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imsparky2002 · 10 months

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Coward and Proud of It

(Nathaniel is drawing in his sketchbook after another akuma attack, and notices his classmates looking embarassed, their faces riddled with guilt.)

Nathaniel: Why do you guys look like that?

Alix: Dude, we’re such horrible friends! We forgot about you again!

(He looked confused. She sounded sincere, but why?)

Rose: I can’t believe we left you behind! We’re supposed to look out for each other!

Nathaniel: Uh, what are you talking about?

Nino: We didn’t go back to look for you dude! We were too busy saving our own skins. (He looks ashamed. Nathaniel realizes what’s going on.)

Nathaniel: Are you talking about the last akuma attack? You think you abandoned me?

Kim: Yeah! You were nowhere to be found. Weren’t you looking for us?

Nathaniel: Uh... no? Guys, you didn’t leave me behind. I left you.

(The entire class gasps in shock.)

Chloe: What are you on about, Kurtzberg?!

(He just rolls his eyes at the girl.)

Nathaniel: Whenever I am able to do so, I slip away from you guys. Afterall, Akumas seem to have a magnet for our group. And the best way to avoid getting killed is to lay low, away from the source.

Adrien: You make it sound like we’re a liability to you!

Nathaniel: *Bluntly* You are. You all run around like headless chickens, instead of ducking for cover and keeping your heads down. If this were a zombie apocalypse, you’d fail horribly. Well, except for Adrien and Marinette. Somehow you two always manage to avoid the brunt of the attacks. Not to mention you’ve never been akumatized yourselves. Main character energy if I’ve ever seen it.

Marinette: Yeah... that’s the reason. *Internally sweating*

Max: Nathaniel, you make up one fourteenth of a group. I am pretty sure we’d realize if you had abandoned us.

Nathaniel: Well, Max, for a guy with such a high iq, you clearly weren’t smart enough the other four times I did it.

Alya: Hold on a second, you’ve left us FIVE TIMES?!

(Nathaniel nods. He doesn’t understand why everyone seems so surprised.)

Nathaniel: You make it sound like it’s such a hard thing to do. When you’re all freaking out like that, it’s easy for a quiet guy like me to slip away.

Alix: (Talking about the Art Club Squad) But every time we texted you in the group chat, you acted like you were trying to find us. You even said you understood how panicked we got.

Nathaniel: Yeah, I was lying. You think I’m gonna reveal my escape plans? Then you’ll wanna join me, and I can’t have anyone from this class, even my friends, putting a target on my back via association.

Juleka: *Mumbling* Ouch, dude.

Chloe: Hmph! Well if you’re so elusive, tell us how on earth a nobody like you managed to survive all these attacks.

Nathaniel: Why should I tell you? You’d just try to join me next time.

(Rose uses her puppy dog eyes, and he caves.)

Nathaniel: Alright, fine. But I’m not taking any of you next time, you hear me?

(They grumble and nod.)

Nathaniel: Ok, Stormy Weather was pretty easy. All I had to do was avoid Alec, head home to my house, shut all the windows, lock the doors, hide under the bed, and done. For some reason, Akumas usually attack anyone unlucky enough to be outside. If they don’t have a specific victim in mind that is.

(The classmates all mutter in agreement. He had a point.)

Nathaniel: Next up was Guitar Villain, and once again you all ran off together, not even thinking of splitting up. And it seems none of you got the idea of just pretending to like the music. That’s what I did, just copied what I saw Ivan doing in class the day before, and headbanged like there was no tomorrow. I find the music to be cringe as all hell, not to mention the singer’s a deadbeat dad with an obviously fake English accent, but I had to fake it to make it.

Juleka: *Muttering* He really is a scumbag.

Nathaniel: Then there was Frightingale. I didn’t escape by myself, since I got a helping hand from a certain cute writer who I had been in the music video with. Turns out we had both been crushing on the other for awhile, and finally had the courage to ask eachother out. He took me to a safespot with the other kids in Mendeliev’s class, they took a liking to me, since I actually bothered to ask about their lives. You do realize that the kids besides Marc, Mireille, Jean and Aurore have names right?

Marinette: Of course we did!

Nathaniel: Really, what are they?

(The class is unable to even come up with a guess.)

Sabrina: Uh...

Nathaniel: That’s what I thought. Anyway, Zombizou was my favorite. Me and the Science kids got to kick love-zombie ass, and in order to avoid suspicion, Marc and I kept making out whenever they were near. It was so awesome! (He blushes before getting back on topic.) So yeah. You guys never abandoned me, I abandoned you. And before you say anything, no, I’m not sorry.

Alix: *Looking forlorn* But dude... we’re your friends!

Nathaniel: Well, you are. Most of the Art Squad is, but the rest of you only interact with me if you need something for your ships. You realize I’m an accomplished cartoonist, right? The Ladybug comic I work on with Marc is a huge success. I’m just as important as the rest of you!

Kim: Dude, we aren’t saying you’re not.

Nathaniel: Well I wasn’t important enough for any of you to notice I was being bullied by Chloe?

Chloe: Oh please, Kurtzberg. You got off easy.

Marinette: She made everyone’s life bad, Nathaniel. Not just yours!

Nathaniel: When you get bullied, everyone coddles you. When I get humiliated in front of the class, nobody besides my art friends came to comfort me, to explain to me why I got akumatized, why I was right to feel angry about what happened. Marc’s class also took the time to explain to me how it was creepy to write my self-insert being in love with a real classmate. They’re the reason I apologized to you, Marinette.

Chloe: Well if they’re so cool, then why don’t you join them!

Mylene: Chloe! We wouldn’t want that! Nathaniel’s our friend!

Nathaniel: Actually, that’s what I plan on doing next year. No offense, but I can only tolerate like half of you. I’d rather be with a class that actually recognizes my value, that takes the time to ask how I’m doing. If that makes me a background character in your world, so be it.

(He gets up and sees Marc waiting for him.)

Nathaniel: I’m not some helpless little lamb that gets lost whenever there’s an akuma. I’m a survivor, a coward, and I’m proud of it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna make out with my boyfriend.

(He smirks as he sees each classmate with their jaw on the floor.)

Turns out our Nath wasn’t abandoned after all. He’s just an escape artist. This felt so cathartic to write, and I hope you enjoyed it. As usual, let me know your thoughts in reblogs, replies, posts, and asks. @artzychic27 @msweebyness

#nathaniel kurtzberg #nathaniel #nathmarc #comedy #class salt #nathaniel sugar #they aren't all assholes #chloe salt #marinette salt #miraculous ladybug #miraculous #canon salt #smart nath

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ninigummysmile · 3 months

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꧁ 𝑊𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑅𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑒 - 𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 3 ꧂

Dark!Jennie x GN!Reader

Important: English is not my first language so, please, forgive me if there are any mistakes

Words: 521

☼ To understand how “Writing Roulette” works, click here

☼ Writing Roulette masterlist

☼ 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝐼 𝑔𝑜𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑡 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑖𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑏𝑦 @a-cure-for-writers-block

𝐴𝑁𝐺𝑆𝑇 + 𝐽𝐸𝑁𝑁𝐼𝐸 + “𝐸𝑁𝑂𝑈𝐺𝐻, 𝑃𝐿𝐸𝐴𝑆𝐸, 𝐼 𝐶𝐴𝑁’𝑇 𝑇𝐴𝐾𝐸 𝐴𝑁𝑌𝑀𝑂𝑅𝐸!”

You can't tell when exactly small arguments turned into big fights. Maybe it started with her wanting to control you. You didn't care when she asked to look at your cell phone or when she asked you not to always be so nice to any girl who came close to you. But it got to a point where she asked you to stay away from certain friends or that such clothes weren't cool to go to a party.

You've been in a toxic relationship before and you've opened up about it to her. You didn't imagine that after leaving a traumatic relationship you would end up in another. You told her your fears, you trusted her with your insecurities and now it seems like she uses all of this against you, to control you, to make it seem like you are crazy and weak.

You fight back, you've already explained countless times that you would never do anything, you would never cheat on her. You're already tired, but something always pulls you back to her.

After a lot of thinking, a lot of crying, a lot of shouting and fighting, you've decided that you've had enough, that you won't fall into another one of her traps that make you insecure and that makes you think that you're nothing without her.

You were brave enough to leave once and you know you are strong to face it once again. Even with a voice in the back of your head telling you to be afraid, to avoid fights, you have to do this for yourself, for your peace.

“Yeah? where are you going? You packed your things to leave without looking me in the face like a coward” she says mockingly after seeing the suitcases at the door of the house.

“It’s not my things” you say, trying to keep your emotions in control. You can't imagine that the person in front of you is someone you once loved immensely. “It’s yours. This is my house, you’re the one leaving, not me”

“What are you talking about? Are your stupid friends talking nonsense to you again?”

“I’m the one speaking. You’re the one who brought your things here and lives under my roof”

“Are you really going to do this? Just because I said your friends suck? That no one is your real friend?”

“ENOUGH, PLEASE, I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE!” you scream, all you feel are tears in your eyes wanting to escape and your hand shaking with anger and anxiety. “No more putting things into my head that aren’t true! That's you, not me. It’s you who has no one, it’s you who no one cares about”

“My love-”

“Get out of my house now! I will not repeat it again”

“You're going to regret everything you're doing, I feel sorry for you” she takes her bags and leaves without looking back.

The lump you were feeling in your throat loosens and you sob, letting all the emotions finally flow and go away. It was for your good, you repeat over and over in your fragile mind to your hurting heart.

#writingroulette #jennie kim #Jennie #kpop angst #blackpink #jennie angst #blackpink angst #jennie x reader #ninigummysmileangst

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team-council-two · 2 years

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There's this thing writers do to Heavy's speech that doesn't sit right with me.

So, I subjected mysef to unholy amounts of unfiltered Heavy TF2 fanfiction to pick out some notable tropes and get some ideas for potential content for the future, and there's one particular grammar structure that stands out to me which almost every writer I stumble across seems to use. And I don't blame them, because Valve does it too. Like here:

And here:

And in the voicelines, here:

And here:

And a few other examples here and there that I don't really want to handpick. This is not a critique of Valve or the writers that follow the pattern introduced by it, it's more of an analysis of why it doesn't happen in real life with actual Russian speakers.

To understand that, you need to understand how subject and predicate work in both English in Russian. So:

A subject is what or whom the sentence is about. It's a person, an object, or an entity performing the action, whatever that action might be. It's usually a noun (a word defining an object) or a pronoun (we're on Tumblr, we all know what a pronoun is).

A predicate is the action performed. It's usually indicated by a verb (runs, walks) or a combination of them (is running, is walking).

A complete English sentence cannot exist without a subject and a predicate. The only exception I can think of where the sentence is both complete and missing a predicate is an imperative - an order, "go there, do something". We won't take those sentences into consideration.

A Russian sentence can exist without a subject, a predicate, or both. This is important because when we make grammar mistakes, it's because we're trying to project the structure of our language onto a different language that doesn't function this way. So yes, we do miss our subjects and predicates in English sentences. We say things like "this person a good friend" instead of "this person IS a good friend", and "need to do something" instead of "WE need to do something". But.

But. We have to consider what kind of sentences are presented in the example above. If you fill in the missing subjects, you get the exact same thing - "it". He says "It is all you need to know". He says "It is good to have you back". You get the picture.

The problem with this is that "it" is not a well-defined subject. It's not a specific thing, not a person, not an entity. "It" is a substitute for a vague concept of things existing. In English, we say "it is dark", but there's actually nobody out there, nobody is being dark. It's an indication, a fill-in, an auxiliary noun that you need to keep the English sentence structure intact. Because you can't have a sentence without a subject and a predicate, remember?

Well, in Russian you can, and you do, and there's a specific name for it. Sentences in which no specific entity is performing the action are called impersonal - there is no person in them! And there's no action either! "It is dark" - well, nobody's doing the "being dark", so there's no need for the "being" part either. In Russian, it's just "Dark."

"All you need to know."

"Good to have you back, Doctor."

"Good time to run, cowards!"

So, that's it then. Whenever you want to put "it is" or "it was" in English, don't just leave the subject out. Either keep both or drop both, otherwise it doesn't sound natural. Let me know if this isn't a clear enough explanation, and have fun writing!

#tf2 #tf2 heavy #Heavy Language Post

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acewitch-writes · 4 months

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Hello! I recently found your account, and I went on scrolling down and down...and now I hope you know how grateful I am. Thank u- Merci. About 90% of the content you share here has made me feel so much better. I realllyy hope wonderful things happen for you. I've been a fan of hp since 2001, but I'm not really a social media person so I haven't been active in the fandom. I had no idea what was happening here until recently..two months ago to be exact (other details are not important) and omg.. I ended up in a discussion with some I think, new fans. tbh I thought, "Great! I'm good at this, I read all the books more than once Let's talk :)" and omg their very first question was "What do you think about Regulus?"

I was like, "Who?" *dying from secondhand embarrassment bc It turns out I'm not that good at this

but as the discussion continued, I became more and more baffled bc "Why was everyone talking about Barty, Evan, and Regulus? who is daddy Remu? and what do you mean people ship James Potter with R.A.B.? What?"

I swear for a moment I thought "Did the writer publish a new book? Did I miss something? " tbh, I respect everyone's opinion it's none of my business but I'm still shocked. The only thing that bothers me is everything that happened with this new Wolfsar

omg, for most fans around my age (or at least people I know), Sirius was the complete portrayal of a bad boy- a rebel, with boots, tattoos, a leather jacket, and a fucking motorcycle. so this new Sirius is like a stranger to me, and that's okay. Mein issue is kinda with this new Remus T T my beloved .

They (the fans I was talking with) told me Remus is "tall, so handsome, SO strong, and hot-headed person because, yk he's a werewolf." I was like "hot headed? excuse me?" I tried to explain to them that Remus being a werewolf is a metaphor for illnesses like HIV, it's not some superpowery gift. they didn't believe me, but then they literally looked me in the face and said, "Then why would Sirius like someone like him? He's poor, short, and ugly." I swear I wanted to cry right then and there.

What is this mindset that makes some people think that a person should be, Idk, hot and flawless to deserve to be loved? Yes I don't think Remus is tall and super hot and perfect and isn't it fine? and I am 100% sure he's so beautiful. not like Sirius ofc but he has this "warm, cozy, and soft" sort of beauty. and I don't think he was a coward (ok maybe he was a liitle) but I guess it's easier for us, humans, to take the worst or weakest moment of a character and amplify it until it defines them entirely. and omg I'm so sorry for my rant and my bad english. but once again thank you for your beautiful soul <3 thank you

Hi anon! I, too, am baffled by the recent obsession with Regulus in this fandom. I think Jegulus is fine as a crack ship, but it has become so mainstream that many fans have just gone ahead and canonized it to the point that you'll be vilified for not accepting it as canon. I underestimated how popular the "best friend's brother" trope was, apparently. I also think it appeals to many fans as a Marauders Era version of one of the most popular ships of all time, Drarry.

This new version of Wolfstar is my biggest complaint with today's fandom, too! I get that the Marauders have very limited canon information and therefore we have more creative freedom to flesh them out, but I really believe that it has gone way too far. Sirius and Remus in today's fandom don't bear any resemblance to the characters they're based on. Remus is just a generic alpha werewolf OC and Sirius is his generic himbo femboy love interest OC. They don't even share a physical description with their Canon counterparts, and their personalities and character traits are so far removed that I can't even fathom how we reached this point as a fandom. How can you claim to like these characters if you have to change everything the source material says about them?

You're English is great, by the way! I completely agree that Remus has a cozy-and-warm sort of beauty. He made a point to distance himself from the stigma surrounding Lycanthropy because it was the focal point of his shame and self-loathing. And I just adore Wolfstar's dynamic from this lens, with the intimidatingly beautiful, confident, headstrong Sirius Black, who could have his pick of anyone he wants, choosing this ordinary guy because he's cozy and soft and it's exactly what Sirius wants after surviving the harsh ideals and abuse of House Black.

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meetinginsamarra · 5 months

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20 Questions for Fic Writers

I've been tagged by @totallysilvergirl and @calaisreno TYSM!!

1. How many works do you have on A03?

51 in total

12 "real" fics and 21 ficlets and 18 covers (I didn't know how to embed on AO3 back then)

2. What's your total A03 word count?

271.977

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Sherlock BBC

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Mutual Attraction , Learn My Scars, The toe that didn´t belong, The embers still glow when I´m sober , Gravity is missing from everything

The last three are in fact a series called Here I Am

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

Of course! Always and quickly. I love comments, they make my day and fill me with happiness for hours. Not kidding!

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

None of my fics end angsty. Some of my ficlets might, possibly Time

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

They all end happily.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

There had been a few very weird comments on "Mutual Attraction" that were rude or offensive. Some had been deleted by the cowards who posted them later.

9. Do you write smut?

Yes, I have written porn and enjoyed it. I also write gen and everything in between. Depends on the story.

10. Do you write crossovers?

No, because I define "crossover" as a mix of two existing universes, like Sherlock x Star Trek for example. I have written several AUs though. Alternate Universes with the same characters of my show but placed somewhere else.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have been offered three times but declined because I personally am not comfortable with it.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

Johnlock

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I have this fairy tale AU sitting in my drafts for literal years. 20k written and several attempts to take it up again, it is mostly plotted but just resists being finished. *sigh*

16. What are your writing strengths?

Learning by doing, I guess? I think of myself that I am versatile. Maybe writing movie-like action scenes. I remember that's been said in comments.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I honestly do not know. (Which is not me saying I can do everything perfectly!! I just try whatever I want.) Finishing the above mentioned fic possibly.

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

If it fits the story, why not? I write in English which is not my native language, so I could do German and some French and Italian, too.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Sherlock BBC.

I've actually never written anything before I started with Sherlock fanfic. I got this idea and it grew and I began to write it down just for me so that I would not forget it. Then I thought, why not write it into a fic? I've been reading a lot fanfic already. Over the course of two years (writing on and off) the idea had turned into a 94k fic. I only started posting "Mutual Attraction" when it was completed on AO3.

I still think it's funny because just imagine this. Never wrote a word of fiction before, not even in my native language. Then, first thing I produced is a novel-length fic written directly in English. Still seems surreal to me.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

I love all of my babies and will not choose a fave one. There are only faves in categories.

"Mutual Attraction" was my first and longest fic.

"Wretched and Divine" was the one that made me find my dear friend and beta @peageetibbs

Technically, I am most proud of pulling off "Learn My Scars" because it is 38k written under a huge amount of pressure due to daily posting for Whumptober 2022. Five weeks of intense writing madness but very rewarding, too.

AU and plot-twist wise it would be "The 13th Book ".

---------

So many people have done this but I think @shiplocks-of-love @shelleysprometheus @cumbercurlygirl have not been tagged yet. And anybody else who wants to share, please.

#20 questions for fic writers #my sherlock fanfics #meetinginsamarra #meet_me_in_samarra on AO3

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justforbooks · 28 days

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Nicholas Shakespeare’s elegant biography of the James Bond author Ian Fleming takes its subtitle from a journalist’s observation, quoted halfway through, that its subject was “for a moment of time, a complete man” while working for British naval intelligence in the second world war. Yet you can’t help read it as a promise to give the reader what was left out of previous biographies such as John Pearson’s crisp, more portable authorised life from 1966. And is there a claim, too, for the alpha male credentials of the man called “Flemingway” by his friend Noël Coward? Journalist, stockbroker, thriller writer and – like his famous creation – a playboy and 70-a-day smoker, who died of a heart attack in 1964 at the age of 56 after a plagiarism row over the origins of Thunderball, the ninth Bond novel.

After a dutiful account of how Fleming’s Scottish financier grandfather became a millionaire – later cutting Fleming and his brothers out of his will – Shakespeare gets going with his subject’s troubled boyhood in the shadow of his father’s death in the first world war. Family friends in Switzerland take his education in hand after hasty exits from Eton (hanky-panky with a woman) and Sandhurst (gonorrhoea). His exams aren’t good enough for the Foreign Office; an engagement to a Swiss lover ends amid maternal threats to cut off his allowance. He falls on his feet at Reuters – it was that kind of life – further honing his knack for a scoop at the Sunday Times, a handy source of contacts for his war work.

Testimony woven from diaries, papers and interviews gives the book a flavour of oral history. Shakespeare goes to great lengths – not least tracking down a 94-year-old veteran, the last surviving member of a covert commando unit that Fleming organised – to dispel the idea that Fleming’s service, occluded by state-sanctioned secrecy, was just “in-trays, out-trays and ashtrays”. The book’s first half puts the future author at the heart of military and journalistic history – a search for German weapons of mass destruction; the race to get an inside scoop on the Cambridge spies – as well as the bedroom shenanigans of the English well-to-do. (Shakespeare, who encourages us at one point to smile at the mention of a “germanely” named Nazi admiral, Assmann, shows his assumptions of his audience when he writes confidently of “that small, turn-of-the-century intellectual clique, the Souls”.)

Fleming may be “the man behind James Bond”, in the subtitle of Andrew Lycett’s 1995 biography, but Shakespeare’s project, you sense, is partly to say there’s more to him. Eager to prove Fleming’s interest beyond the reasons that will draw most of his readers to the book, he is almost comically insistent on the degree to which his subject was ahead of the curve. Not only might he have sparked the idea of creating the CIA – in a memo written when the US-UK special relationship was being forged – but he also came up with the idea of putting a Christmas tree from Oslo in Trafalgar Square.

As for the dozen Bond novels that poured out of Fleming after 1953’s Casino Royale – written in a month in his winter bolthole in Jamaica a year earlier – they were, in Shakespeare’s telling, essentially the literary expression of a midlife crisis accelerated by the encroachments of fatherhood and a faithless union as the third husband of Ann Charteris. They had got together with an affair that caused a high-society scandal during her previous marriage to the Daily Mail heir Esmond Harmsworth; she later cheated on Fleming with the Labour leader Hugh Gaitskell, who told him that the “sex, violence, alcohol” formula of the Bond novels was “to one who leads such a circumscribed life as I do, irresistible”.

Fleming, injecting the American dirt of Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer novels into the English thriller, launched 007 on what Shakespeare calls the “spam-munching gloom of Attlee’s Britain”, writing (Fleming told his publisher) in order to make “as much money... as possible” and to have “as much fun as I personally can”. Respectable sales rocketed when JFK took a shine to From Russia, with Love – and the movies were yet to come. While Fleming was self-deprecating – telling Raymond Chandler the Bond novels were “straight pillow fantasies of the bang-bang, kiss-kiss variety” – he was proud enough to greet the director of the first Bond movie, Dr No, by telling him: “So they’ve decided on you to fuck up my work.”

“Luck had to be accepted with a shrug or taken advantage of up to the hilt,” Bond thinks in Casino Royale; he sees luck “as a woman, to be softly wooed or brutally ravaged, never pandered to or pursued”. Squint enough and Fleming took some care to cast his main character in ironic light. Early in that novel, the reader gets a fly-on-the-wall thrill of watching fieldwork in action, with the scene of theatrical care Bond takes to ensure his hotel room isn’t being searched; but soon enough his French sidekick turns up to let Bond know his upstairs neighbours have been listening in to his every move.

In Shakespeare’s biography, the novels are mostly a source of supporting quotation – he doesn’t get bogged down in questions of what it means to read Bond now, confining himself to a remark on how his “cavalier treatment of women... carried the sexual climate of the Blitz into the austerity of the cold war, and was less modern perhaps than it was later cracked up to be”. And perhaps there’s no need for his defenders to overstate the case for Fleming’s novelistic subtlety. Bond has always been shaped by a collective amnesia that allows us to make him what we wish him to be at any given moment; when he parachuted into the Olympic opening ceremony with the queen, it was as the best of British, not as a connoisseur of (Fleming’s words) “the sweet tang of rape”.

The novels, in a way, are irrelevant to 007, but the course of history would surely have run otherwise had Fleming not had the foresight to change his protagonist’s name from the original “James Secretan” – Fleming’s typescript revision perhaps his most significant literary act.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

#just for books #Ian Fleming: The Complete Man #Nicholas Shakespeare #book review

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ladyofthenoodle · 6 months

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20 Questions for Fic Writers

thank you @lesbitorte and @xhanisai for the tag! and also @rosekasa 🫶

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

31!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

229674

3. What fandoms do you write for?

just miraculous ladybug for now

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

team is a four letter word

pretty lady, look at how he's smiling

Me, My Best Friend, and Her Cat

our hands would not be taught to hold another's

full exposure

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

yes!!! sometimes very late (very very very late) but i do my best to respond to as many as i can because i appreciate them so so much!!! if you’ve ever commented and i haven’t responded in months then it’s probably because every time i read your comment i get overwhelmed with gratitude and lose all my words

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

i almost exclusively write happy endings, but coin operated boy’s happy ending never got written, so it’s my angstiet

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

uhhhh idk, i usually go for happy endings, but i guess maybe team is a four letter word, since it’s got a whole 3 part sleepover of self indulgence

8. Do you get hate on fics?

not usually but there was one asshole

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

NO because i am a coward 😭

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

no but i do rotate them in my brain

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i’m aware of

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

nope

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

i am writing one with @wackus-bonkus-maximus right now!

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

lovesquare 🥺🥺🥺

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

there’s definitely some things in my drafts that i don’t know if i’ll ever finish, but of my published works, the one i’m not sure i’ll get back to is we are the foxes

16. What are your writing strengths?

i think i am pretty good at dialogue and emotions!

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

doing the actual writing 🙈

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

i wouldn’t do it unless i was fluent in that language, and i’m not fluent in anything besides english, so…. we aren’t doing it here 😂

19. First fandom you wrote for?

miraculous ladybug!

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

nooooooo i cant choose one of my babies!!!! …but i’m feeling very attached to lies of attrition these days <3

tags: @kasienda @thelibraryloser @jennagrinsoverml @chocoluckchipz @miabrown007 @jattendschaton @rosekasa

(for a minute i thought i needed to tag 20 people but i don’t so i’m stopping at 6! but 14 more people are free to join)

#noodling

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coraniaid · 1 month

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(Answering @badwolfwho1's questions for this character ask game; four of four.)

Willow

5 What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them

youtube

(Honestly, this was a surprisingly hard question to answer and I don't really know if I think this song fits Willow at all or I just subconciously gave up and picked a song I liked. It's a good song though?)

12 What's a headcanon you have for this character?

Not exactly a fully developed headcanon (so much as it is a stubborn refusal to accept a fictional character I like is not actually Just Like Me) but ... I'm rewatching early Season 4 now and it is honestly so hard to persuade myself that Willow would be content to sit in this (objectively not very good!) pysch class (where they are teaching Jung and Freud as fact!) when the show had previously established her as somebody who was hacking into government computers for fun before she ever met Buffy, and who talks about liking math, and who regularly competed in her school's science fair, and started work on trying to rebuild Ted the robot when she was a teenager, and who was headhunted by a company that was not quite explicitly mid-1990s Microsoft, and who taught her high school computer class while a high school student. Let Willow be computer science student you wrote her as, you cowards!

Yes, later in the season the show will use Willow "not being as interested in computers any more" as a(n honestly not very coherent) metaphor for her coming out as a lesbian, but we aren't at that point yet! (And besides, why would getting into magic make Willow more interested in outdated pop pysch? As opposed to, say, quantum mechanics or category theory or anything else that more closely resembles the show's take on magic?) We haven't even met Tara! It feels very obvious to me that the writers just want Willow to go to classes with Buffy and don't particularly care that the character they created in the first three seasons wouldn't want to go to those classes.

At least, Willow wouldn't want to go to those classes unless her best friend was also going. (And, actually, why is Buffy apparently majoring in pysch now, anyway? What happened to her previously established love of English literature? I know the writers bring that up again next season; it feels a bit pointless they ignore it now.)

So my current headcanon is that Willow is going to a bunch of computing and math classes this semester (or at least she will be until gets distracted by magic/Tara), on top of Maggie Walsh's pysch classes, she just pretends she isn't because she doesn't want Buffy to think she's showing off by taking such a high course load. Whenever there's a college scene with Buffy present and not Willow, I assume Willow is somewhere off-screen learning about the axioms of Zermelo Fraenkel set theory or about assembly language or about crystal oscillators or ... you know, something I would she would actually care about.

13 What's an emoji, an emoticon and/or any symbol that reminds you of this character or you think the character would use a lot?

Willow started using the internet in the mid- to late 90s, which I think would have had a big impact on the sorts of symbols she’d use. That’s a bit too early for emoji, I think: I don’t see Willow using them. I can see Willow using the old classic of :/ a lot though (especially if she also introduced Xander to IRC at some point)

#btvs #asks #thanks again

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the-writing-moon · 2 months

Text

so i work in a well-known library, right, as a part-timer, and it's been great working with the books, they're real friendly and everything. but this is a very exclusive library, right, you have to send in an application and maybe get interviewed to get in because we're dealing with really old archival material here; i've had to dust crumbled paper off of desks and some of the spines of these hundreds-of-years-old books have been replaced with electric tape with their titles rewritten with wite-out from how much the spines have fallen out. i look up and see dead white men glaring down at me from murals and paintings and busts from the ceiling, probably aghast and wondering how a fucking little island girl is handing their precious books and poking at their dutch-painted glass windows with her grimy brown fingers. this is just set-dressing, so you really know where i'm coming from.

anyways, you know those memes that go around writing communities? doesn't matter if you write fics or manuscripts, we've all seen them, liked them, reblogged them.

"writing a slash fic instead of writing i've been googling what jewelry young german women wore in the 1700s"

"i'm pretty sure i'm on the fbi and interpol hitlists because of my search history"

"story prompt: overly helpful serial killer sweetheart x clueless crime fiction writer"

"when you don't know long division but you can talk about the taxation laws in victorian england because you needed to find out how taxes work to make your story believable"

they're memes that make you chuckle, guffaw, and nod because they're relatable! everyone hates the idea of being corrected by a random poindexter who can call you out on your bullshit on victorian tax laws, you uncultured fool, or who happens to know how blood sprays look if you shoot a person a certain way, you gormless coward, not because they were shooting the gun but they were part of the forensics team, pinky promise, i wasn't there on the 15th of november. and it's a bit absurd. like, who exactly knows - or cares - about victorian tax laws? does it really matter to write about reality in all its facets into fiction? majority of your readers probably aren't vampires or other extant immortals so does it really matter if you don't hold history up as accurately as possible in your 30k friends-to-enemies-to-lovers dark academia yuri slashfic? does historical accuracy matter when you're writing about samurais in the heian period in modern english with modern sensibilities? who would even know what stuff was really like back then? some things aren't googlable, and you can't always trust google anyways.

i don't know the answer to all these questions. but i know the answer to one.

so, back to the library.

one day, i'm shelving history books one after the other, listening to an audiobook from a public library using a library card of which i faked my address for me to use. reparations. and way more ethical than piracy in my eyes. support authors, patronize libraries, and all that. when i shelve books, i like to wonder about who reads them and why. what research they're doing. what they're doing here. whether they know how lucky they are. i envy this library where i work. i envy the people who live in this town. i envy the readers. they have all of this because someone recognized the value of hoarding, the value of taking and tabulating and preserving. one could argue it's the colonial way. but enough of that, i'm shelving books, books that i sometimes wonder at, because i never could have imagined so many books on so many topics, and sometimes they are topics that are so trivial and-

and i'm holding, in my hands, a book about the jewelry young german women wore in the 1700s.

being in a university town, you come to understand that academics have their pet projects; the drive to understand the minutiae of their field, of humanity, of nature. think of a topic and there's probably a dissertation for that. you also understand there is a lot of publishing politics, that researchers' papers are paywalled behind exorbitant fees for which they receive no royalties from. you also understand that academia can also be elitist, even when the people inside it call for open access.

to other people, i'm sure i sound incoherent and raving. but i'm sure that there are people out there who understood why i took several moments staring at this book, recalling all those fucking memes about historical accuracy, of people joking that they're looking for things even the internet has no answer for. because the answers do exist. someone's written about them. someone took the time to look at and tabulate and write about german jewelry. someone else, tax laws. some other person, blood sprays, either through study or applied experimentation. the knowledge is out there. they just aren't available to you.

#writeblr #writing community #writers of tumblr #essay #personal essay #thought this was going to be a funny haha post #but you kno what #sure #i love writing essays on tumblr actually because i get to be as batshit and descriptive as i want here #anD EVEN IF THERE WAS AN ONLINE COPY OF THE BOOK #COULD YOU ACCESS IT FOR FREE? SAFELY? ON DEMAND?#booklr #open access

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anniflamma · 3 months

Note

It always makes me laugh to think that the Apostle Paul's Hebrew name is Saul and his Roman name is Paul. Considering that Jesus healed the centurion's servant, he had no interest in homophobia, but considering that Paul left that infamous homophobic letter… Paul (Saul): I don't know why, but I feel like I lost my crown, which I never had, because of my gay son and bisexual son-in-law.

Hehe, I'm going to dump my knowledge of the Bible now! XD

I guess the 'infamous homophobic letter' you mentioned is the Corinthians, right?

Paul says that individuals who continue in sinful behavior will not attain heaven and among these 'sinners' were drunkards, people who bangs alot, and cheaters. He also references two Greek words that many translate and associate as expressions of same-sex behavior. These two words are malakoi and arsenokoitai.

Of course, these are the words throughout history that translators have had the worst time translating, and of course, homophobes change the meanings of what these words actually means.

Malakoi directly translates into 'soft,' and it was usually used to describe someone who lacks self-control and is weak, cowardly, and lazy.

Of course, people being sexist and all translate this word to 'effeminate' instead. Because women are lazy and cowards, I suppose... 🙄 Instead, the word doesn't really have anything to do with gay men, but it could have a connection when you use the word in a sexual context. However, that word is frequently used to describe men who were seen as lacking self-control in their love for... women.... For the past centuries, English translations used the word 'weaklings'. It's only in the past century that they connected the word with same-sex relationships instead.

Arsenokoitai comes from two Greek words: arsen (male) koites (bed). This is the word that makes many speculate that this term was used to condemn same-sex behavior. Alas again! CONTEXT 👏 ALWAYS 👏 MATTERS! 👏 The word likely relates to sexual or economic exploitation, due to in ancient literature, the word only appears in lists of vices. Some historians even think that this was about temple prostitution. So yeah, it probably relates to same-sex behavior, but not in a consensual way.

And then we have the whole deal that many people points out... The dude was a Roman who could speak Greek... Why didn't he just use the words Erastes and Eromenos if he wanted to be really clear to condemn same-sex behaviors? Malakoi and Arsenokoitai have never really been used as a pair by other ancient writers.

So again, why didn't Paul just use the already existing term that was associated with same-sex behaviors? Why not the latter? Hmmm... Mystery.... 😶

And I'm not going to talk about the Romans letters because there he just slut-shaming EVERYONE!

I'm definitely wanna/gonna talk about Paul's sexuality! But that will be later... I need to rest!

(ps. I don't really know if you even wanted to know this, but here we are... I also feel like I spiraled a bit… Sorry!)

#tw mentions of prostitution #queer christianity #new testament stuff I supossed?#AnniAsks #AnniRambles #Ancient Queer History

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weeb-polls-with-pip · 5 months

Note

So, just about Kyuusaku Yumeno

Their gender isn't clear (AKA they're nonbinary but the writer was a coward /j) but in the eng dub of the anime, they're referred to solely with He/Him pronouns so. They'd count as an anime boy? They're mainly masc leaning anyway in their design, they're far closer to Dazai than Kouyou or whatever. Everyone assumes they're a boy at first glance at least.

I'm aware that the English dub uses he/him pronouns for Kyuusaku, but I'd rather not refer to them as such or include them in this particular poll to avoid potentially upsetting anyone or stirring discourse. I've filed them away for later on my nonbinary and otherwise unspecified genderfuckery autistic character list to bring back for a future tournament.

#autistic anime boys poll #poll asks

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erdarielthewhumper · 1 year

Text

A continuation of sorts to this, but works as its own story without context too

Whumpee: Meldie Tropes and warnings: female whumpee, elf whumpee, fantasy whump, wounds, infected wounds, dislocated shoulders, captivity Word count: 3,189 A/N: Okay yeah I know it's literally been a month since I wrote the first part of this story. I'm just a really slow writer and inspiration sort of comes and goes for me. Again, I have some thoughts on how this might continue from here, so if inspiration strikes, I may write more, but it's likely gonna take a while again. Sorry! ':D Also sorry for any potential grammar mistakes or typos, I just couldn't be bothered to proofread this (and also English isn't my first language but I began to study it like 10 years ago so I guess that excuse no longer really works...)

***

Meldie came to in the grey twilight before dawn. She was lying on her side on the ground, her wrists shackled together in front of her, mud all over her as though she'd been dragged across the ground to where she lay now. She'd been stripped of her weapons and armor and even her boots, left with only her undershirt, too thin for the chilly morning, and her pants.

She shifted, trying to get a better look at her surroundings, and immediately everything flared up in pain. Her body ached with bruises she didn't remember getting, the wound in her thigh felt as though it was on fire, and she had a splitting headache. A quiet groan escaped her lips.

"You awake?" whispered Irk'adl's voice by her ear.

"I wish I wasn't", she muttered back.

"I think they put us under some kind of spell, to keep us out until they could restrain us otherwise", she heard Captain Raghesh say. "Did they hurt you badly before that?"

"Not too badly", Meldie replied. She lifted a hand slowly to feel the back of her head, and her fingers met a patch of sticky blood. "Some fucker hit me in the head, though. Who's "they", anyway?"

"They wear Lord Serdin's colors", said Raghesh. "He was the one we were marching against. The coward. I would accept a defeat on a field of battle by the rules of honor and war, if defeat us they did, but this sort of thing... cruel and disproportionate, that's what it is. And it's not as if we were national troops of the Dawnsea Alliance, either, just mercenaries. The Westmountains lords employ mercenaries too. This kind of thing just isn't fair."

"They wouldn't be employing mercenaries for long if news of this got out", Irk'adl growled. It was well known that most established mercenary companies paid careful attention to what their employers did to the mercenaries fighting on the enemy side. Someone who treated the enemy mercenaries, who were only in it for the pay, after all, poorly, was not always a safe person to serve, either.

Meldie shifted so that she could look at the other two.

"I'm sorry I didn't notice them in time. If I had, maybe we could've gotten away", she murmured.

"You're not the first person whose mind has wandered while on watch. You won't be the last, either. We're all tired and hurt and nearing our limits, it was practically bound to happen", said Irk'adl.

"True enough", Raghesh said. "In any case, there's no use worrying about what-if-I-hads now. I say we should all get what little rest we can before they begin whatever it is they'll do with us."

Meldie didn't reply. She was exhausted, that was true, and despite the cold seeping from the damp earth into her body, she fell asleep quickly.

****

She woke up not too much later to being kicked in the ribs. Before she was conscious enough to react, she was dragged up to her feet, and had to use all her concentration to stay that way. Her head still hurt, a constant pounding headache that made her want to curl up somewhere and never move again.

At a glance she counted fifteen soldiers, their captain, and their mage. One soldier was dragging her forward, another doing the same to Irk'adl. The rest were arranged around two small horse-drawn carts.

On the cart closer to Meldie lay Captain Raghesh, he too looking dazed as though only just awoken from sleep. Beside him was the corpse of the soldier Meldie had killed last night.

A bit further up on the road was the other cart, with supplies - as well as the weapons, armor, and other gear confiscated from Meldie, Raghesh, and Irk'adl - piled on top of it.

There was a length of chain attached to the cart Raghesh was on. The shackles on Irk'adl's and Meldie's wrists were hooked onto it, Irk'adl first and Meldie behind her.

Meldie hoped desperately that the journey wouldn't be long. It was hard enough to even stand with half her weight on her wounded leg. She wasn't sure how long she would walk on it.

Sun was still hidden beyond the horizon, although the light was already turning golden, when they got moving. The soldiers settled into the standard march pace, the sort they could, and probably expected to, keep up the whole day. Normally it wouldn't have been any kind of issue to Meldie, but now she struggled to walk fast enough. She clenched her teeth against the constant pain, but knew it was only a matter of time before the wounded leg would give in under her again.

The sun rose. The light felt far too bright, adding a new layer of stsbbing pain to her headache. She closed her eyes and tried to walk blind, but it helped only a little.

On occasion one of the soldiers would poke her back with the tip of their sword and tell her to move faster. As if she could. She was already staggering forward as fast as her body allowed.

They hadn't been on the road for half an hour yet when her injured leg failed. She fell to her knees.

The jolt that sent up the chain made the horse pulling the cart halt for a second, but before Meldie could even think about trying to stand up again, someone urged it onward. Meldie cried in pain and surprise as she was pulled to her stomach and dragged across the ground by her chained wrists. There was no chance she could have gotten back to her feet now, not even if she'd tried.

She heard Irk'adl yell and growl at the soldiers. They merely laughed at her. Someone threw a small rock at Meldie's back.

****

The next time they stopped was at noon. Meldie was so dazed she hardly noticed it before she felt Irk'adl's hands on her shoulder.

"Meldie? Meldie! Are you alright?"

Meldie rolled over to her back and lay there, gasping. Her wrists and shoulders burned, she was bruised all over, her shirt and pants were dirty and torn, the skin beneath scratched raw. Somehow she had managed to keep her head up enough to avoid any particular damage to her face, but her eyes stung and her throat was dry from the road dust.

Irk'adl gathered Meldie into her arms, and pulled her closer to the cart where they were at least a little shaded from the sun. The soldiers had tossed them a half-empty waterskin, and Irk'adl helped her drink from it.

"Fucking hurts", Meldie rasped when she could speak again, her eyes still squeezed shut.

"Bet it does." She paused and sighed. "I don't think we'll have much time to rest, we'll probably be on the move again as soon as they've eaten."

"Figures."

It was a while before Meldie opened her eyes. When she did, she saw Irk'adl's form beside her, and above them, leaning over the side of the cart, keeping an eye on the soldiers but now and then glancing down at Meldie, was Captain Raghesh.

The soldiers were settled a little further away on the soft grass on the side of the road. They were eating their lunch, and though they weren't deliberately slow, they also seemed to not be in too much hurry to get back on the road. They were confident and at ease; this was their territory, and they knew their captives had no chance of escape.

****

When they got moving again, Irk'adl drew Meldie close to her side. Wordlessly she placed one of Meldie's hands on her own arm. Meldie accepted the offered support with equally wordless gratitude.

It made the moving a little quicker, though still not quite as fast as the pace the soldiers would have wanted to keep. Exhaustion and pain were nothing new to Meldie, and she could struggle through them as long as Irk'adl helped her.

Apparently the soldiers cared more for seeing their captives suffer than they did for speed, however. After an hour or so, they began occasionally poking at Meldie and Irk'adl with their swords again. Irk'adl growled something at them in Orcish, and even chained and captive as she was and blinded in one eye, she was terrifying enough that they backed off for a while.

But eventually a few of them came closer again. They tore the two captives apart, and one made sure to kick Meldie's legs out from under her, too. Meldie fell flat on the ground, and felt the chains once again digging into her wrists and dragging her along the ground.

She felt the jerks and jolts as Irk'adl fought her own chains, but didn't look up to see whether she was trying to get to her or to the soldiers. It didn't matter, either way. Her efforts were in vain.

A couple of times Meldie tried to get back up on her own, but although the pace was slow enough for an armored soldier to comfortably sustain for hours, it was still too fast for her to get to her feet. On every failed attempt, she heard the soldiers' mocking laughter at her struggle. Finally she resigned herself to being dragged after the cart for the rest of the day.

****

They didn't stop until after sunset. Meldie didn't know where she found the strength to stand up and stagger after Raghesh and Irk'adl towards the place pointed out for the captives, but she did manage to make it that far. She all but collapsed to the grass next to them, too worn out to hold on to her pride or any pretense of strength.

She was in agony. Her shoulders felt as if they were on fire, and trying to move her arms was hell. She was sore, scratched and bruised, and somewhere in her struggles to get back to her feet she had torn some of the stiches of the not-yet-healed arrow wound in her thigh. It was leaking blood in a sluggish but constant trickle.

The others didn't look too good, either. Irk'adl's wrists under the manacles were chafed red, and despite her valiant attempts to hide her exhaustion, her shoulders were slumped and back bent as though under a heavy weight. Captain Raghesh was less exhausted from the journey, perhaps, but his skin was still ashen and his breathing at times labored, and his face was drawn with pain from his previous injuries.

"Fucking cowards", growled Irk'adl. "Wouldn't stand half a chance against us in a fair fight, and they know it."

"They want me alive. You two are just bonus, so you they can torment however they please. I've half a mind to try and steal a dagger from one of them. Take the one thing they were actually after from them", Raghesh said darkly.

"And how do you think that would help?" Meldie asked

"No, you're right. It wouldn't. I just wish there was something I could do." He sighed. "Look at what they've done to you, too. Your shoulders—"

"Dislocated. I know."

"I think I could put them back right", offered Irk'adl.

"They'll just do the same thing to me again tomorrow. I'd hate to waste your effort."

"They won't. Not if I have anything to say about it."

There was a dangerous fire in Irk'adl's eyes. Meldie wasn't certain how much there was that Irk'adl could truly do, but she appreciated the intent.

"Fine, then. You can try."

Irk'adl made short work of wrenching Meldie's shoulders back into how they were supposed to be. It hurt horribly, but it was done. Meldie slumped against Irk'adl, gasping from pain. For a long while she barely even registered anything besides the pain.

The soldiers tossed them a few threadbare blankets, a waterskin and some hardtack. They chocked down the food, not knowing when they'd next be fed, and wrapped themselves quietly in the blankets. Meldie laid awake for some time in a pain-filled haze, staring at the star-dotted sky far above. But eventually exhaustion won over pain and she slipped into dreamless sleep.

****

Irk'adl made good on her promise to not let the soldiers torment Meldie any more. She was tall, as orcs tended to be, taller than any of the soldiers, and she was no longer tolerating them. Whenever any of them dared approach her and Meldie, she bared her teeth at them and snarled something in her own language. None of the soldiers seemed eager to find out whether or not she could still manage to sink her tusks in their necks (as was said to be traditional method of fighting in the ritual combat of many orc clans) despite her chains.

The soldiers risked contact only long enough to chain Irk'adl and Meldie to walk after the cart again, but during the day, they left them alone. Meldie felt very bruised and sore, and each step seemed difficult to take, but at least she no longer had to worry about someone tripping her up for fun.

They walked through the day, and in early evening they came to the gates of a fortress. Just behind the main gates stood a handful of utilitarian grey stone buildings of varying shapes and sizes; barracks for soldiers, other living quarters, probably a laundry and kitchen and other such facilities, stables, blacksmith and weaponsmith workshops, and other buildings Meldie couldn't guess the purpose of. And, all things considered, presumably a prison of some kind. But past those buildings, the fortress walls, manned with guards, ran as far as the eye could see, up the hillside and further down the slope, and it was impossible to tell where they turned to join back together.

Meldie was too weary to even think anymore as the soldiers ushered them through the gates. She leaned heavily on Irk'adl to stay up, eyes fixed on the ground before her. They stood there a while as the soldiers apparently sorted things out.

After a minute or so, Irk'adl tapped Meldie's arm. Meldie looked up. In their immediate vicinity there were only people in military uniforms, and a couple of people in typical civilian clothing standing about, looking at them curiously. But past them, past the yard and out towards the hillside, near a few of the larger buildings Meldie hadn't been able to identify, they saw the prisoners.

Varying species, varying genders, varying ages, but all were wearing plain, dirtied and sometimes ragged prisoners' clothes. Most were in small groups, carrying tools or hauling apparently heavy carts, coming and going on a road that led somewhere up the hill. There were soldiers watching them, but not as many as one might have expected.

The prisoners weren't chained, either, but from their mannerisms and their clothes it was clear they were prisoners nonetheless. Occasionally Meldie thought she saw metal glint when they moved or bent over, but it was hard to tell from the distance.

At last some of the soldiers returned to them, and began leading them off somewhere. Raghesh wasn't with them, and Meldie wasn't sure where he'd been taken. But she and Irk'adl were herded towards one of the long, squat buildings with iron bars on the window slits and heavy doors and guards posted at the door.

Right inside the doors was a desk, and a uniformed soldier sitting behind it. He looked up when they were brought in, a flash of curiosity appearing on his face for a moment.

"A couple more stragglers", said one of the soldiers. "Don't think we'll be catching too many more, but we got the captain with 'em. Boss is keeping him, but these two are to be tossed in with the rest."

"Fine, let me see..." The man at the desk shuffled through a pile of papers. "Thirteen and Fourteen aren't full yet, so one to each." He picked up two piles of metal from somewhere behind the desk and placed them on the table. "You know the drill."

The soldier nodded. "Change the chains, let 'em wash the grime off, pick up new clothes for them."

Even as he spoke, some of the other soldiers began opening Meldie and Irk'adl's shackles. They picked the metal pieces from the desk and fit those in place of the chains; one heavy, cold metal band around the neck, and one on each ankle and wrist. There were no chains attached to them, but Meldie could just about see the runes carved into the metal. She had no idea of their meaning, but it had to be some sort of spell.

And then they were shoved away from the desk and along a corridor again. Warm steam hit Meldie's face as they stepped through a door and into what apparently served as the bathhouse. There were large vats filled with steaming-hot water along the length of the room, and smaller buckets by them.

She and Irk'adl were pushed to the farthest ends of the room, away from each other. At least, once that was done, the guards retrested a little, and gave them what little privacy was possible while still keeping an eye on them.

Meldie stripped off her torn and dirtied clothes and took a bucketful of water from the bearest vat. She knelt down on the stone floor to wash herself, not trusting her legs to carry her anymore.

The wound on her thigh, when her hand brushed it, felt hot, and the skin around it was an angry red. Dammit. As if things weren't bad enough already, without the wound getting infected.

Still, she washed herself as best she could. She wasn't completely clean, afterwards, but at least she no longer felt covered in dust and filth.

They were both given new clothes; a tunic and pants of rough, stiff and itchy undyed fabric. They were ill-fitting, and made to last a lot of wear more than to be comfortable. Of their own belongings the only thing they got back was their boots.

Then it was through more corridors, and up a few sets of stairs. The rooms they passed were walled with heavy iron bars. Rushes were scattered on the floors, and there were no furnishings aside from narrow wooden benches by the walls. The cells were mostly empty, though in a couple of them there were one or two figures lying on one of the benches, curled up with their backs to the corridor.

The guards opened two cell doors near the end of one hallway and shoved Irk'adl into one and Meldie into the one next to it. Meldie staggered to the nearest bench and sat down on it, leaning her back against the bars separating her and Irk'adl's cells. She heard Irk'adl's steps behind her and felt her hand on her shoulder.

"Well, if nothing else", Irk'adl muttered, "I guess we found the rest of the company."

"Fat lot of good that does to us", Meldie said. "We're trapped, and so are all the rest, and there's nothing any of us can do to get out."

"We'll see about that. I'm not giving up. Not yet."

---

@happy-little-sadist @whumperfultime @wolfeyedwitch

#whump #meldie #my ocs #my writing #fantasy whump #female whumpee #fem whump #elf whump #nonhuman whumpee #wounds #infected wounds

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meetinginsamarra · 5 months

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20 Questions for Fic Writers

Ohh, I love these questions and am ready to play. Let's gooo!

1. How many works do you have on A03?

51 in total

12 "real" fics and 21 ficlets and 18 covers (I didn't know who to embed them at this time)

2. What's your total A03 word count?

271.977

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Sherlock BBC

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Mutual Attraction , Learn My Scars, The toe that didn´t belong, The embers still glow when I´m sober , Gravity is missing from everything

The last three are in fact a series called Here I Am

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

Of course! Always and quickly. I love comments, they make my day and fill me with happiness for hours. Not kidding!

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

None of my fics end angsty. Some of my ficlets might. Like "Time".

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

They all end happily.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

There had been a few very weird comments on "Mutual Attraction" that were rude or offensive. Some had been deleted by the cowards who posted them later.

9. Do you write smut?

Yes, male/male. I have written very porny porn. I also write gen and everything in between. Depends on the story.

10. Do you write crossovers?

No, because I define "crossover" as a mix of two existing universes, like Sherlock x Star Trek for example. I have written a lot of AUs though. Alternate Universes with the same charaters of my show but placed somewhere else.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have been offered three times but declined because I personally am not comfortable with it.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

Johnlock

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I have this fairy tale AU sitting in my drafts for literal years. 20k written and several attempts to take it up again, it is plotted but just resists being finished.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Learning by doing, I guess? Maybe writing movie-like action scenes. That's been said in comments.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I honestly do not know. Finishing the above mentioned fic possibly.

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

If it fits the story, why not? I write in English which is not my native language, so I could do German and some French and Italian, too.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Sherlock BBC

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

I love all of my babies and will not choose a fave one. There are only faves in categories.

"Mutual Attraction" was my first and longest fic (98k).

"Wretched and Divine" was the one that made me find my friend and beta @peageetibbs

Technically, I am most proud of pulling of "Learn My Scars" because it is 38k written under a huge amount of pressure due to daily posting for Whumptober 2022. Five weeks of intense writing madness but very rewarding, too.

AU and plot-twist wise it would be "The 13th Book".

Concerning hot smut, "The toe that didn't belong".

"Sherlock's secret laboratory journal" is pure crack.

tagging anyone who wants to share!!!

#writer asks #20 questions for fic writers #my Sherlock fanfics #writing fanfic #writeblr

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peachonified · 1 month

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tagged by @mayalaen and I couldn't resist :)

20 questions for fic writers

First, my AO3

How many works do you have on AO3?

202 - that was more than I expected!

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

1,067,968

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mainly Kuroko no Basket and Haikyu!! I was very prolific in Supernatural (and I feel the urge returning tbh), and I keep umming and ahhing about writing in BNHA. In my past I have also written for Glee, Sherlock, and Harry Potter. And that's like, one fic for each fandom xD

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

To Make A Nest A Traditional Family Sammy's Little Boy Not Meant to Be This Omega is Mine Unsurprisingly, they are all SPN fics!

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

I do! I love responding to comments. Sometimes it takes me years (I have honestly responded to comments that are 6 years old) but to me, it's about community, and I won't to share what I love - which is my fic! It's like I comment on peoples art and stories cos I want them to feel the love, and I love that you can become friends when they respond back! that is how I've made most of my fandom friends, and (especially) in this time of reduced interactions, I want to keep it going.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I don't do angst. I don't. But it's probably Sammy's Little Boy. That is one of the few true non-cons I have written and it doesn't end with it being good.

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

They pretty much all have happy endings. Like.. that's my jam. but I guess Friday Nights (KagaKuro/AoKi) is pretty happy and Handkerchief Hijinks (AkaBoKuroo) Great and Striking Actions which Dazzle the Eyes (Destiel) is like, the funnest sort of crack fic but honestly a lot of what I write is pretty light.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

oh gosh yes! I once got death threats and it was awful. In retrospect they were an anon coward, but wow that was an experience. I think that antis are more vocal but they've been there forever. There's an element of such an idiot who can't not like something without informing everyone.

9. Do you write smut?

*nods* I do

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I have never written one, but I have one started at the moment! I have the first chapter and some general plot points. It's a KnB/HQ dystopian d/s verse. I think it's really cool, and I am SO TEMPTED to post the first chapter, but it can take a while to get back to some of my fics...

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I have. A couple of times. It's the height of rudeness tbh. Just write your own stuff.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes. A few.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I wrote a few years ago but haven't in a while. I'd like to do it again!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

I don't have one. I don't! I have characters who I ship with everyone (Kise, Bokuto, Dean) and I love them with everyone! I lean towards polyships because I think that everyone should be happy. At the moment I am definitely feeling AkaKi... but I still Kise is everyone princess. Dean is everyone princess.... slight wincestiel leaning, and Bo is (you guessed it) everyone princess. If I end up dabbling in bnha Kirishim will be... is everyone princess.

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

I think I'll finish them all.

16. What are your writing strengths?

World building. Humour. Polydynamics. all things I want to read. Honestly I'd write less if I could read more!

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

finishing things. omg is finishing things hard!

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I add japanese words to things. for the japenese characters. like where I don't like the direct translation, or the word conveys much more than the english translation.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I think it was Glee?

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I refuse to choice. I love them all. I especially love the polyships in d/s and omegaverse settings.

honestly, I tag anyone who is interested! this was a fun one, cos there was lots of opinion, not just stats!

#duck stuff #duck writes #my fic

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