#I've had this partially done in my drafts for a long time
Text
[𝔐𝔞𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔩𝔦𝔰𝔱]
𝔖𝔲𝔪𝔪𝔞𝔯𝔶: After a particularly rough case, Reader starts acting distant. Lockwood thinks giving her space will help.
When he's woken by the phone ringing, George doesn't need to know what happened to know it's probably Lockwood's fault.
ℜ𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤: Mature/Explicit.
𝔚𝔞𝔯𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔰: Alcohol consumption, strong language, sexual content (second base with intent to go further), anxious avoidant Reader, Reader is shorter than Lockwood, drunk Reader, Reader is harassed at the bar, brief touch without consent, no use of y/n.
𝔄𝔲𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔯'𝔰 𝔑𝔬𝔱𝔢: Fuck I love playing with different kinds of dynamics. I've had this sitting partially drafted in my writing folder for a year now, and the brain-goblins wouldn't let me keep working on SM until this was done lmao
Please let this be the year I finally get a handle on my creative flow fml
𝔚𝔬𝔯𝔡 ℭ𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔱: 6.1k
The first time the phone rings, both inhabitants of 35 Portland Row manage to remain deep in a well earned slumber.
The second time the phone rings, it successfully rouses one George Karim. Muttering a string of colourful insults under his breath that - had he been in his family home - would have earned him a smack over the head with his mother’s slipper, he reluctantly drags himself from the warmth and comfort of his duvet. Letting out a long suffering sigh that lasts through the entire shuffle from his room to the phone on the floor below, he lifts it from the receiver and greets the caller with a noise somewhere between ‘hello’ and ‘fuck off’.
“Evening, sorry to wake you. This is James, calling from The Royal Oak. Is there a, uh-” Even over the numerous voices and the clinking of glass in the background, George can hear the gruff sounding man being interrupted by a woman’s voice mumbling incoherently before all sound is muffled by a palm being pressed over the mic on the other end, “-sorry, did you say…? Really, sweetheart? Alright, but don’t try to blame this on me tomorrow when you sober up.”
Then the phone is back to full volume. “Sorry about that, I’ve got a young lady here who says she lives at this address? She’s too drunk to get herself home and this is the number she gave for someone she trusts to come get her. But, uh, she-” James seems like he’d rather not say the next bit, “well, she just keeps asking for ‘that selfish wanker’? Won’t give me a name otherwise.”
There’s not a lot in this world capable of rendering George completely speechless, but that… That does it. He allows the phone to drop from his ear for a moment, resting it on his shoulder as he attempts to compose himself and reply to the nice man on the other end of the line.
“Uh… Yeah, she- she’s ours. Probably talking about our boss, then. I’ll, uh… I’ll go wake him. I’m sure he’ll be there very soon.” He has to speak up over the sound of James choking and sputtering in surprise to say a polite ‘thank you’ and ‘goodbye’, before slamming the phone down and jogging up the stairs to wake his friend.
He pauses for a moment halfway up, considering heading back downstairs to grab a boot to throw at the door. Unfortunately his need for immediate answers outweighs his urge to be petty, so he settles for pounding loudly on the door instead.
There’s quiet rustling and not so quiet cursing on the other side before it’s ripped open.
“What?!” A dishevelled Anthony Lockwood snaps, blinking sleep from glaring eyes and leaning on the doorframe in an endeavour to keep himself upright.
“Just got a call from The Royal Oak, down on York Street? Turns out they have a resident of this address drunkenly calling for a ‘selfish wanker’ to come pick her up.” George crosses his arms, raising a challenging eyebrow at the taller man.
Lockwood’s expression shifts from its existing irritated frown into confusion, then straight to alarm. He wastes no time flipping the light switch beside the doorway, bathing the room in light as he crosses it to tug one of his dresser drawers open.
“Can you call me a Night Cab, please? Offer them double fare to prioritise.” He calls over his bare shoulder, searching for a t-shirt and hoodie to toss on. His researcher says nothing as he complies, deciding to save the interrogation for later.
Anthony is properly worried.
Their third roommate had come back from their last job acting distant. They’d been separated by a pair of particularly nasty Spectre’s for close to an hour, but she’d succeeded in securing the Source’s and they’d all made it out in one piece. He’d been so caught up in pride for his team he hadn’t noticed the effect it had on her until days later. When he tried to approach her with his concerns, she clammed up and looked as though she was about to cry before excusing herself to her room. None of the members of his agency, himself included, had seen her exit her room for two days after that.
He hadn’t asked about it since, and while giving her space seemed to be working by way of not making her cry, he was starting to wonder if it had been upsetting her in a different way.
Even taking all of that into consideration, there’s still no way he could have seen a phone call like this coming at 2:56 AM on a Tuesday.
All he can find is a sleeveless black undershirt. With a huff of frustration he pulls it over his head, kicking the drawer closed simultaneously, then pulling open the one above it. The joggers he fell asleep in are fine enough, so after a fit of undignified hopping across the room to cover his feet with pink socks he grabs a random hoodie off of the armchair by the window, shrugs into it, and zips it on his way down the stairs.
George is waiting for him at the bottom, staring at his watch.
“Your cab should be here in three minutes, mine should be here in thirteen.” He looks up from his wrist, meeting his boss’s confused look with an exasperated one. “I’m heading to Flo’s for the night, so whatever you fucked up, mate? Fix it.” Karim claps him on the shoulder, walking past him to pack an overnight bag. It might not be conventional, but Anthony knows it’s the closest thing to encouragement he’s going to get.
The next several minutes pass in a blur of waiting and worrying, until finally it’s 3:14 AM and he’s slipping the cab driver an extra twenty quid to wait for them, swearing to be no longer than fifteen minutes. The ungodly-early morning air is sharp and cold, cutting to the bone as soon as he steps out of the comforting warmth of the vehicle. It’s plenty enough encouragement to hurry his way to the building, pulling the door open to slip into the soft golden warmth and loud ambiance of the pub.
He hesitates on the doormat, catching sight of the other patrons. Thankfully it isn’t a particularly highbrow establishment, but it's nice enough for him to feel noticeably underdressed in black joggers and a grey zip-up. And then he lays eyes on her, and all insecurities are immediately banished by the sharp knife of shock burying itself in his gut.
She’s balanced on a table, wearing a little black dress he’d never seen before. Her arms are raised above her head, fingers combing through her hair as her hips sway to the bass of the music in a way that probably would have had his mouth watering if it wasn’t for present circumstances.
He isn’t the only one noticing her. There’s a group of men standing around the table, watching her with hungry eyes that make his skin crawl with disgust.
A tall blonde man pushes his way past the rest of the crowd, deep set ice blue eyes chasing up her legs. She seems to either be unaware of his presence, or too lost in the music to care. Even from his position across the room he can see her eyes are out of focus, drifting away for split seconds every few beats from the speakers on the wall.
The man raises a hand and grabs her thigh, using enough pressure to leave visible fingermarks.
Lockwood finds himself frozen in place, blood boiling as he mentally considers how challenging talking his way out of a murder charge could really be. Surely not that much harder than talking his way out of an arson charge, and he’d done that often enough to be confident in his abilities.
Before his sleep deprived mind can break free of its indecision, the girl spins around abruptly and slaps the lecherous limb away from her. The slime of a man attached to it is none too happy about that, making a move to grab for her arm. Her normally impeccable reflexes are slowed by the alcohol, she can’t move fast enough to avoid the attack. When his fingers close around her wrist, he pulls. Hard.
She teeters on the edge of the table, her short cry of pain audible even over the music.
Huh. He’d always thought the whole ‘seeing red’ thing was entirely turn of phrase, but as it turns out, there’s actually a modicum of truth to it.
He’s halfway across the bar by the time he realises he’s in motion, but he’s not about to stop. Closing the remaining distance in a few purposeful strides, he grabs the creep’s arm in a vice grip. The blonde releases his hold on her immediately, instinctively trying to pull away from the pain. Lockwood lets him stumble away in surprise, wasting no time placing himself in between his friend and the threat to her safety. At first he’s optimistic he might have a chance to vent some anger when the wanker locks eyes with him, but whatever he’d seen in Anthony’s was enough to make him back down and stumble off with an insincere apology.
Reminding himself to focus his attention where it belongs, he turns to look up at the girl on the table. Her face lights up with delight when she recognizes him, then swiftly sours the longer she looks at him.
He feels like an absolute prick for not noticing the dark circles around her eyes sooner. Swallowing around the lump in his throat, he reaches up to offer her both of his hands, palms up. She sways in place for a moment, scowling pensively at the proffered appendages. He studies her face while he waits patiently, trying to find any hint of what could be bothering her enough to take this approach to forgetting.
With a tiny hiccup she finally caves, placing her hands in his and allowing him to help her to solid ground. Once both of her feet are securely on the sticky floor, he offers her his arm for support. She gives him another little glare, but just like before, she eventually accepts his help.
Scanning the other tables and chairs around her makeshift stage, he sees no sign of a purse or jacket that he recognises in the slightest.
“Did you bring anything with you, sweetheart?” He asks her directly, leaning closer to her ear to be heard over the noise. If he didn’t know any better he’d say she looks almost flustered; eyes glazed, cheeks flushed a beautiful shade of pink, looking through him rather than at him as she tries to filter his words through the haze of liquor clouding her mind.
Although he’s prepared to wait as long as it takes for her to answer, he can’t help but feel a touch relieved when the bartender waves him over holding a familiar leather clutch. Gently taking her by the arm, he guides her to a nearby chair to sit and wait for him to collect her belongings. Giving a final warning look to the remaining crowd for good measure, he leaves her side to approach the bar.
The man behind it is average height, with mid length dark hair as well kept as his perfectly trimmed goatee. He abandons the glass he’s polishing, tossing the white cloth he’d been using over his shoulder and offering Anthony a calloused hand. “I take it you must be-”
“‘That selfish wanker’? Present and accounted for, though I also answer to ‘Anthony’.” He replies, accepting the handshake.
The other man’s grip is firm but friendly, and he throws his head back in merriment at Lockwood’s unexpected introduction. “James, pleasure to finally meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you from your little Songbird over there.”
Lockwood winces. “Not all bad, hopefully.”
“No, not all bad.” James soothes before leaning in conspiratorially, “Just don’t tell her I said that.”
He shoots him a wink as he settles back, and now it’s Anthony’s turn to laugh. It’s decided then and there; they like each other.
He reaches behind the lip of the bar, grabbing the clutch he’d tucked out of sight until he could determine Lockwood’s identity. “This is all she brought with her. You’ve got a safe way home?”
Anthony takes it from him with a grateful smile. “Yeah, paid the driver to stick around. I consider myself pretty good at multitasking, just not ‘keeping her upright and not getting ghost-touched’ good.” James lets loose a hearty laugh in response.
The screech of wood against the floor draws their attention back to the woman formerly in the chair, now standing unsteadily a few feet away.
“And that’s my cue. Pleasure to meet you, James. And, uh-” He glances back at her involuntarily. “Thank you. For keeping an eye on her, calling us, the lot of it.”
The bartender smirks, quirking an eyebrow and giving him a knowing look. “It's what any decent person would do. Don’t be a stranger now, either of you.”
Lockwood departs the bar, clutch in hand, with a salute and a promise to be back another time.
She seems confused at first when he tries to get her attention, switching to stare at him reproachfully when she recognises him again. He sighs, trying to tuck away his own feelings of exhaustion and defeat.
“Let's get you home, love.” He murmurs, offering his arm again. She takes it without hesitation this time, leaning heavily against him as they make their way to the exit. Pausing on the doormat, he carefully extracts his limb from her grip, soothing her little noise of protest by assuring she’d be using him as a crutch again momentarily. The metal of the zipper is cold against his bare arms as he shrugs his hoodie off, blatantly ignoring her attempts to argue with him and draping the grey fabric over her shoulders.
The cold breeze cuts into him once they’re outside, but he carefully schools his expression to avoid showing her it's affecting him at all. Despite having paid the man extra, he’s still pleasantly surprised to see the black cab still waiting at the curb.
It’s easier than he’d expected to load her into the comfortable back seat. She doesn’t even try to swat his hand away when he places it on top of her head to prevent her bouncing it off the roof in her attempt to get in.
Once she’s scooted to the far side, he climbs in after her. She seems lost in thought, staring absently at the headrest in front of her. He leans closer slowly, giving her ample time to move away if she doesn’t want him in her space. When she remains stationary, he reaches across her body to grab her seatbelt, gently buckling her in and tightening the belt over her hips.
She finally looks at him, expression blank as she studies his features. It’s clear her mind is elsewhere, and she returns to staring at the black leather so quickly he wonders if he’d imagined the whole thing.
He gives their driver the all clear, directing him to drop them off where he’d first picked him up before slumping back into his seat for the uncomfortably quiet ride home.
They’re half-way there when he can stand to ignore the elephant in the room no longer. The words slip out before he can think of a more tactful way to ask; “What’s going on with you?”
She turns to look at him so slowly it’s almost unnerving. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She answers bitterly, her voice laced with the same steel as her eyes.
“That’s bloody horseshit!” He scoffs, far too tired to hold back. “If there was nothing wrong, I wouldn’t have gotten a call tonight.”
Her mouth opens and closes soundlessly for several seconds, seemingly overwhelmed by the number colourful insults she’d like to hurl at him.
“Like you care.” She finally mutters, shaking her head and turning away from him to stare pointedly out her window.
“...What?” He manages to put his frustration on hold for a moment, making room for his growing concern. “Of course I care, what makes you think I wouldn’t?”
She laughs darkly, shaking her head. “You’ve got a funny way of showing it.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?!” He cries in exasperation.
She whips around to face him. “You knew I was struggling! You knew, and you ignored it because it was easier than dealing with me!” Her eyes are wild, chest heaving as she draws in air like she has to fight for every breath.
All hostility drains out of him in an instant, leaving him uncomfortably hollow in its absence. He’s intimately aware of her eyes searching his face, trying to gain some kind of insight into his mind.
He feels like he’s just stumbled into a minefield, and in a way he has. If his next words aren’t carefully chosen, he could detonate one and destroy his friendship with someone he can’t live without.
Organising his thoughts and taking a deep breath, he plunges ahead.
“I’m sorry. I thought by giving you space I was giving you what you needed, but I should have just talked to you. And you’re right, I was being selfish, just… not in the way you’re thinking.” She looks like she’s about to interrupt, but he ploughs on. “I was afraid if I pushed too hard you’d shut me out. I thought it would be safer to stay silent and let you come to me when you were ready, but it was my responsibility to communicate that to you, and I failed.”
They sit in stillness for far longer than he’s comfortable with, his words hanging in the air between them.
When she finally puts him out of his misery, he has to strain to hear her over the rumble of the car. “It wasn’t two Spectres.”
It feels like someone’s poured ice down his back. “...What?”
“The last job? We thought it was just two Spectres, but it wasn’t. It-” Her voice shakes, then dies. She has to stop and breathe, looking like she’s about to be crushed by the weight of the words on her tongue. “One of them was a Fetch.”
Staring down at his hands, he searches for the right words to say. Is he supposed to say anything at all? If he interrupts now, will she shut him out? If he doesn’t, will she think he doesn’t care?
A point of personal pride for him is being able to read people, to shape himself into whatever role they need him to fill, but… he has no idea who she needs him to be right now.
She hesitantly continues. “It was you.”
He looks up at her only to find her eyes already on him. “It wasn’t.”
She laughs sadly, but doesn’t look away. When she tips her head to concede the point, the light catches at the corner of her eye. “Right. It did use your face, though.”
“Whatever it said, it isn’t true.” He can’t resist the urge to reach across the seat between them, wiping the tear from her cheek and hoping she can feel the truth in his words when he says; “A Fetch will find your worst fear and exploit it. And I swear to you, I will never allow anything to make you feel afraid like this again.”
Silence stretches on between them, becoming heavier with every second passing them by. His thumb continues stroking her face slowly, absentmindedly. If he didn’t know any better, he’d think her eyes had drifted to his lips.
“Kiss me.”
His hand falls from her face.
For a second, he thinks it’s him that’s said it. When he realises it wasn’t, the potential implications of her words make his heart stutter. There’s a chance this is just a drunken impulse, a need for comfort in a moment of vulnerability. If it is, what the hell is he supposed to do about it? If he gives in to her, will he be able to carry on working beside her once he’s had a taste of the life with her he doesn’t even allow himself to dream about?
On the flip side, there’s a chance that this is an actual confession. The Fetch had chosen his face to torment her, and as horrifying as that had been to hear, it only would have done so if she felt something for him. Maybe she feels the same as he does. Maybe the reason he can never figure out what mask to put on for her, is that she’s only ever needed him to be himself.
Hope fills every inch of him as he stares at her, enraptured.
Then, he realises he’s been quiet for long enough for panic to fill her eyes.
“Ask me in the morning.” He breathes, feeling as perplexed as she looks when the words come out of his mouth. She’s confused that he hasn’t directly shot her down. He’s confused that he’s capable of this kind of restraint while sleep deprived.
“What?” She frowns, blinking as her eyes lose focus for a split second in her bewilderment.
Feeling more confident in his decision, he smiles softly at her. “Ask me when you’re sober, and when we’re not in this nice man’s cab.”
The driver laughs, trying and failing to cover it with a guilty cough.
Once they reach 35 Portland Row, Anthony covers the fare and slips the man a generous tip for enduring their antics before exiting the cab. The emotional intensity of the ride home had been enough to partially sober up his companion, but he still isn’t sold on her ability to climb stairs without assistance.
He keeps his arm wrapped tightly around her waist until they reach the door of her room - formerly Lucy’s - on the top level of the house before reluctantly removing it. She wobbles for a moment, but it seems to be more from her leaning to chase his touch than any serious instability. They stand there for a while, neither willing to walk away from the other, until a large yawn overtakes her.
He chuckles, suddenly remembering James’ nickname for her. “Goodnight, Songbird.”
“That’s a stupid nickname.” She complains, scrunching up her face in distaste. When all he does is laugh some more, she sighs and carries on. “Goodnight, Anthony. Sweet dreams.”
He disagrees completely, of course. From her lips, his name is the sweetest song he’s ever heard.
Turning away from him, she places her hand on the doorknob but doesn’t make any move to twist it. He’s about to ask her if something is wrong when she turns back to him swiftly, closing the distance between them and standing on her toes to brace her hands on his shoulders as she presses the ghost of a kiss against his cheek. By the time he’s raised trembling fingers to the tingling skin, she’s already in her room with the door closed behind her.
He spends his early morning dreaming of the flutter of wings, and birds gently pecking him on the cheek.
When he’s woken by persistent knocking on his door once more, Anthony Lockwood finds himself wondering what precisely he had done to piss off Hypnos in a past life.
Still on high alert from his unusual evening, he’s out of bed and across the room without a second thought. When he pulls the door open he’s entirely expecting another emergency, not to find the girl of his dreams standing there staring steadfast at her feet.
“I am so sorry about last night, I should have told you what was going on instead of going on a bloody bender. That was incredibly immature and irresponsible of me and I completely understand if you want to fire me.” She starts slow, but by the end of her apology the words are flying out of her mouth. Despite her best efforts, the misery in her voice as she says the last bit is tangible.
Why would he want that? Still not entirely awake, the first thing out of his mouth is the first thought in his mind. “Please don’t leave.”
“...What?” Not even remotely prepared for that response, she finally looks up at him. As their eyes meet, reality sets in and time seems to slow.
When he takes a proper look at her, he completely forgets the entirety of the English language. Her hair is mussed from sleep, remnants of last night's makeup smudged under her eyes. She’d apparently had the mental faculties to change into her pyjamas the night previous, and while he’d seen her in those shorts often enough to control the urge to stare, something about her wearing his hoodie zipped over them was making him feel like a moron. He’d never seen anyone more beautiful in his life.
On the other side of the doorway, she’s having a very similar crisis. His sleep tousled hair only doubled her ever present urge to rake her fingers through it. And not only had he been in such a hurry to answer the door he hadn’t bothered to slip on a shirt, his joggers were also sitting dangerously low on his hips.
Their eyes snap back to each other's faces in tandem, both flushing almost comical shades of red.
“Did you mean what you said last night?” He asks hurriedly, heart pounding in his throat.
“I said a lot of things.” She wraps her arms around herself, laughing nervously. “Which part?”
He keeps his eyes fixed on hers, searching them for some clue to tell him what comes next.
Mustering more courage than she thought she was capable of, she answers honestly. “Yeah, I did. Every word.”
Mimicking his actions from the night before he extends both of his hands towards her, palms up.
She tilts her head quizzically, but places her hands in his. He uses them to pull her close enough their bodies are almost touching, guiding her arms to rest on his shoulders, releasing them to place one hand on her waist and the other on the side of her neck. She inhales sharply when he leans in, his thumb lightly stroking her jaw while her gaze flickers between his eyes and lips.
He’s studying her face like he never wants to forget a single detail, but he doesn’t get any closer. She’s lightheaded and pretty sure she’s going to die if he doesn’t kiss her soon, which is probably why it’s not until she sees the corners of his mouth twitch into a smile that she realises what he’s waiting for.
“Kiss me.” She breathes.
He doesn’t need to be told a third time.
He leans down and kisses her like he’ll never get the chance to do so again, like the world is falling to pieces around them and the only thing that can save them is the feeling of her lips against his.
The hand on the side of her throat slides back to bury itself in her hair, cradling the back of her head to take the strain off her neck from their notable difference in height. Her hands wander the expanse of bare skin across his back, mapping every muscle and scar like it’s the braille translation of his life story. He shivers under her touch, wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her body tight to his in a desperate attempt to fill the yawning pit within him that had grown larger with every day he believed he’d never get to hold her like this.
As she runs her hands down his sides to his hips he gasps involuntarily, deepening their kiss with enthusiasm. Driven by curiosity, she lets her nails graze his skin as she retraces her previous path. The noise he makes in response is downright sinful, but so is the feeling of his rapier-calloused skin against her back as he slips his hand under the hem of his hoodie. Her breath catches as his fingers trace featherlight patterns up and down her spine, feeling him grinning between kisses when he notices she’s not wearing anything beneath the grey material. When he nips at her lower lip, she drags her nails down his back, and the last of his restraint abandons him.
Both of his hands drop, fingers dimpling the flesh of her upper thighs. As in sync as they are in the field he’d never dared to imagine the same would apply to the bedroom, so he’s a little blown away when she understands his intentions immediately, jumping as he lifts her up to wrap her legs around his hips without breaking from each other. Now he’s the one craning his neck to capture her lips, the floor creaking beneath his feet as he crosses the short distance to the wall, pressing her back against it and groaning at the restrained whimper that slips free from her.
“Please don’t hold back. I want to hear you sing for me, my little Songbird.” He urges, adjusting his grip to slide his hands up her sides under his hoodie, palming one of her breasts and swiping a thumb experimentally across her skin to carefully catch one of her nipples between his thumb and the side of his forefinger. She finally breaks, back arching away from the wall, head falling back against it as she moans unabashedly. All of his strength threatens to leave him when she rolls her hips against his, dropping his free hand to grab at the plush of her ass and pull her impossibly closer as he whispers praise between frenzied kisses pressed to her throat. She buries her hands in his hair, gasping for air as his ministrations travel to her collarbones then slowly down the centre of her chest, placing an open-mouthed kiss to swell of her breast-
The front door slams open, startling them apart. There’s the sound of shuffling beneath them as someone kicks off their shoes.
“OI, MATE!” George’s voice calls from the base of the stairs, “Did you fix it?”
They look at each other, dazed and drunk off each other. A confused frown decorates her features, mouth falling open to ask him what the hell their other roommate is talking about. He shakes his head in exasperation, shooting her a look that reads ‘I’ll fill you in later’ and dropping his head to rest on her chest. They take as many seconds as they dare like that, her fingers combing through his hair soothingly as he wraps his arms around her back, basking in the warmth of her body against his. Reluctantly, he lifts his head and steps away from the wall, gently setting her back on her feet and pressing a kiss to her temple. She seems hesitant to move away from him at all, back to staring at her feet instead of looking at him. He’s known her for long enough to know she’s overthinking.
“Hey, look at me.” He slips his fingers beneath her chin, gently lifting her face to meet his concerned gaze. “What’s on your mind, darling?”
“I don’t-” She starts strong but stops suddenly, shifting anxiously. “I really don’t want this to be a one time thing, or - or just a way to blow off steam-”
He lets out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding, cradling her face and pressing a brief but searing kiss against her lips. She softens, melting into his touch.
“Good,” He murmurs as he pulls away, tucking her hair behind her ear and giving her a peck on the cheek like the one she’d given him the night before, “because I don’t think I can survive another day of not being able to kiss you.”
George chooses that moment to begin his ascent of the stairs. They break away from each other, struggling to make themselves presentable before he makes it to the landing. Anthony rushes to grab a shirt from the foot of the bed, throwing it over his head haphazardly She squeaks when she finds the zipper of his hoodie down to her navel, shooting him a teasingly chastising look when he snickers and crosses past her to greet their researcher in the hall, running his fingers through his hair in an attempt to tame it. She yanks the zip as high as it will go, trying to smooth her own hair as she approaches the bookshelf and grabs something at random. She throws herself into the armchair in the corner of his room just in time, flipping the book open to roughly the halfway point and staring intently at the page as George reaches the top step.
“Good morning!” Anthony greets him far too cheerfully, leaning against the doorframe in an attempt to obscure the other man’s view of his room.
“...Morning.” George replies, not even trying to disguise his attempts to peer around his boss. “How’d it go last night?”
“Um - fine! Yeah, just fine. Perfectly fine. Everything is… fine.” She closes her eyes, letting out a slow quiet sigh at his obvious nerves.
Adjusting the book to make sure it’s in his line of sight, she grits her teeth and bites the bullet. “Morning, Georgie!”
Lockwood looks over his shoulder at her in alarm, but at her reassuring nod he steps hesitantly out of the way so she’s in clear view.
George inspects her with narrowed eyes. “You are significantly less hungover than I’d expected.”
She winces, not able to fault him in the slightest for the disappointment in his voice. “Yeah, pretty sure it just hasn’t hit me yet. Sorry about that. It won’t happen again, Scouts Honour.”
“Why are you in Lockwood’s room?” His brow furrows almost imperceptibly.
She doesn’t miss a beat. “I was so drunk last night he was worried I was going to fall asleep on my back and choke on my own vomit, so he made me sleep in this ridiculously uncomfortable chair.”
Both men fix their eyes on her. Anthony looks horrified, while George looks strangely impressed. The bespectacled man studies her for another moment and she holds her breath, hoping he’d bought it. Shrugging a ‘fair enough’, he bids them a temporary farewell and walks into his own room, closing the door behind him.
She huffs a sigh of relief, closing her eyes and slumping back in the chair as the tension drains from her body. When she cracks an eye a few long moments later, Anthony is still standing in the doorway with the same look of horror plastered across his face.
“What’s wrong?” She asks, worry laced in every syllable.
“I didn’t even think of that! I could have let you die!” He seethes, throwing his hands up in annoyance at himself.
She has to fight the urge to laugh at him, focusing instead on gathering her strength to stand and walk over to take his hands in her own.
“I appreciate the concern, my love, but I wasn’t that drunk by the time you got me home.” She smiles fondly at him, lifting his hands to press soft kisses to each knuckle. When she glances up at him even his ears are flushed pink, looking at her with a lovesick smile.
“Call me that again?” He implores, pulling her against him.
With a quiet laugh, she drapes her arms over his shoulders before replying. “My love.”
They lose themselves in each other for another several minutes, only parting grudgingly at the rumble of his stomach and the threat of another interruption.
George waits until later that morning when Lucy, Kipps, and Holly have joined them and they’re all in the kitchen eating breakfast to comment on Anthony’s inside out shirt, and how impressed he is that the sixth member of their agency has learned to read upside down.
As Lucy slowly turns to look at them, eyes wide and jaw seemingly aiming to touch the floor, Anthony lets the red-faced young woman beside him hide her blush in his shoulder. For some reason, he can’t even bring himself to be annoyed. Grinning proudly, he winks at the Listener, causing her to shriek loudly and demand to know the full story.
When his girlfriend looks up to shoot him a warning look, he mimics zipping his lips. “Gentlemen don’t kiss and tell, Luce.”
Lucy’s demands are finally met five years later when James taps the side of his champagne flute with his knife, drawing the attention of the room full of guests to tell his favourite story about the bride and groom.
⤛⊹ 𝔣𝔦𝔫 ⊹⤜
taglist: @tessas4 @chloejaniceeee @shakespearseclipse @ettadear @kassandra1000
𝔉𝔬𝔯 𝔱𝔞𝔤𝔩𝔦𝔰𝔱 𝔪𝔞𝔫𝔞𝔤𝔢𝔪𝔢𝔫𝔱, 𝔱𝔞𝔭 [𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢]
#aislin writes#anthony lockwood x reader#lockwood and co#anthony lockwood#lockwood & co#lockwood and co netflix#lockwood x reader#lockwood x you#anthony lockwood fanfiction#anthony lockwood x fem!reader#x reader#reader insert#x female reader
216 notes
·
View notes
Note
Hii i wanted to tell you i loved that last chapter you dropped, I saw the tag major character death and immediately went ah. so it’s one of those fics. where jay dies and it’s just hurt hurt hurt as the last note. Ahhh just—they haven’t acknowledged each other as brothers yet your honor 💔 and Tim knows now (great pretending your found family aren’t also vigilantes acting from him) and Jason never knew, like peak potential. I can imagine he’s gonna go ??? who the fuck pulled my baby bird into the vigilante business and uh why?? without knowing (if this goes like we all know) that Tim was the one who wanted to honor him and keep Robin’s legacy alive. Also I can imagine the whole imaginary friend think goes back to a box at the back at his head?? Timmy was just getting warmer to the truth and Jay goes out to pull this stuff. classic. (me being annoyed) — Aww but really poor Jay I can imagine he’s never felt more spiteful of the fact that his powers don’t extend to phasing through things and not just walls. jay in my head: cursing under his breath how he just gets partial danny phantom adjacent abilities, i mean if he’s gonna have a power why not have it full pump I-can-walk-through-walls-disappear-and-fly package.
really just really excited where u take the fic, hope u don’t mind my rambling, just wanted to drop my thoughts 💜💜 also like take your time, i hope im not adding pressure or anything
Ohmygosh it's been so long since I've got an inbox on Tumblr!! And of course I don't mind because I'm ecstatic!!! I love hearing you guys' thoughts about my writing!!!
And Jay's death is like, such a constant in the fandom (and when he doesn't die, he still gets injured and traumatised so severely). And there was no way Tim would have let the Waynes know because if he had done that, they would have never, under any circumstances, let him go out to photograph anymore 😂😂
I actually did initially draft up his power to be able to phase through everything, but then I remembered all my evil plans for the series and I was like, skrttt~ STOP! And I had to nerf him 😅 Now I can picture a side story, or a small part of a fic of him cursing his power in Ethiopia 😈 (and why is partial danny phantom adjacent abilities so freaking funny 🤣)
Thank you so so much for the really fun and lovely inbox!!! I hope the direction of the series in the future will keep you interested 🥰🥰
#batfamily#batfam#batkids#tim drake#jason todd#dick grayson#bruce wayne#ao3#fanfiction#ao3 fanfic#batfam fic#alex answers#inbox
23 notes
·
View notes
Text
Random Drabble Of Luca!
Attention.
Disclaimer: i write for the personalities & characters portrayed, not the people behind the screen.
A/N: pulled this entire thing out my ass to get something posted :3 | I've been on partial hiatus again bc school related shit-
"...Are you done yettt?"
"Just about. Why?"
You stared over at your boyfriend, who was staring back at you with those gosh damn puppy eyes again. For someone meant to be big and scary, you enjoyed his energy: the sun to the room.
"I'm bored!" Luca replied smoothly, and you rolled your eyes. "Give me a few." "You said that last time-" "I mean it. Just another paragraph."
Luca grumbled softly, giving in. Or, that's what you thought. Being so deep into work, even you knew it'd be a lot longer than just a few minutes, maybe an hour at least. Typing away at your keyboard for the book draft you'd been working on, which had been brought on by Ike and you talking of a world the two of you could write together. This draft was filled with ideas you had to send over to the novelist.
15 minutes later, you felt arms sneak around your shoulders.
"Lucaaa.. i'm working-" "I know! But you neeeeed-" Luca let his words cut off for a moment, pulling your chair out and lifting you up with relative ease- "-a BREAK!"
"ACK- LUCA!" You laughed, playfully shoving at his chest. But the blonde would have none of it: adjusting you in his muscled arms so he held you bridal style, and began to leave your office room, mindful not to let you bump against anything.
"I was about to take a break yknow!"
"I know, but this is so much better. It's a poggier way of taking a break!"
He had carried you to your shared bedroom. "Poggier isn't a word, Luca-" "Ehh- it is now!"
He gently placed you down on the bed, and laid down beside you. Cuddling up close. "See? Pog!"
"...Oh, alright. It is very pog." You had long given up in your struggles: accepting your fate of being wrapped up tight in his arms. It wasn't a bad fate, either: he was warm, lovable, and also your boyfriend.
And you really did need that break.
A/N #2: [this note directed at another writer if they ever see it :) ]
Don't feel like being fancy today SO! but also! Upon reading through the latest luxiem tag.. i saw them. Neptune (I believe is their name?? i may have read the pinned msg wrong, they're also known as shu's armpit) wants to see more work! SO.. I figured I'd push out a short work since I'm down n ready. If you see this, HEYYY!
i also admire your like, skills of writing/hcing w the boys. I legit could never bc i get embarrassed as it is writing "fluffy" nsfw (as most can tell at quick glance, my page is mostly fluff)
#luxiem x reader#luca kaneshiro#luca kaneshiro x reader#vtuber#luxiem#ike eveland#shu yamino#ike eveland x reader#mysta rias#mysta rias x reader#niji en#shu yamino x reader#vox akuma#luxiem fluff#luxiem imagines#nijisanji en x reader#nijisanji#nijisanji en#nijisanji iluna#nijisanji x reader#vtuber x reader#vox akuma x reader
377 notes
·
View notes
Text
Twenty Questions for Fic Writers
Thank you for the tag @sneakyfox55! I don't normally do tag games, but this one looks really fun. (What author doesn't want the chance to ramble about their writing?) (This one is also copy/paste, so I'm less worried about clogging up people's dashes)
I'm going to put it under a cut since this is pretty long!
1. How many works do you have on AO3?
As of now? 9! (But I have more than 35 fics in progress in my drafts that aren't posted.)
2. What’s your total AO3 word count?
129,647! But like, triple that (or more) if you want to count unposted stuff.
3. What fandoms do you write for?
Undertale!
4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
1. Heart on the Table
2. How to Defeat a Human in 6 Easy Steps
3. faux pas
4. How to Comfort a Panicking Child
5. How to Help a Human in 2 Easy Steps
5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?
Yes!!! I love responding!!! I'm behind horribly right now because of my work's busy season, but I plan to catch back up! It's so fun to get to talk to people about the things I've poured my heart and soul into, you know? And I'm always glad to get to thank the people that took the time to leave a comment! It's a bit hard to keep up sometimes, though.
6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
"Is it Home Without You?" definitely. I'm still really proud of that fic, and it's part of a series with a happy ending, but the actual oneshot is the immediate aftermath of Gaster's lab accident from Sans's PoV.
So, uh. Dead dad that no one but you remembers (not even your little brother) is pretty angsty.
It's a step away from the norm for me, since normally I only write things with happy endings. But since this is part of a series that has a happy ending, I suppose my brain allowed me to end it off on a bittersweet (sad and angsty) note.
7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
This is really hard to say! I like big, happy endings, so most of my stuff gets them! Probably.... Hmmm. Either faux paus or How to Defeat a Human in 6 Easy Steps
8. Do you get hate on fics?
For the most part? No.
(And I will always be grateful for the kind people that have picked me back up after I've been shot down in the past.)
9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?
None you'll ever find under this username! I try to keep it family friendly here. ...Welllll, depending on if you count fics that tackle trauma and child murder in them family friendly.
10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?
I haven't written any cross fandom crossovers! ...I have, however, been guilty of writing cross fic crossovers (none posted). I like to make my characters from different fics interact with each other. I've also done some crossovers for fun with my friends, making our characters interact.
All still Undertale fandom, though!
The craziest one is probably "How to Adopt an Interdimensional Traveler" which may be posted at some point. It's a crossover between Heart on the Table, and my How To: series.
What, you're telling me Papyrus has TWO children to deal with now? (Here, have the first little bit of that because I love it. And I love Papyrus.)
Step One: Find out their name
“FRISK!”
Papyrus’s voice was not a shriek. No. He was perfectly composed as he stared down at the… little Frisk in front of him.
The very little Frisk.
There was a familiar thumping behind him as… his Frisk crashed down the stairs in their familiar clumsy way.
For all the elegance they displayed in battle, that did not tend to follow them home. He partially whirled around to face them, keeping… mini Frisk in his sight at the same time.
“What’s up, Dad?”
Mini Frisk made a small noise that may have been confusion as they rapidly looked between him and their larger counterpart.
“…Dad?”
Oh.
Hm.
Yes.
That was. A thing.
Apparently Papyrus had two children now.
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?
Not that I know! And I sure hope not!
12. Have you ever had a fic translated?
Nope! That would be cool as heck, though!
13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?
None that are posted! But I like to write with my friends, sometimes.
14. What’s your all time favourite ship?
Surprisingly! Not Undertale! (Though I do like Alphyne!)
Zukka! (Zuko x Sokka, Avatar the Last Airbender) I've loved that ship for years, and even though I'm not really in the AtLA fandom anymore, it still has a very close place in my heart.
15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?
Hmmmm. Again, nothing posted. I don't post fics unless they have a first draft completely written to prevent that kind of thing.
(Though, I do rewrite stuff, and that can cause pretty big posting delays. But if for some reason I can't find the motivation to finish my rewrites, I could always just slap my first draft up so that it's not completely unfinished before I'd abandon it completely.)
Of my fics not posted, though? I've got a fic called "Ghost of You" which is a fated soulmate dusttale!papyrusXreader fic. I hope I can finish it one day, but... well. I'm not sure if I will or not.
16. What are your writing strengths?
Characterization, and internal dialogue, I think! I like to think I'm pretty good at writing a character in such a way that even if you pick just a sentence at random, you know who's head you're in.
Or, perhaps my strength is hurt/comfort in general...
17. What are your writing weaknesses?
It used to be dialogue, though I'm working to get better at that! I also struggle sometimes when it comes to making sure that the pace is engaging and that we aren't just stuck in someone's internal thoughts for 5 paragraphs. Gotta break that up with some stuff actually happening!
18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?
Very cool, and a great way to show characters that speak other languages than the one you are in the PoV of!
19. First fandom you wrote for?
Well... the fic itself is long gone, but! I wrote for Ouran Highschool Host Club when I was like 12.
20. Favourite fic you’ve written?
DON'T MAKE ME CHOOSE! HOW COULD YOU ASK ME TO CHOOSE BETWEEN MY CHILDREN? MY BABIES!
...Heart on the Table has a special place in my heart though.
No pressure tags (only if you want! this is just for fun!): @lizavet @timeofjuly @humankk and anyone that wants to!
Also... Shall I dare? invoke the potential wrath of a god(ess)?
I dare. I'm curious about the answers (if the goddess does deign to answer this mortal/jk) @llamagoddessofficial (please feel free to just ignore if you want!)
9 notes
·
View notes
Text
haven't done a writing update in a minute, outside of doing wip memes, so --
meet in the middle, chapter 26, the very last chapter -- I think I last counted this at 35 scenes, now I'm counting it at 33, with three of those scenes not having been placed in the outline, i'm pretty sure i've shuffled and consolidated some things, also i may just be off in my counting, who the fuck even knows what i'm doing. Anyway, 7 of those are almost entirely complete, 13 are partially done with 4 of those being more than half done, and 13 are not started.
damn. usually breaking it down like that helps me realize i'm further along than i thought but uhhhhh this really just reminds me how much further i've got. and it's been over a year. trust me, no one is more frustrated at how long this is taking or wants this fic to be done more than i do. cheerleading is. welcome if you want to. That said, all told, writing and outlining and notes and all, the draft is already 8k/30 pages, so it's not nothin, and I do really love some of the scenes I'm finally getting to writing/finishing, and I feel like I've got a bit of momentum. Just gotta keep coming back. 2024 guys, 2024. (knock on wood)
Other things I'm working on - you think a year and change is a while, the Believe AU series hasn't been updated in two+ years cause whoops, that did in fact grow a plot and an ending and it took a hot minute to figure that out. There are four fics left, and the very last one is with my first reader! (thanks M!)
Things that I've started more recently include two Lucius & Fayeth fics, for High Rollers Aerois, inspired by my relisten through (which I've almost finished up!) The first is actually Fayeth & Aridan centric, tentatively titled 'for I cannot turn yet', structured around three scenes, one of which is done, one of which is partially done, and one of which is still notes
The second Lucius & Fayeth fic is tentatively titled 'many rings', which has four scenes mostly/partially written, and then a big ending montage and set piece I still need to break down
As for more things I've been working on for a long ass time - I started 'we both are' shortly after watching the kenobi series, so well over a year now - it's a reva & obi-wan centric fic, to absolutely no one's surprise. I've been making some progress on it recently, it's got 3 scenes pretty much complete, 8 scenes partially finished with 4 of those more than halfway done, and 5 scenes not started.
Plus, a bonus - if you've heard me mention Somnolence or #somnolence fic fuel, that's my post-canon Insomniac Spider-Man 2 fic concept, that's currently just 3k/9pages of notes and bits of writing, but hey, it has a title and a summary - it, in fact, weirdly had a title and a summary before i managed to put a single word of it on page. if you like the weird mindscape/dreamscape kind of stuff i've done in a fair few of my fics, it's going to have lots of that, and if you looked at the spider man 2 symbiote/symbiote hive mind stuff and thought 'this could be weirder and hornier', it should be up your alley XD
anyway, writing! it's a thing i do sometimes.
11 notes
·
View notes
Note
Director's commentary on a scene of your choice 👹
Heyyyy! Just for you, I'm going to dive into the original backstory of Miss Wren, and a scene that I had written long ago but ended up scrapping and sadly, no longer have.
Originally Wren was going to be raised by Nords. I had actually based this on some of the early sketches I had done of her, in which she had longer, braided hair, which I thought was fitting of Nordic culture. My very first rough draft of the Raven Rock chapter included this idea, complete with dialogue from Wren such as "by Ysmir" and a brief exchange of Teldryn telling her she sounds like a Nord, and her responding that her family were Nords.
I even went so far as to write a whole scene where her Nord family found her when she was very young, which is the scene I deleted a long time ago. It began with a Nord couple with a young son of their own doing some work outside the house one day, when a commotion was heard in the distance. The father (whose name I forgot, but he did have one) went to investigate and found a wagon being attacked by bandits. After scaring them off (because bandits are cowards), he found the driver, a Dunmer man, riddled with arrows and very obviously dead. In the back of the wagon were two other dead Dunmer, one being a younger child and the other a woman, with the only survivor being a baby girl who was partially shielded by her mother's body. The baby was of course Wren, and upon discovering she was still alive, the Nord man realized he didn't have the heart to just leave her there, so he took her home. His family initially disagreed with taking in an Elf child and suggested they take her into the nearest town to give away to a more fitting family, but by the end of the chapter he had talked both his wife and son into keeping her, and they had all grown a little attached to their new family member.
After a while I decided I didn't like the "raised by Nords" idea and decided instead to have her raised by a Dunmer family but one that lived in Skyrim, and that she would run off later to grow up with bandits. Sometimes I regret changing this, as the idea was pretty cute. It's a theme I may use in future non-TES writing, though. For now, you are all stuck with the version of Wren that I've been writing :P
#ask games#my writing#my fic#wren indoran#i'm actually peeved now that i gave this idea up#i kinda want to reewrite this discovery scene because now i know i could do it justice#skyrim#dunmer
5 notes
·
View notes
Note
if u dont mind sharing, how do u recommend learning chinese? (since i think knowing the endgoal might help: it is more to read c-novels than to communicate in chinese, though reading itself can theoretically to the latter lol)
I can't really pretend to be an expert on how to learn; I really only know what has been working for me. However I am.... both autistic and unemployed/riding on savings, so what's worked for me to get to where I am has depended on having both a lot of free time and an obsessive ability to focus on a single project for very long periods of time.
Anyway, I started simply, just through a mobile language learning app (I used lingodeer which had been recommended to me, but it costs money and I'm sure duolingo works fine too). Eight months later, I got pretty much through what the app considered to be HSK 3-4 (I doubt that would actually count as HSK 3-4 though) when I spontaneously started a private translation project.
I think translation is a better tool for learning than just trying to passively read the source text, especially in the beginning, partially because it is a lot of work figuring out the meanings of sentences from the definitions of words and some grammar skills, and translation gives you something to show for it at the end--it's a motivating factor. In addition, when you get invested in the translation, you dig a little further, and end up learning more that way.
When I started, I had first run all the characters through yabla's chinese-english dictionary so that I got a 'pre-digested' rundown of words (in that yabla decided on how to break down the string of characters into words/chengyu). However, I think doing it that way ended up making it so I didn't pick up words quite as fast, because I was focusing more on the definitions of the words than the Chinese characters themselves.
To more effectively use translation as a tool for learning, I'd highly recommend going straight from the source text and using the zhongwen extension (works both on chrome and firefox) to highlight characters to see their definition. This method has the benefits of 1) allowing you to see the characters as they are in the sentence, and 2) forcing you to choose whether to look up a word or not, rather than just automatically translating every word.
(In fact, after finishing a first draft of my first translation project, I went back and retranslated/edited the parts I'd done with the 'yabla method' using the 'zhongwen extension method' so it'd all be at the same level of quality)
Another tip I'd recommend for retaining vocabulary is to sound things out to yourself. It’s much easier to remember which characters are which if you remember how they’re pronounced, and eventually you can start to suss out the differences between characters that look the same (“right, that’s 睁 - zhēng, with the eye radical, means to open one’s eyes. and that’s 静 - jìng, with radical 青 (that green/blue/black word), means calm”). The zhongwen extension also gives you characters' pinyin and tones (and given that you've already gotten far enough learning through an app, you ought to be able to know how to pronounce characters correctly given pinyin with tones). The policy I've begun having is to sound out all lines of narration in my head, and sound out all lines of dialogue out loud.
I hadn't really started sounding things out on a regular basis until my current translation project, cuz it really does take a lot of time in the beginning when you hardly know any of the characters in an average line. But it really does make you improve a lot faster, I think. But, if you think it's a drag in the beginning, you could maybe just sound out dialogue, or particularly important lines.
So, the timeline for me was basically, April 2020 I started learning Mandarin through an app. December 2020 I started my first translation project, and I could probably read about 20% of characters in an average line. I finished that project in October 2021, at which point I could probably understand about 70% of characters in an average line. Then in January 2022 I started my current translation project, and by now (about a month away from finishing that project) I can probably understand about 95% of characters in an average line--which is now enough to read the raws at a reasonable pace, just occasionally hovering the zhongwen extension over a word I don't know.
#ask brim#anon#I also won't take up another project after my current one#since now I can read the raws just fine#and I uh#need to find a job and stuff 😓
11 notes
·
View notes
Note
Oooh, is little fires by any chance about Leafpool & Squirrelflight? Or the firekin or something?
Also, regarding ifv, what's one thing you're excited to get to?
little fires is actually an oc fic of mine! it's a rework of something i started way way way back in like 2014 and wrote. a very surprising number of words of and got very little plot done lmao
plus the original draft was just way too edgy and meandering so i just decided to leave it as it is up (bc i got some feedback that it was really meaningful to some folks and i still get an errant kudos here and there on it)
basic plot so far is that emberpaw is an intersex tortie amab cat who is in hardcore egg mode for a While bc the clans as i'm writing them have a more rigid gender divide, her dad died after uttering either a prophecy or just weird cryptic shit (which mottlestream was just Known To Do), some shenanigans happen, both emberpaw and her best friend tawnypaw experience deeply traumatic loss fresh into their apprenticeship, and decide that they should go to The Starplace, which their old medic talked about before she died.
long and short of it is that this is a place past highstones where, allegedly, "the stars touch the earth" and you can talk to starclan directly, and the two of them get it in their head that if they go to starclan directly they could plead their case for starclan to send a sign and stop the fighting at sunningrocks, which caused both of them to lose their loved ones.
it's intended to be a coming-of-age adventure story and i've let all the characters rotate in my brain since like 2014 so even the side characters have had a lot of time to develop as people!! so it's fun to write about their adventures and their internal dynamics.
there's not a lot written for it currently, partially bc of having so many other wips (and ifv grabbing me by the fucking jugular and forcing it into existence before anything else) and partially bc i started working on it a little before nanowrimo this year and had to switch gears to work on my novel. but it will be finished at some point! i'm especially motivated after figuring out goosepaw's medic name and tawnypaw's warrior name, which both eluded me for Years.
3 notes
·
View notes
Note
hey sexy! just stopping by to tell you that reading your feedback on "I'm At Home" the other day literally had me melted, all over the FLOOR. 🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡 I can't tell you how hard I was cackling from happiness while reading it. I don't deserve youuuuuuuuuuu
anyway, just wanted to give you a huge THANK YOU. I ended up re-reading the whole fic myself over the last few days, and then i just now finished adding 5x more drama and angst and goodass soap opera shit to the sequel I'm writing for it, and honestly, thank you so much for kick-starting my motivation to write. I am not by any means done with "Abandon," but it's at a quiet spot for a second, and the next chapter is just a long beast of a thing (mostly because it shifts through everyone's pov at least once - kakashi's, rin's, obito's, and minato's, plus a new character, for one hot second, and it's taking me forever to make it sit right and be consistent). So anyway the revisions over there have been slow, and I didn't know I needed a break but I really needed a break, and I loved having a good reason to revisit "At Home" and write more for that one. i'll post the first chapter of the sequel pretty soon, i think. I've already finished most of the fic, at least all/most of the crying scenes, and the yelling-at-each-other scenes, and the talking-it-out scenes, and the lighthearted-banter scenes. Now I just have to finish writing the screaming-and-writhing-in-awful-terrible-pain scenes, which oughtta be fun!! (i almost always save those for last, like they're the writing dessert, omfg send help). plus the follow-up/aftercare scenes, where hopefully everybody gets bandaids who needs them, hopefully with disinfectant this timme rip, rin, i love you, but it's a lot more fun to write ShittyMedic!Obito
anyway, because it's me, you know there's gonna be a whole lot more angst, whump, and fleshwounds than is strictly necessary, but just fyi thanks to you and one particular small thing you mentioned in your comment, a lightbulb went off in my head earlier and so now there's also just one more extra notch of all that good stuff than is strictly necessary. after re-reading your comment, i wrote a new line into the sequel draft, re-read the line, and was just like: "yikes." poor kakashi rip haha.
ANYWAY! i love you very much for getting back to me within 5-7 business days! no promises but I will try to do the same with the next fic update 🥰😊
heyyyy!! once again i'm really glad to hear my comment made you so happy, it was such an insanely good read i couldn't resist. did you know i almost copied the whole thing into google docs? i thought i was going to exceed the comment character limit and i would have to post two comments instead of one, but honestly if i had you would've deserved both comments bc 'I'm At Home' is fucking stellar. 100/10. gonna be rereading this one.
dude im SOO excited for the sequel. i can't wait :D i can't wait for the update to Abandon either, i love to sit back after the day is over and see you've updated Abandon so i've got another chapter to read before bed. its like a bedtime story shittymedic!obito my BELOVED. honestly the scene in I'm At Home where he stitched kakashi's wounds and gagged and squealed the whole time was one of my favorites, partially just because of how over-the-top disgust was but also because even though he was so grossed out he still took care of kakashi's wounds. I love hearing these updates for both Abandon and I'm At Home!
"thanks to you and one particular small thing you mentioned in your comment, a lightbulb went off in my head earlier and so now there's also just one more extra notch of all that good stuff than is strictly necessary." < oh this pleases me greatly. this pleases me VERY MUCH. evil laughing rn
"i wrote a new line into the sequel draft, re-read the line, and was just like: "yikes."" < i CANNOT wait to find out what it is because my reaction will most likely also be 'yikes' and also *evil laughter*
don't push yourself too hard!! i can always wait for an update <3 but i am also looking forward to it!
#ard answers#always love seeing you in my ask box my friend#it makes my day#also been thinking abt writing an obito redemption fic#but if i did it might end up as long as Abandon#and long projects like that always intimidate me#poisoned at the roots was the first longfic w multiple chapters that i ever completed#but apprehension will get me no where perhaps i just need to jump right in
4 notes
·
View notes
Text
These Two Weeks In "Time & Again" #14: My Feelings For Facebook Are Still Surprisingly Mutual... And I'm Getting There!
A big announcement! The artist contracted a wee bit cold 🤧
This is sad, for it broke my impressive "I never get sick!" streak that lasted for, like, 7 years or so. I guess I'm not gonna get that notorious achievement anymore.
And fine, see if I care! I don't like achievements anyway (which is, perhaps, pretty clearly stated in Chapter 3 😁)
But don't get me wrong: under any circumstances pathetic excuses such as "having a cold or something alike" most certainly do not set me free from working on "Time & Again" 😤 They might hinder my progress, which is truly unfortunate, since the work is almost done - but that will not stop me, by any means. *for some reason, I really wanna put that weird "shake fish" smiley from DeviantArt in here*
Trying to prettify and overhaul, completely or partially, the social pages for the upcoming release of Chapter 5 is not easy at all... A long time ago - and that means well over a month ago - I submitted a name change request for my art page on Facebook, to better reflect the current obsession priority and certain ethics of the author in this great adventure. I was told that it might take up to 3 days for the changes to take effect, if approved.
But it's been already that long, and there's still no change, nor can I submit a new name change request. I mean, I absolutely don't mind "Art by Dasha W. Frost" as a page title, but, honestly, "Official Time & Again Graphic Narrative Page" would simply be better right now, while I'm still working on this "genre abomination experiment of a graphic novel". That's a little bit sad to me.
So this is where that post title comes from. Facebook seems to really dislike me - but you know what?! My feeling towards it is truly mutual 🤣
Somehow, I believe, constant dissatisfaction with the social netwroks has always been one of the most prominent topics I wrote on back in the day, when I used to have a secret blog on Wordpress. However, it's getting a tad too old for me (not the blog, but the topic; the blog is long gone), so I don't want to keep up with the "tradition" and I'll just move on without it.
... also, how I accidentally misspelled "networks" in the second last sentence really makes me think of yet another one Ultravox song. So, once I realized I typo'd, I just decided to leave it as is, for the sake of fun association. (I sure somehow became a big fan of this band over the course of, like, 5 months 😅)
But on a more positive note!!! I finished up all the teasers for Chapter 5 that I had in mind (and one of them you've already seen in the previous post 😁), and that's one of the biggest and the most important things I've done for "Time & Again" within the last two weeks. W00t and doot!!!
You know what else happened?.. I finished up all the new inner covers (also known as Vorsatz und Nachsatz in book printing ☝) and the main cover for Chapter 5! And I really like the results 😁
(some snippets of the progress go below)
I guess you will see the finished product soon enough 😁
And yet again, I want to praise Krita's Assistant Tool: I used Vanishing Point assistant to draw a better urban perspective for the cover art. I think it turned out pretty good and significantly less crooked. Haha)))
I also finished up the author's letter that will be included into the chapter as a bonus material. I started writing it long ago, gradually adding more and more to it as the time went by. This is not what I usually do, for, at times, writing in segments might quickly become a disaster for me. Even writing future snippets/drafts of the blog posts in here often represents a sort of challenge to me - although I clearly seem to magically succeed somehow. (yay? 🥳 I guess?..)
But nevertheless, this is what happened to the author's letter/afterword for Chapter 5. And it turned out good... but big 😅 However, after an attempt to figure out how to make it shorter... I simply decided to keep it as is. Because WHATEVER! You can read the whole thing if you want. It's moderately entertaining after all 😁 Or you can skips some parts in it. Or you can skip the whole thing (because you probably came here for the artworks anyway, right?..). I don't care. I just did what I thought would be good and what makes sense to me, as an author. That's all, deal with it! 😎 The readers are not obligated to like everything 😁
Also, the author's letter/afterword turned out very sincere.
... Heh, as if I can ever be insincere? That's ridiculous.
"Then, what's left now?", you ask me.
Good question. Indubitably.
The right answer is: not much. Not much at all. Just one more session of proofreading (damn, I hate hate hate discovering typos already after I posted stuff! 😫), and tiny touch-ups here and there, and assembling the last bonus pages from the materials I have on hand.
And I also need to write a short dialogue for a certain background. An ugly dialogue, I must admit. But I'll rickroll my sleeves up (for realsies), and I'll do it. Preferably in one sitting. Perhaps even today. 💪
And shortly after that I'll finally initiate the last stage of work: I'll recut it into a webcomic. And I'll finish up drawing all the extra designs that I need for the itch.io release.
I ask myself this question more and more frequently lately: how did Lothar even end up as a protagonist after all?.. That's quite a turn of events. Originally created in late 2014 - mid-2015 as a side character/antagonist for a story about catpeople that I never happened to finish writing (and not only that, but apparently, I never even posted any substantial artwork of the catpeople Freia and Fjolvarr together, so I cannot show almost any proof... sadness), Lothar has sure come a long way. He's been through a lot - thanks to me. I never really asked his permission; I mostly just did whatever pleased me as a writer/artist. And now... we can see him as a main character in an effing blooooody graphic novel - a format that I haven't even been familiar with up until a few years ago! That is quite a change!!! And what the peck even happened to me as a content creator? I think I possibly lost my mind.
But again... Lothar has sure been through a lot in the last few earthly years.
And my first comedic one-shot is probably gonna be about that.
But I think that's enough talking for today. The important piece of a dialogue won't be finished today if I keep talking. See you next time!
0 notes
Text
New Years goals I guess
So, this is that time when everyone is all oh, I'm going to work out and do all these other things I don't normally do, and well - I'll do them this time because this year I mean it!
I genuinely applaud those who do take charge of their lives and do something to help out their health or some other aspect of their lives. I've been there and done that; it's not easy. While, yes, I will be getting my working out/walking back to where it needs to be as I struggled with it more after the move and loss of my workout area being close by and just the overall state of my mind at that time.
For me though the real thing I will be focussing on this year is
SELF AWARENESS!
(this is gonna get all sorts of personal and all that, but the goal parts are after the paragraphs)
I didn't realize that an event that happened early in 2023 affected me as much as it did for most of last year. The loss of my 19-year-old nephew was, of course, world-shattering when it happened, and I really was not aware of how much it was still affecting me later in the year until a month after the first time (since the funeral) we went back and visited family. We had gone through a bunch of other changes in the months surrounding that time: we moved, were gone for a month, and then came back to have to finish getting the new house ready - so it was a crazy time, and I did not realize until it was too late that the reminders of the loss from earlier in the year were slowly messing with me until it was too late.
From the time I was young, I have always been the person who wasn't really able to fall apart; while still a kid myself, I was practically raising my 3 siblings, and childhood abuse and crappy childhoods of all sorts really do stay with you forever - no matter how much you think you move past them. For me, that's always been evident in how I focus more on others than myself, which is how I was unable to truly see how I was doing; too much focus on how others were doing.
So, while working on my self-awareness, this will also be the first year in quite a bit of time where I am setting goals that are all about myself. These are goals that concern things I want to focus on for myself. Revolving around things that have always been significant in my life - even when I wasn't doing them as much. Some of them are things that I really just need to remind myself of or are a bit vague, and others are more defined. - but they're all for me!
READING WRITING AND WATCHING
Reading
Complete (or delete) marked for later on ao3 (some have been on there for lots of years
At least 2 books from TBR a month
Any additional reading that makes me happy
DNF is ok – if a book is not doing it for ya ok to not finish
Writing
Complete a first draft of the book I'm currently working on – even if crappy
Post a fanfic a month and share it on social places (well, the ones where I share fandom things)
Any additional writing that makes me happy
Watching
Only enough TV - it doesn't have to be a distraction from other things don't want to deal with.
If it doesn’t bring joy – you don’t need to finish watching it
A movie in the theater monthly (as long as something is playing want to see)
So, putting this out here with unnecessary extra personal stuff, but the goals are at least partially fandom-based so they can go here - especially since this is most likely where I'll be talking about the things as I do them.
#new years goals#new years thoughts#things that make ya who you are#things to work on#self awa#self care#love yourself
0 notes
Text
Now that I've wrapped my head around what I'm doing, i realized I need an alternating POV so I get to rewrite two scenes from Armand's POV
So I'm stashing the original rough draft versions here in case that doesn't work out in the long term
===
Daniel checked the classroom number on his notepad. A poster advertising auditions for <i>Phantom of the Opera</i> covered the door. Daniel knocked.
“Enter,” a voice called out from deep within the room.
Daniel blinked and then did just that without thought.
Armand looked up from his desk, their gaze meeting. His dark eyes widened a moment and his lips parted. His mind seemed to spin for a moment and then he said, “Are you Mr. Molloy?”
Daniel could not tear his gaze away. He opened his mouth and closed it. Something stirred within him but he pushed it down quickly as he entered the room. “Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “You must be Mr. Armand.”
“That’s what the kids call me. To adults, I’m just Armand.” He got up from his desk and crossed the room to offer Daniel his hand.
Daniel took it. Armand’s grip was firm and tight. Armand’s hand lingered and then he let go slowly. “No last name?” Daniel asked.
“No one can pronounce it,” Armand said. He returned to the desk and picked up a stack of papers. He handed them to Daniel. “These are your daughter’s assignments from this week.”
Daniel took the papers, their fingers brushing in the process. Armand remained close as Daniel flipped through the assignments. Many were only partially done and a few were completely blank with only Jess’ name across the top. “Jesus.”
“I’ve heard from her other teachers that this is a habit,” Armand said. “If this continues, she’ll have to leave the school.”
Daniel sighed. “She’s even failing art class. She draws all the time.”
“She’s on top of the reading and a leader in discussions,” Armand said, “but she also seems distracted.”
Daniel nodded. He certainly kept thinking about how closer Armand stood, how all he could smell was a faint scent of cologne. “I’ll talk to her about it.” He looked away from Armand. His eyes found their way to a photo on the desk. Armand stood in the center of several people who looked like they were celebrating something back in university.
Armand followed his gaze. “That’s my theater troupe. We run the community theater on Saturdays and then go out to the club once the show’s over.”
“Seems lively,” Daniel said.
“You should take in a show sometime and sit in the front row. I’ll look for you,” Armand said.
Daniel wondered if Armand would really notice him despite the glare from the stage lights. He mentally shook himself. He should not be thinking about taking Armand up on this offer. “I’ll think about it,” he said despite himself.
Armand smiled and guided Daniel to the door with a hand on his back. “I look forward to it,” he said almost in Daniel’s ear.
Daniel nodded and exited the room. The door closed behind him. A shiver traversed his body. He took several deep breaths and looked at the papers in his arms and immediately the thrill left his body. It was time to collect the girls and leave.
===
The new routine was easy to adapt. On weekdays, Daniel woke early, wrote until his stomach could not take it anymore, had lunch, worked on other things, and then kept track of the girls after school until Alice returned home at night. On Friday nights, he took the girls home with him to his two-bedroom apartment. On Saturdays, they found fun things to do and he took a break from writing. By Saturday night, the girls were back with Alice so they could go to church on Sundays. Daniel devoted his Sundays to research for his next article. Mandy was still smoking, but smarter about where she kept her cigarettes. Jess managed to complete her assignments. Daniel made more progress on his book. It was routine. It was monotonous. It lent well to writing.
The air had a fall chill to it now. The moon hung low on the horizon. Daniel put his hands in his pockets, one arm around his laptop bag slung across his body. People passed him and paid him no mind. He stopped at a crosswalk and waited for a light. Someone’s arm brushed his. Daniel glanced at them and blinked.
Armand looked back at him. “Good evening, Mr. Molloy.”
Daniel stared longer than he could have. They both started walking in the sea of people cross the street. “Hey.” He paused. “You can call me Daniel.” It was weird otherwise like an episode of an old 50’s sitcom.
Armand nodded towards a nightclub nearby. The line stretched down the sidewalk even though it was a weekday. “Have you ever been to Night Island?”
“No,” Daniel said. “Is it good?”
“There’s no dress code. Everyone is welcome.” Armand kept watching him but did not walk into a single person or object in their path. “The Saturday before Halloween is their best night. Everyone goes in costume.”
Daniel glanced back at the line. Alice and his editor both encouraged him to get back out there lately. He made a note to look it up the next time he was online. He remembered the photo on Armand’s desk. “So you like costumes and theatrics.”
“I like many things,” Armand said. He touched Daniel’s arm. “This is where I leave. Let’s find each other again.” He headed to an apartment complex nearby. It was only a block away from Daniel’s apartment.
Daniel watched him go and let out a long low sigh. He could still feel Armand’s fingers on his arm. He was already considering going to Trinity Gate. He was losing his mind.
#adventures in fic writing#i knew i should have alternated them from the get go but i didn't trust myself enough when i began writing last night
0 notes
Text
It's been a while since my last aside so I felt like sharing what I've been working on in my free time! I promise I'm not lazy, I'm just busy and also really like starting new projects halfway through working on 8 other projects for some reason haha
Speaking of starting something new when I haven't finished something I started previously, Minh and I were planning on making a collab Shulkelia one shot for Valentine's Day! Obviously that didn't pan out haha but it's still being worked on and it's extremely cute and fun :) Hopefully it will be ready to post sooner than later! And I also will hopefully be able to work on Constellations soon as well!! (Seriously I feel. SO. bad about my hiatus, especially since I know how many interesting and fun rough-draft ideas we brainstormed up for it that are just waiting to be finalized and shared with the world!!)
Another thing I wanted to do for Valentine's Day but extremely missed the boat on was mass dumping the few good NSFW Shulkelia pieces on here (with a planned warning ahead of time as well as copious tagging and hiding under readmores, of course!), including a full translation of a doujin! However, it being a nearly 20-page comic with dialogue and onomatopoeia all over the place meant I couldn't go the normal route of putting the translation below the art, it would just be way too messy and confusing. So, I decided to open up Photopea and replace the Japanese text with my translation! I felt bad about editing someone else's work (still do haha) but there was just no other way to do it, there is. SO so much onomatopoeia in there that it would be a nightmare to do it any other way. But that fact also contributed to why I still have yet to finish the translation: I got wayyy too ambitious in my typical perfectionist way, and decided to use the clone tool to edit out the hiragana and katakana handwriting for the onomatopoeia and place English text in their places, rather than just put it in small, parenthetical text next to the original writing like manga translations typically do. And oh my GOD I should never have done that there are literal HUNDREDS of characters I had to painstakingly edit out and I'm STILL not even done yet no no no... But I'm so close to finishing it!! I have only a couple pages left and then it's good to go!! Expect to see it along with the other NSFW art of them (again, with multiple warnings far ahead of time plus careful tagging to make sure you won't see it if you don't want to!!) in the near future!
Not XC related at all, but my most recent project has been making an Ao3 site skin (and, in the process, learning how CSS works) and it's been really satisfying! It's nothing super fancy, but it does create a noticeable improvement from the default (in terms of clarity/organization/readability, no offense intended at all of course!) and I'm very pleased with it so far! Once it's done I'll share it here, complete with notes on what each piece is doing to the layout and how, so anyone can use it and tweak it how they like! :)
I unfortunately haven't made any more progress on Xenoblade 3, sorry to say. And actually... it's partially because I'm worried that I'll end up liking Noah so much that I'll get even more distracted from writing Shulkelia or Xenoblade 1 in general haha... Like I'd never give up on that of course, 1 and its characters will always have a special place in my heart! But I can see myself getting swept away by The New Guy TM, much like I do with new project ideas popping into my head...
My FFXIV x Xenoblade 1 crossover has made some good progress! I've now finalized the outfits for over half of the characters I plan on making, after hours and hours of trying different chestpieces and dyes to get them as close to their canon outfits as possible! In fact, maybe I could share a little more about what exactly I'm doing, to show how I was having too much fun and made it a bigger thing than it had to be, to help explain why it's taking so long haha:
So originally the idea started out as "what FFXIV job best suits the playstyle/archetype of each of XC's playable characters?" (and I have a whole host of notes in my head about why that is from both a gameplay/kit perspective and a fandom-y General Vibes/Aesthetic perspective, which I will for sure post along with the pics). And if I could draw well, it probably would've ended there: I'd just have made some art of the cast posing with their weapons and call it done. But since 1) I can't draw the things I see in my head like I want to and 2) I like to over-complicate things for fun, I decided to pile onto this idea by not only adding more characters of (XC SPOILERS!!!) Alvis, Egil, Meyneth, and Zanza to the roster (including in terms of what jobs suit them each and why!) but also recreate everyone in-game!
(I really wanted to do Dickson as well, but unfortunately there are absolutely zero mustache options that look like his :< There's only one that's even remotely similar, but the face is completely wrong for him (what facial features look like are tied to faces, for some reason; the Mustache Facial Feature creates a different type of mustache depending on which Face option you pick) so there's no way to make a character that looks sufficiently like him, at least to my standards. Maybe one day they'll add one that fits...? If they do I will for sure make Gunbreaker Dickson a reality!)
This resulted in me needing to not only sit down for hours in XIV's character creator ensuring every detail was as close a match to their designs as possible, but also opening up 8000 tabs in Eorzea Collection and looking through every. single. last. glamour option. in the game for each. and. every. slot. for each. and. every. character. to find out how closely I could translate their weird (affectionate) XC clothes into weird (affectionate) FF clothes.
Combine that with my stubbornness in wanting them to look as accurate as possible resulting in making two different outfits per character based on whether or not they can equip/glam the gear as the job that suits them most, (plus the fact that I'm doing [again, SPOILERS!!!] Mecha-Fiora in addition to Homs!Fiora as well as having three [three!] different job options for Shulk based on varying levels of both XC and XIV spoilers to avoid ruining twists for either game), and the fact that I went a step further and decided to also make alternate-race versions for the main party (that sounds... bad lmao. fantasy races, like elves and catboys and such) like half if-these-characters-were-instead-created-by-the-XIV-designers-in-an-alternate-timeline-what-race-would-they-probably-make-them-judged-by-me-like-their-jobs-on-both-lore-and-Vibes-TM and half if-the-XC-gang-existed-irl-and-played-XIV-what-would-they-make-their-characters-look-like, and reminder that each of these versions have two different outfit variants and each outfit needs a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 7 separate pieces each that also need to be dyed and have multiple different options to try on for every character and... it took a teeeeny bit longer than I was expecting to get through haha.
But that's not at all to say it's a chore to get through; it's certainly been a process yes, but I've been having a lot of fun the whole time :) Finally getting every element just right, from all the details in character creation down to their eyebrow shape to finding the best option for every armor slot dyed just the right color, seeing it all come together and actually look quite a bit like the character is so satisfying! I can't wait to share them all, I hope someone out there enjoys the results as much as I did creating them! :) Oh, and I also will be making a glam list for each outfit as well as sharing my notes on what I picked in the character creator, so if you want to do an in-game/WoL cosplay as someone or maybe even make an alt named after one based on my recreation of them then it'll be easy for you! :)
Even though I haven't been keeping up with my fanfic writing as much lately, I do still get little ideas for things quite often and am typing them down in my doc for later! I have a gigantic backlog of things I could write: fanfics long and short, Shulkelia fics and Genfics, non-fanfic concepts both XC-related and not... rest assured, even if I'm not posting on here or Ao3 my mind is always buzzing with something and I'm always wanting to create more!
#aside#xenoblade spoilers#xenoblade chronicles spoilers#oh also don't forget about my voice line project!! that will be coming in june!! :)#is there anything i forgot...? uhh i want to do a melia and/or shulk cosplay someday#my bf has a monado prop and everything haha#i like making my own cosplays as close to from-scratch as possible#but i'm not great at sewing plus the xc outfits are outrageously detailed so idk if that'll pan out haha#oh and speaking of xc and my bf having stuff from it#i managed to snag an unopened(!!!) limited edition xc 1 that came with a special red classic controller!!!!! the european exclusive!!!!#i got it for him for his bday but i mean i paid for it and i live with him so it's sort of mine as well haha#it's very surreal to actually have and see it esp since it's near-mint condition...#thank you to whoever kept it all these years and was willing to sell it and ship it overseas!!#we will take extremely good care of it forever!!
0 notes
Text
Five books of 2022
A lot has gone on over the past year, a wonderful relationship and living out the dream of becoming a married man, new jobs, being forced into unemployment due to disability TWICE, and watching the beautiful growth of the friends I love, which has given me much time to sit and read, and at the same time, not enough at all. I normally try to read at least a book a week, or something that amounts to that, to have the target of 52 books in a year. I've done this for years, ever since I had been first involved in assisting to found and operate a children's literary program in my home state of Connecticut. This year, I only recorded reading 40 books, including some manga and graphic novels as well. I'd like to list a few of the books or series I'd read, and encourage others to pick them up and experience the same.
1: Your Inner Fish (Neil Shubin) a book about the discover of tiktaalik; the first know landwalking creature and a step of evolution that brought about everything we know today. Shubin is a paleontologist and his team were the ones who found this ancient ancestor of ours, and his book is a wonderful excursion into that world of history and biology that inspires the reader to trek out in search of fossils of their own. He also gives pointers to beginners on where to look and how to search.
2: The Hussite Trilogy (Andrzej Sapkowski) The author of the Witcher series has written a second series, the three books Tower of Fools, Warriors of God, and Light Perpetual. The books were written two decades ago now but have only just been translated in the wake of the Netflix (Bastardizing) adaptation of his more popular media. While the Witcher universe and characters are bold and lush, the Hussite trilogy is doubtlessly the better written series. Main character Reinmar of Beilawa is accused of witchcraft and heresy in Christian Silesia during an era of war, and the series follows the rambunctious young alchemist and his newfound friends; a penitent and a spirit from beyond possessing the body of a giant, as they wisp back and forth through crusades and the boundaries of the physical and spiritual world. A wonderfully entertaining series that demands polylinguism from the reader, but it must be said that the book was written in a time and place without tact, and makes use of harmful stereotypes about people with mental handicaps.
3:Monotone Blue (Nagabe) a manga about two young gay men, one a cat and the other a lizard with a shining blue tail. The short one shot manga romance follows an apathetic and depressive cat who is simply bored with his life, focusing on expressing his monotonous life through partial color-blindness, until a transfer student, the only lizard he's met at this point in his life comes in, and his shining bright blue tail is accidentally exposed, garnering attention from the cat. The two act as an unlikely pair, and don't fully understand each other, but fall in love as they begin to comprehend their emotions together. The story does require a content warning of abusive behavior and sexual assault.
4:The Things They Carried (Tim O'Brien) I'm not normally one to be interested in military stories, as I've always found them to be romanticized versions of events, glorifying war or soldiers and letting the readers remain ignorant of the horrors it causes. However, this was a recommendation of a good friend of mine, and I picked up a copy with mild expectations. This is the first war story I have read that treats "Our boys" with the level of cold realism I feel is necessary for talking about war, especially real wars. The Things They Carried is about a troupe of American military men, following primarily one soldier in an auto-biographical format from just before the war and his thoughts and impulses to dodge the draft, to long after the war has ended, as a man who put the killing past him and holds no grudge- and thinks that the Vietnamese have also forgotten the ravages to their home country. This book carries the weight of acknowledgement, that our good old boys were gleeful in killing children, tying explosives to animals, burning villages and raping women. There are chapters where the biographer calmly talks about shooting every man and boy in a village as revenge for one of his comrades being killed by a sniper, and then just as calmly talks about his meal the next night. This book explains war as it is.
5: The Order of Time, and Helgoland (Dr. Carlo Rovelli) Two introductory books to quantum physics written by one of the most brilliant physicists we have today, these two books teach from a base level what the fundaments of advanced physics are, the coming about of quantum physics, and explanations about space time and the structure of the universe. While sometimes you may find yourself reading the same page again to ensure yourself, the work of this physicist in particular function as a fine diving board to get into the sciences with.
0 notes
Photo
@yuushanoah-fr @frxemriss @hellkite-fr @gothmarble-fr (if you want to be pinged for these and/or other lore posts let me know!)
----
[The Suntouched]
Sunburst is the Empire’s Light Ambassador, and one of the first Ambassadors to officially join the clan. Due to being a child of the Lightweaver, he naturally radiates a strong presence that tends to attract the attention of other dragons, but since he is withdrawn, not interested in interactions outside of friends or important meetings, he supresses that aura the best he can. He finds that getting attention when it’s not needed can create a lot of problems, so he prefers to keep to himself unless he is doing something specific that he needs to draw attention for.
After what had happened to him years and years ago, he would rather stay reclusive and, well, keep from having a target on his back again.
It’s why he prefers to keep himself mostly covered so skin and fur don’t show; his body is littered with scars, big and small, scars that make him feel ugly, from being held for so many years underground. A prisoner, tortured and ruined, because a few terrible dragons came upon him after he was severely injured from an Emperor that had attacked and wrecked his home, and upon recognizing him as a powerful general, captured the devastated and grieving dragon. He was dragged away, far away from his Mother’s light, away from the surface, unable to be found for years. So many years, suffering.
He was grateful to be found, though he still has no idea how the small group of Light dragons had managed to locate him. He was free of the pain and binds at last, though it would take him a long time to adjust due to how long he had been held. So long; so much time has passed that everything is quite different, including language, which had grown in the time he was gone, resulting in him having to relearn quite a bit.
Not to mention coping with all the loss. Being free and not having things such as physical pain to focus on, Sunburst was allowed to finally, truly grieve. He had lost everything. His home, his previous life, his friends and allies. But most of all, he had lost his family. He had a mate. Multiple children. Grandchildren. And from what he can tell, they had been lost to the Emperor like all the others. Gone. He had been unable to protect them, and he doubts the void they left behind will ever go away entirely.
He also found out that he had been given the power to see visions not long after he had been rescued. He’s glad for it; it makes it so it’s unlikely that he will personally experience a clan being destroyed ever again, for visions will likely give him forewarning. Never again will he witness such devastation that he can’t prevent.
Sunburst does his best to be the Empire’s Light Ambassador, no matter how much of a struggle it can be at times. Overall, he has a lot on his mind and it’s very likely that he’ll never completely recover mentally from his trauma. He suffers from frequent nightmares and has a melancholy disposion overall, which sometimes results in him having difficulty just getting out of bed. Not to mention the permanent damage that had been inflicted upon his body. He aches nearly constantly, and issues with his joints, especially his knees, make it hard to move around, and he can end up bedridden on bad days. His vision has been badly affected as well; without his enchanted Veil he can only see vague shapes and movement.
He also cannot fly much, if at all, anymore due to a break healing badly, along with other damage that was done to both of them. He tends to keep them lightly folded, nearly dragging due to this; keeping them fully folded tends to cause him pain after a while.
Overall, he struggles with getting attached as well, for after all that loss, even with the visions that’ll bring forewarning; he is afraid to lose it all again. He knows that he wouldn’t be able to handle it.
#fr#flight rising#dragon share#fr dragon share#my dragons#l: Sunburst#We the Iron Forged#The Great Iron Forged Empire#I've had this partially done in my drafts for a long time#you can tell since those lines are there#I'm surprised they did not disappear tbh#at least not at time of writing#so they only show in edit mode xD#we'll see if I have to go back and add something else haha#but oh yes this poor boy#a sad dad#he's been through so much#as for how he travels?#he probably gets carried by Borix lol#Borix is a Guardian... he can do it xD#also heck am I getting my spark back???#this is my second bio in like... two days#how-
11 notes
·
View notes
Text
.
#im looking through all the asks from the old blog I want to get through and I'm... surprised#1) not quite as many as I thought. I think I was conflating ones I haven't done yet with ones I want to redo because they're horrible#and 2) I could have sworn I had palette memes to do#I know I got a couple asks that gave me choice between characters and I think I might be thinking of those#they're all poses and outfits both of which mean full or partial bodies#which I think is the reason why I started procrastinating for so long that I forgot them#I'm hoping to get through all the sketches for them today so I can start working on them for real#several of them gave me ideas to make full (or at least bigger) illustrations with them so they'll probably still take a while#but I think I'm actually gonna be able to clear out my old ask box#although I have a couple text based ask prompts in my old drafts and I might just skip those#I seem to be having a much easier time finishing asks on this blog#but I've only done palette and expression ones on here before and I never had a huge problem with getting those done#it also probably helps I haven't gotten that many#for the record I have all the asks I've ever gotten on this blog done and posted#(except for the one saying they like my icon and one making a joke about something I posted but I'm talking more about ask prompts)#so on the off chance that you sent something and you never saw a response it means I didn't get it#feel free to send it again (although I doubt any asks got lost)
1 note
·
View note
Last Seen Blogs
burning-ring-of-fire
Love, is a burning thing
suilivia
Cenimetre Peter
chernogals
Feelings.
1986smash
Ashley Nichole
weaponofthetime
Chuck Hansen