#yes I am procrastinating on my fic by 'doing research'
Quote
Everything I say will come out just a little bit different, I don’t mean on the transcript, but as it leaves my mind and comes through my mouth, it gets a little bit messed up just around about the mouth, where the words start….. doing it.
Paul McCartney, International Times, January 16, 1967
#THE most Paul thing Paul has ever said#except for how actually articulate it is about his particular inability to articulate certain things#which i say out of love i don't mean any actual disrespect#but we all know he does tend to Say Things sometimes#paul mccartney#interviews#yes I am procrastinating on my fic by 'doing research'#kris talks a lot
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WIP Wednesday
Am I a week late? Yes. I forgot. I'm sorry. BUT! Today is a Wednesday, so I can make up for it.
Tagged in the circle by @emmalostinwonderland
Sharing a different Old Guard fic this time, one I'm procrastinating because of all the research I have to do for it.
One final, snatched kiss and they step away from each other, the last thing to release is their hands. It is agony to turn away, and Nicoló keeps looking back, over his shoulder. Yusuf, he can see, does the same, until the sun drenches the land in the pinks and light reds of full dawn and the cliffs of the wadi separate them. Finally Nicoló turns away, head bowed.
Quynh is surprisingly quiet through all this. Nicoló chances a look at her, and for once there is no glint of mischief in her eyes, just a small, indulgent smile.
“We must look quite pathetic,” he murmurs.
“It’s young love,” she says, squeezing his arm fondly. “It is new and bright and beautiful and you’ve never felt anything like it before, have you?”
Nicoló shakes his head, flushing slightly. No one has ever moved his heart like Yusuf has, changing the very shape of life for him.
“It’s easy to lose yourself in it,” Quynh says, and she sounds like she knows how it feels. “It can devour you, drown you in it until you forget who you ever were without it. He may complete you, Nico, he may be the other half of your soul, but you must also be yourself even without him.”
The prospect isn’t appealing at all, and Nicoló says so. Quynh’s smile is a little pitying now, and it rankles.
“I mean it. When I met Andromache, I knew I’d found the person I would love for the rest of my life. It was perfect, it was fire and madness, and I realised that if I continued like this, I would lose myself. I would forget to be Quynh. So we separated, walked different paths for twenty years. And I remembered who I was, what I could do alone.”
She releases Nicoló’s arm and dashes up a boulder on the side of the path, standing atop it like a mighty conqueror. “I was Quynh! Tiger of Au Lac! Scourge of Nanyue! The Heavenly Arrow of Lam Ap! I still am! Quynh of the mighty bow and fast daggers! She who laughs as she kills!” With a snarling laugh she leaps from the rock and lands beside him, and he can’t help but smile at her. “And I am still Andromache’s, as well. When we reunited, it was all the sweeter. Knowing who I was alone helped me love her more.”
Trying to explore any differences between Andromaquynh and Joenicky and also because I want to write reunion sex. This entire fic came about because I had a mental image of Nicky and Joe rolling down a sand dune as they kiss, which amused me.
Tagging uhhhhh @non-un-topo @dangerouscommiesubversive and @veradragonjedi
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So yes, I've been quiet on the writing front.
Mostly because I just haven't had the kick-in-the-butt to write, and NaNo didn't work out for me this year (last year? Whatever.)
However, I know it's not gone completely, since this Fic Idea -still- won't go away. it's demanding more research then I think it actually needs (am I procrastinating on the 'writing' part of this by over-researching the 'science' part of this? Probably.), and it's actually mostly abandoned the initial scene that prompted this fic idea (I'll take that, since I could never get that scene to work).
But it's still there.
Annoyingly, most of the part I'm plotting out now, trying to fill in some gaps, is actually from the perspective of a minor OC. I can't figure out how to get the rest of the Mantis Crew 'in the room' so to speak. But, it's (slowly) turning into an actual fic draft, as I drop in notes, scenes and little bits and bobs.
And, though I didn't plan this, the Ashoka series (haven't finished watching, will post thoughts on that later, because I Have Them) sort of validates the initial rough idea of this fic, which was something I was not expecting?
One of the new scenes I've been working on.:
"They were vouched for by Commander Kosan," Jonas snapped to the two figures standing by the doors to the secondary hanger, "and -you- should have been told to clear the corridor." He straightened up, drew on all his mostly forgotten GAR experience of arguing with stubborn Jedi, equally stubborn clones, and arrogant officers who thought they suddenly had a medical degree. "So if you're still here in the next ten seconds, I'll give you a lecture that will leave your ears blistering, and a month's worth of latrine duty, - after - I do my Force-forsaken job, that is. Now move!"
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Fic Tag Game!
I was tagged by @iamfandomcrazy
Thank you! I was hoping I'd get the chance to answer these!!
How many works do you have on AO3?
24
What's your AO3 word count?
92,829
What fandoms do you write for?
On AO3, Wednesday. I only have Wednesday fics posted on AO3 but elsewhere like Wattpad I have some Harry Potter and Stranger Things. I do want to start posting some Ronance on AO3
What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
1. Condolence (Wyler, 339)
2. Jealousy (Wyler, 274)
3. Freckles (Wyler, 251)
4. Bitter Coffee (Wyler, 227)
5. The Beach & Realization (Wyler, both tied at 219 kudos)
Do you respond to comments?
Yes! I try to respond to all of them albeit sometimes I forget or procrastinate to do so
What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
Probably In The Middle Of The Night or Death's Goodbye. I haven't finished A Pain Worse Than Death yet, but that will have a pretty angsty ending too
What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
A Night To Remember, Realization, or Welcome to the Family
Do you get hate on fics?
Nope, not that I know of! Most of the comments I get, if not all, are positive
Do you write smut? What kind?
Yes, I do. I got into it too rather recently (back in summer) as I did a kink bingo writing event. A lot of it is kinky, obviously lol. Beyond that I'm not sure how to explain it cause they each vary/are pretty different from each other. Some are really out there/dirty and others are more tame, just depends on the fic
Do you write cross-overs?
No. I wrote a bit of one in the past for Narnia x Harry Potter, but I never did anything with it and I haven't written any since then. Unless you count Omegaverse, no
Have you ever had a fic translated?
I think so. I remember someone asking me at one point if they could translate one of my fics but I never checked to see if they actually did so I'm not 100% sure
Have you ever co-written a fic before?
Not really. I've helped other writers with ideas for their fics and they have helped me with ideas for my own but that's the extent of collaboration I've done for writing fics
What WIP would you like to finish but doubt you ever will?
Oh God, where do I start? I'd love to finish A Pain Worse Than Death but low-key don't know if I will. I also would love to finish some other AUs I have in my drafts like my Wyler Circus AU and my Wyler Goody Two shoes/Rebel AU, as well as some Ronance fics I have in my drafts
What's your all-time favorite ship?
Honestly, probably Wyler. But beyond them I also adore Ronance (Robin Buckley and Nancy Wheeler) and Shirbert (Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe)
What are your writing strengths?
Grammar and I like to think I'm decent at descriptions and characterization
What are your writing weaknesses?
Tense! I always subconsciously switch between past and present tense and it drives me insane!! It's something I always have to go back and fix/check for. And maybe dialogue, sometimes I struggle with that. As well as just finishing projects before starting a new one lol, I always have like 500 million drafts all at once that I'm working on
Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?
I think it's fun to do sometimes but I don't do it much and if I do I try to do a language I am partly fluent in (like Spanish) or do a lot of research beforehand to ensure it's as accurate as I can get it
First fandom you wrote for?
Harry Potter I'm pretty sure
Favorite fic you've ever written?
Maybe Coffee Memories (I really like the characterization in this one) or A Pain Worse Than Death (the angst is just so delicious) or Scars Never Leave (I like the sort of hurt/comfort of this fic) or Safe Haven (it's the only Madwheeler fic I have and I like the angst and tone of it but I wrote it several years ago so it needs updated a lot) and then a lot of ideas that are just in my drafts
What fic would you want to rewrite one day?
Condolence because the first half of chapters are very short and lack content and I'd like to fix that, to try and make chapters more similar in length (like at least not like a 400 word chapter then a 3000 word chapter right after each other, yk) and Safe Haven (it's alright but could use some work to be more consistent in its plot and so it would work better, I'd just like to update it with my more recent writing style and knowledge since it's a few years old)
I tag @cosmic-lullaby @katwitchwriting (sorry if either of you have been tagged already!!)
#tag game#fic tag game#my fics#my wips#wips#wip#my fic writing#my ao3 works#my ao3 fics#my ao3#ao3 writer#ao3fic#ao3 link#ao3#wyler#wednesday netflix#ship#stranger things ships#fandom ships#ships#my ships#lgbt ships#ronance#dramione#harry potter#stranger things#my writing
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Tagged by @maimaktes, thank you so much for tagging me!
- Has an AO3 account
Yep, that's where I post everything, and a lovely site it is.
- Wrote /writes smut content
Yes I do, even if I find it challenging to strike the right tone and balance depending on what I'm writing. I generally procrastinate writing these for ages because I find them tricky.
- Published an unbeta'd fic
That would be all of mine. I am a manic goblin writer and it would be really unfair to inflict this on another human. That being said, I'm often plagued with impostor syndrome about my writing as English is my second language, and I would maybe consider having a (very patient) beta in future.
- Wrote a self-indulgent fic
As @maimaktes perfectly described, that would be all of them. And there's not one thing wrong with that.
- Has left kudos at least twice
I think AO3 would benefit from this feature, in the meantime it is heartwarming to read the occasional "extra kudos!" comment, so I've taken to leaving the same as a reader.
- Sucker for fluff fics
It can hit the spot when it is well written with good plot depth (which is not at all the same as lengthy, those are two different beasts).
- Loves researching before writing
Literally my favourite part. My mind is one messy repository for random facts and I love that, and will continue to love it as a reader and a writer.
- Keeps an outline for writing
This is a MUST for me. I'm a planner, not a pantser - so I may be editing my chapter on posting day and adding paragraphs at the last minute, but it's okay! Because I know where everything should go. We may meander, yet the checkpoints are all there. Anything else would induce hair-raising anxiety.
- Has at least one unpublished or unfinished story
Several, but I only ever post one at a time. I usually have a side project that I use to afford myself some distance and rest from the main WIP.
- Gets ideas in the middle of the night
Constantly. I use Google Docs to write because I am forever using it on my phone throughout the day to write down dialogue or specific plot tidbits that float through the brain. Not all of them make it, but that's okay.
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ok, so i know it's a lot but i'm really curious 😭 sorry : 18, 26, 30 , 43, 47, 50, 55, 72 and 79
omgggg!! my love this is dope let's get it :D this felt like an interview djhdf i enjoyed it, so thank you<3
18. Do you enjoy research? Which fic of yours required the most research?
i don't enjoy it but yeah, i do research since you gotta give subjects justice! the one that's required the most researching so far isn't released yet but it's a sugar daddy!jin fic mwahaha
26. What’s your least favorite part of the writing process?
when the fics don't write themselves :')) ehh but also the self-doubt when it presents itself. that's not fun.
30. How much do you edit your fics? Do you edit as you write or wait until you finish the first draft?
literally edit until i am convinced the story is legitimately boring or not interesting huhuhu it's one of my writing flaws! i edit to procrastinate from writing what's not written yet lol so i do tend to edit as i go. and then again when the draft is entirely finished.
43. Is there a trope or idea that you’d really like to write but haven’t yet?
yes! i've been wanting to write a survival au at some point. all the rest that i've wanted to write are wips that i've started ehehe
47. Is there a trope that you’ve written before but are now sick of?
nope! nothing's gotten to that point yet.
50. How would you describe your writing style?
damn, i really don't know. this is actually why i love when people describe it bc i can't seem to pinpoint it and stick with what i think lol. there was a time where i did say that i write like it's perpetually autumn/fall in my head, but with new stories came new "seasons" of writing so i can't really say that anymore.
now i will say that i think my rhythm/cadence is heavily influenced by anime/shows?? like each line break is intentional bc i think of it as a "camera cut" as i see the scene unfolding in my head. this is a huge reason why my paragraphs are rarely long. if they are, it's intentional.
wait!! we can say that: my writing style is intentional.
55. Have you noticed any patterns in your fics? Words/expressions that appear a lot, themes, common settings, etc?
YES. now that i'm writing a lot more than i used to, i'm noticing the small patterns/things i default to when writing certain scenes or emotions or portrayals. i tend to use opposites a lot, and sets of three is a given. for themes, love tends to be the dominant one, whether it's for people, self, or even things like music.
72. What’s your favorite writing compliment you’ve gotten?
this was answered but i wanna shoutout @thisbrokenmask for their compliment on first love, last love. i still remember it being one of the first i've ever gotten on bts fics and it's still stuck with me to this day.
79. Do you have any writing advice you want to share?
the art of writing is a journey, and journeys have both ups and downs. but the great thing about adventures is that you get to see yourself improve with each step, whether it's tiny or huge. you meet people along the way. you come across things you didn't expect. and you get to look back at all the things you've been through and accomplished while also knowing there's stuff to experience ahead of you.
so my advice? take it all as it comes. start, keep going, rest if you need. the journey is always more fun than the destination.
fanfic writing asks!
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Writing game asks ☺️
5, 11, 12, and 23 💛
Wickett!!! ty so much my dear
5. have you ever made a playlist about something you were writing as an elaborate means to procrastinate when you could have been actually writing and if yes drop a link, son
oh absolutely i have. here's the playlist for an old west/wild west au that i outlined but also definitely procrastinated on by making this playlist:
11. what’s something neat you’ve learned while doing research for something you were writing? also, how much do you worry about doing research in general?
I've been learning a lot about american football lately because of my NFL AU. Learned recently their usual like practice/game schedule (they're off on Mondays and Tuesdays btw). And I usually don't worry about research/being accurate too much unless I am writing in a very specific world/au that has certain rules and other people know them (if that makes any sense). Like the NFL AU or heck even my Rhett fic cause I know fuck all about horses and rodeos lol
12. do you ever have trouble focusing on writing? how do you get around that?
Oh, all of the time. Especially if I'm writing on my laptop. Constantly flicking between the word doc and tumblr and the tab where I'm making edits. And then I only write a few lines and it took me three hours because I couldn't focus. If it gets to be too much, I'll switch to writing with pen and paper. That really forces me to focus and I don't look at other things as much.
23. how do you deal with writers block?
tbh I don't get writer's block super often. and I usually get it when everything else in my life is hectic and my brain is just too exhausted to write. but what i find that helps me is changing the way in which i write (switching from a laptop to pen and paper) and also where I am writing. So instead of my bedroom or office, outside or even a cafe. Honestly just changing my surroundings helps so so much, it makes everything feel fresh.
ask game for fanfic writers
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oh! i didnt see you were doing this. well if you're still taking asks, these ones please?: 😈 , ✨ (can never do this too often ;-P), 💖, ❌
Thank you!!
😈 Has there been a point in a story where you did something just to be playfully mean to your readers?
Oh yes indeed heehee. 😈I think I do this a lot actually. I'm such a fan of writing interrupted kisses and/or amping up sexual tension only to leave it totally unresolved, like the ending of Miscommunication. Then there's the abruptly bittersweet ending of Hide, which was totally unnecessary. And sometimes I write fics just because I had a sad idea and wanted to inflict it on others (which is, like, more evil than playfully mean).
✨ Give you and your writing a compliment. Go on now. You know you deserve it. 😉
Omg again!! You are an angel. :) A lot of my fics are sort of "this happened, then this happened, then they smooched", but for some fics, I do integrate some interesting metaphors or parallels which I think really add some kind of depth to it. (For example, this fic.)
💖 What made you start writing?
I started writing fic when I was like eight, and it was mainly because I had started using the Internet and saw people had written Danny Phantom fanfics on the Nickelodeon forums or something. (Those fics were almost always in script format, which on reflection is probably a big part of why dialogue comes so much easier to me than descriptions.) I don't even remember what most of these stories were about; and I remember being frustrated that I didn't have the life experience to know how to write about anything lol. I continued writing all through high school, didn't write as much in college (I did get something anonymously published in our lit journal though), started again the summer before grad school because I didn't know what to do, and now I write to procrastinate thinking about math.
❌ What's a trope you will never write?
This is kind of a non-statement because it varies from person to person obviously, but there are some tropes that I can't even read because they make me really uncomfortable, and I don't see myself getting inspired to write stuff like that. I don't want to get that much more specific about this collection of tropes, it's just stuff I wouldn't want to consume myself.
But outside of that, never say never for the most part. I don't really see myself writing anything smutty or dealing with kinks? I've tried and have some fic ideas in this vein, I'm just too awkward/impostor-y to totally follow through. It's not a hard (😈) never, it's just a skill I don't have yet and am not sure I'm going to spend the time to develop it. Similar for historical AUs, where I honestly have a bunch of ideas pending but need to do a lot of research that I don't really have the time for. There are also some genres of AU that I don't dislike but probably wouldn't write myself (High School AU, College AU, Coffee Shop AU).
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currently doing intense research into the american education system... yes its for my fic... yes i am procrastinating doing a project that is worth 50% of my final grade... no i am not american...
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baeeee idk how to use tumblr i hope this is one of the things u answer but anywaysssss i found you on ao3 and binged all ur stuff and wanted to say ur writing is so good it’s so hard to find fics like these with long plots and good chars so please keep writing omgggg all of them are my faves like endure and ship and swear 😍i’m loving those can’t wait to read more chapters whenever you post and maiden tag is also p good 😋😋
AHH YES IT IS SORRY FOR THE DELAY I’VE BEEN TESTING FOR TWO WEEKS AND WHEN I WASN’T TAKING AN EXAM I WAS STUDYING 😭💔 I’m finally finished though!!
Thank you for reading!! I’m glad you liked everything so much :) it means a lot. I love when fics have long plots but there’s not a ton of them out there (which is understandable, they take time and effort to write) so I’m happy to fill the niche.
ENDURE SWEAR AND SHIP ARE MY FAVS TOO!! They’re so much fun to write and even though endure is finished I always have so much fun whenever I go back to write bonus chapters. It’s my longest work (as of now, I think ship and maybe swear will end up longer) and I wrote it during a tough time during my life so it’s just very close to me. Sometimes I go back and read earlier chapters and cringe but that’s a part of growing as a writer. It’s also the only one of my works that’s gotten popular and I can attribute a solid majority of my reads even on other stories to how big it’s become, so I’ll always be thankful for that! It makes me so happy that so many other people love it the way I do. Also comments about how the story made someone cry always make me laugh lol.
Ship in the Harbor is honestly really fun too, it leaves a lot more room for creativity which I enjoy even though it does in a sense make the story more difficult to write. Half of my writing time for that story is just researching to make sure stuff is accurate 😭 Colt as a character is unfortunately pretty underrated so I don’t expect much to come out of that fic, which is almost nice in a way because I can really focus on doing whatever I want with it. Those who do read Ship always leave the sweetest most thoughtful comments though!! I love all of my readers very much ofc but it always makes me especially happy to get the comments that are like mini-essays hehehe.
Maiden Tag is just me writing whatever I feel like. It’s not at all a serious story so it’s pretty far from what I normally write, which makes me wonder if my pacing and development are fine, but at the same time it’s really more of a destress/therapeutic story that doesn’t take much effort on my part — which isn’t to say I’m not trying with it, because I am of , but I’m not worrying about constant plotting and foreshadowing and getting every detail accurate and meaningful the way I am with swear/SitH.
NOW THAT MY EXAMS ARE FINALLY DONE I CAN WRITE SM MORE 😍‼️ hopefully updates soon on everything…school burnt me out so much but now that I won’t have homework and whatnot I’ll be able to really just enjoy writing again. I’ve also been debating starting another au story just because they’re so fun and now that summer’s almost started I’ll have a lot of time 😩 ofc I DO have like 5 stories going on atm but what’s one more 🤤 it’ll be a lot but it’s honestly kinda helpful to have so much going on at once because I can procrastinate writing one story but writing another and that way everything gets done. Because sometimes I just want something light and fun like Maiden Tag or Eren’s All That, sometimes I want to do something more serious but am bored of canon (battle for trost is my enemy. I CANNOT write that arc fsr I just hate it so so much) so I’ll work on SitH. And when I’m missing canon and especially Eren I’ll write for Swear. Then I have a story for JJK which is separate LMAO.
Thank you again for the ask and sorry for the long response 😭 if you want to stay anonymous but also would like to send in more asks you can assign yourself an emoji (or not, it’s up to you!)
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In coming and going... (Pt.1)
Cruella (2021) x reader
This is a request from the lovely @cosmicbrownies7 “a cruella fic where she’s obsessed with the reader since the reader has been with her since they were little. And after Cruellas success the reader tries to leave but cruella won’t “let” her. Or something along those lines.”
yes i had fun procrastinating and making this cover, now look at it.
A/N: I’ve already apologised a thousand times for how long it’s taken, but thank you for your patience as well as everyone who’s been waiting for me to drop something. Here it is! This is the first half of this fic, the second half is coming very, very soon, I promise, and it is considerably longer than this one. Also, I might have gone off the request a bit, but this was what I managed to come up with.
Uni has been keeping me busy and mentally unstable, as it does, and the holidays never fail to make me spiral, followed by the adorable, cute and lovely exam season for which I can only seem to be able to blink and breathe, AnD! to make things better right in the middle of exam season (had 2/4 exams done) MY ROOMMATE GOT COVID :') I'm still negative and I've switched rooms but we're always together so I do believe it's just the incubation period. fun! today i'm missing an exam that i'll take on the 18th feb instead (considering that my classes start on the 21st…..) and on monday i have calc (for which i am utterly lost and I have to study bc i've failed a subject already but I still don't know if I'm positive and get to miss it or if I have to take it on monday kdjjdksksdj). life rant aside, that is why things. yes. the tiny amounts of time i've had to write have been like little nuggets of sanity, so i very much enjoyed writing it, and very much hope you enjoy reading it <3
warnings: parent death, generally traumatic childhood, yall know me, i don’t do cute backstories. let me know if there's anything else i should add.
|| Masterlist || ... who have you become? || Wattpad Link || AO3 Link ||
~3000 words
Knowing her past, of course it pained you to have to leave, just like everyone else did in her life, and unfortunately that included you, all those years ago, twice. And now you sat here contemplating your options, and leaving again was the most likely outcome.
Third time would be the charm, she thought, and you knew it, you could tell by the sparkle in her eye and the way she held your hand. Her grip on you was always tight, and it got tighter every time you went away and came back.
It's destiny, she would argue. It's fate, that the two of you should meet again and again. But you knew it to be a coincidence, you knew you would always come back to London, even if for a short time, just like now. You had to be rational, since her feelings would always cloud reality. Because your own feelings couldn't mean that much. Of course you liked her, of course you cared about her, but you couldn't let her mean too much to you. As kids it didn't matter much. Later on things got a bit more complicated.
Your own mum worked at the bakery near where Estella and her mum lived, so, in your free time as a little kid (which was basically all of your time) you would go play with her on the street, in her house, in the kitchens of the bakery. Making clothes, drawing each other, and doing all the things kids do.
And of course time could not allow that to go on forever, so the tragic day came.
You didn't know the details of it, and you never cared much to do your research, because thinking too much about it felt like torture to you. But you knew that one day your mum died in an accident at the bakery, something about getting crushed after some of the heavier supplies fell down.
And then you were left to the world.
You could have stayed, you knew in your heart that Katherine would have taken you in, you could have lived with them, but you didn't really have much of a choice.
The orphanage came for you that very day, your mum's employers at the bakery knew that your dad was completely out of the picture, so they reported the issue right away.
You were little, you didn't know anything else. And it wouldn't be until you were both fifteen that you would find Estella again.
Well, let's say that she found you.
Or, Jasper did.
You had been rather unfortunate with your foster families. You weren't a particularly troublesome kid, in fact, you'd like to believe that you were perfectly normal. But your first family consisted of a drunk couple who wanted the money from child support. The second one was almost the same, only worse. They weren't drunks, they were drug addicts. And the years in between consisted of this unlucky sorting of families, until you ran away at last, now fifteen, and found yourself in London somehow, face to face with this boy who tried to steal a little plushie that used to be a pin cushion for sewing, and that you wore dangling from your backpack's zipper.
Jasper thought your watchful eye would be useful to them, since no one else had ever realised they stole something, and he also spotted right on that you didn't really have a family to go home to. So in his mind he offered his family, and his home, but he offered much more without even knowing. A couple hours later you would meet a red haired girl who claimed that she had a plushie like that as a kid. You told her a childhood friend gave it to you, her name was Estella. And that was when the two of you realised that you did know eachother, and even now, after all the time that passed, she never forgot that you kept the stupid plushie.
That was one of the days you would never forget. Finding her again. The way her face lit up and the way it felt to you, no longer being alone in the world. You took your time to study her, the way she had changed, or just grown, essentially, as you knew you had too, just not quite as much as her this time. Both of you explained what life had been like for the past few years, her story flowing out with the addition of your own tears. It warmed your heart that you had found her, it was a relief, a feeling of returning home, though you’d barely known what that word meant at all, but it also broke your heart to know what had happened to her mum, and to know (to know! oh you knew it too well) what she had to live through.
And you loved her, from her box dyed red hair, to her smudged eyeliner, to those small habits she shared with the boys, but you also loved how she was exactly the same person you had to leave before. With her gentle heart and caring soul, and how she always made sure you felt safe, and always listened to your rants about society and general social critique. You knew she got defensive sometimes, but never with you. All the trouble she had made in school seemed perfectly reasonable since you knew who she was in her heart.
☽◯☾
The four of you lived along like this for almost two years. Passing each day through your little robberies. Jasper and Horace would roam the streets to see what places would be more profitable, getting Wink to sniff out small entrances to places, as you and Estella poured over the outfits. When the four of you were together, there wouldn't be a moment of quiet, each joke coming after the previous in rapid fire, reenacting the day's job, the warehouse was alive with laughter.
But you and Estella? There was no need for talking. You worked to the sound of whatever vinyl you'd stolen last, both of you too focused on your tasks to even bother with exchanging useless words. The right glance was all it took, and whatever the message was, it would be received. But it wasn’t always silence filling the room, because when you weren’t working there was plenty to talk about, how both of you viewed the world and wanted it to change, and that was something else you agreed on completely. Polite society was too dull, and it seemed a waste to just follow the rules when they did more harm than good. Making up your own rules always felt right, because you were kids, and there wasn’t much to keep you from it (how terrible it is that it all had to change- again).
And she stuck to her rules religiously, always had the plan in mind, she knew where she would look and what way to turn to. You worked best by feeling out the atmosphere, reading the people around you, observing their moves. You spent nights upon nights thinking about how she felt when you had to leave again. How she must hate you. You could have just followed the plan, any damn plan, and nothing would have happened that day. Did she even have any idea of why you left? Well she had to, she's the smartest person you've ever met! You were left with no choice but to swear to never see those three again.
Estella was always cautious about sticking to a good plan. The days before a big hit she would stay at home and study the place, think about all the outcomes. Jasper used to lend her some of his wisdom too, sketching out different paths to run off, debating what time was best to strike. Horace did sit around as well, suggesting things none of us could ever come up with, because he always had his mind on what Wink and Buddy could do. But you got stressed out looking at their maps and schedules and lists of things to do. And that was okay, because you were more of a hawk on the spots, quick to tell when something was off and when it was time to go. You were best at looking out, keeping your sacred watch as they did their craft.
Each day after the heists you would go out on your walk, check people out, get your news, eavesdrop on what gossip was going around town. It was how you kept your mind going, by keeping on the move as well. On most days you would bring one or both of the dogs with you, sometimes getting one of the boys to come as well.
She wasn't much of a walker, she had better things to do. When she did though, it was the fountain at Regent's park that she would always go to. And it pained you to know why. To know that someone as lovely as Estella had to live through something that terrible.
The two of you shared a room, with two beds on either side of the big table that was always cluttered with sewing supplies and magazine cutouts. On the chill nights when there was nothing to plan, the boys watched TV and you two spent your alone time doing all sorts of things. Playing cards, drawing things, talking about the most recent fashion show. Sometimes you'd be reading in your bed, lying to one side as you waited for sleep to catch on earlier than usual, and she would come up behind you, spooning you to try to get a glance at your book. She always fell asleep faster when she was next to you, and you would put the book down and follow after her, matching your breathing to the one you felt on your back.
Whenever either of you would have nightmares you knew you could join the other, despite the bed being too small. You would hold on to each other to keep you from falling off, her head on your chest, your legs tangled together.
You never thought much of it because it just felt right. Of course you wouldn’t mind her closeness. Her skin was soft and her perfume was sweet, fruit-like. Her embrace made you feel safe and content. Things stayed this way for those two years. To you this life was perfect, there was no need to change it because there was nothing complicated about it. Not the way you felt nor the way your days passed. But that was to you of course. And in your childish oblivion- more of a purposeful blindness really- both the boys and Estella felt this way as well.
While that might have been the case for Jasper and Horace, it wasn’t for Estella. She’d always been ambitious. And you couldn’t argue that she didn’t have the right to be either. Not with all her talent. But then there was the part you didn’t understand at first. Not until the day you left.
It had never occurred to you that a girl could feel that way about another girl, and it had certainly not occurred to you that she could feel that way about you. Or that what you felt for her, the way you never felt for any guy, could be that.
And it wasn’t until the day you left that you realised.
That day had started off as usual. A chaotic morning of getting ready, everyone getting dressed with their costume, yelling back and forth, disputing the one bathroom you all shared. A rushed breakfast as was also usual, Horace running after Wink with his crispies in hand, Jasper leaning on the kitchen counter with his tea, reading the news as his toast lay forgotten, you with your sandwich.
“Jasper, your toast is getting cold, don’t forget it.” you said to him as you went to wash your dishes.
Estella was still adjusting something, like she always did, a perfectionist through and through. You followed her into the “planning” room on the floor above with an apple in hand, like you always did.
“How many times do I have to tell you to not skip breakfast? We won’t be done with this one for a couple hours.” you said to her, tossing the apple her way when she looked at you from behind the mannequin.
“You worry too much darling. We’ll be having lunch at that nice restaurant today, we should get enough from our work to go there.” she said to you, smiling widely before taking a bite of the apple, then keeping it in her mouth as she resumed her task.
“I worry too much? Yeah, tell me about it” you said while laughing, and she answered with a furrow of her brows.
You had started to leave for the elevator, but then you felt the urge to look at her again. She looked a lot more stressed than usual.
“Is it because it’s the fancy watch store?”
“What?” she said, putting the apple down on a table.
“You’ve been messing with the cuffs on that shirt forever. You never second-guess your cuffs.”
“Well it’s because it’s satin. This one’s more slippery than usual” she answered without looking at you.
You stepped closer to her, taking her hands into yours to keep her from unpinning those cuffs again.
“It’s going to go just fine. Like it always does. This one’s just a bit more luxurious than usual, but nothing we haven’t done before”
She looked to the side as she huffed in frustration “But this one has a Police station right outside”
“We’ve done that too!”
“I don’t know, I just have a weird feeling about today.”
“The plan you guys came up with is just as good as the ones before, it’ll be fine!” you whispered the last part, tugging on her hand so she would look at you. Her jade eyes fixed on yours before she hugged you like she knew it would be the last time. Tight and long, and you hugged her back, naive as you were. Eventually she started to let go, only to stop and touch her forehead to yours. Your arms were around her waist, and hers had rested around your shoulders before she put one hand over your collarbone, and cupped your head with the other, just behind your ear. And then she leaned in to kiss you. Shy and sweet, her lips barely touched yours before Jasper shouted from underneath, making you two separate at once.
“Girls we should leave in five”
You looked at her, surprise etched all over your face, and she grabbed the apple and made for the elevator, not looking at you at all while it descended.
Then all of you left for the store, separating a couple streets before getting there. You would be the first to get in and the last to leave. Then Estella and Horace, and Jasper at last.
You'd barely paid attention to where you were walking, it was impossible with all those thoughts on your mind. If you hadn't slammed head first into some lady on the street you would have just kept on walking, not realising you'd missed the store already. You turned back around and got into the store, taking your sunglasses off as you did.
You tried very hard to keep a cool appearance, but distress was all you could convey. At this hour, the store was it's busiest, since it would be easier to get things done in the chaos. You tried to melt into the crowd until Estella and Horace walked in, their arms linked together.
You looked everywhere but at them. That was probably one of the reasons why everything went to shit. That and the fact that the Police saw you slam into the woman before getting in, they had an eye on you already.
They went on with the plan, started to talk to an employee the moment Jasper walked in. As Estella said her lines, as convincing as always, Jasper bumped into people to get their wallets, stole things from displays and what-not.
"Well, my husband here came to buy this watch the other day, but I just don't think it matches his eyes. I would very much like to see other options." she said.
You pretended to study a particularly ugly watch, just because it was the one that was displayed with the clearest view to where the pair of them stood.
"Oh absolutely not, that is the ugliest thing I've ever seen." and she went on, saying every watch was ugly, or wouldn't go well with his complexion, buying Jasper the time he needed for the employee to be distracted.
As it was getting time to leave Jasper went to you, as planned, dropped his findings onto your open bag and left. Estella said her last lines, ending the show with a banger.
"Well honey, you picked the lousiest watch store in England, I'm afraid this won't do."
"Ma'am, this company has been selling watches for nearly three centuries! We make watches for the royal family! There isn't any other company with comparable quality!" said the employee, offended.
"I'm afraid that the royal family's standards might be shamefully low. Now, I would like the money back for this watch. We are not keeping it, I might be ill if I have to look at it again."
And the employee begrudgingly gave them the money, so upset that there was no opportunity to check that the watch was real at all, and not a replica.
They left with no troubles, the mission had gone perfectly smoothly until then. And besides your twitchy behaviour, nothing else would have gone wrong if you hadn't messed up at the last moment.
You were forced to run. And so you did. It wouldn’t be until a few years later, under different names, that you would find her again.
|| Masterlist || ... who have you become? || Wattpad Link || AO3 Link ||
if you want to be tagged for part 2 or future works please let me know!(and tell me which) please don't forget to eat and drink water, and stay safe :)
#hello i'm back#i'm alive#sorta#cruella 2021#cruella#cruella de vil#cruella fanfic#cruella fic#cruella x reader#emma stone#cruella fanfiction#cruella2021#disney villains#jasper and horace#horace badun#jasper badun#101 dalmatians#childhood friends#orphan
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For the writing meme thingy:
🍄how do you get yourself in the mood to write?
🍑 do you/would you write smut?
📒 any fics planned?
🍄 How do you get yourself in the mood to write?
Getting in the mood to write and actually wanting to sit down and start writing are two very different things, but they're connected, so I'll explain both.
To set into “creative mode” it helps me to do these things:
Listen to music that makes me think of a character/situation in my story/stories. I've got playlists separated by character and pairing. Sometimes I also just work on curating those playlists for fun and get my brain going.
Bounce overall ideas off of my friends and husband/editor (but he's my best friend, too 💗)
Reread old chapters or recent ones and future snippets based on what I want to do.
Once I actually want to put words down, I get a little more strict with myself. I get distracted verrrry easily sometimes and I have to fight the urge to open a million more tabs when researching a small detail.
I move to instrumental music (I have playlists for different moods like “emotional”, “soft”, “sad”, etc. I usually listen to “soft” as a general soothing background sound, as I can get pretty dang emotional when I write, especially with the stuff I've been churning out lately.
So, yeah, I need tissues within reach if I get upset. (Wow, I'm not making this sound fun at all, lmao)
After sound has been established, I like to eat a snack (something with protein) because I can be under for hours, lol. Eat it and finish it. Otherwise, I get distracted.
I also like to have drinks available. I always have a bottle of water, but I also like having a hot cup of tea. I think it's the time of year for me to switch to cold barley tea.
I write while seated on a recliner with my feet up. I have my laptop on a lap desk and it's a pretty cozy setup.
I basically try to remove any excuse I have to get up once I start writing, because I am the worst procrastinator I know.
🍑Do you/would you write smut?
Heheh... heck yeah, I do. Waaaaay more than most people realize. Stuff I've actually posted? It's pretty limited. I posted a couple pieces (Let Me Love You and You're Like the Sunshine) a few years ago, but I've been practicing ever since. One of my planned stories literally has what I refer to as a “smut dump” in the draft where I've been experimenting with writing different moods. I like the intimate scenes to play a role in the overall plot or have it be a bonding experience.
Despite that, I do have a shameless Gray x Mary story I should just get out there that has zero plot, just two cuties in love. In my mind it's so naughty and kinky and I get flustered thinking about it (Mary is hot, okay?), but it's probably hella vanilla, lmao. I really am grateful that people have been really supportive about my writing smut despite what I usually write, and they've been so encouraging, too! I honestly feel like the smut I've posted is really stilted because I was so self-conscious about it. I don't feel like they are terrible for first attempts, but I have definitely grown more comfortable writing it.
Will The Shy Newcomer become explicit? I kinda really want it to, but I might separate the chapters for those who don't care for that content. Overall, I'd like to write more and post more, and I want to write more than just male x female smut as well. I have some of those in my planned pieces (more about them later).
📒 Any Fics Planned?
Firstly, I'm super tickled more than one person was interested in this. I copied the answer I wrote earlier.
Short answer: Yes. I also plan to bring more of my stories over from ffn to Ao3.
Long answer under the cut, heheh. I rambled quite a bit.
Ask me about my writing processes and stories!
I have so many WIPs that haven’t been touched in years that I’d like to finish, so new planned fics aren’t posted yet. Some of them have more adult themes than most of the stuff I’ve been writing, so I get flustered sharing them. I’ve been at a crossroads, as I feel that you can’t have growth without changing things up. On the other hand, I feel like a lot of my readers associate my works with a specific “wholesome” feel-good mood. It’s kinda nice to be known for something, although that might just be my ego talking, thinking that people recognize my work as a “type”.
Regardless, in the end, I feel growth is necessary.
I don’t want to leave a lot of unfinished WIPs waiting because they stress me out and I have too many of them already, so I’d like to have a bulk of my new stories with a good chunk written before I decide to post them.
Among those include:
A longfic featuring Pete’s farm in Forget-Me-Not Valley (A blend of HMDS with the FoMT plugin and AWL). It takes place in the same universe as The Shy Newcomer (Claire in Mineral Town) and there are a few overlapping moments, although Pete’s story starts first. Pete’s personality is verrry different from Claire’s, and his story was kind of supposed to be the yang to TSN’s yin. Pete’s best friends in his story are Ruby (not sure if I’m adding Tim yet), Nami, and Rock. Readers will be treated to a poorly-socialized pre-Mineral Town Cliff (if you think he was bad at the beginning of TSN, well… heh… he’s a wreck here).
Another planned unpublished story is a crossover of Harvest Moon and the movie “In This Corner of the World”, based on a manga of the same name by Fumiyo Kouno. It was written as a gift for a friend. I have the entire outline figured out and have slowly been filling it in. My friend asked for an AU where Claire and Cliff have an arranged marriage and live with his family in Akiyama, the hometown I had created for Cliff in The Shy Newcomer. I took the opportunity to expand the characters in his family. I have it written during the same time period and society as “In This Corner of the World”, but had decided to write a spreading disease as an allegory for war, but then COVID happened and some parts of it just got really hard to write. There are also a lot of sexually explicit content as Claire slowly grows and learns from her spouse that it’s okay to express what she wants despite sex being a taboo issue. If there’s enough interest in the story, I’ll post it, but I worry it’s a little too niche for there to be many people into it.
Pastor Carter and Doctor Trent are one of my favorite rare pair ships. I’ve had a partial draft for a story about them for a few years now, especially focusing on Trent growing up and acknowledging that he has an unhealthy addiction for things that he knows he can’t have. There are some more adult/sexual themes in this piece, too, including the main character lusting after a married woman (who also happens to be his patient) and some lemons. (Does anyone call it that anymore or is it just referred to as “smut” nowadays? Haha) I always feel so bad for neglecting the folks at the clinic in-game and wanted to write a piece that focused more on them, Trent specifically. It’s a multi-chap fic, but I don’t think I’m going to let it get as long as some of my other pieces.
I also really want to write a short romantic oneshot for every marriage candidate in Mineral Town, around 1,000 words each. So far, I have one for Cliff and one for Gray. I want to write Claire with everyone, because I think it would be fun to explore all the different personalities.
I have more installments planned for A Single Day, including a day in the life of the following characters, all with drafts in varying degrees of progress:
Anna
Doug
Nora (yes, I’m writing from the point of view of the cat living at the inn)
More to come – I think Lillia and Thomas would be especially interesting to explore
I do still have that Legend of Zelda Majora’s Mask piece I’ve been pondering where Link befriends the soul of the deku scrub child while possessed by the mask. I don’t have much written about it, but I really love the world of Majora’s Mask. Such a fun game.
I also think about the lead carpenter’s son in Ocarina of Time and that weird side quest involving the blue chicken and the son being lost to the forest. Then that unique-looking kokiri girl explaining that all who get taken in the lost woods become stalfos. Like, did the guy die? Was he sick? Did he want to die? There’s just so much going on there that would be fun to explore.
I also have played OMORI recently and have like… A LOT of feelings about it. I don’t know what I’d write, but I’m still damn impressed at how well the characters are developed in such a short game.
Other games I’ve had vague ideas about writing for include the following:
The Flame in the Flood: I’m thinking a survivalist/action story fleshing out Scout’s backstory a bit more and her thoughts as she’s traveling. I feel like she’s a very lonely person, but isn’t given the chance to really dwell on it.
Night In the Woods: I’d love to write more about Mae’s dreams and what they mean to her. She doesn’t really talk to anyone about them openly, so it’s really hard to tell her feelings about them in some regards. We know that she’s distressed about them, but I’d like to dive a little deeper. Do the nightmares end after the games does? What about Bea’s new nightmares?
Hades (Supergiant Games): I think it would be fun to write more about the events that take place before the game starts, like Zagreus’s duties in the house of Hades, and expand on the strained relationship with his father.
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Knowledge and Ambition
tw: Cursing, anxiety, insecurities, bullying/gossiping
Word count: 6.75k
Genre: Fluff, mild angst
Pairing: Ravenclaw Kuroo x Slytherin Female Reader
AN: It’s September 1st, aka the first day of school at Hogwarts! I’ve been procrastinating on this fic for like a month or so, so I forced myself to finish this at 3 AM LMAO.
The sound of turned pages stuttered by scratching quills clung to the darkness as flames flickered around the room. You kept blinking, eyes drying from how long you’ve been focused. A sigh, and you slumped against the back of the chair. You had been sitting in this dark corner for the past three hours, pouring over text after text as you tried to wrap your head around the contents. Another sigh left you as you re-read what you wrote, dipping your black quill into the blue ink to make corrections. “It’s almost curfew, wrap it up.” Madam Pince poked her head around the bookshelf, peering over her spectacles at the tower of books you had surrounding you.
You pulled a note from your bag, standing up to give it to her. “I’m sorry Madam Pince, Professor Snape gave me permission to stay here past curfew.” She gingerly took the note from you, a scowl shadowing her face as she scrutinized it for legitimacy before turning on her heel with a huff to head back to her desk. Since you were already standing, you decided to stretch your legs and go look for that last text that should help push your claims about alternative ingredient usage and the degree of change to the potion.
Snape had always liked you as a student, especially after third year. He had caught you switching out certain roots for other herbs which still ended up with perfect potions every time. Since then, you had to be honest with your professor. You wanted to impact the Potions community, whether as someone who created a new Potion or as someone who wrote the new standard textbook. You were fortunate enough that Snape preferred Slytherins, otherwise you might not have been afforded the same opportunity that he had granted.
You sighed, (e/c) eyes scanning the shelves. Snape had recommended a very specific one. Its maroon binding caught your attention. With fingers reaching for it, they brushed against another hand. “Sorry!” You yanked your hand back, eyes following the hand up to the person. Looming over you was a familiar sight. Quidditch Captain, Prefect, and heart-throb of the school Kuroo Tetsurou stood over you.
“Sorry, I should have paid more attention.” Kuroo pulled the book out, offering it to you.
You shook your head, glancing back at your table. “It’s ok, you can use it.”
His hazel eyes followed yours, “are you sure? It must be important if you need this specifically amongst all the other ones.”
You flushed, avoiding his eyes. “It’s not that important.”
Kuroo’s finger dragged down the maroon binding. “I was just planning on doing some light reading.” He hands it to you, clearing his throat. “What are you working on?”
You offer him a small smile. “I’m working on a research paper.”
“On what?” He looked down at the book. “I’m assuming it’s something Potions-related.”
A soft giggle left you. “Yeah, I’m conducting research on alternative ingredients use in potions and the effects of using such alternatives.” Kuroo’s eyes widened. As he opened his mouth, Madam Pince hissed another demand for silence. A loud yawn overtook your features, eyes squeezing shut. Glancing at your watch, you clicked your tongue. “It’s getting late. I’ll probably finish whatever else I can in the common room.” Kuroo frowned, he had just been about to ask if he could study with you. “Nice to meet you, Kuroo.” You scooped your books into your arms, cramming whatever would fit into your bag before sending him a wave. The maroon book felt heavy in his hands.
****
“Are you looking at (Name)?”
Kuroo flushed, whipping his head to face his best friend. Kenma just continued eating, not looking at Kuroo. “No.”
“Yes he is.” Yaku slid into the seat across from Kuroo.
“No I’m not!”
“You’re blushing.” Kai sat across from the trio, smiling pleasantly at them. Akaashi sat beside him, flipping through one of his books as he ignored them.
“Ok, maybe just a little bit.” Kuroo angrily stabbed a potato, chewing on it as he avoided his friends’ eyes. He couldn’t stop himself from peeking over at you every few seconds though. You were seated at the Slytherin table, throwing your head back in laughter as you teased your housemates.
“Isn’t she known as the Cold Princess?” Akaashi inquired, still not looking up.
Kuroo glanced over at Akaashi then to the rest of the group when he heard them all agreeing. “‘Cold Princess’?”
“Yeah, heard she’s like super mean to everyone outside of her house.” Yaku commented, sipping his pumpkin juice. “Even some of her house-mates are scared of her.”
Kuroo frowned, not seeing why they thought that. “She seemed pretty nice to me.”
“Is that why you can’t keep your eyes off of her?”
“That’s besides the point.” Kuroo scowled, elbowing Akaashi.
“Who knew we’d find a day where Kuroo Tetsurou would be smitten with a girl.” Yaku’s eyes sparkled with humour. “Let alone the Cold Princess herself.” Yaku and Kai laughed.
“I’m not smitten!” Kuroo insisted. “She’s just...different.”
“Didn’t think you’d go for a Slytherin though, Kuroo,” Kai remarked, eating some eggs.
Kuroo shrugged. “Y’know I don’t care about all those house rivalries outside of the Quidditch field.”
Kenma snorted, “yeah cause all you care about is Quidditch.”
“And my education!” Kuroo argued.
“How’d you meet her anyways?”
He looked up to Kai. “I met her a few weeks ago in the library.” Kuroo pushed his food around on the plate, glancing between it and you. This time, you were patting a blonde male on the head. He didn’t recognize him, figuring that it was probably someone from your year. Was that your boyfriend? Kuroo wondered to himself.
Kai hummed. “I see her in the library often. She always sits by herself.”
“Seriously?” Yaku glanced over at you. “I never see her.”
“She sits in the corner,” Kai replied.
As the conversation changed to their homework, Kuroo blanked out. It had been a few weeks since that chance meeting between the two of you. He’d gone into the library most days since in an effort to talk to you, but he always found you buried in your books. Kuroo hated when people interrupted him in his readings, so he would just find a table where he could observe you - in the most nonchalant and least creepy way possible - to see if he could catch you before you left. Unfortunately, he hadn’t had much luck with that. He’d accidentally immerse himself in his own work, and by the time he took a break, you were either already gone or headed out the door. Hey, he was a Ravenclaw for a reason. Once he got into his reading, he was gone to the world. With a deep sigh, he resigned himself. If you guys were meant to be friends, it’ll happen. He should worry about his own work instead of a pretty Slytherin kouhai that he had only talked to for a few minutes.
****
“Miss (L.Name).” You look up at your professor’s voice.
“Yes, Professor Snape?”
“Come to my desk at the end of class.”
“Yes, sir.” Snape’s robes billowed as he turned, slinking back towards his desk. You turned back to your cauldron, waiting for your potion to change to orange. Carefully, you added powdered porcupine quills until your potion turned white. Today, Snape had your class brewing the Draught of Peace since it was one of the potions that would commonly come up during O.W.Ls. You sat back, stirring slightly before letting the potion simmer. It was a difficult potion only because getting it wrong would be dangerous. The wrong mix of ingredients, being heavy-handed with the porcupine quills or powdered moonstone could lead to irreversible sleep. The bell rang just as you added the 7 drops of hellebore. You observed your potion, satisfied. It had come out perfectly. Bottling two samples in a glass flask for Snape, you quickly cleaned up your cauldron and the area around it.
“Ugh, you’re so lucky (Name)!”
You turned to your classmate, eyebrows furrowed. “And why’s that?”
“You’re so gifted in potions.” Nishinoya, a Gryffindor in your class, glared at his potion. You stifled a laugh. His potion had somehow turned out an ugly chartreuse color. Even the fumes looked toxic as orange smoke billowed from it.
“What the hell did you do wrong this time, Nishi?”
He threw his hands up in exasperation. “Fuck if I knew, to be honest.” He bottled it, wincing at the repulsive smell of his potion.
You patted his back. “Well good luck with remedial potions.”
“Can’t you help me before it gets to that?” He whined. You and Nishinoya had been partnered in the third year of potions. Though you were typically more frosty, he had weaseled his way into your heart and became a close friend. Mostly by sheer persistence on his part. After all, who would willingly want to be friends with the Cold Princess of Slytherin?
“You know I’m busy.” You dead-panned, waving your wand over the cauldrons so that the contents disappeared. Together, you and Nishinoya walked up to Snape’s desk. By now, the majority of your classmates had left. Snape glanced at your potions, his gaze sliding over to Nishinoya’s and his face contorted in disgust.
“Another T, Mr. Nishinoya.” Nishinoya’s cheeks flushed pink, grimacing.
“I know, Professor.” His head hung low as he shuffled towards the door. “See you later, (Name).”
You offered the Gryffindor a wave that he didn’t see before turning back to your professor. “You asked to see me, Professor?”
Snape cleared his throat. “Yes. As you know, I rarely offer remedial classes to students.” A sneer made its way on his face. “However, Professor Dumbledore has...implored me..to be kinder this term. So, I have offered remedial classes and tutoring for struggling students this semester. As one of the more competent potioneers in my classes, I would like to request your assistance as a tutor.”
“Me?” The door opened, his next class filing in.
“That’s what I said, Miss (L.Name). Don’t make me take that back.” Snape’s eyes flashed dangerously as he began to put the flasks from your class away. “By taking on this task, I will be able to review the work you’ve assembled so far.” He cleared his throat, “and this would be a perfect opportunity for you to practice your teaching skills.”
Your eyes sparkled. Being able to dabble in academia seemed like a perfect opportunity for you to figure out where you wanted your future to go. “Of course Professor. Thank you for the opportunity!” Snape gave you a stiff nod.
“Now hurry up and get to class.” With a short bow, you spun on your heel to sprint out of the room. Your next class was Charms and you were most definitely going to be late if you didn’t hurry. Just as you reached the doorway, you collided into something tall and firm.
You yelped, stumbling back only for arms to dart around and steady you. “Oh, it’s you!” You glanced up, recognising him. “Sorry, I’m in a rush!” With a blinding smile, you patted his arms before dashing out under his arms and down the corridor.
“Get to your seat, Mr. Kuroo.” Kuroo’s head shot up, “and get that ridiculous look off of your face.” Pink crept up Kuroo’s face as he snapped his jaw shut, slinking towards his seat.
Snape began class, writing the instructions for the Potion for Dreamless Sleep onto the chalkboard. Yaku leaned over towards his housemate nudging him playfully, “you were staring again.” Pink turned to scarlet as Kuroo whipped around, shushing him. Yaku grinned, sitting back as he rewrote the instructions onto a piece of parchment. “She’s pretty.” Kuroo grunted in response, pulling out his ingredients. “Think she’s single?”
“Why are you so interested?” Kuroo snapped, glaring at the Keeper. “I thought you were scared of the Cold Princess.” Yaku just laughed, patting his back.
“No reason, Kuroo. No reason at all.”
****
“You’re late, Mr. Kuroo.”
“Sorry Professor,” Kuroo dipped his head. “Quidditch practice ran late today.”
Snape turned his nose, sneering. “Excuses do not belong in this classroom.” Snape turned on his heels, robes sweeping with the motion. “Hurry up then, or I will not grant you the extra credit.” Kuroo hurries into the classroom, glancing around at the dingy dungeon. He was glad that there were only eleven students. He froze, recognizing a familiar sight. Kuroo slips into the seat beside you, muttering a greeting to which you nodded in response. “With the exception of two students, you are all here because you have failed miserably to prove your worth in my class. However, this is your opportunity to redeem yourself.” Snape glowered at each and every one of the remedial students, sending chills down their spines. “Don’t squander it.”
With that, he turned and walked to the blackboard, writing down the recipe for the Shrinking Potion. Placing the chalk down, he sends one final glare to the students before going to his desk. You step in front of the blackboard, smirking at the students. “This is a simple potion that any third-year should be able to do. Follow these instructions, and Kuroo and I will be walking around to provide you help should you need it.” More chills ran up the students’ back at your last words. It was obvious that you weren’t keen on helping them should they need it.
Kuroo pinched his nose, looking around the room. As he walked around, a tall grey-haired fourth-year Slytherin caught his attention. “Can you please help me, Kuroo?” He begged.
“What seems to be the problem?”
The male winced as the potion billowed up green gas. “That,” he replied lamely.
“You added the Shrivelfig too early,” Kuroo’s eyes widened, casting a charm to dispel the gas. “You’re going to have to start all over.”
“What?! I don’t want to,” he whined. The slamming of a book caused them both to flinch, both sets of eyes darting to Snape who glared at them. “Aren’t you a Ravenclaw? Help me fix this!”
“You literally created poison gas,” Kuroo responded, pinching his nose.
Raising his wand to vanish the potion, a hand grabbed his wrist. “Lev, what did you do this time?” You pinched your nose with one hand as you stared at the potion.
“Something about Shrivelfig,” Lev muttered, crossing his arms. “I don’t see why I need to start over though!”
Your face softened. “Look, Lev, this potion has become dangerous. Do you want to fail this class and potentially hurt your fellow classmates?” You glanced at Kuroo who pulled his arm away and tucked his wand back into his robe pocket. “If it wasn’t for Kuroo’s quick-thinking, the fumes would have overtaken the class and we would be in some serious danger.” You patted the male’s head. “Here, I’ll stay with you and make sure you do it right, ok? That way you don’t have to stay extra long.”
Lev perked up. “Okay! Thanks, (Name).”
You grinned, before glancing back at Kuroo. “You can help the others now, Kuroo. Thank you for your quick-thinking.”
Heat crept up his neck as he shook his head. “It was nothing,” he replied dismissively.
You raised an eyebrow but nodded. “Whatever you say.” You turned back to Lev, vanishing the potion. “Let’s get started then, shall we Lev?” Kuroo stood there for a few moments, watching with slight amazement as you carefully guided Lev through the procedures. You looked in your element as you sliced the caterpillars and showed the younger student the best way to peel Shrivelfig. Another student called for Kuroo’s attention, snapping him out of his stupor. As Kuroo proceeded to help the others, he couldn’t help but survey you in the corner of his eyes. Perhaps there was a softer side to the Cold Princess after all.
****
Kuroo breathed a sigh of relief, stretching his shoulders. Due to the raging thunderstorm outside, he’d made the executive decision to cancel Quidditch classes. Exam season was coming up, and there was no reason to put his players’ health at risk if they could avoid it. Besides, they were doing pretty well this season. He walked up the stone stairs, following them to the library. As he entered, he couldn’t help the grimace that slid onto his face. It appeared that everyone thought to study today as the library was completely packed. He poked around, searching for an empty table only to find none. Kuroo sighed, contemplating whether or not he should go back to the dorms in order to study when he spotted you at your usual table. Luckily enough, nobody else had joined you at the table.
Steeling his nerves, Kuroo began walking towards you. As he made his journey, he picked up some whispers as people threw dark looks in your direction.
“Of course the Cold Princess would monetize an entire table.” A younger Ravenclaw scoffed.
“She threatened to hex me when I came too close,” a Hufflepuff whimpered.
“Me too!” Another Hufflepuff whispered in response.
“She said that people ruin her concentration,” a Gryffindor sneered to his housemates.
Kuroo stopped by your table, waiting anxiously for you to acknowledge him. Your nose was firmly buried into your parchment, and after a few awkward minutes of waiting, it was obvious that you weren’t going to say anything. Clearing his throat, Kuroo said, “hi.” Internally, Kuroo was screaming. ‘Hi’? Is that really all he was going to say?
You jolted, looking up at him and blinking rapidly with weary eyes. “K-Kuroo?” You stammer, rubbing one of your eyes.
Kuroo adjusted his bag awkwardly. “Yeah.” He cleared his throat, gesturing to the other tables. “Everywhere else is full. Do you mind if I join you?”
You stare at him with sharp (e/c) eyes. Seconds dragged on, a cold sweat swept through his body and he was regretting every decision he had made since entering the library until you gave him a stiff nod. “Sure, I don’t see why not.”
Relief washed over him as he grinned. “Thank you so much, I promise I won’t be a bother.” You only gave him another stiff nod before you moved your books around to give him more space. Sliding into the chair beside you, Kuroo pulled out his Transfiguration homework.
The pair of you work in silence for an hour before you get up, stretching. Students flinched as you make your way down the shelves, burying themselves into their books or ducking behind empty aisles in order to avoid you. Just as quickly as you had gotten up, you had already plopped back into your seat. “Y’know, you’re a lot quieter than I expected,” you comment, flicking through the latest volumes you had pulled.
Kuroo glanced up, tilting his head. “What do you mean?”
Clearing your throat, your eyes met his. “I mean that for someone as popular as you are, you sure are quiet.”
A red glow warmed his features. “I wouldn’t say that I’m popular.”
You raised an eyebrow. “Ya sure about that? Because I’m pretty sure being a Quidditch Captain, Prefect, and a top-ranking student are all qualities of popular students.”
At your comment, he raised his eyebrows. “Didn’t know you paid so much attention to me, kitten,” he teased.
You glowered at the nickname. “Don’t call me kitten.”
“Ok….kitten.”
****
It became routine for you and Kuroo to meet at the library now. It was very rare that either of you missed a session. Your dark corner was brightened by his presence. Once the clock rang a certain hour, you were already moving the stacks of books to the side to make room for the rooster-head captain as he slunk in after Quidditch practice. He’d used to come directly after, only for you to yell at him to go to his dorm and shower, which would end up delaying him by twenty minutes. With that extra time, you’d sneak into the kitchen and snag some food for you both.
Your quill scratched the parchment as you took down more notes from the text. The wooden chair besides you creaked, but your eyes remained on the book. “Hello, Kuroo.” You flipped a page, scanning the text for more information.
“Hey kitten.” The soft thump of his bag falling onto the ground had you looking up.
“You look tired,” you noted, surveying his face. Eye-bags darkened his face, not helped by the shadows of the flickering flames. “Maybe you should sleep early today.”
Kuroo shook his head. “No, I really have to finish this paper.” He pulled out his Transfiguration book.
“Do you have patrol later?” You chewed on your bottom lip, brows furrowed. Kuroo nodded glumly. “Alright, skip it.”
“I can’t just skip patrol,” Kuroo laughed, sipping at the pumpkin juice that you’d smuggle in.
“You can if someone takes it for you.” You looked back down at your books. “I’ll do your patrol for you.”
Kuroo choked, coughing. “W-what?” Madam Pince threw him a disgusted look as she hmph’d at her desk. “You can’t do that.” You shrugged, leaning forward to ruffle his hair. Kuroo let out a soft yelp. “What was that for?”
You pulled back your hand, carefully examining the hair. “For the polyjuice potion.” A few months ago, you’d decided to try your hand at brewing polyjuice potion on a whim. You hadn’t had a chance to use it yet, so this was the perfect opportunity.
“What?!”
“Shh!” Madam Pince hissed, looking up over her books at you both. You folded the hair into a napkin, carefully tucking it into your robes.
Kuroo lowered his voice. “What do you mean polyjuice potion? Isn’t that against the rules?”
“Well it’s not exactly like I have a time-turner,” you rolled your eyes. “Nor am I a Metamorphmagus.”
“You don’t have to do that for me.” Kuroo surveyed you. For someone who was advertised as just another ‘big bad Slytherin’, you had such an incredibly soft side.
You shrugged, pushing a sandwich in his direction. “Eat up.” You took a bite out of your own sandwich.
As you pulled your hand back, a warm weight dropped onto it. You swallowed, looking up. “Thank you.” His eyes sparkled. “I really appreciate you.”
Averting your eyes, your cheeks glowed. You hoped that the candle-light would hide it. “Just take care of yourself, rooster-head.”
****
“I heard what happened.”
You glanced up, grimacing. During potions, you had been helping Nishinoya only for his potion to explode everywhere. Snape ended up assigning him detention for the next month as well as remedial classes three times a week. You really weren’t sure how Nishinoya had fucked up his Wit-raising potion. But you’d walked away laughing, with admittedly terrible burns. You’d ended up teasing the boy saying that he needed to drink your wit-raising potion before he was allowed to speak to you again.
“How are you doing?” Kuroo pressed.
You let the utensils slip out of your fingers as you displayed your heavily bandaged hands up. “Miserable.”
Kuroo’s eyes widened. “Madam Pomfrey couldn’t help?” You shook your head, frowning. There was still a residual stinging in your fingers. “Scoot over.”
“What?”
“Only your hands are messed up, I’m sure you heard me just fine.” Kuroo waved his hands, forcing you aside. He took your seat, pulling your plate towards him.
“Kuroo, this is the Slytherin table, what the hell are you doing?” He shushed you, cutting up the meat on your plate. “Kuroo, I can take care of myself.”
He fixed you with a hard stare, pushing the plate towards you. “Prove it then.” You glared at him, as you picked up the fork and knife. Pain coursed through your fingers but you simply bit your tongue, not wanting him to win. You focused on keeping your face blank, breathing deeper than you wanted. With sluggish movements, you sawed through the meat. Hazel eyes surveyed you, flicking between your hands and your face.
“See?” You proclaimed, stabbing the meat and waving it in his face. He shrugged, holding his hands up.
“Whatever you say, Princess.” You glared at him, ice creeping through your heart. Eating it, you attempted to cut more meat only to drop the fork with a violent curse. It felt like someone had poured molten lava over your hands. Glaring at your fingers, you aggressively shoved the plate towards Kuroo who raised an eyebrow at you. “I thought you could do it yourself?”
“Help.”
“I didn’t quite hear that, kitten.”
You rolled your eyes at the pet-name. “Just help me, Kuroo.”
“I didn’t hear the magic word,” he teased, pulling the plate towards himself.
“Please,” you muttered, tears pricking at your eyes. Kuroo paused, taking a moment to pat you on the head.
“Of course, silly. I’m always here to help you.” You offered him a small smile, before whispers from the Ravenclaw table caught your attention.
“What’s Kuroo doing with her?”
“Doesn’t he know that she’s a cold-hearted bitch?”
“He’s gonna get his heart broken.”
“Bet you she’s going to curse him behind his back.”
“Or poison him.” They snickered.
More tears welled up in your eyes. “Are you sure you want to do this?” You asked, turning your face away from him.
The clinks of cutlery stopped. “Do what?”
“Help me.”
A hand grasped your chin, tilting your face up. He leaned forward, warm breath humming against your ear. “Keep your chin up, Princess, your crown is falling,” he whispered before he pulled back, brushing your hair aside. Scarlet roses bloomed in your cheeks. Cold Princess echoed in your mind. Kuroo cleared his throat, turning back to the plate, hiding his own pink flush. “Besides, you saved my ass the other week. This is the least that I can do for you.”
You chewed on your lip. Of course. He was returning a favor. Just a favor. Nothing more, nothing less.
****
“I won’t be here tomorrow.” You looked up from the Honeydukes chocolate that he had brought you, tilting your head. “I have to patrol early, so I won’t be able to make this.” He gestured to the table. Your tower of books had slowly diminished in size, only a small stack remained. In between your rolls of parchment and his own books was an abundance of candies. You’d miss the Hogsmeade trip earlier that day due to another remedial lesson with Lev. Kuroo leaned forward, wiping away a bit of chocolate from the corner of your mouth.
“Don’t do that.” You whipped your face away, hoping that the darkness would hide the crimson glow. You cleared your throat. “That’s fine. It’s not like you’re of any help, you always distract me.”
“So I guess I should take back all this candy then,” Kuroo teased, reaching for it. You snatched it up, pulling it close to your chest. Kuroo let out a disgustingly loud bark of laughter causing you to cringe. Madam Pince snarled in annoyance at you both.
“Keep laughing like that and I’ll use a Silencing charm on you,” you threatened, tucking the chocolates away into your bag.
Kuroo reclined in his chair, putting his hands behind his head. “You say that, but you know you like it.”
“Keep telling yourself that if it helps you sleep at night, Kuroo.”
The next day, you couldn’t stop fidgeting. It was...too quiet. Of course, being in a library meant that it should be quiet. But you couldn’t help but feel like something was missing. The bell chimed, and like clock-work, you began shifting your books to the side. Mid-motion, you froze, eyebrows creasing as you frowned. Why were you moving your stuff? It’s not like anyone was joining you tonight. You cursed silently. Of course you’d gotten used to him. You vaguely remembered a Muggle psychology term: mere exposure effect. The more you became familiar with something or were exposed to it, the more you’d have a preference for it. You violently slammed the books back to where they were, earning another reprimand from Madam Pince. Studying by yourself just became excruciatingly difficult.
Meanwhile, Kuroo was absent-mindedly flying down the corridors. His long legs allowed him to stride down the halls in a dozen steps or so, forcing his partner to sprint in order to keep up. “Jesus, Kuroo, what’s got you in a hurry?” Bokuto, the Hufflepuff Prefect, puffed.
“Huh?” Kuroo paused, only to have Bokuto slam into his back. “Oh lord, I am so sorry Bokuto.”
The Hufflepuff winced, prying himself off of Kuroo’s back, rubbing his nose. “It’s fine.” Kuroo continued down the hall, slower this time. “What’s got you all distracted?” Kuroo shrugged, opening one of the classrooms and looking around. He shut the door with a sigh, before rushing down the hall once more, the slower pace already forgotten. Bokuto scurried after him. “Or should I say, who is on your mind?”
At this, Kuroo whirled around. “What do you mean?”
Bokuto bellowed with laughter. “I heard that you were talking to someone, but I didn’t know it was this serious.”
“Shut up.” The dark halls did nothing to save Kuroo as he stepped into a pool of moonlight.
“Aw, you’re blushing!” Bokuto cackled, bending over as his rambunctious laughter echoed in the halls.
“Shut up!”
Bokuto wiped a tear away from his eyes. “You really like this girl, don’t you?”
Kuroo huffed, blowing his hair up. “Maybe.”
The Hufflepuff clapped a hand over his back. “I’m rooting for ya.”
“I’ll need it,” Kuroo muttered. He pulled himself out of Bokuto’s grip. “C’mon, let’s just finish this patrol.”
****
“Alright, I’m off.” You waved to your housemates, picking up your books as you left the Great Hall.
“Make sure you come watch me play, sweetheart!” Atsumu shouted after you, waving eagerly. You rolled your eyes, ignoring him. You rarely ever went to Quidditch matches, let alone to support someone. That’s something you’d reserve for romantic partners, not house-mates. The few times you’d gone were because Snape offered extra points to everyone who attended. You shook your head, taking a deep breath.
It was just any other Saturday morning and you would be headed back to your sanctuary: the library. A voice called out behind you, thundering footsteps following. You turned, stopping in the middle of the doorway. “Good morning, Kuroo.” You offered him a small smile that he returned.
“Hey (Name)!” He hugged you, pulling you into his chest; your heart pounded against your own. He’s never hugged you before. “Will you be going to the match later?” Kuroo released you and you took a few steps back.
Holding up the book, you shook your head hoping that he didn’t see your flushed face. “No, Professor Snape gave me this book so I was going to work on it.”
“Aw that’s too bad, I was really hoping you’d come cheer for me.” Kuroo grinned before he draped a blue and bronze scarf around your neck.
Your cheeks glowed like ripe apples, eyes wide. “Kuroo!” Your jaw dropped.
“See you there!” With a cheeky smile, he waved running back towards his friends.
An hour later, you found yourself walking down towards the Quidditch pitch. “Thought you didn’t go to Quidditch matches?” You crossed your arms, unamused. “And you’re wearing a Ravenclaw scarf? Talk about a traitor!” Osamu pinched your cheeks, tugging on it.
“Shut up, ‘Samu,” you scowled, shoving him away. “Are you finished yet?”
He shrugged. “Dunno why you even bothered to come.” He led you up the stands towards the Slytherin section. “Or why you’re sitting with us.”
“I’m a Slytherin!” You pouted, glaring at his back. Osamu just laughed.
“Yer still wearin’ a Ravenclaw scarf though. Don’t think I missed that display in the Great Hall.” He cackled as you slapped his back. “Didn’t know ya had a thing for the Captain.”
You cleared your throat as you guys arrived at your destination. You greeted your house-mates, settling besides Osamu. “Why aren’t you playing, ‘Samu?”
Osamu scowled, glaring at you. “Shaddup.” You chuckled, leaning back in your seat. Osamu was also on the team, but this year, the captain had decided to let more of the sixth and seventh years play. Atsumu was the only fifth-year on the team at the moment. You were grateful for the twins who had rapidly become your best friends since you’d started at Hogwarts. Both of them were ‘no-nonsense’ and didn’t care that you were plagued with nasty nicknames due to your ‘cold-hearted’ demeanor.
“Ooh, look they’re starting.” As the match goes on, you can’t help but let your eyes trail the Ravenclaw captain. To say the least, you were impressed. He radiated a different energy from what he normally did during your late-night study sessions in the library. During those, he just seemed goofy and studious. But here, you could see the whole other side to him. The way he communicated with his team-mates, how happy he looked everytime one of their plays worked out, the satisfaction that seemed to completely fill him after he scored. He simply exuded a different type of confidence that you’ve never seen from him before. Your eyes widened with awe as he shuffled between the other Chasers, throwing the Quaffle to each other and thoroughly confusing the Slytherin chasers. As Kuroo scored, you couldn’t help the, “Whoooo, go Kuroo!” that escaped your lips.
Osamu jabbed you in the side, muttering, “traitor” but even that couldn’t wipe away the smile from your face. You were never interested in Quidditch, but maybe now you had a reason to be.
The game quickly ended with Kenma snagging the Snitch out from Oikawa’s nose, leading to Atsumu flying towards the stands where you and Osamu were sitting. “Hey, ya made it sweetcheeks!” Atsumu cheered, hovering above your head in front of you.
You cleared your throat. “Nice job out there, ‘Tsumu.”
“I know right? I was definitely the star, wasn’t I?” He grinned.
You pulled your cloak closer; it was getting late and cold. You desperately wanted to be back in the castle already. “If you were the real star, you would’ve won,” you shrugged. Osamu chuckled besides you as Atsumu squawked indignantly.
“Oi, Atsumu!” Oikawa called, flying over. “C’mon, hit the showers. You can try to impress your girl later.” Oikawa patted your head, “hey there, (Name).”
“Hey Oikawa.” You offered him a small smile. “Sorry about the game. You did great out there though.”
“Thank you~!” He sang, flying lower so that he could pull you into a hug. You yelped at the sudden intrusion. “Lemme just have this moment of comfort,” he whined as you clawed at his arms in an attempt to struggle out of his grip. Defeated, you let the captain hang onto you, awkwardly patting his back.
“You guys reek,” you muttered, looking away from the pair. “Go shower.”
Finally escaping from the clingy twins and Oikawa, you let out a sigh of relief. You tugged your bag higher onto your shoulder as you made your way down the familiar path. Just as you were about to enter the library, a familiar voice called after you. Turning, your eyes widened. “Kuroo?”
He slowed to a stop in front of you, winded slightly before he offered you a wide cheeky grin. “Hey there Princess!”
“What are you doing here, shouldn’t you be celebrating with your team?”
He shrugged, “I had to see my girl first.”
Heat crawled up through your body. You cleared your throat. “Your girl?”
“Well yeah! Especially after how loudly you were cheering for me,” he teased.
“And it’s Kuroo Tetsurou with the quaffle after a successful Sabryn steal from Miya Atsumu. He passes it to Sugawara Koushi, who passes it right back over Iwaizumi Hajime’s head. And Kuroo scores! Right through Matsukawa Issei’s finger-tips!”
Kuroo did a loop, whooping before he soared beside Suga, giving the male a high-five. Mattsun grabbed the quaffle, putting it back into play. Kuroo smirked, darting off towards Atsumu who had the quaffle. They end up on the Ravenclaw side, with Iwaizumi attempting to score. Yaku successfully receives the ball, throwing it at Kuroo. “You’re playing better than ever today, Kuroo,” Yaku grins. “Better keep on impressing your girlfriend.” Kuroo scowled at the keeper. He hadn’t even seen you in the audience, who was to say that you were there at all?
Kuroo rolled his eyes, glancing over at Suga and Akaashi. Giving the males a curt nod, they enter the Hawkshead Attacking Formation. “Another Thimblerig Shuffle by the Ravenclaws! The Quaffle is bouncing around. Akaashi. Kuroo. Suga. Akaashi. Kuroo. And Kuroo takes the quaffle and scores once again! Slytherin does not look happy folks.” Loud cheers fill the stadium from the Ravenclaw, but as Kuroo flies back around the field, a lone cheer from the Slytherin section catches his attention. His head whips around, eyes widening at the sight. There you were, bundled up in his Ravenclaw scarf and actually cheering for him. Emotions flood his body, he hadn’t expected you to actually come or to actually wear his scarf. He couldn’t help the grin that slipped onto his face. Kuroo let out another loud whoop, before doing a heart-shaped loop in the air. A Bludger zoomed past him, drawing his attention back to the game. He’d have to deal with his emotions later. He had a game to win, and a girl to impress after all.
You choked on air, averting your eyes. “Yeah well, you looked cool.”
Kuroo grinned, “thanks kitten.”
You stared down at your book, fingers tracing the binding. “Anyways, your girl? I didn’t know you were serious.”
It was his turn to avoid your eyes. “I mean! You were wearing my scarf,” he stammered.
“You gave it to me,” you fired back, amusement flickering in your eyes as you observed him. Kuroo turns completely red at this, kicking at the stone floors awkwardly. You clear your throat, eyes softening. “Take me to Hogsmeade next weekend and we’ll talk about our relationship status then.”
Relief floods his system as he eagerly nods. “I can make that happen.”
“Well good.” You smile, heading into the library only for Kuroo to follow you. “Again, don’t you have a party to get to?”
He shrugged, “rather spend time with you to be honest.”
“Don’t let your team-mates hear you,” you grin as you guys make your way to your usual table. Kuroo just ruffled your hair, smiling as you both took a seat. After an hour or so of studying, you snapped your book shut. “Actually, let’s do something.”
He looked up at you, raising an eyebrow. “Like what?”
You shrugged. “Find Hogwarts’ mysteries?”
Kuroo leaned back in his chair, a sly smile making its way onto his face. “Y’know, I hear there are some cursed chambers hidden in Hogwarts.”
“Breaking curses, treasure hunting? Sounds like my kind of date,” you smirk, packing your stuff away. Kuroo throws his head back in a boisterous laugh, only to be scolded by Madam Pince. You stood up, standing beside him before making your way out. “Y’know, you could have easily been a Slytherin,” you teased, bumping your hip into his as you held the textbooks to your chest.
He smirked, slinging his arm over your shoulder as you both walked out of the library. “Why’s that?”
“You have more ambition than I do.” You shrugged his arm off of your shoulder. “You leave the library just as late as I do after coming here after your Quidditch practices and then heading straight to your Prefect duties. Hard-work goes hand-in-hand with ambition, Kuroo.” He plucked one of the books out of your hand. “Hey!”
“Well, Little Miss Slytherin, you could definitely have been a Ravenclaw.” Kuroo held the book over your head, flicking through the pages. “Your thirst for knowledge is never quite quenched.”
You flush. “Well, a quest for knowledge is an ambitious one, isn’t it?”
He hummed, pulling the rest of your books out of your hands while ignoring your cries of protest. He tucks them into his right side, slipping his left hand into yours. “I guess us together makes the perfect Slytherin and Ravenclaw, doesn’t it?” Kuroo squeezed your hand, looking down at you. You grinned, giving him a light squeeze. Being together just felt right. He brought out your inner Ravenclaw, and you brought out his inner Slytherin. Knowledge and ambition went hand-in-hand, just like you and Kuroo.
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I was delighted to be tagged by Our Lady of Words and Joy @howlinchickhowl Cheers, dear!
1. How many works do you have on AO3?
Earlier today it was 40. Now it’s 39. WHAT GIVES? Did someone eat a story? Which one? I am so confused.
2. What’s your total AO3 word count?
137 098. At least that hasn’t changed...
3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
Highs, and Your Lows (i will weather them)
This Time (We'll Be Fine)
Teenage Tales
To Keep Your Gentle Heart
Captive Look
Huh. Would you look at that. All Gallavich stuff!
4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?
Eh. Well. Listen, I always want and mean to respond to comments, because as a commenter I always love a response from the author, but I am procrastinator supreme so a lot of the time I just... don't. Not for a great long while at least. Then, two years AFTER you left a comment, you might get an e-mail notification about me responding. It's horrible, really, because I keep the comments in my heart and treasure them so much and the lovely people taking the time to leave a few words on my silly stories really do deserve better.
5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?
Life, Still to Come has the one main character Jim Moriarty killing himself and his lover Sebastian Moran after he's diagnosed with incurable brain cancer, so I guess that's pretty angsty? The tone of the fic, however, is... kinda soft and peaceful, really. It doesn't feel so very sad, I think.
For Gallavich, I've got Chapter 7 of my ficlet collection Highs, and Your Lows (i will weather them). It's an Wild West AU kind of deal, where Ian Gallagher is visited by the ghost of the young fiend Mickey Milkovich after his dad beats him to death. That one is sad, but there's the glimmer of a promise that they might meet again one day, in a better world.
6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?
My fics mostly end on a happy note, and I have a hard time pinning down which is the happiest. Hm. I'm gonna say Pressure or possibly Foreign Country, if only because the happy endings there are offered in contrast to the otherwise angsty story and so seems all the happier for it.
7. Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you’ve written?
I have, once. Well, started one, really. Notes Regarding the End of the World is a crossover between Sherlock BBC and Mark Lawrence's The Broken Empire trilogy. I still feel there's a bunch of potential there, but I'm very hesitant I'll ever finish it.
8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?
Not to my recollection, no. Back when I posted my SW fic on the Jedi Council forums you might receive critical comments at times, but no hate.
9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?
Not really, no. I'm not very interested in reading it, and so see very little point in writing it. There's been a few semi-explicit depictions of sexual acts – most notably in Claim – and I'm not averse to writing kink fic, even if they don't typically include actual sex when I do. For instance, I did The Ways We Bend and Break and Mend for X-Men, and the whole point was Charles first whipping Erik and then cuddling him – except in the end it turned into a character study with lots of emotions, and I think any attempts to write smut would be like that for me. Accidental character drama. XD
I might have a Gallavich thing for kinktober that is likely to be pretty explicit and kinda messed up. We'll see.
10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?
I don't think so. There have been a few instances of stuff popping up bearing a strong resemblance to things I've written, but there's also been times when I realize that things I have written bear a (very much unintentional) strong resemblance to other stuff that predates them, so I really think that's the nature of the beast. In any big fandom, the same ideas are likely to occur to multiple people, and we are all, often unconsciously, inspired by the same things and by each other.
11. Have you ever had a fic translated?
Yeah, to Chinese and Russian.
12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?
Yes! Pathoftheranger and I co-wrote (How to Break the) Alibi Armistice, which was fun!
13. What’s your all-time favorite ship?
I'm a creature of ever-changing affections, so I'm not so good with ”all-time favourite” and to be honest, I mostly tend to have favourite characters and ship them with everything in sight... Currently it's all about Gallavich but pretty much all ships including Jim Moriarty is forever gold to me (though MorMor is The Best. Or is it Sheriarty? Or maybe Mormorlock? Or Moriadlock? Or Johmlock – notice the 'm'?). Cherik's a big one too!
Ask me again in six months and my answer might well have changed!
14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?
The aforementioned Notes Regarding the End of the World. And I have this superlong Star Wars fic I started writing when I was 16 and wrote for years and years and then just... stopped writing, when I was maybe 20 pages from the end? It's currently at 180k words. This one I DO have some hope that I will go back and finish one day, although it's likely to be a jarring experience since I'm very much not 16 years old any more and my ideas about writing and the characters and everything have shifted quite a bit.
15. What are your writing strengths?
I do pretty well with the short format, I think. And with dialogue? Finding the voice of the characters (some more than others, certainly). Writing in my native Swedish, I think I'm pretty good at offering decent prose – I'd like to think I have a fairly developed ear for the flow of the text, and the melody of it? But when writing in English, that gets quite a bit harder. This really annoys me, because I'm rather preoccupied with the stylish elements of writing – though I've found that a lot of people seem happy enough to overlook clunky writing as long as they find the story otherwise engaging, which is a huge blessing for me. I believe I can build a decent plot, but since I can't write anyting longer than a few K these days there's no telling, is there?
16. What are your writing weaknesses?
Primarily getting any writing done at all. Mostly, I stare at a blank page and despair and then I give up. This is why I no longer write long fic. I also tend to reuse favorite phrases or themes far too often. And there are so many subclauses... Proofreading happens to other people (I'd like it to happen to me too, but I'm terrible with it). I'm not good at accepting constructive criticism, even when I ask for it. I will often favour style over efficiency, and I'll stubbornly refuse to admit that this can be a problem.
17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?
This question makes me feel like I ought to have developed thoughts on this, but I don't so much... I don't mind it? I've used it. Uh. It's a good idea to do a bit of research and not just rely on Google translate for it? If you don't like it, don't use it. Those are my thoughts.
18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?
Star Wars. <3
19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?
Buffy/Angel/Spike. The Book of All Hours. Heroes. Maybe something based on The Coldfire Trilogy... ? Oh, and the Bible. I'm sure there are others.
20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?
I really don't have one. There are a few I'm particularly happy with, but no one that truly stands out... That said, I was quite chuffed with how the first ficlet in Or Else Into the Light, my (tiny) collection of Anakin redemption one-shots, turned out. And Claim. I’m very pleased with Claim.
Tagging @dreamylyfe-x @fiona-fififi @pathoftheranger @abundanceofnots and @captainjowl
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😈 Is there anything you enjoy doing that you think your readers hate?
📊 Current number of WIPs
🌝 Who is one character you haven’t yet written for that you would like to?
📚 Do you read your own fics?
🌈 What inspired you to write Navy Suits?
🧠 What’s an idea you have that you can’t quite call a WIP yet?
💻 Do you do research for your fics? What’s the deepest dive you’ve done?
:)
😈: Procrastinating writing? Lol. I am a great lover of detail, so I will always give readers more rather than less when it comes to descriptions, character backgrounds, etc. I know that can be distracting for some readers.
📊: I technically have three WIPs: In Vino Veritas, Omertà, and Like a Lonely House. I also have F*cking Lawyers and Long Road Home, but they are more in the proposed stage rather than “under construction”
🌝: I am interested to explore Elide’s character more!! I also would love to write more Vassa I loved her from before we ever even met her!
📚: Not gonna lie, yes I do! Sometimes it’s because I need to remember a detail for a new chapter I’m writing, but sometimes it’s just because I wrote these stories because they are what I wanted to read, and it’s nice to allow yourself to enjoy what you created!
🌈: So originally Navy Suits was based off a one-shot prompt for Elriel “Great. Nice. Perfect. Fuck this” which I immediately knew was going to be uttered into response to Elain and Graysen’s relationship! From there I just sorta started writing Azriel in his car driving to see Elain and tell her he liked her. As I wrote his inner monologue, it felt like the California coast setting and the backdrop of the Feysand wedding just sort of materialized around him, and the rest is history!
🧠 : I would call F*cking Lawyers, my Elorcan two-shot is still a brainchild b/c I know broadly what’s going to happen but I don’t have any details organized yet! Usually I just chew on a idea for a few months—usually in the car or the gym, two of my least favorite places to be—before I feel like I can see the plot laid out a little more clearly!
💻: holy hell do I ever 😂. I think probably my deepest dive was when I did the background for Cash’s family, including his parents and grandparents. I really wanted to make sure I was clear as I could be about his Maōri culture, so I was just reading as much as I could about tangata whenua to make sure I wasn’t using concepts inappropriately and also just geeking out about the culture because it’s so rich and the social fabric is so intricate!
Thanks for all the asks @nikethestatue, I don’t deserve you!!
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Got tagged by @calamity-unlocked for the procrastinating writer ask, and might as well! Always fun to get away from the pains of editing, RIP to Falling Down Dry’s eighth chapter.
1) How many works do you have on AO3?
26.
2) What’s your total AO3 word count?
220,000.
3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?
A lot. Just...a lot before I got into Ao3 so let’s keep it at that. But mainly I wrote for SU, Amphibia, and FMA.
4) What are your top five fics by kudos?
-Death of the Ego
I would say this happened because I wrote this at the right place at the right time. People had been theorizing that Steven would get corrupted ever since the trailer to SUF, and I originally made this as a one-shot...until people encouraged me to start exploring it.
Wouldn’t say it was my best work, but every time I wrote something it meant I improved slowly, and I would always appreciate that no matter the weather.
-Doesn’t Have to be Solo
Oh man, I loved this one! Just a series of connected events with Steven going on his road trip, and learning more about himself and who he was along the way. It also was the fic where I needed a lot of beta readers as time went on, so it made me learn a lot about grammar, prose, and overall the internal rules I developed while writing in general.
-Beyond the Music Box
This was the surprising one! This fic was originally a place where I could archive all the drabbles I written on Tumblr, and y’all really wanted it due to how chaotic my tag format is for this stuff.
It’s surprising for me because I didn’t expect a lot of love when it came to my casual writings since they take I don’t know an hour or so in creating, so thank you everyone who encouraged me to do this.
Just ignore the fact I’ve been lazy at updating the drabbles, shhhh.
-Building One Up
Marcanne, my beloved. Me and my friend kept talking about how Anne was a buff dork and this was at a time where no one really focused on that except mainly on Sasha when it came to strength (for obvious reasons).
I found this slander (I’m joking, by the way) and decided that I needed to write my feelings out on the topic.
And y’all agreed with me so dthdfthtfhtfht.
This also was the first time I had to hone in on a new form of characterization entirely, being that I infused the character’s thoughts and feelings into the way the prose flowed out itself. For Marcy, I went on a pretty analytical front with this piece, and it helped me get into the groove for people like Anne and Sasha and many others over the course of writing.
-Late Night Talks
I didn’t expect this one to blow up at all. I wrote this at one a.m. and y’all just grabbed this fic and ran, I am still confused.
5) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?
I respond to comments all the time because comments just give a lot of serotonin, you know? Someone took their time out of their day to remark on things I did in the work itself, and it’s just very validating to see. It also creates this environment that says, “Yes, I see you, and you can interact with me anytime you want.” so it’s all about that friendliness unless you’re rude to me back.
6) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?
Pizza for One. Had an angst kick when SUF occurred so I milked it whenever my motivation got the best of me.
7) Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?
I don’t write crossovers unless you mean a crossover of characters to a new environment and set of rules. I would gladly write characters into the FMA world, oh my Lord!
But I guess the craziest stuff I’d written would just be comedy sketches? Best example would be Joe and Bessie having kids and Marcy having a conniption over it, so take that what you will.
8) Have you ever received hate on a fic?
I don’t believe so? I did get one person on my old SU fic asking me to continue while giving me unsolicited advice but they apologized not soon after.
9) Do you write smut? If so what kind?
I do write smut. I write it privately but I adore characterization and intimacy, and so I try to make rather domestic pieces that connect to the characters themselves. If it has a certain kink, I make sure to research it so I could understand why the character finds the act rather arousing, and I just want to pay respects to the act itself.
Even with our current day and age, there’s still a lot of conservative anti-sex rhetoric going around, and I always try to view the act of physical intimacy in the same lens as one who adores love in all its different facets and forms.
10) Have you ever had a fic stolen?
Nope.
11) Have you ever had a fic translated?
Nope to that either!
12) Have you ever co-written a fic before?
Sadly, no. I do art trades with people and those are lovely to do since we get to brainstorm and make art together, but I’ve never co-written work with someone. If anyone wants to do that, then sure, just hit me up.
13) What’s your all time favourite ship?
It changes every season, every morning tide, every peace loving hour on the Planet Earth.
It’s Marcanne, right now.
When it comes to ships I always go with the Friends-to-Lovers dynamic, but a lot of the ships I have come from seeing the amount of intrigue in how that type of ship would play out. That could be with Kannao and the amount of commentary over Japanese gender biases, or Royai with their very complicated but extensive adoration and loyalty to one another.
For Marcanne, it’s all about that playful banter that could definitely bubble out of the surface if you just (bangs table) allow them to communicate and be transparent fully. (cries)
14) What’s a WIP you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?
Sadly, that Anne fic with her confiding in Hop Pop after they get settled in her house. After what happened with the sneak peek, I realized that this fic would need a lot of build-up to be satisfying and I didn’t have the strength to do a 10k build-up to Anne crying.
Maybe I’ll finish it, we’ll see.
15) What are your writing strengths?
Writing strengths would be concise prose and characterization. I am a worry wart, I worry over the importance of each paragraph and how it all forms and transitions together, it’s just a part of how I work a great deal of the time. And man, characterization is the big one for me, if I don’t understand how the people work and could theoretically function in the story itself, I feel absolutely lost.
Which is also the reason why I’m struggling right now with FDD Chapter Eight, because Marcy’s reaction to Yunan keeps eluding my grasp!
16) What are your writing weaknesses?
I overthink a lot. Concise prose is great but I force myself to get all fancy and massive with details since I’ve got to unless I want a specific part to be so quick and unmeaningful, and this leads to pacing issues or just not enough intended time for people to breathe in the fic itself.
17) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?
I need to get a beta to make sure I don’t sound like an asshole, haha. I do love other languages, they are beautiful and can add a lot towards an audience who does know the language itself, but it depends on the work I’m doing.
18) What was the first fandom you wrote for?
That would be uhhhhh, my memory is lacking but Minecraft. The whole videogame had a wish fulfillment atmosphere to it, and since I got rather obsessed by how anything could happen in the engine itself I went with it.
19) What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?
When it comes to me, my own perception of my art changes day to day. Back when I first posted the Lapidot fic I thought it was the best thing I’ve ever done even though now, with the knowledge I have from workshops and betas, that the style I drafted had a lot of grammar and prose mistakes that I wouldn’t make in the future. It is pretty subjective, but for now I think the best fic I could look at right now would be amestrian catcher (set something ablaze).
Thank you Calamity once again for this! And I’ll be tagging @resplendent-chungus, @aanau, and @golddragon387!
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