#i Did have a fic about this in like 2021 but i scrapped it because. i lost interest in sge. but hey i'm back now | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

oathkeeper-of-tarth · 2 months

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Here's another long-winded post about me combing through BG3 early access files in search of Aylin and Isobel tidbits - rummaging that already resulted in this post right here. Let me just say I'm pleased to have brought Aylin Silverblood some attention because, again, I think it's a dope name.

Now, obviously, Isobel and Aylin are both Act 2 characters, and early access only covered Act 1. So anything related to them is partial stuff that wasn't scrubbed from the game files for whatever reason, and a lot of placeholders (these are usually indicated by |the text being in vertical lines|). This all means that sometimes (usually!) there are no nice voice lines indexed by UUID and parseable dialogue trees, and you have to trawl through a giant localisation XML of every bit of text in the game instead. An additional complication is all these stories were in flux, but older bits of writing from deprecated iterations didn't get immediately removed from the files, so it's sometimes hard to tell what belongs to which version.

The biggest luck I've had with regards to these two is the 24/11/2021 version of the game - EA Patch #6 Hotfix #19, aka game version v. 4.1.1.1356845, aka the source of Aylin Silverblood (my beloved). Here's a handy list of the patch and hotfix history, if you're like me and interested in this stuff. I'm actually wrangling files from 5 versions of the game right now, ranging from March 2021 to July 2022 - it's been a fun time. This old datamining post on reddit really helped narrow down the timeframe for me to look into.

Why am I doing this? I genuinely find it fun and interesting! There's some neat writing to be found! I crave more Isobel at all times! And I'm always into WIP and "how the sausage is made" type stuff. Also, tons of cool inspo for fics and headcanons.

Note, because I know that's a popular EA tidbit: this is all from after the Halsin killing Isobel variant was scrapped. This is, in fact, the version where she gets killed and soul trapped by Balthazar, and Aylin gets framed for it.

I'm going to start this off with my favourite part, and that is snippets of an early version of the Aylin/Isobel reunion from 2021. I've done my best to put them in order, but be aware a lot of this is still me speculating.

|[CINE: Nightsong teleports the party to the plaza in front of Last Light. As she looks around trying to familiarize herself, Isobel notices your arrival from the balcony. Her reaction is pure shock, followed by an immediate rush down the stairs.]|

|[CINE: Isobel dashes out of the front of the inn, wide-eyed and out of breath. Nightsong stares at her, stunned.]|

Aylin: |(distant, shocked) Isobel.|

Isobel: |Aylin...|

|[CINE: Nightsong takes an instinctive step towards her but stumbles, collapsing to her knees, eyes blown with pain and disbelief. Isobel closes the distance between them in hasty steps, trying to help Nightsong up, but Nightsong tightly grips at her arms - as if the contact makes everything real.]|

|[CINE: Isobel's eyes fill with tears as she drops down to the ground, throwing her arms around Nightsong's shoulders in a tight embrace. Shaking, almost fearful, Nightsong returns the embrace - the first kind touch she's had in a hundred years.]|

|[CINE: Nightsong draws back from the hug, looking Isobel in the eyes. Isobel helps Nightsong to her feet. As the two of them stand, they keep their hands linked.]|

Aylin: |A hundred years. Isobel, light of my heart, where were you? (choking up) I found your body, I....|

Isobel: |I was dead, Aylin. For so long. It was Balthazar - he trapped my soul, he-|

Player: |[Doesn'tKnowRelationship] You were lovers? Did Ketheric know?|

Aylin: |(jaw tightens) We were lovers. Her father was against it. He saw nothing but future misery. I'm immortal. I would never age, but she would.|

Isobel: |He didn't understand. It doesn't matter when... (fearful, as if worried Aylin's feelings might have changed) ... I still love you so much.|

Aylin: |(her first genuine smile) And I, you. No trial or pain could ever change that. (relaxes a touch) It is why I couldn't leave your body, even when they came. Balthazar and that Sharran witch told your father that I was to blame.|

|And he believed them over you?|

Aylin: |(frowns) He believed what he wanted to believe. Ketheric saw his daughter dead, and he saw someone he wanted to hurt. Shar took that cruel thread, that moment of mortal pain, and used it to corrupt him to the core.|

Aylin: |I was put on trial, and I had no defence. The moment it was over, I was taken down to the temple and... well, you saw what they had done.|

|Isobel presses against Nightsong's side, face tight with worry, running her fingers in slow strokes up and down Nightsong's arm.|

|[CINE: Nightsong tilts her head back towards the player.]|

Aylin: |These heroes saved me. Without them, I'd still be trapped in Balthazar's soul cage, with Ketheric gripping my heart like a leech.|

|[CINE: Isobel's face falls at the mention of her father's name.]|

Isobel: |A *soul cage*? Gods.|

Isobel: |I didn't know. Gods, he didn't say a word to me. I ran away because it was Balthazar that brought me back. As I ran, I heard my father shouting... but I'd seen enough. There was no saving him.|

Aylin: |You are not your father, Isobel. (sad, wry smile) You were the only thing that kept me alive in the dark. When hope began to fade, I simply thought of you.|

Isobel: |[To player] Thank you. (smiles wide) I... I can't possibly thank you enough, for bringing Aylin back to me.|

|Nightsong smiles too, but she's lost looking at Isobel, completely tuning out everyone else around them. Isobel leans in, resting her brow against Nightsong's and closing her eyes, Nightsong's hand clutched to her chest.|

Then, there is an option to press Isobel for details:

|You said the necromancer trapped your soul. Why?| |Was Balthazar the one who killed you, Isobel?|

Isobel: |(hesitant, visibly guilty) I think Aylin would know better than I do. The last thing I remember is a blade in the dark. Too fast to feel pain. Then silence.|

Asking Isobel to go with you to Moonrise was possible at various points, leading to different responses:

Will you come with me to Moonrise? I could use your help. If we're going to stop Ketheric, you have to come with me.

Until there is a way to keep Last Light safe, I cannot leave. All I can do is pray. |Not if everyone is killed at Last Light in my absence. I'll do everything I can to help you from here, but I won't go with you.| |Not if everyone is killed at Last Light in my absence. If someone else could take my place, I would go with you. I swear it.|

|Nightsong is here, she will protect Last Light - let's go to Moonrise, like you promised.| |I want to spend the night with Aylin. Meet me at Moonrise tomorrow.| |Nightsong will protect the people while together we can stop Ketheric.|

Isobel: I... we need to get close to him, don't we? And Aylin can protect Last Light in my absence. Aylin: Isobel, I have just gotten you back. To put yourself in his hands again-

Looks like we would've had a flip of the current Act 2 boss fight, and Isobel would be the ally for the confrontation with Ketheric, not Aylin. Also, that one line right there that is our first indication of Succor™, gotta love it. Sadly, post-reunion I only have:

|TBD: Post Nightsong Reunion.| |How are you and Aylin doing?|

To borrow release version Isobel's stock line: KEEPING VERY WELL, I HOPE? In any case, I'm putting the rest under a cut, featuring options for calling Isobel out on her parentage, Aylin being from Mt. Celestia, and Balthazar being gross - among many other things.

At one point quite early on, Isobel's protection from the shadow curse wasn't a spell, but an ointment:

|Ointment of Selûne| |Ointment Container PLACEHOLDER| |Isobel filled this with precious doses of her sacred Ointment of Selûne.| |First get the ointment from Isobel.| Have you received Isobel's ointment yet? What protection can her ointment offer, exactly? You should see Isobel. If Marcus does crop up, I'd sooner you had her ointment to protect you. Can use that cleric's ointment to get you on your way. But I have to move out - now. Can I get some of your ointment? No more theories! It's time for action. Our secret weapon needs to travel to Moonrise Towers, which means they'll need your ointment. You have the ointment. You have the Gate Stone. Moonrise Towers awaits. Are you sure the ointment will last long enough?

What is now Isobel's Ominous Cough was a gradual weakening that was remarked upon and seemed to be there to create more of a sense of urgency:

I won't claim to know Isobel's craft, but Selûne's light is bright in her. Isobel's tough - though she was tougher at the start. I've rarely seen a cleric so in tune with her goddess, but the curse is taking its toll. The light used to be stronger, Isobel. How much more of this curse can you take? You look paler than death, Isobel. How much more of this curse can you take?

We have some nice concise infodumps on Ketheric:

After Ketheric turned to darkness, the Enclave joined with the Harpers to unseat him and his Sharran cohorts. We marched together, fought together, bled together... and in the end we prevailed.

Only it wasn't the end. Nothing seemed to kill Ketheric himself, so the Harpers decided to seal him in his own tomb, alive. They thought that would be enough. But they hadn't counted on Ketheric unleashing the shadow curse. We watched it drain all light and life away from this place, saw it twist people into abominations. The Harpers lost hope.

Ketheric wove the curse on this land. The moment he was sealed in that tomb, Shar's poison devoured everything in its path.

Fallen paladin. Champion of Shar. He was building an army bent on unholy conquest, but we stopped him. Killed him. Buried him.

It was not enough. General Thorm lives again. He's built a new army, and this time he marches under the banner of the Absolute.

November 2021 is the earliest mention of Aylin I found, mostly marked as not finalised and placeholder dialogue (and that reunion up there). The Nightsong as present in that patch is still very different from what we ended up getting - nobody was killing her, in fact people were coming to get her "kiss", and there was a whole thing where it seems like Shar would directly take control of her and you could help her overcome the curse, or abandon her to it - or kill her.

Embrace the Nightsong and be sworn to Eternal Shadow.

Anyway, here are her lines (all of these exist as voice files, which is rare for stuff I put in this post - but they're done by a voice actress who doesn't sound like Helen Keeley, our final Aylin VA, so I don't know what to make of it all tbh):

Shar is the Nightsinger, and I am her Nightsong. I am her instrument, transforming the faithful into shadows. I've been here for centuries. Do you know how many priests of Shar came here, full of faith, seeking my kiss? I've been here for centuries. Thousands of Sharrans came here seeking my kiss. I drink their sorrow, their loss, their grief. Then I vomit it back into the world. All of them are shadows now. That is Shar's only reward. But Ketheric returned for my kiss, over and over. You're the first to survive my kiss intact. You're the only one who can help me. Please, you have to help. No one's ever resisted the kiss before. No one has ever resisted my kiss. But you are not merely *one*, are you? That thing in your head must be incredibly powerful to resist a goddess. Perhaps it's also divine in nature. Because a mind can't survive two masters. It breaks us. Shar's attention must be elsewhere. Speak quickly. She's watching now. She's waiting to steal my voice. But it won't last. Please - listen! I was captured by Ketheric Thorm, Shar's chosen. He turned me into this creature. I'm a slave of Shar. She owns me, just like that thing in your head owns you. I want to sing my own song. Not Shar's. Not *Ketheric's*. Find Ketheric. Kill him so I can be free! Slay Ketheric. His wretched existence binds me to this temple. Oh. That made her angry. The Lady returns! She has me again! *Again!* Stop! You've driven her away!

I am not your *spectacle*. Turn away before I strike you blind. Tell them to come and receive my kiss.

Some possible relevant tags, interactions, and outcomes include:

|The soul cage has greatly weakened Nightsong| |Debug: click to save Nightsong (sets the flag to talk to Isobel)| |We sided with Ketheric and doomed Nightsong.| |Companion comment!||But if his power is linked to this Nightsong, there must be a way to unlink it.| |You have taken control of Ketheric's Soul Cage| |You are bound to Ketheric's soul cage, taking his regenerative powers for yourself| |Bound to Soul Cage| |Soul Cage Key| |Soul Cage Research| |The book details the necromancer's research on the soul cage| |There is a glimpse of Isobel's ghost, as she takes her Father with her to the afterlife.| |There is a glimpse of Isobel's ghost terrified and in agony. Both Isobel and Ketheric will disappear.|

At one point Isobel delivers her own, Ketheric's, and Aylin's backstory as "a story", but sadly I can find very little of it, just disjointed fragments:

You seem to know a lot about Ketheric. He was a devout Selûnite who converted to Shar. They say it was Ketheric's purity that drew an angel down from Celestia. You're Isobel Thorm. The daughter who died in that story.

And there seem to be many options to question Isobel about her hiding the truth about her father:

Why are you lying to me, Isobel? Everyone thinks you're dead, Isobel. Tell me the truth, Isobel. Everything. Still, Isobel might have saved us some time had she been honest from the beginning. |Why didn't you tell me what happened from the start, Isobel?|

Ketheric. Don't you mean your father? Ketheric is your father. I know the truth. Ketheric told me at Moonrise. He wants me to bring you home. I need your father to trust me. He wants you back. You sent me after your father - Ketheric. I think we should discuss Ketheric - your father - first. For all you've said about Ketheric, you left out the part where he's your father.

To which I've found some responses:

And would you have trusted her? Ketheric's daughter? Why didn't I tell you that I was murdered, that my soul was locked away for a hundred years? What would I have told her? That my father murdered her fellow Harpers, but that I can surely be trusted?

[Attempt to read Isobel's thoughts.] *You see Ketheric standing before Isobel, although the memory is hazy. His words are unclear, but his tone is not - he is pleading with her.*

Brought back by the same man that killed me. Balthazar. Standing next to my father with a smile on his face.

But I'm not sure it would have mattered. To stand with that man, my father has surrendered to deepest evil.

I would love to know what the whole pleading thing is about, and what Isobel "didn't know" that she claims didn't matter anyway.

My father. After a century, he somehow brought me back. But I saw the monster he had become. I couldn't bear it... I ran. I ran until I found Last Light. It was like a second home to me, once. I've been studying the curse ever since, searching for answers. Trying to restore the damage my father has wrought upon this land. It's possible I may have to sacrifice myself. But this is my father's crime.

And then, there is this nugget I cannot place but that I like:

|Your father's due will come.|

There is also an option to tell her Nightsong is Aylin (who was, at this point, a full celestial - no mention of being connected to Selûne, though, and in fact, if she was indeed from Mount Celestia as mentioned in the "story", she would not have been):

Isobel: My father's curse still blackens this earth. Have you found anything? Player: A celestial, chained to Ketheric's soul. Player: They called her Nightsong, but she told me her name was Aylin. Isobel: Aylin. She... she's alive. I knew she had to be, I… Player: Ketheric's necromancer took her to Moonrise. Isobel: His necromancer? Gods, you have to free her. Isobel: You have to go to Moonrise and free Aylin. When Ketheric is weak, this can all be over. Isobel: The truth is that I would give anything to see her again, and anything to stop my father. Free her, and you do both. Isobel: At least, the shell of my father. There's nothing left of the man that championed Selûne. Isobel: Find her. Free her. If Ketheric isn't stopped, all of us are doomed.

Player: |[Doesn'tKnowName] Aylin? Care to explain?| Isobel: The angel in my story about Ketheric. That was Aylin.

Speaking of Balthazar. Some lines from him:

[Introductory note: please imagine everything Balthazar says spoken with a wheezy voice, as if he's permanently out of breath.]

[I need to retrieve the Nightsong, but the temple is haunted and my minions cannot make it past the trial grounds. I cannot go there until the ghosts have been dealt with. Now that you are here on behalf of Ketheric, you will do all this for me.]

I, Fodder, am here on behalf of General Ketheric Thorm. Down in the depths of this temple writhes his desire. I am to bring it to him.

I created the Nightsong for General Ketheric, many moons... HEAR THAT SHAR? Many moons ago.

*As you hold the necromancer's mocking gaze, you can tell how it starts to dawn on him you are not the mere minion he thought you were.*

Along the way I found some more recent Patch 8 (2022-ish) gross Balthazar lines, some bits of which have actually survived to release:

She was a unique specimen even before I began my work. Aasimar. A god's blood united with mortal flesh.

Such fine clay she was. We grew quite close as I… remoulded her. Now she is General Thorm's shield. Her strength is his to drink upon. His pains are hers to bear.

If I never exceed her, I will still die happy. If I ever do something as gauche as truly dying, that is.

Utterly revolting! Makes my skin crawl! Man deserves a yeeting into the Shadowfell a hundred times over! But in order to not end on a gross note, I leave you with:

Ketheric Thorm. Murderer. Oathbreaker.

Aylin Silverblood. My true name. Nightsong was only ever a curse.

#isobel thorm #dame aylin #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #aylin x isobel #balthazar #datamine #early access #long post #i have more of this stuff actually but this post is already way too long #so stay tuned i guess

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quaranmine · 6 months

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10 Years of Posting Fanfic: A Retrospective

(If you only care about reading my writing from when I was 12, skip to the cut)

I've always enjoyed reading as a kid. I was the kid in class who was reading at a high school level in intermediate school, and the kid who had 8 library books on her desk at a time. Therefore it is no surprise that I quickly realized that I enjoyed writing a lot too.

This post cannot be a look into when I started writing fanfiction though, because frankly I don't remember. Instead, all I have to go off of is the publishing date on my old fanfiction.net profile: December 15, 2013. I'm a little too young for the heyday of Live Journal and other fanfic sites, so ff.net was my first introduction to fanfiction. I also used to use Wattpad now and then, but I never posted anything there. I preferred ff.net, and did not make an AO3 account until 2016.

In middle school and intermediate school, if you asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I'd tell you I wanted to be a novelist. Of course my actual career went a different direction--I'm now an environmental outreach specialist. But the great news about writing is that it can be done at any time!

Fanfiction.net was also my introduction into the world of fanfic, back when I stumbled onto some Jayfeather Warrior Cats fanfic from a random google search. It took me entirely by suprise to find out that I could actually read more stories about my favorite characters! It was like stumbling into a gold mine. I still remember how thrilled I was. I was instantly hooked, despite being more than a little traumatized by instantly finding a "lemon" and reading about cat sex at probably 11 or 12 years old. Somehow, that did not stop me. I continued to avoid lemons, and developed a huge taste for angst, whump, and hurt/comfort stories. In retrospect, I'm not sure my mom would have viewed reading about torture or suicidal characters as particularly better than smut, but oh well. She never knew.

Throughout middle school and early high school, I was constantly writing. In middle school I had a notebook and used to hand write fanfics and original stories inside. I had two friends who also liked writing, and together we'd spend time developing and editing each other's stories. It's during this time I posted my first stories on FF.net. In high school, my school gave every student a chromebook laptop, and I started writing fanfic in Google Docs on that. I was fearless and had no problems writing angsty anime fanfic in class, on a school-monitored device.

I stopped writing fanfic somewhere in 10th grade, though I never stopped reading it. I stopped writing it primarily because I spent a lot of time writing other things. I was taking college classes. I doing competitive essay writing (I medalled at state) and competitive literary criticism. I was doing art competitions. In 12th grade, I had a job reporting school news to my local newspaper. I wrote op-eds about the environment and dutifully recorded hours of school board meetings to summarize. Then, I was properly off to college, and despite the pandemic hitting a year later I had classes to take online and a part time job outdoors. I had 60 page mock-environmental risk assessments to write. I was too busy to write fiction.

The MCYT fandom is what brought back my desire to write. The creativity of this fandom is so astounding, and I'm grateful all the time that I get to see the things everybody creates. Back in 2021, I no longer felt like I just wanted to read. I felt restless again, so I started writing a DSMP story about clingyduo at the disc war finale. I scrapped this, but it set things into motion again. In the summer of 2021 I posted my first two fanfics in years. I received such good feedback. By kudos, NWNF is my most popular fic on the site, and The Babysitting Game is still 4th most popular. I'm super grateful for that, and I'm grateful for everybody here who reads my stories. I still can't really comprehend that I post things that people actually read now. I save so many of your comments to keep for later.

I'll stop reviewing my history of writing here. You guys know the rest. I wrote HC, Evo, ESMP, and Life series oneshots. I wrote my first long fic, and then smashed that record by writing another longer one that I'm less than two chapters away from finishing. It's been a huge amount of fun and the improvements I've made in two years of active writing is super encouraging.

If I've made this much progress in 10 years, who's to say what I could do in 10 more years? I really look forward to it.

Anyway, the sappy stuff aside, who wants to read the story I wrote when I was 12? I'll post it below the cut in its entirety, no matter how much psychic damage it dealt me. It's Doctor Who, because of course it is. It always goes back to Doctor Who with me :)

From the TARDIS Files--A One-Shot Book

by: crazykatz430 <- I used to go by this everywhere

Description: This is a book of drabbles and one shots-nothing long will be found here, and it will not be updated frequently. Chapters will often have more than one short story in it. Rated T because I'm paranoid, don't know about what I'll end up writing in future chapters. All that said, enjoy! EDIT: CANCELLED

Published: 2013-12-15

Words: 1196

Rated: Fiction T - Language: English - Genre: Humor/Adventure -

Characters: 11th Doctor, Clara O. - Reviews: 4 - Follows: 1

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A/N: Okay, so this is a collection of four short (I mean SHORT) oneshots I wrote, most of them just drabbles. So far, this will be just a fic to update when I write more short oneshots in the freewrites on my English Class.

Disclaimer: I don't own DW but if I did… <- oh the early days back when we were all sticking disclaimers on things but not knowing why

There will be a linbreak for new oneshots, and a cat symbol (crazyKATZ430..it's in the name) for the time skips or point of view changes..

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Without further ado, I present: Geronimo , Uploaded , The Forgotten , and Cemetery Nightmares .

Geronimo

Set: The Wedding of River Song

I don't know what to say. All my secrets, fears and enemies, they've all caught up to me. I've run too far, run for too long.

The prophecy states that silence will fall when the question is asked. The first question, the oldest and most important question. I do not know what the question is nor do I want to find out, for the silence that falls will be the silence of my death.

I do not want to do die here, at Lake Silencio, Utah, but it is a fixed point. It will always happen no matter how far or long I run from it. I don't want to die alone… don't want to make my love do it.

I have made a plan, one to hopefully save my life and the earth. Everyone will think I am dead, but it will be safer. They'll be safer from me.

Geronimo!

Now I know what to say, the same thing I've always said when adventure and danger and the unknown ensued…

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Uploaded

Set: The wi-fi's first victim ;

"Where am I?" I whispered, scared. "Hello?"

I looked around myself, studying the surroundings. It was all strange to me, I'd n idea where I was.

I felt panic rising in my chest. "I don't know where I am!" I shrieked, becoming ever more terrified. "Somebody, please, help me! Where am I, I don't know where I am!"

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I raced around the room looking for a way out of what appeared to be someone's bedroom. I gave a cry when I couldn't get out and I subconsciously returned to the computer. "Help me!" I screamed infrustration and fear, my heart racing as panic took over my body. "I don't know where I am!"

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

The wi-fi had taken its first victim.

The uploading had begun.

The Forgotten

Set: hmm… can't remember. Strange.

I was alone in a cold, dark room, no other living thing in sight.

I can't remember what I've forgotten. But if I can't remember what I've forgotten, then how do I know I forgot something?

But I wasn't alone.

How did I know that? There was nothing visible..yet I felt there was another creature in the room.

Sudden pure, unexplainable terror washed over me. I yanked the sleeve of my shirt down and stared at the underside of my arm. One fresh, black tally mark marred my skin.

The panic reached its heighth and I dropped into a defensive postureautomatically. I didn't know why, it felt like I was forgetting something… I was confused and terrified.

A second crisp tally mark appeared on my arm, closely followed by three more. A full set. But why?

Fifteen or more sets of five tally marks were tattooed on my arm.

Wordlessly I pulled down my right sleeve. What I saw there cause me to scream in fright and drop to the ground.

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

Doctor who?

Silence will fall when the question is asked. The first question, the oldest question…

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Cemetery Nightmares

Set: New York City, 1950 (set in New York City; however, the

character is British)

The statue had moved. It had really, properly moved!

Eagerly, I lifted my camera to take a picture. "Moving Statues in City Cemetery"? Sounded like a story to me! My editor always thought my stories were rubbish, but I begged to differ. Maybe he's let me print something with proof.

Curiosity killed the cat. This statue could be dangerous, what did I know of it? I smiled as I recalled the second part to the phrase. But satisfaction brought it back. Making up my mind, I held up the camera and clicked a picture.

I waited for it to move again, but it did not. Was it my eyes? No, I'd had two cups of heavily caffeinated tea this morning, you don't start seeing things untill the third day without sleep, I still had a day to go.

I huffed and sighed, closing my eyes. Why must good stories always slip way like this? Or was I just being too impatient?

Either way, I got a shock from when I reopened my eyes. The same stone figure, who seemed to be an angel statue, had moved again, closer to me. I didn't know if I should be happy for more evidence or scared because the hand seemed to be seemed to be reaching out to me…

I blinked again. A small cry escaped my lips as I noted it was closer. Was it all just some sick game? I was the only one in the cemetery though so that option was out of the question. Either way, the expression on the face of the angel now was frightening me. I decided it was best to leave.

I turned to walk back to my car, but on a whim turned to look back again. The statue had moved again, probably 15 meters in a few seconds! I began to tremble. It was like straight out of a horror movie! I just wanted to get away, to get home and out of this creepy place!

Then I made the mistake, my fatal mistake. My eyes began to burn and I blinked, a simple movement. But when I reopened my eyes I stood in a place far more different from where I'd been.

I was somewhere else! It was impossible, the city, cemetery and creepy angel statue were gone too! But where was I? I set out to find someone about what had turned into a nightmare for me. A cemetery nightmare.

The image of an angel becomes an angel.

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

One bright red vintage camera lay on the ground, on button switched. The last picture it had taken displayed out from the screen. A seemly harmless picture of an angel statue, taken a minute before the camera's owner was whisked away.

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A/N: There you go, three short oneshots with a fourth that's twice the size of the others! PLease remember to review and say if it was good or not, and have a wonderful day… now that I've given you some stories of dying people. ( Geronimo had no dying but it was pretty intense if I do say so.) And please forgive me, I'm not British so I may tend to overdo some things…

(narrarator voice: she did not, in fact, ever upload another chapter)

Anyway, hope you enjoyed, as soon as I type it up, another's on its way!

#WOOO HOOOO #idk how to tag this #quara fanfic #fanfiction #doctor who

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demetriandelibinaryboyfriends · 2 years

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*submits this and passes out*

HERE IS THE FIRST HALF OF THE FIC THAT HAS TAKEN OVER EVERY LAST ONE OF MY LIFE OBLIGATIONS FOR THE PAST WEEK AND A HALF

I STG I DID NOT MEAN TO GET THIS INVESTED BUT

@ckhalloween22 spoopy season Elimetri for the “monstrous transformations” prompt, as promised!!! Chapter 2 will hopefully be up later this week!

Fun fact: I actually made that moodboard ages ago (like...early 2021??? Purple Hawk did not even exist yet :O) and just never got around to posting it. Mainly because I was planning on posting this long list of vampire/werewolf headcanons to go with it, and I just...was too lazy to, RIP. But now there’s a whole-ass fic to go with it, so it seemed like a good time to post it XD

Spoilers ig that there are in fact werewolves in Chapter 2 lmao

Hopefully this will be on AO3 soon!!! Just gotta like. Recover from binge-writing this entire 14k-word fic in a few days, whoops. Y’all this was originally gonna be a one-shot and then it turned into a MONSTER (no pun intended) and now it’s a two-shot XD

Anyways enjoy the exact kinda angsty nonsense that I have been using as Daydream Scenarios for months now to entertain myself before I go to sleep. I never thought they would leave my head, but here we are.

ALSO @lizziefanconfessions I vaguely remember you saying you liked my vampire!Elimetri content, so. Come get fed!!! Highkey went all out with this one XD

EDIT: Chapter 2 is HERE!

Nocturnal Chapter 1 - Before Daybreak

There’s a strange smell coming from the hallway.

Demetri clutches at the lavish bedsheets. He should feel spoiled, but he knows it’s just another taunt.

He’s willing to bet Terry Silver has 15 identical guestrooms, all lavishly furnished. Each costing maybe 3 thousand dollars—or more.

A reminder that Terry Silver has enough money to do whatever the hell he wants. Even kidnap teenagers. Even…

Demetri’s hand drifts to the sores on his neck. They still hurt like a bitch.

He tastes the air again. There’s so much more than there used to be, and it’s unnerving. Lacquer. Candle wax. Velvet. Carpet cleaner. Marble. Stonework.

The one in the hallway is new, he can tell that much. Different enough from the olfactory default he’s gotten used to. Now if he could just tell what—

He chokes on his breath.

It’s Eli.

He’s not sure how he knows. Perhaps he’s always been able to recognize it, on a subconscious level. But every scrap of his fucked-up body is suddenly certain.

Eli, leave! Just fucking leave! Demetri wants to scream into his bedsheets.

When he screamed at Silver that his friends would come for him, he was bluffing. Always bluffing. He didn’t want any of them anywhere near this place, Eli least of all.

And yet here he was, strolling in on some convoluted rescue mission and about to get himself killed. Or…worse.

Eli’s scent draws closer. Demetri wants to shout a warning, tell him to get out of here…but with dear old Terry’s cronies and guards and henchmen behind every decorative statue, calling attention to his best friend’s presence would be about the most morally reprehensible thing he could do.

A discordant clicking fills the room, and Demetri realizes Eli must be fiddling with the electronic padlock.

It won’t take long to hack. Unfortunately.

The door swings open, and Demetri forgets how much he isn’t supposed to want this.

Eli’s face is glistening with sweat, scar flaring up red the way it sometimes does when he’s out of breath. Long hair—down, undyed—is plastered to his skin.

He must not have wanted to stand out. He must have insisted on being the clandestine part of the operation.

The one who found Demetri.

He drinks in everything about Eli Moskowitz—wiry limbs, track pants, gray jacket, blue eyes, panicked face. All things Demetri was convinced he’d never see again.

“Demetri.”

Eli whispers his name. A tactical maneuver, meant not to alert any hostile presences nearby.

Nonetheless, Demetri gets the feeling Eli wants to shout.

“I—”

There are too many things he wants to say. I missed you. You shouldn’t be here. I just want to hold you. Get the fuck out. I need you. You’re in danger.

“You need to leave,” he manages. He sounds raspy, unsure, and probably desperate. Fucking pathetic.

“Not…without you?” Eli’s brow furrows in confusion. “I’m rescuing you, asshole.”

Demetri shakes his head, eyes wild. “No—no, you have to stay away from me. You have to. You—”

Eli’s scent is overwhelming now. Something vaguely bringing to mind Mrs. Moskowitz pulling fresh-baked hamantaschen out of the oven.

Tantalizing.

And Demetri wants it. All of it.

“You’re not making any fucking sense!” Eli is scowling, and Demetri shoves the hunger down.

He slides off the bed, starting to back toward the wall. “He did something to me,” he gasps out. “Silver. I don’t know what, but now I want—there’s a part of me that wants—”

There’s a part of me that wants to kill you.

He can’t say it out loud. It wouldn’t be his first thought of Eli that never makes it into the spoken world.

“Demetri.” Eli slowly moves toward him, as though approaching a scared wild animal. Not that far off the mark, really. “What happened to you? What did he do?”

Demetri’s back hits the wall. He realizes with a prick of dread that there’s no way to run to the door without Eli intercepting him.

“Please.” His voice is barely a whisper. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Whatever it is.” Eli is as calm as ever—a jarring change from his usual demeanor. “We can figure it out. Just let me get you out of here.”

He shakes his head. “I can’t. I can’t go. Something’s wrong with me. I don’t—I don’t know what I’ll do out there.”

Eli steps closer. Demetri’s about to be cornered.

He knows he’s sick in the head, for letting this happen when he knows the risk.

Eli’s blood could be on his hands. A beautifully, terribly layered statement.

“I’m not leaving until you tell me what he did to you.” Eli’s voice hardens.

Panic sears through him, and he feels like he’s on the verge of collapse. The hunger is hissing at him to pounce, to slice a hole in Eli’s neck…

Shut the fuck up.

Not Eli Moskowitz. He’ll tear through the rest of humanity if he has to, leave a trail of carnage wherever he goes…but he’ll be damned if he ever lays a hand on Eli again.

“Hey.”

Eli doesn’t break Demetri’s gaze. Another step. Demetri holds his breath.

“You think I’m afraid of you?”

Eli doesn’t sound scornful or dismissive when he says it. Not like the way Demetri spat it out in the comic book store, all those months ago.

He only seems worried.

“You should be,” Demetri says. “I’m not the same. I’m not who you remember, I’m just…” He struggles for an appropriate metaphor.

“I’m just corrupted data.”

“That’s not true.” Eli smiles. “I come in here, and not 10 seconds later you’re freaking out and fussing over me doing some reckless shit you’re not cool with. That’s exactly who I remember.”

Slender fingers wrap around Demetri’s wrist, and he gasps.

Eli’s hand is warm. Not in a burning way, but…a cozy way, almost. Like coming inside on a rainy winter day.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Eli says cheekily. “You have a mental breakdown every time your mom puts too much coriander in the shawarma. One time you stepped on Heracles’s tail and prepared an apology soliloquy. Like, ooooh, I am quivering in terror.”

Demetri laughs, and Eli looks at him with a fondness that makes him ache with longing.

It’s then something clicks.

Eli’s close enough to see Demetri’s teeth, now honed to unflattering points. He’s felt Demetri’s skin, which now looks and feels like a bedsheet left by an air conditioner.

He has to know by now what’s going on.

Why is Eli still here? He’s smart enough to run. At least Demetri hopes so.

Eli’s hand slides down his wrist, slowly weaving their fingers together. It’s the type of soft gentleness Demetri hasn’t experienced for a long time.

And it’s enough to make him shatter.

He crumples into Eli and erupts in sobs. His hands knot into gray fabric, clinging to it like it’s the only thing left in the world.

Strong arms wrap around his back, hands tracing circles along his spine. He almost wants to laugh at the irony.

It’s always been Eli who needs this. When the panic attacks or the meltdowns hit, or when the world just gets to be too much, Demetri holds him until he feels safe again.

Now Demetri’s on the inside of it all, frantically trying to stabilize.

“Shhhh. It’s okay.” Eli’s voice slides out in a soothing whisper. “I’m here. I’ve got you.”

Demetri shakes, and Eli holds him tighter. Everything about him is warm and steady and secure, and the anxiety and sheer terror of the last several days finally starts to drain away.

“Please let me take you home.”

Demetri knows he shouldn’t say yes. He nods anyway.

***

“So he held you down and…” Eli trails off.

“Drank me.” Demetri shudders at the memory. “Bit a hole in my neck and started gulping down my bodily fluids like they were Mr. Pibbs.”

“Ew.” Eli scowls at him. “Bodily fluids? Just say your blood, dude. I don’t need that mental image.”

Demetri scoffs, bumping Eli’s shoulder. “Still gross, either way.”

“So…what then?”

He freezes, going rigid as the image of snakelike red eyes boring into him comes trickling back. “He, um…”

A thin arm snakes around his neck, and Demetri feels Eli’s hand on his shoulder. A couple quick squeezes, and Demetri can breathe again.

“I guess I was kind of out of it by the end. My head felt all fuzzy. I remember someone dragged me into that room, and then I started feeling…hungry. And I could smell everything.” He turns, smiling weakly. “I could even smell you coming to get me.”

Eli smirks. “Do I smell good?”

“You smell amazing.” He nudges his friend’s side. “An absolute snack.”

Demetri leans into Eli as he laughs. His hand roams up his chest, clutching at the hand still squeezing his shoulder.

“‘Metri.” Fingertips brush against his neck, and he winces at the sudden pricks of pain. “Do they still hurt?”

He sighs. “Not as much as they did, but…yeah.”

“I can get a cream or something. My mom’s got a whole cabinet full of that shit.”

“I don’t know if it’ll work on undead skin, but I guess it’s worth a try.”

Eli walks out of the room, and Demetri is alone with the moonlight streaming through the window. He reclines on Eli’s bed, letting out a long breath.

It’s 3 am now. At least a few more hours before Demetri has to figure out what the fuck he’s going to do about his mom and Heracles. About his Tech Town shifts. About Miguel and Sam and Chris and Nate and Mr. LaRusso and everyone else who he can’t go near ever again.

That was supposed to be Eli too, but he was a stubborn fucker. Getting a redwood tree to budge would be easier.

He stretches out his arms, and his hand hits something plush. He turns, smiling.

He didn’t notice when he first came in, but Raptor Reynaldo, the stuffed hawk he won for Eli at a carnival when they were 7, is perched on his best friend’s pillow. Demetri spent an hour getting the damn bird out of a claw machine, and he’s been a scowling Eli Moskowitz bedroom presence ever since. Eli got his mom to sew a stupid red mohawk onto Raptor Reynaldo’s head during junior year, and he still hasn’t gotten around to taking it off.

Edgy idiot.

Despite himself, Demetri grabs the bird and pulls him in. It’s nice to have something soft to squeeze. Gets some of the tension out, at least.

Besides, maybe Raptor Reynaldo’s ridiculous new hairdo will pop off and go flying across the room. Perhaps into the garbage.

“Demetri.” A tired voice from the doorway. “Please don’t tell me you added Raptor Reynaldo to your legion of the undead.”

“Mmmm. I tried.” Demetri smirks. “Little hard to suck cotton stuffing, though.”

The bed compresses next to him. “Okay, sit up. I need to put this on.” Groaning, he reluctantly complies.

As Eli coats his fingers in some type of unpronounceable soothing lotion, he looks at Demetri with narrowed eyes. “Are you…are you going to let go of Raptor Reynaldo?”

Demetri scoffs. “Make me.”

Soft fingers brush his neck, and his eyes slip closed. They rub gentle spirals and curls, careful to never press too hard.

Demetri has no earthly idea whether the gel Eli picked is actually helping or not, but his best friend has a warmth that he could drink in forever.

His stomach tightens, arms tensing around the plush hawk. He grabs at his shirt and squeezes, trying to banish the thought of how badly he suddenly wants to grab Eli.

Get the fuck out of my head.

He’d sooner run full-speed into the sunrise than hurt Eli again.

“See if that helps.” Eli’s fingers slip away, and Demetri wilts in disappointment. “You want me to kiss your booboo better?”

“Oh my god, Eli.” The taller boy snorts out a laugh. “What am I, five and a half?”

“You sound pretty offended for someone cuddling a stuffed animal.”

“How could you!” Demetri does his best to sound aghast. “Raptor Reynaldo understands me, Eli.”

“I’m sure he does.”

Before Demetri can process it, Eli is swooping in and pressing warm lips to his bitemarks. The fragility he felt earlier comes rushing back.

It’s almost cruel, he thinks, Eli taunting him with what he can never have now. Not that Eli even realizes he’s doing it.

Tears threaten to leak out of him again. He gathers his resolve and holds them back.

Not twice in one night. He needs to have some standards.

“Fuck.” He leans his head on Eli’s shoulder. He feels he’s allowed that sort of small pleasure, at least. “What do I even do?”

“About…?”

“About everything. What the hell do I tell my mom?! ‘Oh, hey, sorry, I need to drop out of high school, can’t go to college, and have to work graveyard shifts at Ralph’s for the rest of my life?!’ And I know fucking Silver’s up to something, too. Betting he bribes the Hunter’s Guild not to go after him. And now he can tell all his buddies in there that there’s a new vampire on the loose. Oh, boy!”

“Demetri,” Eli murmurs into his hair. “I’m not going to let anyone hurt you ever again. You know that, right?”

The scent of Eli—so torturously close—wraps around him. Something dark roils up inside Demetri, like a snake making its way through his intestines.

“I shouldn’t even be here with you.”

His voice is breaking again. Humiliating.

What’s even left to break?

“Says who?” Eli demands.

“Uh, says every piece of vampire lore since the dawn of time? I’m a resurrected corpse with no soul.”

“Like you would ever be cool enough to pull off the ‘resurrected corpse with no soul’ descriptor. You’re like…an anxious zombie with less skin falling off.”

Demetri laughs, and some of the stones in his stomach lift. “Then it makes even less sense why you’d want me around. You can’t get into an Ivy League if I eat your brain, Eli.” He jabs at Eli’s temple, and the shorter boy scoffs.

“Oh, please. You’d spend so much time worrying about eating my brain that you’d never get around to actually doing it.”

If he was wondering before, he’s sure now. Eli has no intention of letting him go.

In better circumstances, he’d be flattered. Ecstatic, even. But as of this moment…

If he wants to run away—if he wants to put as much distance between himself and Eli Moskowitz as possible—he’ll have to do it by himself. If he wants to keep Eli safe, there’s no way in hell Eli’s going to help with it.

Eli’s loyal. He’s stubborn. He’s reckless. He’s an utter pain in the ass.

And when Demetri loses him again, it’s going to gut him a thousand times harder than the last time.

He has to leave. He knows this. Anything less would make him deplorable.

The embodiment of the very monster he’s turned into.

After all, who is he to put his own happiness above Eli’s safety?

“I can get the spare blanket,” Eli says. “You can stay here tonight. We’ll…I don’t know, we’ll watch the Star Wars prequels and make fun of them. Get your mind off shit for a while.”

He uncurls himself from Demetri. As he stands up, Demetri grabs his wrist, pulling him back.

If he doesn’t say something now, he might never get the chance.

“I love you.”

Eli turns, eyes bright with shock. “You what?”

“I love you.” His voice trembles as he repeats it. “And every second, I’m so fucking scared that I’m going to lose my grip on this…thing Sensei Targaryen made me into, and I’m going to hurt you. Or kill you, I don’t know. And it’s destroying me.”

A moment of silence. Demetri feels like a clogged drainpipe about to burst.

Then Eli steps back and sinks onto the bed beside him. Wiry arms wrap around his neck, and Eli presses their foreheads together.

“You don’t have to be scared,” he whispers. “You won’t hurt me.”

“How do you know?” Demetri’s voice croaks as he says it, and he feels another sob rising in his throat.

“Because I trust you. Well, I mean…”

Hesitation. If Demetri still had a heartbeat, it would stop.

“Not with Raptor Reynaldo’s hair—I see you over there, giving it the stink eye. Basically everything else, though.”

Despite everything, Demetri laughs again. How strange, he thinks, to be the one who needs to be distracted from his misery by stupid jokes. Stranger still that Eli learned the tactic from him.

Warmth fills his stomach. All those years of his inane comedy routine to get them through the hellhole of middle school and high school, and it’s the first thing Eli pulls out when he’s hurting.

Then again, how could it be any other way?

Demetri was always the one who looked like he had it together. Making wisecracks, rattling off Doctor Who fan theories, steering lunchroom conversations toward Dungeon Lord so Eli wouldn’t notice people staring. Eli was the one who broke easily, and Demetri was the one who put him back together. And when Demetri’s own defenses finally did give way…

Well, it’s not like Eli was around to see.

And now Demetri’s fraying apart like the world’s flimsiest pipe cleaner, and the only model Eli has to pull him out of the darkness again is the only one he ever saw. The only one he knew, for years and years and years.

Demetri’s.

Something about the thought soothes him.

“You’re the strongest person I know.” Eli’s voice grows serious again. “You never gave up on me when I gave you every reason to. You were the only one who got all the squabbling rival dojo kids to see any damn sense. You see the best in people even when they treat you like shit. And some pony-tailed fuck isn’t going to bite you one time and make all that go away. I’m not abandoning you.”

“But…Eli, I…”

“We can work with this. I know it sucks balls right now, but you’re going to be okay. I’ll make sure you’re okay.”

His eyes blaze, and Demetri chuckles. “Is that a threat?”

“It might be. Don’t make me follow through. I—I…” Eli chokes on his words. “I won’t let that fucking asshole take you away from me. Not now, not ever. Get used to it.”

Eli takes a breath, and Demetri feels it ripple through his entire body.

“I love you too, Demetri.”

Demetri is still processing this when Eli closes the space between them.

Eli kisses like a hurricane—a whirlwind of ferocity and passion and power, and Demetri’s stomach may as well be swirling right toward the eye. The gales are howling in his ear, and he could swear he’s being lifted off the ground.

He’s not sure if vampires can actually do the bat shapeshifting thing, but if they can, he imagines this is what it feels like. Swooping through cool clouds, wind rushing across his small, lightweight body, starlight shining on his wings, a world of sparkling lights below him and eternal stars above.

It’s the best thing he’s ever felt.

Nonetheless, he holds back. He doesn’t give in to Eli’s vigor all the way.

He’s terrified of how far he might go if he does.

So as Eli kisses him like he’s dissolving, he returns it slower—gentle, steady, slightly tentative. His hand slides up, cupping the side of Eli’s face and rubbing his cheek with a cold thumb.

How funny is it, Demetri thinks, to have their old roles so drastically reversed. He remembers again of when he was the abrasive one and Eli was the timid, fragile one.

There’s a thump, and Demetri pulls away to see a stuffed beak glaring up at them from the floor.

Eli lets out a cry of despair. “No! Raptor Rey!”

“Now you’ve done it.” Demetri shoves Eli’s chest playfully. “Look what you’ve done to our only son.”

Eli sticks his tongue out—a tongue that Demetri now knows tastes very nice. A little bit like the Chinese food leftovers he had for dinner.

“You were the one who dropped him!”

Demetri sighs, leaning off the bed and scooping up the stuffed bird. When he puts Raptor Reynaldo back on Eli’s pillow, he pointedly faces him toward the wall.

“There. We don’t need to soil his innocent eyes.”

Eli snorts. “You’re such a fucking dork.”

“Yeah, but you love me.”

It feels strange to say it. Demetri likes the sound of it though.

He scoots across the covers, wrapping long arms around Eli’s waist. Something giddy rises in his chest, briefly overpowering any of the dark impulses still churning around down there.

“You love me,” he says again.

“That’s what I said.” Eli jabs him in the chest accusingly. “What, did Silver bust up your hearing or something?”

He swats Eli’s hand away and pulls him in, stealing another kiss. “You love me,” he hums against his lips.

“Ugh. Don’t let it get to your head.”

Demetri grins. “You love me.” He lets his voice adopt an annoying singsong cadence, and Eli groans. “You love me, Eli Moskowitz.”

He kisses Eli again, and the other boy leans into it. Demetri’s grin grows so big his face hurts.

They slump onto the bed, Eli sprawled on top of him. His arms lock down on either side of Demetri’s waist, effectively caging him in.

Apparently, Eli’s taking precautions to make sure he can’t dart away like a scared rabbit. He wants Demetri to stay that badly.

The thought is strangely flattering, if frustrating.

“You love me,” Demetri whispers in between kisses. Because it’s true. Because he can. “You love me, you love me, you love me.”

If he hadn’t already risen from an early grave, he’s sure he would have died of shock by now.

They end up a tangled mess of limbs and blankets, Eli’s head under Demetri’s chin. He feels Eli trace his chest with one hand and his arms with the other, and for a moment, everything seems like it’s going to be fine.

Demetri kisses Eli’s hair. “I’m sorry I got bloodstains on your hoodie.”

His tears have blood in them now. It’s such embarrassing edgelord nonsense right out of a middle school scene kid’s poetry. Nonetheless, it’s a sad reality he’ll now have to make do with.

Hopefully in a way that doesn’t involve ruining half of Eli’s closet.

Eli only laughs, taking it in stride. “Oh, that? Please. I have like fifteen others just like it. Went out and bought a shit ton when I stopped wearing polos.”

“That’s just as well. You looked a little dorky.” Demetri kisses his head again. “I miss the sweaters, though. Those were cute.”

Eli snorts. “I can’t wear those around you. Do you know how much of a bitch it is to clean blood out of knitted shit?!”

“Well, then, don’t make me cry. Extra incentive to make sure I’m not sad! That, and. You know.” He snickers. “You love me.”

Eli groans again. “God, shut up. Smug asshole.”

He shuffles against Demetri, turning his head slightly. Moonlight glows off his skin, washing it in a sleek silvery-white.

Demetri’s stomach contracts.

Eli’s exposed neck suddenly looks a little too clean. A little too…unmarred.

He shoves the impulse away. Nonetheless, the reminder worms into him, putting the stones right back in his chest.

“It’s dangerous, you know,” Demetri murmurs. “Being with me. Being around me at all.”

“Mmmm, don’t fucking care.” Eli pushes a hand into Demetri’s hair, gently twirling a strand around his finger. “I stole a venomous snake from a zoo, Demetri. I also backstabbed a literal war criminal who could probably make my death look like an accident. And I may have survived rabies. I can handle danger.”

“This isn’t the same.” Demetri shakes his head. “People will hunt me. Maybe…maybe forever. And if they find out we’re together, they’ll hunt you, too.”

Eli scoffs. “Yeah, I know, genius.”

Demetri looks at the boy wrapped around him. Cozy, comfortable, completely relaxed.

Perhaps putting a tad too much faith into Demetri’s Vampire Hunger Regulation Abilities.

He takes a breath. “I don’t know if I’m going to keep being…me. I could still hurt you. Without…without even meaning to or wanting to or anything.”

Eli has no idea what he’s getting into. Not really.

Demetri at least owes him that out.

“I know.” Eli presses into his chest. “But that’s my decision, isn’t it? You can’t make that for me.”

“Maybe not, but you have to know it’s ill-advised to—”

“You’re not getting rid of me,” Eli cuts him off sharply. “Stop trying.”

“Just…if I get worse…” He rubs gentle circles along Eli’s back. “You need to—”

He can’t finish. He should tell Eli to run, but the words won’t come out.

“We’ll worry about that later.” Eli pulls him closer. “Just…let me try and help you. You shouldn’t have to go through this alone.”

“Okay.” Demetri exhales, fingers brushing through light brown hair. “Okay.”

***

A disgusted shout fills the cool night air as Eli’s arm flies over the boat railing. Two bright spoons plummet from his hand, plopping into the starlit ocean.

His eyes lock on them until they sink out of sight, lip curling.

Demetri nervously taps a finger against the railing. “Is that the last of them?”

Eli turns and walks over to the unzipped silverware pack, lying on the deck a few feet away. He crouches down, peering inside.

Demetri can sense his heartbeat slow down a little as he relaxes. “Yeah. They’re all gone.”

He reclaims his spot next to Demetri, staring out at the inky water with a furrowed brow. Demetri inches closer to him, pressing into his shoulder.

He sighs. “You know, Moon wouldn’t like this shameless environmental degradation you’re causing.”

Eli rolls his eyes. “Silver’s a naturally-occurring metal. It’s fine.”

Demetri pulls his lips into an exaggerated pout. “Oh, Eli, the bottom-dwellers are weeping at your disrespect! What, you want the giant isopods to break their teeth trying to eat metal?!”

“If an isopod breaks all their teeth eating metal, I think it’s like…natural selection. The species’ll manage.”

Eli leans into Demetri’s shoulder, and Demetri feels him tense up.

“I couldn’t let that shit anywhere near you.”

Demetri’s hand inches across the railing, finding the other boy’s. He weaves them together in a fluid movement that has become second nature.

“You know I wouldn’t dissolve in a puff of smoke, right?” he murmurs. “I’d probably just get a nasty burn. A little antiseptic and I’d be right as rain.”

Eli grunts disapprovingly. “No one says that anymore. And do you know for sure you wouldn’t turn into smoke?”

“Well, if silver evaporates us, that would’ve been helpful to know earlier.” He throws an arm around Eli and jostles his shoulder, earning a reluctant chuckle. “Someone could’ve chucked one of those $4000 ladles at good old Terrence when he showed up at Mr. LaRusso’s door. Would’ve solved at least half of our problems.”

Truthfully, Demetri shouldn’t have even known what was going on at the LaRusso residence. He should’ve been gone from their lives weeks ago.

But, of course, his attempts to freeze out the dojo have been a resounding failure.

It was easy enough to have his Tech Town shifts “keep interfering” with daytime practice, but people weren’t about to let him get away with bailing on every single social event. The house parties, the game nights, the pool hangouts…eventually nothing short of working 60 hours a week could account for missing all of them.

And by “people” he means Miguel. It was always Miguel.

Another beautiful spectacle of irony, he thinks. That’s twice Miguel Diaz has nagged him not to quit karate…although he likes to believe his reasons are a little better this time around.

Still, the guy missed his terrible puns more than Demetri was anticipating. So to the nighttime events and get-togethers he went, attached at the hip to Eli and wallowing in the strange melancholy of being surrounded by friends who loved a version of him that didn’t fully exist anymore.

“So let me get this straight.” Eli’s voice brings him out of his thoughts. “Terry Silver just…rings Mr. LaRusso’s doorbell, says he ‘hears he’s having vampire problems,’ hands him a box of antique silverware, and then fucks off?”

Demetri shrugs. “That’s what he told me. Sensei Toxic Waste Scandal loves his little mind games.”

Eli wrinkles his nose. “How did he even carry the box without hurting himself?”

“He has minions, Eli. I’m sure they help haul around all the garlic and stakes and crucifixes and anything else he might need to antagonize his many vampire karate rivals. Guy seems good at making enemies, so I’m betting he has at least 15.”

Although Eli forces a chuckle, it quickly gives way to a concerned frown.

“Did Mr. LaRusso know? About you being…”

“Not before that, no.” Demetri sighs. “But it wasn’t exactly hard for him to put two and two together. Me never being out in the sunlight anymore. Only showing up for movie nights and pizza parties. Not eating many of the snacks. Not using that Pizza Hut garlic dip anymore. Making some excuse to leave if someone got a cut. Not…smiling with my teeth for group photos.”

He winces. Eli clutches his hand a little tighter.

“Word gets around.” Demetri shrugs, trying his best to look indifferent. “The whole dojo knows now. Don’t know why they’re still protecting me, to be honest.”

“Because…they care about you?” Eli knits his brow.

“For now.” He lets out a tired breath. “Wait until I accidentally do something creepy, and someone ‘spills’ the garlic dip. I don’t know. They’re going to figure out I’m more trouble than I’m worth.”

“You’re not.” Demetri feels Eli’s thumb brush against the back of his hand, and his skin flutters.

“Not…” He looks away. “Not according to Silver, I don’t think.”

“What do you mean?”

Eli’s voice is suddenly terse with worry—the exact kind of concern that would be much better spent on the land of the living.

“Don’t you get it?” Demetri turns back, giving him a morose look. “That’s why it was so easy to rescue me. He let you. He figured I’d go crazy eventually and try to eat everyone, and then Mr. LaRusso would remember who swooped in like a knight in karate armor and gave him the very MacGuffin he needed to save the day. You know, the…vampiric Excalibur. Good way to get Mr. L in his debt, I guess.”

“But…Sam’s family’s already pretty rich.” Eli sounds dubious. “Don’t they have their own fine silver?”

“It was probably more a symbolic thing. But I mean, who better to know what kind of silver is actually lethal to vampires than…vampires?”

A silence falls over them. Demetri stares down at the lapping waves below, following the curves in the moonlight.

Eli presses closer to him, and he drinks in the warmth.

“He was wrong, though. You haven’t tried to eat everyone. You haven’t touched anyone.”

His voice is soft, hopeful. Demetri can’t stand to crush it.

But he knows he has to.

“Not yet.”

“Do you need to feed again?” Eli’s tone is casual. “Because you know, Sam and I could just scam another blood bank—”

“And is that okay?!”

It comes out with more ferocity than he intends.

“Probably more okay than draining our friends? Or…random people on the street?”

Demetri looks up to see Eli’s lips slightly apart, the way they always are when he’s genuinely confused.

“But people need that for blood transfusions. Aren’t we like…indirectly killing them or something?!”

Eli snorts. “Yeah, well, you also need it to not die. Why are you any less important?”

“Because I’m a blood-sucking monstrosity with evil dagger teeth?!”

“If you’re trying to sell me on how horribly undeserving of life you are, you should stop using the coolest possible descriptors for yourself.”

Demetri rolls his eyes. “Not my fault you’re turned on by everything even slightly morally-depraved.”

“Hell yeah I am.”

Eli brushes a kiss against his cheek. Demetri smiles at the boat railing, the edges of his unease ebbing away.

“Cheer up.” Eli bumps his shoulder. “Mr. LaRusso’s not an idiot. He wouldn’t have given us that box to get rid of if he thought you were gonna go on a rampage.”

“Hmmm.” He squeezes Eli’s hand, trying to push down the growing worry. “Maybe that’s his mistake.”

“I think the only one here who doesn’t trust you is you.”

And just like that, Eli is giving him the doe eyes again.

Curse this kid’s faith in him. There’s no way he deserves it.

Still, he can’t help but be grateful.

He kisses the side of Eli’s head. “Thank you. I love you.”

Another silence passes over them. Demetri closes his eyes, letting himself hear nothing but the ocean and the wind and feel nothing but Eli’s heartbeat.

Steady. Slow. Relaxed. Unafraid.

It’s one of the only things that can calm him these days.

“Nice of Yas to help us rent this boat,” Eli pipes up after a while. “Must’ve had to really pull some strings to get the guys to give it to us at 2 in the fucking morning.”

“And nice of her to check if the silver’s real, too,” Demetri adds. “Growing up in the most bougie part of Encino has its perks.”

Eli glances behind them, and Demetri follows his gaze.

The boat cabin is lit up, giggling trailing out of the windows and weed smoke wreathing through the cool night air. Whatever Yasmine and Moon are doing, the girls seem to be having a lot more fun than them.

“You wanna go upstairs?” Eli asks.

Demetri smiles. “Read my mind.”

His boyfriend shoves him playfully. “Don’t I always?”

He clicks his tongue. “Goes both ways, love. Didn’t need fabled vampiric mind-scanning abilities to get access to yours, though. Memorized the keycode ages ago.”

For a moment, Eli looks thrown off.

“Can you read minds?”

“Ha! No.” Demetri snorts. “I’ve already got the enhanced strength and speed and rapid tree-climbing thing. They had to give us some nerfs.”

“Oh, yeah. Otherwise I know you’d take over the world.”

Eli ducks out from Demetri’s arm and turns to the boat cabin, pulling his boyfriend along.

“You know…” Demetri plants his feet in the deck, gaze straying toward the empty silverware box. He lets out a long, weary breath.

“That won’t be the last time that happens. People are going to keep trying, Silver and whoever else.”

Eli scoffs. “I knew what I was getting into, Demetri. I’m not stupid.”

“I know, but are you sure you want to—”

“Yes, idiot. For the millionth time. I…” His voice cracks slightly. “I meant what I said, you know. The night you got turned. No one fucking touches you. And if they try…”

His eyes darken, taking on a sheen that Demetri used to dread. The kind of No Mercy look that’s still hardwired into him.

“I’ll end them.”

“Oh, I know.” Demetri chuckles. “If I know you, you’ll do your damndest. But I suppose not everyone has a giant karate trophy to back up that kind of claim.”

“Not a bad weapon, either.” Eli smirks. “All else fails, I can smash them over the head with it.”

“Oh, that would be a sight.”

Eli laughs, and Demetri pulls him in. He plants a lingering kiss before smiling against his lips.

“Have I ever mentioned that I love you?”

Every time he says it, he means it a little more.

***

“It’s a terrible idea, Eli!”

Eli rolls his eyes, pulling Demetri out the back door. “Come on, man. I’ve done the math. If we stay on the west-ish side of your house, the sun won’t touch you.”

“But—”

“You haven’t seen sunlight in...what? 3 months now? That’s depressing.”

“Fine.”

Demetri’s loathe to admit it, but it doesn’t turn out to be a terrible idea.

The sunrise is gorgeous, all rich golds and peachy pinks. It glints off his neighbors’ windows and bathes the street’s murky trees in a soft glow.

Of course, Demetri hides behind Eli the entire time, clinging to his arm with pale, freezing fingers.

“See?” Eli weaves their hands together. They’re intertwined more often than not these days. “Told you I wouldn’t let anything happen to you. Like seeing daytime again?”

A deep yearning stirs inside Demetri. His fingers twitch, suddenly wanting more than anything to poke out of the shadows.

He kisses Eli’s shoulder. “Yeah. Thank you.”

They stand in silence for a while, watching the sky go from light gray to orange-rimmed to blue. The yearning only tightens its grip.

Before the change, he never had a preference for day or night. You could watch TV or play Crucible Control or read comics in either. But now…

He realizes he missed the sunshine. He missed the fluffy cotton clouds that he and Eli used to watch at recess, lying on the grass next to the playground. He missed the sound of birds, as much as he once complained about them waking him up at ungodly hours.

Sharp pain seizes his toes, and he jumps back with a hiss.

“Shit.” Eli’s brow furrows. “You okay?”

He sighs, glancing down at where the house’s shadow has started to rescind. “Yeah, yeah. Just wasn’t paying attention.”

“You want to go inside?”

Demetri shakes his head. “We can spare a few more minutes.”

They back up, sitting against the wall. Demetri drinks in the growing morning, wondering how he convinced himself he was content to never see this again.

“Dude.”

Demetri frowns. “What?”

“Are you crying?”

He notices the wet sensation around his eyes a few moments too late. His entire body burns with embarrassment.

“I…” He does his best to sound nonchalant. “…have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Look at me, Demetri.”

“No. Fuck off.”

He feels Eli’s hand on his cheek and swats it away. “Leave me alone,” he grumbles.

Vampirism is already bad enough without him bawling like a 4-year-old because the sky turned blue. As in the color it had been Demetri’s entire fucking life. This is beyond humiliating.

Eli reaches for him again. He turns away, only for his boyfriend’s other hand to slip from his own and shoot up to catch Demetri’s cheek.

“Hold still, moron. People are gonna freak out if they see you leaking blood out of your eyes. They’ll think it’s some shit from The Exorcist and douse you in salt or something.”

Demetri lets out a defeated sigh, letting Eli brush gentle thumbs across his cheeks. “You’d better not use this as blackmail.”

“First of all, I’ve got better shit for that.” Eli pauses to wipe off his fingers on the grass, creating what will inevitably end up looking like a squirrel crime scene. “Second of all, like.”

He gives Demetri a searching look as he continues to gather up the tiny, blood-filled droplets. “It’s okay to be upset about this, man. It sucks. I mean the teeth are badass and I’m kind of jealous, but yeah, I mean…shit’s hard.”

Demetri hums thoughtfully. “You should bribe your dentist to file your teeth into little fangs. What with all the hair dye and the tattoos, what’s asking your parents for a few more hundred bucks?”

Eli laughs, giving him a look so soft that he’s now at risk of crying more. Absolutely unfair, not to mention counterproductive.

At some point, Eli pauses, hands resting on Demetri’s cheeks and scarred-knuckle thumbs in mid-swipe.

“I’m glad your eyes didn’t change,” he says suddenly.

Demetri blinks at him. “Huh?”

“I thought they’d turn red or yellow or something. But they’re still green.”

“Are they?”

He chuckles. He’d wondered here and there how different he looked now, but it wasn’t as though his house’s mirrors were going to be much help figuring that out.

“Yeah, like…” Eli inspects him through narrowed eyes. “Slight gold-ish tint, but that’s it. Thank god. I’ve always liked your eyes.”

Demetri’s face goes hot. “Can you stop saying cute stuff for like…10 seconds? You’re making me too flustered to function.”

“No chance in hell, asshole.”

They settle back against the house wall, fingers entwined again. The morning continues to crawl in, and Demetri knows they’ll have to go inside soon.

Regardless, he’ll drink up every nanosecond of daylight until the time comes.

Demetri takes a long breath.

“I told my mom.”

“What?” Eli turns, eyes wide. “What happened? What’d she say?”

He chuckles. “She was…surprisingly unsurprised. I guess it checks out, her growing up in Orestiada and all. All the folklore and whatnot was right next door. She just never put a lot of stock in it. Woman of science, as you know.”

He smiles weakly. He never knew his dad, but he imagines he has Ms. Alexopoulos to thank for most of his good traits.

“I kind of had to explain why I wanted to drop out of school and get an online GED,” he adds, grimacing. “And even before that, um…well, I couldn’t hide this forever.”

He pulls up his flannel sleeve to uncover a crisscross of burned skin, seared into his upper arm. Eli winces.

“Shit, right. What did you tell her happened that night, anyways? No way you’d come home roughed up and she wouldn’t throw a fit.”

“Said we got jumped by some Cobra Kais. It’s the standard explanation for being a victim of violence in the Valley these days.”

“You’re lucky she didn’t look too much into it.” Eli traces delicate fingers across his skin, brushing over the branded crucifix. “On your bad luck arm, too.”

His right arm. The one Eli broke what seems like a lifetime ago.

“God.” He laughs. “It really is.”

“So is she…okay with it?” Eli bites his lip, giving Demetri’s bad luck arm a small squeeze. “Not just the crucifix burn, but like…everything.”

“Seems like it.” Demetri chuckles again. “She did a garlic purge as soon as I told her. Said she was actually a little relieved because she was worried her skordalia had been really shitty lately. I mean, I told her she could still eat it, but she was adamant that she intended never to touch a clove of the stuff again.”

“So she didn’t disown you, then.” Eli laughs. “Thank god.”

“Well. It’s not like I came home and told her I want to re-decorate our living room to look like Mrs. Hasapi’s. Now that is a disownable offense.”

Eli snorts. “What even is your mom’s beef with her?”

“Oh, none, really. She just thinks her armchairs look like they were unearthed from the local landfill.”

They both laugh for a while, leaning into each other and taking in the neighborhood coming to life. Eli rests his head on Demetri’s shoulder, letting out a small sigh.

“I looked into some online colleges, by the way. They’re not bad. UMass has a pretty good online CS program.”

Demetri doesn’t allow himself to indulge in Eli’s hopefulness.

“Oh, yeah?” he mutters forlornly. “And what tech company needs night watch guys, may I ask?”

Eli shrugs. “You could do contract work. Just charge people independently to fix their shit. Might be a pain in the ass to get customers at first, but you’d probably make bank eventually.”

Demetri purses his lips, thinking.

“I…guess it’s not a completely unreasonable idea. But you know you don’t have to do all that for me.”

“Yeah, I do.” Eli’s thumb rubs along the back of his hand. “I love you, stupid. And you’re too busy moping and crying blood everywhere to do it yourself.”

He beams.

He should be used to Eli loving him by now, but he doesn’t think he ever will be.

***

So I was joking with some friends in a discord server before S5 dropped that maybe the reason Dem wasn’t in a bunch of the trailer scenes was because he got kidnapped by Terry Silver and/or turned into a vampire and can’t be in direct sunlight and then it just kinda. Became a fic. Against my will. Like I do not at all have the time to write this AND YET.

Also, yes, Demetri did indeed fight off his vampire impulses just by being like “hey fuck off” and then they did. And that’s on the power of gay love <3

I am an evil god who loves writing Demetri angsting and having breakdowns because if the show will not let him McFucking Lose It, then I will <3 <3 Peace and love on earth!!! Anyways, if Eli’s a lil bit more gentle with him than usual here, that’s why. Boy is Going Through It to the highest degree.

Enjoy the abundance of “I love you”s here, because these idiots are not going to get there for several more chapters of the road trip fic XD Kinda my first crack at writing Established Relationship Elimetri, but don’t worry!!! There will be angst and drama aplenty!!! I am putting them through horrors >:3

This goes with this, this, and this!!! Most I was able to work into the actual story except for the last one :P Also Raptor Reynaldo is from this post!!!

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night-unfurls-its-splendour · 1 year

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📚, (because I'm tired I don't have the energy to pop the questions in 😂😂💕😭), 🗓️ and 🗃️!! :D

(Sorry I took so long to answer. Its been a busy long weekend)

📚 What are some books that have influenced your style?

Well I tend to absorb the cadences of whatever I'm reading/ listening to at the moment. So definitely lots of Austen. I do love Jane Eyre but I oddly don't think brontë sticks in my head. I recently listened to North & South by Elizabeth Gaskell, and that very much did influence me. Especially in how to write characters being very very aware of each other and also physical descriptions. The Bloody Chamber, by Angela Carter is something I go back to continually when I feel that I need to re-center my prose. If I feel off about what I'm writing I go back to The Bloody Chamber (Specifically the eponymous short story). Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens has also made its impact, especially when I'm writing about the goings on in the opera house. (Also feel like Erik appreciates how central stalking is to both of the principal romances in that story).

Any story by HP Lovecraft will get me going on detailed descriptions and florid prose. I've also been listening to The Hunchback of Notre Dame, but I can't say that's come through in my writing very much yet. We'll see though...

🗓 How long have you been writing for?

Including my very underdeveloped anime fanfic exploits back in the days of Quizilla? About 12 years, but there's a big gap from about 2013-2021. So only the years I've actively been writing? About 5.

🗃 How many wips/projects are you currently writing?

If we're only counting projects that I've actually written words for? Just two: When the Longing Returns, and the, as yet, still-in-scraps Moonrise, a fic about my Twilight OC, Ada and what she was doing during new moon.

If we're also counting projects I may potentially do at some point in the near(ish) future, then it would be four: the two above, plus two others. One, a poto priest!AU called Walking on Hallowed Ground, and the other a companion piece to What Do You Offer by @sloanedestler about what's happening on Raoul's side of the wall.

I've also been flirting with the idea of an EdBella fic inspired by the song Blue Dress by Depeche Mode, which may or may not involve further use of Bella's scandalous Emmanuel Ungarro prom dress.

So then maybe 5?

#ask box #ask game #writing asks #the phantom of the opera #when the longing returns #twilight oc fic #poto #poto fanfic #poto fanfiction #writing

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youngster-monster · 9 months

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I KNOW THAT THE DISCORD WIPS ARE A TRAVESTY BUT PRIOR TO THAT THE LAST TIME I OPENED A GOOGLE DOC WAS IN LIKE 2018 TO MAKE AN OC SHEET THAT AMOUNTED TO 100 WORDS AT THE VERY MOST!!!! I DID NOT REALIZE GOOGLE DOCS WAS EVEN AN OPTION I JUST USED IT FOR MY BAD CHARACTER SHEETS

also i cant in good conscience act like the discord wips were ancient history... it is with Shame that i kneel before your askbox and admit that it was in 2020 until like late 2021... after that i realized i could use google docs and now i swear on my life that my fics are organized i SWEAR

ive been hibernating since february (last fic completed let alone worked on Properly) so i am more skeletal than rotted at this point but surely . surely it will come back to me and i will go crazy again

LITERALLY IT IS SO DIFFICULT INTRODUCING CHARACTERS i tried to write oc content recently and it went so bad that i couldnt even stomach the idea of it anymore it is so DIFFICULT but fanfic? fanfic is so much Simpler in my brain. in terms of work i mean because at the point that im writing fanfic about something ive already gone so deep into the lore that i could name 8 niche quest npcs and their full backstory + all of my headcanons in the form of 300 very lengthy discord messages

oh my god. sorry but midway through this ask i just remembered that i still have something of a discord wip channel in use right now, but its not for full works and it IS for snippets. sometimes i have these little ideas in my head but theyre not good enough for a full fic so i just jot em down in a discord channel for (hopefully) later use.... the discord wips will never die

real talk? what you said about any finished work being an accomplishment makes me feel alot better about how irregular my fics are because i end up feeling guilty about how by the time my writers block is over, the fandoms are completely different .. and to be honest when you stop thinking about it it IS kind of funny because theres a. wow fanfiction and b. anime fanfiction. i wonder sometimes if people go to my page and have an aneurysm looking at the fandom list

WII RP???????? WII RP???????????? i wasnt allowed to do really anything with our wii because i was really REALLY young so perhaps this is only insane to me because i never did anything except use the wii to watch pucca in 240p but ON THE WII??????????????????

im going to be wojack pointing at the m3:r wip until the end of time and you can count on that, these two dead elves (and particularly how you write them!!!) have carved themselves into my brain and they refuse to pay rent

2021..... damn bitch you live like this!!

7 months of hibernation... you're getting preserved in a bog it's Fine. I spent a whole year writing Nothing, just rotting mostly, and now look at me ( < not normal) (writing though!)

Fanfics are so easy... and you get other people to bounce stuff off of too like if I crave content I can go yell to my friends about it. For OCs you need Context.... Lore..... who has the time!!! I mean I do I am a known oc enjoyer but still. What work

I do also have the snippet channel. And the snippet notes app. And the snippet google docs. And the snippet paper scraps. And– yeah okay I've escaped the indignity of discord wips but not that of Disorganized WIPs

I'm glad it helped! There's no such thing as 'moving on' for a fandom!!! I know anime fandoms tend to be fast moving but if you let your wip age some more you too can become 'the only person still writing this ship', and profit 😈

Listen. My parents could ground me from using my PC. They could take my DS. But by god they couldn't take away ALL the screens and if I had to point and click my way through writing a post about my sparklewolf daughter of hades then I WOULD. And did!! My wrist will never forgive me

#Asks #Anonymous #Love it when fic authors have wildly different fandoms #'final fantasy' 'baseball rpf' what. Okay.#Shaking Kael. Start paying rent richboy #It's good that you like my characterization of them because Christ alive I don't think it's in character anymore

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cyclaes · 1 year

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I posted 2,145 times in 2022

That's 2,145 more posts than 2021!

65 posts created (3%)

2,080 posts reblogged (97%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@sol-exposito

@hungryhungryhippopotami

@dulcito-on-ao3

@khb-reblogs

@lady-griffin

I tagged 967 of my posts in 2022

#hamefura - 230 posts

#lolz - 72 posts

#reference - 52 posts

#fe3h - 50 posts

#my fics - 43 posts

#katarina claes - 41 posts

#geokata - 37 posts

#lol - 27 posts

#spy x family - 25 posts

#language shenanigans - 22 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#except that this character and this character only has captivated me with his looks and his swagger when executing some kind of void ending

I sent 3 gifts in 2022

My Top Posts in 2022:

fic scrap: katarina spills a secret

Set directly after Season 2, Episode 4 in the anime/Ch. 34 in the manga; Katarina has just been ‘rescued’ from her kidnapping, Sora/Rufus was just taken away, and Geordo has grabbed her for a big kiss to lay his claim on her. I’ve chosen to go more with the manga version, so Ian and Selena are present at this scene.

---

After her first kiss with her fiancé, Katarina was so shocked that she accidentally said one of her Truths - not one of the little truths, the truths that were nice and normal and which she shared carelessly and easily - no, she actually said one of the big, death-won Truths that had shaped the course of her life, the ones she kept locked behind a Council-shaped mental construct to keep from ever triggering her own dooms.

“But - you’re only keeping the engagement to me to ward off other girls,” she told Geordo, aloud, in a bewildered tone that everyone heard quite clearly.

This, in itself, was bad enough. His rivals were already planning how to utilize this information about how Katarina saw the world - even Alan and Nicol, although they were more focused on how to improve Katarina’s low self-esteem than actually doing anything against Geordo.

It was about to get worse.

Now, the curious thing was that if Geordo was less intelligent than he was, things would not have turned out so terribly. If his fine mind did not work as quickly and as thoroughly as it did - if, like a person of more average mental processes, he simply gaped and gasped and said “What?!” or “No!” or even gurgled in wordless surprise, he would have gotten off more easily.

But, instead, what happened was this - Geordo, realizing that what Katarina was saying was precisely what his foolish and unhappy eight-year-old self had first thought when handed an engagement on a silver platter, (an event he regularly thanked the gods for on his knees), had immediately recalled and reviewed every single time that he had ever expressed such sentiments aloud, and cross-referenced it to any times Katarina might have heard it.

Even as a child Geordo had known to keep his mouth shut, and he had never been so gauche as to tell anyone about his plans. There had been only one time that could possibly account for Katarina’s knowledge - a time when he had begrudgingly and awkwardly visited a little girl’s bedside as she lay unconscious, wracked with fever and delirium - a time when his attendants and hers had left them diplomatically alone.

He had looked at her sleeping face and remembered her clinging to him in the palace garden, and had said, in a tone of resignation, “Well, I suppose marrying one stupid girl, even if it is you, will be better than having to fend off all the stupid girls all the time. And Duke Claes is neutral, so that’s good.”

Even then he’d said it in a low tone.

But he had said it, and it was the only time that fit, and in fact it fit very well because she had changed so much after she’d fallen and hit her head...

So, what he said in reply to his fiancée's statement was, fatally: “You were awake?!”

***

AN: I’ve had this scene in my head for a while but am not sure where to take it. I do have vague ideas of having Selena think she’s connecting the dots regarding Katarina’s advice of making sure of what Ian feels directly; since, to Selena, it now appears that Geordo directly told Katarina he is just using her. And her now feeling even more frightened of being married to a prince and Ian freaking out as his very new, very delicate understanding with Selena falls apart because of his little brother’s amazing blunder. But how to get to that point....and what about all the others....

28 notes - Posted August 26, 2022

Heroes of Another Story

Per a comment thread on my fic: I do think the king and queen, Geordo and Alan’s parents, must be a super badass and cool couple, with the hints of backstory we get about them. Basically they are the 'made it through great trials and tribulation' main characters of an epic medieval fantasy story, and Hamefura is the cuter, fluffier (with hints of great darkness) next-gen sequel of their kids. Dan Ascart is the best friend with the B-plot romance, and Luigi Claes is the cool side-character/ally who is unexpectedly popular in the king and queen's story for the amount of content he gets.

30 notes - Posted May 27, 2022

what if the hamefura cast turned into big cats

My very first fanfic idea for this fandom.

Geordo: Golden lion, quite handsome. Too obvious.

Alan: Silver lion.

Katarina: Leopard, which is the best climber out of the big cats. Was considering making her a lioness. Geordo would have gloated.

Keith: Leopard. To match with Katarina. I had originally considered making him a mountain lion but I decided I liked the idea of Katarina and Keith matching, as the other sibling pairs do.

Nicol: Black panther, sleek. Smallest of the males. Along with Geordo, this is the other too-obvious choice. There’s even a scene where he fantasizes being a black cat in the series!

Sophia: Albino panther, white-furred and red-eyed. Smallest of the group.

Mary: Tiger, coat very orange - largest of the group. Inspired by her orange dress and flower, and then when I realized the tiger is the rival of the lion...this has to happen.

Maria: lynx. Originally was planning to make her a strawberry leopard, playing up her rarity, but wanted to make her slightly different from the others to reflect her being the only light-user/commoner in a group of elemental/nobles. So she’s an Iberian lynx - the most endangered cat species in the world. Pale yellow coat with dark spots, a luxuriant ruff and tufted ears.

Scrap of fic below the cut.

The annoying thing, everyone agreed later, was how quickly Geordo adapted. While everyone else was wobbling about on new legs and getting startled by new tails, yowling in disbelief and then yowling again because of the sound of the yowls, Geordo was already fully settled into his new shape, as if he had always been able to shift between being a golden prince and a golden lion. He was laying down - most regally - paws crossed decorously in front of him. His white-tipped tail swished lazily behind him as he watched the others wobble and yowl and leap around the room.

It really was most annoying. Everyone suddenly felt a surge of empathy for Alan, who was currently shaking out each of his limbs in an attempt to get used to his new body. Alan was a lion, like his brother, but silver where Geordo was golden - rangier than his brother, with thicker fur and a more unruly mane.

Keith and Katarina now looked, ironically, like twins, more alike than Geordo and Alan had ever been. The Claes heirs were now black-and-gold leopards, the only difference between them being Keith’s greater size and weight. Even the patterning of the dark rosettes on their golden fur seemed oddly similar.

Mary was eyeing Geordo judgingly - and, as her eye was currently that of an enormous tigress, there was a good deal of implied threat in that. Mary was delighted to find that as a tiger, she was larger than Geordo - she was, in fact, now the largest member of their group, and all of that size was muscle and bone.

Nicol was snuffling worriedly at Sophia, who did not in the least need it, as she was delightedly examining the tip of her own tail.

- Katarina reciting ‘Tiger tiger’ to Mary, who is delighted. - When Geordo pouts, she recites something about lions

Sophia, pouting herself, asks for something but Katarina says, “Sorry but I guess we leopards just aren’t as poetic as lions and tigers.” Nicol pauses. “We leopards?” “Oh yeah! I read it somewhere - black panthers - and white ones, too, I guess! - are really leopards, or jaguars, with different coats. See - “ she said, nudging Nicol and then Sophia in the side. “You have spots like me and Keith! Just harder to see,” she chirped. “We leopards,” Nicol repeated, pleased. “Does this make us a pride?” Sophia squealed. “That’s lions,” Geordo pointed out. “And as Katarina is my fiancée, she is a member of my pride....”

***

It was because I read an anthology scanlation where Katarina imagined them all as dogs, LOL. I...ran out of ideas where to take this so this is far down on the list of my WIPs to work on, if ever I do, but I thought since I had done work on it I’d post it anyway.

31 notes - Posted February 12, 2022

fic fragment - title undecided for now

Summary: Selena Burke has a bad reaction to hearing about Prince Geordo’s new engagement, and Prince Ian is having none of that. Inspired by this post and the rumors of LN12 involving a new fiancée for Prince Geordo.

The engagement between the third prince and the daughter of Duke Claes has always been a topic of much discussion among the people of Sorciere. All four princes and their fiancées are much-discussed, of course - but unlike Mary Hunt and Susanna Randall, too competent to attack, or Selena Burke, weak but disgustingly proper, more boring than hateful - the eccentric and magically-weak Katarina Claes is always good for a sneer and a gossip session.

And, unlike Alan and Geoffrey, their blond brothers are subject to unceasing speculation as to whether their engagements are...open to negotiation. It has died down some since the incident with the kidnapping, at least for Ian and Selena - but now it is raging at full force for Geordo and Katarina.

(Quietly, with the secrecy of men aiming for a previously-unthinkable goal, there are those who gossip about the rumored break - but about Katarina Claes's availability, not Prince Geordo's)

"...what can you expect, with a prince that capable and the Claes girl being like..." sniggers one nobleman to another in the halls outside the public throne-room.

Prince Ian, with his fiancée on his arm, are nearby - close enough to catch the unkind remark, far enough for the nobles not to notice them. Selena, more resolute than people think she is, controls her reaction to a small flinch. But Ian notices it.

***

"...I won't!" Geordo is insisting to their father when Ian walks in. For a rarity, all the male members of the royal family are now gathered in one room at the same time - the king behind his desk, weary; Geoffrey leaning against the wall and watching, his face uncharacteristically somber; Alan standing near his twin, his expression complicated.

All conversation cuts off as Ian strides to their father's desk and upends a portmanteau, covering the teakwood surface with papers and envelopes.

"Ian!" King Owen says in surprise. "What are you..."

"This talk of new engagements for Geordo is stupid," Ian says bluntly. "So I went ahead and got the rescindments from everyone who sent in their application. There. That should fix it."

"...what?" comes the same reply from four different voices at once.

"Everyone who's sent in an application has now sent in a formal renouncement of their offer in writing," Ian explains, slowly, in a tone that indicates his opinion of his family's intelligence is dropping rapidly. "There they are."

King Owen picks up a particularly creamy-looking envelope and studies it. "This - this is from Duke Richaud of Quid. We don't even have an application from him."

"Oh, his application must not have gotten here yet." Ian shrugs. "Well, whatever. It doesn't matter. We can keep this on file for when it does show up."

Geordo is staring at him with the shocked look of a drowning man who has unexpectedly been hit in the head by a life-preserver dropping out of the sky. "Ian...Ian-nii..." He swallows hard and stands up straight, shoulders relaxing from a tension that has been stiffening them for days. "Th-thank you!"

Ian slants a cool blue gaze at his younger brother. "I didn't do it for you," he informs Geordo. "Next time - better let a few months pass first, a half-year if we can - just let her be the one to break it. Don't let her name be dragged in the mud further than it has been already just because she's had the terrible luck to be engaged to you."

Geordo staggers backwards as if Ian has struck him in the face. "What?"

Ian ignores Geordo and turns to his staring father. "And then, adopt the girl as a ward of our family. We don't, legally speaking, need to have precedent, but Grandmother Calla's link to the Adeths and your own time as a ward of Duke Lucan Claes will serve as justification. That way it'll be clear that it was us seeking a tie with House Claes, and not the other way around, and people will stop running their mouths about a girl who deserves better at our hands."

"Duke Claes is still alive, though," Geoffrey points out. "As her legal guardian and actual father..."

"But she's not his heir, and as a ward of House Stuart we can make her one," Ian replies. "The estate I was given from mother's side, Atholl..."

"What are you talking about?" Geordo demands, grabbing Ian's shoulder.

"She doesn't need to marry you to be my younger sister," Ian states baldly. "And at Atholl she'll be closer to me and Selena..."

"She's not yours!" Geordo screams.

"And she's certainly not yours, nor do you deserve her," Ian says coolly. Alan flinches, but Geordo just stares with eyes aflame. Ian stares back, water-magic as potent as Geordo's fire-magic backing the coldness of his gaze. If Geordo's eyes flare with inferno, Ian's has all the dark, hidden depths of a northern sea.

(Ian thinks back to his visit with Selena to Katarina at her Claes household; the staff staring with anger at the royal sigil on Ian's clothes. They are well-trained and the pick of the wealthy and expansive Claes holdings; still they cannot help but show it. They, too, have heard the unflattering rumours about the prince casting off their young mistress.

But Katarina Claes herself does not look the slightest bit unhappy or flustered as she welcomes them to tea with the grace only actual happiness at a guest's arrival can give.

"Oh no," she laughs, waving her hand airily, when Selena - anxious, sad, seeing herself all too easily in the younger girl's place - brings the topic up with much fear. "I always knew Geordo would end up with someone better than me."

There is a moment of silence.

See the full post

34 notes - Posted October 15, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

random hamefura concepts

1) The reason why we don’t see Katarina interact with her mother’s powerful family is because Luigi Claes dislikes and fears them and tries to keep his family away from them. Because when Milidiana almost divorced him, they were encouraging her - saying she could come home, they’d help her, they would take her and her daughter in. Which they were doing out of genuine love and concern for their sister/daughter and the (they thought) loveless marriage she had found herself trapped in.

2) OG Katarina really WAS lazy magically; that is, if she had trained the way Hamefura Katarina trained she’d be way more powerful. In short - Katarina’s bump on the head didn’t only reawaken her past-life memories; it affected her short-term memory, ability to self-regulate, and her access to her magic.

3) The Claes family servants adore Katarina. She notices the maids falling for Keith but doesn’t notice all the young men and some of the young women crushing on her hopelessly. Her friends make sure she doesn’t notice.

4) The guy who named Sora is another reincarnator from Japan, like Katarina. That’s why he named Sora a Japanese name when I don’t think we’ve seen any other Japanese names. I can’t remember correctly but doesn’t Katarina go “Oh yeah, the sky, that matches” but no one else knows that’s what Sora’s name means? And Sora describes him as being weird - LIKE KATARINA IS. As if maybe he doesn’t quite understand all the norms of this world? Or if he has another set of memories in his head? (Also what if the illness he gets is related to being a reincarnated person? What if Katarina starts getting ill too when she gets older?)

5) OG Katarina is a fandom favorite back on Earth, which is why she gets a bigger, badder role in FL2 - a rival on all routes, with a dark magic upgrade and a wolf familiar. She became the Draco Malfoy of Fortune Lover.

35 notes - Posted April 7, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

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firstelevens · 1 year

Note

6, 8, 10, 11, 37?

6. What’s one fact about the universe of the Bake Off AU that you didn’t get a chance to mention in the fic itself?

There are some things I'd like to play close to the vest because I feel like I could still include them in follow up fics so instead I offer my beloved readers The ChartTM, where I kept track of everything that Sam, Bucky, Karli, and John made while they were in the tent, as well as what every technical challenge was. This was finished in like, December of 2021. @ Ani sorry you've already seen this. (Putting it at the bottom under a cut so people can scroll past. You'll have to click to zoom in and read it clearly I think.)

8. What song would make a great fic (to either write or read)?

I'm not sure I fully understand this question, but I will say that whenever I hear "Put A Little Love On Me" by Niall Horan, it makes my ancient FFN songfic instincts light up, because I am nothing if not a sap.

10. How do you decide what to write?

I chase about a hundred different rabbits at the same time and hope I'm struck with inspiration for at least one of them? I have time to write now for the first time in a while and I'm trying to cultivate better writerly discipline but 98% of the time I just kind of percolate fic concepts in my head while doing other things, and then I get struck with an image or a scrap of conversation that I really like and then I'll pick up whichever idea it relates to and try to take that as far as I can.

11. Are you partial to a certain character/pairing or are you more equal-opportunity? If you are partial to any character/pairing, why do you think that is?

I don't write a whole lot of fic, so when I do, it's because a particular character or dynamic really drew me in and I wanted to explore that more? So I think by my nature, I'm partial to whatever relationship or character got me to start writing in the first place. (Also like, if there is a character who carries the weight of the world on their shoulders and tries to ignore this in favor of looking out for others, I WILL be writing about them; it cannot be helped.)

37. Promote one of your own “deep cut” fics (an underrated one, or one that never got as much traction as you think it deserves!). What do you like about it?

There's a little Sambucky ficlet that I wrote called "and now it's light", after my favorite Slow Club song, and it honestly did quite well, but it was one of the first fics I wrote for the pairing and it was the first time I felt like I really had a handle on their dynamic and what it might look like in an established relationship. Also, it includes the line, "Sweetheart, are you jealous of the cat?" which makes me giggle every time I read it.

Week-by-week Bake Off breakdowns! Click to zoom in. Yellow backgrounds mean the person won star baker, green means they won the show.

#thank you for asking Ani!!!#zainab does ask meme things #moriondors #might as well throw this in the tag for the fic too:#the gbbo au

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lumienn · 1 year

Text

Re-reading my own fic + reaction

Once upon a time, back when Yashahime was airing, I posted a few chapters of my sessrin fic titled 'Ice King, Icing' on AO3. I eventually ran out of steam, life got in the way (as it always does) plus I had some negative experiences within the fandom which got to me.

It's been at least a year since I last touched it, and I barely remember the plot.

So now that I've got my laptop back, it's time for a reread with fresh eyes. Let's see if it's any good!

Chapter 1:

Okay, I'm recalling the story a little now. The end result is a lot better than I thought it was at the time, I put a lot of research into everything (and I needed to, because I know nothing about 90% of the things I was writing about here). I enjoyed reading the worldbuilding just as much as I enjoyed writing and imagining it. This chapter shows glimpses of a modern world where humans and youkai coexist, and how they manage to do it.

While writing, I was worried the setting descriptions may be too much, but it feels just right to me as a reader. There's just a LOT of effort that went into this chapter and I'm glad it shows.

I feel like I should have more criticism for this chapter but somehow I don't. So here's the fun fact of the chapter instead: Rin was originally supposed to work at the cafe Kagome and Sango go to! The original draft had a more detailed description of the cafe for that reason, but I scrapped it and gave her a normal office job because it didn't feel right. I still wanted the cafe to have a personal connection to one of the characters, so I had Kohaku design it instead.

Chapter 2:

So some interesting plot points are introduced in this chapter. This story was basically based on three what ifs- what if Sesshomaru's good side came out before he met Rin? What if he didn't give Rin the choice to travel with him, and sent her away instead? And what if we still had time travel in this modern AU?

This is where the story and Sesshomaru and Rin's relationship deviates from canon. I love canon, obviously, but I was so intrigued by these questions. So Ice King, Icing was born, lol.

I also wanted Rin to roast Sess

I don't have any complaints for this chapter either. I caught a couple of grammatical errors, but shh. Also I was clearly having so much fun writing it.

Fun fact of the chapter: Kagome still has her purification powers and is still a reincarnation of Kikyo. But Inuyasha and Kikyo are inconsequential characters to each other here. Kagome is from the year 2318, and travelled 300 years in the past- to 2018- which is the year this story is set.

Chapter 3:

Another chapter where I was worried the descriptions and story of Rin's life may be too much, but it wasn't. Homegirl is out here living the life we can only dream of :')

We finally get a good chunk of Sess POV here, and the characterization is satisfactory. Again, big sigh of relief- he was SO difficult to write. I also had an evil chuckle reading Rin's flashbacks and Kaede's worries that her childhood saviors may have found her again- yes, lady, that's THE POINT. We are HERE for some hurt/comfort. Also eviler chuckling at my past self for managing to sneak in some Captain America trio references.

This reread is turning out a lot better than I expected. I'm really enjoying this a lot!

Fun fact of the chapter: The subject line of Jaken's email seems to reference the kdrama 'A Business Proposal', but Ice King Icing did it first :) (chapter posted in April 2021, drama released in 2022)

Chapter 4:

Kagome to the rescue! That's all I'll say ;)

Okay no. I shouldn't be surprised at how much I enjoyed reading this chapter, again, the whole fic is a banger. It has everything I want in a sessrin fic- not surprising, because I wrote it myself. I remember writing the balcony scene and Sesshomaru's realization and giggling to myself at how hilarious it was. Plot forcing them to spend time together by making him hide her from his father= a romcom classic that I'll never get tired of.

Fun fact of the chapter (and mild spoiler): the mystery girl that has been following Kagome will be revealed in the next chapter, along with her motives.

Conclusion:

As I said in the chapter notes, this fic isn't abandoned. I've just gone on hiatus from all my fics for a while because irl is taking up all my time and energy. I enjoyed writing this fic a lot though, and I will definitely update and try to complete it. Just not sure when.

#hanyou no yashahime #yashahime #sessrin #lume talks #my writing

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danpuff-ao3 · 1 year

Note

23 and 43 for the ask game thingy please and thank u

Hello there! Thanks for the ask! :D

23. What’s a trope, AU, or concept you’ve never written, but would like to?

Answered here!

43. If you take/write prompts: what’s your favorite prompt fic that you’ve written?

Ooh this is hard! Why must I choose between my babies?? I've participated in many a fest and prompt event. Orange Blossoms was an indulgence of flowers and poetry (for HP Flowers AND my birthday!) Lover Boy At Play is to this day the most self-indulgent bit of hotness I ever wrote, written for Kinktober 2021. In fact, I'm very fond of most of my Kinkuary & Kinktober works!

But in the end I think it really comes down to 2 fest works.

Collateral Damage was written for Draco-Ron Fest 2021. It was a headache and a half to create. (In fact my first draft got to 10k words before I scrapped the whole thing and started fresh.) (Version 2, which is what is posted, ended up at 16k!) It was such a struggle to get through, but in the end I had a product I was beyond proud of!

The prompt was great. Probably my favorite prompt I've ever seen. I won't share it here since the prompt itself spoils the story a bit, but if you're very curious you can find it at the bottom of the fic itself. A friend of mine left that prompt, actually! And the moment I saw it I knew it had to be mine. It helped that, because I was friends with the prompter, they'd be thrilled with certain plot points I had in mind. I'd never had a prompt inspire me to quite that level before. Self-prompts, sure. Prompts from others? Never! I am to this day incredibly in love with that fic. Which is pretty big considering it's not my OTP!

It was a great indulgence of angst and miscommunication and inner turmoil. While also having fun with the characters. They're such a mess! Draco super bratty and dramatic, and a fun blend of insecure and vain. Then Ron this charming and funny guy who is also very oblivious and temperamental. It's a more lighthearted, fun version of the enemies to lovers dynamic that I don't often get with Snarry. Much as I love it, my OTP can be much too much sometimes!

It does make me unsure if I should write Dron again, though. I did it so well already! I'm not sure anything I write can ever compare. (Though it's not stopped me with a certain other ship, so...maybe I'll get over that hesitance one day!)

A Matter of Time was written for Snarry Adopt-a-Prompt and was posted early January 2022. While Collateral Damage was a fun spot of drama, this was a tragedy. And while the prompt for Dron spoke to me right away, I had a harder time narrowing down AAP prompts, and even once I did I had to tinker around with what, exactly, I wanted to do.

It was a different sort of structure than I normally write. Alternating POVs as well as reverse chronology. And I had it open-ended on top of that! I got to indulge in a bit of outsider perspective, and a secret (taboo) romance. It sort of delved into this awful situation without ever really resolving it. Also, I am dang proud of how it ended. Wow. Talk about a knife to the heart. (Of course I'd be proud of that, haha!)

Also...can we talk about the smut???? Very hot. Few people talk about that. Probably because on the whole it's a very depressing fic and most people are caught up in how depressing it is, but gosh dang it, that smut was good!

Anyway...it was another challenge to write, though it feels less oppressive than certain other fics. If only because I took breaks to write a comedy at the same time (Welcome to the Family for Rare Pair Fest.) It lightened my spirits enough to be able to reach the end without too much of a migraine. And in the end, I had a story I was stupidly proud of. And I considered it my best work until I posted Contempt later that same year!

(Also, I know I was supposed to stop signing up for fests, but...my best works came out of fests!!!! I did not need that to click in my brain now, oh no.)

questions for fic writers

#asked & answered #ask game #fic writer asks

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separatist-apologist · 1 year

Note

Will you explain Ariana's origins though?

Fine. A little Separatist-Apologist lore.

Back in May of 2021, I (new to the fandom), decided I wanted to write an elucien fanfiction. I knew almost nothing about the fandom and at that point had read like, 3 total fics across the different Lucien/Elain ships just kind of getting a feel for things. I knew two things for certain- I wanted Vassa to be Elain's friend, and I wanted Lucien to have a reckoning with his family.

And so I started Call It What You Want To

I knew I wanted Elain to have a Day Court friend and I wanted a reason to keep Eris around in later chapters, and so I very lazily dreamt up Arina. Here she is, for the first time ever, on chapter 6:

She took a breath. She could figure it out. Elain was certain there was more to her than pretty dresses and dancing at parties. She stood, prepared to find Lucien and force him watch her try on clothes all day when a soft knock interrupted her plans. Elain opened the door and found Helion, utterly shirtless and in a white kilt embroidered with shimmering gold, looking down at her with a too-bright grin for how early it was. Next to him was perhaps the most beautiful woman Elain had ever seen. Her golden skin rivaled that of the domes she’d seen on the palace itself, though it somehow paled when Elain took in her long, shiny blonde hair falling in a glossy sheet to her waist. Her meadow green eyes were peering back at Elain with open, unabashed curiosity.

One of Helion’s lovers, Elain decided, soaking in the woman’s bright blue dress. The hem cut to her mid-thigh and the strap twisted over one flawless shoulder, making her tan seem more prominent, more beautiful.

“Elain, you’re awake,” Helion interrupted Elain’s obvious ogling.

Elain nodded, turning her attention back to the High Lord.

“I planned to give you a tour today, but I’ve been detained so I thought I’d leave you in the very capable hands of one of my best scholars, Arina. She’s going to show you around, answer any questions, and generally make you feel welcome.”

Arina nodded solemnly.

I don't think she has a terrible amount of depth in that fic, and her and Eris mostly happen outside the periphery of the story. Originally, Elain had two female friends and I scrapped the other because I was losing track of all my characters. So she stayed, which kept Eris coming back, which was important given he later kidnaps Elain. Back then there weren't all these Eris ships to choose from.

And I HATED Azriel back then. If you re-read my earliest works, I almost never include or mention him, and if I do he's a massive (silent) bastard. I don't know if Azris was even kicking around back then but part of the why arina/why not Azris is I don't like Azriel. Occasionally, in a modern AU or when Fitz writes him with Eris but in canon and in most other works, he is just not it for me.

I did write Neris, later on- No One Likes A Mad Woman but that was pretty short-lived for me.

Anyway, when I was working on I Know Places, I was lamenting how I missed her and wished I had done more with her, and someone sent an anon saying. she could come back. And that was all the encouragement I needed. She has been in every fic I've written in which Eris is featured (minus the aforementioned Neris), because I like her. And she's fairly popular with the people who consistently read what I write, AND for those of us who have been hanging out the whole time, it feels like a group project almost.

And I guess lastly, my OC's are decently popular and creating and utilizing her convinced me to work more on my own original writing.

#and i will keep writing her until i fade out of this fandom and into obscurity

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quaranmine · 3 months

Text

Things that Could've Happened in Firewatch AU but Didn't

Hi, and welcome to scrapped plot points. This fic had a general direction from the beginning but a lot of details came together as I went.

🔥First of all, I've posted the discord message before, but I actually originally envisioned it as "ambigious" whether Mumbo was dead or alive. This was scrapped the moment I tried to determine HOW one makes that ambiguous. think about it for a moment.

🔥I've also stated this before but I initially wanted this to just be a string of vignettes throughout the summer with no real plot or resolution to it. This is where I got a lot of early ideas for Grian and Scar hangout/character relationship development back in Dec 2022 (Scar and Top Gun, Scar's job as a door to door salesman, etc) (the salesman idea was actually from one of my tumblr asks, thanks!)

🔥Originally I....had more of a human conflict present? I actually struggle to remember some of what I planned because it got scrapped so quickly once I thought it through more. But you can still see references to it in my notes:

(last one is from first draft of chapter 11, one year prior to the final draft.) There's??? so much conflict implied here. Grian gets CHASED! people BROKE into his tower! someone STOLE THE BIKE! drama!!

I scrapped it because it was too unbelievable. Specifically, it was unbelievable for this plot line. I still had the same "truth" to the plot present—that there was no conspiracy and Mumbo had just died after being injured in a place outside the initial search zone. All this other behavior would have just been red herrings from people who had nothing to do with Mumbo's disappearance.

A lot of this also very reminiscent of the actual Firewatch game type of intrigue. I was always heading to a similarly anti-climatic ending (aka no overarching conspiracy) as the original game. But this did not fit. Because...why would someone else do this? They wouldn't have the same motivations as Ned Goodwin in Firewatch. It'd just be some pissed off teens/the firework couple who decided to mess with Grian to throw him off. Except they wouldn't know they were throwing him off anything, because they wouldn't know him, so it'd just be purely some third party messing with him. But I felt like real life is rarely this....malicious. I've had people go out of their way to harass me with road rage, sure. But all of this drama was scrapped because I felt it was SOOOOO unlikely for a random person to just be harassing Grian like this Just Because. It did not fit! It was so coincidental and requried people to make questionable decisions that I couldn't fit into any good framework of motive.

It was a bad idea and I'm glad I abandoned it. It might have been a good idea in a different context...but it did not fit at all here.

🔥I briefly toyed with something like what happened with Cian McLaughlin happening in this fic. Cian McLaughlin is an Irish man who went missing in Grand Teton National Park (nearly adjacent to this story's setting) in 2021. He was never found, unfortuantely. His case is notable because a woman provided a false eye witness report of seeing in a completely false location. On purpose, to be clear. She purposefully lied to the National Park Service about seeing him somewhere she didn't, while providing enough personal detail they thought it was a real report. She claimed to have done this to ensure that multiple locations were searched for him, to expand the search area, but she really just derailed over 500 hours of search time to the wrong place. It's so sad.

I was like, this is an intriguing case. What if this happened with Mumbo? What if this is why he was in a different location than the search was? Because someone falsely reported him being where he wasn't? But I faltered on it for many reasons. First of all, I felt it was kind of disrespectiful to Cian Mclaughlin and his family to blatantly draw off details of his real life disappearance in such an obvious way. It's a recent one too. This is not a cool mystery detail, this is real life and a real person and a real grieving family. Secondly, it goes back to the problem with the other issue about people interfering the case: why? You could ask why this woman interfered with Cian's case too, and that's real life. But in a fictionalized setting—why? What would it add, when I know that the truth of what happened to Mumbo was going to be mundane anyway? Why introduce this bizarre secondary plot element just to distract Grian and the reader? It could have just been a mistaken report, not a purposeful one, but it's just derail the story in a very unsatisfying way.

In the end the only remaining trace of this idea is Grian in chapter 5 (?) saying that someone had seen Mumbo at the Cloud Lake Trail and provided an eyewitness report. Which, for the record, is supposed to be an accurate account—he did go there, his car was there, and he did get spotted there at the beginning of his trip. He just diverged from the trail at a later point.

🔥I meant to do a fun little formatting thing and have Mumbo's past through processes and actions be intercut with Grian's present-day processes in Chapter 11. Or to put that more clearly, when Grian was running down the mountain away from the fire (but before he saw Mumbo) I wanted his choices to be contrasted with the ones Mumbo made. It would've been a stylistic choice. Mumbo's paragraphs might have been in italics, and I toyed with doing a right alignment instead of left alignment so it'd really stand out. The idea was to show how their two independent thought processes converged and led them to the same point on the mountain at different times. It would've been the only time in the story we ever got something from Mumbo's POV.

I scrapped this because I hated what I'd written in Mumbo's sections and never got around to rewriting it or adding it in retroactively. I think it was a cool idea but I did not pull it off. I don't the the fic is worse for it, though. I think it does a good enough job leading the reader into that parallel without spelling it out Quite that much. I also kind of....like that Mumbo never has his own voice in this story to explain his own decisions. It's sad, but it's part of the story.

🔥I seriously did not always have the main wildfire at the end of the story in the plot. I actually initially had Scar just coaxing Grian to tell him where he was, or allowing the search and rescue to come find him. And that would've been it, the search and rescue coming.

🔥Or.....when I toyed with whether or not Grian and Scar should meet at the ending of the story, I also considered an alternate ending where Scar came to Grian to rescue him. That he reported Grian's location to SAR, and then came himself. I scrapped this because it made no sense logistically. It's all well and good for there to be a dramatic scene of Scar coming to Grian's aid and them meeting for the first time in person. But Scar is miles away. And more importantly, Scar has an established disability and chronic pain that limits the trails he walks on. He specifically says he hasn't explored trails too far from his lookout because it'll pretty much wipe all his spoons for ages. (well, he doesn't say spoons because this is the 80s, but that was the meaning.) I was like okay. He's not only far from the trail but he's literally physically unable to make it there in time and one thing I'm NOT doing in this fic is undermining his disability (especially since I already had to make him a ~certain~ degree abled in order to do the job.) So I kept him in his spot. I think it added more tension anyway, because it's such a special kind of horror he experienced having to witness everything go down but be unable to help Grian other than over the radio.

🔥Speaking of the wildfire, I had a version where Grian escaped it for an embarassingly long time. Like until January or even February still (of this year!) The idea was the Grian outran it and then got found. A lot of this was just that I didn't want to figure out how to write him surviving a wildfire. I knew it'd be difficult and straddle the line of unbelievable. I wanted to take the easier way out of writing the scene.

But honestly...there was no way else the scene could've gone. I spelled it out in chapter 8 with my rather blatant foreshadowing—you CAN'T outrun a wildfire. I mean, I guess in good circumstances with good wind and experience you probably could. Afterall, hotshot crews and wildland firefighters are able to get in and around the fires without (normally) casualties all the time. But fires move faster than people. WAY faster. It'd just be a disappointing conclusion for Grian to somehow be the Super Lucky One who somehow skipped being in the danger. No, I had to follow through with what I'd set up and just go for it.

🔥I also entertained an idea of him sheltering in the overhang with Mumbo. It would've played out nearly like the fire played out in the main fic, the only difference was with him. It was the most "meaningful" option for shelter (since the other options were no shelter, and random shelter.) He would've been surviving death right next to Mumbo, who didn't survive. I could have made that very poignant if I wanted.

But I disliked this because I'd already written the part about Grian deciding to move on. I felt that bit of the scene was really key for the message of the story as a whole.

I wanted Grian to make the CHOICE to live instead of just refuse to move and survive anyway. You know? Grian, in-universe, would have no idea what decision would lead to his survival. But as the author with the power to do what I want, I knew he was surviving all my options. So my options were: 1) easy scene to write where he survives but doesn't experience much danger, 2) hard scene where he survives and makes the conscious decision to live and move forward, and 3) medium difficulty scene where he survives but was still emotionally stuck-in-place.

(Above: some random notes I typed about the finale scene options on my phone, in a situation where I should NOT have been writing fic notes on my phone lol)

In case it's not obvious, the final scene is the second one—Grian makes that key decision to live, but still experiences the danger I've set up so that I can follow through on the tension I created.

🔥I restructured the final chapter so that there was a bigger gap in time between Scar and Grian talking about Everything and Grian arriving. I initially had it when Grian essentally just came...and then like 5 mins later they were laying all that out while Grian sat on the bed. It just made the vibes of the scene Off. It was too quick, not satisfying. So I kept most of the same dialogue and stuff and structured it into a chapter where Grian meets Scar, and they kind of spend a mostly chill afternoon talking and hanging out until they delve into the Deep Stuff later that night while stargazing (let's be real you can never go wrong with stargazing for a deep scene.) I felt it was likely they'd kind of pretend everything was "normal" at first until they were more comfortable in each other's prescence. Also, we ALL know the middle of the night is when the real stuff comes out lmao. You can see my cut up and reused pieces of the original chapter version in the indented italic parts of chapter 12. I liked some of those interactions so I wanted to preserve them somehow even though the final chapter was structured in a way that cut it out.

So far, that's all of the major plot differences that I can think of at the moment. Some of the other elements (like the mistaken permit situation) came into play after I already had chapters uploaded, but I don't have a concrete idea of what might have happened in their place. Chapter 9 really evolved and got out of hand as I wrote it, but I knew from a few chapters earlier that he was going to do Something that got him fired. So I was able to refine the specific actions when I got there, since I just knew it had to be major and outlandish in the name of getting more information.

I had most of this story worked out ahead of time. But there were absolutely major changes that happened during the course of writing it. I was just fortunate that my intense outlining and focus on it ensured that I never encountered a situation where I had to make changes that majorly affected an already uploaded chapter. Yay for sticking close to the general outline even when the details were in question!

If I think of anything else, I'll reblog this post. :)

#i kind of like reviewing these things because i think i made the right choice in all cases #and built the story i have now #and i think that....working through these options and analyzing them. determining the ways in which they did/didn't work.#determining what message they'd send about the story versus the message i wanted to actually convey #is one thing that made me improve as a writer and made this story better #a lot of this AU came easily to me since i just....wanted to write about and explore this #if it didn't come easy to me it probably wouldn't have happened because i wouldn't have pursued the story long enough to piece it together #but the rest of it came from a lot of work and analysis and self-criticism in order to make sure my plot points were all Purposeful #i reviewed this fic to hell and back. if there was a scene in the story it was because I Meant It To Be There and had a reason for it #hc_firewatch_au

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ginneke · 2 years

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💕 self-love time! talk about which ones of YOUR creations (edits, artworks, fanfics) you like the most then send to other creators to do the same 💕

(Sorry if you've already gotten this!)

Since I can’t in good conscience list any of my works in the Moonlight series, as they required somebody else’s narratives to even exist, I think it probably has to be Keepsakes (Memento + Lacuna).

This story was, like, my gateway. I’d been listening to heleentje talk about the game for at least a year, had read a fic or two here and there, but only got to playing it myself in spring ‘21; and as soon as I got the first image of Memento hit, it was like… Finding an urge to write that only seemed to surface every now and then, over the last decade. And this is the message that started it all:

Ginneke — 14/05/2021 Hi I just had a thought that gives me severe and immense pain When a Champion’s weapon breaks, you can get it remade So if the Great Eagle Bow breaks in battle, and Link commissions Harth to repair/rebuild it, Link must have retrieved and kept the scrap of Revali’s scarf to tie back onto the repaired bow

(Btw, word of warning: don't say stuff like this to heleentje unless you intend to be enabled into writing it.)

I didn't expect the paraglider at that point. The bow, and the piece of cloth, were my primary fixations. But as soon as the paraglider became the focus point of conversation -- and with Link refusing to commit to speaking out loud -- that's how Lacuna came to be.

(And to demonstrate just how much time I can take with my writing: I first got the idea for Memento mid-May '21. it was late June '21 when Lacuna was conceived of and named, start of Aug '21 when I finally published Memento, and almost a year later (over a year since initial idea) when Lacuna finally reached a point I was satisfied with it.)

The thing that slowed Lacuna down, meanwhile, was getting Revali's voice just right in that flashback.

He was, frankly, at his most frustrating. It wasn't entirely his fault, in the moment -- except it was, because he'd given Link absolutely no reasons to trust him to that point in their (non-existent) relationship, and so everything he did and said was being filtered through several layers of suspicion. (I still re-read that scene and love his body language through it.)

I'd also decided quite early on to mess around with tenses: Since Memento had been written in past tense, I decided to write most of Lacuna the same.... Except, paradoxically, the flashback. If this was the only time Revali would properly appear within this story, he was going to be front-and-centre. I wanted an immediacy to him; I wanted him to feel so present that he broke out of the established narrative tense. (I hope it succeeded!)

I know this series is marked as 'Complete' for now, but that's not to say I might not revisit it sometime. Revali learned of that roamer custom somewhere...

#thanks for the ask!#ginnefic #(about) my writing #revalink fic

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yellowloid · 1 year

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✨🍦😈 for the ask thing 🥰 plus one of your own chosing

aaaaa bestie!!! thank you for the questions!!!! you know how much i love these games <3333

✨ Give you and your writing a compliment. Go on now. You know you deserve it. 😉

ARGH i'm shyyyy 👉👈 well one thing i really like about my writing is that i think i'm pretty good at avoiding too many repetitions and finding words thaat match the exact feeling i want to convey with what i'm writing. and i also really like how poetic i can be in some passages, especially when describing characters' longing for each other eheheheh okAY enough or i'll make myself blush

🍦 What’s the sweetest fic you’ve created so far?

skfjhsgfgs i think the entirety of 'satin and lace' as a series - because it's literally just hopeless romanticism injected in my veins everytime i reread it, and it felt the exact same as i was writing it - and, well, i hope it felt like that to my readers too <3 it's just sososo sweet and full of love and UGH i miss my stupid idiot husbands </3333

😈 Has there been a point in a story where you did something just to be playfully mean to your readers?

mmmm i think mostly moments where alex is being a teasing bastard, like the Croissant Scene TM in my venice fic (iykyk), and basically the entirety of 'give me all your love so i can fill you up with hate' - because when i write that kind of teasing dynamic between them (and especially when it's alex being a menace to society) i really want readers to feel as frustrated as poor miles, having to endure alex's insufferable slut behavior <3

and now one of my choosing, let me think about it........

⛔ Do you have a fic you started, but scrapped?

there's my infamous vampire!fic, which i still hope i can actually turn into something concrete one day - i loved the premise, loved the aesthetic i pictured for it, loved a particular oc i created, loved the dynamic alex and miles had... and i had like 75 pages of it ready in my drive, but it was just not passing the vibe check, yknow? i wrote it during summer 2021 and almost finished it, but idk, for some reason i find my writing has such a better quality during the colder seasons skgjshgh it was just very ??? meh. even if i did decide to salvage it, i'd have to completely rewrite it. who knows, maybe one day i'll give it another chance

and then there's this cute little one-shot set pre/during taotu era that i started writing on a whim, and i find myself coming back to it much more frequently than i'd like to admit - because it's so close to being posting material, i'd just have to make some changes and edits here and there... add some bits and pieces... and it'd be ready to be posted. and it's very cute and very fluffy, but somehow i never get round to actually finishing up those last few touches and it's just been sitting in my drive for almost a year now, poor thing skfhsgf

#thank u love u!!!!!!!#answered #writing asks

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ifmywishescametrue · 1 year

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hi kennedy! i was wondering if you could tell us how this is how you fall in love came to be? as in, how did the idea first come to your mind, and has it changed much since that firts idea? also, i'm really curious about how much time you've been working on it 👀❤️

hi ari! I absolutely can do that, but bear with me because it's long!

I had to scroll through my google doc history to find when it started, but apparently I got on the idea for it on August 23, 2021 lol. I'd forgotten this but I guess it came for an AU bingo that I was sort of doing (but definitely didn't complete). It was supposed to be the College AU square and all the doc had at first was this:

"Idea: pre-serum steve wants to lose his virginity before he graduates from college, doesn't really know tony but asks him to be the one to do it (seems likely he would say yes), turns into friends with benefits, they both catch feelings, mutual pining and all the fun things"

That initial idea didn't go very far until April 2022, when another bingo started and I thought I'd incorporate those squares. I absolutely missed that deadline, so as you can see, there's a recurring theme here of me failing hard at bingos.

But those squares were: virginity, Netflix, Edwin Jarvis, Bronx, Kissing in the Car, Victor von Doom

All of those are hilarious now, because Jarvis and Victor von Doom aren't even mentioned in the final version, and Steve and Tony never end up in the Bronx. But, they started me on an outline that evolved over time and helped a lot.

I wrote really sporadically from April-August 2022, then stopped completely in September-October. I felt like it wasn't turning out very well, so I went to other projects and wrote/posted those instead. When I came back to it, it turned out I actually really liked it.

I think there were 7 or 8 chapters written at the time I came back to it. I edited those, then kept going and so, so much of my initial outline changed. Entire scenes got scrapped, some parts were moved around or combined, and a few minor plotlines disappeared all together. The only major thing I kept from chapters 9-19 was the ending, but it was initially supposed to be 26 chapters, I think.

I didn't know exactly who these characters were at the time I outlined it, though, so it had to change as they developed into themselves. Like, there was supposed to be some plotline for the ~drama~ of Tony showing up at Steve's dorm drunk, because he was upset after a phone call with his mom. But it turned out that this Tony just wouldn't do that after everything I'd already written him to be. So, him talking to Steve about his mom got put into chapter 12 instead to preserve some pre-written dialogue I had, and now there's kind of no real drama between him and Steve specifically. (And I certainly stressed over that for months, for the record, but then I decided that not everything needs angst like that.)

This fic was the first multi-chaptered one that I didn't start posting until it was completely done, so I had more freedom to make changes, but also I kind of thought I might never finish it without the posting pressure lol. It did end up taking almost a year and a half, but I'm really happy with the way it ended up!

And I also may or may not have started writing a companion fic from Tony's pov 👀 and it may or may have 15 planned chapters.

#answered asks #arabellamonkey #thanks for sending this!!

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absentcaryatid · 1 year

Text

I posted 1,137 times in 2022

That's 811 more posts than 2021!

193 posts created (17%)

944 posts reblogged (83%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@sorikkung

@jeongyunho99

@twancingyunhao

@absentcaryatid

@queerdo-mcjewface

I tagged 1,115 of my posts in 2022

Only 2% of my posts had no tags

#ateez - 350 posts

#fic rec - 252 posts

#gif - 236 posts

#yunho - 114 posts

#mingi - 114 posts

#video - 97 posts

#gender neutral reader - 96 posts

#seonghwa - 80 posts

#i love laughter - 77 posts

#kpop fanfic - 77 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#i like this idea because i have a lot of things that are just a scrap of dialogue and probably won't go anywhere but can always be revisited

My Top Posts in 2022:

Three Guys and Your Underwear

An ATEEZ fanfic by AbsentCaryatid

Yeosang is your boyfriend. Seonghwa is your roommate. Hongjoong is your best friend since preschool. One day you came home to find all three of them hovering over your dirty laundry basket inhaling the scent of your underwear. Can they explain what they were up to in a way that makes them completely innocent of doing exactly what they were caught doing?

2.5K words, Content note: gender neutral reader referred to with they/them pronouns, underwear sniffing, innuendo laden but still probably squeaks by for all tumblr using ages

There were three perverts standing around the laundry basket in your bedroom. Huddled together, your best friend Hongjoong, roommate Seonghwa, and boyfriend Yeosang had been sniffing away at a pair of your underwear. They were so engrossed that they apparently missed your greeting called from the front door on arrival. When you announced your presence in your bedroom doorway Hongjoong screamed and as a group they shot about six feet in the air being caught at their activity. Seonghwa looked guilty and Yeosang froze. You stared at them and they stared at you.

Bordering on yelling, nervously Yeosang claimed, “We can explain in a way that makes us completely innocent of exactly what it looks like we were doing.”

“Okay, try me. Please tell me this isn’t what it looks like.” The trio audibly relaxed a little until you narrowed your eyes and amended, “But make it believable.”

“It isn’t, I promise,” Seonghwa pleaded.

You snorted. “Isn't what it looks like, or isn't believable?”

There was laughter at your comment. Yeosang cut it off quickly at your look though. He could be bold sometimes, but was not a fool.

Ever the rules lawyer, Hongjoong hedged, “What does it look like?” His attempt at innocent doe eyes did nothing for you.

You took in a deep breath while pinching the bridge of your nose. “I’m going to say this nicely on the very slim chance there truly is a reasonable explanation for you three to be standing beside my dirty laundry and huffing my underpants, but what is going on, guys? You need to tell me, now.”

See the full post

51 notes - Posted July 15, 2022

Looking for something else to read?

Here are the masterlists of some of the K-pop fanfic writers I enjoy on here. Search their name on my tumblr to bring up fic reviews for that author.

All Tumblr Using Ages:

Blossom-hwa Masterlist, ATEEZ, Golden Child, Stray Kids, The Boyz

Catboymingi Masterlist, ATEEZ

Mingtinys Masterlist, ATEEZ, BTS, NCT Dream, Super M

Sorryimananti-romantic Masterlist, ATEEZ, BTS, Red Velvet

Thexautisticxkpopper Masterlist, Block B, EXO, GOT7, NCT, VIXX

Theaufanartist (Flashing GIF) Masterlist, ATEEZ, BTS, SVT, Stray Kids

Twancingyunhao Masterlist, ATEEZ

Warmau Google spreadsheet Masterlist, ATEEZ, BTS, NCT, Svnt, +

Wooahaes Masterlist, Golden Child, Seventeen, Stray Kids, Treasure

Writersrealmbts Masterlist, BTS, GOT7, Monsta X, NCT, Stray Kids, TXT, VIXX

Masterlists with at least some 18+ Material:

See the full post

59 notes - Posted August 15, 2022

The Quest to Fit Yunho

An ATEEZ fanfic by AbsentCaryatid

319 words, Content note: gender neutral reader, size references, hands

“My boyfriend, he's big,” you confessed in a whisper.

The woman you were speaking to encouraged you to tell more. “Go on, what else?”

Keeping your voice low, you added, “Well, Yunho's fingers, they are so large. It is a tough fit. Sometimes the stretch is too much.”

She gave a sympathetic nod, “I see.”

“I want to succeed where his previous partners have failed. He just wants to be able to slide his fingers in with ease. It seems like such a simple thing that would make him so happy but I need help.” A sad look crossed your face. Pleasing your boyfriend meant the world to you and this was something you had been trying to solve for quite a while now.

The lady was reassuring. “Maybe they gave up too soon. I believe I can be of assistance.” You smiled gratefully hoping there was a solution after so many attempts and false leads. “No matter his size, we do have models to fit in many colors,” she continued. “Let me bring you the extra-large range and you will be able to take something home for him today.”

“Thank you so much,” you gushed, “Yunho will be very happy when he opens his present. He has always spoken of wanting driving gloves but nothing at the market stalls ever fit. Driving gives him so much pleasure but in these colder months he complains. As often as he praises the seat warmer, he wishes the steering wheel had the same feature.”

The saleswoman beamed behind her counter, pleased to have helped. “It is a good thing you came to this department store then, isn't it? Once you decide on a pair I will wrap them for you.”

Purchase complete, you headed home smiling to yourself knowing how thrilled Yunho would be slipping on the first pair of gloves that actually might fit since reaching adulthood.

Masterlist

62 notes - Posted January 18, 2022

A Birthday to Remember

An ATEEZ Seonghwa x Reader fanfic by AbsentCaryatid

Seonghwa has purchased an adult toy for your birthday and is eager to help put it to use. If the night goes as he hopes, he will be playing with you for a long time.

1.4K words, Content note: Gender neutral reader, humor

Seonghwa knows what you want, knows how to please you. For weeks he has been keeping it secret but tonight he will reveal all. You have been dating almost a year now and he wanted to mark the occasion with something really special in honor of your birthday and he had just what you had been longing for. He understood you were curious if you were up to the challenge. The thought of getting to be the man who provided this first in your life left him restless and eager to get on with the evening.

He could see the excitement when he whispered in your ear what his plans were once he took you home. Tonight you would go all out and try something new. It was difficult not to speed through the rest of the meal in anticipation over what was to come. Your face displayed such open desire and Seonghwa could not help but feel an equal interest.

Abandoning plans for dessert, the bill was paid quickly and you rushed to his car. Looking for all the world like two young people in love, for that’s what you were, you kept glancing at each other and grinning. Once home, he escorted you to the bedroom where he presented you with the gift. From his hints at the restaurant you already knew what you would be getting up to and it had you salivating. Kissing him passionately before unwrapping, you marveled once you saw it in person. “I had no idea it was so big.”

“You flatter me,” Seonghwa laughed, “it is not like it is The Titanic.”

“It practically is.” Tracing the outline you couldn’t help but gasp as you took in all the details. “And so hard!” Although you had not opened the large box yet the picture on the outside told you a long-held dream was about to come true. Tonight you would enjoy an 18+ toy you had your eye on from that special shop you liked to browse together. “Seonghwa, I can't believe you. You spent a fortune on me!”

See the full post

67 notes - Posted January 13, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

ATEEZ Reaction to Your Chest Being Uneven

A gender neutral fanfic by AbsentCaryatid

The reader has been hiding from their romantic partner the fact that their chest is more developed on one side than the other. I present one way the members of ATEEZ might react. This is not smut but instead written to be reassuring from someone who has the experience of visible asymmetry and it has never been an issue.

432 words, Content note: some are lightly suggestive but still rated safe for all tumblr using ages

Hongjoong would deliver a chaste kiss above each side when you confess your anxiety about being uneven to him. Hongjoong then would promptly fall asleep on your chest and much later wake up, happy to be there no matter how great your disparity.

Seonghwa would insist he is not with you for your body but for your personality. “No matter what, I still I think you are perfect just as you are.” As you stare into his flawless eyes, you understand completely.

Yunho would respect your emotional impact from being lopsided. “I am not going to tell you how to feel about your chest and will support you if you wish to have cosmetic reduction on one side or enlargement on the other. Please know though, that I find your appearance charming. You don't love me any less for my uneven smile and I feel exactly the same way about you.”

Yeosang would be over the moon and have a lot to say. “You are warning me because you are going to let me see your chest? How could I have any complaints about that step in our relationship?” Ever the scientist, Yeosang would also be a researcher and come back to you with facts. “Now that I have read up on the subject, I learned it is common to be asymmetrical. Estimates vary, but one doctor cited 90% of people with developed breasts have at least a 15-20% difference in volume, and truly if your measurement is precise enough nobody is actually identical. A mismatch can happen to any gender if muscles get a regular workout on one side more than the other. The difference may be more noticeable on you than others, but it is very normal and nothing to feel bad about.”

San would pointedly tell you some of his stuffed animals are small and others are large, but they are all equally loved and worth cuddling.

Mingi would have nothing to say if you draw it to his attention, merely joyfully diving back in to shower you with snuggly affection. Despite wanting to be supportive, Mingi would probably never even notice the size difference between sides of your chest.

Woooyoung's delighted and overly loud proclamation that a variety pack is a plus would be overheard by the whole dorm. Then comes the shared laughter as he discovers, “Look at this. I can make my hand look big or small depending which side I hold it over!”

Jongho would be warmly reassuring with the confirmation, “I love everything about you. How could I not love your chest as well?”

Masterlist of stories

85 notes - Posted June 14, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

My stats from 2021 Tumblr Year in Review

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #data collection #yay data #the people who said reactions travel well were right #long post

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