Spy!firstprince For The RWRB Spy Zine!!!

Wise men say, only fools rush in

But I can't help falling in love with you

Shall I stay? Would it be a sin?

If I can't help falling in love with you

[Podfic] a flicker, a spark

Starting the new year off with the first chapter of my long pod of a gorgeous firstprince (RWRB) fic!

Author: acastle

Rating: E

Length: eventually 8ish hours, broken up into 6 chapters

Summary:

“She truly is your daughter, Alex,” Henry sighs, defeated.

“Fuck off, sweetheart,” he laughs, a soundbite of the sun. Henry forces himself not to physically react, the term of endearment sweet and menacingly familiar coming from Alex’s lips. It’s been years. “You know they’re useful.”

“Ah yes, eyelashes, truly a formidable instrument in managing international relations.”

Alex grins, and Henry is too late to catch the slightest downward lilt on the corner of his mouth, “Worked on you once, didn’t it?”

Oh, did that ache.

(Much had happened since the time Henry had told Alex to leave. Alex had passed the bar, gotten married, had the most beautiful daughter. And Henry, well. He stayed right where he was.)

Notes: this fic is beautiful and heart wrenching and heart mending and just!!!!

Link: listen here, updates weekly.

Fanfic writers!

My theory is that most fanfiction writers are 30+. Let's test this theory.

Writing tips for long fics that helped me that no one asked for.

1.) Don't actually delete content from your WIP unless it is minor editing - instead cut it and put it in a secondary document. If you're omitting paragraphs of content, dialog, a whole scene you might find a better place for it later and having it readily available can really save time. Sometimes your idea was fantastic, but it just wasn't in the right spot.

2.) Stuck with wording the action? Just write the dialog then revisit it later.

3.) Stuck on the whole scene? Skip it and write the next one.

4.) Write on literally any other color than a white background. It just works. (I use black)

5.) If you have a beta, while they are beta-ing have them read your fic out loud. Yes, I know a lot of betas/writers do not have the luxury of face-timing or have the opportunity to do this due to time constraints etc but reading your fic out loud can catch some very awkward phrasing that otherwise might be missed. If you don't have a beta, you read it out loud to yourself. Throw some passion into your dialog, you might find a better way to word it if it sounds stuffy or weird.

6.) The moment you have an idea, write it down. If you don't have paper or a pen, EMAIL it to yourself or put it in a draft etc etc. I have sent myself dozens of ideas while laying down before sleep that I 10/10 forgot the next morning but had emailed them to myself and got to implement them.

7.) Remember - hits/likes/kudos/comments are not reflective of the quality of your fic or your ability to write. Most people just don't comment - even if they say they do, they don't, even if they preach all day about commenting, they don't, even if they are a very popular blog that passionately reminds people to comment - they don't comment (I know this personally). Even if your fic brought tears to their eyes and it haunted them for weeks and they printed it out and sent it to their friends they just don't comment. You just have to accept it. That being said - comment on the fic you're reading now, just do it, if you're 'shy' and that's why you don't comment the more you comment the better you'll get at it. Just do it.

8.) Remove unrealistic daily word count goals from your routine. I've seen people stress 1500 - 2000 words a day and if they don't reach that they feel like a failure and they get discouraged. This is ridiculous. Write when you can, but remove absurd goals. My average is 500 words a day in combination with a 40 hour a week job and I have written over 200k words from 2022-2023.

9.) There are dozens of ways to do an outline from precise analytical deconstruction that goes scene by scene to the minimalist bullet point list - it doesn't matter which one you use just have some sort of direction. A partial outline is better than no outline.

10.) Write for yourself, not for others. Write the fic you know no one is going to read. Write the fic that sounds ridiculous. You will be so happy you put it out in the world and there will be people who will be glad it exists.

me: yeah I'm pretty close to finishing this fic

the fic:

I'm in tears 😭 This is extremely beautiful. Thank you so much!!!!!

the little merman and his prince

inspire by jumpsuit's fic

My piece for the @rwrbspyzine! 🔥🔥

Working alongside other fandom artists in this way was a lot of fun and I'm very grateful to have been involved with this fun little project!

"I know, like, objectively, on a fucking graphing calculator, it sounds like a huge embarrassing crush. But, ugh. I don't know! He was my sworn enemy until a couple months ago, and then we were friends, I guess, and now he's kissed me, and I don't know what we…are."

"Uh-huh," Nora says.

Red White and Royal Blue: Iconic Scenes

The two scenes that in my opinion have made film history.

Alex and Henry lazing around at the lakehouse.

This may seem like nothing special, but note how they're out in the open sunshine, almost naked, in an attitude that leaves no doubt at the fact that they're a couple. Name me another movie or show that shows a same-sex couple in such a relaxed, natural attitude.

They have nothing to hide.

The final scene.

No big revelation, no impassioned declaration, no celebration of any kind.

To world-wide celebrities - Henry, who grew up in castles, and Alex, who spent these last years at the white house - retire into privacy in a simple, one-storey house.

They have each other, that's all they need.

This movie is marking a cultural change already now.

Now Complete!

Read all 5 chapters on AO3: Ch 1 | Ch 2 | Ch 3 | Ch 4 | Ch 5

What do you have against color?

11K • Explicit • Firstprince • Urban Sketchers AU

Upon opening the hardcover of a found sketchbook to locate the owner's contact details, Alex discovers only this inscription: > In case of loss, please return to: Instagram @henryfox.usk He, of fucking course, knows who Henry Fox is. That striking yet humorless, rude, and self-righteous British prick he met on the first day of the symposium.

Or, an AU where Alex and Henry are urban sketchers. A short story of how they get to know each other, fall in love and in bed within one day.

Please note that the sketches in this work were all generated with ChatGPT and then manually edited by myself with Procreate. They were not entirely hand-drawn by me, although I do wish I had that level of skill. 😭