#and yeah it just might be a discrepancy in the art but nonetheless

[kelbunny]

Late night Roland doodle + limited palette practice using this palette haha.

[johannstutt413]

(requested by mathmaticalknight) TOURNAMENT ARC

Nearl was in her room, tending to her equipment, when there was a knock on her door. “I wonder who that might be...Maria?”

“Sister!” Blemishine wrapped her arms around Margaret’s neck and pulled her in for a close and loud hug (armor plates). “It took me forever to find someone who knew the way to your place, but you’re actually here!”

“When did you get her, Maria? I thought you and Zofia were still working out the details.”

The other Nearl simply beamed at her. “She said she’d be here soon and that I could go ahead. It’s a good thing I did, too - there are posters all over saying you’re fighting someone today. Is that true?”

“I am, yes,” she confirmed. “The Doctor organized a tourney for Operators in all positions to prove themselves, if they so desire.”

“Are you gonna go easy on them, or is the Radiant Knight going to be fighting in a new venue?” The look on Maria’s face was a blend of concern and excitement - after all, it’s not every day she got to see her sister fight.

The older Nearl thought about it for a moment before going for another hug. “My opponent is my sparring partner, and I know she will be giving this fight her all. It would be a dishonor not to do the same.”

“Then I’ll be watching you from the stands.” She sighed. “Next time I see you, though, can we hug without all this metal in the way?”

“If you’d like, you can come to dinner with me.” Margaret hadn’t had the chance to ‘properly’ introduce her to her girlfriends, after all.

Blemishine nodded. “That sounds good to me...Alright, you need to finish preparing for your fight, so I’m going to find the Doctor. I heard there’s an Engineering Department here, and I want to go talk to them before the match. Good luck!”

“Thank you, Maria.” As the shining knight left, the Radiant Knight returned to her maintenance. “Tonight, however, luck will not be a factor.”

TOURNAMENT ARC: NEARL VS HOSHIGUMA (continuing...sort of from this [I keep forgetting which ships are already established in some of this multiverse soup going on; can’t make it a direct continuation because of the first fic in that two-part series, but Tourney!RI still has a horse triumvirate nonetheless. ANYWAY.])

——–

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, Operators, Staff, and Esteemed Guests! Welcome one and all to the Top Operator Tourney!!! *crowd cheers*

“Thanks, Hung! I love how consistent he is with that...Anyways, hi! You’re probably wondering why we’re here-”

“We should introduce ourselves first, Swire.”

“Good point, good point. Well, I’m Swire, aka Hoshi’s biggest fan, and here with me in the commentator’s booth is Meteor. You’re Nearl’s girlfriend, right?”

“That is why I’m here, yes. I appreciate the Doctor allowing us to do this, especially since you and I don’t talk very often. Do you have the statistics in front of you? My tablet and I are having a fight.”

“Yeah, I’ve got ‘em. *clears throat* So, looking at the numbers, my girl’s got the advantage when it comes to size, experience and stamina, but Nearl is faster, more tactical, AND she’s got some serious Arts at her disposal. Hoshi’s got an uphill battle ahead of her, I say.”

“It’s important to note that Margaret Nearl and Hoshiguma both are in the top three seeds for the Defender bracket - first and third respectively - which means regardless of the apparent discrepancy, both are incredibly skilled combatants. Accounting for the amount of time they spend dueling each other to keep their skills sharp, and I suspect this fight will be much closer than the numbers would imply.”

“I certainly hope so! No offense, but I do want Hoshi to win this - if Nearl loses, you’re still in the tourney, after all.”

“That is true...But we’ll simply have to agree to disagree.”

“Yeah. Well, let’s get to the action!...Also, why did you say her actual name rather than her codename?”

——–

Hoshiguma and Nearl walked into the coliseum, fully prepared for the fight ahead of them. The Oni took up a defensive stance, holding her shield just above the ground and planting her feet. “Well, Marge, today’s the day. Promise you’re not gonna hold back on me?”

“I swear by my honor as a knight: today, I will not stay my hand.” The Kuranta unsheathed her blade, already glowing beneath the bright lights above. “I entrust your life to the Medics of Rhodes Island. Ready?”

“It’s your time, not mine.”

A curious turn of phrase...With that, the fight was on.

Nearl’s first goal was knocking out that shield arm. Fixing amputations was something the Medics could do (at least, Aak and Warfarin could), but ideally she wouldn’t have to do that much damage. She charged forward, feinted going one direction but bounded the opposite way, and swung for her opponent’s arm, lighting up her blade as she did with a dazzling gleam-

-only for Hoshi to pull her arm towards her body, forcing the Knight to clip the shield instead and feel the sting of her opponent’s Thorns. “You’re taking this seriously. Good.”

“Of course I am.” The Kuranta had lost all her forward momentum thanks to the deflection, but that didn’t stop her from spinning around; her next attack was an attempt to knock the Oni’s shield out of the way with her own before landing a sword stroke, once again lighting it up before the attack would land. “Hyah!”

“Good try.” Rather than block the swing, Hoshiguma punched Nearl’s sword arm, taking the blade to her forearm but nevertheless crippling her opponent in the process. The counterattack sent the disarmed warrior backward and left Lungmen’s strongest with a choice: charge forward, get Hannya spinning, and go on the warpath? Stand her ground and do the same?

The Kuranta got to experience the answer firsthand as her opponent began to simultaneously spin her shield and run forward. ‘I can’t let her hit me with that attack, whatever it takes...’ Unfortunately, she didn’t have enough time to get to her feet and get out of the way. There was only one option she could see...

——–

“Alright, she’s getting to her feet; she’s not done yet, but damn Hoshi’s spinning Hannya as fast as she can.”

“Margaret, what are you doing?! Get out of the way!”

“She’s holding her shield up with both hands- wait, that light-”

“Glasses on!” *flash* “...No!”

“There’s no way she’s getting up after that...Aak and Warfarin are making their way out. Hoshi’s tossed Hannya to the side and seems to be trying to help.”

“She’s done enough.”

“Meteor, you’ve seen some of the other fights-”

“They didn’t have my Marg’ret in them...We’re done here, right?”

“Yeah, that’s all she wrote. Everyone at home, have a good night, and we should have FEater and Click back up here next time. Thanks for tuning in!...I’m gonna make sure my co-host doesn’t do something she regrets.”

——–

By the time Meteor had made it to Medical, there was a small group in the waiting room. Platinum and Blemishine were talking cordially, Swire was talking to Ptilopsis at the desk, and Hoshiguma...Hoshiguma was there, in a chair, as stoic as she’d ever seen her.

That stoicism didn’t change when the huntress walked over to her and slapped her across the face.

“Miss Meteor,” Ptilopsis observed from her post; Swire had already turned around after hearing the sound, “violence is not tolerated in the waiting room.”

“It’s alright, Tilly. I deserved it.” The Oni cracked her neck as she looked up at her attacker.

The Kuranta sat down next to her. “At least you agree.”

“I didn’t expect her to try and block me like that,” she continued with a sigh. “The flash actually made it worse for her.”

“Why did she do that? It makes no sense.”

At this point the other two Kuranta in the room walked over; Platinum immediately sat in Meteor’s lap for a chair-hug. “We got here before she did, and they rolled her past us...” There was now a silver-haired puddle in the Sniper’s lap.

“Are all the fights in this tourney like this?” Maria shuddered. “The sport is the same everywhere, I guess.”

“Well, the good news is, Nearl’s Arts were enough to stabilize herself,” Swire reported, joining the group and sitting on the opposite side of Hoshiguma, who immediately set her head on her shoulder.

The huntress, stroking her assassin-girlfriend’s hair, nodded. “Thank you, Swire. I’m sorry we’re meeting like this, Maria.”

“We’ll have a second chance at it when my sister’s back on her-” At that moment, there was the distinctive sound of armor jangling from down the hall. “Eh? One second.”

“It hasn’t been five minutes,” Hoshi muttered as everyone, including herself, stood up.

Sure enough, Blemishine walked around the corner with Nearl’s arm around her shoulder, gear beaten to shit but otherwise okay. “I’m taking her back to her room for a change of clothes, but she and the doctors both said she’s good.”

“Maggie!” Platinum practically became her jacket with that hug. “I’m so glad you’re alright! Even Hoshiguma was worried.”

“I’m not surprised. My training partner proved herself the better fighter today.” The smile the Radiant Knight sent the Oni’s way literally made her take a step back.

Meteor continued the original thread. “You’re feeling alright, though? Does it hurt anywhere?”

“The soreness will remain for a few days, but no lasting damage, certainly.” She looked down at her armor. “Not to my body, at least. Maria, could you help me fix this later this week?”

“Of course I will!” Her sister already had some thoughts on how to stop something like the Spinning Shield of Death from doing so much damage again.

The Feline in the room, glad to hear the all-clear straight from the horse’s mouth, nudged her girlfriend. “Go on, I know you want to say something.”

“I’ll talk to her later.” The Oni picked up her girlfriend. “Let’s go home.”

“Hoshi?” Nearl called out to her, and she froze.

The moneycat in her arms answered for her. “Yes, Nearl? Margaret, more specifically?”

“Either is fine.” Another warm smile. “That was a good fight. Good luck in the rest of the tournament.”

“...Thank you, Maggie. Goodnight, everyone.”

New destination: the bar.

[bekasyura]

ALL NUMBERS BC GO BIG OR GO HOME

Alright time to procrastinate by answering all these fanfic questions. They’re all under the cut

1. What was your first fic and could you stand to reread it today?

Based on the first one that’s on my surviving ffnet, it was dramione and no I could not stand reading it today for certain reasons I don’t want to discuss.

2. What’s your most recent fic and how far do you think you’ve come?

My most recent is The Sn Sets deals with grief and mourning after a canonical character death which is not something I write often. I think the emotions in it could have been better but I’m still satisfied with how it turned out. I think I’m at a place in my writing where I can attempt fics with that kind of emotional level.

3. In your opinion, what’s your best fic?

I have no opinion on this but my best friend and brother say “Covered in my Art”

4. In your opinion and without looking at any numbers, what’s your most popular fic?

Well, I only have 2 actual popular fics so I easily remember them. My most popular is my victuuri post-episode 7 kiss fic. I posted it just a couple of days after that episode aired so naturally it shot up.

5. Is there any fic that makes you super happy to reread and remember you wrote that?

I hardly reread my fics. I just can’t bring myself to do it. But one that I’m happy I wrote is 

6. Is there any fic that makes you super embarrassed to reread and remember you wrote that?

I get embarrassed reading them all. 

7. What’s the fic you most want to continue (unfinished or no)?

I am looking forward to continuing my Living Legends series (YOI Tattoo Shop AU)

8. What’s the oldest (longest since last update) fic you most want to continue (unfinished or no)?

My Star Wars Mummy AU. It’s been almost a year now and I still have all my notes and outline for it. I just need motivation.....

9. Have you ever written for a fandom without watching/reading/playing the source material?

Nope. I’m picky about what I write about and it has to be something I’m really into in order for me to watch it. 

10. Have you ever written for a fandom without reading other fanfic for it?

I’m picky for what I read as well so if I’m writing for it, I’m most likely reading it as well. 

11. Have you ever written a fic for a concept you know someone else has done before? How did it impact your writing process or feelings after posting?

Well there’s always writing popular tropes that everyone does but what comes to mind first is my Mummy AU. It was my idea first but someone got inspired by my editset I made of it and before I could post my first chapter of the story, someone else did it. They finished the fic before I could get my done and so it made me lose interest in continuing mine even if there were enough differences between ours. 

12. Have you ever written a fic and decided never to publish it? Why?

I’ll have a bunch of ideas I start and never finish for various reasons. But I pretty much publish everything I write.

13. What’s the biggest change between your style when you started in fandom and today?

Besides the fact that I don’t suck as much as I did 13 years ago? I’m still working on it but I feel like I’m able to set a scene better with description and narration has gotten better. 

14. What’s the biggest change in your taste between when you started in fandom and today?

Don’t know if this answers the question but I guess sticking to what I like and not conforming to the popular ideas of how certain characters/ships should be written. 

15. Have you ever purposefully written one fandom/fic idea over another because you knew it’d be more popular?

*stares at victuuri post episode 7 kiss fic* 

16. Have you ever stopped writing a fic/for a fandom because it wasn’t receiving enough attention?

That might be one reason I stopped writing Marvel fics

17. In your opinion, what’s your most overrated fic?

Honestly, “Closer”. Don’t get me wrong, I really like the fic even if I haven’t read it since I posted it, but I don’t know if it’s good for all the kits and kudos it’s gotten.

18. What’s your most underrated fic?

Any femslash or polyship fic or rarepair fic

19. If you had to pick one fic/scene/chapter of your work to describe your entire portfolio to a stranger, which would you pick?

Oh shit um....

20. Have/Would you ever rewrite a fic? If yes, would you take the original down?

I have considered it for two Merlin fics and I would do it in a heartbeat if I could but since they’re part of big bangs I can’t.

21. If someone starts kudosing and commenting your fics in a spree and has a few works of their own, would you go look through theirs?

Yeah I sometimes do

22. Has there ever been anyone who’s made you freak out because they read your work and followed/favorited/reviewed?

People would actually have to read my works first. I just get excited to have anyone reading my stuff tbh

23. What’s the nicest review you’ve ever gotten?

Most are on my “Not ‘He’” fic with readers sharing their experiences with me in relation to my fic. It was an amazing feeling to see that my fic connected with people on such a personal level like that.

24. What’s the meanest review you’ve ever gotten? Do you think the reviewer intended it?

I’ve gotten some kind of rude ones that were too pushy for updates but one that sticks out was just someone going off on their own rant about gender identities on the above mentioned fic. I don’t think they intended to come off as bad as it sounded but it wasn’t fun to read nonetheless. 

25. What constructive criticism, however well-meaning, always makes you feel bad when you see it in a review?

Mostly dealing with simple grammar mistakes because that’s stuff I should know but still always forget.

26. What aspect of your writing do you most enjoy to see praised?

Characterization because no one wants to read a fic where the characters are so ooc it takes them out of it. So being able to capture the character, especially in an AU, is the best thing to hear.

27. If you could only ever write crossovers or single-fandom fics ever again, which would you pick?

Single fandom fics. I don’t really do crossovers.

28. If you could only ever write for a single crossover or a single fandom again, which would you pick? 

Yuri!!! on Ice. I honestly have plenty of ideas to keep me going. 

29. Does the division of your writing across fandoms line up with your reading? What’s the biggest discrepancy?

((skipping))

30. Do you continue to write for a fandom after you’ve moved on or do you focus solely on the new one?

If you looked at my AO3 chronologically, you will see where I stop and start a new fandom. But there are some fandoms I will write at the same time. But there will be a focus on the new one. 

31. Who’s the one character you’ve just never managed to get perfectly right?

I feel like it’s Clint Barton despite how much I love him. I think it’s because of that I feel like I can’t write him well.

32. Who’s the one character who shines without you even trying?

I feel like I have Yuri Plisetsky down pretty well.

33. Is there any particular character whose scenes always wind up being longer/more frequent than you expected? Does the quality hold up?

It really depends on the fic and what I’m writing. Some characters may steal the scene but it usually turns out well. 

34. Was there any fic that you wrote that really surprised you in the fandom reaction? Was it just by the numbers or did they take it an entirely different way?

I was surprised to see so many people interested in “Covered in my Art”. AUs can be hard to sell and while it’s not the most popular tattoo shop au, it still got a better response than expected. 

35. Have you ever written a ship into a fic without meaning to?

I accidentally wrote past Yuuri/Phichit in my recent Phichit/Leo/Guang-Hong fic. I guess that hc is so set in my mind I can’t help but write it lol

36. Have you ever sincerely written a ship you do not support into a fic?

Yes but it was a commission fic so I kinda had to

37. Have you ever purposefully bashed a character/ship in a fic?

Regrettably in the past when I was younger and didn’t know better. But I have learned from that.

38. Have you ever purposefully written something you know your readers would find uncomfortable/would not enjoy? If yes, why?

Besides like injuries, not really. 

39. Do you consider yourself to have a readership?

I know I can count on like 3 people to read my fics and they’re the best peeps ever.

40. Do you feel like you put out enough content?

I do now after going so many years hardly writing anything. I still feel like I could do more.

41. If you cross-post your fics on multiple sites, do you have a favorite? Are there certain fics you would only post on certain site?

I mostly post on AO3 but I’m slowly adding my fics back to ffnet just to have them hosted in two places. I definitely prefer AO3 because I love the tagging system. 

42. How many views has your most popular fic gotten?

7k and I know it’ll be the only one

43. Your least popular?

less than 50

44. Do you follow/favorite/kudos/comment/review more stories than you have received?

Yes because I try to kudos and comment on anything I read that I liked. 

45. If you had to call yourself an author of a single genre (besides fanfic) what label would you give yourself?

Fluff. It’s a genre now.

46. Do you consider yourself a diverse author?

I would like to be but probably not. 

47. If someone you know in real life who isn’t involved in fandoms asked to read your work, would you let them? If yes, what would you recommend they read first?

No. While I have no problem telling people I write fanfic now, I don’t want them reading my writing. 

48. Does anyone you know from outside of fandom know you write fanfic? Are they involved in the same fandom too?

Not really. I don’t just walk around telling everyone I write it. It still has to be brought up and I feel comfortable telling them. 

49. Has anyone in your life ever read your fanfic just because you wrote it?

Yes because I make my best friend read it.

50. Has writing fanfic had a significant impact on your life? Would you say it’s entirely positive?

I’ve literally been writing fanfic for half my life now so it’s definitely had a significant impact on me. For the most part it has been positive. It’s given me a way to express myself and make my voice be heard. There have been times it stresses me out and I feel anxious about it but I wouldn’t stop writing because of that.