#so thanks again to the hosts for giving me the inspiration to write through it!! I hope you like it <3

[midwinterrmemento]

An Uncanny Resemblance

➢ pairing: Silvio Ricci x MC/Emma [Ikemen Prince]

➢ prompt: Forced to wear an ugly Christmas sweater

➢ word count: 1,950

⚠️ content warnings: minor language and slightly suggestive content towards the end, otherwise it’s just tooth-rotting fluff

This is my first time writing for the Cybird games, but I read the list of prompts for @xxsycamore and @voltage-vixen​’s ‘Tis the Season for Love challenge and it gave me Ideas™ so I hope you don’t mind me joining in! It's super self-indulgent since I'm currently experiencing Silvio brainrot, but thank you both for giving me an excuse to try writing for IkePri and to embarrass him the way he deserves. Happy holidays :)

Silvio took a long look at the sweater laid out in front of him, feeling his nose involuntarily crinkle up in disdain.

Christmas was as lavish a celebration as any other in Benitoite, so every year the prince was used to receiving gifts of the highest—and most expensive—quality from nobles and foreign merchants looking to gain favor with the royal family. He had admired some gifts before, sure, but he couldn’t remember ever being so astonished by one. Nothing had ever left him as speechless as this… nauseatingly colorful heap of wool.

The very thought sent another wave of frustration through him.

Damn it, why should this be the thing that finally gets to him? And what sentimental value could that woman possibly find in it?

He could still see the look on Emma’s face when she came up to him in his study, the way her eyes were sparkling with anticipation as she presented him with the sweater. She’d admitted herself that it was ugly, but according to her, that was supposed to be the charm of it. Apparently it was a tradition in her country to cozy up during the holidays with an ugly festive sweater. So much for Rhodolite being the land of refinery, he’d thought dryly, but held his tongue.

Or, at least, he meant to hold his tongue, but then she said something about how it reminded her of him and he just couldn’t withhold his indignation at that. The moment he snapped at her, however, he regretted it immediately, watching her face fall.

But why would she be so hurt that he was insulted, anyway? She wasn’t expecting him to be flattered, was she?

He knew perfectly well that Emma saw the world differently than he did, and on some level he’d already accepted that he might never understand her completely, but that didn’t mean he would give up trying. It made him deeply uncomfortable to watch her and that damn dog giggling together over the sweater without being able to understand what they were going on about (that damn dog, who was all too quick to agree that oh yes, it looks just like him, though whether he was trying more to appease Emma or insult Silvio was anyone’s guess). As he scrutinized the sweater now, he searched for anything they could possibly see that he couldn’t.

Roughly knitted into the center was a little humanlike blob in a red suit, sitting on something green. It appeared to be Santa in his sleigh, which was being pulled by what was definitely not a reindeer, although he couldn’t quite tell what it was supposed to be. A dog, maybe? It had four legs, at least… and it was white with black spots... and if that part there was meant to be its face, then it looked somehow smug and self-satisfied, with a lopsided half-smirk.

It didn’t look like him at all. Emma was just crazy, and the design made no sense, and it was a sorry excuse for proper craftsmanship. He’d have to go find whatever merchant she bought it from and get her money back.

But still... he couldn’t stand knowing that he’d made her upset.

Emma looked so dejected when he refused to take the sweater from her, pushing it away when she held it out to him. He’d insisted that she take the sweater and the damn dog and leave him alone, because he was busy and he had no time to waste on something so childish. If only he’d known that this was actually important to her, maybe he would’ve been more careful about what he said. The truth is, he wasn’t offended, he was just confused and embarrassed to be given such a gift in front of the dog. He never actually meant to hurt her feelings. 

In fact, he had no idea how much he did hurt her feelings until the dog came knocking on his door later, shoving the sweater back into his arms and angrily demanding that he go apologize to his mistress.

Apologizing was never Silvio’s style. But, well… maybe there was something else he could do to make it up to her.

He gingerly picked up the sweater, holding it at arm’s length like he expected to catch a disease from it. To his dismay, as he stood there with it awkwardly, he could feel his cheeks starting to burn in that telltale way. He had to ask himself again, why was this such a big deal? He was someone who had survived the roughest journeys at sea imaginable. He’d been everywhere and seen everything, and his presence alone was enough to command a room, no matter where he was. If he could do all that, then he could at least put on a stupid sweater.

Before he could change his mind, Silvio cussed under his breath and tossed his shirt to the side. Yanking the sweater over his head, he tried to ignore his discomfort at its scratchiness as he pulled it down to cover his body. He smoothed down his hair, which had been ruffled up in the process, and adjusted the sweater a little bit, finding it itchy and roomy and—oh, well, actually... it was warm enough, at least. He tugged at the sleeves, rubbing the fabric through his fingers to test the quality.

Well... it wasn’t terrible. That much he could admit.

But when he turned towards his mirror, any semblance of appreciation he might’ve felt vanished immediately at the sight of his reflection—himself swimming in a frumpy, oversized sweater, the long sleeves dangling down past his hands. His hair was frizzy, standing up in all directions from the static. His face was still red, and the more he looked, the more it deepened until it seemed to match the exact shade of the sweater itself.

If he didn’t know better, he’d even say that the doglike creature in the middle was looking at him with that smug smirk.

Hell no. Screw this.

Silvio tore his eyes away from his reflection and began fumbling around, clumsily trying to pull his arms out of the sleeves so he could get this thing off him already. Emma would just have to get over it on her own, because no way was he going to let her see him like this.

But then, at the worst possible moment—

“Silvio?” A knock on the door. “Are you here?”

—karma struck, and the prince was frozen in the middle of trying to remove the sweater when the door opened and Emma poked her head inside the room.

“I just wanted to...”

Whatever she was about to say, she trailed off abruptly when she caught sight of him, her eyes widening. For a second, they only stared at each other in shocked silence. Silvio was the first to snap out of it.

“You’re supposed to wait for an answer before you come in, woman.” His voice came out too flustered for his liking. Suddenly remembering how red his face was, he spun around to turn his back to her, muttering a stream of profanities as he continued to wrestle with the sweater. “Damn it... Are you just gonna stand there or what? Close the door!”

He heard the door shut quickly, and for a second he was relieved that she was merciful enough to make sure no one else saw this. But then she began to do the only thing that could make this even more humiliating.

“Hey—don’t laugh at me!”

She was obviously trying to hold in her string of giggles, but somehow that made it even worse. Giving up trying to rip off the sweater, he turned back to face her with an exasperated sigh, the empty sleeves swinging around in the process.

“I’m serious!”

But oh, the sight of Emma smiling sweetly, eyes glimmering with delight as she tried to cover her laughter with her hand. Seeing her like that, he could almost forget about his embarrassment for a moment. But then she was crossing the room over to him, and his guard was back up again.

“Sorry,” she managed, though she didn’t sound sorry at all as she continued to giggle. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing. And you didn’t see anything, either, got it?”

“Well, I did see something.”

“You—hey—”

“I saw my fiancé trying to make me smile, right?” Once she was close enough, she leaned up and pressed a kiss to his bright red cheek, and Silvio was stunned into silence by the adoring look on her face when she pulled back. “Or were you just trying on the sweater because you love it that much?”

He glared at her, but she only smiled back at him softly, understanding his silence as enough of an answer. “Silvio... thank you.”

“...You’re a weird woman. This kind of thing impresses you, seriously?”

“You did it anyway.”

“Yeah, I did. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to wear this thing in front of anyone else, you hear me?” Silvio pointed his finger at her for emphasis, forgetting that his arms were still inside the sweater, so the action was hardly noticeable. “And you better not tell that damn dog, either.”

Emma smiled, shaking her head. “All right. But Rio will probably come looking for me soon, so you should hurry and take it off if you don’t want him to see.”

“Then help me out already, will you? This thing’s like a wool prison.”

Emma reached up and helped him tug the collar of the sweater over his head, the rest of it quickly following suit with her guidance. She didn’t realize until too late that he wasn’t wearing anything underneath and flushed when she suddenly found herself face-to-face with a shirtless Silvio, who tossed the sweater onto the bed with a sigh. The moment he glanced back at her, saw her expression, and realized what was happening, though—

“Hm. Not laughing anymore, huh?”

The smirk that graced his features was undeniably gorgeous, and Emma had to admit that she was glad to see his confidence restored, as endearing as it was when he was flustered. She didn’t even have time to be amazed at how quickly their roles had flipped before Silvio’s hand was around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

When his lips landed on hers, their kiss was full of its usual heat, but this time there was something else, too—gratitude. On Emma’s part, because Silvio had swallowed his pride to take part in a tradition from her homeland and cheer her up. And on Silvio’s part, because Emma was the only woman in the world who could catch him looking so foolish and love him even more because of it. Besides, she was the only woman in the world he would risk looking so foolish for, anyway.

“Ah, wait, Silvio—” Emma broke the kiss not without reluctance, her face now as red as his as she looked away embarrassedly. “Really, Rio will be here any second. You need to get dressed.”

“Fine. Hand me that shirt over there.” Silvio’s smirk only stretched across his face, pleased that he was able to get such a reaction out of her so easily. “We’ll continue this later.”

He chuckled at the way her blush deepened at that last remark. As Emma scrambled to grab the shirt, trying to hide her flustered face from him, he turned slightly to cast one more glance at the sweater lying in a heap on his bed, still oblivious to any resemblance he shared with it but inexplicably satisfied when his eyes landed on that little knit dog.

That’s right. Who’s smirking at who now, fido?

#I don't know if I like how this turned out but I'm just glad I actually finished a draft for once T-T #the writers' block has been bad lately #so thanks again to the hosts for giving me the inspiration to write through it!! I hope you like it <3 #'tis the season for love #'tis the season for love content creation challenge #ikemen prince #ikepri #ikemen prince silvio #ikepri silvio #silvio ricci #cybird #ikepri fanfic

[milkbobatyun]

let you break my heart again

pairing: kang taehyun x fem!reader

genre: angst, fluff (if u squint really closely), bsf to more than friends to strangers, school au, right person, wrong time (sort of?), miscommunication (-ish?)

summary: in which you and taehyun are childhood friends, but as you grow older, some things make you think that you're more than friends. yet, the universe and fate love to play cruel games on you.

word count: 2.8k

a/n: this is my first time writing on tumblr and i did this instead of studying for my legal test (°ー°〃) this whole piece imo is a hot mess, but it was inspired by real life so this is in a way, a sort of speical thing to write. to the person that made me feel this way, thank u for giving me inspo for this. and also thank u to my faithful quality checker @yeonjunsfox, dude you had to read through this thing like sm times (｡ŏ_ŏ)

i. prologue

she could remember it clearly. it was a sticky summer day. it would have been perfect, blue sky for miles and fluffy clouds nowhere to be seen, if not for the fact that the sun was baking down onto the earth and causing sweat to come pouring down her back, yet this was not enough to deter her from hosting a teddy bear picnic in her front yard, plastic cups clinking against the pink and white plastic plates that came with it. but, as a five-year-old child, her attention span was short, playing with the teddies for an hour was already a feat in itself, yn wanted more. she wanted adventure.

just as she thought that, she caught sight of a white moving van rolling up to the newly-purchased house beside her house. in her childish excitement, she quickly stood up, almost tripping over herself in excitement, before she politely dusted her hands on her little yellow sundress, peeking on her tiptoes to see over the fence. to her surprise, she came eye to eye with a smiling little boy, round boba eyes bright with wonder and anticipation.

“hi! i’m taehyun! i’m…” the little boy paused, before he pulled out his hands and started counting. “i’m five!” taehyun held up five fingers in delight. ecstatic that she had someone else to play with, yn and taehyun became fast friends.

ii. when we were kids

throughout their younger school years, they had always been in the same class and their friendship grew stronger, until they were each other’s best friends. now, they had just begun their first year of middle school. with the process of growing up, their dynamic also changed. maybe it came with the arrival of adolescence, but their relationship, something, was different and yn couldn’t put her finger on it. 

sure, as children they would hold hands, especially when yn was nervous. often, taehyun would tease her about how she was a ‘scaredy-cat’, but would secretly love the way that she would shy away, into his back. he often boasted about how he was her knight in shining armour and she was his princess. as children, when they were leaving a play date, one or the other would often give a cute little kiss on the other’s squishy cheek to bid them fair well. yn could remember so clearly, the cooing noises their mothers would make, seeing that interaction. in fact, they loved it so much that both mothers had matching framed photos on their living room mantelpiece of a secret photo they snuck.

but now, it was different. there were more fleeting touches, possessive holds, namely from a devilishly handsome teenage taehyun. sometimes, he would sneak up from behind her, while she was grabbing things from her locker, and his arms would circle her waist, before he lifted her into the air, with her legs kicking. other times, he would be more sensible, wrapping his arms around her from behind before leaving his quote-on-quote “stupid, heavy head” on her shoulder. what taehyun didn’t know was how hard yn would try to suppress her smile when his hair tickled her neck.

most of the time though, yn could curse his stupid height. now that he was taller than her, he would often rub it in by petting her head, before using those stupidly long legs to run away from her. goddamn it, why did god give him such spidery long legs! doesn’t he know how tiring it is to run after him every day just to get her revenge?

being the school heartthrob’s best friend was hard, many times a day would yn be stopped in the hallways by girls and guys alike, asking her if she could pass this on to taehyun, pass that message on to him, or answer such questions about taehyun’s hobbies. more often than not, she would diligently pass the message on to taehyun, not without a tone of teasing mockery, on their walks home together. those were the best times, when the setting sun was the only witness to their banter, as they zig-zagged across the path leading to their homes, playful shoving accompanied by sarcastic jokes and digs, a secret language created by the two of them.

iii. still you take up all my mind

the second year of middle school was no different. taehyun and yn were still attached to the hip, they were barely anywhere without each other, supporting each other both in public and private. they were each other’s comfort.

yn could remember as clearly as yesterday, when they were both in some stupid lecture, where the lecturer had jokingly said that if they got bored, they could sleep through it. excited at this rare opportunity to sleep through a WHOLE lecture, taehyun immediately turned to yn. he knew that in the past week, she hadn’t been sleeping well. who would, if they had 5 assignments to hand in, back to back in the past 3 days?

he wordlessly offered her his shoulder to lean on and without missing a beat, yn immediately took the offer, resting her head on his shoulder. what surprised her though, was the added weight she felt when taehyun leaned his head and rested it on top of hers. this feeling was foreign, but it made her feel warm and fuzzy on the inside and so, they slept peacefully through the whole lecture, heads resting together, hands almost touching on the shared armrest.

iv. im just trying to understand

she doesn’t remember when it started happening, but slowly, their fleeting touches and linked pinkies during their walks together began to make her feel something more. it ignited a flame and sparks of electricity when their skin made contact. those warm, comforting back hugs made her heart do somersaults and butterflies spawn in her stomach, tickling her insides with their fluttering wings.

she didn’t take notice of it, until a friend of hers mentioned in passing, “hey, have you ever wondered if taehyun liked you? he’s always attached to you, almost acting like a boyfriend.” initially, yn dismissed her friend’s claims with a nonchalant shake of her head and a laugh, thinking that the notion was hilarious and she was so funny for mentioning something like this.

that afternoon, while taehyun and yn were walking home, taehyun subconsciously reached out his hand, linking his pinkie with hers. this sudden contact sent a sparkle of shock up yn’s arm and her heart jumped in her chest. hell, she was so surprised she almost jumped off the sidewalk into oncoming traffic. that was when her friend’s words crept back into her mind again.

‘does taehyun like me? or are we just friends?’

she thought long and hard. did other people’s best friends bring them their favourite snack when they felt down? did their best friend try their hardest at rigged arcade games to win them the plushie they had wanted? did their best friend always leave the sweetest notes in their locker before exam season? did other people also call their best friends until late at night, talking about everything and nothing at the same time? or was that what a boyfriend did?

those ideas wormed their way into her brain, warmth blooming across her cheeks. it spread like a virus, before that was all she could think about the whole walk home.

when she got home, she flopped onto her bed, burying her face into the nearest plushie and, with a silent apology for the abuse her plush was about to suffer, she let out a muffled scream. 

this was too hard. romance was too hard, how did the people in the books she read and in her school manage? did they also face the same predicament she was in? did they also have a more than 10-year friendship on the line like her? 

sighing, yn stood back up, smoothing out her hair, her mind set on getting her homework for the day done, just so she could keep her brain occupied with useless information that she most likely wouldn’t need later in life, rather than the handsome, lovable, sarcastic boy who was her best friend and lived next door to her.

she should’ve known her efforts would’ve been futile. during class, her eyes would wander to stare at the sculpture of art that was taehyun’s face, sitting next to her. her hands drew restless doodles and her thoughts were plagued with the possibility that maybe, just maybe this boy, her best friend, would like her.

these thoughts haunted her day and night, resurfacing at the times she least expected. they sprung up in her mind every time she felt his arms wrap around her waist. the contact that used to bring her so much comfort and warmth now only brought about unwanted thoughts of doubt and confusion, causing her to dread the familiar weight of those arms and attempts were made to worm her way out of the long limbs that entrapped her.

taehyun first noticed how strange his best friend was acting when she almost threw herself onto the road from the mere contact of their pinkies touching. initially, he brushed it off as his overreaction, after all, they had done this often enough that she should’ve been used to it. but as time went on, he began to doubt what he called, his ‘ynnie instincts’. things just weren’t right, somehow everything he did warranted a very strange and out-of-sorts reaction from his most beloved best friend. 

did he do something wrong? was he making her uncomfortable?

these thoughts plagued his mind, day and night, while he was doing homework, eating dinner, anything. his thoughts always drifted to her. her face, her favourite food, her comfort characters, everything they’d done together, he had everything memorised. so what had he done to make her react in such a way towards him? he thought, he pondered, he wondered, but nothing clear came to mind.

v. what i am to you

the warm summer days came and went, so too did the autumn days, and then the winter days before spring finally arrived. along with the changing of the seasons, taehyun and yn’s relationship also changed.

it was like a huge chasm had opened up between them. the pair, who once spoke about everything together, now barely talked to each other. after the break, yn had had the time to think things through and she finally found some answers for herself. yes, she did like her best friend. but did he feel the same way? that question, she left unanswered. as for taehyun, he was still in the dark about what rendered such actions from his closest friend.

in an attempt to restore their friendship, yn would seek out taehyun after classes ended, in hopes that they could rekindle their friendship, yet every time she looked for him in the corridors, he was with his new friends that he had made. frankly, they were intimidating, especially the one kid with dimples, who was super tall.

so, as any intimidated person would do, she avoided their group at all costs, but after school, she would often text taehyun or share some funny videos she saw online. however, as time went on, the replies she got were more distant, and disinterested. sometimes, she dared let herself hope, sending over a cheesy little pickup line, hoping he would take the hint and make the first move, or at least drop a hint. 

one time, she took a plunge into the deep end, sending a maths pickup line. after thinking about it for a while, she followed the video with ‘hahaha jk (unless?)’. in the end, she was once again left disappointed, with his stupid, stupid, logical reply of how ‘u’ and ‘i’ were used in maths, just for something else. for once, the conversation bounced back and forth between the two of them, until taehyun left her on read and never replied.

he was conflicted. did she like him the same way he liked her? those videos that she would send and the follow-up message of how they reminded her of him suggested one possibility, yet her responses when she noticed he was within a 50-meter radius of him suggested otherwise.

god, girls were confusing.

so of course, taehyun did something that, thinking back, was so stupid. he messaged one of the girls who had yn pass on her phone number to him.

they began talking more often, but every time taehyun saw her name flash across his screen, he didn’t feel that familiar spark of anticipation, of excitement. he felt nothing. yet every time his phone vibrated with a new notification from her, his ynnie, he felt fireworks explode in his heart. at the same time, he tried to stamp out these feelings.

“she doesn’t feel the same way” echoed like a mantra in his head. maybe if he told himself that enough times, he would believe it.

maybe talking to another girl wasn’t the best idea, or at least, telling your loud-mouth friends wasn’t the best idea. not even 2 periods had passed since taehyun had told his friend, beomgyu that he was talking to another girl, that at least half the year level knew about this new girl.

yn was only walking past a group of friends huddled together when she caught wind of what they were talking about.

“have you heard? taehyun’s talking to another girl!” one girl stage-whispered. there was a collective gasp. “no way! i thought him and yn were a thing?” another girl gossiped. “haven’t you seen the way taehyun and yn would act? i would’ve thought they were practically in love with each other.” a guy countered. “no way taehyun is talking with a different girl right?”

vi. if only you knew

in a final attempt to save their failing friendship, yn sent taehyun a long message after she got back from school that day. she poured her heart and soul into her message, deleting things and editing it over and over again in her notes app, until she was finally happy with her message. she included how she hoped their friendship could continue, she enjoyed all the moments they shared. maybe they could talk more? the message also eluded to something more, courtesy of her friend, who cheered her on over text to say that.

taking a deep breath, she sent it.

like a woman possessed, yn checked her phone every couple of minutes. while she was doing homework. right after she finished dinner. she flipped her phone after every episode of the kdrama she was watching finished. yet to her dismay, he hadn’t even read her message.

late that night, while she was preparing to head to bed, her phone vibrated, from on her bedside table. her ears pricked up at the sound of the familiar vibration, her heart soaring in her chest when she saw the contact name.

‘tyunnie sent one new message!’

clicking open the message, she felt her heart plummet.

two sentences. it only took two sentences to completely shatter her heart.

‘hey, i saw your message, i hope we can continue being friends too, but as you’ve probably heard, im currently talking to another girl. i hope you understand.”

vii. pretend that we're more than friends

no matter how much effort she put into maintaining their friendship, taehyun’s delayed replies for days and weeks exhausted her. she told herself, it was because of this new girl. she wasn’t envious of her. all she wanted was the best for him and maybe, she wasn’t enough.

after staring mindlessly at her black phone screen, waiting, hoping for a reply, she finally gave up. with a sigh, she turned over her phone, before resting her head on her desk. maybe she should stop getting her hopes up again.

maybe that’s all they’ll be, once best friends, now they were…whatever they were now.

despite all that, she hoped and dreamed that one day, someday, she’ll stop falling in love with her best friend. maybe one day, he would find the one for himself, but until then, she would allow herself to have a bit of hope maybe, pretending in her mind that they were still friends or maybe more than friends, the blurred line between friends and something more.

maybe still, he would be the person she sought out when she entered a classroom or was lost in the crowded hallway, even if all she would ever see was the back of his head. that was enough for her. when the time comes that he finds the one for him, she would happily let him break her heart once again.

in the end, taehyun and the girl had split up. the girl realised her true feelings, while taehyun finally came to terms with his love for his best friend. little did she know that every time she turned away, his longing eyes would search for her familiar silhouette in the crowd, hoping she would turn around and catch his eye.

∧,,,∧ ( ̳• · • ̳) © curated with love by milkbobayun 2024 / づ ♡

#kpop #kpop imagines #kpop fanfic #txt x reader #txt x you #txt x y/n #txt fanfic #taehyun x reader #taehyun fluff #soobin #kpop scenarios #tomorrow x together imagines #txt drabbles #kpop x reader #txt #txt imagines #txt scenarios #txt angst #txt fluff #taehyun angst #taehyun oneshot #taehyun scenarios #taehyun drabble #taehyun imagines #kang taehyun

[moralesmilesanhour]

what you're searching for.

summary: Margo goes to a shitty poetry slam and gets more out of it than she expects. wc: 4.9k warnings: alcohol consumption, and it's like very VERY lightly implied that they had an Adult Sleepover if you get my meaning. Nothing really too suggestive in here I promise. One singular reference to a tiktok. a/n: this took me a whole ass week but I'm very proud of where my writing style is going! somewhat inspired by the film 'Love Jones'. If you enjoyed this pls feel free to leave your thoughts or your favorite line if you have one! EDIT: OH MY GOD I FORGOT TO ADD: the first poem is actually taken from the Junior novel 'Miles Morales: Suspended' by Jason Reynolds! The poem at the end is mine though lmao I'm not the best poet

Margo can’t stand poetry.

Someone gets up in front of you with a piece of paper clutched in their hands, and recites what is simultaneously the most vague and the most painfully obvious string of fragmented sentences you’ve ever heard as if they’d just touched your soul.

It’s not rapping, not preaching, but the ugly middle child standing between them. Some odd bastardization of music for people who thought they were too smart for either of the first two, but weren't brave enough to just give speeches.

Speeches, at least, are coherent, specific, and can be scrutinized.

So far, sitting in the front row of the bar that her classmate Zoe had invited her to for poetry night, no one has changed her mind. 

Tonight’s performances consisted of an assembly line of men (and a couple of women) in vintage sweaters ranting about their exes to the rhythm of bongo drums, or some mildly relevant social issue that none had the lexicon to really say anything in stanzas that hasn’t already been said. She had heard nothing yet that sounded much more profound than an Instagram post.

Although, one girl had come up and recited a short poem about her late mother that Margo thought was quite sweet, and the least tortuous to sit through.

The crowd erupted in snaps again for a poet with long braided dreads and an ankh tattoo whose words she had tuned out. The host took the mic and announced the final (thank god) participant:

“Now this next one I had to practically drag over here to get him to share his beautiful poetry with us tonight. Everyone, please give a warm welcome to one of my close friends and colleagues, Miles Morales!”

A lanky young man–Margo suspects about six feet even, given the way he’s towering over the host–awkwardly shuffles over to the center of the stage, offering the crowd a tight-lipped smile. 

He’s in a plain green sweater with the sleeves hastily rolled up to his elbows and a bomber jacket tied around his waist. As soon as he’s handed the microphone, it seems to dawn on him that there’s no turning back, and his body visibly tenses. 

He clearly just got here, and for once Margo doesn’t know what to expect.

Squinting beneath the bright spotlight, he clears his throat and speaks into the mic. 

“Um, hi.”

A few scattered ‘hi’s from the crowd.

There’s something bright and sweet in the tone of his voice that makes him sound a little boyish, and she wonders what he could possibly have under his sleeve that warranted him getting dragged up here last minute.

He takes a deep breath.

“It’s said

That nobody

Is ever more

Than ten feet

From a spider.”

Miles began the poem carefully, like he was confessing something. 

“They be everywhere you and me are.”

A few members of the crowd laugh, others shudder at the thought and frown. 

“And even though

We see them only

When they big enough to see, or when

They move,

Like a cursor

Across the blank white

Page of a wall…”

His voice loses some of its airiness in exchange for confidence as he recites the rest of the poem, and Margo realizes that he isn’t reading off of anything. 

Either he’s improvising, or he has it entirely memorized.

“Or when we trip

The web-like wire

Of a booby trap

Or when they

Fang our flesh

We should probably

Assume most

Just be right there…”

Miles paused and looked somewhere far beyond the crowd, lifting his arm to point to the back of the room. Then he repeated:

“Right there,

Right here,”

He gestures toward the front row, where his eyes land directly on Margo. It’s not so close to the stage that she can tell for sure, but she thinks she sees a hint of a smile cross his lips.

“Looking at us,

Looking over them.”

Silence. 

His arm falls limply to his side as his eyes frantically scan the audience, searching for some kind of response. 

Then, someone begins to clap. Then another. Then another. WIthin moments, the entire room erupts in applause, causing a shy smile to spread across the young man’s face.

“Uh, thank you!” he says, surprised at the positive reception, before shrinking into himself again and leaving the stage the same way he came.

The host returns and takes the mic from him.

“Miles Morales, everybody!”

-

After the poetry slam, Margo insisted that Zoe take her to the sushi place across the street. It had a bar sitting off to the side, one with significantly less poets. The decorative lights hung directly above the shelf filled with glass bottles and shrouded them in cherry red.

Zoe takes a sip of her sherry and leans in.

“Sooo, how was it?”

“It was a’ight.”

The light-skinned girl’s lips pull into a pout. “Seriously?”

“Hey, I told you poetry wasn’t my thing,” Margo pauses, then amends, “I liked the last guy, though. Breath of fuckin’ fresh air.”

“Right? His style really caught my attention, subtle.”

“Glad you liked it.”

Zoe’s eyes widened as she glanced just beyond Margo’s shoulder.

When Margo turned towards the familiar voice and froze. 

The poet in question was standing just inches away, a friendly smile gracing his features. His jacket is no longer around his waist, neatly folded over his arm like an expensive coat. He is with the excitable darker-skinned man who’d just hosted the event, and a man the shade of sandalwood standing just behind him.

They’re both wearing the same type of muted cardigan as Miles, but they’ve got actual coats.

“Y’all were in the front, right?” Miles asks the both of them, though he’s only looking at Margo.

She nods wordlessly. Zoe picks up the slack.

“M-hm, you were great up there! You’ve really never shown anyone your work ‘till tonight?”

Miles snorts at the wording of the phrase. ‘His work’.

“I wrote that poem in high school,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“Wasn’t supposed to be anything serious, but my roommate…” 

He gives the dark-skinned man a dirty look. 

“...swiped my journal and found it. Told me I should read it out loud somewhere.”

Margo examines Miles’ face and imagines him as a baby-faced high-schooler, sitting in the back of the classroom with a protective arm around the beat-up red composition notebook he’s writing in. He stuffs it in his bag as soon as he’s done, because he has just poured his heart out onto that page, and his crush’s name is in there. Maybe there are tiny doodles of her in the margins.

“Yo,” the sandalwood-colored man claps Miles on the shoulder. “We about to hit up Tiff’s place, you coming?”

“Yeah, in a minute,” Miles nods dismissively. “I’ll catch up with y’all.”

The two other men give each other a knowing look before brushing past him.

“Alright man, catch you later then.”

Once she finally regains the ability to speak, Margo remarks, “You were the only performance I really liked, if I’m being honest.”

“Is that so?” 

“Oh yeah, this one hates poetry,” Zoe places a hand on Margo’s shoulder and laughs. “Tried to change her mind by bringing her over here, but no dice.”

Miles raised an eyebrow. “What made mine so different?”

“Hm, I dunno…” Margo’s eyes float over his form before making their way back up to his face. “Your delivery, I guess.”

Safe to say, he looks amusedly unconvinced.

“My…delivery.”

She catches herself and quickly adds, “I-I mean, it also kinda felt like everyone else was trying too hard. So.”

He tilts his head at the remark.

“Are you just saying that to flatter me?”

.“I don’t flatter people. Too close to lying.”

“That sounds like half a poem already. Maybe you should go up there next week.”

She gives him a lopsided smile.

“Only if you’re there. I need something to actually look forward to.”

His tongue darts out and passes over his lips.

“What’s your name?”

“Margo.”

Miles hums, softly repeating the name before inching his way over to the counter where he leans his hip on it.

“Pretty. Can I buy you a drink, Margo?”

She doesn’t think her name is all that pretty, but he makes it sound that way.

“Knock yourself out.”

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Zoe teases as she rises from her seat. “I’m gonna go order us some sushi.”

Miles takes the stool to Margo’s left as he waits on their drinks, his long legs never needing to leave the ground to do so.

He has a funny way of sitting, hands folded neatly in front of him with his back just a few degrees off from being perfectly straight. As if you needed to look distinguished at a sushi bar.

Church boy, Margo guessed. That, or his daddy’s a military man.

It’s adorable either way.

“You in school?” she asked.

“Yup. Princeton.”

Her eyes lit up.

“Oh shit, me too! I’ve never seen you on campus, though. What’s your major?”

“Physics. You?”

“Comp Sci. Been coding since I was in middle school, so…”

Margo remembers the echoing ‘click-clack’ of her keyboard as she sat in an empty computer lab for hours on end after school because she preferred it to her parents’ house.

The bartender hands Miles two glasses of white wine, and he sets the second glass in front of Margo, his warm eyes still focused on her. 

She’s intrigued by how clear they are - no trace of suspicion or calculation behind them. Just the warmth.

“So, where you from? My folks are over in Brooklyn.”

“Georgia.”

Miles’ brows jump to his hairline.

“Damn. What brought you all the way up here?”

To get as far away as possible. 

“Well, it’s Princeton,” she says beneath a forced laugh.

“Yeah, but you got, like, eight different HBCUs over there. How’d Princeton win you over?”

Margo breaks eye contact to stare into her drink.

“Needed a change of pace.”

When she looks up to gauge Miles’ reaction, skepticism is written all over his face. But he doesn’t push it further.

“That’s fair. Princeton’s got a cutting-edge quantum physics program that I’m aiming for. Had to beg my parents to come here,” he grins proudly, “but here I am.”

Margo is silent for a moment.

“Can I tell you something?” she asks suddenly, beckoning Miles to lean in.

“Yeah?”

Grinning, she half-whispers, “I’m actually here on a scholarship.”

He gives her an odd look. 

“Why’d you say it like that? Nothin’ wrong with getting a full ride. The opposite, actually.”

“Some people might feel otherwise. You’re like, the second person I’ve told other than my parents.”

“And why me?” Miles chuckles. “My poetry was just that good?”

“I just…Hm.”

Margo leans back and takes a contemplative sip of her wine, watching him over the rim of her glass. 

Why did she just tell him that?

“I guess I just sorta felt like telling you.”

Margo cautiously sets the wine back down. She figures if she’s not careful, he’ll have her full government name and social security number by the end of the night.

“Y’know, I actually get that a lot,” Miles laughs. “One time, I had this lady I was standing in line with at Target turn around and just start telling me stories about her dead son and how much she misses him. And it’s like, I’m sorry for your loss, but we’re in Target right now and I literally do not know you.”

“Wait, people just go up to you and…tell you shit?”

“Yup. There was this other time at church, too. Just as service ends and I’m about to get up and leave, this short old dude–Dominican, I think–stops me and starts telling me about his entire life. I’m talking start to finish! Apparently I reminded him of his nephew that died in the military or something.”

“Jesus.”

A crease forms between Margo’s brows. She wishes she could say she didn’t understand the old man at church or the lady at Target, but she does. No, it’s not the poetry. It’s got nothing to do with words. 

It’s the way that Miles looks at people. 

Like he already knows all of your secrets, but you’re not worried because they’re safe with him, so might as well tell them. It’s a merciful sort of gaze; you get the impression that he won’t judge you. You might even tell him more after his friendly ‘boy-next-door’ voice coaxes them out of you. The thought unsettles her because she had done just that.

“You ever had a girlfriend before?” She asks, all of a sudden.

Miles shrugs, “Yeah, in tenth grade, then again freshman year. Didn’t really work out.”

“Why not?”

His brows furrow gently for just a second, as if he’s still trying to figure out the answer to that.

“I…don’t know, actually. It goes well the first few months and then…”

“It fizzles out?”

“I get ghosted. Something about how they’re ‘not ready’. Understandable, I guess, but you don’t have to ghost me, y’know?”

He awkwardly examines his fingers, then his glass. 

Margo feels a bit guilty for suddenly bringing up his exes when they’d just met. Would they end up the same way? She saw herself there too, being in a relationship for six months before his weird pastor’s eyes get to be a bit too much and she takes off.

“Yikes, sorry I asked.”

“It’s no problem,” a smile starts to return to his face. “Onto better things, right?”

“Right.”

“And you?”

“Huh?”

“You ever been in a relationship before?”

Margo smiles awkwardly and messes with one of her fingernails.

“Well…not exactly.”

Miles’ eyes widen.

“Never?”

“I mean, guys offer, and then we talk for a little bit, but then…”

“They flake out on you.”

“Pretty much.”

“Damn shame,” he says with a bit of sharpness to his voice. “Not even a first date?”

“Nope, just ‘Read at 4:15’.”

“You know what I think it is?”

Just as he asks this, his knee brushes against her thigh. Margo isn’t sure if it’s an accident, but it distracts her nonetheless.

“What?”

“You’re too smart for them, I can tell. It scares ‘em.” But it doesn’t scare me, is the suggestion.

He smiles then, the kind that shows the whiteness of his teeth on every vowel. It’s wide enough that a dimple comes out of hiding on his left cheek, and she suddenly wants to tell him everything again. She takes another sip of wine.

“So! What’d I miss?”

Zoe finally returns from ordering their sushi at the front with an expectant grin. Miles still hasn’t taken his eyes off of her friend, while she is staring at him like a string of code, which, if you know Margo, is better than nothing.

“You didn’t miss much,” says Margo. “We were just talkin’ about our majors. School stuff.”

Miles checks his phone and lets out a low whistle.

“Well, it was lovely meeting y’all, but I gotta bounce. After getting dragged onstage, I get to be dragged over to a house party, too.”

Just as he rises from his seat, he stops and points at her.

“Before I go, though, d’you mind giving me your digits? I’d love to talk about, uh…computer science…over lunch.”

She snorts, “Who still says ‘digits’?” but hands him her phone anyway. 

It couldn’t hurt to try. 

“Sure.”

His eyes light up as if he wasn’t expecting her to say yes as he saves his number as ‘poetry slam guy’ in her phone, then hands it back.

“Cool,” Miles begins his walk towards the entrance backwards, holding eye contact for just a little longer before turning around. “G’night!”

“Goodnight!” the two women call out in unison as he leaves.

Margo looks to her left at the now-empty bar stool. The glass of wine Miles left on the counter is full, completely untouched.

It’s still on her mind as she's sitting in her single dorm room, re-writing her lecture notes on cyber security in a meticulous neat print that could almost pass for a font.

Every few minutes her pen stops because she’s distracted by the sound of clinking glass in boxes downstairs, or because she pauses to stare at the white wall in front of her that brings to mind one of the lines of Miles’ poem. 

There might be a spider that I can’t see sitting ten feet away from me right this second, she muses to herself. The thought gives her an idea, and the perfect excuse to call him without seeming too desperate.

Margo unlocks her phone and scrolls through her contacts. She smiles to herself at the contact name Miles chose. Did he think she’d forget his name that easily? 

His voice soon filters through the speaker.

“Hey, you didn’t throw out my number!”

“Yup, lucky you.” she replies. “I wanted to ask you a question? About your poem the other night.”

“What about it?”

“See, I was thinking about that first line. Are we really never more than ten feet away from a spider? Like, at any given moment?”

There’s a moment of silence from Miles before he asks:

“You…called me just to ask me that?”

“What? It’s a very pressing issue! There’s probably one in the corner  of my room as we speak!”

“Alright, I’ll humor you,” Miles laughs. “That’s actually a myth from the 90s. Your distance from the nearest spider really depends on where you’re at, so if you’re in a spot with hella bugs, you’re more likely to see one. You’re probably fine.”

“Now wait just a minute!” Margo gasps dramatically. “So you lied to all those poor folks in there?”

“Sure did. Played ‘em all like a fiddle.”

“Terrible.”

“So, why’d you really call? You don’t sound as concerned about spiders as you say you are, if I’m being honest.”

So much for an excuse.

“Don’t nothing get past you, huh?”

This earns a burst of laughter from Miles’ end.

“You’re a worse liar than me, I wouldn’t recommend making it a habit.”

“Ugh, fine,” Margo admits,  “I just wanted to hear your voice.”

“You could hear my voice in real life, you know. Offer’s still on the table, and I’m free today.”

Their second conversation, and already a lunch date? But as she’s reminded of what his voice sounds like, she quickly realizes that just the voice is not enough. 

Still, she tries to sound casual and makes a non-committal noise.

“Better than being cooped up in my room all day.”

“Great! Where you wanna go?”

Margo shrugs as if he can see her on the other end.

“Wherever you wanna go.”

“Ah, the ‘wherever you wanna go’ paradox,” he chuckles. “Okay, well–lemme ask you this then. Do you like eating with or without music?”

There’s a beat of silence as she considers.

“Hm…is the music good?”

“I’d never subject anyone to a place that plays shit music. Promise.”

“Music, then.”

“Cool, what time works for you?”

“How does two sound? I’ll catch you in front of the Engineering Library.”

“Bet. See you in an hour, then!”

-

The place Miles chose had a live band playing at the front.

A bass player, a keyboard pianist, a saxophonist, and a few background vocalists on occasion. All are propelled forward by the rapid-fire snare of the drummer. It’s jazz - the easy, conversational kind you hear in the background of 90s romantic comedies where the love interest wears nothing but dark lip liner and filled-in brows with a bit of smokey eyeshadow in the crease.

This is the look that Margo has decided to go for as she sits across from Miles at a mahogany table positioned ideally by the window.

It was all she could do other than frantically adjust the braided 'fro-hawk sitting atop her head and spin around in a mist of ‘Champagne Toast’ before bolting out the door.

She doubts he can even smell it right now through the curry and garlic.

“Figured out what you want yet?” Miles asks as he looks over his menu at Margo.

“Eh, I dunno,” she replies, running her index finger down her own menu. “I’m tryin’ not to blow half my paycheck on pasta right now.”

Miles gives her a strange look, then it clicks.

“Oh! Lunch is on me,” he laughs. “Your bank account’s safe for now.”

Her head snaps up.

“You should’ve mentioned that! I thought we were going half and half this whole time, I had my whole budget for the week planned out.”

Margo has to hold back an ugly cackle at the look of horror on Miles’ face right after she says this.

“I’m gonna pretend you didn’t just say that.”

With this new information in mind, she orders a bowl of chicken alfredo with a glass of lemonade that she sips on as the band seamlessly transitions into a cover of Solange’s ‘Cranes in the Sky’.

“So, Margo,” Miles rests his chin on his knuckles and squints his eyes comically. 

“If that is your real name.”

Margo giggles, and plays along.

“It’s not, it’s my alter-ego for when I go on top-secret missions.”

“Is it short for something? Or just Margo?”

“Hm,” she puts on an affected, ‘action movie’ voice, “If I tell you, I might have to kill you.”

“It’s worse ways to die out there.”

Margo looks around her as if to make sure no one’s listening, then leans in.

“It’s short for Marguerite.”

Miles snaps his fingers.

“I knew it!”

“What? You think I look like a Marguerite? Seriously?”

“No, but you got a lil’ country twang in your voice. Ain’t no way in hell Margo wasn’t short for something.”

“Man, alright,” she laughed. 

“Ain’t nothin’ wrong with that,” he winked, “I like ‘em country.”

“Boy, don’t give me that! You look like you’d pass out at the sight of a jar of pig’s feet.”

“Hey now, I got family in South Carolina. I used to go down there and see about ten of those every summer.”

“Fine, but you were still raised a Northerner. I could hear the Brooklyn from a mile away.”

Miles removed his hand from under his chin to clutch his chest.

“Ugh, I feel like I’m caught between two worlds!”

The reference to one of the more choice lines from the poetry slam makes Margo snort and let out a loud guffaw, which she quickly muffles with the palm of her hand.

“Why would you remind me of that!”

Miles is soon infected by the fit of laughter and has to put all his strength into not doubling over at the table and drawing attention.

“This nigga said,” he wheezed, “ ‘I keep doing the Achy Breaky to Suavemente!’ “

“I thought I was the only one who thought that shit sucked,” Margo sighed as she wiped a tear from her eye. “But I didn’t wanna be mean ‘cuz I’m not like, half Puerto Rican, or anything like that.”

“Well I am, and that whole poem felt like a microaggression. And I knew that guy!” He starts gesturing wildly with his hands at the outrage, which Margo finds hilarious. 

“He's like, one-eighth Boricua. His last name is fuckin’ Schwartz!” Miles scoffs, “He don’t know shit about no damn ‘Suavemente’. Bet he looked it up.”

“You should write your own poem, then. ‘Take up space’, as they say.”

“Hell no,” he said. “I left that behind in high school. The other night was an exception, remember?”

“Look, I’m not one to encourage more people to become poets, but you never know. Something might inspire you.”

Miles calms down and gives her a meaningful look.

“Maybe.”

The rest of the conversation saw Miles slyly gathering intel through bites of roasted chicken. He’d quickly learned from their meeting at the bar that his line of questioning with Margo ought to be less direct.

He even hit her with the ‘what’s your sign’ question, though Biggie would’ve advised against it (Margo was a Libra, he was a Leo). He didn’t actually care for astrology, but Margo wasted no time in proclaiming that she couldn’t stand Scorpios because they were ‘too nosy’. 

Miles’ only error was asking if she’d ever dated–correction–spoken to one, and her eyes hardened with suspicion again. He quickly elected to change the subject.

“Okay, totally random question, but humor me. How do you like your eggs?”

Margo blinks twice.

“What?”

“You heard me. You can tell a lot about a person by what kinda eggs they like, true shit.”

“Alright, fine. I like ‘em fried, with the crispy edges. What that say about me?”

“I dunno, but when I find out it’ll all make sense.”

Margo laughs.

“Okay, well, how do you like your eggs?”

“Scrambled, fluffy,” A childish grin spread across Miles’ lips. “And seasoned with Adobo to make ‘em all orange.”

“Never had ‘em like that before.”

“Maybe I could make some for you sometime, if you’d let me.”

“Maybe.”

She remembers his promise a month later when she wakes up to the aroma of the seasoning and hears the pop of frying oil, letting out a sigh of relief at the realization that Miles is still there.

His back is facing her when she enters the kitchen, the morning light illuminating a tattoo she had never seen before. 

It’s a spider with sprawling legs that cascade all the way down the expanse of skin, the movement of his shoulder blades bringing them partially to life. She hadn’t noticed it in the dark, and he was not one to walk around in anything revealing enough for it to have ever seen daylight. It’s faded, which means he’s likely had it for years.

He’s only twenty-one, she thinks. Did he get it in high school?

Amusement creeps onto Margo’s face at the image of Miles sneaking around the house, darting in and out of the bathroom to clean it without his hawk-eyed mother or straight-edged father taking notice. Picturing this, it’s suddenly much easier to believe that their son would have to beg and plead for them to send him a measly forty-six miles away for school, even for an Ivy League. 

Miles doesn’t turn around yet, but Margo catches the way he stops, tilting his head playfully and placing a hand on his hip.

“Man, I can’t believe I’mma have to eat this whole thing of scrambled eggs all by myself, with the ones I just fried! How sad.” “You’re not very funny,” Margo says with a smile, pulling out a chair from beneath the dining table.

He switches the stove off, then does a dramatic spin to face her with fake surprise on his face.

“Oh! Where’d you come from? I didn’t see you there.”

He turns back around to grab two plates–ceramic ones, not the stack of styrofoam ones–from one of the cupboards to serve the eggs in, starting with fried.

Margo watches him silently. The tiny, squint-or-you-might-miss-it gold chain around his neck catches the light as he moves, and she remembers feeling the cold metal brush across her lips.

“The fried ones, are they–”

“Crispy at the edges?” he finishes, with a smile in his voice. “Yes ma’am!”

“You could really be a detective, can’t get nothing past you.”

“You’ve said that before.”

“See?”

The two burst into laughter, and the ink on Miles’ back does also. His poem was accurate, in a way. For the past five weeks, Margo has been no more than ten feet away from a spider.

They have a brief and quiet breakfast, wherein Margo finally asks to try the scrambled eggs and is delighted by the burst of flavor added by the Adobo. They aren’t too dry or too soggy the way they tend to be in restaurants - just fluffy, as promised. She thinks it might be time to finally start taking Miles at his word as she watches his back again while he’s washing dishes.

Once he is fully dressed and about to leave, Miles stops suddenly, as if he’s forgotten something. He reaches into the left pocket of his jacket and pulls out a neatly-folded sheet of paper, nervously running his other hand through the short dreads sitting atop his head.

“Before I leave, I, uh…I took your advice and wrote a lil’ something.”

He hands it to Margo, who takes it gingerly. 

“Well, good for you.”

“It’s been a while, so it’s kinda rough, but hopefully the sentiment is there.”

Miles plants a quick kiss on her cheek, and she smiles easily for once as opposed to the usual raised eyebrow.

“I’ll be sure to let you know if it is.”

Some time after he leaves, she finally sits down to read it while sipping on a cup of tea, because coffee wreaks havoc on her nerves. His handwriting is strange, overly graphic as if it’s the title card of a cartoon, but she reads it.

I know you don't like poetry 

but you said you liked mine,

and the way you sip your wine

has set my pen to paper,

so I hope 

you'll make another exception. 

You've already claimed

half of my sketchbook 

because I just can't get your eyes right.

I always make ‘em too soft,

or too round.

They don't pierce through me,

like they did when

you stared at me over your glass,

eyes narrowed.

When you search my face

and pick me apart,

I'd like to know what it is 

you're always searching for.

#miles morales fic #margo kess #flowerbyte #cybershock #cyberflower #atsv fic #atsv fanfiction #moralesanhour

[inejschumacher]

Carol of the Dreidels

My F1 Secret Santa Fic for @chaoticnandovibes on AO3!!

This was so much fun to write!! I love writing about the holidays and exploring beyond the generic Christmas traditions. And exploring beyond to a part of Lance that is not as loved or respected in general. Also, I love New York esp during the holiday season (and snow)!! &lt;3

Synopsis: Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso take a walk through Central Park during the holiday season, building upon their relationship through cute little activities. Afterwards, Lance takes Fernando to a Jewish choir to show him more of his religion, inciting a deep appreciation for Lance and his religion.

Thank you @f1-fic-secret-santa and @wanderingblindly @eyes-likepilotlights for giving me this delightful opportunity!! I really hope you guys host this again next year xoxo

To my new mutuals, hello, hi! I love y’all and hope you enjoy this fic, esp my not-so-Secret Santa💋

Please show some love, comments and kudos are always appreciated <3

Events may or may not have been inspired by the best Home Alone movie

#f1 secret santa #strollonso #formula 1 #formula 1 fanfic #lance stroll #fernando alonso #aston martin #christmas #hanukkah

[reverseblackholeofwords]

Hi, just wanted to remind you that I still love all the ego stuff you wrote. I was a big lurker during the time you actively wrote it but dude it was so fucking good.

When I think about the egos, I mostly think about your stuff bc it made the characters come to life. It was so good. I can’t say it enough.

The stuff I’m pulling from memory rn is Anti’s time in The Forgotten. Like my bro, my dude, my homie. That shit pulled at my heart. The fact that he was only gone for like a day or smt in our dimension but he had actually been gone for like 10 years in that dimension experiencing horrors unknown. AND NOBEDY KNEW???? Good shit.

The relationship between the Host and dr. Iplier. Still one of my fav bromances. Like the trust between them and how it was made through hardships. It came to a point where Host even trusted Doc with his name??? Which gave him power over Host, something he was so afraid of. Doc made him a better man. Stopped him from being too cruel. But than he had to forget it bc he went insane. BUT BECAUSE HOST IS AN ASS, HE MADE DOC AND ANTI FORGET EVERYTHING. My guy, that’s your platonic husband and adopted son. Yes I was screaming about that. That still gets me going.

There is so much other stuff too though. Like Anti and Doc becoming family. The egos all getting closer. Phantom being an absolute menace every time he appeared. The Googles becoming more and more human over time.

You introduced me to Wiggles. Didn’t know anything about PJ before I started reading your works.

What it all boils down to, is me wanting to thank you. I don’t know how you look back on those ego stories but it got me through some dark times. You updating it always made my day better. I still carry a piece of it with me everywhere I go and has also inspired me a lot. So thank you!

Oh man, thank you so much for taking time to send this! It's honestly insanely encouraging to hear those stories stuck with you. I still love them a lot myself, cringe or no, because they're such a fun time capsule of that period in my life, and this blog and all the people who followed it (lurkers and all) also helped me get through college in one piece.

Gosh I did put Anti through so much, but in my defense, it was for character development! He and Ollie were always one of my favorite dynamics to write, personally. I mean, the computer glitch demon and the sentient android with a heart of gold? I still haven't made up something that good since. Also the Mare and Phantom dynamic, which they were always managing to screw up somehow. Unhealthy sibling dynamics are the best.

It's also insane that so much of the Host stuck with you because he was always my favorite to write and the one that felt the most like mine at the end of the day. The fact that Mark announced he'd retired him as a character and we all collectively agreed to kidnap him and give him a story is still one of this fandom's shining moments in my mind. In fact, I've kinda snagged Host for different original stories I'm writing now just because I miss writing him so much. I've also kept The Forgotten as a concept, which is definitely getting used in a setting I'm working on now because the angst potential is indeed too good to deny.

Also, while we're strolling down memory lane, what one writer gets to wipe their entire canon midway through and start over again in an alternate timeline whilst using references to the previous timeline to terrorize their readers? Ending one timeline of the blog to begin another was a wild but fascinating experiment on my part to see how I could use it to play with foreshadowing and all that jazz. Plus nothing will ever quite beat letting the audience reach into the narrative and start making their own waves from time to time.

But even though I do mostly original stories now, I'm still loving writing found families and platonic soulmates and maybe the redeeming of one or two villains, so I appreciate all the practice and the feedback I got from these stories! I'll probably keep sneaking Ego references into my stories forever. I'd also be curious to know which story arcs stuck with other people??

#i forgot how much i love talking about these stories though #its been too long!! #markiplier egos #jse egos

[acatalystrising]

400 Followers Celebration!

I never pay attention to my follower count here, as this blog simply exists as an outlet for my Boba obsession, but 400 followers? I’m stunned beyond words, and honored that my writings have been able to impact someone, if even just a little. In celebration, I’m hosting a fun event that will run through the month!

Ask game:

💫 Send me a trope, and I’ll give you a prompt

🔥 One fact you’d like to know about me

🎶 Send me a song, and I’ll write a Boba short inspired by it!

✨ Have a question about something I’ve written? Ask away!

🌿 Send a color you think represents me, and I’ll send you one back!

📕 Send me a favorite quote, and I’ll send you a favorite one of mine!

Bonus Fun:

This part is specifically for my lovely mutuals, aka members of the Church of Boba Fett! You guys are so amazing and deserve all the love! I’m offering two special writing tiers here only, which are listed below.

💚 Tier 1: Want to be featured in a Boba one-shot? I’ll write a personalized short featuring our favorite green tin can man with a scenario of your choosing. (This can be sent directly to you if you don’t want me to post it)

❤️ Tier 2: Have a Boba thot you want to share and have me write? Send it to me and I’ll write a five paragraph story featuring the idea. (These ideas can fit any of my ratings)

Once again, I’m so happy you all are here, and I will continue to write more Boba stories! Thanks for being a part of my writing journey, for there will be much more to come! 💚🖤❤️

Tagging mutuals who may be interested: @daimyosprincess @rexxdjarin @ceapa-mica @hideflen @thirsty-boba-fett-posts @rain-on-kamino @marierg @bobathirstaccount @littlecrowtime

#acatalystrising 400 follower celebration #acatalystrising writes #boba fett #400 followers #seriously I am stunned #I’m so happy you guys have liked my writing #because there’s more where that came from #so ask away! #boba fett is my favorite #boba fett x f!reader #boba fett x you #boba fett x female reader #boba fett x reader smut #boba fett x fem!reader #boba fett boba fett boba fett #boba fett thots #daimyo boba fett #daddy boba fett #boba fett can get it #the book of boba fett #star wars #tbobf #book of boba fett #boba fett x reader #boba fett fanfiction #boba fett smut #boba fett fanfic #boba fett fluff

[she-who-fights-and-writes]

I remember finding your blog back in ~2016 and falling in love with your writing advice and the way you answered others. I remember you often posted about a book you were writing—did you ever finish it? I remember that I saw every update you wrote about your journey as an author and how much i was rooting for you back then. I couldn't wait to read your story and i told myself that i'd buy it even if my english wasn't all that great (and it still isn't now).

I deleted my old blog and now that i came back i wanted to look for you again to see how you were—at first i thought that your blog had been deleted but i ended up seeing one of your posts on my dash by accident and went "Oh! A familiar face!"

I never had the courage to send any asks on tumblr, and I realize now that i also never thanked you for all of your writing advice

So I'd just like to say here, thank you. For all of your writing advice, for all of the help you offer to strangers online and for posting about your book here.

Your advice helped and inspired me so much. You had such an impact on me and my writing and it shows through my works to this day and you have no idea just how much this means to me.

I apologize if this is long. But i appreciate your existence, and i wish you great success on the road ahead

This actually brought a tear to my eye.

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this, and to have the courage to send it. I am so glad that I have been able to help you along your writing journey with my posts. I'm always fighting the worry that my advice is just white noise, and that it doesn't really do anything for anyone, but I'm glad that it's made such a positive impact on you.

And damn, I've been here since 2016? Lmao that's crazy how time flies.

As for my book, Wings of Faith, you can find info about it on my FAQ (Pinned post!) I have a whole host of content linked there, and usually tag it as #wingsoffaith or #wof. Currently, I'm working slowly through a re-write that came as a result of an utterly devastating plot hole my best friend pointed out. It's been tough. I've been struggling with motivation, after more than ten years of an uphill battle. But it'll get done eventually, and I've put in too much love and effort into it to give up now. Hopefully, once this re-write is complete, I will enlist the help of some beta readers!

Much love always. I wish you the very best.

#maddytalks #writing #wings of faith #wof #answering asks #thank you so much for sending this fr #made my week

[stalebagels]

what’s your ranking of the talk show hosts?

Oh, thank you for asking. I am so sorry for the essay I am about to write.

Highest to Lowest:

Conan O'Brien / Craig Ferguson - I put these two in the top spot because if you asked me to choose only one of them to watch for the rest of my life I wouldn't be able to do it. Both of them are people that I watched with my dad occasionally through my childhood so maybe I'm a little biased on that front. They're probably the only two hosts that I ever cared to watch interview anyone because it never felt boring to me even if I didn't really care about the interviewee or know who it was. They were both unique and just seemed like genuinely good people both inside and outside the studio (and to add to the bias a little; I got to meet Craig at one of his Fancy Rascal tour shows last year and he was so fucking great. I was so nervous going into it because I was worried he wouldn't be the same as he was on TV as is the case for a lot of celebrities, but he went above and beyond for everyone. He signed everyone's posters and merch even though he didn't have to (I got a poster signed) and he actually took the time to have a full conversation with everyone individually and make sure everyone was comfortable. He's a wonderful dude and I wish I could go back and talk to him again.)

Stephen Colbert - When I first started watching late night shows (back when the pandemic first started), the first shows I ever sat down and watched a full episode of on TV were Stephen and Conan. I had absolutely no idea who Stephen was because up until that point I hadn't really cared enough about politics. I grew up in a heavily conservative small town with a heavily conservative family in the south where the word liberal counted as an insult, so you can imagine we didn't really watch a lot of late night shows. Stephen's show helped me make sense of things, helped me work out what my own feelings were, and provided an escape from the hell that was lockdown. He was the one that made me give a shit about what's happening in this country first, and after that first sit down I ended up going back and watching old episodes of The Colbert Report and The Daily Show (he also led me to Jon in that regard, since I had no idea either of those shows existed) and found that I loved his style of comedy. I really do wish I had discovered him sooner.

Jon Stewart - The only reason I didn't stick Jon and Stephen in the number two spot together (as well as John Oliver) was because Stephen was primarily responsible for my interest in politics - basically he was for me what Jon was to everyone before he retired - and was the one who led me to Jon in the first place. It took me a while, but once I finally went back and started watching old clips and episodes of The Daily Show; once again I wished I had discovered him sooner. I wish I had his righteous, angry optimism to look forward to every night, but a lot of the things he's said and done on the show still hold true today. Plus, his fight for the 9/11 first responders bill to get passed was absolutely inspiring and an example we should all follow when it comes to pushing for change and holding our leaders accountable. I didn't realize he started out as a stand-up comedian, but I've since watched as much of it as I could get my hands on because he's just an incredibly smart and funny dude in any situation.

John Oliver - I hate to put John so low on the list but I didn't want to cop out and put him, Jon, and Stephen all in the same tier lol. I'll be honest, I can't really remember the first time I watched John's show. I think it must have been on YouTube at some point during lockdown or even right before, but ever since the first time I watched it I was hooked. I learn so much from him and his show and I always look forward to his next episode. Generally, I don't really watch guest interviews unless I really care about whoever is there, but since John doesn't have guests it was much easier for me to sit down and watch the entire thing without getting bored or distracted. He does an incredible job of informing his viewers about a problem that - chances are - they had no idea existed beforehand and the amount of research/investigation he and his team do inspire me to do the same. It was really weird watching his stand-up and seeing him in regular clothes and not a suit though lol.

Jimmy Kimmel - I think this might... be a controversial take. His was the third show I started watching during the pandemic - I think Stephen took a break at some point and I decided to try watching Kimmel to fill the time - and I found that I actually quite liked him. His monologues felt natural and easy, and he had a lot of his family and friends on his staff which I admired (plus Guillermo). His humor is kind of the same as my dad's though (sort of), so maybe that's why I liked him off the bat. His beef with Matt Damon is hilarious, his pranks are generally harmless and funny, and he seems very down to earth and generous for someone who makes a goddamn lot of money. Plus, I watched a clip of him back during the Tonight Show fiasco where he came on Leno's show and shit talked at him about backstabbing Conan, which earned some respect from me. I don't know a lot about what he did on the Man Show because I don't think I would touch that with a ten foot pole (and from what he says neither would he), but he seems like a good guy. (Although I will say I generally only stay long enough to watch the beginning of his show like the monologue or unnecessary censorship since I don't care about musical guests or interviews).

Seth Meyers - Again I hate to put him down so low, but I have to be honest and say I don't actually know a whole lot about him. I watched him on SNL sometimes with my dad when it was on, but it wasn't very often. I never watched his show during the pandemic as I was mainly focused on juggling Kimmel, Colbert, Fallon (gag) and Conan. Honestly it wasn't until Strike Force Five came around that I really started paying attention to him. I like that he involves his writers and his staff in a lot of his bits, and he seems like a lovely person. Unfortunately, though, he is down here a little lower but I still enjoy watching him even if I haven't watched a lot of his content. (His stand-up special is on my list, though)

Jimmy Fallon - This is a weird one for me. I watched Fallon a couple of times during lockdown and even before then I knew who he was because everyone hated him. It was on a whim that I decided to watch his show one night, and I wasn't really impressed with what I saw. That said, I didn't hate it - and when the Rolling Stone article came out I was very disappointed. And the fact that he just never addressed it publicly and carried on like nothing happened rubbed me the wrong way, and every monologue I did see afterwards just.. wasn't even puff-of-nose-air funny anymore. He became much more annoying to me, even during the podcast. The only time I found him funny were the Strike Force Wives games. Otherwise he just became painfully bland, and it's a shame because his original late night show was actually pretty decent in comparison to The Tonight Show.

As for Corden and M*her; if they were being chased by hundreds of angry geese and asked me to let them in my house for shelter, I'd shut the door in their face and laugh.

So, if you got to the end of this long ass clusterfuck, here are two pics of Craig and I at the tour :) and once again, I apologize.

#I AM SORRY #this got SO LONG #thanks for the ask though i've never gotten one before lol nobody wants my opinions on things #this is probably why #honorable mention: graham norton my king #strike force five #jon stewart #stephen colbert #john oliver #conan o'brien #jimmy kimmel #craig ferguson #seth meyers #jimmy fallon #anon ask #late night

[xxsycamore]

—𝘊𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘊𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴

► SYNOPSIS:

It's the anniversary of the day peace came to Cradle, and it's also the eve of the day Ray, Sirius and Alice started dating. Despite the rough start, they find a way to enjoy themselves.

▍sirius x alice x ray ▍rating: E ▍tags: Polyamory; Modern AU; Banter; Fluff; Humor; almost everyone else makes an appearance; Dressing Room Sex; Non-Explicit Sex; Public Sex; Language of Flowers; Alcohol ▍wordcount: 2,699

▍masterlist

▍written for Ikemen Revolution Gift Exchange, hosted by @ikemenlibrary and @sunnyikemen ! Thank you for another amazing gift exchange ❤

▍a/n: @kashimalin-fanfiction , I had the pleasure of writing this gift for you! I decided to try and mash the ideas you provided into one (hopefully) beautiful mess, they were all amazing. Thank you for them and for giving me this lovely pairing to work with! I adore these three as a polyship. I had tons of fun making this gift for you - even if my sadness over ikerev's closing nudged me to add some additional sentimentality to it, haha :') It is partly inspired by ikerev's first anniversary event that recently had a rerun. Once again thank you and I hope you like this! ❤❤❤

"It makes me feel like I'm the only one making sacrifices for the sake of the group."

Ray is grumpy and still has his bedhair on that Alice only somewhat smoothed back into order. She'd given him the thumbs up while affirming that he has a "wild, liberated look on that suits him"... which got Ray at the last part. But still.

"It's not a group, it's a relationship!" She insists, lightly slapping his arm even if she continues to cling to it, making it harder for both of them to walk.

"…And it's not a sacrifice, you basically slept in. And now we're late."

Ray groans with what's remaining of his sleepiness coloring his voice hoarse. He thought he wouldn't need to explain this to Sirius, the one person who understands him at a glance alone otherwise. Well, as long as it resolves around managing the army, it seems.

"I slept in so you two don't call me a sleepyhead once the small hours come in." He has that trademark pissed-off look on his face that Alice (and maybe Sirius too) somehow finds hot. He's not exaggerating it on purpose, he swears - and goes on: "So that we could celebrate more."

Sirius can easily call out the inadequacy of that, but also, he knows his boyfriend. He just can't last long after midnight. He gets it.

That, plus, his temper has been greatly softened by a certain scene this morning - when barging into their shared room to finally wake up the sleepy King of Spades, he found him gloriously outstretched across the spacious bed, an alarm going off, likely for the nth time - and Ray sleeping unbothered through it.

A few seconds in it Sirius instantly recognized Alice's singing voice - it was a recording of him and Alice jokingly dueting for a clichéd love song while tipsy once at a black army banquet. Well, in Sirius' case, "tipsy" is an understatement. He didn't know Ray had this, much less that he used it as his alarm. He must've calculated that they both would be nowhere to be found by the time the alarm goes off, and subsequently, they won't hear. A miscalculation on his part being his actual waking up.

He fished out Ray's phone under the sheets successfully on the second loop of the song and turned it off before nudging his boyfriend awake - leaving him to think he himself turned it out between episodes of dozing off. Sirius' reason lies somewhere between being endeared to shyness and…blackmail material. He hasn't finalized his decision, and it highly depends on Ray's behavior today.

Today, the anniversary of the day the two armies got united.

And by great design, the eve of their own anniversary as a polyamorous couple. That would make twice the celebration, and consequently, twice the amount of chaos surrounding it.  

"Sirius, not everyone has long legs like yours… slow it down."

He snaps back into reality.

Alice refuses to let go of Ray's arm which would make significant acceleration to her walking speed. But still, Sirius slows down, remembering that the shop is not going to close down for good five more hours, remembering that Luka and the red army chefs are taking care of the catering, remembering that Seth and a red army unit are taking care of preparing the venue, remembering that Fenrir and Zero are taking care of the security…

Remembering how Lancelot had snatched the folder with enlisted duties and who is in charge of them right off his hands.

He sighs but not of exhaustion, for once, keeping a little smile on his face and wishing he could be a little more like Ray.

"Okay let's make this quick, Alice chooses a dress then we go grab two suits, pay, walk out the store. Roger that?"

Alice knows better than to let Sirius's (bad) personality traits (yes, even he has some!) rub on her, but she can't help but mirror his grimace. WHY must men have just ONE official outfit in their wardrobe? While living under one roof with Fenrir Godspeed and his crazy gun collection, at least twenty of which are spraying paint and other liquids and double as a "crazy party trick", at that? One should have a backup suit. Ah, but, a little anniversary day shopping trip can be a wonderful bonding experience, and Alice who has plenty of dresses to choose from is still talked into buying another. It's on them.

"Roger that… should I pick a black dress and make it easier for you two?"

"Hell no." Ray shakes his head, hands still in his pockets rather than browsing the store. "We're not attending a funeral."

"Ray."

Sirius decides it will be taking it too far if he says, 'with the way this is going, it's going to be mine', because…it's not that bad? He looks at his smart watch and it's just 2 PM, they'll drop the clothes at the dry cleaner's, go grab lunch right afterward...

"…Okay then, why don't you choose it for me? And we don't really have to match… or it can be subtle. Like your neckties with my jewelry, or-"

"Let's match socks. You can pick a short dress and pair it with stockings?"

"No."

Ray groans again, he was clearly asking Alice and not Sirius. "Why not?"

Sirius crosses his arms, somehow less forwards than usual with his criticism. "…I've seen your taste for socks."

"He's right, Ray…"

Feeling betrayed, Ray's eyes widen, giving the two a clear view of his beautiful forest-green irises with a hint of fire in them. It's a forest fire they would want to put out, though, because Ray's rage is throwing flames at Sirius now.

"And you wear grandpa socks! You're lucky I gifted you a kitty print pair last Christmas or you'd remain with the same five ugly argyle print ones for life."

"But they're provided as part of the black army uniform…" Alice tries to back up for Sirius, but to no avail. They are far worse than Ray's crazy sock collection.

"Does anyone even wear these?" Ray scoffs, but is interrupted by Sirius grabbing his hand along with Alice's.

"Okay, timeout."

Making sure that no one is looking at them, Sirius leads them into a fitting room, closing it shut from the inside. He believes this is the best decision, even if undiscussed beforehand. Had he discussed it with them, one of his partners surely would've warned him that the fitting room is far from spacious enough for three people to get in. But Sirius knows how to get tough situations to work in his favor, with the King of Spades practically forced to meet his eyes instead of sulking and gazing away. Getting Alice to cooperate is much, much easier. He highly suspects that the deeper their feelings run for each other, the more the other man acts like a brat. Deep inside, Sirius sees the endearment of it - but right now he could use some cooperation.

"Your socks matching idea has potential. But maybe for some other occasion. Like Belle's birthday for instance."

"Hey, I will hold you to that."

"Fine." Sirius says blankly, impatient to move on. "And I suggest white and dark blue for Alice's dress. White for peace and blue for the army."

"That’s actually great. I think I want to see you in these colors, Alice."

Both pairs of eyes are on her now, and she just nervously chuckles. Gosh, she must be careful not to choose a dress with too much white or she'll become a blushing bride in the face of the mirror in the fitting room, imagination always running a little wild around these two. In the sweetest way.

"I love the sound of that! Are we ready to go out now?"

She thinks she sees them briefly exchanging a knowing gaze. In the next moment, two identically sweet smooches land on her cheeks.

***

Mission New Outfit is a total success. Alice looks like the goddess of peace she is, a deity they're supposed to worship. So stealing a kiss or two amidst the cascade of compliments is a must! Forgetting about how inconveniently cramped the fitting room was, the two of them gladly go in in order to help Alice out of the dress. They're in luck that she is characteristically a little clumsy or else her affirmations that she can manage alone would hold too much ground for this.

Either way, they end up in there again. Dazzled by her beauty, once the expensive dress is securely put away they share their fascinations in a way they see fit. Where words fail them, they use kisses - when they fail too, they use more than that.

It's not the first time they've been up to no good in places that are no good for that. Once it gets too hot to breathe and palm-sealed mouths still find a way to produce illicit sounds, they know they should stop.

It's a celebration started early, one of them says.A good couple of seconds afterward, the mark of orgasm staining another's voice, it is added:

Those are the best celebrations.

***

All guests are in the venue by late sunset, chatting around and helping themselves at the buffet. Friends living east and west of the civic center unite for the bright occasion, the word "peace" dancing off their tongues every now and then like candy that someone gives away. They indulge in it, knowing no fear and no censure. People high in the ranks blend with common folks. Selfie sticks are being raised in the air as often as toasts of champagne are - sticking out like antennas catching the same radio frequency of jovial laughter all around.

With pats on his back, Ray is sent off to the stage by the black army officers as his turn to hold a speech comes. He dislikes the idea of him and Lancelot coming individually in front of the people, and welcomes the King of Hearts on stage with him instead. It comes easy to them to combine it into one speech, the unnecessary clichés are cut off in favor of some honest, heartfelt words; of gratitude and bright hope for the future. The army officers are one by one named for their contribution to the peace, and of course, Alice's name is not left out either - the following applause heating her cheeks that almost hurt by smiling now. In the next moment everyone's attention turns to a flower cart being pushed into view below the stage - it's introduced into the venue by the whole Oswald family - well, minus one member who is at the black army table, - a pink-haired young man with a cheshire grin and someone that rarely shows up in public but whose face the people used to know from posters hung around town. Not a wanted man anymore and with all misunderstandings clouding his reputation shooed away along with the dark clouds of looming war, the public applauds the bunch's entry albeit with curiosity. Sporting a pretty suit, Harr has no hood to pull down and hide his face behind, but he doesn't feel too intimidated by the attention. He has Loki. Reminiscent of a mischievous cat, Loki skips his way up on stage and confidently steals the microphone.

From the name of Canis Major, the Oswald family flower shop, he thanks the members of the two armies, their kings, and everyone else present tonight. Apparently, there is a surprise done with the help of the citizens of Cradle who volunteered by joining in the preparation process today at the central plaza.

Watching as a flower crown is placed on Lancelot's blonde head, Ray knows he's next in line and spots Sirius in the public to raise a brow at. The latter shrugs in a nonchalant manner, visibly amused by the current events. "Oh, so now you're not uptight?", thinks Ray, a flower crown placed on his own head not long after. Next are the two armies' officers, much to Sirius' surprise. And finally, Alice.

To everyone else present is handled a white poppy, which appears on the flower crowns as well. Sirius chimes in to let those who don't know that the flower symbolizes peace. After its short journey, the microphone is finally back in Ray's hands and he expresses his gratitude, genuine surprise still marking his features - and the red army king is the same.

***

Soon everyone's back at their tables, live music fills the venue and many let it be the background noise of their chatter with one another. Sirius is swamped with questions if he truly didn't know about all of this. So is Ray, who is thought to know about the celebration's organization process. So is Alice, as their self-proclaimed aide-du-camp. Just like the two men, Alice shrugs, looking extra tiny in Sirius' coat that she took when a gush of wind came out.

Mainly, they get asked "where have you been all day to miss that!", and they chuckle. A hint of a knowing gaze is exchanged between the three, with noone noticing.

As soon as their friends give them a breather, the trio excuses themselves and makes it out of the crowd.

 ***

Whoever chose the location of the venue, Alice needs to thank them personally tomorrow. It turns out to be close to Cradle's beach, and she excitingly leads her puzzled boyfriends there.  

"It's so nice to have two of you." She jokes, contently seated on Ray's coat on the sand as Sirius' one is dappled warmly around her shoulders at the same time. It's a mystery how none of their flower crowns fell off as she practically took them for a run towards here.

Seated next to her, Ray turns his attention to the polaroid camera hanging from his neck. Seth just couldn't help himself - he went ahead and gave them their anniversary gift way ahead of the others. He mentioned that there was a surprise in there.

"Tsk. It's the three of us on stage but I have that goofy surprised expression." Ray frowns as he pulls out the tiny photo that was last made. Seth had mentioned something about the three of them making some memories with it but this is in no way a good start.

"C'mon, come closer." Ray beckons, reaching to wrap his arm around Sirius on Alice's other side while holding the camera to face their way. They all smile and the shutter is clicked.

Alice holds the tiny polaroid photo with both hands like the prized possession it is, already back in their shared room in her mind and wondering where to put it. While admiring it, she misses the way Sirius and Ray lean in close to each other behind her back and meet their lips for a tiny kiss.

She hands back the camera to Ray and gains their attention again.

"I brought something, too."

They wait for the big reveal as she reaches inside the XL-sized dark blue coat. Another early gift?

"Ta-daah!" Alice exclaims, bringing into view…a bottle of champagne. Snatched from the buffet, most likely.

Ray and Sirius do another round of non-verbal communication put to test many a time during their years of knowing each other. It's the "no, I didn't see when this happened either".

Sirius is faster to crack into laughter than Ray this time, proceeding to open the bottle. The cork flies off with a loud 'pop' and to everyone's surprise, Sirius takes the first sip without being talked into this by his lovers. As if taking Ray's advice of letting loose, he even forgoes his own rule of avoiding alcohol - likely leaving himself in the hands of his trustworthy lovers to stop him before he becomes a different person.

Alice cheers on for him and he actually listens to her and chugs more. They’re a ridiculous but lovely sight. Their anniversary is not until a good hour or two, but Ray definitely feels like they started celebrating early.

"Wow. Alice steals a bottle and now you're drinking like no tomorrow. I'm clearly not the biggest troublemaker of the group."

"There he goes again!"

Taglist: @arsnovacadenza @ale-teodora @kimi00twin @otomelady @privilegedpancake @g-kleran  @thehappycat123 @pumpumnnnp @thesirenwashere @theuwuisunreal @ravenarld @kyokirigiri-22 @kimmy-banana @devonares @animeworldsposts @randomanimatedhusbandoseeker @galaxyprison @trishtori @sadshaxk @starshards26 @pro-cat-stination @acethephoenix256 @ikevamp-shrine-2 @nad-zeta @crystal13unny @keen19thcenturygoatsstudent @lordsister @ikemen-banshou  @themysticalbeing @canaria-blackwell @otome-scribbles @rhodolitesrose @fun-ghoul-neela @salty-fed-up-bitch  @coornn @cilokgoang​ @kpop-and-otome @queen-dahlia @kisara-16 @chaosangel767 @ikemenlibrary @queengiuliettafirstlady @aurora-morning @aquagirl1978 ​ @ikemenlover24 @violettduchess @mcofthemansion @tiny-wooden-robot @joy-the-reader @psychodreamer666 @cilokgoang @moonstruck-writing Let me know if you want to be tagged/untagged!

#Ikemen Revolution #IkeRev #Ikemen Revolution Ray #Ray Blackwell #Ikemen Revolution Sirius #Sirius Oswald #ikerev sirius #ikerev ray #ikemen revolution fanfic #ikerev fanfic #ikerev smut #ikerev gift exchange #ikemen revolution

[malum-forev]

1K Followers Bingo Game!! 🎉🎉🎉

First of all, I want to thank every single one of you guys for your support and follows! I cannot believe thisss. I am so happy you've enjoyed my writing and you've all helped me reach 1,000 followers.

❤️‍🔥🥰 Enjoy one of my favorite Bucky gifs as a token of my appreciation. <3

*

Soooo I saw @espinosaurusrexex create this bingo game for their 1k celebration and I thought it was an amazing idea! All credits go to @espinosaurusrexex (ps their blog is AMAZINGGGG, so pls check it out!)

Here's Everything you need to know for the game! I hope you guys like it and participate! (most of the writing going forward comes from @espinosaurusrexex's blog to give credit)

❗️BINGO❗️

As a celebration for this milestone, I would like to host a Writing Bingo Game (inspired by @blooming-violets).

The rules are simple:

Chose a prompt from the card and tell me other details you'd like me to include. (Also, if you would like me to integrate one of the prompts to my past stories pls comment that too <3)

Send them to me through an ask

I will write requests in order of submission and then cross the prompts off. And you can be damn sure I'll pure my heart and soul into that shit. [click here to see what has been submitted already]

BINGO! The game is finished when a row, column or diagonal is completed.

I also don't gatekeep, so please feel free to use this card for your own writing challenges, but make sure to tag me, so I can see what beautiful things you create with it 💗

Green means completed and Yellow means working on it!

You can find the complete master list here!

Last update: June 26th.

If you'd like to participate, be sure to comment a prompt in my asks!

Bucky x Reader pairing Inspo: College!Bucky, Fratboy!Bucky, Mafia!Bucky, Agent!Reader, Husband!Bucky, ExHusband!Bucky, Dad!Bucky, BrothersBestFriend!Bucky, Rogers!Reader, Stark!Reader, Famous!Reader.

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Again, thank you for your support and thank you Meg for this amazing Bingo game!

I've tagged people who've asked to be on my tagged list! I hope that's okay!

@kpopgirlbtssvt @shara-ne @namelesssaviour @scxrletrecsmarvel @baby-banana @stucky-my-shiptoothhurtyam @bluemoon-icecream @seybox @supraveng @jasmine19346 @what-a-beautiful-mess-i-made @maladaptivexxdaydreaming @confuscita @eviesaurusrex @girlfriday007 @starryeyeseunbyul @thevampire97 @sadisticfries @440mxs-wife @rslizj @enchantedbarnes @whitewolfsdoll @mrsbarnesx @arcanebabe @143amberrose @silentkiller2374 @samantha1sodone @just-that-dumb-bitch @verygraphicink @rouge-raven13 @behindmygreyeyes @ximi1315 @runi1 @lia-winther @aneluvs

*Any gifs posted are not my own and I give the artist full credit.

#bucky barnes oneshot #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes #bucky imagine #bucky x female reader #bucky #bucky fanfic #bucky x y/n #bucky barns x reader #bucky barns x y/n #bucky barns fanfiction #bucky barns x you #james bucky buchanan barnes #james buchanan barnes #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes x you angst #bucky barnes x reader angst #bucky barnes one shot #bucky barnes os #college au #college au!bucky barnes #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky x reader #winter soldier x reader #winter soldier x you #sebastian stan x you #marvel fanfic #fanfic writer #writing challenge

[wearingaberetinparis]

Fic Author Self-Rec

Thank you for tagging me @missgryffin and @kay-elle-cee! Those that know me, will recognise that I find it very difficult not to be critical of my own work, but I need to be proud of what I write more often, so this is good practice! (Also: how do you choose anyway? Every fic is my baby and there are so many memories attached to writing them.) Rules: When you get this, reply with your favourite fics that you've written. Then pass it on to fice other writers. Spread some self love.

Shout Out To My Ex (Series)

Phoenix Radio is going through a rough period with the arrival of the new and controversial Riddle Radio. Albus Dumbledore, founder of the country’s number one radio station, asks his team to get ready to rebrand. Gone are the days of family friendly radio, a show where two exes talk about where their relationship went wrong and deliver relationship advice live on air, named Shout Out To My Ex, is exactly what Phoenix Radio needs. Who better to co-host this show than Lily Evans and James Potter, two Phoenix Radio employees who absolutely despise each other, or do they? A Jily Modern AU inspired by Rachel Lynn Solomon’s "The Ex Talk". LINK HERE

ocean eyes (Series)

Lily Evans had been eleven when she and her family moved in next door to the Potters. It was the summer before she would start her year at Hogwarts, a prestigious school for gifted students. From their bedrooms, James and Lily witness each other’s highs and lows, watching the other grow as they go through life apart and yet very much together. A Jily Neighbours/Coming of Age AU LINK HERE

(Didn't I?) (Didn't I?) Didn't I See You Crying?

James Potter has fancied Mary Macdonald for as long as he can remember. Everything about her is practically perfect, except for – if he were being honest and he always liked to be – her choice in friends. For Mary’s best friend, Lily Evans, is a right shrew and, much to his dismay, the Head Girl to his Head Boy. Lily Evans had disliked James Potter with a passion after their first interaction on the Hogwarts Express. A dislike that turned into hate – never mind that she also has an infatuation going, but no one needs to know about that – as soon as he decided to make her life a living hell. Unfortunately for her, he also decided (a few years earlier) that her very best friend in the world was the worthy object of his affections. (Which was fine, really. She wasn't about to cry over it, for Godric's sake. She was a strong and independent young woman, thank you very much. And yes, perhaps she was a little in love, but it was all for nothing, so she had to keep calm and carry on.) Certainly, their complicated past would result in major disaster if common ground was not soon established. For the love of Merlin, though, why did either of them think it would be a good idea for Lily to help James woo Mary Macdonald? LINK HERE

The Very (Un)Ladylike Guide To Fortune-Hunting

"Without thinking highly either of men or matrimony, marriage had always been her object; it was the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune, and however uncertain of giving happiness, must be their pleasantest preservative from want." (Jane Austen) Lily Evans finds herself wanting, or: so her sister seems to believe. While out on the hunt for a fortune - again: that would be Mrs Dursley mostly - the affection of a number of suitors is most welcome. Especially when a young Viscount's heart is set aflame. A Regency Jily AU. LINK HERE

Lily In The Sky With Diamonds

A series of interviews with the UK’s hottest band, The Marauders, and the singer-songwriter Lily Evans, conducted by Nymphadora Tonks, as they prepare for the UK Tour after the release of their album “Lily in the Sky with Diamonds”. Everyone worships The Marauders. Everyone loves Lily Evans. Together they make hearts bleed. Inspired by "Daisy Jones & The Six" by Taylor Jenkins Reid. LINK HERE

Tagging anyone that would like to do this, but @annabtg and @practicecourts as well. I'm sorry if you did this already. I was obviously MIA for a couple of days.

#ritaskeetered #fic author self-rec

[luciddreamingcrow]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR 100 FOLLOWERS!!!!! + Match up event!

A/n: before I start rambling on and on I want to give out a quick thank you to the following individuals that inspired me to start writing fanfiction!!! : @kalopses-sonderes @fatuismooches @dreams-and-drabbles and @timerifts-and-timelines !!!

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG ok ok today I woke up to somebody following me and I decided to check my followers count and AAAAAAAAAA We hit 100 followers! I can't thank everybody enough for this achievement! I started out with the expectations that I would write a fanfic or two and just drop it, but I'm so glad I kept on writing because this is one of the best things that happened to me!

Besides meeting my irl best friend

But once again I can't thank everybody enough! Thank you all so much for the kind words and encouragement to make more! Writing has become a important thing in my everyday life and I'm so grateful to have hit this milestone!

Also I've decided whenever we will hit a mile stone I would host a match up event and I would reveal 1 of my oc's also a hint of the next oc that will be revealed in the next mile stone!

Rules for the macth up event!

You can ask for a match up for the following fandoms!

Genshin impact, Cookie run kingdom/ovenbreack, the arcana.

Your request must include: the fandom u are submitting for and if I'd like to be matched with a male/female/ non-binary character!

Your request may include for example: your zodiac sign, your personality type ( ex: Infj, Infp), hobbies, personality,

The request will be answered in the 14 of February^^

Ok starting off with my cookie run oc(and self insert) Cyan coral cookie!

Cyan coral cookie is a temple maiden that serves the White Pearl Temple owned by the Oyster family. There's a saying that if you offer beautiful white pearls to the Black Pearl islands waters, the waves that travel to the cream republics shore would stay as calm as if oil had replaced the water for a while. So every full moon the temple maiden has to sail her way to the dangerous Black Pearl islands and give out the offering,

but one night as Cyan coral cookie held her bell filed with mesmerising white pearls above the water, she could barley make out a strange figure underneath the water, after offering the peals and started sailing back home she could feel another presence, a strange presence but one that meant no harm, a month would have passed since the incident and once again she found herself into the gloomy islands but this time she saw her, a beautiful mermaid waiting for something or someone, sitting in a boat that has been ruined a long ago, dominated by the waters fauna and the boats coloring has been lost through time. Let alone the scenery could make Cyan coral cookie tear up and couldn't help but admire her while being illuminated by the moonlight.

Ref sheet of Cyan coral cookie :D

Hint of the oc that will be relived in the next milestone:

Sesame seed dragon cookie

Long ago before Yagorta was built, the dessert was Sesame seed dragon cookie's playground, bringing destruction and sandstoms on each corner they found, but some cookies manged to turn the destructive dragon to stone with a devise that they found in longan dragons domain, and so to trap the now "dead" dragon they build a underground labyrinth in case the dragon would wake up from its stone form and seek revenge.

Once again thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you everybody that started following me for my content and I promise in the future I'll make sure to make more quality content in the future!

#cookie run x reader #cookie run kingdom x you #cookie run kingdom x reader #crk x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact x y/n #genshin x reader #genshin x you #fanfic #cookie run kingdom oc #cookie run oc

[xthelastknownsurvivorx]

ajtl/yngs x hello saturday

after watching the actual hello saturday episode that the cast attended I got inspired and decided to write a version with the characters from ajtl because i'm missing them and why not. you can watch the full episode here with english subs but I've also summarized the main points in the post in case you don't want to watch the full 1.5 hour show (though imo it's worth it because it with very fun)

The episode basically follows the games/structure of the actual one that the cast of ajtl appeared on: the antidote carrier trying to create a team of non-poisoned swordsmen through hints acquired by winning various mini-games to successfully draw the six-sided sword from Malan Mountain

The games include an action version of "radish squat" to choose their identities as one of the antidote carrier (1), a poisoned swordsman (4), a non-poisoned swordsman (3); pop culture pictionary, except using up to 5 emojis instead of drawing; 3, 2, 1, look here!; group pose description game; some action-based game to replace the don't sing, move game because I didn't find this segment very interesting

Instead of only having four characters guest star on the show, I'm replacing the usual hello saturday cast members with four more characters

In total, there are two teams consisting of: Ren Ruyi, Ning Yuanzhou, Yu Shisan, Yang Ying AND Li Tongguang, Qian Zhao, Yuan Lu, and Sun Lang

In the first game, Ren Ruyi picks up Yang Ying for one of her actions and flusters her

Li Tongguang has to do the same thing thrice with Sun Lang, who gets very flustered and giggly over it suddenly I have a new rare pair ig

Yang Ying chooses to sajiao and ask for a kiss from Ruyi for one of her actions, which forces someone from the opposing team to do it towards their other three team members

I can't decide whether that someone should be Li Tongguang or Qian Zhao because both feel like equally amusing options

Also someone makes Ning Yuanzhou pout cutely during this game

Following a loss during the emoji pictionary game, Ren Ruyi is the only one not to be frightened by the balloon popping while Yang Ying flinches at the sound

Ren Ruyi trades away Yang Ying after this game, much to Li Tongguang's smug satisfaction ("It seems that shifu doesn't want you either")

Ren Ruyi doesn't understand the rules to 3, 2, 1, look here! and splashing Li Tongguang when he won

Yang Ying gets flustered and splashing Ning Yuanzhou when he won instead of protecting Li Tongguang (who also gets splashed) and profusely apologizing to him (不好意思，远舟哥哥!)

"Shouldn't you also be apologizing to your partner?" He laoshi (the host) jokes. "He's far more soaked thanks to Ren Ruyi"

At some point Ren Ruyi and Ning Yuanzhou switch so it's master vs disciple, which of course ends with Ren Ruyi winning

There's an occurrence where Ren Ruyi chooses Li Tongguang to come to her team which has him ecstatic, but she immediately trades him away the following round when she suspects he's been "poisoned" (the others on his team make fun of him for this)

Qian Zhao's stoic face during the group pose game makes everyone laugh

After the final game Ren Ruyi has to choose between Ning Yuanzhou and Yu Shisan to leave her team, with the former giving a very serious appeal before it dissolves into petty accusations between the two of them

Ning Yuanzhou: "Ruyi, I promise it's not me. You know me and that the clue in the last round is definitely about me. So please, trust me once again."

"As if you didn't break your promise to her! Beauty, listen to me, I'm a much better choice than Ning Yuanzhou. Who else is as handsome and reliable as me?" "Ruyi has never chosen you before, so why would she start now?" "You also lied about being poisoned to all of us for several months!" "For the sake of the mission! I didn't want to hurt morale" "Do you really think you can trust the guy like that? I worked hard this entire episode!" "Yu Shisan—"

In the end Ruyi chooses to keep Ning Yuanzhou and send away Yu Shisan ("Beauty! How could you?") and this proves to be the right choice

if someone wants to write a fic based on my hc please ask first

#a journey to love #ren ruyi #ning yuanzhou #yang ying #li tongguang #yu shisan #ajtl #a journey to love fic #yngs

[winterchimez]

i'm curious about drink it, luna and masquerade 👀

hiya moon! 👋🏻 thank you so much for tagging me in the wip game! hehe i present to you these wips that you've asked ✨

summary: you & your friend Chanhee were sent on a mission to hunt down the enemies that have threatened the law enforcements for long enough. it is also during that fateful mission, that you started to realise that your friend Chanhee, isn't who you think he is.

pairing: vampire Chanhee x f!reader

genre: vampire au, angst, suggestive, thriller, crime

a/n: this is actually one of the request i've gotten for my 100 followers event! i have not started writing this yet, but based on the prompts that were sent in i immediately thought of using drink it as inspo!! hence the vampire au 🧛🏻 i've never written a vampire au before, so i'll try my best to see what i can come up with ><

prompts requested:

crime: “I don’t think you fully understand the situation you’re in.”

suggestive: “I won’t bite. Unless you’re into that sort of thing.”

Luna (Kevin Moon)

summary: having just graduated from university, you have decided to give yourself a little break from all of the chaos that has been going on in your life. who would've thought that your simple casual trip to the City of Love would be where you would eventually cross paths with your potential soulmate-to-be.

pairing: photographer Kevin x traveler g.n!reader

genre: fluff, crack & humour, slight angst

a/n: i got the inspo from one of my all-time fav jp film that i used to watch!! i love photographer kevin, and i'd imagine you both meeting somewhere in Paris where you find him doing something that intrigues you (maybe something like admire things that ppl usually don't lmao) and then eventually taking the conversation to a coffee shop and getting to know more about each other. time passes and as you get to know more about one another and that's when you start developing feelings, and eventually something happens that drifts you both apart for a while, only to be reunited through an exhibition where he displays his proudest work aka entitled Luna, which is a picture of you possibly enjoying the moon from a certain angle or smth hahahaha

so it's like you're his Luna, and i'll eventually think of smth cheesy / fluffy to add on to this scene lol

summary: you have been working in your law firm for years, and it wasn't until your company finally decided to host a masquerade party to commemorate their success. surprisingly, a huge riddle me game has taken place where each employee gets an unknown letter addressed to them from one another, including you. you find yourself wrecking your mind over who your secret admirer may be until it turns out to be the infamous CEO's son, Lee Hyunjae, and the greatest womaniser you've ever met.

pairing: lawyer Hyunjae x lawyer f!reader (feat. lawyer Juyeon)

genre: angst, suggestive, some crack & humour, slight fluff

a/n: here's the thing. i wrote this a very long time ago hence please excuse the terrible banner (i'll eventually change it when i get back to writing this again lol 😭) this wip was inspired by their o sole mio perf from kingdom and I KNEW. something had to be written for this hyunjae 😮‍💨

here is a lil snippet of what i wrote so far 👀

(i'll eventually come up with a riddle for that part lol)

ask me about my wips!

#❄️ — asks! #❄️ — wips! #mutuals! <3 #moon 🌙

[fayoftheforest]

Ahh okay I know this isn’t a question but I love love LOVE your writing. The fic with the old timey gay detectives is what keeps me going from day to day. More writing should be written about gays in the early to mid 20th century and if you’re willing to I’d love a short story with more of that. Anyway thank you for your writing!

Thank you so much for your message :D

Writing about old timey gay detectives is what got me through winter 2020/21 lockdown so it's really lovely to hear it's what's getting you through today's hellscape as well! It's been a little while since I've revisited South Park Confidential, but I would absolutely love to write a small sequel one day. If memory serves, I left Stan and Kyles' time in New York as ambiguous as possible, to give myself room to play with a plot at a later date :)

In terms of other fics set in the mid-20th century, I have a couple other plot ideas! The one I've got furthest on was a 1960s Creek AU, vaguely inspired by the song "The Leader of the Pack" by The Shangri-Las, featuring a fashionable Mod!Tweek and bad boy (but secret softie) Craig. I got about 6k in before my laptop up and died and I lost it all :(( I certainly learnt my lesson about backing things up after that tragedy as I lost a whole host of WIPs along with it. Maybe once I'm done the current fic I'm working on, Dead End Mountain Town, I'll take another crack at it :)

In the mean time, if you're looking for more historical fics, here's a couple recs:

The Sound That Forevermore Separates the Old from the New by Juldas - "In the fall of 1957, Sputnik inadvertently draws two classmates together." (Style)

The Well and the Lighthouse by Effingbirds - "When Gregory is sent to France during World War II to assist the underground Resistance, he has no intention of surviving. Little does he know, once there, he'll find a reason to live." (Gregstophe, Style)

Amalgamation by Hollycomb - "In 1862, Kyle's family is forced to move from New York to a tiny mining settlement at the foot of Pike's Peak in Colorado. Kyle is sixteen years old and miserable until he meets Stan, a fellow transplant who has been in town for three years. Their feelings for each other are shadowed by the town's haunted history, and for Kyle the local legends begin to feel more like real nightmares." (Style)

I'm sure there are many other wonderful historical fics for this fandom (which I would love to read if anyone else has relevant recs!) but these were just the ones I could think of, off the top of my head. Let me know if you get around to reading any of them as I'd love to discuss them!! And thanks again for your lovely message (⁠/⁠^⁠-⁠^)⁠/

#south park #south park fic #ask #wip: south park confidential #sp style #sp gregstophe #i recently had to turn my anon asks off because people were getting waaayy too invasive with the shit they were sending me #and i was worried in doing so it would mean people would stop sending nice messages as well #so its very reassuring to receive this!! <3

[quoteablebooks]

Genre: Non-Fiction, Adult, Memoir

Rating: 5 out of 5

Content Warning: Death

Summary:

Sit. Walk. Write. These are the barest bones of Natalie Goldberg’s revolutionary writing and life practice, which she presents here in book form for the first time. A whole new slant on writing that she developed since the publication of her classic Writing Down the Bones, True Secret workshops have been limited until now to small, intensive groups at a remote center in the rural Southwest. In The True Secret of Writing, Goldberg makes this popular seminar available to any reader.

The True Secret is for everyone, like eating and sleeping. It allows you to discover something real about your life, to mine the rich awareness in your mind, and to ground and empower yourself. Goldberg guides you through your own personal or group retreat, illuminating the steps of sitting in silent open mind, walking anchored to the earth, and writing without criticism. Just as Goldberg cuts through her students’ resistance with her no-nonsense instruction—“Shut up and write”—the True Secret cuts to the core of realizing yourself and your world.

The capstone to forty years of teaching, The True Secret of Writing is Goldberg’s Zen boot camp, her legacy teaching. Stories of Natalie’s own search for truth and clarity and her students’ breakthroughs and insights give moving testament to how brilliantly her unique, tough-love method works. Beautiful homages to the work of other great teachers and observers of mind, life, and love provide further secrets and inspiration to which readers will return again and again.

In her inimitable way, Goldberg will inspire you to pick up the pen, get writing, and keep going. The True Secret of Writing will help you with your writing—and your life.

*Opinions*

I originally purchased this book for one of my creative writing classes in college (probably close to when the book was originally published) and then we never touched it for the class—typical college experience. As I am working on reading and either getting rid of or putting on my shelves all the books in my apartment and in my childhood bedroom, this book finally made it into my hands. I’m sure what I expected from this book, but it was not what I found between the pages of The True Secret of Writing. Even though I finished it a couple of days ago, I am still not entirely sure how I feel about it. 

Natalie Goldberg is a writing teacher, but also a practitioner of zen for many decades, and this novel combines those two aspects of her life in a way that cannot be untangled. If you are not fond of Zen ways of thinking or the thought of the present being the key to the future and past, do not pick up this book. There are a number of zen poems and teachings that are interlaced throughout the writing method that Goldberg suggests, in fact, mediation is a large part of her method. As someone who does yoga every day (thank you Yoga with Adriene) parts of this novel were a little too far into the zen teachings even for me. Yet, I can’t deny that while reading this novel, I found myself more centered and also noticing things in a different way. While I am not sure if I will ever attempt the sit, walk, write method, I can see the silent retreats that Goldberg hosts could be interesting and eye-opening weeks with other writers. 

Now, I have never published a book or taught a writing class, so I can’t critique that part of this book. However, if you are looking for a strict how-to book, you will be annoyed with the personal stories and writings that Goldberg included in this book. The last part of the book that talks about her biggest teachers is only personal stories that she lets you draw your own conclusions from them. This is the part of the book that I am not sure how I feel about. While I enjoyed Goldberg’s stories, it verged into being a memoir at parts and that is now what I thought I was reading. However, one of Goldberg’s tenants is being curious about how other people think and listen to them, which is what the reader has to do with these personal stories from Goldberg. I would say that this is definitely a book to be read slowly, in small parts, and give yourself time to think about each one. 

If you want to get back into writing or are in a serious writing block, I think that applying Goldberg’s method might be really helpful because it is all about establishing a consistent practice. As someone who writes almost daily, that isn’t something that I need assistance with, but taking time to just write, without censoring yourself or thinking too deeply about it, has its merits. To quote Adriene from Yoga with Adriene, I think that this is a take what works for you and leave what doesn’t type of book. Will I spend a whole week at a silent retreat in the middle of the winter, walking barefoot if told to so that I am with the present moment, no. However, I think I will hold onto this book for a little bit because I did find myself looking in the world in a different way after reading it. A 4 star read.  

#book review #booklr #4 out of 5 stars #natalie goldberg #nonfiction