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99corentine · 3 months

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How To Write Good by Corentine

THE DRAFTING PROCESS, PART 2/2

Writing guide continued! Here's PART ONE.

STEP THREE: THE START, THE END, THE BEATS

I’m of the opinion that every story should start with a bang. You could start mid-way through a notable event, as seen in GHD:

- O L H A - D - V - The words, incomprehensible, rattle around his head like the last rumbles of a great thunderstorm. Then, much like after a storm has passed, the air suddenly feels clearer, sharper. A sludgy fog he didn’t even realise he was in clears from his mind and he blinks, confused. The first thing he sees is his own hands.

If you want it to be especially punchy, you can start with a line of dialogue or a short sentence, like I did for T4T:

CHAPTER ONE: It is the end.

It’s reeeally easy to lose readers at the start, so you always want to write a strong opener. Something that grabs the reader by the collar and drags them in to read the rest of the chapter.

You don’t need to have all the details, but you should have at least a vague idea of how the story ends. If you’re writing fanfic that follows along the same plot as a game or existing story, most of the legwork is done for you – so writing GHD, I planned for it to end when Alduin was killed. As I got further into the story, I came up with a more narratively satisfying ending, because it’s okay if the ending changes. As long as you have an ending in mind, you have something to work towards.

So GHD’s original, very basic plot was:

START – the Last Dragonborn wakes up with total amnesia

???

He saves Miraak

???

They kill Alduin together – END

Now you have to map out those ??? parts by deciding the major beats of the story, i.e. notable scenes. This gives you something to work towards other than the ending. I ended up with notes like these:

START – the Last Dragonborn wakes up with total amnesia

Who is he? Don’t spend too much time on this, not important, can be answered later

Goes to Solstheim, meets Miraak

Finds a way to communicate with Miraak – sneaks into Apocrypha? Shares dreams? College of Winterhold has psijiics, use telepathy?

Finds a way to save Miraak

Go to Apocrypha, confront Hermaeus Mora, save Miraak

They look for ways to kill Alduin together

Hermaeus Mora comes for them

Prolonged recovery, tells reader that even ‘redeemed’ Miraak is still scary

They kill Alduin together

What happens after Alduin?

(Redacted for spoiler purposes) – END

The story beats should ebb and flow like the tide; high-octane scenes should be followed by periods of calm. You don’t want to do this too quickly or the story will feel like whiplash; rather this is a process that happens over many chapters. Let’s look at some examples in GHD:

⇈⇈ Miraak dominates telepathy and is really scary!! ⇊⇊ Chry wanders around Skyrim doing errands and Thinking About Life… ⇈⇈ Chry breaks Miraak out of Apocrypha!! ⇊⇊ They recover from the ordeal and have a honeymoon period… ⇈⇈ They go to Blackreach and it’s visually awesome, and also Chry gets jealous!! ⇊⇊ They do misc stuff for a while… ⇈⇈ They talk to Septimus Signus, Mora shows up, nearly kills Chry!! ⇊⇊ Miraak whisks Chry away somewhere to recover in peace…

You see what I mean?

Right, you know roughly what’s going to happen. Time to turn that into words, baby!

STEP FOUR: GOTTA START WRITING

My actual writing style is its own separate topic so I’m not going to tell you how I structure a sentence or anything, just my literal writing process.

In my chapter document, I start by making a bullet-point list of everything I want to happen in the chapter. What happens can, and probably will, change as you actually get the chapter down. That’s fine, you just need a starting point.

I very rarely write individual chapters in order, as in start to finish. Rather, I tend to write the scenes I can picture clearly in my head – then by the time I’ve written those I’m in a writing groove and the gaps in the rest of the chapter will come easier. When I’m done, I’ll stitch the individual scenes together, which sometimes requires altering the scene start or end to make the whole thing more cohesive.

There are times when the writer’s block takes me, and I have like two finished scenes and just cannot summon the words for the rest of the chapter. When this happens, to be honest, the only answer I’ve found is brute force: I sit myself in front of the computer, get rid of phone/alt tabs/other distractions, and force myself to type something. Or I hold myself hostage (i.e. ‘I am not allowed to play more Baldur’s Gate 3 until I have written GHD chapter 47’) that works too, for me anyway.

Whatever it takes to get something on paper. What’s mostly important is to get something written, even if it’s not very good. You can always edit, rephrase or even rewrite sections later. Usually I’ve found once you start writing, you get into a groove and then it’s no longer a chore.

I also aim for a certain word count / chapter length while writing. I know a chapter is exactly as long as it needs to be and blah blah, but I set myself a minimum wordcount to reach. Or if I go way over the word count it’s probably because I’ve waffled too much, so I either aim to split the chapter into two, or to ruthlessly edit it back down again.

For GHD I average 7,000 - 9,000 words, but I actually think that’s a bit too long and risks losing people’s attention span, so for T4T I aim lower, about 6,000-ish. Less is perfectly fine, but if I’m reading another fic I find a chapter length of 2,000 words or lower to be disappointingly short. That’s all personal preference of course, and certain fics will lend themselves better to shorter chapters.

Although I jump around scenes within each chapter, I make a point of writing my entire chapters in chronological order. If I’m on chapter 5, and I know something awesome happens in chapter 12, it’s imperative that I do not write chapter 12 ahead of time. If I do, I’ll reeeally struggle to write chapters 6-11, because I have already rewarded my brain by writing the cool thing. If I hold off, my enthusiasm to write chapter 12 may in fact motivate me to crank out chapters 6-11 in record time.

I do have one other thing – in my Scrivener projects I always have a document called ‘Unused’. Sometimes, usually at like 2AM when sleep has failed me, I’ll get a really good idea for some dialogue or description. I scribble it down somewhere (or it will be forgotten for sure) and later I type it into my Unused document, so it’s just filled with random bits of text like this (note, everything you see here is unused, so it's not going to feature in the last chapter of GHD):

At some point in time I’ll peruse it and think ‘yes, this line!!’ and drop it into a future chapter – again though I just write bits, not entire scenes or I’ll have written all the exciting parts already. Anything I edit out of a chapter (i.e. a paragraph I liked but didn’t quite fit) gets dropped here too, in case I can reuse it later.

STEP FIVE: FINAL EDITING

I will be honest, I’m pretty impatient. Once I’ve finished a chapter, especially if it’s one I’ve been struggling with for a long time, I want to publish it now. So I’m guilty of not editing as thoroughly as I should – but this is what I usually do and it catches at least most of my mistakes:

As a first step, I copy-paste the chapter from Scrivener into google docs. Remember I said Scriv’s word processor wasn’t the best? Yeah, it’s no good at picking up on dodgy grammar, but google docs is, so I run it through there and skim-check for wiggly blue lines, then make the changes in Scriv. You may not have this issue if you’re using Word or another more comprehensive software

Once I know the grammar is mostly fixed, I go back to Scriv and re-read the entire chapter start to finish – I’m looking for whatever google didn’t catch, wonky phrasing, repetition (i.e. I used the word ‘quickly’ twice in the space of two paragraphs, that sort of thing)

I go away for a bit (anywhere from a few hours to a few days) and do another careful re-read with a fresh set of eyes. Sometimes I use a text-to-speech software to read what I’d written back to me; you'd be surprised how much you pick up this way

In my great excitement, I publish the new chapter to AO3. As I re-read the chapter over there, I see a minimum of 5 glaring errors I somehow didn’t spot in the previous steps, and hastily correct them before anyone notices.

I like to get at least the first 2-3 chapters of a brand new story written before I post anything to AO3. This is to make sure my enthusiasm doesn’t immediately wane and I actually stand a chance of finishing it. After that I’m rarely more than a chapter ahead of what’s been posted, because go figure I’ll post the newly-written chapter once the editing is done, then start on the next one.

Some people won’t even post a story at all until they have the first draft fully written. This is admirable, but not always realistic – GHD is like 375,000 words, you think I would’ve sat down and written all that before posting chapter one and even knowing if anyone would read it? Hell no.

But while you don’t need a story to be fully written, you do need it to be decently mapped-out. I used to start fics with absolutely no idea where they were going to go; I’d finish 1 or 2 chapters, get really excited at writing that much and hungry for feedback, then post something that I would inevitably lose all enthusiasm for and leave unfinished.

So, know how it starts, know how it ends, and know the story beats in between so you always have a goal to write towards. There will inevitably be fics that you never finish and that’s fine – it’s all writing practice – but readers don’t like to be left hanging, so try your best to finish! Even if it takes ahem four years or so.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐

And there you go, that’s my writing process! I’m not sure how useful that really is, but if it was I could write more guides in future? I have…

A guide to my writing style (this one might be hard to put into a guide but people like my turn of phrase so, maybe useful?)

How I write a sex scene

How I write a fight scene.

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phdguides · 25 days

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What is the research process of a PhD?

A doctor of philosophy, also known as a PhD, is a higher level of education that is recognised worldwide. A PhD candidate may use the title ‘Doctor’ before his or her name after the successful completion of the course

After deciding on a research topic, a person with a postgraduate degree can apply for a PhD in his or her desired field. Because a PhD is entirely a research degree, you must choose a research topic before applying for a PhD programme.

Regardless of your qualification, you can choose any topic for your PhD thesis. The only requirement is that the research topic chosen corresponds to your experience.

A full-time PhD takes three years to complete, whereas a part-time PhD takes four to five years. The period can be extended for a few years based on your research and thesis completion.

Let’s take a quick look at the three-year PhD study modules:

PhD first year

The first year of a PhD is usually spent developing a basic understanding of the research topic you have chosen. You will be assigned a supervisor, with whom you will communicate throughout your research.

The supervisor assists you in thoroughly understanding the topic. You should introduce yourself to him or her and discuss your research to get more information and make a plan of action.

In the first year, you will typically be required to conduct a literature review, survey, and evaluate existing scholarship under the supervision of your supervisor.

The literature review allows you to gain a thorough understanding of the research topic and make logical leaps. If you applied for Mphill, you will be upgraded by the end of the first year.

In the upgrade exam, you must submit your literature review, and research findings, and have a discussion on all of the material with a member of your department. If everything goes well and you can persuade everyone, you will be able to continue your research for next year.

PhD second year

The second year is critical because you have developed a basic understanding of your research and must now go more in-depth and begin core research.

You must conduct surveys, experiments, and archival research on your subject and concentrate on obtaining results. You should also begin working on your thesis in your second year.

Based on your findings, you can begin drafting chapters that will serve as the foundation for your dissertation. As the time of PhD passes, you gain more knowledge and develop as a scholar.

Meanwhile, you keep in touch with the supervisor to discuss the research. He or she will periodically check in on your progress and provide feedback and ideas to conduct research in the right direction.

Besides this, your second year of doctoral studies is an excellent time to gain real-world experience by presenting your work at various academic conferences, gaining teaching experience, or publishing your work in an academic journal.

PhD third year

This is the final year of your PhD programme, and it is also the most stressful because you must begin writing up your thesis into a dissertation.

To be a PhD scholar, you must collect all of your research from your PhD and organise it into a well-structured thesis.

It may be a difficult process because many students are still working on their research and locating sources that can strongly support their findings. Some students even take additional years to finish their dissertation.

Your supervisor plays a crucial role in this situation. They will read your thesis, make valuable suggestions, and notify you when it is ready for submission.

After submitting your thesis, you must give a viva voce, which is an oral exam. In this exam, you must convince the panel of your research results. This is the final stage of the PhD programme. If you pass this, you are done with your PhD.

Conclusion

This is what a PhD programme looks like. During the years of your PhD, you must conduct extensive research. To finish your thesis on time, you must plan ahead of time and work accordingly. Because research is the foundation of a PhD, you should choose your topic carefully. Before deciding on a topic, consult with experts and professors from nearby universities and choose as per the discussion.

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libby-for-life · 2 months

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Can you make an Adam and Lilith hurt-no-comfort scene that she could have done in your book? By the way? Huge fan of Adam Dies!

Aw, thank you! I can give a chopped scene that was supposed to be in the book but couldn't figure out how to fit in. It's a draft and isn't finished but I hope you like it!

"You actually look decent this way." Lilith smiled.

"N-no!" Adam pulled at the heavy collar around his neck. Four small but sturdy chains extended from the collar. Each chain was hooked to a corner of the closet, holding Adam tightly in the center of the cramped space. If he tried to relax his legs, the collar would choke him painfully. His arms were pinned to his sides by heavy ropes.

"You're entirely helpless like this. I can do anything I want to you like this." Lilith mused out loud to herself.

"Please...no...." Adam whimpered as Lilith walked towards him, drinking in his panic. Her hand shot out and clamped it over his mouth in a painfully tight grip. "Hush now, Adam." She said in a deceptively soothing voice.

Adam desperately tried to yank himself away but Lilith had always been stronger. "Hush, now. We haven't even gotten to the fun part yet!"

"No!" Adam sobbed as he saw the knife she had brought to his eyesight. "Now, don't fidget too much. Wouldn't want to lob something important off."

There was a loop on the collar Adam was wearing and Lilith slipped two fingers through the hole before dragging him forward. Adam choked as she dragged the knife through his cotton shirt and over his ribs.

"You've always been sensitive there. Just a little pressure has you making the most delightful noises!" And with that, Adam screamed as the knife was dug into his skin right between his ribs.

Tears streamed down his face as Lilith gently slid his shirt to the side to reveal more of his right shoulder.

"You look pretty like this." She commented.

"I'm not—stop! I can't!" Adam cried out as the knife dug deeper. His screams turned into incoherent begging as more golden blood welled up from the fresh wound.

"You can. You'd be surprised how much the body, or soul, in this case, can withstand before it passes out." Her voice was calm as if she were explaining an interesting tidbit of information.

"Stop! Please!" Adam begged, his vision blurry from the constant tears.

"Don't be rude," Lilith growled out before slashing his cheek. Another scream bubbled up in his throat. "You're going to learn to be good for me, Adam." She grabbed his hair and yanked his head back, effectively cutting his oxygen off. "I just know it. You just need to be taught and the only way you learn is through pain."

So, how was it? Again, it's a draft and it never got finished. Hope it fed your desire while I'm finishing the chapter.

#hazbin hotel adam #lilith #hazbin hotel #adamsapple #if you squint #it's set in my au of where adamsapple reigns #whump #hurt/no comfort #agnst #AdamDies

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whatmakesagod · 1 year

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How to Stop Spinning Your Wheels and Write

First: mental health is real. If you are in burnout, take care of yourself because if you push yourself in burnout, you can prolong it. You might want to try some of these things to keep being creative during burnout, but don't force yourself.

Take care of yourself.

Try more creative outlines. I don't outline the way most people think of it. I outline with moodboards that nobody but me can understand, including main characters, relationships, side characters, and aesthetics. It makes sense to me and, when I look at it, I know exactly what I want each picture to do and say and why it's in the space it's in. If you are more visual, you can try that or a Pepe Silvia-esque string board. You can even try a playlist that is one song per chapter to convey the mood and repeat songs as needed. Don't take forever to do this; spend no more than a day or two and then get to writing.

Instead of a character sheet, writing the same scene from the POV of every character in a given chapter so you learn more about them. Character sheets can get some of us really in the weeds and we focus so much on whether or not our characters like punk vs classical music and certain fashion tastes that are ultimately not going to be on the page. That's not to say knowing these things are bad, but you can also get to know your characters by writing how they view each other and certain situations and by doing that, you also learn their motivations in each scene.

Just write 100 words a day of the project. That's it. Or a page in a notebook or 15 minutes of a sprint. Give yourself a small, reachable, tangible goal where you can see your writing grow. 'But I don't know where the story is going!' That's OK! It doesn't have to be perfect. You can write four pages and realize it's going nowhere and then cross it all out and start again. Pros do that, too.

If you're writing SFF, identify if you have Worldbuilder's Disease. What is this? It's when you spend all your time building a world for a story and you never get around to the story because the world isn't 'finished'. Tolkien didn't finish building his world. Last time I checked, GRRM never created more than 7 words of High Valyrian; David J. Peterson did for GOT. If you have Worldbuilder's Disease, make a checklist for what you absolutely need and if you have 75% or more done, you write and worldbuild on alternating days until you have what you absolutely need. By then, you should also have a better understanding of your characters and plot. If worldbuilding is your passion, you don't have to abandon it; but if it's stopping you from writing the story you want to tell, at some point, you do need to stop focusing on the worldbuilding and on the story.

If your perfectionism is the problem and you feel that draft one has to be perfect, this is going to be harder for some people than it is for others. For some people, accepting that draft 1 isn't going to be the end result is by calling it 'the shitty draft'. For others, it's by doing a draft zero, which I believe comes from screenwriting, and you write an unstructured draft with all your research and pants the hell out of it. For some people, that is draft one, for others, its a way to trick their brain into not putting too much pressure on themselves. Let yourself infodump in the draft if you have to. Get a cheerleader or enabler.

Get yourself an accountability buddy. Find someone in your friend group who also has a novel they want to write or a piece they want to learn how to play or a game they wanna finish, set a date for when it needs to be done that is reasonable, and check-in with each other. New Years' Resolutions don't work for most people, but cheering on a friend and them cheering you on and having someone who will ask you 'how's the book coming?' and listen to you when you talk about the best and worst parts of the week can be really effective to stopping yourself from going back to spinning your wheels.

Get a critique partner. Can be someone you met in fandom if you both are coming from the fanfic world or critique circle or a writing group in your area. If what you need is feedback, put yourself out there to get it.

Carrot method. If what you need is a treat, find a treat within your budget. Some people get a cupcake on Fridays if they met their writing goals four days in a row. Others treat themselves to a literary magazine subscription or a new hardcover book if they hit their goals for the month. If what you need to do is watch an episode of your favorite TV show after writing 800 words that night, do it. My personal variation of this is writing 500 words of the main project before I can work on other projects. Some days, I never get to the projects and others, I breeze right through and then get to do a whole short story I've wanted to write all week.

Fill in the blank method. My strongest points are dialogue and dynamics. If I forced myself to do internal things and description and sensory details down to the last detail on the first draft, nothing would ever get done. I give myself leeway and write the dialogue and dynamics and add the things I have to later. The more I practice internal aspects and description, the more I just do them, but I don't pressure myself. Pressuring yourself is not the answer.

Start in the middle. Starting is hard; many writers start in the wrong place, especially on their book. Some people do have a better sense of where a story should start than others, but some people have a better idea of what a strong finish is than others. Maybe your strength is the finish line. It's OK to write the last half of the book first and then add the first half. The first few chapters are almost always the chapters that are rewritten the most; that's why they tend to be the strongest and tightest.

#writing #writing hack #writing improvement #writblr #writers of tumblr

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sowoozoo-7 · 1 year

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Love, Lust & Litigation | Ch2 (JJK, KNJ)

Pairing: Jungkook x Fem Reader x Namjoon

Genre: lawyer!AU, coworkers to lovers, slow burn, eventual smut

Rating: M (18+) whole fic, this chapter PG-13 (I guess)

Warnings: some swearing in this chapter, nothing explicit

Word Count: 3.8k

Summary: Unfortunately, you have developed a massive crush on your new boss. Even more unfortunately, your equally attractive coworker is also harboring massive crush on your boss. AKA Jungkook and reader both pine for big, sexy brain Namjoon.

A/N: Aaand here she is! Chapter 2! It took me a while to finalize this draft, mostly because I was on a trip with my bff, but also because I was, well, procrastinating. I don't do well without a deadline, so I'm going to try to post a chapter every week on Saturday until the fic is done! Look out for Chapter 3 in a week :)

mlist | ch 1 | ch 2 | ch3 | ch 4 | ch 5 | interlude | ch 6

Your newest client sits across a large conference room table from you, Namjoon, and Jungkook, flanked by two impossibly large bodyguards holding equally tiny dogs. She’s one of the most popular singer-songwriters of the moment.

An indie artist filed a lawsuit claiming that your client copied lyrics verbatim and stole the melody from a song of his after attending an intimate showcase. To your ears, the songs sound vaguely similar, but you’re no music expert.

In the press though, the indie artist has spun it as a David and Goliath story. The court of public opinion is firmly on his side already.

“It’s a bullshit case,” says your client, rolling her eyes. “There’s only so many ways you can string the words ‘I,’ ‘love,’ ‘you,’ ‘so,’ and ‘much’ together in a song. And everyone knows that all modern pop songs have the same four chord progressions anyway.”

Namjoon nods, taking notes on his legal pad. “We’ll take the case, but there’s no guarantee the judge is going to rule in our favor. These plagiarism cases can be very unpredictable.”

“Right, but you guys are the best right?” She takes one of the fluffy dogs into her lap and starts petting it. The dog makes direct eye contact with you as it starts to pant.

Namjoon lets out a little laugh. “We are, but we’re not miracle workers. We can’t guarantee a win even in the simplest case. But we do guarantee our best with some of the best lawyers in the field.”

He caps this off with a little smile, one that makes his eyes look kind and his dimples pop.

The songwriter melts a little and she honest-to-god starts twirling her hair around her finger.

“Well, if it looks like we’re not going to win the case, I’m not above settling with this guy.”

You look over at Jungkook in confusion. She was adamant that she wouldn’t settle at the top of the meeting. He mouths back, The Namjoon Effect.

Ah. Yes. You can relate.

“Understood.” Namjoon gives her another smile as he closes his legal pad. “And unless there’s anything else you would like for us to take into consideration…?”

“I think that’s it.”

She gives him a coy smile as he gestures her out of the conference room. "Thank you so much for your time."

Namjoon turns to you and Jungkook once she's gone down the hallway.

“Right. What’s our angle?”

You and Jungkook look at each other in surprise. High profile cases usually go to Namjoon and you assumed this one would too.

You only ever play the “What’s our angle?” game when the case will go to one of the junior associates. The game is simple. Whoever has the best pitch gets the case. It's a brilliant move on Namjoon's part, really. It taps into you and Jungkook's natural competition and it makes you think out of the box to win cases. You’re keeping an informal tally in the back of your planner and so far, it’s an even split.

This time, Jungkook beats you to the draw. “We still have contacts in the music industry who can be expert witnesses. With these two songs, it’ll come down to the specific instrumentation, composition, and lyrical flow.”

You can feel the case slipping through your fingers — you haven’t been at Bang & Associates long enough to have a long list of contacts yet and Jungkook minored in music composition in college. He has all the advantage here and he knows it. He smiles, like he’s already gotten lead on the case.

You shake your head anyway and speak up.

“That’s an important component to the case, definitely, but it’s not the determining factor. There’s been an increase in these types of cases, with two high-profile cases in just the last six moths and countless others that flew under the radar, and the trend I’ve seen is that the outcome depends on precedent and how IP laws fit around the specific musical particularities.”

Jungkook clenches his jaw, his tongue playing with his lip ring. Both of you wait while Namjoon deliberates. It’s all part of the game, one that Namjoon takes seriously. He considers every facet and it takes him unbearable minutes to make a decision. You've learned to not second-guess your pitches and to be comfortable in the silence.

This time, though, you don’t have long to wait. He nods and points at you. “Good thinking. You’re taking lead on this case. Jungkook, I want you on support. Normally, I’d take this case, but I have the class-action suit on my plate, and I can’t spare Jimin or Hoseok. Bring me your complete plan by COB tomorrow. Send me a calendar invite for a time that works for both of you.”

You want to grin and do a little victory dance, but you nod instead, in a way that you hope looks level-headed.

“Will do. Thanks, boss.”

Namjoon's eyebrow twitches at the title and he gives you a look you can't fully parse. He leaves the conference room with a strange two finger salute.

Jungkook gives you a disgruntled look as soon as Namjoon is out of sight. You give him a smug grin in return. This is the second case in a row you've won, and you can officially tally yourself ahead by one.

“Congrats, I guess,” he says as he goes to leave.

You reach out a hand to stop him, your fingers brushing his sleeve. He looks down at your hand like it offends him and all his ancestors before him. He's sulking again.

“Do you have any meetings now?” It's impossible to deal with him when he's like this, but you have a quick turnaround on this case, so it leaves you no choice.

“Nothing on the schedule,” he says.

“Let’s meet now, then. Come to my office.”

He follows you and sits in one your guest chairs, slumping down, spreading his legs long and wide. One of his legs bounces up and down. He doesn’t meet your eyes.

You lean back against your desk instead of sitting behind it.

“Given you’re the music expert here, what’s your opinion on the songs? Do you think we have a good chance of winning? Just based on the songs themselves.”

He shrugs. “Right now, it’s a toss-up. I’ll have to take a closer listen to really be able to say. But I have a couple of friends in the music industry who we’ve used before as expert witnesses. They’ll break it down to the nitty gritty.”

“Great, get me those names and the specifics of how they can help with the case by the end of the day. Contact them if you can to see if they're willing to be our witnesses. I’ll take a closer look at the caselaw and the suit itself and get the memo for Namjoon together tomorrow morning. Unless you can think of something from the precedent perspective?”

“Seems like you’ve got that part covered.” His tongue pokes out into his cheek, still not looking at you.

“Okay, then. I think that’s it. Maybe we can chat tomorrow before lunch to make sure we have all the bases covered.”

He doesn’t respond, just gives you the barest of nods and gets up to head towards the door.

“Jeon.”

He turns in your doorway to look back at you. You’re still leaning against your desk, arms crossed. He takes you in, his eyes trailing from your heels all the way up to meet your eyes. Your breath hitches as his expression shifts to something darker. Hungrier.

“Should I let you win next time so I don’t have to deal with you acting like a whiny little baby?”

He huffs out a little laugh and rolls his eyes. The look from a second ago is gone.

“If you did, I’d call Area 51 to make sure there was no extraterrestrial activity in the area because you’d for sure be an alien in disguise.”

He leaves, the sound of his soft chuckle trailing behind him. It takes a second for your breath to return to normal.

You and Jungkook go to court after a couple weeks of trying to negotiate a settlement, armed with files, documents and expert opinions. Namjoon takes time from his class-action suit to supervise.

The case drags on for a week. Photographers swarm the court. They snap a picture of you, Namjoon, and Jungkook on the way to the courtroom the third day and the picture goes viral. It’s the first time any of your cases have been in the public eye like this. Even though you’re the defense, the internet goes crazy, with endless “Mommy? Sorry, Mommy? Sorry? Daddy?” memes.

Whenever you’re in the office, you get playful comments from your coworkers. Jimin swears he didn’t mean to include the firm-wide distribution list in his email to the PR team about the photo. You don’t believe him, but you can’t really be too mad at him.

It’s one of the best pictures you’ve ever seen of yourself. The three of you look like a promo picture for a legal drama on cable TV, with you in the middle, holding your own between your stupid-hot coworkers.

Jungkook looks like a federal agent, his all-black suit fitted in the right places. He carries a shiny leather briefcase and the glimpse of the tattoos on the hand holding the briefcase is primarily what has the internet in shambles.

Namjoon, in a navy suit and tie, looks like the hottest politician you’ve ever seen. His brown hair sweeps away from his face, lethal in wire-frame glasses.

“Damn, girl, you look hot.” Your best friend, Nina, looks at the photo on her phone. You’re at brunch at your favorite cafe the weekend after the trial ends. “Aren’t you glad I convinced you to get that suit?”

The court ruled in your favor, and your client — graciously — didn’t counter-sue the independent artist. Instead, she offered to have him feature on her latest single, so the royalties can cover the legal fees that he’s now responsible for paying.

You’re sitting in the patio, an umbrella shading you from the unseasonably hot late fall sun. The rickety patio table groans under the weight of poached eggs, bacon, smoked salmon, fruit, and the best pancakes in the city. The mimosas go down easy. Life is good.

“I was running on so little sleep that day. The suit was really the saving grace.”

You bought it on a whim on a semi-drunk post-brunch shopping trip with Nina a few weeks before you joined Bang & Associates. You balked at the price, but Nina reminded you of the massive pay increase you were about to get, and you caved. The suit fits you perfectly, with the skirt hugging in all the right places and the cropped suit jacket adding the illusion of height to your frame. You feel invincible every time you wear it.

It’s thanks to Nina that you’re breaking out of the boring black and grey suits. She’s a local fashion influencer and runs a trendy boutique in the artsy part of town.

“Nah, girl. The suit is the added bonus. It’s you in that photo totally rocking it.”

“I wanna get that framed.”

Nina laughs and clinks her glass against yours. You’re both a little drunk on mimosas and sunshine. “I’ll do it for Christmas.”

You’re pleasantly buzzed when your post-meal lattes come out. Nina chokes as she goes to take a sip, her eyes wide.

“Is that…”

She doesn’t need to finish her sentence. You follow her gaze and thankfully, your cup is firmly on the table because you would have otherwise snorted coffee out of your nose.

A sweaty and glistening Namjoon and Jungkook cross the wooden patio to go inside the cafe. They must have been running in the park across the street because they're dressed in exercise clothes, both in sleeveless tops and shorts that leave little to the imagination.

Namjoon is practically glowing. His shirt clings to his chest, outlining muscle you didn’t know existed until this moment. He runs a hand through his sweaty hair as they walk across the patio, biceps flexing.

Your mouth hangs open. Muscle definition, on top of everything else?

Jungkook’s tattoos are on full display. You’ve seen part of them before, when he rolls his sleeves up at work, but you had no idea he had a full sleeve, bold and colorful. His sweaty hair sticks to his face, the waves even more pronounced.

The spell breaks as soon as they disappear into the cafe. You and Nina exhale at the same time.

“That’s indecent,” you breathe.

“Holy mother of God,” she mutters. “How do you get any work done around the office?”

“They’re usually not prancing around half-naked.”

“I want to put my hands on their chests and squeeze.” She puts her hands out and makes grabby hands.

You let out a squeak and swat her across the table. “Nina! Why would you put that image in my head? How am I going to get through meetings? I’m not gonna be able to look them in the eye.”

“I would ask why you haven’t slept with them yet, but I know you’re too proper to shit where you eat.” She shakes her head. “College you would have been all over that.”

“Namjoon is practically a monk,” you say morosely.

Nina chokes on her coffee again. “Oh my god, you actually like him.”

A tiny, pitiful wail escapes you. “I mean, you just saw him, Neen. He looks like that and he’s nice and smart. It’s like if a man like Namjoon exists, he ruins all other men, really.”

“What about e-boy?”

You snort. “He’s cute, but he’s in l—“

“Cute?” Your friend looks at you incredulously. “That’s the understatement of the year. I want that man to pin me against the wall and — shit. They’re coming this way. Quick. Pretend we’re talking about my shop.”

You swallow your coffee nervously. “Um. Tell me about the clothes you set aside for me?”

“Oh!” She perks up, eyes shining. “Remind me to send you pictures. I just got the most gorgeous dress that would be great for your holiday party!”

“Already? It’s not even November yet.”

Nina rolls her eyes. “Your firm’s holiday party is the event in the law world. I’m not even in law and I’ve known about it since grad school.”

You hear your name called, and your heart rate picks up. Your coworkers walk towards your table with iced coffees in their hands. From what you know about their usual coffee orders, Namjoon’s is an iced americano and Jungkook’s is some ungodly sweet concoction involving every syrup they have available. They look less flushed now coming out of the air conditioned cafe.

“Come here often?”

You roll your eyes. “Terrible line, Jeon. Working out?”

“Yeah, I live a couple blocks down and Namjoon wanted a running buddy today.”

“Sunshine is good for your health,” says Namjoon. “God knows we don’t get nearly enough when we’re in the office.”

You wouldn’t know it from the way his skin glows golden in the sun.

“Oh, we must be neighbors,” you say to Jungkook before you get stuck ogling Namjoon’s exposed skin. “I’m a few blocks that way too.”

You can feel Nina’s eyes boring hole in your skull. “By the way, this is my best friend Nina. Nina, this is Namjoon and Jungkook. Namjoon’s my boss, and Jungkook is the other junior litigation associate.”

“Oh yeah, I thought I recognized you,” says Nina.

“The picture?” asks Jungkook.

“The picture,” you confirm. “I kind of want to get it framed so I can show my grandchildren someday.” You put on an old lady voice. “‘Look kids, granny used to be a hotshot lawyer.’”

A thrum of satisfaction runs through you when they laugh at your joke. Namjoon’s eyes push up into half-moons and Jungkook’s nose scrunches in the most adorable way.

“Anyway, we won’t keep you.” Namjoon places a hand on Jungkook’s shoulder and steers him toward the exit. Jungkook inhales at the contact, and his cheeks redden a shade. You wouldn’t have noticed if you weren’t watching him. “Have a great rest of your weekend.”

“Enjoy the sunshine,” you say with a wave.

“See you at work!” Jungkook calls over his shoulder.

As soon as they’re out of view, you and Nina slump over.

“Enjoy the sunshine? Really?” You bury your face in your hands.

Nina pickup her coffee cup and puts it back down without taking a sip. “Why doesn’t my boyfriend have dimples. Why do I even have a stupid boyfriend?”

The following week, you find the photo framed on your desk, wrapped in a simple ribbon.

So you can show your future grandchildren, reads the note. There’s no signature.

It can only be one of two people and you decide not to say anything to either of them, you just simply put the picture up in one of the empty spots on your bookshelf. You don’t want to know how you would feel if you knew for certain who gifted it to you, and what it would mean for those hypothetical and very unprofessional feelings you definitely aren’t feeling already.

That doesn’t stop you from tucking the note in the back pocket of your planner anyway. Just in case.

A few weeks later, you’re wading your way through a series of ownership bylaws for the city’s pro basketball team. You lost the “What’s our angle?” game, and the case went to Jungkook. He actually fist-pumped in victory when he got lead. This means you’ve been sitting on at your desk for the past week, with fuzzy slippers and yellow-light glasses on as you scroll through endless PDF’s to find your client an out from ownership without having to pay a massive fine.

A knock on your office door breaks your concentration. It takes your eyes a second to focus on something further than your computer screen. Namjoon leans against the doorjamb, coat on.

“Had lunch yet?”

“No, I was going to wait until after our meeting.” Your computer pings helpfully with a calendar reminder and your stomach follows up with a growl. Breakfast consisted of a sad piece of toast and a latte too many hours ago, and you were too nervous for your performance review to even think about a snack.

Namjoon chuckles. “Let’s do this over lunch, then. I’m starving, too.”

You draw your coat around you when you step out of the office. The temperature has dropped decidedly in the past few days. No more sunny autumn days, just the impending chill of a snow-filled winter. You wrap your arms around your stomach in the pretext of warding off the chill.

In reality, you stomach is doing flips, and you don’t know if it’s because you’re hungry or because you’re nervous for your performance review. Objectively, you know you’re doing well. You’re efficient and ruthless in court, but when it comes to performance reviews, you’ve been blindsided before.

It’s almost inevitable that you end up at Cat’s Pajamas. It’s close to the office, they serve delicious food, and the owner, a slim, quiet man named Yoongi, is a longtime friend of Namjoon’s. You’re in there at least once a week, whether for a client meeting or just as an excuse to get out of the office for lunch. Whenever you’re there with your coworkers, you get a little treat sent from the kitchen, usually one of the cookies that Jin, Yoongi’s business partner, makes fresh every morning.

Yoongi stands at the host stand and greets Namjoon with a handshake.

"Just you two today?" he asks, eyes flitting between you and Namjoon.

Namjoon nods. “How’s business?”

“I think your firm is keeping us afloat,” says Yoongi with a serious face. You think he’s joking.

He leads you to the back of the restaurant. It’s unusually crowded today, with office workers sheltering from the first cold snap of the season.

Namjoon gestures for you to go first. You don’t know if it’s your imagination, but as you walk through the restaurant, you think you feel a whisper of a touch against your upper back, fingertips gently guiding you through the maze of tables. A shiver runs down your back, and you keep your eyes forward as you walk. You don't look back to confirm.

You're off balance already, and knowing that Namjoon is the type to guide you with a gentle touch would tip you over into the deep end.

Yoongi seats you in your usual booth. This probably means good things for your review, you tell yourself. The booth is secluded enough, but if there was anything serious to discuss, you would hope your boss would have the sense to have this meeting behind closed doors. You place your orders as you sit.

Namjoon takes out a paper form from his briefcase when Yoongi walks away. You must look worried because he gives you a reassuring smile.

“Just an HR form to document the performance review. It’s dreadfully overdue, but it’s my fault, and I apologize for that. This was supposed to be your three-month review, but we're now at what, five months?"

He makes a face and starts filling out the top of the form. Your heartbeat speeds up and you play with the hem of the tablecloth under the table. Does that face mean good things or bad things?

He looks up at you with a smile. Good things?

“Unless you have anything to bring up with me, this is going to be quick. So far, I’m pleased with the work that you’re doing for the firm. Even though you’ve only been with us for a few months, you’ve integrated excellently with the rest of the team. Everyone has nothing but great things to say about working with you, so we can mark all these boxes as exceptional…”

You let out a sigh of relief as he concentrates on ticking boxes and filling out comments. All the tension you had stored up in your shoulders releases as you get the verbal confirmation that your performance has been up to par.

“And I think that’s it. Anything you want to say to me on the record?”

An image of Nina making grabby hands rises unbidden, and you have to fight to keep a straight face.

“I don’t think so. I’ve been happy working here. The work is rewarding and I like your management style. I appreciate that you let us junior associates take ownership of our work and empower us to make our own decisions and mistakes.”

“Ah, that’s too kind,” he says with a bashful smile, waving away your comments. “I’m glad you’re enjoying your time here." He pauses. "Is that all? No HR complaints to be filed against Jimin?”

You laugh and shake your head.

“If anything does come up, you know my door is always open.” He looks at you with a serious look. “And I mean that. If you ever need to talk about anything, you can come to me.”

“I appreciate that, boss.”

His expression flickers at the title, but he gives you a wide smile as he lifts his water glass in a toast. “Then, here’s to a successful working relationship and more wins in court.”

You clink your glass against his, unable to stop the grin that spreads across your face.

Lunch arrives soon after and you spend the rest of the hour chatting about an exhibit you both attended at the modern art museum. You get the sense that’s where his passion lies by the way he lights up when he talks about the artist’s specific choice of material for her sculptures and what that conveys about her underlying message on global warming. He makes you promise that you’ll go to the artist’s pop-up exhibit during the Christmas markets.

You're amazed that he has time for anything outside of work. You barely do, and he’s at the office just as much as you are these days.

It strikes you that this is the first time you've sat down with Namjoon for a one-on-one meal. Every other time has been a client meeting or after-work drinks with the team. The conversation flows easily and you feel like you could keep talking to him forever.

By the end of the meal, your cheeks hurt from smiling so much, and your heart hurts a little because why did you have to meet Namjoon at this stage in your life? You excuse yourself to the restroom, but head to the host stand instead to pay the bill.

Yoongi waves you off before you can say anything, not even looking up from what he’s writing. “Namjoon’s already paid for it. You’re all good.”

“Oh.” You’re elbow deep in your bag searching for your wallet.

“You know, he’ll never say anything because he’s your boss and all, so you’ll have to make the first move.”

“Excuse me?”

You freeze before you can extricate yourself from your bag. Is it your imagination, or did he really say what you think he said? You don't know, your heartbeat is so loud in your ears.

“Excuse me?”

He looks up from his notebook, eyebrow raised, looking at you like you’re an idiot. You can feel the tips of your ears turning red. “It’s obvious he likes you. I've seen the way he looks at you whenever you're all in here. And you like him, if I’m not reading you wrong. All of his coworkers are head over heels for him. So you have to make the first move unless you want to be in this—“ he gestures vaguely at you “— forever. He’s a brilliant lawyer, but an idiot when it comes to relationships.”

“I’m really not sure what you mean.” Your voice comes out in a squeak. You clear your throat and change the subject. “Where’s the restroom?”

“I think you’ve been here enough times to know where the restroom is.”

You can't even come up with a retort, you just walk away, cheeks flaming. If Yoongi can tell, everyone probably can.

And yes, you do know exactly where the restroom is.

A/N: Ok my friends! Remember when I said it was slow burn? Fun things should start to happen next chapter 👀 Again, I don't know anything about The Law, so if you do and you see something wrong in this fic, no you didn't, it's my fictional universe and yes this is how the The Law works in my fantasy land thank you. This is the energy I'm bringing to this fic and all my writing, so... yeah, I’d love feedback if you have any, but feel no obligation. Hope you like it ~

©sowoozoo-7 2023

Please do not copy or repost. I do not crosspost anywhere else.

#jungkook x you #namjoon x you #jungkook x reader #namjoon x reader #bts fic #junkook fanfic #namjoon fanfic #fic: love lust & litigation

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cottonraincoat · 4 months

Text

making of monday: the stressed student's guide to binge writing a one-shot

(not that I'm a very good writer, but I loved seeing these on the dash, and decided to join. all this is only a little tongue-in-cheek.)

step one: try to work on an irl assignment*

(* not fandom related at all. preferably an intellectually challenging task that is also time-sensitive and reasonably important.)

There's nothing like the looming dread of deadline that stimulates the mind! Combine the perfectionist's fear of beginning, the procrastinator's tendency to distraction, and the pressure on the brain to produce something— for the most bizarre results. Namely, mildly unhinged fic ideas. Just sit down (curl up into a ball in the corner of the room), relax (stress), and wait for inspiration to come!

step two: "just, uh, just to note this down for later"

You never know when the idea would come, but it does. Now, you've got a seed, that your brain has instantly latched onto. It's growing and blooming and taking over every thought. "damn it," you think, "this is a fun idea. I can't write it before I finish the assignment though!" But the idea doesn't let you go, it's like a haunting, which is in all honesty very rude. Well, what can you do.

You open a doc.

Within half an hour, you realize that you should have known better than believing the idea (tm) would leave you alone.

step three: give in. you're writing the fic instead.

Congratulations! Your brain has once again chosen the path of least resistance instead of what you should be doing. But there's no time for guilt when you have to finish the fic (and finish the assignment after that). So you're writing the fic like your life depends on it, and the words come surprisingly easy because given the baseline stress, you aren't overthinking every single word or ridiculously lines of narrative. It's been hours, your mind's afloat, and you (unfortunately) forget approximately every duty to your body. But it's fun and you swear you've never written like this in your life.

From time to time you swap back to the page where your assignment stares helplessly back at you. You blink. You drop it back under the metaphorical rock.

step four: "fuck, the deadline is in [x] hours. I can't do this anymore"

By now, the first draft is probably sitting there in a messy, wonderful glop. And depending on the circumstance, it's either [start editing now, future rain can deal with this shit] or [despite all evidence to the contrary I actually do not want to fail this degree. time to pull myself by the hair into doing the Thing]. Either way, you've maybe slept for 6 of the last 40 hours, and you're contemplating the strange quality of your vision and why you can hear the inside of a conch at the back of your head, etc etc.

step five: sleep, and spare a moment to pause and wonder what the fuck is your life

when the assignment is done, it's like someone's poked a hole in your sand balloon and your entire being sags. it's a nice feeling, kind of. the fic stops you from spending too much time wondering why the hell are you doing the degree at all.

time to turn the glop into coherence! this is the most time consuming part, and could take up to days after the initial burst of [stuff].

step six: edit until your eyeballs fall out

what it says ^

step seven: when you finally cannot stand another minute of re-reading and editing, throw it onto ao3, and hopefully never think about the fic ever again.

that's a lie. you'll be checking the ao3 stats approximately every two hours for the next two days at least.

fics that actually happened like this:

Infinite Joy (the one that started it all)

Designation (in which I forgot Plo Koon had a mask)

on not sleeping with your students

(the first chapter of) the prophecies spoke of you and I

family line

#making of monday #shitposting

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silver-wield · 2 months

Text

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Review Chapter 4!

Okay, this collection of posts will be filled with spoilers, including clips and screenshots, so if you don't wanna see things, then don't look. Some of the things I'm gonna highlight will include references to Remake and other sources to link with the overarching plot. This is a straight path playthrough with no sidequests or extra content.

Now you know, let's go!

Chapter four is a meaty fucker. Once you discount all the waffle you can do with sidequests and other random things, chapters 1-3 aren't actually that long and involved story content wise. Chapter four is really the start of the bulky content. And I'm gonna summarise most of it because I'll be here all day otherwise.

Okay, once we cross the plains and reach Under Junon, we're basically thrown into the fight with Bottomswell, although it's not called that anymore and icba to recall what its new name is.

The battle itself is pretty fun and makes full use of Tifa's flight capabilities if you know what you're doing.

The plot has been changed slightly. We don't rescue Priscilla, but instead it's Yuffie in trouble. Our buddy, Mr Dolphin, has his moment at the end with a combo and he comes back into play later when we climb the electrified tower, which I honestly thought wouldn't happen because it's pretty cringe originally, but they made it work so I can't complain.

Once we've dealt with Bottomswell and made it back to shore, we find the mayor giving Yuffie CPR. Now, I noticed Cloud scrutinising the procedure, so I'm suspicious about this coming back at some point in part three. There was originally a draft of Tifa giving Cloud CPR that didn't make it into the game, so it's possible they're planning on doing something with the idea.

Anyway, we save Yuffie and get a hilarious bit between her and Barret. I honestly love their dynamic. She's such a kid and he's got so little patience for older kids. I feel bad for future teenage Marlene 🤣

After we agree to meet Yuffie, it's back to the inn for some convos and rest. This one with Barret amused me. Cloud knows he likes the limelight and plays along with it. This detail also comes into play later the GS when Cloud's defending Barret to Dio.

On the way to his room, Cloud overheard a strange voice coming from Aerith's room. This is the first hint that Red isn't exactly what he seems to be. We also hear more about the whispers and what happened to them both. This is actually interesting. What exactly did Sephiroth need to steal from them?

This chat with Tifa is non-optional, unlike the others, and delves deeper into their relationship and her suspicions about what he remembers. They have a heart to heart, but aren't quite on the same page, which leaves them both a bit downcast.

Next morning, Yuffie intrudes to let the group know she's been hired to kill Rufus at his inauguration. She escapes and they're left to pursue her and hide in plain sight as troopers. But they also want to talk to Rufus about whether they're actually being hunted.

But before all that, Cloud has to go hopping off the back of a dolphin to climb the tower. And yes, he looks smug when he's done because he's a lil shit 🤣

Meanwhile, we get some snippets leading into part three's storyline in Wutai with EC's Glenn making an appearance. Rufus literally killed him, and going off what he spoke about, it's possible he's actually just Sephiroth in disguise and using Glenn to stoke war and gather more dead souls in the lifestream to corrupt it. But we won't know for sure until part three.

After the failed assassination, Cloud splits up with the others and finds himself stuck with some of the platoon he was directing in the parade. You have to keep them alive to succeed at this part.

At the end of the gauntlet is a rematch with Roche. And after you kick his ass, he helps you get to the dock to board the ferry.

Cloud reunites with his team and has picked up a few stragglers. And Yuffie. Who's in disguise as a robe. But that's for chapter 5.

A lot happens plot wise in this chapter, but most of it is set up for part three. Rufus mentions he's read Cloud's file, so that'll be interesting. There's also the plot with Glenn and stuff with Roche. And that's before we even get to Sephiroth.

#FF7Rebirth spoilers

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letsquestjess · 6 days

Note

Alright alright alright! ;)

Whatcha workin on, fic-wise?

What are you excited about, and what may be causing some trouble?

Hello Free!!! Thank you for the ask! 😊

On the fic front, I have quite a bit in the pipeline and oh how I wish there were more hours in the day. I’ve got a Wolffe x Reader fic that has been waiting patiently to be written since last year (whoops), a handful of Blood Daughter shorts I need to get done, and a few Bad Batch x Reader ideas.

What I’m most excited about at the minute though is the Crosshair x Eudora (OC) fic I’m currently working on called It Never Rains. I have the first four chapters drafted, but what I’ve really had trouble with is finding the right balance for Eudora’s backstory. Coming from a family of healers, she has the ability to save lives and also end them in quite discreet ways. It got to the point where a lot of it felt crammed in and I ended up removing big chunks of it to flesh out other parts of her backstory that directly impacts on who she is and what her motivations are at that point in the story like the conflict between her brothers, the role she played in rebelling against the Separatists, and healing the clones who got trapped on her homeworld during the war. It’s a lot of work but a lot of fun, and I can’t wait to start posting it 💜

#fic ask

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candyfloss-esophagus · 3 months

Note

Heyo, it's me! Not being late for once!

Okay, ask game time! (not holding back this time so get ready!)

These are all for Crying Wolf, cause I'll never be normal about it <3

☼

☄

✄

♡

☠

☾

☽

∞

★

(I know you've answered similar questions about the fic before, so feel free to skip those if you don't wanna answer them again <3 )

Hey, thanks for the ask!! I'm sure I have answered similar questions in the past but fortunately for you, my brain is a sieve that has been thrown over the edge of a waterfall.

☼: how i came up with the idea

I didn't actually come up with the idea all by myself, I'm part of the noirpunk discord server that regularly has little round robin fics and snippets that everyone can add onto. In its very early days, we were discussing what would happen if there were a symbiote that was virtually undetectable (and also, tangentially, what would happen if Hobie became infected) and I was so intrigued by this concept that I asked to use it in an actual fic!

☄: what the writing process was like

Arduous. Writing is like pulling teeth for me lol and Crying Wolf is certainly no outlier. I wrote chronologically whenever I had the time to sit down and think about it, but I had it vaguely planned out from the get-go. The only thing was that I added in another chapter -- chapter four was never meant to exist! I was going to shove everything that happened in chapter four and five in together but that seemed like a little much.

✄: something i deleted before the final draft

I post on a chapter by chapter basis because I'm too impatient to keep an entire wip to myself (trying to change that!) but there was going to be a scene where the symbiote was explicitly purged from Hobie. I decided not to write it because of medical semantics and how it would have made it even longer and also because my mental health was like a raft strapped together by duct tape at that point in the year.

♡: my favorite part

My favourite part is the end bit and Peter's conversation with Hobie because that was the thing that the server went into most detail about when we were cooking up the whole concept. I love thinking back to that night so much!

☠: something i found challenging

Fucking writing the damn thing lol. Motivation is very tricky for me and finishing what I start is even moreso (ta adhd!) but we got there in the end!!! As mentioned before, writing is difficult for me and I'm not actually a very good writer so trying to get it to a standard that I felt honoured what we had originally come up with in the server was definitely a challenge.

☾: how i thought people would respond to the fic

I.. didn't? Getting comments is so incredibly rare and special to me and the fact that I get so many purely because I write the most for noirpunk on ao3 is WILD.

☽: how people *actually* responded

Well they responded for a start lol. I got veritable essays on how bad I made people feel and theories for how it would progress and how well done the whole thing was and people from the server cheering me on and even one person who only investigated for the cannibalism, and were grossed out by it which is incredible. It was just a torrent of warmth and love and it was so confusing to me at the time but so important now looking back. It was an awful time for me and my life and having all those comments and responses was so special.

∞: something i wish i’d done differently

I read back on it a few days ago and it all seems so superficial to me now, so suffice to say most things and be done with it there.

★: something i’m proud to have accomplished

Just fuckin. Writing it. Finishing it. Impacting people's lives with it. That's why I write that's why I do this. And it was my first foray into more violent stuff so I'm glad I started it by diving in headfirst instead of just dipping my toes in.

Thank you for the ask! Ask game for any other fics of mine that you care to hear about is here, the fic Crying Wolf is here, and I hope you have a lovely day!!

#fiepige #ask answered #esophagus speaks #noirpunk #ask game #atsv #atsv fic #behind the scenes with esophagus

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nanowrimo · 6 months

Text

Pro Tips from a NaNo Coach: How to Write a Novel in 30 Days

NaNoWriMo can seem like a daunting task sometimes, for NaNo newbies and veterans alike. Fortunately, our NaNo Coaches are here to help guide you through November! Today, author Adiba Jaigirdar is here to share her advice on how to set yourself up for noveling success:

Welcome to the very first week of NaNoWriMo! I’ve done NaNoWriMo for (almost) every year since 2008. I’ve won some, I’ve lost some, but I’ve learned a lot along the way. In fact, I apply a lot of the tactics I learned in NaNoWriMo to all my writing. When I wrote my second book, Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating, I ended up with a first draft of 74,000 words written in 30 days. That wasn’t something I would have thought possible in 2008 when I was slogging through my very first 50,000-word novel. That’s why I’m here today to share with you a few tips and tricks I’ve picked up through my writing journey, in the hopes that they serve you and your novel this November:

1. Accountability

One of the most difficult parts of writing a novel is that it requires so much self-discipline. It’s not like a job you show up to where your boss is holding you accountable for how many words you’ve written. Only you are ultimately responsible for how much you get done—which is why it’s easy to get demotivated and give up. So, you need to figure out ways in which you can be accountable for your novel this month.

You’ll be glad to hear that you’ve already taken the first step in doing this: you’ve pledged to do NaNoWriMo. You’re here, ready to write. But you can go a step further: ask your friends and family to hold you accountable by checking in on your progress during the month. If you have friends who are doing NaNoWriMo that’s even better; you can hold each other accountable. If you’re on social media, you can share updates every day and be accountable to your followers. There are a lot of ways to do it; so figure out what kind of accountability works best for you!

2. Planning

Planning a novel is definitely not for everyone. This is coming from someone who has pantsed many books! Planning can look different for different people. If you are a true-blue plotter, you might have your entire novel planned from beginning to end, with comprehensive chapter outlines. But if you’re not someone who plots out your entire novel before you’ve written a single word, planning is still important.

This planning can look like a rough outline of your book or finishing your writing day and jotting down a few quick ideas of what to write when you come back to writing the next day, or it can be leaving yourself voice memos as ideas spark when you’re nowhere near your novel. Going into every new day of writing without any idea of what the blank page will hold is very, very daunting, which is why planning ahead can be just the motivation that you need to fulfill your word count goal for the day.

3. Figure out what works for you

I have published four books so far and I’ve written many more. The process of writing each of these books has been very different. I drafted one in three months, one in 30 days, one was completely plotted with a rigorous outline, while one was plotted with a flexible outline, and two were completely pantsed. What I’ve learned about myself is that to make a book work, sometimes I have to try something different.

The only thing NaNoWriMo requires of you is to write those 50,000 words. How you go about it depends on you. You don’t have to write every single day if that doesn’t work for you. You can write at the same time every day, or a different time every day depending on what sparks your creativity. You don’t have to participate in writing sprints if writing with a countdown doesn’t help you focus. The point is that now’s your time to figure out what works for you and what doesn’t. You might be surprised by what methods you swear will never work for you but ends up helping you over that finish line.

4. Have fun!

This is easier said than done, but try to enjoy writing your novel. Especially when it feels difficult. When I wrote 74,000 words in 30 days, it felt like a breeze because I was having a lot of fun with my book. Try to remember what makes you excited about your novel and go back to that when it’s tough. If writing is what you love, find the joy of it and nurture it throughout this month. The more you enjoy it, the more likely you are to keep writing.

Adiba Jaigirdar is the award-winning, critically-acclaimed and bestselling author of The Henna Wars, Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating, A Million to One, and The Dos and Donuts of Love. A Bangladeshi/Irish writer and former teacher, she has an MA in Postcolonial Studies and a BA in English and History. She is the winner of the YA book prize 2022, the KPMG Children’s Books Ireland Awards 2021, and was a finalist for the 2022 Lambda Literary awards. When not writing, she is probably ranting about the ills of colonialism, playing video games, or expanding her overflowing lipstick collection.

#nanowrimo #nanowrimo 2023 #writing #writing advice #writing tips #writblr #by nano coach #adiba jaigirdar

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truly-hopeless · 5 months

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Honest Question About A Fic

So not too long ago, while at work, I was thinking about a story of mine that I haven't updated in almost two years. The story is titled "I Move the Stars For No One," which is a retelling of Rumpelstiltskin with L/Light Yagami as the main ship that I started writing after reading other LawLight fairy tale rewrites, namely eleonoraw's Merman and Totoroto's Snow Moon. It was my first story published to AO3 near the beginning of the pandemic and was my first LawLight fic. It currently sits unfinished at seven chapters (there was an eighth, a scrapped prologue, but I moved it to "The Dead Darling Graveyard" since it had little to do with the story) and was last updated December 2021. While I like parts of the current version (such integrating other fairy tales into the story since I'm a sucker for that kind of thing), I feel dissatisfied with the story for several reasons:

It's taking too long to get to the main conflict of the story (Beyond disrupting Light and L's arrangement and the two needing to find a way to stop that from happening) even without the long hiatuses and that smaller conflicts (L hiding he's a goblin from Light, Light feeling conflicted about what to do now that he's not going to be executed, and Misa's jealousy) are getting resolved too easily.

The story barely resembles Rumplestiltskin at all. Sure, it was always going to be a different story from the original fairy tale since the protagonists' identities and circumstances that make them desperate enough to ask a magical stranger for help and who they fall in love with are not the same (while the miller's daughter can definitely do better than the greedy king demanding she spin straw into gold on pain of death, never in a million years is she going to consider the man who demands she hand over her baby [presumably to eat it] in exchange for his help marriage material unless there is serious tweaking done to his character), it still feels off.

The main characters feel out of character. Light and L became too familiar too fast (even for a ship fic) and there's no real tension after L's deception is revealed and Light forgives him (too easily, I feel). And while I don't necessarily want to vilify Misa to add conflict (especially since I just complained about how awful the king in the original fairy tale was), she should be a little more unwilling to share Light with L (even if she is the one that gets to marry him) and push back more.

I just hate the title. It was taken from lyrics of a song from Labyrinth, but outside of L being the King of Goblins in this story and the memory-wiping peaches there's nothing in common with Labyrinth either; it could have been, if I wasn't afraid of adding more conflict and making L more dark grey when it comes to morality, but that wasn't what I wrote.

So I'm thinking about rewriting the story, to make it more in line with both the original fairy tale and in the spirit of LawLight. But that comes with it's own problems:

If you've been following me for any amount of time, you'll know that I'm not the most consistent when it comes to updating my stories; it could be anywhere between a week to four months to a whole year before I update something due to a combination of burnout, stress when I think about how I'm almost thirty and nothing in my life is coming together, and being distracted by other story ideas. Speaking of...

I have too much shit going on as is when it comes to writing. I was tagged for that WIP ask game a few weeks ago, where I had to list out all the stuff I've been working on. The list has 31 drafts and I found out today that I still forgot to list a couple (not going back to change it now) and then there are ideas that play out in my head during work or when I'm trying to sleep that I haven't brought myself to write down because I am trying to keep the new WIPs to a minimum.

I have yet to finish a long story (I have the same problem as the protagonist from Dave Made a Maze: I start all these projects, but never finish them) and will feel slightly guilty for abandoning yet another one, even if it's for the sake of a rewrite instead of abandoning it altogether and trying to forget they exist like the stories on my FFN account.

So what should I do?

#fanfiction #lawlight #fairy tale retelling #rumplestiltskin #tumblr polls #writing #death note #fantasy

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afterdarkprincess · 5 months

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The Devil's In The Details (But You Got a Friend in Me)- Part 5

Pairing: Sami/Jey Rating: Explicit Chapter Summary: Jey returns in time for the Draft and his and Jimmy's rematch against the Brawling Brutes.

Took me ages, but I've got an update for this one :)

Thank you a million times to @elementaldoughnut12 for the prompt that turned into this fic <3

tags for @feelschicken @imabillyami @southerngirl41 @jeysbvck and @harmshake (if anyone else would like to be tagged in my fics please let me know!

This fic is explicit and this part contains: Masturbation, Phone Sex and canon typical violence.

AO3 Link

Part One Part Two

Part Three Part Four

Jey enters the arena the next day in a foul mood. The Draft was announced and scheduled while he was away for the same night as their rematch with the Brawling Brutes, and it feels like just another way for Roman to manipulate him and his family.

Roman has the influence to keep them all on Smackdown together, but he also has the influence to separate him and his brother. And after the displeasures the Tribal Chief expressed, Jey is full of anxiety for himself and his brother’s futures if they don’t get the tag team titles back.

He’s gotten a string of messages from Sami since he departed from his hotel for the American Bank Center, but it hasn’t done much to assuage his anxieties or lift his spirits. It’s not even been a full day and he’d give anything to see Sami’s smile in person again, and part of him is terrified of how these feelings have taken over his entire life.

Jey checks in and receives the directions to their private locker room, already unnerved that the instructions hadn’t been sent to him in advance by Paul, but he could chalk that up to having been on vacation. He passes several others on the roster, but keeps to himself for the most part, only nodding and giving a small wave to Xavier and Kofi.

He enters the locker room to find Jimmy there alone. They certainly aren’t as inseparable now as adults as they’d been as children, but something in Jey just feels right at the sight of his twin, especially having been apart for a week.

“Ey, Uce, what’s up?” Jey cuts him off, enveloping Jimmy into a bear hug, holding onto him tightly and not letting go for a while. “Damn dude, you good?” Jimmy chuckles, trying to lighten the mood.

Jey nods, trying to play it cool. “Yeah, uh, just missed ya Uce, that’s all.”

Jimmy grins, “Makes sense, don’ know how you was gon’ have fun on that vacation without me, huh? Even wit’ seein’ Sami.” Jey feels a pang in his chest at the mention of the man he loves. “How’s he doin’ anyway?”

“Uh, he’s good. Just doin’ PT and stuff, you know?” Jey wants to tell his brother about their week and all the things they did together, though maybe not everything. He’s not used to hiding things from Jimmy, not big things like this.

Jimmy meanwhile is shoving a protein bar into his mouth. “Mmhmm,” He garbles. “I bet. Fuckin’ hated that when my knee was busted. Shit hurts and then they got you on the treadmill like that? No thanks.”

“Yeah,” Jey tries to change the subject, just to keep himself from spilling the beans. He’s not ready to do this tonight. “What’d I miss?”

“Well this draft for one, ‘cause we ain’t been through enough right now.”

“No shit,” Jey agrees.

“Big Uce still pissed at us I think, at least I ain’t heard word from him since you left and that ain’t usually good news.”

“And Solo?”

Jimmy shrugs, “I dunno, Uce. He been ‘bout the same, quiet n’ stuff.” He cracks open a bottle of water. “Can’t figure him out.”

“Where he at tonight?”

“Beats me,” Jimmy shakes his head. “Wiseman took him off somewhere, man. Tryin’ not to think about that, keep our eyes on the prize for this rematch tonight.”

Jey sees red just thinking about the Brutes. “We gon’ get those titles back, dawg. And once we do m’gonna bury that fucker Holland.” His hands shake as they curl into fists.

As usual Jimmy misses nothing, “Ey, calm down bruh. We gon’ take care of ‘em like you said. No worries.”

The conversation lulls and it’s quiet for the moment, Jey staring down at the floor.

“What you think Big Uce gon’ do if we don’t win?”

Jimmy stands, clapping a hand onto Jey’s shoulder reassuringly. “Can’t be thinking like that, Jey. We ain’t gotta worry about that cause we gon’ whoop those guys no problem. We gon’ have the titles back and everythin’ gon’ be how it was before.”

Jey hears Sami’s words in his head, that even if things go back to how they were it still isn’t a good place for them, that Roman won’t be happy no matter how many accolades the Bloodline has.

He’s not ready for that conversation with his twin either, not with this amount of pressure on them to deliver tonight. He nods slowly, “You right,”

“Course I’m right, Uce! Now let’s go watch this draft with the rest of these suckers to see their faces when we get picked first!” Jimmy heads out the door with a spring in his step, and it’s doing nothing for the dread sitting heavy in Jey’s stomach.

He gets an alert on his phone, another text from Sami.

Hope everything’s going well<3 I’ll be watching, got a pizza coming for the occasion lol 6:45pm

Jey laughs in spite of himself.

Bet it ain’t as good as good as my food tho 6:46pm

Course not- gotta save those frozen meals and ration them lol 6:48pm

Can’t have you wasting away, baby 6:49pm

He hesitates for a moment staring at the screen before he hits the emoji button and sends a solitary red heart. It shouldn’t send his heart rate up just sending one little text message, but it feels like a big step.

Jey goes to throw his phone into his bag to go join Jimmy when it goes off again, the screen showing an identical heart back from Sami. Jey smiles, feeling just a little bit of the weight he’s carrying on his shoulders vanish.

He’s not in this alone anymore.

—

Most of the smackdown roster is gathered together backstage watching the live feed. Even they don’t really have the clearest picture of what the draft will look like this time, and gossip and rumors fly.

Jey finds Jimmy hanging around the back of the room pacing, they have a promo to cut after the first round of picks, so they stay closer to gorilla.

“What took you so long Uce?” Jimmy shoved a hand into his shoulder playfully.

“Aw nothin’ for you to worry ‘bout. Still no Solo?” He looked around for his youngest brother’s bleached blond curls but didn’t spot him.

Jimmy shrugged. “Nah man, Kofi and Xavier ‘round here though.” The Usos didn’t have many friends left on the roster after the last few years, but the New Day never took their on-stage antics to heart.

“Yeah saw ‘em when I got in,” Jey took a bottle of water from a nearby table. “Anything yet?”

“Nope, show’s just about to start though.”

The intro starts on the monitors, and Jey’s mind wanders back to Sami watching along at home. He’s hit with the same feeling he had at Wrestlemania, that Sami should be here alongside him. How would things have changed over the last few months if Sami had been by his side? Would he and Jimmy still have the tag belts and be in Roman’s good graces? Would Sami even still be with the bloodline?

Jey shakes his head to clear the thoughts away. It would do him no good to be distracted like this before a promo and a title match.

Triple H is on the screen, having gone through his spiel about how the evening will proceed and what this means for the company and blah blah blah. Jey’s just anxious to hear where they’re going, as there’s no doubt the Bloodline will be drafted together first, Roman would demand nothing less.

“With the first draft of the evening, Friday Night Smackdown selects…” Hunter pauses, as if it will be a surprise. “Three drafted as one! The Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, the Enforcer, Solo Sikoa, and the Wiseman Paul Heyman, the Bloodine!”

Jey’s pulse roars in his ears as he processes the lack of he and his twins names being called with Roman’s. His eyes lock with Jimmy’s, wide with confusion and anger.

“What the hell man?” Jimmy huffs, as if Jey would know.

“I dunno Uce, but we gon’ find out!” Jey storms toward gorilla, fire in his eyes.  He runs headlong into Adam Pearce, hanging around backstage, his hands come up defensively. “If you boys have questions or comments about the draft picks I’m gonna need you to direct them elsewhere. Right now, you need to wait for Triple H to finish the first round and call you out there.

In Jey’s ire, he’d completely forgotten about the rest of the draft and their segment, nothing too complicated, just going out and hurling insults at their opponents, but now his mind is clouded.

There are a few more minutes of Triple H’s voice droning and echoing through the monitor feeds, calling out more picks for each brand but Jey barely listens as his mind races.

Is this another game? A punishment for me n’ Jim acting out? or for losing the belts? Is Roman gonna separate us or just kick us out the family? Maybe this ain’t a bad thing if it means we get away.

Before he knows it, he blinks at the shine of lights in his face as he finds himself in the ring, the cheers of the crowd competing with his loud heartbeat.

Jimmy looks at him, but Jey nods, letting his twin take the intro.

“Corpus Christi, the bloodline is now in yo’ city!” Jimmy projects into the microphone, and Jey knows he’s gonna need to pull it together.

Somehow he makes it through the promo, gets the words out that he needs to in a semi coherent fashion, barking insults at Butch and Ridge and Sheamus too for good measure.

They come out to try and intimidate them and it ends in a brawl, which is much easier for him to get through, using his fists to get the anger and frustration out of his body. And he gets a few good shots in on Holland, which always makes him feel better these days.

He stalks behind Jimmy as they head backstage, keeping his focus on the back of his brother’s head.

They storm through backstage, bypassing the room where everyone else is gathered, not stopping until they’re back in their own private locker room, and blissfully alone.

Solo and Paul are still nowhere to be found.

Jimmy is fuming immediately. “You wanna tell me what’s goin’ on, ‘Mister Right Hand Man’?” The title is spat at him, and Jey’s stomach sinks.

“I told you, Uce- I don’t know, I ain’t been here to know!” He starts pacing.

“Cause you keep runnin’ off to see Sami every chance you get, actin’ weird, keepin’ shit from me! You supposed to be my brother, Uce!” Jimmy shakes his head.

Fear and guilt creeps into Jey’s heart. He has been keeping things from his brother, and of course Jimmy’s picked up on that. It won’t do him any good to keep arguing with Jimmy, if he’s worked up like this who knows what will slip outta his mouth?

Jey takes a deep breath and rubs his face with his hands, trying to clear his head.

He starts, “Listen, I know thing’s been messed up lately-“

“You think?” Jimmy interjects.

“But you know I ain’t got nothin’ to do with this! Wiseman gotta know somethin’, or Solo even, since they done pulled a disappearing act.” Jey gestures towards the empty room around them.

Jimmy frowns, kicking his feet and huffs. “I know, Uce. I just don’t like how things been lately, you know?” Jey nods. “First losin’ Sami, then the belts, Roman actin’ like he’s our Daddy or somethin’ and now all this?” Jimmy drops to sit on the couch, head hung in defeat.

Jey takes a few cautious steps towards his brother, “I know, Uce, really feels like we jus’ can’t win right now.”

“It’d be better if I could trust you to have my back.” Jimmy fixes him with a look. “We got this title rematch tonight, and we should be focused on gettin’ back what’s ours so Roman can chill the hell out.”

“I got your back, Jimmy. I always do.” Jey answers, hoping that it will be enough.

His twin stares at him, unblinking, like he’s looking for his answer in Jey’s eyes. After a few long moments, he nods. “Okay,” Jimmy extends his hand, and Jey takes it and helps him to his feet. “But as soon as we get through all this, you gotta come clean about whatever it is you hidin’.”

Jey opens his mouth to deny the allegation, but he thinks better of it, and nods. “Alright, all we gotta do is put those clowns away tonight.”

“Damn right,” Jimmy claps him on the shoulder, and Jey feels like he can finally breathe again.

He looks at the clock on the wall, it’s already about halfway through the show and they gotta be ready for their match in about a half hour. “C’mon, we prolly outta get back out there.”

Jimmy nods, “You right, you know somebody gon’ be out there talkin’ shit.” He goes to head out the door but turns around. “Jey?”

“Ye?”

“You know I love you right?”

Jey feels his heart swell up in his chest. “Yeah, Uce. I love you too.”

Jimmy sticks his tongue out, making a face. “Alright now we done with that, let’s go remind these fools who runs this show.” He turns and walks out the door.

Jey spares one last glance back toward his bag, tempted to call Sami or at least check his phone, but Jimmy is already suspicious and will definitely notice his absence, so he follows suit and heads back out into the hallway to follow his twin.

—

The rest of the draft picks aren’t remarkable, mostly because they aren’t Jey and Jimmy.

They’re waiting in gorilla position for their music to hit, and as much as Jey tries to keep himself focused on the task at hand, his mind is far from settled.

He bounces on the balls of his feet, trying to feed this energy into his body, at least make it useful for the fight ahead of him, while his thoughts race.

if we lose again, that’s it. We out the family, we might be out already. Who gon’ watch out for Solo if Roman kicks us out? Wish I could talk to Sami…

The sound of spit hitting the floor stirs him from his thoughts.

Butch and Ridge stand before them, the tag belts on their shoulders and scowls on their faces.

Jey sees red, filled with rage at the sight.

He darts toward them, but is stopped by Jimmy before he can do anything stupid.

“That’s right, keep a leash on that dog.” Butch taunts.

Ridge cracks his knuckles menacingly. “Won’t have to hold it long, gonna put you down, boy.” He spits at Jey’s feet.

Jey can barely think for how angry he is, but their music starts and he has to wait before he can put his hands on Holland, has to put on a good show to stay in Roman’s good graces.

Jimmy turns to him, blocking their opponents from view. “You good, bruh?”

Jey huffs out a breath. “M’good.”

“Jus’ gotta get the belts.”  He nods, following Jimmy out onto the stage.

Jey is thankful for their reputations, that they can get away with scowling during their entrances because he can’t bring his face to do anything else at the moment.

The crowd is behind them, cheering and throwing their ones to the sky. Their love for the Honorary Uce has carried him and Jimmy through this feud even at the darkest of times, so it’s what he’ll latch onto today. He sees signs in the crowd.

“WE MISS YOU SAMI”

“FOREVER UCEY”

He feels more steady by the time they get into the ring, less likely to lose his temper at a moments notice. He stretches his arms and flexes against the ropes as Mike announces the incoming tag team champions.

Whatever good will the Brawling Brutes had carried with the crowd by their association with Sheamus is long gone. The fans boo them the whole walk down the aisle, though it doesn’t phase them much.

Butch is growling at both of them, but Ridge’s eyes are cold and fixed directly on Jey. Unmoving and unflinching.

Jey stares right back. If the man wants to make this personal, he’ll make it personal.

The bell rings signaling the start of the match. Jey waves Jimmy to the corner as Butch hops over the top rope. Ridges eyes stay locked on Jey’s as they both take slow steps forward to the center of the ring.

Neither makes a move until they’re nose to nose in the center of the ring, Jey looking up slightly to keep eye contact.

“M’gonna enjoy this,” Ridge says under his breath.

“Me too,” Jey’s eyes are blazing as he lets his hands take over and do the talking for him.

—

Jey lays in bed, staring up at the ceiling. He’s alone, which feels more like a punishment than anything else.

They lost. Again.

More specifically he ate the pin again. From Ridge.

Jey blinks hard, rubbing his hands over his tired eyes. Maybe if he just closes his eyes, the whole day will start over again.

His phone lights up with another message. He has about 20 unread texts from Sami and just as many from Jimmy.

He’s not sure who wants to avoid more.

Sami’s expressed several times that he doesn’t need Jey to fight his battles for him, but each loss against these monsters that took him out feels like letting Sami down, like failing to protect him again.

And Jimmy…

He can’t get the looks of hurt and betrayal out of his mind, after his brother had been caught in a brutal spear that he’d been aiming for Butch. The smaller man had dodged out of the way at the last moment, and it had ultimately been his twin he sent crashing to the mat.

Jimmy knew it was a mistake. Knew Jey hadn’t been aiming for him. But Jey still felt immense guilt. Especially since the error cost them the match.

The match. The belts. Their place in their family.

He knows Sami has his back, and that they have a back up plan. But his family has been Jey’s whole life, even the thought of losing it is terrifying to him.

The phone rings, vibrating loudly against the nightstand. He slowly reaches a hand over to see who it is.

He’s relieved to see Sami’s smiling face lighting up the screen. Probably the only person he’d answer right now.

“Hey Sami,” Jey sighs.

“Hi sweetheart…” Sami’s soft tones bring tears prickling to his eyes again. “I’d ask how you’re holding up, but I can imagine it pretty well.”

“Yeah,” He sniffs hard, trying to keep it together.

“So.. staying on smackdown at least?”

Jey huffs, “Yeah, ‘least OG didn’t keep us in suspense.”

At the end of the match as Jey lay in the ring in shock from the pin, Roman’s music had hit, sending a chill of fear down his spine.

But in the end, it was just Paul, squabbling about influence and draft picks, but ultimately confirming that the Usos would be going to Smackdown with the Tribal Chief after all. Roman had put him through that anxiety for seemingly no reason.

Can’t say he’s surprised. Just another mind game.

“Talk to me, Sami?” He chokes out. “Somethin’, anythin’ that’s not this.”

Sami obliges, launching into a story about some guy he sees at PT each week, as usual he’s got a talent for filling empty air. Jey isn’t paying the most attention to the details, but the sound of Sami’s voice is soothing.

“… And that’s when I said, it’s your spot now, my dawg!” Sami breaks off into laughter at his own joke, and Jey chuckles, feeling like he can at least breathe again.

When both of their laughter dies down, he says. “Thanks, Sami. Dunno what I’d do without you.”

“Of course, baby. I love you so much, we’re gonna get through this.” Sami takes a pause. “Any word from Roman?”

Jey shakes his head before remembering that Sami can’t see him. “Nah, nothin’ yet.”

Sami hums. “How’s Jimmy taking things?”

“Dunno,” He sniffs. “Ain’t talked to him since. We uh- we already had one fight earlier an’ I don’ wanna run that back.”

“I get that,” Sami says. “But I gotta think maybe you’d feel better to clear the air with him, I hate seein’ my favorite twins fight.”

It’s meant to be a joke, but after all the tension between him and Jimmy it just makes his heart hurt.

“He knows I’m hiding somethin’,” Jey’s voice is soft, like this too is a secret. “Thought maybe I had something to do with the draft, that I was in on whatever Roman was plannin’. I dunno how long I can keep this up, Sami.”

The line is quiet for a while, and when he speaks Sami’s voice is small. “I don’t wanna make things hard for you, Jey-“

“Don’t you even think that,” Jey’s feels his nerves rattle, at how quickly Sami would suggest them splitting up. “It took me way too long to get you, Sami- I ain’t givin’ you up.”

Sami’s sigh of relief is audible. “M’sorry, I shouldn’t have-“

Jey shakes his head, even though Sami can’t see him. “Nah, you just doin’ what you always do, baby. You look out for me. But I’m bein’ selfish now and I’m not letting you go.”

Say it. Say it now, he deserves to know.

“Sami, I-“ Jey pauses, his heartbeat loud in his ear.

How can I tell him I love him when I ain’t even free yet?

“Can I see you?”

Before he’s even got the words out the facetime call comes through, and Sami’s face is on his screen and it shouldn’t make him feel this relieved, to just be able to see him as he moves, adjusting himself and turning on a light in the bedroom so Jey can see him even better.

“Jey…” Sami breathes his name and Jey winces, knowing already what he’s about to say.

“S’not that bad.” His fingers find the edge of the bandage that covers the cut above his right eye. Ridge had flung him into the ring post, and he’d caught the edge on his eyebrow. It looked much scarier on TV, with blood trickling down into his eye.

On the screen Sami’s brow is furrowed, then slowly his face relaxes as the camera gets closer to his face. Finally the screen only shows the creases of Sami’s lips, puckered to kiss the screen, and Jey feels his face heat up.

Kissin’ me better an’ everything.

Sami’s face is relaxed when Jey can see all of it again, and he aches to reach out and touch him.

“Miss you, boo.” The words slip out of his mouth unbidden, but it’s true.

His laugh echoes in the quiet of the room, “It’s barely been a day since you’ve seen me.”

“So? That ain’t mean nothing.” Jey protests. “Miss them cute cheeks of yours, wanna put my teeth on ‘em”

Sami blushes beautifully, pink spreading across his newly chubby cheeks as he squirms. “Stop, you don’t mean that.”

Jey pushes himself up further, raising an eyebrow. “Oh you think I don’t? You just wait til’ after Puerto Rico, I’m gonna put in the fangs and show you just how much I wanna bite you.” He bares his teeth and chomps at the screen playfully, sending Sami into giggles. Jey feels his dick twitch in interest just at the thought of getting his mouth on his lover. “Mark you all over before I get my mouth on your dick, wanna make you feel so good, Sami.”

Sami’s blush deepens, “Will you let me fuck you again?’

He keens, suddenly aware of how empty he feels, and his dick filling in earnest now. “Yeah- yeah, Sami. Are you-?”

On the screen, Sami nods emphatically. “Thank goodness I’m already in bed. Want your hands on me, Jey.”

“I know-“ Jey bites out. “I know baby, wish I was there. Touch yourself for me.” The camera jostles between Sami’s hands and then his head is thrown back into the pillow as he groans. “Go slow, ain’t no need to rush. Tell me- please Sami, tell me how it feels.” Jey wraps one of his hands around his own cock and strokes slowly as he gets even harder.

Sami whines, “Feels so good, but it’s not the same- Ah, fuck, Jey!” The ginger’s breathing heavily, his shoulder moving on screen just enough to suggest the pace of his hand on his cock.

“Show me,” Jey blurts out. “Let me see how hard you are for me,”

The image on Jey’s phone wobbles and Sami seems to drop the phone. When it returns, the camera has switched and Jey sees the disheveled comforter around Sami’s pale thighs, the color lovely against the pink of his stretch marks. His cock stands proudly, supported by Sami’s hand with his thumb rubbing slow circles around the head.

Jey imagines his tongue making those same circles, and he really ought to be embarrassed by the desperate noise he makes at the thought, but he can”t find it in himself to care.

He’s not going to last long, overwhelmed with sensation and emotion and longing and the sound of Sami’s pleasured sighs.

“Jey— please, wanna see you too.” Sami begs, the sound high in his throat and Jey can do nothing but comply, frantically pressing his thumb on the screen to swap the camera, so Sami gets a view of his shorts pushed down and his hand working his dick. “Oh, oh Jey- so gorgeous, such a pretty cock, have I ever told you that?”

Jey huffs out a laugh but the compliment goes straight to the tight heat in his stomach as he approaches his orgasm. “Nah, don’t think you have.”

“Gorgeous, perfect, so perfect, mine, mine-“ Sami gasps and Jey’s eyes are glued to the screen as Sami’s cock shoots cum all over his awaiting fingertips.

He groans, following right behind, painting his stomach with his jizz as he falls over the edge to the sound of Sami’s breath.

Sami’s camera switches again, and he brings two cum coated fingers to his lips, licking them slowly before putting them into his mouth to clean them off.

If it was remotely possible for Jey to get hard again, he would be.

“Fuckin’ hell, Sami. Are you tryin’ to kill me?”

Sami grins after he removes the fingers from his mouth, shiny with his spit. “Never, sweetheart. How many weeks until Puerto Rico again?”

“Just over two,” Jey sighs, reaching for a tissue to clean up his own mess. “We’ll have 4 days together I think?”

“Can’t come soon enough.”

Jey feels the weight of the day and the fight settle into his bones, and knows he’s going to fall asleep sooner rather than later.

They make their long goodbyes, Jey still trying to memorize how the words “I love you” sound coming out of Sami’s mouth, how they make him feel when they’re directed at him.

When finally the screen goes black, and he’s alone again with his thoughts and a list of unread messages, Jey tosses his phone onto the side table and surrenders himself to sleep. --- I really hope I get the next part out sooner than this one! Thank you for being patient with me 🙈

#samijey #jey uso #sami zayn #wwe fanfiction #my fics

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