I was hoping to get a lot more writing done over the long weekend, but I have two little pengins and between swim meets for little pengin #1 and neighborhood parties for little pengin #2 to play with his friends, plus all the various other random crap you have to do when youāre an adult with responsibilitiesā¦ I didnāt have time until today. š
Fortunately, Mr. Pengin is a very good, supportive partner and took Little Pengins 1 and 2 to the pool today and let me have the house all to myself to write for a while. So, to celebrate the holiday weekend, have a little sneak peek at what Iāve been working on today! Hopefully this helps soothe the wait a little. This is going to be a longer chapter, so itās taking a while.
Under the cut for virgin eyes.
They made a brief stop for Penguin to catch her breath and let her wound rest, though Shachi disguised it as a quick detour to buy himself a guitar. It was a beautiful guitar, too, made of wood in a deep, rich shade of red and polished to a high sheen. The strings sang with a clean vibration that sent chills racing across his skin when he plucked them.
āSheās beautiful,ā Penguin murmured with a smile from where she leaned up against the wall, watching him twist the tuning pegs and bend his ear toward the strings.
Shachi brushed his fingers over the strings for a few experimental strums. The lower chords rang with sonorous depth and the higher ones chirped like birdsong. It was a far cry from the shabby, scuffed and beaten thing he kept in the corner of his room on the Polar Tang when he wasnāt playing it, whose strings could barely hold a tune and whose wood had been patched with ramshackle repairs in multiple places. Still, if given the choice between the two, Shachi would have paid a lot of money to get his old guitar back. Theyād been through a lot together.
āNot as good as Crusty,ā he sighed. āBut she is pretty.ā
Penguin laughed. āCrusty sounds like seagulls squawking on a good day. I donāt know why youāre so attached to that old thing.ā
Shachi paused in his experimentation and looked up at Penguin from over the top edge of his sunglasses. āBecause it was a gift from someone important, who gave up a lot to get it for me.ā
Penguin sputtered and flushed, jerking her face away. āIt wasnāt that much.ā
Shachi plucked out a quick note progression and gave them both some space to breathe before saying, āIt was back then.ā
Want a preview of what Iāve been working on tonight?
As thanks for all the support and sweet words you guys have left despite the long wait, Iām putting a sneak peek under the cut, in case there are those who prefer to experience the next chapter with virgin eyes.
Again, the disclaimer here is that I havenāt edited this chapter yet, so youāre seeing raw writing that may or may not make it to the final draft.
There was one thing that had changed. One pretty big thing. Shachi was now ravenous for more, his hands clamped between his thighs to stop him from grabbing Penguin, pulling her into his lap, and picking up where theyād been cut off. He was a prisoner rescued from the deserts inside Impel Down and placed at a table full of delicious food and crystal clear water that he couldnāt touch or taste. Every silken thread of Penguinās breath that brushed his skin while she bent over her work was enough on its own to drive him mad, but combined with the way she was biting the end of her tongue like she always did when she was trying to focus, the way her hair was beginning to curl up from beneath the edge of her hat and brush the nape of her neck where Shachi was dying to gently clamp his teeth while heā
One time, Penguinās breathy whisper said from the depths of his recent memory, stirring the throbbing coals of heat in his blood into a full blaze.
He wouldnāt be satisfied with just one time. He knew that already. He wasnāt even satisfied with the fleeting taste of her heād just gottenā crisp and cold like a mountain stream with a hint of something sweet, brand new and yet somehow familiar, like heād tasted it before but forgotten. That thought was laughably impossible, though. Shachi would have remembered a kiss like that.
You ever neglect your fanfiction baby so long you have to spend three days worth of writing time re-reading it just so you know wtf you were even doing?
ā¦.
Yeaaaaah, me neither. I would NEVER. Hahahaha what a silly thought.
(Seriously, though? This is A LOT OF WORDS??? You guys read all this?! I donāt deserve you.)
šļø WRITE WITH ME ā RP PROMPT MEME šļø
Send a number and Iāll write a reply from my muse! Open to interpretation.
āDo you trust me? Yes or no, right now.ā
āYouāre hurt. Donāt lie to me.ā
āIf I leave now, Iām not coming back.ā
āYou can sleep here. I wonāt tell anyone you cried.ā
āWe werenāt supposed to fall in love, remember?ā
āPut the knife down. Please.ā
āWhy do you keep pushing people away?ā
āThatās the first time youāve ever said my name like that.ā
āIād rather fight with you than against you.ā
āThis was never part of the plan, but now I donāt want it to end.ā
āYou're not a monster. You're just hurt.ā
āLet them come. Iām not afraid anymore.ā
āI saw the way you looked at me. What does it mean?ā
āYou donāt have to fix everything. Just stay.ā
āIf this is the end, Iām glad itās with you.ā
Thought this might be fun! Put your favorite quote in my ask box and Iāll start using them as writing warm ups and write a little drabble in response!
In your ask, specify if you want LMS universe Pen and Shachi, canon Pen and Shachi, or a completely random AU (high school, cyberpunk, fantasy, etc. but please note that I will not go more than a very conservative PG-13 for high school AU or underage characters.)
If you have other OP ships, you can request those too! Iām current up to Egghead, so donāt request anyone from Elbaf or you will have to wait for a response until I have time to catch up lol.
AHHHH HAHAHA IM IN LOVE WITH THE RECENT CH! That ending my god. The dream was gonna become reality if-
How far were both of them willing to go through with it, to a point of no return š¤
How far indeedā¦. š¤
Iām so glad you enjoyed it!!! I got some work done on chapter 13 last night so Iāll have to post something fun for you guys tonight. Maybe a sneak peek or a preview of the songs that inspired it. I havenāt decided yet.
Wanted to check in yah. How's everything going with the chapter (and life)?
HIIIII BOO! Thanks for the check-in! š I have been super busy on an overseas business trip and then it took me like four days to get over the jet lag lol so Iām clinging to life like a starving raccoon clings to a dumpster fire, BUTā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦
CHAPTER 11 IS UP!!!!
(Technically Chapter 12 because of the bonus chapter, but yāknow.)
I hope you guys enjoy! It took a long time to edit because I had soooooo much plot exposition in there and I was worried it was going to go down like a mouthful of dry granola. Itās still wordy, but hopefully in an entertaining way! š
Chapter 12 (the real chapter 12) is one that I am really, really excited for, so Iām going to try to get that one out much faster than I have been recently.
LOOK. Look at the new banner!! I told you I would make it pretty around here haha!
I asked s0alaina (also s0alaina.art on IG) to do something cozy and sweet but also playful and fun (like the boys!) and this was what she gave me and it is INCREDIBLE.
Truly such an incredible commissioning experience. She was so detail oriented and communicative and also FAST. A pleasure to work with. I highly recommend her.
(Please DO NOT repost this. She deserves all the credit for this beautiful work of art.)
So, bad newsā¦ I tried to finish edits tonight and was falling asleep at my computer and typing rows of gibberish, so I wonāt be able to publish tonight. Iām so sorry. I got about four hours of sleep last night because my cat has a cold and itās causing all sorts of issues. š
GOOD news, I did get some work done, so Iāll let yaāll have a peek at one of my favorite moments from Chapter 11.
Shachi waved an impatient hand. āLook, I have some experience in casual revolutionizing, and if that has taught me anything, itās that the commoners are who Penguin should be cozying up to. And me. Thatās absolutely critical. She should also be cozying up to meā Uff!ā
He wasnāt quite fast enough to swat the throw pillow aside before it rocketed directly into his face and nearly sent his sunglasses flying.
āThatāsā¦ not a bad idea, actually,ā Brody mused like nothing had even happened, rubbing the scruffy blonde stubble on his jaw. For the first time, Shachi noticed that Brodyās chin was the same stubborn square shape as Penguinās. Boy Penguin, anyway. Boy Penguinās chin got scruffy like that too when theyād been underway for a while and the only girl around to impress was Ikkaku, who barely counted.
Iā¦ kind of miss that chin.
The thought hit Shachi like one Bepoās tackle-hugs, then sat on his chest just as heavily. As cute as Girl Penguin was, and as desperately as Shachi wanted to get his hands all over her, there was always something that wasnātā¦ quiteā¦ right. Wasnāt quite Penguin. Her giggle was beautiful, but it wasnāt Shachiās favorite rumbling belly laugh. Her dainty hands felt amazing clasped in Shachiās, and enveloping her small body in an enormous hug satisfied all of Shachiās primal, protective instincts, but he missed when he hugged Penguin and got the life squeezed out of him in return, sometimes to the point that he was lifted right off his feet. He missed the occasional brush of Penguinās calloused fingers and palms while he helped Shachi correct his form when they sparred together. He missed when they were the same height and they could just lean on one another when they got tired, heads pressed together, hands not quite touching.
Shachi would miss holding hands when Penguin changed back into a guy. But just because Penguin was going back didnāt mean everything had to go back, right? If Shachi had already held hands with Girl Penguinā¦ Well, maybe he wouldnāt mind if their hands touched a little as dudes.
Sorry for bugging you. How's the writing going? I'm getting giddy imagining what's gonna happen next, after Penguin realised what's happening in the last chapter.
I have been working on editing the next chapter so I havenāt had anything too exciting to share. Iām going to try and have it up tonight! Tiny spoilers: it does end on a cliff hanger so Iām also trying to get the next, next chapter edited too so I can post them relatively close together and not leave you guys hanging for forever hahaha.
Finished writing for the night and to celebrate, Iām letting you guys have a lil sneak peak at what Iāve been working onā¦ š
This is unedited, so subject to change.
āAre youā¦ jealous?ā
You canāt lie while the Veiyl is out, Esthridās voice reminded her from her memories, sounding far more smug than Penguin recalled her being in real life.
She turned her face away and watched blood drip from Shachiās scored bicep. Her cheeks flared with heat, probably turning the same shade of crimson. āFuck you.ā
āLook at me.ā
She couldnāt. She couldnāt force her body to obey. Couldnāt bear to look into his face, because she knew. She knew he understood her far too well to miss the guilt in her eyes. As if he hadnāt marked it already.
āPenguin. Look. At. Me.ā
She didnāt look. Not precisely. She only flickered her eyes to his for the briefest half of a half second. But it was enough.
āYou are. Youāre jealous.ā
Was it her imagination, or was that a hint of wonder in his voice?
āIām notāā She choked on the lie, her stomach heaving and her mouth tasting of blood before she could even force it out. āItās not thatāā
Rough, calloused hands seized her face, leaving sticky smears of blood on her jaw and cheeks. She knew where they were taking her before she even reached her destination, and if she was being honest, she had plenty of time to stop it. To be smart, think twice, cut her losses.
Spent the weekend recuperating from the summer swim season. (Kiddo made it to All Stars this year and we are so proud of her!!!) Also getting my sleep schedule back in order. (Who am I kidding? Itās never going to be in order. š)
Having vacation come up this week and we going on a loooooooong road trip with lots of writing/editing time!! Really wanting to get back into a daily writing habit and back into a weekly update schedule. I miss my boys. :(
Anyway, you guys are welcome to bully me if necessary. The more pressure the better I work. š I am DYING to get yāall to Chapter 12. Itās my magnum opus. Truly.
