tones of their voices. 

"no…" you hear suguru say quietly. "it doesn't matter if I'm fine…"

you can feel satoru's eyes roam over your motionless body, watching the way you gaze out into the crowd impassively. 

"let's get out of here, guys."

your feet carry you numbly, and you aren't aware of anything except the way riko's arm is swinging in front of you lifelessly. there are no mirrors around—no way of catching the track of tears cutting over your cheeks. the places where the salt touches burn like acid. you say nothing. 

satoru's gaze feels intrusive. he doesn't need to ask you anything—he just knows. it's like your body is radiating the emotions tumbling around in your gut. 

you're awfully sensitive for a jujutsu sorcerer, you know that?

"do you want to…kill them all?" 

the question stuns you, and for the first time, you can shake yourself out of your daze to look at satoru directly. blood is smeared over the left side of his face, cerulean eyes dimmed, as though something had pulled the shine out of them. red seeps into the fine hairs of his restless eyebrows. 

"right now, i probably wouldn't even feel anything," he continues, staring at you listlessly.

you think satoru might be feeling just as numb as you are. you don't know what happened to him yet. the last you had heard, gojo satoru had been killed by the man with the scar. he had boasted about it to you before he attempted to kill you too. but then satoru was at your side again, completely alive as he ran your battered body to shoko like a crazed man. 

you'll find out later who the man with the scar on his lip was, and what kind of legacy he had left behind. but for right now, all you see is a teenager with the weight of the world on his shoulders, and you know your answer.

satoru could help the pain go away; he'd be able to make the clapping stop—maybe then your ears wouldn't bleed anymore. but you couldn't ask that of him. 

"forget it. it's pointless," suguru mutters, and you're glad he's on the same page as you. not because any of these people deserve pity, but because satoru deserves a break—one less burden for him to carry. 

you hear suguru say more, but you can't focus. you continue to listen to the sound of the clapping, and once again lose yourself as you stare at riko's bloodied fingertips. 

"pointless, huh?" satoru mumbles in response to suguru's answer. "does there need to be a reason?" 

"of course. it's important," suguru's voice doesn't carry the same pleasant tone it always does. instead, it sounds strained, and tired beyond belief. unsure. "especially as jujutsu sorcerers." 

satoru doesn't respond, but you know that he's measuring the weight of his friend's words. that's how it was with the two of them. they both balance each other out—their moral compasses influenced by one another. but then you feel satoru look up from riko's body and turn to you. suguru follows suit, and before you can wonder why, it hits you: satoru had asked you both. 

you suck a deep breath in, feeling unusually breathless. the flesh of your stomach tingles with a painful reminder of what might've been, and you make up your mind. 

"killing them won't change anything," you say, breaking your silence. the tears on your cheeks have dried, but they leave a rigid trail in their wake—a trail that still stings. "let's just leave it at that." 

viii. fever dreams

satoru lies next to you. 

a few nights have passed since riko's death, and you've chosen to stay holed up in your room. you're not sure why—death has always played a big role in your life. you don't understand why it's different this time. 

tonight is different as well. while you've maintained a distance from everyone since that day, save for classes and passing by people on school grounds, today you've decided to let someone in. satoru's the lucky one, mostly because he would've pestered you until you opened your door for him anyway. 

it's strange though. he had knocked over and over, and when you finally opened up with a snappy jab at his annoying personality, he had brushed straight past you and laid across your bed. he hadn't said a word since then, and you've found yourself lying next to him in silence for quite a while. 

his hand stretches out in the darkness and you can feel his fingertips brush over the skin of your arm. it's delicate, like he's testing his limits, but you understand. it's just to ground himself—to know that you're still here, with him. to be sure that you're still alive.

you think the scar that goes down your body bothers him a lot more than it bothers you. 

"'m here," you mumble sleepily. your fingers reach up to bump against his knuckles, and you hear him inhale deeply. his voice is throaty when he replies. 

"i know." 

ix. doubt

satoru learns that you've never been kissed before and he teases you for it.

not in a mean way, but in a way that has your cheeks heating and your eyes avoiding his. suddenly it feels like the gap between ages 16 and 17 is huge. he's barely even a year older than you and you're in the same year, but it feels as though he knows so much more about the world than you do. you want to ask suguru if it's bad that you've never had a kiss, but you don't. suguru rarely talks these days. sometimes he'll have conversations with you but won't look in your eyes when he speaks. 

"hey listen, hotshot. if you don't get a kiss by…" satoru hums, an eager smile on his face as he swings an arm around your shoulders and contemplates his words. "…let's say 27, then i'll give one to you!" 

there's an odd note of glee in his voice. 

"shut up, toru," you groan, heat flooding your cheeks. "quit joking around." 

he laughs loudly, pulling your cheek teasingly. "aw, i'm just playing. it's not a bad thing i promise!" 

your shoulders relax slightly as the snowy-haired sorcerer continues to speak. 

"i just thought that you would've kissed someone by now," he shrugs. "wasn't there that one guy you went on a few dates with? the one you met when we went to yokohama?" 

there's an almost sour expression on his face as he speaks, but you're too frustrated to care. "just because i went on a couple of dates with him doesn't mean i kissed him!"

a broad teasing smile appears on satoru's face. "is that so?" 

"ugh, i'm only 16!" you hiss, shoving him away from you. "besides i'm saving it for someone special!"

"good," you hear suguru speak up, and you turn to look at him. his fingers are interlocked, elbows resting on his knees, and he's staring down at his hands like they hold the answers to some deep questions he has. "it is something irreplaceable after all." 

x. shadow

satoru's grin is proud as he stands before the three of you, his loose shirt billowing in the summer breeze.

you stare at him, heart thumping as shoko lets out a confused gasp. "huh? what the hell was that?"

"did it automatically choose the target for your technique?" suguru asks.

"yep!" satoru stresses the word, spinning the pencil suguru had thrown as he explains. "though i am the target. i've pretty much automated what i used to have to do manually."

your head is spinning.

"now i can tell an object's danger levels based the strength of its cursed energy, its speed, mass, velocity, shape—whatever. i want to be able to discern poisons too but that's pretty hard right now." satoru's voice is even when he explains, though you can make out the hints of pride that permeate his tones. you think his voice has gotten a little deeper too. "basically this is gonna allow me to keep my limitless technique active all the time!"

"that's gonna fry your brain!" shoko interjects, shaking her hair out of her eyes.

"yeah but i can do it while i continuously generate energy on my own. that way my brain stays fresh."

you can't help but let out an amused scoff. "what brain?"

satoru chucks the eraser at you, and you laugh as it bounces off your shoulder harmlessly.

"i've been working on shortening my hand signals so i can activate red and blue simultaneously." he continues, lips twitching upward as he gives you an exaggerated glare. "after this the only things i need to work on are domain expansion and long-distance teleportation. which i should be able to do if we set up some training courses here at school."

you think if someone examined you closely, they would see the stars in your eyes when you look at satoru.

"shoko~" he calls out, grinning eagerly. "think you could get me some lab rats?"

shoko groans as satoru bounds over to pester her more emphatically. you watch him, thinking you've never seen a person quite so magnificent.

god personified into a 17-year-old body. and yet it is a body that stays so close to you—well within your reach. maybe there's nothing so godly about that at all.

"don't you get tired of getting stronger and stronger, jeez?" you complain, crossing your arms as you raise a brow at him. satoru wets his lips as he throws you a smug smile.

"don't worry hotshot, you'll catch up to me someday!" he gives you an exaggerated wink over the frames of his glasses, and you shake your head somewhat fondly.

"no way! i never want to be at your level," you huff. "i'm very comfortable living in your shadow, thank you very much!"

a strange look passes over his face, almost puzzled, but the dip in his brows melts away as he approaches you. "well—" he slings an arm over your shoulder. "if my shadow makes you happy then you're more than welcome to stay there."

you don't have time to reply. pale lashes flutter at you—a backdrop of cerulean. you think white and blue may be the prettiest combination of colors in the world.

"suguru?" satoru's voice is casual, yet the amusement has dropped from it. his arm is heavy around your shoulders. "have you lost weight? are you okay?"

you look up, seeing tired eyes behind dark stands of hair. suguru's cheekbones are prominent, and you have the sudden urge to reach out and trace your fingers over them.

his lips twitch upward weakly. "it's just the summer heat…"

his lavender eyes drift to your face as he says it, and he tilts his head as he scrutinizes your worried expression. "…i'll be fine."

xi. hellfire

you hear suguru before you see him.

his breaths come loud as he pushes the door to the morgue open, the metal clanging heavily. his eyes bore into your back, taking in your clenched fists and raised shoulders that seem to tremble.

you wonder who told suguru you'd be here. maybe nanami, who was here not long ago, and had sent you a text that merely said: the mission went badly.

or maybe it was satoru, who had been chatting with you near the entrance of campus when he saw the myriad of emotions pass over your face as you read the text. he had probably called suguru as soon as you left.

it doesn't matter—you can't bring yourself to care.

you can only think about the way haibara had smiled at you before he left that morning.

now that smile is covered by a dirty white sheet, and you can't tear your eyes away from it. the taste of blood and vomit is heavy on your tongue.

suguru says your name quietly. you can't even look at him—you're scared that you'll cry if you do.

you don't ever want to cry in front of him. or satoru—so weak in front of those who are so strong.

"he asked if i wanted to go with them and i said no because i was lazy," you hiss, teeth clenched as you spit out the words with venom. "if i had just stopped thinking about myself for a second—"

your fingers dig into the flesh of your palms—deep, deep, deeper.

you hear suguru click his tongue, and his hands wrap around yours. he yanks your fingers apart fiercely, thumbs smoothing over the bloodied indents you've made in your own skin. you tear your eyes away from the body to finally look at him.

"don't—" his breath catches as his thumbs still over your flesh, eyes going hard as he takes in the blood.

he blurs in and out of focus. his head whips up when he hears you sniffle, and his lips slant ruefully. "you—"

"i'm fine," you interrupt, blinking pointedly and taking a deep breath. "it's fine—i mean it's not fine—but i c—"

"stop." suguru grabs your shoulders, giving you an even stare. you don't know how you didn't notice it before, but he looks thinner, older. there are dark circles under his eyes—poison seeping into his skin. "you need to rest."

you stare back at him silently, but you don't feel like you agree. something about this is making you feel restless, like there is so much you need to make up for. his grip tightens, before he's wordlessly leading you to take a seat—he finds his place next to you.

"satoru took over the mission." he stares at the lifeless body on the table as he speaks. you lower your gaze.

"and nanami?" your throat feels like it's closing. suguru inhales deeply.

"he went back to the dorms."

"okay."

you try to figure out if there is any meaning in having this conversation. despite everything, weren't you expected to wake up tomorrow morning and head out on a mission once more? and when you return, you're sure that there'll be another faceless body taking haibara's place.

the cycle continues—clockwork. it scares you, just how replaceable you are.

haibara, nanami, you, another, nameless—interchangeable.

not like satoru. not like suguru. not like the strong.

you lean your head against suguru's shoulder, fingering the hem of your uniform skirt. the fabric is cool to the touch—it seems darker, heavier. heat radiates from the body next to you, and there's something about him that's making your stomach churn with nerves. "suguru?"

his voice sounds far away. "hm?"

"are you okay?"

he stiffens and you suddenly fear you've said too much—nosy, intruding, out of place. you stumble. "it's just, we haven't talked much lately."

"i'm fine," he answers, and you can hear a smile in his voice—whether it's real or fake you can't tell. "just a little tired."

you know there is truth to this. but it scares you, how this tiredness of his has lingered for months. you don't know how to tell him that.

"okay…" your voice is barely a whisper, heavy with unspoken words that you don't know how to formulate. somehow you find that silence has always been your only option.

but like usual, silence with suguru has never once been uncomfortable.

haibara's smile burns behind your eyelids.

"it should be a relatively simple mission. if you're not doing anything today senpai, would you like to come with us?"

his voice tickles your ears.

"that's alright! i'll get going then! oh right, today's mission is a little farther than usual, so we'll probably be back late! what would you like me to bring back for you?" 

hypoxia crushes your lungs, your blood burns. selfish selfish selfish. you've only ever cared about yourself.

suguru's arm curls around your shoulder before you even realize you're crying. his palm is warm as it smooths over your hair, and all you can worry about tainting him with your ridiculous tears.

you don't ever want to burden him—just want to quietly live in his shadow.

"i don't—" you internally cringe at the throaty rasp of your voice, swiping a hand at your nose. "i shouldn't be so sensitive about—"

"it's not your fault." he quietly hushes you, grip tightening imperceptibly. through your tears you can see him adam's apple bob, and for some reason that makes you feel worse. you're too scared to look at his expression, even though his voice is resolute. "none of this is our fault."

something has changed in the way he speaks now. something has settled, a confirmation of some idea that has been brewing for a long time now.

you don't say another word, but somehow he manages to sear himself into your very being. he's warm, and fuzzy, and he smells like sandalwood and incense. 

you don't know how long suguru let's you pathetically sob into his shoulder.

but you think you're embarrassed that he has taken pity on a wounded animal's cries.

xii. split

he looks different, but also the same. you've seen him wear that sweater before. it's plain black, no patterns, and you know that there's a loose string on the inside of the left sleeve that he was always too lazy to cut. you've always liked that sweater—always liked the way he looked in it. 

you liked it so much that you've even stolen it a few times yourself. 

but now it looks different. older and dirtier—as though soiled by some unknown curse. 

that's what everything came down to, right? curses. 

suguru stands in front of you, almost no trace of emotion on his handsome face, and his expression makes you want to turn and run. you miss the calm serenity that normally graced his features, wishing that you had some kind of cursed technique that could turn back time. but you aren't blessed like that—you wonder what sin you might've committed in a past life that made you so unlucky in this one. 

"you look confused," he comments. you reel at how casually he speaks to you, like it's just another afternoon sitting under that stupid tree. like he's leaning his head back against the trunk and watching you and satoru bicker with that fond look in his eye. 

"suguru," you speak, an odd strain in your voice. you struggle to comprehend this odd turn of events. you've had time to understand that he's now a different person than the one you once knew. you know that he's responsible for killing 112 innocents, including his own parents. you know that he's now an enemy to jujutsu society and you know that you should kill him right at this moment.

but he looks so much like suguru, like your suguru, that you can only manage to stand there, frozen in place. his eyes drift over your body, taking in your pajamas, the bath towel in your hands, and the small drops that trickle from your hair, and you can see the familiarity settle in his expression. 

"why are you here?" you choke out. you feel an overwhelming sense of danger in your gut, knowing that your family is just a few rooms over from where he stands now. 

"at your family home, you mean?" he asks casually. a small, almost amused smirk appears on his face. "you said i was always welcome." 

you did say that. sometime last year or the year before, when you had invited satoru, suguru, and shoko over to visit during one of your quick holidays. suguru had sat across from you at your dinner table. he complimented the food and your father smiled one of his rare smiles. you had chewed quietly to hide your grin.

you don't know what to say to him now. 

"everything they said about you," you whisper, taking a step toward him. he remains rooted in place, but his eyes follow your movements. they shift when he catches your fingers gripping your towel tighter. "is it true?" 

"do you think it is?" he asks, and you gulp. it feels like he's baiting you into some kind of trap. 

"i don't want to believe that it is," you answer, voice shaking. "that you would ever do something so…"

the sentence hangs in the air, and he tilts his head imperceptibly. something in his eyes changes as he focuses on the drops falling over your shoulders. 

"well i'm sorry to squash your hope," he raises his arms in a shrug. "but everything you heard is completely true." 

your head aches, but you're not surprised by his confirmation. "why would you…?"

suguru hums, a dark look falling over his face. "do you remember the conversation we had after haibara's funeral? do you remember what i told you when he died?" 

anger flares in your gut at the mention of haibara, and the bath towel crumples in your hold. "don't say his name," you hiss through gritted teeth. "don't act like he's the reason—just…don't bring him into this. please." 

suguru licks his lips, eyes going soft before he tries again. 

"everything used to make sense back then," he sighs. "back when the strong existed to protect the weak. but it's not true." 

"suguru—" 

"the reason why we suffer is because of them," he interjects evenly, though frustration is clearly evident in the curve of his brows and the volume of his voice. "we clean up their messes. they create problems and we die for it." 

you're stunned into silence, at the way he's raising his voice at you, at the way he's speaking so firmly about this horrible topic, at everything. he seems to realize the effect of his speech, and he quells his anger to speak quieter. "that's why i'm doing this. i'm going to create a world without non-sorcerers, so that sorcerers like you and i can live peacefully." 

a lump forms in your throat because god, he's right. he's so right. your life would be a thousand times better without curses. non-sorcerers were the reason curses existed. but the way he's going about this…

"suguru," your voice shakes, but you press on. "i get it. i really do—" 

"i know you do," he interrupts. "you always have. even back then…" 

he takes a step closer to you, reaching out to finger the towel in your hands. "but you don't agree with the way i'm doing it, right?" 

you bite your lip, and he smiles at the sadness in your expression. "you're so easy to read, hotshot." 

you ignore the way the nickname stings. "i just—how could you kill innocent people like that? your own parents, suguru."

he looks away from you, steely resolve in his eyes. "if i made exceptions for my parents, that would kinda make me a hypocrite, wouldn't it?"  

you don't know what to say to that. he doesn't seem to have anything else to add either. 

he looks around your old bedroom, eyes sparkling as they catch a picture of the four of you from your first year. satoru's arm is slung around shoko. the dark-haired female has her elbow resting on your shoulder, her tongue sticking out playfully. you're clinging to suguru's arm, and satoru's free hand is squishing your cheeks together. the four of you are laughing. 

nobody has laughed in a while now. 

you tear your gaze away from the picture frame to look at him. he's so unbelievably close, and he's gazing down at you with this foreign look in his eyes, the picture forgotten behind him. 

he slips his fingers into your hair. his palm is large enough that it can brush the side of your face, and you wonder why your body doesn't flinch away from those bloodstained hands.

"it's okay," he mumbles, a faraway look in his eyes. they remain trained on your hair, but it feels like he's looking straight through you. like you're nothing more than a ghost he wants to erase. he's so close—you can count his dark lashes as they brush against his cheeks. "it's difficult. i don't expect you to understand." 

his words incite a sudden flare of anger in your gut. it burns something fierce, and in that moment you hate him. 

"no, i don't," you reply indignantly. he pauses, now really looking at you, and his brows quirk upward in what seems to be surprise, because—well, he's never seen you make such an expression at him before. "you never tried to help me understand. you just left." 

a strained silence follows. his fingers twitch against your cheek.

"this doesn't concern you," he says finally. "i don't need you to understand my actions." 

you recoil, as though he's physically hurt you, and your expression falls so hard that it almost makes him regret saying it. almost. 

"if it doesn't concern me, then why are you here?" you ask again, and you see suguru's shoulders drop. "you know that i have orders to kill you. i might not be able to because you've always been stronger than me. but you know that i'll…" 

go down fighting you, is what you want to say, but the words leave a nasty taste in your mouth. but suguru seems to know what you're implying because a wry smile appears on his lips. his fingers twirl a strand of your wet hair. 

"i'm here to say goodbye," he says finally. another tense silence fills the space between you both, and suguru can see the way your fingers shake between the folds of your towel. 

"you're a little bit late for that, aren't you?" you choke out, a strange tilt to your voice as you break eye contact with him. "you left school weeks ago, and you didn't say a word to me then." 

"better late than never, right?" 

the softness in his tone makes you turn to look at him again, and you desperately want to ingrain the features of his face into your head. the gentle slope of his eyes and sweetness of his smile. he almost looks like the suguru you once knew, and you suddenly have the urge to mourn his death. 

his face becomes blurry, the edges becoming less pronounced, and you can see the way his expression falls. 

"i didn't come all the way here to make you cry." his hand drops from your face and he takes a step back. your fingers hurry to wipe at your waterline, and you shake your head. 

"'m not crying." 

suguru smiles ruefully, and his eyes suddenly look devoid of life. he takes another step back—your heart plummets.

he says your name once, quietly, and it hangs in the air as you wait for him to say more. 

he doesn't. 

"you know that I'm not supposed to let you leave alive, right?" you mumble, fingers toying with the towel in your hand. "but i can't—i mean—"

"hm," he chuckles. "still as sensitive as ever, huh? s'okay…" 

he moves toward you again and his hand gently cups the back of your neck. "i think it's your best quality. makes you better than most people in our world."

he presses his lips to your forehead tenderly, and you feel your eyes widen behind your tears. 

you probably could've stopped him, because you're aware that he's now suddenly behind you, and that he's raising his hand. you can stop him, but a part of you thinks that if it's death at suguru's hands, maybe it's not such a bad way to go. 

you accept your fate then and there. 

you'll find out later that suguru never had the intention to kill you then. perhaps he was waiting for a more opportune time, waiting for there to be a meaning behind it. you're not sure. but when you wake up tucked in your bed cozily, you'll feel the remnants of him lingering around you.

he was warm, and fuzzy, and he smelled like sandalwood and incense.

xiii. sanctify

satoru's at your door again. 

you've memorized his knock patterns. he always knocks three times, then leaves a pause, then twice more. for someone so erratic, he can be quite predictable. 

"what's up, satoru?" you call out, not looking up from your busy hands. there are a couple of empty cardboard boxes open on your bed, and you've been placing things into them all morning. things that should've been put away a long time ago. you pause on one of your old test papers, and in suguru's dark, blocky handwriting you read: 

YOU GOTTA STUDY MORE DUMBASS.

underneath it, satoru had scrawled: 

hotshot failing class now huh? :P

and shoko had added: 

both of you stfu you're failing too 

you had drawn a heart next to her name. 

"whatcha doin'?" a familiar voice chirps. "spring cleaning?"

satoru stands directly behind you, peering over your shoulder. you can practically feel his aura shift when he notices the items you're putting away. 

"cleaning of some sort," you sigh, before turning to look over your shoulder. "i've been…putting it off." 

he doesn't move—just continues to stare down at the paper in your hands. you think maybe you shouldn't have let him in. sometimes you forget that satoru might have his own sensitivities—you've always viewed him as the strongest.

a few strands of his hair tickle your cheek, and you scrunch your nose in response. he then turns to you, eyes blinding as he studies you over the frames of his shades. 

"want help?" 

"please." you don't intend to sound so needy, but the way you whisper the word has him immediately grabbing your wrist and sitting you down next to him on the bed. 

"how are we sorting this stuff?" he asks, his voice oddly calm. he hasn't let go of your arm yet, and some quiet part of you is grateful. 

"i was putting our old school stuff in that box. books, papers…" you answer softly, and satoru nods in understanding. "and in the other box…" 

you inhale deeply through your nose. satoru waits, strangely patient. you're not sure if you're imagining it, but you think he squeezes your wrist. 

"…are all of suguru's things." 

there's a moment of silence—a quick mourning for what is no longer there. 

"it's stupid stuff that he left behind, you know?" you chuckle, even though nothing is funny. "some old shirts from when you two would sleep over, his old textbooks, a few pictures from our holidays—shit like that." 

satoru hums. he's not looking at you—instead he's staring at the box, a frown on his face. 

"i guess he didn't really need those things for where he was going. or for wherever he is now," you mumble. 

"guess not." 

you're not sure what's going through his head. satoru's reaction to suguru leaving had been chaotic at best. it was so hard to tell how he felt about it. you knew he was angry, confused, betrayed. but he never showed things like that. you think it might have to do with being the strongest. you're not sure though—you never were strong like him.

you wish there was a way to tell him that he could share his feelings with you, but you can't think of a way that won't be awkward. 

a ticklish sensation crawls up your wrist and you look down to watch satoru's first two fingers tap against the inside of your palm. his thumb brushes against yours as he lets out a heavy exhale. 

"let's get started then, hotshot." 

he looks down at you as he says the words, and you think you might cry. but you want to be strong, like him, so you offer him a smile. he gives you one in return. you realize there isn't that much warmth in it, not like it used to have—you're sure that yours isn't that warm either. 

but it's enough for the two of you. 

"you look tired, toru," you chuckle wryly, reaching up to brush a few strands of hair from his face. his eyes flutter at the touch, and you honestly think this might be the most vulnerable you've ever seen him. 

"so do you." 

"i am," you admit honestly. 

"'s okay," he mumbles. his fingers tap against your palm once more. "'m here." 

"i know," you answer. you always are.

nothing more is said as satoru stands up. he makes his way over to your desk and pulls one of suguru's old sweaters from your chair. you watch him fold it neatly, smoothing out the creases with care, before placing it into the box—you smile once more. 

you think the scent of sandalwood tickles your nose, but it's gone in an instant.  

both of you work in relative silence, sorting through the things in your room quickly. you're surprised at how bare it looks as you're nearing the end, as though there's nothing more to your life than old high school recollections. 

you finish putting the last few polaroids into the box when satoru speaks up. 

"hey." 

you look up and find him staring at you, so you turn to face him completely, giving him your full attention. 

"zenin toji—" the name sends a painful tingle up your body. "—left something behind." 

you frown. "what are you talking about?" 

"a kid. he's got a kid. and i was gonna go meet him today," satoru shrugs. you try to read his emotions, but as usual, he's giving you nothing. "the old man said something about the zenin clan buying up his kid before i killed him. i was gonna go see if there's something i could do about that." 

you sigh before raising a brow, an amused lilt to your voice. "and why have you kept this a secret?" 

satoru's trademark smirk appears, and he walks over to sling an arm around your shoulders. "who knows?" he quips nonchalantly. "guess i was waiting until we were bored. we need something to do now, don't we?" 

you glance at the packed boxes on your bed, and then look around your empty room. everything is always changing, but satoru is constant. 

"i guess so," you grin. his eyes shine, and for a second you see a familiar teenager at the beach, and then a familiar teenager under an old tree. you think you hear waves, and the crinkling of a bag of chips. 

"good," he chirps, walking you to the door, the arm around your shoulder secure. "his name's megumi, and we're gonna make sure he gets strong."

xiv. idyll

it takes you a little over four months to get used to megumi's eyes. they aren't unsettling or invading, like a certain snowy haired sorcerer, but they do give you chills when you first notice them. chills and a fleeting feeling of metal slicing up and down through your flesh. you just have to steady your breathing and remind yourself that the son is not the father.

tsumiki is an angel. you didn't think that kids that age could be so emotionally competent, but she's a pleasant surprise. she had been awfully protective over megumi, fidgeting with a firm hand on his shoulder as you and satoru invaded their space and upturned their lives. even after they had settled into the humble apartment satoru had purchased, tsumiki was still so overly cautious. it was obvious she still didn't trust either of you, but you thought it was admirable of her, and you relay this thought to satoru one day.

"think they hate us?" he asks, squishing his cheeks between his lithe fingers as he eyes the different milk cartons over the rims of his glasses.

"i'm pretty sure they just don't trust us that much," you reply, placing a few packs of instant ramen into the cart. "can you blame them? we're just random strangers who came up and basically kidnapped them."

"i'd like to say adopted!" he points out with a grin, before he sighs. "but we've already proved we're just doing this to help them. but they still barely talk at all."

"they're just being careful. megumi's still a little young and he looks like he doesn't give a shit about most stuff anyway," you chuckle as you remember the expression on the first grader's face as he spoke to your cocky friend. "and tsumiki's being cautious for both of them."

"she doesn't need to be cautious of us!" satoru dramatically whines, pulling out a carton of whole milk and placing it into the cart. you shiver as the cold air hits your skin, eyeing the sorcerer with an exasperated smile. he shuts the door with a huff. "i've been such a good dad!"

you roll your eyes, shoving his arm as he starts pushing the cart down the aisle. "she definitely should be cautious of you, you creep."

satoru looks down over his shoulder, appalled, though his eyes sparkle with mirth. "and why do you say that?"

"have you seen yourself? crazy 19 year old man that kidnaps kids," you mutter somewhat sarcastically, falling into step with him like it's normal. satoru grins at that—amused.

"i think it's pretty cool of her to be that responsible though," you continue, voice going softer as you think about them, and satoru hums in what you think might be agreement. you suddenly grab his arm, stopping him in his tracks and he turns to look at you.

"you think we should get another carton of milk?" you question, tilting your head at him. "megumi's been drinking it every day after he comes back from school and tsumiki said she wanted to try making milkshakes."

satoru blinks at you, eyes widening before an amused chuckle escapes his lips. you're about to ask what is so funny but he gestures back down the aisle. "go get some."

he waits for you as you go grab another carton, leaning against the cart easily. when you make it back and place the extra milk in the cart, satoru slings an arm around your shoulders. you raise a brow, but he just continues to push the cart with his free hand and says nothing.

so you don't say anything either.

the two of you continue shopping, trying to remember the things you've noticed the kids enjoying because you know they'll be too uncomfortable to outrightly request them. for every sweet snack satoru puts into the cart, you add something that can pass as somewhat healthy, and he hides a teasing grin behind his fist each time.

when you're almost done, satoru motions to the shelves of snacks, raising a brow at you. "what do you need, hotshot?"

you look up from where you're analyzing the contents of the cart. "hm? oh i don't wanna buy anything for myself. i'm good with the stuff i have back at the dorm."

"great," he shrugs with a subtle shake of his head. "except you're not buying anything this time, i am. so pick something."

"what?" you frown, walking over to him. "we're supposed to split groceries for the kids."

"we can split next time." satoru rolls his eyes at you, as though annoyed by your insistence. "i just got paid yesterday and i wanna waste money. pick something."

you groan. "but there really isn't anything i want. if you're gonna pay yourself then let's just go. i think this is good enough."

satoru looks unamused, his eyes boring into yours—bright, dominating, mesmerizing. "oh really? nothing you want?"

you stare at him in confusion as he walks over to the frozen section and opens the door. after a few seconds of rummaging, he pulls out a box. "not even this?"

your shoulders drop. he's holding a tub of strawberry ice cream.

he casually places it into the cart, eyes trained on your expression as he bends down. "it's your favorite, isn't it?"

your voice comes out throaty, and you wet your lips nervously—his eyes follow the movement at lightning speed. "how'd you know?"

satoru scoffs out a haughty chuckle, reaching up to knock a knuckle at your forehead—it's cold. "i know everything about you, hotshot."

he moves to grip at the cart's handle, standing close enough that you can feel the energy radiating off of him. the side of his hand touches yours, still cold. "now we can go."

he sticks by your side, pushing the cart towards the counters as he casually looks around the store. you briefly realize that his shadow doesn't cover you when you're at his side like this. the thought both scares you and pleases you in a way you didn't think was possible.

"thanks toru," you mumble before you can stop yourself. his gives you a sidelong glance—assessing.

his lips twitch. "it's just ice cream."

"no, it's a lot more than that." you're not really sure why you say it so tragically, and satoru inhales sharply. you notice that his knuckles have turned white as he grips the cart's handles. once again, his eyes dart rapidly over your face—between your eyes and then further down.

then he lets out a hushed laugh, nudging your shoulder with his. "as long as you share with me, hotshot."

everything is always changing, but satoru is constant.

you can't help but smile. "always."

you two don't say much as you head to the counter, taking turns placing all the items on the belt. you quietly watch satoru dig into his wallet, feeling oddly content doing so. you think the stars in your eyes will never disappear.

the clerk eyes you both, and suppresses a fond grin. with your close proximity, shared cart, and satoru's easy going smile, you realize that she's probably misunderstanding, but you don't really know how to correct her. satoru says nothing—he just continues smiling, oddly pleased.

he smiles all the way to the car. you catch yourself doing the same in the rear view mirror.

xv. retribution

the first thing you notice when you kneel in front of suguru is that he's bleeding all over the place. you have the strongest urge to scramble and grip his fingers tightly, just as he had done for you so many years ago—but you don't dare. you're too scared that touching him will ruin you completely.

he says your name quietly, and yet it's the loudest thing in the universe to you—crashing over your ears until you've lost all sense of self.

and then he leans forward, his gaze heavy, and his hand comes up to tangle in your hair. his palm rests on the side of your face just like it did when he visited you at your family home. the last time you saw your geto suguru.

except this time he moves further—crosses a line. presses his lips to yours.

he tastes like blood. you don't pull away.

the feeling of his lips shocks you though, and you stay permanently frozen in place as you feel your eyes glaze over with something you can't put into words.

suguru kisses you slowly, deeply, like he's been waiting but wants to savor it. maybe you've been waiting too. you're not sure. you're so confused.

you don't even process the way his tongue slips past your lips, tasting almost eagerly like your mouth is some kind of conquest he's trying to claim.

it's intrusive, but not unwelcome. slow, but not gentle.

you whimper quietly, feeling acid sting down your cheek as he pulls away and his eyes flutter open. he takes in your expression, and a million emotions pass over his face.

a quiet chuckle. "that bad, huh?"

you shake yourself out of it and try to push away the flush creeping up your neck. "w-what?"

"you're crying," he announces, his furrowed eyebrows paired with a sweet smile that makes him look so unbelievably tragic. "the kiss was that bad?"

your face burns, and you raise a shaking hand up to your cheek—it's wet.

"it wasn't—i didn't—" you struggle. "i mean—"

he smiles ruefully. "i'm sorry. you were saving it for someone special, right?"

there's a charged silence that follows as you scour your brain for the conversation he's referencing. when you find it, your heart sinks.

"you've always been special to me, suguru." your voice comes out quiet, but he hears it all the same. his eyes widen fractionally and you can see a light pink dust his cheeks before he laughs. it's soft, hushed, and looks like it's painful, but he lets it run its course.

it reminds you of a laugh from so long ago, at a beach, with childish screams echoing against the sound of waves. you think you can feel strawberry ice cream dripping down your wrist.

his laughs die down and he's left smiling softly at you. his lavender eyes sparkle with mirth as he tilts his head. "i'm glad. that you were the one i gave a room to."

you can hear waves in your ears, crashing crashing drowning. sand is in your hands, in between your toes, in your eyes.

he coughs, and his palm shakes against your cheek. you wonder why he doesn't just let go already dammit suguru.

you inhale sharply, trying so hard to breathe because what is that stupid thing that's clogging your throat and preventing you from speaking? there's so much you have to say to him. so many questions. so many things left unsaid. your words are failing you.

but silence with suguru has never once been uncomfortable, right?

you raise a shaky hand to press against his where it lays against your neck. "do you regret it?"

he licks his lips, smiling faintly, as though he's enjoying the new taste of you on them. "no."

"why not?" you whisper. your body unconsciously shuffles closer to him, chasing his warmth because gods is he warm. he's always been so warm, even now, in the throes of death.

"my feelings are still the same. i still hate the monkeys for everything they've done, all the crap they cause." he shuts his eyes, smiling that serene smile. you wish he was leaning against a tree trunk. "i still have no resentment to those at jujutsu tech. and you, i still…"

he doesn't continue. you don't think you want him to. there's a flush crawling up his neck, the faint pink a stark contrast to the red of blood. it makes you nauseous.

another deep inhale, and his thumb slides over your jawbone, before brushing under your bottom lip. he stares at the flesh heavily, letting his finger press into it. his tongue swipes over his own lips, eyes darkening further.

and then something shifts in his face, and he smiles mirthlessly. his hand drops from your face—broken contact.

he doesn't tear his gaze away from you, committing your face to memory. it's almost like he wants to say something, but decides against it at the last minute as he slumps further into the wall behind him and shuts his eyes.

when he speaks again, you know that it is all over.

"you're late, satoru."

[prosperdemeter2]

WIP Wednesday

Not watermark this time but another AU that I am having WAY too much fun writing... I give you a glimpse of Retail Manager!Eddie and Fire Marshal!Buck. I'm actually really excited for this story to be finished, I have so much planned for it.

Eddie was going to commit arson.

Which probably wasn't the smartest thought to be having while the much too attractive Fire Marshall listed out every single thing the previous store manager had screwed him over on but…. But Eddie was going to commit arson. At this point, it would probably help the company out to just burn down the whole store, take the insurance payout, and start over from the ground up. Preferably while still keeping him employed but, well, beggers couldn't be choosers and all that. “Your score is horrible,” the guy said with a tone of voice that meant that he was at least mentally, laughing in Eddie’s face. “Like, seriously, I don't think I should even let you stay open for business with a score this low.”

“So shut us down.” Eddie grumbled, kicking his sneaker against the scuffed up, unfinished concrete floor in front of the management desk.

He had been there a week.

A week. And Eddie had already had to argue with several customers over the return policy because the previous manager - may she rest in absolute hell (no, she wasn't dead, she had just gone to another store down the road and Eddie hated her on principle) - had thought the sign explaining it was tacky and removed it from the registers (which was illegal. They had to be posted). He had already had three workers put in their notice, the assistant manager kept looking sorry for him and annoyed by his questions, and now this. The Fire Marshal's inspection.

Eddie had worked his share of retail jobs and none of them enjoyed when the Fire Marshal visited. Granted, none of his stores had failed as hard as this one was apparently going to, but he figured there was a first time for everything.

The Fire Marshal snorted, “I'm not shutting you down.”

Great. Of course he wasn't. He was just wasting Eddie's time by pretending to care about his job. “Listen -.”

“I get it,” the Marshal said, pen tapping on the clipboard he brought with himself. It had several stickers on the back. Eddie had spied one that had said ‘hello, I'm anxious and I'm trying my best’. It looked like Chris’ folder for school. “It's, what, your first week?”

Eddie tried not to twitch and, instead, crossed his arms firmly around his chest. “Yes.”

“We'll call this a test run. You see what I do this time around, I give you a… Progress report or whatever. I'll come back in a few weeks when you've had some time to settle in and fix stuff up. Give you your real grade then.”

“That's…” Nice. Unfairly kind, actually. Something Eddie really hadn't expected. Every Fire Marshal Eddie had ever had the honor of being inspected by had shown up in a stuffy suit and tie, their badge clipped to their front pocket, and the air of someone who was almost good enough to be a firefighter permiating their being. This guy had shown up without any grays in his hair, a stupidly kind looking professional smile, a crisp white shirt with a small stain on his sleeve and a dark navy tie. He had introduced himself with a quick, firm shake of Eddie’s hand and said hello to the cashiers. He had worn his badge on his belt loop, not his pocket, and he had waited until Eddie was done with a customer before asking go to his office. Eddie didn't have any reason to be being so cold towards him. He almost felt guilty about it.

“Here,” The paper ripped as he tore off Eddie’s copy, signed the bottom, and handed it to him.

A 23%?!

Eddie balked at the score, “Oh, come on, man.”

“You're lucky it's not worse.”

“How is this lucky? It's an F minus.”

“Your smoke detectors don't even work in half the store.”

“They work.”

“See that blinking red light?” The Marshal pointed to the smoke detector above Eddie’s head. It blinked mockingly at him. “Half your alarms aren't doing that.”

Okay, so that… was a problem. “You marked down,” Eddie glanced at the paper, the neat, blocky handwriting in all capital letters. “That our store is too dirty. We clean it every night!”

“Cleary, not well enough.”

Absurdly, Eddie was insulted on behalf of his dusters. “You're just being petty.”

The Marshal bristled, “No, I'm being thorough.” He clicked his pen and shoved it in the front pocket of his khakis, and like it was mocking him, the overhead light in his office flickered, threatening to turn off completely. “I'll be back in a few weeks. Get this stuff fixed, and I'll give you an actual grade.”

“Get this stuff fixed, and I'll give you an actual grade,” Eddie mocked when he had left, burying his face in his hands with a groan. “Fuck you, Fire Marshal…” he glanced at the papers, to the name written out in print first before signed much too neatly. “Buckley.”

@wildlife4life 😘

[loriane-elmuerto]

—WIP THURSDAY

got tagged by @lilywatt (iconic handle btw Macy, feels right feels organic) to share a WIP I'm working on and surprise! it's not bath bonding this time. it's something worse bc the brain worms possessed me.

gonna tag (taglist to opt in/out for future content if you want!):

@shellibisshe, @jamessunderlandgf, @ghostfvcker, @roofgeese, @queennymeria, @florbelles, @jackiesarch, @risingsh0t, @countessrooster, @lucky-107, @cryptcombat, @cptcassian, @thedeadthree, @carrionsflower, @a-treides, @imogenkol, and @auricfog

It had become a small habit of theirs at some point. If sleep decides to elude them, both figures somehow end up on the opposite sides of the same room. So far, their encounters have occurred in the kitchen and the common room. They were a pair of people who didn't believe in such coincidences, and yet they didn't want to voice the question that was lingering in the air. At least not right now.

The latest disturbance happened in the library, where Isadora spent the better part of the night reading the latest notes Bellara and Emmrich had put together during their travels through the Arlathan Forest. Leonie was the first one to visit the place with a small group, so Isadora was left with catching up and preparing for her own excursion into the wilderness.

At some point, her small study corner, only visible thanks to a singular brightly burning candle on the table, was discovered by Lucanis, who was unable to get a good night's rest for reasons known only to him. It was not the first time he was trying to retreat to a hidden corner to gather his thoughts and reflect on the current events that the party was involved in, and yet, most of those times, he found himself trying to seek the company of a certain death mage, who was currently enraptured with the tome in her hands.

Though their initial conversations outside of the field bordered on near antagonistic, time and the constant brushes with death had dulled the edges. Now they would crack jokes and trade quips, to the surprise of their companions. The occasional lingering touches and looks were also not missed by some.

Which is how they found themselves in the current situation. Such nights would usually be passed in pure silence, with a lone question passed here and there, making sure the other person was still with them, and not stuck somewhere deep in their own minds. Tonight, however, Lucanis found himself observing his companion, who was too busy to acknowledge his presence. Isadora's face remained a mask of neutrality, with only her eyes betraying her curiosity, judging by the way they were chasing every word. For a scholar like her, this information must've been like honeypot.

Another thing that didn't escape his attention, was the fact that the woman had exposed her slender forearms and palms. Usually, Isadora would choose to wear long-sleeved tunics or robes, or opt for gloves, or those posh bangles (inspired by none other than Emmrich), which had him wondering whether she was hiding a secret from them. Lucanis wouldn't be lying if he had said he would be disappointed that their leader is a secret blood mage, adding on top of their problems. Now, he noticed only smooth, slightly tanned skin with barely any scarring. At least that crosses off the blood mage theory. What he did see, however, was the slight bumps and ridges, peeking from the inside of—

"You're staring." Without moving her eyes away from the paper, Isadora had caught him in the act.

"Your arms are exposed." Lucanis felt like going straight to the point tonight. "Why?"

The mage rewarded him with a snort. "Ever heard of changing outfits? Fashion?"

"What happened to your skin there?"

The reading stopped. Lucanis could see how Isadora's eyes remained fixed on a single word, her mind grinding to a halt. Generally, it was common courtesy not to ask someone about their scars, lest you wished to get the lights knocked out of you, but some demon decided to pull his tongue tonight. It wasn't the first time he and Rook traded small, innocent bits of their past, and yet, he found himself craving for more, like a puzzle to be solved.

Isadora gently closed the book and put it away on the table. Without meeting his gaze, she gently rested both arms on the wooden surface, revealing the scarred tissue. The skin had long returned to its natural colour and the surface was almost even, but at some spots, especially by her elbows, which appeared to be—

"Chemical burns. From when I was writing my thesis." Right, something about embalming and the latest advances in the chemistry required for it. Nevarrans and their obsession with death.

After what seemed like an eternity, Lucanis finally decided to reach out and gently run his fingers through the wounded tissue. The feeling of warm and soft skin was not lost to him.

"Why didn't you have the other mages heal them?"

Isadora did not answer right away.

"Growing up in the vicinity of the royal family had its... Effect on me. For as long as I remember, my family had subtly pushed me to be the ideal member of a noble house. Naturally, people began looking at me as if I was some sort of icon." The young mage's look was focused on her companion's hands, who were in no rush to move away from her own. "I hated it. I felt like a doll, paraded around like some trophy. These scars... They serve as a reminder that I'm not a deity for others to worship. I'm still me, who can get injured, who bleeds, and who scars."

[starshaped-dreamer]

intoxicating (l.dh)

pairing - lee donghyuck (haechan) x GN!reader

genre - fluffy fluff, suggestive?

warnings - makeout scene lmao

w/c - 607

a/n - god the hyuck brainrot is real I have like 8 WIP's which are my attempts of not just writing haechan comfort fics but they just aren't coming out right so I apologise in advance for how many stories I post that are like this.

please request here if you have anything you'd like me to write!

"I still can't believe you didn't get me tickets for your concert." You pout, turning away from him as he tries to give you your kiss hello.

He laughed, tugging your arm. "I didn't know you wanted to go! I would've loved to have you there, but you've got to tell me when you want me to get you tickets."

You finally met his eyes, only to show him your phone. "Well, I'm still blaming you for the fact the only way I can watch it is through the tiktok thirst traps everyone is posting of you."

He smirked, sitting down beside you on the bed. "Oh, so you're jealous, is that the problem?"

"Well, all these people that would kill to have you as their boyfriend got to watch you live while your real partner had to sit at home by themselves. I may be a little bitter."

He raised an eyebrow teasingly. "Wow, you really are jealous. I never thought you'd get so worked up over this. You literally see me 'live' every day."

You playfully smack his shoulder, turning over on the bed to face away from him. "You're being mean."

Haechan laughed, pulling you back towards him. He laid beside you, taking your face in his hands. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I'll buy you tickets next time."

Your face lit up excitedly. "To the 127 concert?"

He grinned. "You just want to watch me perform 'Love on the Floor', don't you?"

Now it was your turn to tease. "Actually, I want to watch Johnny perform 'Love on the Floor'."

Haechan gasped, releasing your face from his grasp. "Wow, I didn't think you'd betray me that easily. Maybe you should pay for your own ticket. Or you could even ask Johnny to pay."

You giggled. "Who's jealous now? You know it's only you I want to watch. Please Hyuck?"

He smiled, his hands returning to cup your face. "You're lucky I love you. And you're pretty cute when your jealous."

You smiled in satisfaction, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips. Not content as you pulled away, he brought his lips to yours again, deepening the kiss. His tongue swiped your bottom lip for entry, slipping inside your mouth as his hand came to rest against your waist.

Your hands came to rest on his shoulders as he pulled away for a moment, breathless as he pressed kisses to your jawline and collarbone, before returning to your lips.

Time stilled around you, as it always did when you were kissing Haechan. All you could focus on was him, the lingering scent of his shampoo in his hair, the soft, yet thin material of his shirt under your fingertips, the way his hand moved quickly, yet gently from your waist to your hair and to your jaw. Everything about him was intoxicating in the best way possible, and moments like this when you could just get lost in him were your favourite.

He finally pulled away, panting as you both tried to catch your breath. He drew you impossibly close, tucking you under his chin as he traced shapes on the skin underneath your shirt. You laid there quietly, playing with his fingers as you concentrated on his slowing heartbeat. You looked up, eyes tracing over the sharp features of his face, his beauty marks creating the most gorgeous constellations across his skin.

He noticed you staring, looking down at you with a questioning glance. "What are you looking at?"

You smile. "You're so pretty, Haechan."

His face mirrored your expression as he fixed a stray piece of your hair. "As are you, my love."

[fazedlight]

Fandom creators tag game

Thank you @waytooinvested and @fabulousglitch for the tag!

1. What sort of content do you create, and what is the thing you’ve made that you’re most proud of?

Proudest fic - There are a few I tend to choose from, but right now it's Even Though You're Kryptonian

Fanvid - My Rise vid

2. What fandom(s) do you create for?

Supercorp. (And a very tiny amount of Dansen and soon Rojarias.)

3. What is your current favourite ship (or brotp if you prefer), and how controversial is it?

Supercorp!! I don't think it's a controversial ship, lol.

4. For your answer to question 3, are they canon?

They are to me 😌

5. What was your first fandom, and how old were you?

My first obsession (and still greatest love) was Xena. I started watching the show a few episodes into season 1, when I was 6 years old. It was very formative.

That said, I didn't really get involved in any fandom communities until Supercorp (in early 2022).

6. What is your most unhinged fandom creation to date?

I don't think I get super unhinged, but as a pilot I did like creating this dumb incorrect quote.

7. Do you remember what started you off creating fandom content, and if so, what was it?

I was getting frustrated at not being able to find certain types of fics, and it struck me that... I was allowed to write my own.

8. Do you let people you know in real life see your fandom creations?

Yup! My partner read my first two fics in support, and several of my IRL friends have read at least one of my fics because I didn't have the good sense to keep that information to myself when I was getting started. It's mortifying lol. But my friends are very cool people.

9. How do you feel about fanworks of fanworks? Has anyone ever made something based on a thing you made?

Fanworks of fanworks are amazing!!! I've been incredibly lucky to have that happen three times (post), and gotten asked for permission for a different continuation and a podfic that may eventually happen.

10. What feeling do you most often try to evoke with your creations?

Angst. Longing. Bits of compassion too.

11. Has someone ever paid your work a compliment (in any form) that has stuck with you, and what was it?

I love each and every one of my commenters ❤️

Honestly, the compliments that stick with me most are "I came back to reread this" or "this idea is still living rent-free in my head" type comments. I think that's what all writers and artists want - to feel that their art lasted in someone's mind beyond the first time seeing it.

12. What’s your favourite thing someone else has made that you’ve seen in the last 24 hours (and link it if you can find it again!)

Technically it was more than 24hrs ago but this art by @awaitingrain is so fucking cute!!

13. Give a small sneak preview of something you’re working on right now (eg a couple of sentences of fic from a WIP, a gif set theme, a small piece of a larger picture, whatever you feel happy to share)

I have a ficlet (that's getting out of control), here's a snippet:

Lena was cozying into the warmth of Kara’s body, when Lena spoke. “I’m thinking of visiting my mother’s house soon,” she said shyly. “I want to find out more about her. Where I came from.”

“That sounds lovely,” Kara said softly.

“Do you want to come with me?” Lena asked.

Kara hesitated.

14. Have you ever seen/read anything made by the person who tagged you? If so, what was it and what was your favourite thing about it? (pick a favourite if there are several)

Both of them are on my reading list 👀

15. Do you leave comments on fandom works, and if so how would you describe your comment style?

Some of my comments are very simple, some of my comments are very long. I've tried to get more consistent about commenting ever since starting to write, because I know how important it is. Unfortunately, I also read a lot less now that I'm writing more.

16. How many works in progress do you currently have? Will you finish them all?

I have 5 WIPs! I'm very confident I'll finish them all.

17. what’s the longest it’s ever taken you to finish a fandom project?

I guess my worldkiller Kara fic took a bit over 3 months, though part of that was spacing with the Supercorp Big Bang.

I tend to write fast. One of the things I'm actually trying to do is slow down to fill out the story a bit more.

18. Describe the thing you made most recently in a way that is technically true, but also completely misleading. Link the thing if it’s published!

Lena has a bad day in the lab (Clockwork).

19. Do you ever engage with fanworks for a fandom you’re not in? Which one(s) and how did you get into it?

I totally engage in fanart from other fandoms that cross my dashboard, particularly korrasami. I don't tend to read fanfic of stuff I haven't engaged in, though.

20. Recommend a fan work from your fandom to your followers

This fanvid is probably my favorite in the entire fandom.

Suggested tag list, but there are no rules here, follow your heart.

A mutual you have never actually spoken to but think seems cool - oh there are so many of these!! I am tagging @mssirey who I don't think I've had a proper convo with yet

The most recent person whose content you engaged with (eg read a fic, reblogged art, whatever form you feel best fits) - @thealieninhiding (though by the time I finish this very long post it might be someone else lol)

Someone whose content you saw via tags/reblogs and you followed them because of it - @jadedloverart!

Someone in your fandom that you think makes cool things - @ekingston

Someone in a different fandom that you think makes cool things - tagging @thatonebirdwrites who makes korrasami stuff too

Someone you always tag on things like this - I'm not sure there's someone I always tag but I'll pick @nottawriter as one of the people I frequently tag when I do these things

Someone you have never tagged before - @rebellionbear have I tagged you before?? you are cool so I am tagging you!

Someone you would like to get to know better - @femslashhistorian

Someone who makes art you like - @awaitingrain along with others above!

Someone who writes fics you like - @luthordamnvers along with others above!

[iloveyou-writers]

I'm a writer. I've technically been a writer for a long time, but I stopped around 2019 and have recently decided to get back into writing because there were a few artists/writers who inspired me so much that I wanted to write a story. As I'm sitting here and typing out this ask, I have not only gained the confidence to upload my story out to the world, but I have a full timeline based around that story that I want to eventually share with everyone on Tumblr and the website where I upload my story.

However..., when I uploaded my more recent chapters, I started to feel...kind of jealous. Don't get me wrong, I love the people who take the time to read each of my chapters (and I know who some of my true followers are and I love them to death), but sometimes..., it gets hard for me to see other artists/writers to get hundreds and thousands of likes on any their stuff while I'm lucky to get a comment/like on my work.

So I wanted to ask you how do/did you get through it? How do/did you get through those though days where you see other artists/writers getting popular each and every day while you feel like you're putting all your effort into something and no one bats an eye?

I'm sorry this is a long ask, but this has been something that's been on my mind for a while that I wanted to ask. I saw some posts you made when you were sourpatch-encouragement and seeing those words of encouragement meant (and still mean) so much to me. I can't tell you how many times I teared up reading your posts cause it's such so nice to hear those positive words of encouragement during the tough days.

Thank you for everything. :) Your positivity, your encouragement, no matter what it is, I (as well as a few other people I bet) love everything you do to help encourage writers and artists. Thank you for being you. ❤️

First of all, thank you for the last part. Even the encourager needs encouragement that what they're doing and saying is helpful and making an impact sometimes, so thank you <3

Okay, so now to get into the question...

Honestly, I've been being asked "how do you/did you do this" a lot lately, mostly by my husband who's dealing with the death of a parent for the first time...

And I truly don't know. I just... do? I think I've just built such a hardened shell of stubbornness that even when I'm feeling discouraged, I just push through it? I've also got to be honest, I've restarted tumblr a lot. I've had many blogs.

Sometimes just getting a fresh start could really help because I could recurate my blog into whatever I wanted and sometimes having that freedom was enough to restart my brain in a way and allow me to give my all and learn from what did and didn't catch people's attention.

I'm also not a person that really cares about numbers. I mean, I do and I don't. I write because I adore the process of writing. Writing has literally saved me on so many occasions, so to me the act of writing itself is fulfilling enough not to need all the excess attention.

But you want my little secret that REALLY helped me?

It's friends. Having friends that I knew loved my writing, whose writing I loved. Having friends I could roleplay with when I was feeling discouraged about my WIPs... having friends that could reignite my fire when it was fizzling out... friends are a HUGE part of what has kept my fire burning for writing, especially at the beginning. :)

I do still get envious sometimes. No, I don't put all of my stock into stats but sometimes when you write paragraphs and paragraphs of writing, put in so much heart and effort into something and only get a few responses but then someone writes like one or two vague sentences and it blows up, it can be disheartening. But that's my problem. For me, it's a matter of "if I'm getting jealous, then I need to step back and reevaluate where my values really lie with this. Am I really doing this out of passion for it or do I want it to get attention."

I've done a lot of research on "marketing onesself." I actually have bought a few books on it, one that I'm passionately in love with... and that's also helped with my confidence, because I know if what I want IS for my writing to get seen and fire people up about it, I have tools to do so :)

--

So long story short: it's really hard. There are a lot of things I've had to do in response to these kinds of feelings. I think all writers deal with them on some level. But just know that your writing is still wonderful and still matters and makes a difference to those silent readers who may just be nervous and shy to interact with your works (and realizing that has been immensely helpful to me too with relaxing over the note jealousy).

Hope my prattling helps 😅

[midgardian-witch]

for the fanfic end of year ask ... number 4 please :P

fanfic end of the year asks

Inja! That's the one mean question I didn't want so OF COURSE you picked it! 😂 You're lucky we're friends 😝

4. total number of words you wrote this year

So this was a mess to figure out and i don't have an exact number because I have posted things that I started writing in 2022 and idk how much I wrote then and how much I wrote this year. So with an estimate of how much of those fics I wrote this year and including the two fics I have still waiting to be posted (excluding the work on WIPs I have done that I have nowhere near being finished to be posted) I have written around 46k+ words. Which is a lot more than I thought this would be to be perfectly honest 😂

[illiana-mystery]

My Current WIPs

I was tagged by @eclecticwildflowers and @imwithyoutiltheendofthelinebucky to post my current WIPs! I have four, so this is gonna be a long post.

The four in question are He Won't Hurt You (Bobby Hicks), Sugar Baby (Ed Blackridge), The Vampire's Jewel (Max Shreck), and Jumping the Broom (Alan Ward).

Taglist: @emilynightshade89, @yentoons

---

He Won't Hurt You

"Nev...Nev...Neveah, wake up. Wake up honey," he softly said as he shook your sleepy body. You hesitated to open your eyes, until you finally recognized the voice you just heard.

Soon you batted your eyes and smiled when you saw your old manager standing by your side.

He smelled of a fresh morning cigarette with a hint of orange juice and was wearing a pink short sleeve shirt with slight raveled jorts.

His utility belt was fascend firm against his waist, as his hands held the sides, flexing his muscles a little more.

He was quite the sight to behold after you woke up, although you wished he was still cuddling you in bed.

"Good morning, Bobby," you groggily said as you rubbed your eyes. "It's morning already?"

"Yes, and I need you up and at 'em," he demanded in more of a drill sergeant tone. "We got places to be and faces to see."

"Okay, sir," you hummed, making him blush. "Sir, yes sir."

"Nev, please stop. We don't have time for more fucking and you're making me horny calling me sir like that," he warned, his face turning even more red.

You laughed as you got up and out of bed.

"Okay, Bobby. I'll stop. Can I at least get a kiss?"

"After you get dressed," he said. "Time's a wasting. Tam's been blowing up my phone. She acts like she can't function without me around. I told her that I was helping you out and that we need to get your stuff out of that apartment before I come in. Juan's there though. So she can just get help from him."

You felt your blood boiling a bit from what he was saying. You knew that Tamara took your old job, but you didn't realize that she probably had a crush on Bobby too. And it really didn't make you think otherwise by his admission.

It wasn't a hard job, so you knew that she only wanted Bobby around because she liked him. So that only meant that this was gonna be awkward being in the same space as her.

"What am I gonna wear, Bobby? All of my clothes are at my apartment."

"Not to worry, beautiful. I already picked out an old army shirt and some cargo shorts for you to wear."

"Oh, does that mean I can wear your dog tags too?" you curiously asked.

"No, no, darling. Those are only for me to wear. Although, maybe I might oblige...if it involved you with nothing else on."

"That can be arranged," you hummed.

He just snickered.

"Enough," he sternly said. "Now get dressed and meet me in the kitchen. I made a breakfast smoothie for you."

"A tropical smoothie with a hint of coconut?"

"Of course. I do remember you always trying to drink all of mine every morning. I couldn't leave my cup unattended lest I be left with less than half of it."

You giggled.

"Well, it didn't bother you too much," you said as you began to put his clothes on. "I mean you did still fuck me last night."

"The heart wants what the heart wants," he teased before he left you to finish getting dressed.

After you finished and wrapped your hair up in a messy bun, you followed his instructions to meet him in the kitchen.

He was preoccupied pouring more almond milk in your smoothie before he finally looked at you. And when he looked at you, he was floored.

His old army shirt and cargo shorts looked so good on you. His shirt clung to your chest just right and his shorts hugged your ass and hips and thighs just right.

You looked like a model to him, a very sexy curvy model that he was lucky enough to bed last night.

"So, what do you think?" you asked as he finally came back to his senses.

"What do I think?" he asked as he walked around the island where he was standing and moved over by you. "I think...well I think you look gorgeous. Damn. My clothes look better on you."

He sealed his compliment with a heartfelt kiss, pulling you even closer to him as it went on.

"Thank you, Bobby," you said before a giggle. "Maybe you should let me wear your clothes more."

"I'm starting to be open to the suggestion," he moaned before he retrieved your smoothie. "Here. You ready to go now?"

"Thanks," you said once you took the cup from him. "Yep, I'm ready to go."

---

Sugar Baby

"You know, when I was a kid, I used to watch Mae do her and her daughter's hair when they were living with us," Ed started, bobby pin clasped between his lips. His hands were painstakingly braiding the last pieces of Alicia's hair that went along with the hair design he thought would look nice on her for the day.

"Mae was a master with hair. She could do just about any type of hairstyle that was common in the black community back then. It was quite impressive and I guess I just picked it up," he explained further, making sure he clearly answered Alicia's question of his skill. He was still a little too vague for her case though, but she let it slide.

"I'm honestly surprised. Seems like you were confused about my satin cap last night."

"I was. Mae and Loretta just wore their hair in scarves," he replied. "And honestly, I never really thought about how different their hair was from mine, just thought it was beautiful like yours. I mean Miss Mae was a housekeeper, but she still liked to look her best."

"I really would have liked Miss Mae," Alicia cooed. "She's sounds kinda like my dear mother."

Ed just chuckled before he turned her chair around so she could look in the mirror.

"Voila!" he cheered before he noticed the bright smile that now decorated Alicia's face.

He had braided the left side of her hair and wrapped it around the back, making a nice little design worthy enough for a typical hair show in Atlanta.

"Eddie! Oh my gosh! I love it! Thank you!," she said as she jumped out of her chair and hugged him.

"You're welcome," he happily said as he hugged her back.

"Oh my gosh, now I need to change."

"I don't mind you walking around in your swimming robe," he teased as he kissed her neck.

"Well, I mind, lover boy," she remarked before she went back into his bedroom to retrieve the old campus shirt and shorts that she packed.

Ed followed not too long after, but stayed leaned up against the bathroom doorsill. His hands were tucked into his distressed blue jeans, as his flexed muscles placed little wrinkles into his crisp white undershirt.

He eagerly watched her get out of her robe and into her clothes, which she noticed. Not that she mind though. He had seen her naked earlier.

"Enjoy the show, handsome?" she teased as she walked back over to him. He didn't give her an answer, but his baby blues did give her a good look over.

The baseball shirt she was wearing hugged her chest and waist just right and her shorts excentuated her sexy hips.

"Damn, she even looked good in casual clothes," he thought.

"My eyes are up here," she said with a giggle.

"They sure are," he retorted before he took her lips in a soft kiss. "You look amazing."

"I'm just wearing an old college shirt. But thank you."

"Honestly, you look good in anything...although I like you with nothing on too."

"Fresh," she remarked before she playfully punched his arm. He just laughed.

"Ready for the rest of the tour?"

"I was born ready."

Her response caused her older lover to laugh again before he took her hand and led her out the bedroom.

He showed her his guest rooms first — five in total and they were all designed with murals inspired by a Van Gogh painting. He told her how he hired a muralist from Manhattan to take on this task and how it took about five months to complete the project.

But he put up the artist in his own room and paid for his travels too and fro as well as his other expenses. To him, it was worth sleeping on the sofa for.

Alicia couldn't have agreed more, but she was curious what room he was gonna put her in. He smiled before he told her he though she would have liked to stay in the Starry Night suite. It was the largest room and had its own bathroom unlike the other four which had two shared bathrooms.

However, the guest rooms were rarely used anyway now. On that somber note, he brought her to his study on the other side of the upper floor.

The room was enormous and surrounded by Mahogany bookshelves that were overflowed with books of different genres. Honestly, it looked like a small library. But the centerpiece was a grand, large portrait of the Blackridge Family including Mae and Loretta that was above his large desk.

And Alicia noticed that the mother and daughter were wearing dresses that were as extravagant as Vivian's while Ed Sr. and Eddie were both wearing tailored suits. It was a lovely portrait and really showed how beloved Mae and Loretta were to the family.

"I made her laugh before we took that portrait," Ed admitted before he jokingly smiled at Alicia. "That's why her smile is so bright. Loretta didn't smile a lot, but she did around me. I made her."

"Sounds like you two were close."

"Of course. We grew up together."

Alicia giggled.

"I couldn't help but notice the dresses they're wearing too."

"Oh, yeah. My mom insisted that they be in every portrait, much to the photographer's chagrin. He didn't understand why we would consider the help family, but my dad would always back her up. So she would always make sure that Mae and Loretta had a nice outfit to wear too. Loretta and I were 15 in that picture."

"Malcolm looks like her," she observed.

"He does," he said with a laugh. "I've always told her that. She doesn't see it though."

She wanted to ask Ed more about his friendship with Loretta, but she decided against it and just went along with the rest of the tour.

The movie room was next on the itinerary and Alicia immediately observed that it looked like a viewing room on a Hollywood lot from the 1960s. But she liked the old charm of it.

The chairs were gold-finished with plush velvet" cushions and were put together in four columns and four rows. She wondered why he had so many seats, but didn't ask.

"You can sit if you would like," he softly said before she did. He followed after and smiled at her, making her do the same.

"I feel like I've gone back in time," she said. "But it's much cozier than how it would have been."

Her comment made Ed a little uneasy. Past memories of the mistreatment of his nanny and friend flooded his subconscious, but he tried his best to play it off.

"Yeah," he moaned. "This is actually an exact replica of the projection room in my childhood home. My mother loved movies, so my dad had it made for her when they were building the house. It was years before I was born. I actually get film from several movie companies every month."

Alicia was so in awe, she didn't respond. Ed grabbed her hand to get her attention again and she looked at him before he asked,

"What's your favorite movie genre? I can tweak my usual order for you and we can watch some movies together sometimes if you would like."

"I like just about any type of movie," she answered. "But I really like Action-Adventure, Comedy, and Horror. But I don't like gore."

"Noted," he said before he kissed her cheek.

---

The Vampire's Jewel

Your hand moved down your neck as your remembrance of him finally faltered. At this point, the scar he left you was but a mere mark. Nothing but a reminder of a night of revelry you shared only once.

But still, somehow, it was special to you. Deep down, you still loved him. It was obvious by how the Scarlet stain immediately made you think about him.

It still had been years though. Maybe it was time to move on. Sure, he claimed that your souls were bonded and that he would have to kill you if you betrayed him but how could he.

He left you alone the next morning after your encounter, without a proper goodbye. And vampire or not, that was just rude.

You still had hope that maybe you were still on his mind every now and then though. And you hoped he was safe wherever he ended up running away to.

Hell, maybe happily ever after was right around the corner. You hoped it was anyway. You spent way too many lonely nights over these poor years. You just longed for his chilly touch.

You moped for only a short while though as your yawns began to take over. Your tiredness won and eventually you blew out your bedside candle and got comfortable under the sheets.

Slowly, you closed your eyes and fell into a restful sleep.

But for only a short while.

Because you were soon startled awake by the noise of footsteps and heavy breathing. It was a frightening cacophony of noise, but still sounded so familiar.

However, you were frozen in place and didn't dare get out of bed to investigate.

The sounds stopped after a few minutes though, settling you back into peaceful sleep.

But as you dozed back off, the intruder made his way into your room. He crept in, barely making noise as he found his way to your bedside.

He really wanted to taste you again, but he became distracted by how pretty you were as you slept.

You were still as beautiful as he remembered, but he wondered if you would still find him attractive.

A lot had changed about him since the last time you saw each other.

Due to his new environment, his skin lost about ten years of aging and his hair started to grow back. Now, it was about shoulder length and flowing, but still as white as the tufts behind his ears he used to have.

His fingernails were still long and sharp, but trimmed to a more civilized length. And his clothes were updated to an era-appropriate suit vest and puffy shirt with slacks underneath.

He was a new man, a new man that didn't have to live in the shadows anymore. But although he had his new freedom, he began to miss you.

That's why he returned. He returned for you, just like he promised.

He just hoped that you would be able to adjust to the harsh coldness and darkness of his new home.

Slowly, he approached your face and stroked it with his chilly palm as his other hand moved to feel your heartbeat.

A smile appeared on his face once he felt the rush of your heartbeat and he quickly moved his head down to kiss your cheek.

You jolted awake once you felt his lips, before jumping back once you noticed the intruder's face.

Of course, you didn't recognize him so you reached for a sharp object to stab him before he jumped back and said,

"Greta, Greta. It's me. Schreck. Max Schreck."

"What?" you asked in a confused tone. You took a closer look at him afterwards, before you noticed his distinct yellowed eyes and fangs.

"Yes, it's really me. I've come back for you," he said as he kept his hands up.

"Well, it's about damn time," you huffed before you threw your blunt object to the side. "What took you so long? Why do you look different?"

"May I sit? It's been a long journey."

"Sure," you moaned as he sat down before he noticed the dried stain of Scarlet on your fingers. He licked his lips, alerting you that he saw the dried blood. You rolled your eyes, but let him lick it off.

"Thank you. I'm parched," he moaned after.

"I'll let you feed from me after you explain yourself," you replied.

"Good deal," he answered back as he sniffled you. "Mmm, you still smell of lilac."

"It is my favorite scent," you remarked. "Now spill."

Unfortunately, he had one more request before he did explain.

"Can I touch your breast?"

You rolled your eyes, but complied.

"Fine."

Swiftly, he squeezed your left breast which was his favorite. The low temperature of his pale hand made you wince, until he rest his head against your other breast.

Yes, his head was also cold but he was kinda cute like this. He was softly mewing as he kneaded your bosom, and rubbing against your other like a purring cat.

"Comfortable?" you teased.

"Yes," he purred. "I missed you a lot."

"I missed you too. That's why I thought you would come back for me sooner."

"I wanted to, but it wasn't safe. I traveled throughout the known world to find us a safe place to live, but I fell short. Every time I would get comfortable, I was driven away by angry humans. I was almost killed a couple of times," he began to explained. "I guess I can't blame them since I did kill their loved ones. And that was my life, until I settled in this remote village on the other side of Siberia..."

You were perplexed when he said that. He traveled all the way from Russia just to see you again. And not only that, but he traveled around the world just to find the perfect home for both of you.

You couldn't believe it. All this time, you thought he ditched you but he was just looking out for your best interest. Honestly, it made you love him even more.

"The locals there treat me like a god. I'm set up in an abandoned castle and I have willing feeders at my beck and call. They give me blood and I give them room and board in my castle. All of them were poor and homeless, so it's a win-win."

"That's lovely," you moaned. "But I'm not used to intense cold. Isn't it really cold there?"

"It is, but there is a way that you will be able to withstand it."

"And what would that be?"

"I want you to be my immortal bride," he cooed as he looked up at you. "By becoming a vampire. I can turn you tonight, while we make love."

"Schreck, I don't...I don't know about this. I mean will this hurt? Will I even change properly?"

"Greta, I'll take good care of you," he assured as he licked and kissed your right nipple. "Besides, you'll make a gorgeous vampire. And you'll live without fear of dying forever. I'll make sure of it."

"Well, I do like the sound of that," you murmured.

He widely smiled at you before asking,

"So you accept my offer?"

"Yes, yes. Turn me, please."

---

Jumping the Broom

He had the biggest smile on his face as he drove back home. He just couldn't wait to get back on one knee and propose to her again.

However, his plan was put on hold when he found his wife fast asleep on their couch. He was slightly disappointed, but still gave her a kiss on the cheek and pulled a blanket over her.

A soft smile reappeared on his face as she got cozy against the plush of the wool blanket as he put the ring box back in his pocket.

He turned the radio off after, realizing that Janie forgot to turn if off before she fell asleep. Then his stomach started to growl, so he went to the kitchen and found the stew on the burner.

Quietly, he went about rewarming their dinner and fixing them both a bowl. He figured the scent would wake her up.

And he was right. It did. As soon as the smell hit her nose, she slowly woke up. Her eyes batted open and she slightly stretch before she noticed the blanket draped over her.

That meant that Alan was finally home. Because he would always put a blanket over her if she fell asleep on the couch before he got back.

Happily, she jumped up and went to greet him. He was reading the paper she left on the table while he ate, so he didn't see her at first.

So she walked around to his backside and put her hands over his eyes.

"Guess who?" she teased.

"Is that my darling wife, Janie Marie?" he cooed.

"Yes," she chirped before she put her arms around his neck. He chuckled and gave her a kiss after.

"Sorry I didn't..."

"It's fine," he said as he folded the paper and put it where he found it. "I'm capable of fixing my own dinner too."

Janie giggled before noticing the bowl he fixed for her.

"Thank you," she said before she kissed his cheek.

"You're very welcome," he replied as she went to sit down and eat.

"That new paperboy always brings the papers after I leave for work," he suddenly said. "Good thing I'm not always checking the stock market."

Janie just laughed.

"He's six. Let's cut him some slack."

"Flynn and I were paperboys at his age. We always woke up with the roosters and did our job well and on time."

"Well, things work a little differently in Virginia than they do in Wisconsin."

"Fair enough," he relented. "You know, you season this better than ma does."

"I do have some Creole in my blood," she replied. "Spice is just a part of my DNA."

"I'm glad. This is just the kick I needed."

"How was your day?"

"It's was a bit chaotic. Glad I have Eric though. He kept my head on straight all day."

Janie laughed.

"I'm glad you have him too. He's the friendliest Brit I've ever met."

"How was your day?"

"I finished my errands. But I bumped into Mary, Betty Jean, and Cindy Lou at Macy's. So I spent most of the day with them at the shopping mall."

"Oh, well that's nice. I'm sure Mary appreciated it."

"Yeah, it was. I just hate that Paul told his girls to call me Miss Guillory instead of Mrs. Ward because we're not legally married and I'm colored..."

"That bastard just gets more and more likeable by the day, doesn't he?" he grumbled trying not to get too angry. Although, his face did get red and he did tighten his fists.

"I'm not trying to work you up, Alan. I just needed to vent."

"Rupert also made me mad."

"Oh no. What did Mr. Jessup say?" she asked.

"He was talking about how you aren't actually my wife and how I'm only shy about my big case because I'm with you...a colored woman. Like how dare I not want to make that bust all about me when it isn't my struggle."

"Ugh, I really hate him sometimes."

"Eric had my back though. He told me that we can legally get married now due to the verdict of that case."

"Yes, I know. I'm so excited. I'm glad things are starting to change."

"Me too," he said with a big smile. "Now, what's for dessert?"

"Why don't you check the oven?" she teased.

"Okay," he said with a shrug. Once he checked the bottom compartment, he found the banana bread she baked.

He took it out but then noticed a strange hole in the middle. So he poked his finger in and felt a little plastic toy. He took it out and it was a little baby rattle painted pink.

His eyes lit up before he looked over at his wife. She had turned her chair around and had a big smile on her face as she rubbed her belly.

"Janie..."

She giggled.

"Alan, I'm pregnant. You're gonna be a father."

The excitement Alan felt suddenly was overwhelming. For the past three years, he desperately wanted a child and now his dream was becoming a reality.

He threw himself on the floor in front of her and just started to cry tears of joy. Janie smiled and cradled his head against her stomach as he kept kissing it.

"When did you find out?"

"Last Thursday at my doctor's appointment," she answered. "I wanted to wait to tell you until we got the verdict for the case."

"Janie, this is wonderful news," he said as he kissed her tummy again. "I'm so happy. I love that you put that little rattle in the bread."

"Betty Jean picked it out at the doll store at the mall."

"Of course she did," he said with a giggle. "I'm finally gonna have my little June Rose. Oh, I can't wait to hold her and read her bedtime stories."

Janie giggled before she ruffled his hair.

"We don't know what we're having yet."

"I just know. Father's intuition. And I love her already."

"She loves you too," she hummed as her husband looked up at her with watery eyes.

"I'm so glad you told me. Which means it's a good time to also do this," he said as he pulled out the ring box and got on one knee. "Janie Marie Guillory, would you make me that happiest man in the world and legally marry me?"

"Oh, Alan," she cooed before she began to cry. "Of course, I will."

---

I hope to have these chapters fully updated sometime in July. 🤞🏾 Hopefully, I can get through another bout off writer's block by then.

But until then, enjoy! 😁

[witchygirl99]

Writer Fic Ask!

💋 When you leave comments on a fic, do you want to hear back from the writer?

🌻 What makes you want to give up on writing? what makes you keep going?

🤍 What's one fic of yours you think people didn't "get"?

Hope you’re having a wonderful day! 💖💖💖

💋 I mean, that's a lovely bonus, but I certainly don't expect a response. I just hope they know I enjoyed what they shared.

🌻 At this point two years ago, I actually had a planned exit from fandom. I was going to finish my WIPs and then disappear. And if I didn't finish my WIPs, oh well. I wasn't feeling it anymore, and I was stressed, and posting on FFN was annoying but on AO3 I was less known and it's a bit weird to go from getting 50-60 reviews per post to like...6? And that's fine, honestly. I write for me and I'm still so, so lucky because so many of you are still so kind to read my stuff.

All this to say, I stayed because of my friends here, encouraging me and collaborating with me and cheering me on. I would miss that connection. I feel very lucky.

👾 Hmm, I don't think I've encountered that - at least not to the meaning I'm associating with this question. However, absolutely no one guessed right on who was running The Vine in Not Much Longer Would You Be Mine. So that's a treat. (Also, my laptop is too old for whatever emoji this question was, so I picked a random one!)

Thank you for so many @sereia1313, you're so wonderful 💖

Send me a REAL fic writer ask!

[mysticstarlightduck]

Happy WBW! How do people store their food in your WIP? Do they have refrigerators? Do they need to salt and preserve their meats? What about things like dairy and other perishables? Tell me all about it!

Happy Worldbuilding Wednesday! Thank you for the Ask, @writernopal!

This is my favorite type of worldbuilding question, lol, because it means I get to nerd out about highly specific aspects of my WIPs. Brace yourself for a thorough explanation because the answer is, as always when it comes to The Last Wrath, IT VARIES, a lot, lol.

How do people store their food in your WIP? Do they have refrigerators? Do they need to salt and preserve their meats? What about things like dairy and other perishables? Tell me all about it!

Okay, so, as I said before in this post, this answer actually varies a lot depending on the question: "Where are you in Agrannor?"

Because oh boy, does that continent have varying climates, geographic formations, and cultures that directly affect the way each of its residents store and preserve food.

If you live in the colder extremities of Agrannor, like Kestrall, some parts of the Morosyn Empire, or the northernmost and southernmost edges of the Borderlands:

These regions (and I mean ESPECIALLY Kestrall) hold freezing cold temperatures, for most of the year. Kestrall is a snow-clad mountain range with little to no summer, some parts of the Morosyn Empire are cold and wet throughout most of the year and dry and freezing in the other half of the year, while the Edge of the Borderlands (called the "wildlands") are foggy moorlands and forests that are, almost always, either raining/muddy or snowed over.

So you get the picture, it is cold. Very cold.

This is relevant to this topic for one important thing: food goes bad faster in the heat, as we all know. Plus, since these regions are so close to such extreme sources of cold almost year-round, it is pretty easy to store food at home without much to worry about. The weather is cold, and there is always enough ice to go around for pantries and ice boxes. If needed, certain cuts of meat can be salted and frozen in the snow and ice outside of the houses, before being stored. And that is without considering one thing the citizens of Agrannor have available that we don't: ✨REAL MAGIC✨

This gives them - at least those who actually use it/cast it themselves or buy potions/runic amulets/enchanted items - the chance to use it in order to make food last way longer than it would naturally. There are plenty of alchemical elixirs, spells, and whatever else, that allow food to be preserved, be it by enhancing the properties of ice and making it last longer, or by actually preserving the food, like modern-day chemicals would.

Milk, especially the fattier and thicker kinds, like that of the Blue-Tinted Mountain Goat (in Kestrall), is consumed. A lot. Cheese is consumed too, but it takes a while to make due to the cold climate, and it's mostly reserved as a very occasional delicacy. Chocolate - and magical variations of it - is extremely popular, especially in desserts. Kids growing up in these kingdoms have access to a lot of chocolatey sweets because it's surprisingly very cheap there (the quality is not guaranteed tho, and some do feel less like chocolate and more like something else you can't quite place, like, there's only a whiff of chocolate there) and if you're lucky, it is warm. Plus, if you buy the nicer ones, they're really good. (Now you know why Raelen likes chocolatey sweets so much. Julyan bought a lot of those weird chocolate pies and cakes for that girl while she was growing up, - mainly because he didn't know how to cook that well yet and sweets were cheap, plus it made her happy, and it kinda stuck with her now that she's grown lol)

The Nomadic human tribes of the Borderlands use smoking techniques (with a special mix of magic, certain types of firewood, and condiments) to preserve their food during their long travels.

In most of the Morosyn Empire, however, since magic is restricted to the lucky few who have a permit and the sale of authorized magical elixirs makes them expensive, most people use a combination of techniques to preserve food, using the frosty weather of the winter to their advantage and getting creative in the summers. Ice is carefully stored in sealed ice boxes in the winter season, and the food is usually heavily condimented and smoked to preserve it. The Morosyn Empire is famous for its notoriously spicy/strongly condimented dishes, for this exact reason.

If you live in the more temperate areas of Agrannor, such as most of the centermost kingdoms: Arkellya, Eldon, Midtaren, Nethilor, Etaruze, Faravvia, and Liranthis

Those kingdoms typically can only rely on snow and ice in some of the colder winters, and even then it is not nearly as foolproof. So, they have to get creative. The most varied kinds of alchemical elixirs, potions, curing salts, freezing spells, machinery (only in Liranthis, the city of scholars), and smoking techniques, are perfected here.

Food is usually prepared with freshly collected ingredients every day because it is easier to just eat something that was only recently picked on that specific day than to find the means to preserve it. Farmer's markets are always bustling every day, for this reason. Everything else also falls under his rule: fish are fished from the lakes/rivers on the day they are to be prepared, game meat/venison is often hunted right before the feasts and such (though the remaining meat is salted, smoked, and preserved for later), pastries are baked each day, etc.

Milk is consumed fresh or boiled, on the day it is picked. Cheese is one of the staples of the cuisine of these kingdoms since the climate is favorable to it, and it's pretty much in every dish you can find here so much so that it almost gets boring after a while.

In the hotter/warmer parts of Agrannor (a desert city and the seaside kingdoms): Adrellios, Vellamere, and Meruvvon.

Adrellios is the golden jewel of the Eternal Dunes and the Billowing Desert. This means: it is dry, hot as all hell, and there isn't a twinge of snow in sight. There is a river - Attarah's Tear, said to have been a blessing from the Goddess Attarah herself, protector of desert travelers and mother of the lost - around which the entire city is built, but the river isn't cold - obviously. In this city, food is mostly preserved through: drying it out in the sun (an effective way to keep food preserved, though it changes its texture severely), seasoning/salting it, and, you guessed it, magic. Adrellios is the chief consumer of magical concoctions to preserve foods or keep them cold in the heat of the summer. They are the number one buyer of anything of that nature they can get their hands on, and for good reason.

Vellamere, our beloved seaside kingdom. Though its temperatures are generally milder than Adrellios, and there is no denying that, it still isn't anywhere near as cold as the other kingdoms. It is warm, it's windy and it has a serious humidity issue going on due to its extreme proximity to the sea winds, especially in the summer. They are especially creative when it comes to this topic, buying ice (temporally enchanted so that it won't melt on the travel) from neighboring kingdoms. Since doing this is very expensive, they have found a rather unusual but more practical solution. There are nonpoisonous "enzymes"/properties that are collected from sea monster shells (the all-purpose sea monster shells of Agrannor, lol), and when mixed with sand, and water they create an extremely cold/freezing mixture that won’t heat up for weeks. They use it to coat the inside layer of their "ice boxes" like paint when they build them, covering that layer with more wood and letting it dry. Once dry, it stays cold like nothing else, and food can be safely stored for months, until it wears off and another coat of "paint" is required for the ice box - like a portable freezer. It is used to store food during long-term sea travels or even at home.

Meruvvon, is the maze city by the delta of Agrannor's largest river that flows right into the Lost Sea. Its climate is almost the same as Vellamere's, except that it is often plagued by sea storms (due to its proximity to the Lost Sea, hence the maze-like structures which are basically their version of storm safety methods). Their techniques are very much similar to that of Vellameres, though they do rely a lot more on imported ice trades from other kingdoms and are known for seasoning/salting their food with a local berry known as the Sphynx' Hook, which gives the local cuisine its unmistakable - and highly spicy - taste.

Milk and cheese are huge NOPES in either of these kingdoms, due to the heat (which rots it like nothing else) and (in the case of the seaside ones) their seafood cuisines, which rarely need cheese or milk to accompany them.

Finally, the extras:

The Storm Isles: They have perfected the art of fishing and every day new fishing boats return from the open sea with just enough for another day. They believe in reducing waste/not throwing good stuff away for nothing, so their communities only fish what they need for the day or week. The rare remaining seafood is preserved with local condiments, and put into the same kinds of ice boxes as in Vellamere - the ones with the sea monster shell lining.

Elves believe that if you're going to take something from nature (be it by hunting an animal or picking a plant) you had better not waste it or disrespect the life it once had. Hence, they usually only hunt or collect what they need for each meal, and so don't have much of a need to preserve it, though their magic potions know no bounds and they have tried preserving food before, for some specific recipes. Most of an elf's diet, however, is vegetarian, and they rarely hunt (though they can and do eat meat, that is reserved for very special celebrations, and so most choose not to hunt on normal days).

Faeborn are carnivores/apex predators, like wolves or tigers (they even have rows of wickedly sharp teeth, pointy clawed hands, highly adapted eyesight and heightened sense of smell/hearing), and so they usually hunt what they need or want to eat on a daily basis, they have no need to preserve it for later because there's always more in the forests to hunt when they want more. They do eat the odd plant/fungi/flower but that's only a small snack to their tastes, though they do like tea quite a lot.

Merfolk are extremely similar to that, though they eat fish and keep stacks of preserved clams/crabs and seaweed for lean months under the sea

Vampires/Dhampirs need blood to sate their inhuman amounts of hunger, and while some do drink human blood (the fastest way to sate themselves), most live from the blood of animals such as cattle (you will likely find that even the richest vampire has a herd of sheep or cows in the forest/backyard next to their castle because they need a lot of blood), so they also do not need to preserve food. Dhampirs (half human/half vampires) do eat human food every day - though they still need blood weekly to keep their health up.

[hexiewrites]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 43!

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 562,348, which is honestly insane

3. What fandoms do you write for? right now mostly stranger things. I've got most of a ted lasso fic written but who knows if that'll get posted?? and prev, harry potter.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? 1. don't take this sinner (dramione, marriage law ish), 2. same as it ever was (steddie, two timelines, one of my first steddie fics!) 3. carve your name into my chest (steddie, the hockey au of my dreams) 4. come get your man (he got lost in my DMs) (steddie, social media, steve being a horny DM guy) 5. there'll be a riot (cause I know you) (steddie, the matty-healy-rat-man-Eddie-vibed mostly smut fic)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? ugh. I WISH!!!! I want to be better at this, I really do. I usually start strong but I end up with limited energy/time and I want to filter that into writing more. if you've ever commented: I FUCKING LOVE YOU and think you're SO cool! if you really WANT a reply, the best way to get that is to ask me questions haha. it starts to feel weird just "thank you!"ing everyone, ya know?

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I am.... not an angsty ending person tbqh! I think the closest is probably you love the sea, which is a flintwood rarepair selkie fic that I deeply love. it ends happy, insofaras they end up TOGETHER, but if you think more about the implications and how fucking sad it's going to be for oliver... well. I'll leave that to you guys.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? god, I'm well known for having "endings so happy they border on absurd", according to one person online. so, pick your poison I guess! anyways the fic THAT person was referring to was same as it ever was, so, let's go with that!

8. Do you get hate on fics? I have been so lucky lately to not get much hate at all lately, which is a real privilege in the fandom world. remember that I cut my teeth in early days of harry potter, and people were BRUTAL. I definitely HAVE gotten hate - my aforementioned dramione fic has a bit of a weird twist that some people were PISSED about (and once I got an incredibly detailed comment about how badly I fucked up my representation of black Hermione because she... didn't talk that much about hating her hair? which I know is AN experience but not necessarily a universal one) but overall, at least this fandom go around, no hate. thank you, everyone, for that!

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? yes. lots and lots and lots of it. mostly kinda kinky and pretty much all pretty gay. let's not talk about how many times I've had to tag dacryphilia and what that means. I just like when people fuck about things, yknow?

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? nope, never! and I likely never will. too much to keep track of.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? not that I know of, thank god for that.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? I've had requests but... I would need a translator willing to work pretty closely with me because I want to make sure certain choices come across well, and I haven't found that yet.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? not officially, though I did write a buckingham companion piece to the amazing cowboy-bar fic @riality-check did!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? OH GOD don't make me choose! ALL TIME is still probably dramione, but steddie is a very close second. in terms of canon ships, I'm such a sucker for buffy/spike (leave me alone), and veronica mars/logan (AGAIN LEAVE ME ALONE) and rory/logan (BECAUSE RICH WHITE BOYS NAMED LOGAN ARE A WEAKNESS, APPARENTLY)

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? pour one OUT for you can't take the sky from me, which is my firefly inspired harry potter au ft pansy/percy, mostly because I had so many big plans for it that I've completely forgotten AND I just can't write in that fandom at all anymore. sorry everyone, I do love what I put out and I wish there was more of it.

16. What are your writing strengths? prose, smut, tying things together with little bows, and spending way too much time in my characters heads

17. What are your writing weaknesses? dual POVs, getting so lost in one character I don't flesh out the others as much as I mean to, action sequences, and consistent motivation

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I've done it before (mostly in clean ice, cold hearts, can't lose) and my typical strategy is to indicate that the characters are speaking a diff language (in french, I use guillements and italics) but not to actually WRITE the french, unless it's very short and the POV character doesn't understand it on purpose like in carve.

19. First fandom you wrote for? harry potter baby! my oldest posted fic that I've found online was from 2002, when I was... too young to be interacting with the internet like that, that's for sure.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? carve your name into my chest and it's no contest. I love same as it ever was as well, which I think is a better WRITTEN fic technically speaking, but carve was a huge passion project that I had so much fun with, and the response to it had been one of my favourite things in the world. oh, and special shout out to make this inn our own, which is my second longest fic ever and was just an absolute joy to do. so, those three, I guess!

tagging with no pressure: @riality-check @hereforanepilogue @maxineholtzmann @stevespookington @stevethehairington @withacapitalp and whoever else wants in!

[dbphantom]

❄️🌤️☔

yayayay thank you so much!!!!

❄️Share a snippet from a WIP of your choosing.

Here's some crack taken deathly seriously (One Piece H2O AU) ((also it's G-8 because G-8 fucks)) (((the context is that Luffy saved Usopp's goggles from getting reeled in by Jonathan so he had them on him while delivering the food, also the lenses were upgraded during Alabasta because there's another plot point involving them with Crocodile 😊)))

Jonathan follows Luffy's gaze, to Usopp's goggles lying next to his shoes. He leans down and picks them up by the length of fishing line still tangled around the headband. He holds them in front of his face, inquisitive gaze switching from the line to Luffy.  Luffy tries not to meet his eyes and sticks a hand out. "Can I have those back?" "Answer my questions and you can have them, plus my lunch."  Luffy drags his line of sight back to the man's face. "You promise?" He doesn't seem like he's lying. In fact, he's surprisingly earnest for a guy in a coat like that.  "I promise," he says. "You can even take the food now, if you'd like." Luffy nods, and throws a hand over Jonathan's shoulder to grab the plate. "Alright. Sorry I insulted you earlier, base guy." Jonathan doesn't stop him, or even take the opportunity to attack. Instead, he looks satisfied as Luffy starts eating. "So, what are you doing here?"  "I smelled food. I was hungry." The rest of the meatballs are just as good as the first few. Luffy's going to have to ask Sanji to make these again once they get out of here.  Jonathan nods slowly. "And what are you doing in my base? What's your motive?"  Luffy tilts his head as he licks the plate. "We didn't mean to come here. We fell from the sky." "If I didn't see it myself, I wouldn't believe that." There's a sparkle in Jonathan's eyes. "Guess you're lucky I did." Luffy grins as he tosses the plate aside. "Guess so." Jonathan holds the goggles up to his eyes and Luffy feels the smile slide off his face.  "Can I have those back now?" He asks, quickly, before Jonathan can see something he really shouldn't.  Jonathan looks around them and smiles. "I'm not finished with my questions. You've already eaten, so I need some reason for you to play along." Luffy frowns and contemplates throwing a hand forward and grabbing for the goggles.  It might start a fight. His crew can't afford to get into a fight. Not here, not now. Definitely not with a man on the same level as grandpa Garp.  Still, they're in a kitchen, so maybe Luffy could make some of the sinks go off and make a break for it- Jonathan holds the lenses up to his eyes and peers through them.  "So, what's so important about these that-" He blinks. His mouth opens again, but he doesn't finish his question.  He lowers the goggles and stares at Luffy like he's seeing him for the first time. This is wrong. It's breaking the promise. "It was you," Jonathan says.  A rivulet of sweat runs hot down Luffy's cold face. His jaw feels like it's been cemented shut.  "It wasn't," he forces out, and studies the fish pattern on the paneling of the walls. "I don't know what you're talking about." "It was," says Jonathan as he leans forward, staring him down. "My men said they saw someone in the water with black hair."  "It wasn't me," Luffy reiterates.  Jonathan continues on as if he's said nothing. "Someone with dark eyes and sharp teeth." He pulls the goggles in front of his eyes again. "You're a bad liar, Monkey D. Luffy." Luffy snaps his mouth shut and thinks this must be what Ace meant when they made that promise all those years ago; when he talked about someone seeing all the little pieces of him he never wanted to share.

🌤️Share your favorite piece of dialogue from your WIP.

OH this is HARD uhhhhh... my favorite might be this exchange because 1. Nami my beloved and 2. I've had the belly joke locked and loaded for YEARS. They give me big sibling vibes, especially in this AU.

Nami nods, slowly. She's hoping he'll continue because she has no clue where he's taking this.  "And you guys are my crew, even though I think about it all the time. You're all still here." Luffy's quiet for a moment. He stares at the wall in front of him and runs his hands around the rough brim of his hat.  Then he fixes her with a smile so bright it feels like the sun.  "I trust you, Nami. I don't care what you think about. You don't have to tell me all that stuff." She feels the tears from earlier threatening to overflow now.  Luffy tugs his hat on and his smile grows wider.  "Come on," he says, leaning in. "Be our navigator again." She doesn't understand it- this unwavering trust. Not yet.  Nami rubs her eyes with the back of her hand and flashes him a watery smile of her own. "Okay," she says, with a nod. Luffy throws his hands up in the air and cheers.  She sniffles as he winces from the sudden movement tugging at his injuries. "So," she asks once he turns to look at her again, eyes bright and a grin on his face. "Where are we putting you on display?" The smile stays plastered on his face while he pauses, then he bursts into another fit of laughter. He slaps her on the back as he giggles the nerves away. “Nami, don’t joke about that!” “I’m thinking ten- no, fifteen thousand per person.” She grabs him by the cheek and pulls, watching his face stretch and warp. “Maybe more.” “No!” Luffy manages to wail before she lets go and his features spring back to normal. "I'm not doing that!"

☔Is there a fic concept you have that you'd like to just explain and share because you're not sure you'll ever write it? If so, what is it?

Yes OMG!! I have a modern/college AU fic for One Piece, but I'll probably never write it because college/modern AUs just aren't my thing.

It came around from a reddit thread asking which tropes we aren't fans of and I got into a nice discussion w/ someone about why we don't like those types of AUs!

So I decided to take matters into my own hands and in this AU everyone still has their powers. Luffy is still a rubber man, Nami can still sense the weather and is a cat burglar by night, Chopper is still a talking reindeer, Sanji can still light himself on fire, etc, etc for all the Strawhats. It's just that I threw them onto a college campus and said have fun. Luffy gathers up his gang of extraordinary people as the story goes on. He's definitely enrolled in classes, but no one can figure out what his major is and he doesn't even seem to know himself (so he just doesn't go to class). Someone (cough Dragon cough) is paying for his tuition tho, so he hangs around.

It isn't SUPER detailed, but I did have fun developing the world and figuring out how stuff would have to change. Also it's fun to play around with and it keeps my brain occupied when I'm not thinking about H2O stuff LOL. I just never thought it would lend very well to an actual telling of OP, so I never bothered writing anything for it. Thinking about it longer than 30 seconds introduces a lot of plot holes/character inconsistencies because it isn't too well-developed.

Thank you again! This was a ton of fun :D

[cheerscoops]

Do you have any advice for newer Stranger Things blogs just starting out? I just recently started a blog and I want to utilize it but I'm really new to Tumblr so I don't know what to post or how to promo it. Especially because my blog is centered around a specific ship. I'm in the process of writing stuff on AO3 but I haven't posted anything yet so I don't have any fics to post about until then.

I love your blog so I figured maybe I would ask you, but it's totally fine if you don't really have an answer. I just don't know who to ask or how to look for the answer if it's already out there somewhere.

First off, I just want to thank you for loving and supporting my blog. I feel like I'm a relatively small presence in the community, so I'm flattered that you chose to come to me with your questions.

As for how to start out, I'm not sure if there actually is one correct way to do it. I had no idea what I was doing when I first started this blog last summer, and a lot of the time, I feel like I just got lucky. The first fic I ever posted only got 30 notes because it never showed up in the tags, and I'd maybe throw myself a party if my current series ever got that many notes since cheerscoops is such a niche ship. But here are a few tips I have that I wish I'd known when I started out. I'll use cheerscoops as an example throughout this since you said your blog is for a specific ship, and then you can just replace my ship with yours when making your own posts.

When it comes to tagging and promoting, make sure you have the correct ship name in your tags. If you're not using the most common name for your ship, people might not see your fics and other creations because they're not looking in the right spots. Cheerscoops is a weird one where people can't seem to decide on one specific ship name so I tend to tag things with cheerscoops, harringham, steve x chrissy, and chrissy x steve just so it reaches more people. Occasionally, I'll also throw in a tag like stranger things fic or stranger things fanfic to reach a broader audience. My most successful fic didn't have a ship in it and was just an exploration of the bond between Eddie and Wayne, and I used character tags like eddie munson fic and wayne munson fic for that one. Tagging specific characters is a good way to reach anyone who is looking for any fics involving that character.

However, it's really important to only tag the characters who are the main focus of the fic if you do this. If your fic is about Steve and Chrissy, but Dustin, Will, and Robin appear as secondary characters, only use Steve and Chrissy's tags. No one goes into the will byers fic tag looking for a cheerscoops fic, so if the character you're tagging isn't the focus, you run the risk of upsetting people by putting irrelevant stuff in their tag. It's just common courtesy to not spam the tags with things that don't apply to them.

If you want to attempt to build up an audience before you post anything, I recommend finding other people who ship the same things as you and interacting with their work. If you read something and enjoy it, reblog it and let the author know! We thrive on interaction with our fics and moodboards and other creations, and a reblog is the only way to let other people know what you're interested in. I feel like I gained the majority of my followers because I also ship hellcheer and steddie, and I was reading and reblogging a lot of steve x reader and eddie x reader fics when I first started out. If people know they can find things that they like on your blog, they're going to be more willing to follow you.

If it's something you're comfortable with, post sneak peeks of your writing on your blog. Get people excited for your fics by posting small snippets of what's to come as early promos. I participate in a lot of WIP Wednesday type tag games and challenges to get me writing more and to get my friends and followers excited about the things I'm creating.

Basic housekeeping stuff for your blog would be making sure your blog isn't blank!! Most people will automatically block you if you don't have an icon, a header image, or a bio because blank blogs are treated as bots. Make it obvious that you're a real person. I also recommend putting your age in your bio - or an age range if you're not comfortable sharing your actual age.

This one isn't necessary, but my bestie @quinnkeerys runs a discord server for Stranger Things rarepairs. If you think the ship you're making your blog for qualifies as a rarepair and adheres to the few ship rules the server has, I highly recommend contacting them about joining! We're a really small group, and we all multi-ship and share headcanons there. It's a super welcoming and supportive environment, and I feel like making friends in the community and supporting other creators is so helpful when you're first starting out.

I hope this helps! If you have any more questions, feel free to reach out again! I'm always happy to help <3

[darcyfangirlsfrequently]

Happy WIP Wednesday!!

Here is an excerpt from the second chapter of "She Will Be Loved"

Vivian tilted her curiously as she looked at Luke. "How man kids do you have, Agent Alvez?"

Luke was momentarily taken aback. "Um, none."

It was Vivian's turn to be stunned. "None? Really?"

"Yeah, why?"

"It's just that, well, no one who doesn't have kids is as good with kids as you seem to be. Especially with teenagers. Normally all the adults I've ever met have still treated me as a child. And I get it, yeah, I'm young, but you're the first one treat me like an individual person. Like a mini-adult."

"My wife likes to say that 'age doesn't always provide smarts, life experience does.' You've been through too much, especially in the last two years, to be considered a child. This team always treats every it works with as if they were one of our own, but I don't know, it just wasn't in the cards for my wife and I to have kids. We might adopt though, someday." He didn't know quite why he was telling Vivian all this, but she had asked him a question, and he wanted to be honest. All part of treating her like a 'mini-adult,' in her own words.

"You should," Vivian told him. "If your wife is anything like you–"

"She's better."

Vivian smiled at that. "Well then any kid you adopted would be lucky to have you as their parents."

[ashtraythief]

How do you get so much engagement? Not in a jealous sort of way, but more in a curious way of someone who seeks tips/advice on the matter. It seems these days fandom is much more…distant than it once was and it’s a bit discouraging, you know? I can barely get any sort of engagement, either on my socials or my ao3, but to know you have such a devoted fan base (such as me!) it fills me with hope that it’s possible :)

Any tips and/or ideas?

Oh wow, first off, thank you so much for your kind words!

As for engagement, I don't know if I have much wisdom to give there. Spn fandom is definitely getting smaller, has been for years. Even when I got into it ten years ago, it was already past its prime.

Gonna share what little knowledge I have under the cut.

So I am not the right person to ask about socials lol. I have very little engagement on tumblr actually. I know it doesn't look like it right now, but usually I go months without getting asks. And then I guess sometimes whenever I get one, other people see it and remember they can send me asks? And then I just get a bunch, of which I suspect several are from the same people 😅, and then things go quiet again. Usually, most of them are related to the underneath verse, which makes sense since it's an ongoing WIP, and people have questions (that I am very happy to answer, always! Even tho I can't give anything about the ending away 😅). I used to post fic links here, but I got so little engagement I eventually gave up on that. It didn't seem worth the effort of formatting the posts, but I also have no way of knowing how many people just check ao3 and how many click on a link on tumblr.

Twitter is a little different, but it's also gotten more quiet there. The end of the show didn't help and then recent events *cough*prequelgate*cough* accelerated the decline of J2 fandom especially. But I get some interaction with fic posting there, more than on tumblr anyway, so that's where I post new fics. I think it's helpful to screenshot the summary and attach it to the post for more info. Maybe? I've never done a survey on this lol. Definitely don't be shy about retweeting and reposting for timezone purposes and on different days. Some people follow so many accounts they won't see your post otherwise.

As for fic engagement, idk. A good snappy summary, enough tags for people to get interested but no overtagging? But like, I'm a bad standard here, I think. I've been in fandom for over 10 years, I've written almost 200 fics in all kinds of genres, so people know me. I've also participated in gift exchanges, challenges and auction fics, which is also something that gives you exposure. And I was lucky that one of my first big fics was popular. So I guess a reasonable amount of people know me as a J2 author.

Also supporting my theory of being known is that I recently posted a fic in a much more active fandom and I immediately had like four times the engagement I'd usually get for J2 fics, but still much less than the popular fics in that fandom.

And not all of my spn rpf fics get a lot of engagement either. It always depends on subject matter, pairings, trends in fandom etc. If you look at my fic list, you'll see a lot of fics with few kudos for a variety of reasons.

I still write them, even if I know not a lot of people are interested in them, but I still enjoy writing them. And I always think, if there's only one person whom I brought joy with my writing, it's worth it. But I definitely understand that more feedback is also more joy and good for our egos. And I know there are people out there who don't care about that, which is valid, but I think it's also okay to care about it.

Idk if this is helpful. I can try to give more specific advice for fic things if you have more specific questions, maybe off anon if you're comfortable with it?

Otherwise, thanks for your faith in me and sorry that I have so little wisdom to share 😅