Six Sentence Sunday

Thanks so much for the morning tags!  @larkral @bookish-bogwitch @whogaveyoupermission @you-remind-me-of-the-babe - legit excited about EVERYTHING ya’ll are sharing today. 

Oh my god its Sunday.  Alright, alright.  I’ve been traveling, and I’m finally home and and honestly I haven’t done a goddamn thing.  I am going to be focusing on finishing my promptfest fic this week so I genuinely hope I’ll have something??? to share.  Soon.  I have really ambitious goals for this and I’m only 20% sure I can actually deliver.  Lol.

Anyway.  In the meantime, I’m just gonna rep the second chapter of A Mild Case of Madness because I like it a bit.  Pretty happy about how it shook out.  

I’m wrestling Baz to the ground, my fists caught in his hands. He’s cold and I’m burning up.  He snarls, teeth bared, grey eyes wild.  His hair is a mess.  Wet, filthy, and splayed out in a black halo around his head.  

My knees bracket his stomach, his shirt rucked up so that my thighs are pressed to his bare hips.  I can feel every breath he takes, and they’re short and ragged.  He tries to knee me in the back and flip us over, but magick is pouring out of me and it’s turned me to stone.

“What the fuck is your problem?” he spits, pushing against me so hard it nearly knocks me over.  I shove him back, slamming his shoulder into the mud.  I’ve never seen him so enraged, his face so unguarded.  Never.  

I grin at him.  I can’t help it.  

Tags under the cut!

@forabeatofadrum @johnwgrey @moodandmist @takitalks @bazzybelle  @ileadacharmedlife @aristocratic-otter  @urban-sith @facewithoutheart @basiltonbutliketheherb @letraspal  @tea-brigade @stardustasincocaine @palimpsessed @cutestkilla @whatevertheweather  @nightimedreamersworld  @orange-peony  @carryonsimoncarryonbaz   @ionlydrinkhotwater @raenestee @fatalfangirl @captain-aralias @ivelovedhimthroughworse @aroace-genderfluid-sheep @martsonmars @erzbethluna @hushed-chorus @stitchyqueer @confused-bi-queer

Hello, lovely mod! Sorry to bother you, but I had a bit of a problem. :( I finished my first fic for the fest and marked it as the fill for the claim I have, then tried to post it. It said I could not because the fest was not open for new works. Does that mean I need to wait with my fics until March? I also do not have the option to fill a claim right now, just to drop one/pick one up. I've never done a promptfest before, so I apologize for the stupidity of the question if the answer is obvious lol

You are NOT stupid!!! But your mod sure is because he hit the wrong clicky box that did in fact prevent posting. Try it again and let me know if it's still not working.

Fic Writer 20 Questions

Thank you for tagging me @h1myname1sv!

1.) How many works do you have on ao3?

104 (it's not all fics, a few are fanvids. I do have a lot more fics in Italian not posted on Ao3, though.)

2.) What’s your ao3 word count?

137,912

3.) What fandoms do you write for?

A lot, I'm very multifandom! My current obsession is Daredevil and it led me to write on many other marvel characters (Natasha and Clint, Peter), an historical fandom of mine is Detective Conan and I might write something for it soon—if I manage.

4.) What are your top five fics by kudos?

What am I looking at, Matt? A short piece I wrote for fun right after watching 1x08 of She-Hulk; I was hyped and so was half the fandom.

A marvelous october collects the stories I wrote for last year's writober (mixed up with flufftober prompts). It's mostly Daredevil and it has a few chapters I'm pretty happy with, but I branched a little with other marvel characters (Kate, Clint, Kamala, Peter, Layla).

Ideas live forever (let your voice be heard) I'm really happy this story is so high here. It's a one-shot for Barbie [spoilers ahead]. After the ending, it follows Barbara adapting to the changes brought by her new life and coming to terms with things that didn't change—namely, her lack of attraction to anyone. AroAce Barbie for the win!

Three times Daredevil isn't a lawyer plus one short and fun 3+1 fic with Matt being sassy as Daredevil and Frank deducing something about his lawyer. (Secret identity who? Matt doesn't know her)

Not my friend (who are you?) I wrote this one for the dde promptfest, it was fun! It's about Brett reaching some conclusions of his own during S3 about his favorite (?) vigilante.

5.) Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I usually do! Don't often know how to answer so maybe it's just a 💜, but I appreciate the people who comment and I try to let them know.

6.) What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

That's a tough one. I'm all for angst, but I need happy endings. (Or, well, hopeful ones.) The angstiend ending (and fic) I've ever written was my OC's reaction to her best friend's death, I'm pretty sure (it doesn't exist on Ao3).

7.) What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Now that's hard for the opposite reason, lol. I'll go with The joys and concerns of teaching magic bc it's more than slice of life/fluff for the sake of it, there is some trouble/action before the happy ending.

8.) Do you get hate on fics?

I don't think that's happened recently, no. I got hate for my ship back when I started, in 2013 in the Italian fandom, and it was awful, but I'm not 15 anymore and I think I'd react in a very different way now (I'd ignore them and keep writing whatever I want).

9.) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Nope. I don't believe I'm capable of it LOL <- same prev!

10.) Do you write cross overs? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I've written a couple in the past. Craziest probably was Detective Conan/Yu-gi-oh!

11.) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know.

12.) Have you ever had a fic translated?

I don't think so.

13.) Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Yes, I have, and it was super-fun!

14.) What’s your all time favourite ship?

Heeeh. I'm a multishipper girl, and often I'm perfectly happy with my favorite ships being platonic as well as romantic, so... I don't know. One of my oldest OTPs is Shinichi/Shiho from Detective Conan, I'll go with them.

15.) What’s a WIP you’d like to finish, but doubt you ever will?

My original fantasy novel. I haven't touched it in 3 years and right now it feels pretty impossible, but I do hope to get to plot and write it properly one day.

16.) What are your writing strengths?

Introspection, I think. And conveying emotions to the reader.

16.) What are your writing weaknesses?

Action scenes make me cry and descriptions are a work in progress ;_;

17.) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Absolutely, if it makes sense for the fic! Playing with languages is fun.

18.) First fandom you wrote for?

Naruto!

19.) Favourite fic you’ve ever written?

This question is so mean. They're my children! Okay, I do have favorites—plural. If I reeeally have to choose, probably What's in a soul? I'm really happy with how it came out, in Italian and English both.

No pressure tags: @usaigi @ceterisparibus116 @auofgoldandfantasies @folkloristico

2, 17, 35 :)

2. Where do you get your fic ideas?

ahhhh i'm awful at coming up with original ideas so it's all either AUs based on existing properties or prompts from promptfests or exchanges lol. in terms of choosing an AU idea to actually run with it's going to be something i think is romantic or fun or has like an interesting image i get stuck on, which is how I ended up writing shakespeare in love fics in two different fandoms years apart whoops. in every fandom i'm constantly thinking about and never writing a stardust AU. also i love to send blorbos to space 🚀

17. Do you have a writing routine?

not really! it's normally in the evening so i'm normally tired and i write pretty slowly. sprinting helps a lot tho

35. What’s your favorite fic you’ve posted?

at the minute it's sailing yacht au - i reread it just a bunch of times while i was editing it and then waiting to post it and i never got sick of it, which is nice ⛵️

for the fanfic trope mash-up, how about Royal AU + Poorly Timed Confession with zimbits? p.s. love your writing xx

ROYAL AU + POORLY TIMED CONFESSIONS + ZIMBITS

This is how it starts.

“Aww, bummer,” Chowder says, face buried in his phone as Bitty puts the finishing touches on a custard tart for his advisor’s birthday. “Canada’s King died.”

“Canada still has royalty?” 

“Not anymore,” Dex chirps.

“It’s not like he had any power,” Nursey wanders in and kicks out a chair beside Dex. “Just a figurehead. It’s all for show. Trudeau is still in charge.”

“It says they don’t know who the heir is — that’s kinda cool right? Someone’s walking around like a secret prince or something.”

“Well at the very least we’ll be in for some interesting media coverage,” Bitty adds. “’Hunt for the Secret Royal’ will be all we hear about for weeks.”

“Bitty,” Chowder spins in his chair and waves to get his attention. “You think Jack knows anything about this? He’s a history buff, I bet he’s all over it.”

“You know, I’ll have to ask him when he gets back from Vancouver,” Bitty offers, placing the last violet garnish and snapping a photo after he closes the push notification regarding the passing of ‘Canada’s beloved monarch, Laurent IV’.

Much later, Bitty will look back and think about how he really needs to pay more attention to current events.

The knocks come quickly, loud and forceful enough that Chowder rouses from the sofa. 

“—Whasat?”

Dex is already at the door, peering through the peephole warily.

“They look like Feds,” Nursey comments, watching from the kitchen. “They’re finally coming for you, Poindexter.”

“Fuck off, they’re Canadian Feds,” Dex corrects, face pressed against the door. “They’re wearing little maple leaf pins.”

“They invaded New England and they’re just cleaning up the ones they missed —“

“Is someone getting arrested?” Ollie comes running down the stairs behind Wicks.

“Probably if we don’t open the door.”

“Don’t open it! We don’t know what they want!”

“What are y’all hollering about, now?” Bitty calls down the stairs.

“We’re going to prison,” Dex calls back, recoiling from another round of hard knocks.

“You know we can hear you,” comes a muffled voice through the door. “We’re looking for Eric Richard Bittle? Is he here?”

“Definitely Canadian.”

“Thank you.”

“Oh, shit, Bits,” Chowder laments. “Go hide they’re gonna arrest you!”

“No, we aren’t,” says the voice again. “We’re not arresting anyone.”

“Real convincing,” Dex chides.

“Look, this is not how we normally do this, okay? Please open the door, it’s a matter of national security.”

“Which nation? Show me a badge.”

The Haus falls silent while Dex apparently gets his answer.

“Well?”

Dex steps back and looks up at Bitty, who is still hovering by the stairs in his shorts and a Falconers’ championship tee.

“You might want to put on pants, Cap. Some nice Canadians with guns want to talk to you.”

Three minutes later Bitty is fully clothed when they open the door on two tall, suited men with earpieces.

“I’m Agent Harper, this is Agent Camden,” the first man introduces, then gestures to his clearly exhausted partner. “We’re here to speak with Eric Richard Bittle.”

“You’re speaking to him,” Bitty says cautiously. “What can I help you gentleman with?”

The two explain they’re agents of the Canadian government meant to bring Eric into protective custody, though they refuse to elaborate on exactly why.

“This is shady as hell, you can’t just take him to Canada,” Chowder stage whispers, and Camden sighs outright.

“We can’t say anything else because we were asked not to reveal details until you’re safely on Canadian soil. It’s a direct request from the Family.””

“The mob?” Wicks gasps.

“Oh, my god,” Harper drops his head. “Americans. No, the Royal Family.”

Bitty may not be the most intelligent person at Samwell — that title goes to the fourteen-year-old in his senior-level Calculus class — but he’s pretty darn sharp and his mama taught him to read between the lines better than anyone.

He reaches up and grips the ring hiding on a chain beneath his shirt.

“Can I call Jack real quick? I just need to grab my phone,” Bitty asks, already rising to retreat to his room when Camden holds up a hand.

“No need, we can pass along any messages.”

There it is, the confirmation Bitty was looking for.

From out of seemingly nowhere another Agent comes down the stairs with a box of Eric’s possessions, his laptop dangling several cords from the side, and he can only assume his phone is stashed in there among the mess.

“Hey! You can’t just —“

“You’ll get them back once we’ve determined there’s no evidence of tampering. We need you to surrender anything with an internet or bluetooth connection. External hard drives, etc. It’s a matter of national security.”

“Just so we’re clear,” Nursey interrupts, recording everything on his own phone, “We’re talking ‘Canadian’ national security.”

“What do you want with Bitty?” Chowder pressures.

“To keep him safe,” Camden insists again.

“Hold on!” 

A woman in a blue pantsuit comes bounding up the porch steps and in through the front door, waving at Harper to stop before running over, holding out her phone. 

“Here, he wants to talk to the Consor – oh,” she stops, seeing the rest of the people in the room. “Um, the… Bittle?”

“Right.” Bitty warily takes the phone and says, “Hello?”

“Bits!“

The relief Bitty feels is so palpable he thinks like his legs might give out.

“Oh, God, Jack? Honey! What’s going on?”

“I’m so sorry, we just landed and service is a nightmare— I’m fine, listen, trust me, I’ll explain everything once you get to Montreal. This is just complicated and we’re still trying to work out the details – You can trust the people we sent.”

“You mean the men in black stealing my stuff? Jack, they took my phone.”

“I’ll make them get you a new one. Just get here and I promise everything will be okay.”

There’s a rustling on Jack’s end and suddenly Bitty can hear Bob.

“Eric? Son, listen, some things have come up and I believe it would be, ah, safer to have you in Montreal for the announcement —”

“Bob,” Bitty interrupts, not missing the flash of panic on the blue-suited woman’s face. “Real quick question, are you the new King of Canada?”

The agents around Bitty slow to a stop and on the other end of the line Bob makes a noncommittal sound that’s the verbal equivalent of a shrug.

“Oh, good lord,” Bitty sighs. “Please put Jack back on.”

Some more shuffling and, “Bits?”

“Am I being kidnapped because your father is the secret heir to the Canadian monarchy?”

Jack is silent for a beat and Bitty fights the urge to panic.

“Bud, you’re not being kidnapped because Papa is the secret heir. You’re being kidnapped because ‘I’ am.”

a lament and a pantomime

Lady Roshan attends a funeral of her foster father and gets an rare glimpse into the only place more mysterious than Corval's Inner Court - the Imperial Necropolis.

prompt: Ginger - tradition, civility

discussions of death as it's a funeral, but nothing graphic, otherwise no warnings apply

More on the Fan Fic issue

I have a few more asks about the issue raised the other day, some of which are long and go into detail on the 'wars' that have been happening on Twitter and AO3.

Sorry for grouping these but I wanted to put it all under a cut because these are long, and also in case people don't want to dig into these issues (which would be understandable).

Anonymous 1 asked:

"I am very strongly of the opinion that the BJYX term is still a fandom umbrella term" I agree. Mainly because Bjyx is the most popular. Many antis always say bjyx, and have no idea the others. So sometimes it's easier just to say bjyx instead of explaining all three. I myself more like "who cares as long as they happy." So I enjoy Yizhan in all contexts. Many bxgs I know also like that, mostly ibxgs. I think deep down all bxgs (no matter which position they prefer) just want Yizhan to be happy

Not sure we can be so certain about that last part, Anon (I think for a lot of people GG and DD are just characters in a smutty story they have in their heads), but I agree about the term being popular regardless of the type of fans people are.

From what I can see the BJYX term seems to be used 80-90% umbrella, 10-20% dynamic in both international and c-social media (for every 10 times you see the term used, only one or two of those usages - probably less - are referring to a dynamic). This is my totally unscientific estimation, but I think even 10-20% dynamic is being generous. The number of people who are fixated on a sexual dynamic aren't nearly as large as they'd like to believe.

Anonymous 2 asked:

about the promptfests - i’ve been on twitter since early 2020 and what i’ve noticed is that this influx bjyx-only promptfests started gaining speed once lots of rational voices started leaving the fandom recently either because a) new interests have caught their attention or b) the toxicity of the popular bxg circles on twitter have become too much to handle.

gdgdbaby was usually the organizer of dynamic-inclusive events, and she’s received lots, and lots, and lots of backlash by bxg, sometimes even by accounts with thousands followers, for using bjyx as a catch-all term. and as her interest in yizhan has since waned—hopefully for reasons unrelated to fandom toxicity—many of the people who were attracted to the welcoming environment she created distanced themselves as well.

zsww/lsfy fans have become an outnumbered circle who try their best to create exclusive events to avoid the “is bjyx a catch-all term” discourse, but never seem to gain as much traction as gdgdbaby (who has a sizeable following) or those who host bjyx-only events (who also have sizeable followings).

meanwhile the dynamic war has only become more and more hostile and bjyx is clearly the more populated group… ao3 is simply a battlegrounds, if i may dramatize the situation a little for the sake of humor, and the promptfests are a reaction to this irritating t/b discourse that has made bxg twitter completely inhospitable for me…and lots of other fans too.

(i’ve also noticed a huge reinforcement as of recently where ppl will call gg laopo, a milf, an omega, etc even outside of rpf (i.e. posting pictures of him at events and saying he looks pregnant or he’s going into heat) and it’s just… uncomfortable.)

(also please note i have a biased account of all of this drama bc many of my friends were harassed over it, and anyone who disagrees with my take may feel free to interject.)

I took the liberty of adding paragraph breaks because they are pretty important for some readers, particularly ND readers like me.

It's sad to hear how fucked up everything has become, but I'm not even remotely surprised. Toxicity leads to toxicity, and the whole idea of dividing up a RP fandom by sex position was misguided from the outset - no matter why it was done or how good the intentions might have been.

And yes, like I said, these people aren't just framing things this way for fan fic. This is how they talk about IRL GGDD.

I had written a lengthy essay here about homophobia in the fandom but deleted it all. Perhaps I'll post it separately at some later point. Suffice it to say that this stuff creates a climate that's often hostile for queer people. So much of it is deeply homophobic, whether people are aware of it or not.

It's really sad to hear about gdgdbaby being mistreated in any way. Anyone who steps up and sticks their neck out to help organize and coordinate activities that benefit a broader group of people should be celebrated and supported, not run out of town by an angry mob.

I've read some of her stories and even have one or two on my rec list. And here's someone who is not only writing good works, but also supporting others to write more good works. Such a shame.

Anonymous 3 asked:

Hello Mr. RBS! I think I can chime in a bit about the fanfic topic as I’ve watched this all unravel on twitter (where a majority of authors/readers are). I apologize if this gets long but it’s been something that’s also been on my mind.

I want to preface this by saying that I’m not a fan of the distinctions of dynamics as, like you said, the supposed line between real life and fanfic is long gone, so I’m not trying to be biased against one group over another.

Short answer to the question of, “is this retaliation?” : I do believe it is. (From here onwards I’ll be using bjyx as the dynamic term just for the ease of simplicity.) To understand why, I’ll have to explain with a bit of background info. On twitter, I’d say that there’s a quite large divide between bjyx and zsww/lsfy. That itself isn’t really a problem because people are free to like what they like and associate with whoever.

However there is a big problem where bjyx people are not just bjyx but also anti-zsww/lsfy. To the point where I’ve seen people say that they feel physically ill when they accidentally read zsww. I don’t think this type of behavior should exist in any dynamic bc in the end GGDD are real people with a real relationship behind this content and it’s just a gross fetishization at that point.

With all this happening, zsww/lsfy people have gotten more outspoken on how GG is often portrayed in those types of scenarios, mainly the over-feminization of him, bc it’s not just done in the context of fanfic but regular discussion of GGDD at this point. This tension between the dynamics kind of boiled over when the pregnant xz fest was announced, as you can take a guess at how that went over with zsww/lsfy people. lol.

But around that same time, another zsww/lsfy event was announced (I’m not sure if it’s the one anon was talking about) but the creator of the event suddenly got a ton of backlash for excluding bjyx, with the reasoning that bjyx is technically a part of lsfy. But the event was done to highlight zsww/lsfy (as all specific events are) bc the community and content for these dynamics are much less than bjyx.

Which is how we come back to the starting point of, is all this recent bjyx stuff retaliatory. I believe so bc the events (preg fest, dark event) are very specific prompts that target exactly what zsww/lsfy people have been outspoken against.

As to the point anon made about trying to drown out the tags, keep in mind that zsww/lsfy content is very minimal compared to bjyx and has only just recently started to gain more traction. I think most people would love to just peacefully exist in their own circles but I don’t see this problem between dynamics disappearing anytime soon.

Like I said with the above Anon, I've added paragraph breaks for ND readers.

What a mess.

I have absolutely nothing useful to say here about the fandom on AO3 and how it's managed by community members, but I do think it's unfortunate that people choose to be war-like rather than make space for diverse voices, and I think it's a real shame that some people have been essentially run out of the fandom because of this garbage.

Thanks for giving some context for how/why the major shift in tone of fan fic lately. I had no idea any of this was going on.

I urge people to work hard to give space for all voices and perspectives, and not just the ones they favor. I'd also urge people to reflect on how their thoughts, behavior and actions in the fandom might affect queer people in the fandom.

As always, we have no control over what other people do, say or think. All we have any control over is how we respond to what other people do, say or think. Hopefully we'll chose the path of peace and try to avoid fan wars or fights that only ruin the experience for everyone.

I guess one thing I'd ask any of the Anons who have written me about this issue - or anyone who has thoughts about it - is, what can we as readers/fans who care about diversity of voices and perspectives do to support that here and on AO3, without getting involved in any kind of war?

server promptfest: joey/kate

SO I’M BACK ON MY MEDS AND TRYING TO CRAWL BACK ONTO THE WRITING WAGON

I did a little prompt fest in the Dead by Baelight server! I don’t think they’re really good enough to throw up on AO3 but I am  fond enough of them to share. please be prepared for their short and  rough form, as it was an exercise in low-pressure writing :)

dead by daylight, kate/m!killer, anonymity & lockers, for @obscurefrost​

this one was heeeavily inspired by @crit-afterdark​‘s gorgeous Joey art here. most of the promptfest fics were around 500 words, and this one was more like 1600 LOL. please go and gaze upon her work

Some people just don't learn. That's one of the things that keeps Kate sane in this place. That no matter what they suffer, no matter how often it turns foul, there will be people lunging for the rescue, fighting for each other. She loves them for it, these strangers. What else can you do?

The thunder of the heartbeat in her ears just won't die. The world is pulsing and red around her and Kate shoves her elbow into the splintery surface of the door, legs shaking, and closes her eyes. She's fighting to keep herself upright. Running out of time, she thinks. Running out of time, running - just leave damnit - But it stays and it stays and she's afraid of the creak of the hinges, grimacing tautly against the pain. Just a little longer, she tells herself, but it's not up to her. The heartbeat dies, abruptly. Kate grabs for the door, pushes her shoulder against it. If she can mend, if she can press her wounds together the strange fevered sickness of death's door that Legion's masked members inflict will - Too late, too little time. Her legs fold under her and she crashes to the floor, teeth grating together. The air of the basement is thick and torpid, and she feels every inch of her bruised body. If she starts to crawl up the stairs, will she find a silhouette waiting, returning to find her? She tries to swallow her cries of pain, muffling them with bitten lips, cramming the back of her fingers against her hands. No one is coming for her. She can sense them, far corners of the trial grounds, hiding or bent to their tasks. Tonight's trial had not been a forgiving one. The heartbeat suddenly blooms again and she stiffens. She doesn't want to bleed out, but that logical thought doesn't keep the surge of adrenaline and terror from happening, doesn't prevent her heart from thumping like a rabbit's against her ribs. Come on, she tells herself, trying to summon the aggressively cheerful voice she'd summon to drag herself back out on the road, to promise one more hour before a motel, let's just fucking get this over with and have a little peace and quiet, folks. And then she sees a silhouette, the soft tread of a boot. A light build, but bigger than Nea or Ace. Her vision is swimming and uncertain. "What are you doing?" she slurs, feeling a surge of affection and impatience at once. "Run. You have to run." His head cocks to one side and he comes closer. Cautious, as if his ear is perked for a killer's footstep above. "At least hide," she says. Her voice sounds far away to her own ears, sleepy and scolding. "Don't be a martyr." Closer he comes, weaving around the edge of the wall and crouching down beside her. Kate still has her medkit clutched in her hand, more from a reflexive unthinking stiffness of her fingers than from any real strength of grip. She sighs, half-laughing. "Okay, sugar," she breathes. "If you want to play hero, give me a shot?" Some people just don't learn. That's one of the things that keeps Kate sane in this place. That no matter what they suffer, no matter how often it turns foul, there will be people lunging for the rescue, fighting for each other. She loves them for it, these strangers. What else can you do? Her mind snaps back to the present. He reaches down and methodically works her fingers free of the handle. She slurs, "oh, sorry," and he pauses, then finishes. Her hand drops to the floor, fingers curling. A split second hesitation. The heartbeat is still loud and insistent in their ears. The killer must be patrolling close, determined to find her. Her unknown companion pops the medkit open and looks over its contents. "Syringe," she says dreamily, "I'll be right as rain...I dreamed of it and it gave me something nice this time, right? Instead of just air freshener." She hopes her voice is quieter than it sounds in her own ears. She seems to have lost the knack of whispering. He finds it, lifts it up, and then brushes her hair back. She sighs, feeling gloved fingers brush her throat, The briefest sting in the curve of her bared shoulder. "Now you run," she mumbles. "Or he'll find you." The man stays crouched, easy and relaxed on his haunches, waiting for her. She wishes she could see his face; she's met survivors just about this bold before, devil may care after living too long in this place, but she can't place him. "At least hide," she says. Strange moments like these in trials are odd spots of macabre fascination, always. When the urgency gives way to light-hearted fatalism, when all you have are each other. "Get in the locker." She shivers on the ground, feeling a prickling wave travel from head to toe. Whatever is in the syringe - no matter what material it mimics, no matter what shape the Fog gives it to be crudely recognizable - it's as natural and recognizable as the Fog itself. But as long as it does its job, she'll take it. "Get in the...." She reaches out and tries to grasp his pant leg. Her fingernails scrape and slip off. "Sugar," she says again, that strange giddy mix of endearment and annoyance bubbling in her veins, "stop being a dumbass." When he moves, she slumps against the ground in relief and closes her eyes. But then she feels his hands on her again, and he picks her up off the ground, cradling her against his chest. She murmurs something incoherent, confused, and then hears the locker door open: his grip shifts on her, keeping her pinned to his chest by the waist as he walks them inside. The door closes behind them. She slumps against his chest, obliging, and they are squeezed together from shoulder to hip. His legs fit between hers, the coarse fabric of his pants brushing her inner thighs, and he keeps her on her feet with the pressure of his body alone. Which is. A problem. Just until the syringe finishes, she thinks. Just until - But the syringe working moves over her in a prickling wave. Her body feels hot and tender. Whatever it's doing to her, whatever strange machinations it performs inside her body, it makes her shiver and flood with sensation, nerves on overdrive. The warm weight of his body against hers is secure, persistent. His pelvis presses the crease of her shorts against her and she shivers. A little sound escapes her, involuntary and high-pitched, and he lifts on gloved fingers. It grazes both of their mouths, they're so close, when he presses it to his lips and whispers, "shhhh." The first time he's spoken, she realizes, but it doesn't give her many clues. Still no clue as to who he is. Is he a new survivor, or will she be real embarrassed when they stagger out of the basement together? "Sorry," she tries to whisper back. It probably comes out too loud. Her face is flushed, and the cool damp air of the basement is banished by their bodies together in such a close space. His breath, soft and steady, grazes her mouth. "Sorry," she repeats, "I'm..." "Hn?" he says. Has he never used the syringe before? She tries to hold still and not rock against him, tries not to rut pleadingly against the line of his body. Her fingers curl into the loose sweatshirt around his frame and a vivid image flashes through her mind: of pushing her fingers under it, smoothing her hand across his lower stomach and dipping her fingers under the hem. It's an absurd thought, especially because the heartbeat hasn't eased. Has the killer really fixated on this one down, or is he chasing someone else? She tries to remember if a generator has gone off while she's been bleeding out. "Feels like - " she gasps, and then he presses against her, rocks his hips slowly and deliberately inward, and she realizes she's been squirming without meaning to, and her fingers in his sweatshirt having been giving weak little tugs. She moans and tries to cover her mouth, but it's hard to maneuver her hand up. He kisses her. Presses his mouth to hers to silence her and she feels a rasp of fabric. From far, far away, distant alarm bells begin to sound in the back of her head. But she's still woozy, and the effects of the syringe haven't worn off yet. If anything they've gotten worse, because neither of them are helping her calm down. He presses even closer, which she didn't think was possible, and one gloved hand rucks up her shirt and settles on her waist, flexing against her skin. "He'll find us," she protests muzzily, and he gives a huff of laughter against her lips. She's still holding onto his sweatshirt anyway, tugging and guiding his body against hers desperately. He's settled into a slow, hard rhythm, grinding against her through both of their clothes. If she could cant her hips, wrap her legs around his waist, guide him where she really wants it - she'd probably have come already. But instead it's pressure, flares of just right there yes god and then rocking away, a tease that disintegrates the last fragments of her reservations. She sinks her teeth into her lower lip and shoves both hands up under his shirt, moulding them against the lines of his back, feeling his muscles move with the rhythm of his hips even in this confined space that cramps their bodies together. "Please," she whimpers, "oh, fuck - " He lowers his head and puts his mouth on the wound that downed her, the red slash that gouges down over her shoulder and upper chest, just as the syringe kicks in and it closes. The bright, violent burst of pain as his tongue strokes over it crashes her headfirst into orgasm, even as, in this last moment, the alarm bells in the back of her head go klaxon-loud and she realizes -

Writer Tag Game

Tagged by @bythebluepurpleyellowredwater

Author Name: samwhambam

Fandoms you write for: Mostly Schitt’s Creek, but I also write some RPDR stuff. And I used to write for HTGAWM

Where You Post: AO3

Most Popular Oneshot: Lmao. My most popular one-shot is a Coliver one I wrote in 2016. Lab Partners It still gets kudos to this day. 

Most popular multi chapter story: In a week!! This one is a RPDR trixya fic that I am currently writing. She’s not abandoned! Just lacking inspiration, which is changing with this new tour. lol 

Favourite story you wrote: uhh. it’s very hard to choose from them because i love them all. but maybe because it’s so fresh. but my david/patrick fic onward, upward, homeward. because i love the growth david does in it. and i love exploring the idea of embracing the fact that you’re growing and your wants and needs have changed. 

Story you were nervous to post: Ice Cream! It was a birthday gift for a friend, so meeting their expectations was a lil nerve-racking BUT i’m working on something that I think makes me more nervous to post. just because it is v filthy. 

How do you pick your titles: honestly, there are many methods of this madness. mostly i wait until the last moment and i’m like, “okay. is there a line that i liked? or a scene that I can steal from?” and i go from there

Do you outline: yes and no. because yes i’ll write out types of scenes that i want but the bullet points will be like “insert really flirty, super tense scene here” which does nothing to help me when i’m writing

How many of your stories are complete? lol. I have 20 works. 1 from HTGAWM is abandoned. 1 from trixya is still being written. so, 18? but some are in an anthology series that is not finished, but will be added to as time goes on

In progress: omg i have so many WIP that it’s no longer cute. I’m still working on my trixya fic. And then for Schitt’s Creek: I have 2 that are finished (both not David/Patrick) but are being beta’d. I have an enemies to lovers AU that i’m 1/3 way done with. I have a Stevie/Twyla fic that’s going to clock in at like, 12K words. And some smutty stuff with different pairings. And way more ideas. 

Coming soon: Just mentioning October stuff/early November stuff

I have 2 fics for Frozen Over, a promptfest for the Schitt’s Creek fandom, which will be available on Monday. So, that’s coming the soonest

2 spooky prompts coming on Halloween

An update to In a Week

Do you accept prompts: yessssss but!! if you request something, i can’t guarantee it’ll come soon. 

Upcoming story you’re excited about: I am most excited about the enemies to lovers one! 

I Tag (if you wanna do this): @valeriianz @bircjosta @pichitinha @connyhascontrol @heartharps sorry if you’ve already done it. i haven’t been on tumblr very much