#There is not nearly enough of these crossovers and stuff!!!!

[nacho-business1]

you know what I need???? More of my favorite fandoms having crossover content!!!! Give me epic the musical ninjago edits!!!! Give me the ninjago/pjo fanfics!!!!! I want pjo and epic the musical crossover fanart and fanfics and edits!!!! Please!!!! These fandoms have so much potential to be mixed together!!! Give me a animatic of pjo with epic the musical!!! I need to see Percy sing ruthlessness!!!! I need Grover to sing open arms!!!! I need the ninja to interact with the pjo characters!!!! I need Leo to have an argument with Kai over who’s the better fire wielded!!! I need to have an edit of Nya when she goes absolutely ballistic on kalmarre to ruthlessness!!!

[telesodalite]

I love the idea that, whenever a Cybertronian space-faring vessel lands or docks within a predominantly non-Cybertronian space station or port, that it's required that they either confirm or deny whether their vessel is sentient or not before being permitted to land.

1. For proper accommodation and clarification, along with the chance for communication between the vessel and crews working the station/port.

2. Because there has been... incidents... incidents that have led to the requirement of the above reasons.

[sysig]

The brainworms are winning, clearly (Patreon)

[stealingyourbones]

What suggestions would you have for cool, lesser known DC characters I could write a crossover fic with.

Preferably not Gotham-based characters because as much as I love them I need a break and I want to try something new. I know you mentioned Animal Man in another post. Does he have a solo run I can look up or is he usually in group comics/a side character in somebody else’s comics?

(I am deliberately baiting you to info-dump to me about any DC characters you want and I will write a fic with them so go nuts.)

Sadly at this current moment I can’t infodump nearly as much as I’d want to because my carpal tunnel is being a lil bitch but I can give synopses:

Animal Man- Buddy Baker, a typical suburban dad who also happens to be a hero that can use abilities based on any nearby animal (including bacteria?). He is powered by The Red which is the animal version of The Green (Plant Life). The Red is less the concept of all animals but more the concept that all animals are meat. his comics are either a beautifully terrifying body horror gore fest or a 4th wall breaking mind bending creation. No in between. Having Animal Man fight the Lunch Lady and realize she’s fundamentally a different being and not of The Red would be crazy awesome.

Booster Gold or Ted Kord: Booster Gold is a Time Cop who got his job from stealing shit from the Hall of Justice Museum and heading to the Age of Heroes to fund enough money and fame to pay for his mothers cancer treatment. He could be used in Clockwork related fics a lot and he’s also equally as much as a dumbass as Danny.

Blue Beetle also known as Ted Kord, is basically in the same package deal as Booster. Ted Kord, Late owner of Kord Industries, ja a brilliant master of technology and has stuff from a massive beetle ship to a gun. He’s best friends with Booster and their bromance could be fun if you want Danny to have two partially functional adult mentors.

Wally West. The second and fastest flash. A he’s the most go with the flow dude I’ve seen in recent comics, including dealing with an inter dimensional WWE esque fight where he fights alongside Space Hulk Hogan, and has a wonderful Wife, Linda West, and (sometimes) twin kiddos. The Flash’s entire sthick is family. They’re more family centered than the Fast and Furious movies for god sake. Having Danny find a new home in any speedsters home would be incredible.

The Spectre: the embodiment of Gods Wrath. I would go on far too long of a rant remind me to do one later but for now all I’m saying is that it would be sick as fuck for The Spectre to kill Vlad for the horrible things he’s done.

Green Arrow or in general Star City: Oliver Queen, inheritor of Queen Industries is a dude who got trauma after a boat sank and some island thing (tbh I don’t know his backstory off the top of my head), but he’s a very quippy and hilarious guy who’s jokes would mesh pretty nicely with Danny’s humor and in general he’s underutilized in both dpxdc and DC so it’d be nice to see that change :)

Ok hands are getting angry but I hope that’s a fun starting example list for ya!! :D

[lumen-fox]

I started writing a Ben 10/Mass Effect crossover thing a couple years ago. Really got me back into Ben 10, especially making art and my own OCs.

I haven't drawn many alien transformations for Ben, but I've done a few. I tried to fit with how Ben 10's rules would treat the designs as much as possible.

And every time I post a new chapter I try to make a piece of art for it. Like this moment from Chapter 10 of the second part.

It's on my sfw ao3. Here's the link. I don't talk about it too often, but it's something I work on when I have the time/motivation.

The early chapters aren't nearly as well written as the later stuff, but that's just how it goes when you work on a project for long enough. Ben's still in-character for the most part, which is good enough for me.

[penvisions]

in search of honor {series teaser}

Fandom: The Mandalorian / Alien VS Predator Crossover

Pairing: Younger! Din Djarin x Sacrifice! Reader

Summary: As Din prepares for the ritual of swearing the Creed, he contemplates his past and the future he wants to achieve. On another planet, the one his people are headed to, you are told of your role in the hunt to take place. In the pyramid that everyone knows means death for those that visit. A sacrifice to be made for the Mandalorian's to perform their ritual.

A/N: this is the first tentative writing i've done for the idea that i shared over here. it's just a silly little thing helping me destress from everything going on. no warnings, because i don't have any big ones outlined yet. essentially this is mando'a culture, but the creed is the hunt that takes place for the predators in the alien franchise to prove themselves, fighting aliens and all that fun stuff!

O'r echoy par ijaat.

In search of honor.

It echoes in his head as he stares at the helmet handed to him from the armorer. He's had it in his possession for nearly ten years now, to be worn at all times. never to be removed. not unless it was around his family, his partner, his children. All of which he doesn't have, having been adopted into the culture he is now devoted to. He had been raised by them, taken in when he had nothing. It's finally his turn to earn the title of Mandalorian, after years of training, of sparring, and learning the weapons praised for protection and defense. It's his turn to prove his worth and earn his signet. If he survives the trial, the hunt, devoted himself to the ritual and solidify himself as a true member of the people who had given him everything he could ever remember. Then he would have achieved what they anticipated of him, proved himself.

The weight of his armor had been heavy like his thoughts when he first dressed in them, the heavy padding beneath it adding even more to his then small frame, just a boy. He had barely been seven when he had first been given it, each year it increased in weight as more of the precious beskar was needed to decorate his growing body. But it's something he's gotten accustomed to. He now feels it's absence when he readies for sleep each night and before he dons it each morning. feels the loss of it when he's bathing and eating alone in his room. He's hopeful the thoughts become less so just as the beskar had. A comfort rather than a daunting new reality.

He wants to survive; he wants to earn his place. He only hopes he's strong enough.

It’s not a death sentence, it’s an honor.

And it’s now on his shoulders and the only path he sees to follow.

You're in disbelief. The summons that called you has you standing beside six other eldest children of the most renown families of the city, two other girls and four boys. All varying ages, the youngest is a boy, not even ten. The first child of the family you know heads the cultivation of food for the city. He's openly crying, though his father and your own ignore the shine of the tears on his still chubby cheeks.

It's an honor, a way to serve your family, your community. The sentiment is repeated over and over, in the face of each of you as you're dismissed. The day is tomorrow, has been marked for nearly as long as you've been alive. The pyramid in the middle of the desert an entire night's travel away, even on the fastest ship. In the midst of the never-ending desert that surrounds your city, the only on the planet. To ensure should anything go awry or the hunt go wrong, there was no risk for it to get to the population.

It will become your tomb as you heed the commands of your culture and family, as you lay still and allow for an alien creature to attach itself to you, to use you as a host for the chosen species the Mandalorian’s have honed over centuries and use in their own ritual. A way to prove that their training and fighting is either the best or to see the flaws in which they could improve them in order to continue to develop some of the strongest warriors in the galaxy.

It's a cruel cycle, that you must give your live for another to gain meaning and status in their own. you loathed the life you were born into, the injustice of it. the inability to have control over your own autonomy, raised like cattle and given without argument to further another's notion of honor.

An honor and a way to show your devotion to those that made it all possible for your way of life to flourish and thrive.

A sacrifice you should be happy to play a part in.

But it was death, that much you were certain of. Even as they dress you in the most extravagant fabrics you've ever felt against your skin. Soft silt, plush pelts, heavy jewelry. It was too much to handle, the meaning behind it all, the reason for it all.

It’s not an honor it’s a death sentence.

A weight on your shoulders, but you’d be damned if it’s the only path for you to take.

taglist: @beefrobeefcal @clawdee @hellfire-state-of-mind @tuquoquebrute

@sawymredfox @kiwisbell @morallyinept @itsokbbygrl @sp00kymulderr

@jessthebaker @hiddenbabynyc @littlemisspascal @mosssbawls

[chrisrin]

So

Opinion on the new Life Series gimmick?

i like it a lot more than limited life! (which i didn't watch more than like 2 eps of, a mix of the gimmick being not interesting to me, i felt that deaths were no longer meaningful and it didn't feel like there was nearly enough tension AND i got very into my homestuck phase)

i do like how there's no regen. it feels like every season they see the complaints from the previous one and try to improve upon it. ex:

last life [ppl complained about no alliances/no duos due to boogeyman] -> double life where it's built into the gimmick to have strong duos.

double life [ppl complained about not enough deaths due to doubling up with players] -> limited life where there's an abundance of death allowed to happen

limited life [ppl complained about too many deaths/deaths not being consequential] -> secret life where there's no regen.

it does genuinely feel like the ccs take into account the criticism given for each season's gimmick and try to spin that on it's head/address it directly, it's very neat.

anyways, i am watching this season! i dunno how closely i will be cause i think outside of crossover stuff or fun fanart, i don't engage with mcyt on a wider scale as much anymore. i still engage in the fandom from afar and i'll do stuff like gemcyt but even gemcyt was on the back of me doing gemstuck stuff. i have fun with it but last life was peak mcyt time for me, i dunno if i'll ever get back there.

this was a very long-winded way to answer your questions. but yes, i like the new gimmick :) there's a lot of potential, esp with the cool secret stuff.

[olderthannetfic]

Throwing my hat into the ring on the F/F issue because why not? There are a lot of reasons why, on a macro-level, F/F is less common on ao3 and in 'fanficdom' as a whole, though it really can vary by fandom, a *lot*, as I know firsthand.

Beyond anything else though, I suppose what I really, really want, is an F/F equivalent to James/Regulus or Theodore Nott/Harry Potter - I use HP examples mainly because I'm familiar with them more, but I've seen the phenomenon in other fandoms - where there's this just... intense upswelling of interest for a slash-ship between two seemingly utterly random guys, one or both whom might be exceedingly minor or entirely posthumous.

Like, while the rhetoric when people bitch about 'Any Two Guys'/Fandom Ghost/Migratory Slash Fandom, and similar complaints (i.e. about the seemingly inexplicable popularity of a non-canon slash ship versus the canon one) has a metric tons of problems in terms of how a lot of people talk about it, I want more F/F ships that have that same vibe to become weirdly juggernaughty in their fandom, explicitly becoming super popular despite one or both characters being virtually nonexistent in the main text of the source material.

That's all I really want. I mean, no, that's not all, but just once, just once, I want to watch, in real time, an entire fandom go 'wait what?' about some absolutely batshit non-canon F/F crackship that somehow becomes huge.

But F/F shippers just don't seem to bring that same energy to the table as M/M shippers. Hell, *I* don't really bring that same kind of energy to the table. I can't bring myself to do that sort of shipping, generally, though I have with one ship.

So where the hell does that energy even *come* from? Is it just the sheer size of M/M and the long history of it on ao3? The bigger a thing is, fanficdom-wise, the faster it tends to grow and all, but still.

Why do F/F shippers tend to glom more onto the canon or 'nearly canon' stuff to the (relative) exclusion of what looks like - to outside observers - throwing random guys at each other and seeing who sticks to each other? (Yes, I know that's not really what happens, but that wouldn't be what would happen for this hypothetical F/F either, but it would sure look like it from the outside)

--

The closest is the hilarious rise of Creamsicle art and cosplay, though that wasn't that huge in the end.

I think m/m fandom is particularly used to everything being subtext and repurposing various intended-as-platonic dynamics. There can be less of a focus on direct representation at times.

Those ships are just mega rare though. We talk about them all out of proportion to their actual frequency. Het shippers have a wealth of canon ships and shipteased options, but they occasionally go in for wacky crossover ships. Get a big enough group and some of this will show up.

[theharrowing]

Fuck, you're killing me.

Yoongi finds a way to clone himself, so naturally his first instinct is to fuck himself.

🤍 Dollhouse Yoongi x Collateral Yoongi

🤍 word count: ≈ 1,660

🤍 crossover episode between fics, selfcest, sci-fi, slash, nsfw, 18+

🤍 warnings: top yoongi, bottom yoongi - but they switch. sci-fi stuff; smut (selfcest aka self incest; anal sex; teasing; begging; spitting; overstimulation; using spit as lube; rough fingering; absolutely no kissing lol); mention of past infidelity. (grey area of whether this counts as infidelity, but i think Dollhouse Jungkook will just wish he was here to see this all go down & otherwise not care.)

🤍 notes: ngl, this is straight up porn. i really speed into the situation so don't ask any questions ok??? just vibe. the sci-fi stuff is vague and alludes to Dollhouse and i use the word "clone" loosely bc i refuse to make this make logical sense!!! let it go in one eye and out the other and just enjoy the show. i guess there are some slight Dollhouse spoilers but just don't hang on too many "plot" details okay!!! in one eye, out the other!!!

🤍 written for the Harrow’s Holiday Cheer Event, requested by @park-jimin-isnt-real. 🎈 Jay, Jay, Jay. you really chose chaos on the day that you requested this fic, and for that i am grateful. i hope it makes all of your dreams come true!!! i adore you so much!!!

🤍 beta read by @neoneunnajimin

🤍 posted jan. 2024

Of all the marvels of science that the Min family has participated in inventing and experimenting with, this one has to take the cake. It is not enough that his team has found a way to jump their consciousness into other people's bodies temporarily, or even permanently, but now he has somehow managed to actually clone himself.

Only, this clone is…different. 

He is clearly not quite the same man staring back at him, and it almost seems as if this man has thoughts and understandings behind those cold, dark eyes. Yoongi half expected him to show up as a clean slate with no individual consciousness or memories. 

Whereas Yoongi has recently cut his hair short and maintains an appearance of being much softer than his sharp inner demons, this clone has wild, long hair and eyes that pierce as they take him in—eyes that have clearly seen some shit. 

Through the skin surrounding one of his pretty, angry eyes is even a deep gash that begins above his eyebrow and runs through his lid, down to the apple of his cheek. Yoongi leans close to check and see whether that eye is damaged at all from whatever has sliced it, and judging by its clarity and lack of disfiguration—and the way it glares back—he surmises it must not be.

"Who the fuck are you?" the clone grumbles, looking down as his nude body shackled upright to an exam table. 

Yoongi grins. "Silly. I'm you!"

The clone sighs and glances around the examination room. "Whatever this is, please get it over with quickly. I have important matters to attend to. I need to get back home."

Now this is curious. Has Yoongi somehow managed to pull an alternate-reality version of himself into this current reality? Surely a simple clone would have no knowledge of any other life it leads…right? Fascinating.

"Tell me," Yoongi drawls, stepping up close to the alternate version of himself. "What is your name?"

The man stares for a moment, then grumbles, "Min Yoongi."

And although Yoongi knows the answer, it still delights him to no end to hear his own name come from the man's mouth. 

"Min Yoongi," he parrots, voice nearly identical to the nearly identical stranger's voice.  "Tell me…have you ever wanted to fuck yourself?

***

The way alternate Yoongi lays sprawled out on the mattress is heavenly to the point that Yoongi finds he has to pinch himself just to make sure this is not a dream. He is very much awake and very much experiencing reality. 

The man shivers while Yoongi runs lube-sticky fingers over his nipples and down the curves of his torso. He huffs quick breaths from his pretty, kiss-swollen lips, eyes screwed closed while he adjusts to the girth of his own cock. 

Everything down to tiny moles and knobby joints and the gravelly quality of his guest's voice is identical. Yoongi knows he should not enjoy this so much, but god, how could he help himself?

"You can move now," alternate Yoongi mutters somewhat desperately. "Please."

Yoongi gives him light pinches on his nipples and rolls them between his thumb and index finger. "Say please again," he softly commands. 

Alternate Yoongi sighs and trembles as he attempts to create friction by digging his heels into the bed and moving his hips. Ordinarily, Yoongi would scold his bottoms for being so greedy, but he rather likes watching himself squirm. 

"Please," his clone finally whimpers. He opens his pretty, angry eyes and does his best to plead with them. Breathtaking. "Please, Yo-Yoongi."

Yoongi grins and leans nice and close, pressing himself deeper into the man's tight, heavenly ass and making him sigh. "Say our name again."

He wonders what it must be like for the poor guy to look up and see himself towering over himself. He wonders whether that Yoongi would be into the idea of fucking him next. 

"Yoongi," the pretty man mutters pathetically. "Please."

"You sound so pretty when you beg," Yoongi teases, leaning close enough to flick his tongue over the man's lips. 

Alternate Yoongi sighs and jerks his head to the side. "For fucks sake," he grumbles. "Just fuck me already. Please."

"Awe," Yoongi mockingly coos. "Is pretty Yoongi embarrassed by how good his own cock feels?"

The man sighs once more and glares at him. This makes Yoongi laugh. 

"No need to be ashamed, pretty Yoongi. I happen to love how tight and warm we feel."

"This is so depraved," the man complains despite grinding his hips down, desperate for movement. 

With a hum, Yoongi sits up and says, "But you love it." He rubs his fingertips once more down alternate Yoongi's torso, then grips onto his hips as he adds, "I can tell."

"Please, Yoongi," the man begs as he digs his head into the pillow. "Please fuck me." He whimpers and writhes, and Yoongi cannot bite his tongue, eager to continue teasing the poor guy. 

"Look at you, squirming under me, all flushed and pretty looking. Can’t even take a little teasing, can you?"

A deep, frustrated groan works its way from deep in the man's throat, but before he can voice anything more, Yoongi pulls his hips back and snaps them forward. 

The sound that leaves alternate Yoongi's throat is pornographic and raspy—water crashing against a rocky shoreline. Despite having fucked his own body using someone else's as a host before, this feels different in a way that he struggles to comprehend. 

Yoongi wastes no time setting a pace that punches the breath from the pretty man's lungs and has him begging to let him cum. If alternate Yoongi is as sensitive as he is, then it is no wonder he is an absolute fucking mess. 

He holds onto the man's hips and pounds into him, doing his best to stave off the urge to bust for as long as possible and admiring the beauty before him. He now fully understands why his last conquest was so desperate to have him—to the point of destroying his own marriage. Poor bastard never stood a chance. 

"Please," alternate Yoongi begs, gripping tightly to the pillow with his hands raised over his head while his long hair fans out and clings to his face from sweat. 

Yoongi leans forward and collects enough saliva in his mouth to drop a sizable amount down onto the shaft of the man's cock. This makes him gasp and jolt, and Yoongi begins to gather even more spit, too amused not to do it again.

"Please, please," alternate Yoongi begs, voice broken and perfectly accentuating the firm, rhythmic slap of skin against skin. He even clenches his walls in what Yoongi imagines to be a desperate plea to urge him to do what he wants. 

Yoongi is close, and he decides he may as well give in. He wants to watch himself come completely undone beneath him. 

"Alright, alright," he says, lifting a hand from the man's hip to reach for his neglected cock. "I'll give my pretty Yoongi what he needs. I can't hold on much longer, anyway."

He grips onto alternate Yoongi's spit-slick cock and tugs, causing every muscle in the poor man's body to seemingly clench and shake. 

"Fuck," alternate Yoongi rasps, body bowing from the bed. "Feels good. Please don't stop."

Yoongi feels hypnotized as he watches his hand stroke the man's length—as he watches his nearly identical match quake and sob the closer he gets. As the man's cock begins to pulsate, Yoongi feels himself climb closer and closer to the precipice of bliss. 

With a desperate, broken sob, alternate Yoongi cums, shooting his release onto his chest while Yoongi continues to stroke him and fuck him nice and deep. The man's ass clenches tightly, squeezing and releasing in a rhythm not too unlike that of Yoongi's thrusts, and he absolutely fucking loses it. 

"Shit," Yoongi spits, releasing the man's dick so he can anchor both hands against the mattress for stability. Alternate Yoongi continues to moan and squeeze, clearly drifting from pleasure to overstimulation, and the sight, sound, and feeling makes Yoongi's head spin.

"Fuck, you're killing me," he whispers hoarsely through clenched teeth as his own orgasm rushes over him. "I'm gonna cum, pretty Yoongi."

Yoongi's hips stutter and still, and he practically falls forward, emptying himself into a nearly identical version of himself who continues to babble incoherently and tremble. 

This is what worship should feel like, Yoongi is certain of it. He racks his brain for anything that has come close to being this depraved and incredible—this absolutely fucking euphoric—and he finds he cannot top this experience. This is nirvana.

Yoongi collapses onto himself, burying his face into his guest's neck. His skin, his sweat, his hair, everything smells familiar, and Yoongi does his best not to slip into a state of sleep and comfort. 

"Gimme a breather," Yoongi mutters through gasping breaths. "Then you can fuck me and I'll send you home."

Alternate Yoongi scoffs but does not seem too eager to get away. 

"You've gotta be kidding me," he grumbles. 

"Once in a lifetime opportunity," Yoongi says to sweeten the deal, grinning despite likely not being seen. 

Silence hangs, then alternate Yoongi shifts, sliding out from underneath Yoongi and forcing Yoongi to roll onto his back with large, firm hands pressing against his shoulders. 

"Alright," the man says, "but I'm going to be fucking rough. You seem like a sick little bastard who likes pain, so I am going to make it hurt."

Yoongi's heart soars, and he smiles widely at the pretty, nearly identical man with long hair and a curious scar. "Make me cry, Yoongi."

Alternate Yoongi towers over him and spreads his legs roughly, then spits onto his fingers and begins prodding at his rim. Yoongi moans unabashedly, instantly slipping into overwhelming pleasure-pain as the man roughly begins to finger him. 

How the fuck will he explain this one to Jeongguk when he returns home?

WOW WHOO. that was a wild one. DID YOU HAVE FUN?!?!?! i miss Dollhouse Yoongi a lot! it's fun getting into his head just a little. and, of course, our hot mafia boss Yoongi really does love to beg, doesn't he??? .😈😈😈

COMMENTS AND REBLOGS ARE THE LIFEBLOOD IF THIS HELLSITE AND LIKES ARE SUPER APPRECIATED TOO!!! THANK YOU FOR READING, I LOVE YOU!!!

tag list: @codeinebelle @dasexydevitt13 @fluffybuns69 @giriiboyy @idkjustlovingbts @itsmina29 @mgthecat @moonleeai @m1sss1mp @spookyminyunki 🤍 want to be tagged in everything i write? or just my member x member content? send me a message!

🎈 check out more drabbles from the Harrow’s Holiday Cheer Event!

Fuck, you're killing me. is copyright 2023 theharrowing, all rights reserved. reposts and translations are not allowed.

[courfee]

Author Interview

Thanks for the tag @badhairred @messrsrarchives <33333

How many works do you have on AO3?

Ao3 says 18, but i think one of them is hidden

What's your total AO3 word count?

381,569 :) nearly half the words are just from one fic

Your top 5 stories by kudos/likes:

- Operation Walburga's Arbitrary No Kissing Ever Rule - All My Theory Complete - Borrow My Name - blindspot - If you ask nicely

Do you respond to comments?

Yeah!!! Even if it takes me forever to reply most of the time

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

let's walk the road backwards the way we came. The tags on that fic are there for a reason

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

Honestly probably Operation Walburga's Arbitrary No Kissing Ever Rule, just because it has the best payoff

Do you write crossovers?

Not anymore, but i have!! I've once written a comic where the tenth doctor and rose land the tardis in hogwarts and meet rose, albus and scorpius. Also i think i started a chronicles of syntax hogwarts AU once? No idea where rhat went tho

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Yeah :\\\

Do you write smut?

I have written smut before and it will probably happen again even if it's really not my thing. Like i think i'm decent enough at it but i don't enjoy it

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I dont think so

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Someone translated the first couple chapters of amtc i think?

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I've started something with @alarainai :3

What's your all-time favorite ship?

All time favourite, whatever the fuck james and sirius have going on. Romantic ship probably jegulus lbh

What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

Too many, honestly :( the most recent one is the marauders krabat AU, tho ive not fully given up hope on that one yet. I also have a fic i started in 2011 that's just scorpius malfoy's diary that i adore and i do truly think that one wont get continued...

What are your writing strengths?

Hmm i think i'm probably good at very emotionally driven stuff? Doesn't quite matter what the emotion is. Also i've been told i do group settings well which is nice since i love writing friendships

What are your writing weaknesses?

I apparently can't write things without conflict. My first attempt of a smut oneshot immediately got away from me cause i didnt know how to write things without some angst. I overcomplicate things for my characters too much. Also in a more specific matter, i use the word "just" for too often

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Depends on the context!! If it's two characters speaking a different language, absolutely!! I do also love specifics like reg just cursing in french, thats fun. I have a bit of a pet peeve when someone admits to their feelings in their native language instead of english because that is just too unrealistic for me. I literally switch from german to english when the conversation gets too vulnerable to be able to deal with stuff

What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

Honestly none really, i rarely ever feel the need to branch out from my little corners

What's your favorite fic you've written?

Probably Operation Walburga's Arbitrary No Kissing Ever Rule, but On Lies And Spies i care about so so much as well

np tagging @alarainai @snarky-magpie @starsworth @where-is-vivian @ultravioletbrit <33

[roguedruid]

"Oh great druid this humble petitioner asks for your recommendations on fics you did not write but enjoyed greatly I look forward to getting your top 15."

Uhhhh Damn. Hold on. Lets seee..... I can give you eleven- in no particular order- that come to mind with a bit of searching. but questioner- I read so many fics. This is gonna be a crapshoot of fandoms, so hold on. Of Harrowed Hearts by Sable_Scribe: A Naruto fic which is sadly unfinished- but had an awesome vibe and really dives into the characterization of the Konoha 12 and their potential. It does have Naruto/Sasuke vibes- but when it last left off the slow burn was slow and Sasuke was barely realizing his emotions. The Games We Play by Ryuugi: It's posted on Spacebattles origionally- but it's been reposted a few other places. It's massive- nearly a million words. This was my first real 'Massive fic' i followed as it was updating- and my real intro to Space Battles/Sufficent Velocity as fanfic sites. Also- first Gamer fic that went *way* into the power scaling and endgame stuff. Jaune in this story escalates hard as fuck. I'm talking supernatural kung fu, elemental powers, the ability to destroy cities- And his threats are scary enough to match it. This was before Salem for most of the story- but the Grimm that show up are terrifying. Keeping on the forums real fast- Two Quests (Essentially reader driven stories) deserve to be on this list. Xander [Quest] by one Judge Mental is another of those Monolithic kind of reading experiences. it's massive- on a word count I can't even figure out- spread across like 28 threads. it starts as a simple premise- You are Alexander Harris- and you are born as the reincarnation of Ganondorf. Yeah- that Ganondorf. Things only escalate past that point- to where the last i checked we were possibly the strongest sorcerer on earth- and only 12.

"A Geeks Guide: CORE" series by Sage_of_Eyes. Again, monolithic in scope- it's a complete reimagining of the Highschool DXD mythology (yes, the ecchi novels/anime. Yes it's way deeper then it deserves. Yes, it's also metal as fuck)

Swerving back from forums:

A Drop of Poison by Angel Of Snapdragons: Naruto's Shadow Clones are fucking crazy- and if you've ever wanted to see the power fantasy of them escalating non stop- this is the good shit. Drifting by AlphaDelta1001: More Naruto- but this one has some of my favorite 'Kinda Genius' Naruto moments. It mixes up the timelines, throws in a completley revamped Chuunin exam, introduces tones of new characters- and completely revamps Naruto's methods- if you ever got bored of 'it's all Rasengan' in canon- this is definitely a suggestion.

From Fake Dreams by Third Fang: Fate Stay/Night. Supercharged. This is a bit of a controversal pick- mainly because Third Fang is one of those authors who's sense of humor is... off. Just a bit of that old school Shonen Jump Pervert vibe in the background- snarky comments and purile humor creep around the corners of his writing- but FFD is still immensly fun to read. The power creep- already high as fuck in Canon FSN- goes so high. Where recently Shirou isn't fighting Servants- But True Ancestors. Son of the Western Sea by Mac_Ceallach: If you want Percy Jackson going solo on a world-wide adventure- this is it. its after the War for New York, before the romans showed up- and Its got Percy just... being cool vibing. Hitting into other myths by accident. In contrast, if you want some true off the rocker Percy- An Impractical Guide to Godhood by Antony444 It's technically a crossover with A practical guide to Evil- but if you ever wanted to see olympus and the rest of the percy jackson verse just... implode with chaos? This is it. Flooding Hades with the flaming river- beating Ceaser in Gladatorial Events, fucking with the olympians? This goes hard. The Many Quirks Of Phantom Thievery by PsychicBeagle Persona 5, reloaded. Featuring New Game+ shenanagains, plenty of romance and memes, and puns. If you're a P5 fan, I highly reccomend it. It's Time For Another Good Idea, Bad Idea by Haurvatat: This is a weird one- for one it's Solo leveling, so it's fandom was kinda niche. on the other... It's got Cannabilism in it. But! As a Cook? this is a guilty pleasure fic. The cooking scenes are all written like Binging with Babish episodes, the humor is on point, there's actual stakes and emotions- theres closure? What more does a fic need.

[silverjae]

Explaining my ducktales au part2 : The Duck Avenger.

! Warning : Kinda graphic depictions of violence!

A 14 year old Donald came across a trap door as he was cleaning a new villa his uncle had just bought. He fell into a basement with a book on a lectern, a manaquin with a hero suit and a box containing things like a grappling hook, rope, ect.

In the book was a story of a vigilante from the 1600s who was pretty much the duck aquivelent of Robin Hood.

He took the suit and adjusted and added things to make it more his style. With the suit he played pranks on rich people (mostly his uncle) and people who were rude to his friends and family.

After saving someone about 3 months later and accidentally being recorded he named himself Paperinik, dubbed the Duck Avenger by the public, now duckburgs hero.

His main villains were the Evronians, the mad ducktor (who I'll explain in another part) and The Raider.

When he was 17 he was attacked by Trauma, a Evronian mutant with the power to bring up the enemy's, well, trauma.

He had flash backs to the first adventure he ever went on (he was 6 and it was meant by Scrooge to cheer the twins up after their parents funeral) and his parents death.

That was the first time he killed.

After he broke out of it all he saw was red. Literally. It was like a tint covered the world, meaning he didn't notice the pavement and his face was painted the colour.

He had nightmares about the day for years after and on rare occasions still does. It's half the reason he quit the first time and one of the major reasons he developed PTSD.

After ending the erovians leader, causing them to run off, he stepped down as duckburgs hero and joined the Navy, 3 days after his and his twins birthday.

The second time he was the Duck Avenger is much less documented and known of by the public, him being around 20 to 24.

The Double Duck comics and The Legend Of The Three Caballeros are canon here and they both overlapped with the second rise of Paperinik.

6 months after he became Double Duck, working for The Cloak and Dagger Government Agency of Fiction, which is a sister agency to S.H.U.S.H, he decided to become the Avenger again.

Man, this guys stress levels were through the roof no wonder why he was graying before his thirtys.

He fought some new and old villains, sometimes with the help of the Three Caballeros, Clover Leaf and rarely Prime Blossom (Super Daisy).

He was much more reckless this time around and nearly died more times than his friends would have liked.

His family would be included if they knew. The only family who knew were his cousins Kildare, Gladstone, Nancy, Abner and his half-uncle Gideon.

He only stopped being a hero when his sister, Della, became pregnant (eggnant???) with his triplet nephews.

There is alot of stuff and smaller details I left out because this is already long enough in my opinion and I'm tired.

My au is partially based off of the fics on ao3 "The Secret Biography Of Donald Duck" and "Furious Revenge" Which are both amazing fics and I would definitely recommend if you like crossovers and Donald Duck as much as I do.

Edit: forgot to mention that Donalds related to the vigilante he based himself off of.

[yellowocaballero]

Anyway.

How many works do you have on AO3? 54. Hm. I don't remember writing 54 fics. That's weird. But I've been posting since 2017 so when you THINK about it 54 fics over 7 years isn't weird at all.

What’s your total AO3 word count? 2.4 million. What's your point.

What fandoms do you write for? A fuckton. I write both things I'm hyperfixated on and for random shit that comes in my head. I was into TMA for like two years so I have the most TMA fic (16), but most of my fandoms are 3-5 fics maximum. There's also a lot of random-ass fics for random-ass fandoms that just jumped in my head. Artemis Fowl, Beetlejuice, Animorphs...demons that overtook me for two weeks or so and never bothered me again.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? The Great Gender Heist (Artemis Fowl, no surprise there.), stay out of trouble (Detroit: Become Human, I reliably forget that one exists and I'm still mystefied as to why so many people read it), meek shall inherit (I'm constantly attempting to forget the Be More Chill phase ever happened), someone will remember us (Batman, fic's not great, am still very fond of that au) and dead or alive (DBH, mediocre). Why the hell are the two Detroit: Become Human fics so popular? I hate DBH so much. I was so angry while writing those.

Do you respond to comments? I am absolutely terrible about responding to comments. I am sorry. I do read and appreciate all of them. It's because I always need to give a dialectical so comments take ages to write. If you do want to hear my thoughts on something, my inbox is your best bet for a way too lengthy response.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Hope, Etc for certain. I try really hard to write bittersweet at worst endings, and even the sad endings in my fics have hope in them. Hope, Etc definitely ends in a better place than where it began. But it's still very sad. I was thinking about a lot of lost loved ones while writing it. Fishhooks and reel to reel also have downer endings but that is because they are LITERALLY Star Wars.

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Uhhhh. The ending of Solitaire (and the MLM/WLW hostility series in general) is very sweet. It's meaningful because it demonstrates so much growth from everybody with very little cost. I almost said Go Straight At The Cul De Sac, because it showcases a happier world where horrible historical events were averted, but the ending will always be a little bittersweet because we understand how much Protag sacrificed to create that better world.

Do you get hate on fics? Sometimes people are kind of weird. The worst of it is usually just useless comments, though. I had somebody get pedantic about how briefly mentioning an SUV would be historically inaccurate, and how I should have mentioned a minivan instead - like, did you read that fic and think I was from the suburbs? Do I look like I know what a minivan is? Lol? If I've received any actual more severe stuff I have no idea, since I delete the comment and delete it from my memory. I've never gotten anything too bad. I've been called ablest like three times, which is objectively hilarious.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? If I could write smut I'd be making bank on Kindle Unlimited right now.

Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? Probably the FE3H/BNHA one I'm writing right now that will never see the light of day. Just kidding. I don't actually think I've posted any real crossovers - I DO write them, I just kind of feel like they're cringe so I never post them. I write a lot of cringe shit that never sees the light of day.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not nearly popular enough for that.

Have you ever had a fic translated? Several people have mentioned wanting to do that, but nope.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Not technically. But I do want to give due honors to all of the friends who are SO instrumental in the building of the AUs, stories, characters, etc, that they've had a huge impact on the story itself. I try to recognize them by name in the fics themselves but my stories would look completely different if it wasn't for my friends. Definitely much worse.

What’s your all time favorite ship? I'll differentiate favorite ships and favorite fictional romances. For ships, it's much less about the ship and more about the role in the story. I tend not to pay a lot of attention to that while writing, but sometimes I get lost in my own sauce and I drive myself a bit nuts. I am very fond of Hanyookim, especially in my own ORV story. For romances? My top ten list of fictional romances is as follows: number one: naturally, Sasunaru -

What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? If it's up on AO3, it's done (with one or two very small exceptions - The Ending of Han Sooyoung epilogue I'll get to you I PROMISE). There's plenty of unfinished docs on my drive that I'll never finish, but that's because I decided that they weren't worth finishing.

What are your writing strengths? Dialogue and characterization. That's always been the case. I'm also pretty funny.

What are your writing weaknesses? Plotting. Action. Having stories that are not entirely dialogue. Where things happen and it's more than just people walking around talking. You know. Real stories -

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? Always valid. I remember reading one Hispanic author talking about how he doesn't like italicizing the Spanish in his stories because it's otherizing, and I agreed enough with him that I don't tend to italicize other languages either. Sometimes I do. I try to do it purposefully, and to convey something that can only be conveyed through the extra language. I'll also only do it if I can have a friend who speaks that language write it out for me, since gtranslate sucks and I want to ask the friend how such a thing would actually be said and colloquialize it. I like using ASL in fics, and I am just in general begging people to a) write it like any other language, and b) understand that it's different from other languages and can't be written exactly the same. If your Star Wars fanfiction has so much gratuitous Mando'a that I can't understand anything the clones or Mandos are saying I hate you.

First fandom you wrote for? Batman Beyond. Yes, I have a FFN account somewhere. Yes, I was eleven. Yes, it was Batman Beyond.

Favorite fic you’ve written? The best thing I've written is Twilight on Owl Creek Bridge. Favorite is New Wave. That sucker took two years to write (INSANELY long for me) and it is exactly the story I wanted to write. Stephanie's a character I've been writing since I was 15, and the feeling of writing Stephanie and NAILING her for the very first time was so satisfying.

Tagging @usaigi and uh any other writer mutuals you all know who you are.

[aroeddiediaz]

20 questions for fic writers

Tagged by @cal-daisies-and-briars , @jesuiscenseedormir , @diazsdimples

How many works do you have on ao3?

27!

What's your total ao3 word count?

61,537

What fandoms do you write for?

Currently I’m pretty much exclusively a 9-1-1 writer, but in the past I wrote a lot of Flarrowverse (do they still call it that?). I also have published fics for Fantastic Beasts and a few anime (Given, Haikyuu, Saiki K). Given the number of Bnha wips i have locked away in the vault it’s amazing I don’t have anything published for that.

Top 5 fics by kudos:

(I am omitting all the Flarrowverse fics in my top 5 on the basis that they were written in high school and I’ve changed as a person, and they probably only beat out on the numbers due to being up for years longer)

1. Kabe-Do’s and Kabe-Don’ts (Given, 861 kudos)

2. You’re Not Special (Saiki K, 598 kudos)

3. How Eddie Learned To Stop Worrying And Embrace The Kitten Life (9-1-1, 327 kudos)

4. The Boy Formerly Known As Miracle (Haikyuu, 277 kudos)

5. Under The Hood (9-1-1, 275 kudos)

Do you respond to comments?

Yes!! As many as I can!

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

This probably has to be The Crimes of Queenie Goldstein, in which Queenie is put on trial for her actions during the war. Don’t @ me but Queenie turning traitor was bu far the most interesting part of the Crimes of Grindelwald (the only interesting thing, really). There could be such an interesting story between her and Tina if only JKR would let the movies out of her grasp.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Fuck, idk if I have a happiest ending fic, a lot of them tend to not have that much story arc. (A lot of established relationship fluff or smut lmao). I guess if I had to pick one it would probably be How Eddie Learned To Stop Worrying and Embrace The Kitten Life.

Do you get hate on fics?

Not since that one anti-olicity fic that I wrote while deep in the trenches of Flarrowverse discourse, which I totally deserved :/. I have regrets. Also I should probably orphan/delete that one if I haven’t already. In my defense, high school. I have learned.

Do you write smut?

Yea lol. I think my 9-1-1 stuff has been almost exclusively smut. Idk how it happened. (I do know how it happened smut is fun to write)

Craziest crossover?

I haven’t published any of my crossover fics :( none of them have been complete enough. I have many many unfinished RotBTD wips that have never seen the light of day though.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Who would steal my stuff? Lol

Have you ever had a fic translated?

One time someone offered to translate one of my fics into Russian but idk if that ever actually happened.

Have you co-written a fic before?

Nope

All time favorite ship?

Right now definitely Buddie! Percabeth holds a special place in my heart though <3

What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Ok. After the end of the Heroes of Olympus Series, but before Trials of Apollo was announced, I tried my own hand at writing the sequel that was clearly coming based on all the loose threads in the final book. It was going to be a Solangelo quest to save the Oracle of Delphi from Python, while Akhys tries to poison Percy to turn him into an evil god(?). Half the details have been lost and I desperately want to remember them, because I haven’t attempted anything nearly as cool or ambitious since then. The first 5 chapters are posted on my ao3 (Will Solace and the Oracle’s Cry) and I still think high school me had the most interesting characterization of Will out of everyone else on the internet at the time. Even if it is still very 2015.

What are your writing strengths?

I think I’m good at getting into the heads of different characters. Understanding their motives and weaknesses.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Editing.

Lmao I have a lot of weaknesses but I definitely struggle the most with trying to look back on or change things I’ve already written, even when it’s necessary.

Also my tendency to just drop fics if I stop working on them for too long. Rip to my wip graveyard.

Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

That’s a minefield I’m not willing to play in. Unless it’s Chinese. Very limited amounts of Chinese. Or like, a pet name or phrase that’s already ubiquitous in fandom so I’m not risking anything.

First fandom you wrote in?

Percy Jackson!! That Will Solace quest is the first thing I ever wrote! I definitely had a tendency to jump into the deep end with new hobbies lmao. Like my first ever cosplay that took me 3 years to complete.

Favorite fic you've written?

I think my favorite fic is always going to be the one I’m currently working on writing. But I am very proud of the silly little dramatic ironies in In Hindsight, which I wrote entirely over one long lunch the day after 7x04 broke me. Also I have to shoutout Teacher’s Pet, that one ruler spanking fic nobody ever reads because it’s Eddie/Ana lmao. I enjoyed putting in a bunch of tiny incompatibilities between them. So, uh, I guess my favorite thing in my own writing is dramatic irony?

Tagging: @aspecbuddie @pirrusstuff @jesuisici33 @steadfastsaturnsrings @lemonzestywrites @your-catfish-friend @inkmortal-trash389 @evanbegins s @wildlife4life @eddiebabygirldiaz @epicbuddieficrecs @kitteneddiediaz @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove @coatedpanda16 @nicotinewrites @estheticpotaeto @babytrapperdiaz @snowviolettwhite @wikiangela

[vryivs]

fanfic writer interview

thank you @tiesanjiaoshenanigans

How many works do you have on AO3? 52

What's your total AO3 word count? 571, 768

Your top 5 stories by kudos/likes:

Tangerine, Macaron (seongjoong)

the dirt that you're made of (yanqing)

恋の予感 (the longest path to us) (seongjoong)

If I Can Leave One Memory (sansang)

the stars are here (seongjoong)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? yes!! i usually go through my comments right before i upload a new fic or chapter, just because that's easiest

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending? god um ok. one sec. it's definitely 白镜 - White Mirror. tragic lesbians... most of what i write has a happy or at least ambiguous ending but this one follows canon so it's a tragedy instead

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending? oh man! tbh it's probably 恋の予感 (the longest path to us) again. although nearly everything i write ends happy

Do you write crossovers? not rlly... they just don't appeal to me that much so I've never written them. i dont read them either

Have you ever received hate on a fic? nope! considering how long ive been writing it honestly kind of surprises me--its not even like i write particularly safe stuff either. i figure that maybe its because so much of my work is so personal that a people tend to maintain good etiquette and dont talk shit directly to me

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? yes. the cinematic kind lol. last time i wrote something explicit was fine, but i much prefer writing smut in a more literary style? not sure if that makes sense. the writing equivalent of close shots and fancy camera angles and lens flare, although that doesnt mean that i cant be crass when i want

Have you ever had a fic stolen? i dont think so, but its not like i check

Have you ever had a fic translated? nop! someday i want to get good enough to translate my own hsr work into chinese just bc so much of what i write is influenced by reading and learning about chinese culture and linguistic quirks, but that wont be any time soon

Have you ever co-written a fic before? yes!! several actually. lonely 'til you hold me was a collab with a pinch hitter for the event it was for. then i also wrote on my old account Accursed Spawn with @shineoftherainbow which to this day i am obsessed with

What's your all-time favorite ship? oh man... i am fickle and my tastes change by the week, but i think i will always have a soft spot for einsla, even if i dont write them much

What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will? never say never but probably the seongjoong royalty au. i had it planned and everything but then people started discoursing around eden and the planned ending i wrote was potentially too topical, so i waited and then i lost steam.

What are your writing strengths? flow i think? ive always been pretty good at keeping things moving at a good pace. i edit myself a lot (and practice editing on some actual published books too!) so its become second nature to chop and change and move things around.

What are your writing weaknesses? actually writing. just kidding. probably that when i get stuck on something i tend to focus only on the fact that im stuck and cannot continue until i have unstuck myself

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? depends on what is meant my this! if it's about honorifics in dialogue (eg, hyung, -chan, dajie etc) i support it, since a lot don't translate well to english. Same with terms of endearment like -ito and -ie. if it's whole dialogue, it really depends. am i supposed to be able to understand the dialogue? is it something that could've been written just as well with 'he says, in [language]', does the author understand what they're writing, is it a text based or verbal conversation? does the pov character understand what's being said? (personally the best way to have dialogue in other languages is if the pov character isn't supposed to understand it. but always be aware that a native speaker of that language may still read the fic)

What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to? kiamei! i love my lesbian mothers.

What's your favorite fic you've written?

白镜 - White Mirror. lets go lesbians! i really enjoyed writing in this style

tagging: @shineoftherainbow @himbodevotee @nicenightmare13 @morifiinwe @marichild @linhuine

[broken-clover]

Animalese

Yup apparently I'm officially becoming that one guy who makes crossover fics. God help me.

Bit of Miitopia interim stuff. I don't know why Tao spends so much time with the horse so I assume they're just gossip buddies

-

A crop of whinnying and the clatter of wood had stirred Phoenix from his sleep. Nothing of value lost, but the ruckus meant that he couldn’t even entertain the futile thought of just rolling over and going back to bed.

He found his glasses and bedside lamp more with muscle memory than conscious awareness. By the time he was approaching something like proper wakefulness, he was already halfway down the hall. Phoenix paused, momentarily, to be sure he wasn’t at the top of the stairs and about to fall, and continued on.

Fluttershy again, he could only assume. He hadn’t seen any other horses in the stable when they’d pulled in. Even though she was a pretty good-tempered horse, she wasn’t immune to trouble. There had been a couple of nights back in Greenhorne where she’d gotten stuck in something and started to panic. Ever since, he had tried to keep at least one of them nearby her, whether that be bunking in the room next door or just straight-up sleeping in the stable.

Tonight’s horse-watching duty was supposed to be Taokaka’s. She never objected to the task the way that I-no did, but it didn’t mean Phoenix wasn’t worried still. Taokaka was…great, really, she was wonderful, just not the most…attentive. He’d hesitated to put her on guard duty when they had to camp out. The one time he had, she’d fallen asleep before the rest of them could even make it to the tent. Was that what had happened here? Then again, knowing Tao, she might have just wandered off at the sight of something vaguely interesting, and entirely forgotten what she was supposed to be doing.

No, no, he didn’t have to be so mean. Just worry more about cleaning up the mess than about chewing people out. 

He approached the stable, blearily rubbing at his eyes. Hopefully Fluttershy wasn’t too riled up.

“Tao knows, right?”

The man halted, hand still on the door. Tao was still in there? 

While mostly closed, there was still enough of a gap between the stable’s wall and the door that Phoenix could peer through. When he squinted, he saw…not much of interest. Fluttershy was comfortably seated on the ground, and while he didn’t notice Taokaka at first, she wobbled into sight soon after, clothes soaked through with something.

She shook herself out, spraying droplets everywhere. “Bleh! I dunno why they’d put it up there.” A look was sent in the horse’s direction. “Tao can getcha more water when she’s not all soggy. This place stinks!” She hissed. “This place has a dumb trippy stool that can’t even hold Tao up without it breaking! Talk about low quality service, meow!”

Oh, okay. Just an accident, then. Nobody hurt. Good. He saw no reason to interfere if there wasn’t a problem. If he did, he imagined Tao would try to hang off of him and keep him from going back to bed because she wanted to play.

When she got within reach, Fluttershy leaned over and began licking the spilled water off of Tao’s cheek. “Haha! That tickles!”

“What the hell is going on in there?”

The man yipped, nearly falling forward into the door. When he turned around, I-no was fluttering right over his shoulder, visibly holding back a smirk from successfully startling him.

“When did you get here?”

“I dunno,” I-no shrugged. “Someone woke me up, so I was gonna return the favor by shoving my pitchfork up their ass.”

“H-hey! Hey!” Phoenix whisper-shouted, throwing up his hands and trying not to recall her tendency to ‘gently prod’ him and the others in the backside during battles. “It’s still late, we can still get some sleep…”

“Mrr? Whattaya mean, horsie?”

The two immediately quieted. After several moments, Phoenix ventured another careful glance into the stall. Neither Tao nor the horse were looking anywhere near their direction. Currently, the cat was smacking at Fluttershy’s muzzle, in a way that was hard to tell if it was some sort of play, or if she was swatting at a bug.

“Aw c’mooon, Tao told you who she likes, which means you gotta tell Tao who horsie likes!”

Fluttershy made a low snort and tossed her mane aside.

“You and Red Lady best friends yet?”

I-no scooted in closer to get a look of her own. “Is…is she talking to the horse?”

He didn’t have an answer. Common sense, of course, told him that they couldn’t be, but his eyes were making him skeptic. It certainly appeared so? He may not have been able to understand the horse’s sounds, but Tao spoke with the confidence of someone who did. Or, at least, thought they could.

The two watched in silence through the opening. Taokaka pawed at the lingering sheen of water on her face. Her ears were sodden and drooping with displeasure, but her tail still swished mischievously.

“You don’t do all those purr-etty tricks for her like you do for Tao! Does that mean I’m your favorite?”

Gleefully giggling, the cat tossed herself across Fluttershy’s back. The horse made a little huff of indignation, but made no motion to kick her off.

“Yeah, Red Lady is real grumpy. ‘n she gets all shouty when I try to pick up road snacks! Doesn’t she know Tao’s super hungry, meow?”

Fluttershy whinnied in a way that, if he was going crazy, Phoenix would swear was a noise of agreement.

“But she’s pretty! And she’s got meat buns! Nowhere near as big as Boobie Lady’s, though…”

“Meat…buns…?” It took him far longer than he’d care to admit to interpret what that was supposed to mean, and as soon as he did, he could feel his face warming.

A finger prodded his cheek. “Aww, lookit you all flustered. Do you really have so little experience that that gets you blushing?”

“Tao hasn’t got to squish ‘em yet, but they look weird. I’m startin’ to think Red Lady’s are fake.”

Despite himself, Phoenix covered his mouth with a hand and desperately tried not to laugh. Every time he thought he’d gotten used to Taokaka’s blunt method of speaking, she proved him wrong. 

When he looked over his shoulder to his teammate, however, she did not share his sense of amusement.

“...Okay, that’s it- !”

“I-no- !”

All he could think of in the moment was to wrap around the imp to keep her from barging in. It worked. For about three seconds, until they collectively lost balance on a set of unsteady legs pulling in two different directions. The two stumbled back in a tangle, landing on the hay-lined floor with a thud.

Tao yawned, swiveling her head around as her ears twitched. “Whazzat, horsie? You hear something?”

Fluttershy chuffed, settling her head against one leg.

“Mrr, yeah, you’re right. Horsie and Tao need to get a looootta sleep! Otherwise Good Guy’s gonna get all whiney about it.” Tao got cozy on the horse's back and nodded off almost immediately, entirely oblivious to the scuffle still going on outside.