'Between Bought and Earned'

Work written for the prompt: "Hooker/Escort - AU Swan Queen, no curse, Regina is just an uptight mayor of Storybrooke and a single mother. She is very bored, almost depressed by her dull routine. More than that she suspects that her lover Graham cheats on her with Ruby (waitress) but no matter how much she tries, she can't end relationship with him. One day she gets stuck with the idea of trying sex with woman but since it's too risky in such small town as SB, she ends up in Boston/NY with Emma as a hooker."

Mayor Regina Mills has been married to her husband for years, but for months now, he's been sleeping with the town's favourite waitress behind her back. Angry and frustrated Regina reaches out to an escort, Emma, but ends up with a lot more than she had bargained for.

[Rating: EXPLICIT!]

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It felt like such a cliché: the powerful woman with the superior income finding red lipstick stains on the rim of her husband's shirts, accepting lame apologies and excuses as he 'works late' and came home from the sheriff's office smelling like cheap perfume and cooking oil. She knew he was fucking her, the waitress from the diner, but because the thought of being alone was more terrifying than the thought of being cheated on, she stayed. That is what happened when you grow up with an abusive and overbearing mother. That is what happened when you loved too hard, and suffocated the man who was never good enough for you in the first place.

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'Bonded Beyond the Veil'

After a near-death scare fighting the Snow Queen, Regina and Emma's parents decide that it's time Emma gets het magic back. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done, and the only possibility is following the musing left behind by Morgaine le Fey in old tomes.

[Rating: Mature]

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There are rumours of connections between mages so strong, that they enable either of the partners to tap into the other's magic. In these instances, the metaphysical streams that empower the mages mingle, like two rivers coming together underground. The energy weaves together before pouring forth with more power than the single mage could ever hope to produce on their own, breaking forth from behind the veil to wreak havoc. To my knowledge, these connections are rare; two mages powerful enough to weave together, to share a connection so strong that they pierce the veil like the boats that pass into my beloved Avalon. It happens once in a generation, if that, but when it happens, tremble, for those who are connected to such an extent do not only share magic, they share a mind, and often, a heart.

-- Morgaine le Fay – ‘The Metaphysics of Magic’

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Tips for becoming a 'good' writer

I was recently asked if I had tips for becoming a 'good' writer. Let me start by saying that I don’t even know if i’m a good writer! That said, I don’t think it matters much if you are a good writer or not; if you write, you are a writer and there will always be people who love and hate your work. Good is such a subjective term. I understand the question, though, so some tips:

• Don’t let anyone define the worth of your work for you; the only one you should write for is yourself.
• Stop caring about how good your work is. Even if no one reads it, it’s still your work and if you are happy with it, it’s good.
• Write. Just write. Write every day, write as much as you can, write when you are sad, when you’re happy, when you’re stressed or totally zen. Write because there is a story in your head that needs to get out, or write because there is nothing in your head at all. The only way for the words to flow is to write. To be a writer, that is all you need to do. 
• Read the work of others for inspiration, for tips and tricks, for a fresh perspective, but never compare your work to theirs. You write your own words and even if it comes out looking like theirs—or especially when you feel it doesn’t compare to theirs—its still your writing and it was worth getting written.
• The same goes for creative writing coaches, or any teacher or trainer you will ever meet when it comes to writing; listen to their advice, write it all down, but when you start writing yourself, only remember the gist of their words; don’t try to emulate anyone—be yourself.
• This is the most important one of all: know your characters. Know the way they talk, know the way they walk, know what their favourite colour is and what their favourite food was when they were five. If you’re writing fan-fiction or anything not wholly of your own creation, make headcanons for these things. Make sure that when you read what you wrote—especially dialogue—you can picture your character doing or saying it in your head. If you envision the scene you just wrote in your head and you have trouble applying it to the character(s), rewrite it.
• That said, rewrite at the end. If you get bogged down in little things half way through your work, you’ll never get it done.
• That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t re-read what you started writing while you are writing it; there is a flow to well-written work that hinges on your ability to keep the train on the rails. By re-reading what you wrote in the chapter so far, you make sure you’re not derailing it—or you have the time to correct.
• Make sure your chapter, short story, or one-shot is a whole by referencing something in the first paragraph in the last one—preferably your opening sentence. This brings the story to a close and makes it feel circular—we like things that have an end that reaches back to the start, it gives us a sense of fulfilment.
• Be comfortable when you write; find your groove. Some people need music, others complete silence. Some write best when surrounded by people, others need to be alone. Find what makes you comfortable.
• Establish a ritual for your writing so you know to your very core that right now is writing time—make yourself something to drink, sit in your favourite chair, listen to that one song, and open your word editor of choice. Repeat the next day.
• Reward yourself for a job well done—even if it sucked.
• Your motivation for writing needs to be intrinsic, not extrinsic; other people have nothing to do with your writing, their opinions are just icing on the cake.
• Every character has five senses; use them all.
• People say things with their mouths, but they say them with their hands as well, and the way they stand, or with their tonality. People who know each other well, sometimes don’t need words at all. The touch of a hand between lovers means something completely different than the touch of a hand from an abusive parent onto their child. Play with these reactions to establish these relationships, but also to further the relationship along. Make use of their body, not just their words.
• Write what you are comfortable with, but work to become comfortable with writing anything you can live with. Don’t care about societal norms or your own boundaries—the most interesting stories are born in the twilight.
• There is a special kind of madness to writing that comes from being in your own head for to long. Make sure you get out of it every once in a while.
• Don’t write yourself empty; know your limits and when you feel you are exhausting yourself, stop.
• Love what you do. If you take anything away from this, please let it be this one. If you don’t love what you do, then why are you writing in the first place?

I hope these tips help you further your writing, but like I said, in the end, you are the writer and the only one who truly knows how to write your words done well is you. Trust in that, and you should be just fine.

'Darkness Rising' - Part 1 of 'The Dark War'-Series

 

 

The palace did not have dungeons, that is what Princess Emma had always been told. In a kingdom as well-ruled and peaceful as hers, dungeons were not needed. If there were no enemies to lock away in high towers or underground caverns, then there was no need for high towers, or for underground caverns. And yet, she found herself in a tunnel she had never explored, a tunnel dark and damp that led from the armoury down into the pitch black; a tunnel that led to the palace’s dungeons where she found the palace’s sole prisoner: a mysterious woman who had been down there for the past eighteen years. The only woman, perhaps, with the knowledge and power to stop the rising darkness that was threatening to plunge the Kingdom into war.

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Emma had found the hatch three days ago, by accident as her accident-prone form had crashed into a displayed coat of armour while practicing her sword hand, alone in one of the all but forgotten armouries of the palace. After the dust and noise had settled, she had tried to manoeuvre the case back, but had found the sturdy wooden panel that had been revealed too interesting to pass up. Emma knew the palace was filled with hidden passages and pathways, and they had excited Emma to no end while she was growing up—especially because much of her life was filled with boredom and lessons she disliked. Throughout her youth, most of her joy had been found in passages much like the one the hatch had revealed, and Emma—as adventurous as she was by nature—had immediately relished the chance to explore a brand new one now she was older. Despite being eighteen now, Emma figured no one was ever too old for an adventure, especially when it was just stumbled upon.

Of course, deep down, Emma knew she was too old to childishly crawl through unexplored passageways, but the monotony of the palace life was often too boring to submit to. She wanted to be out in the world, slay dragons, go on adventures, but of course she was not allowed any of that. Instead, she was paraded around her potential suitors in the hope she would fall for one of them and get married, and she rarely left the palace at all, except for very rare hunting trips. Eighteen or not, Emma had found a chance to unwind and indulge, and she was going to take it no matter what.

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(Graphic by the amazing stuff0ureyeswithw0nder)

'Way Back Home'

Two hundred years after a nuclear apocalypse devastated the world, Emma Swan escapes Vault 101, a survival shelter designed to protect up to 1,000 humans from the nuclear fallout. She travels the Capital Wasteland to find the parents who abandoned her when she was just a baby. Her singular focus shifts, however, when she sets foot in a small town called Storybrooke, and meets its dazzling Mayor.

This work is a Fallout 3 AU written for Once Upon a Time's Swan Queen pairing. It was written in such a way that someone who has never played the game will still be able to follow along with the world and its characters. For non-players, this is a post-apocalyptic AU. Fallout 3 enthusiasts will find a lot in this fic that they will specifically recognise.

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Well-worn but sturdy boots scoffed through the dust and sand blown onto the crumbling highway Emma Swan was following. Next to her, tongue dangling from his mouth in a combination of thirst, exhaustion, and excitement, jogged her canine companion Pongo. Ever since picking him up at a scrapyard about a week back, he hadn’t been farther from her side than the necessary distance to modestly relieve himself. He was an added worry—caring about someone, even an animal, made you do stupid things to keep them alive—but Emma would be lying if she said the Dalmatian had not added a joy to her life that she had been sorely missing.

“I think it’s time we find a place to hole up for the night, what’cha say, boy?” Emma softly spoke to the dog, whose head lifted merrily at the sound of her voice. Tail wagging, he barked once—softly—but still Emma’s eyes darted about to scan the area around her, making sure his enthusiasm had not drawn the attention of anything hell-bent on killing her.

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(Graphic by the amazing after-world-chronicles)

'Indulgence'

Work written for the Red Snow Queen prompt: “Ruby and Regina making out, getting hot and heavy then Snow walks in all wide eyed and bashful. Then they lure her in with just their sultry eyes…”

Regina hadn’t planned to get caught fucking Ruby Lucas in Mary Margaret’s apartment, but here she was, and she was going to squeeze every drop of vengeance out of the experience.

Explicit. So very explicit. I mean it. Explicit!

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There were very few things for which Regina Mills kneeled. Just a few short months ago, back in the Enchanted Forest, she would have said she would never kneel for anyone or anything, but here, in this quaint little town of Storybrooke, Maine, there were a few things Regina had learned to make an exception for. She had found she enjoyed doing a spot of gardening on her off days from her mayoral duties, and if she had to, she could lower herself to reclaiming dropped items now she was without servants. What Regina Mills kneeled down for willingly, however, was eating out Ruby Lucas—Red Riding Hood—because the sight of the girl struggling not to squirm away from her eager tongue was just too good to pass up.

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Swan Queen Week+ Summer 2014 Masterpost

Unexpected Consequences
Mary Margaret comes home with some excellent gossip that has Emma’s head reeling: Regina might be pregnant, but as far as Emma knows, Regina hasn’t been with anyone but her…



The Day Mary Margaret Found Out
Requested work with the prompt: “Emma is getting annoyed that her parents keep pushing her to get back together with Neal so Emma and Ruby pretend to be dating. Only problem is that no one told Emma’s real girlfriend Regina the plan.”

It’s Mary Margaret’s birthday party and Emma is fed up with men being throw at her—more so, Regina is too.



The Lies We Tell, Or Do Not Tell At All (Part 1)
Missing scene from ‘Kansas’; after Regina comes home from the vault where she has stashed Zelena’s necklace, Emma is waiting for her to ask for her help: she wants to forget—again—and Regina finds herself confronted with her love for the blonde as she tries to convince her not to leave.



Damn You, Autocorrect!
Conversing with Regina by text had always been utilitarian, but a new iOS update leads to a series of ice-breaking texts which eventually lead to much more.



The Lies We Tell, Or Do Not Tell At All (Part 2)
Set after the final diner scene of season three; Emma goes to Regina’s house to make amends, but finds Regina in a downward spiral that eventually brings to light the truth: that Regina is in love with her. Emma now has to figure out her own feelings or risk losing Regina forever.



Jack Daniels of the Silver Tongue
At a place where their complicated relationship seems to have come to a shocking end because Emma has ruined Regina’s chance at love, the blonde decides to put a little truth in their conversation with a bottle of Jack Daniels and a drinking game that is fun for no one.



Bonded Beyond the Veil
After a near-death scare fighting the Snow Queen, Regina and Emma’s parents decide that it’s time Emma gets her magic back. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done, and the only possibility is following the musings left behind by Morgaine le Fay in old tomes.



Between Bought and Earned
[Forbidden Love Prompt]
Part of the #500Challenge. Work written for the prompt: “Hooker/Escort - AU Swan Queen, no curse, Regina is just an uptight mayor of Storybrooke and a single mother. She is very bored, almost depressed by her dull routine. More than that she suspects that her lover Graham cheats on her with Ruby (waitress) but no matter how much she tries, she can’t end relationship with him. One day she gets stuck with the idea of trying sex with woman but since it’s too risky in such small town as SB, she ends up in Boston/NY with Emma as a hooker.”

Mayor Regina Mills has been married to her husband for years, but for months now, he’s been sleeping with the town’s favourite waitress behind her back. Angry and frustrated Regina reaches out to an escort, Emma, but ends up with a lot more than she had bargained for.

Swan Queen Week Midwinter 2014 Masterpost

Taking Chances
Henry presses his mom to accept a date with a woman he knows from school, why? Because it’s time she got over his dad and Miss Swan is perfect for her—he just knows it.



The Days That Bound Us
When Emma and Regina met twelve years ago, they had fallen for each other instantly. Because of Regina’s desire to have a child, they had one but Emma wasn’t ready for the responsibilities that came after giving birth to Henry. Young and panicking, she cheated with a young man named Neal who had such a bad influence on her, she ended up in jail. Regina then took full custody of the child and moved out of Boston. Now, nine years later, that same child ends up on Emma’s doorstep, leading to a reunion neither women had expected to have.

Warnings: NC-17 Rating



Beyond The Borderline
AU start to the series, where everyone is a hostage to their own fears and Mister Gold’s power—especially Emma Swan who takes on a simple case in her capacity as a bail bonds agent and ends up getting involved in a situation she is far from ready for. No book, no Henry being angry at Regina. Prompt somewhat loosely interpreted.



Lessons We Are Taught
When Emma Swan and her partner Graham Humbert are forced to attend a sensitivity training seminar organized by the Boston Police Department, Emma fears it may be the death of her. Thankfully the afternoon speaker, Dr. Regina Mills, PhD., who will lecture on the peculiars of supporting survivors of sexual assault looks promising enough to stay awake for. When Regina Mills speaks of her own dark past, a genuinely moved Emma realizes there a lot more to the woman up on stage than beauty, and tries to get a little closer to her.

Warnings: general discussion of the topic of sexual assault, but no flashbacks or actual assault.



When I Find Your Heart Anew
When Hook takes Emma and Henry back to the Enchanted Forest after collecting them in New York City, he is overcome by the Wicked Witch of the West who takes Emma and leaves the rest of them for dead. When a small group—theoretically led by Snow and Charming, but spearheaded by Regina—tries to rescue her, they find that the Witch has turned against them the only person they can’t kill: Emma herself. Desperate, Regina decides to sacrifice herself for the woman she gave up on once already.

Warnings: violence



Coming Home
When Regina casts the curse that will take away Emma’s memories, she has to replace her whole life. She gives Emma new parents—parents who still remember her when the curse finally breaks. While Emma and Regina try to come to terms with the fact that their kiss—a kiss that Regina never intended to happen—was the one to break the curse, Emma invites Regina to join her and Henry for a trip to her parents, because who better to explain why they suddenly have memories of a woman who has only been in their lives for a year than Regina? Regina accepts, but knows that it will be hard to fight her ever-growing feelings for Emma when she will be in such close proximity to her for days—especially when she finds out they will be sharing a bed.

Warnings: NC-17 Rating



The Clock (Tower)
When Emma messes up and Henry finds out she is seeing his mom—who he believes is the Evil Queen—Emma is forced to try and salvage her relationship with Henry as well as Regina, because the Mayor is refusing to see her in light of her son’s anger. Frustrated, Emma gets Henry to tell her Regina’s favourite movie so she can act out the most romantic scene from it and win Regina back. Set early in season one.