#also this is the longest thing i've written so far and it's nice to write a longer fic lol

[bunnliix]

Can't Stay Away from You - Chapter One

First chapter woot woot! This is by far, the longest chapter I've ever written, at over 7k words, and honestly, I hope this is good? It's my first time writing a/b/o, and I'm a little unsure of where this is going exactly, but I hope everyone will have fun on the rollercoaster that this fic is bound to be!

masterlist

word count: 7k

warnings: defintely some angst in here, but lighter angst?, reader is anxious at parts, but like for the most part, there's really not much to warn about I think? Please let me know if I'm wrong or if I need to add anything!

Y/n wasn���t expecting any emails, but when she heard the ding that let her know she had received one, she immediately looked. She never knew when she’d get another freelance job, so whenever an email came in, she developed the habit of checking it. This wasn’t a work email, no, but it was from one of the stores she had recently bought a couple of Stray Kids albums from. From the subject line, it was about the albums she had bought, and a fansign? She doesn’t remember signing up for one, but she also has been so busy, she probably forgot about it.

Opening up the email, she found that she had won a place at an in person fansign in Seoul, in two days. She was so shocked by this news that she held her breath, not thinking this was real for a moment. She read through the email fully, memorizing every word, she really had won, holy shit. She thanked the gods that she didn’t work a physical job, because it meant she could work from anywhere, and she started figuring out her trip to Seoul. There was no way she was missing out on a chance to meet Stray Kids.

She quickly found a plane ticket, even if it was insanely expensive, and she thanked herself for her savings, having to dip into that a bit for this trip. She then moved on to finding a place to stay, and found a nice hotel that wasn’t outrageously expensive, and immediately booked it. She’d be flying out in about seven hours, leaving her to scramble to pack and leave for the airport. Quickly packing her luggage, having a packing list made up from previous trips, she packed clothes for a week, deciding to explore a bit since she was going there. 

Y/n’s travelled enough to have mastered the skill of packing efficiently, gathering everything she needed into 3 pieces of luggage. She double-checked her travel list, making sure she had packed enough for her trip. Before she shoved her laptop and cords into her bag, she sent out an email to her current clients stating that she had an emergency occur, and that her work may be delayed by a day. At this point, it was almost time for her to head to the airport. So, she finished packing the last of her things into her carry-on. Remembering to grab her coat before putting her shoes on, she grabbed her bags and left the apartment. 

She took a taxi to the airport, and on the way there, texted her best friend Emily that she was heading out of the country and asking her to watch over her apartment while she was gone. Emily agreed right away, and told her not to worry about anything. She smiled down at her phone, her bestie was her ride or die, and she was so grateful to have her in her life. 

When she arrived at the airport, she thanked the driver, pulling her luggage out of the trunk and heading straight to the check in counter. The process was smooth and she was quickly on her way to security, which while terribly busy, went by quickly and soon she was sitting at her gate, having grabbed a couple snacks for the plane and filled up her water bottle on the way over there. She had about an hour before boarding, so she pulled out her laptop, deciding to get some work done while she waited. She finished off the last edits to one project, sending that off to one of her clients, before starting on one of her other projects.

Halfway through her second project, the call for boarding went out over the P.A. system, and so she saved her work, slipping her laptop back into her bag before lining up with everyone else. She was lucky enough to get a last minute window seat on the plane, putting her carry-on in the overhead bin, before settling in her seat as she pushed her smaller bag under the seat in front of her. She looked out the window as the plane took off, the start of her journey to Seoul, and meeting Stray Kids, was starting now. Since it was a relatively long flight, she pulled out her laptop once she was able to do so, starting back on the project she worked on earlier. She spent the majority of the flight working on her current workload, which was about four projects at the moment. 

They were all fairly simple projects, they just took time to perfect them, but it was a great way to pass the time. By the time she finished her last project, there was only a couple hours left of the flight, and so she rested and watched the clouds roll by. Y/n admired the view as they landed in Seoul, excited to explore the city. 

Patiently waiting to disembark the plane, she waited until she was able to leave her row, grabbing her bag from the overhead bin and then bringing it down, pulling it behind her as she left the plane. She pulled it along, heading towards the luggage carousel, before she went through customs and immigration, quickly clearing them and heading out into Seoul. She took the metro to head towards her hotel, unpacking her headphones and listening to music to pass the time on the train. Once off the train, she pulled out her phone to find her hotel location, quickly finding her way to the hotel. Thankfully, it was late enough that she could check in right away and head to her room. She took the elevator up, finding her room midway down the hallway, and upon opening the door, found that she had a beautiful view of the city around her. 

She dropped her luggage by the bed, and walked towards the window, admiring her view of the city. She may not be a heights kind of person, but this was still beautiful, and she would be looking out a lot during her week here. She hauled her suitcase up onto the bed, pulling out a fresh outfit, before heading to the bathroom to shower. Once she had, she changed into her fresh outfit, pleased to get the smell of the airplane and airports off of her. Since it was still light out for a while, she decided to get out into the city and explore the neighborhood around her. She packed her smaller bag with the necessities, grabbing her key card on the way out the door and quickly going back down to the lobby and out into the fresh air. 

Y/n knew travelling alone as an omega always brought risks with it, but it was worth it to be here in Seoul, both for the fansign and just in general. It was sunny and warm in Seoul, a great contrast from back home, and she was living for it. She was always a warm weather kinda girl, and the warm air and sunshine here made her thrive. She decided on just walking the area around her, figuring tomorrow would be one of her bigger exploration days. 

She saw a lot of stores that intrigued her, but thought better of shopping, she’d be exhausted much quicker if she gave into that urge. She was glad that she brought her headphones, it helped distract from the loud noises of the city, and brought the level down to a reasonable one she could deal with. The hustle and bustle of the city was normal to her, since her own city was similar, 

Up until now, her omega had been strangely quiet. Usually she was very outspoken, more so than y/n herself was. Her omega was going haywire at the moment, confusing the poor girl as to what set the omega off. She felt almost pulled forward, and her omega pushed to the surface, making her walk faster to wherever that pull was coming from. It culminated in her running into someone, and ended with her on the ground in front of them, looking up at their mask-covered face. 

“Are you alright? I’m sorry that I bumped into you.” The person said as they leaned down, reaching out a hand to her. She tentatively took it, and she stood up with their help. Standing so close to them, she could smell their citrusy sweet scent, it calling to and calming her omega. That confused her slightly, but she shook it off, not wanting to think about it now. 

“I’m okay, and really, I bumped into you. I should be the one apologizing.” She replied.

“Let’s just say we bumped into each other then? We both played a part in this.” They told her, and she could see that they were smiling by the crinkles near their eyes. 

“I can agree to that.” Y/n replied, giggling slightly. 

She saw as the other person took a breath of her scent, and for some reason they stumbled back away from her, their eyes widening. 

“I’ve got to go, I’m sorry.” They said, rushing away from her, leaving her standing there alone on the sidewalk.

She watched him run away, and her omega cried out, and y/n felt like she had been punched in the stomach. Her anxiety shot up, and tears came to her eyes. She’s so confused, she doesn’t completely understand what’s just happened, and why she was so affected by it.

She felt increasingly down as she walked back to her hotel, no longer feeling any urge to explore, just wanting to retreat back into her room and nest. She speed-walked into the hotel elevator, avoiding everyone. Once back in her room, she locked her door and got to work making a nest in the bed, using everything she could. She finished it and then climbed inside, curling up into herself as her omega cried out to someone, for an unknown reason. That, and she couldn’t take her mind off of the person who ran away from her, and everytime she thought of him, it made her chest hurt. 

In the end, she fell asleep, and she dreamed of them again. She had dreams every so often about Stray Kids, and she assumed this was once again, her brain being delusional. She dreamed about going on vacation with them, assumedly in Australia given her surroundings, but she felt that this dream was different. 

She noticed that this time, the member’s touch and reactions felt more real? It felt like these were actually the boys, and not figments of her imagination like they usually did. Their eyes seemed shocked, even as they all enjoyed the dream. They were more touchy with her, Felix especially. She noticed that he looked similar to the person she ran into earlier, but shook it off as her just being delusional again. She enjoyed her dream and found happiness with the boys, as it was just a dream, that’s all.

Waking up the next morning in her makeshift nest, she whined at the lack of someone beside her, having fallen asleep in her dream next to the boys. Her scent smelled like burnt honey and vanilla because of her sadness, but she pushed through, thinking of happy thoughts and how she’d get to see the boys later today. She got up, having to get out of her nest that smelt like sadness. Pulling out an outfit for the fanmeet, she quickly showered before changing, and then moved onto her makeup and hair. She did her makeup like she usually did, leaning more towards a very natural look, knowing if she wore too much, it would be harder to touch up later on.

Before leaving her room, she checked the rules for attending the fansign, and quickly memorized them. She headed back to the bathroom, since one of the rules was wearing scent blockers, and quickly applied them to her scent glands, making sure she covered them fully. The rule had been put into place because of an incident with a second gen girl group fansign years ago, she remembered the aftermath of it very well, despite being young at the time. One of the fans, an alpha, attended the fansign and tried to overwhelm one of the omega members of the group with her scent, and since then, companies have made it mandatory that scent blockers be worn during fansigns. 

Checking her outfit in the mirror once again, she made sure it looked right, fixing anything that was out of place. She had decided on an outfit that reminded her of a mix of Felix and Han’s individual styles, but had blended them together in her outfit. Plus, it was really comfy, and knowing she had a long day in front of her, she didn’t want to be stuck in something uncomfortable. She grabbed her bag, setting out for the day. She planned to explore and see some tourist sights first, before the fansign, since it wasn’t starting for a couple hours from then. 

She mostly wandered as she wanted, not having a specific destination in mind. She found herself wandering a market and buying some snacks along the way. Everything she bought tasted better than the prior snacks, and she had to leave the market in a hurry lest she get distracted. To her benefit, however, this passed enough time that she almost had to run to make it to the fansign venue.

She made it there in under 20 minutes, and hopped in line with everyone else, having brought her ID, and had the email that she won as well. Checking in was a simple process for the most part, however the ID checking part was the most tedious. Once that was finished and they confirmed that she was who she said she was and that she was allowed entry, she was quickly shuffled into the hall where the fansign took place. 

Y/n found herself about midway between the front and back of the hall, and almost straight in the middle of her row. She greeted the girls next to her, making small talk with them as much as she was able to with her limited knowledge of Korean. They mostly talked about their favorite members and songs, and whose outfits they liked the most in this recent comeback. Y/n enjoyed chatting with the other girls, and a couple more of the ones around them joined in as well, and just before the boys walked out, they had created a small group chat, adding each other on kakaotalk. 

The minute the boys walked out on the stage, all eyes were on them, and the cheers were almost deafening. Despite it only being a small fraction of the number of people at a concert, it was as loud as a concert. Yet it only took Bang Chan raising his hand for the crowd of fans to fall silent. 

“Hello everyone!” He said, waving to the room. He and the boys quickly introduced themselves and did their “Step out” intro as they always do. They took the first part of the fanmeet to goof around on stage, playing around with some of the items laid out for them by staff. 

During this, y/n couldn’t keep her eyes off of them, feeling almost a pulling sensation in her chest, and a need to keep an eye on the boys. She ignored the pulling feeling, trying to enjoy the fansign and commit this all to memory. She soaked in the atmosphere, the joy that radiated around the room, from the fans and the idols. It filled her with happiness, the feeling almost bursting out of her chest. 

It wasn’t long before they boys had moved onto the signing part of the fansign. She watched as each row of fans lined up to meet the idol group, going down the line one by one, and the smiles on the boys’ faces made her smile too. It made her happy to see them happy, and she knew the girls around her felt the same way. Her hand was tapped as a girl in the row ahead of her asked her to record her interactions with the boys, and she readily agreed. Once that girl was up on stage, she zoomed in and recorded her interaction with the eight idols. In return, once it was her turn to line up with her album to meet the boys, the other girl offered to record her going down the line and talking with the boys, to which she quickly thanked her for offering and y/n handed her her phone. She lined up on the side of the stage, nervousness growing as there were only a few girls still in between her and Changbin, the first of the eight boys she’d meet today. 

Soon, she sat in the chair in front of the rapper, smiling at him as she said hello, shaking slightly due to her nerves.

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you!” She told him, smile as bright as the sun.

“Ahh, nice to meet you too!” He said, taking her album as she handed it to him, opening to one of his pages. “Where are you from?” He asked, noticing her nerves and the slight shake to her body, determined to get her less nervous.

“I’m from Canada. I flew here and arrived yesterday afternoon.” Y/n told him.

“Oh wow! Really? That’s so far away!” He was surprised she flew that far for their fansign, he even applauded her for it, to which she shied away, hiding her face.

“No, no hiding!” He teased her, and she slowly pulled her hands away, looking at him with red cheeks.

“Is it cold back in Canada?” Changbin asked.

“It’s not too bad, I guess? But I prefer it here where it’s warm and sunny.” She told him, replying to his question.

“Ohhh, you like warm.” He said, English skills finally breaking down a bit.

“I love the warmth. I’m always too cold, see?” She said to him, showing her hands which were slightly pink at the tips. 

He grabbed her hands gently, rubbing them to try and warm them up. He knew it was chilly in there, but not to where one of their fans was becoming very cold. He was so concerned for her, almost abnormally so, but he chalked it up to just caring for their stays.

“Oh no, you’re so cold! It’s too cold here.” He said after rubbing her hands for a couple moments.

“Oh no, it’s okay, Changbin-oppa. My fingers and toes are always like this, no matter how warm it is. Just my body being bad, that’s all.” She corrected him gently, wanting to ensure he knew it wasn’t the room, it was just her. 

And sadly, that is where her time with the rapper ended, with her being moved onto the next man, who was the Hwang Hyunjin, who was waiting for her to move down in front of him, which made her blush intensify. 

“Hello Hyunjin!” She said, voice a little on the higher side.

“Hello, Stay!” He said, smiling at her. “What’s your name?” He asked as he received her album, moving to sign one of his pages that she had marked. 

“My name is y/n! And we’re born in the same year, Hyunjin-ssi.” She informed him, slightly swaying in order to calm herself.

“Oh? We are? That’s amazing! What month?” He further questioned her, a slight surprise showing on his face. 

“I’m a September baby, so I’m younger than you by a couple months.” She said, watching him sign her album.

He looked back up at her, his beauty was ethereal, and it took her breath away to see him this close up. He reached out to grab her hands, both of them pulling away slightly and flinching at the zap of electricity. It couldn’t have been more than static electricity, but it felt almost like a connection of sorts. Both of them waved it off, not thinking much of it, but inside, their beta and omega knew what had just happened, and were berating them for ignoring it.

“Your name is really pretty, I forgot to tell you.” He said earnestly, his eyes feeling like they were staring right into her soul, and she could see so many emotions floating around in those captivating eyes. She couldn't keep eye contact with him and looked away, down at her lap to avoid his gaze.

“Thank you, Hyunjin-ssi.” She said, still unable to look him in the eyes.

“Stay doesn’t have to use -ssi, call me Hyunjin, please?” He begged her, leaning down on the table to try and get her attention, to which she looked up at him, giggling at his position.

“What are you doing?” She said between giggles.

“I just wanted-” He started, but was interrupted by staff ushering her to move onto the next member, to Hyunjin’s dismay. He wanted to talk with her all day.

Seungmin was next, and his gentle smile caused her to continue to smile in return, her smile not dimming, but becoming softer.

“Hello, it’s nice to meet you.” He said, much calmer than the others, but you could see that he was just as excited to meet their fans as the other boys were. 

“Hello Seungmin, it’s nice to meet you too.” She said, telling him her name afterwards, so that he had a name to sign the album with. 

They made small talk as he signed, and then continued on afterwards. Y/n told him how far she travelled to be here today, and then expanded on her home as Seungmin asked her more questions about where she was from. She tells him that no matter how long the journey was, she wouldn’t have missed being here, and missing the chance to talk to them, for anything else in the world. 

To this, his face is filled with awe and wonder, always surprised at what lengths their fans go to in order to see them live or to meet them. She then talks about what she loves about him, and how she enjoys seeing his interactions with the other boys, and how his voice is angelic. She just about showers him in compliments, until her time with the vocalracha member is up.

He waves goodbye to her and hands her album onto Jeongin, who’s next in line. He smiled at her as she slid over into the chair in front of the maknae, who, having heard her name from when she told his fellow member, quickly signed her album, before reaching out to grab her hands, squeezing them. This shocked y/n slightly, not expecting how intense the maknae was right then and there. He however, just felt drawn to her, like a moth to a flame, and wanted to be in contact with her. His alpha encouraged his actions, and the man himself didn’t question his alpha, and just continued looking at her with a smile on his face. 

“Hi, Stay!” He said excitedly, to which y/n replied back, asking how he was doing.

“I’m doing better now that I get to talk to you.” He answered her, winking at the end and slightly flirting, to which he got lightly smacked by Minho. 

Y/n wasn't faring well with the intense nature of the supposed “baby bread” youngest member, and it clearly showed on her face, which was turning, in Jeongin’s eyes, a lovely shade of pink, and her eyes were wide as she stared at him.

“You look so cute, Stay.” He complimented her, to which she blushed harder. His grin grew as he watched her blush intensify, and to which his alpha almost purred in contentment. 

He continued teasing her, to which her responses were almost nonsensical, until the staff member became her savior by telling Jeongin that she had to move to the next member. Minho, being impatient, grabbed her hands from his fellow member and pulled her over to the chair in front of his space at the table, grabbing her album afterwards. Jeongin pouted at his hyung’s actions, watching you move over to the next chair. He only stopped overtly watching her when the next Stay sat down in front of him, his attention turning to them.

“Hello Lino!” Y/n said, a smile still stuck on her face.

“Hello Stay.” He said, shaking their hands as he had yet to let go. “Do you have any pets?” He asked, finally but almost reluctantly pulling his hands away so he could sign her album.

“I do! I have a bunny, named Jack.” She told him, telling him how she got him, and about all of her bunny’s little quirks. 

He stopped signing her album just to look up at her and watch her talk. He was oddly drawn to her, and observed her as she talked. Her smile was extraordinary and how he wanted to never see her smile fade away, he felt pulled in by her, and he knew it wasn’t her scent, it couldn’t have been since he could see the scent blockers on her skin. But she almost called out to him, to his alpha. He internally questioned if there was something more to that feeling or if it was only just because she was similar to his omegas, to Jisung and Felix. Her outfit clearly took inspiration from them, and she seemed similar in personality, so maybe that was the culprit behind this pull he was feeling.

He realized that he hadn’t finished signing her album, and hurried to do so as he lightly chatted with her, mostly about their own pets and how troublesome they were at times. Sadly, that came to an end when she was pointed to move onto the next idol, who happened to be Felix. 

The Australian man looked at her, having the silent realization that this was the girl he ran into the day prior, and did his best to push what happened out of his mind, since he hadn’t told anyone what had happened, and from the lack of reaction on her part, she didn’t know that they had met yesterday.

“Hello Felix!” She said, smiling from ear to ear at meeting her almost birthday twin.

“Hello! How are you? Also, your outfit is so cute! I love it!” He replied, a grin on his face.

“I’m well, and I’m very excited to be here!” She told him, her cheeks hurting as she had smiled since meeting Changbin. “Thank you! I tried to combine your and Han’s styles, and I hope I was able to do both your styles justice.” She explained.

“You did! So, how old are you?” He questioned, taking the time to sign her album.

“I’m your age, actually.” She confessed, as he looked up in slight shock.

“Wow, really?” He said. 

“Yup! Actually you and I aren’t too far apart in age, birthday wise. I share a birthday with one of your members.” She replied.

“Wait, that means-” He started, before she interrupted him.

“Yeah, I do have a birthday twin within your group.” She giggled and nodded as she confirmed his thoughts.

“Oh wow! That’s so cool!” He told her.

“Yeah, it’s what made me a Stay actually. Well, and your Miroh era.” She confessed to him, blushing slightly.

They continued chatting, with Felix inquiring more about her life, and how long she’s been into K-pop among other things. Felix’s omega was practically purring at having this pretty girl’s attention only on him, plus that they got to see her again after Felix stupidly ran away yesterday.

Meanwhile, next to Felix, Minho was trying to concentrate on the Stay in front of him, but his mind and eyes kept wandering over to y/n and Felix. He couldn’t help but listen in on their conversation as he tried to keep chatting with the fan in front of him. That pull in his chest still hadn’t disappeared, and he kept questioning what exactly was drawing him to you. His alpha, however, knew exactly what was happening and was very happy about it, Minho could tell that much. His alpha kept talking about how Felix and the girl got along so well, and look how pretty they both were, and ‘Wouldn’t they look pretty together in their nest?’ Minho had to physically force himself to look away from the two of them, and push to only focus on the Stay in front of him.

During this, the two people who were the subject of Minho’s thoughts and glances were saddened when staff told them it was time for y/n to move on. Felix grabbed her hand, pleading with her not to go, to the girl’s laughter and her insistence that she must move on, to Han finally interjecting and reaching out for her hand and pulling her to the next chair. 

“I heard you had a birthday twin in Stray Kids?” He inquired immediately, wanting to know.

“Hello Han. Yes I do.” She giggled at his impatience. “I’m birthday twins with you, actually. Down to the year.” She told him. 

Hell yeah!” He exclaimed as Felix overheard, the Aussie pouting at how close he was to sharing a birthday. 

Y/n saw Felix’s pout, and giggled as she looked over at him. He saw her giggling and playfully glared at her, only making her giggle more, which Han did as well when he saw what was making the girl in front of him giggle. 

Han quickly signed his page in the album, before focusing all his attention on the girl in front of him. He wanted to know more about his birthday twin, and to learn if they had anything else in common. They did have quite a few things in common, their style being one of those things, anxiety was a second, and they also had quite similar personalities. This made the quokka a very happy man, and his omega wanted to steal the Stay away and keep them and Han was agreeable with that notion. A birthday twin to share the fun with? Yes please.

They joked about how maybe this was fate, and maybe this was why she was drawn to the group in the first place, with y/n admitting that their shared birthday is what made her interested in the first place. Han smiled, with a blush on his face at that confession. That she had found the group and gotten interested because of Felix, but was more interested that they both shared a birthday. Plus, she won the chance to be here and meet them, which was even more amazing.

As engrossed as they both were in their conversation, Chan finally leaned over and interrupted them, to inform her that it was their turn to chat. Han grabbed her hand, shaking them as he thanked her for coming and talking with him, and that she’d have to remember to wish him a happy birthday when their birthday came, to which she promised she would. She reluctantly let go of his hands, and moved over to sit in front of Chan, realizing that her time with the boys would end shortly. 

“Hello there, sorry to interrupt your fun with Hannie.” He apologized, looking truly sorry to have stopped their conversation. He truly was sad that he had to do so, they loved their fans, and Jisung looked so happy as he chatted with her, and his alpha almost screamed his content at how happy this girl had made his members. 

“It’s okay, I understand, don’t worry Chan.” She told him, understanding clearly heard in her voice.

He smiled at how understanding she was, starting up a conversation with her about what she was going to do while in Seoul. Inside, his alpha was trying to gain control over him, an overwhelming need coming over him to grab her and scent her, rules be damned. He wasn’t alone in this feeling, as y/n had been feeling a pull this entire time as she went down the line, but it was stronger right in front of the leader of the group, and her omega wanted nothing more than to sink into this man’s arms right here and now. She shook off her omega while he pushed away those feelings, one thinking it was just her being delusional and having read too much fanfic, while the other just chalked it up to his alpha reacting to the fact that it was a pretty girl in front of him right now. 

They continued their chat like neither of them were experiencing anything, and she asked him about places to visit in Australia should she ever get to visit, and he turned it on her and asked about places to visit in Canada when they get the chance to travel there. Both parties enjoyed the conversation, almost feeling as if they were just two friends chatting, instead of idol and fan. They talked about animals as well, both of them gushing about their own animals and telling a couple of funny stories about them.

At last, y/n’s time with the boys was finally over, and it was at this point Chan realized he had never signed her album. Signaling to the staff to let him sign the album quickly before she had to leave, he did so. On a whim, and what he swears was his alpha’s idea, and not fully his, under his signature, he added his number. Quickly closing the book, he handed it to her, and waved to her as she left the stage and returned to her seat, focusing on the next fan to sit in front of him.

Y/n returned to her seat, feeling saddened after leaving the stage and the boys. She shrugged it off, just like she had with the rest of the odd feelings she’s had today and yesterday. After she got back to her seat, one of the girls in the row behind her that she had made friends with, asked her to film her meetings with the boys, and she agreed. After that, the girl in the row in front of her that filmed her interactions handed her phone back, and y/n thanked her for filming as the other girl waved off her thank yous. 

Soon enough, it was the girl behind her turn to chat with the boys, and y/n started filming as she went up on stage. She noticed during her filming, that the boys glanced up in her direction a couple times, or at least her general direction, she doubted their gaze was on her specifically. She dutifully continued filming, trying to get the best video she could for the girl.

Y/n was wrong about the boys not looking right in the crowd for her. They really couldn’t help themselves, looking at her when she didn’t notice, and every time they had the chance. They had never felt so pulled towards someone like this, not since they all found each other. Y/n was feeling the same way, it almost felt like there was a rope between her and the boys, and it was trying to pull her in closer. She once again brushed it off as wishful thinking, and maybe her delusions of wanting the boys to notice her, as every Stay did. Plus, she probably just enjoyed talking to them so much that she wanted to talk with them again. 

Finally, the girl she was filming for left the stage, and y/n ended the recording, handing the phone back to her once the other girl returned to her seat. She watched as the final rows got their chance to see and talk with the boys, and once everyone was back in their seats, the boys came out from behind the tables, and started goofing off again. There was a portion set aside for photos of the boys, and of course they were absolutely adorable during it. And then they decided a couple dance relays of S-Class were in order, and a part switch dance to S-Class as well, which went as well as anyone could expect. A.k.a, it was a bit of a disaster, with the boys not knowing each other's places nearly as well as they knew their own. Though, we did get to see Felix do Minho’s parts, which was amazing and everyone in the room loved it. 

Before anyone knew it, the fansign was coming to an end, with the boys sadly saying goodbye to the fans. Y/n didn’t want it to end, but as they were ushered back out of the room after the boys had left the stage, she reluctantly left. She was in tears leaving the building, and felt a great sadness at leaving, and so did her omega. She wasn’t quite sure why she reacted so heavily, but as she walked back to the hotel, her emotions only grew. Because of this, she sped up her pace, wanting to disappear into her hotel room and cry in private, not wanting others to see her like this. 

Once she was back in her hotel room, she locked the door, immediately taking off her shoes and any accessories, before crawling into her makeshift nest that still smelt of sadness from that morning. She let herself fall apart, crying as she curled into a ball. She wasn’t sure why she was so sad, she really wasn’t sure, but she could feel that her omega was really hurting. She cried herself to sleep, falling into a nightmare, where it was the opposite of her dream from the night before. The boys were the opposite of their sweet selves, and were hurling anything and everything negative about herself at her, and all she could do was sit there and cry as they did so.

Being shocked out of her nightmare, she sat up as she woke up, her chest heaving as she tried to regulate her breathing. She managed to do so after a couple of minutes, and trying to get her mind off of how hurtful her nightmare was, she reached for her phone.

She found the video of her interactions with the boys, and started watching it. As she watched it, she realized just how different her interactions with the boys were from the ones she had filmed for others and watched herself. They seemed much more intimate in a way, with how touchy a lot of the boys were with her. They were so much more emotive and interactive with her, it felt a little abnormal after the fact. She must have been so happy to meet them that none of it felt off to her, and really looking back, it still didn’t feel too odd, just a bit more intimate than the other fans’ interactions. She wondered why she was so different, and why her, over everyone else. 

This pushed her to look through her album, and she stopped at Chan’s signature. Underneath his name, there was a number, along with a short message to text him. This had to be a joke, there was no way she was living the y/n life right now. She felt as if she had stepped into a fanfiction, because why else would Bang fucking Chan have given her, out of all people, his number?

She decided to fuck it and texted the number he gave her, and he almost immediately responds.

‘Who are you?’ He demanded.

‘I’m y/n, you gave me this number in my album that you signed today.’ She replied.

‘What did we talk about today then?’ He asked her.

‘A little bit of everything, honestly, but we did talk about our pets. You talked about Berry, and I talked about my bunny Jack and how troublesome he is.’ Y/n told him. 

She also decided to send him a picture of herself, holding open his page of the album as she sat next to a clock to prove the time. Chan believed her, and told her as such. She then asks him why he decided to give her his number.

‘I watched your actions with the others and myself, and something about you and all of our interactions intrigued me. I felt there was something more to it all, and wanted to get to know you better.’ He explained, to which she was relieved it wasn’t a trick, but was also confused about how she intrigued him. She voiced those thoughts and to which he reassured her that he wasn’t tricking her, nor should she be confused about how she was interesting to him, because he honestly found her interesting from the start of their conversation at the fanmeet.

He further explained that the other members had no idea about what he had done, and he hadn’t planned on saying anything to them, unless y/n had reached out and told him it was okay to do so. Though that didn’t stop them from discussing her in the vans on the way back to the dorm, nor did it stop their discussion from spilling over into their group chat. He told her as much, and she was surprised to have made that much of an impression on them. Chan reassured her that their interactions with her were very memorable, from what he could gleam from the others’ conversations. What he didn’t tell her was that Minho had noticed Chan’s behavior, and signaled to the pack alpha that they would be talking after they arrived back at the dorm. 

Soon enough the boys arrived back at the dorm, and the leader had to say goodbye for now to y/n, Minho staring him down as they walked into the building and then the elevator. The other alpha grabbed his hand as soon as the elevator doors opened, and led him through the front door of the apartment, and straight to the Aussie man’s room.

“Who are you texting? And why am I sure it’s that girl from the fansign?” Minho interrogated him, not leaving him a second to talk. 

“You’re not wrong. I gave her my number.” Chan confessed.

Taglist: open!

[greetingfromthedead]

2024 Trigun x Reader Holiday Collection!

Since the holidays are at full swing, I will leave you with all the goodies I can. Here is every holiday scented story I have written so far to be curled up with when the family dinner gets a bit too much or you need a Trigun man to keep you company!

We have Vash, we have Wolfwood, and we even have Knives! Whether you're naughty or nice, I have something for everyone, since every story I've listed can be enjoyed as a STANDALONE, even if it is connected to something else. So don't worry about a thing and just pick any of these!

VASH

Festivities (GN!Reader) - Delusional bliss on an unfamiliar planet with weird traditions, ice skating and sweet Vash. On the winter solstice your community has its own traditions and this year you spend them with Vash. Also Vash has cuteness aggression.

Gingerbread (GN!Reader) - You join Vash in a visit to Karsted City. To keep you being there a secret, Lina and Grandma Sheryl mingle with the townsfolk, leaving you and Vash to bake cookies to be decorated later together with Lina.

🔞 Tender Passion (F!Reader) - With the gingerbread cookies cooling, you cuddle with Vash on the couch, waiting for Lina and Sheryl to return for dinner, but the warm embrace and heavy blanket threaten to lull you to sleep so Vash does what he has to to keep you from passing out.

WOLFWOOD

Patchwork Holiday (GN!Reader) - You lend a hand in getting Hopeland's community center ready for the annual holiday celebration. It is a crock pot of old and new traditions and Wolfwood has dragged something horrendous down from the attic to be lovingly decorated.

🔞 In the Glow of Lights (F!Reader) - After decorating the tree for the holiday party and sharing a kiss under the mistletoe, Wolfwood can't take his hands off of you, drawn in by the longing he feels until it turns into sharing in your lust and passion in the colorful light of the tree.

KNIVES

🔞 Hunger (GN!Reader) - You spend the longest night of the year with Knives in a quaint little town where the darkness is lit up with thousands of lights and things get more intimate as the festive spirit overtakes you, making everything feel like a dream.

* Knives's non-horny holiday special was part of the series Apple Blossoms, I apologize for not having something that can be a standalone for that category.

🎀 The end-of-year sheBANG is here! Unwrap one more present to start off the year RIGHT!

Click here for project Unwrapping ft Vash, Wolfwood, and Knives!!!

For even more of my writing, check out my MASTERLIST.

[colleybri]

AO3 Writing Review... from an Andor Nut

After a gap of over twenty years I started writing fanfics again in March last year - entirely after getting completely and almost embarrassingly obsessed with Star Wars: Andor. That is my only fandom and I can’t see that changing anytime soon (obviously overlapping into Rogue One).  I’m a multishipper but have also written gen. 

The boring stats are that I published 39 works, totalling 94,519 words. 481 kudos. (I've lost the original prompt with whoever tagged me so forgive me - this a bit free-form.)

The work I’m most proud of is Dawn Chorus and that’s my only completed multi-chapter fic to date too. Not surprisingly perhaps, it’s also the one that’s had the most hits as it’s the oldest from the most popular ship I’ve written for (“Rebelcaptain”: Cassian Andor x Jyn Erso)  But I’m also really proud of the work with the least hits which is a poem: a sonnet based on Luthen Rael’s Andor monologue. 

Favourite Title: The Hardest Wall, which is that of my favourite of my Bix x Cassian fics. It’s very multi-meaning and I am a bit of a sucker for that kind of thing. 

Favourite ship: Bix x Cassian is my current favourite pairing and the one I’ve written for the most (there's a series dealing with their early checkered history... and because it's a relatively unpopular ship at the moment I've enjoyed somewhat cornering the market), but I’ve also really enjoyed writing several other ships including Luthen/Cassian, which I would not have expected at all when I first started. This is because of reading other people's wonderful fics - I’m always amazed about how great writers can make the unexpected work. Thanks to a chat with a couple of mutuals whose Brassian fics I’ve really admired ( @distressednoise and @notasapleasure ) I’m underway with having a go with that ship too.

My favourite gen fic is the series of strictly 100 word drabbles I did for each episode of Andor season 1. I’m really pleased with how those turned out, and as with writing sonnets and villanelles it seems that I really like the challenge of a strict form or structure. I really struggled at times to hit the 100 spot on but it feels so good to get the rules right. Favourite standalone gen fic is probably Making a Mark which is set in Cassian's time in youth custody.

The quickest work to write was the rebelcaptain fic Vision which I did in just a few hours. Kind of ironic that it got more hits and kudos than some works I struggled more with and probably prefer, but - again - it’s a popular ship. It’s nice to have an easy Hit on your hands sometimes though and I do enjoy writing RC - it's a way to give Cassian and Jyn the happy ending the film denied them.

The longest to write were the drabbles, simply because I didn’t have the energy or time to do more than one episode at a time. It also involved rewatching each episode first. 

The character I had the most trouble writing is Dedra Meero, who I’ve attempted a few times in the first person, as it’s so hard to capture the voice of someone who gives so little away. I also struggled a bit with Cinta, though I’m quite pleased with the couple of Velcinta works (story and poem) I have tackled. It helps to develop a headcanon about a character and be consistent with it, and I do return to the ‘text’ of the show itself to check for canon compliance. I’m pretty obsessed with not treading on the toes of canon (blame my teacherlyness!) , except where it’s an obvious AU.. but even then I want to the keep the characters recognisably themselves. 

Favourite line or passage? Probably the section with an extended metaphor involving Bix’s heart in The Hardest Wall, which is a fictionalised analysis of the angsty argument scene between Cassian and Bix in Episode 7. I really like the third person limited - it’s by far my favourite perspective, and you can have a lot of fun with it when a character is avoiding being completely honest (with themselves or others). 

But I won’t quote it here as it’s hard to give a passage from the middle as an example. Instead here’s one from the Cassian/Luthen Rael fic Small Kindnesses which is from the perspective of Luthen, and is basically an internal monologue about Cassian. 

Has anyone ever made a weapon that wasn’t used? I didn’t make this one, at least. He has forged himself, from the devastation of Kenari and the salyards of Ferrix. But I helped steer him in the right direction, at least. Well, the right direction for the cause, anyway. For him, as a person… not so much.

Nonetheless. Here he is. With his skin. Bruised and battered, scarred, marked, ready to bleed again at the gentlest knock against the scabs. Battle hardened. Primed and ready soon enough – with further training. Further guidance. He has proved himself more than worthy: slipping unseen, liquid shadow in the periphery of vision. Catlike soft footfalls, easing through undetected, walking in like he belongs, landing on his feet, learning to swim despite hating the water.

I’ve gifted four works this year, including for @jake-and-amy-are-married as they were so instrumental in encouraging me to start writing again, and a couple for my Andor bestie @adeptnenyim - who I was lucky enough to meet in person so we could Andor-Nut together at one of the series' locations. I’ve also been befriended and encouraged by various folks across a couple of Discord servers and by DMs on here. It’s lovely to have new friends from all over the world who share my un/healthy obsessions!

Have a Happy 2025 everyone. Enjoy writing… it’s for yourself, remember! You can be your own worst critic but also your own biggest fan. Write with that in mind. Write to please yourself, in the best sense. 

[cloudroots]

Bare with me, this is first time I’ve done one of these so it might get a little rambly /lh

I’d say I’ve improved my art over this year haha, I’ve at least say I’ve got more ambitious with my art

I’m not sure when it started, but I got the idea to upload at least one post each month. It was a way to motivate myself to actually post things and not just keep all my art to myself like I've done in the past.

This year did start a little rough for me. I uninstalled my art app and unknowingly deleted all of my art with over the years. I was able to recover some of it from screenshots and screen recordings, but still, it was a rough way to start the year.

January and February I uploaded the rest of my Gaza ponies. Where I actually had to do the strawberry twice, since I accidentally deleted all my progress on her :/

I was also working on other projects behind the scenes as well, which I hope to share with y’all at some point in the future :)

And another peek behind the curtain, I actually had the art of Center Stage’s bio finished in October 2023, but time got away from me and I take a bit to write up bios in general 😅

Then I couldn’t wait any longer and finally started one of my next gen character’s stories. Scarlet Heart’s story to be exact. Wild that he appears in a third of the months here lol

I hope y’all be prepared to see even more of him next year! :]

My infection Au is then introduced in May. I’m so glad that so many like it! I was able to explore to explore a little bit into horror and ramble about it, which I both enjoy 😊

Looking back I'm still not sure how I was able to upload so much in June haha

A DTA, two complex refs, with a incredibly complex cutiemark for one of them, and a pride piece. Still in disbelief that I was able to do that /lh

Then in July, I updated Midnight’s look. Still adore their colors.

August I did an art dump of the ShiningDence family’s early days together. I especially like the lighting and tenderness I did with late night Shining and Scarlet.

September’s art with done pretty quick for the first scene I’ve done in a while. What took the longest was the story that it came with. I haven’t written anything like it in the longest time, but I’m so happy that I was able to write in time for September’s post. Though it was a little rough the first couple of writing sessions, my adhd was killing me lol

Then even more horror in October! Hooray!! I loved sharing my messed up goobers, those silly murderous monsters :]

Most of my time in November was working on other things and coping with the usa election results, so I didn’t have much in mind for what to share for this month. I’m glad I decided on what I did. They’re so cute and it came out so well for what it is /pos

Then at the end of the year, a holiday piece that I put a lot of time and energy into and it was completely worth it. This piece is the most time I’ve spent on one artwork by far. But LOOK AT IT, it’s so cozy and nice and I like how the dolls section came out in particular :]

This year this account turned a decade old. Double digits. 10 years old. It’s a huge milestone, and I’m so grateful of all the people I’ve met over the years. Especially those I’ve met in recent years, glad y’all are here :]

Happy New Year!!! 🎉🎉🎉

I plan to spend more of next year to be next in the face of adversity 🫡

Wish me luck in fighting the urge to redo the art I’ve uploaded in 2020/2021, especially the PokeyPie one. I could do it so much better now :/ but there’s still so much other stuff I want to share, so wish me luck!!

Art from these posts:

January - Fruit pony series 2/4: Strawberry pony

February - Fruit pony series 4/4: Olive pony

March - Center Stage \\ Cloudverse

April - Cloudverse // Overjoyed to meet you

May - Mlp Infection AU: Rainbow Bite, Masterpost part 1

June - Ponysonas Revamped: Sweetpea

July - Ponysonas Revamped: Midnight Nightowl

August - Cloudverse // Babyboy baby

September - Cloudverse // Kindred Kindergarteners

October - Mlp Infection AU: Rainbow Bite, Masterpost part 2

November - May I offer you some teenage sapphics in these trying times?

December - Happy Hearth's Warming! 2024

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[earthtodora]

Fanfic Writer Interview

Thankyouuu to @uriekukistan and @rocketkid300 for the tag!!

Tagging: @izabella95 and @sailormew4

wow this one is a bit long oops.

How many works do you have on ao3?

i have 36 works (plus a couple of orphaned fics), 32 fics for jjk and 4 for haikyuu! most of my fics are one-shots, but i have a couple of multichapter fics, and there are 2 currently unfinished.

Your top 5 stories by kudos/likes:

Saving You: my longest ever project and i'm still not over how much attention this one got. it's an itafushi time travel fix it fic, and writing it made me realize how much i like writing angst and hurt comfort!

so much for keeping this just friends: okay so this is a kuroken one-shot, post-time skip, with a smut scene at the end. i'm a bit confused about how it got so popular (my best guess is the timing, as i wrote it after the movie came out) but i'm really grateful.

i'm not too far and you're my favorite place: also a kuroken one-shot, in a 5+1 format. it's also rated explicit. wait, i think i see a pattern here. so maybe it's the porn, huh?

The Truth Is, I Want To Kiss You - itafushi one-shot (and no, this one doesn't have any smut). yuuji is hit by a curse that makes him say every thought that comes into his head, and megumi is forced to deal with the consequences. actually kinda happy with how this one turned out, and i'm glad so many people enjoyed it.

five times megumi's shikigami were affectionate with yuuji, and one time megumi finally was: - another 5+1, a cute, fluffy, megumi pov oneshot. one of the few times when humor was kinda successful, i think.

Do you respond to comments? Why/why not?

i always try to respond to every comment i get. sometimes (like now) i fall behind with comments on my one-shots, but i will eventually catch up! i really appreciate any kind of interaction and feedback from my readers, and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside when people leave me a comment.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angriest ending?

you know, i've been called an angst monster, but one thing about my fics is that they always have a happy ending. i just don't have the heart to write sad endings. that being said, at one point when multiple friends of mine started working on MCD fics, i kinda wanted to try it too. but i just can't bring myself to kill off half of itafushi, so they both had to go. there was resolution, and they were together in death, but they still died. so it was kinda bittersweet.

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

honestly, most of them end quite nicely, and the ones that don't end happily still have a hopeful ending, if that makes sense. but i guess Saving You is the happiest, cause we get a proposal at the end, and a wedding bonus chapter is in the works!

Do you write crossovers?

i don't have any published ones yet, but i fucked around with a naruto/jjk crossover idea and wrote some scenes. i just like the idea of itafushi showing narusasu how to fucking communicate and be honest with each other. and i like the idea of naruto trying to convince yuuji to befriend the murderous monster sealed inside him, cause for him it worked out pretty well, so why can't it work for yuuji? (sukuna is not amused). basically a crackfic, which may or may not see the light of day.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

yeah, i got some mean comments and some weird asks in my inbox once or twice. i don't understand why people get so angry and aggressive over fics, like, you can just close the tab and move on. especially if it's something that was clearly tagged, and was never intended to appeal to your specific taste. constructive criticism is of course always welcome, and i love interacting with readers, but when someone tells me they don't like a certain part and then follows up by telling me that the whole fic is trash, yeah, not a good vibe. lmao i remember getting a really condescending comment about me getting the timeline wrong and how i didn't even bother to get my facts right. spoiler, i had the manga open while writing and i got the timeline correct, so someone made a fool out of themselves by commenting that. ngl, that was pretty funny.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

i like writing smut! but, i find that smut attracts a certain type of audience and i just don't have the patience to deal with the problematic ones. people seem to be very particular about their preferred top/bottom dynamics, and they get real upset when i don't follow their headcanons. so, i'll still keep most of my fics sfw, but if the mood strikes me, i might write a smutty one-shot, or an explicit scene in a multichapter fic. my smut scenes are usually pretty heated, and there's a bit of power play involved. i enjoy writing characters taking charge in a fun, consensual kinda way.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

actually, i had multiple fics of mine stolen and posted on wattpad under a different account name. i think the thing that pissed me off the most was seeing the author's notes and the "author" replying to some of the comments, like, are you fucking serious, bro. props to the wattpad tho, they took down the account pretty quickly after i reported it.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

nope, but i would probably cry if anyone wanted to do that.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

also no, but i'd love to!

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

i guess no one is going to get surprised if i say itafushi, right? there's just something about their dynamic that has me in a chokehold and won't let me go. i enjoy reading their characterization in different settings, and there are so many ways you can explore their relationship. i also love satosugu, narusasu, kuroken, bokuaka, kagehina and iwaoi, so there's no shortage of fics for me to read.

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

i have a half-abandoned fic about post-canon megumi going through several stages of spiraling out of control, hearing voices, seeing visions and generally losing it. he's basically having a psychotic break, and it's really dark. i've never written angst to this extent before, and it's hard. i'd love to finish it, but it's a challenge, because i can't quite grasp the tone i want to set for it. might be worth revisiting some time later.

What are your writing strengths?

i love writing dialogue, and i like using it to convey character's personalities and relationships. my fics usually have a lot of banter between characters, and it's usually a lot of fun. i get told i'm good at writing angst, which makes me proud. also, if someone says i'm funny, then i consider that a personal achievement.

What are your writing weaknesses?

as i said, i love writing dialogue. well, it's not a weakness, per se, but my fics often turn out dialogue-heavy, and sometimes i need to balance that out. it's a learning process. my prose is a little bit flat, i don't usually add much detail to descriptions, so there's a lot of room for improvement in that department. it's mostly due to my impatience and desire to move the plot along, but whenever i read beautiful descriptive prose, it makes me wanna work harder.

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

if the situation calls for it, and the characters can have a conversation in another language, why not? i watch anime with subs, so honorifics sound natural and don't distract me, but when i use them myself, i like to keep them canon-compliant and not overdo it. some "iconic" japanese phrases do lose their charm when translated (choso hung up on the onii-chan thing is a good example), so in those cases, i'm good with just using the original version. it's a personal preference.

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

i'm late to the whole anime party, so i'm still catching up with everything. i managed to finish naruto recently, and i read a bunch of sasunaru fics, and honestly, i would love to try and write something for them. they have a rougher, more aggressive dynamic, certainly more toxic than itafushi, and i'd love to play around with that.

i have 4 haikyuu fics published, but i don't have anything written for kagehina yet, so that's next on the list.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

i had to think about this for a while, cause all of my fics are special to me in their own way. i guess i will always lean towards my angsty ones, cause, i love it when a description of pain gets the reader's emotions all stirred up, and i have a knack for making people cry, apparently. so, i'd say the world is cruel but i still love you (along with the farmfic that follows it up called let's take this mess and make a home)

but i'm kinda happy with my latest angsty one-shot, blessed with a curse, too.

[recurring-polynya]

Writing/Art Update 12.3.2024

I gave up.

So, what happened was, shortly after last week's update, I had to re-direct my attentions to Getting Ready for Thanksgiving, and so I was like "yeah, this is fine, this is a good opportunity to Think About My Fanfic, and when the holiday is over, I'll have some stuff to write." Except that the more I thought about my fanfic, the more I realized that I do not love it and I have spent a lot of time and energy trying to make myself love it and I simply don't and I don't want to work on a thing I don't love. I want to love it! I love the parts that I wrote 3 years ago!

I don't remember why, but I decided I wanted to read my weird Inuzuri Teens story. In particular, I wanted to read the insane ending, which I have told myself repeatedly I need to change if I ever want to post the story. I read it and I said "this is good actually. making sense is for chumps" and decided I wanted to work on that story instead, and so that is what I have been doing.

I don't think this is actually a permanent feeling. I'm not really giving up on a little in love. I think I am just feeling very mean right now and I'm mad a lot and I don't really want to write something nice and funny. The Inuzuri story is about the dissolution of a friendship and the death of a young person and that's why I've never finished it, but I think I feel mean enough to do that right now, so that's what I'm doing with those feelings. I am constantly inventing new and innovative forms of personal self-therapy, and I feel like my old therapist who never knew what to do with me really would have loved this one.

I don't know whether or not to bother with my stupid wordcount goal anymore. Right now, it seems very made-up and stupid. Normally, I'm pretty big on giving up things once they no longer serve, but I also feel like I'm going to be mad at myself for not meeting it. ::scrolls up to look at the gif at the top of the post. scrolls back down again::

I wrote a scene this week that I have been thinking about for ages and ages and I think I like the way it came out, except for the fact that a) I will have to edit a part later on that I have always really liked and I'm kinda pissed about that, and b) it is 3100 entire words which is more than twice as long as the next longest scene in this fanfic and I'm not too happy about that. Most of the story is in these little bite-sized chunks, and they often sort of flow into each other, so maybe it's okay. I'm a little worried that the seams between the stuff I've already written and the new stuff are going to be very visible. idk

I also went through and converted the whole thing into present tense--it was in a big sloppy mishmash of past and present. Previously, I couldn't bring myself to decide which one I wanted, but go places is present tense and I want it to match go places. I also made an outline, which is how I figured out the thing above.

Oh! Also, I have been really unhappy with GoogleDocs for some time, so I decided to give ellipsus a try (I tell you, I was really going thru it this week). It's...fine? It is occasionally a teensy bit laggy, which I mostly notice when I'm doing a search (I use the search feature a lot because I have a bad tendency to get enamored of a word and then use it too much). This is a little better in Chrome than Firefox, which has changed my entire work flow, because I have Tumblr open in Firefox, and now it's "far away". This may actually be for the best. I am not sure. Ellipsus also has this "draft" system, which is pretty much like every software version control system I've ever used, so I get it, but I'm not sure it suits the way I work. Nothing about Ellipsus precludes using my old multi-document system, and maybe I'll find it useful in the future. I'm not going to complain about a feature just because I personally don't have a use for it. I had numerous beefs with GDocs, but the #1 thing was the infiltration of ai, and Ellipsus is building its brand on being anti-ai, so I'm willing to put up with a few growing pains for now and see how things go.

I'm also trying to get back into drawing a little every day (most days anyway). Mostly, I just intend to use my art club prompts (I drew a pie yesterday). I do want to draw something for Ukitake week. I'm not going to be secretive: I'm trying to come up with a cool Rukia-Ukitake idea because I feel like they got cheated so bad in terms of captain-lieutenant power posing. I've been going back and forth between Action Posing (which is hard and not my strength) or, like, modern clothes. I'll try to get that figured out this week.

[snowcoffeee]

Thank you for the tag @rhodophoria!! :D This was fun!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Just one (but there will be more soon ;))

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

127,025! I think Ashen Wishes is the longest story I've ever written (and it's still going, holy-)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mostly Undertale. In fact, I haven't written for anything else in years ^^' I need to have a lot of passion for a fandom to get myself to write. Unless the characters live 24/7 in my mind rent-free, no ideas will pop up.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Yes.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yeah, I love to! I really appreciate when someone takes their time to leave a nice message :] I always try to reply as soon as possible, or at least within a day.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I currently have a few one-shot ideas that have rather angsty endings, but I couldn't bear writing a whole longfic that ends on a sad note. ...I think.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Ashen Wishes will have a pretty happy, positive ending, so I suppose that counts (?)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Thankfully, I never have :)

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Well... not really. I've given it a shot a few times and I have a couple ideas, but I don't think I can bring myself to post anything too explicit at the moment.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I've never written one! I've always found them too difficult to execute well.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don't think so...? Though I never looked for it.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope, but I wonder what that would look like! Although when it comes to writing fics, I'm much more comfortable writing in English than my native language.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not yet, but it sounds fun. I have friends who help with brainstorming sometimes, if that counts :)

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

I've never been into shipping characters that much. Sometimes I come across a ship and I genuinely like it, but then I move on. My reader-insert craze just never left me enough, I guess.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I strive to finish everything I start, even though it might, uh, take a little more time. I really hope I won't ever abandon my fics.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogues? Maybe? Those are usually the first things that pop up in my head when I'm trying to figure out a scene, and I build everything else around them. But I'm also really obsessed with pacing and trying to find a healthy balance between the events in a story. I'm not saying it's necessarily working, I just tend to pay more attention to it.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I'm very, very slow. I can linger on a single sentence for ten minutes because I can't get over how awkward a sentence feels, so I just stare at the screen trying to figure out how to fix it. Also, describing environments. I can't make them sound fun for the life of me. I feel like they always end up being very dry and unimaginative :/

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I don't run into them often, but I think they can spice up a dialogue sometimes. I especially like special short phrases that give the conversation a deeper meaning.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Oof, uh, Hollow Knight, if I remember correctly. I don't plan to post any of my older works though ^^'

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Ashen Wishes is probably the fic I've put the most effort in so far, and it's currently my favorite, too!

@imtrashraccoon if you'd like to join, but as always, no pressure! :D

[clearedpipes]

All about me and Pipes' Directory

Well, hello Tumblr in general and writeblr in particular! Had this account for a while (Branding is important), and with the return of my enter key I can actually format this stuff appropriately!

So heya! I'm Cecelia/ClearedPipes, I'm British and all of 23 years old! I use she/her pronouns, and am an employed individual (So may not be available 24/7).

I read the Hunger Games for the first time at 12, and have spent a hell of a long time since (from ~15) reading the fanfiction people produce! I started properly publishing it in June of 2024, and that's (not) all she wrote)! My AO3 and FFN accounts are both ClearedPipes, and how I got to that name is courtesy of a not so long story I've prepared to post on Friday, June 13th 2025 (my 1 year anniversary)I am also a District 1 (Hunger Games) enthusiast, so treat that as you will!

Outside of the Hunger Games, well. I'm soon to be engaged to a lovely woman, my favourite musical artists are too diverse to talk about in certainty (Amelie Farren, Nightwish and Ramin Djawadi being my 3 most listened artists speaks to this), and my favourite books are Angels and Demons, The Hunger Games (hope you'd expected this) and the ASOIAF set. Stannis Baratheon haters DNI (For legal reasons this is a joke).

In visual media, my favourite movies are The Rock (1996), National Treasure 1/2 and the first 4 Pirates of the Caribbean because 5 is... also there. My favourite shows are Game of Thrones, The X-Files, Doctor Who and Andor (Arcane is also up there)

I'd expect most of you are here for the writing, which I do way too much of. I've got a few active projects at the moment (Albeit have fully handled one of them and got it all predone), so that's fun! Posting dates for my big fics are every Friday (Alternating between LIAB and NBC), so that's when you can expect me to get handling things!

Pipes' Mainline (Canon-Compliant until SOTR hits like a plane into a tower)

None By Chance

This is my main one. My firstborn daughter, arguably the one I love the most, and the one that's expected to be the longest (Current projection is 432,000 words). An anthology of the Victors between the 1st and 75th Games, and providing a glance into their world because they need that glance.

None by Chance AO3 None by Chance FFN

Lightning in a Bottle

My second child, and one I've spent significant time writing to make sure it's all ready for posting ^^. The story of the 67th Games, and one girl's journey through it, written as an addition to None by Chance.

Lightning in a Bottle AO3 Lightning in a Bottle FFN

Pipes' Secondary Line (Written in a divergent universe from canon, so the stuff is not Canon-Compliant)

Mentor's Guide to the Reaping

Lol guys what if mentors had a little guide to make sure they stayed on track with what the Capitol expected of them? Well, it was certainly fun to write, and helped me canonize a lot of details, so that's that!

Guide to the Reaping AO3 Guide to the Reaping FFN

TFIMW: I promised this for 31st January 2025, so until then I'll leave y'all with a nice beefy lore document to tide you over!

Justice's monthly prompt sets!

SunnyJustice popped out some incredible sets of prompts in Careertober and Tributember, so I've thus far been endeavouring to follow them to get lore all handled for TFIMW! I will also promise that there are spoilers for both of my longfics in here, so do read with warning!

Valiant: Careertober (AO3) Valiant: Careertober (FFN)

Viable: Tributember (AO3) Viable: Tributember (FFN)

And that's all, folks! If you have gotten to the end, many congratulations, and feel free to HMU here or elsewhere!

Until next time, Pipes out!

[phoebe-delia]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love! 💙

Thank you friend!! @sugareey-makes-stuff this made me smile. I’m going to open this up to any writer who sees this and hasn’t done it in a while! Tag me, I wanna see!

this is me trying (T, 12k) is still my favorite thing I’ve ever written. It makes me proud and simultaneously fills me with doubt that I’ll ever write something as good ever again 😂

Goodnight, and Have a Pleasant Tomorrow (T, 1k) was both very hard and very fun to write. I wrote it for LCDrarry and it’s a Saturday Night Live AU with Drarry as Weekend Update hosts. I wrote all the jokes myself based on real news articles—just like they do on the real Weekend Update. I’m still very happy with how it turned out.

Stars By the Pocketful (T, 2k) is my Wireless this year. My brain was not very nice to me during the writing process or even after it was posted. I’m better now, and I’ve come to really like this fic in retrospect. And I’m proud that I pushed through and ended up with this. So as an exercise in being kind to myself, I'm including it here lol.

Just Between Us (T, 13k) was my first Wireless fic (it's from last year). I'm very proud of it because I challenged myself with the plot a bit. And it's the longest thing I've written so far. I put SO much pressure on myself with this fic because it's based on my favorite Taylor Swift song and I knew I'd kick myself if it wasn't as good as I could make it. It's also the first fic of mine to be translated into another language! Someone translated it into Russian!

I Knew You (T, three chapters add up to 1.5k) oh this fic, my beloved. I had a blast writing it and I'm very proud of how it turned out. It's based on three Taylor Swift songs that she wrote as part of a trilogy: "august," "cardigan" and "betty," with one ficlet for each song. This little series has a few of my favorite lines I've written.

Thanks so much again for the ask!!

[firendeavor]

AO3 Wrapped

Happy New Year everyone! As per usual I am late to the party, but I wanted to get involved all the same. Thank you to @runninonemptyy and @blue-disco-lights for the tag!

This is my first year actually getting involved in fandom, and its been so good to get involved!

How many words have you written this year?

On AO3: 4,164 Galladrabbles: 2,100 WIP: TOO MANY! I'm talking 13,000 at minimum because I am incapable of sticking to one work at the one time. (One document says I have 32,000 words but I'm ignoring that at the moment. I refuse to acknowledge whatever is going on over there)

How many works did you publish this year?

Just the one, technically! One AO3 fic and 21 drabbles here.

What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?

My very first Galladrabble, Pyrrhic, is something I'm pretty proud of mainly because it was me taking my first steps back into writing again. I'm also still pretty amused that I rocked up after lurking so long and just opened my trenchcoat to reveal war angst.

What work of yours got more feedback than you expected?

Literally any, I have posted so rarely that any time anybody interacts I'm like holy fuck I forgot other people could see that.

Favorite title you used.

I only used one: Clownin' Around. And I used it on account of Mickey being a clown.

If you use song lyrics, which artist’s songs did you pull from the most?

I don't usually write full fics inspired by song lyrics, but I have done a few Galladrabbles and I did temporarily lose my mind over Imogen Heap's Clear the Area.

Pairing you wrote the most for this year?

Ian and Mickey, because they're the only two I write for!

Favorite pairing you wrote for this year?

Can you imagine if I said anything other than Ian and Mickey?

What work was the quickest to write?

NONE. I am cursed to be the slowest fic writer ever. Two hours for a sentence, new personal record.

What work took you the longest to write?

I'm gesturing vaguely at the pile of WIPs behind me right now, because its probably gonna be one of those.

How many WIP’s do you have in your docs for next year?

:|

I thought I only had three.

I have eight.

What’s your longest work of the year?

Clownin' Around! Also I haven't written anything else, so yeah.

What’s your shortest work of the year?

Any one of my Galladrabbles.

What WIP are you taking into next year with you?

All of them. I will carry them with me and the bag of WIPs will get bigger. That being said I'm reeeeaaally trying to finish one so I can work on my big huge one that I'd love to create. So I suppose a big focus on two, with a couple of one-shots that I think I can manage before my brain demands I make several other ones instead.

What’s your most common “Additional Tags” tag?

I've only got one fic so far, but I know it's going to be some version of "Alternate Universe" when I post more.

Your favorite character to write this year?

It's gotta be Mickey. In that big huge WIP I mentioned above, I'm writing from his perspective and it's very fun to try and get the balance between between hating authority and being forced to work with them.

The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?

Genuinely? Freddie. How the hell do toddlers act?

What’s one pairing you want to explore next year?

Lip and Tami. Still in the background but I like their family vibe.

Which work of yours have you reread the most?

I don't really re-read my stuff. Once it's online I'm blind to it

How many kudos in total did you get this year?

Sixty four!

Which work has the most comments?

I'm counting my Galladrabbles as a whole, and all the nice little things people put in the tags as comments!

Did you do any collaborative works this year?/Did you write any gifts this year?/Did you receive any gifts this year?

I did not! This is my first year being social in this fandom.

What’s your most common category?

I'm actually not too sure, it'll probably become clearer next year.

What do you listen to while writing?

Anything, as long as it doesn't have words.

Favorite work you wrote this year?

Probably the Galladrabble You Were Meant For Me because it's the one that inspired the big WIP I'm working on atm.

Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

Probably: 'So he thanks the cosmos for granting him a fleeting moment with Helios incarnate, counts his lucky stars—Vela on his shoulder, Cassiopeia over his chest, Ophiuchus at his hip—and gives in to the anticipatory grief.' From Cosmic because I love reading freckle/star comparisons and therefore love writing freckle/star comparisons. My favorite Ian related simile!

Biggest surprise while writing this year?

That I can actually post things? Isn't that wild? In all seriousness the fact that I actually posted some of my writing this year after ages and ages of not writing anything is very surprising to me, but I'm so happy I did :)

Since I believe most people were tagged in this, and I am also late to the party, please take this as your invitation to do this if you haven't already and want to!

[andromeda-nova-writing]

Fic Stats and Facts for the End of the Year

In January I thought It would be fun to keep track of the amount of words I posted on fics throughout the year. I posted a total of 26,676 words in 2024

Continuing the fun I think it would be nice to reshare some fics I posted this year and some thoughts I had on them.

My Favorite Actor is… This was my first fic of the year. It was posted on January 6th. It's one of the fics I posted during the chaos of getting a new puppy. It was written mostly on my phone during the holidays. Am I surprised the first fic of the year was an Ayato fic? No, I did a blog refresh around him. I think of the fics I've posted for Ayato, this is my favorite.

Summer Afternoons I had this fic scheduled to post while I was on a trip in Texas. Fun fact, my cousin clocked me as an AO3 user. I was playing around with formatting and I tried sticking with this format throughout the year. I think I may do a format overhaul at some point. I think my fics started doing worse with the new changes. This means there's a chance you haven't read this short and cute Thoma fic!

PLASTIC OFF THE SOFA and CUFF IT Can you tell I like Beyoncé? It's not like I'm quiet about it. I love how silly timing will forever tie Wriothesley and the Renaissance album together. I guess it was the idle animation trying to tell me he enjoys a good disco bop as well. Do you think he could rock roller skates by any chance, asking for a friend (it's me, I am the friend. roller skating date with Wriothesley when?)

What a Treat! One of the fics I posted during October when I get too many ideas. It was so nice to post for Kaveh since the first fic I started for him ended up being too much like one of the quest lines for his hangout. I can't believe I predicted the hangout. I should have posted it before his release.

“What part of 'I want you, and only you’ do you not understand?” My first fic for Dr. Ratio. Well, it would have been but it was such a challenge to write him!! I rewrote this fic like three times. So expect you to read it three times. It's only fair. I do plan on writing more for him next year. I would also like to write more Honkai Star Rail characters as well.

After the Choir Sings and To Prepare a Reunion These are the last fics I'm posting this year. I'm sick so there is no way I can rush one last fic. The notes are lower due to being so recent so if you could go run them up a bit that would be nice. The first fic is for Neuvillette and is also the first time I ever wrote for him. I'm still not sure I got him right. The second fic is an SMAU for Ayato which was a fun break from the Ayato fic I'm been working on for like half the year now.

Speaking of the long Ayato fic I think it has been a minute since I have given it a sneak peek which I feel is fair. But before I do, some general info on the fic. The main trope is A Marriage of Convince which has also become the placeholder name now. It is one of the things that inspired my blog refresh. I would like to post the first chapter on March 26th since it is his birthday and then post every two weeks. Hopefully, I can get far enough to where this is possible. It's already the longest fic I've ever written which is fun. I do hope you enjoy this sneak peek from Chapter 1!

Ayato sighed at the interaction. “Have you even explained why you wish for her to be wed so fast?”

“I do not have to explain my family matters to you of all people. You have made this so much harder by having her wear your mother’s jewelry. You should take it and leave us be.” Y/N’s grandpa spoke.

“I see no need to. Your family matters involve trying to marry off a woman through blackmail. How would it sound for you if it got out that you have been trying to marry off a woman who much of Inazuma now assumes I am in a relationship with?”

“How does it sound for that same woman to get charged for assault? It’s better to stay out of this if you would prefer your own name to retain the respect it has.”

Ayato sighed rubbing the temples of his forehead. He hoped it would not have to come to this. “Since you won’t explain your reasoning and so desperately want her to be engaged at this very moment, I’ll marry her if it stops this headache of an issue.”

Y/N jolted away from his touch in shock. “You can’t. Even you agreed that an arranged marriage for yourself would be something you never do. What about your own love life?”

“Listen to the girl. Even she knows it would be a disgrace for you to be engaged to her.” Her grandpa argued twisting her words moments after being spoken.

“I am too busy dealing with the affairs of Inazuma for a love life. I get proposals once a week and they are a waste of my time. You are wasting your granddaughter’s time. If getting married can free her to do as she pleases then I find no issue with ‘disgracing’ my name. If anything it would make my life easier having a translator in my home as Inazuma continues to reconnect with the world.”

[lykaios2]

Here's a request:

Platonic or romantic, your choice, Leo showing off some skateboard moves.

omg when I say I got so into writing this

I stayed up until 6am writing this yesterday. I am not kidding. I just really wanted to finish it so I could post it asap

anyway I hope you like it, this is the longest fic I've written so far

Sweet Tricks and Sweeter Feelings

leonardo x reader, friends to lovers

cw: literally nothing

word count: 3838

One evening, you started on a walk, or rather a ride, to a new skate park you had just recently discovered. While doing some business over on that side of town, you had a bit of free time to yourself, and decided to explore since you didn't go to that side of town much. You eventually stumbled upon an abandoned building, and your curiosity got the better of you. After looking around for an entrance, you somehow found an unlocked door that led inside. After making your way around to what seemed to be the main area, you found yourself looking at what seemed to be a well maintained skatepark.

“Woah, what is this? I've never seen this before…must not have been taken down when this place was closed. Someone's certainly been working hard to keep this place nice.”

Now, returning here, it was certainly a different vibe at night. Walking around to the unlocked door, you heard noises coming from inside, as if someone was also using the skatepark. As you made your way inside, you looked around for the source of the noise. You could barely make out a dark figure skating around the park. As you sat and watched in awe at all of their amazing tricks, they came a little too close and noticed you standing there.

“Oh! Hello there, you-”

“Augh! I'm sorry, I-I'll leave-”

“Wait, no, you're fine! I just didn't expect to see anyone else here.”

“You could say the same here. Those were some sweet tricks you were hitting, uh… what's your name? Don't think you mentioned it.”

“Oh, my apologies, you can call me Leonardo, or Leo for short. How about yourself, mysterious friend?”

“I'm y/n.”

“Well, y/n, since you're here, would you like to join me for some late night skating?”

“Yeah! Let's do this!”

After a couple hours, Leonardo announced that it was time for him to return home. It was pretty late, so you decided to head home yourself.

“When are you planning on being here again?”

“Oh, my brothers don't like me being out this late too much, so really only once a week.”

“You have brothers? How many?”

“Just 3.”

“Do they ever come out here?”

“Not that I know. I haven't told anyone about this place.”

“Not even your brothers?”

“Nope. I love them to death, don't get me wrong, but when I'm with them all day every day, a little time away can be nice.”

“I understand that. Well then, I'll see you next week, same place, same time?”

“Only if you show up.”

“It's a deal!”

Next week, you entered through the doors of the abandoned building and sure enough Leonardo was there, skating just as before.

“Yo!” you called out.

“There you are, I was getting a bit worried that you had bailed on me.”

“Sorry, I live on the other side of town. Yeah, no, I would have felt terrible. I wouldn't have even had a way to tell you, which would have made it all the worse.”

“You want my number? Easiest way to contact me.”

“Oh, sure.” You and Leonardo exchanged numbers, but while he was typing his number into your phone, you noticed some red marks on his face through his mask he was wearing.

“Is that…blood?”

“Hm?”

“On your face there.”

“Oh, um…no…”

“Then what is it, if it's not blood?”

“It's, um…I'll show you next week. But you have to show up.”

“Aw, what? Fine. Is it like a personal thing?”

“Kind of. A lot of people are often surprised when they see what it really is.”

“It can't be that bad. C'mon, lemme see!”

“Next week! If you show up.” You begrudgingly agreed as Leonardo started skating again. Realizing you hadn't yet even touched your skateboard, you followed suit.

After another long night of skating, Leonardo headed home, and so did you. On the way home, you texted Leonardo, thanking him for his time and reminding him of his promise.

-you better show me what's under that mask next week

-chill bro, all you gotta do is show up. I'll have you know I'm not one to break my promises.

-we'll see about that

-we will, won't we?

You smiled as you looked up from your phone. The curiosity was killing you, but you trusted that he would show you.

The next week passed slower than usual. If you weren't doing something, your mind would eventually drift to Leonardo. What was hiding that he couldn't show you immediately? You theorized about many different possible options, but you couldn't truly know until you met up with him again.

But slow as it was, the week finally passed and it was time to see what Leonardo had been hiding. You walked through the new familiar doors and looked around for Leonardo.

“Boo!”

“Augh! You- stupid- whatever.”

“C'mon, just a little joke. You aren't mad, are you?”

“No, I can't really get mad at you for that. I just get easily spooked.”

“I can tell.”

“Oh, shut up about it. Now how about we see what's under that mask?”

“Right. Now, before I do this, I should warn you. Whenever I show this to someone, they usually don't want to associate with me anymore. I've heard it all, so whatever you say probably won't hurt me. And whatever you think it is, I can guarantee it's not that. Do you still want to see?”

You paused and thought for a second before saying yes. He made you close your eyes while he took the mask off. When he said he was ready, you opened your eyes to see…

“A…stripe? Wait, you're a…turtle?!”

“Yep. What do you think? Be honest.”

“That's, like…awesome! I can't really think of a better way to put it.”

“So…you like it?”

“Totally! What would I not like about a walking, talking, skateboarding turtle?”

“Well, most people see me and think I'm sort of a rejected lab creation, and while they're not wrong they usually carry a negative connotation with it.”

“It's probably just because they don't get to know you. You're awesome!”

“Aw, thanks.”

“Wait, does that mean your brothers-”

“Are turtles too? Yep.”

“Woah. Can I meet them?”

“Uh, maybe next week? I don't think they would exactly be fond of me bringing home a human unannounced.”

“Do they even know about me? Have you told them?”

“Well I've mentioned you once or twice, but they don't even know anything about you. They don't even know that you know I'm not human.”

“Oof. Well, you better tell them because I totally want to meet them now.”

“Haha, I think I can work something out. But for now, I wanna see your cool tricks! We keep getting distracted.”

During your late night skate session, you had to stop for a second because you were hungry. Leonardo stopped as well and walked over to where you were standing, slouched over.

“Hey, you good? Looking a little weak there.”

“Yeah I’m okay, I just forgot to eat before I came here.”

“Woah, that’s not good. Hm…oh! I know this good Asian place down the road from here, it should still be open.”

“Oh, I love Asian food, and I totally would, but I don’t have any money on me.”

“Eh, I can cover you.”

“What? You don’t have to do that.”

“Please, allow me. I would feel bad if you were to faint from hunger under my watch.”

“Well, if you insist, I’m not going to refuse.”

“Come on, then. Follow me, I’ll take you there. You need some help?” You nodded as Leonardo grabbed your hand and started leading you out of the building. He slowly led you out of the building and down the streets.

“You doing okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine-” You were silenced by the sound of your stomach growling from hunger.

“Maybe not. Here, stand back.”

You stepped back as Leonardo pulled out what seemed to be a sword. He started moving it in a circle until a portal appeared in front of you.

“You can make portals too?!”

“It’s a long story. Maybe I’ll tell you one day, but for now we need to get you food. Come on, this should lead us straight there.”

You cautiously followed Leonardo through the portal, and stepped out on the other side right next to the restaurant.

“Wow, that was impressive. Can your brothers do that?”

“No, but they have their own special abilities. And anyway, how are you not focused on your hunger? You’re nearly starving.”

Leonardo led you inside, and the lady behind the counter greeted the two of you.

“Hello, you two! Out on a little late night date, are we?”

You just chuckled at the comment, but Leonardo was quick on his feet.

“A date? I mean, one could call it that. Only if you want.” He looked at you as he said that.

“I wouldn’t mind that.” Leonardo ordered for the both of you, and you sat down at a table to wait for your food.

“You should ask your brothers if I can meet them. I’m really curious about them.”

“Man, you are quite insistent on meeting my brothers, huh?”

“Well, it’s not every day that you learned that you’re actually friends with a mutant turtle, let alone that he has brothers who are also mutant turtles! And you’re super awesome and nice, so I bet they are too! Why would I not want to meet them?”

“Well since you have to be so nice about it, I guess I can ask them. I have no clue if any of them will be up this late, though, so I can’t promise a fast result.”

“That’s okay. Oh, but when am I going to meet them? Or where? I have no clue where you guys live.”

“Well, we’re pretty free, so whenever you have time during the day probably works for us. As for where…”

“What about your place? I think it would probably be a good idea to meet them in their natural environment, y’know, so they don’t have to feel stressed or anything like that.”

“That’s not a bad idea. Although, nothing about our home would be considered normal.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well, for starters it’s pretty big. And it’s underground. We’ve got a lot of cool stuff as well. We have an arcade room, a humongous garage, a skate ramp…”

“You have a skate ramp inside your home?! No wonder you’re so good at skating.”

“Oh, stop it.”

The waiter came over with the food, and made another comment about the two of you.

“Here’s your food, nice and hot. Don’t stay here just talking too long now.” Leonardo took this opportunity to show you how sharp his wits truly were.

“Nice and hot, huh? The food’s not the only nice and hot thing here.”

“Are you…talking about me?”

“Maybe, maybe not. You’ll never know.”

“Oh, you’re so stupid. I’m eating, you have fun doing whatever you’re doing over there.”

You and Leonardo finished up your food, and finalized your plans to meet up with his brothers. Much to Leonardo’s surprise, all of his brothers responded before you finished eating, and all of his brothers had agreed to meet you in their home.

“Thank you so much for everything tonight. Definitely one of the best nights I’ve had in a while.”

“It was my pleasure, only the best for my best skateboarding friend.”

“You’re too kind. I’m excited to meet your brothers.” You and Leonardo started walking out after saying good night to the employees.

“I’m sure they’ll love you. Have a good night!”

“You too, Leonardo!”

A few days later, Leonardo texted you to help you get to his home to meet his brothers.-now turn left and you should see an alleyway down the street. once you get there, just wait a couple of minutes and I’ll be there to lead you the rest of the way.

-I better not be getting kidnapped

-wow, I buy you food and this is how you treat me? you’re lucky I even let you in at all.

-okay, okay, I trust you. happy now?

-I guess

-how about dinner on me next time?

-wow, making moves huh? you’re slick

-...I don’t even know what to say anymore.

During the texting, Leonardo had snuck up behind you. He scared you when he spoke up.

“How about you come say hello to my brothers?”

“Damn it Leo- would you stop scaring me?”

“It’s so cute the way you react when you get scared though. And I don’t mean any harm, I hope you know that. Now, come on, you’ve been waiting a while for this, haven’t you?”

“I sure have. Where are we headed?”

“Look down.” Confused, you looked down to see a manhole at your feet. You looked back at Leonardo, and he gestured you to move out of the way as he lifted the manhole cover.

“It’s not as bad as you think.”

“Well, I’ve gone this far.”

As you climbed down into the manhole, Leonardo started to lead you through the sewers. He seemed to know these dreary hallways like the back of his hand. After several minutes of walking through the sewers, you eventually saw a light coming from somewhere up ahead. You followed Leonardo down the hall, until eventually reaching the end, where he began something of a grand introduction.

“Welcome to my humble abode. Hey guys, they’re here!” As he presumably called to his brothers, you stood in awe as you took in everything that was in front of you. It was bigger than you could have ever imagined. There were so many rooms, so much graffiti all over the walls, string lights everywhere. Leonardo grabbed your hand and pulled you along to somewhere else though.

“C’mon, it’s time!” Your excitement could hardly be contained as Leonardo led you to the bottom layer of the area. Leonardo stopped in front of what you assumed were his brothers.

“y/n, meet my brothers. This is Raphael.”

“You can just call me Raph. Leo’s mentioned you a few times, but it’s nice to finally meet you in person.”

“This is Michelangelo.”

“Hello! I’ve been super excited to meet you! Leo says you’re really good at skateboarding. You’ll have to show me your moves later!”

“And this is Donatello.”

“Hello, nice to meet you. I do have a nickname, but I reserve it for people who are close to me. I mean no offense with this, as I’m sure you’re a kind individual, but I just don’t know you very well. With time you should be able to call me by my nickname.”

“Well, hello, everyone. My name is y/n. I’ve haven’t really heard much about any of you, but assuming you’re anything like Leo, then we’ll probably get along.”

“Well, how about we show you around? I’m sure you’ll get to know them along the way.” Leonardo and his brothers proceeded to show you around the very large area in which they lived. Along the way, you managed to pick up a few tidbits of information about each of his brothers. Raph was the oldest and seemed to be the leader of the group, but he also had a very soft heart. Mikey was the youngest of the four and was definitely the creative one. Donatello was the smart one, and was often very direct about everything.

“So how did you meet Leo, anyway?”

“Well, one of my hobbies happens to be skating, and one night when I went out to skate, he was the only one at the skatepark I went to. Then we kinda made plans to meet up there every week.”

“So that’s what you’ve been doing! Leo sometimes comes home late at night with a big smile on his face and just a little happier than usual, but he never mentioned you when he did that. Now I’m starting to put some dots together.”

“Well, that can happen when you hang around such an amazing skater such as myself.”

“How about you live up to that claim, huh? Show us some moves.” Leonardo finally spoke up. You took it as a challenge, and everyone headed over to the skate ramp.

After showing everyone what you could do on a skateboard, and a couple more hours of just hanging out with the turtles, you eventually had to head home. After saying your goodbyes, Leonardo showed you the way out.

“See you soon!”

“Yeah! If you ever want to come back over, just text me!”

“Will do!”

However, you would remain oblivious to the conversation that was about to follow.After walking you out, Leonardo started walking back to his room, but little did he know that Michelangelo was following him.

“Ah, man, that was nice. Now time to lay back and-”

“Oh, Leo~”

“Mikey? Did you need something?”

“Mmmm, not exactly.”

“Then what’s up?”

“I should be asking you that. Seems you and y/n have a little something going on.”

“Yeah, we hang out quite a bit. It’s been pretty nice.”

“Leo, I’m going to get straight to the point. I think it’s pretty obvious you like them.”

“Woah, that’s quite an assumption. Care to run me through your thought process here?”

“Well first off, you regularly went to hang out with them, a human. That doesn’t happen very often. Next, you revealed the fact that you’re a mutant turtle. You don’t exactly do that for everyone. And they told me about your little “date” you went on. Listen, Leo, you know I’m the expert on these things, you can’t hide them from me.”

“…Fine, I’ll admit it. They’re just so…I don’t know how to describe it. Something about them just draws me to them.”

“I think it’s because you guys are so similar. You bounce off of each other. I’d give it a bit more time, but you should tell them how you feel.”

“Ahh, I don’t know. It’s hard. I think they just see it like a normal friendship.”

“You never know until you try. Like I said, give it some time and we’ll see where it goes. I’ll be your wingman, give you tips and tricks. And I’ll keep on the down low, but I can’t promise that Donnie and Raph won’t find out. That’s out of my control.”

“Heh, thanks.”

A few weeks passed, and you hung out with Leonardo and his brothers more and more. You learned more about each of them, but you noticed Mikey being particularly weird whenever you and Leo were hanging out.

“Raph, have you noticed anything weird going on between Leonardo and Michelangelo?”

“Yeah, but I haven’t been able to figure out what they’re up to. I think it might have something to do with you, though.”

“Me?”

“Well I can’t be sure, but I feel like I often overhear your name in their conversations.”

“Oh, that makes me all the more nervous about what they’re doing.”

“Eh, knowing them, it can’t be anything bad. I wouldn’t worry too much.”

“If you say so. I’ll trust your judgment on this one.”

A few months had passed now, and you were a lot more comfortable with your turtle friends. You were allowed in their home at any time, and Donatello had even come to know you well enough for him to let you call him Donnie. Leonardo made his classic one liners. Raph and Michelangelo often cheered you on whenever you showed off your moves on the ramp in their home. But nothing ever came of Leonardo and Michelangelo’s scheming, and over time you forgot about it. However, it never stopped and you would soon come to learn what it was all about.

One night, Leo had texted you, asking you to meet up at the entrance to their home.

-make sure to bring your skateboard, I’ve got a little surprise for you

-it’s pretty late leonardo, you better have something good

-I think you’ll like it

You arrived at the meeting spot, with Leonardo already waiting for you.

“Hop on your board, we’ve got a long ways to go.”

Leo started, leading you through all the secret alleyways and tunnels. You managed to keep up, but your legs were starting to get tired from the distance you were riding.

“Are we there yet?”

“Almost, just another minute or two.”

By this point, you were on the outskirts of town. Leonardo was headed further and further away from the city. You were becoming more and more curious as to where he was taking you. Eventually you stopped at the bottom of a hill.

“I won’t make you ride up this. Follow me.”

Again he pulled out his sword and made another portal. You trusted it would take you to the top of the hill, and it certainly did. What you didn’t expect was a little area hidden in the brush which had a perfect view of the city.

“Woah, Leo, this is insane. How did you find this?”

“Spots like these are my specialty. Come, sit.”

He invited you to sit next to him and watch the city, which looked very different at night.

“Is there a reason you brought me out here?”

“Uhm, yes, actually. I’ve been reserving this spot for a special occasion. Y’know, we’ve been hanging out a lot these past few months, and we’ve come to know each other pretty well. But there’s something about myself I haven’t told you, and I think it’s pretty important that you know.”

“Okay, go ahead. I’m listening.”

“I-I really like you. You’re just a cool person, and when we hang out or go skating together, I don’t know, something about you just seems that much cooler. And the fact that you’re even willing to hang out with me in the first place is already amazing. I understand if you don’t return the feelings, I just-”

“Wait, so all of those stupid pick up lines were actual attempts at trying to get with me?”

“Kind of? Most of them were jokes, but they did actually mean I liked you.”

“Well, funnily enough, those pick up lines kind of worked…”

“What do you mean?”

“Well when we first met, I did just see you as a good friend. But I think your sense of humor accidentally made me like you too. I didn’t say anything because I thought that was just you being you, and I didn’t think those stupid little pick up lines meant anything. So I just left those feelings alone, destined to be banished to the recesses of my mind for the rest of eternity.”

Leonardo paused for a moment, before wrapping his arms around you in a tight hug. You returned the gesture.

“So, are we like, together now?”

“Only if you want.” Leonardo smiled.

“I wouldn’t mind that.” You smiled back at him before turning your head back to look at the city. This was certainly a surprise you liked.

[timeskip]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Tagged by @leviathiane !

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

109!!! I'm a writing machine

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

507,410 ^-^

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mostly HxH right now, but I'm always thinking of writing more Zero Escape. I also have fics for AITSF, A3!, and other stuff (obligated to mention that I have 57 A3! fics)

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Care - Mizuki & Date (AITSF) Coexisting for Traumatized Detectives - Yosano & Dazai (BSD) An Undefined Truth - Killua/Gon (HxH) Shaking - Kokichi/Kaito (DRV3) Love, Justice, and the In Between - Boss & Date (AITSF) ...Most of these I still love, but one of them is indicative of my dark, dark past. I'll only link the top kudos'd.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes!!! I try to every time!!! Because I like getting responses as a reader mostly, it's nice to know that I've made someone's day better and I like the community that comes with comments!!! Also it's nice to add numbers to that comment counter.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

kill switch, save switch (Zero Escape) - Everyone dies in the Submarine Ending!!!!! Honorable mentions to: Turning Back (A3!) - Chikage abandons a child (not of his own choice, but fully aware of how damaging it is) and then thinks that they're probably dead Playing the Part (AITSF) - Iris is dead, but nobody knows it. Blood Trails Leading Home (AITSF) - It's an Annihilation End fic, everyone is dying and the antagonist is planning to kill even more people.

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

I try to give most things a hopeful ending at LEAST fdkfkkgfdff it's impossible to choose. I'll go with Follow the Light to its End, a Killugon fic that ends with a kiss ^-^

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not really? I did get a comment recently that said "once the confession is over, I don't feel the love anymore. Still nice fic," which......... thanks (sarcasm) Usually comments like that are people trying to be nice but ending up too blunt... so it's whatever.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Nah. Nothing against it, just not my zone.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Sometimes!!! Never in the form of X meets Y though, always putting one character into another's universe. I don't write them often, I'd write them more often if there were more people who would read them and my niche ideas. I think the only one I can remember posting is paradoxical, an A3/ZE crossover which. is crazy. What if Azuma's brother Hajime was actually Hisoka's brother August, but in the same way Akane from Zero Escape is June--the way that June is a mask, a cover. What if they were in a nonary game. What if Azuma accessed the morphogenetic field. CRAZY.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope! But I'm totally open to it!!!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Sort of!!! I did the Masukyu magic AU series with my friend Mikey :> Cowriting is really hard but it's fun.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

ALL TIME is hard. I'll give you a top 3: Killua/Gon (HxH), Hisoka/Homare (A3!), Junpei/Akane (ZE) Also honorable mention to Chikage/Citron/Itaru (A3!) for being the subject of my longest fic.

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I'm constantly writing like 5 things at once, so it's a gamble with everything I write... I really doubt I'm going to finish the Pariging time loop WIP I have though orz I really love what I have so far of it, it's just... I don't know where it's going orz

16. What are your writing strengths?

Character emotions!!! Showing how characters respond to each other!!! Introspection!!! I like to think I'm pretty good at a lot of things.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I've been working on making sure that my characters don't talk in a void lately T-T I'm not BAD at description, but it so often falls to the wayside... Also comedy is hard for me.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I mean... it can work, I suppose? I wouldn't do it myself, because I'm not confident in any language other than english (I'm sorry high school german teacher...! I fell off because of covid...! I'm unlikely to use more than a couple german words for Klavier's faux-german thing, if I ever write a fic about him, lol) When other people do it, it's fine, except if I notice them using it wrong I think it's silly.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

First fandom I wrote a fic for ever: Warrior Cats First fandom I posted a completed fic online for: My Hero Academia

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

Since I have so many it's kind of impossible to choose... But I'll say my long fics, especially the 40k multichapters. I put so much work into every long fic of mine, I can't choose a favorite child T-T Here's a link to my AO3, filtered for only fics over 10k words just in case anyone is interested in the 8 longer fics of mine Also mentioning you, at last, a little shorter than the above at 8.6k, but definitely one of my favorite A3 fics I wrote!!! It's a platonic soulmate AU, I'm constantly tempted to use the AU for another fandom because I think the rules of soulmates in it are really good. And while it's not a long fic, I reread smoke signals (HxH) recently and I love what I did with it. I think a lot about it still because I think that the offscreen apology Gon is implied to have given Killua is really interesting, and smoke signals is me writing my idea of it ^-^

Tagging... anyone who wants to, I suppose!!! If you're a writer and you're reading this I'm tagging you. Yes, you.

[elwenyere]

Fic Writer 20 Questions

I was tagged by my beloved @frostbitebakery: thank you so much, my friend!!!

1.) How many works do you have on ao3

56

2.) What's your ao3 word count?

301,664 words

3.) What fandoms do you write for?

So far, the MCU, Star Wars, and Top Gun.

4.) What are your top five fics by kudos?

Call Me By Your (Pet) Name (MCU, Sambucky)

Tactical Engagements (Star Wars, Codywan)

Citation Needed (MCU, Stony)

Helps to Relieve My Mind (MCU, Sambucky)

Good Soldiers (Star Wars, Codywan)

5.) Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do, yes! Sometimes it takes me a little while to write back if things in real life are hectic, but eventually I do, because I love chatting with readers about what they noticed in a story and what I was thinking about/working on while writing.

6.) What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I have never written what I would call an unhappy ending. But sometimes what we know about the canon ending can still make the ending of a fic bittersweet, and that's true of a fair number of fics I've written. I think the two fics that leave canon angst most fully on the table are my MCU ficlet A Stitch in Time, which is about what else Steve might have done while returning those stones, and my wee Star Wars piece Yes, It Feels Like That, which is a moment with Leia's grief during ANH.

7.) What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I swear: I used to write plenty of fics that were happy all the way through! That happens a lot less frequently now. But Right on Time is just about the happiest ending I could give to a post-war Codywan, and my Sambucky fic Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice is (to me) maybe the funniest fic I've written.

8.) Do you get hate on fics?

I've been very lucky with readers who are largely very generous.

9.) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I am a relative newcomer to writing smut, but I have dabbled, yes. I'm not sure what kind of smut it is. Feelings-forward, I guess?

10.) Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I think the only thing I've written that could come close to being classified as a crossover was my very first multi-chapter fic, Should You Choose to Accept It, which included characters from both the mainstream Avengers and Agents of SHIELD and mashed up the plots of Iron Man 3, CA: TWS, AOS Season One, and Mission Impossible 3.

11.) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of.

12.) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not yet!

13.) Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Yes! The Stony identity porn/professor AU fic Citation Needed was a collaboration with the incredible @festiveferret, and it is the most fun I've had writing fic.

14.) What's your all time favorite ship?

Cannot pick a favorite, but my first OTP was Mulder/Scully, and they will always have a special place in my heart.

15.) What's a WIP you'd like to finish, but doubt you ever will?

God what a painful question. 😅 I am a stubborn bastard, and I don't know if I've fully admitted defeat on any of my WIPs, even the ones I've neglected the most. But the WIP that's probably been waiting for my attention the longest is the sequel to my Stony fic Three Little Words; or, Five Times Steve and Tony Didn’t Actually Apologize + One Time They Did, which I cannot abandon or scrap for parts because I'm really attached to the bits that I have written, but which I haven't been able to make progress on for a long time. Bug me for snips about it if you like: I would love to be able to share what I have so far.

16.) What are your writing strengths?

A borderline aggressive amount of figurative language, narrative beats that feel layered, and I think I have a decent ear for dialogue.

17.) What are your writing weaknesses?

I'm so, so, so inexpressibly slow, and I also build up increasing levels of anxiety about WIPs when I'm not getting outside perspectives about them, so I find it nearly impossible to write anything longer than 20k.

18.) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I have experimented with this a little bit in the past, and I'm currently trying it again in a WIP in a language I'm not deeply familiar with, which is nerve-wracking. But I think it can be so effective when done well, and I'm excited to keep growing in that area.

19.) First fandom you wrote for?

Stony in the MCU: a missing-scene fic from Endgame

20.) Favorite fic you've ever written?

I love all my children equally, but my Codywan fic Recollection is probably the fic that felt most ambitious to me at the time that I wrote it: memory-related temporal shenanigans, surreal scene changes, some heavy psychic territory, and my very first smut scenes. I'm proud of how many new things I tried.

----

Open tags for anyone who would like to play!!! This was very fun: @ me with your answers if you'd like to join. <3<3<3

[gulliblelemon]

hi! surprise self rec time <3🌷Pick 3 of your favorite things you’ve written and share them here, then put this in the inbox (anonymously or not) of your fellow writers to spread the positivity and help celebrate already written fics 💖

I've answered this before, but I'm going to answer again with the same fics, but with an explanation this time.

Where We Left Off (84.5k, T)

This one's probably not surprising. It's by far the longest thing I've ever written (and will probably ever write). It was such a labour of love, and I was working on it for almost a year. I learned so much about my writing process whilst doing it. It was the first time I'd been able to see a clear vision of what I wanted and how I wanted to get there, and it made the whole thing a dream to write. It was also the first fic of mine that I worked with my beta, the wonderful @iwouldnevergetintofanfic, which made the experience even more special 💜

Worth The Wait (16.7k, T)

I wrote this in a frenzy whilst my favourite people were in a field with Omar. I loved the achiness of it, and the inevitability. And I loved writing the friendship between Simon and Wille and Felice.

Thirteen (4k, T)

I had the first two lines of this fic written for almost a year before I finished it (that tells you what my WIP folder looks like). Then two days before the prompt for Wille's month, I dusted it off and started writing. Again, I had a really clear vision and it made it so satisfying to write. Plus, they were really sweet. It was the first thing I ever wrote in present tense. @iwouldnevergetintofanfic asked how I'd found it. My response: "Horrendous. I regretted everything" 😅 But I got over it and have done it again since.

I think if you asked on a different day I might have different answers, but it still felt nice to have these three this time.

[tamras-shieldmaiden]

I saw this ask game circulating around the Tumblersphere, and I don't remember having done a fic writing recap before, so here's my take for 2023:

2023 Year-End Fic Round Up

Words written (published or not, WIPs totally count too!): 

Total published word count for this year is 38,706. Hadn’t I been sick, which derailed my flow and hit me with a writer's block, I think it might've written more, but I'm still satisfied with my output. I'm not a prolific writer but I'm still proud of what I was able to publish in 2023.

Smut scenes written (if applicable): 

Two, with a oneshot written specifically for one of them (cough mirror cough).

New things I tried: 

I embarked on a spanking brand new ship. Although I've always said I didn't like shipping Kuvira with any of the Beifongs (and yes, that includes the canon one), after a series of insightful conversations with @redcatmusings, with some nice persuasion I ended up changing my mind about Lin/Kuvira and well, here we are with 4 Linvira fics published so far. 😅

Fic I spent the most time on: 

The fic I spent most time on last year was Masquerade, since it was the longest with 6 chapters. It had been a while since I wrote an action heavy chapter, so chapter 5's car chase scene took me a while to figure out, but I believe that in the end, the effort paid off.

Fic I spent the least time on: 

That would be Melody of our hearts. The process felt almost like a stream of consciousness, from choosing 2nd person POV as narrative devise to the writing itself which I wrapped up in a day. Even coming up with title was a breeze, something that's unusual for me because I tend to agonize over coming up with titles.

Favourite thing I wrote: 

I'm torn between Masquerade and Seeking Harmony. Masquerade was an absolute blast to write. I loved Asami and Kuvira's rapport throughout the story and building up the tension between the leads amidst the suspense of the investigation was tons of fun to write as it was to read.

Seeking Harmony is the opposite because it's a short, soft introspective oneshot, and that's precisely what I liked so much about it because I was able to weave in some atmospheric elements to emphasize the calm and soft mood of the story. And besides, depicting a vulnerable Kuvira with a supportive Korra is always a win in my book.

Favourite thing I read: 

This one is not easy because one advantage of participating on Fanfiction Exchanges is that you get to be exposed to a variety of fandoms and talented authors outside of one's prefered fandoms that otherwise one wouldn't read, and I've read some amazing stories that at moments they've made me doubt of my skills because they were so damned good! I was skeptical at first of the concept but it is a great experience that I wholeheartedly recommend for both the quality writing and the amazing authors one gets to meet and admire and build friendships with.

Writing goals for next year:

I want to pick up on the Linvira fic I had originally planned for last year's ATLA Rare Pair Big Bang because that story is itching to be told. I also have a Kuvira/Asami WIP in the works set in the Bodyguard continuity, and maybe this will be the year which I finally get to complete my Kuvira redemption saga with the last story I've been cooking for years now.

Tagging @redcatmusings @rakaiawriter @roguegona @alpaca-clouds @udaberriwrites @diana-fortyseven @the-orion-scribe @orangepanic and anyone else who'd like to join in.