#I'm so extremely proud of this fic and it hasn't gotten love lately | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

edisacornball · 2 years ago

Text

My 2022 Fics, Ranked!

I did this last year, and it was honestly a really good way to end my year, by meditating on what I most enjoyed writing, what I was most proud of, and what I thought I could improve. It really helped me to go into the next year thinking about how to be even more of the writer I want to be. So of course I'm doing it again!

At least this year should be easier than the twenty-seven fics I ranked last year.

What I find really hilarious is that this year, my ranking happens to line up perfectly with each story's number of hits. (As in, my favorite has the most hits, least favorite has the least.) Apparently, this year I agree with how much everyone else liked my work!

(Ranked from least to most favorite)

8. Yin and Yang: The First Soul Mates Continuation — I feel kind of bad for this one because it's basically just last by default. This is a fic I adopted from another author, and I'm still finishing up my first chapter for it. So it hasn't really actually gotten content yet and is sort of sitting in this half-published purgatory. Once I update it, I'm going to do a major overhaul, and I'm super excited to start working on it, so this is a ranking of potential, lol.

7. Alchemy Started in the Kitchen — I mean, I love these recipes a lot. I've been cooking them for years. But I mostly just published this so people would have a chance to actually reference these recipes without me having a really long author's note. I just don't really see myself as a cookbook author, I guess?

6. With Hands Raised to the Sky — This one's kind of an "it's fine" story to me. I liked writing it, and there's not really anything wrong with it, it's just not a fic that gets me really excited or emotional. I was just sitting in the hospital and extremely bored and didn't have access to all my WIP chapters, so I entertained myself by writing oneshots instead.

5. The Light We Let In (On the Subjectivity of Pain) — I only added one "chapter" to this collection this year, so it's almost more like ranking a oneshot. Same problem as With Hands, since I wrote it during the same time span, but baby Rory immediately makes me get much more attached to any fic and have more fun writing it.

4. Grafted — Agh, I love this one. It hasn't gotten very far into the story yet, and I needed to pause a little bit to work out a little bit more of my plotting, but I'm so looking forward to getting back to it. I'm especially looking forward to introducing Ed and Al to the Elrics, plus also getting more into Tree and her love of tattooing.

3. And Yet a Trace of the True Self Exists in the False Self — This was one of those fics that just sort of hits you all at once from nowhere, and then you look back and wonder how that even happened. Well, no, I know how it happened, I had an autistic meltdown day and coped with it by putting the experience into words. But sometimes I still just like going back and rereading this one to remind myself that it's okay to have days like that. And pretty much every comment I've gotten on this has ended up making me get choked up, because everyone is saying that they relate, that they needed to see characters going through experiences like this as a kid... This one has a special place in my heart.

2. The Lost Years — This one. I love every time I work on writing this one. There's just something so delightful about Ed's reactions to the modern world and getting a chance to work in some of my own city into a story for once. I've also been struggling a little with writing this one for now just because... Well, showing even Edward Elric getting smacked down into the mud from late-stage capitalism kinda suck and hurts like hell. This one just hits differently than my other fics, and I love it for it, even if it's painful.

1. The Other Side — Of course, this one is the winner. We're getting into the end of this one now, and it's always awesome to start tying together all these threads that you've been hanging for so long and watch the story start finalizing and becoming a complete picture. I was really hoping to get it done before the end of the year so it wouldn't be on next year's stats too (guilt about keeping it going so long, much?), but that's just the way it goes, I guess. I'm hoping to finish this one really soon, and I'm having a hard time not dancing in my seat until then!

Overall... I think that while I didn't publish as many things in terms of quantity and fic count, I still had a really productive year, especially considering how hectic it was. I was working a lot more on my long-form writing this year, and a lot of the work I did is like an iceberg and can't be seen on the surface. (Like how I wrote over 400k, but published less than 90k.) This year was really about putting the work in to deepen my work and become a better writer in the long run, and I'm proud of that.

See my rankings from last year! My 2022 AO3 Wrapped

#i made this #long post #fanfiction #writing #archive of our own #ao3 #fanfic #happy new year #ao3 wrapped #FMA #Fullmetal Alchemist

2 notes · View notes

sylphid187 · 4 years ago

Text

Coming Home, Taking Flight ‐ Chapter 2: Road to Osaka

This Chapter 2 of my fic focusing on Hinata's journey home. A look into Hinata's return to Japan, his interactions with his friends, and how he makes it into the MSBY Black Jackals.

Hinata Shoyou wakes up religiously the next morning. He gets up, goes for a morning jog, gets some yoga in his routine, then makes time for morning meditation. He makes sure to do all this, before heading to the kitchen to make some breakfast for his family.

He spent most of yesterday and last night catching up with his family and friends, who had to leave late in the night, after they realized that the sun was down and Tsukishima still had to drive Yachi and Yamaguchi home. During dinner, Shouyou had spent blissful time with his family, his mother seemingly very happy about having the returning presence of her eldest, back in their household. He is reminded again how being back in the company of his family in their own home, was so comforting.

He walks around their kitchen and, as he waits for the rice to finish cooking, he goes into the fridge to find some salmon slices and some tofu. Shouyou smiles and figures that he probably has enough ingredients to make a healthy japanese breakfast with the salmon, and he's sure his mom has enough ingredients to make some miso soup to go with the meal. He smiles as he is reminded of how he fiddled around in hisbshared space with Pedro, and how Shouyou would usually make breakfast for his roommate, before going to wake him so they could enjoy a meal together.

As much as Shouyou wanted to treat his family to some brazillian recipes he'd learned from Nice, he didn't have enough ingredients for it right now. So he promises himself he'd do that another day. He'd be more than happy to share the other culture that he's grown to love, with the one that he grew up with.

Later, when Shouyou is just about finished with setting up the table and their morning meal, he hears padded footsteps make their way through their dining area, and is sure that it's Natsu that's making her way to the kitchen. He hears a gasp and looks up to find that he's guessed right, and Natsu is there staring at their table.

"Wow Nii-chan, this looks great!" she claps her hands together in glee and continues to scan over what Shouyou has made.

"Thanks Natsu! Hope you like it! I packed one for mom so she can take it with her to work." Shouyou smiled. His mother still worked on the weekends, and she was used to laboring hard as a single mother. She had worked hard her whole life to sustain Shouyou and Natsu. Shouyou hopes that his dreams of going pro wouldn't just be a benefit to him, but would help lighten the load on his family too.

"It really does look good! I can't wait to dig in!" Natsu clasps her hands together again, before heading to the sink to wash them, and sitting down at her usual spot on the table.

Shouyou then sits across from her, and they both give thanks before beginning to dig in. Natsu immediately gives out a happy squeal after a few bites, and Shouyou can't help but chuckle at his sister's antics. He's extremely pleased though that she seems to genuinely like his food. "Nii-chan! This is so good! It looked great, but it tastes even better."

Shouyou grins. "Flattery will get you nowhere Natsu, but thank you. I'm really happy you like it."

"It's a real shame you won't be staying longer Nii-chan. I wouldn't mind eating more of your cooking. You're leaving this afternoon right?" she asks him with a smile.

"That's right. I'll leave by noon, sorry I won't be able to spend more time with you and mom. And I just got home too." Shouyou states, a little gloomy at the thought.

It saddens him a bit that he can't spend more time with his family, just after he's gotten back. But Shouyou cut it really close when he chose to fly back yesterday. He couldn't book earlier flights because he also wanted to maximize spending time with Pedro, Heitor, Nice and Coach. That, and he did promise to wait after Heitor and Nice's wedding. But, he needed to be home in time to make it to tryouts. Granted, his chosen flight really didn't give him much time for any detours. Tryouts were on Monday, and today was Saturday. The plan was to head out Saturday afternoon to Osaka via train.

The train ride from Miyagi to Higashiosaka in Osaka was about nine hours. He had planned to leave around noon to get to Osaka by 10pm. He still had to find a place to stay, but he figured he would work it out when he got there. He could, of course, leave on a Sunday. But Shouyou wanted to have enough time to familiarize himself with the area before tryouts, and have at least a little bit of time to get in shape while waiting for the day to arrive. He didn't want to show up to Osaka not knowing where he was headed and end up missing tryouts because he got lost. With this, he'd at least have a full day to go around the area.

"Don't apologize to us for following your dreams, Shouyou." The two look to the sound of the voice, to find their mother there with a smile on her face. "We support you, always remember that. And whenever you're having a hard day and need to come home, we'll be here to welcome you back."

"Mama..." Shouyou smiles. He really was very lucky, and he will never tell himself otherwise.

"That's right Nii-chan! And I can't wait to tell my friends and teammates all about you when you make the team!" Natsu says as she shoves another piece of fish in her mouth.

"Natsu! I told you I have to make the team first. There's definitely tons of competition for a spot on the team." He contemplates on this. He's both nervous and excited for tryouts, but he will definitely be doing his best, no matter who his competition is.

Their mother goes to the countertop and picks up the lunch Shouyou made and smiles at her son. "Oh believe me, you'll make it."

"Mama! Not you too! I don't wanna be overconfident about it."

"Shouyou, I'm not saying it because of any other reason, but because I truly believe that you'll make it." She goes over to him and pats his head. "It doesn't matter to me how old you and Natsu ever grow up to be. I will always be your number one fan. And you always remember one thing, I am so very proud of you."

" Thank you." Shouyou feels like crying, but he stops himself and opts for a wide smile instead. "I'll definitely ace tryouts, you'll see. I'll make sure they notice me."

"Yes you will!" Natsu chimes in.

"I know you will." She thanks him for the meal he's made for her before kissing both kids on the cheek and making her way to the door. "By the way Shouyou, are your things packed for later?"

"Yep! I made sure I had everything before going to sleep last night." He says with a proud smile. "I might end up leaving a little earlier though. I want to make sure I catch the train on time."

This makes their mother stop in her tracks, and Natsu snicker. "Shouyou, did you think you were taking the train?"

Shouyou is confused. "Yes? I mean, how else am I supposed to get to Osaka?" he asks as he tilts his head to the side.

"Natsu."

Natsu grins "Don't worry about it mama. Nii-chan will find out later anyway. So everyone agreed to keep quiet about it."

"Keep quiet about what?" Shouyou asks again as he looks between them both. "Am I missing something?"

"It's a surprise." And what a surprise it was.

---

Shouyou was just grabbing his things and about to head out the door, Natsu following behind him. "Nii-chan I really think you should wait a bit."

"Sorry Natsu, if I wait any longer I might miss my train!" He ruffled her hair affectionately and continued "Take good care of mama while I'm away, okay?"

"Nii-chan wait!" Natsu tries to grab Shouyou as he opens the door, but misses. He slides their door open and comes face to face with none other than Kozume Kenma and Kuroo Tetsurou.

Shouyou blinks. And then again. And again. "Kenma-nii! Kuroo-nii! You made it just in time." he hears Natsu speak from behind him.

"Yo, chibi-chan! What's up?" Kuroo's personality hasn't changed at least, Shouyou thinks.

"Wha...what are you guys doing here?!" Shouyou gasps, as he looks over at the newcomers.

"Shouyou." He looks over to Kenma who is smiling at him. "I'd like to think you owe me a better greeting than that."

"Yeah, that's kinda hurtful chibi-chan. After we came all the way here to take you to Osaka." Kuroo says with a grin as he slings his arm around Kenma's shoulder.

" You're taking me to Osaka?!" Shouyou exclaims again in shock.

Kenma sighs, a small smile still on his face. He dislodges himself from Kuro’s hold and goes to envelope Shouyou in a hug. It takes a moment, but Shouyou relaxes and immediately hugs back. "Welcome home Shouyou."

Shouyou feels someone ruffling his hair and he opens his eyes to see Kuroo there with a smile. "Glad to have you back Chibi-chan"

He feels Kenma let go, and the gamer finally stands back to take a good look at Shouyou after all this time. "You look good."

"Thanks Kenma! You too!" He grins.

"Should I be jealous?" Kuroo asks with a smirk as he watches them, but one look from Kenma shuts him up as he raises his hand in resignation. He chuckles and shakes his head, allowing the two to continue talking.

"You've changed too." Kenma continues as he grins. "I can't wait to see what else you're gonna do Shouyou."

"If you get boring, I'll drop you."

Shouyou ends up giving out a nervous laugh as he remembers Kenma's words from back then, just when Kenma offered to become his sponsor. But deep down, he knows that Kenma has only ever done everything he could to help Shouyou, and that was said in jest...probably. The former Nekoma setter was just really fascinated with him, for some reason.

"As much as I love the touching reunion, we have to move folks. It's a 10 hour drive to Osaka!" Kuro exclaims as he pats their backs.

Kuro and Kenma both begin to help Shouyou and Natsu bring the former's things to the car. While they're loading up, Shouyou continues to say thanks to his friends for taking the time to bring him to their destination. "I really appreciate it you guys, thank you. I was fine with taking the train though!"

Kenma scrunches his face in disapproval and replies "There's no way we'd let you take the train, not when we had the time to pick you up ourselves."

"I hope you guys didn't put off anything important." he tells them. He knows how busy Kenma has been, as he's regularly kept in touch in Brazil.

"I can manage Shouyou, don't worry too much about it." Kenma says with a wave of his hand.

"What Kenma means to say, is that if he had it his way, he would have been the one to pick you up from the airport too. Unfortunately, he lost at a game of rock-paper-scissors to Tsukki and had to give the airport pickup to them. And he also wants you to know that he finished all his workload early to make sure we were free when you got here. So don't you worry about it." Kuroo says as he shuts the trunk and dusts his hands. He looks over at the two with a large grin before he feels someone lightly punch his side.

Kenma gives Kuroo a glare and then another playful shove. "Just get in the car before I decide to leave you here Kuro."

"Awww you'd never do that kitten." Kenma stares at Kuro with a piercing gaze, and Shouyou thinks if looks could kill, that was it. "Annndd I'll be quiet now. Come on chibi-chan! let's get you to Osaka!"

Natsu waves at them animatedly as they all get in the car. She lets out a loud "Keep safe!" as they drive away from the Hinata household and begin their 10 hour car ride.

The ride begins similarly to that of yesterday, filled with catching up and updates on how everyone else has been doing. Shouyou has had little contact with the former Nekoma team, with the exception of Kenma and Kuroo. This wasn't for the lack of trying either, but he’s only ever occasionally spoken to Inouka and Lev, and that's during one or two video calls during a day off. It isn't a surprise to him that team Nekoma have all worked their way up the ladder as they grew up, and even through their success, continued to stay connected within their own circle. Kenma and Kuroo themselves regularly spoke to all their former teammates and told Shouyou much of how they were all doing.

"Waaah! I've heard from Lev about his modeling career! I didn't know he'd become such a big name in Russia." he exclaims excitedly.

"Lev is still Lev. He might look pristine and proper in the photos, but he's just as loud as ever." Kenma says with a sigh, as if just talking about Lev was tiring him out.

Kuroo guffaws. "At least he's mellowed down some because of Yaku."

Shouyou tits his head "Are they?"

Kuroo looks at him from the rearview mirror and smiles. "We can neither confirm nor deny, I'm afraid. Neither of them have said anything, but Yaku's sent us photos of them together. It's pretty common at this point, ever since Yakkun's been playing for the Russian V-League."

"We hear he plans to come back though. There's some talk that they've begun to scout for players fit for the Japanese volleyball olympic team, and Yaku wants to be here and play for Japan." Kenma states, as he begins to fiddle with what seems like a new game console.

"Ah yeah! Bokuto's been excited about that too. But he wants the Jackals to win this season first and finally kill the Alder's winning streak." Kuro tells them with a smirk. "And you know, they might actually be able to if you make it on the team chibi-chan."

"Ahaha...well I'll definitely make sure to make an impression during tryouts." Shouyou says. "I can't wait to see Bokuto-san on Monday! I wonder if he'll be watching tryouts?"

"From what Bo tells me, Coach Foster is requiring them to watch this year. He wants the whole team's opinion on getting a new player." Kuro replies.

"Shouyou, what do you mean by seeing Bokuto on Monday?" Kenma immediately asks, putting his game down and turns to look at Shouyou.

"Eh? I mean, I won't be seeing him till tryouts." Shouyou reiterates with a tilt of his head, when else would he find the time to see Bokuto-san?

"Wait chibi-chan, aren't you going to..." Kuro doesn't get to finish.

"Shouyou, where in Osaka are you staying? Sorry, we forgot to ask earlier." Kenma asks him.

"Oh! Sorry, my bad. I was wondering if you guys knew of any affordable budget hotels that you can drop me off in that's near the tryouts gym?" Shouyou asks with a smile. He sees Kenma freeze and Kuroo's eyebrows shoot up.

"..." Kenma stays silent for a little too long, and Shouyou wonders if he's said something he shouldn't have.

"I can look one up though! So you guys can drop me off somewhere in the area and I should be able to find one that'll let me stay two nights!"

"Kuro." That's all he hears Kenma say, before the rooster haired man is nodding and passing his phone to Kenma.

"Got it. Just send the text out and let them know it's you. Shouldn't be a problem." Kuroo replies. Shouyou doesn't understand what's happening.

"Um."

Kuroo looks over at him again. "Don't worry about it chibi-chan, we know exactly where to take you."

"Really? Where?" He asks, confused.

"You'll see."

He can see Kenma vigorously typing a message using Kuroo's phone, and once he's done, looks over to Shouyou again with a smile. "You're not sleeping in a random hotel, Shouyou. I'm not letting you."

"Eh?"

"Don't worry though, we've already found a solution." Kenma continues with a smile.

"Eeh?"

"Better to just go with it, there's no stopping Kenma when he's like this." Kuroo grins again.

"But..." Shouyou begins to protest. He really hopes his friends aren't spending money on him. "K-Kenma..."

"But you know," Kenma stares at him then, with catlike eyes that seem to be boring into his soul. "If you ever do something like this again and not let me know, I'll be really upset Shouyou."

"Eeehhhh?" Shouyou binks. He looks between the two and can't help his confusion from growing.

What in the world is Kenma talking about? And where in the world were they taking him?!

CHAPTER 1 BELOW

#haikyuu fanfiction #haikyuu hinata #hinata shoyo #fanfiction #haikyuu!!#fanfic #sylphid writes #homecoming #msby tryouts fic #post timeskip #kozume kenma #kuro tetsuro #kuroken

1 note · View note