#also i came up with the story title and im very proud of it :>

[pixellangel]

*isat-ifys your catthing*

say hi to vion, a traveler from dormont and avid follower of change! this is for a tableau of travels, a small postcanon isat story with new characters. the other lovely people working on it are @laciedoesdraw, @loverofstufflof, and @flyingferrethastumbler!!

alt versions without cape under the cut :3

[neth-cactus]

iiiii ummm uhhh little drawings from the fic cus i fixated on my own writting jabsjwhdhe i have a looot to talk about so i will do it under the cut, the fic link will also be here

my girly pop, its weird posting stuff on ao3 but like shes there, the whole fic is me posting random little stuff i wrote on a whim so it will be noticeable dhbfjsjd also warning I might have made everyone a biiit out of character so im kinda sorry lols

now for fun notes and stuff about the chapters i did not add to the end notes

"The sun shines bright" not much to not other than after this clover's hand hurt for like a day and flowey bullied the peck out of them,,, also this is the only time flowey calls clover an idiot on this fic

"The flower pot incident" after the end clover spends like 10 minutes explaining everything about flowey, but he explains it like a little kid would, making it confusing as hell, so ceroba gives up and just like pats him and tells them to be good or smth, it was the same with everyone else

also bad quality comic of how the pot came to be

"What kind of milk were you?" the song came in as i was finishing the chapter and it fitted so well i named the chapter after it, as i mentioned it was me like poking gently to clover's life before the underground, his thought process was mostly thinking marlet was angry at them over doing the dishes in "secret" idk how to explain it but yeah :( poor little fella, also as noted at the end, flowey observed all happening and just like kept in mind

"Sewing back the pieces" I loved imagining how clover's room looked, and i had to include it, more joking around from the best friends, id like to think clover knows how to sew but they are just a bit clumsy with the needle, also those things are slippery...

"The calm before the mall" I feel proud about the title pun(? but this is also what i kind of meant with flowey keeping things on mind, by the time of this chapter a bit of time has passed of them living with humans, and flowey knows how stuff can be and how clover is a biiit shy so thats why the warning was persistent, it didnt work but meh

"Fertilizer is a fun word" IT IS A FUN WORD i love writing it lol, but seriously, i tried exemplifying more the thing of clover not speaking a lot so flowey does most of the talking for them, they do speak a bit but its short sentences and very quietly,

"You are just a boy, you are no man" this one will be long again the song fitted and it came on while writing the middle lol, clover does not know very well about the whole story with chara, but they do know that buttercups are meaningful in some sort of way for flowey so thats why they picked them, now is fun to note that the comments about their friends being monsters did bother clover but the one comment that like spilled the cup was the age one, that one hit deep and thats why they reacted that way, also the amount of people did not bother clover that much when they arrived but like the panic and stuff made them very aware of everyone around and med everything worse so ye, lastly, another time flowey calls someone idiot, this time dalv (sorry king)

i think thats all, if there's a specific choice yall are curios about feel free to tell me :3 i will probably have an answer for it

[tangledinink]

Heya! First off I’m around halfway through teenage mutant what now and it is the funniest fic I have ever read - Beautifully written and overall brilliant but the jokes get me every time

And second, is it okay if I reference a pose from one of your gemini artworks for my own work? I’ll credit the inspiration if I post it anywhere ^^

whew we're overdue for an ask dump,,, OKAY ALRIGHT.

THANK YOU ; w ; I'm really glad you like it hehehehe. also yeah sure feel free! I don't mind! ^^

HEHEHE THIS MAKES ME VERY HAPPY THANK YOU

oh he DEFINITELY freaked out at first. there was a lot of panicking and confusion and "how could this even happen?!" ("you think i'd genetically engineer a creature that's not capable of reproducing? all of you should be genetically compatible with practically any yokai," draxum said. "AND YOU DIDN'T THINK TO, I DUNNO, TELL US THAT?!" donnie said.) but eventually, he did calm down, and he and his partner talked about it (a bunch, multiple times), and eventually some of the panic gave way to... curiosity, first of all... and then maybe kind of excitement? and some fondness? i mean, he was still pretty scared, and sure, he doesn't really consider himself a 'kid' person, but it's not like he never thought about EVENTUALLY having kids, just maybe... not so soon? but. i mean.

well. if they're already cooking...

THANK YOU ; w ; i'm glad you like them! @kiwi-smug-silvalina

oh gosh, that's a good question. i'm not entirely sure... uhmmm... i would say perhaps... details about how gemini!donnie's witchcraft looks and acts, VS how venus's witchcraft looks and acts...

it is very shiny. i like that people call it "the bean" instead of its actual title coz it pisses anish kapoor off.

ah ; w ; THANK YOU SO MUCH,,, thats so sweet and this made me very happy,,, <3 im glad you liked it!!!! @allegedllama

HEHEHE thank you. yes im aware that i am deranged.

omg same hat!!! i was a lifeguard and it was.... uh.... INTERESTING to say the least... (sometimes lovely, sometimes AWFUL...) @datfearlesschick

if by games you mean 'messed up deals that she can manipulate to her own advantage,' then yes! @frogonamelon

@beannary @spectralsleuth @heckitall @livsinpjs and the sep council as a whole!!! y'all's support has definitely meant so much and there's no way i'd have gotten as far with any of my projects as i have without them... or without literally ANY of the people who take the time to do things like reblog with tags, leave commentary in the tags, send in asks about my stories, etc etc etc! that's definitely one of my main motivators to create more!!! <3 thank y'all!

EEEE this made me smile, hehehehe. thank you :3c @thejavavoid

AAAAAA THANK YOU THIS GENUINELY MADE ME SO HAPPY COZ I WAS SO GODDAMN PROUD OF THOSE HANDS AND HOW THEY CAME OUT ; w ; THANK YOU @onejellyfishplease

thank you!!! u w u @fanrulerjynx

THANK YOU ; w ; I REALLY APPRECIATE THIS,,, it made me very very very happy and HEHEHE IM GLAD YOU LIKE YASSIFIED DRAXUM,,, i just think he DESERVES it, y'know? also thats just my favorite way to draw characters lmao I think it's fun so I decided for this comic I just get to indulge...

not necessarily-- this was mostly just a coincidence! @breezehurricane

oh gosh. i'm not sure, but i know it definitely WILL affect their parenting... i think at first donnie will find himself just... deferring to his partner a LOT in almost any situation because he's afraid that he'll fuck it up, because he DOESN'T feel like he understands proper boundaries or what parenting is supposed to look like, etc etc etc, and he's afraid he'll mess up. he probably reads a TON of parenting books as well because RESEARCH and will often try to pull directly from them in any situation he can, and is confused when things don't go exactly the way they were described in the text... leo i think kind of tends to flounder between being overprotective and feeling the desire to protect his son from everything and anything and wanting to overcorrect this tendency by pulling back and trying to give him as much freedom and space as possible, which sometimes leads to some... inconsistencies. there's definitely a learning curve for both of them, but they both get the hang of it eventually. they both have lovely partners and a very loving and supportive family to help them and they'll figure it out with a bit of practice.

ahhh thank you! :D im so delighted that my silly stories actually inspired something for you!!! hell yeah!!! MAKING THINGS IS GREAT!!! THANK YOU!!! @can-elope

i like to imagine them all staying very close, especially coz i'm loosely planning on them all going through the kraang-apocalypse together (and then coming through to the other side!) so i can't imagine them ever drifting too far from each other, emotionally or geographically. there's a bit of a rocky start for a lot of them, but all of the siblings end up a very tight-knit bunch.

[bigalockwood]

liaaa im curious about 23, 30, 32 and 36 for the writing asks!! 💜

Tina thanks for asking 💜💜💜 (sorry this got so long)

23) Dialogue or description? Why is the other one so hard?

It used to be dialogue for me, probably because I grew up reading fantasy, with lots of sweeping descriptions of landscapes and history. These days I find both of them to be equally easy, though there are of course stories/scenes where one or the other can be more difficult to get right.

30) Describe a fic that almost happened, but then it didn't.

Royally Whipped was originally going to be a bake off AU where Wille isn't a prince and Simon not a singer, so the goold ol' regular version of the show. I then realized that I actually absolutely can't write that story because I'm not a very experienced baker and don't have time to research but would need to make Wilmon seem like they know what they're doing (since you have to actually be good to participate in the show). Plus I like about them grapling with the public nature of their relationship.

32) Do you have a word/expression that you always use in your writing?

Unfortunately, yes. I try hard to not repeat words or expressions too much, but still fall victim to it. I think my characters sigh a lot (which is why I now often let the characters remark that someone sighed yet again). I've also definitely written "impossibly close" too many times. And there are probably thousands more but I'm kinda glad that I don't know about them lmao

36) How do you come up with fic titles? What's the one you're most proud of?

Sometime's they're song titles. Sometimes they end up being sort of descriptions of the plot, like Simon Eriksson hates breeches, or arm-biting (vindicitvely). I'm definitely proudest of Royally Whipped because until I uploaded the first chapter, I didn't know what to call it. I wanted it to be funny and a play on words but that was it. Then I settled on "royally something" and fairly quickly came up with whipped, which I loved becasue of its double meaning and the possibility to make it into a newspaper headline in the story.

[thetisming]

since you asked me to answer all of thhe questions, you gotta answer all of the questions too!

💖 Which of your fics is your pride and joy?

probably zombie saga, although i also love 'i will vandalize your grave in your name', the 7+1 fic and some others that i think im forgetting. OH and 'we were staying in paris'

🎥 Pick a fic and I'll tell you the song I imagine playing during its movie trailer.

well this requires imput from other people. so.

but i'll choose zombie saga!! and the trailer song is Mamma Mia by ABBA. naturally

📝 How many words do you have posted?

approximately 162609

🤩 What's the most meaningful comment you've ever received?

that fucking ESSAY that Plankton wrote about iwvygiyn

🔮What's your favorite plot twist you've ever written?

ohh, this is an interesting one actually. definitely something in zombie saga but im not sure what!

👄 Your OTP are having their first kiss. What song do you imagine is playing?

THIS IS SO FUNNY AS A MUSICAL FAN. uh I Kissed A Girl. because that is what happens yeag

🎭What genre of writing comes easiest to you?

ANGST. it's so much easier than happy stuff lol it's like poetry for me

🙊Your coworkers or classmates stumble across one of your fics, but don't know you're the author. Do you fess up? Or keep quiet?

yeah i would tell them

🙌What's a line or paragraph of yours that you're proud of?

"Go to sleep, Lance, and now that she’s gone you sleep with your mistakes" from my fic 'don't speak (i know just what you're saying)', but also many different things from (especially the second chapter of) iwvygiyn

🦉Is there another author that helped inspire you to write?

@fen-the-magnificat !!!!!

👶Fankids: How you do you feel about them? Would your OTP have kids?

i dont have any fankids unless you count the Dubois brothers, but i think they're neat! i dont know if Frankie and May would have kids but they would be AMAZING parents, and i dont think Juliet and Romeo would have any. William and Anne already have kids, and Lance has kids too which make them Angelique's kids

🐗How do you handle trolls?

i havent had any trolls

🟥How long do you spend in edits?

like 5 minutes to skim over it when ive put it in ao3 idk

🏡What is your perfect writing envrionment?

uh. i dont fucking know

💪What motivates you to write?

someone needs to write about my blorbos!!!

🚿Where do your best ideas seem to strike?

well zombie saga happened because i sent some dumb asks to Felix, anything about the wedding happening just comes randomly, and iwvygiyn came from a page of the sandman!

🌠What are your top three most commonly used tags on AO3?

uhh okay i'll do top 3 for each ig??

ratings: general (39), teen & up (38), not rated (1)

warnings: no warnings (52), chose not to use warnings (14), major character death (12)

categories: other (61), multi (49), F/M (46)

fandoms: & Juliet (74), citc (27), community (16) (last two are crossovers with &j btw)

characters: Francois (59), May (54), Juliet (51)

relationships: Francois/May (61), Juliet/Romeo (41), Juliet & May (34)

additional: title from an ABBA song (19), zombie apocalypse (18), not beta read (9)

overall top 3 are & Juliet, maycois/other (lumping those together lol) and Francois

💻What do you write your stories on? Laptop, phone, paper, etc.

laptop and phone!

🤔What are some words or phrases you find yourself overusing?

'Francois snuggled (etc etc)', probably, among other things lol

📕How do you feel about people printing your fics?

yeah fuck it just dont claim it as your own tbh

🤷‍♀️What's a fic you didn't expect to be popular, but really took off?

honestly. none. my readers are 3 friends and my brother and they all love everything basically

🍎What's something you learned while researching for a fic?

sinhalese isnt very gendered at all! it was refreshing cause normally i use italian and french which are very gendered

🥘What wip are you most excited about?

ohh... i think the new saga chapters lol

🦗Do you write in sequence or jump around?

not sure what this means sorry

👀 Would you ever accept requests or commissions?

yeah!! i might not get to them but i will try (if it's a commission i definitely will though!)

😱What's your greatest fear as a fanfic writer?

the actors reading my fics.

☕Coffee or tea while you write?

neither i am dehydrated

📈Which are your top three most popular fics by bookmarks?

'they forever hold their peace', 'Flower Crowns & Royalty' and 'Glee!' all with three bookmarks

🎬One of your fics gets turned into a TV series. Which one is it and what network is it on?

ZOMBIE SAGA FOR SURE. idk what network though

🛌 What's a trope you haven't written, but want to?

there was only one bed probably

🐸 If you incorporated your OTP into a Disney movie plot, which would it be?

i dont know, i dont watch enough disney

👩‍🎓 Do you have an 'official' creative writing background such as a degree or previous experience publishing?

nope

⏳If you could go back in time and tell your younger writer self something, what would it be?

already answered

💯 What rating do you write the most? Gen Audiences, Teen, Mature, or Explicit? How many fics at that rating do you have?

gen audiences with 39 fics!

😁What makes you happiest? New fic comments, kudos, bookmarks, user subscribers, story subscribers, or Tumblr asks?

COMMENTS !!!!!!!! AND TUMBLR ASKS and BOOKMARKS with nice comments!!!!!

🐎 Would you ever do a medieval or pirate au?

ohh, that could be fun actually

👩‍🏫Pick a character and I'll tell you their favorite season and why.

requires a character to be picked. i choose Frankie though and his favourite is autumn cause it's cold but not too cold

🎵Do you make playlists for your fics?

only sometimes!

🌷What's one of your fics that isn't as popular, but you hold dear?

my fromeo besties fics :)

❓Insert your own question here!

(not counted)

[siriuslysatorusimping]

AH I JUST GOT TO THE PART WHERE HE ASKED HER TO MARRY HIM !!! you really delivered with the happy ending 🫡 while i was reading these recent chapters i was thinking about how far they have come 😭 i literally remember finding this story when the first chapter had just come out and it makes me so happy with all the character growth and how the relationships between rinko and everyone (not just gojo but a lot gojo) have progressed. i have a little bit left of Another Level and Im so excited to start your other works.

your mind >>>>>

also, congrats on the new job!! and i do hope that the days do get easier. life is definitely rough at times but atleast from the way you write your characters and their values, i believe you are a good person and that things work out for good people. i hope this little corner of the internet that you have created can continue to be a positive for you through the days that are harder. sincerely rooting for u <3

-(ง'̀-'́)ง

AHHHHHH. IM SO GLAD YOU LIKED IT 🥹😭😭 I’ll share a fun fact about All That I Am Is Yours: I originally had it as All That I Am (Is Yours) but I didn’t want to give the impression that it was from Gojo’s perspective after how I’d titled (Please) Prove Me Wrong.

BUT HERE WE ARE. I CANT BELIEVE ITS BEEN SIX MONTHS SINCE I FINISHED ANOTHER LEVEL. ITS BEEN ALMOST A YEAR SINCE I STARTED WRITING IT.

I RANTED SO ITS BELOW THE CUT 🙃

The character development and the relationship development over the course of the series was so fun. It was just so beautiful and wonderful. Rinko and Gojo were beautiful, but I honestly enjoyed the development of Rinko and Megumi’s relationship because him going from immediately snapping “SHES NOT MY MOM” to “you raised me” was so endearing and sweet.

Thank you so much for your kind words 🥹 I do try very hard to be a good person. I’ve said a few times that I wrote more of myself into Rinko than I originally meant to when it came to her weaknesses, but many of her strengths are ones I wish I had. I wish I was as strong as she is.

Something my best friend and I were talking about recently was that I’m not sure if I’d have been able to find the strength to get through this if I hadn’t started writing Another Level. I needed Rinko. She stood up for herself and spoke her mind in situations where I’ve never been able to. But really, it was how I wrote her relationship with Gojo that opened my eyes. I wrote their relationship the way I wished mine was. The true, mutual respect that they have for each other. The fact that Gojo never belittled her and that he worked to fix his mistakes. That when they fought, they both admitted their faults in the end and worked to make sure they didn’t make the same mistakes again. The trust that they have for each other. I realized those were all things I desperately craved in my own relationship that were woefully absent.

That being said, the praise I got for Another Level also came during a time when I hadn’t received any for anything in so long. I was berated at work, and I was berated at home. I wasn’t allowed to be proud of myself for anything. Every achievement was too small to be proud of in everyone else’s eyes. So when the comments came in, when complete strangers began complimenting my writing and my storytelling when others never cared, it pulled me out of the pit in more ways than I could ever say.

Thank you again for being part of our lil corner and for rooting for me 💕💕 I hope you’re well!!!

[philtstone]

Writer asks! 3, 6, 10, 16!

im soooo late to replying to this but. thank you beloved and here we go

#3 What’s your favorite fic that you’ve written?

this is such a hard and mean question but here are some top contenders:

"easy, easy (my man and me)" - claire and jamie build a treehouse in the backyard. it came to me so effortlessly and i am still proud of the prose. also i sent it to my beloved high school english teacher and he loved it which makes it special! i don't think he realized it was fanfic lol

"hopeful." - sam and bucky accidentally adopt a bunch of super kids in the sort-of apocalypse. not prosaically perfect necessarily but my first ever completed chapter fic! i put a lot of myself into this one and it got me through a pretty tough year emotionally, and on top of that im actually proud of it!

"my daddy was a prominent frogman" - frodo baggins and his friends try to save their hippie summer camp from the evil industrialists. listen. this au is evergreen. 5 years later i have been inspired to write for it again, because it was just that good.

#6 Are there any fics from others you reread all the time?

Yes! of course!!! a staple of the genre! i say this and immediately forget every fic i've ever read!

I think the true brain changing fics are ones that i reread once a year or every few years. alternatively, i'll read one fic 10 times in a month. i read "let our joys so multiply" by @fallofrainblog 5 times in a week once so that gets a shoutout. every so often i have to go back and read irnan's star wars fics for personal reasons. also, the legendary anne fic catching moonlight which i go back to about once every 2 years. hilarious how 2 of these are ancient ffnet gems but there u go

its weird bc a lot of fics i'll forget about for years and then suddenly be like "oh yeah that one changed my brain irreversibly. i wonder if it holds up" and then i go find it again and am generally confirmed that it does, indeed, hold up.

#10 Is there a fic that got a different response than you were expecting?

Hmmm! many of them, frankly. there are some fics i write as throw aways with no expectation they will get traction, like "shut your mouth, hold your breath" or the very silly ponniyin selvan road trip au. there are others which I know are niche but still wish they had more traction so i had more external drive to finish them, because in theory i love the concept but just don't have the internal juice to see it through to the end. the force sensitive claire au is one of those i think. there are still others which are for huge fandoms and i am left wondering why they feel totally lost to the void. but that's all part of the deal, i guess, and quite often more related to my own ignorance of what is currently trendy

#16 At what point in the process do you come up with titles?

it really depends on the fic but very very rarely is the title conceived before the story. maybe for original fiction -- actually exclusively for original fiction do i do that. for fanfics i write the fic and then in the seconds before i post on ao3 i hail mary a title out of whatever divine inspiration is in that moment directly beamed into my brain from the heavens. usually in the form of song lyrics.

[cloudys-fics-and-art]

Hey! It’s CureDeity (sorry tumblr makes me ask from my main). I am here, in your inbox today, to rattle my little empty coin can and ask you to list some of your favorite beyblade fanfics! I’m going around asking a lot of people this, so feel free to ignore it if you want, but I thought this might be a good way for people to shout out some of the fanfic they really enjoy! Btw, if you can, I thought it would be helpful to list which site this fic was on so others could find it easier if they wanted to. Also, if you’ve written any fic (or have fic ideas, as we all know, imagining the same scene over and over again is the bread and butter of a writer), please also take this chance to have a massive, amazing ego and tell us which of your fics you're most proud of/is your favorite/etc.

Favorite MFB fics:

Boy was this not an easy question to answer. I’ve been in this fandom for a very long time, so I’ve read many MANY fanfics! In fact! The MFB fandom was my first fandom ever, it’s how I discovered fanfiction at age 13! Another funfact: many MANY fanfics I loved were deleted many years ago. So, I will go with what’s left!

Choosing my favorite fics was a toughie but I did my best to compile them in this answer! (I put links in all the titles, so you just click on them if you want to check them out!)

Life at the WBBA: Written by my lovely long time friend Liv aka Ollie! This fanfic is pretty much a lot of one-shots about the legendary bladers living at the WBBA, this fic eventually inspired my Adoption AU! So…If you want to see the OG, read this!

Almost Got 'Im: Also written by my beloved friend! Based on the iconic episode of Batman the Animated Series, the villains of the show reunite for a poker night while discussing how they almost beat Gingka. Spoilers: None of them did.

How to Make a Successful Match in Only Three Phases: This fanfic is something the lovely Liv actually wrote for me back in the day! As many of you know, I actually came up with the Yuki/Motti ship, and I’ll be honest, I thought I would get kicked out by the fandom. But instead Liv reached out to me and told me they had been inspired to write this thanks to one of my fics! This story is Benkei being a matchmaker, need I say more??

A Season Of Festivities: Now we go to another absolute legend! JuniperGentle aka Pippin! Their fanfics were always an absolute delight and this one is one of the most heartwarming ones! An anthology of MFB characters celebrating their winters holidays! Your fav character probably has a chapter, so give it a try!

Phosphorus: THIS FIC OMG! Okay, so, it’s still unfinished BUT GOSH IS IT GOOD! It’s an AU where Tithi is the one that follows Ryuuga around instead of Kenta!

Kenta's Imagination: This is one of the first fanfics in English I’ve ever read, and frankly, the concept of Kenta playing pretend is timeless!

 Underappreciated: Ever since the old fanfic days, Madoka would get the short end of the stick thanks to weirdos writing hate fics about her like there was no tomorrow. HOWEVER, there were a few good writers that wrote nice fics featuring her. I think this is my favorite, it’s simple, adorable, and it explores her character nicely!

Yu and Kenta's Scavenger Hunt: Literally what the title suggests! The sillies in a scavenger hunt!

The Best Nickname: Hands down THE BEST old fanfic that explores Yu’s and Tsubasa’s friendship. Tsubasa ponders about why he is the only one Yu never gave a nickname to! But little did he know, he has one. Yu is just secretive about it.

What Makes Her Different: Okay, so this one is a bit personal. This was the very first fanfic in English I read by myself without google translator. I was still struggling learning the language, but I loved the few things I understood about this fic, so I would read it over and over until I managed to fully understand it! It’s an abandoned fanfic (the writer had an incident with their old computer and could never finish it). It’s about Madoka suddenly getting sick and her friends taking care of her because she always looks out for them. It might be incomplete but it’s sweet!

As I was writing this list, I realized that most of the fics I like from AO3 are already on your fanfic list, so I decided to not add them. I hope you like this little list of recommendations!

To answer you another question, it is very hard to choose because I love most of the fics I’ve written.

However…I think I would have to go with five fanfics:

The Backdoor: I cannot express how much fun I had writing this. I loved coming up with the bits of Beyblade history, including details from Zero G, and having Yuki and Motti go through this little adventure! I am also pretty sure this was one of the first fics I wrote after I got back into the MFB fandom after many years. Thanks to a silly series of events on Tumblr, I met a lot of wonderful people in the fandom that I’m glad to have in my life!

So a Few Villain Kids Walk Into a Youth Group and...:

Writing this was such a challenge, but I am so happy I managed to finish it! I been having a lot of headcannons about the cult of Nemesis for a long time and this fic is just the tip of the iceberg! I loved writing Johannes dealing with group therapy and having to face the fact that he has friends.

 They Are My Boys:

When I wrote this fic I was a bit scared of sharing this AU with the world. But the fact that it was received so warmly just encouraged me to keep writing!

I'm Not Nice!:

So…Writing this one was a surprise even for me because I have a confession to make…I can’t stand Kyoya. But something about writing a fanfic with everyone dunking on him and his bad boy persona was so fun!

And finally…

The Drawbacks of Being Raised in an Isolated Temple:

So, writing this fic took me a lot of work because I had to talk to a lot of people about some questions I had to make this fic work, and the amazing support I got from those friends made me realize how much I love to write friendship and found family. I loved writing the friendships and dynamics in this fanfic and then the reception was so overwhelmingly positive, I was ecstatic!

There is another reason why this fic means a lot to me, it’s a bit personal but let’s just say that it brought something back to my life and I couldn’t be more thankful!

Thank you so much for this ask! I hope my answer was satisfying!

[urlbending]

2022 Year End Fic Review

in the words of a very ancient internet joke, better nate than lever!!

1. What is your AO3 account?

My ao3 is lookatallthemoresigive, because that was my tumblr url at the time i created my ao3. I desperately need to change it but I'm having trouble coming up with a new one and am worried if i switch I'll lose brand recognition, which is hilarious bc my MO is to write a fic or two for a fandom and then bounce

2. How many words did you write total in 2022?

I wrote 8,487 published words, but i have at least 7k unpublished. There is a very long rangshi capture the avatar au that been languishing in my drafts for over six months that im hoping to finish up and post this year. I am not a particularly fast writer because i obsess over every word i use, but I've found that with practice im getting faster and better at writing more

3. How many fics did you publish in 2022? How many multichapters vs oneshots?

I published 4, which is about my usual (a couple of random scattered fics + yuletide). They're all oneshots of varying length. My new years resolution is to write 5 fics this year!! I'm holding myself to it. One day I'll write a complete multi-chapter fic, but it's not currently in the cards.

4. What was your longest fic? Your shortest fic?

Longest: a kyoshi novels fic about hei-ran, 바늘 구멍으로 하늘 보기

4,441 words that i agonized over, including the title. I'm super proud of this fic.

Shortest: your hair never falls in quite the same way, a locked tomb missing scene fic clocking in at 890 words.

I honestly had a pretty quick turnaround time writing this one. After i had a lovely and overwhelming response to a rangshi drabble in 2021, I've been trying to be better about posting fics regardless of their length. Sometimes, hitting 1k or even 500 words is not necessary to tell a story

5. What was your most popular fic? Your least popular fic?

Most popular: kiss you too hard and follow you west another quick turnaround, this is a rangshi fluff fic so i’m not surprised

Least popular: Shinrin-Yoku, my gen character study yuletide fic for a video game that came out in 2020. I'm not losing any sleep over it. Its currently at a 15% kudos to hits ratio which good!

6. What fic didn’t perform as well as you thought it would?

Listen, I died on some weird hills last year (the love interest’s mom needs more of a backstory!!!!), so any response is a good response. I guess I was secretly hoping your hair never falls would usher in an era of camilla/nona fics bc i was certain it was going to be a thing, but the book came out and crushed those dreams. I still maintain nona had a crush on cam!!

7. What fic performed way better than you thought it would?

바늘 구멍으로 하늘 보기 because as I mentioned above, it was a character centric fic focused on a minor character. glad the kyoshi novels fandom appreciates milfs!

8. What was your favorite fic you wrote from 2022?

This is turning into a whole arc. I love the nona fic dearly, it makes me happy every time i read it, but im so proud i pulled off that hei-ran fic. Writing a character arc is not easy or as instantly gratifying as making two characters kiss. I knew I was pouring my heart (research into ancient Korean tea ceremonies for half a scene! Politics! Asking @funnefatale to bug fandom friends for Korean sayings for me!) into a work that simply might not be received. Also, I finally came out to my mom around the time i was writing this for unrelated reasons, and this fic reminds me of that 💕

9. What was your favorite fic that somebody else wrote in 2022?

by land, by sea, by dirigible, @firstelevens' amazing c&d/tfatws fic which gave me everything i needed for BOTH shows. A two for one, can you believe!!

falling (for you) like snow on christmas, a warrior nun ava/bea hallmark au. I watched a lot of hallmark type christmas movies last year, and this fic delivered on the coziness these movies provide and the chemistry they usually don't. Also, it relased daily during the week leading up to christmas, corresponding to the days in the chapters, which was super fun to experience in real time.

10. Tag your friends to do this year-end fic review as well!

@funnefatale @isabrella and anyone else who wants to do this meme!

[sungbeam]

here to flood your inbox with the questions✨

BUT HI DUCKIE MEIMEI 💗

3, 4, 9, 15, 18, 19, 21, 23, (IM SO SORRY FOR STEALING SO MANY NUMBERS BUT THESE QUESTIONS ARE SO GOOD), 28, 29, and 34

signing off with love

- ash

ash jie !!!! tysm for ur ask ^_^ and omg ty for the influx of numbers hehe <3

fanfic writer asks

3. What's been your most popular fic this year?

oh it was definitely my beomgyu drabble mine !! it was the fic that got me a ton of my followers and it's my first post to reach 1k and 2k+ notes which was super exciting :')

4. What piece of writing are you most proud of?

find my answer to #4 here!

9. What's a scene you wrote this year that you're particularly proud of?

hmm kind of a hard question cuz sometimes i think i'm a genius and other times i think a scene just doesn't work 😭😭 but ,,, i'll say i remember being super satisfied w lost at sea the pilot episode/chapter for my *cough* unfinished riptide!mark lee series ha,, haha

15. Are there are other writers or artists who have inspired you?

OH MY GOD SO MANY (´Д⊂ヽ i'm just gonna name drop :') @ethereal-engene ofc, @loveliestfelix @korijime @jaehunnyy @leejungchans @goldenhypen @/maijunejuly @petrichor-han @tranquilpetrichor @justalildumpling @polarisjisung @stayarmytinyzenmoa-l probs many more as well ksfbkenf but thank u all for being such amazing people who light up my dms and dashboard and make me want to keep writing and dreaming :')

18. Do you have a fic that you wish received more attention?

lmao a few tbh so i'll recommend a few 😁

— cruel summer (kim seungmin)

— the cage (yoon jeonghan)

— in all your endeavors, forever (kim hongjoong)

— 11:22am (jung sungchan)

19. What was your favorite comment, or piece of feedback this year?

definitely has to be ash jie's full review of in all your endeavors forever like having a whole post dedicated to a very through review of MY OWN fic just,,, omg it just made my day fr like woah mind-blown yk? so thank u sm jie :'( 💖

but in general, any feedback or comment just makes me so warm and fuzzy and excited !! once, someone told me they came back from the dead to remind people that i was one of the best writers here and tbh i could cry 😭😭😭 ??

21. Not a question, but a challenge! Say something nice about your writing!

*panics* UHM!! i,,, like that i've been improving in the description department? idk bro (´Д⊂ヽ like i'm trying to be more patient with my descriptions and i def have some work to do w solving my white room syndrome, but i think i'm getting better w touchy feely emotional things lol

23. What fic did you enjoy writing the most?

i actually really enjoyed writing the fics with crack/humor in them a lot! i write a lot of angst and i do enjoy writing that too, but i also love writing banter sm

will specifically mention this jungwon fic and this nct dream fic tho

28. What is your favorite story or chapter title you came up with this year?

OOH !!! uhhhhh i really like "cruel mercy" (wip), "bird hunt" (wip), and "dear chan, have you ever been in love before?"

29. What was the funniest comment or piece of feedback that you received?

AHAHHAHA when i posted the one beomgyu drabble for my october mini series, almost all the reblogs were talking abt how tf were those cheesy pickup lines attractive 💀🤡 tbh only beomgyu could make corny ass pick up lines attractive but yuh ✨ also whenever em rbs my stuff, she's so funny sjfnejfbj like i once posted a fic at 2am and she rb'd w smth like wait y aren't u asleep beam (ignoring the fact that she was also not asleep 💀)

34. What's the weirdest thing you researched for a fic?

LMAOO i don't think i remember half the things i google while in the moment tbh 🤣 but i vividly remember going down the rabbit hole of cheerleader positions and stunts for this one wip bc idk what any of that cheer stuff is called (´Д⊂ヽ and i think soon i'm gonna need to spiral down the dance rabbit hole too @_@ like figuring out waltzes and tangos and what that one dance intak did for isac :')

[yostresswritinggirl]

@butterfly-mochi​ Rewrote this freaking thing thrice because it keeps getting deleted wth tumblr agjvahkfajkvk- I enjoyed writing it a lot tho and since I’m too weak to the characters I ended up writing for all of them (except for Sucrose, im sorry bb huhu, I ran out of brain power). This is my first time writing for so many of them in one go so please excuse me for any mistakes or blandness ywy thank you for letting me write for my baby Ganyu too hhhhh

Universe Reversal 2

Genshin Impact Character Reader and Modern Players with Zhongli, Childe & Ganyu (how they simp for you) (event masterlist / Part 1 / Part 3)

Zhongli the F2P

The most relatable out of the bunch because this man is still broke and can only rely on the primogems he can farm. And he had a LOT. The one thing he doesn’t have a lot on, however, is his luck.

So how did he manage to pull you?: Well after exhausting all his primogem on your banner with nothing but weapons and other characters, he has lost his resolve. But by some weird luck, there was a character bug that was fixed and in his email was the almighty consolation primogem. Enough for ONE pull. And by the Gods he FINALLY got you.

He’d nonchalantly post his screenshot of pulling you using a single acquaint fate in his friend group without any words and everyone else just loses their shit. “You got them in one pull?!” “Yeah” A riot.

This was partnered with the fact that not only is Zhongli an F2P player, but also barely has any five star characters.

He looks calm and apathetic over the news, but behind the screen he’s exhausted and relieved, silently livid.

He has no primogems left to squeeze for a constellation so you’re instead pampered with the best weapon suitable for you (because that’s all he keeps getting).

Zhongles spends most of his time farming for materials to quickly level you up, unlocking all your stories and voiceline, but he fucked up on your build (his artifacts are messy).

He follows communities, forums and videos regarding your character to know all the things he needs to perfect your build. You can barely make a dent against normal mobs, so he knew he was doing something VERY wrong.

Is the type of person to keep refreshing the page for new content, very updated.

Ask him a question about your character and he’s gonna bring you the word vomit that is his research. He’s not gonna stop- probably accidentally developed a copypasta for you.

Also follows your VA in both Tiktok and Twitter to indulge in every bit of content. He also has that screenshot of his pull saved and locked.

On his birthday, a friend of his gifted him a chibi plushie of you and he has treasured it ever since, treating and handling it like its a figurine.

“It is merely pure luck and grace from the gacha gods that I got this character, and I will make sure that they know I am very grateful for this fortune.”

Favorite Voiceline: Birthday Message

Childe The Whaler

This lucky wealthy bastard with no remorse for his money whales for EVERY character. He’s making a collection, which is to get all the characters, especially the five stars. So when your banner finally popped up, he’s gonna square up and trigger a whole ass meteor shower.

How he pulled you: Money. His luck with this games are actually not the best so he always compensates with money, he got you halfway through the first failed pity, almost giving him a heart attack that he might actually break the bank just to get you.

And then he pulls more to raise your constellation lol.

The first thing he does is look over your character info and read through it all; constellation infos, your base stats, artifact compatibility.

At the end when he’s maximized everything, he would then focus on playing around with your character *coughs climbing noises coughs*

He thought you’d just be another part of his collection but playing with your character was very enjoyable and in-line with his playstyle- oops 100 screenshots with the Kamera-

Any and all merchandise that he fancies would be his, and he’s definitely flexing it to the other sweetie nerds who call themselves simps. He’s fighting for the simping title, and he’s currently neck and neck with this fanartist in Pixiv.

Speaking of that fanartist, he definitely commissioned an expensive and detailed portrait of you, full rights and everything. No one else was allowed to use it but him.

Was also the first one with the audacity to call out your VA to create an account on Tiktok to create more content with your voice. He was successful.

His obssession also comes in the form of self-indulgent contents, and had been keeping track of the ship wars happening. During conventions, he cosplays as the character shipped with you the most (or the character he thinks should end up with you).

Silently scrutinizing those who cosplay you, only ever taking pictures with/of the best looking one, sorry haha

Definitely flaunts that you are his waifu/husbando and will fight for best girl/best boy during debates or polls. Has mobilized the community to vote for you once. He’s very persuasive.

“Hm? Why I’m just the best collector in the game, and I am more than happy to let everyone know that I am their number one fan haha, everyone who claims otherwise is definitely wrong!”

Favorite Voiceline: More About (Y/N) I-IV, (Y/N)’s Hobbies...

Ganyu the Employed

Ganyu, our dearest overworker, is one of the players in the older stage who actually has a job but still plays Genshin for their past times. The gorgeous sceneries and the music is her main focus in playing the game, not much of a try-hard but still decent in the combat mechanics.

How she pulled you: You came home within 50 pulls! And you appeared again after another 10 pull! Ganyu was so SHOOKT and so distressed because oh goodness, what does she do? She doesn’t know anything much about you!

Will rewatch your three trailers to try and understand your skills better, ended up saving the soundtracks from them because that was such a nice trailer music! Tnbee gains a new follower!

Ganyu will take a while before she can properly play or build you up because she’s so busy with work, she only ever plays when she feels fully done with her work.

During her break she plays with your character while multi-tasking on eating, earphones plugged in and sight on the phone as she farms materials and artifacts for you.

The moment she gets more help from her player friends tho, holy shit, you just ended up being so OP. She had so many good artifacts and weapons for you because she didn’t know what they were for before.

She loves how you’re so easy to use and can easily solo the enemies and even the boss fights. A huge breather, because now Ganyu can cheese the battles that takes a while, to give her more time to focus on the storyline and lores.

Since Ganyu plays for the story and aesthetic, she’ll find you almost always in her team. Still very proud of her pull, she makes the best screenshots of your fights or in the best angle through exploration.

Treasures you so much she starts talking to her phone- “Ah, no, please don’t fall.” “There’s violetgrass up there, let’s try and get it”

Blushes everytime you produce a sound when climbing, doesn’t change you anyways tho

Hums to your trailer music while working, and if permitted, would have the song on repeat while she buries herself in work. She finds it really refreshing and the time she spends in work miraculously flies by fast when she gets lost in the sound.

At one point, when she was given a day-off or if the convention was on her free time, she attends to look for cosplayers of you and take a picture. No one rejects her because she’s so adorable and cute when asking shyly.

Had brought a decent amount of merchandise, preferably the functional/practical ones like a phone cover, mug or keychain. Also has an earphones clamp with your little chibi self as the holder.

When asked, she would shyly announce that she likes your character the most.

“Their character theme and music really soothes me during work, it feels nice to have them, and I have not once regretted ever pulling for them. They are the best.”

Favorite Voicelines: Good Night/Afternoon..., About Us, Something To Share..., Interesting Things...

so enjoyable...

@moaa @zelos-simp @legionqueensav @dandelion-dreams @snackgod @rxsalinee

[unlikelyempathpruneauthor]

Always and forever

summary: Fans see you and Calum cuddled together in a video and they wonder who the mystery girl is.

a/n: the video they posted of all of them in their studio “announcing” the fifth album. Also I love how Michael announced they're making an album just like that haha. Also I'm writing this as if the pandemic wasn't even a thing because it's more fun that way haha, also reader is known by hanging out with Sierra and the guys. This is my first calum fic so feedback is always acceptable

You and the girls were all invited to come to the guy’s studio to check out and see them make the beginning of their new album, you were so excited for them and you and the girls would be standing behind them and supporting them on the new album.

You were getting ready while Cal waited for you downstairs, you didn't dress up that much, you only wore one of Cal's hoodies and a pair of jeans. You knew you were gonna be there for a while so you were gonna dress comfortably. You always liked seeing cal do his thing, you admired how passionate he was when it came to his work. As you walked down the stairs you noticed Cal was laying on the couch looking at his phone so you joined him as he took you in his arms.

“Are you ready to go?” he said as you looked up at him and nodded.

“Yeah I am, I'm excited for you guys.” you said with a smile as he pulled you in for a kiss.

“Thank that means a lot, I'm glad I have you here with me, I mean you are my inspiration after all.” he said you giggled and he pulled you in for a small cuddle.

“You know i'll always be here for you, always.” you said muffled as you two cuddled on the couch before leaving your place.

You were one of the many people Calum cared for, he always thought that he would never fall in love again, but with you it was different, he was able to be more than himself when you were with him. You allowed his mind to be open with you. To even add more to this story, you thought you wouldn't love again as well, you were heartbroken so many times as well, and well when you met cal, you two probably fell in love with one another the first time you two laid eyes on one another. You two met as if you were normal people, well you were introduced by Luke’s girlfriend, but nonetheless you met as normal people.

As you arrived you hung out with Sierra, while the boys were doing their warm up and a little while after KayKay and Crystal showed up and the gang was pretty much there.You and the girls were always here to support your guys, it was practically tradition, but this was a nice thing to do, since not everyday you see everyone. As much as you missed the boys you missed your girls. 

The cameras then started to roll for a small announcement for the fans to see, it wasn't official yet, but the guys wanted to place a nice presence in the video for the fans to guess what they were up to. Which is why you chose the traditional hoodie and jeans because you knew fans would assume its you and you hoped this disguise worked since you and cal haven't gone official, or so you thought.

When the boys were kinda stuck they called a break the guys all went to their gals and cal walked over to your on the couch and cuddled you as you kissed him. “How's it going rockstar?” you asked as he looked over at you with a smile as he placed a kiss on your lips and he got comfortable with you.

“Pretty good, got some good lyrics in and a couple of new tunes.” he said as he moved to be the little spoon and he took his beanie off so you could play with his hair, this was one of the many things he likes when he needed inspiration or relax, mainly both but you were happy to do so. “Hey, that's good bubs, I'm happy it's going well, I'm proud of you.” you said he looked at you in awe and just couldn't believe how lucky he was.

For him he always found inspiration for lyrics in moments like these. No matter how small or big the moments were, there was always some sort of feeling he felt, it was more than love. He never felt this way ever in his life before, he knew he would follow you everywhere and you would do the same.

“Im making another song about you,” cal said as you looked down at him again, you loved that he made you songs, but you knew his fans would probably like to hear different songs. “Cal you don't have to, you should focus on what your fans like.” you said as he looked up at you with a pout, “babe, the fans would love you once they know, and besides its pretty official, the boys love it.” he said as you giggled, “Don't worry about that love, besides my fans probably like you more than me and they don't even know yet.” he said as you two laughed a little and your cuddle sesh continued before he had to go back in.

After a couple more hours of the boys working and you guys getting to listen to some of the music they had come up with, you were very excited to hear the final cut. You were proud of the progress they all made, you knew the final cut would turn out great.

You all said their goodbyes and hopped to see them again for another meet up session. You and Cal went home and did your normal night routine, you would watch another movie or a couple episodes of a show you were currently watching. Then you would eat some dinner, you either made something small or you ordered some food. After you eat you would head up to your shared room and do your skincare, you two always loved doing it together, especially sheet face masks, those were your favorite and he always had a couple pictures of you two, but mainly you.

This was pretty much “normal” about your lives, and he cherished them everyday, especially when he was away on tour, he would always look back at your silly pictures together and remember that you were always going to be there waiting for him. You missed him as well when he was away and you were grateful you had a part of him, which was duke, you would take him on walks and little small picnic dates which you later showed cal, which he loved how you would take care of him while he was away. He was practically your son, but you didn't know that was your title, it was a secret between cal and duke.

As the morning hit you woke up with cal’s arms around you as you looked over at him seeing his sleepy self. You knew that these sessions took up a lot of energy internally since he was creating music for everyone to hear. You enjoyed seeing him sleeping peacefully. You snuggled closer to him as you kissed his jaw and he started to wake up a little.

“Good morning love” he said with his morning voice as you two kissed one another, “Good morning, how'd you sleep bubs?” you said as duke had climbed in between you too as you kissed duke, “pretty good as usual i had you in my arms.” he said as you looked up to him with a smile.

The first night you two spent the night together, you both fell asleep instantly, the things that were planned for the rest of the night had been swiped away, but you two enjoyed being with one another even if you were just sleeping. You two helped one another sleep, you couldn't remember the last time you actually had a good night's sleep. When calum was away, he couldn't sleep and he would be so tired when he would come home, which he felt bad for because he wanted to spend the day with you, but you always insisted on him to rest and that you would be by his side when he woke up since you too were tired and needed him by your side.

As you were eating breakfast, the video their team worked on was posted, it was very simple, nothing too complex about it. Cal knew his team was amazing so he was gonna wait to see it once it was posted by one of the guys.

His phone then started to blow up, first it was twitter, then it was instagram. Your phone then too started to ring. You both looked at one another with a quite confused look, cal picked his phone up and then he saw the video that his team posted, it looked so good to him, but when he went to the comments, he saw people were tagging you as you were seeing that as well on your phone.

@5sosforever3CALM: OMG thats literally @y/n! OMG OMG

@5sosupdates: CAL HAS A GIRL, SIERRA PROBABLY GOT THEM TOGETHER

@lukemikeycalash: HOLD UP IS THAT @y/n????

@caldreams: YALL REALLY OUT HERE POSTING THIS WITH NO CONTEXT

He went back to the video and looked at it closely, and there was a clip of the two of you on the couch having your small moment. Your face wasn't clear to the camera, but how did they know? Your hair was showing and your nose, but how could they get that from one clip? He looked at his tagged photos and saw that they were comparing you side to side with your side profile.

“Oh no, our fans are literally FBI agents, how did they get that from one picture?” Cal said as you giggled, then saw Luke's contact appear and you answered it.

“Hey.” you said with a giggled, “hey, have you seen the comments?” he asked as cal answered, “yeah we saw, but how do they know it's her?” he said as those two kept going back and forth. “So should i ask out team to delete it?” he asked as you shook your head, “Luke it's fine, i'm not that bothered, doing nothing will just let them make up other theories.” you said as you were calm the outside, but you were freaking out on  the inside.

“Are you sure?” cal asked as you nodded, “yeah i am, as long as you're okay with it.” you said as he nodded and you said goodbye to luke and you two continued your breakfast.

You sat on the couch after breakfast and did your normal thing, you knew Cal was freaking out because he was still on his phone trying to see if the fans were coming up with new theories, but no they were stuck on it. He was freaking out because he wanted you to feel comfortable, you both agreed on keeping your relationship private, but you knew once it was out of the bag people would find out.

“Cal, if you want we can announce it officially.” you said as he looked over at you with a smile. He had been wanting to go official years back, but he respected you and well he liked keeping your relationship private, since most things in his life were already out there. He wanted something serious with you and he wanted this to do it right.

“Really? Are you sure? I don't want you to feel pressured because the fans are figuring it out.” he said as you nodded, “yes cal, besides you looked stressed out, we've been together for 5 years and besides like you said hopefully they'll like me.” you said as he shook his head, “no they're going to love you as much as i love you.” he said as the both of you had pulled up pictures of the two of you and captioned it, “Alright done, ready?” he asked as you nodded,“3...2….1!” he said as you both posted the pictures and you had turned off your phones. You knew it would be blowing up in minutes, so today was going to be spent with one another. 

The next morning you woke up by a duke who had climbed into the bed as you saw Cal was missing, he probably had gotten up to make breakfast,“Hey duke, where's your dad huh.” you said as you held him in your arms as you walked towards the kitchen where cal had been preparing the table for you guys to eat. “Hey rockstar, what's this for?” you asked as you placed duke down and cal placed his hands on your jaw and you moved in to a kiss, as you smiled through it.

“Just wanted to make my lady some breakfast.” he said as you saw him being all cheeky and you grinned at him, almost making him blush, “Well this is nice, does it have to do with what we did yesterday?” you said as he nodded with a slight grin,“Depends on what you’re talking about” he asked as he smirked at you slapped his arm playfully. You two had gotten in the mood and well it's probably best to keep it a secret.

“Cal! Not in front of duke.” you said as you two laughed and nodded, “well i liked what we did after the post, but yeah the fans reacted well.” he said as you smiled seeing him so happy, “I'm glad, wait what picture did you post?” you asked as you got your phone and clicked on instagram, “just a couple of us and one of duke,” he said as you nodded and looked through. The first one was of the two of you two on your first date, which was one of the many dates you had after going out, but this one was your first date as boyfriend and girlfriend. The second one was a picture of the two of you asleep on the tour bus, when you had tagged along with them since you had free time saved up and cal loved that you were there, he was able to see you everyday, even when he was preforming and you were in the crowd.

“Where did you get that one of us on the bus?” you asked in awe of that picture, “the guys took it after the show and they later sent it to me,” he said with a smile as you swiped to the next photo. This was a picture of you when Cal and the guys were nominated for an award and even won and he brought it home to you and took a silly picture with the award. the next one was the first night you spent together and you were doing sheet face masks, that's how it all got started. And the last one was a picture of you and duke when you first met, duke was all over you and was happy to finally meet you. You remembered all of these moments clearly, they were moments you cherished the most. You then looked at the caption and cal had seen your eyes trailing the text waiting to see you reaction.

@calumhood: i guess you guys figured it out, so here it is. This is my soulmate, my person and Duke's mom. I never thought i would love again, but the day i met her i was already falling for her and well she's the best thing that has ever happened to me and of course our pup Duke. The day she came into mine and duke’s life we were blessed. She inspires me to be a better person and artist everyday and is the inspiration to all of the music I write for the band, so you can thank her for our records. She is one of the many people I love in life and I hope you can love her the same way I do. Duke and I  love you forever and always. @y/n <3

You looked up at him with small tears in your eyes and a smile. He looked over at you and saw you were crying as he was worried he didn't expect you to cry.

“Hey, you okay? What's wrong? Did someone say something?” he asked as you nodded, “yeah you did,” you said with a smile showing him the caption he wrote and he smiled and gave you a hug. You then cut your moment short and looked at Duke and back at him,“I'm Duke's mom?” you asked as he looked at you in awe and nodded, “yeah of course you are, you always were, probably since the first day you spent the night. He was pretty bummed out after you left.” he said as he remembered that day his pup was missing their favorite girl.

“Aw cal, all i wrote in the caption was a heart,” you said as he shook his head, “love, you show me everyday how much you love me, especially when we were away, this was my way to show you as well, but i'm not stopping there, i will show you everyday how much you mean to duke and i, but especially me. I meant what I said, forever and always.”  he said as you kissed him and duke had wanted some in on this moment.

You two who never believed in soulmates or even love yet you both found it again. The love you two have was something you couldn't describe with words. It was out of this universe to be quite frank with you. You were soulmates lost, and once found, you were happy with one another, your love was strong, any other couple would have broken up when their significant other was away, but the both of you were different. Different but perfect for one another. Cal knew that once you were in his life he would do his very best to keep you in his life forever and always.

[a-lil-perspective]

Are you taking requests? I saw the post you made about Hunter with the Zygerrian whip, and I was wondering if you could write something about Hunter saving the reader who was kidnapped and sold to the Zygerrian slave traders?

Your writing is amazing by the way! ❤️

Angel, thank you so much for your patience on this one. Okay. I am incredibly excited. This is a Hunter x Reader fic but tis a small slice of the overall story; it is so much more than that *looks at the word count, laughs nervously* a lot more than that. Y’all know I don’t do anything by halves. I can feel your collective eye rolls at that, but bear with me. There’s a lot of moving parts here. Also a really neat connection to a canon character that I am so stoked about. You’re going to want to buckle up for this one because it’s a ride. I will admit I’m actually extremely proud of this fic; I love the way it turned out. It was approached very scrupulously with a lot of new perspectives and executions and I hope it shows. It feels good to share a big phat fic again. Also this is the first time I’ve never had a title for a fic what is happening. Feedback for this baby is very much appreciated; I’m really curious to know what you guys think.

[Warnings: Depictions of Slavery/Oppression, Canon-Typical Violence, Mild Swearing and Suggestiveness]

Finally using my tag list again: @shadow-hyder @starflyer-104 @thegoodbatch @halzore @fxndxmxnxce @karpasia @kriffingunlucky @mangoberry43 @mackstrut @godhateskyleigh @pearlyarmor @razzlefrazzum @the-mandalorian-clone-lover @batch-baddie @kaitou2417 @jedi-mando @jonamore @j-ma26-rb @im-just-earbuds-and-a-notebook @skippyhopperwisdom (Tag List is always open/updatable:))

———

“I can’t wait to get off this rock.”

Hunter was speaking for all of them in that moment as they trudged through the marshy outskirts of yet another backwater world. Recon had been sorely uneventful, the topography marked largely by forestry with rural but thriving colonies to only sparsely populate. After several rotations the hum drum grew arduous, and even Hunter in all his inclinations for peace was ready to pull out. It was, perhaps, too quiet; that familiar itch of action came back to agitate before long. The Republic had withdrawn from their frivolous propaganda efforts days ago, meanwhile the Bad Batch straggled because they fell enrapt with the flora and fauna.

‘They’ meaning ‘Tech’.

Hunter interrupted the newest spiel in asking, “Have you heard from Specs yet?”

“Maybe she’s gone to live up to her name,” Crosshair snickered.

Specs indeed lived up to her name.

‘Specs’, a rather eccentric derivative of the word ‘inspects’, there wasn’t a nickname more fitting for a woman who constantly assessed her everything. She had captivated the Bad Batch with a scrupulousness that rivaled even Tech’s; she didn’t back down around them—in fact, their moxie only seemed to drive her own. She was an addition that perpetually set their team ablaze. Adamant to follow her own path, do her own thing—oftentimes in a literal sense, such as when she’d deviate from the group (much in the same mannerisms as Tech and most of the time as his accomplice) like she had earlier that day. But the information she’d reliably acquisition each time proved invaluable, and so nobody objected to it.

“No, but I’m sure she is on her way back as we speak,” Tech reasoned.

“She missed the rendezvous time,” Hunter crossed his arms. “Not like her. If she got held up she would’ve communicated.”

“There’s an unusual static here,” Tech mused, eyes cast to his devices. “It’s intermittent, but it’s affecting even my sufficient company of frequencies.”

“It’s spotty; like jammed?”

Tech hesitated as if Hunter brought up what he was trying to avoid.

Tech focused on rebooting his systems. “It’s beginning to appear that way.” A moment passed, and he attempted to patch through. “Specs, come in.”

Silence.

“I’m not picking her up on my sensors,” Tech relayed.

“You don’t think she just... disappeared, do you?”

“There’s more to it, Wrecker,” Hunter stroked his chin. “There has to be.”

“Technically speaking there is no presence of her whatsoever,” Tech unhelpfully clarified. “I’ve managed to run a full planetary scan. Her signature comes up empty.”

“She’s gotta be here—Mardy is still here,” Wrecker protested.

“What about the ship we saw land some hours back?” Hunter addressed, having come to ignore Wrecker’s peculiar nickname for their own. “Did we ever get a reading on the vessel?”

The thought must’ve reminded Tech, as he straightened energetically and pulled up a holo-documented image from earlier. It paid to capture footage of one’s surroundings, and it was times like these Hunter could truly appreciate his youngest brother’s thoroughness. Tech zoomed in, eyes narrowing behind his thick lenses. “There is a symbol here on the starboard, but I need a moment to match it in the databanks—”

“Zygerrian.”

Everyone shot up to Crosshair, who rolled his eyes at the theatrics.

“Don’t ask me how I know.”

Hunter thought the cryptic plaster was weird, but not unprecedented, of his sniper brother.

“So what does that mean? What are they?” Wrecker queried.

Crosshair’s jaw tightened. “Slavers.”

***

“Look at the traffic of this place...”

“That’s a slave empire for you, Wrecker,” Hunter joined in gawking out the viewport at the ship congestion and mass of planet filling it. Cursory research pointed them with ease to the planet Kadavo as being the centralization of slavery in that part of the Galaxy. Seemed like a good place to start as any. With the disappearance of Specs and the presence of slavers almost in sync, it wasn’t hard to put two and two together.

“Shall I start wreaking havoc on their communications system?”

“No, Tech, not yet,” Hunter said. “We have to get clearance to land, first.” He hailed a frequency, and sighed. “Time for a cover story.”

“Selling or buying?”

“Selling,” Hunter answered. “We have a small cargo from off-world.”

“We do?” Tech hissed.

Hunter cast his little brother a smirk, earning flared nostrils in return. “Transmitting clearance codes,” he signaled to Tech who, impressively, multitasked a glare and the code transference in that moment.

“Proceed to platform E11,” the regional voice instructed. “You will be met with appraisers and guided through the transaction.”

Hunter offered a grunt and disconnected from the channel. Immediate company was to be expected. He turned and stopped short at the sight of Tech: arms crossed, boot tapping erratically as he crested a tantrum.

“You’re not thinking of putting me up for auction,” he chased his surmise.

Crosshair chuckled, drawn to making a deliberate appraisal of Tech. “I think we should sell him.”

“They wouldn’t be able to afford me!”

Wrecker bellowed with laughter, giving Crosshair a congratulatory slap on the back for effectively riling up the little genius.

“We’re not selling anyone,” Hunter severed, though he’d be lying if he said the thought hadn’t came to him. “It’s just to get us through the front door. Now focus, we’re going in.”

“Yes, get on with it Tech, Hunter’s worried about his lady.”

Hunter shot daggers at Crosshair.

Bastard, don’t act like you’re not.

He knew she’d be fine. Specs could more than handle herself. She was the most tenacious person he’d ever met outside his brothers.

But he couldn’t shake the icy trepidations building in the pit of his gut, and the way it morphed into a smoldering rage at the thought of those slavers... of them touching her in any way...

Hunter shook his head to jostle the horrendous thoughts.

The ratio of buyers-to-vendors was split fairly even judging by the amount of traffic entering and leaving the atmosphere simultaneously. It was a steady train all the way through. Tech followed the other vessels in tandem as he began a descent to the designated platform.

“I’m re-establishing her signature in order for you to pinpoint upon landing,” Tech informed with his nose buried. “She is here,” he confirmed after a moment. “You’ll have a limited time window, but I’ll be able to direct you along the way.”

Tech would be his technical readouts while Crosshair would be his eyes in higher places.

Hunter dared to let a glimmer of hope flourish.

“Wrecker, you stay back with Tech—”

“And you’ll let me know if any heads need to be bashed, right?”

Hunter chuckled at the youthful fervor. “I’m almost tempted to cause a ruckus just for you, buddy.”

“Aww Sarge, I knew ya loved me.”

“But he loves his—”

“There’s E11,” Tech banked left towards the empty platform.

“—more.”

Crosshair was walking on thin fekking ice.

Suddenly the backup plan of selling a brother was far more enticing with Crosshair at the focal point.

The Marauder’s hydraulics hissed in fanfare upon the completed landing sequence. Hunter took a deep breath for not the first time during the trip.

“Alright, everyone good on the plan?”

“Affirmative,” Tech gave a succinct nod before resuming his systematic jamming, tapping furiously atop his vambrace. Crosshair simply slipped his rangefinder down and brandished his rifle.

“And now, the disguise,” Wrecker cracked his knuckles with a wicked grin, marching past Hunter to the bay doors. The ramp lowered and Hunter smiled to himself. There was minuscule commotion, a distinct thud, and Hunter counted seconds before Wrecker came hauling an unconscious Zygerrian up the steps with not a sweat on his brow. He tossed the armored body at Hunter’s feet. “Time to play dress up, Sarge.”

***

“You look ridiculous.”

Fighting to contain his hair and his dignity inside a helmet that gave him fekking feline ears, Hunter was about to tell Crosshair where he could shove his input before Tech began, “Sources say these are some of the busiest transaction times of the year for their cartel. The odds of them exhausting their attention or resources to you is highly unlikely. With your tracking abilities you will be able to slip in undetected with minimal resistance if any. They aren’t keeping watch for meager single-prisoner breakouts—if any. The actual occurrences of them have been, well, never.” Tech brought up the holomap he’d procured of the planet and pressed a few sequences on his forearm before adding, “but I’m tracking all Zygerrian personnel within your proximity as you move along, just in case.”

“Thanks, Tech,” Hunter nodded appreciatively, taking a moment to bask in his brotherly feelings before gently filing them away to focus on the objective at hand. He gave himself a once-over. Crosshair’s insult held more truth than he cared to admit—he looked as ridiculous as he felt. It was gaudy and fit in all the wrong places. The scent was barbaric, and Hunter tried not to think about how much bodily fluid the owner of the ensemble had a hand in spilling. It felt condemning somehow, stepping into the shoes if only under pretense. A distinct discomfort crept up him, and he forced down his protesting sensory complex and melded into the foreign weight. Comfort was a luxury.

“I’ll be back soon.” He stepped to the Marauder’s opening, patting the hull. “Lock her up and wait for my call. Don’t open the door for strangers.”

Tech gave a conspiratorial smile. “On your orders, Sarge.”

Hunter hopped down and quickly covered distance away into the nearest crowd. Once successfully blended in the sea, he activated his hidden comm. “Okay Cross, you know what to do.”

He could almost hear the sniper’s lofty smile.

“Disappear.”

***

Hunter trekked along, and for all his preparation, the atmosphere still proved to be too much.

The sound of whips cracking the unfortunate, the little electromagnetic jolts that coursed through his veins each time, the orders and the amplified shrieking, the compactness of the streets, the intermingling scent of blood and sweat and dirty greed...

He only picked up the pace from there, summoning utmost subtlety in every step. He took note of the other guards’ gait, and worked fervently to mirror it, brandishing his weapon for extra compelling rights.

The closer he progressed towards the holding facilities empty handed, the suspicious the glances became, leaving him to make haste. The longer he spent wandering aimlessly out in the open the more susceptible to questioning he was, and that wouldn’t do. Hunter preferred to avoid any takedowns, however silent they may be—stashing away bodies each time would only slow him down, and leaving a trail of them wasn’t an option.

So he did the only feasible thing.

Played the part of a slaver.

He snatched up the nearest slave by their binders, dragging them to their wobbly—and small—feet and inserting them along his path. His heart was pounding. This was not part of the plan. He didn’t even know what the plan was.

“Hunter, what’re you—”

Hunter cut off the call.

The whip seemed to grow heavier in his hand as he tugged the frail person along. He had no idea what came next for either of them, and what was usually an alienated fear sedimented something deep in his core right then. In the wake of his erratic actions he studied the half-starved victim.

Dank farrik. A child.

A human female who couldn’t have been older than seven or eight with dark brown, almost inky black hair that curtained around her waist and looked to have not seen a toothed comb in innumerable rotations. Wide but succumbing eyes and a very evident scream lodged in her throat signified a practiced relinquish. Overall docile. His blood boiled at the amount of conditioning her mannerisms denoted to. Against his better judgement, Hunter allowed himself to wonder just how long she’d been enslaved.

It only augmented his fury.

She cowered under his stare, but kept a dejected walk with what was probably faraway thoughts of home, of her warm bed, of whether or not mom and dad were still looking for her. Wondering what abhorrent thing would put their hands on her next—

Hunter was buzzing with adrenaline as he slowed just a fraction to avoid any attention.

“Listen kid,” he spoke lowly, squeezing her gangly upper arm. “I can get you out of here—but you have to do exactly as I say, got it?”

The unamused, wonderfully charactered expression she tossed back at him made his heart leap. Kid still had some spirit.

Okay, so that was stupid; of course she would do exactly as was ordered. Subservience—probably all she’d ever known.

Hunter’s eyes bore into hers and he realized a startling kindredness there; the one thing he and this girl had in common.

Being child slaves.

“There isn’t much time,” a sweat began to form in his hairline. Curse this fekking gear. “I have some friends—one of them I’m here to rescue—and I have a ship, with the best pilot. We’re gonna get you out of here. Okay?”

The girl tensed in his grip.

“It’ll be okay, I promise,” Hunter activated his comm. “But I can’t send you back alone, too suspicious. So I’m gonna have you wait somewhere safe. In the most capable hands.”

“Crosshair here.”

“Cross,” Hunter took a deep breath. “I’m sending you some company.”

***

His thoughts were racing.

He knew Crosshair would be royally pissed—or, was—and he’d have to apologize later. The longer they spent on this Maker-forsaken planet, the less of a time window he had for the rescue before they transferred Specs to who knows where and he’d never see her again. He’d already devoted enough precious time to other—but just as equally pressing—matters.

But Crosshair and babysitting—terrible idea?

It was too early to tell.

He approached the centripetal point of the slave housing Tech had directed him through. A17, read the heading of the correct one. The thought of there being so many that they required numbers—it nearly made Hunter keel over with disgust. According to Tech’s current assessments, this part of the complex wasn’t near as crawling as the others, but Hunter figured that was subject to change.

He made note of the guards stationed just off to his right as he entered an aisle after meandering through several. In good timing, an electrostaff suddenly crossed in front of him, hindering his path ahead.

“Clearance?” The nearest Zygerrian hissed.

“I’m here for a slave transfer,” Hunter supplied in his best impression that was still Bantha-shit at best.

The Zygerrian’s nose twitched, and he stepped closer to Hunter, snarling, “You’re not authorized.”

“I’m here,” Hunter drilled his eyes into the slaver, “for a slave transfer.” He didn’t want to use force to get through but he would without so much as batting an eye. His blood was boiling for a fight by that point, anyway.

A low growl came from the Zygerrian. His eyes narrowed to slits. His pupils dilated. Hunter did not waiver. He felt an influence push upward from the depths of his mind, and he summoned all of his will to reinforce.

The Zygerrian muttered something inaudible and stepped aside.

Hunter tried not to let his surprise show through what little of his face peeked out. He swallowed, and straightened, gliding right past the guard without a hitch. His jaw screwed impossibly tight. He wasn’t letting his defense down for a moment, even as he wound the corner away. He appreciated trumping in standoffs, but they usually baffled him as to how he ever actually managed to do so.

“You’re close, Hunter. Four more holds down and on the right. Access code is 6-3-5-7.”

Hunter approached the caged door and punched in the sequence.

The buzz of denial and a red display startled him.

“Retina scan required.”

Dank farrik.

It wouldn’t work on him—why would it?

He turned back in the direction of the guard.

He made it in several blurred strides, and with deft hands performed a quick sever of the spinal cord. The guard crumpled silently into Hunter’s arms, and he quickly dragged him back to the door with barely suppressed heaves. The bastards were heavier than they looked. His stomach was churning; it was a risky move even despite Tech’s real-time signatures. He was nearly jumping out of his skin at the possibility of discovery.

He hauled the subdued guard up to eye level with the scanner, yanking off his helmet and peeling open his lid. A wave of infrared light passed over the humanoid face. The green light of approval to follow left Hunter sighing heavily as he let the guard slip to the floor to rot in eternal slumber. Good riddance. He snatched up a cylinder key from his belt for good measure.

The door swooshed open, and Hunter stepped inside to the sight of a curled up victim. Clothes tattered, looking worse for wear, but watching the rise and fall of her chest... alive.

He swallowed the tempest of emotions expanding in the back of his throat.

“Ma’am, you’re being transferred. There are some goons missing you.”

You looked up bleary-eyed at the disguised slaver in the doorway. Despite your bone-settling fatigue, precious relief managed to tug at your lips.

“How did you make it past with that shit accent?” You grimaced at the way your voice had been reduced to a croak.

“I happen to be very convincing.”

“Could have fooled me,” you smirked wearily and Hunter returned it as he dragged a body inside your cell before stepping close and kneeling in front of you. He tried to keep his features in check, not let his distress over the shock collar show.

He couldn’t help it.

“How’d you earn this,” he quieted, fingers ghosting the restraint. You smiled wryly.

“Let’s just say I don’t take orders very well.”

“Guess we’ve been rubbing off on you, huh,” he brushed the mussed hair from your face apologetically.

“Maybe, too much.” You peeled yourself from the floor, barely suppressing a groan. Hunter helped you the rest of the way to your feet. Your legs were untrustworthy, and Hunter stood firm as you braced your shackled hands along his front. He held you gingerly.

“I’ve got you.”

“You always do.”

Except for when you let her get taken.

“Stop that.“

“Stop what?”

You gave that cute little tilt of your head in spite of the collar. “Blaming yourself.”

You weren’t called ‘Specs’ for no reason.

More and more, Hunter felt he understood this better than anybody.

Because you understood him.

His eyes glued to the sickly purple blooming along your right cheekbone, spotlighted in your new position. You watched his face scrunch in anger underneath the headgear.

“Hey...” you moved your hands to his forearm. “It’s okay.”

Hunter’s face sobered as his eyes resumed their dance over you. He inserted the key into your handcuffs. “I’m having Tech run a full scan on you when we get back.”

“He’ll be thrilled.” The binders fell to the ground with a clang. You rubbed at your wrists. “Thank you.”

“We have to remove this,” his hands hovered over the equipment around your neck, unsure of its design. In wisdom he wasn’t feeling, he pulled out a scanner and contacted Tech.

“Talk to me vod; how do I get this off.”

There was a pregnant pause as Tech overlooked the information sent. His voice came back unmistakably on edge. “This particular collar is designed to explode if removed improperly. Do not pull or pry on it in any way. Does her neck still have mobility?”

“Barely,” Hunter stressed.

“That will have to do until I can work on the intricacies—it will take some time, and there are guards nearing your position.”

“We can’t hang out here forever,” Hunter grumbled knowingly. His eyes softened as he looked to you. “You okay to walk?

You nodded as best you could with the collar. It would serve as a good guise until you made it outside, anyway. “By walk you mean run.”

He chuckled to himself. “That predictable, huh?”

Even in the dismal lighting, your eyes sparkled with brilliance. “Just to me.”

Hunter took your hand, giving a gentle tug. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Is this the part where I’m supposed to call you my ‘knight in shining armor’?” You teased softly.

“Well if you did,” he stopped with you at the threshold. “I prefer ‘Commando’ armor. Shiny’s not my thing.”

“That’s good.” You fought back the swelling urge to remove his helmet and ruffle his hair. “I like you better a little rough around the edges.”

Hunter opened his mouth to speak but swiveled his head around, seemingly reminding himself of where you both were. When his gaze met yours again he smirked.

“Different time and place.”

“Sir, yes Sir.”

“Yes, there are children present.”

Hunter leaned away from you, wishing to know Crosshair’s exact location in that moment to direct a crude gesture to.

But of course, the kid.

Hunter peered out from the doorway, and guided you briskly past the seemingly endless rows of cells. He willed his eyes forward on the journey back that time. The temptation of opening each one, and the way he never did, would forever haunt him.

With the reminder of guards nearing your position, he brought out his prop that was that wretched slaving tool, supplying his free hand with it and wondering to what depths of hell the soulless bastards who drove these went to.

To your credit, you chuckled at the sight. “Been on the business end of those. Ten-out-of-ten do not recommend.”

Wrong thing to say.

Hunter must not have realized his attempt at a balled fist was crushing your hand.

“Hunter, let go.”

Hunter knew what that meant.

He let go of your hand and his hate.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, bringing his hand up instead to encircle your upper arm. As foretold, a guard duo passed seconds later and Hunter gave a perfunctory nod that was reciprocated in total part.

“Told you I’m convincing,” he murmured loftily once out of earshot.

“Uh-huh. The glaring face tat has ‘em hooked for sure. Same with the red on your forehead.”

Hunter huffed indignantly. “Hey, the bandana stays on. That’s my lucky charm.”

You couldn’t help wanting to test that claim—both parts.

Despite clearing the guards, Hunter gave a final glance down both lengths of the corridor before ushering you down a new one. You eyed his mannerisms curiously, the way he’d stop every few feet, engage in a murmur and then secure the way. You suddenly tilted your head up towards the shafts running along each side of the ceiling and grinned.

“Crosshair’s in the vents, isn’t he?”

“With company, no less,” Hunter spared a moment of focus to smirk at you, watching the way your eyes widened.

He summarized the unexpected come about of the newest member.

“So we’re adopting,” you teased, inwardly touched by Hunter’s compassion and earning yourself a chuckle.

“Not us; Crosshair.”

You nearly pealed with laughter until Hunter suddenly cupped his hand to your mouth and yanked you behind the nearest wall, holstering the whip and pulling you flush to his chest at the sound of several footsteps approaching. You listened for the attachment of guards to pass, silencing the hammer of your heart up against Hunter’s stiff armor.

“Coast is clear,” he whispered after a moment, thumbing at your lip and stepping out from behind the spot. He hated all this sneaking around just as much as the others, but he was far more equipped with the tolerance to do so out of all of them. “Almost there.”

You nudged him, and he stopped. When cast a quizzical glance, you jerked your head to the gun on his belt. “You know I don’t go empty handed.”

Hunter smiled wryly, handing you the gun. “And what am I supposed to use?”

“Hey, I left you the whip.”

“Outstanding.”

“Like you’ve never wanted to use one before.”

An inscrutable smirk raised Hunter’s features. “Under different circumstances.” He braced himself. Traveling back to the Marauder was going to attract far more company than coming in had, and he tried to prepare for the impending heat. He breathed. “You ready?”

“Was about to ask you the same thing—duck.” Hunter’s eyes blew wide as he obeyed and you squeezed the trigger. You were surprised by the kickback; those babies had some power. The slaver at the receiving end of your blast flew into the nearest wall with a satisfying crack.

“Nice,” Hunter drawled. “You always did like attention.”

You rolled your eyes. “Can’t imagine who I got that from.”

An attachment immediately burst from the far end of the corridor and you booked it with Hunter out, letting him lead the way as he based your travels off of the less occupied routes Tech had mapped for him. Customers and traders alike scrambled in the streets like womp rats to avoid the uproar. The merchants were the first to recover at the sight of escaping credits, joining the hunt like a hungry pack of wolves, to your dismay.

Hunter found himself missing their marksman’s company right about then; the fact that their pursuers weren’t being picked off like cherries left him to speculate the sniper was long gone—as he should be.

A bolt nearly glanced your shoulder as you fired your own volley back and took another sharp turn that brought the Havoc Marauder into blessed view.

“Tech, hope you kept those engines warm ‘cause we’re coming in hot!” Hunter shouted, the blaze of his whip arcing out with a loud thwack towards the enclosing slavers, seizing any with a slow reaction time.

“I see stealth worked out splendidly for you.”

“What—you still bitter about the whole ‘selling you’?” Hunter panted. “I wasn’t actually gonna—!”

“Don’t worry Sarge!” Wrecker interjected. “We gotchu.”

The Marauder ascended to a hover, and as you closed the distance the ramp lowered and there peeked Wrecker out with a massive gun. Where in the kriffin’ hell did he get that—

-

“You think the sniper’s shooting was good, kid, get a load of this!” Wrecker grinned at the girl tucked safely next to him as he unleashed a barrage down at the pursuers, his absurd jollies growing with each body that fell. The girl was mesmerized, he was certain.

-

Blaster fire thundered in your ears. The Marauder began a desperate climb, and Hunter barked at you to jump as he clashed whips with the nearest guard who’d advanced far too close for comfort. You propelled yourself upward with a quick flail and connected smoothly with Wrecker’s hands, with him promptly reeling you up and inside.

Hunter fended off a pulsing strike to his waist, shaking the proximity of it from his spine as he also leapt up and Wrecker hauled him inside with practiced ease. Tech shut the hatch and rocketed the ship upward in his usual crazed fancy.

The skylanes grew addled at the presence of a ship barreling through like a bat out of hell, but Hunter figured that was their problem as Tech’s fingers danced across the console, pulled a lever, and the comforting blue lines of hyperspace enveloped them in an impeccably timed jump.

Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.

You worked to control your breathing, the tightness of the collar fully beginning to settle in. You swallowed a choked sound and eyed Hunter’s disheveled getup: his helmet lopsided—which he exasperatedly shoved off—and chinks in the expensive armor that would’ve adorned him nicely were not for the negative connotations behind it.

You let out a breathy laugh. “You make a terrible slaver, Sergeant.”

He managed a grin at the compliment as he held his bandana with one hand and swiped at his forehead with the other. “Never been my style.”

Tech was the first to react, shooting up and retrieving both a medkit and various gadgets before approaching you with a reassuring smile. He settled around behind you. “It will take me a bit to work on this, but I’ll have it off of you soon.”

‘A bit’ for Tech amounted to several minutes max—which was unsurprising overall, given the nature of his technological prowess. He alternated between the back of the collar and the front, rotating out various tools and his tech in sequential step. Wrecker spectated the entire time, questions and suggestions and offers of lent strength bubbling on his tongue as he simply settled for pacing back and forth along the ship’s length.

The restraint fell heavily from your neck, and your breaths instantly came lighter. Tech’s shoulders visibly relaxed at the work even if he seemed slightly dissatisfied with the execution.

Oh Tech. Always craving improvement.

With the tension settled and you back to your relatively normal appearance, Wrecker gave a celebratory pump of his fists and gathered you up in a crushing hug. “You’re okay! I’m SO glad you’re okay!”

“I can confirm that he is indeed glad, seeing as I was the one subject to his stressing the entire time.”

Your own jovial laughter morphed into a wheeze at Tech’s grievance and then a small cry of pain when pressure bore into your tender ribs. Wrecker’s grip immediately slackened. “Sorry, Specs,” he mourned, caressing your back and placing you back down with more thought that time.

Tech pulled out a thermal body scanner. “I’m going to run some scans on you to assess your condition. Standby.”

A grateful smile rearranged your lips as you held still for Tech and rotated your gaze around to each member. “I appreciate the rescue.”

“You would’ve done the same for us,” Hunter merely spoke on behalf.

You diverted your attention to the young girl rescued alongside, standing meekly among what had to have been intimidating company. You smiled gently. “So this is the little stowaway.”

“She’s free now.” Hunter eyed her thoughtfully, a comforting sense of duty flickering in his chest. “She doesn’t have to live under submission or fear.” He took care to leave out the hard truth of psychological recovery, and quieted. “I just wish we could say the same about all the others.”

If they only knew the amount of children he saw...

You caught the girl’s eye and she quickly averted her gaze. With Tech off to run his diagnostics, you crouched to be eye level with her, fighting back a wince when your ribs flared angrily at the new position.

“What’s your name?” You asked quietly.

She glanced up at Crosshair, with whose presence she had interestingly taken refuge in. She swallowed, and whispered, “Omera.”

[tamaharu]

thank you @eurydicees for tagging me (〃´▽` ) i love talking about myself. a list of my five favorite fics ive written (and thoughts!) oldest to newest

1. don't knock it till you've tried it

the magnus archives + 5.6k. this is, i wanna say, my most popular fic? and im glad for it! its one thing for your most popular content to be something you hate, but i think this still holds up really well. theres a lot i like about it, such as the pronoun/titles between povs, georgies whole pov, the ending line. high five past me. and OH MAN is it crazy that this has 700 kudos. its a very nice feeling to know that that many people liked something you wrote... even if what you wrote is about a guy murdering his past self haha.

2. i'm not wearing my usual lipstick, i thought maybe we would kiss tonight

ohshc + 16.4k. my ouran magnum opus! i still care so deeply for this hc, and i have gotten so many sweet comments on this, im very glad it resonated with a lot of people. 3k hits!!! i think thats really really good for an ouran fic posted in 2020. if i have time there are a few things id like to go back and change about this - unnecessary prose or some of the ending - but frankly, the emotional heart of this is something im very proud of. every person who reads this and either gets their gender reflected to them OR at least is indoctrinated into trans!tamaki is another point towards me making it to heaven. if i was going through this list by favorites, this definitely holds the number one spot.

3. blunt not the heart

the magnus archives + 11.3k. OH MY GOD. this is my UNDERRATED GEM. my white fucking whale. i am SO MAD that this has received DUST considering my another tma fic has 700~ kudos. SO MAD. i really really like melanie king as a character. outside of the feminism of it all, its really fucking hard to write an effective character study. getting into a characters head is difficult. you know what would make it easier? NOT WRITING IT IN SCRIPT FORMAT LOL. but heres the thing: i made it fucking work. the fact that tma is an audio drama/script format already definitely lends itself easier to translation, but it was an interesting exercise to try and get into melanies head while still maintaining the format. and tying it into macbeth? inspired choice, past me! while its not more popular unfortunately, im still insanely proud of it, and the attention it did get is personally satisfying. please read it!

4. Feel Your Way Home

artemis fowl + 12.6k. ah.. my artemis fowl magnum opus.. i still care for that silly little guy a whole lot, but at this point i will say that my artemis fowl obsession was bright, but fleeting. im really really glad i managed to write this before i fell out of it, and even more so I GOT IT PUBLISHED ON THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY!! thats something i am weirdly very proud of. i worked really hard on this for several long months, and i think it turned out very very well. this is one where i really dont care how much attention its gotten for not, as it was very much written for myself. and im pleased with it.

5. name your courage now

ace attorney + 11.8k. my newest one! probably still have a serious case of rose-tinted glasses on, but idc. i love maya and her relationships to her siblings a whole lot. i found her dialouge during her testimony just so insanely ripe for potential, i was shocked nobody else had ever seemed to talk about it. i have so many feelings about bridge to the turnabout! frankly, the entire time i knew what i wanted to do with this story, and i feel as if i pulled it off really effectivly. keeping it emotional while also utilizing aspects of mayas brash, funny voice for the narration was a challenge i enjoyed. that, and trying to use the canon dialouge for the most part, while also attempting to speed it up/make it sound less like it came out of a video game. again, im proud of it, and heres to hoping that it'll get more attention.

thats it! im not big on tagging ppl but if you wanna do this by all means, please tag me so i can read your stuff °˖✧◝(￣▽￣)◜✧˖°

[businessbois]

hello blue :D i would like to know everything you would like to tell me about your favourite fic you've written

lyssie shrugofgod weirdly-enough this is the kindest thing ever i hope you're ready for vaguely comprehensible ranting.

okay so i couldn't choose between two fics "once i called you brother" and "the art and (mine)craft of war" because i could talk forever about both, but im gonna talk about "once i called you brother" because its the less popular one

heres the link :)

so i basically wrote this fic because i thought that the song "the plagues" from prince of egypt (or at least the opening lines) were incredibly perfect for c!tommy and c!techno and it was a shame that no one did an animatic for it yet. i cannot draw so i just wrote a fic for it.

once i called you brother once i thought the chance to make you laugh was all i ever wanted

is that literally not tommy with techno though?

and then the rest of the song can read as like doomsday or november 16th, you know, them arguing about selfishness and betrayal and all that. the song fucking slaps.

but anyways the fic itself? the opening is inspired by how like, if you didn't know who technoblade was during the beginning of the smp, he would just be this mysterious figure of legend that tommy, wilbur, or dream occasionally talked about. it hit me during the dream v technoblade duel stuff that since techno had never been on the smp before, he was just this invisible dude with a huge reputation and that was so cool to me.

"Alrighty, I've been here before, right?"

"Listen, Techn—Dream..."

these are quotes from tommy that i quoted in the fic. i used to do this a lot, just stick quotes with no context into fics because i assumed everyone had the same precise memory of everything that went on the smp that i did. the first one is referring to tommy being surrounded by people outside the community house and "i've been here before" is him remembering a similar scenario on smpearth and therefore technoblade. the second is when he accidentally calls dream techno (about 30 seconds into this comp) again adding to techno's thing of being just this widely alluded to figure.

"Who do you think will win? My bets on our boy, Dream, but feel free to be wrong."

Niki stays quiet, a small frown on her face.

i feel bad for cutting niki absolutely owning dream with "well, techno's my friend" but it simply couldnt stay in for fic purposes

waking up to a frantic Bitzel muttering about hypothermia and something heavy and red covering his shivering frame.

smpearth is canon because i Want it to be canon and in my canon there's a moment where tommy passes out in the middle of a fight and techno brings him back to business bay wrapped up in his cape because he's technosoft and all their fighting is more like play fighting anyways

Tommy knows that love is earned. That if he does well in some Championships, then his place in the family is secured.

this is inspired by the bet that wilbur and tommy had in like mcc8 that if they placed fifth or higher tommy could be in sbi. in tommy's pov it becomes, "you have to earn your place in this family."

“Because I’m not the vice president.”

this is from one of his exile streams where he's talking to dream about why people won't visit him anymore

Tommy is 10 and too big for his boots.

this section is inspired by tommy's story of how he met techno as told in this storytime.

there is something that flickers at the back of his mind when the ratty zombie child calls him The Blade.

i think it's so incredibly special that everybody calls techno The Blade but like,, that's tommy's nickname for him. theres this moment where tommy's talking about giving techno a nickname and techno's like "you call me The Blade!' again, everybody calls techno The Blade, but he tells tommy "you call me The Blade." like i don't know how to articulate this but, that's tommy's nickname for him. they're brothers.

Tommy's been to war with soft, pale blues.

ae reference because again, smpearth is canon cuz i said

Tommy is 13 and standing over the remains of Business Bay's storage area.

this is an smpearth thing. wisp and vop did a whole grief of business bay, it was very dramatic very tragic. the thing with techno coming to business bay to talk to tommy is from this comic and i hold this headcanon close to my heart.

"Tommy, if anyone gives you trouble—and I mean serious trouble, not the kind we have—you tell me.”

Tommy hears an echo of similar words from the man who just burnt down everything he’s worked for.

"Tommy, anyone that touches you fucks with me... I will kill Techno if it takes me all of my life to prepare for it, you understand me?"

im so proud of this parallel between wisp and techno man you have no clue. okay, so like i said before, the ae versus bb thing in my head is very much like play fighting. sometimes it gets serious like the scenario which is happening in the fic where things actually get destroyed. that's because they're stubborn teenaged boys and conflicts can go from fun to actual trouble real quick. these "similar words" and the following quote are references to one of my favorite wisp moments ever. wisp, for anyone unclear on smpearth backstory, was a part of business bay before he betrayed them for the antarctic empire. he was also the one who burnt down the storage area which is why tommy's remembering this quote so bitterly.

Tommy rolls his eyes. "I pinky promise, Technoblade." He sticks out his little finger like a challenge.

the pinky promising is Canon from like the post-exile streams i think and i headcanon it as something tommy just does with people

and so this is to put context to the "using techno" thing. because i've always kinda viewed as like calling in a friend (or a big brot—[gunshot]) in for help so this part of the fic gives it the background to be like that

But then, Tommy is 16 and standing in a cataclysm, once again watching everything he’s worked for get destroyed by a man who swore to protect him.

this line solidifies that parallel to wisp where techno made a similar promise to protect tommy and now he's destroying everything tommy's worked for (business bay in wisp's case, lmanburg in techno's case) im very proud of this parallel.

His tall brown-haired friend from competitions past

wilbur of course, the competitions past being mcm

He collects titles like music discs

i asked my friend for things that people collect and they said "records" and i said "wait—"

Technoblade is 17 and he has no family. He has a friend who makes sure he sleeps. He has a friend who creates bridges and mischief. He has a bug that he still hasn't squashed.

i've always loved the idea of sbi becoming this little found family on smpearth. like they're not super lovely dovey "we're like brothers" but they're so fond of each other and they hang out when they're not pretending to be at war. and so theres still that room to say that they're not family, but like they totally are

Bright blue eyes beg him for some entertainment, so Techno sighs and grabs The Complete Works of William Shakespeare off the shelf.

this headcanon that techno used to read them shakespeare comes from wilbur's offhand comment asking techno to recite king lear to them

Wilbur's planted himself at Techno's side for the duration of the finale, something that he's grateful for. Wilbur's always been his person to lean on for things like this.

inspired by i think wilbur saying that he was techno's like designated extrovert during mcc's and i really love that aspect of their relationship. because techno is looked at as "the older brother" in so many ways, but like in this way, when wilbur's guiding him through social situations and supporting him, he gets to be wilbur soot's little brother.

Technoblade never says I love you, but he reads his baby brother The Twelfth Night instead of Hamlet and ends Theseus' tale after the Minotaur.

this was one of the first things i had written for this fic. so obviously hamlet is a tragedy while the twelfth night is a rocking good time. so like going back to that shakespeare headcanon but techno protecting tommy in the little ways. the theseus part is inspired by me not knowing the rest of theseus' story after he gets home and his dad jumps into the ocean. like the exile and death stuff i didn't hear about until the dsmp so that's where that came from. techno, even though it kind of goes against who he is, leaving theseus' story as a victory where the hero slays the monster, just to give his little brother something with a happy ending

"Do you want to be a hero, Tommy? THEN DIE LIKE ONE!"

i did always think this could be seen as like "well if you want to be a hero, then you can die like one" and leaving off the unspoken "but if you don't want to be--if you choose not to be, then you get to live. so don't be a hero. please don't be a hero." and theres like that little tragedy there that i really love in techno and tommy's relationship. like, i love you, you love me, all i ever wanted was to make you laugh, but we don't speak the same language. we don't understand each other. everything you are is against everything i stand for. so yeah bedrock bros feels. i wrote this long before exile and all that so its even more complicated now gosh.

[lilyclawthorne]

Hunting Palismen Thoughts

y'all I absolutely loved this episode

oh we're JUMPING right in with day of unity stuff huh. we didn't go from 0 to 10 we started at 10.

anyways, starting off, this whole thing is fascinating to me. I mean this literally looks like a small human city. who are the worthy that get to live here according to belos. if its a unification of the realms, what happens to the humans? do they live here too? how does this affect society?? so many questions

kiki is pissed and im starting to predict that the reason Lilith, GG, and Kiki were all apart of the same slide in the title isn't because Lilith will slide backwards like some were worried about, but that all three of them are people who will have betrayed the emperor at some point

what the fuck is belos. the thumping/punching he made was in time with the beat of a heart. makes me think of the heart behind his throne and how are they connected.

UNCLE?? OUR FAMILY IS GONE BECAUSE OF WILD MAGIC??

TITLE CARD CHANGES AHHH

oh im so worried amity's not there because her mom's mad about her hair. that being said, some of the students here I assumed were a bit older (like jerbo and viney) and ed & em also aren't here. could potentially be that their parents didn't want any of them involved with this palismen adoption? or maybe im trying hard to be hopeful she's not in huge trouble over the hair

FREWIN!! this is the outcome for the little guy in Bump's head is better than anything I could've thought of. Aside from his legitimate use of helping Bump see, I am curious though if this is a bit of a "hidden in plain sight" kind of thing as well to protect the little guy.

PALISMAN ADOPTION DAY!! I WAS RIGHT!! I guessed the forest palismen would get adopted and I'm so glad about it.

I love Eda's blazer. She's trying to look professional. I love that this is what she planned on her favor from BQ being. Just to help out some young witches and some lost palismen. She cares so much 🥺

ok but if the unification of the realms does end up happening, I totally see Gus being an ambassador to the human realm.

There's a lot of attention of Luz here, and I'm just imagining how a similar situation might've gone down on the human realm. I don't blame her for getting anxious here, because I feel like in the past attention like this would've gone far worse at her school. I appreciate that most people here are just calm asking questions that are intended to help (except you Boscha) or Eda just checking in on her.

"I've read stories like this, the main character always has to return home" very interesting. seeing how this show has emphasized how life isn't like fiction.

Eda's just listening in like a mom concerned about her child

Tired Luz is adorable.

LMAO WHY IS GG WHISTLING THE THEME SONG

These two have such an insane amount of sibling energy I love it. This situation? Me and my brothers have done this way too many times.

uh so can a coven mark actually be removed?? since the EC one is also on the wrist but Lilith definitely hasn't been seen with anything there? that's kind of a relief since I was worried that since coven marks can help control magic that her still having one could be bad for her

It's not unsurprising that GG, as a powerless witch, would be interested in wild magic and Luz's glyphs. the kind of stuff you don't need a bile sac for. that kinda sucks he knows there's something out there he probably could use, but isn't allowed to do so

Hunter!! I don't need to do a name meaning here this one's obvious. Also, this boy's gonna crack and swap sides I can tell.

This is the most shit-eating grin I think I've ever seen on Eda. She's so proud of herself and she should be!

I also love this because we literally started this show with Luz helping Eda and King rob the conformatorium, and now we're at King and Eda robbing somewhere to do something special for Luz 🥺

Kiki and GG are so petty with each other, it's not just Kiki and Lilith. This is the whole workplace dynamic isn't it.

GG's room design definitely came from the Lilith bedroom design didn't it. Also I love the little Sprig plush!! I think that's a Big City Greens reference in there too but I've never watched that show.

I am very concerned about him and this palisman too. Not about him but just about Belos finding the palisman.

My one other thing I wanted to mention is I definitely feel like I'm seeing more and more disability metaphor in the show. If we see Eda's curse and her subsequent loss of a power as a disability, then GG/Hunter being born without magic could be considered a disability too. He's only been given access to one way of doing magic and it seems to limit him, he's being cut off from a different way of doing magic, the glyphs that Eda is learning, which clearly seem to be able to allow the user to do magic almost anywhere and could be more effective than Belos' artificial magic.

I'm also curious about Bump, he has the kind of palisman Belos wants to do away with, but it's not just a way to do magic for him. It's an aide for his vision. Belos' ideals would also be taking away something from him or other witches who may also be using their palismen as an aide.