#if anyone else wants to beta this scene and give feedback send me a message!!

[oldfashionedmorphine]

okay so….

i’ve asked for feedback on one particular scene for chapter 21 (two opinions so far) and i’m definitely under the impression that i’m like….very borderline with needing a rating change 😅

#could i tone it down? yeah…. #but do i want to? ehhhh no lol #if anyone else wants to beta this scene and give feedback send me a message!! #iawwyh

[wongyuseokie]

Mine | JJK

Summary: Jungkook really shouldn’t have ventured into the house that no one else did, and he really should have seen the warning signs, but something about you drew him in, and now, he was in and never getting out. 

☆ 18+ minors dni |☀︎fluff | ☁︎ angst | ♕smut | ♥ completed works Word Count: 5647 words

Age: 18+ Pairings: Jungkook x Demon! Female Reader 

Genres/AUs/Tropes: Smut, Angst, Horror

Warnings: Unprotected sex, OC is much more than someone who manages a haunted house. Keep reading to find out. Squirting, deception, and revenge at its finest. Mentions of blood and Koo falls over and scrapes his knee. Multiple orgasms, and oral male and female receiving, call it a sinister Pokémon hunt?

Author’s Note: Kinkotober? Halloween smut is based very (EXTREMELY) loosely on the Haunting of the Bly Manor. Also, lowkey based on Taylor Swift’s Blank Space MV, the last scene, where she kills the guy and then gets ready, a new guy shows up at her door again, and the music restarts. You’ll get it later 😅 Authors Note 2: I wrote this fic some time ago, and I wanted to revive it (GET IT) for Halloween. This is my contribution to The Nightmares of Mystic Manor collab hosted by BTS Dream Court and BTS Carnival Net Authors Note 3: I didn't think I'd revive a fic, much less this one, but I could not have done any of it without my lovely friends who took time out of their days to hear me yell about banners and content for so long, thank you @shina913 and @here4btsfics for taking the time to read through this and give me feedback and help beta this! I adore you both endlessly!! 💕 Banner Credits: @classicseffects​ Cross Posted to AO3 © playmetheclassics 2022. All rights reserved. 

Jungkook loved Halloween. 

It was the perfect time to play jokes and scare the shit out of people and the perfect time to encourage his “no fear, and YOLO” agenda. But tonight, he had different plans. He was going to do something that no one would dare, and for that very reason, Jungkook had to do it. 

There was a mansion on Hill Street. It was rumoured to be haunted. Once upon a time, it housed a mob boss. Anyone who ever crossed him was met with a long and torturous death. He often took care of business at home. People have said that the manor’s walls had witnessed brutal murders. Decades later, the ghosts of the mob boss’ victims continue to roam the halls, wailing and screaming for mercy. and The story was that anyone who walked into that house never came out, and every Halloween, some idiot would venture into that house to never be seen again. 

Jungkook laughed at all the rumours, but he was about to become that idiot tonight.

“Dude, just keep your location on, okay? Once you get to the house, just send me a message, and if your ass isn’t out by tomorrow, I’ll call the police,” Jimin warned. He was exhausted from trying to reason with Jungkook. 

Jungkook could be as stubborn as a mule, and he nodded, seeing how Jimin finally gave in which made him so happy. “I’m fucking serious. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll kill you before whatever resides in that house kills you first!” Jimin said, and Jungkook nodded, this time taking the words of his friend thoughtfully. 

“Noted! Now, I shall see you tomorrow if the house hasn’t killed me before that,” Jungkook jokes, making Jimin glare at him.

God, how he hated Jungkook’s adventurous streak and wished that he could tie him to a chair until Halloween was over. Jimin knew, Halloween or not, Jungkook would still venture into the house, regardless. Might as well let him do it once, get spooked and never try again, Jimin rationalised as he glared at Jungkook, who excitedly packed his bag and laced up his boots.

“Alright, see you never, Hyung!” Jungkook said as he headed towards the door, earning a smack upside his head from Jimin. 

“Just go on and get your adrenaline fix! I will see you later, you brat!” Jimin nearly yelled, and Jungkook nodded, giving Jimin a tight hug before leaving. 

“Damn!” Jungkook said as he reached the edge of  the forest, where the manor was. He couldn’t lie to himself–it was eerie! The entire journey here was right out of a horror movie. It was dark and foggy and oddly quiet. It was just an old house, according to Jungkook, nothing else. Just a stupid old place with horrible rumours. 

Jungkook would merely step inside, take a selfie and possibly say hi to a non-existent disembodied soul and then leave. And then brag to Jimin about how he was invincible and how Jimin was too worried for his own good. 

However, despite how brave Jungkook was, he couldn’t ignore the feeling that he was being followed or watched as he got out of his car and approached the manor. 

Jungkook always had a terrible habit of walking with his head held too high. Often, this meant he would miss a step and trip, and that’s precisely what happened as he approached the manor. He tripped and scraped his knee. He hissed in pain as he got up on his feet, only to jump in fear when he felt a hand on his back. 

“Hi,” a small voice spoke from behind him. The voice filled the silence of the forest, and Jungkook swore his heart nearly stopped. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.

“Fuck- what the hell,” Jungkook gasped, panting hard as he placed his hand over his chest to steady his erratic heartbeat. 

“Jesus, who are you?” Jungkook asked you. There was something about you, he thought, something ethereal and angelic. It was almost as if you were glowing. However, he didn’t dwell on it for too long. It was a forest, and it was foggy, it could have just been his eyes. 

“Y/N,” you said, and Jungkook nodded slowly. “Are you following me or something? Who else would come to the Hill Manor?” He asked, staring at you, and you let out a soft laugh that Jungkook could have sworn sounded like music, like a choir of angels singing. But there was an underlying hint of something more sinister behind your laughter. But again, he didn’t dwell on it for too long. After all, ghosts didn’t really exist for him. 

“I manage the Hill Manor, so I feel like I should be asking you what you’re doing here? Anyway, what’s your name?” You asked, moving your hand away from Jungkook’s back. And he swore that he felt the part that your hands were just on tingle. It didn’t hurt, but it felt funny. 

Again, he didn’t think anything of it.

“Jungkook,” he said, smiling softly at you. 

“Fuck, aren’t you nervous to, like, live here? Aren’t there ghosts and shit inside?” Jungkook asked, making you smile. The sweetest smile ever, he thought. 

“Ghosts don’t exist, but I’m guessing you’re an adrenaline junkie. Here to prove something to your friends?” You questioned him, and Jungkook nodded shyly. 

“Well, it’s a good thing I caught you. Most people try to break in and then run away when they hear my footsteps approach the front door,” you joked, making Jungkook smile. 

“Come on, why don’t you come in? Your cut looks pretty deep and needs to be cleaned out. I have a first-aid kit inside and we can bandage it up, then afterwards, you can take as many selfies as you want,” you offered, and Jungkook nodded as he followed you towards the manor. 

Jungkook could have sworn that the blood loss was affecting him more than usual. Your movements were so lithe…which made it really strange since the path to the manor was unpaved and uneven. Any normal person walking through this area would be staggering around. But you weren’t walking. You were floating. Your feet never touched the ground, but he thought that maybe he was starting to hallucinate  due to blood loss, and again, the forest was foggy. 

People don’t float. At least…not normal people.

“Holy shit,” Jungkook breathed out he entered the manor, and you closed the door behind him.

“What? Did you expect bodies and carnage?” You asked, and Jungkook shrugged, making you laugh. 

“I manage this house, so I make sure to clean, and care for it. Besides, why would I want to make it look less appealing when my job is to get this place sold?” You explained, and Jungkook nodded as he looked around the house. 

“Wait, you actually have buyers interested in this property? I thought the scary stories would have put them off?” Jungkook asked, and you smiled at him and shrugged. 

“Well, I guess. I’m banking on finding one of those eccentric buyers that think living in a rumoured haunted house is cool,” you joked, making him grin at you. 

“Why don’t you sit down? I’ll grab that first aid kit for you,” you suggested, and Jungkook nodded as he sat down in the living room. Everything looked modern, but what really caught his eye were the oil paintings on the wall. They were portraits, and he could have sworn one of the faces resembled yours. But again, he didn’t give it much thought. 

“I can’t take these down. It adds intrigue to the house,” you said as you found Jungkook eyeing the paintings. 

“You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say that one  looks a lot like you,” he jokes, pointing at the specific portrait, earning a smile from you. 

“Now, wouldn’t that be crazy?” You said, laughing and Jungkook nodded, agreeing. 

It would be fucking crazy. 

“I thought you were grabbing a first aid kit?” Jungkook asked as he saw a wet washcloth in your hand and disinfectant in the other. 

“My grandma taught me old school methods. She said it’s always important to learn how to treat injuries without relying too much on modern medicine,” you explained, making him nod. 

“Will I still get a band-aid?” Jungkook jokes, and you smile, nodding. 

“Of course,” you answered as you sat on the couch next to him. 

“Lift,” you said, nudging Jungkook’s thigh, and he hesitated. You rolled your eyes and slid off the couch to sit on your knees in front of him. 

“Oh no, I can lift my leg,” Jungkook replied quickly, feeling bad for making you sit on the floor. You smiled, shaking your head at him. 

“Lean back, let me clean your knees. You have tiny pebbles and dirt on them,” you offered, and he nodded, leaning back. 

Jungkook winced when you dabbed his knee with the disinfectant. “Ow!” Jungkook whined, earning a soft chuckle from you. 

“I thought a man covered in tattoos would have a higher pain threshold?” You joked, earning a scowl from him. 

“That was voluntary pain, this is not,” Jungkook argued, and you shrugged. 

“You decided to visit this manor. Despite everyone telling you not to, I’m sure. So… this counts as something pretty voluntary to me,” you said as you dabbed a salve on his wound. 

“Are you always this sassy?” Jungkook asked, and you smiled at him. 

“It depends on my mood,” you answered. 

“And what has gotten you particularly sassy this Halloween evening?” He asked, and you sighed. 

“Well, I used to throw Halloween parties here, but we had an incident some years ago where  this family decided to bring their toddler. Needless to say, she got spooked. Word got out and we got some bad press. Since then, Halloween has become quite lonely,” you explained, and Jungkook nodded. 

“Until you tripped. I was taking a walk, and as I was heading back, I saw you were first staring at the house and then fell over,” you explained, earning a glare from Jungkook. 

“You saw me fall and didn’t help?” He asked incredulously.

“I’m helping now, aren’t I?” You spoke, and Jungkook nodded. You smiled, wrapped bandages around  his injured knee and stood up. 

“Thanks,” Jungkook said. 

“Uh, any way I can repay  you?” Jungkook asked as you sat on the coffee table across from him. 

“I’d suggest joining me for a drink, but I’m assuming you drove here?” You asked and Jungkook nodded sadly. 

“Ah, yeah, I’m sorry,” he scratches his neck.

Just then, as if by some force of God or magic, the wind started to howl outside, followed by some lightning and a loud thunderclap, making Jungkook throw his head back and groan. 

“Welp, I guess I’m here until that dies down. I hope that’s okay?” Jungkook asked, and you nodded. 

“More than okay. What’s your poison?” You asked, and he stared at you strangely. 

“I feel like that’s a terrible thing to ask someone in a haunted house,” Jungkook jokes, and you laughed, leaning forward as you stood up. 

“Do you scare easily?” You asked, and he looked up to meet your gaze. 

“Nope! And I’ll have whatever you’re having,” Jungkook said confidently, leaning back into the couch, making you smile at him as you wandered off to the kitchen to fix him a drink. 

A few moments later, you return and present him with a glass of amber liquid and ice. “Here you go!” Jungkook mouths his thanks as he accepts the drink. He took a sip of it, then immediately grimaced at the intense, burning feeling that went down his throat. 

“Fuck, what is that?” He asked. He didn’t exactly hate the taste, but it certainly didn’t feel like anything familiar that he’s tried before. 

“Whiskey, but it’s kind of an old treasure from this house. One of the previous owners had it, and well, I guess it got stronger over time?” You chuckled. 

Jungkook’s eyes widened in awe. “So…we’re drinking a dead man’s liquor,” he laughed, “That’s got to be a solid reason to haunt you!” You roll your eyes at him. 

“Why are you so damn convinced that this house is haunted?” You asked, and Jungkook shrugged. 

“Where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire,” he said wisely, earning a chuckle from you. 

“Alright, ghostbuster, would you like a tour of this manor?” You asked, making Jungkook’s eyes light up, nodding enthusiastically. “Finish your drink, and I’ll show you around. When we’re done,I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether or not this house is haunted,” you said, making him smile. 

“Deal, but I do want a selfie with a ghost,” Jungkook jokes. You stifle a smile in response as you watch him down the rest of his drink. 

“Oh, wow- I can see why this place would scare someone though,” Jungkook gasped as he followed you up the grand staircase that led into the hallway where the bedrooms were. “So if I opened the door to one of these rooms, would I see a spirit?” He asked playfully, earning a nudge from you. 

Just as Jungkook laughed, a flash of lightning illuminated the second floor of the manor. He swore he saw someone behind you, just a shadow, but it wasn’t yours. 

He immediately dismissed it.

“Scared yet?” You teased, making Jungkook glare at you. 

“Here,” you said, handing him a bottle of liquor. “Take another sip of courage.” Jungkook  grabs the bottle from you and takes a long swig, making him shudder. He would never get used to that burning sensation but at least it soothed his nerves. 

“Okay, I’ll say this- this place is quite creepy,” Jungkook said as you guided him along the first floor and to another set of stairs. 

“Come on, we haven’t even gotten to the best part,” you said as you climbed up another set of stairs, only for Jungkook to grab your wrist slowly. 

“Wait, can I walk ahead?” He asked–showing off a bit–, waiting for you to tease him, but you just smiled at him.

“Are you scared?” You asked. There was no humour in your tone. You were honestly concerned. 

“Spooked,” Jungkook admitted, and you smiled at him.

“Sorry. Why don’t we take a little break? We can relax in my room. It’s a lot less creepy,” you said, making him nod.

There was something so eerie about the hallways in this house, almost as if someone was lying in wait, ready to pounce at any point and drag him into the shadows…where he would meet a slow and painful death. 

Jungkook’s grave thoughts are interrupted when you grab his hand and guide him to your room. He flinched at the contact because your skin was painfully cold to the touch…but then again, the entire house felt frigid. He thought that maybe you needed to sit in front of the fireplace or something to warm up but judging by the light clothing you had on, it looked like you were already used to the house’s arctic nature. You did live here, after all. 

“Here,” you said, letting go of Jungkook’s hand as you opened your bedroom door. You let him in first and turned around to close the door behind you, not bothering to lock it. 

“Yeah, this room is a lot more, I guess, bright?” Jungkook said, not knowing what to say.  He wanted to say that this was the only room in  the house that didn’t look insidious or scary. You walked closer to him, placing your hand on his back. He recoiled slightly but relaxed when he turns to face you. 

“It’s okay to admit that you’re scared. I wouldn’t judge. Not at all. My first three months in this house, it was hell. I’d stay awake all night and wait ‘til broad daylight to get some sleep. But you get used to it, you know,” you shrug Hearing that gave Jungkook a small sense of comfort.

“Why don’t you sit?” You said as you guided him to your bed, and Jungkook nodded, kicking his shoes off and sitting on your bed, wincing slightly when his wounded knee grazed your mattress. 

“You okay?” You said, approaching him and standing in between his legs. Jungkook nodded, smiling at you. 

Jungkook didn’t know what exactly it was, but there was something magnetic, practically hypnotic, about you. He first felt it when you touched his back when he fell, and it never went away. You were drawing him in, and for some reason, Jungkook felt at ease. It wasn’t like you had wings, devil horns, or fangs. You were just a person…with a strange job. 

“I’m just going to change into something more comfortable, but why don’t you make yourself at home?” You suggested, and Jungkook nodded as he settled further into your bed, allowing the soft sheets to caress his skin. 

Jungkook fished out his phone to message Jimin and update him. He did breathe out a sigh of relief when he saw that his phone hadn’t mysteriously died upon setting foot into the house. That would usually happen in all horror movies. 

Jungkook shot Jimin a text with his location, replied to a few other messages, and sent Jimin a selfie and a quick note about how you helped him out. Jimin replied, ‘use protection,’ making him chuckle as he placed his phone on your bedside table.

When you emerge from the bathroom, Jungkook nearly chokes at the sight of you. 

“Y-you’re glowing…you know that?” Jungkook stutters, and you smile at him. 

“What?” You asked, laughing as you climbed into the bed sitting inches away from Jungkook. 

“You have this glow around you. Literally, like an angel, a halo if you will,” Jungkook said, and you rolled your eyes at him. 

“I’m guessing that yo’re single? Your pickup game is pretty weak,” you teased, and Jungkook pouted at you. 

“Hey!” He scoffed.

“It’s true, I am single, but that wasn’t a pickup line! I was merely stating a fact,” he said, and you smiled, inching closer to him. 

Jungkook was painfully aware of the fact that your version of changing was simply removing your hoodie, leaving you in your tight tank top and leggings that hugged every inch of your legs. You weren’t wearing a bra, he could tell. 

He tried to be a gentleman, but he was only human. Your hardened nipples were poking through your shirt, and Jungkook wanted to latch his lip around them while his hand played with the other. 

“Then tell me…what is your game like?” You asked, your voice low, and he smiled at you. 

“I don’t talk a lot. I prefer to show,” he said, staring directly at you, making you smile at him. 

“Show?” You cocked an eyebrow, playing along with him. 

“I can demonstrate…if you like?” Jungkook asked, and you nodded. 

“May I?” He asked, and you nodded, yelping slightly as Jungkook wrapped his arm around you and pulled you onto his lap. “You’re so cold,” he said as he wrapped his arm around your waist, his fingers moving to inch up your tank top slightly and settling on your skin. 

“I guess you’ll have to warm me up?” You said, making him smirk. 

“And here you are saying my pull game is weak?” Jungkook teased, earning a playful frown from you, and laughed. 

“Fuck, Y/N! If I start, I don’t think I’ll be able to stop,” Jungkook said, and you smiled at him. 

“Then don’t stop,” you whispered, and Jungkook groaned as you moved to place a soft kiss on his neck. 

“Fuck- shouldn’t I at least take you out on a date or something first?” He asked, and you smiled, sitting on his lap. 

“You wanted to pay me back for fixing up your knee? This can be it,” you said, and Jungkook grinned. 

“Fuck, I came here with the intent of taking a selfie with a ghost,” Jungkook joked as he pulled you in closer, and you laughed. 

“Well, just say you fucked one,” you joked as he laughed along with you. 

“Come here, let me show you how grateful I am,” Jungkook said as he pulled you in for a kiss, and you moaned, immediately kissing him back with his lips gently massaging yours. He moved away when he felt you tug at his shirt and lifted his arms, allowing you to take off his top. 

“So good,” you mewled as you took in his body. His abs seemed to trail down endlessly. Jungkook smirked before pulling you back in for a kiss, this one more desperate, making you moan. He took it as an opportunity to slip his tongue into your mouth, deepening the kiss. 

His hands moved to the hem of your tank top, and he yanked it,off your body, exposing your breasts to him.

“Fucking hell, your tits are amazing,” Jungkook moaned in approval as he wrapped his lips around your hardened nipple, while his other hand massaged your other breast. 

“May I?” he asked, as his hand slithered down to your cunt.

“Fuck- Jungkook, please,” you begged, and he shamelessly smirked at your state. He pushed you off his lap and onto the bed, laying you on your back. Jungkook’s hands went to your leggings and pulled them off along with your panties, groaning and moaning when he felt how wet you were. 

“Fuck, all this for me?” Jungkook asked, making you sigh in pleasure. His hands trailed up your thigh and stopped, spreading your legs apart further, laying down between them. You could feel his breath on your cunt, and it didn’t help that he gently blew on your cunt, making you buck your pussy into his face. 

Jungkook gripped your thighs tighter and pulled you close, his nose hitting your clit making you moan at the touch. 

He moved his mouth to wrap around your cunt, sliding his tongue up and down your folds. He was listening to your moans, waiting to see when his tongue would meet the spot that would have you cumming. Your thighs started thrashing in his grip, and he figured that he found the perfect place.

 He moved and wrapped his lips around your clit, his tongue jutting out and harshly flicking at your clit. Your hands went to his hair, knotting themselves in his soft curls. Jungkook slipped two fingers into your cunt, moved them in and out of you making your walls tighten at the onslaught. 

“Fuck- Jungkook! So good,” you breathed out. Jungkook hummed into your pussy, the vibrations making you clench even tighter. He enjoyed the praise, always eager to please. He kept moving his mouth, sucking and flicking your clit, while his tattooed fingers continued to pump in and out of your pussy. 

You felt something snap, and you pulled at Jungkook’s hair. You fell apart on his tongue and fingers. He wasted no time lapping up your release. 

It was almost inhuman how quickly you undid Jungkook’s trousers and shrugged them off. Within seconds your lips were wrapped around his cock. 

Jungkook was thick, and your hands wrapped around the remainder of his length as you took him and started to suck him. He let out a sound that sounded like a mix between a low growl and a strangled whimper as you continued to suck him. 

You grazed your nails along his thighs and he let out a shaky breath, bucking his length into your throat, making you gag slightly. You hollow your cheeks and bobbed your neck up and down his length, sucking and licking until you felt him still, releasing in your mouth. 

Jungkook couldn’t get enough of you. His eyes drank you in; his mouth was desperate to taste you again. He approached you and lifted your legs, placing them on his shoulder, his mouth immediately finding your cunt. 

Jungkook dove straight in, his thick tongue flicking against your swollen clit. Your hands made their way into his hair. He pushed in three fingers this time and it didn’t take much before you came on his tongue. Jungkook lapped at your release while you whimpered in oversensitivity. 

“Let me kiss it better?” Jungkook offered.

You rolled your eyes at him, “Just fucking do something.”

Jungkook smirked as he dove straight in. Again. He started by running his tongue along your folds, moaning at the taste. He gently grazed his teeth against your clit, making you buck your face against his mouth. He wrapped his lips around your clit and sucked while his tongue constantly ran over your swollen clit. 

“More,” you begged as your head fell back into the bed. Jungkook complied and slipped three fingers inside you as you moaned at the stretch. 

Jungkook moved his three fingers against the inside of your pussy and kept hitting against the rough patch of the skin. His tongue kept running over your clit while his three fingers thrust in and out of you at a fast pace. 

“Fuck! Jungkook, I want to cum,” you whimpered as he kept fingering and licking you. Jungkook moved his fingers faster, and you felt your orgasm wash over you, your thighs threatening to snap shut around Jungkook’s head. 

“Mm?” He looked up and smirked when he saw how fucked out you looked. Jungkook helped you ride out your orgasm with his fingers and tongue, and you were practically mewling as you tugged on his hair. He loved knowing that he could do that with just his tongue.

Jungkook rubbed his cock against your wet folds several times and then pushed in. “Fuck,” you hissed. “Fuck you’re tight,” Jungkook groaned. 

You hissed as the stretch was quite intense after three orgasms, but he felt so good. “Move,” you whispered, and that’s all it took for Jungkook to lift your legs and place them on his shoulders, allowing him to hit deeper inside you. 

His thrusts were rough, and each time he would withdraw only to push back harder and deeper.

Jungkook’s thrusts started to get more uneven as he closed in on his orgasm. He reached down and rubbed at your swollen clit, making you cum around his cock. Not long after, he came inside you, making you moan at the feeling of him pulsing and spurting into you. 

He removed your legs from his shoulder and moved down your body. Jungkook’s mouth found your cunt, as he licked his cum out of you, making you orgasm yet again. You whimpered, tugging at his hair and pulling him up to hold you.

You came around his tongue whimpering in pleasure, but Jungkook wasn’t done. He got off his knees and pulled you into his arms. Your back was pressed against his chest, and he spread your legs wide open as he trailed two fingers down to your cunt. 

He slipped his fingers into your cunt and started pumping. Jungkook wasted no time. He had one goal: to make you cum as many times as humanly possible. 

“Fuck,” you whined as you grabbed his tattooed arm. Jungkook moaned as he sucked on your neck. You felt your vision fade as you came hard and practically snapped your legs shut and curled into Jungkook’s embrace. 

“Fuck, that was-” you stopped speaking when you saw you had squirted all over his hands. “That was fucking hot,” Jungkook said as he pulled you closer to him. 

“Happy Halloween, I guess?” Jungkook said, laughing, making you smile as he pulled you into his arms. “Fuck- so good,” you said, curling into his chest and placing soft kisses on them. 

Jungkook found your kisses intoxicating. They were making him dizzy, but maybe that was just a testament to how good your kisses were. You smirked triumphantly when you noticed that he, like many, fell into a deep sleep when you pulled your lips away from him.

And he would stay that way for a while. 

“This fucking moron,” Jimin cursed as he got out of his car. It had been a day since Jungkook left on his stupid adventure. He hadn’t called or returned home since telling Jimin that he was with a female who kept him occupied.

The fact remained, he willingly entered an alleged haunted house. Anything could have happened to him…

Jimin stepped out of his car and glanced at the manor suspiciously. Why would anyone in their right mind ever venture into this house that was beyond eerie and looked like it was straight out of the multiple horror movies Jungkook frequently watched. 

The thick fog made it hard to see, but he swore that the ground he was walking on was smooth until he tripped. While Jimin was prone to falling off most objects, the ground was even, so why did he stumble and graze his knee, and why did it almost feel like he was pushed? He looked around but saw no one. 

Jimin shook his head, cursing when he saw his knee bleeding. He hissed in pain as he got up on his feet, only to jump in fear when he felt a hand on his back. 

“Hi,” a small voice spoke from behind him, the voice filling the silence of the forest, and Jimin swore his heart nearly stopped. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea, and perhaps he could go on with the rest of his life without wondering if Jungkook was fucked and killed by a demon. 

“Fuck!” Jimin yelled, panting hard as he placed his hand over his chest to steady his erratic heartbeat. 

“Jesus, who are you?” Jimin asked you. There was something about you, he thought. Something ethereal and angelic. It was almost as if you were glowing. However, he didn’t dwell on it for too long. It was a forest, and it was foggy. It could have just been his eyes. 

“Y/N,” you said, and Jimin nodded slowly.

“Are you following me or something? Who else would come to the Hill Manor?” Jungkook asked, staring at you, and you let out a soft laugh that Jimin could have sworn sounded like music, like a choir of angels singing. But there was a hint of something more sinister in your laughter. Again, Jimin didn’t dwell on it for too long. After all, ghosts didn’t exist for him. 

“I manage the Hill Manor, so I feel like I should be asking you what you’re doing here. Anyway, what’s your name?” You asked, and Jimin smiled, replying. 

“Jimin.” 

You smiled, blushing. 

“You must be Jungkook’s friend. Jungkook described you so well and spoke about you nonstop,” you lied. 

“He’s- uh, recovering. Why don’t you come in, and I’ll get you a band-aid for your knee?” You suggested continuing your lie, and Jimin nodded. 

You seemed harmless, and you smirked as Jimin followed you into the manor. You did the same thing with Jimin, flirted, fixed his grazed knee, and planted a soft kiss on his cheek, saying how good of a friend he was, and that was enough. 

If a man kissed you, they’d be fine. But if you initiated the kiss on any part of their body, that was when they would fall under your spell, enraptured, bound, and kept. 

The first step was to establish some physical contact, and you did that by pushing the men down the minute they stepped towards the manor. 

Then you would appear. Act as a regular Florence Nightingale and try to heal their wounds, and then, once you are done, you would make them fall deeper with each touch. 

And with every touch, the poor souls would forget why they were ever in the manor to begin with. 

All they’d know is that they wanted to spend their time in the manor ravaging you, and you would let them, gladly. 

And when you were done with that, you would kiss them. A final kiss, a kiss which had the magic to put them to sleep as you moved them into another room. 

A room where all your lovers and conquests would stay, be well fed and taken care of. But they could never leave, and if they tried, then you shuddered to think what would happen. You hated to ever kill one of those handsome, gullible men. 

Which is precisely what you thought when you moved Jimin to his private room. He could never leave, but only you could enter. There were seven rooms in the house for this purpose, and you would take your sweet time filling them. 

It made you laugh at times. All the signs were there, the old whiskey, the portrait that had your face on it. 

It was your manor. You ruled it and haunted it. 

You were left heartbroken by a man once—well, several centuries ago. But with the perks of being an immortal and a succubus, you decided that you would get rid of the wings, and the tail, and adopt a more modern look and lure men in. 

No man was ever going to leave you, you’d ensure it. You smirked as you locked Jimin’s door and checked in on Jungkook as he was still sound asleep. You knew he had five other friends, and one by one, you will capture them all and keep them. 

Had they been wise, they would have paid attention to the rumours because, indeed, there was no way to leave once you entered this house. They were all yours. 

“All mine,” you said, caressing Jungkook’s soft face as you closed his door and took his phone to message his friend Taehyung. And once he texted that he was once his way, all you had to do was quietly wait by the forest, trip him up, and you’d have another one. 

In the end, you could say, “Finally, they’re all mine.”

#jungkook #jungkook x yn #jungkook x you #jungkook oneshot #jungkook fanfic #jungkook smut #jungkook angst #indigo writes #mine: jjk fic #jungkook imagine #bts fanfic #bts smut #btscarnivalnet #bts fanfction #bts imagines #bts one shot #nightmaresofmysticmanor

[betaappreciation]

Hi Fellow Moonies!!

This year, Monday February 28th is our annual Beta Appreciation Day!!

For anyone who may not know, Betas are magical and work so, so, so hard behind the scenes to help us bring our stories to life. They stay up with us, support us, give us positive feedback on what we write, and help us polish it further, help us with our confidence, provide a shoulder to cry on when we hit a brick wall, help us get around that wall, and so much more. Betas deserve so much love and appreciation for everything they do for us, and we would be lost without them. 

tl;dr - Betas are the best cheerleaders and deserve all the love and support. Please join me and the rest of the Sailor Moon fandom on February 28th in showering our Betas with our love and appreciation. This isn’t just limited to someone betaing fanfics. You can show your appreciation for anyone that helped you with your creative process for fanart or something else. If you have a beta (or just read a lot of fic that has been beta’d), take this opportunity to tell a beta how much you appreciate them and all that they do for our fandom!! 

So, how can we shower Betas with love and appreciation? How you want to show your appreciation is up to you! But if you wanted some ideas, here are a few suggestions:

🌙  Write them a personalized review/tumblr post* on why we appreciate them, and focus on things like:

Good at catching typos

Good at sentence structure

Good at pushing our imagination and creativity

Good at telling us where we can explain the plot better, etc while letting our work shine

Good at leaving positive comments that motivate you or catch how you have improved

*To protect personal information, please avoid including screenshots of comments. If you do choose to include screenshots, please strike out their legal name.

🌙 Create something for them with plot/characters they like:

Write them a short fic tailored to their preferences

Draw them fanart tailored to them

🌙 Drop an ask in their ask box on Tumblr (signed or anonymous) thanking them for all they do

You can do one or the other or all of the above! Whatever feels comfortable for you and shows love is perfect 🥳 🥳 🥳

Please tag me so that I may compile everyone’s posts into one giant post so that everyone can see all the Betas that helped shape our fandom. Tumblr is finicky, and if for some reason, you cannot tag me, please send me a message with your post and I will make sure it gets included! 

In the spirit of Sailor Moon: Please be kind to one another! This event is to celebrate creativity and boost positivity within our fandom!

And have fun! I can’t wait to see what you create for your Betas!! PS: If you’re a content creator for another fandom, feel free to participate too or to plan your own Beta Appreciation Day!!

#beta appreciation day #beta appreciation day 2022 #beta appreciation #mark your calendars #hug a beta #except not really because COVID

[gloomybabygirl]

{in my head pt.2} Poe Dameron x smuggler!reader (soulmate au)

series masterlist 

last part  *  next part

a/n: hi everyone! I can’t thank you enough for all the love on the first part of the series!! I was actually super nervous to post it and had my friends beta read it an unhealthy amount of times, so the feedback I’ve gotten has been wonderful :) p.s. the series tag list is open, send an ask or message if you want to be tagged for the rest!

warnings: alcohol consumption, soulmate trope, poe not clearing his throat, cliffhanger, I haven’t proofread this yet 

timeline: I never established this so here we go! this is set between force awakens and last Jedi! so we’re still on D’Qar ladies, gents, and nb friends. however Miss Rey has not yet traveled to see Uncle Luke 

word count: 4k oops

songs used: mr. loverman - Ricky Montgomery & the chain - Fleetwood Mac (kinda? I just listened there's no singing in this part lol)

summary: you and Poe spend some time bonding, you go on your first mission 

You loved being apart of the Resistance. Waking up on D’Qar every morning was a blessing in your eyes. You had a purpose here. You’d never stayed on one planet for so long. Being on the run was your norm for the majority of your life. It was too dangerous for you to stay on one planet for too long (or stay in one region for that matter). The humid Jungle was the closest thing you’d had to a permanent home since you were a child. 

That is, D’Qar was the closet thing to a physical home you’d had in years. There was one person that had no trouble making you feel at home. You could be stuck in carbonite on a bounty hunters ship and hearing your soulmate’s voice wold make you feel safe. His sweet song felt like coming home to the warm embrace of a lover. 

But you hadn’t heard it in weeks. And it was starting to worry you. There had always been that nagging voice in the back of your mind telling you that he’d found someone else. But now that voice was trying to convince you of something much worse. You don’t know what you’d do if you’d spent all this time waiting for your person only to find out that something awful had happened to him. 

You’d rather find out he already belonged to someone else. 

You did your best to push the dark thoughts away, locking them in a box in the back of your mind. You couldn’t let yourself linger on the idea of him being dead or it would drive you insane. 

There were three people that did a magnificent job of keeping your mind off of all the negative thoughts. On days when it felt like the weight of the war was resting solely on your shoulders, your friends were the ones who could help you bear it. They were always there for a joke or a long talk, if that's what you needed. Of course you were there for them as well. It was the first time you’d allowed yourself to have people in your life that could rely on you. 

Days like today were your favorite. The weather was finally starting to cool down on the swampy planet, making the outside air somewhat tolerable. Everyone you loved was on base, safe and accounted for after a successful mission. Every time one of them left the base you felt as though you were holding your breath until they came back. But now, in Poe's small quarters with Rey and Finn, you felt the air return to your grateful lungs. Poe had devised a plan to hit up Maz’s on the way back from the mission and snagged a few bottles of jet juice, which you and the rest of the gang were all happily draining  in his quarters. The alcohol was just beginning to burn in your stomach and your head was the slightest bit fuzzy. You took your time soaking in the scene of your found family spread out on the cold permacrete of Poe’s room. 

Finn’s boisterous laugh rang out as his best friend finished telling every one about his adventure and a half to get the jet juice. Finn was especially fond of the tangy, red alcohol and was on drink number four down the hatch.

“Only you, Dameron,” Rey laughed to herself, gently taking the half full bottle out of Finn’s hands. His face of protest caused another round of laughter to erupt around the small room. He looked like a child that was denied a sweet by their parent. 

Finn fell back against the permacrete, his head making an awful hollow sound as it hit the ground. He didn't seem to feel it and decided the floor was his new best friend for the night. Rey got up from her position against the wall and began to pick up the empty bottles scattered around the room. 

“Looks like the jet juice served it’s purpose,” you commented, nudging Poe in the side with your elbow. Finn was now curling into the fetal position, trying to use a rug as a blanket. 

You had your legs resting over Poe’s strong thighs. He patted the side of your leg where his hand had been resting, carefully moving your legs off of him. “I better help him back to his room. Someone has to make sure he doesn’t end up running naked through the tarmac trying to fly an X-Wing,” Poe said. 

“I’d should head back to my quarters too,” you stood up to put your boots on, but Poe stopped you. 

“Actually, do you think you could wait here till I get back? I have something I want to give you,” Poe winked at you, helping Rey tug their friend to his feet.

You couldn't help the way your heart sped up at his words. And you definitely didn't miss the eyebrow raise Rey shot you from the door. 

“Yeah, I’ll just hang with BB-8 till you get back.” 

A low voice bellowed out from the door, “OOOOH HE GOT YOU A PRESENT! How romantic,” Finn was apparently trying to wake up the entire base with the way his voice was booming off the walls. You were sure he hadn't meant for that to come out so loud. Or to come out at all. 

Everyone went silent. You and Poe pointedly looked away from each other. His cheeks flamed red. You pretended to be preoccupied with the frayed laces on your Resistance issued boots. 

Rey looked between the two of you and then broke the awkward silence with: “Aaanyway, let’s get you to bed Peanut!” She sounded too cheerful, trying to reduce the awkward energy that hung in the room. Being force sensitive you could only imagine how she was perceiving the situation. She and Poe hauled their inebriated friend out into the hall, desperately trying to shush him as he was now singing. You hoped his poor soulmate wasn't trying to sleep. 

_ 

Finn clapped Poe on the back hard when they finally got into the drunk man’s room. Rey had helped Poe get Finn to his quarters but had dipped when Finn requested to be helped into his pajamas. They were close, but not ‘undressing one another’ close. Poe was itching to get back to his room and see you again, but he helped his buddy none the less. 

Finn was finally laying in bed when Poe turned to leave. 

“Are you okay?” 

Poe hesitated, then turned on his heel. “Yeah?” he furrowed his brow at the unexpected question, “Why?” 

“You haven’t been singing.” Finn was suddenly serious. 

Poe’s face softened when he realized what Finn was so concerned about. 

And he was right, Poe hadn’t been singing. It wasn't hard to miss, everyone on base noticed. The man who used to use every spare moment to sing to his soulmate had gone quiet. People actually missed hearing his voice all the time. Echoing through the halls of the base or out on the tarmac mixing with the whine of X-Wings taking off and landing. Finn wasn’t the only person worried about Black Leader. Leia had even mentioned something to her surrogate son a few days back. She enjoyed his singing more than anyone. She said it was a sparkle of hope during a dark time.

But the truth was, Poe didn't feel like singing. Guilt was the main thing keeping him from inflicting his voice on people whenever he could. How could he sing to his soulmate when he was fighting off feelings for someone else? He was doing everything in his power to stop you from being at the forefront of his mind all the time, but it was hard when your smile was his favorite thing to occupy his mind with. 

“I miss my lover, man.” 

He did. He missed his soulmate, whoever they were. He missed randomly hearing their soft voice humming through his mind. He missed the way he felt when he would sing to them. It was the closest thing he had to actually being with them, talking to them. He missed that he used to long for them. Lately that unconditional, blind love was being clouded by someone else. You. 

_ 

“Tell me more stories about your Dad.” You were sitting cross-legged on the floor across from where BB-8 was nestled in his charging station. He had been beeping and booping at you for the last half and hour as you waited for his father to return. 

The droid animatedly jumped into another anecdote about a recent mission he had gone on with his favorite person. He rattled around in his charging station, whirling his head around and beeping rapidly at you. 

“He did what?!” you asked the little orange droid as the blast doors flew open, revealing the man in question. You turned to face Poe, mouth still agape at the droids admission to you.

“Who did what?” Poe asked confused, walking into the room. The droid then decided he was done charging and rolled over to Poe for scritches. Poe kneeled down and gave his favorite little guy some love, looking at you for an answer. He laughed at the way you had your arms crossed and were giving him the same look Leia gave him when she found out he’d gotten into a dog fight.

BB-8 beeped adamantly at him. 

“Maker, Beebs, you told her about that?” He glanced nervously at you, only to find you were now trying to suppress a laugh. He was soothed by that damned smile that was burned into his mind. 

“Unfortunately for you, I can understand BB’s binary perfectly. Now I know why you have to work on your ship so often,” you teased. “You’re not exactly tender with her.” You were trying to keep up your facade of being angry with him for being reckless. You were failing, your smirk giving you away. 

Why did the fact that you understood BB-8 give him heart palpitations? His droid was absolutely going to get him into trouble with you one day. Apparently he can’t be expected to keep secrets. 

Poe ignored your jab and  walked over to sit behind you. 

“Close your eyes,” he demanded softly. 

“No, I don’t trust you. What kind of weird creature are you about to put on me?” you asked, twisting your torso to see him. 

He cocked his head at you, “Would you just have a little faith in me? I have something special for you.” He laughed. You narrowed your eyes at him but closed you eyes and turned around anyway, your smile growing bigger every second.

“Besides, if I was going to put a creature on you, I’d do it on front of more people,” he taunted. 

You laughed humorlessly at him, “Always the attention whore.” You heard him playfully shush you. 

Poe took a deep breath, silently grateful that you couldn't see the way his hands were trembling. He reached up and removed the silver chain from around his neck for the first time in years. He then carefully slipped it over your head and watched from over your shoulder as his mothers ring came to rest at your sternum. 

Deep breath. “Open.” 

You immediately turned toward him, a look of shock on your face.

“Poe what is this?” you asked, alarmed by the ring resting delicately on your collar bone. 

Poe's warm eyes held so much softness in them, you thought you would bust into tears right then. You turned to face him fully, confused as to why he just put this piece of jewelry around your neck. 

“A good luck charm,” he whispered, admiring the way it looked on you. 

“Is this the chain you wear every day?”

He nodded, still giving you that look that made you feel like the only person in the universe. 

“Then what's this ring?” The bottom of the silver chain was always dipped below his collar, if the ring had always been there, you’d never seen it. 

“It was my mother’s wedding ring. I wear it every day, take it on every mission, even sleep with it on. One day I’ll give it to my soulmate when I ask them to marry me, but for now it serves as a good luck charm for me,” He explained with a sad edge to his voice. 

You had become close with Poe Dameron in the last few months. While a large portion of that time was spent with Finn and Rey, you also had spent a few late nights just the two of you. He had a knack for making you laugh and you would often stay in his quarters long after the others had retired. Deeper conversations were far and few between, the two of you preferring to spend your time together in a fit of hysterics. It was strange to see this man so serious. There was no twinkle of mischief in his eyes tonight. 

You suddenly felt suffocated by him. His face was a mere few inches away from yours and you could feel his cool breath fanning across your face. His large hands rested on your knees, giving you a light squeeze and snapping you out of your haze.

“Poe are you sure you want to give this to me? I can't imagine how important it must be to you.” You reached up and stroked the smooth metal. 

“It’s the most important thing in the word to me. But I want you to have it for your first mission. Since I’m not going with you to help you when you accidentally shoot yourself in the foot, I want you to have a piece of me there with you. And what better to give you than my good luck charm?”

You felt your tears spill over, streaking hot and wet down your face at the sincerity in his voice. You couldn't believe he wanted you to have this piece of him with you. He was becoming one of the most important people in your life, and him sharing something so special with you meant the world. 

You were going down a slippery slope. If you weren't careful, you could fall in love with this man so easily.

“Poe, thank you. I don't know what to say,” you reached forward, pulling him into a tight hug. You nuzzled into his neck, letting the scent of leather and engine oil envelop you. He reached one arm securely around your waist and brought the other up to gently cup the back of your head. He took a deep breath in without meaning to, overwhelming his senses with you. He didn't want to pull away and had to hide his disappointment when you did. You kept your hands on his shoulders, squeezing slightly. 

“I promise I’ll bring it back safely so you can give it to your soulmate one day.”

_

The next few days were a whirl wind of meetings, briefings, more meetings, caf breaks, and did you mention meetings? You spent more time in the command room with your team than you did anywhere else. You forgot life existed outside the confines of the dirt walls.

But you were ecstatic that Leia trusted you with such an important mission so soon after joining the Resistance. Plus you couldn’t be more grateful for the people that were joining you for this mission. 

Finn was excellent for morale and a very smart man when he needed to be, unless of course he had jet juice in his system. Miss. Force-User Rey was always a good person to have on a mission. You brought a sense of craftiness to the crew, thanks to your smuggler skills. And Chewbacca was the only one (besides Poe) that Leia trusted to pilot the Falcon. Plus, he had a soft spot for smugglers, making you a new favorite of his. 

The one person you wished you could add to this team was Poe. His pilot skills would have been a great help to Chewie, he was talented with a blaster, and he was easy on the eyes. But he had a more important solo mission with BB-8 that Leia needed him on. He didn't make himself completely scarce though. He often came in and out of the Command Center, having his own mission to plan with Admiral Akbar. He made a point of bringing you caf every time too, he knew exactly how you liked it. 

You were terrified for your first mission as it was, but not having Poe there made everything ten times more dangerous in your eyes. 

The ring he had let you borrow was becoming a source of comfort. Whenever you got anxious about the mission you found yourself fiddling with it. The smooth metal was slightly worn in one spot on the band and you ran your fingers over it repeatedly to calm yourself. Something you caught yourself doing unconsciously on a number of occasions. 

The plan was simple. The Resistance had gotten word of an ex First Order official on the planet Ryloth, less than a parsec away from Tatooine. You and the rest of the crew were to go there and see what information the old Commander could offer you. Simple. But that didn’t stop you from needing to cover all your bases. Every single thing that could have possibly gone wrong had an escape plan to coincide. You were as prepared as you could be.

Your favorite part of the plan was your mode of transportation. As an ex-smuggler, you’d admired the Millennium Falcon and it's pilot for years. You’d heard every story surrounding Han Solo and his old piece of junk. Seeing it in person, let alone flying on it was something you’d never thought would be possible. But here you were, boarding the infamous ship. 

Finn and Rey brushed passed you, Rey laughing at the look of awe on your face as you were frozen in the doorway, the ramp hitting you on the ass as it closed.

You took your time walking around the hull of the Falcon. Taking a moment just to think about the adventures she’d been on, the places she’d seen. You laughed fondly to yourself as you remembered your favorite story. You reached out and placed a hand tentatively on the wall of the old ship. “So this is the ship that made the Kessel Run in fourteen parsecs?” you called out to your friends.

“Twelve,” Finn and Rey chorused from the cockpit, mixed with the indignant cry of your favorite Wookie. 

“Okay, twelve! Sorry, sorry,” you laughed and joined your friends in the cockpit. 

_ 

Poe was exhilarated every time he was in the air. There was nothing in the world that gave him the same feeling. This man was more comfortable in a cockpit than he was on his own two feet. If it were up to him, he’d never come down. 

But there was someone pulling him back to solid ground, like a magnet. Someone he couldn’t stop thinking about no matter how badly he wanted to exile them from his mind. He couldn't ignore your gravitational pull. He hadn't seen you in several days, you having returned from your mission two days prior. His mission was a success and he couldn't wait to tell you all about it. Leaving out the dangerous details that BB-8 was sure to fill you in on later. 

He was nervous to hear about how your mission went. It was a simple enough task, but he couldn't help but worry about you. He hoped his good luck charm was as comforting to you as it had been to him these last few years. He felt naked without it, this having been the first mission he hadn't taken it on. He found himself reaching up to stroke his finger across the band of the ring he had worn in from playing with it when he got nervous, but then remembering he'd given it to you. The idea that you were wearing a piece of him around the base made his heart leap in his chest. 

He was practically giddy when he leaped down from his X-Wing, already rushing to find you. 

Cool it Dameron, you have a soulmate waiting for you. 

Plus, he had to see the General before anything. Was he so clouded by his need to see you that he forgot he was fighting a war? 

A twinge of guilt hit him hard in the stomach, forcing him to take a deep breath and remind himself of the person looking for him somewhere in the universe. He let his feet take him down the familiar dirt path to the Command Center. The soft, damp earth caused his flight boots to sink slightly with each step.

He flooded his mind with images of what his future could be like with the person the galaxy had chosen for him. A small home on Yavin IV. Children he could teach how to fly the same way his mother taught him. A safe, quiet life with no threat of the First Order. No threats at all. He stored these images in the back of his mind for when he needed a glimmer of hope during the war. But lately he was using these daydreams as distractions from you. 

He stepped into he large room where Leia was addressing General Akbar and a few other pilots that had also just returned from a mission. 

When she caught sight of Poe her forehead created in confusion and she abruptly dismissed the debrief she was in the middle of with a wave of her hand. As they shuffled out of the room, several of them shot Poe sympathetic looks. 

What the hell was going on? 

“Commander Dameron, what are you doing here?” The General asked, walking over to him.

He hesitated, unsure as to why she was asking a question with an obvious answer, “I just landed from my mission, General. I’m here to debrief.” 

Leia dropped the General persona and gently caressed the pilots face, running her thumb over the stubble she resented.

She had always been like a second mother to Poe, and he like a second son to her. Their relationship was something special and unique. Something she thanked the Force every day for. However, her unexpected shift from serious Resistance leader to caring mother made Poe nervous. 

“I thought Finn or Rey would have been waiting on the tarmac to tell you.” 

Now he was starting to panic. What was he missing? What happened? 

“Come with me,” Leia softly implored, grabbing his calloused hand and yanking him out of the room. She tried to flood him with calm though the force connection she made with him, but his anxiety was too overbearing.

She continued explaining as she pulled him through the base, “The mission went south. There was no ex Order Commander on Ryloth. It was a set up. When they landed, there was a fleet of ‘Troopers waiting for them, ready to capture them and bring them back to the Finalizer for my son to interrogate.” She tried to keep her voice even for Poe's sake.

Poe was really panicking now, starting to pick up his speed. He squeezed Leia’s hand, begging her to continue. 

“They got out relatively unscathed. Chewie stayed on the Falcon so they were able to get away quickly. But Poe,” she stopped in her tracks, jerking Poe back to a halt. She looked him in the eyes, worried for what his reaction to her news would be. 

“Poe, the new recruit was badly hurt. They were shot in the side with a blaster and lost a lot of blood. They’ve been in the medbey unconscious for two days, but they’ll be okay,” she finished. 

Poe wordlessly turned and broke out into a run towards the medbay. Leia watched him go, knowing he needed to see you more than anything in that moment. She had felt a connection between you and Poe. She knew he wanted to wait for his soulmate, but she also knew that finding them was not likely. Part of her wished he would give in and let himself fall in love with you. Soulmate or not, she wanted him to be happy. 

#poe x reader #poe dameron imagine #poe dameron fic #poe dameron one shot #poe dameron x reader #star wars imagine #in my head

[inceptionbigbang]

It’s official folks: the Inception Big Bang 2020 is only a couple weeks away! Follow this blog to receive the latest news and keep an eye out for the sign-up post on April 26th.

First things first, what’s a Big Bang? A Big Bang is a fandom event where authors submit fic summaries / outlines / drafts and artists claim them and produce accompanying artwork. Here’s the link to the fanlore page, if you want to take a look.

If you’re signing up for the Inception Big Bang, welcome! Glad to have you on board. Here are the rules as well as some frequently asked questions. Anything else you want to know drop us a message!

If you were a part of the Inception Big Bang 2019, we recommend reading again or checking out our updates post. It has all of the changes that we’re making this time around.

For writers:

1. All ships are welcome!

2. Minimum of 1,500 words.

We love super short fics too, we promise. But we want to give our artists more to work with.

3. Fic needs to be created for the big bang.

No reposting of old works.

4. Works are secret until revel date.

So no posting excerpts online! Let’s keep up the surprise. Only share your writing with your artist and with a beta, if you want to have one.

5. Keep your artist updated.

It’s a collaboarative event! Remember to give your artist information about your fic, so they have material to work with.

Can it be a crossover?

Sure!

Can it be a continuation of an old work?

Why not?

Can it be OT3 / kink / crack?

Sure! Just keep in mind that the more specific your work is, the harder it may be for one of our artists to connect with it. This is true for anything you may come up with, crossovers, PWPs, squirmish themes, you name it. We encourage creativity! Go wild. But use the appropriate tags when you send us your summary and consider being flexible if our artists are having a hard time with that one.

My fic is 1,487 words and a half!! Is it okay?

Sure. Minimum word count is just a guideline to give our artists something to work with.

How much do I need to write before I sign up?

Just a summary works, don’t worry. The complete fic deadline is the end of July, some way to go. But the more you give our artists the better. You’ve got an outline? One specific scene written? Send them our way. What you send us is what we will put up for grabs for the artists, so make it easy to understand your story!

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For artists:

1. Art needs to be created for the Big Bang.

No reposting of an old work.

2. Works are secret until reveal day.

So no posting drafts online! Let’s keep up the surprise.

3. One or two fics per artist.

The first round of fic claims is a ‘one fic per artist’ round, but we also have a second round! You guys are super welcome to claim fics on both. Just consider the time you can spare (don’t strain yourself!) and keep me updated. If you would like to claim more than that message me @ dreaminghigher. Consider signing up for pinch hitter!

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#inception big bang #inception big bang 2020 #inceptiversary #inception

[axwalker]

The Trade 11

Synopsis:  Liam is running for Cordonia’s presidency. To assure his victory, Constantine makes an arraignment behind his back for him to marry the rich ambassador’s daughter: Alexis O’Brien. Due to her father’s threats, she has no other option than to seduce Liam Rhys. But what happens when she falls in love with his best friend? (AU)

Pairings: DrakexMC

Warnings: I love drama and chaos so this will probably get a bit dark. In this chapter there is mention of rape, if you get triggered by this issue, don’t hesitate to send me a message and I’ll be glad to explain what happens without reading it.  A lot of angst and heartbreak

Please note that this is my first series and English is not my first language. I really love ALL kinds of feedback.  Don’t hesitate to comment!

Disclaimer: Some of the dialogues and settings as well as most of the characters belong to Pixelberry (except for Alexis O’Brien and her evil father George O’Brien JR).

To catch up: MASTERLIST 

@pedudley​ thanks for being my incredible beta reader, your comments always make me smile !! !   @mskaneko Thank you so much for this new mood-board, I LOVE it, it’s just perfect

Love you girls ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

I'm tagging those who asked, if you want to be added to the list, just ask :)

@drxkewalker​ @pedudley​ @pug-bitch​ @burnsoslow​ @lauzales​ @desireepow-1986​ @fromthedeskofpaisleybleakmore​ @yukinagato2012​ @kingliam2019​ @i-bloody-love-drake-walker​ @debramcg1106​ @mskaneko​

After their kiss at the Beaumont’s study, Alexis was rattled, she couldn’t allow herself to succumb to Drake anymore. Still feeling his lips on her, she decided to take a shower and try to get him out of her mind. She went into the bathroom and began undressing when a loud noise from the bedroom got her attention. She came back into the room and gasped when she saw Tariq standing in front of her, a twisted smile on his lips.

“My, my I had pictured you without clothes, but my imagination didn’t do you any justice.” He stepped closer looking brazenly at her on her underwear. She took the silky robe next to her bed and put it on.

“What are you doing here?”

He sneered again and pull a knife out of his pocket.

Her eyes widened “Don’t do anything stupid, Tariq. Leave my room, now.” She tried to sound calm and steady, but she was terrified.

“I won’t leave until we’ve had a little fun.”

Her eyes darted to the door, she tried to run to it, but he was quicker than her, so he blocked her passage.

“Where do you think you’re going? I told you that we were going to have a lot of fun tonight.” He pointed the knife at her again. “You can scream all you want but everyone is still at the party, no one will hear you. Plus, I’m not afraid of using this. You owe me, whore.”

After her attack when she was fifteen years old, Alexis had sworn to herself that something like that would never happen to her again. When she left for college in New York, the first thing she had done was to sign up for self-defense lessons. Also, she always carried a pepper spray with her, which was currently at her nightstand next to her bed.

She tried to think fast, if she screamed now, it’d only spook Tariq and make him do something irreparable, plus he was right: when she had left the party everyone was still there.

She’d definitely have more chances of surviving if she managed to convince Tariq that she would sleep willingly with him. Then, as soon as she’d have a chance, she’d mace him, kick him and run.

Alexis raised her hands. “Okay, calm down.  Maybe we can talk about this, you don’t have to hurt me.”

“I knew you would come to your senses.” He licked his lips walking towards her and grabbed her by the waist kissing her lasciviously. Feeling his hands and lips on her was repugnant but it was the only way to escape.

After a few atrocious seconds, she pulled apart. “Yes.” She smiled and kept talking on a soft voice, “there’s no reason to make this horrible for either of us, we can just have fun. There are some whiskey and wine on the cabinet behind you. I could use some to relax.” She waited for him to turn to the cabinet and grabbed the spray as fast as she could, hiding it in her robe’s pocket. She watched Tariq put the knife on the cabinet while he served them both a glass of red wine.

She was ready, so as soon as he approached her to give her the drink, she maced him. He screamed at the sharp pain but immediately gripped her right arm to stop her from leaving. She remembered what Briana had taught her and used the heel of her free palm to strike him under his nose; she threw her whole weight into the move so she could cause him the most pain possible and force him to loosen his grip. She succeeded and ran to the door but just when she was opening it, he grabbed her ripping her robe. He felt like his eyes and nose were on fire, and that enraged him. He pinned her violently to the floor as she tried to kick him on the knees and screamed for help, begging that someone would hear her.

Drake was walking to his room with Maxwell’s words playing in his head over and over again. He knew the wisest decision was to wait until the morning to talk to her, but no argument was good enough, he needed to see her right then. He turned around and when he was getting closer to her room his blood froze. Alexis was screaming.

Less than five seconds later Drake ran into her room. He barely had time to register the scene in front of him, when a rage like nothing he had never felt before invaded him.

“GET AWAY FROM HER. NOW!”

Alexis took advantage of Tariq’s surprise and got loose of his grip as Drake grabbed him from his collar and slammed him strongly against the wall.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” He hit him repeatedly, then tackled him to the floor immobilizing him, and turned to Alexis who was sitting on the floor. “Are you ok, Lexie?” She nodded but he saw the bruises in her arms, her black mascara all over her face and the terrified look on her eyes.

“How dare you touch her, you fucking piece of shit?” He punched him again and again until Alexis screamed.

“Drake! Stop! You’re going to kill him, he’s not worth it, please Drake, stop!” The distress in her voice made him stop giving a chance to Tariq to free himself, stand up, and reach for the knife he had left on the cabinet. He pointed it at Drake.

Drake arched his eyebrows smirking. “Do you think you’re scaring me? You’re nothing but a fucking coward.” He stepped towards Tariq.

“You better stay where you are, Drake because if you lose this fight, I’ll stab that whore right after you.”

Drake raised his hands shaking with anger. “You won’t be able to hide anywhere asshole, I’ll swear I’ll find you.”

Tariq left the bedroom and ran as fast as he could.

Drake didn’t hesitate for a second, even if he should follow Tariq, he couldn’t ignore Alexis’ small sobs. He kneeled next to where Alexis was sitting on the floor and took her chin. “Are you ok, Lexie?” She had an empty look on her eyes. “Baby, look at me.” He tilted his head so he could meet her gaze. “Are you alright?” He swallowed hard. “Did he-?”

She came back to her senses and shook her head strongly. “No, he didn’t have time.” She looked gratefully at him. “Thanks to you.”

“It seems to me that you put one hell of a fight yourself, baby. Let’s get you to bed.” He took her in his arms and put her gently on the bed, helping her to get under the covers.

“Come on Lexie.” He sat next to her and pulled her close to him. “I’m so sorry.” He placed a kiss on her forehead. “Tariq’s eyes looked like they were on fire”

“I maced him.” She smiled at him.

Drake chuckled. “Really?”

“Yeah,” she answered proudly. “I also kicked him and almost broke his nose.”

He hugged her smiling against her head. “You’re so brave. You have no idea how scared I was when I heard you screaming.” He held her tightly.“If anything would’ve happened to you… I…” He cupped her face as softly as he could and kissed her lips with all the gentleness he was capable of.

Alexis smiled and cuddled up against him. His gentle kisses and strong arms wrapping her were everything she needed. She felt as she did every time Drake was around her, completely safe. 

Drake stroke her hair and kissed the top of her head as she began to fell asleep when someone knocked at the door. Drake stood up and opened it. It was, Liam.

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Everything was going according to plan; he had talked with his contact at The Cordonian Daily News and she was going to wait until the right moment to release the pictures.

Liam would be so humiliated that it would be impossible for him to recover from it, and if by any miracle he managed to do it, he’ll simply set the second part of his plan in motion. Recruiting Penelope had been a master move, who could suspect the mousy assistant working for the party planner? She had access to every guest on the list and as dull as she was, she understood how he felt better than anyone.

He knew she would die for him if the time came. Of course, he didn’t want it to happen but if it did, it would be for the cause. The times when he was feeling remorse were over, after all, he was the one supposed to lead Cordonia. If someone else had to become collateral damage for him to fulfill his destiny, so be it.

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“What the fuck are you doing here?” Liam shouted

“What the hell is your problem, Liam!”

Liam entered the room furiously, but Alexis jumped off the bed and managed to get in the middle of them.

“Liam! Stop it! Drake is here because he helped me. I was going to take a shower and I heard a noise, when I came into the room Tariq was there, he...he wanted to...”

She looked at Drake incapable of formulating the words, he nodded at her reassuringly.

“He had a knife, Liam, he was going to attack her, she screamed so I ran to help her.”

Liam turned to Alexis visibly worried. “Oh god! Are you alright, love? Did he do anything?”

“No, Drake was right on time.”

Liam seemed relieved. “Thank you, Drake” He squeezed Alexis’s hand. “Come on darling, I’ll stay with you.”

Alexis’s heart broke seeing Drake standing next to the door watching her.

Liam turned to his friend. “I’ll take care of her now, Drake. But thank you” His voice broke thinking of what could’ve happened. “I mean it.”

“Of course. I’ll ask security to search the whole estate, I think he escaped but I prefer to be safe than sorry.” Before he turned to leave, he looked at Alexis one last time “Please, take care of yourself ” She only nodded, the lump on her throat prevented her from speaking.

When Drake left Liam turned to Alexis “Is there anything I can do for you, love?”

She shook her head and lied. “No, Li it’s fine.”

“I don’t think you should be alone, Alexis. Let me be here for you.”

She smiled at Liam. As touched as she was by his concern, the only thing she wanted was to be with Drake again.  

“I can sleep on the couch, darling,” he suggested watching how uneasy she seemed.

Alexis felt relieved. “If you don’t mind, I think it would be better for tonight.”

Liam took some covers out of the closet and prepared himself for a night on the couch. After a moment, he noticed that Alexis was turning around on the bed, and his chest tightened, he would’ve loved to take her in his arms and comfort her, but he knew she wasn’t ready. His feelings, on the other hand, were growing stronger every day. It was almost ironic how he had always been able to have any woman he wanted without even trying, and now that he actually loved one, she seemed impervious to him. Because despite his best efforts, Alexis had built an invisible wall between them, one that Liam was decided to tear down by doing anything he could to be the perfect man for her, and with time, he was sure he would be able to conquer her. Liam wanted her so badly that he could barely sleep anymore, he dreamed about her, about her body under his, about her soft voice screaming his name. He wanted to share his life with her, to spoil her, to be her world. Alexis O’Brien was driving him insane, she would have to end up loving him, no matter what. Her voice pulled him out of his thoughts. She was talking in her sleep, so he pricked up his ears to listen and his heart froze, she was calling for Drake.

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Drake called Mara and Franz, the chiefs of security and they all looked thoroughly for Tariq around the house and gardens but there was no sign of him anywhere. After two hours, Mara tried to convince him to stop but Drake refused. Deep down, he knew Tariq had already fled but he needed something to occupy his mind and take it far away from whatever was happening between Alexis and Liam in her room. After her attack, he was aware that Liam was probably just comforting her but the mere thought of his arms around her pushed him over the edge. Finally, he gave up the futile search and took a bottle of whiskey from Bertrand’s collection, it was going to be a long sleepless night.

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Rashad lied in bed, smiling to himself thinking about Maxwell dancing and joking with Alexis at the party. He knew he would never be able to find anyone like him again, so sparkling and compassionate. Maxwell had been able to see through his fears and insecurities and had given him a chance to be himself. He had listened to him countless times during all those sleepless nights at the Beaumont State, and he had been the first man Rashad had ever loved, the only one. Maxwell knew him much better than his fiancé for over a decade ever did, and they only had been together for a couple of years.

Rashad knew he had taken the right decision breaking up the engagement with Kiara, it didn’t make sense anymore. Sure, she was the perfect match if he wanted to pursue a political career but pretending to love each other was getting impossible for both of them; she slept with a different man every night and he was sure she harbored very strong feelings for Drake Walker. As for him, well there was no point in denying it anymore, he was crazy about Max, even if he wasn’t ready to publicly come out of the closet just yet.

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The next day, after a quick shower in his bedroom, Liam went to work in the business center of the Beaumont’s state. He hadn’t forgotten what Alexis had dreamt the previous night, but he had decided to let it go for the time being. Drake was surely a mere distraction for her, nothing serious. Alexis had been raised to be with a man like him, someone who could give her the life she was used to, who would enchant her, and Drake would never be that kind of man. Liam still remembered the agreement they had made when he had asked for his help with the campaign, Drake would stay for two years, and then he would be free to live his life away from politics. Liam knew that for Drake that meant to retire to his cabin in the woods, finish his Veterinary degree, and live a simple life with no luxuries, and that was not the life Alexis deserved.

“Good morning, Liam.” Drake sat next to Liam with a large cup of coffee.

Liam couldn’t remember the last time he had been glad to spend time with his best friend.

“Hi, Drake. Rough night?” He pointed at the coffee.

“Nah, don’t worry,” Drake smirked to hide the fact that he hadn’t slept thinking about Alexis all night. “We searched the estate thoroughly last night but there was no sign of Tariq anywhere, I’ll go this morning to his parent’s house to see if he’s there.”

Liam raised his brows. “It’s not your job to protect her, Drake. It’s mine; I’ll take care of it.”

“This is not about you or me, Liam! It’s about her. She needs to know that he won’t hurt her anymore. She needs to feel safe.”

Despite his friend’s outburst, Liam remained calm “He won’t. I’ll make sure of it. That bastard will never get near her again. I’ll engage some security; they’ll look up for him.”

Drake sighed and nodded. As long as Alexis was safe, he didn’t care about the rest. 

After a few minutes of quietly working and drinking coffee, Drake spoke. “We need to prepare for the rally in Castelraillan.”

“I agree, it’s a top priority. Can you take care of it?” Liam asked, coldly. 

“Yes, I’ll go look for Kiara so she can brief me on the preparations that Joelle has already made.”

Drake stood up to leave the room but before he could get out of the door, he heard Liam’s voice. Something had been bothering the candidate since the previous night.

“I really appreciate what you did for Alexis last night.” He paused, “what I cannot understand, it’s how you heard her screaming. Your room it’s on the other side of the house. What were you doing on the west wing?”

Drake was tired, he hadn’t slept all night, and Liam’s attitude was starting to seriously annoy him; he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I didn’t know I had to give you a detailed report of my whereabouts, Liam.”

Liam stood up as well “You’re not answering my question.”

“And I’m not going to. Where I go or not after I’m done working it’s not your problem.”

Liam raised his hands “Fine. Don’t tell me. I, however, will tell you this for the last time.” He cut the distance between them and added with a threatening tone of voice. “Get away from her, stop pretending to be her friend or her knight on shining armor or whatever it is you’re doing. She wants to be with me, and you’ll have to accept that.”

Drake’s fist clenched. “What I can’t understand, it’s why are you being so fucking jealous if you’re sure she wants to be with you.”

Liam glared at him, they were standing only a few inches apart. “I don’t care what you think, just stay the hell away from her.” His blood boiled at the thought of Alexis saying Drake’s name in her sleep. “Or I swear, you’ll regret it.” Liam tapped his finger on Drake’s chest.

Drake shoved him. “Don’t fucking touch me!”

Liam was about to push him back when the doors opened, Alexis entered it but she stopped in her tracks, immediately sensing the tension in the room.

Her eyes darted from one man to the other. “What’s going on?”

Liam approached her “Nothing, love. Drake and I were having a misunderstanding, but I think everything is clear now. Isn’t it, Drake?”

His dark eyes did their best to hide the pain in his heart, as much as it hurt to admit it, Liam was right, she had chosen him. “Crystal.” He turned to Alexis, even after everything she had done, Drake had to make sure that she was fine “How are you doing this morning O’Brien?”

His voice had the power of making her terribly nervous, she had to swallow before answering “I’m fine, Drake. Thank you”. They locked eyes on each other for a second and they both blushed.

“Yes, you were sleeping soundly when I left your room this morning” Liam smiled, circling her waist with his arm and kissing her cheek, possessively.

Drake had to turn his head, seeing Liam being so affectionate with her and talk about their night together was much more than he could bear. “Alright, I have work to do. See you later”

Alexis reached for his shoulder to stop him from leaving. “Um, actually I was looking for you. I need you to give me some information so I can write Liam’s speech for Castelraillan.”

Drake nodded; maybe that would be a good opportunity to talk to her about what Maxwell had told him the previous night.  “Of course, I can postpone my meeting.”

Liam cleared his throat visibly uncomfortable. “Don’t bother Drake with that, Darling. I can help you myself.”

Alexis turned to Liam exasperated “That’s not your job, Li. Plus, you told me that you have a meeting with the leader of the farmer’s union this morning. And I need to start writing this as soon as possible. The rally is tomorrow.”

Liam looked at his expensive watch, he needed to leave right now if he wanted to be on time, but the idea of leaving Alexis alone with Drake drove him mad.

“Come with me to the meeting, I can give you all the information you need on the ride there. And, we can go for lunch later. I have a surprise for you.”

Alexis sighed angrily because he wasn’t leaving her much of a choice.  “Okay”

Drake arched his brows fighting the urge to punch Liam in his smug face. His attempt to control Alexis was as blatant as it was obnoxious. But Alexis had made her choice, there was nothing that Drake could do about it. “If that’s taken care of, I’ll go meet with Kiara,” he said angrily before leaving the room. 

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The riding to the meeting proved infructuous for Alexis, Liam didn’t have the information she needed to write the speech.

“I apologize love, I can talk to you about policies and agendas but as far as the logistics go, it’s not my area of expertise.”

She took a deep breath. “I know Li, that’s why I needed to talk to Drake, I know you don’t like it, but I have to work with him in this.”

“I’ll ask my assistant to give you all the information you need, Drake has other things on his mind right now.”

“It’s not going to be the only time, Liam. We’re supposed to work together, you don’t have to worry about it. I’m with you.” Alexis placed her hand on his arm.

Liam chose not to answer, they rode in silence until the chauffeur stopped. “We’ve arrived, come on, love.”

After a long meeting with the farmer’s union, Liam and Alexis were free to go for lunch.

“God, I’m starving! I would kill for a cheese bacon burger and extra-large fries.”

Liam cocked his left brow smiling. “Extra-large?”

She laughed. “And with cheddar on top, obviously.”

He stopped to look at her, she was wearing a simple sleeveless white dress, but the way it hugged her curves was tantalizing.

“Well, I apologize in advance dear, but I don’t think they serve any burgers where we’re going.”

He took her to the roof of the building where a helicopter was waiting for them.

She turned to look at him surprised. “Where are you taking me?”

He kissed her. “If I tell you, it wouldn’t be a surprise, would it?”

Two hours later, the helicopter landed. Alexis was exhausted so she had slept almost the whole trip.

“Love, we’re here” He kissed her hand “I would like to cover your eyes, so you’re really surprised when we get there”

She gave him a small smile. “Oh, that’s fine”

He put a silky scarf on her eyes and guided her to the car, then to an elevator. When it reached the top floor, he helped her step out of it and he stood behind her to untie the scarf. Alexis had to admit that she was more than surprised. They were in Paris.

He kissed her bare shoulder. “Welcome to La Tour d’Argent, Love”

The gesture was amazing, it was the most splendid thing anyone had ever done for her, but she couldn’t feel a thing.

The waiter took them to a table on the terrace, the view of the Notre Dame cathedral was incredible.

“I hope you like this, Alexis.” He took her small hand between his larger ones “I’m only doing this because I want you to understand how special you’re for me.”

She smiled at him reaching for his hand. “Thank you Li, it’s beautiful”

The waiter approached them with the menus, after a moment they both order the food and Liam asked for a bottle of champagne.

“I didn’t know you spoke such impeccable French.”

“I went to boarding school here. I arrived when I was 5 and left at 18.”

“So, I’m guessing Paris it’s not as impressive for you as I thought.” He grinned.

She looked at the sight “Paris is always impressive, Li. And I definitely wasn’t planning in having lunch here when I woke up this morning. It was a beautiful surprise.”

They spend the afternoon talking, eating and drinking wine. Alexis couldn’t deny that Liam was a very charming, interesting man, but her soul had been irremediably stolen by Drake.

At the end of their date, Liam took Alexis’s hand between his. “This was a delightful afternoon, love. Did you have fun?”

“Of course, Li. It was great.”

He took her chin between his fingers and kissed her carefully. “I’m aware that we’re going too fast, Alexis. The coming elections are definitely hastening things between us. I know my father is pressuring me and I’m guessing yours is too?” He tilted his head to meet her gaze.

Alexis wanted to be honest with him, at least once. “Yes, he is.”

Liam nodded. “That doesn’t mean I’m not completely crazy about you. I want to spend the rest of my life loving you, Alexis.” He took a small velvety box from his pocket. Alexis's heart started to beat so fast she feared Liam might hear it. He opened it and took out a huge diamond ring off it. “Would you marry me, love?” His eyes were filled with hope and vulnerability.

She wanted to run as fast as she could, but her fate had been sealed 10 years earlier when she had taken the worst decision of her life. She managed to smile, and pass her desperate tears for happy ones. “Yes, Li, I will.”

He slipped the ring through her finger and kissed her hand. “You just made me the happiest man in the world, darling.” He sealed their engagement with another searing kiss.

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The next day, the whole campaign team including George, Constantine, and Regina were having breakfast in the hall room before leaving for Castelraillan. Liam was nervously expecting Alexis to show up so they could announce their official engagement together. As soon as she entered the hall, Liam caught her eye and gave her a knowing look so she wouldn’t be surprised at the announcement.

“Good morning to you all, before we head to Castelraillan, we have some news we will like to share with you. Come here, love” He gave his hand to Alexis.

She had spent the night awake thinking about Drake’s reaction, hoping that she would be able to tell him before everyone else, but Liam had beat her to it.

“Yesterday, I asked Alexis to marry me, and to my great joy, she said yes.” The guests immediately clapped happily, most of them standing up to congratulate them.

Drake watched the scene like it was in slow motion. At Liam’s announcement, he felt an acute pain on his chest, not a metaphorical one, but an actual physical pain ripping his heart apart. He felt nauseated at the sight of Alexis in his arms, his mouth on her cheeks, on her lips, his ring on her finger. Suddenly, he felt someone touching his arm.

“Put it together, Walker. They made their choice. Almost everyone else has stood up and congratulated them, it’s our turn.”

Olivia and Drake made their way to the head of the table, Liam and Alexis were talking with Regina who was already busy making plans for the wedding.

“Well, it is going to be a society wedding, of course, anyone who is anyone in Cordonia will have to be there,” Regina said, excitedly.

Alexis wasn’t listening anymore; all her focus was on Drake. The man that had helped her so many times, that had held her when she had felt lonely and scared making her feel safe for the first time in her life. The man that had saved her and took her away when she had needed it. The man that had made love to her, making her feel things she didn’t even know possible. The incredible man that she loved more than everything. Alexis cursed herself, the pained expression on Drake’s eyes was going to haunt her for the rest of her life.

“Congratulations, O’Brien.” He extended his hand.

“Please, Drake she’s going to be like your sister now that she will marry Liam.” Regina patted both their backs “You should hug each other.”

Drake locked eyes with her and saw a profound sadness on them, something he wasn’t expecting. He took her in his arms and held her for a few seconds, enjoying her soft body against him. Drake could’ve sworn that she was trembling slightly, but he didn’t have a chance to ask her anything, Liam was watching them closely.

“Thank you, Liv, Drake. We’re planning to get married as soon as possible, not later than a month. We’re desperate to be together.” Liam told them proudly.

Olivia arched her brows smirking “Just in time for the elections. If I was a cynical woman, which of course I’m not, I would say that that was a huge coincidence.” She threw a disgusted look at Alexis.

Maxwell spoke up desperate to end the tension. “Attention everyone, I have ordered mimosas to the kitchens so everyone can cheer to the- er happy couple.”

Everyone raised their glasses. Drake couldn’t take it anymore, he gulped his drink and left the room, followed by Maxwell.

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The whole trip to Castelraillan Liam had been thinking about the decision he was about to make. He knew Alexis wouldn’t be happy about it, so he arranged a meeting with Constantine and George to help him explain to her why he was firing her as his speechwriter. Of course, he didn’t tell them the real reason, that he wasn’t going to let her work with Drake and risk losing her. Liam had a whole other set of excuses ready.

Alexis was surprised when Liam asked her to go to the Estate’s office, and even more when she saw her father and Constantine sitting on the couch.

“Well, no one told me we were about to have a family reunion.” Or I would’ve taken a bottle of vodka with me. “What’s going on?”

Liam cleared his throat, going straight to the point “Love, I called you because I need you to step down as my speechwriter.”

She arched her brows. “What? What do you mean?”

George stood up. “What you heard, you can’t be his future first lady and his speechwriter, the electors would see that as a sign of nepotism.”

She ignored her father and addressed to Liam. “You have got to be kidding me, Liam, your whole cabinet grew up with you. I don’t understand what the problem is.” She saw the closed look in his face but insisted anyway, her job was the only thing that was keeping her sane. “Please, don’t do this, I love my job. I want to be more than a decorative figure on your arm, Li. I know I can help you get elected.”

Liam felt bad for her, but he wasn’t going to change his mind, she would have to understand.

“The decision is made, love. I’m sorry”

“You’re pathetic. I know why you’re really doing this, and you can go fuck yourself!”

She slammed the door on her way out.

George poured himself a tumbler of whiskey “Don’t worry, son. She’s always been a little wild, but she knows what’s best for her. She will be back tonight.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alexis was furious. Until then she had felt guilty because she was lying to Liam, who she considered a good, caring man, but that new side of him was frightening. She had no choice than to marry him, so it terrified her that he would turn out to be as controlling as her own father was. That she would have to live a similar life than her mother’s with a man that had no interest in the woman she really was.

Maxwell found her drinking a glass of whiskey on the stairs. “Blossom! I was looking for you. Is everything okay?”

“Yes, don’t worry about it, Max. Liam and I just had a fight; he doesn’t want me working on the campaign anymore.”

“Oh! I’m sorry hon, I can think of a way to cheer you up though, I want to take you to my favorite spot.”

She smiled. “Yes, that sounds like a great idea, I could drink a gallon of whiskey right now.”

Just when they were about to leave in Maxwell’s red Porsche, Liam came running into the parking lot.

“Come on love, I’m sorry I had to make that decision but it’s best for everyone. Come back into the house so we can talk.”

She arched her brows. “You can talk about it with our fathers, you seem to value their opinions much more than you do mine. Come on, Max, let’s go”

Maxwell threw Liam an apologetic look, but he started the car and drove away.

After what seemed like half an hour Maxwell pulled the car at the beach.

Alexis didn’t understand. “Is this your favorite spot? The beach?”

Maxwell grinned “Here? Please, Blossom; It would need four walls, an expensive cocktail bar, two different dance floors, and three Dj’s to make this old beach acceptable for me. It is, however, someone else’s favorite spot.”

Alexis recognized the place, it was the beach where Drake had taken her the night they had met.

“Hi, O’Brien. I think we need to talk.” His deep, manly voice sent a jolt of electricity through her spine. Alexis knew that if she stayed on the beach with him, she was going to succumb to him again.

“I don’t think so, please Max take me back to Castelraillan.”

“I will, if you really want me to, Lexie, but I think you two truly need to talk. I’m sorry that I couldn’t keep your secret, but it was breaking my heart seeing you so sad.”

Drake approached her carefully. “Please, O’Brien talk to me. I saw your face this morning when Liam announced your engagement.” He stood in front of her and stroked her face. “I know something is not right.”

“Well, I’ll leave you two alone. Text me when you’re done, I’ll take you back to Castelraillan, Blossom.”

Drake offered Alexis his hand, and she took it. He was going to really hate in a few minutes when he knew the truth of what she had done, so she wanted to make the most of her last moments with him.

He took her to the cove, where he had set a blanket on the sand and lighted a fire. He had also brought a bottle of whiskey with a couple of glasses and the ingredients to make S’mores.

Alexis smiled widely, it was wonderful. It felt like home.

They sat on the blanket, Drake poured them a glass of whiskey and she took a large sip.

They didn’t say anything for a while, just enjoying their moment together staring at the fire, eating S’mores, and holding hands.

Finally, Alexis broke the silence. “I will tell you the truth because you deserve to know it. I didn’t say anything before because I wanted to protect you, but I only made things worse. What I’m about to tell you, will change how you feel about me. I’m a horrible person, and I deserve everything that’s happening; I’m just sorry I dragged you and Liam with me.”

He shook his head and squeezed her hand. “You’re an amazing, brave woman Lexie, and I promise you there’s nothing you can tell me that would make me think any different.”

She snorted but a streak of tears started to run through her face. “You have no idea what you’re saying. I’m exactly like your mother. I abandoned my own child.”

Drake’s eyes widened but he continued to hold her hand. “Tell me everything from the beginning, baby. What happened?”

“After … my attack … my father sent me back to the school in France. It was a very difficult time, I didn’t know how to cope with what had happened by myself, and I was sick all the time. Finally, one of the nuns saw me throwing up one morning and she guessed that I was pregnant. I was terrified, Drake”.

Drake’s chest tightened at her profound sadness. He moved to sit behind her and pulled her body to him so he could hug her tightly, with her back leaning against his chest. He moved her hair to one side of her neck and kissed her cheek. “I can only imagine what you felt, Lexie.”

Emboldened by his strong arms around her, she continued. “The nuns called my father who was beyond furious. His only concern was that he had paid my expensive education so I could marry well, and I had ruined his investment. I was kicked out of school, of course. It turns out that prestigious catholic schools don’t like pregnant girls.” She gave him a bitter smile. “So my father took me back to the States with him. During the flight, he made it very clear that I had two options. Either I gave up the baby for adoption or he’d cut me out entirely and I would have to survive by myself. The truth is that I felt mixed emotions concerning the baby. One part of me already loved her intensely, but the other part resented her just as much because she was a reminder of what had happened to me.” She drank her glass. “My father didn’t want anyone to find out that I was pregnant so he sent me to a house for rich girls who had the same kind of problem as me. It turned out to be a solace, the nurses who worked there were very nice, and I made friends with the other girls. The best part was that they had a psychologist and she really helped me to figure out a lot of things. When my final trimester arrived, I had decided that it would be best for the baby if I gave her up. I felt extremely guilty, but I had no qualifications, no money and I didn’t know how I could take care of her. My father had chosen a wealthy couple who would adopt her.” Alexis stopped unable to speak for a few moments. The memories were too painful, and she couldn’t stop crying.

Drake held her tightly stroking her hair and face. “It’s ok, baby. Cry all you need, it’s fine. I’m here with you.” She took a while to gather herself while Drake kissed the top of her head and wiped the tears off her face. After a moment she was calm enough to proceed.  

“The day she was born was the most amazing and the most horrible day of my life. Giving birth really is an extremely beautiful and painful thing. I can still remember her smell when the nurse brought her to me. The way her little hand gripped my finger, the way she looked directly at me.” She started to cry again. “I changed my mind right there, I wanted to keep her but I had already signed the papers and no one wanted to upset my father.” She stopped to take a sharp breath. “They took her after the first time I fed her. The woman seemed very nice, she asked me if I had named her and then she promised she would call her the same. She also said that she would send a picture of her every year so I could see that she was healthy and well.” Drake wasn’t a man that cried often, but her broken heart was too painful for him, he couldn’t avoid the tears in his eyes. He hugged her as tightly as he could knowing that nothing in the world would be enough to calm her pain.

He cupped her face with his large hand and turned it to his, placing a kiss on her front. “How you named her, baby?”

“Abigail, like my mother’s mother. She’s ten now.”

“Did the woman send the pictures?”

“Yes, to my father who then sends them to me.” She pulled out her phone and showed her the pictures of a beautiful brunette little girl.

He grinned. “She’s beautiful Lexie, she looks like a little version of you.”

She smiled proudly. “Yes, I have a picture of me at the same age and we’re really similar.”

He shifted positions and sat in front of her, rubbing her face with his thumb. “How could you think I was going to hate you, Lexie. Or even compare you to my mother, a grown-ass woman with an income who abandoned her two children in the middle of the day with a note. You were sixteen, scared, and alone baby. It’s not remotely the same.”

She simply nodded taking refuge in his arms for a few moments.

He took her hand between his and grimaced at the sight of her engagement ring.

“And Liam? Why are you with him? Maxwell said your father was forcing you.”

“My father made a series of bad investments, and he has lost a lot of money. He wants to control Cordonia’s commerce, but the current president won’t let him have as much access to the transactions as he’d like. So, he made a deal with Constantine. If I marry Liam and my father donates enough money to his campaign, Constantine will convince Liam to give him all control over the exports and imports between Cordonia and The States. Every big company would have to have my father’s approval to make business here.”

Drake shook his head furiously. “So he’s using you as a bargaining chip. You can’t let that happen, O’Brien. You can let him control you like that!”

She stood up furious as well. “Didn’t you understand what is at stake here? I’m talking about my daughter, and if you’re thinking that he’s bluffing or that he would never hurt his ten-year-old granddaughter, well, think again Walker! Why do you think he sends me those pictures of her? SO I know why I’m doing this.” She gulped her whiskey tumbler.

“Do you know what did he do when my grandmother, his own mother, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s? He put her in a home. He has all the fucking money in the world to hire a nurse who could take care of her in the house where she has lived all her life. In the house where she feels safe. Or, at least, he could’ve taken her to a good facility where she could have the best medical care possible, but no! That … that asshole just ditched her on a cheap nursing home and never looked back. He didn’t visit once. I had to pull a lot of strings and ask my ex-boyfriend who is a doctor for help so I could change her to a good place, where she has good care.” She rubbed her face tiredly. “You know the sociopaths they talk about in the movies? The narcissist, egotistical characters everyone thinks they’re too evil to be true? Well, that is my father. He truly has no feelings, he never loved my mother or me or even his own parents. So yes, he really would be capable of hurting her, and if he does, I … I ...” She burst into tears.

Drake cut the distance between them and took her in his arms. “Shhh, it’s ok baby, I’m sorry, you’re right we have to be smart about this.”

She cupped his face so he could look at her. “No, Drake. There is no way around this. I didn’t tell you all of this, so you could help or save me. I told you because you deserve the truth, but I’m marrying Liam in a month, and there’s nothing you or me or anyone can do about it. I’m sorry.”

Drake didn’t answer anything, but he knew he wasn’t going to lose her without putting a fight. Not now that he knew that she didn’t love Liam. He took her chin with his hand and wiped the tears off her face, placing a soft kiss in her forehead, a gentle one in her right cheek, and a last one in her nose until finally, his lips found hers crashing into a desperate, hungry kiss. He knew it wasn’t the right moment to tell her everything he felt for her, so he tried to convey every feeling he had, into the kiss. All his desperation, his passion, his love for her where there. Finally, they parted, breathless. He couldn’t help but think how beautiful she looked under the firelight, with her bright eyes, the blush on her cheeks, her efforts to steady her breath after his kiss.  

He held her in his arms until they had to text Max so he could come back looking for her.

They were so devoted to each other that neither of them saw the man staring at them from the blue van, with a camera on his lap. He pulled out his phone and hit speed dial. “Yes sir, I followed her. And, you won’t like what I just discovered.”

#drake x mc #drake walker #trr #drakefanfic #thetrade #twrape

[nona-gay-simus-main]

How To Collect and Organize Beta Reader Feedback

As some of you might know, I previously wrote a full draft of my currently untitled m/m romance novel and got through an almost full round of beta readers before I decided to scrap it and start again, nearly from scratch and with a different premise (It went from two timelines - first love/second chance to a single timeline - enemies to lovers).

Out of nowhere, I decided to start rereading and reorganizing my feedback in hopes to find something that would be useful to me in my current draft. Originally, I just planned to delete everything that wasn’t relevant, but a lot of it was really cute and funny, and I mean, I did write a full book - even if it wasn’t all that good - I at least deserve to keep my feedback from it.

Before I went on this endeavor, I foolishly believed that there’s no wrong way to collect beta feedback and boy, oh boy was I wrong! So I’m here to tell you the wrong ways and the right way. But first, let’s revise our terms:

What is a Beta Reader?

Beta readers are readers, who would be interested in picking your book off the shelf if it were already published. That means you should already have a pretty good idea of what is your genre and age category is. There’s no such thing as a ‘fiction book for everyone’. While certain books might have broader appeal, all books have a target audience. So figure out yours. 

The reason to know this from the start is two-fold. First, obviously to know how and where to market your book. Second, different genres come with different expectations and you really don’t want to piss off your core readership. You’re not going to be able to please everyone, and if you try, you’re likely to end up pleasing no one. So while it’s definitely a good idea to look for diversity in your beta readers, you should probably not be looking for genre diversity. 

I’m gonna let you in a little secret: for the longest time, I had no idea I was writing a romance novel. Part of it was that I really just hadn’t read a contemporary queer romance, so subconsciously thought that (contemporary) romance was for the straights only. But the bigger part was that my story just wasn’t well structured so I had no idea what the main conflict was supposed to be. And let’s just say... that didn’t exactly do me any favors when I was trying to get people interested in reading it. You can’t really amp others up about a project if you don’t know what the project is about.

Not only that, but I had a cp/beta reader who while wonderful, wasn’t a romance fan, so there were several points where I felt frustrated with their critique because I felt they simply didn’t like certain conventions of the genre. And that’s not their fault - we were just not a great match. Still appreciate working with them, but I know better now.

Where to find Beta readers?

You can find them anywhere. Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook groups, Discord servers and so on. Just look around. I assume you’re writing your story because you want to read something like it, and if you want to read it, someone else probably wants to read it too.

How to collect Beta feedback?

I normally use Google Docs or sometimes Word. Chapter by chapter is definitely best. It’s much less overwhelming to try to read 10 pages than 210.  Copy/Paste the chapter in a new document and send it to the beta, after warning them for any triggers or squicks that might apply. 

If you’re using Word, send the document over email. If you’re using Google Docs, share it with their email. Make sure to share it through email and not create links (like me), because it’s much safer that way. If you share it, only the person with the access to the email can see it, if you make a link, anyone with the link can see it. Again chances of plagiarism are minuscule, but still.

On Google Docs you want to give them Comment permission. That way they can make comments in the margins and any edits they make will show up like Track Changes on Word. If they are using Word and making edits, simply encourage them to turn on Track Changes. 

Encourage betas to make comments while reading, on everything that they liked, disliked, found confusing, or anything that made any impression at all. Even if’s just ‘lol’ or a keyboard smash. Sometimes those are the best comments to read!

But also keep in mind that not everyone will do that. That’s why I always have a questionnaire or do an interview with the beta. Questions tend to prompt people into organizing their thoughts a bit. Because I’m nice, I’ll share my questionnaire with you, (it is actually an adjusted version of @jennamoreci​‘s questionnaire from her beta readers video here:

1. What is your overall opinion of the chapter? 

2. What do you think of x character ? 

3. What is your favorite scene/part/line and why? (You can pick more than one.)

4. What is your least favorite scene/part/line and why? (You can pick more than one.) 

5. Are any parts confusing or unclear? 

6. Do you think there’s anything specific I need to improve or fix in the chapter, whether it’s the writing, the charters, plot, setting, etc.? 

7. On a scale of 1 to 10, how much did you enjoy the chapter? 

8. On a scale of 1 to 10, how eager are you to read the next chapter? 

9. On a scale of 1 to 10, how much are you enjoying the book so far (not applicable to chapter 1)?

10. Do you have any predictions? 

12. Do you have any other comments, thoughts, suggestions, or advice?

You can also add questions specific to the chapter, especially if you are already worried about a particular aspect of it. You should also ask their opinion on every character who shows up in the chapter.

I prefer to put this questionnaire at the end of the document I send to my beta reader, that way I’m sure they won’t be accidentally spoiling something with my questions and they can go over it right after reading instead of waiting for our schedules to match so we can have an interview. It’s a bit of a copy-pasting game, sure, but ultimately it takes no more than a couple of minutes. I would discourage you from having the questionnaire in the same document you are writing because it might end up messing with your word count, and lie to you that you’ve written more words than you actually have.

Afterward, if you need any clarifications on their answers, message the beta on their preferred platform - for me, that’s usually Discord, sometimes Twitter or Tumblr - to ask for clarifications. Sometimes you can also explain what you were going for, especially if the beta had a question, but don’t overdo it. You don’t want to seem argumentative. 

Oh, and be sure to thank your beta readers. Don’t forget they are giving up their time to help you for free. Nothing annoys me more from a beta reader perspective, then to not receive even a form thank you. 

How to Organize Beta Feedback?

So this is the big one. After you receive your beta feedback, address all the small things you can like typos and grammar right away (unless you’re already pretty sure you’ll be deleting/rewriting the scene) and mark stuff, that they’ve pointed out is badly phrased, etc. for later. Then delete irrelevant feedback, like one-word answers or ‘no opinion’. The feedback you disagree with might be unpleasant to read, but that doesn’t make it irrelevant. And if something makes you really mad, chances are it’s something you probably need to work on.

Then copy all the feedback - every comment and every answer, even if you disagree with them - into a separate document organized BY CHAPTER, not by beta name. This was the mistake I made. You’ll need this feedback when you move on to revision and you really don’t want to have a million tabs or documents open. Аlso it’s much easier to spot patterns if everything is in the same place. And if several people are saying the same thing, that’s probably something to pay attention to. 

Oh, don’t play around with fonts too much. I make everything the same font, but at first, I tried to make it really distinguished between what quote from the manuscript the beta was responding to and the beta’s own words, and honestly, you wrote your book, you know it pretty well. 99.9% of the time you can easily tell what they were responding to and what’s a quote from the book and what is the beta’s own words.

Good luck on your beta journey!

#beta reader #beta readers #beta feedback #feedback #writer #wrting #writeblr #writing tips #writer life #writer advice #writing advice #mine

[tlbodine]

How to Love Revision

A lot of you lovely folks are doing Nanowrimo right now. 

Which means that, in a few weeks, you will have a steaming pile of pages. A rough draft. A word-baby, if you will. And you might, at some point, want to turn that messy jumble into a real book, perhaps something to send to a publisher or publish yourself or just share with people. 

I see a lot of writing advice about finishing first drafts -- and a whole lot of it is in the vein of “Just write it! Fix it in post! Finished is better than perfect!” which is great advice for pushing through, but does tend to leave future-you -- the editor you-- with problems. 

Lucky for you, I happen to love editing (really! it’s my favorite part!) so I am here to give you some advice on how to turn those pages into a proper story without ripping all of your hair out or screaming into the void (but if you need to scream, it’s OK, I won’t judge you.) 

First Off: Credit Where It’s Due 

My current revision process draws heavily from Holly Lisle’s One-Pass Revision technique: https://hollylisle.com/one-pass-manuscript-revision-from-first-draft-to-last-in-one-cycle/

Her writing guides are golden, and I heartily recommend reading them all, starting with that one up there. 

I don’t do one-pass revisions, but her ethos really helped me. Before I found her advice, I would get caught in the endless revise/rewrite cycle. I was going through 9+ drafts of every story and it kept morphing into something new and sprouting new problems, hydra-style, every time I tried to redo it. So nothing was ever finished, nothing was ever satisfying, and I hated it. 

So I found a better way! And it freed me! I’ve written six books since then, four of them published (one Wattpad-exclusive) and I learned to look forward to the second draft. 

So how does this magic work? Let me show you! 

Step One: Put the Damn Thing Away 

Editing requires intellectual and emotional distance. So finish your story, and set it aside for a while. Stop thinking about it. Actively put it out of your mind. Work on something else for a while. Read a book. Catch up on all the TV you missed. Whatever. The point is -- you don’t want to come back to revise your story until you can look at it with fresh eyes. 

How long this will take depends on you, of course. It’s a very personal thing. It could be weeks. It could be months. For me, a good guideline is to wait until I can no longer quote whole passages from memory. 

Now then. Let’s do some triage. 

Before you can start editing, you need to know your goals. If you’re a planner, this might be easy because you have an outline you can compare against. If you’re a discovery writer like me, well, this is the time to figure out what exactly it is that you discovered. Grab a notebook (or a notepad file, if you’re a digital native) and follow this process: 

Write a one-sentence elevator pitch that roughly encapsulates the concept of the story. It doesn’t have to be pretty -- you’re not showing this to anyone but yourself -- but it does have to be honest. My one-sentence pitch for River of Souls was “Self-aware zombies struggle for equal rights, but the medication they rely on to retain their humanity doesn’t work as advertised.” My pitch for The Hound was “Lesbian thrift shop owners invite the devil into their home after buying a cursed taxidermied dog.” 

Write down your theme(s). In the draft, themes might take the form of questions. In this draft, you’ll want some answers. What do you want the reader to feel when they’re done? What is the message you’re trying to tell? When I wrote Nezumi’s Children, I knew it was a story about religion -- “What should we put our faith into?” In the end, I decided the answer was, “We should put our faith in each other.” That dictated the ending. (I also wanted to be careful not to inadvertently support abandoning your pets -- so I couldn’t let the rats be happily feral at the end. A happy ending for them meant being owned and cared for). 

Write a 250-word synopsis of the story. Again, it doesn’t have to be pretty. It just has to introduce the characters, the world, and the general shape of the story arc -- the inciting incident, the escalating stakes, and how the character changed at the end. 

You may find that you struggle with this part, and that is totally find (and honestly to be expected). You may discover, for example, that your character doesn’t actually change, or that there isn’t a core conflict. That’s okay! That’s what you’re here to fix! I have absolutely, definitely written a book and then discovered 80,000 words later that it didn’t have a plot. It’s OK though, because you’ll fix that problem in the next step. 

If you do indeed have a plot and escalating stakes and characters who go through developmental arcs, you’re ahead of the game. Now you’ve got the skeleton of an elevator pitch and the makings of a query letter (or a jacket blurb). 

Next: Map Out Everything 

When I was in elementary school, I had to start writing my first essays. I was supposed to make an outline, then write the paper to follow the outline. I wasn’t very good at doing it that way, so instead I would write the paper, then hastily draw up the outline to match what I said. Oops. Nothing has changed, honestly. 

With your trusty notebook (or blank text document), compile the following: 

Write out a list of scenes. Just a couple words describing the events of what happens. Now - are all of those scenes necessary? Are any redundant? Do you need to add foreshadowing or establish something earlier in the story to make sense of it? Are the scenes in the wrong order? Does every scene do some work to advance the plot, deepen the character, flesh out the world? Does the ending resonate with the theme? Re-write the scene list in the correct order, with scenes added or removed as necessary to tell the proper story. Now your scene list is a handy dandy roadmap/outline for your revision! 

List out all of the characters in the story. Write down their role in the story. Does every major character have a goal? Do motivations make sense? Does each one change in some way during the story? Are all of your walk-on roles necessary? Are there characters who don’t really do much, and could you combine them?

Fixing plot holes on your scene list is a lot easier than fixing them in the manuscript itself. Keep tweaking your scenes until the story feels like it works. Make sure there’s a logical flow between events -- cause and effect, escalating stakes. Consult structure guides like the Hero’s Journey or the Three-Act Structure if you need some help with your plot. 

Here’s a part that’s really important so it’s going in all caps: THE SCENE LIST IS FINAL. Make all the adjustments you need to the plot while you do the scene list, but do not -- DO NOT -- deviate from the story once you move on to the next step. You don’t stop modifying your scene list until you’re happy with the story, and once you’re happy, THAT is the story you’re writing. Get new ideas for things that can happen? Great, save ‘em for the next book. 

Now Roll Your Sleeves Up And Get Dirty 

Some people like to print their manuscript off and do edits in pen, but I don’t have reliable printer access most of the time and hate wasting paper. So instead, I pull up the rough draft and adjust it so it takes up one half of my monitor. Then I pull up a fresh, empty file and put that on the other half of the screen. 

Now, using my scene list as a guide, I pull up the rough draft and rewrite it, scene by scene. Yes, that means re-typing every word. You’ll find that when you do this, you’ll fix a lot of language mistakes without even realizing it. I’m an under-writer, so my drafts usually double in length during this process because I spend more time lingering on sensory details, adding scenes, teasing out character dynamics, etc. etc. etc. Just let yourself go, get immersed into the scene. If you forget what you were doing, just refer back to your outline and original draft to get back on track. 

I find this process works best if you can do it quickly. Try not to let the story get cold. Ideally, work on this every single day, or even set aside a long weekend to just hammer it all out. 

Finally: Make a Second Pass 

Now that you’ve got a second draft under your belt, it’s time to celebrate! Set the book aside. If you have beta readers or an editor, now is the time to send this to them. Hang out for a bit. Figure out who you’re querying, if you’re doing that. Find a kick-ass cover, if you’re self-publishing. Build yourself a Lego mansion. Whatever. Just sit on your draft for a little bit. 

Now that a couple weeks have passed, it’s time to make a final pass. Gather all of the feedback you’ve gotten from beta readers and editors and decide what advice you should take and what you can ignore. Here’s a guideline: If someone says something and you think, “oh, yeah! that’s exactly it!” then you take the suggestion. If they say something and you think “uh, well, no, that’s not really the story I was trying to write....” or something similar, you can ignore the feedback. Good feedback will always feel true in the “duh, why didn’t I think of that” way. 

Open up your new draft and, starting at page one, just read the damn thing. Make adjustments to the writing as necessary: 

Correct any misspellings and typos you come across. 

Eliminate weak words and phrases and replace them with stronger ones. 

Add some variation to sentence structure if you notice that it’s become repetitive. 

Eliminate redundancy. Fix your metaphors. Fix your symbolism. Keep your poetic language on-theme. In The Hound, I replaced a ton of random metaphors with dog imagery. It’s subtle, but it lends thematic cohesion. 

Some people use things like Grammarly or Hemmingway App to help with this. I’ve never used them, so I can’t speak to their effectiveness. But if you find that they help, awesome! Use them! 

Here’s a really important point: This step can ONLY come AFTER the rewriting stage. There is no point at all in tweaking sentences and fixing up the language in a story that has no plot. Fix your structural issues FIRST, and be sure they are AIR TIGHT, before you start dicking around with the words. Ok? Ok. (Someone go back in time 15 years and tell this to young me please) 

And now...you are done! 

Spend some time tweaking your elevator pitch and query letter at this point, if necessary. But no matter what, you do not go back into this document and change ANYTHING unless an editor tells you to. The book is DONE. Maybe give it a final proofread before you self-publish it (but honestly, you’re better off hiring someone to do it at that point, you’re going to be too zorched to notice the typos you missed) but otherwise don’t touch it. Don’t think about it. Write the next book. 

And that’s it! That’s my mostly painless revision process! 

Obviously every person is different, your mileage may vary, etc. But I hope this serves as a helpful jumping off point. I am more than happy to answer any questions or provide clarification on things -- just drop me a line :) 

#writing advice #writing tips #editing #writeblr #long post

[faintblueivy]

Is She Beautiful? - Chapter 10

Hey my lovelies! So, this is it. The last chapter of this story. This is the longest chapter that I've ever written and finished it a while ago, so yeah, I'm definitely looking forward to your feedback! Please enjoy the chapter ahead.

A big thank you to @roopshasil​ to beta read this story for me!

...

Chapter 10

She is Beautiful

When Sasuke and Sakura entered the house, they didn't expect to see two pairs of sandals at the doorstep. Their daughter's was obvious and the other one was Boruto's. But it was quite unsettling to have the two of them together in the same house with so much silence. They exchanged a look of concern before heading to the living room where they could sense the younger duo were.

And the sight they come to...was not what they were expecting at all. Sarada was kneeling in front of Boruto, who was on the couch, their hands intertwined together. As curious as they were of the scene, their apprehension grew when they realised that both of the kids have been crying. They both had slightly swollen eyes, and prominent tear tracks on their cheeks. They were also...beat up. And then their eyes fall on the large fresh bandage on Boruto's arm and a bloodied handkerchief nearby.

“Sarada? ...Boruto?”

Sakura whispered, prompting both the kids to whip their heads in their direction. Sakura immediately took a few quick steps towards them.

“What happened?”

Boruto immediately stood up, mindful of Sarada's position and bowed down to Sakura in a swift move.

“I'm sorry Aunt Sakura! I'll just leave. I was leaving anyway…”

He tried to scramble away but before Sakura could stop him from doing so, Sasuke was already blocking the exit. He placed his hand on the boy's shoulder.

“Boruto. What happened?”

Maybe it was the strength in Sasuke's voice or perhaps it was the respect that Boruto held for the man but he couldn't move from there. He spoke up.

…

“Boruto's not home yet?”

Naruto asked, surprised, wondering why his son was away at this time of the night. Sure, Boruto did stay out longer at times but it was primarily because he was either training with Konohamaru or Sasuke. And the last time Naruto had found his son away from home so late night, he was at the Uchiha residence. 

At Hinata's distressed nod, Naruto yelled, “Wait. I'll make some shadow clones and search for him.”

But before he could create the seal, Himawari came running down the hallway.

“Mom! Dad! Aunt Sakura called!” The young girl screamed.

“She said that Onii-chan was at their home and that they would send him home after dinner!”

Both him and Hinata took a simultaneous sigh of relief but Naruto did wonder.

How do you always end up there, Boruto?

…

“They did what?!”

Sarada and Boruto had been trying to answer the barrage of questions that Sakura and Sasuke threw at them and would have to do their best to calm the two adults down when the things went too far.

“...Do you remember what they looked like?”

Sasuke was the first one of break the silence after the kids told them of how the guy had almost killed Sarada. Sensing the growing rage in her parents, Sarada spoke up immediately to diffuse the situation.

“Papa, calm down please! I'm okay. Boruto saved me.”

“Yes, sweetie. You're safe but Boruto's hurt, isn't he? And they deserve punishment. Just...not what Sasuke-kun is planning.”

Sarada giggled at the sour face her father made at her mother's remark. And Boruto smirked too. Sakura was healing the gash as much as she could combined with the burn that had still not properly healed yet. She rebandaged Boruto's arm before smiling at him with melancholy.

“Boruto, I know you think that things you've done are wrong, and yes, they were but that doesn't give the right to others to put you down. Especially when you're doing your best to make things right! Do you understand kid?”

Satisfied with Boruto's firm nod as an answer, Sakura felt relieved. She grabbed him by the shoulders and looked him dead in the eyes.

“Listen Boruto, even though I can officially put it down in your medical report that the drug they injected in you was not toxic and only temporarily paralyzing, but I will not! No godson of mine will have some weird drug flowing in his body. That is why you'll accompany me to the hospital tomorrow. I have to make a through check up.”

Boruto gulped audibly but Sakura continued, “I'll also go and talk to Naruto about these new stupid inventions and them getting in wrong hands. One of these days, those scientific weapons he and the council has been funding on might end up hurting his own kid.”

Sakura fumed in herself as the other three watched her with various degrees of terror and awe.

You're incredible Mama!

Sarada looked up at the woman who gave her a grin in return.

“Come on Sarada! Help me cook dinner.”

Sarada gave her an enthusiastic nod and ran towards the kitchen but halted in midway when Boruto's voice reached her ears.

“I think I should leave now, Aunt Sakura.”

Sarada stopped in her tracks. To be honest, she didn't want him to leave yet but was not sure if he wanted to stay more here. They both needed a little loosening up after today's events. The day's events were too much for both of them.

“Nonsense! You will stay here and have dinner with us Boruto!”

“But Mom would worry-”

“I'll call Hinata. Don't worry about such trivial things.” Sakura emphasized with a convincing smile and Boruto resigned to the older woman.

As she grabbed the phone to dial Hinata, Boruto and Sasuke were already helping Sarada gather up the ingredients. A while later, Sakura returned, telling them that information has been relayed to Himawari. The ladies flitted around the kitchen cooking stuff and men helped them by bringing necessities and arranging the table.

Later, the four of them occupied the table. Miso soup, rice and several other side dishes were served. It was funny how Boruto squirmed in his seat. He wasn't used to having dinner with anyone else other than his family.

“Rice?”

Sarada's voice broke him out of his musings. He realised that she was gesturing at his empty bowl, so Boruto stretched it towards her for a second helping.

“And Boruto, do not worry” Sakura declared, “we'll be dropping you home after dinner.

“W-What?!”

Boruto gawked, slightly grateful that the chopsticks hadn't slipped off his fingers. He stared at Sakura, gaping.

“But Aunt! I can go home myself-”

“No way!”

This time it was Sarada who objected, elbowing him on the arm and narrowing her eyes.

“Last time you tried going home alone you were ambushed, drugged and almost killed! Not taking chances again! Right Mama?”

She nodded in the direction of her mother for agreement.

“Right!”

Boruto heaved out a large sigh and smiled in defeat.

“Fine, fine.”

His antics made both Sarada and Sakura giggle. He launched into another tirade of recent events, exclaiming how Sarada punched the hell out of those criminals and how he was cheering for her all the way.

Sasuke smiled.

He had seen enough of both of his daughter and student to notice that Boruto was much more livelier than he had been for days and Sarada was much more relaxed.

So you two made up, hn.

He closed his eyes for a second, relishing bliss of home, of the ambience and presence of his loved ones.

“Sasuke-kun? Are you tired?”

Sakura's sudden question snapped him out of the trance as he blinked at her.

“What? No-”

“Papa. Are you sleepy?”

He shook his head when Boruto exclaimed.

“He totally is! See, that's what I was saying! You guys shouldn't worry about me -ttebasa! I can go home on my own!”

“Boruto...don't even go there.” Sasuke warned.

“Alright, alright! I give up!”

He raised his both hands in surrender and then attacked the food, stuffing it into his mouth in embarrassment. Sarada rolled her eyes at him but allowed a fond exasperated smile to grace her lips.

…

After dinner and doing dishes, which Boruto had volunteered to help with, the group of four of them left for the Uzumaki residence. They were halfway down the busy road when Sasuke suddenly requested for a private audience with Boruto, prompting Sakura and Sarada to move ahead.

“After your fight with Momoshiki? Did something weird happen?”

Sasuke was direct to the point. His brows raised when the boy flinched and looked at him with wide eyes.

“You saw him?! Really? Does that mean I wasn't hallucinating? It was real?”

Sasuke gave him a cautious nod and asked something that had bothered him for a while.

“...He talked to you? Didn't he? Personally.”

Boruto tilted his head in agreement and Sasuke could detect turmoil in his clear blue eyes as the boy described the moment.

“It was... something, like a vision. I don't know what it was and he was definitely saying some creepy stuff along with that.”

“Creepy stuff?”

“Yeah. He talked about how people who defeat gods are not ordinary people anymore and some stuff about destiny and things like that. I thought...it was all in my head but you saw it. So it's gotta be true!”

Boruto looked disturbed now and Sasuke couldn't blame him at all. At the end of the day, he was just a kid. He watched monsters who claimed to be gods attack his village, capture his father and almost kill him. And then after defeating the monster, he's left with that creepy indecipherable message about his destiny, his future being cursed. Sasuke eyed the way his fists clenched and eyes clouded with apprehension.

“You know, I should have told you this sooner.”

His grave voice immediately attracted Boruto's attention. At the boy's curious stare, Sasuke looked forward, speaking from his heart.

“No one knows what the future holds. Remember that. If you live in fear of the future, you'll never be able to live the present. And I'm telling you this because you have a long way to go before you reach the desired future.”

Sasuke looked down back again, peering into his blue eyes, he spoke as honestly as he could.

“So don't think about what is to come, rather prepare yourself to battle everything and anything that destiny throws on your face.”

Sasuke genuinely smiled at the awed grin that Boruto offered him, a nostalgic scene from some corner of his conscience resurfaced.

…

“Do you think he caused some trouble again?”

Hinata's question made Naruto look up at her, she was sitting right across him on the chair, with a tense frown marring her beautiful features.

“Why would you think that? Hinata?”

He asked, lightly stroking Himawari's hair who had fallen asleep on the sofa waiting for her big brother. Hinata fiddled her fingers together, a nervous habit that she had grown out of a long time ago, but an anomaly that would occasionally reappear when she is extremely anxious about something.

“I-I don't know? He's been causing a lot of problems lately. Doing things that he shouldn't be doing. Sometimes... I feel like...it's my fault. Like if I have failed him as his mother-”

“Stop right there!”

Naruto's strong voice made Hinata flinch. But Naruto was having none of it. He stood up from his seat and approached his wife in a few strong strides. He crouched down to her level and gripped her shoulders firmly.

“Listen to me, Hinata. And listen to me good. You have never failed Boruto or anyone for any matter! Do you understand? You're an amazing mother, an awesome daughter and an incredible friend. And also the best love I could have ever wished for. So I will not accept you putting yourself down!”

Hinata opened her mouth to say anything but the words felt clogged in her throat. So rather than trying to bring forth what her feelings enclosed, she decided to act on them and buried her face in his chest. He circled his arms around her shoulders, holding her in his protective embrace.

Although the trance was broken when Himawari let out a tiny whine. Both parents breathed out a sigh of relief realising that she was still sleeping.

“I'm surprised that she's still asleep after all the yelling you did.” Hinata teased.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and laughed nervously before running to tuck their daughter away in the bed.

…

Naruto was climbing down the stairs when the front door slipped open and Boruto appeared, followed by the Uchiha family.

Naruto's surprised yell of ‘Boruto’ caused Hinata to rush out of the door to greet their son. The marks on his face and the fresh bandage on his arm alarmed them almost immediately.

“What happened?” They exclaimed in unison. 

All the four of the newcomers shared a look before letting out a collective sigh.

“It's a long story.”

…

“I'll dispatch a squad of Anbu to track down those criminals immediately!” Naruto stood up from his place, his anger flaring up, “And we also need to keep an close eye on the manufacture of those ninja tools.”

The people in the room had watched Naruto pacing the room repeatedly in agitation for ten minutes before Sasuke spoke up.

“You don't even need Anbu. I can do all that work myself. I just need permission.”

He side eyed Sakura who immediately retorted with a firm 'No’.

“Dad. Not today please.” Boruto's tired voice interrupted in between, “If I've to end up telling that incident one more time, I swear I'll go and ask hell if they're having an exchange program.”

All the adults gave him a 'what?’ look but Sarada just exhaled, having gotten used to his weird antics.

“Sarada. Boruto. We need you to leave this room.” Sasuke's sudden request made everyone look up at him “-uh, adult talk, you see?” He offered a lame explanation making the three adults in the room stare at him in incredulity while the younglings simply rolled their eyes, already used Sasuke's poor attempts when dealing with kids.

“I and Sarada are by the swings then.” Boruto supplied before exiting the room with Sarada beside him.

…

“What do you think they could be talking about?” Boruto asked, leaning against the pole of the swing which Sarada occupied at the current moment.

When Himawari was quite young, Uzumakis had a small swing set installed at their backyard. Boruto and Sarada have a lot of childhood memories related to this swing so it felt oddly nostalgic for both of them to be here at the moment. But neither mentioned anything.

“I don't know? Maybe how to deal with our attackers or maybe about the take of action against SNWT?”

“Yup, probably.”

A light breeze blew, tossing Sarada's dark locks in rhythm. She closed her eyes to feel it, cherish it and letting that calm wash over her nerves. Suddenly, a gentle push on her back made the swing move forward. She swiveled her head around to find Boruto behind her, smiling gently. As the swing returned, he caught her and pushed her again. Sarada giggled, relishing the momentum and the feeling of wind whipping her face.

As the comfortable silence continued, Sarada felt her heart ease up and shed some light on the questions she had been scared to ask herself. The swinging motion was so incredibly soothing that her lips turned upwards into a smile. Back and forth. It was astonishing how a childhood fun activity defined their bond so well. How they would push one another towards their goals but would also be there to catch when the other stumbles behind.

And suddenly everything became so crystal clear.

“Do you want to swing too?” She asked turning to look at him as she was softly pushed away again.

“Nahhh.” He grinned.

“You know? I want you to remember what Mama said. Just because you made a mistake that you're repenting for, gives nobody else the right to insult you. Don't let people do that again Boruto.”

It took him a moment to reply.

“I know. I understand it now. Better late than never, right?”

“Right!” she laughed happily, relieved on inside to see the light shining in his eyes once again.

“But yeah, thank you Sarada.”

His gratitude out of nowhere made her whip her head in his direction.

“What? What are you thanking me for? You're the one who...saved me?”

Boruto shook his head at her confusion.

“I wanted to thank you for everything. For being so understanding after the mess I created with the others. Then coming to save my loser self from those attackers. Then taking care of my wounds before your own. And also for... making me see things that I was deliberately ignoring. I just don't know what I'd do without you.”

His voice was so thick with emotions that Sarada half suspected that he might be crying again, so she tightly refrained from the urge to look back at him. Because she knew it better than anyone else about how much he hated showing tears. She had seen him crying today already. He wouldn't like it if it happens a second time. After a while, she whispered.

“Welcome. You know, you can count on me. Always.”

“You can count on me too! Always!” He replied without missing a beat. They both were secretly elated, happy and appeased. The tensions that have been taking hold of their relationship slowly seemed to fade away.

“Sarada!”

Sakura's voice floated over to the two of them as they saw their parents standing on the porch.

“Come on! Let's go home!”

“Yes. Coming!” Sarada replied, jumping off the swing after Boruto slowed it down. As Sarada was about to follow her parents out of the Uzumaki residence, she stopped all of sudden. She slowly turned to him and Boruto was not sure if it was an illusion of anything, but her cheeks appeared a little pinker than usual.

“Um,” her eyes darted all over the place, “-you see, I, care about you a lot.”

Instantly, that nervous fiddling around vanished, replaced by a surge of confidence that astounded him.

“And you're my friend! That is why!”

What about you? 

He had asked, and this was her answer. 

The bright grin she offered him was so overwhelming, so bright and blinding that Boruto failed to utter out a single word as she raced back to her parents.  He stood there, still staring at her back, enchanted, as he added one more fact in the list of those he was exclusively sure about her.

Yes .

With that smile etching itself deep in his memories, he knew, that there wasn't any sense in denying anymore.

Yes .

He now knew.

Yes.

She is Beautiful. ...

Aaaaaahhhhh! I know it's an open ended story but since Boruto and Sarada are still quite young here, I felt that the most important factor in this story would be their relationship development based on their friendship. And also has a lot of character development here as well.

And at the last, the story ended where it started, so yes, a full circle? AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I had so much fun WRITING it, and had so many up and downs irl during the span. It was amazing journey shared with you all. And honestly thanks a lot for supporting me and also for your patience.

If you want to talk more about this story, you can send me messages on my Tumblr ask box! I'll be happy to indulge you!

And of course, fear not, no matter what, I'll still be updating my other stories so this is not the end!

With the above message, I conclude my first multichapter story ever!

Thank you everyone for reading this story and supporting it!

See you again.

#borusara #borusarafics #boruto x sarada #boruto and sarada #boruto uzumaki #sarada uchiha #boruto #sarada #borusara fanfiction #boruto naruto next generation #is she beautiful #adi writes

[brynwrites]

Beta Reader FAQ

What are beta readers?

Beta readers are those glorious 10-20 people who read your manuscript ahead of anyone else, and give you their opinion of it. Beta readers are important because they let you as the author know how well you’re communicating your story long before it ever sees an agent, publisher, or normal reader.

Well, what are beta readers not? They aren’t editors or critical partners. They’re just typical readers. You can think of them as undercover chapter by chapter book reviewers, come to secretly warn you about all the things they as readers aren’t finding attractive about your book, while you still have the time to change things.

How do you care for your beta readers?

Stay clear of their teeth, only feed them fresh, raw meat, and keep them near hot coals at all time... oh wait... no that’s baby dragons.

Like baby dragons though, beta readers can take a lot of effort to properly maintain. It’s customary to write up a questionnaire for each section or chapter of your manuscript (google forms works wonders for this), send your beta readers a copy of the chapter and a link to the form, and then wait for the readers to finish it before sending them the next chapter.

Every author does it a bit differently. Some send their chapters in bundles, so the readers can binge if they need to. Some allow their readers to comment in the chapters themselves on top of filling out the chapter forms. Some have additional forms for things like character relationships or world building comprehension. Some only have one form for each bundle of chapters. There is no wrong way; do what works best for you and your story.

Since you should have at least ten, if not up to twenty beta readers at the start, it can help to keep a spreadsheet of where everyone is at in the story. Messaging your betas with thank you notes, updates, or encouragements is also a good practice. Beta reading can be mentally demanding and time consuming, so the more you can motivate your betas to keep reading on a timely schedule, the better feedback you’ll get!

This is all good, but how do I find beta readers in the first place?

Again, there are many ways, but posting a call for beta readers on your favorite social networking site is always a great start. 

Such calls should include: 

A blurb of the story; you want beta readers who are interested in the book’s premise.

A link to an excerpt from the story to help weed out anyone who doesn’t like your writing style.

A description of what you are requiring out of your beta readers, because every author does it slightly differently.

A link to a short application.

The content of the application is up to you; anything from general statistics, to favorite books, to special skill or knowledge they might be able to offer you. Using an application is helpful because it give you knowledge about your tiny audience and helps you pick betas who represent a variety of ages, genders, or backgrounds.

What if I don’t think anyone will sign up to beta read my book?

They will. Trust me. There’s an audience for every story ever written.

But you do have a higher chance of finding a large number of reliable beta readers if you have people who are already interested in reading your story. If you’re worried, you could always take advance measures.

Message mutuals you think are cool, and just talk to them. Beta readers will be readers by nature. Ask them about the books they like. Find out what they’re reading currently. Who are their favorite authors? Do they prefer character driven books, or intricate plots? What makes them give up on a book?

Congratulations! You both made a friend, and discovered whether this friend is the sort of person who might beta read for you. Now, go do this at least 30 more times.

What if they don’t like my book?

This is the cold hard truth: you don’t want beta readers to think your book is a flawless masterpiece. Your book is flawed; admit that to yourself now. You want beta readers who will rip things apart and shove this flaw in your face, so you can fix it. It’s better to have all your book’s faults picked out now, by a dozen readers who know they’re getting a rough manuscript, then later by someone who’s turning your manuscript down, or readers who’re getting a hold of it post-publishing.

Chances are, even if your betas don’t like certain parts of your manuscript, they’ll still love some of the other parts. You’ve done some things wrong, yes, but you’ve done some things right too. Trust yourself.

How do I know what feedback to use, and what to discard?

Opinions are never wrong. You have to decide for yourself though, which readers have opinions which are worth bending for, and which don’t. If an opinion is mirrored by the general audience, or you share it yourself, then you should listen to it. If an opinion conflicts with the general audience, or with your intention for the book, then don’t worry too much about it.

Keep in mind that sometimes reader feedback is not always straightforward. A beta might not like a scene in your climax because they never understood a concept you introduced much earlier in the book. A reader might not feel the emotion attached to your killer emotional scene because they never connected with the character you wanted them to be emotional about. Make sure you always find the root of the reader’s dislike before you commit to changing things.

How do I know which questions to ask on my beta reader forms?

There’s a couple good lists of such questions across the interweb. If you want to make up all of your own questions, a good way to go is to ask a mixture of general questions (“Was this scene suspenseful? Did the character’s actions feel realistic? Did the dialogue flow? Was anything confusing? Was there anything you didn’t like?”), and specific questions (“How did you interpret Character A and Character B’s relationship? What did you think of World Building Concept A? Did you see that twist coming?”)

The goal is to encourage your readers to think deeper about your book. Be that annoying literature teacher. You want the most rounded feedback possible.

Now go out and wrangle some beta readers!

If you had a question I didn’t cover, my ask box is always open. Stop by any time :)

#writing help #writing advice #writeblr #beta readers #writing #publishing #what else do I tag this as... #uh #self publishing #amwriting #writing resources #bryn talks way too much #bryn tags things ridiculously #someone stop them before they hurt themselves #writing tips #writing tag: Critique #critique tag: Beta Readers