#OBYGTM

[witchygirl99]

Mornin'! I love Hozier's music, and I was wondering if you would elaborate further on how the song "Would That I" inspired your story "Oh, But You're Good to Me."

For anyone that hasn't read it on Ao3 or hasn't read it in a while, Human Inuyasha is a single parent (adopted son is Shippou) who reunites with his (now-famous) high school friend Kagome. Note: it's so cute and good and it might make you cry at the end.

Oh, what an interesting question! Thank you @dchelyst!

I could lie and say that it's because this is a story of how Inuyasha and Shippo each overcome their histories with love to find solace in the new love they have (Shippo finding love in his new father, Inuyasha finding new love in his son and rekindling his romance with Kagome). It still doesn't exactly go with Hozier's intent, but a casual listener could assume the lyrics link up to the story's theme. This would sound vaguely smart and thought out.

Truthfully, Would That I was the only song I listened to for months when I lost my dream job due to the pandemic and was jobless for awhile. I had lost my job in early March, but the dream officially died in July. With nothing better to do, I was writing a ton of fic - Oh, But You're Good to Me included, even though I didn't post until December 2020.

So. Less smart sounding, but them's the breaks.

I'm so happy you loved this story, darling. It means the world ❤️

[mamabearcatfanart]

Took a break from commissions and other secret squirrel stuff to work on this today. Another illustration from @witchygirl99‘s yet to be released Inu is a single Dad AU ‘ Oh, But You’re Good to Me’. Kagome’s not even trying that hard, and Inu is a smitten kitten.

[witchygirl99]

💫what is your favorite kind of comment/feedback?

🌈is there a fic that you worked *really fucking hard on* that no one would ever know? maybe a scene/theme you struggled with?

Hello my dearest @classysassy9791 💖

💫 I truly adore everything from "❤️❤️❤️" to a whole wall of text about how much they're enjoying it. My favourite-favourite is probably if they mention a line that was funny to them, because in real life I'm not that funny, so knowing I have made someone smile/laugh is truly a joy!

🌈 One that no one would know?? Probably Oh, But You're Good To Me. I don't have children. The closest thing I had to "interactions with children" at the time was my newborn niece, and I don't speak to my sister-in-law about child-rearing. So I did a ton of research: parent blogs, YouTube videos, educational videos about child development and their speech patterns based on age, etc. What is safe for them to eat. What they will likely eat given, you know, age. All that fun stuff.

Thaaaaaank youuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!

[witchygirl99]

Hi Witchy! Have any of your stories been particularly therapeutic, relaxing, or calming for you to write? To further explain, have any of your stories come to you with ease and been fun in a therapeutic way to write? If so, which stories? :)

Oh, hello my dear @saturnsilence. This is such an interesting question to be asked - thank you ❤️!

Writing isn't very relaxing for me, haha. It's like...hm. It's like getting out of my head by getting really deep in my head. It's the good kind of stress, when it works out well. The bad kind when I don't write at all.

It comes more down to ease of writing: What You're Falling On is still, to this day, the easiest fic I've ever written. Second would be Oh, But You're Good to Me.

We Should Kiss qualifies too, I think, in a different way. It was painfully therapeutic, but both the easiest and the most difficult story I've ever written. That includes Deductions.

I joke with my IRL friends that I've adopted "method writing." I didn't always. Maybe it's just the evolution of how I write. But certain stories get so deeply within me that they consume me. This makes writing more therapeutic for me (it gets it out, out, out, out of me, finally), but hinders writing other fics that aren't my new focus.

This is such a delight to answer. I hope you're doing amazing, my dear.

[witchygirl99]

so I reread Oh, But You're Good to Me and I just realized the part where Kagome asks Inuyasha if anyone's helping him raise Shippo was her way of asking if he was single. Now I need to read the fic from Kagome's POV, like her freaking out how to impress single dad Inu, freaking out how to charm her future son Shippo, her freaking out... ya know she must've been so panicked lol

Oh yes, Kagome isn't smooth. My whole thought process with her was just simply a girl who thought her life was well on its way to being exactly what she wanted, and then bam: single dad Inuyasha with his tiny, tiny child Shippo.

And she was like, oh no, oh damn. Then proceeds to have no clue on what to really do about it other than try to be stealthy about her feelings and wanting to be closer, when work makes that hard.

I also had a lot of headcanons about her friendship with Kikyo in this, and how Kikyo is the one that encourages Kagome to go for it, and is also the one who first shows her the photo leak.

Really, I just have a lot of feelings for this fic. Thanks anon ❤️

[witchygirl99]

Hello lovely, Happy 16 Years! You were one of the first authors I came across in this fandom many moons ago, and one of the names (I’m bad with those) I always recognised as “one to read”. Your storytelling is captivating, and I’ve always loved the way you portray Rumiko’s characters: they transcend them, in a way that feels original rather than OOC.

So, rather than ask what your favourite piece of writing is, I’d love to know if there was a particular character portrayal that you hold dear to your heart? The introverted Tell Me I’m Crazy Inu, the foolhardy Deductions Inu, or maybe even Shippo as Cupid in The Truth About Love? (That last one, a personal fave lmao).

Thank you for all you’ve done for this fandom, you are a bright and shiny beacon and I am so grateful to have enjoyed your writing over the years. Here's to many more! 💓

😭😭😭

Crying on my couch right now. @anisaanisa, you're far too kind, darling. Thank you so much 💓

Oh wow, this question makes me think. Gah. Okay. Hmm.

Inuyasha in Deductions. I have to pick him in this. I can't. I love him too much.

Kagome in Breathless, by myself and @nartista. For obvious reasons, and for some not-so obvious ones. Get that D, darling.

Sango in Life Written Between Chicken Wings, by myself and @magnoliajades. That sort of blur in life, the feeling of near-self-sabotage and the relief of accomplishment. I love that in her.

Miroku in Tell Me I'm Crazy. The bromance between him and Inuyasha soothed my soul. I really do imagine their relationship like that, if brought to modern day.

Shippo - you're right - in The Truth About Love. Although there's a fic I haven't published with him that I also adore.

Sesshomaru in Oh, But You're Good To Me. It was a totally different take on a potential relationship between him and Inuyasha. Sesshomaru's always so scary to write, but I think he was an okay balance between canon-esque Sesshomaru, brought to modern day, and living in this sort of situation. I don't know. Maybe lol.

I wonder if you guys agree, haha.

✨ Submit an ask for Witchy’s AMA ✨

[witchygirl99]

Hi Witchy! For your AMA: what's the fic you wrote the fastest? What's the fic that took the longest?

HIIIII @superpixie42 💖💖

Fastest: Tied between What You're Falling On or Oh, But You're Good To Me. I remember racing through those. Sometimes a fic is just in your head, and refuses to leave or be distracted from by shiny objects.

Slowest: LOL well. What can I say? That Flesh of Mine. I'M SORRY. Look. It's been 3 months shy of 4 years. With the word count, I'm still around ~5k a month on this fic. WHICH ISN'T BAD. It's just long. But we are almost there! The FINAL COUNTDOWN. FIVE MORE LEFT. And if I don't finish this story by the 4 year mark, catch me drowning myself in my cauldron on December 28th, 2021.

Thank you, love!

✨ Submit an ask for Witchy’s AMA ✨

[witchygirl99]

By now, I think most people know I’m writing a single dad Inuyasha fic, with Shippo as his adopted child. It’s...been an interesting writing process, because it’s far more emotion-driven than plot-driven (lol plot).

But this song has really, really helped. Both Shippo and Inuyasha have been burned in their pasts - for vastly different reasons - but they both get chances at something more.

True that love in withdrawal was the weeping of me That the sound of the saw must be known by the tree

And despite those damages in the past, the whole point of this fic is the softness of a growing future: the when overcoming the if, the slow acceptance of happiness in all of its forms, the tentative blooming of trust that abandonment will not be the end result.

Oh, but you're good to me Oh, you're good to me Oh, but you're good to me, baby 

Shoutout to @dangerouspompadour​ for helping me figure out how to be a little more firm on my long, lengthy ramblings. It has seriously helped.

#Music Mondays is getting a different vibe today.

Sometimes we are faced with negativity. From others, from ourselves. As creators, we're putting out work that is personal to us. The people consuming that work emotionally invest in it. There's risk in putting it out there, just as there is fear in responding to it by way of comments or reblogging or however you interact.

So today's song is for all of us facing our fears, gaining strength from it, and moving forward.

Strength means blessed with an enemy...

Even if that enemy is ourselves.

This song also gives me hardcore Sango and bff Kagome feels. She's been dragged through everything by Naraku and his games. But she's the strongest in the bunch. And she's got Kagome by her side too...

You think I am high and mighty Mister

Wait til you meet my little sister...

So tell us what your anthem is. What pumps you up? What gets you motivated? What gets you going when you just aren't sure you can?

[mamabearcatfanart]

Seeing it’s @witchygirl99‘s birthday today (Happy Birthday Sweets!) I thought I’d release another piece of art for her modern InuKag story Oh But You’re Good To Me, which she’ll be posting in December.

Poor preschool teacher doesn’t even get a detailed wash so she doesn’t distract from the happy family moment happening in the foreground. He’s such a lovely Dad! 😭🥰

Anyway, hope you had a lovely day Witchy!

[witchygirl99]

Day 1 of the 12 Days of Witchyness

Now live on AO3.

Pairing: InuKag, but this story is really about Inuyasha & Shippo and feelings.

Summary:

It’s a terrible photo, really. The action figure takes up the entire bottom of the screen and part of both of their faces. Shippo’s giggling though, eyes shut and crinkled in his mirth while Inuyasha looks at him. His expression is clearly fond. It’s the softest Inuyasha has ever, ever seen himself.

This is fatherhood, he thinks a little wildly.

He sends the photo to Kagome.

OR: Inuyasha is a single father. Shippo is his adopted son. Kagome isn't supposed to be in the picture, but somehow, she returns anyways. A story about family, love, and all of its obstacles.

[mamabearcatfanart]

So, a little bird just told me whose name happened to be @witchygirl99 that she would be posting her Single Dad AU fic tomorrow. And I realised that I hadn’t shared this piece.

You can probably guess from the context of where these two are, both a little excited and teary, because family does that to you sometimes.

I am so excited to read it! I know you’re all going to love it!

I have one more completed piece that I haven’t shared yet on Tumblr. Got some adulting to do, because it’s lunch time here, but I’ll share it soon!

[mamabearcatfanart]

Aaaand here’s the last one for @witchygirl99‘s Single Dad AU story to be released tomorrow as part of her 12 days of Witchyness. OMG she spoils us so much.

Anyway, something about this story just touched my heart and I couldn’t help creating art for it.

I think, because even though our situations are very different, without giving too much away, with Inu choosing to be a single Dad, and me very much NOT choosing to be a single mother to three girls, his emotions are the same. The worry, the stress, the realisation that you would move heaven and earth to keep your child happy and safe, and the gut wrenching reality that sometimes you are not enough. Inu in this story feels it too, the heaviness of it, but also the joy. And I love him for it. And how could you not love Shippou!

I’m not going to say any more about it, because spoilers. But I am sure you’ll love this fic just as much as I did.

[witchygirl99]

Day 12 of the 12 Days of Witchyness (...yes)

Chapter 5 now LIVE on AO3

Note: Sorry about the disappearance/delay. Day 12 was supposed to be Deductions but that’s coming tomorrow. Frankly, I’m posting another 4 times this week so it is what it is. Let me have this, pretty please? I’ll do a 12 Day wrap-up someday. In the mystical future *waves hand around*

Sneak Peek:

Miroku grins and fully turns to stare at Inuyasha. “You are definitely as good looking as Kagome said you were. Well, that and from the pictures.”

“Miroku,” Kagome whines, scandalized.

“What? I’m suppose to call him ugly? Look at his cheekbones. He’s like a makeup artist’s dream.” He grins then and holds out a hand. “Thanks for coming to the party. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

[witchygirl99]

Day 11 of the 12 Days of Witchyness

Chapter Four now LIVE on AO3

Sneak Peek:

There’s a retail store right beside the food area – because of course there is – and Shippo grins at him toothily as he points to five different stuffed animals and a play dinosaur set and asks for them. Inuyasha tells him he can only have three things, but then Shippo wants to buy him three things, which ends up being the other three things that Shippo wanted in the first place.

So his kid gets six things and Inuyasha is a big fucking sap, but what else is new?

[witchygirl99]

Oh, But You’re Good To Me: Teaser

To the few who requested more than just one snippet of single dad Inuyasha because apparently this is a hole I have dug myself into. Enjoy, my friends.

Jinenji huffs. “So I see your pining for her has begun again.”

Pining? Pining? Inuyasha is aghast. He has no friends. None. They are evil betrayers and foul. “F—Fudge you,” he hisses. “I do not pine.”

“I literally see it on your face.”

Inuyasha throws his arms up in the air. “Shippo, help me out here. Tell Jinenji he’s being silly.”

The kid twists around in the swing as best as the belt allows for, eyes how Inuyasha is clearly not the one pushing him and then turns away. Nothing is said.

Jinenji grins smugly. The man is never smug, so this is absolutely a problem. Jinenji and ‘smug’ don’t go together. The man is like… Chaste hand kisses and soft smiles and placating hand gestures, like he overcompensates for his massive bulking muscle by being the gentlest giant in all the land. Smug shouldn’t even be an option on the man’s mainframe. “I guess we know what Shippo thinks of that.”

“He’s just mad because I made him eat broccoli yesterday,” Inuyasha grouses.

“I like carrots!” Shippo chips in.

Inuyasha sighs. “We ran out,” he says in explanation to Jinenji. He knows that Shippo doesn’t care one way or the other, unless Inuyasha is putting some other vegetable on his plate. “But seriously, I’m not pining. I can’t pine after meeting her one time, okay? That’s ridiculous.”

“Twice.”

“The coffee shop hardly counts,” Inuyasha scoffs. “It was a twenty minute conversation. You can’t like someone enough to pine in twenty minutes.” Jinenji makes a noise that clearly means he doesn’t believe him. Whatever. Inuyasha doesn’t care anyways. “It’s been thirteen years.”

“You keep reminding me,” Jinenji says kindly. “Or maybe you’re reminding yourself?”

“You are not Dr. Phil-ing me right now.”

His best – worst – friend shrugs. “Do you like her?”

Inuyasha takes one look at Shippo – who doesn’t appear to be paying attention, but still – and shakes his head. “She’s an old friend.”

“But you could be more, maybe,” Jinenji suggests, oddly pushing the issue. Maybe he knows Inuyasha better than he gives him credit for. No, that’s not true. Inuyasha knows Jinenji, knows that his friend is probably the best person to look him right in the face and announce exactly what’s going on in his head. Once upon a time, that power was only held by Kagome.

Inuyasha shrugs, and if his expression is helpless, there’s not much he can do about that.

“Text her,” Jinenji says simply. “Send her another cute photo of you and Shippo, and then ask. No one can say no to Shippo.”

That’s actually… Very, very good advice.

Best friend ever, definitely.

---

Oh, But You’re Good to Me will be posted in full (it’s a 54k one-shot) at the start of the 12 Days of Witchyness. More on that later.

[witchygirl99]

Day 4 of the 12 Days of Witchyness

Chapter 2 now live on AO3.

Sneak Peek:

“Rin’s birthday is coming up, too,” Inuyasha throws out there, watching his half-brother. “Are you going to send me a list this year, or what?”

Sesshomaru raises an eyebrow at him. “Did I not send you one last year?”

The lies. “Sending a text message of two options the day before her party is not a list, you asshole.”

“Language,” Sesshomaru scolds.