WHEW! Semester over! I’ve officially got a graduate certificate in public management now! Watch me manage that public! 😼Also, I’m now fully vaccinated which is exciting and a major relief!
Right. On to fic news!
Rather be the hunter than the prey updated today! I’m working on the next chapter and hope to have it (and the final chapter) up soon!
In a sudden fit of must-fix, I recently overhauled (Their) Defiance Will Shake the Stars, my Mass Effect/Star Wars crossover fic. I was not happy with the original plot so I changed it and I actually like it much better! The first chapter also got a near-complete rewrite and is, thankfully, also much better than the original. It should be readable for those who haven’t played the Mass Effect games, as I’ll be messing with canon and provide explanations for in-world stuff, similar to The Dragonborn Crisis. There’ll be plenty of Star Wars references, too!
If anyone is into video games though and haven’t played the Mass Effect series, I highly recommend! A sweeping space epic rpg with plenty of romance, adventure, and space! It’s my favorite series of all time!
(I haven’t forgotten about like glitter and gold, it’s just taken a temporary back seat while I work on a secret project 😉)
Those are the updates so far! I hope everyone is doing well! Be safe and be kind!
My first update of the new year! We’ve certainly had an eventful January, but I have hopes for the rest of the year!
First of all, I am working hard on getting Rather be the hunter than the prey finished. We’re so close to the finale, I can taste it! I’m starting another semester of school, though, so things may slow a little. I’m going to try to keep updates as close together as I can, though.
After RBTH is finished, I’m going to refocus on Pride, Prejudice, and Progeny. It’s been sitting patiently - as have you, dear readers - and I’m ready to jump back into it!
like glitter and gold will be a continuing project. I have a rough outline but it’s always evolving. And I’m honestly surprised at the amazing response it’s gotten! Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy the next installment, coming soon!
And here a couple of shorter works I’ve recently published:
Insight - Rated M
A Marriage of Defiance - Rated M
I truly appreciate the support of my fics and I honestly hope that they are/have in some way helped to make this past year less sucky for you, as they have for me.
I’ve finished with papers for the semester and I’m feeling the itch to write a little something to celebrate (still working on my fics, promise)! So throw me a treat y’all! My inbox is open!
Prompt: a concert. They can meet there, have already planned to go together, by a twist of fate end up there, anything! Lol but at least part of it has to take place at a music concert of any genre
Sorry it took me a little while to get this done! Loved the prompt and I had a lot of fun with it! Thank you!
Story below the cut! (Rated T)
Also, here’s the AO3 link
Enjoy!
Zoa ❤️
A Wrong Turn to the Right Place
Ben knew he shouldn’t have listened to the damn GPS. ‘Take a right’, it said. ‘Destination will be on your left’, it insisted.
Wrong.
And that was how Ben landed right in the middle of a fucking rock concert instead of at an isolated cabin in the woods where he could find some peace and quiet to finish his manuscript. Was it rock? There was a stage and guitars and a mosh pit so he assumed it was rock. Then again there was a guy with a banjo and another dude with a cello and the two singers had a country twang so probably not rock.
Was it Indie music? Were they hippies?
Ben didn’t know and didn’t care. He just needed to find someone who had a map of the area so he could find his cabin and get out of this loud, body-filled mess of a field. There was a fleet of food trucks lined up along the edge of the crowd, buzzing with customers.
Surely someone had a map. Ben approached the nearest truck and jumped ahead of the line, getting booed and jeered in the process but he ignored the voices. He wasn’t trying to buy anything.
“Excuse me!” Ben had to shout to be heard over the music and the people. The man at the window glared at him.
“What’re you doing, man? Back of the line!”
Ben was not dissuaded. “I don't want to buy anything. Do you have a map?”
“If you’re not buying, fuck off! I got real customers!”
“Seriously?” Ben scoffed.
“Get the fuck out!”
Ben flipped him off as he backed away. “Asshole.”
He tried every other truck and a few people in line but no one could - or would - help him. After his final attempt, he stood and scowled at the ongoing concert, hands on his hips. How did he end up here? Fucking GPS… fucking food trucks… fucking loud music… can’t hear a damn thing…
A tap on his shoulder pulled Ben from his angry contemplations and he turned to tell off the concert-goer with all the pent up rage he was currently nursing only for it to disappear in a puff of smoke.
She was in her early twenties, above average height, chestnut hair cut short so that it framed her face. Which was lovely and covered in adorable freckles to which he could devote a whole chapter of his book. Ben stole a moment to gather his thoughts as he took in her Daisy Duke shorts and black, long-sleeved crop-top that had the word ‘nobody’ emblazoned across the chest in white block letters.
“Excuse me, are you in line?”
“What?” Why was it so fucking loud? They weren’t even that close to the stage. “I can’t hear you!” He pointed at his ears and shook his head helplessly.
The girl - young woman - wrinkled her pert nose but then pointed to the food truck. “Are. You. In. Line?”
“Oh, no…” Ben shook his head. “I need a… help.”
“‘A help’?” She laughed and Ben more than ever wished the music wasn’t so loud so he could hear what he was sure was the clearest, loveliest laugh. Her eyes - green with a touch of gold, like the stalks of tall summer grass waving in the distance - looked him up and down, observing his dark blue henley and light jacket, probably realizing he wasn’t there for the concert.
“I’m lost!” He yelled forlornly. Well, as forlornly as a shout could sound. But she seemed to get the picture. His new friend took pity on him and grabbed his hand, guiding him toward the collection of Port-a-Potties lined up at the edge of the field. There were still plenty of people about, so they weren’t completely alone but the noise pollution was much improved. Although he could have done without the smell.
“You’re lost?” She asked and he heard her accent for the first time. British, soft, warm, like sunlight on a spring day. Ben blinked at her for a second before he nodded.
“Yeah. Lost. My, uh, my GPS told me to come here.”
“Where were you trying to go?”
“A cabin. I rented it. I thought I had the right address,” Ben sent a hand through his hair, ruffling it in exasperation. She seemed to watch the movement with interest. “I wanted…” he looked around and sighed, “I wanted a quiet place to write.”
His companion laughed again and yes, it was definitely as Ben imagined it. Better, in fact. “You’ve definitely come to the wrong place for that!”
“I know,” he managed a crooked smile and she pressed her lips into a tight line, as if repressing one of her own. “I don’t suppose you have a map of the area?”
“I don’t. Don’t you have a mobile? A cell phone you can use?”
“No. I don’t like them.”
“Oh, wow,” she grinned. “I didn’t think any of you actually existed.”
“Any of who?”
“Sasquatch.”
“Ha ha,” Ben rolled his eyes but wasn’t offended, not when her eyes were wrinkled and bright at her own joke. “Very funny.”
“I thought so. Here,” she reached into her shorts’ back pocket and drew out her own phone, “let’s see how far astray you’ve come.”
Turned out, he’d strayed quite a ways off his path. An entire state, in fact. The town his cabin was located at and the one he was currently in shared the same name and, unfortunately, Ben hadn’t double checked when he’d plugged in the address. Just selected the automatic suggestion that popped up on the screen like the idiot he was.
“Well, fuck.”
“I’m sorry.” The girl’s expression was honestly sympathetic.
The crowd behind them cheered as a new song began and Ben glanced mournfully over his shoulder. “Look, I don’t want to keep you. I appreciate your help, but I can manage from here. Go have fun.”
“I can still hear the music. I’m Rey, by the way,” she stuck out her hand and Ben stared at it for a second longer than necessary before he engulfed it with his own giant paw.
“Ben. Ben Solo.”
“Ben.” She said his name slowly, as if savoring how it rolled off her tongue. There was even a minuscule lift to the corner of her mouth, which Ben tried very hard not to stare at. “Solo… You’re a writer? Have I heard of you?”
“No,” he shook his head. When she tilted her head quizzically, he cleared his throat and elucidated. “I’m not published yet. This trip was supposed to be my attempt to finish my manuscript…”
“Not getting to a great start, are you.”
He laughed bitterly. “No, guess not.” Then he heaved a very heavy sigh. “I should get going. I have a long drive ahead of me, apparently.”
“Why don’t you stay?”
The question came as a surprise and this time he allowed himself to stare at her. “What?”
A charming pink hue lit Rey's cheeks. “The sun’s going down, you see. Probably not a good idea to drive in the dark when you don’t have a map.”
“It wasn’t a good idea in daylight, either,” Ben said wryly and Rey laughed again. “But you’re right,” he added, unable to tear his gaze from her bright eyes. “Probably a good idea to stay. I can find a hotel…”
“You can hang out with my friends and I…”
They spoke at the same time. Her eyes darted away in obvious embarrassment but then peered at him from under lightly-mascaraed lashes. Ben swallowed.
“Really? You don’t even know me.”
Rey tilted her head and gave him a shy smile. “You seem fairly harmless to me. Although, you’re a bit short with food truckers, I’ll admit.”
So she’d seen that. Could his face get any hotter?
“Not my finest hour,” Ben admitted, running a hand through his hair again. Her offer was tempting, and the music wasn’t bad… in fact, Ben could see himself tapping a toe to it. “I won’t be intruding?”
“Of course not!”
Then she suddenly grabbed his hand and hauled him off toward the stage. Rey somehow managed to find all the gaps and passages through the dense collection of people, although, with Ben in tow she didn’t really need to because those passages were being bulldozed anyway. Unfazed by the scowls and middle-fingers flipped at them, Rey tugged him to a spot deep in the crowd where four others were bouncing around to the beat.
A short, dark-haired girl with round cheeks and a contagious smile caught sight of Rey, took one long - very long - look at Ben and smirked.
“That’s not what I meant when I said bring back a snack!” She yelled with a wink, earning an aghast and open-mouthed expression of shock from Rey.
That was Rose Tico’s charming self-introduction. Rey’s other friends, Finn, Jannah, and Kaydel were less free with their thoughts, albeit just as curious. They welcomed him warmly enough. While Ben felt out of place - and knew he was - he couldn’t find it in himself to part from the girl who’d rescued him. So he stood and bobbed his head to the music, enjoying watching the others’ antics and enthusiastic singing along.
Still, it wasn’t exactly his favorite activity, and somehow Rey must have sensed that because sometime later - as the horizon was lit by the pink and purple light of the setting sun - she tugged him back through the crowd and toward grassier areas where there were scattered groups sitting on blankets and lawn chairs.
They sat together in a soft patch of grass and Ben sighed, not trying to hide his relief. “Thanks.”
“I did have an ulterior motive,” she admitted, stretching her toned legs out and crossing them at the ankles.
Ben nodded in encouragement, pretty sure if she wanted to take over the world he’d help her. “What’s that?”
“I want you to tell me about your book.”
“My book?” His brows lifted straight up. “You really want to hear about it?”
She nodded and Ben, right in assuming he had little ability to resist any request she made, launched into a summary of his story: a hard-boiled detective investigating the deep, dirty secrets of a city’s nefarious mobster.
“Is there a love story?”
“There’s a woman,” Ben admitted. “I haven’t decided if he should fall in love with her.”
“I think he should.”
“Thing is, I’m not sure how to write her.”
“Maybe you need a muse.”
Ben lifted his gaze from the grass to focus on her face, on all the little freckles dotting her nose, the strange way the fading light of the sun seemed to worship her cheeks. She was beautiful here and now but he wanted to know how many other ways she was beautiful. How she ate toast in the morning. What her favorite movie was. If she squealed when she saw a bee. Everything. He wanted to know everything about her and write it all down.
I never thought this little writing blog would even get to 50 followers, much less 200! So, to celebrate, I’m giving away a Reylo fic! This is my first give away and it’s small but I wanted to share my appreciation for all of you lovely people!
Here are the details!
There is 1 prize: a 500-1.5k word fic in a prompt of the winner’s choosing (the work may end up being longer depending on the prompt; when the words flow, the words flow!).
+ Must be following me
+ Like and reblog this post
+ Please have messages open as that’s how I will contact the winner
+ If chosen, please respond within 48 hours or I’ll have to pick another winner
+ While I am open to explicit/NSFW prompts, there are some areas I’m not comfortable with which will be discussed (if applicable) with the winner
+ MUST be 18+ if requesting a NSFW prompt; I feel like this should go without saying but I’m saying it anyway.
+ I reserve the right to refuse a prompt for any reason
+ The winner will be selected and notified on October 3rd; once the details are knocked out, the fic will be completed and posted within the month
Thank you all so, so much for the follows and for reading my works! It means more than I can express!
Whoo! It’s been awhile since I updated here! I hope everyone is healthy and staying safe!
A few things. I’ve started a new historical fic like glitter and gold, which is a gold rush/mail order bride au. It’s a slow burn, slow pace sort of story and pretty fluffy.
I’ve also made progress on the next chapter of Pride, Prejudice, and Progeny, which I’m very excited about. Might be able to get a new chapter up before Christmas!
Alas, Rather be the hunter than the prey needs some reworking and it will be a little while before a new chapter is up.
I’m really sad I wasn’t able to pull together a Christmas story this year - hopefully next year - but I have two completed Christmas reylo fics from years past which are incredibly fluffy and have super sweet, cavity inducing happy endings:
The Christmas Conundrum (9 chapters, Rated T) - a ‘Bundle of Joy’ au
Just Believe (8 chapters, Rated T) - a ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ au
My semester is almost over - just two finals to do! - and I’m looking forward to getting back more fully into my works. Thanks for your patience and support, everyone! I truly appreciate every single one of you!
Hey all! It’s been awhile since my last update so I’m quite overdue! A lot has been happening and I haven’t had the headspace to do a lot of writing. As a result, I’ve only been able to focus on one fic. However, there’s some exciting news ahead!
The Dragonborn Crisis is done! I mean it! Two years! OH MY GOSH! The first Reylo fic I ever published is finally complete! The last chapter will be up this weekend, so keep an eye out for that!
I also did a teen-safe version of an explicit one-shot I wrote. come sail away with me - the remix is live on AO3 now!
With the complete of The Dragonborn Crisis, I’m getting back into Rather be the hunter than the prey, my spy/hollywood bodyguard au. Y’all will be seeing a new chapter of that in the coming weeks.
As for Pride, Prejudice, and Progeny - do not think I have forgotten. It is still in the works and Chapter Six is coming along. I can’t say when it’ll be up but it is imminent!
That’s it for fic news! Now, I’m going to take a moment to discuss some more personal things below the cut. CW for cancer and addiction.
My family member’s health is not good. It’s stage 3 throat cancer. My family and I are struggling with pretty much everything but the rest of us are all healthy and I have faith that God will pull us through. He’s done it before.
But, y’all, I’m gonna be honest about this. The reason why my family member is sick is because of alcohol abuse combined with smoking. There is not enough said in this world, in our culture, about the dangers of alcohol and smoking. It affects our health more than we know and in ways we cannot predict. Please, please, please be aware and be safe.
And don’t smoke. Just... don’t.
I say all of this not to be preachy or rant but because my eyes have been opened. Someone I love is in danger of dying because of addiction to alcohol and cigarettes. I wouldn’t normally go this deep into my personal life but this is a story with the potential to prevent someone else from falling into the same trap.
