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prince-liest · 24 days

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You inspired me to write! And I got up to 2k words for the first time ever when it comes to writing for myself... but I'm struggling a bit 😅 Do you have any advice about narrator POV and how you use your verb tenses? It's like I have no idea how you manage to "head-hop" while still being an omniscient narrator so smoothly & effortlessly. And verb tenses. if I write "was" one more time I might pop a gasket lol. any help is appreciated <3 have a good one!

First of all, that's freaking amazing! 2k is a lot, congratulations! That might sound weird coming from me considering how many words I put out, but I 100% remember the struggle of being newer to writing and hitting multiple thousands of words for the first time - I'm so happy for you!

Second of all: I actually write exclusively in third person limited POV, not third person omniscient! Even though I'm writing in third person, the narration is fully from the perspective of the point of view character, which I personally enjoy a lot because it allows for a lot of unreliable narration and also characterization through how their train of thought manifests (choppy, stressed, dreamy, etc). That's why when I'm writing from the point of view of character A, for example, any assumptions about character B's motivations are what character A is thinking, not an omniscient narrator informing you.

That said, you still have to head-hop specifically to write the actual visible actions and dialogue of the second character, and that's actually the most recent thing that I used to struggle with in writing specifically because I got most of my initial writing experience doing roleplay where I was only ever responsible for one character's thoughts and actions at a time.

Honestly, the main thing I can say is that it gets much, much easier with practice. When you start out, it will genuinely just take you longer to switch from the mindset of one character to another! I used to take character notes to put together little snapshot profiles of character headspaces to re-orient myself between the characters I was writing when I felt like I was getting lost. They included things like a few traits to keep in mind, behavior mindset, and snippets of dialogue that I thought were very representative. I don't use these anymore, but I do still do things like rewatch episodes or reread portions of books when I'm learning new characters to orient myself to their personality. It's like code-switching to me nowadays.

As for verb tense: I was a consummate Homestuck, so I started out writing in second person present tense, hahaha, and while I've adopted the third person POV (and believe me, this took adjusting), I've kept writing in present tense as a personal preference. I like it because it makes things feel more in-the-moment as they're happening, because there's less grammatical fuckery involved when describing the past vs the present, and just because I'm used to it. That said, past tense is more common and stands out less to people, and I think that you are finding all of your "was"s a lot more noticable than a reader would! People generally don't really notice the tense of what they're reading once they get into the flow of it.

#ask #personal #Anonymous #my writing #writing advice #I also tried to switch to past tense and kept fucking it up #like genuinely switching tenses halfway through a paragraph and not noticing at ALL #and unlike writing in second person POV it didn't seem like an actual issue wrt readability so I just stopped trying #long post #I hope this was at least a bit helpful!#I've honestly never written an omniscient narrator so I'm afraid I can't be much help with that #I'm too much of a sucker for unreliable limited narrators haha #I love how telling a narration can be about a character's mindset #also side note my oldest fic on AO3 which is a little Soul Eater oneshot from 2015 is in second person hahaha #A RELIC #(ofc I have some fantroll stuff on there as well but that's SUPPOSED to be second person)

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steddie-there · 1 year

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"Eddie, I need you," Steve says over the phone, a very un-Steve-like tremor in his voice.

That's all Eddie needs to hear before he's shouting to Dave that he has a family emergency, he'll be back later, and booking it out of the record store and across town to the veterinarian. He's never been so grateful to have such a chill boss.

Steve is pacing in the empty lobby when he gets there, one hand shoved in his pocket and the other running incessantly through his hair. He doesn't stop until Eddie touches his shoulder and then Eddie has an armful of Steve, his face buried in Eddie's neck.

He's shaking so Eddie holds him close, buries a hand in his hair, waits for his trembling to stop.

"What happened, Stevie?" he asks and his voice is gentle, as gentle as he can make it, but Steve still curls inward. Eddie rubs soothing circles into his back.

"The hay bag," Steve finally whispers. "I heard it fall, thought it was far enough away from his cage. So I didn't check. But when I walked past, he'd chewed a hole in it and I don't know if he swallowed any and oh god what if he did what if he has a blockage what if -" he breaks off, his breath hitching.

Eddie presses a kiss to his forehead, pulls him over to the chairs. Tucks his hands into Steve's, lets him hold them bone-crushingly tight, lets him fiddle with his rings. Presses their foreheads together and whispers soothingly.

They wait.

It feels like hours but can't be more than 45 minutes before they're called back to a room. Paul is staring up at them from the doc's arms, calmly chewing a piece of hay into his mouth.

The doc smiles, tells them he's fine, no blockage, and Eddie lets out a breath of relief, feels Steve sag against him.

"So he's okay?" Eddie asks.

"Perfectly healthy," she confirms. "Although maybe the tiniest bit heavier than he should be. How many treats is he getting a day?"

Steve furrows his brow. "Just two hay treats. Three every once in a while."

Eddie doesn't say anything, glances down at the floor, scratches at the back of his head. Steve turns his head to look at him. Eddie breaks.

"...he's good at begging, all right? He rattles the cage and then he looks up at me and. He's just. Really cute. And sometimes I give him a couple extras."

Steve bites his lip and his shoulders start shaking again.

"Steve, what... are you okay...?"

Steve bursts out laughing. It's relief and joy and amusement all wrapped into one and it's infectious and soon Eddie is laughing, too, and even the doc is chuckling and Paul is staring at them all with big black bunny eyes.

"Just, maybe lay off the treats a little," she says when they're all just grinning at each other.

"Yes, ma'am" Eddie promises, crossing his heart.

"Will do," Steve grins as he takes Paul from her arms, puts him in his little pink travel kennel.

He turns to Eddie, a gentle smile on his face. "Let's go home."

Later, curled up on the couch, Paul flopped over their laps and the tv low, Steve leans his head on Eddie's shoulder. "Thanks for putting up with my freak out. For being there."

Eddie turns to Steve, kisses the side of his head. "Sunshine, I'd do anything for you. And for this little bastard, too," he says, tapping the white spot on Paul's head. He flicks an ear in Eddie's direction but otherwise doesn't move.

"Even stop giving him extra treats?" Steve asks, a smirk in his voice.

"Yeah, even that," Eddie says as they both dissolve into quiet giggles.

-----

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 7

ao3: And Rabbit Makes Three

My real life inspiration behind Paul the rabbit

Also, credit for this idea goes to my roommate @steddiehawkins, who also inspired Eddie giving Paul extra treats since she definitely doesn't give my rabbit extra treats because of how cute he is and how much she loves him. She would neeeeeeever do that 😉😜

#steddie #stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson #paul the rabbit #my fic #steve and eddie get a pet rabbit #not so fun fact rabbits cant throw up so if they eat anything like plastic it could cause a blockage #which is every rabbit owner's worst fear because fixing a blockage means surgery #my rabbit did once chew holes in his plastic hay bag and i freaked out too #but unlike steve id already had my rabbit parent first freak out when he broke his leg falling off a box #so i waited to see if he stopped eating and he didnt so he was fine #just like paul

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dootznbootz · 4 months

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With how I'm planning my fics, since Menelaus and Agamemnon spend some years at Tyndarius' palace, I kind of have them all be childhood friends in a way before Agamemnon and Menelaus take back their kingdom (Aga is around 19, Menelaus 15 when they leave. 5-6 years later they get married.) With how their marriages work out when talking about "Old times", Odysseus is the "odd one out" as he was the only one who didn't grow up alongside them. The poor guy is left out.

Odysseus: "Wait, why is everyone laughing? What does that mean? I don't get it." Penelope: "Well you see-" Goes on about a silly story but the inside joke is dumb. "...You probably would've had to have been there to get it" Odysseus:

#I'm so excited for how Ima have the dynamics in my fics >:D #Is this all silly? YEah :D Is it probably unlikely? YEAH. Do I care too much? No. :D you can't tell me they stayed at Tyndarius and NOT mak #them childhood friends to lovers (Agamemnon and Clytemnestra is a different situation but no spoilers lskdfj )#Odysseus is Menelaus' wingman (at first just going to sightsee and try and win the favors of others) but as soon as Odysseus falls #HARD for Penelope and starts getting a little desperate on how to “woo” her. Menelaus becomes a wingman for him as well #“I know her favorite jewel is Lapis Lazuli but she hates bracelets. She messes with them too much and then they break. don't give those”#Odysseus is frantically writing everything down #I love making these silly people even more silly. I hope that's okay haha #They don't have much time in the Iliad but I love Menelaus' and Odysseus' friendship (based on how Menelaus talks about him in the #odyssey.) And Helen already knows she wants Menelaus but I'll get into that later >:D #If anyone has seen the movie “Up”. Young Carl is young Menelaus and Young Ellie is...Kind of like Helen?? more the “shy boy gets looped #into crazy shenanigans with a sassy girl who thinks he's neat".#“You don't talk very much...I like you!” and Menelaus is just standing there. big eyed and confused but happy. :D #my headcanons #shot by odysseus #Mad rambles

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n7punk · 3 months

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How do you write so good!! Can you give any advice

So I'm trying to think of writing advice, I really am, but I'm kind of drawing up a blank aside from... write. Like there's all these writing advice posts across Tumblr and half of them are bullshit (either completely or just because they're only relevant to certain people/writing styles) and the other half has all already been said but it all comes back to just... writing. The more you write the better you get at it, and especially the more you SHARE it the better you'll get. I write... a lot, and that's the only way you get better at a skill like that, but I can't pretend my commenters aren't part of it because like, when they're commenting on how I changed the sentence structure to match the moment or something and it's already something I did... it's not a conscious change I made, you know? It just felt right, but they were able to articulate why it felt right and that helps me be more aware of using that as a technique in the future. So write and post fanfic, I guess is the advice XD

#i really wish i was the kind of person who could analyze and Distill Advice but it would all be entirely specific to the way i write #and unlikely to line up for you (hence the only relevant to certain people thing)#it's also worth noting i've gotten to the point where i also either draft or proofread all stakeholder communication at my work lmao #i noticed errors too many times and now that's my job so like. it's not just fiction I write #but also i have that skill from writing fic in the first place? listen its circular lmao but being my own beta taught me a lot #ask #anon

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loppiopio · 7 months

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live izaya reaction to chapter 29 (honey python) of a cheap imitation.

#durarara #izaya orihara #a cheap imitation #shitpost #i made a thing #tumblr wouldn't let me upload more than one video in the same post so this a stray from the 🥥 post #this one might be funnier on its own though so maybe it works out #i expect the notes on this one to not exceed the single digits hsgsds #but hey it is a thing i made so i'll leave it here for posterity #unlike the others in the 🥥 post this one was specifically made for marketing #which is a thing i started doing on twitter to try and entice my book club victims to read a new chapter of the fic #at a pace i thought would be more fun #so it's supposed to be very ??? since my intended response was meant to be like “??? wtf is going on in the next chapter”#“i've gotta read it”#“oh”#“no”#and it did work for one friend lol #so mission success #anyways maybe someone here will enjoy it too who knows #the sounds btw are just michael jackson noises it was supposed to be a reference to that one voiced meme of the shit bunny crying #and then placating themselves by imagining them railing their fav #y'know #the shit bunny by @battleguitar on twitter #https://twitter.com/battleguitar/status/1622025684670631936 if you want to see the comic #i tried my best to find whoever voiced it but i think that post must be gone :(#i have it saved though as a reference so if anyone wants it i guess dm me haha #ACTUALLY HOLD UP I JUST FOUND IT NOW #https://twitter.com/coalbones/status/1622112973102669829 :000 #thank you for your service twitter user @coalbones

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childhoodgrave · 2 months

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i rememebr very long ago talking about my grace low vision headcanons andone of my mutuals was like oh hey i resd a fic that had that :) andyhen was like Oh wait you made that

#made me laff rememberkng #i miss writing fics… have only had the inspiration to occassionally write about my own characters now though. which is better but i m too #shy to share it with people fully unlike fics #but it was fun to just include all of my littlep roclivities and force people to read that. i dont think a single person who read my clara #embalming analysis fic hax any idea whatghe fuck i was on

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cq-studios · 4 months

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2. 🍄 Describe your wip/one of your wips in the format of “___ + ___ =___”

7. 🖍 Post any sentence from your wip

2. Imprisonment + Friendship building = Unlikely Friend

7. Strelitzia. The name rang in his head like bells, reverberating through his whole body. Something about it was familiar, important.

Very important.

This is a line from a fic I’m writing about Ven and amatonormativity. Kinda a stupid concept where Ven hyperfocuses on Strelitzia (when she gets back with Sora post-KH4) because he can sense she has some connection to his past, and everyone thinks it’s a crush because she makes him nervous and het-norm and Atatonormativity. It doesn’t really make sense if you look to deep into it, but I have fun using the concept to make Ven uncomfortable (and bond with Kairi) lol

#(just realized I didn’t post this lol)#I have no clue if I did the += thing right #but I’ve been thinking about it for way too long so it is what it is lol #it took me way longer than it should’ve to find a line to share #turns out I write a lot just don’t finish stuff lol #also I love referencing bells when it comes to the NULs #Lauriam used it to refer to the war once but it stuck lol #I wouldn’t be surprised it it sneaks into Unlikely Friend at some point #sometimes i think about my khux fics

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fates-calling · 3 months

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Care

CW: Almost-Character Death | Violence | Refrenced Astarion Trauma

Featuring: Soren (OC) & Astarion & Gale Relationship: Implied Tav/Asatrion/Gale (and vice versa)

Word Count: 2,940 Other Tags: Physcial Hurt/Comfort | Minor Whump | Astarion Is Bad At Feelings | Mild Angst | Fluff | Jealous Astarion (but of both Gale & Tav because he wants in on it) | Gale Is Crushing Like A Dweeb | Protective Tav Synopsis: During the fight with the duergar on the beach, Astarion nearly dies: but Gale and Soren come to his rescue. And he simply can't wrap his head around why. Ao3 Link!

Another arrow sliced through his torso like butter, it seemed that Astarion had underestimated the duergar’s aim. It didn't help that they were taking on what, ten of them? The entire beach has become a battlefield, and it was already coated with bodies. He can't believe he was doing this for some strange mushroom creatures. Why did he let himself be dragged along on some heroic side quest again? It wasn't his style at all. This time it seemed he was going to pay the price for it. He grits his teeth and clutches at his side, blood is pouring from the wound rapidly. Plenty of arrows had grazed him during the fight but this one stuck. The world blurred.

No! Was his first thought as he felt himself drop to his knees, desperately clinging to his bow. Astarion attempts to stand, unaware of how much blood is coming out of him, yet, it is such a familiar sensation. To be bleeding out. He had felt this two hundred years ago as Cazador had sunk his fangs into his throat. This time, however, there was no sweeping numbness as he was already dead. Instead there was nothing but spikes of pain pacing back and forth in his nerves.

Then he heard it, “Astarion! Shit!”

It was Soren, screaming out his name from a few meters away. The vampire fell to the ground the dark-sunless sky of the Underdark staring down at him. He can see pretty well still as the edges of his vision flicker with black spots. He feels blood leak from his mouth, and his instinct is to wipe it away. Have to look perfect. He can't move though - too weak. He watches the bard fire off three arrows out of his crossbow, each one striking at the dwarves with a vengeance. A strange shock rolls through the rouge. It is vengeance. There is a rage etched into the elf’s face that startles him.

He had only seen it a few times before. It's practically a snarl, as the bard's long ears pin down and he bares his teeth. His eyes aglow with his magic as he strikes his lute with ferocity. Astarion watches as duergar goes flying away from him as sound crashes into them shattering bones. Then, the bard is rushing towards him. Turning his back to the enemy, and the vampire wants to hiss out about him being an idiot.

But then, he realizes something.

Soren came to his aid. But why? He has to wonder. This entire journey so far he has been nothing but, well, an asshole. His attempts to seduce the man before him - to manipulate him with sex and fake admiration have all failed. Soren would flirt back and play along, but, never was Astarion able to get any further than banter. The bard was infatuated with Gale. He had spent the night with him after they saved the grove, and honestly: Astarion would be lying if he said it hadn't been driving him mad.

What did Gale offer that he couldn't? Wasn't he gorgeous? Wasn't he sexy? Everything you could want for a roll in the hay! It had dawned on him recently, that, maybe Soren wanted something deeper. That's why he was drawn to the helpless romantic wizard. But that meant he didn't have control of the elf. Couldn't bend him to his will. Sure! The man didn't stake him for being a vampire. He allows him to feed on him whenever he needs or even wishes. But that's because he is useful in a fight. He knows that.

So, why, is he feeling a health potion being pressed to his lips. Why is a hand carding through his hair, and forcing him to swallow it? He had just proven that he wasn't good enough for the battles ahead. That he wasn't ready for them. Soren was risking himself!

“Ignis!” Astarion heard Gale's voice shout out, and he saw a dwarf that was trying to get to them erupt into flames. Karlach is somewhere down below them on the beach, cutting through the enemies with a vicious roar. The wizard was now running over to his side. Warmth spreads through his body from the potion.

The vampire whelps as Soren rips the arrow from his body, “Fuck!”

Soren winces, “Sorry!”

Another health potion is forced onto him, he thinks this time, from Gale. The world comes back into full view. His body aches though, and Astarion feels as if he was hit by a carriage. Might as well have been. The pair of men are kneeling in front of him, both of them wearing an almost comically similar expression. Worry. Concern. Relief. Astarion stares at them for a moment, processing. Soren helping he understands, a bit. The bard is making amends for something he has done, that the vampire was sure of: for what he can't tell you. But his whole hero thing is about redemption for him. Reclaiming old childhood dreams.

But Gale? Astarion has been nothing but, honestly, an asshole to him. The wizard has certainly taken it in full stride, however. Tossing back insults and banter. Yet, despite that the human always tries and talk to him. Especially at camp, lord, Gale loves to talk. Yet. It's nice to listen to him. Astarion feels like he can also, just, talk when the wizard gets into one of his rambling moods. They have had strangely long conversations as of late. When Soren is away the wizard for some reason drifts to him and his tent to seek company. Astarion has been trying his damndest not to let his puppy-dog eyes and wonderful smile melt him. But. It's been working.

Just like Soren's gorgeous wavy hair and the way he smirks before telling a terrible joke. Or the way his sword is soaked with blood at his hip right now. The blood he shed for Astarion. The vampire begins to sit up, feeling pinned by the two men before him. The strange warmth blossoming inside of his chest made him reel. It's a foreign sensation. Not like the heated flames of lust he is used to. The fires of passion. No. It's soft and soothing. He hates it. He doesn't want to think about what it means.

“Astarion take it easy!” Gale says unhelpfully, as he reaches for the vampire who nearly falls trying to stand. Astarion flinches as he feels the warmth of the human's hand on his arm. It takes everything in him not to reel away. This doesn't make sense. Gale should hate him. Soren shouldn't care for him. He hasn't given nor managed to give either of them anything. No sex. No kind words. No grand acts of heroism. Not even stupid silly gifts. He has seen Soren present magical scrolls to Gale like he was bringing home gold.

“C’mon sit down, man. You just almost died.” Soren grabs the vampire by the shoulder softly, his grip is loose. It grounds him, and slowly, he allows the bard to lead him to the wooden floorboards beneath them. One yellow eye and the other a brilliant icy-blue stare at him searching his face and body. Brows are furrowed and the elf curses underneath his breath. “Fuck! I should've not let any of them see you!”

Astarion is puzzled at the sound of guilt in his voice. He doesn't let it show, he waves a hand through the air allowing his body to stop shaking. Focusing on doing - something. Anything to ignore this buzzing inside of his chest. The lump in his throat. “Darling, I'm fine.”

“You were not though,” Gale pipes up and the vampire wonders not for the first time, if the man ever has a filter. “That's the problem. We had agreed to cover you and we failed -”

Soren cuts the wizard off, his intense gaze flicking to the human. Astarion is grateful for it. He felt trapped beneath it. Caught in the waves of color as if they were raging oceans. “No, I failed. I should have fucking killed the bastards faster. If I - if we lost you Astarion…”

His voice trails off, and his gaze looks off into the distance for a moment. The vampire feels that warmth again. Stronger than before. Gale has a similar look of devastation that is sweeping in. The pair are so oddly in sync it is almost comical. They must have been spending a lot of time together. Why does that make his stomach twist into knots? Not quite in a jealous way. More like - loneliness. Being left out way. It makes him want to puke.

“Let's not think about that.” Gale breaks the heavy silence, “He's alive, that's what matters. We got to him in time.”

A strange anger enters his voice, and he points at Astarion, “If you ever scare me like that again, I will make your hair purple!”

“What?” the rouge manages eloquently, confusion flooding his features. Soren laughs as Gale flushes a bit realizing that his threat was well, odd. The wizard shoves at him, and it seems to only make Soren giggle more. The world seems to freeze for a split second, as Astarion stares at the pair. A perfect image, as they are bathed in the soft glows of the mushrooms and crystals around them.

They look so happy. That's when the vampire recognizes the blood on them, not from the enemy. Both of them seemed to have taken some heavy blows themselves from the battle. Gale has a large slash across his arm, it having torn his sleeve right off. Soren has about a dozen cuts and scraps from arrows plinking off his armor. Barely missing. Not to mention, the gash across his leg from where a dwarf stabbed him. They were both mostly long-ranged fighters like Astarion, so how -

It dawned on him.

It was when they ran over to him. When they turned their backs to the enemy.

“You fucking idiots.” He hisses out and he grabs healing potions from his pack, tossing them to the men. Gale doesn't catch him and Soren has to save it from falling to the ground. “You two took hits running over here to save me! You could have gotten yourselves killed and that would be, well, bad!”

Soren blinks, and it seems he just realizes he is injured. None of them have even noticed the battle is over, as the beach has gone silent. Karlach had cut through the last of them. “It was worth it to make sure you were okay.”

The words cut into Astarion. Sharp. Strange. Foreign. He watched as the bard downed the potion, wounds closing and bruises fading. Gale followed his lead, though, he fumbled shakily with the cork on it. He seemed worse for wear than the bard beside him, exhausted. He had used a lot of mana during the battle.

“Losing a little bit of blood is nothing compared to your potential death.” Gale comments, as if it is a matter of fact. That Astarion dying was worth the pain. Was worth their own lives, potentially.

The vampire shakes his head, and he looks away swallowing hard. “Whatever. Never pull a stunt like that again for me, got it?” The unsaid words rang in his head. You two are worth more than I could ever be.

“Can't make any promises.” Soren quips, and he grins at the man. “Give it up, Astarion. We care about you, and you can't stop us.”

“Why?” It falls out from his lips in a whisper, before he can stop it. Astarion regrets it the moment the words leave his mouth. He doesn't look at either man, as silence falls between them. He wishes he could run, but, his legs still feel so weak. He is pathetic. Can't even escape his problems properly. If he had his way with Soren - ugh! None of this would be happening. Then he wouldn't be questioning everything the man did for him, because he knows what he wanted from him. But, he doesn't - and Gale? Even bigger of a mystery.

Gale speaks first, clearing his throat. The sound has the vampire looking up at him. “I for one, believe it to be rude to let your comrades lay on the ground and bleed out. Also! I would greatly miss our late-night readings! I have never met someone with the same taste as me before in literature, and passion. Plus, when I can't sleep because of this retched orb-” he taps his chest. “You -”

There is a break in his words, a flood of emotion entering the wizard's eyes. He glances away from Astarion and the rouge's thoughts reel. “You keep me company, and I know you don't like me much. It's nice though. To just talk to you and it would be a shame if I lost that. You're also funny - and - well, I think Soren it's your turn to explain!”

Soren shakes his head a bit, as Gale cuts himself off from his rambling, and there is a pink color in his face. The bard looks at him, his gaze is just as intense as before.

“I care for you, simple as that. If you need reasons why, well,” he clears his throat, and he counts off on his fingers as he speaks. “You're funny, as Gale stated. You have wonderful fashion taste and keep this party well dressed. You have brilliant taste in wine and books, oh! And you are just the niftiest little lockpick! Also, you're endearing. I like your laugh, too. And -” his eyes shine. “You'd do the same for me. I know it.”

Astarion scowls, his skin is crawling. “Do you, now?”

“I do.” It was said with such trust, and assurance that the vampire knew he meant it. He thinks about how many nights the bard has let him feed upon him. Allowing himself to be held in the predator's claws and not once, has he been afraid. Even that first time: Soren hadn't shown a hint of fear. Astarion groans.

“I think this just proves to me you two are insane.” He states simply and stands up, dusting himself off. Gale follows his movements and it looks like he wants to say something, but he stops. He doesn't want to push. It feels like they already stepped on a minefield. Maybe tonight, at camp when the weariness of the battle has faded. He already knows Soren will question Astarion about this. About his need to prove that their care is fake. He can see it in his features.

Determined and stubborn as always.

Astarion crosses his arms over his chest, “That was quite enough mushy talk for me. Shall we start looting bodies?”

Soren grins wickedly, “Already on it!”

The bard runs like a giddy child over to the nearest corpse and begins to rummage through their pockets.

“Gale! This one has a scroll of Thunderwave!” He declares and tosses it to the wizard who lights up as if they don't have five of them already. Astarion stares at them for too long, just watching as they talk and loot. Tossing each other items. A perfect picture. He feels as if his heart flutters, but it's impossible. He turns away only to be hit in the back of the head with something metal.

“Hey!” He shouts and spins around, Gale is staring at him sheepishly.

“Sorry! I thought you'd catch it! It's for you.” the rouge shakes his head before he plucks the ring that was thrown at him off the ground. He pauses. There is nothing magical about it from what he can see, it's just a simple golden band with red gemstones all around. He raised an eyebrow.

“Gale, this is useless.”

The wizard shrugs, “It matches your eyes. I thought you'd appreciate it-”

“Catch!” Soren called out and Astarion had no time to react before a pouch was thrown at his face, the bard was grinning with mischief as it hit him square in the nose. The vampire shakes his head.

“You did that on purpose!” He half-whines out, but he is beginning to feel lighter. Catching onto the playfulness in the bard's gaze.

Soren's voice is sing-song, “You can't prove it. Also! Maybe just don't be so slow.”

Astarion grins wickedly, thinking that he shall get sweet revenge. He walks up to a dwarf whose body is charred, he snags gold coins off of them. Perfect. With precision, he throws each one of them at Soren, who catches them all without looking. The vampire gaped.

The bard merely smirks at him, “You're gonna have to try harder than that!”

“Why you little…”

“I'm not little anywhere, sweetheart.” The bard winks. Astarion and Gale flush at the sudden comment. The rouge can shake it off easily and he ignores the flutter inside of his chest. Gale on the other hand seems to be steaming a bit, too caught up in the imagery his mind conjured up.

Then he gets hit in the face with a coin. “Ow! Soren, you asshole!”

The bard is cackling now before he dips into the shadows vanishing from sight. Astarion cracks his neck, and he snatches the coin that fell in front of Gale.

“Oh, it's a war now.” He flips the coin. “What do you say, wizard? Wanna help me get revenge?”

Gale pauses and he nods, taking a coin offered to him by the vampire. A smile spreads across his features, his eyes lighting up with an oddly, malicious look. Astarion can't help but, appreciate it.

“Gladly.”

Astarion could get used to this.

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mushiewrites · 2 years

Text

Mr. Kitzel

I got a very mean concept idea based off of this post from @cayjuno. I decided to put my own twist on it, so hopefully you all like it! (This is definitely NOT aimed at anyone specifically cough cough)

Dream, George and Sapnap come across a rather interesting find at the store, intrigued by the name of it. Dream puts it back, flustered and not wanting to look at it any longer, but George and Sapnap throw it back into their basket, forming a plan on what to use it for (or who to use it on) in their heads.

(lee!Dream / ler!George / ler!Sapnap : 2.6k words)

Dream didn’t understand why George and Sapnap had to drag him along to the store. He had just started to get into the new show he had been waiting to see on Netflix when the two barged into his room, practically dragging the blonde out of the house as he protested the whole way to the car.

He now found himself aimlessly walking through the aisles of the miscellaneous store, mindlessly looking up and down all the shelves as something to do while Sapnap and George trailed ahead, talking between them about what they needed to make sure to grab. They had all turned down an aisle that contained self care items, including brushes, skin care, body lotion - those kinds of things.

Dream was barely focusing on anything at this point, but suddenly something caught his eye. It was a back scratcher, something he had seen a million times before. But weirdly enough, it seemed to have a label with another language on it. He reached down and pulled the package from where it was dangling, bringing it closer to him to see if it was all in a different language.

“Mr. Kitzel?” Dream practically jumped at the sudden voice coming from behind him, closer to his ear than he had anticipated. He turned his head to the side and met the dark brown eyes of George, who was smiling with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Yeah, I’m not sure? I was trying to figure out what language this was more than anything.” George hummed in acknowledgment as Sapnap made his way over, taking the backscratcher from Dream’s hands and glancing over the words.

“I think it might be german? Hold on,” Sapnap reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, unlocking it and bringing up his translation app. He let out a chuckle when he read what it meant, turning his phone slightly to show George which made him turn slightly red with a nervous giggle. Dream was now the only one confused, and he was now rocking back and forth on his heels as he anxiously waited to see what was causing them to react like that.

“What is it? What does it mean?” Dream sounded a little annoyed, but he couldn’t help it! He was getting nervous, and he wasn’t exactly sure why. Probably because of the smirks George and Sapnap shared as they looked at Dream, the smaller of the boys shrugging his shoulders and handing Dream his phone. The blonde boy nearly choked, fumbling to give Sapnap his phone back when he read the translation on the screen.

Tickle. The translation was tickle. The backscratcher was literally called “Mr. Tickle”.

“What a funny coincidence!” George began, leaning closer to Dream and causing him to take a step back with a nervous giggle. “We know someone with a very ticklish back. Don’t we, Sapnap?”

“I think we do, George!” Sapnap agreed, also taking a step towards Dream with a teasy tone in his voice. He laughed as he watched Dream turn impossibly red, clearly loving how much their words were impacting the taller boy. Dream rolled his eyes with a huff before snatching the backscratcher out of Sapnaps hands to put back on the shelf.

“Yeah yeah, whatever. Let’s just get the stuff and go, I wanna go back to watching my show and ignoring you idiots.” Dream hung the backscratcher back on the shelf before turning quickly on his heels, walking away from the flustering situation. George and Sapnap giggled to themselves as the oldest boy grabbed the backscratcher again, throwing it into the basket and hiding it under the items they had already grabbed. They then followed quickly behind Dream, silently planning on ways they can use their brand new purchase.

After returning home, Dream placed the bags he was carrying in on the kitchen table before turning to walk back up the steps to his room. He heard quick footsteps behind him and he turned around, just narrowly avoiding Sapnap from lunging at him.

“What are you doing you idiot?!” Dream yelled out, giggling as Sapnap held up his fists and punched at Dream’s biceps. George walked over to them, giggling and rolling his eyes at Sapnap’s childish playing.

“Just hang out with us, Dream! You’ve been in your room all morning!” Sapnap whined out, slumping his shoulders and throwing his arms around Dream dramatically, pulling him into a tight hug.

“You’ll live,” Dream used both arms to finally pry Sapnap off and away from his body, George gripping onto the younger boy’s arms to hold him back from tackling Dream again. “I promise I only have a few more episodes and then I’m done! If you guys are streaming later when I’m done I’ll pop in then.”

Sapnap was about to protest when George elbowed him in the ribs, making him yelp and turn his head to meet his gaze. Dream watched in confusion as they seemingly were communicating, Sapnap suddenly smirking and staying quiet as he finally turned back to Dream to give him a thumbs up.

“I might stream later, so that sounds good. Just message me when you’re done.” George said nonchalantly, turning to walk back into the kitchen to unpack the bags. Sapnap gave him one last smirk before turning and following behind George to help. Dream felt a slight shiver down his spine but pushed it out of his mind, blaming the stupid “Mr. Kitzel” for being so on-edge. He made his way up the steps and a few minutes later was settled on his bed, laying on his stomach with his laptop in front of him while he was completely engrossed in the show. So engrossed, it would seem, that he unfortunately didn’t hear his door slowly opening or the footsteps of the two boys who quietly made their way over to Dream.

Dream let out a shriek at the sudden weight landing on the back of his thighs, feeling his heart rate increase as he jolted, almost knocking his laptop to the floor. He turned as best he could to see George straddling his upper thighs, smirking down at him with mischief in his eyes. Dream turned back around quickly, screeching again as he was met with two hazel eyes very close to his face.

“What the fuck?!” Dream began trying to buck up in an attempt to knock George off of him, but George just reached forward and gave his sides two quick squeezes as a warning. Dream yelped, burying his head in the blankets below him to stop a laugh from escaping. It was silent for a moment until heard the rustling of a bag from above him, making him lift his head slightly to see what was going on.

“Dream, you remember your good friend Mr. Kitzel, don’t you?” He suddenly felt his blood run cold as Sapnap held up the backscratcher from the store, now free from its packaging, and free for the two to use it however they wanted. His thrashing picked up, protesting between the nervous giggles that were now pouring out of him.

“It looks like he remembers.” George teased from above him, bringing his attention back to the hands that were still gripped onto his sides. Dream stilled, hoping that if he’s able to act unbothered maybe they would leave him alone. He was sadly mistaken, throwing himself into fight or flight mode as he felt his shirt being lifted up above his shoulder blades, exposing the freckly pale skin of his back to the cold air.

“Nohohoho no George plehehease! Plehease don’t!” Dream began to plead, not knowing what else to do besides kick his legs as hard as he could, hoping to catch George off guard and make him lose his balance. But while Dream was distracted with trying to knock George off of him, he suddenly felt a strong pull at both of his arms, causing his chin to drop against the bed as his arms were stretched above him. He was truly trapped now, barely able to move side to side at how stretched out he seemed to be.

“Why are you saying ‘please’? Are you asking to get more acquainted with Mr. Tickle?” George teased, leaning down to speak directly into Dream’s ear, making him rub it against his arm with a giggle to relieve the tingles he felt from the vibration of George’s voice.

“Nohoho! Fuck OFF!” he tried his best to sound aggressive, but it was pretty hard to pull off between all the high pitched squeaks and nervous giggles that he couldn’t seem to swallow.

“That’s ‘Mr. Kitzel’, George! At least treat our new friend with some respect and say his name in his native language!” Sapnap gasped in fake offense, making George fall into cackles at the ridiculousness of the entire situation.

“You’re right, thank you Sapnap!” Dream felt George lean back, settling into his place on his thighs as he began dragging the backscratcher down his spine slowly, causing Dream to scream out before falling into louder laughter, kicking his feet every few seconds to try and get the tickly energy out.

“Plehehehease don’t!” Dream was almost in stitches already as George continued to drag the backscratcher up and down his back, paying attention to the way he jolted whenever George ran it over his shoulder blades and his lower back.

“Oh c’mon Dream, show a little respect to our friend! He’s just saying hello!” Sapnap chuckled from above him. But Dream wasn’t looking up. His face was buried into the blankets below him, cackling as he tried to focus on anything but the tickly feeling along his back. Sapnap and George had known how ticklish his back was, and they were fully taking advantage of this. Dream was plotting his revenge, thinking about all the other boy’s bad spots when he suddenly jerked to the side, shrieking as he felt the backscratcher trace over the right side along the back of his ribs.

“Ohoho, what have we found here, Dream? Did Mr. Kitzel find something good? A very ticklish spot, perhaps?” he heard the oldest boy giggle as he continued to drag the claw over and over and over, up and down the back of his ribs, not stopping even as Dream thrashed more violently, yanking at his arms and kicking his feet against the pillows.

“FUHUHUCK YOHOHU GUHUHYS!” Dream could feel tears prickling at the corners of his eyes, lifting his head up to plead with Sapnap, giving him his best puppy eyed look - well, the best he could while being tickled to death.

“Tickle tickle tickle, Dreamie,” the blonde squealed at that, trying to bury his face further into the blankets at the flustering teases Sapnap was whispering dangerously close to his ears. “Or should I be saying kitzel kitzel kitzel?”

Dream didn’t know why but that flustered him just as much as the english word, and he continued to laugh hysterically as George switched to dragging the backscratcher all over the back of his ribs on his left side. Dream was laughing so hard he let out a long wheeze, gasping for breaths between his cackles as he continued to kick his legs as much as he could. He was so frantic now that George almost lost his balance, having to grab onto Dream’s waist to keep his place on his thighs.

“Okay okahay Dreamlee, we’re almost done. We know how ticklish you are on your back, so we won’t go overboard,” he plopped his face back into the blanket, still giggling as George rubbed over his back with both his hands, helping him calm down. “We just wanna do one more spot, is that okay?”

Dream felt his face heat up even more, no doubt that his ears were also bright red at this point. He let out a tiny, high pitched squeak before nodding his head slightly. George let out a puff of air through his nose, smirking and shaking his head slightly at how adorable Dream was when he was completely flustered. Sapnap switched from holding onto Dream’s wrists to holding his hands, running his thumbs along the back of Dream’s hands to help ground him as well.

“Alright you little giggle bug, are you ready for the finale?” Dream let out another whine at that, nodding again before freezing up as he felt the claw placed between his shoulder blades. He bit his lips, his eyes wide even as he continued to hide his face against the blankets. He knew he wouldn’t be able to last - he knew that they knew it was one of the most sensitive spots on his body.

George turned the scratcher sideways, dragging it up and over each shoulder blade. Dream was howling, kicking pathetically and squeezing Sapnap’s hands tightly, not knowing what to do with himself. All he knew was that it tickled, and it tickled so much, and tickled so bad. He heard George and Sapnap giggling as he continued to laugh hysterically under them.

“Jesus Dream, I’ve never seen someone so ticklish on their upper back before.” Sapnap let out another giggle, watching goosebumps form along the pale skin as George dragged the metal claw above his shoulder blades, just below the nape of Dreams neck. They watched as the bumps sprouted along the bigger boys back and down his arms, cooing about how adorable and ticklish he was.

“STOHOHOP I CAHAHAN’T HELP IHIHIT!” Dream could feel the tears on his cheeks at this point, completely lost in how ticklish this backscratcher felt against his back. He melted into the blankets, going limp and giving up completely to the tickly feeling that was quickly spreading all over his back. “P-PLEHEHEASE PLEASE STOHOHOP I CAHAHAHAN’T!”

George and Sapnap shared a look before Sapnap gently loosened his grips on his hands, again beginning the rub the backs of them with his thumbs while George put “Mr. Kitzel” down on the bed, beginning to massage the ghost tickles from Dream’s back.

“You doin okay down there, ticklish?” Sapnap asked after a few minutes, Dream letting out a little whine at the nickname he chose for him.

“T-Thahat was cruehehehel.” He finally managed to get out between breaths, finally calming down and taking big gulps of air to regulate his breathing. George slipped off his thighs and plopped next to him on the bed, holding the backscratcher in his hands and watched as Dream finally sat up with a groan. Sapnap and George giggled quietly at how messed up Dream’s hair was, curls flying in every direction.

“We’re sorry, Dreamie, you know we had to,” George chuckled from next to him, reaching his hand to rub a stray tear from Dream’s cheek. “We knew someone as ticklish as you needed to meet Mr. Kitzel.”

“Yeah? Well, ‘Mr. Kitzel’ is going to meet the dumpster after this so he can’t torture anyone else.” Dream quickly snatched the backscratcher from George’s hands and sprinted from the room before they could register what the blonde boy was doing, scrambling to their feet to follow after Dream.

Dream wound up hiding Mr. Kitzel from them, and wouldn’t give up the hiding spot no matter how much they annoyed (and tortured) him. George and Sapnap eventually gave up, huffing about how he ruined the fun for them.

And if George and Sapnap had bought three more “Mr. Kitzel”’s in preparation for a situation like this, well, Dream would find out soon enough.

#lee!Dream #ler!george #ler!sapnap #I actually love this?#again #totttttallly not aimed at anyone specific #definitely not aimed at someone whose name starts with J #and ends with uno #im too nice to bully anyone 😇#unlike somEONE #anyways #pls enjoy!#mushie fics #mcyt tickle #my stuff #thank u emma for proof reading sort of #and watching me correct my mistakes in real time

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