#/if you think i could write a character yeet the idea/

[anathemamadness]

I have 0 impulse control-

[bookuce]

Change My Mind

SUMMARY: Josh and Alina are great friends most days. Other days, they want to tear each other apart. Some days, they’re in love with each other, but neither of them will admit it.

*DISCLAIMER: This is a multi-part series. I do not own any of the characters in the writing except for the OC. The book also uses the actual names of the wrestlers. Gionna is Liv, Austin is Xavier Woods, Josh is Jey Uso, Jon is Jimmy Uso, Trinity is Naomi, Alina is just Alina. The book is not realistic and does not take place during real events, but some actual events could pop up in the story eventually. I DO NOT GIVE ANYONE PERMISSION TO POST MY WORK ON ANY SITE*

PAIRING: Jey Uso x Black OC

TROPE: Friends to Lovers

WARNINGS: Language

WORD COUNT: 2,297

PART ONE

PART TWO

“One! Two! Three!” Shouts the crowd. The bell would ring, signifying the end of the tag match. The Usos rolled out the ring quickly before an angry Street Profits could reach them. The tag match ended dirty. Montez’s shoulder was up, but the referee didn’t see it. Josh and Jon knew they got off without being caught and were celebrating on the ramp without care. They would eventually run to the back, vanishing behind the curtain.

Alina is informed to be at the gorilla for Josh and Jon for a backstage interview, and she can hear them as rowdy as ever, drawing near. They would pop out from the dark ramp, bouncing around with their championships in their hands. “Jimmy, Jey, can I get a word? What happened out there?” She says, catching their attention. Jon would drop his sweaty arm across her shoulders while Josh snatched the mic and her hand up.

“What happened out there? What happened out there, Uce, is that we won! Ain’t nothing else happened out there. The Street Profits thought they could hang with us, and what happened!”

“They got dropped!” Jon chimed in.

“They got dropped!” Josh repeats. “Ain’t no one taking these from us, Uce!”

“Yeet!”

“And if you think you got a chance,” Josh takes the mic out of Alina’s hands, blocking her from the camera. She took this as a chance to rid her hand of the sweat he left behind.

“Yeet!”

“You can get dropped too!”

“Yeet!”

“Cause at the end of the day, Uce, you the number twos, and we the ones!” Josh would end his promo with a raise of his pointer finger. His twin would follow suit before they both walked off towards the locker rooms. The cameraman would put his camera down, and the light on its head turned off.

“That was good.” Alex, the cameraman, would say, causing Alina to nod in agreement.

“Ay, Lina!” Josh shouts from across the large hall. “We going out tonight! Don’t make no plans!” Every time they successfully defended their championships, they wanted to go out. Though their night was ending, Alina had to stick around for the last two matches in case the company needed her for backstage interviews.

“Too late!” She teases.

“Cancel that shit, Uce!” Jon shouts, making Alina chuckle softly.

“Text me the details!” She shouts back.

———————————————————————————

Alina didn’t do much clubbing anymore. As she got older, she noticed the club crowd got younger. At thirty-two years old, she just didn’t see the hype anymore. That and it always took her days to recover. Getting her out of the house or a hotel room wasn’t an easy accomplishment, but somehow, Josh could do it every time. Maybe it was because he would harass her until she said yes; He always knew how to make her say yes.

She didn’t like that, but he loved it.

Here she was, standing in a nightclub surrounded by sloshed party-goers, and she had no idea where her group was. What she did know was that she needed a drink. If she was going to be able to tolerate being here, she needed to join the masses. She moved through the crowd, her eyes fixated on the glowing bar at the back of the large room. She hadn’t received any text messages from Josh in over forty-five minutes. All he had to say the last time they spoke was that he was here. When she gets to the bar, she squeezes between two people. They didn't pay her any mind, but the bartender saw her just as she got in.

“What can I get for you?” He asks.

“Vodka sprite, please!” She answered. The bartender quickly moved from her sight to prepare her drink for her. While Alina waited, she took her phone out of her pocket. The screen lit up, showing that she still had no new messages. Her thumb swipes up to unlock it, tapping the messages icon immediately after. Josh’s name was at the top of her inbox, her last message still there. She’d click on the message thread to type up a new message.

Alina: Hey, I’m here at the bar.

The screen would go dark after she sent the message, but she would keep the phone in her hand. The bartender would return with her drink, a smile on his face. “Thank you.” She says. She’d hand over her debit card, allowing him to swipe it. He asked her if she would want to start a tab, but she’d declined. She knew her drinks were on Josh once he found her. She glanced down at her phone; Still no new messages.

A hand would touch the small of her back, causing her to jump. Alina glanced over her left shoulder to find a man who wasn’t her best friend. This man towered over her. If she had to guess his height, she would say he was six foot five inches. He gives her a grin. “Hi,” He greets her.

“Hi.” She returns.

He leans down slightly; his mouth is in listening shot of her ear. “I’m Gavin, and you are?” He holds his hand out for her to shake.

“Alina.” She says, taking his hand. She shakes it gently before letting go of it. “Am I in your way? I can move.” She begins to make space for him. Gavin’s hand rests on her shoulder, stopping her from moving more.

“I came over here for you,” He starts. “I couldn’t walk away without telling you you're beautiful.” Heat began to rise in Alina’s face as her eyes shifted to the floor.

“Thank you.” She says, looking up at the guy again. Gavin wasn’t bad-looking. His black hair was shaggy on his head, his eyes a deep brown that looked almost black. His skin was pale, but his cheeks were faintly pink. He had a nostalgic feel to him overall.

“Are you here with anyone?” He asks.

“I…”

“Yeah, she’s with me, Uce.” A familiar voice chimes in. Josh eyes the man in front of him before holding out his hand. “You good, baby?” He asks, glancing at Alina. Took him long enough, she thought. She slips her hand into his warm one, instantly pulled to the Samoan. Once she was near him, he would slide his arm around her waist. Mentally, Alina took a deep breath to steady her now racing heart.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She says, leaning in to kiss his earlobe. Josh’s collected demeanor wouldn’t falter at the action, but boy, was he doing somersaults in his head. Gavin glances between the two before letting his brown eyes settle on Alina.

“Lucky man.” He says before turning to vanish back into the crowd.

Alina turns to look at Josh. “Damn, I thought you forgot how to use a phone.” She takes a step away from him.

“My bad, I didn’t know you texted me.” He says. Josh takes in Alina’s appearance. He couldn’t verbally tell her how good she looked, but he’s sure she knows. Of course, she knows how attractive she is. He was always having to fight off men on her behalf. Was he fighting off men for his sake or her own? Both? Both. He was selfish like that. Selfish, possessive��whatever you wanted to call it, he was that.

Alina noticed his staring. It wasn’t like he was trying to hide that he was doing it. He was blatant about things he did when it came to her. “Where is everyone?” She asks, snapping him out of his trance. He looks in two directions before allowing his eyes to settle on her.

“Oh, uh, we got a section. Come on.” Josh snatches up her hand again, pulling her through the crowd. They would zigzag through the dancefloor before making it to a set of stairs. A security guard stood there, blocking people who weren’t them from going up. He would step to the side to allow Josh and Alina to pass. They’d climb the stairs, finding themselves in an area lit up blue. In the corner was a bar that resembled the same as the bottom but smaller.

“Yay, he found her!” Gionna exclaims, jumping up from her seat on a white couch. With one hand, Alina hugs her friend. Josh stood to the side of them, watching the two women interact.

“You gonna let her go, Uce?” Jon shouts at him. The eldest twin always had time to tease Josh and Alina about their relationship. It wasn’t a friendship to him. He was beyond calling it that, as was everyone around them. The only two that were fighting for the title of friendship were the two people involved. Josh reluctantly lets go of her hand, and Alina notices instantly. Her eyes meet his back as he’s walking towards the couch.

“Have you gotten a drink yet?” Gionna asks.

It was then Alina realized she left her drink downstairs at the bar. She looks over the ledge, spotting the small cup sitting at the bar with no one around it. Well, she wasn’t going back for that. “No.” She answers, looking at the petite blonde in front of her. Gionna snatches up the same hand Josh previously held and pulls her over to the bar.

“Alina looks good,” Austin says, watching Alina and Gionna walk towards the bar. Josh and Jon look at each other before Josh looks off in the distance. He could feel his blood pressure rising by the second.

“Not too much on my sister-in-law, Uce,” Jon says. Trinity would slap Jon’s chest, making him bring his hand up to cover himself. Josh looks at his brother, pointing his finger at him.

“Quit playing with me, Jon! I done told you!” His brother would laugh, kicking his feet slightly at the reaction he’d gotten from his little brother.

“Oh, so she’s free game?” Austin asks, standing up.

“This ass whooping can be free game.” Josh snaps, rising with him. “Try it if you want to.” He warns. Austin lowered his eyes at Josh, a mischievous grin on his face. Slowly, he sits down. He wasn’t in the loop about what happens within The Usos friend group, but this little interaction told him everything he needed to know.

“So, like I said, not too much on my sister-in-law,” Jon repeats with a smile. “He don’t play about her.” Josh shoots a glare in his brother’s direction before sitting down.

Gionna ordered a tray of tequila shots at the bar for their group. She got twelve shots for six people. She was on an unspoken mission to loosen everyone up. Now that Lina was here, Gionna knew that the energy in their space would be different. Without fail, Josh and Alina always get weird around each other. “What’s new with you?” She would ask, making a quiet Alina speak up.

“Nothing,” She breathes. “I’m not complaining, though. After that last attempt, I decided to take a break from dating. It’s not worth it.”

“Why? Because of Josh?”

Alina was quiet for a moment. That was part of the reason, but not for what everyone’s thinking. She brings her index finger to her mouth, rubbing slightly at the bottom of her lower lip. It was something she often did when she was choosing her words. “I’m due for some much-needed reflection.” She settled, glancing at her friend. Gionna grinned, her lips twitching as she fought a laugh. “What?”

“Whatever the fuck that means.” She says, laughing at Alina. “I mean, I’m not one to judge…”

“You are right now!” Alina exclaims, causing Gionna to laugh more. The bartender places a tray of shots on the bar before them. Gionna grabs them, moving off her seat. Without another word, she turns to go back to their group. Alina follows behind her, quickly downing the Sex On The Beach cocktail she purchased. She’s going to need more by the end of the night.

“I come baring gifts!” Gionna shouts when they get back to their section. She places the shots on the table and drops down next to Austin, leaving a spot next to Josh open. She sits down, her body turned in towards everyone. Everyone reached for their two shots.

Josh sniffs his shots. “Girl, is this tequila?” He asks.

“Oh, hell nah, Gigi,” Jon says, shaking his head. “This ain’t gonna work for us.” The twins are both leaning to put their shots down.

“No balls.” She says. They pause, glancing up at her.

“Who!?” They shout in unison. They sit up again with their shots in their hands, ready to toss both back. Reverse psychology beats their asses without fail each time.

“Ooh, let’s toast, y’all!” Trin shouts, scooting to the edge of her seat. She holds a shot glass up. “Congrats to my honey and his brother for retaining their championships! Here’s to another successful defense and friendship!” She exclaims. Everyone cheered, leaning in to toast their glasses.

Josh turns to toast his shot glasses at Alina before they both toss them back. The alcohol warms their chests, but they both make a face of disgust before setting their glasses down. “You want another drink?” He asks, tapping her leg. “Vodka Sprite?” She nods. He stands to his feet, moving around her to the bar. Alina watches after him, a soft smile on her face.

“Alina,” Austin sings, sliding over to her. “How are you?” He asks.

“I’m good,” She answers. “You?”

“Oh, never better.” He replies. “Say, I have a question for you…” The pair wasn’t aware, but Jon and Trin were watching. The eldest twin had a grin on his face, not because Alina was talking to anyone, but because Josh was going to lose his fucking shit when he got back.

NEXT PART

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Hi! This chapter is a little long! It would’ve been longer but I chose to stop here! I’m sorry if it’s awkward or anything!!

Jey (Josh) is gonna blow a gasket LMAO

Comment to be in the tag-list!

🏷️ list: @wrestlingprincess80 @venusesworld @fearlesschimera @tbmotw @paigereeder @yana3sworld @truefant4sy @sisinever @empressdede @thesamoanqueen

[homerforsure]

TL;DR: it's not my ship, but they were done dirty

I always always always come back to that weird little reveal that when they were first floating the idea to bring Tommy back, they said it was to do a storyline with Eddie and it got switched to Buck because it was too weird or tricky to have them both break up with their LIs offscreen but only one actress could come back.

Because a stepping stone relationship makes perfect sense for Eddie. Something short and intense with angst and softness for him to get to this moment of letting himself feel joy and to taste how truly good it can be. He didn't need an endgame relationship right now. He did need to have his "first."

Buck didn't need that. Buck is absolutely ready for his forever and he has been for a while and giving him the "inviting Natalia to move in and then catching his own bad habit for once and backing out" would have been great.

But that didn't happen. Instead Eddie had to sit like a hot dog on one of those rolling warmers for a season while Buck started the queer dominos falling (and I admit this is a little bit from a Buddie endgame perspective because it doesn't feel to me like the show was deciding to explore the a character's sexuality just for exploratory purposes and I'm willing to admit I have a blind spot here.)

And honestly I think the fact that Oliver cares so much about Buck and telling this story well both for the character and everyone who sees himself in him and that Lou met that energy turned the storyline and the relationship into a more beautiful beginning than it would have been in the hands of other actors.

Which gave the show it's next problem. Because we can all see that Buck is ready for his forever love and you introduced a new love interest and then instead of sticking to a few episodes of awakening and moving on, I think they saw that people were starving for it and latched onto it and Tommy harder than they expected. So it's an easy thing to do to milk that for a little bit longer, but it was absolutely the wrong choice because people got invested in a way they wouldn't have if this had ended after the original number of episodes we expected.

And Buck and Tommy worked! I think you can nitpick relationship things if you weren't that into it and write a breakup narrative using those seeds, but their puzzle pieces absolutely fit together. So much so that they definitely had forever after potential that everyone could see and a lot of people were excited about and investing in and oops wait that wasn't the plan.

So what do you do? You either abandon the plan and embrace the accidental beauty that you discovered and let it ride or you write your way out of it. Give them some hurdles, some angst. Give them a tear-jerking breakup that respects what you built and the viewers who are invested in it and slowly work your way back to where you wanted to be.

They didn't write their way out of it.

And I so don't want to believe that after the work the actors put in and the viewer feedback that they were still viewing the relationship as a placeholder ready to be yeeted once Eddie's arc got back in position again, but I'm not sure what the alternatives are?

Either it's being talked about that this is the last season and so if they're really doing buddie then it's now or never? Or actually the internet is not a valid reflection of the viewership as a whole and someone from on high said the plug should be pulled?

Or the storyline was stumbled into and fumbled around from the beginning and never treated with as much care by the people in charge of it as it was by the people who loved it.

IDK it's just messy messy storytelling and I say that as someone who is not a multishipper but who does value a good story and a good narrative. They let the relationship go on for too long to end it so abruptly. If there was going to be a breakup, there was a better one to be had and it doesn't make me feel good that my preferred happy ending could come from one that breaks the heart of so many of my friends. And if it isn't in the service of a bigger, already in motion endgame, literally what the fuck?

[beevean]

Seeing as how the nocturne s2 trailer just dropped I figured I’d ask something I’m a bit curious about

If season 3+4 of the original show ended up following the plot of curse of darkness do you think it could have done that story justice or turned out much better than what we got? With the characterization of Hector and Isaac in season 2 of the show it would have diverged anyways, but it’s interesting to think about.

I just know a lot of critics of the show point out that there was already a story to tell after the events of cv3, but if they’d gone that route would it really have been what Curse fans wanted anyways?

I think this question should be asked to the fans who were following the development of the show in real time lol, because poor things clearly had hope until S4 😂 I remember reading posts of people who were absolutely certain that Hector's story would have ended with him going on a rampage, killing Carmilla and Lenore, running away and meeting Rosaly for his happy ending.

I don't think their characterizations back then would have been an issue. Yes, show Isaac is far calmer and more introspective, but his only personality in S2 is "Dracula simp who thinks Hector is shit under his shoe", which tracks although he's less fun about it. Yes, show Hector is more mellow and trusting, but he was still perfect material for a character arc revolving around him learning empathy for his fellow humans, and learning to think for himself and deciding what he truly wants to do in life, which is more or less his arc in the prequels.

See, the issue is that S2's finale already diverged from CoD's set up. Isaac being yeeted away while stewing in anger? Yes, that could have lead to his descent into madness: I suspect the writers reversed this arc when they realized how... unfortunate it'd look, with their new shiny Isaac. But were they less cowards, sure, I can see Isaac losing his self-important veneer and becoming increasingly unhinged. Maybe his red hair would grow to symbolize it!

But Hector ends S2 tricked, humiliated, beaten and dragged away as a prisoner. A sheer contrast to how, in canon, he ran away after claiming agency. Carmilla's very existence throws a wrench into CoD's story, because the prequels were all about Hector understanding that working for Dracula is wrong, while S2 was all about Carmilla being the only braincell in the castle and dragging Hector along like a dog to cause Dracula's downfall. Had Hector freed himself from her clutches in S3, we could have still had an interesting story maybe (I'm fond of the Hectorcard plot of him running back to the castle and bonding with Alucard over their grief lol), but I'm not sure how this Hector, a Hector who is wracked with guilt over contributing to Dracula's death, one that is so insecure and hasn't spoken with a human being in years (Isaac doesn't count), would fare with a woman who is meant to be a stand-in for Rosaly (because no way they'd write her as the Rosaly we know: we all know how much the show loves its sassy mean women). Plus, the story would be poorer because Carmilla would be just. lost. which is technically what happens in S3 already lmao Lenore snatches her place - you know what I mean

Therefore, the rewrite has to start even before S3. @chumpovodir once had a great idea about how she'd keep Hector and Isaac as the villains of the story and how the plotbeats of CoD could be shoehorned into the show. Another wonderful alternative comes from @notebookofthedead, that also tries to meet the show halfway through, and even includes a fusion of Rosaly and Julia as Hector's new ally and the spark for his character development lol.

[handsomethrowrug]

SILLY M.UFASA REVIEW

Featuring my niece, who has decided this is her faceclaim:

I'm putting her opinions in [these brackets]. Some of them are written by me, most are by her.

We were going into this expecting this to be terrible, and we were not disappointed by that. We had a great time making fun of it!

Spoiler free rating: 1.5/5

[niece says I'm being too generous]

Note: We're judging just the movie. We're not making comparisons to the animated, just to be clear. This is just the movie by itself. It's also me ranting about my muse. (Yes I know it is technically a different version that I don't technically write, but still)

Spoilers ahoy!!

-

Let me be clear: I think this movie should not have been made. We were fine without it. However, as a Scar writer, I needed to go see it to do some character research.

Overall.... The movie was... Okay. I wouldn't be recommending people to run out and get tickets. If you want to watch it, go for it, I suppose.

The plot as a whole felt a bit spread out. There was literally a lot of ground to cover. The pacing went back-and-forth. The music and the visuals were nice, but there were also some heavy-handed references to the original movies. The good thing is that the P.ride Lands didn't get his by a snowstorm like we all feared. They're unrelated scenes!

I left the movie in heaps of giggles, mostly because I couldn't believe what we just watched.

Now, onto the pros and cons that we could think of.

---

PROS: (Yes, we found some pros.)

I loved the visuals. The scenery was really pretty. [sometimes. Niece hated the desert scenes]

K.iara was a national treasure. Best part of the film by far. I am glad she was there.

[Niece liked some of T.imon and P.umbaa's scenes. Not all of them.]

Two songs. The first: the brother song was rather cute.

The second? bye bye :)

(I also liked the song with M.ufasa's parents but niece said it doesn't count)

THE ANIMALS CAN EMOTE. I REPEAT. THEY HAVE EMOTIONS THAT ARE VISIBLE. I AM SHOOKETH.

That one bit where there was a white lioness and then an elephant ran by and she was YEETED to the sky. (bye bye!)

The P.ride Lands was SO PRETTY. (Yes I like the visuals shhh)

They played familiar leitmotifs at certain points, like when he became king. I got really excited to hear them.

R.afiki. :D

Cons:

Oh god.

The pacing was a bit weird. It felt like some bits were rushed, but others dragged on. There were parts that felt like they were adding onto the time to bulk it out.

[I was sooooo bored lol. There was one point where T.imon mentioned act 1 finishing and I swear I was zoned out from there until the climax of the film. I don't think its anything to do with my, admittedly varying, attention span. IT WAS JUST SO BORINGGGG.]

I'm biased but I wanted more cub time. Having the timeskip be part of their song after they officially met was a little bit of a bummer. But I should have expected that from the trailer tbh.

Niece didn't care for white lion. We were impressed at his villain song until he said that line over and over. Then we couldn't take him seriously and spent the rest of the movie making fun of him. We absolutely would have been eaten had we been there. :D [He was so goofy but in an unremarkable way? Like yeah bro you're so scary flashing your smile and doing nothing, mhm sure you are.]

I still don't like how they made Z.azu. I LOVE the idea of him being a scout but I just don't like the version of him that they show in general. It's not a comedy partner, it just made him... Incompetent?

WHY. WAS. THERE. A. GODDAMN. LOVE. TRIANGLE. I HATE IT. I HAAAATTTEEE IT. We audibly GROANED when we realised. I think I lost a year of my life in disappointment. WHYYYYYYYYYY.

No joke there was a song and I was tapping my niece's shoulder to tell her how it was nice that there wasn't a love triangle despite my worries and T.AKA IMMEDIATELY STARTED SINGING ABOUT HOW PRETTY S.ARABI WAS LITERALLY AS SOON AS I SAID IT. I'm fairly sure I slumped against my niece at that point.

I predicted the love song before it happened. I'm amazing.

There were a LOT of heavy-handed references. This isn't the same as the musical references, as these were trying to reference things that happen in the main movie, and giving Mufasa a lot of the same key life points as Simba. Which, again, I get because of the 'Circle of Life' circular aspect, but it came off a little too strong at times. [I was really happy to hear the ending music from the original L.ion King again, not because it was actually impactful but because I could tell the movie was nearly over]

The getting of the scar was soooooo meh.

I wish more time had been dedicated to the P.ride Lands. It felt super rushed like they forgot that they had a time limit. It would have been nice to explore it a little more somehow.

[Niece thinks there was too much desert. To much canyon. So dry.] [just like the 'humour'.]

M.UFASA KILLS LIONS. HUH??

-

(S.car rant ahoy! Niece has given up on me and is playing games on her phone instead) [I just let her do her thing]

I'm putting all this together but I'm sooooooo bummed by T.aka. This isn't even about comparing him to the animated version (though I do accept this may accidentally happen), as the reason I went to see this was to gain inspiration for writing him. I knew the story was going to be about him being an heir, losing everything, and watching all his dreams being fulfilled by someone else but... I feel like they were missing something, you know? And, again, I know they were implying that he was spoiled and expected everything to just land at his paws but... Still.

The idea was that he was supposed to be spoiled and entitled. At the same time, there was a real lack of that throughout the film. He was really just the 'sidekick' for a while, and really got pushed to the background once S.arabi was introduced. Only that I was deliberately paying attention to his scenes, it would be easy to forget he was even there.

In several key moments in the film, he stays back, runs away, or hides. I know it's to emphasise the fact that he's cowardly, but they could have easily shifted it to "I'm going to be king, you fight for me", to align with his later stance of disliking violence. It would have been cool for him to solve a problem, or properly help out and latch on to that thirst of power. Instead, they have him obsessed with the one thing he did do.

(I do not kid. When he discovers M.ufasa has fallen in love with S.arabi, T.aka literally goes like "I saved you when we were cubs and this is how you repay me?". This isn't even because his dad pushed the idea that those outside the pride will betray him, this is him insisting he's amazing because he did one thing.)

I think this might have been fixed a little if we had more time with them as youths to see other examples of how T.aka might have 'helped', but we didn't get that.

Every time he 'turned evil', it was literally like they put in a stunt double. His voice changed, his accent changed, everything. It was so jarring, and literally wasn't hinted at prior to this. In the main movie, S.car boasts about his intelligence, yet we don't actually see it in play until he decides to betray M.ufasa for him falling in love with S.arabi when he knew T.aka liked her. We only see this cunning side once when he was persuading the white lions to work with him, and that was SO COOL. Where was this the entire way through? (Seriously, if he had turned bitter from losing his family and his home and took on that snarky attitude while still on M.ufasa's side, I would have been SO happy with that.)

I didn't like how, yes, his descent to evil was because he didn't get the girl, and not because of something like how everyone was turning to his brother for ideas and guidance instead of him, the one with royal blood. It felt like they had an idea for who T.aka should be, and who S.car should be, but couldn't properly connect the two. They had T.aka's father be lazy, self-centred and willing to use underhanded tactics to get his way, which is supposed to give a glimpse of what Ta.ka himself would be like... Yet Ta.ka technically doesn't display these traits either. He blames M.ufasa for winning over his parents, but at the same time wasn't particularly close to either of them himself.

But at the same time, T.aka never goes 'truly' evil. His moment of bravery that his mother predicted would happen is when he gets the scar and takes a hit from the big baddie for M.ufasa, but it feels slightly flat; and once everything is over T.aka skulks away. It just felt a little... Messy, I think. There's no mention of how the throne should be his, no confrontation with M.ufasa at the end before he's told to stand down, nothing. They spend so long calling M.ufasa a 'stray' that I thought this was going to be a fighting point at the end. It wasn't. :(

All in all, I just feel like something was missing from the character. He was trying to play two roles - a sidekick and a traitor - but it didn't fully succeed in either.

tldr: S.car was basically "GO GIRL! GIVE US NOTHING!!".

[tldr: be prepared for boredom AND disappointment]

[lightningqueen11]

Various persons 3 reload prompts and things I want more of because I have been inhaling persona 3 fics at the speed of light and I have ideas even if I don't want to be the one to write them (yet, maybe I'll get around to it, don't worry about that.) May include crossover suggestions because those are half my life.

Nyx isn't necessarily a bad mom per say, she's just.. a goddess. She neither understands nor tries to understand humanity in all its intricacies, being so above them all. But.. she did try to offer Ryoji some small kindness as he existed as human. (We're basically going so hard on the strange family?? dynamics between the weird god-things. I think it'd be fun!)

Ryoji and Minato couldn't really claim to be gods, (well, maybe Ryoji could - Thanatos was the Greek god of death after all) but they're definitely not mortals anymore. They're.. powerful, otherworldly. (Potential badassery or potential angst, depending on how you interpret that. There are some fics that touch on this but not nearly enough)

Minato Arisato had existed during the dark hour for ten years after the accident. Every day at midnight, the world would be enveloped in green and shadows would roam the world. After living through the horrors of the dark hour, it only made sense that Minato would have something to show for it. (More slightly op Minato fics please. Again, I've read a few but not nearly enough! It doesn't help that none of them were finished 😔)

Percy Jackson crossover y'all. Come onnn, it's too easy and I have only found 2 so far. Isekai persona characters in or let Minato and Ryoji be kinda gods.

Follow up to that, it's so easy and fun to chuck characters into unsuspecting worlds via the power of I'm the author and I can do what I want. Isekai the shit out of your favorite characters. BNHA is my go-to because it's such a fun place to chuck people but like,, why not Undertale? Why not pokemon? Just fuckin yeet them into your favorite media franchise.

[lackadaisy-headcanon-supply-unit]

I'm so glad I found your account! You guys are very talented <33

I know canonically Mortdecai isn't, uh, amazing with kids but what if a Marigold members daughter started hanging around the building (like Ivy did when she was younger) and she reminded Mortdecai of one of his sisters (Esthers moodiness or Roses cheeriness)? I'd love some headcanons about the scenario^^

I wasn't going to write this until later but I absolutely had to jump ahead of schedule and write this because it nagged at my mind almost all week. You even started an AU for the other mods and I, anon. This little idea is so tasty and adfghfgferhrj

You are the biggest brain and I hope you don't mind that me and Iphiko (and maybe even Rory!) had a little taste of this drink ourselves first. Different bottle, don't worry, we haven't touched any of what's in your hand right now

Also thank you so much for your kind words! I'm really glad you guys are enjoying these things (as if the inbox flooding wasn't proof enough), it makes us Lackadaisy Moonshiners so happy and gives me an excuse to keep writing. You're all awesome!

At first, it almost stings. He still remembers Ivy, after all; her wandering around following Viktor or whoever caught her eye whenever she could. It was cute. Adorable, even.

But Mordecai seems to be the target of this little beast's attention. And no amount of waving her off, gently pushing her away with his foot or annoyed threats will get her to pick someone else.

The Savoys are enamored with the little bugger. Serafine started calling her "Bébé Couteau" (Baby Knife) after being allowed to teach her some knife tricks (why Asa let them put a knife in the hands of a kitten, Mordecai will never know) and Nico picked up the habit of startling the little girl by picking her up and spinning with her...Which slowly evolved into throwing her across the bloody bar into Serafine's arms after an accident that resulted in the kitten getting yeeted by a distracted Nico (apparently she loved it (and to Serafine's credit, she ran like Hell to catch her); so it's not exactly safe but it's okay??)

Several speakeasy attendees mistake her to be Mordecai's kitten since she's always hanging around him (and especially so if she's a Tuxedo cat). It probably doesn't help that he loudly objects to the twins throwing the kitten back and forth like a football and has even ripped her out of their arms once or twice

They also (correctly) assume that he calls the shots when it comes to her. If she's making trouble or is heading somewhere that she shouldn't be, someone has to work up the courage to tell that ferocious shadow of Asa's. It's him, the queen cat that looks like she's constantly considering stabbing you or the heartthrob at the bar vicious son of a bitch who always looks like he knows that he's better than you

It's an unspoken rule between the three that Mordecai's word is law when it comes to the kitten. He hates this and is sure that they just use this as another excuse to tease him.

Asa scares the Hell out of the poor little thing. He tried greeting her once and she burst into tears and ran to Mordecai so he could protect her. The twins thought this was hysterical: the kitten adores the ground Mordecai walks on, laughs at Serafine's threats and thinks Nico throwing her at a soft target as hard as he can is the bee's knees; but Asa Sweet-the big fat cat with the softest features out of all of them-scares the living daylights out of her.

Mordecai thinks the kitten has a good judge of character sometimes. If it wasn't for her love of the chaotic duo he'd say that out loud

They brought the kitten along to a "meeting" once when she were sick with a fever. She cried when Mordecai left the car and Serafine refused to leave until she was comforted or at least sleeping, so (after some arguing and sweet-talking) Mordecai went back for her. When he didn't leave the vehicle for a few minutes, the Savoys went on without him.

They came back to find him reading a book, the kitten snuggled up against his side and sound asleep tucked under his coat and arm. The soft look in Morde's eye told Nico that maybe this wasn't the time to be teasing him.

This didn't stop Serafine. Mordecai hasn't heard the end of that event. (Asa also gave him some Hell for leaving the twins to do the dirty work, but Serafine and Nico shut him down pretty quickly-they found whatever crate he wanted, no witnesses are around to tell the tale, the job was done just fine and the kitten needed him more than they did. Shut up, Mr. Sweet.)

Whoever's daughter the kitten is, they'd better learn to deal with Mordecai becoming her guardian angel of death. If she doesn't have a parent and just wandered in somehow, she's gonna end up with something better: an aunt that'll teach her to kill and how to stay strong, an uncle that'll toss her around like a hot potato and teach her to be fearless and another uncle that'll pretend to not care for her until someone looks at her the wrong way.

Mordecai, Serafine and Nico. Probably the worst-fitting cats to be any kind of parental figures, yet ones that will guard a mutually-adopted kitten until their final breaths-whether they'll admit to it or not.

[skimmingmilk]

for your sonic work, what's a plot or theme or trope you've wanted to try out? are there any pieces you've read back and thought, "Dang. I could totally rewrite this. "

here's a ⭐️ too

That's a really good question! One of my favorite tropes is like... when a character time travels to the future, and sees what became of a world where they were presumed dead and has to find their way back to their correct time, even if that means their loved ones need to let them go a second time :') I've had ideas for this particular scenario for Sonic fics, it was actually a contender for last year's big bang, but in the end I chose to write "Relative Dissonance" instead. There's a chance I could still write something like this in the future, but it's pretty low on my list since Relative Dissonance more or less scratched that itch, just with dimensional hopping instead of traveling to the future :)

I guess I'll use the ⭐️ for Relative Dissonance since we're already on that topic! But yeah, when I was brainstorming for the 2024 big bang, it was between Relative Dissonance and this other fic where Tails ends up ten years in the future, in a very similar dystopian setting to what ended up in RD. Eggman has nearly taken over and his friends aren't quite the people he used to know.

In hindsight, that fic might've been easier to write since I could've just used the Chaos Emeralds to yeet Tails into the future xD Instead I had to do so much research on physics and quantum mechanics and engine repair and alternate dimensions and building radios like... I'm not a science or mechanical-minded person. I tried so hard to be good at science in school, but my brain is not on Tails's wavelength at all xD

It was a really fun challenge though and I love how everything turned out. I don't regret choosing Relative Dissonance at all. It's one of my favorite things I've written. But in hindsight, speedrunning worldbuilding an entire alternate universe in about four months was possibly biting off more than I could chew, lol. But who knows, I'm sure a time travel fic would've found a way to kick my butt regardless!

I'm also already going to be dealing with potential time travel stuff in the Picket Fence series, so it felt a little repetitive to do something with that outside of that, too. Not that being a repetitive, one trick pony has ever stopped me before, but you know what I mean :3

To answer your other question though, if I could go back and rewrite something, I think I'd want to rewrite "Severe Conditions Can Lead to Extreme Reactions" just because when I wrote it, I hadn't intended to ever write what happened immediately before it. I think I'd make them a bit more cohesive now with "The Cost of Chaos Can't be Paid in Gold" existing.

It wouldn't be much, just maybe have Sonic feel a bit at odds with the Chaos Emeralds still, or flashback to how Tails was just unconscious for like a week before he got taken out by the Death Egg robot again. Nothing that seems like he's dwelling though, because that isn't what Sonic does. I don't know... I'd have to really go back with the intention of editing it to see what could be improved, but that's the first thing that comes to mind!

Sorry for the super long response xD But thanks so much for asking! These were all fun to think about :)

[fireemblems24]

Azure Gleam 15 (Final)

As long as this has gone on for, I'm actually bummed to finish this one.

NARRATION

Those special chapters were so weird. It's kind of funny how the plot is like, just ignoring all of that and going back to regular programming. It's like in an old kid's show when they got a dog and then the next episode - no dog anymore. Like there's kinda no point to it.

Ok, so Thales talking to yeeted Edelgard. I will never not get over how funny it is that's the path the writers decided.

Yep, we're really just jumping back into the regular plot. That is so funny. The writing in this game is a clusterfuck at times.

Ok, so we're going to the monastery to save Rhea. MUCH better than saving Bernie's dad.

TWSITD causing chaos again. I feel this route targeted them more than the other two. Like they barely existed in GW.

Everyone's worried about Rhea.

Dimitri wants to wreck TWSITD and the Empire. Let's fucking go!

MAP

No side quests again! Guys, I'm sooooo close to beating this game I can taste it. Both SB and AG have very short final chapters.

Only Claude is annoying, which tracks how this game's gone so . . .

So I've gotten all the supports for: Dimitri, Dedue, Felix, Sylvain, Ingrid, and Rodrigue. Mercedes I'm only missing Jeritza. I didn't use Annette or Ashe, so they're missing a few, but I feel I did pretty good. Hopefully I can get Mercie and Jeritza this chapter.

Ugh, so I missed the opportunity to deepen my bond with Byleth :( Maybe next time.

So in another route, Ashe had no idea what he believed in anymore. In this one, he's confident about his sense of justice.

In another route, Yuri didn't tell me his history with Varley, in this one he trusted me with it.

Ingrid is a queen. She said it's the people who suffer in war, our leaders should reach diplomatic resolutions. Too bad only Dimitri believes in those :(

Aww, Byleth refused to kill Shez during their fight because he could tell she wasn't herself. I soooo wish I'd gotten their supports.

Ok, so I ran into Raphael again and agreed that I didn't like how we were fighting (which, imo, isn't true, but I wanted to see the difference). Shez thinks Edelgard is too cruel, Claude is too haphazard, and Dimitri is too cautious. She pretty much nailed it.

No Arval in the tent :(

Linhardt just said Caspar revels in bloodshed. That's fucked up.

My heart just broke and warmed at the same time. A Kingdom general asked a Duscur general how the people from Duscur pray. He wanted to learn because he lost a lot of good soldiers from Duscur in the last battle and wanted to pray for them in the way their religion would. It's details like this that make Hopes worth it.

Haha, Dedue was fairly chill considering I attacked allies and posed a possible threat to Dimitri. He brought it up, but didn't harp on it.

BYLETH & JERALT A

Man, I'm glad I got this unlocked in time.

Byleth gave Jeralt flowers. First time in Byleth's life lol.

He's trying to communicate his feelings, thankfulness to Jeralt for being his captain and father.

Aw, it's a throwback to Byleth giving out flowers at the Academy.

Lamo, Jeralt just said Byleth may have been a student or led seminars, but isn't qualified to be a teacher.

Jeralt's like, I knew you cared, kid. But I still appreciate it.

Byleth picked the flowers out himself. It's the same kind his mother liked :(((

Jeralt used to give these flowers to Sitri.

Byleth is being so sentimental and sweet. I can just imagine a voiced Byleth saying lines like that in Houses' supports and buying more into the character.

I swear, this game made me really get Byleth more and "buy into" the character. Also, I'm going to cry so hard when Jeralt dies. I still don't really care for Jeralt, but I'm going to just feel so sad for Byleth.

DIMITRI & DEDUE A

For anyone wondering, I purposefully saved this one and Felix A. I've had them unlocked for a while.

Dedue is worried because Dimitri keeps sleeping at his desk. He's grateful or else he'd get sore.

Of course, he had bad dreams about the past.

Ohhhh! Not the tragedy, but arriving home after. Cool to learn some tidbits about that part too.

A child cursed Dimitri after the funeral because his dad died in Duscur and was furious with Dimitri for not killing Dedue, but hanging out with him instead.

Dimitri just ignored him.

Then Dimitri talks about his duty to those who died, and asks Dedue what he would do if Dimitri begged for vengeance while he was dying. OFC, Dedue says he'd do it even if he died.

Then Dimitri asks the opposite, what would Dedue do if Dimitri begged him to live for his own happiness? Dedue said he couldn't.

"I cannot know happiness without you by my side." :(((((((

He'd seek revenge, for his own sake, not Dimitri's.

Dimitri's like, nothing I'd say would change your mind?

Dedue just flips the subject, asking if Dimitri can't just live for himself, and ofc Dimitri says no, he can't.

But imagines another life traveling around as a merc with Dedue or living as a farmer. Dedue's like, why not go?

Dimitri says obviously I can't do that.

So Dedue's like get some sleep.

It worries Dedue every time he sees Dimitri asleep like that at his desk bc he's worried Dimitri died. But Dimitri's like, not why you're here. It won't happen.

Dimitri's like, if I died, that wouldn't go well, so I'll listen.

GUYS. DIMITRI'S GOING TO SLEEP. SOMEONE TALKED HIM INTO SLEEPING. THE POWER OF DEDUE.

They're married, your honor.

DIMITRI & FELIX A

Starts with Dimitri apologizing and promising revenge, killing all of TWSITD no matter the cost.

Felix walks in, Dimitri almost calls him Glenn, but corrects, and apologizes again except to Felix for seeing that.

Felix is like "I've seen all there is of you to see." So, uh, what does that mean?

Dimitri explains that he suffers from a "waking dream," saying he sees the dead like they're real.

Then talks about the violent revenge the dead scream at him.

Felix asks when this all started. Dimitri says 6 years, but the voices started 4 years ago during his first battle? Not sure those numbers line up with lore and age, but I don't know how old they are this time. Anyways, started with Duscur, got worse when Rufus tried to have Dimitri killed by sending him to battle.

The man he killed that freaked Felix out was someone from Duscur, and the voices cheered when he killed the guy.

Felix is like, do you really think Glenn and Lambert would torture you like that? Telling Dimitri he's the one doing it, not them.

Dimitri's like, even if that's true, I can't forgive myself.

Felix talks about how if Dimitri loses his path, he's taking everyone down with him (so Houses, sans AM) and says "keep the whole removing their heads thing in check yeah?"

Felix says it'll be their secret.

"are you offering to let me unburden my heart to you when the time calls for it?" - Dimitri to Felix. Guys, I'm dying a little.

Dimitri credits Felix with the reason he hasn't descended into madness, and asks Felix to continue being his right-hand man.

Hahahah, OMG, Felix picked Dimitri up and is physically carrying him to bed. Dimitri is nearly laughing because he's so much taller than Felix his feet are dragging the floor.

Felix calls him a "sack of muscle" lol

Dimitri carried Felix like this when Felix twisted his ankle. And now is calling this a workout. Dimitri's still massively entertained.

They are also married.

Man, so Dedue got Dimitri to fucking sleep, and Felix got him to laugh.

Ok, this game is really Dimilix, the game. I swear a shipper on deck wrote this. It may also be why Felix was one of the few Blue Lions to survive SB. Writers' bias.

My shipping heart is so happy with both supports.

ASHE & FLAYN B

This is their final support.

They're fishing together. She's trying to reel in a big fish, but it's not working. Ashe gives her tips. And she got it!

Though, it seems like it was a bit of a struggle.

Flayn swore she'd not let go no matter what. Ashe says sometimes it's best to not let go, and suddenly understands Seteth. But still compliments her on her determination.

Flayn thinks her mother would be proud of her for catching this, which is part of the reason Flayn loves fishing.

She flirts with Ashe a bit too lol.

And now she's drooling over the fish.

Ashe says Flayn enjoys him of his sister and really had fun.

But then panics thinking of Flayn in the kitchen lol.

ANNETTE & CONSTANCE B

Constance compliments Annette's performance in battle.

Constance is a legendary alumni at the school in Faerghus.

Stories include turning bossy noble kids into horses. And she started using it everywhere.

She argued magical theory with teachers and won.

These make me love Constance, not going to lie.

Annette is nervous being around someone so famous. Constance calls Annette one of the most talented women in the Kingdom.

Constance loves a book Annette work, but it's mostly a cook book, so Annette doesn't make much of it.

Annette wrote a magical cookbook, and Constance is all about it.

Annette tries to give Mercedes credit because she's the cook.

They both want to get to know each other better.

This was really them geeking out over each other, magic, and Mercedes' cooking.

MERCEDES & JERITZA A

It came down to the lack fucking minute, but I got it. Thank you, Shez, for cooking the perfect dinner.

Jeritza finds and old letter from Mercedes' mother. Or, rather, she wrote Jeritza a letter after Mercie told her that they found him.

They both want to live with him after the war, but he says no.

He can't face her because of his past actions. Doesn't seem Mercie holds it against him. And says neither will her mother.

Then Jeritza talks about the Death Knight persona.

Mercie's like, naw, because you're fine right now.

Jeritza still doesn't give in though. He insists he must pay for his crimes, which he thinks he never can. He wants to get judged by the law, which, honestly, respect.

Mercie decides to support his decisions, even though it makes her sad, and that they'll be waiting for him. No matter how long. Even if they're both old ladies.

I really loved that support. Seeing Mercie support Jeritza's decision, seeing Jeritza take responsibility for his actions. All around good support.

ANNETTE & CONSTANCE A

Glad I got this one. I think Seteth/Shez A is the only other support still within reach.

Constance wants Annette's help conducting an experiment outside. Annette knows how Constance's mood changes when she goes outside. Annette's happy to help.

Obviously now Constance is being down on herself.

Annette volunteered before learning the experiment. Thankfully it's just to try and get all the cats from the area.

It fails :( I want a spell like that.

Constance is obviously moping, Annette gives her a pep talk, but it probably useless bc they're outside.

It attracted bugs, and Constance says the cockroach is a better sorceresses than her lamo. Then they attract angry birds lol.

Once back inside, Constance realizes her spell does sort of work, but they just didn't know how to get cats.

Aww, I really liked that support chain.

FINAL BATTLE

How can anyone not tell something is wrong with Edelgard?

It's so weird how they just ignore the special chapters.

Thales is making her fight.

Sylvain said he'll skip the class reunion if this is what they're like.

Ingrid is roaring to go after Thales.

No sign of Claude. Dimitri's trusting him, but I don't know about that. I wonder if he betrays you here too. Though Dimitri makes a good point that if Faerghus falls, Claude's ass is next.

On, cool image! Dimitri giving a speech. It's like a moment in Lord of the Rings before Aragorn and co march on Mordor.

I like this! Dimitri's talking about severing the past and moving on into tomorrow. Good to hear him talking like that.

I only got 40 points too. Guess Claude was the odd one out, getting more points for his battle than the other two.

Kyrona made an appearance.

Felt good to kill Varley for once.

Getting ready to face Thales now. Dimitri about to get his revenge against TWSITD. Feels good.

Shez is reassuring Dimitri that he's not alone. That his friends are here to help. :)

I think I just killed Kyrona for good this time.

Time to kick Thales' ass. Much better than killing Rhea. Again.

We also got to defeat Edelgard. Having a hard time feeling bad about that.

This battle is pure chaos. But in a fun way.

Oh, did I beat Thales? I'm at a cut scene. Shez stopped Edelgard; and Dimitri's marching to kick Thales' ass.

Haha, he just ignored Thales magic like it was nothing. What a fucking badass.

He's not even saying anything, just breathing, and the voice acting is still on point.

Edelgard remembered Dimitri? So he didn't kill her. And outside Rhea, Claude and the Blue Lions are waiting. And sun is about to come up.

This felt WAY more complete than the other two. I was expecting MUCH worse. Maybe if I played the other two first I'd be more surprised, but they set the bar stupid low.

We defeated the Empire, defeated TWSITD - I don't know what would even be left?

I love how hard the narration tries to make it sound like the Empire has a fart's chance in the wind anymore. It's just clean up now.

MVP time. It'll eventually turn into the Dimitri show like SB did Hubert and GW did Lorenz. I suspect it'll take longer though bc I wanted to use the other Blue Lions a lot.

Actually, I lie, it happened like the second I got Dimitri and not just Shez. I think I may just be a stan lol. He's also just so damn strong he killed so much easier and faster than anyone else.

You can tell the chapter Dimitri was missing for since Felix and Ingrid kept trading MVP. Then back to Dimitri.

Hey! Rodrigue got one!

I'm excited for Dimitri's letter. Still wish we got paired endings here though.

Dimitri feels reassured with Shez by his side. He's also the only one who asked Shez to stay in the Kingdom. It's nothing spectacular, but it was sweet.

I'm also a bit sad to see this one end. No more Fodlan unless I replay, but I guess there's still supports I didn't unlock.

Guys, I can't believe I finished. Now I'm finally "free" to play whatever games I want.

Def want to replay Engage and Houses, and some non-FE stuff too. Should I get the Engage DLC?

xxx

[tiarathief]

knight squad: if we had a 4 season run

i’ve been thinking a lot of thoughts about how amazing knight squad would have been with a proper four season run. i don’t think i would ever have the energy to write a full fanfic, but it’s been five years since the show’s conclusion, so i wanted to share some of my ideas. here’s a 2k outline on how i think the plot could have gone:

season 1

season 1 is already pretty god-tier in my opinion, so i wouldn’t change much! i think they covered a lot in terms of character and relationship development, and did a great job building an interesting plot that tied back in the finale.

one of the things i would change though is the whole presentation of ciara/princess, and how it’s done through her hair. i’ve seen some discussion about it floating around before, so some of y’all probably know where i’m getting at with this. i don’t know if it was intentional, but the implications of her straightened/relaxed hair being part of what makes her elegant is really questionable  to me and i do find it racist. i do like her loose curls for ciara because being ciara is when she gets to let loose and be who she really is. but for the princess, i think they really could have done another style like braids, or have her hair tied up in a bun to represent how she is holding herself back, or have her hair wrapped. i also think they could have incorporated other ways to show the difference between the princess and ciara that don’t rely on hair – facial markings/face paint for the royal family, or the princess covers her face with a face veil.

also just. give her a name!!! for the fanfic writers if not for anyone else. i know it’s a kid’s show and they probably didn’t want to make it too confusing or something, but also kids are not that dumb.

in terms of character, in the show, arc adapts to being part of a team really well. personally, i would have drawn that out, and had a plot where arc needs to get used to being on a team after being a lone wolf for so long and learning how to trust the others to have his back. i think the writers almost went in that direction, because in the pilot when the phoenix squad is assigned to fight the stone knight, arc tells them to step back and says he has it, and ciara says “but we’re supposed to be a team!” but he ignores her. and it works out okay that time, but i expected it to come back later and it was just dropped. so this is something i would have developed over the course of the season, and then everyone coming together to save him from ryker in the season finale being the culmination of him realizing he has people to watch his back now and he isn’t alone.

season 2

okay so you know how i kept most of season 1? yeah we’re doing the opposite for season 2. we’re throwing pretty much all of it out. yEET. prudy and warwick are not going to find out right at the beginning of the season, we’re not getting the ciara and sage relationship development quite yet, no one is getting knighted, and there’s no weird superhero episode with trolls that are   antisemitic caricatures.

however, there will be more plots centered around prudy and warwick. we get to see more of prudy’s giant background, and warwick struggling to live up to his family name and what being a magical wizard means. so there are episodes like the election episode and the one with warwick’s dad.

at the same time, we get more of the relationships in the phoenix squad, and arc and ciara will also start to realize how hard it is keeping their secrets from their best friends. they have some really close calls when it comes to balancing their secrets with their friendships.

arc and ciara also start having some romantic development in the latter half of the season, but it happens subtly. like people thinking they’re a couple leading to awkward denial, seeing the other dressed up for an event and having that “whoa” moment, being unusually jealous or protective, etc.

okay i really want an episode where there’s just a shit ton of miscommunication and the princess accidentally agrees to a date with warwick and he’s over the moon but ciara is panicking because she can’t break his heart while arc’s pretending he isn’t jealous

A TRUTH SPELL EPISODE. sort of combining both of the two big threads this season. arc gets hit by a truth spell by accident and they have to wait for it to wear off and it leads to all sort of chaos as arc and ciara try to make sure their secrets don’t get out so ciara is just covering his mouth and trying to make excuses. and then, at the end of the episode, he’s alone with prudy and warwick who have caught on that arc does have a secret and they’re grilling him, and he blurts out that he has feelings for ciara, which even he didn’t realize until he said it. the spell finally wears off and prudy and warwick are shocked enough to let him go, and he runs off only to bump into ciara (who had been called away for a princess-related thing), and she’s apologizing to him for having to leave him alone and asks if he revealed anything important to anyone, and he’s just like “....no.”

midway through the season, we also begin building up to the next overarching plot. it might be interesting to focus a bit on astorian court politics, which leads to the reveal of an internal conspiracy to take down dragonbloods and take over the throne. (note: the leader of this conspiracy was the one behind ciara’s mother being taken away.) sort of leads to the realization of how messed up it is that only dragonbloods have power in astoria. the season finale has them facing off against this antagonist, and they win, but the antagonist runs away.

warwick and prudy find out about arc and ciara’s secrets at the end of the season!

also sage and buttercup are canon. because this is my plot outline and i say so.

season 3

this season begins with warwick and prudy learning what it means to be secret keepers, even though they’re struggling a bit. arc and ciara and understandably frustrated, but when it matters, warwick and prudy do come through, and they get better about it over time.

warwick and prudy are also trying to figure out their roles on the team, especially as they feel like they’re the weaker links. 

meanwhile, ciara is stepping into her role as the princess and trying to force actual change regarding the dragonblood laws in astoria, having learned from the events of last season.

arc is supporting her, but he’s also starting to feel a bit homesick. we get at least a couple episodes centered around seagate when phoenix squad takes a trip to his hometown which is in the process of rebuilding in the aftermath of ryker. they get caught up in a pirate plot!

they also discover that ryker’s army hasn’t entirely been dissolved, and some of them still hope to bring ryker back. 

arc and ciara starting to have some legit romantic development as they realize their feelings. throw in a fake dating episode because it would be cute. they also kiss at least once during this development period - for quest purposes of course, and it’s “completely platonic” (it isn’t, both feel things). both of them are too scared of ruining their relationship as friends to pursue more though, and they’re worried about how it would affect their team.

prudy and warwick do not think their squad will be affected and are very much rooting for this!!!

ciara also starts becoming friends with sage (although they would never admit it)! bonding as the princess, and respecting her more as a classmate. phoenix squad and kraken squad work together more often.

despite their attempts to prevent it, last season’s antagonist returns and helps bring ryker back. the villains team up, vowing to not just take over astoria, but destroy it. 

the season ends with astoria learning about the danger of ryker coming back and needing more knights, so phoenix squad, kraken squad, and unicorn squad are all knighted. ciara passes her laws against dragonbloods being the only ones allowed to be knights, and their secrets come out to the kingdom.

arc and ciara’s relationship development also reaches the natural conclusion and they officially become a couple after a scare during the final battle where they realize they could have lost each other.

season 4

season four shifts a bit in vibes because all the secrets are out and everyone has officially been knighted, so ideally we would have gotten some fancier new set locations

phoenix squad and kraken squad are officially knighted, but that doesn’t prevent their rivalry. however, this leads to issues, and they quickly realize they’re no longer in training and they genuinely need to have each other’s backs.

arc and ciara are also adjusting to working together while dating. they’re both really protective and keep trying to look out for each other on the battlefield, and it leads to some slip ups at first because they feel like they’re out of sync and maybe they worked better as friends. but they ultimately realize they help make each other better, and fighting together becomes even better because they’ll always have each other’s backs

we bring in the plot with ciara’s mom - eliza comes back with evidence that their mother is still alive and out there. phoenix squad follows up on the lead, and eventually they find her mother and bring her home. however, their mother doesn’t remember anything which is why she never came back even after she escaped her confinement, so they have to find a way to bring her memories back.

but is everything as it seems? ciara is unsure her mother is the same woman she remembers. she catches her mother sneaking out, and she worries that her mother has turned traitor. but it’s revealed that her mother is actually protecting a secret - a dragon egg, for the last dragon in astoria.

pet dragon for the squad!!! it imprints the most on ciara and sage, and they grudgingly co-parent. arc and buttercup are definitely not jealous of their partners spending so much time together (they absolutely are).

slobwick also hates the baby dragon for taking his place as beloved adorable pet. however slobwick is an evil furby and we should not feel bad for him.

fizzwick has begun training as a knight with his own squad! prudy and warwick end up teaching every now and then (as do the others at times, but this is mostly for them), and they are determined to be good role models. however, they have no idea how to keep up with the Kids These Days, and end up learning some things about valuing themselves and their own self-worth.

also, prudence and warwick do get their own romantic plots during this time! whether they stick around or are minor remains the question….

meanwhile, the ryker plot continues to develop, leading to some dramatic, escalating clashes. this time, ciara believes they need to work more with the other five kingdoms. we return to seagate, as well as visit other locations and have other kingdom representatives come to astoria for a summit meeting. there are lots of disagreements, and ends up one kingdom is working against them, their ruler being a puppet who is actually the astorian court official from season 2. at the end of the day, the remaining four realize they must unite to bring peace.

the series conclusion ends with a dramatic final battle working with the other squads and kingdoms as they take down ryker and the other antagonist once and for all, restoring peace. 

close out on phoenix squad, reaffirming their promise to always be there for each other and protect the kingdom as they look forward to the future.

[variablejabberwocky]

one of the things i find fascinating about the fma fandom is the dearth of time travel fics

like im coming at this from the perspective of having deep dived the shitty ninjas fandom and WHOO BOY you can't take a shit without finding a time travel fix-it in that fandom

so like...it makes sense that a much better quality story wouldn't "need" a fix-it as much, much less one with time travel, which makes the presence of ANY time travel stories kinda surprising to start with

but they're less "fix-it" in the sense of "this story was crap and the writing could have been better" and more "fix-it" in the sense of "this story was great, and it ripped my heart out in these places BECAUSE it was done so well, but its so SAD that i can't stand it so imma FIX IT"

which then leads to the overwhelming majority of fma time travel fics to at least ATTEMPT to do one of, if not both of, two things: saving nina from chimerafication, and saving maes hughes from getting murderized by a homunculus.

makes sense right? but those aren't the only heartrending things that happen. and while this is focused on the main 3/4 characters there are other important characters who have their own tragedies to avoid

so where are these stories? where are the time travel fics where it isn't roy or ed or al that do the timetravel bit?

and more to my point: where is the funniest time travel fix-it idea? the fic where hohenheim gets yeeted from some time in canon after ed kicks his ass for being an absent deadbeat dad to sometime waaaaaaaaaaaay before that?

cause i can't think of anything funnier than Sad Hoho Man getting yeeted to like a few years before he even MET trisha, realizing this, realizing that he could totally NOT fuck up his relationship with his sons OR loose his wife to disease, and just...speedrunning the fucking plot. like Ancient Procrastinator Gains Motivation With This One Weird Trick.

like that was the major fuckup right? on his part AND "father"s. both of these hyper-powerful golden dumbasses left shit for the last fucking minute and then both went surprised pikachu face when it backfired for them in ways they didn't anticipate. like if it wasn't for roy ALREADY having coup plans AND ed being a whirlwind of chaos and FUCK YOU energy AND al being...himself (AND scar having a deus ex machina arm), shit would have hit the fan MUCH worse.

so like...just sit here for a minute with me and think of the hilarity of Sad Trash Dad realizing that he can just...speedrun shit with Forbidden Future Knowledge and then retire to make his little golden menace family out in the middle of fucking nowhere, no one the wiser for the shit that COULD have happened

like i want to see someone's take on what ed and al COULD have been if they were never orphaned. either because their mom never died and they actually HAD a dad, or because when their mom died their dad STUCK AROUND (or at the very least took them with him). like i want to watch hoho be so happy to have time with his kids (WHO DON'T HATE HIM THIS TIME AROUND) only to realize in real time what FUCKING MENACES HE'S ACCIDENTALLY MADE. like it wasn't the trauma or the military or whatnot that make them Like That, ALL THAT WAS INBORN. the rest of it all just made them more blatant about it

[berrypass-de-murdler]

59. I Yacht to Kill You for This

For one I love this title so much

And this episode is WAY, WAY too long because of how much needless book-trio lore there is

So I hope you enjoy this needlessly detailed filler episode

Featuring CHOONKERS

(I love him so much help me)

DON'T READ THE EPISODES UNTIL YOU'VE FINISHED THE FIRST BOOK!!

The Bookers are on Chalk’s yacht. Ink is writing, Bookie is pacing, and Ivory is there. Chalk has a new scar on his nose from… something. Everyone looks distressed.

CHALK: I’m going to call over Logico. GAINSBORO: NO, NO, NOT THE LOGICO! INK: Calm down. He never did anything to you. GAINSBORO: HE stole a bookie from me :’< CHALK: His book isn’t selling very well, we need to find ideas to raise-

Ink types faster and harder.

CHALK: [looms] Are you doing- INK: Yeah. Logico’s books aren’t selling. Now I’m going to bribe him with my fancy boat so he does more shit and makes me more money. CHALK: ?? IVORY: [scoff] Ya, girl. INK: That’s all you care about isn’t it? The stupid fucking books? Everything’s just a publicity stunt to you!!  CHALK: Jobs- INK: DOES THIS LOOK LIKE A PUBLICITY STUNT?

She yeets a typewriter at him, but he jumps out of the way and it almost hits Bookie, who is traumatized.

IVORY: What the fuck did you do that for, bitch??

Ivory shoves Ink off the boat, but Chalk catches her. Bookie is a shaking mess of Gainsboro.

GAINSBORO: If you let her back on this boat I will kill you.

He fucking means it, too.

CHALK: I am very sorry.

He lets go.

IVORY: OH MY GOD!!!

Ive grabs a sharp piece of metal and stabs at Chalk a few times, before Bookie gets in her face and tries to slam his wings on her head. Lightning strikes as they cry out to the sky.

Logico FINALLY arrives, and by then someone’s dead. NOT ONE OF THE CHARACTERS, just some freak in the dining room. He sees a frazzled Bookie and a pouting Ivory. Ink is clutching onto the side of the boat, and a bloodied Chalk ‘greets’ the man.

LOGICO: What did you want me for. CHALK: Books, Logico. YOUR BOOK. LOGICO: I don’t care- CHALK: It’s not doing well, as is EVIDENT. If only we had some way of gaining publicity. Oh! One of my sailors was murdered! You could solve THAT.

The grumpy llama storms off. Ink blots into the water.

INK: [anger sounds] GROSS… LOGICO: I will rescue you.

Logico uses a fishing rod to bring her back up.

IVORY: Ugh, fr? INK: Thank you, Logico. I’m so sorry about all this.

Poor baby Bookie is sobbing.

LOGICO: What. GAINSBORO: I WON’T DO WHAT THEY MAKE ME DO, THEY’LL NEVER!

Chalk is sad looking at the precious booker. His (ancient) phone rings.

LAVENDER: CHALK DEARIE. IT’S LAVENDER. 

Chalkers’ hand shakes and he drops the phone, because he doesn’t want to do this right now.

LAVENDER: CHALK. HELLO? CHALK. CHAIRMAN. WHERE ARE YOU?? PICK UP THE PHONE, YOU IDIOT! HELLO!!!

The boi looks over the edge of the boat with the most solemnity.

LOGICO: What did you even want with me. CHALK: OH, I- YOU?? YOU THINK- OHO- I- THIS IS ABOUT YOU?? I DON’T K- 

He motions to spit on the short king like an actual llama, but covers his mouth and sobs. Logico is distracted by marot cards… just like he would be at a time like this.

He knows who did it. In the stupid fight, Chalk threw his golden pen and it somehow got wedged into a guy. The four book people look at the corpse and think… what am I doing with my life? 

CHALK: I’m so sorry… INK: …I guess I am too. IVORY: Yeah, and like, whatever, I guess.

Bookie just wants his llama boi. Any other day, Logico’s cold, unbeaten heart would be warmed by the sight, but no. Ink pulls him into a hug.

CHALK: About the books… LOGICO: I don’t care about the BOOKS.  CHALK: What do you care about, Deductive? LOGICO: HIIIIIIIM. CHALK: Oh, that would actually be great for sales… If you got bloody revenge on the guy who killed your friend… Never mind, I’ll deal with this. LOGICO: HE WAS MORE THAN A FRIEND.

Chalk gasps like a choking pigeon. He leans in.

CHALK: [whispering] F-for sales, it’s better if he’s just a friend - the last time I tried to publish a gay book I got-

Logico shuts his mouth.

The end!

Ink's theme :3 I love her so much. She's such a pure, genuine person.

Fletch helped a lot with the intro to this episode, so credit to her too <3

The power of Goat Lord compels you!

See you next time murdlers!

[kamigui]

A fanfic idea I'd like to dedicate to you

I wanted to share this idea I have with you because I saw that beautiful animation you made of your OC Rubee and Wally with that scene of the Hunt vs Hunted AU that nonomives made and the other AUs incorporated in it. I'm actually currently writing a fanfic inspired by that AU with plans to dedicate it to nonomives (with their permission), and I just absolutely live for the angst and redemption arcs. Your incredible art really gave me the inspiration I needed to start working on it.

I'm actually in my lovers-turned-enemies trope right now, and my mind began racing with just this concept of (what if) Rubee actually surviving the Hunt vs Hunted scenario and was accidentally turned, but somehow the effect was so diluted it didn't necessarily destroy her mind and make her feral, but instead caused her to slowly start losing her mind, where any memories of Wally were tampered with or discarded and whatever horrors she might have witnessed were misplaced onto Wally?

(Because in reality, he'd never actually hurt her, she just convinced herself he did because there's so many pieces missing in her brain she had to just fill them in herself. And then there's the assumption Wally accidentally committed genocide as a response to his grief of losing Rubee, therefore, she's more convinced that he just has to be evil. She obviously doesn't know the true reason, only knowing that he had harmed a lot of people) (I'm thinking this affliction could potentially turn her immortal, or at least, very difficult to kill and inhumanely strong; but she could probably still get hurt).

Because of this, any positive feelings for him were replaced with disgust and hatred, where she felt her only response is to pretty much destroy him so he didn't hurt anyone else. But, it's conflicting because deep inside her soul she's hesitant, scared, and longing for the security/safety he provided her in the past, before she lost her memories /and before he thought she was dead/. 

Anyway, there was a scene playing in my mind where she managed to get to him, like, actions set in motion just ready to pierce his heart. And Wally's just looking up at her, not really fighting back, but holding her off, eyes just pitiful and sad and desperate; because "How is she alive-?".

He's in disbelief, emotions torn between sadness, anger, and overwhelming love. And she's trying to kill him, not realizing that she's crying and struggling to actually finish him off. Because, yes, she has to kill him so no one suffers like she did--but also, no, because that part of her that 'died' that night still clings to hope and love. 

I think Wally would immediately know that she's affected by his blood, since according to nonomives, people who are closer to Wally's blood go insane and feral, depending on the level of potency the person was dosed with. I really like this concept, because that could potentially lead to the rarest opportunity where someone hasn't been completely overcome by his affliction. Maybe Rubee was just extremely strong willed in mind and spirit, so her body (could have) managed to refrain from completely turning into a vampire zombie? That tiny, sliver of hope motivates Wally to figure out some sort of 'cure' for Rubee, but we have no idea what the implications of that would do.

(Could she die due to having lived so long and just turn into dust? Would she end up suffering from the pain and physical damage she's received all these years, finally catching up to her? Is there the chance she'll just return back to him? We don't really know. Too many endings, no solid answers.)

//Anyway, feel free to just yeet this in the trash if you want. Ha ha ha, I'm just dumb and rambling... I don't want to interject or impede on your work, or self-insert your OC into anything. I'd hate to misinterpret the characters. But I just really wanted to share this idea and hope you'd at least enjoy it. If you do approve and gave me permission to pursue this, I would be more than happy to dedicate a fanfiction on the topic because I just think it's *chefs kiss*

//I supposed, this is also my way of asking if it's alright with you for me to pursue this idea with your OC?

[eri-pl]

Tagging rules (linking mostly for my own convenience, but I'll try to stick to them)

Dictionary of the weirder things I sometimes say.

If something that I wrote contradicts the canon, and I seem not to be aware of it, I would prefer to be politely informed of this fact and I will not act offended about this. Thank you.

Post Masterlist below cut

Bingo of things that are common in my posts.

Online tool to easily make character sorting polls and KMF-style polls.

Tolkien

The Great Reread

Proper-ish writing (Silm fanfics)

Ao3 in general

Steve the intern Maia / Ao3 - comedy, Mandos, Darkening

Amandil / Ao3 - sad/estel, fall of Numenor

Irrational / Ao3 - fluff + math + music + nature of Men, kidnap fam

Blood, red like fire / Ao3 - ominous, Feanor's mother, pregnancy

Finrod talks philosophy with other characters (Ao3 collection with all of them + maybe more):

The Problem With snakes - with Melkor, pre-Darkening, about Men

Of Death and Figs - with Feanor, in the Halls, somewhat creepy RL natural science, T-rated for insects

As boring as a spring - with Lúthien, in Doriath, the nature of art, premonitions

Athrabeth Finrod ah Ilmare - post-reembodiment. Astronomy.

War of Wrath, they shall name it - Manwë character study, somewhat sad/ Ao3

Silmarillion Advent Calendar 2024 (24 shortfics, somewhat related in vibe) / Ao3

A short where Finrod gets a Christmas sweater

…and a bunch of bredlik poems (now also on Ao3!)

Writing propmts / ideas / sketches

(yes, you can use those, credit me if you quote more or less directly)

Some original Maiar, feel free to use

Crack taken seriously the um… very personal edition? (includes fangirling and Blue Wizards)

Nerdanel could but would she? (I hate Feanor less now, ignore the tag a bit)

Synopsis of “how I would do Third Age Sauron redemption fic (second part of interconectednss. It starts with Saruman not being a jerk. It may end on the world ending. Or not.)

Very AU: Melkor ok, Aule and Yavanna bad but opposing each other.

So, you want to canonize Tauriel? Here’s how.

Maglor in Numenor (it ends better than you’d expect)

I’m not a shipper, but Aredhel

yeet the Ring into space (not a very original idea)

I don’t write real people fics, but

Nobilis/Silm: Feanorians

Consider: A “ghost of Feanor in LotR” fanfic, but instead of, say, Elrond, it is Gimli who can perceive the ghost. (Literally just this. Plus some tags and discussion below post.)

Rework of Beren and Luthien, keeping the early idea of "C&C are helpful", but compatible with the rest of the canon.

Long reblog chain (partially mine) ending with Maedhros with undead Fingon as his hand (lierally).

If Osse went evil

Feanorians should go to a theater

Celegorm humts in his dreams

underexplored topic of Celebrimbor-Annatar discussions: the Feanorian… well, the whole thing about them, Oath and Darkness and all that.

discussions of greek mythology/Silm exchange program (Morgoth for Hermes) (see all the reblogs, there are good ideas there!)

a lot of "what-ifs" about Feanor not doing one of the questionable things he did (for different ones) (below cut)

Morgoth&Sauron as Polish fairytale devils (I wish I could draw this)

Celegorm and his marriage plans

Musing, rambling, essays, headcanons

Masterlist 1 (themed: Ainur, Gift of Men, Feanor, language)

Masterlist 2 (misc)

(yes, you can use those too)

Funny

Badly made Morgoth on a cake

Spiders! Luthien! Also, Miriel! And more spiders! (source of this idea)

SmurFingolfin

cursed poll-haired Thranduil

Sauron goo in a jar

Morgoth as a red canary

Feanor in the Void ;)

gecko!Glaurung

Polls!

Finished polls masterlist 1 (themed polls: worst[x], fandom, dark lords, Feanorians, which Vala is a patron of [x])

2 (other polls)

Pictures Masterlist

Other

Cosmere (old posts)

Post-RoW predictions for Stormlight Archive (plus)

Ten spears go to battle

Nobilis (old posts)

Why I cannot play this game

You know you think too much about Nobilis when…

“wyrd” ws “weird”

numbers

What happens to instances of an Estate after a successful Flower Rite — some thoughts

You don’t FR a Mimic

Excrucian eyes : Deceivers

About Warmains

Warmains (feel free to use)

Deceivers (same)

Misc

grammar rant

another

first one

The words "prodigy" and "prodigal" are not related.

[fyonahmacnally]

20 Questions More

This is a deeper and more detailed version of the 20 questions for AO3 fanfic writers. Thanks to @casualsavant for the tag. I'm not even sure I did the first 20 Questions round, but rules be damned.

1) How do you keep getting ideas for your ship/fandom?

Well, like anything I write, I get ideas from everything around me - they come to me from dreams, something I see, from random prompts, etc. As most writers know, we are simply the vessel, it's the brain goblins that tell us what to do.

2) Which authors inspire you in your fandom, and why are they so freakishly good?

Geez, we have so many in the Supercorp/Supergirl fandom. I'm not even sure that's a fair question. HA. I will inevitably leave someone out, but here are a few of my favorites @searidings, @jazzfordshire, @chaotic-super, @lovesastateofmind1, @innamorament0, @someoneyouloved93, @lostariels, @luthordamnvers, @thornedrose44, and @fazedlight. I read such a variety of genres, tags, and tropes that I will give almost anything a chance so the authors I read will vary. There's oh so many to choose from in this fandom and the vast talent is beyond imagination!

3) Aside from the characters of your main ship, who are the characters you love to write?

Hmmm, I like writing Sam, Andrea, and Jack. The rest of the main cast is fun too, but those three characters are fun to explore in fics. The shenanigans they get into together makes it easy to play with.

4) Are there pairings or tropes you know for sure you'd never write about? Which ones?

Karamel, Lames, and Kalex. I am pretty open-minded, but those are my hard limit ships. To each their own. It's not my thing at all. I'm pretty open to tropes, too. Haven't had a chance to explore too many yet.

5) What is your writing process and why is it cursed?

I'm not sure how to answer this one, really. It can vary depending on what's going on in my life and how the idea came about.

Generally speaking, I get an idea, outline the basic premise of the story (usually in a word or google doc), do whatever research is needed (longer fics), and just start writing (or staring at the outline and empty doc). That's writing too, ask any writer. LOL

One shots tend to be more like: get idea, sit at desk thinking while blank doc stares back at me tauntingly, look out window, turn back to blank doc, write three sentences, back space all three sentences, look out window again, write three more sentences, repeat previous steps, then the brain goblins take over and suddenly it's 4 hours later, somehow there's several thousand words staring back at me.

6) What is your favorite part of your writing process?

Because I am a huge nerd, the research. I love to research the things I write. Not all of my stories require it, but when they do, I dive right in. Completing the story is a big one too. The anxiety and excitement that comes with yeeting something into the ether is indescribable.

7) What’s the weirdest thing you’ve had to research for a fic?

Weirdest thing...pagan rituals and ancient runes or bondage/fetish clubs in Amsterdam. There is some really interesting things out there. I learned a lot during that time.

8) Is there a particular writing rule you struggle with (grammar, spelling, tense, reality in general)?

I think tense is one that slips on me. I try to catch them all during rereads and edits, but those little bastards are sneaky.

9) What was your hardest scene to write so far and why?

The panic attacks and abuse scenes relating to Lena in Carterhaugh-Wood Academy (CWA). Lena is my absolute favorite character and writing anything that causes her harm hurts my soul.

10) Have your characters ever done something you didn’t expect, changing your plot completely?

Is water wet? My characters always do what the brain goblins want despite my initial protest. I am just here to convey the message, after all.

11) If you could converse with any of the characters, who would it be and why?

Oh, hands down, Lena. I wouldn't pass up a chance to speak with any of them, let's be real, but Lena would be #1.

12) What are some of the tropes or themes that you find yourself returning to in your writing?

I am by nature a fluff and happy-ending writer. However, I am working on an angst with a happy ending fic at the moment. The tropes I have written so far have been limited to friends to lovers and a little light angst with happy ending. I'm still exploring other things. Hopefully 2024 will be the year I can flex my writing muscles and expand into new territory.

13) What's your most important resource as a writer?

Friends and other writers. Nothing beats a good brainstorming session with writer pals. I also like to do improv writing to boost creativity. You never know where a story will go when that happens.

14) Can you share some of your strategies for editing and revising your work?

The strategy depends on the story. For longer fics, I have a few writer friends that help with reading over it and helping with typos, grammar errors, and helping fluff up the places that need it. For one shots or shorter fics, I will let it sit for a bit, go back and read it again to do the editing and rewrite the places that my brain doesn't like.

15) Which is worse: making the summary, picking the tags, or the anxiety when you post your fic?

Oooof, definitely the posting anxiety. I usually immediately find something else to do so I don't obsess over it.

16) How do you define success for your fanfic - hits? Kudos? Comments? Bookmarks? Or just if you like it?

Hits, kudos, and comments are always fun and rewarding, but I write for my own enjoyment and sanity. I have plenty of fics that barely get any love, but I enjoy writing them. It's therapeutic for me. The rest is just noise. Also, like any writer, I love to hear from readers and try to respond to all my comments because they mean a lot to me.

17) Do you have a playlist for your favorite character/ship?

Sometimes, yes. It depends on what I am writing and how I am feeling. Most of the time it is instrumental piano and/or cello music because I will start accidentally typing the lyrics of a regular playlist. If I am going for a specific vibe or writing because of a specific song, I will have the song on repeat or at least an album by the artist.

18) If fan art was going to be made from your work, which fic would you pick and which fan artist would you like to create it?

SCBB delivered that on a platter for me. CWA got art from the multi-talented @bigmammallama5. If you haven't seen it, you can check it out here.

19) How many WIPs do you currently have?

13 total with another one that is in the planning stages.

20) What's your advice to new fanfic writers?

Write for yourself. If you love it, it brings you enjoyment, and adds to your life, continue doing it. You're not going to please everyone and there will be people who are less than kind about something you publish. Those voices don't matter. There is someone out there that has read or will read your work and it will stick with them for the rest of their lives. Always do it for you.

Tagging but no pressure: @lovesastateofmind1 @casualkoalatea @fabulousglitch and @sssammich

[mikiafina]

“Exotic Life Form — I”

Message:

Greetings. This story were inspired by @genshinarchives from their work, of seelie!gn!reader x genshin characters.

Dear genshinarchives, if you ever stumbled upon this work of mine and were felt like I stole your ideas and didn't like this posted anymore, we can talk about it peacefully so feel free to message me if so.

The reader's pronouns in this story is not really mentioned but the reader I have in mind as I write this is female, so be warned. Also, masterlist are gonna be posted and pinned soon so stay tuned!

Note:

CRITICISM ARE ALWAYS WELCOMED! IF YOU NOTICED ANY ERRORS IN MY WORK, FEEL FREE TO POINT IT OUT SO I COULD FIX IT!

——————————

I DO NOT POST IN ANY OTHER PLATFORMS EXCEPT HERE ON TUMBLR!

Trigger Warning:

Grammatical Errors, misspellings, typos, ooc, possibly curse words, use of informal language and not proof-read yet

Synopsis:

Genshin characters who were minding their own business, going through their day like any other normal occurrence of their life. When for some huge coincidence or just pure horrible luck— they were yeeted into your world, the modernized world.

How would they fare in a world they have no knowledge of? Will they last? How would they get back to their own world?

Inspired by:

@genshinarchives

“[Name]! Over here!” Your friend waved you over their table when your roamed your eyes around the interior of the café, walking over to them as you clutched your backpack's strap tighter.

“Yo, sorry ‘m late. Didn't notice the time, I was too preoccupied with my work.” You smiled as your friends shrugged off your unusual tardiness, warmth filled you as butterflies swirled around your stomach in a warming way.

“Yeah, it's fine. We know you're busy, its even amazing to think that you could find a free time despite of your cramped schedule. Multiple works in everyday as routine, heck, its amazing just imagining that you can multitask in such advanced level.” One of your friends chimed in, apparently in a state of amazed at your skills. After all, not all could do what you do as an everyday normal occurrence in life.

“Working multiple jobs ain't hard and stressful if your work is also a hobby of yours, instead, it'll be a fun work. Enough of that, any updates? I haven't been able to come out of my house for quite some time, even checking my personal accounts are too much so, spill the tea.” You brought out your laptop and tablet along with your favourite sketchbook and notebook, placing them all in the table and in your lap.

“Seriously? You're gonna do work even here? No wonder the bag that you chose to use is a backpack. Take a break sometimes, you need a vacation!” Like a rebellious kid who's being reprimanded, you weren't listening and continued where you left on sketching the draft of your commission.

“Speaking of vacations, you said you want tea, I have a tea. I recently found this website through an ad, it seems pretty legit so I tried it. The website is all about promoting an island that seemed to be ‘granting’ wishes, multiple feedbacks claimed that their said to be wishes were granted.” [Friend name] showed the said website's homepage, earning a scoff from the rest of your friends.

“Seriously, they believe the feedbacks? For all we know, they might be bought by the developers of the website. They're just planning to scam us of our moneys!” One of them claimed, slamming their hands on the table. People inside the café turned their heads towards your group making you sigh, you had no choice but to calm your friend down and apologize for the commotion and distraction that your table had caused.

“I had my fun, thank you for inviting me you guys. Take care on your way home and be careful!” You waved them goodbye and went on your way home, tugging your jacket closer to your shivering frame.

*squeak*

*squeaks*

Huh? Squeaks? Did you just hear squeaking? Where did it come from? What in the world would create squeaking noises?

Many questions swirled around your pretty head like a raging tornado, you slowly walked in to an alleyway where you assumed the noise came from. Looking around, you shone your phone's flashlight to provide at least a little of vision.

In the corner of your peripheral vision, you saw a wornout box shook frantically. When you stalked closer, abruptly, the box's lid slammed open eliciting a shriek of fright from you as a blob of liquid? Substance? Fluid? Floated in the air in front of you, what?

The blob floated closer to your frame and seemed to be in distress? The way it shook that causes its fluid body to shook along is what you assumed to be a body language of distress, upon closer look, the blob's appearance is strikingly similar to genshin's pet seelie.

As you were focused on the blob of fluid in front of you, your wrist phone rung as it vibrated. Startled, you snoozed the alarm and checked the time, only to realize at how late it is. Without any thoughts running in your mind, you tried to gently tuck the blob of fluid into your bag before wearing it on the front.

In hopes to get home as quick as possible, you run like your life was depending on it (well sort of, its late and you never know what kind of evil guys are lurking. Stay safe everyone!). You gently clutched the bag as you run to ensure that the blob of fluid wouldn't fall to the speed that you are running.

Upon arriving inside, you put your backpack down the floor softly as you slump on to the soft cushion of your couch. Leaning back as you let your tense muscles relax against the couch, completely forgetting about the blob you took home with you.

Minutes passed and you fell asleep without noticing, the blob of fluid wiggled its way out of your bag. Seeing that you fell asleep on the couch, the blob of fluid grabbed the folded blanket on the one-seat couch and pushed you to lay down comfortably in the couch, draping the blanket on your frame to prevent you from catching cold.

"Oh traveler! Just right on time, I received a commission and I know that only you can solve it. Another adventurer stumbled upon a ruin, and they claimed that outside the ruin, there's a huge group of abyss mages. They said that the device they have also grasped an unusual elemental activity going on from the ruin's direction, can you do the commission? I can assign someone who can take it if you won't." Katherine put a hand on her chest in a gentle manner, smiling at Traveler softly.

"Alright, I'll do it. I'm going out anyways, might as well do some commission while I'm at it." Traveler mumbled to himself as he took the paper from Katherine's hand, reading over the quest's information.

'Hmm.. There aren't much written information about the ruin.. I guess I'll end this quick, I still need to look for clues about Lumine's whereabouts..' Traveler thought as his lips formed a thin line, walking away from Katherine with Paimon bidding farewell to her.

"Traveler! Behind you! Look! There's a strange orb!" Paimon screamed, attracting me more abyss mage in their direction. Aether can't help but to click his tongue in annoyance, Paimon noticed Aether's mood and hid.

'Where do they keep coming up?... This is annoying me already.. I still need to find Lumine..' Aether defeated the abyss mage without letting any escape, feeling his temper boiling uncharacteristically, he stalked closer to the said strange orb and examined it.

"Uh.. Traveler..? Are you alright now?.." Paimon quietly asked as she appeared beside Aether who's inspecting the orb, seeing that his lips are still in a thin line, Paimon stopped talking and floated few steps back, not wanting to annoy Aether.

"What is this? Shall we submit this to Alhaitham or Kaveh? This thing look suspicious.." Aether lowly asked as he turned to Paimon who gave no response. Paimon got startled and panicked in her words as she answer Aether, doing her best not to cause any more further annoyance to the blonde traveler.

Just as the two were talking, the strange orb glowed brightly causing Paimon's and Aether's sight to be temporarily disabled. The whole situation cause Paimon to shriek in surprise and floated few steps back further in attempt to lessen the blinding light that's hitting her eyes. When Paimon's vision went back, Aether was no where yo be found and the dull blade that he was holding were left behind under the strange orb, laying in the orb's shadow.

Crying and panicking, Paimon flew back to Sumeru and stumbled upon Alhaitham, Kaveh, Cyno and Tighnari. The floating albino(?) raced through the air towards the four men, slamming herself against Tighnari's hold. She cried as her tears kept falling like river and her voice cracks ever so often, Paimon tried to explain what had occured in the ruin within her best but the only thing that the four men grasped in her explanation is that Aether suddenly went missing and that there's a strange orb inside a strange ruin.

"Wait- wait Paimon! Aether went missing? And what are you talking about? There's no such ruin like you mentioned in the outskirt of the forest, I would know if such ruin exist because me and the other forest rangers frequently patrol the whole territory." Tighnari made an attempt to calm the crying floating creature as he asked her numerous questions.

"Like I said! Aether and I were investigating a strange ruin! And Aether suddenly disappeared when this light from the strange orb that we found at the end of the ruin blinded us! All I heard was Aether groaning in surprise followed by his sword clanking on the ground! Then when Paimon opened her eyes, Aether were no longer beside her!" Paimon explained more cohesively as she cries harder, scared for her best friend's safety and location.

Alhaitham calmed Paimon down and suggested that they go to the Adventurers guild and post a commission on finding their blonde traveler, asking people on the way for clues and leads. The search for the Traveler had went on for 5 days and still no lead and clues or fruit in their search, the only clue and lead they have is the ruin that Paimon had mentioned so they decided to investigate the ruin themselves and find out the truth.

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