#but that's not story relevant until chapter 20 something

[indigo-brainspark]

Character Intro: Asadullah Khan

(img source: 500 type cut in)

Read EndWalkers on: [RoyalRoad] [Patreon]

Asadullah is from another dimension from the other four Party members. When he was a child, a Level 25 Djinn attacked his home, only to be contained in a set of bangles to be stored away forever. In a last-ditch effort to escape, the djinn called Asadullah towards it, coercing him into putting the bangles on.

Now forever connected to the djinn, he's given the power to turn into all types of felines, and takes up the responsibility to protect his home from outside threats, until finally the Console brought him into the Game.

Apocalypse of his World: Robot Invasion

Power Stats:- Overall Level: 8 Durability: 5 Strength: 7 Agility: 7 Charisma: 4

Abilities:- Shapeshift Lv. 10 Tracking Lv. 8 Intimidation Lv. 7

[hestzhyen]

Chapter 47 Yaoibachi Posting

Hokazono-sensei really slammed the gas this chapter, man. No search and rescue mini-arc here- just going back to the series' roots by having our good guys slaughter nameless mooks in suits. Excellent decision! But goodness it feels like he's trying to rush through this set-up to get to what he really wants to say this arc. I trust the emotional impact to land so I guess this really is the Kunishige lore/flashback arc since that's where the narrative focus went.

First off, I got the official arc name wrong last post. It's actually The Sword Bearer Assassination Arc. So, uh, maybe don't get too attached to any of the guys Chihiro will be trying to save. Might be difficult though if they're all as endearing as Uruha.

This Fucking Manga, Man

I just can't even this chapter. I CAN'T. I'm sitting here drafting this on Thursday and I'm in awe of the spreads. Cover and color pages? Stunning. Fanservice? Immaculate.

Yes, we got onsen fanservice after all!

Now accepting bets on who Uruha will be shipped with more: his personal guard guy or Kunishige.

Of course it pulls double duty to give us insight into Uruha and, by proxy, Kunishige. I was right on the money about Uruha being a free-spirited dude with a unique perspective last week... but I didn't imagine he'd basically be a wholesome AF version of Sojo. The Kunishige worship from this guy is off the fucking charts (and so are the Hakuri-Chihiro parallels)!

"This blade suits you" from Kunishige is a callback to Hakuri's words to Chihiro in chapter 20. I love it when authors do this shit. Can we infer that Chihiro felt the same level of awe for Hakuri? Probably not, but he did need to hear that affirmation quite badly, so it's still significant.

You don't get to comment on other guys being weirdly obsessive over a Rokuhira on sight like that, Hakuri.

THESE DUMBASS GOOBERS. Poor Chihiro's still collecting weirdos while Hakuri has no self-awareness at all. I'm in tears this is just too good. Hakuri, I love you. You're perfect.

I don't wanna get hyped after just one chapter for something that probably won't be happening. I get just about everything wrong week after week anyway! But I wouldn't mind Chihiro and Hakuri's relationship being compared to and developed through Uruha and Kunishige, just sayin'... Please... Hokazono-sensei went through the trouble of making sure we know that Uruha is obviously meant to parallel Hakuri, so that won't go to waste right?!

TFW the light of your life dies and leaves you behind.

'Cause this feels like a set up... I don't know, man. It's impossible to guess how the story's going to go but I get the sense that Uruha is going to have a lot to teach both of these guys- Hakuri in particular.

Neither Hakuri nor Uruha put a lot of value on their own lives until a Rokuhira showed up to praise them. And they're both freakishly devoted to the image of their savior to the point that they're willing to fight and possibly die for them. So we could be exploring that aspect of Hakuri's mindset as a subplot while the larger machinations swirl around them, since it's a pretty potent character flaw and all. I need Sazanami "defend to the death" Hakuri being convinced to give a shit about himself so, so badly.

Goddamnit, please stop hurting yourself.

Hakuri's also unable to use Isou due to burnout, as expected. Still wondering if the Kamunabi knows he can use two sorcery techniques but I won't hold my breath on getting answers for that. It's not necessary for this to be addressed unless it would cause some kind of friction, after all. And for as much as I would like to see the council's reaction to Hakuri and his circumstances, I don't think it'll be relevant. We'll just have to assume they either don't know his last name or are completely fine with a Sazanami being included in the plans. I wanna be wrong though. I really do.

Contract, Powerscaling, and Naming Conventions

We learned some interesting things this chapter. One, the theory of the Lifelong Contract erasing a Bearer's innate sorcery is confirmed. So if we are ever going to learn what Chihiro's sorcery is, Enten will have to be an exception to the other six swords, or he has two sorceries and the contract only nullifies one. I'm not sold on the second one since Hakuri only overworked the storehouse but is limited using both of his, implying there's a common pool of spirit energy they draw from. Looking forward to more details on how this works!

It also seems that the Bearers weren't tucked away in "safe" locations until Kunishige's death three years ago. So they probably got to live their lives as they wished until the Hishaku ruined things... which would explain how Sushi guy ended up at a restaurant. I feel like each location could have special meaning to each Bearer so hopefully we see more about how and why they ended up where they did.

Hiyuki also wasn't lying about the Kamunabi's forces being spread thin. Just 14 talented sorcerers to defend each Bearer, and even then Uruha would have felt more reassured if Azami or Hiyuki was there.

Nice going, Azami! So we know you're hella strong since Hiyuki's the best fighter in the Kamunabi- the only one in the force who can contend with Kunishige's WMDs (ch. 18). I think a Bearer would know how strong an enchanted blade is, so we can assume that Uruha's assessment of Azami's strength is accurate. Azami can't be sent out on the ground like the rank and file as a higher up now, but I'm highly anticipating him demonstrating that fearsome sorcery of his.

We also got another name! Kuregumo's original bearer was named Misaka (巳坂). This is most probably a family name like Uruha (more on him in a bit). 巳 (mi) means "snake" for wisdom and intelligence and 坂 (saka) means "slope/hill" or "embankment" for steady progress, a peaceful life, security, and/or strength and resilience. We'll definitely learn more about them- it's just a matter of when. The upside of Hokazono-sensei being stingy with names is that we all know to sit up and pay attention when one gets dropped.

We also got Uruha's given name this chapter (Youji [洋児]) and the name of his blade (Kumeyuri [酌揺]). Strange names for a strange fellow, but that's expected of someone whose family name implies a free-spirited nature with a unique outlook I guess. 洋 (you) is a kanji that specifically describes the ocean in an expansive, almost foreign sense. Not just the sea in general, but vast waters extending far away from one's current location. It has a ton of possible interpretations, naturally: courage, ambition, adaptability, limitless possibilities, harmony, inclusiveness... on and on. 児 (ji) means "child" in a straightforward way and carries connotations of joy, hope, and potential. So Uruha Youji [lacquer feather ocean child] is quite the character in his name alone.

Kumeyuri's name doesn't really give us any insights into it's potential abilities or theme, unless Kunishige was drunk (or wanted to be) when he made it. 酌 (kume) is the kanji used for pouring sake and implies generosity, abundance, and celebrating joy. 揺 (yuri) means to shake, sway, or jostle and connotes a sense of energy, playfulness, enthusiasm, and fun. I'm getting a lot of entertainment value trying to imagine how a sword named after a shaky pour of sake works, let me tell you. Somehow it seems very apt for Uruha already though.

Dead Dad Trivia

So Kunishige himself requested to hold on to the blades- it's very certain now that whatever happened during the war changed him into the man we met in chapter 1. Seitei war flashbacks please, I'm dying over here! But keep up the layering and scattering of little details! Don't feed me too fast! Make me wait and get all impatient every week! Torture me-

Curious that many people who seem to have known Kunishige doubted his potential as a father. Whether they see him as a savior or a selfish prick, most of them scoff a the idea of him having a kid. Maybe Kunishige was just a guy with layers like his son, so only those who actually knew him well would believe he could be a decent dad. We saw him goofing off with Shiba and Azami when they were Chihiro's age in chapter 12 so it's not like he was a stoic since birth (he said himself that Chihiro inherited that trait from his mom). We're going to slowly piece together the real Kunishige this arc and I can't wait!

Also a bit odd that few people see the resemblance between Chihiro and Kunishige until Chihiro's passion shines through or they get a good look at how he carries himself. Won't hang my hat on the blood test showing that Kunishige wasn't his bio dad after all, but the groundwork is there if it does. Regardless of what happens, though, it's pretty obvious that Chihiro is Kunishige's son thanks to the ideals he took to heart.

Hishaku Theory

RIP bandanna guy you were too cool to live.

Yeah, "enemies of the state" isn't a term you use for a regular criminal gang, no matter how threatening they are. I'm more convinced than ever that the Hishaku are primarily a political threat to all of Japan (though still very willing to admit that I might be reading too far into things).

Kyora's conversation with an unknown Hishaku member in chapter 22 referred to "dissidents". That's also a very pointed descriptor for people with differing political ideologies, especially ones agitating against the "legitimate" ruling group.

Could Soya come back to finish what his dad started? Meh.

This implies that Kyora and the Sazanami clan were aligned with the Hishaku's goals beyond merely business. The Hishaku probably have sympathizers in and outside of mainstream society, and likely within the Kamunabi itself as well. And then there's the kiku flower -which has strong ties to Imperial imagery- in the vase that's shown up twice now, arraigned alongside other flowers symbolizing deep desire and patience.

So I think the Hishaku lost the war and have been plotting their comeback for a long time now. How does this tie into Chihiro's personal journey beyond the revenge mission? We'll have to see. John Hishaku's goals and methods are shrouded in secrecy right now, so I look forward to learning about why he needed to foster Chihiro's hatred to enact his plans. Cool job making the core plot hook so compelling, author-san!

HakuHiro Brainrot

I have to, I'm sorry. This chapter was a godsend.

Give me an inch and I'll run a thousand miles with these two.

Chihiro acknowledging that Hakuri is special! Feels like a very deliberate reference to the language used in Chapter 33, especially by Tenri. Makes sense since Tenri was a parallel of Chihiro's devotion to his father and his legacy.

"Hakuri- my older brother by a year- is different." would have flowed a little better, but it's a clunky sentence no matter what...

The reference was probably made in order to imply that Chihiro sees Hakuri as a brother (or family in general) via the Tenri connection. However, that won't stop me from shipping them romantically because I'm illiterate as fuck.

ANYWAY.

FOOD IMAGERY WITH HAKURI FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE ICE LADY!!

Hakuri's sharing snacks with Chihiro on the train- he feels so safe with his samurai! And this is the first time we've seen Chihiro accept food since he reluctantly (metaphorically) shared dango with Sojo in chapter 17! He's rejected Shiba's offers, provided one-sidedly for Char, resigned himself to connecting to Sojo to understand him, skipped getting ice cream, and missed the gaming session, but he accepted Hakuri's small gesture...! I'M GOING FERAL

Hakuri is canonically the only character Chihiro's accepted emotional comfort and support from since his dad died. On screen so far, at least.

Hakuri, who was deeply traumatized when he last tried to connect with someone, feels secure enough to do it with Chihiro...

Chihiro, who is only at ease with providing comfort, accepts it for the first time from Hakuri...

The first time we see them exchanging the comfort/security visual metaphor is while they're on their own...

And it's just so casual for them to do this...!

I sounded confident when I called Hakuri the heroine of Kagurabachi in that long-ass post I made a few months ago, but... I was actually right?! Hakuri is Chihiro's first and only emotional safe haven. He's got plot-related utility and can hold his own in a fight, but he's not going to be outshining the likes of Chihiro or Hiyuki any time soon. His faith in Chihiro has been his most valuable contribution to the story- even moreso than awakening to his storehouse ability. The only thing that's missing at this point is the chance of HakuHiro being canon! Seriously!

Alright void... thanks for letting me yap again. Definitely not going to go back to writing fan fiction for the first time in 10+ years because this stupid edgy sword manga broke me. Nope, never, not me...

[crookedkryptonitebeliever]

Best and Worst of Both Worlds (Part 27)

Tw: religious mentions, short chapter

its mostly filler and like transition material, but only 2 of the options will introduce a new character which may or may not be relevant to the story

man what the hell am i talking about i barely follow my own rules, just chose what yall think best

VOTE BELOW FIRST 20 VOTES ONLY COUNT

Part 28

"Alright! Let's go!" Evangeline hooked her arms around yours and dragged you away. Montgomery had to catch up after you and her.

__

"Will you shut the hell up?" Montgomery hissed through his teeth.

"I'm just saying, (name) wouldn't have agreed with you saying 'Anita Bath' if you weren't stinky." She took another bite of her pepperoni pizza slice.

"Why are you friends with her?" Montgomery turned to you, exasperated and desperately wishing that you would send her away.

You shrugged and ate your slice. You were secretly grateful that Montgomery came by because you forgot to bring Yves's lunch again. If it wasn't for him, you would have starved until evening. Or you're forced to use your allowance from Yves and Montgomery to buy something- you'd rather save that money for something else.

Then something came to his mind. "Hey, goldie. Ya' said something happened between y'all and that freak this mornin'. What was that about?"

You tensed up, but Evangeline is as cheerful and calm as ever.

"Oh, he just wanted me to stay away from (name). That's all." You stared at her in disbelief. Why would she disclose that?

Montgomery furrowed his eyebrows. "Why?"

She tapped her chin and hummed. "I think he's jealous."

Montgomery scoffed in response. "Typical of those rich bastards. They'll try to isolate their victims so they ain't got no escape until they're done with them."

You felt like your eyes were about to pop out of your sockets when Evangeline nodded in agreement. Who's side is she on?

"And it's as if (name) would want a lil' stuck-up brat like you." Evangeline shot him a nasty look and placed her hands on her hips.

"Hey, that wasn't nice."

"Whatever, twerp." He dismissed her, taking another slice and handing it to you, seeing that you just finished your first one. You're too hungry to care what this gesture might mean, so you just take it off his hands.

"Stinky." She stuck her tongue out at him. Montgomery flipped her off.

This is... a very sibling-like dynamic you're witnessing. Although Montgomery outwardly dislikes her, you think that they're working together towards something. And it's making your gut instinct go haywire.

You wish Yves is here so badly. He knows what to do.

You turn your head to look at the lockers where your phone is charging.

While they were bickering, you stood up and went to check on your phone. You pressed the correct combination of numbers on the keypad and waited for the locker door to swing open. You unplugged your phone and prayed hard it was enough to turn it on.

A minute has passed and it still isn't turning on. You sighed, replacing the cord and allowing it to charge longer.

You returned to your seat, only to see Evangeline and Montgomery listening to a third person standing up next to them. They're holding a stack of papers, and your unwanted companions are holding a piece in their hands.

"Hi there." They greeted you. "I was talking to your friends about our club, here is a flyer with all our details. Feel free to contact us if you're interested."

You flip the glossy paper over, it says:

"Like to talk? Like to convince? Want to make friends? Join our debate club!"

The stranger showed you, Evangeline, and Montgomery where their phone numbers are located on the paper, the names of their social media pages, and meeting times. Which was apparently from 12pm to 5pm daily.

"Don't y'all have classes at these times?" Montgomery asked.

"Well, not all of us do. Anyone can feel free to come in or leave as they like. The session concludes at five in the evening, though."

All three of you gave them a response of acknowledgment.

"We hope to see new faces! I'll get going now, bye!" They walked away and began conversing with other people, promoting their club.

You stared at it. People were promoting their clubs last semester, but you never joined any of them. Maybe you should heed Yves's advice and put yourself out there so that you're not stuck with Evangeline, Montgomery, and Yves as your only friends.

"What do you think, (name)?" Evangeline asked you. "Are you going to join? I'll come with if you do."

You didn't respond verbally, but your body language should be expressing discomfort.

"Sweetheart, I think you're better off joinin' this." Montgomery took out a folded brochure from his pocket.

You tried your best to smoothen it, but it was crumpled beyond repair.

It seems to be a promotional medium for the university's youth group. Sponsored by the Catholic Church.

He wants you to join... a Christian club?

"Y'all should be findin' Jesus. You'll learn a thing or two about work-life balance from those bible studies."

You saw a mischievous glint in Evangeline's baby blues and you know that it's not going to end well.

"Wow, Monty! That's so Christian of you to harass (name), and give them gifts and food in exchange for something you want from them! Look! (Name) is already following in the steps of Christ. Like in 1 Peter, chapter 2, verse 20: When you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. Great job taking his bullshit!" She clapped her hands and giggled madly.

Montgomery shook his head and looked at her with great incredulity. "What the hell are you even talkin' about?! Y'know what, I don't care. Run ya' mouth all you want."

He turned to you. "Trust me, if you wanna join a club, yer' better off joinin' this one." He rubbed your forearms in his hands.

"Didn't you say we're grown? (Name) can totally make their own decision on which club they want to join."

Montgomery narrowed his eyes at her but didn't say anything in retaliation for once.

"Which club will you be joining, (name)?"

[badbatchposts]

Quiet Corners of the Galaxy, Ch. 21

Fic Teaser: While on a routine mission for Cid, the Bad Batch encounter a woman fleeing from the Empire. Crosshair suspects her seemingly free-spirited, nomadic existence is actually a cover for something else, but struggles to keep his attraction toward her in check as their personalities and ideals clash.

Relevant tags/content warnings: Crosshair/Original Female Character, Slow Burn, Enemies to Lovers, Periodic Smut, Canon-Typical Violence, Alcohol Use

Read the full fic so far on AO3

Read previous chapters on Tumblr: Ch. 1 l Ch. 2 l Ch. 3 l Ch. 4 l Ch. 5 l Ch. 6 l Ch. 7 l Ch. 8 l Ch. 9 l Ch. 10 l Ch. 11 l Ch. 12 l Ch. 13 l Ch. 14 l Ch. 15 l Ch. 16 l Ch. 17 l Ch. 18 l Ch. 19 l Ch. 20

Chapter 21 summary: Omega encounters a stranger on Rex's base, and the clones get some answers.

Omega was finally content again.

Sure, she loved being on Pabu, and—for the first time ever—had even chosen to stay behind while her brothers went on a job for Cid. It had disappointed her when Hunter holoed to say that they would have to be away a while longer, but still, she was doing fine, enjoying her time with her friends, keeping up with her training.

But when they called and said they still wouldn’t be coming back for her—and that they were even planning on going to Rex’s base without her, which was unfathomable—she decided she had had enough.

Her brothers really underestimated her sometimes. Yes, she was a kid, and she was still learning. But it hadn’t been hard at all to make it here on her own.

Of course, they weren’t too happy about how she’d done it.

But even then, Rex could always use a new ship, and hers—yes, hers, she’d won it fair and square, but she was happy to loan it to the Captain, since she already had the Marauder—was a beauty. That pirate captain had even been rather nice, he was funny. But terrible at sabacc. Even when he was cheating.

Hunter and Echo had given her a scolding when they arrived, which was undermined almost immediately by Wrecker and Tech’s eagerness to hear the story and all of their happiness at finally being together again. And now she was excitedly exploring the base while the others spoke worriedly with Rex. She would find out what was going on later, whatever it was that had kept Crosshair back at the Marauder. Sometimes Hunter liked to protect her from the things they were concerned over, but she knew they would eventually tell her all about it. They would need her advice, after all.

But until then, she had plenty of time for enthusiastically running across the bridges that linked the base’s many interconnected, covered platforms, gazing into the shallow water of the grassy wetlands below and spotting the brightly colored flying fish that alternated between diving beneath the surface and flapping through the air. Omega slowed as she crossed one bridge and approached an open-sided platform hosting a brightly lit communications array at the center, where a silver-haired woman was tapping away.

“You’re not a clone,” Omega observed. She had never seen a non-clone working with Rex and the others outside of Senator Chuchi and her guards on Coruscant. “What are you doing?”

The woman glanced up. She looked the young girl over for a moment before turning back to her work calmly.

“You must be Omega,” the woman replied.

“Yes. What’s your name?” Omega asked.

“Dara.” The woman wasn’t very chatty, but not in an altogether unfriendly way. She just seemed focused on what she was doing, like Tech at his datapad.

“Hello, Dara. So, what are you doing?” Omega repeated brightly.

“Sending a message.”

Omega scrunched her nose a little at the succinct reply. Maybe it was less that this woman was focused like Tech, and more that she was quiet and solitary like Crosshair. The young girl peered over Dara’s shoulder curiously, trying to make out what she was up to for herself.  

“But you’re not saying anything,” she pointed out.

Dara looked up again, raising an eyebrow at Omega with amusement. Tenacious thing, isn’t she, she thought.

“Not exactly,” she explained as she continued to work. “Instead of sending text or words, I’m sending sounds over the line. They’ll just seem like interference so no one will be able to tell it’s a message if it’s intercepted.”

Omega was instantly fascinated. “Ohhhh. Well, how does the person you’re sending it to understand it?”

“The combinations of sounds all stand for something. They know the key, so they can decode it.” Dara finished sending her message. She crossed her arms and leaned back on the array, turning her full attention to Omega, who looked calculating.

“What if the wrong person figures out the pattern?” Not just tenacious, the kid was smart, too, thinking through all the possibilities. Dara was impressed, and happy enough now to satisfy Omega’s interest. She was in no rush.

“It won’t matter. The message is in a language that very few other people understand anymore.” Dara, in fact, had known one of the only recognized experts in the galaxy on this ancient language. He was dead now.

“But…what if someone identifies it?” Omega countered. It was like a game for the girl, considering all the contingencies. It reminded Dara of herself. She wished that it didn’t.

Dara smiled, a little sadly. “It still won’t matter. The content is coded too. The message seems like something normal. It might say that I’m excited because I’m going on a trip soon. But the person I’m contacting will know that means something different. Like, I won’t be able to make a rendezvous.”

Omega was suitably impressed. “Wow. That’s pretty cool. And complicated.”

The woman nodded knowingly. “The more layers the harder it is to crack, and the more likely it’ll be overlooked by the Empire.”

“Neat!”

“Indeed. That is quite clever. Unfortunately, your unauthorized access of our communications system did trigger an alert.” Tech was approaching from one end of the platform, pistols drawn. Dara didn’t have to look around to know that Wrecker and Hunter would be similarly cutting off her access to the other bridges. But then, she wasn’t interested in escaping—not before she had the chance to chat with Rex. If she had been, she would be long gone already.

Sure enough, Dara heard the Sergeant’s gravelly voice coming from behind her. “Omega. Get away from her. Now,” Hunter barked.

Omega looked back and forth from Dara to Hunter, the confusion on her face quickly turning to suspicion. The woman gestured with her chin. “Go on, kid. Go to your—dads? Brothers? Honestly, I still haven’t worked out whatever this is.”

The girl backed away quickly towards Wrecker, who had advanced from a third direction. He moved to position his sister behind him, putting his body between her and Dara.

“What’s going on?” Omega demanded.

“She’s been spying on us,” Hunter replied darkly. “That’s why we were gone longer than we expected. We thought it was too risky for her to find out about you. And we were right.”

Dara snickered. “I’m a risk? Do you even have any idea how many innocent people Crosshair has killed?”

Tech frowned. “Dara, where is Crosshair? What did you do?”

“Less than he deserved.” Dara’s eyes were glinting, but they softened when she noticed Omega peer with distress around Wrecker. She sighed and shook her head. With one hand held out in front of her, she unholstered her blaster slowly and let it clatter to the floor a few feet away. “He’s fine. Go ahead, I know when I’m beat.”

Dara held her wrists out in front of her and allowed Hunter to clamp binders around them yet again. Omega was still examining her curiously as they led her away.

***

Crosshair had a splitting headache. He supposed he should be grateful that Dara had only stunned him, rather than cutting his throat, but it was a small consolation. A slightly bigger consolation was the fact that at least she hadn’t escaped. When he awoke to Tech’s concerned expression as his brother held a medical scanner irritatingly close to his face, he had been certain that Dara was long gone, and was surprised to learn that they had intercepted her so easily. He could only speculate as to why.

Now he was watching from a perch atop a pile of crates in the corner as Rex prepared to question her, worrying a toothpick and scowling at anyone that looked at him. Scowling at anyone, that is, except for Omega, who scrambled up the crates to take a seat next to him before Rex got started.

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

“Terrible,” he griped.

She grinned and gave him an affectionate pat on the arm. “Mad that she got the drop on you?” she replied knowingly.

The sniper grumbled. In fact, he was mad—at himself, for underestimating Dara. After all that time suspecting her, he’d almost let himself believe he was wrong. And then, seeing her in the cargo hold, hands bound behind her back and looking up at him with fury etched into every line of her face—he’d let himself get distracted by how badly he still wanted her anyway. Even as she looked back at him with every bit of the disgust that he deserved.

But he couldn’t tell Omega that. Instead, he ignored her teasing and changed the subject. “Heard you got up to some fun without us, kid.”

Omega rolled her eyes. “I already got a lecture.”

“You won’t hear one from me. I know you’re the most capable member of the squad.” Crosshair mussed up her hair, earning an even bigger grin. He had missed her.

Omega furrowed her brow thoughtfully, gazing at Dara, who was leaning back in her chair and had her feet up on the table as Rex approached, her nonchalance and familiarity belying the seriousness of the situation. After so long observing her expressions and characteristics while she was undercover, Crosshair was now struggling to read her; she was still controlled, but somehow harsher, more commanding, her every move more transparently calculated. If they had known Dara the free-spirited nomad, this was now Dara the rebel spy—and though this version was closer to the truth, the Dara he had been seeking to draw out still seemed to lay buried beneath who knows how many layers.

As he watched, she directed a quick wink to Howzer, shrugging, unbothered, when the reg scowled back. Gregor, however, who was seated next to Howzer, sent his own cheeky wink back, making Dara smirk with amusement. Crosshair clenched his fists.

“So, what’s going on with her?” Omega asked. “Echo said she’s not with the Empire, so why was she spying on the squad?”

Crosshair frowned. “We rescued her from Imperials. She was using us to hide out from them and reporting back on us to her rebel faction.”

“Huh.”

Omega looked like she was going to say more, but the sniper was grateful to be saved from further questions by the beginning of Rex’s interrogation, which they both leaned forward eagerly to see. The rest of the Batch were seated elsewhere around the platform, similarly interested in hearing what Rex came up with in the face of Dara’s usual restraint.

The Captain seated himself across the table from Dara and nodded in greeting. “Hello again, Keranji.”

Dara smiled crookedly. “Thought maybe you’d forgotten me, Captain. But I don’t go by that name anymore.”

No wonder Tech hadn’t found anything about her; she’d changed identities since the Clone Wars. Crosshair could see his brother tapping furiously at his datapad, no doubt already using the new information to search for more background.

Rex smiled back. “Dara, then. Your hair used to be darker.”

“I used to be younger.” Dara cracked her neck and rolled her shoulders, as if to suggest that she could feel the tension of the years building up bodily. Maybe she could.

“We all did,” Rex acknowledged. “Still, I don’t usually forget a face.”

“I used to laugh more too.”

She seemed weary. It was strange to look at her now, when only a few rotations earlier she would have made every effort to disguise that bone-deep exhaustion. Crosshair tried to imagine her as a hopeful, fresh-faced insurgent learning from Rex and the Jedi how to fight back against the Separatists that had taken over her planet. It was a difficult image to conjure up. Instead, all he could think of was her grief from the night of the bar fight—the devastation that made it look like she might shatter at any moment.

That night, had she been thinking of her friend—the one he’d killed? No—he remembered what day that was on the standard calendar, and that wasn’t the anniversary. She must have been thinking of another dead friend. Another one of many, a number he had only added to.

“We all did,” Rex agreed with her softly. The Captain paused a moment, let them sit with their shared loss, before he continued. “Still palling around with Saw, then?”

Dara shrugged. “Took a bit of a sabbatical after we liberated Onderon, but couldn’t stay away I guess.”

“Not tired of fighting?”

The rebel slowly removed her feet from the table, planted her boots firmly on the floor, and leveled a steady gaze at him. “All of us are tired. Hasn’t stopped us yet, has it?”

Rex chuckled. “I guess not.” Crosshair began to get the sense that this was no longer an interrogation—if it ever had been. It was a negotiation. “I have to say,” the Captain continued, “I wish you would’ve reached out directly instead of spying on us.”

Dara, hands still clasped in binders, drummed her fingers against the table thoughtfully. “I’m sure you understand the need for caution. Trust isn’t a currency I trade in much these days. I thought it was too risky until I knew more. I apologize.”

Crosshair raised an eyebrow. She had wanted to trust them, to forge an alliance, but Saw had ordered her not to. She made no move to clarify further, and he quickly realized that she wouldn’t. Dara had said “I,” not “we.” She was owning the decision, like it had been her decision all along.

Rex tilted his head, considering her words. The Captain had heard the audio recording of Dara’s call with Saw—Tech had passed it along while they were still in hyperspace. Crosshair wondered what Rex would make of the discrepancy.

He would probably think it showed loyalty.

“Before we caught you, you got a message out to Saw. Should we expect him here soon?” Rex inquired slowly.

Dara pursed her lips. “No. You’re stuck with me.”

“Why is that?” he pressed.

“Against protocol to attempt a rescue.”

“Ah.” Rex stood, radiating an easy authority from his perfect military posture. “Well, I would like him to come. I understand you don’t trust us. And I understand why. But it’s clear that we’re working on parallel missions, and we’re willing to extend our own trust. Enough to have him and a few of your people on base, and to see if we can work towards some sort of cooperation.”

Dara regarded him seriously, then glanced around at the other members of the Batch watching the conversation, although she studiously avoided looking at Crosshair’s corner. “I may be able to arrange that.”

“Come on, then.” Rex removed her binders and led her to a holoprojector nearby. Stretching and rubbing her wrists a little, Dara entered the information to call Gerrera.

When Gerrera’s image popped up, his arms were crossed, and his gaze was smoldering. “Rex. It’s good to see you’re alive. I trust you’re treating Dara well.”

The Captain nodded. “Nice to see you, too, Saw. I wish the circumstances were better, but Dara and I have come to something of an agreement.”

“Uh-huh.” Gerrera still looked severe, and he was eyeing Dara closely, as though checking that she was uninjured. “I hope the terms of that agreement don’t involve holding my head of intelligence hostage.”

Now that was some useful information. Crosshair thought he could see Dara grinding her teeth. If he’d learned anything about her at all, he was willing to bet that she had hoped she could keep them thinking she was nothing more than an everyday operative, still holding back information even as they took a step toward trust. Paranoid, indeed.

A lesser man than Rex would have rolled his eyes at Gerrera’s accusation, but the Captain only stiffened a little. “Dara is free to go whenever she likes. What we want is to invite you here, to see if we can find a way to collaborate,” he countered.

Dara spoke up, not giving Saw the chance to reject the idea outright again. “I think it would be a mutually beneficial arrangement. Both our groups could do with some intelligence sharing and joint strategizing, and—if Rex’s people are willing—I’d like to learn from some of their tactics and receive training for a few of my specialists. Their encryption skills in particular far surpass our own capabilities. By working together and sharing information like that, we can all get stronger.”

This seemed to convince the rebel leader. Where he had been unwilling to consider Dara’s arguments before, he now had to acknowledge that the ruse was over. Their only options left were to cooperate or to walk away. Hesitating only a little—though looking no less intense—Gerrera accepted the proposal.

“Okay. We can talk about it. But it’s going to be at least ten rotations before I can make it.”

Dara nodded. “I’d like to discuss with Rex the possibility of conducting a small, joint operation before then. Something to demonstrate the potential of the alliance.”

“I’m sure we can find something,” Rex agreed.

“Good. Dara, keep me up to speed. Rex, I’m looking forward to seeing you in person again. It’s been a long time.” Gerrera’s holoprojection blinked out.

Rex visibly relaxed, clapping Dara on the shoulder. “Well done. I think he’s well on his way to being convinced. Much more amenable to it than during your earlier call.”

Dara shook her head, equal parts annoyed and amused. “ I should’ve known better than to talk to him directly. It only takes one time being sloppy to get caught.”

“That was him being amenable?” Echo murmured.

Dara turned and grinned at him, a real, toothy, un-curated smile that broke through her barriers. This was what she actually looked like, Crosshair realized, when she was happy. When her guard was down for a moment.

She shrugged. “You should see what he’s like usually.”

Tag list: @stardusthuntress @skellymom @megmegalodondon @somewhere-on-kamino @morerandombullshit @zahmaddog

Thanks again to @cloneflo99 for the amazing banner!!!

Author's note: SMUT IS FINALLY COMING NEXT CHAPTER! Which should be posted next week!

Next chapter

[hymouse]

Obey Me! Set to Silent Mode

Summary: You have no way to charge your DDD in your very human home. Pairing: None, if you squint it could be read as GN!MC x Mammon Word count: 851 Warnings: angsty goodness, mentioned drinking, mentioned death, spoilers for chapter 16 and i guess chapter 20 A/N: A very short little dabble. I know canon says everyone keeps messaging and calling after MC returns home for the first time, but I like the idea that MC was really cut off from Devildom and has to work their way through it.

Mammon was promising some terribly stupid business idea for your return when your DDD died. Now it sits on your bedside table, right next to your actual phone. You know, the normal one that used normal, human electricity to connect you to all the people you know and some of the ones you loved. Earthly little pings probed you upon your return- rebirth- some concerned, some angry, but all keen on untangling the story of how you faked your death. Oh, it was like I’ve died and was reborn again, you’d joke over brunch. Your mimosa would sparkle against your lips, the tart sweetness of the orange juice covering the hint of bitterness; bottomless, bottoms up.

Sometimes, in the small hours of the morning, you imagine a devilish glow casting strange shadows across your bedroom wall. They’d dance in the pre-dawn light tempting you with wastefulness, but flee with your dreams as your mind finds your body.

Once you accidentally grabbed it instead of your functional, operational, and relevant human device. You caused something of a minor traffic jam standing in the middle of a busy intersection staring at it. Ruri-chan stares out with a sort of delusional optimism from the confines of her clear acrylic prison while the cross-walk sign blink threateningly. Behind her a Devildom lotto ticket and a coupon for Madam Scream’s Macaroons compete — unsuccessfully— for your attention.

The driver of the gray pickup truck lays on his horn and you skitter to the sidewalk. After a moment you realize you’ve gone the wrong way.

You were late to the psychic’s, but the old woman didn’t seem to mind. The bangles on her wrist jangled as she sits you at her little table in the back room where the sights and sounds of the outside world are caught between layers of velvet and dried eucalyptus. You supposed, in retrospect, that that should’ve been your first warning. No witch worth their cauldron would be caught dead with eucalyptus. She peers at your palm, then your tea leaves, them her cards with gentle scrutiny before surmising you had experienced a great loss. It was enough to knock some tears out of you, but the real crying would happen later, at home, relieved of some $30, burdened by the ever-growing guilt of having left Mammon on read.

Texting 666 on your regular, dinky, human phone did not work. You resisted the urge to throw it against a wall.

Slowly you found psychic visits woven their way into the fabric of your life until every soothsayer and fortune teller became something more than strangers but less than friends. Through the psychics you found the mystics; through the mystics you found witches; through the witches you found despair. A witch’s jealousy to be an ugly thing. They danced around you, play-tracing sigils into your skin and flicking harmless spats of magic into your face. Pact-marked and pigeoned-holed they called you, as useless as you had been before the exchange program. Back home you stared into the mirror, tracing the witch’s sigils on your skin then onto paper. They made for poor art and poorer signs of power laying as dormant as the pact marks scattered across your body.

One day, drowning in a nap-gone-too-long, you imagine Mammon calling for you outside your window; it would be the last time you cried.

Life was less a ride than it was a chariot, dragging you across a bloodied arena for the entertainment of some higher power. Your first order of business was to move your Harrison Porter charm to your keys; looking at it made you feel a little like Alice in Wonderland. Rent was due, so a job was found; then a better one. You counted the bills, paid your debts. You set aside spared bills and change in a little yellow treasure box on your dresser that sat beside a growing collection of nail polish and skincare that never failed to make you feel —dare you say it— pretty. You swam and cursed your way through summer, fostered a sizable clan of cats in the fall, then decided to become a recluse in the winter, watching winter’s stars drape across the sky from the comfort of your home.

The promise of a new life in a new city lured you out from your cave. You went to RAD with so very little, so you decide to part with all but a suitcase of the essentials, then opted for a backpack. The edges of the little yellow treasure chest pressed into your lower back as you hiked your way across the city to a hilly park with a view. Winter still clung to this part of the world; the sparkling of snow was nearly indistinguishable from the steel and glass of skyscrapers; a sky so clear that the horizon retreated into a white nothingness. You soaked in the view, then turned.

At the edge of the outlook a familiar shock of white hair caught your eye. He waves. You could feel the edge of the acrylic Harrison Porter charm, smooth after months of worry.

[come-down-that-tree]

Prologue Previous

Come Down That Tree! (An aftermare story)

Chapter 20:Unu partì per piglià a so scarpa, l'altri dui parlavanu.

Geno had watched as the other looked absolutely flabbergasted at his bare foot. Understandable. How could someone go through their whole day without noticing they’re missing a shoe?

That was a show of incredible head-in-the-clouds behavior.

Not that clouds couldn’t be very distracting but that was certainly not the point he was trying to make.

Point was: Nightmare had been rightfully mortified by the ordeal and had eventually run off to search for the missing boot, shouting that he must have lost it on the way back.

And all of this led to his current situation: alone with Dream, a plate of untouched cake sitting innocently in front of him and a ring around his finger.

The last element made his mind twirl in a confused dance, hesitant on where to put his next step and if doing so would unleash a beast or a rose. 

The fluttering feeling spluttered out once a simple question was thrown his way.

“Do you like the cake?”

“Uh?”

“I said,”Do you like the cake?”, you barely touched it.” 

Geno hesitantly brought a piece of cake to his mouth, munching on it until it dissolved easily with a fizzy leftover taste (indicating it was at least partially monster food) and nodded in the other’s direction. 

“For my part, I think the berries are a bit young, it’s bitter than it should be.”

Another nod, it wasn’t like he was any good at baking himself. Baking With A Killer Robot was one of the only times he watched someone explain the process. Unsure if the dramatic poses and furious buzzsaws were an obligated addition.

Silence stretched for a minute.

They ate their piece.

He then spent a moment ogling at Nightmare’s gift and wondered about any implication with choosing a ring. 

Shaking his head, the monster chuckled at the thought. Mere coincidence! And perhaps a little cultural difference.

“Can I ask you something?”

Dream’s question was sharp, gutting the silence with a surprising precision.

He merely hummed in answer, eye still focused on his hand.

“Who are you?”

At that, he glanced up and met a serious gaze. He frowned.

“Mind elaborating? I’m Geno.”

The eyes didn’t blink.

“What do you want?”

“I’m calling you back when it’s relevant again. I don’t want anything.”

A stone statue peering at him, unblinking.

“What are you doing here?”

“I think I remember that it was you who dragged me here to be precise.”

Not a twitch, it was a bit eerie if he dared to say.

“Have you ever hurt Nightmare?”

A flash of something made the guardian's eyes shine for a second before it’s gone. Geno hesitated, waiting. Maybe Dream counted that as an answer.

“Willingly?”

And at that, he indignantly sputtered and before he realized what he was doing, he shook his head furiously.

A beat.

Another one.

A sigh and a rigid pose gaining back some fluidity.

“I want to trust you.”

It didn’t even occur to him that Dream could have been anything other than a trusting soul, maybe a bit naive. To his defense, the guy brought a stranger to the very treasure he was made to protect. 

“Allow me to think about it, alright?”

And like that, the tension disappeared fully as if nothing happened. Dream smiled and took another piece of cake before frowning jokingly.

“This one is thoroughly burnt.”

The monster chuckled and pointed at the blackened crust -pushing away the unease to think about at a later date, maybe never- and declared that as it was still possible to see the colors under the black, “it couldn’t be that burnt!”

And they bantered about failed cakes and if baking something at a high temperature could shorten the time efficiently (obviously it would but it would be worth some experimenting to determine the length it worked) and thus and that for a good while.

Above them, the blue of the day was blending out with a softer orange, making the clouds pink on the underside.

A black shape flew right above them, shrieking and startling them both.

“What was that?”

A thud resonated and something fell on the grass between them.

There, lying in all its fluffy glory, a whole bat. A whole confused creature who bonked hard on the tree’s bark. Somehow.

The event got two very different reactions out of them.

Geno bit out an incredulous laugh and Dream swiftly started fretting over the dazed animal, quickly pulling it into his lap to check it.

It had dark fur all over, except for some burned golden hue around its throat, and was roughly the size of a fast-growing pupper.

Geno watched, bemused, the guardian handling the bat with care, moving parts, observing stuff. 

“Do you do that often, you’re being very… efficient at the task?”

Without looking up from the small beast trying to sink tiny fangs in a thumb -which ended up not doing much beside getting a chuckle out of the spirit, bone can be heard to break- Dream hummed.

“Yes and no, I wouldn’t say it’s a very common occurrence but it is not the first time a bat bumped its head here,” he looked up, displaying an amused grin, “and now I’m starting to wonder if it’s not the same one as last time…”

Little screeches arose from Dream’s prisoner and the bat was released at last.

“Bye, little bat, please stop bonking your head against mother’s trunk.”

And, like that, they watched the chiropteran fly in a circle over them once before going away in the darkening surroundings.

Dream sighed once and they quickly fell back into silence.

The gentle wind played with the frayed end of his scarf and a lonely thought of days it blew without help idly passed his mind.

“Isn’t he taking a long time to find a boot?”

“He is.”

They both glanced at the village, with its newly lit lights, contemplating.

Geno wondered, face closed and pinched, if Nightmare was even capable of going down there without running into deep troubles.

“What do you mean by that? It’s just the village. A few folks there can be pretty rough -and most hard to please, ignore that I said that- but they aren’t bad!”

He said that out loud, curses.

“I’m sorry if you’re stuck in temland or something but I can’t say they made a good first impression on me and I’m pretty sure they had been making a lousy one on your brother for a while now.”

Dream kept quiet for a few seconds and idly, Geno briefly thought about adding more facts to the argument.

“...really?”

The voice was small and the eyes searching, searching for what? He wasn’t sure. 

He nodded.

They both glanced, once again, to the houses and streets, ant-sized people moving along and treading back home.

Geno swore and stood up.

“I’m going to go find him.”

The other did not follow but he felt burning eyes digging into his back all the way down the hill…

End of chapter 20... Go to chapter 21?

@dragon-tamer-1 @shinechermont

Geno!Sans belongs to @/loverofpiggies Nightmare, Dream and dreamtale belong to @/jokublog

That chapter is dedicated to @shinechermont! Happy birthday AC <3 🦇🎉💖

[madarasgirl]

Today's episode was incredibly good! To be honest, fanfics with more than 3 chapters always made me boring so I only read oneshots or headcanons of my favorite characters.... until months ago I found your serie on AO3, I had never read such a good fanfic, from the first chapter of your series completely hooked me, I always wait for it to be updated and every time you upload a chapter I am going to read it quickly, your work is incredible!

hellsing ultimate is my favorite anime it just has everything I'm obsessed with, Sexy fucking vampires? of course, issues of religion and specifically Catholicism? That's right, some completely deranged Nazis? fuck yeah, I love that your fanfic does not soften all those interesting themes that the anime itself has, I hope I can reach the end of this incredible series, by the way you said that you studied the themes of the Second World War for almost an hour, what do you think about it? So do you find it interesting or are you just studying it for the series? Sorry for sending this question with so much text, I got too excited!

Omg omg! Sorry for the late reply. I had to sit on this ask for a few days to figure out how to respond to such a heartfelt love letter 💖. Thank you for these kind words. You would never know how much the encouragement helps 🥰. You might have made my entire week! I umm...love being asked about my writing. It's kind of an embarrassing confession. *virtual hugs and kisses*

I am so glad you're enjoying this story! Nothing makes me happier than to know that I was partially responsible for changing someone's mind on something! As much as I enjoy headcanons and shorts too, imo nothing is quite as satisfying as sticking with a character through their trials and tribulations in a long fic and getting immersed in their journey ^^

Yes Hellsing Ultimate has many of the things I enjoy in a show too! I love when shows don't shirk from the darker aspects of the world and now that Alucard and his Reader have a good foundational relationship, I think it's time to remind the audience of what Hellsing is about. Didn't want to sugarcoat how messed up the world and its characters really are. I am glad you don't think I botched the delivery.

The last time I actually studied WWII was in high school, so well over a decade ago. That was through the lens of the Allied victors and I only remember so much of the details. I think many things about that period, but the strongest feeling is how utterly dismal war is, how much needless suffering it causes.

For the latest chapter (Ch. 20), the vast majority of time researching was spent on finding certain details on Nazi units and which ones were responsible for certain actions as I was trying to decide on the next setting for this arc, the location of one of Millennium's bases. This one isn't in Brazil. This story is only canon-related, not canon-compliant. Here was some stuff going on in my head in the background for this fic. It was probably excessive, but I wanted a place that is: - postcard beautiful - isolated, but not too much so (or the logistics of resupplying themselves would be difficult) - an island (easier for the local authorities to pass strange phenomena off as freak incidences when pressured by Millennium) -lots of wilderness, for the isolation, but also training purposes - lots of caves/hidden ways for escape -the site of a Nazi massacre, so relevance to Nazis -sort of on the way in Dracula's historic seafaring route through the Mediterranean to England

Then I spent some time trying to figure out the logistics of zeppelin and ship travel from this place to others, whether this place has any other features, mythological history and/or appearances in popular culture that are interesting. I spent time reading about the local population and regional politics of that time for my interest.

In the end, there were a few islands I was trying to choose between, none of them were perfect. The biggest issue was that it was the Wehrmacht branch of the Nazis that were responsible for the atrocities and not the Waffen SS, but I was already at my wits' end trying to spin the story in a way that'll work and would rather start writing. I think it should work out though.

I'm no expert on anything historical. I hope I don't disappoint! It's nerve-wracking now that we're onto canon events! 😱 Don't apologize, I love your excitement and interest in this fic!!!! 🤩🤩🤩😘

[verdanteslounge]

Should I Read SVSSS? (Scum Villain's Self-Saving System)

... is a question you've been asking yourself so let me help you make a decision.

Summary:

Shen Yuan dies from rage reading the final chapter of a popular webnovel series: Proud Immortal Demon Way. With all his complaints and curses at the author, he gets transmigrated into the body of Shen Qingqiu-- the villain of the story. Now, he has to fill in plot holes, ensure the main plot points of the story still happens (this includes the original SQQ's actions to make things difficult for the Main Character), all while trying to gain favor with said main character.

The Good:

The highlight of this series is definitely its humor. It helps if you're familiar with harem anime or some of the straight cultivation webnovels. The kind with an OP main character who gets all the girls (+ fanservice) and show how cool he is by face-slapping all the villains. The author does a great job of poking fun at these tropes with SQQ's narration. If you enjoy satirical stories that do not take themselves seriously, you would like this book.

I really enjoy the characters of this book. Nobody's all good or bad, they just have conflicting motivations and different personalities or upbringings. I wish I could say more, but it would be spoilers. I'll expand on this in another post.

What plot armor? I noticed this in MXTX (the author)'s novels a lot. The plot likes to turn its back on the main character. By that I mean, there are times when the outcome of a scenario is up to luck, and the main character ends up with bad luck a lot of the times. If you don't like stories that bend over backwards to make things work for the main character, I think you'll enjoy this series.

The Questionable:

Age gap. In the story, we start off with the ML being 14 and the MC probably around 20s. Not to worry though, nothing happens until the ML is an adult. The feeling I got about this age gap is like walking in a tightrope, but never falling to one side. It has a nuance that I believe would make their relationship reasonable, but if age gaps make you incredibly uncomfortable despite the nuances, I would recommend not to pick it up.

If you're new to the genre and aren't familiar with the tropes the series is talking about, it might be a bit difficult to understand what's happening. However, if you decide to get the book, there is a glossary at the back that explains some of them!

If you like stories that guide you gently through the setting and you like to be immersed in your senses first before something happens, you might find it difficult to like this story. The series is generally fast-paced and only focuses on details that is currently relevant to the main character.

I hope these points help! Feel free to let me know if you end up reading the series and if you have, let me know which parts you liked/didn't like!

[blairamok]

Hello Blair!

I am so sorry about you in ER. Hope you will be okay soon!

I have a difficult question to ask and though I would be so happy to have your advice, please feel free to ignore it. (Plus, I am French, so I hope I'll be understandable, so sorry by advance)

Your "On Thin Ice" content is wonderful, I adore everything about it - the fic, the artworks, the "behind-the-scenes" details, everything. But it seems like you need a lot of time for writing the next chapters (and you are so right, please take your time!). And sometimes it seems like writing is difficult for you. So, do you have some advices about how to resolving it?

Let me just explain why I am asking this: I am French and I started to write fanfictions 20 years ago, when I was 15. It was great, it was easy most of the time, and sharing my stories was freeing me. Never have to learn how to write, it was just here, and it worked, people were enjoying my stories a lot and so do I. Music works a lot with me, it helps me, it unleashes my brain and for each story I had written, I can tell there is one or several musics behind it (that's why I am asking you, because you speak about music in your story and I love it)

I have some chronic pain issues, and it will last until the end of my days - it's ok, I am ok with it most of the time. But in 2020, I had a burn out at work and clinic depression. Met several doctors, tried a lot of meds. I was a mess. Didn't write during 3 years, I just couldn't, as if my brain was broken.

Now I feel a little bit better. I can write, but it feels like the spark is gone. Music still helps a lot, but writing is so hard. When I succeed in writing, I am unpleased with what I wrote. Everything seems so bad, or so OOC, or it's too slow, or "readers won't be interested", or "It's useless, what's the point?"

Sometimes I feel lost, I'm scared, it feels like I'll never be the same again. My friends told me it's ok, told me I just grown up and now I am stricter about my stories and it is not a bad thing. People here and there told me to stop to try to write, and to heal first.

I love to write, I love to tell stories. I am just tired to wait to heal, because doctors told me that maybe I'll never be completly healed. So?

Can I ask your advices about it? How will you manage?

Thanks a lot just for reading this. I wish you a lot of courage and a better health.

And thank you so much for shearing "On Thin Ice" and keep us dreaming about our dear ineffable husbands.

Elenthya

first of all, thank you so so much for your kind words and i am so sorry for waiting awhile to answer this (i'm not in the ER anymore!) but i wanted to properly sit down and dedicate all of my brain power to answering because a lot of what you said here resonated with me

yes, writing is very difficult for me. sometimes i just find it very hard to convey what i want to get across, other times it's my own insecurities keeping me at bay. i get stuck in this feeling of being too scared to write because i feel like i'm bad at it and i don't like being bad at things. brains are weird. i don't really have any way of getting over this other than forcing myself to actually sit down and write, and other times i will get a sudden jolt of inspiration (like for particular scenes). i don't understand it! maybe i just don't like connecting the dots lol

and YES, i love music! i think the reason why a figure skating AU resonates with me so well is because music is a sole component of the sport, and i work really well with music in the same way! a lot of my art is inspired by songs or specific lyrics, not every piece, but there is a good chance i had something in mind for certain things. music is a huge part of my AU so i've put a lot of thought in choosing the musical compositions for their programs that are relevant to the current story i'm writing. and i'm really eager to share that at some point

as someone also dealing with chronic pain, i'm really sorry you're going through it as well. i also had a very very low point, i want to say 2018ish. i have a cervical nerve injury that kept me from drawing for almost a year. there was a long time where i also felt lost and scared, as if things would never be the same. and for me, things are still not the same. i have had to learn how to live with a chronic injury, and working around it is one of the most frustrating things i deal with. i had to learn to be kinder to myself, take things slow, listen to my body, and try not to give myself a hard time when i couldn't do things when i wanted to. it's easier said than done because i still have days where i'm just so frustrated with myself. i am at the whims of my body, i can't do things how i did them before and that sucks because that makes finding the balance between the needs of my body and the needs of my mind pretty tricky. and learning how to live with that took a lot of time, sifting through a lot of anger and bitter feelings, at myself and the unfairness of it all. i know waiting around to heal is torturous. my injury will never heal so waiting is out of the question for me

but!! that's another reason i started writing my AU, because i channel all of that frustration into my version of crowley in that story, who doesn't know who he would be without the thing he's done his whole life, who equates his self worth to that thing, who struggles with an injury and being kind to himself. this is one of the many ways i manage, i think

you say that when you do manage to write something, you feel that it isn't good, or there's something wrong with it—i feel this too, and i know the difference between that and what it feels like to LOVE what you're writing, that spark you're looking for. i have a very hard time getting to that point, and i think what helps me here is to just keep spitting stuff out. it's like when i draw, i make a ton a very bad sketches that will never see the light of day, so i also have a ton of drabbles that will also likely never see the light of day, but nine times out of ten something has come from it. for art, sometimes i redo the same thing, sometimes a whole sketch, three or four times to get to a point where i like it, for writing i do the same thing with sentences, paragraphs. it's SO hard and discouraging to look at the bad stuff you make sometimes but the important thing is (if you are able) to keep going, keep trying, but don't push yourself. you do have limits, just don't give up. personally, i know if i just sit down and do the thing then i will at least get something done. progress is progress, after all

i do hope something in this huge chunk of text was useful to you, i'm not as eloquent as i'd like to be on stuff like this, but thank you for sending this ask and i sincerely hope you find your spark again (i have faith that you will) and soon 🤍

[ladyravenjadethe2nd]

Making a Summary for a Fanfiction

Lot of people say they are bad at this so I'm going to help you because I think I'm pretty good at it.

Step One: Do not tell us you are bad at summaries. First of all it is okay to be bad at them that doesn't mean your story will be bad, but the only information you are giving the reader that has skimmed 5,000 summaries and are willing to skim 5,000 more is that your not confident in your skills.

Fake it till you make it.

Step Two: Make sure the language you have your summary in is the same one the story is in. Even if someone speaks both languages that is a jarring change. Not everyone reads the tags even if you have it tagged as that other language. For artistic purposes if you feel the summary must be in another language provide a translation under it still in your summary.

Step Three: Pick what you want to summarize. What I mean is are you summarizing the whole fic, are you summarizing the theme of the fic, the first chapter, your favorite scene, the intro to the main character, etc...

Really you can pick anything as long as it does relate to your story although the more vague you wish to be the sooner you need to make it pay off.

For example Your Summary is 'The truth is that only coffee mattered. It could never leave me, or insult me, or stand me up like this fucking prick.'

Seems like a pretty decent way to introduce a story that involves dating in someway. Your reader expects that at some point there will be coffee, that at some point this character will be stood up, and that Character A has beef with Character B.

You can delay this pay off for a few chapters, but if I've read 5 chapters of a school girl fighting demons and I have no idea who they might have beef with that's a pretty shit summary. This summary leads me to believe this will be a romance focused story or at least that the story will start Character A being stood up and a romantic sub plot is relevant.

If this line doesn't show up until chapter 20 I will have stopped reading by chapter 10 because I feel lied too.

Step Four: If step 3 is too difficult show off. What are you best at? Your descriptions? Your dialog? What do you look at and go 'There! That's were I shine as a writer!' If you just can't summaries to save your life put your very best paragraph in the summary and that's it your done. Congratulations.

Step Five: Assuming you did step 3 and are ignoring 4 now that you have your what your summarizing write it down as boring and bare bones as possible. Your not trying to be good you just want the words down.

Example: Slow burn romance with sassy school girl and mean rival from another school. Cannon fighting demon plot going on.

Step 6: Now your gonna stylist it. Take a bit of what your good at and the genre of the fic and make a line to a paragraph or two at most about the most important part of your basic summary.

For example Your best thing is descriptions of characters. You want a romcom feel to it, but the action is important and romance doesn't start until later in the fic.

Instead of an internal monologue line in chapter 20 about being stood up you should instead describe the love interest though your main character's eyes on the battle field. Have them pay attention to desirable traits, but don't be fully lusting after them. This is a slow burn so only a small distraction is allowed.

You can with the right description tell us both characters personally as well and as you hit on several topics no one is going to be upset if you don't see this character until chapter 20. The sum is also about fighting demons so if that happens chapter one we do not feel lied to.

Step 7: Have fun with it. There is a reason you want to write. Something about the story gives you joy bring that into your summary and you will have an easy or at least enjoyable time with it.

P.S. The place for perfect grammar and spelling is in the summary. Once they are in it a few mistakes will be forgiven.

Pls comment how you make summaries, if this was helpful, or if it just confused you more.

[fazedlight]

20 Questions More

A deeper and more detailed version of the 20 questions for AO3 fanfic writers. Thanks @eqt-95 and @inkedroplets for the tag!!

1) How do you keep getting ideas for your ship/fandom?

Daydreaming. Writing fanfic is secondary to that. It was only in the past couple of years that it occurred to me that I could write some of it down and see what happens.

2) Which authors inspire you in your fandom, and why are they so freakishly good?

@searidings is my absolute favorite, the way she unravels the characters' emotions and angst is absolutely superb.

3) Aside from the characters of your main ship, who are the characters you love to write?

Ohhh I really love this question:

Cat in Inauthentic, as well as this ficlet and this one. I love her sense of humor.

Lillian in Darkness in All Things. For the same reason as Cat, I just love her snark.

Zor-El in Even Though You're Kryptonian. He kind of surprised me when I started writing him, and to this day I don't know if some of his lines are driven by genuine confusion or if he's just trolling.

4) Are there pairings or tropes you know for sure you'd never write about? Which ones?

I'm a never-say-never kind of person. There's a lot that I don't think I would ever write, but I've been surprised on where stories have taken me before, and may be surprised again.

5) What is your writing process and why is it cursed?

"Process" might be an overstatement...

I have a "scribbles" doc where I keep my ideas. I cull ideas often (though ideas often make their way back anyway). As I write more into the doc, a certain idea may get too big for it, so I spin it out into its own doc.

From there, I kind of go back and forward between outlining and writing. I write completely out of order. Which is why, so often, my multichaps are almost fully drafted by the time I publish chapter 1. I've usually already made it to the resolution point of the plot (meaning, no one's in danger anymore, the bad guy is gone, etc), though the final chapter often doesn't get written until later.

6) What is your favorite part of your writing process?

I love when I've finished the first pass of a chapter/one-shot, and I'm in the editing stage. The story really feels like it's coming together at that point, and it's before all the self-doubt starts bubbling up (that hits hard just before posting).

7) What’s the weirdest thing you’ve had to research for a fic?

A friend of mine is a professor in astroparticle physics, so I spent a couple of hours asking him about quantum mechanics stuff. But only a small portion of that ended up being relevant to the fic and the rest was just for fun.

8) Is there a particular writing rule you struggle with (grammar, spelling, tense, reality in general)?

When I'm first sketching out a scene, about half the time I write in present tense (it feels more like I'm writing a play at that point sometimes), but I publish in past tense. So I end up needing to do a bunch of revisions 😭

Also TYPOS.

9) What was your hardest scene to write so far and why?

Fight scenes are ROUGH, man.

This is probably one of those answers I'll change every time depending what's at the top of my mind. But writing out a fight scene - like in Even Though You're Kryptonian, Darkness in All Things, or It's a Metallo Life - gets surprisingly difficult if there are more than 2 people.

I know exactly how I'd shoot those scenes if I had a camera crew, special effects, etc. But it's hard making sure the audience is aware of where everyone is positioned, why they can/can't act in the moment, etc.

10) Have your characters ever done something you didn’t expect, changing your plot completely?

All the fucking time, man. From the very beginning, even. I was trying to have Lena still be angry by the DEO scene in So I Kept Pretending, but that didn't make sense anymore.

I actually recently had a fic idea dissolve because it wasn't vibing with the characters. Which is fine, it became a ficlet instead!

11) If you could converse with any of the characters, who would it be and why?

Absolutely Kara. I have so many questions about kryptonian culture and how it drives her character.

12) What are some of the tropes or themes that you find yourself returning to in your writing?

Trope-wise, I definitely return to the Rift again and again. I find themes around forgiveness and understanding to be really interesting. Can two good-hearted people with conflicting needs hurt each other while still loving each other? How? What does that mean for the aftermath?

I think that's part of what draws me to supercorp - the complexity of their relationship. How they can both be right, and both be wrong, and love each other enough to rebuild from the ashes.

13) What's your most important resource as a writer?

Coffeeshops and libraries. Getting into slightly busy, cozy environments, out of the house, really helps shake loose the stuff in my head.

14) Can you share some of your strategies for editing and revising your work?

Especially for longer works, I tend to put the work down (and circle to other works, or go outside, or whatever) before coming back to it. It helps to step away for a bit - it's easier to pick up on repetitiveness or unclear passages when coming back.

Though I always find mistakes in my stories much later, so I'm not sure I'm one to give advice on this anyway 🤣

15) Which is worse: making the summary, picking the tags, or the anxiety when you post your fic?

Posting anxiety is the absolute worst. If I leave myself in front of my computer I'll end up refreshing constantly waiting for the first kudos (if it's a one-shot or first chapter) or the first comment (if it's a later chapter) to figure out if I've accidentally pissed off everyone in the fandom somehow.

Luckily, my partner will usually pull me away to go on a walk or grab lunch or do something else to take my mind off it 💗

16) How do you define success for your fanfic - hits? Kudos? Comments? Bookmarks? Or just if you like it?

I only publish what I like. Sometimes I'm nervous that other people won't like it, but I will always like it. Stories that aren't going a way I like - even if I think the idea is cool! - will dissolve. Just recently I dissolved one that felt like it was a cool idea, but it didn't make enough sense for the characters.

Kudos and comments always make me feel appreciated as an author!! Sometimes I'll get a user subscriber out of it, too, and it feels like an honor that someone would want to hear from me more than once.

The thing that feels most precious, though, is when someone comments on how something made them feel (I love making people laugh at my dumb jokes, or cry when a story is supposed to hit emotionally), or when they pick up on something that I wasn't sure would get picked up on.

I tend to lean towards understatement in my stories. For me, the biggest success is knowing that someone recognized what I was going for, without me being overt.

17) Do you have a playlist for your favorite character/ship?

Alas, I don't. But given that Kara is canonically a Britney Spears fan and musicals nerd, I feel like my default playlist works 🤣

18) If fan art was going to be made from your work, which fic would you pick and which fan artist would you like to create it?

Oh gosh, I don't want to pick someone and create pressure, or not pick someone and make them feel bad. This fandom has so many great artists!

That said, some of my favorites do commissions, you can see everything I've commission here.

19) How many WIPs do you currently have?

1 supercorp & 1 rojarias (for @supergirlmayhem)

For me, 2-3 is my happy number, so I'm relieved to be down to this after being so high (I think up to 11?) for so long.

20) What's your advice to new fanfic writers?

If you're wondering why you can't find that story you want, it might mean that you're the one to write it 💗

- - - - -

Tagging (respectfully and without pressure) @rustingcat @luthordamnvers @sssammich @tinyvariations @thatonebirdwrites @theredcapeofk @sideguitars @luthordamnvers @mycatismyeditor @inkedroplets @nottawriter @snowydragonscave @jetgirl1832 if you want some rapid-fire q's thrown your way. But also anyone who'd like to do this!

[thetarttfuldickhead]

A Jamie-centric pre-OT3 Christmas story told in 25 short chapters.

Masterpost / AO3

20.

Roy didn’t have a very high opinion of people in general. He didn’t expect much of humanity as a whole. He was aware that some people might call him a misanthrope (though that was fucking unfair, because it wasn’t that he didn’t like other people, it was that most other people persisted in being fucking idiots and why the fuck should he waste his time on fucking idiots of he didn’t have to?). Given that, it was something of a mystery to him how he still could be continually surprised by the utter absurdity of the things people got up to. Especially if the person in question was Jamie Tartt, because if something was stupid and/or pointless, Roy fully expected Jamie to be all for it. (Though perhaps, he allowed, there were depths to Tartt he hadn’t considered before. Sides he hadn’t seen, and mightn’t necessarily hate.)

Yet here he was, fucking perplexed by what he’d just been told, seemingly in all earnestness, by the little tosser still wrapped in Keeley’s arms.  

“You wanted to make me happy,” he said flatly. “Because the universe sent you a dream that that’s what you had to do if you wanted to see your mum.”

“I think it’s sweet,” Keeley interjected, shooting Roy a warning look. He rolled his eyes at her, because excuse him for being a tiny bit baffled by this batshit logic.

But he also subsided, because none of them needed this to turn into another shouting match.

“I think it’s sweet,” Keeley repeated firmly, turning her attention back to Jamie. “And I believe the universe does send us signs sometimes. But babe, do you think that maybe you got a little caught up in the doing good stuff bit, and forgot about what it really was you were trying to achieve?”

”Yeah,“ Roy agreed quickly, feeling that on this at least he had some relevant thoughts. “Jesus Christ, Tartt, if you want to make things right with your mum, you need to talk to your mum. Mucking around with other people – sending secret gifts and shit – is just putting it off and getting you nowhere.” He crossed his arms and gave Jamie a pointed look. “You need to stop making excuses about what the universe fucking wants you to do and go see your mum.”

“Yeah,” Jamie murmured, pulling at the hem of his hoodie. “I… I know that, all right? I know. But, I just thought… I mean, it’s… it’s fucking hard, okay? So I thought that maybe, if I, you know, if I could tell her that it was all okay now, that I’d made nice with everyone, then she’d… I thought it’d be easier, like.”

Something small and soft in his voice, causing Roy’s bemused irritation to melt away (and alarmingly quickly too, which was irritating all on its own). “And you thought getting me a bottle of whisky would make everything right between us, did you?” he asked drily, mostly to cover the entirely unreasonable surge of… not affection, but something a whole lot gentler than the active dislike he’d reserved for the other until today.

“Mate, that whisky cost more than your watch,” Jamie informed him haughtily, sounded for a moment rather like his usual self. “It was right hard to get hold of, too. Had to get the year of your birth, right, you even notice that? And besides,” he added before Roy had time to answer, in a far more plaintive voice, “You wouldn’t talk to me. I fucking tried, remember? Was dead polite about it and all, but you were a mean cunt just like always—“

“Oi! Don’t call me a mean cunt when you’re sat on my fucking couch and cuddling my girlfriend, you twat.”

“Uh, then don’t call me a twat—“

“Boys,” Keeley said sternly. “We were having a decent time here, yeah? Don’t go ruining it with your testosterone.”

“Sorry, Keeley,” Jamie immediately offered, the little suck-up. Roy gave him a sardonic look – since when did Jamie apologise for anything? – but kept quiet. Keeley did have a point, didn’t she?

His restraint was rewarded by a warm but knowing smile from Keeley and a mouthed thank you, even as she resumed running her hand through Jamie’s hair. Jamie hummed happily and snuggled even closer, his earlier concern about Roy’s reaction to Keeley holding him apparently forgotten.

And it was odd, because Roy should have thought he’d be jealous, given how worked up he’d been over Keeley’s past with Jamie back when he first started fancying her. And maybe he was, just a bit (because Keeley looked stunning and he hadn’t kissed her since this morning and it would be pretty fucking lovely to just hold her for a moment), but mostly the sight of them, with Jamie curled up against Keeley like a cat and looking unguardedly relaxed, made him feel… He didn’t quite know. Warm, maybe. Protective. Something in him ached, but not in a bad way.

”It never was about me, was it?” he mused aloud. “The gifts, the fucking plane and carollers, it was just something you had to do to make things right with your mum?” That ached too, unexpectedly; in a bad way.

Jamie scrunched up his face. “No. I mean, yeah, yeah, of course it was, in the beginning, but like… it was about you too, especially in the end? I liked knowing I did something nice for you, yeah? Like, I could make Roy Kent feel good and that made me feel good, you know?”

Oh. Yeah. Roy did know all about how sometimes making others feel good was the only way you could feel even remotely good about yourself. He just hadn’t thought that be something he’d ever have in common with Jamie Tartt of all people, or that Roy’s well-being would ever be of any concern to Jamie’s.

“And you did… “ Jamie sounded fucking shy, although he tried to mask it by pretending to inspect his nails very carefully. “I mean, you did, right? Like it? Some of it?”   

Roy’s first instinct was to say not, because… Well. Because. But looking at Jamie and seeing the way he was trying so hard to appear casual while sneaking little peeks at Roy while waiting for an answer, he found that he didn’t have the heart for it.

“The plane was a little over the top,” he finally allowed with a sigh. “But other than that, yeah, Jamie, I fucking liked it.”

[zorilleerrant]

I think the problem people have with the current trend in book summaries is that 20 years ago, when you read a book summary, it included the normal who what when where why that people recommend writing in nonfiction articles. A review or recommendation being a kind of nonfiction, people got used to seeing them. And now with the truncated article most common in news reporting it's probably not as familiar to readers of news, either, so it probably shouldn't be surprising that descriptions of books don't contain all those parts.

I really don't think the problem is that there's a 'who' included in the description, because that's always something we wanted to know. It's that there are often paragraphs of lavish description of the 'who' or the 'where'... and very little of the other questions.

People generally want to know the what when why of it all, too. A lot of people are also interested in the how - I've never been much concerned, because I tend to assume the book's going to answer that, but it is frustrating that genre descriptors have become more of buzzwords than anything intended to set up expectations for the story. People slap together any of them they think have crossover with their intended readership, regardless of whether those words in that order actually describe a subgenre.

(A cozy mystery is a specific genre of book. A cozy fantasy is... possibly something people are trying to push now? But nothing established enough to tell me what you mean.)

So we get the 'who', often in too much detail. I know that's just the trend of the moment, but I'm used to people talking up character traits in the introduction to a story because they don't bother illustrating or developing them across the text. It makes me worry that everything being advertised is an informed trait, and the character might as well be another milquetoast Chris Pratt performance. Which is to say nothing of the times when several of the diverse array of characters happen to be extremely minor in the text... leaving the main cast much less diverse indeed.

The 'where' is similarly difficult. It used to be that I could look at something advertising a setting in that much lavish detail and assume it was worldbuilding-driven, or at least that worldbuilding was a large part of what was going on. Instead, it's so often just telling us things in the author's head that have no relevance to the book, and only appear in the first chapter or two before being forgotten about entirely. The rest of the story is just modern New York, London, Paris, etc. with a new coat of paint. They have all the same preoccupations but they say prithee or have a HUD built into their eye implants. Not much worldbuilding at all.

The 'what' being missing is probably the easiest to explain; there have always been complaints that a blurb concentrated too much on the plot, or even gave the ending away. And too much of that is similarly dreary and frustrating to try to wade through, making it hard to look at a book and tell why you'd want to read it. But until the particular glut of it for a few years in there, it was mostly restricted to genre books that used archetypal characters and themes, so the variation in stock plot was the critical deciding factor.

It's the 'when' I feel like I'm missing the most, when I see all these descriptions of characters, because the 'when' is so integral to a character-driven story. Telling us who they are and what they're like is the perfect opportunity to tell us how long it is they've been concerned about this thing. What point in their lives they're at. The kind of experiences they've had already and haven't had yet. How long their world's been the way it is.

But it's the 'why' I sometimes feel like people are unable to even answer. It may be something to do with the push for people to write for themselves, which I do endorse, but just because I wanted to, while a wonderful reason to write, isn't a good enough reason to read something. i mean, I assume you wanted to, or someone else wanted you to, or I don't know why any book would've gotten written. But I want to know what makes the story sing.

Why are the characters doing what they're going to do? Why do they care? Why now? Why about this? Why is the setting the way it is? Why did it start going right or wrong or something sideways? Why hasn't anyone done anything, or why did they fail, or why don't people know they succeeded? Why does this thing go right? Why does that thing go wrong? Why is it told in this tone, voice, mood? Why are these parts included? Why does it follow this character, and that plot, and the other setting devices? Why does it use this motif? Why is it concerned with that philosophy? Why is it about this when it's really about that? Why does it feel some way when it could feel totally different? Why did you write it?

Why should I read it?

[softpine]

is this the closest we’ve gotten to seeing brandi’s ideas for a post-apocalyptic story/au? my ass will happily wait for this treat and take these crumbs yes, please, and thank you 🍞🐜 (only if ur comfortable with sharing more!!)

aww no i'm sorry it's not the apocalypse au 😭 however that's always in the back of my mind and i have a document i keep adding ideas to whenever i think of things. i still plan on doing a mini story for that someday!! the thing i'm working on right now is just a silly one-off. but since you were so excited and nice i'll give you some spoilers hehe

edit: the fact i said "some" spoilers and then proceeded to basically share my whole outline for the first two chapters is such a brandi move. sorry i'm like this

i'm going the last of us route by not having typical back-from-the-dead zombies and instead they're infected humans, but in this case it's going to be something similar to mad cow disease in that it originates in livestock and can be transmitted to humans (i'm using allllllll of these words colloquially for brevity, just know this is a massive oversimplification), where it stays dormant until it's far too late to be treated because the brain has already been compromised. the first symptoms are confusion, then problems with emotional regulation, dementia, and finally violence & insatiable hunger. however, these people don't possess inhuman strength or speed, though it may seem that way because they're working with unlimited adrenaline, so they're not slowed down by pain or fear. but you have a fighting chance! and any way that you can kill a normal human, you can also kill an infected person. it just might take longer. essentially i want it to be grounded in reality, mimicking the way a real disease spreads and mutates rather than going fully into video game-y horror (i love that stuff too, but it's not the story i feel like telling in a post-covid world lol. i'm much more interested in seeing how humans can survive and rebuild in the face of unimaginable chaos and tragedy!). the other important thing to note is that the disease doesn't have a 100% transmission rate. it's the same as if you had the flu and coughed in 100 people's faces, only a fraction of them would actually get sick. so if you get bitten by someone with the disease, it's not 100% certain you will be infected. so there is no singular special immune person, it's just a matter of chance & your immune system.

in the early days, this mysterious illness is only happening in remote areas with low human populations. meat that's been properly cooked & pasteurized dairy can't transmit the disease, so people in cities are generally safe, but improper handling of food, poor working conditions, factory farm employees, traveling, etc. all contribute to the spread of disease. though the illness can't be treated, it's easy to contain in the beginning. patients are restrained/sedated when they become violent and eventually they die (once the brain is completely taken by infection, the body dies too). however as the number of infected people grows, it becomes harder to hold everyone in basic hospitals. sanatoriums start popping up to study the disease and keep it quarantined. this is around the time where the story actually starts.

mikaela was a pediatric nurse at the hospital, but she was moved to one of these sanatoriums a few months ago. however, she's 20 weeks pregnant (with sadie) and she's nervous about continuing to work in a high risk environment. she asks to be moved back, but the hospital denies her request. that's how she knows shit is really hitting the fan. she warns everyone she cares about that something big is happening, but that's not how the disease is being reported on by the media, so no one really takes her seriously. and then the big outbreak happens.

there's a whole backstory to that but i'll skip it for now fjskjds the relevant part is that mikaela escapes unharmed and returns home to gather her family up. danny, casper (home from college for thanksgiving break), and asa (spent the weekend with his dad) are already there. mikaela is scared to stay there because it's a farm; they have cows, chickens, pigs, etc. and they still don't know exactly how the disease is transmitted. so she loads everyone into casper's truck (there's less space, but it's better for off-roading). on the way out, asa opens all the gates so the animals can have a chance at living even though he knows it's probably not a good idea. they desperately try to get a hold of caroline and beth, but the phone lines are dead, so they leave a note saying they've gone to their shared vacation cabin up north.

ummm and this is extremely long already but we haven't even gotten to the interesting part yet so.... they make it half way to the cabin before night falls. they don't want to run out of gas at night (and it's late fall, so pretty cold). so they stop in an area that's completely free of people. asa says he knows how to make a fire so they won't waste gas running the car for heat. casper goes with him for protection (he's buff college casper, not scrawny teenage casper fjksjd) to find wood. danny doesn't think they have anything to worry about because asa spends his days in the wilderness already, and he assumes mikaela is just being overly cautious because she's pregnant. so he lets them go.

okay so casper and asa stumble upon a small, seemingly unoccupied hunting cabin. they think this will be perfect to stay in for the night. but when they open the door, they see a horrifying sight: a man sitting in complete darkness, chewing on a freshly dead deer. the man lunges at them, managing to grab asa and bite his thumb clean off along with a chunk of his palm, before casper tackles him to the ground. he manages to immobilize him, but he's badly bitten on the neck in the process. it takes all his strength to just hold the man down, let alone fight back, so asa knows he has to do something. he finds a rifle in a bag that the man must've been carrying earlier, before the sickness set in, and he tries to shoot him in the head with it, but since he's never even held a gun before, he misses and it grazes casper's arm. he has to shoot two more times before he hits his target and the man stops moving. buuuut the sound of all the gunshots has attracted many others; they can hear them approaching in the distance. casper is in no state to move, already starting to bleed out from the wound on his neck (the accidental gunshot certainly didn't help), so asa does the only thing he can do; he leaves the gun with casper and starts yelling to attract the hoard's attention while he runs away from the cabin. he hopes danny and mikaela have heard the gunshots too and will find casper. he leads the infected further into the woods. on instinct, he tries to climb a tree to escape, but his right hand is effectively useless and he's in way too much pain to attempt it. he thinks he'll most likely die here, until he hears a distinctly human, non-infected voice shouting at him to follow his voice .... and that's where i'll leave it :D

[luckyy19]

Hey writeblr! Welcome to my little corner of the void! Check out my wips and stay a while. I swear I don't bite :)

PERSONAL STUFF

You can call me Lucky (she/her)

I’m in my early 20s

I’m a college student studying English and Classics

I’m asexual

I'm a Pisces. This isn't relevant to anything, I just think it's fun.

I started writing when I was like 9 but didn’t actually write something that could be considered close to a novel until I was 14. It is very bad.

MY WRITING

The Golden & the Damned Duology: a retelling of a Norse/Germanic story following a princess told her true love will die, the dragon slayer prince that wins her heart, the princess’s older brother and his reluctant wife, and the way their relationships with each other lead to tragedy. The first book, The Song of the Golden & the Damned, is finished and being given to people to read! Query letter still in progress. I wip intro I

The Feathered Wings Series: a fantasy series about a teenage girl born with wings and living with her cousin in Connecticut who learns the truth of her heritage when a strange young woman stumbles into her city. The first book, Feathered Wings & Broken Souls, is being revised. I wip intro I

Immortal Glory, Lethal Fate: a retelling of The Iliad set a few years after Golden & the Damned and a few countries south. It looks at what would happen if Helen left with Paris willingly and Hector was just trying to protect his people and his little brother. Instead of being an epic war novel, it follows the romantic and familial relationships between Hector, Paris, Helen, and Andromache. The second draft is currently on hiatus with 2-3 chapters left before completion.

The Bleeding Hearts Casino (fka The Zodiacs): the first in a fantasy trilogy following Viola Izmane, the leader of a criminal faction called the Zodiacs, and Sasha Sinclair, the newly mortal Goddess of Love and Desire, and the deal they strike in the wake of a murder neither of them care to solve. This is my primary focus right now! I wip intro I masterlist coming soon! I

Tag and ask game friendly! I follow from my main blog, @fire-faerie-nineteen!

[new-eyes-extra-colors]

4 7 15 and 20 for Autumn! Hier sind kekse.

[meta asks for writers]

4. Share a sentence or paragraph from your writing that you’re really proud of (explain why, if you like)

I'm pretty fond of this monster of a sentence from my very first draft of WBotB:

"So instead of knocking, he’d turned quietly on his heel and stepped outside for a cigarette. But nicotine couldn’t quell synthetic nerves, so he’d been leaning up against the brick face of the building fiddling with his lighter and trying to decide between a second useless smoke and marching back to her room to make sure she was alright and to tell her he understood when she’d pushed open the front door and turned immediately to him with something approaching relief written on her face."

It's unlikely that I'll keep it, since in the moment Nick is relaying something that's already happened and in the present draft we're just going to be there for that scene, but it's a good sentence I think.

7. What do you think are the characteristics of your personal writing style? Would others agree?

I'd like to think I've got a snappy and to-the-point writing style that really gets across what's going through the characters' heads--even if I'm longwinded and like digging into weeds and minutiae, I hope I don't make things drag too much.

15. Which is harder: titles or summaries (or tags)?

Ugh, titles. Every title I come up with is a placeholder for a long time. Like, What Becomes of the Brokenhearted was Until Dawn until right before I published the first chapter (and it's still tagged as that on this tumblr). Ghost Lights needs a snappier (and more relevant) title and Eye of the Storm needs a less sinister one. It's just something I have to let percolate for a long, long time.

20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

There are a lot of birds-as-portents in WBotB, especially crows. Speaking of that fic, it's very interconnected, with lots of callbacks to itself as well as to in-game events that don't happen on-page, to the point that I'm actually having to balance what I include so I'm not either 1. reiterating game events that don't need to be reiterated or 2. reiterating so little that what story is left doesn't make sense. I guess an understood caveat of fanfic is you should be familiar with the source material, but I'm also running everything past a beta who's never played Fallout 4, so...

Probably my favorite friendship development in it is Piper and Nora. Nora sees a lot of herself in Piper--as the responsible older sister--and relates to her on a very personal level. A lot of Nora's past with her own sisters affects the way her relationship progresses with Piper, and she's able to come to peace with some of the things that happened while helping Piper. Ultimately it's just a very sweet friendship that I hope others like reading about.

As far as other fics go, there's a lot of interconnectedness in Eye of the Storm too. One of the characters in the first chapter even says "Everything's connected somehow." There's also a theme of cycles, and that everything that has happened before is happening now will happen again, and that it takes awareness and a conscious effort to break a cycle--but it can be done.

I'm sure I'll come up with symbolism for Ghost Lights but at the moment it's just an action- and violence-filled romp. Maybe it's about the power of friendship; we'll see.