#couldn't say what fandoms i write for bc there's so many

[fuzzyhairedfreak]

this is so cute, thank you for tagging me!

tagging anyone who wants to fill this out too :)

Fanfic Writer Bingo!

I won't do personal ask games, but I'll do these and headcanon asks ALL. DAY. LONG.

I mean, they're ALL self-indulgent, aren't they? I'm writing what I want to read.

@codenameregnar @walkingstackofbooks @topshelf2112-blog @a-k1tty @constanzel @ettaberrytea @girl-like-a-squirrel @inthemirrordorkly2 @justjayisfine0 @last-of-the-independents @unpretty @zforzelma @12thduck

Template below:

[redgoldblue]

rules: post the first sentence of your last ten fics. if you haven’t written ten fics, share as many first-sentences as you have.

i was tagged by @actingcamplibrarian ❤️ 

1. Callen sees Ilyse the moment he opens his door, and almost shuts it again and resolves himself to living the rest of his life indoors.

2. It’s Danny that drives Steve to the hospital when they get back, because SEAL Team Nine immediately disperse to wherever SEAL teams go when they’re not SEALing, and Joe is patching up the others at HQ, and because, well, of course it’s Danny that drives Steve to the hospital.

3. Danny’s pulling idly on Steve’s earlobe one evening when he asks, “What’re these?”

4. An expanse of stars spread out before Jim’s gaze, the deceptively thin material that curved around a full wall of the viewing deck barely visible unless one focused on it, and certainly not obstructive of the view.

5. “Hey, help me hang this photo,” were, Danny thought, innocent enough opening words.

6. The steady, deafening knocking didn’t let up at Danny’s groan. 

7. The first time, it’s a knife in the desk drawer.

8. “See, the thing is,” Starsky says, leans over the pool table, and neatly breaks the racked balls.

9. Hutch is shaking in Starsky’s arms, trembling fast and minutely, like a guitar with its strings wound so tight that every touch threatens to snap them.

10. Huggy, with a towel thrown over his shoulder and as harried an expression as he ever got, met Hutch at the door to the Pits.

Tagging @faorism, @magical-friends, @bookwhimses, @gallantrejoinder and anyone else reading this who cares to do it

[i-miss-lotor]

Alright, I have a question. Writers, whenever you type simply "ok" instead of "okay", what do you mean. Is it simply "OK?" No follow up with "-ay" like "Okay?" Or am I expected to read OK as okay?

Cause it's probably me not being a native English speaker, but whenever I see "ok" it's just that. Ok. Not okay, there is no -ay like you would pronounce the dingle letter k. (That is how you say it in the abc, right?)

It's been bothering me, cause I tried to change how I read it and it's not working and in my mind "ok" is very different from "okay". Is that just me?

For simplicity, I'm adding a poll but I'm genuinely interested in this

[animesimp-writes]

YO, YO, YO! (Billy referred.) Hope your having a wonderful morning/afternoon/evening/night Mel! Could you write a Luffy x fem! Reader fic? Like They're making jokes on the deck of the thousand sunny while the rest of the crew is asleep, and Luffy calls Y/N pretty and stuff, and then confesses, saying that Robin and Nami told him he was in love with her after describing how he felt about Y/N?

If you don't want to write it, thats okay (bc I dont know if you write for other fandoms) but stay safe and stay hydrated! :)

-Anon <3

# Summary ; Late one night aboard the Thousand Sunny, Y/N and Luffy find themselves alone, sharing jokes and laughter under the stars. As the conversation takes a sincere turn, Luffy surprises Y/N by telling her she's pretty and confessing that Nami and Robin pointed out he might be in love with her. Realizing his feelings are true, Y/N admits she feels the same, if not more. Before she can fully express herself, Luffy kisses her, sealing their mutual affection with a sweet and tender moment.

# Notes ; Heyy!! I LOVE One Piece, its my favorite anime for years <3 It's my first time writing a fic instead of headcanons ON TUNBLR so I'll do my best :D Also, yes, I am writing for other fandoms, so please don't be shy to request. And sorry for being away for so long, I just needed some time for school and I honestly forgot about this account and had to study since I'm going to high school in a few months. Wish me luck!!

Late at night, the Thousand Sunny drifted peacefully under a blanket of stars. The gentle rocking of the ship kept the Straw Hat Pirates lulled in a deep sleep. Everyone, that is, except for Luffy and you.

You were sitting next to him on the deck, the night air cool against your skin. The only sounds around were the occasional creaks of the ship and the soft lapping of the ocean against the hull.

"Y/N, you know, I think I could eat a thousand meat skewers in one sitting!" Luffy said with a wide grin, his eyes sparkling in the moonlight.

You chuckled softly, shaking your head. "Luffy, I believe you could do it. But how would you even fit that much food in your stomach?"

He laughed, the sound warm and carefree, and you couldn't help but laugh along with him. The way he made everything seem so simple and joyful was one of the many things you loved about him. For what seemed like hours, the two of you exchanged jokes, stories, and silly banter. Luffy was on a roll, saying the most random things to keep you laughing. But as you waited for him to crack another joke, his expression softened. His gaze settled on you, and the intensity in his eyes caught you off guard.

"You're really pretty, Y/N," Luffy said suddenly, his voice quiet, but sincere.

You blinked, a little taken aback by the shift in tone. "W-What?" you stammered, feeling your cheeks warm as you processed his words. "Why would you say that all of a sudden?"Luffy rubbed the back of his neck, his usual confident demeanor now tinged with something more thoughtful. "Well, Nami and Robin were talking to me the other day. They said that when I described how I feel about you, it means I’m in love with you. And I think they’re right… 'cause I’m always thinking about you, and I like being around you more than anyone else."

Your heart skipped a beat. Hearing those words from Luffy, who was always so focused on his adventures and dreams, made your chest tighten with happiness. You glanced down at your hands, fidgeting nervously, trying to find the right words to tell him that you felt the same way. "Luffy, I… I feel the same," you began, your voice barely above a whisper. "Maybe even more than you could imagine..."

Before you could finish your sentence, you felt a gentle touch on your chin. Luffy had leaned in closer, lifting your head with his hand. Your eyes met his, and in that moment, the world around you seemed to fade away. Without another word, Luffy closed the distance between you, pressing his lips softly against yours. The kiss was simple, sweet, and filled with all the emotions you both had been holding back. Your eyes fluttered closed as you melted into the kiss, your heart racing in your chest.

When he finally pulled away, Luffy's smile was the brightest you'd ever seen. "I think I like kissing you too," he said with a chuckle.

You giggled, your cheeks flushed, feeling a mixture of joy and relief. "Me too, Luffy… me too."

GAHHH!! I loved it so much, hope you guys do to! If you want more like this, drop a request in my "Ask Me Anything" hope you guys have a wonderful rest of your day, bye! <3

[ironworked]

So, my theory about the Bucktommy breakup (the tldr is: maybe they're fucking up around to find out):

Minear gets the go-ahead for Bi Buck but he knows the audience might not approve of that, on top of the usual issues with previous relationships (hard to write/sell to the audience). He wants to give the relationship a chance to get off the ground so he tries to avoid past mistakes with LIs etc, but also 'prepares for the worst' (initial run of 4 episodes).

Then they get whatever numbers that tell them the audience was fine (steady ratings? internal research?), they get good press, so they keep on going: contract extended; LFJ is on the 7.09 bts and the s7 thank you video, and it's him and OS paired up to promote the finale on Access Hollywood.

So now it's s8 prep time and Minear has this relationship that's going fine when they'd started it thinking it would probably have a close expiration date. Fandom/media wise, it's still all stuck on Bvddie (as far as they can see, I figure).

But there isn't an offscreen breakup.

As far as we've been told, going into s8 they were still unsure, and LFJ seemed more surprised about the timing than anything.

So.

It could be that they pushed things they couldn't wrap to s8a and this was one, but... at the end of s7 they added more Bucktommy and it was positive, so I don't think that's the case for this storyline.

My thinking is then, that since a breakup was always in the cards, they decided to go ahead with it now and the way they did it because, say...:

for plot reasons they want Buck to go through it

they can test audience/fan 'attachment' to the relationship via reactions to this

they don't have to settle now on exactly when they'd want LFJ in s8b (which he might have needed to know for his other projects)

gives them extra time before Buck is settled in a relationship (this could buy them like, a season)

they might be waiting to see if they're cancelled or renewed before making certain choices

Know what I mean? basically that they didn't have a plan and so they decided to go for what provided immediate drama as well as some info about the audience's feelings wrt to it.

[I hope I didn't make many mistakes with this. Anyway, Abby's breakup appears 3 times bc it had 'aftershocks']

You see how Natalia is an outlier, but the rest follow a similar pattern (the relationships served a purpose and ended when it was time to close arcs for the season). But Tommy... it could've ended offscreen or right before this hiatus, or before that timeskip or whatever that's supposedly coming and has them in different places. But it was there in 8.06 and they used the following eps before the hiatus to show Buck mourning the relationship...

Maybe, just maybe, they're testing the end similarly to how they tested their beginning.

I'm not saying this is absolutely right, or even that all these things mean something (or that it must mean this). Just that it's an option.

[iamnmbr3]

you know what's sooo stupid to me that it's almost bound to drive me crazy?!

The fact that whenever i see you sharing tom riddle metas about how traumatized he was and trying to look from his pov, i think that FUCKING MAIN VILLAIN, lunatic voldemort who was a reason for so many deaths and did everything to achieve his end is vastly understood. bellatrix, the cruelest witch(after umbridge lol), who knows nothing but voldemort has a not lil fandom

BUT jkr says Draco doesn't deserve fans' love & THERE IS NO GOOD INSIDE HIM (says about the guy who despite his environment and his own desire couldn't be bad & cruel..even if coward, still he didn't do several things in spite of his fears) so we shouldn't be that attached to him!!!!

And many people agree!!!! Like is Draco the only bad guy here? Is he actually a bad guy?

Like🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

(i don't have any problem with you guys talking about tom riddle or bellatrix having fans, just the injustice of it makes me insane)

First off, thanks for your patience in waiting for an answer to this ask! Second of all, I think two things are going on here. On the one hand, we have the fandom response to the series. On the other hand we've got JKR's response. While it's true that Tom Riddle and Bellatrix both have their fans (most of whom acknowledge the problematic things their faves have done - and indeed find their flawed actions and complexity to be part of their appeal) within fandom spaces the same is very much true of Draco. He is an extremely popular character within fandom. On AO3 he is the third most tagged character (after Harry and Hermione), drarry is the number one most written about ship, and dramione comes in at number 3. So I think in fandom spaces Draco gets a lot of attention and there's generally an interest in and understanding of the fact that he's a complex and grey character and not by any means a one-note bad guy.

However, JK Rowling does not seem to share that view at all. She's been very dismissive of his character and of fans who like him on a number of occasions and indeed seems irritated by his popularity - even though it is driven by writing choices SHE made. She claims Draco never got a redemption arc even though she herself wrote that he ultimately changed his opinions and behaviors...aka had a redemption arc. She seems to be someone who has a great deal of trouble admitting she was wrong and who is also very threatened by anyone having a different interpretation or view of something than what she wants. So I think she's especially bothered by people responding to Draco - particularly because she's on such shaky ground. Most Bellatrix fans admit she was a die-hard Death Eater - and indeed that's something they embrace about her character - so that's probably not as threatening to JKR as people pointing out that Draco changed his mind is. I think she also hates drarry.

And yeah it strikes me as really unfair that she singles out Draco fans and claims anyone who likes him is just a girl who is confused due to being attracted to the actor (wow. way to be heteronormative, misogynistic, and a misandrist all in one go). Which is bizarre and problematic on so many levels and also especially weird when she has no problem with Snape fans or Regulus fans and doesn't seem to think that a similar problem could occur with people thinking Tom Riddle had a redemption arc just bc the character is canonically attractive and played by an actor generally considered to be attractive in the second film for example.

[thingsthatbleedfic]

Not sure if I'm supposed to keep this to just asking questions, but I needed to gush and I'm not good at ao3 comment etiquette.

I stumbled across TTB on complete accident after seeing this meme and picked it up just for the heck of it, and BOY WAS I IN FOR A HECK OF A RIDE(R. haha, get it?) OR WHAT? But I felt a little out of place and like an outsider because

I entered the Phandom for the first time exactly 31 days ago and my only knowledge comes from the >5 episodes I watched before I got bored and dropped it years ago (and promptly ejected from my brain), and then fanfiction I have been VIOLENTLY AND CONSISTANTLY CONSUMING LIKE A RABID VACUUM for the last month when I got interested in it again.

I had literally never heard of Alex Rider before this fic.

I like SCP, but all my knowledge comes from a podcast I listen to but they're going numerically and they've only gotten up to SCP-123, oh and and Markiplier.

THAT BEING SAID, I didn't need to worry because this is one of the best fics I've ever read. It has LITERALLY been keeping me up at night staring at the ceiling because I couldn't freaking stop thinking about it.

It stands out in a crowd, and out of the all MANY crossovers I've read in my time, TTB is one of, like, four fics that I can confidently say feel like their own original fiction, one cohesive world that's well blended, each media and character perfectly meshed and interacting with eachother and the lore like they always belonged together.

Deadass, I sent the fic to my sibling immediately after I finished it because I needed someone to scream about it to even though they understand even less of the source material than I, and we've decided to watch the Alex Rider show together and they told me "I'm going to be sad when we watch this and Danny isn't canon".

Fantastic work, massive kudos for making one of the best feels-like-it's-not-a-crossover crossovers. I was hooked by the first few paragraphs, so suspenseful, on the edge of my seat the entire time, and I lost so much sleep and sanity to this masterpiece. Y'all rock.

This ask is SO kind and amazing we all wanted to reply!!! Hope you don't mind!

KEI: omg!!!! this ask was such a delight to get. Ive read this over and over, youre so SO kind. I'm glad youve been able to enjoy TTB even not knowing things about AR or SCP. That was always our goal--we've even had people that know nothing about any of the fandoms read it and enjoy it! Dude. My MOM reads it and was upset when she caught up. I hope you don't still feel like an outsider bc we are SO happy youre here and clearly, anyone is welcome no matter where they're coming from as far as fandom knowledge goes <3 Thank you for reading and giving our niche as fuck crossover a shot !

KKACHI: i'm so glad chance brought you to our little corner of the internet! we're very proud we managed to conceive a seamless blend of the various canons. being sad that danny isn't canon is definitely an emotion we've also felt. please make sure you get enough sleep and we hope you enjoy the next update!!!

FIN: wahhhh!!! thank you so so much. i gotta ditto what the others have said - i'm so glad you can enjoy the fic no matter what. i'm also glad that it's inspired you to also check out some of this funky media very near and dear to our hearts (because of course it is because why else would we be this crazy if it wasn't)

also, i'm always honored and proud to write the kinda fics people lose sleep over KJDGFKJGS cuz god knows i love losing sleep over fics too <3

[moretheta]

Honestly at this point i'm pronouncing "hxh has no noteworthy female characters" to be an ice cold, bottom of the barrel take. 

Come on a journey with me. 

Anyone who knows me in real life (which is hopefully almost no one on here) knows how insane I am when it comes to female characters getting shafted in media- and in shonen manga specifically. No doubt a side effects of being a girl who's favorite character was sakura in the 2015 naruto fandom- but that's another story. The point is I'm not coming at this from a "boo hoo why so woke" standpoint, or an "it's really not the deep" mentality. I care about this shit- truly i do. which is exactly why the way people talk about this issue bothers me so much. 

I distinctly remover being 13 or so when I saw HxH pop up on netflix (or some other streaming service, i don't remember) and looking at the title card with Gon, Killua, Kurapika, and Leorio and thinking "huh. no women?" bc damn, even nart had women (they were written misogynistically, shafted from the narrative, and treated like fucking pariahs by fans... but they were there), and at the time i had a disease where I couldn't dedicate time towards watching something unless it had a prominent female character for me to latch on to. that disease is called ~being tired of misogyny~ and i'm still a carrier to this day. so this past version of me wanted to do some research, so i looked up something like "does HxH have female characters." I saw one of two responses: 1) sadly no. and 2. no, shut up snowflake.

I honestly don't remember what finally pushed me over the edge to start watching it, but i'm so so glad i did. had several queer awakenings. a very formative time for me, etc. aaaaaallll that is to say: I get it. I’ve been there. i don't withhold criticism from a show just because i like it. 

Because it's true that HxH had no female characters... in 1998, when it's started it's serialization. like there were a few background women and also Mito, but that's it, that's all we got. and for a while that's what we would continue to get: every female character introduced seemed to exist as a cog in the wheel of one of the main male characters' storylines. even characters who i love very much and think have a lot of potential, like Canary, only seemed to show up briefly to supplement Killua's narrative and then leave. all of this is true. 

But the thing people need to realize about Hunter x Hunter is that it has been going on for a long time.  The chimera ant arc concluded it's serialization in 2012. and with the hiatuses that became necessary due to Togashi's health, it meant publishing continued really slowly. this current arc of the manga- the succession war- has been going on since 2017- (arguably longer, if you count the expedition arc as a prelude which i personally kinda do), but either way we have over half a decade of real time years that have passed. and one of the things i really admire about Togashi is his ability to grow as an author- to take in feedback and improve where he needed to improve. We can see it, for instance, in his history of writing queer characters- trans characters in particular. See this great video for a further breakdown.

There’s more to be said on this topic but that’s for another day. This isn’t an “in defense of Togashi” post, he’ll be ok. It’s the female characters themselves that I must rise up and defend. I fight an endless war on an empty battlefield, population Me, and this is my life’s purpose.

What I am trying to say is this: HxH is not the same series it was in 1998. It’s not the same series as it was in 2011. And what we have seen as the series progressed, was the introduction and elevation of more and more interesting female characters. This has culminated in what very well might be my favorite arc in the series -unfinished as it is- the succession war. and, without giving away any spoilers, I just have to say……

THERE ARE SO MANY WONDERFUL WOMEN. DO YOU SEE THEM?!!? DO YOU SEE MY BEAUTIFUL WIVES?!? MY LARGE AUTOMOBILES MY-

I cannot fathom how anyone who is caught up with the manga continues to parrot this take. Why would you say that. Why would you do this to our women. There are soosososo sososoooo many fantastic female characters, old and new, and more are added literally every chapter because togashi loves it when I (me specifically) have to make more flashcards. There are female protagonists, antagonists, supporting characters, antiheroes, etc. women with all different kinds of personalities and motivations that don’t feel like a copy-pasted trope. Women who (gasp!) come in different shapes and sizes!?!? Women who don’t fit the traditional standards of beauty are just as important and just as beloved as those who do. and because I’m a crazy person I have gone around and calculated “screen time” (page time?) as well as ratios of male to female characters and folks the numbers are looking good. There was a point in time when I tried to memorize the names and faces of every single female character on the wiki (see above note on flashcards) because again, I’m a crazy person, and it just made me realize how incredible this ensemble cast is looking right now and how excited I am to see more of them. I am the succession war’s biggest glazer so yes, obviously I come with a bias; but here me when I tell you this: you want more well-written, prominently featured, multidimensional female characters in your little shonens (bad place to look, but unfortunately I am the biggest offender of this) please for god’s sake. For god’s sake read the manga.  

So yeah. Sick and fucking tired of seeing people say “HxH has no women” They’re there babe!!!! They’re there!!! You wanna say some shit like that, at least put a caveat of *up until the end of the anime so that people know that information is eight years out of date. yeah watch me be petty. It just astounds me that someone could look me in the eyes and tell me that Melody, Bisky, Theta, Morena, Oito, Woble, Kacho, Fugetsu, Camilla, Machi, Pakunoda, Alluka, Komugi, Kite(yes welcome), Cheadle, Canary, and now Longhi have no importance in the narrative.

It’s true that there is always a time and a place for criticism…  but why does it seem like there’s only five of us trapped in here in this room who are excited to talk about the potential for Theta x Vorksen work situationship... on the ethics of Morena's class war, or an Oito Phantom Troupe connection, or the thematic implications of the madonna being juxtaposed with the antichrist and also maybe satan. Yeah so we're trapped in this room and it's great but occasionally I'll hear shouting from the outside and it's some horrible take or the same unfunny, super gross joke, or some guy who thinks netero setting off a nuke was "peak aura" or smth. And we're still in here, beckoning, offering shelter from the storm.

All you gotta do is open the doors and start taking notes.

[philaet0s]

Six Sentence Paragraph Sunday

I very desperately needed distraction from the chaos that is my life currently this week, so I wrote a bit! Escapism, woohoo

Love Actually

Baz

I think she’s about to call me boring, or old again, when her phone chimes. My eyes are unconsciously drawn to the notification. Harry. I’ve heard of that boy. He’s her best friend at uni.

She laughs when she opens the message before turning her phone to show me the screen. ‘OMG tell your brother I said hi’

“I do not know this boy, Mordelia,” I answer, flatly, as I go back to doing her makeup.

“He knows you though. I made the mistake of showing him a family picture because he was curious what my siblings look like. He thinks you’re super hot.”

She doesn’t sound too pleased about that. I understand. ‘Hot’  is not a word I ever want to hear in relation to any of my family members. Niall being in love with Dev has always been torture.

“So yeah, if you were still looking for a boyfriend, I could have set you up.”

Exes

Simon

Now that Cassie doesn’t live home anymore, it’s harder releasing them. There’s no one to spell them away.

“It’s not good for them. Or for you,” he says as his eyes soften.

“They’re out now,” I answer, before promptly pressing my lips to Baz’s shoulder. And pressing his hips into the mattress.

I want to get us back into that mood. That very good mood we were in just seconds ago. I want him to think about having sex with me and nothing else. I can’t… I can’t have him look at me with something so akin to care in his eyes.

“They deserve to be. They’re beautiful. You’re beautiful.”

So are you. As beautiful as you were on the day I signed ‘Salisbury’ again for the first time at the bottom of several pages. You wore your hair up because it was a little greasy, and you were dressed all in black, like a man in mourning. Perhaps you were.

Captive Prince

Not Snowbaz... The WIP folder game reminded me of the existence of this One fic for another fandom, and then my brain couldn't stop thinking about it. This fic is so precious to me but I rarely get the time to write it

Jewellery? Jord couldn’t remember seeing the prince put it there, and yet, as he reached inside one of the pockets, his finger was pricked by the sharp pin of an earring. Singular. Though he searched for it, he could not find a second one. He did find a necklace, much too luxurious for the kind of establishment they were headed to.

They were going to get robbed, Jord thought. The prince would end the night with a knife against his throat, if not because he was the Prince of Vere parading in the Akielon capital city, then because he was masquerading as a rich… noblewoman? Prostitute? Jord wasn’t certain. He wasn’t certain what his role was supposed to be.

He was, however, certain that he did not like any part of this plan.

“I cannot find the second one…”

“There is none,” the prince said as he took the earring. “Help me with the necklace.”

As he hung the gorgeous sapphire on his ear, Jord put the necklace around his throat. When Laurent turned around, Jord was ashamed to think that it suited him. Jewellery was for pets, not high-born men, but after all, for many years at Arles, people spoke of the prince’s peculiar kind of beauty. The kind that would have made him cost a fortune, if he wore silks and jewels like this every day.

@jiksvokrat I hope you don't mind, I thought i'd tag you bc I posted a bit from my capri fic aha. I kind of want you to read it, I'm very frustrated with myself for not having written more so I don't even have a proper chapter to offer sending you lol (I've written 10k............)

[invidiia]

love your writing! general yan chuuya + akutagawa hcs?

❐ - yandere!chuuya and yandere!akutagawa (separate) headcanons

note ; did yall see brian's (akutagawa's eng va) tiktok??? he's finding all the weird shit we've said, speaking for the fandom at least 😭i lowkey feel so bad for him LMAO. but i should say thIs now, if anyone who voices the bsd characters finds these posts i will literally disappear and probs cry myself to sleep for the rest of the month. other note? WHOEVERS MAKING THE SUBMARINE X BSD FICS ON AO3 PLS STOP BC I CANNOT BREATHEEE

prompt ; general yandere headcanons for ryuunosuke akutagawa and chuuya nakahara (both separately)

warnings ; yandere themes, kidnapping, murder, drugging, stalking, obsession, guilt tripping

masterlist - rules - previous

CHUUYA NAKAHARA ;

chuuya is incredibly overprotective. this man has awful trust issues - being betrayed by the people he cared so much for in his past, he just can't risk anything this time.

he's constantly keeping an eye on you, even before he can admit to himself that he loves you. but after he confessed, he understood why he wanted to protect you so much, even if it took time to come to terms with that fact.

if you rejected him, then he tries to tell himself that he would get over it, and that he's been betrayed so much, so why be so upset over simple rejection? you even let him off easy, so there was no reason to be so sad, right? you were still friends.

but chuuya was still upset. his love, no, obsession, didn't go away. he convinced himself it took time to get over something like this, so he took a month doing things to get you off his mind.. but he just couldn't. every single thing reminded you of him, nothing could take you out of his head.

he came to terms with the fact that you just didn't love him, but he didn't care. chuuya knew he was obsessed, and between removing anything that reminds him of you and seeing other people, nothing was working.

so chuuya did what he thought would be best at this point - not to mention, it wasn't his first option, - kidnapping you. being in the port mafia, it especially wasn't difficult to get a hold of some kind of sedative, or any drug for that matter.

obiviously, he didn't want to do this. chuuya could try to convince himself it was for your protection and not his own muse, but it didn't stop the fact you were basically his now. at first. he'll tell himself not to hurt anyone for you, but the moment you're in public, and another man walks up to you and begins to ask for your number, he's already snatching you away without thinking.

chuuya is definitely the type to give you gifts upon gifts, putting money to good use as an apology to you. but even though you tell him the best apology gift would be to let you go, he just gives you something else. you want to go back to your own house? maybe one day, but do you want a dog? they're better company that being by yourself all the time.

he understands you. he knows you want to be free, because he knows what it's like. but chuuya can't just let you go. he's lost so many people, he doesn't want to lose you, too.

RYUUNOSUKE AKUTAGAWA ;

akutagawa will avoid you.

upon meeting, he just thought you were just too bright for him. the man knew he was no good.

he doesn't want to corrupt you, therefore, he stayed away.. but akutagawa found himself following you everywhere. maybe he wanted to protect you of some sort, keeping himself hidden until a weird individual cornered you in an alleyway. thirty seconds later, a dark, black monster thing of some sort that slammed the other into the brick wall next to you. the next thing you saw was a glimpse of a tall man in a coat walking away. you thought it'd be the last of it, but no.

akutagawa spends time stalking you, from picking up objects you dropped after conveniently being there, to putting a knife to the throat of the person who got your coffee order wrong. you told them you were allergic to that specific ingredient, were they TRYING to kill you?

it takes akutagawa so long to even bring himself to talk to you. a simple 'hello' takes hours of looking at himself in the mirror and saying it to make sure he doesn't screw it up and look weird while he actually says it. (same aku, same.)

he'll do anything for you. you could ask him for anything, he'd go get it just because you asked. akutagawa doesn't care if it hurts him, or other people, he craves your love and validation, and reassurance that you don't hate him.

at first, he denies how much he wants you, he tries to tell himself that he needs nobody, especially not you, not someone he needed. but akutagawa could barely run from it, he was so obsessed. he will continue to deny his feelings, but it doesn't stop you.

if you try to run from him, he'll remind you why you're even alive in the first place. if it weren't for him, you would have been dead in an alleyway forever ago. nobody would have saved you that time. who else would treat you the way he does?

[narcissusbrokenmirror]

there is so many people on jatp fandom saying Reggie got ADHD, Willie got ADHD, but you know what?

Luke Patterson is autistic.

and i have a way of supporting my headcanon.

Luke special interest is music. It's all he thinks about. He's always talking about music and relates everything to music.

He misses social clues (as in Flying Solo, when inviting Julie to join Sunset Curve)

Luke uses music to communicate w people, he writes a song to his mom, also starts playing to cheer Reggie up on the beach w The Band is Back, the little "we're sorry" song.

Music is also his way of connecting w people at all, he sings to Reggie, he writes songs with Julie and only notices her avoiding him when she's not singing w him, his fights with his mom grew bigger bc she couldn't see how music was important to him.

also. maybe its just me. But he wears mostly sleeveless shirts bc of sensory issues. but also his coats and jackets look very warm and comfy so he might as well be a sensory seeker.

[cafeinthemoon]

It's a Fire - Chapter III

Chapter 3

Wordcount 3,9k

Title Family Portrait

Fandom Kimetsu no Yaiba / Demon Slayer

Previous chapters

1 . 2

Symbols ⭕ ➕ 🖤

Warnings:  Attempt to agression toward a minor; agressive, abusive behavior; mentions of alcoholism, grief and loss

Tagging ? (If you want to be tagged in any of my stories, just leave a comment on this chapter or send an ask or a message)

N. A.: So, finally I'm having a break from work! I was on vacation and had plenty opportunities to rest and forget about the same, stressful and boring routine, and now I'm back to my writings at last <3 This chapter has the very scene that made me write this whole story, and I'm so proud of it! I'm really happy to share it with you! Also, the end of this chapter had me struggling a bit, mainly bc of the amount of information I should include in it or leave to the next one, but I think I found a reasonable midterm. There was also the question involving the photographs, for I couldn't remember if photography was a technology present in Demon Slayer or not (I had to do a research about photography in Japan to confirm lol)

I really hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it :)

The omnipresent tension in each step you took in the Rengoku’s house right in your first day followed you in the next ones, whether you were alone in your room or with others, and in different places, but nothing compared to the few times you’ve met your husband: it was like he was always avoiding you, so whenever you saw him, it seemed to be by chance, as if he failed in keeping his distance. Sometimes, he wouldn’t say anything, but would acknowledge your presence by a direct look or a move of his head, to which you’d reply politely, and the few occasions when he exchanged words with you, the conversation, limited to basic inquiring about practical, daily subjects, would never go beyond one minute or two.

The closest you’ve come to discuss your situation was when one day, after receiving monosyllabic responses, he addressed your discontentment in the most direct way he could, catching you in surprise.

– Listen. I can see this is not what you planned for yourself, but let me tell that I’ve never planned to bring another woman to this house as well. Yet our families had an alliance in the past, and we must honor it.

You bit your lip at those words.

And honor the lots of money my father sent to you.

Instead of spitting your bitter thoughts, however, you responded him with a simple question.

– May I ask you something, Rengoku-sama?

– What is it? – he frowned.

– If honoring this alliance is something we both must do, why do you sound like you’re lecturing me?

It didn’t go unnoticed by you the spite he tried to restrain in the way he clenched his lips. For a moment, you thought you just made a big mistake in speaking like that, and moved one feet back.

But nothing more than a few composed words came from him in response.

– Let’s just say that your father and I had a conversation in which he pointed out that, despite your many talents, fulfilling duties like this can be a sensitive, not to say difficult, subject to you. I myself have issues towards it too, still I don’t want it to become an obstacle for us.

You measured those words. Finally, something you both agreed, you thought. But you decided to follow through a different path, directing the pressure to your father’s account.

– Rengoku-sama, I don’t know when was the last time you’ve saw y/ln-sama before the wedding arrangements, but I suppose it happened long ago, so that I need to bring some things to your attention. My father is a stern man, too attached to his traditions and too busy to take time in learning about what lies beyond them. These traits only increased since my mother passed away, and he has been spending more and more time by himself, barely talking to anyone but the servants. So, it might be just my opinion, but if we really want to make this work, seeing your new wife through such man’s eyes is not going to help you, nor her.

He spent a moment in silence, pondering your words. You had no doubts that if you were a boy and younger, he would’ve already showed an inflamed reaction, but having a young woman using all her dignity was enough to make him hold himself in place.

– I will take this as a sign of compliance.

Before you could say anything, he turned his back and headed to his room with no additional comments.

Never he asked how you were feeling in that new environment, if your room was of your like or if the servants have answered your needs, neither before or after this episode. Yes, after seeing you burning your father’s letter with no hesitation, he might have supposed that your feelings towards the situation weren’t the best, but even so you’d consider it a matter of gentleness, after all you were a couple. But gentleness didn’t seem to be a known concept by Shinjuro, and you wouldn’t take too long to see examples of that.

One of the first things that brought you uneasiness concerning your husband was the fact that, whatever the period of the day or the occasion, he was always accompanied by a bottle of sake; you’ve never seen him using a cup, however, and even in times he wasn’t drinking, a moment standing next to him was enough for one to notice the subtle smell of alcohol.

There was a morning when you just opened your room’s door and put your feet on the corridor, and a sequence of angry yells came to your ears. You stopped immediately and, glancing around, you saw a young servant kneeling in front of Shinjuro’s door and trying to speak to him, maybe about an issue concerning the house. You couldn’t understand what was being said, but apparently the man has delivered unpleasant news and asked for an answer, which infuriated his lord.

You kept listening to the unnerving communication between the two, and had to suppress a scream with your hand over your mouth when your husband screamed and threw a bottle full of liquid at the young man, who flinched, protecting his head under his hands; this measure wouldn’t work if the bottle has crashed on him, but fortunately it hit the wall behind after passing over his head. The sharp pieces of the bottle spread with a crash on the floor, now soaked with the sake, then there was silence. The young man excused himself and left before something worse took place. You bit your lip.

What could be so irritating that got him acting that way? My goodness…

You were standing in the doorway, still observing, when the sight of Shinjuro’s shadow on the wall hit by the bottle woke you up and made you go back inside your room, closing your door quickly (and quietly) as possible. You returned to the middle of the room and waited, afraid that he decided to take your room’s direction, but to your relief, none of this happened, so you sat back on your bed to catch your breath.

So, this is what I’ll have to live with under this roof. I’ll be sharing this place with a beast.

You walked around the house with a blade hidden in your sleeve and slept with your sword beside you every night after that.

***

In the following days, you’ve saw similar episodes, all of them giving you enough reasons to stay on guard in his presence. This was even more important when Senjuro was around. The boy, you noticed, was used to this behavior, though he was never able to completely disguise his discomfort towards it; it was clear that he had memories of a time when things were different, for what other reason he had for not letting his conscience go numb in front of the things he saw everyday? You considered this a fortunate trait, and reinforced to yourself the task of protecting the goodness your stepson had in him.

There was a day when you faced the need of transforming this determination in action.

It’s been a full month since your wedding day, and you created the habit of taking walks in the garden behind the house after an occasion when your husband saw you heading to the kitchen. You passed by him and, before you could carry on your way, he called you.

– Rengoku-sama?

– I’ve heard you’ve been bored these days. I’d feel like that if I was in your place too – and, pointing at what he supposed to be the garden’s direction, – From the porch of these rooms, you can find a narrow path that leads to an old garden at the south wing. Go take a walk there from time to time. It might help you with the paleness in your face.

You nodded and murmured a “Thank you” to that strange favor, but he didn’t finish yet.

– But make sure to avoid it at evenings, though. We never know what might appear at this period of the day.

You didn’t reply. You just stood there, watching as he distanced himself through the corridor. You started using the garden, but obeyed his instruction and never lingered there when the evening approached.

The garden, indeed, had the appearance of a place that hasn’t been used for a long time. The path that crossed the area, connecting all its zones, was covered in grass and weeds, its stones invisible under them in some spots; the trees were overgrown, with fallen branches suspended by the ones still connected to the trunks, and thick layers of dead leaves surrounding the trees and their roots; there were bushes full of dry leaves as well, and some were taken over by cascades of wild flowers. Everything smelled like abandonment and melancholy.

One morning, you were just walking like the previous occasions, but you looked ahead and found Senjuro there, wielding a training sword. You smiled and approached.

– I hope I’m not interrupting anything?

He startled, but smiled when he recognized you.

– Good morning, y/n. I haven’t trained regularly the last months, but now I’m trying to regain the wasted time.

– That’s good to hear! – you crossed your arms – Speaking about this, I haven’t trained since I left my father’s house. Would you mind training with me?

Senjuro opened a content smile at this.

– It’s okay for me. It’s good to have company while training.

He decided to go back to the house and find another wood sword for you.

You’ve spent the entire morning having fun with your swords clashing. In fact, Senjuro knew all the basic moves your mother taught you, so that there was little you could teach him in this sense, but you noticed he struggled a bit with changing his position quickly enough to defend himself from surprise attacks, as if his body couldn’t follow his eyes; still, he was fast with his feet, and you thought you could help him work on this. On the other hand, you struggled with physically strong strikes, and since he was already stronger than you despite his age, you found yourself using your feet more to stand in place than to explore the space around you.

You even managed to have conversations about your progresses and goals concerning the art of the sword.

– I know I have little chance to surpass my brother, at least in developing the family’s Breath Style – Senjuro told you once – But I still can serve as a security worker or follow other paths. I want to dedicate my life to an honorable career, even if it means not wielding a sword at all. Still, I really like training.

– My choices are even smaller than yours when it comes to using a sword – you replied – But I want to do honorable works too. When my mother was alive, I thought my biggest dream was to develop my own Breath Style and work by her side in the Demon Slayer Corps. But now that she’s no longer here, I’m not so sure about this. I’d prefer to think that I’ll wield my sword to protect myself and the ones I care about, whether against a demon or another being.

You didn’t know, but your words would become prophetic a few days later, when what should have been just another morning training turned into a disturbing episode involving your stepson and your husband.

The thing was that, sometimes, Shinjuro demanded his son to go to the town’s market and buy sake for him instead of going by himself. This was revealed to you by Senjuro when you asked where he was going so early in the morning one day, and other times you saw him being sent by his father in other periods of the day with no right to question. You wanted to interfere, of course, but without a good plan of action and judging by how Shinjuro dealt with the servants who displeased him, you could tell you wouldn’t be treated less harshy.

You were in the middle of the training: Senjuro was experimenting a new technique and you were instructing him, when a sudden noise behind you made you stop and turn. Both of you held your breath when you saw Shinjuro approaching with impatient steps, but unlike your stepson, you didn’t let your sword down, waiting to see what he had for you that time.

He was the first to speak, directly to his son.

– So this is where you’ve been hiding the last mornings? Are you really avoiding your tasks by playing with fake swords with your stepmother? – he inquired; and, before the boy could say anything, – I need you to go to town and buy me sake now.

Senjuro made a shy attempt to argue:

– But, father, I’ve already bought you some yesterday…

– I gave you an order! – the other cut off – You’ve never been great with swords anyway. And now aren’t you even able to obey your father?

The boy gave up replying, but still hesitated, the sword in hands. You clenched your own hand around yours, gritting your teeth behind your closed lips.

That’s not fair. This kid’s been left alone with this man for a long time. It’s my turn to stand up for him.

– He can’t leave the house at the moment, Rengoku-sama – your voice came out loud and clear in the tense silence established between the two males; you positioned yourself ahead, in a way that would protect Senjuro from his father’s reach, yet not separating the them from each other – He has a training session to finish. A servant can go in his place.

Shinjuro’s eyes, flaming at the slightest touch of the sunlight, had nothing to you but resentment for your intrusion. Who the hell you think you were to stand between him and his son when this latter needed correction?

– Someone as grown as you should know where to stop playing, y/n – his tone was rough, and you didn’t know if it was sarcasm or just rage what you sensed in it – There are many things inside the house to which you could dedicate your time to.

You swallowed.

He’s really telling me to abandon the sword and start playing his wife?

Senjuro apparently feared that something worse was about to happen, and tried to calm down the situation again.

– Father, what if I finish here and immediately go to the market…

Shinjuro turned to him.

– You’re still trying to argue?! You brat!

Ignoring your presence, the man raised his hand toward the boy, perhaps too blind by his own anger to notice that he would never reach his victim and to underestimate your choice of putting yourself between them, for his punch never completed its route: coming from underneath, your sword slapped his hand away with a harsh strike, full of your impatience and indignation; you stood in front of your husband, completely hiding his son, and pointed the wood tip at his face.

– Senjuro-san, here’s a lesson for you – you say, without taking his eyes off his father –When a reckless individual approaches a swordsman, you must make sure he understands he’s making a terrible mistake.

Maybe your strike wasn’t as strong as you intended it to be, or your husband had an abnormally high pain tolerance, for his response, after a brief shake of his beaten hand, was to grab the length of your sword and hold it so tight that you couldn’t move it away. Your eyes widened at the wood cracking around his grip.

– Senjuro-san, two lessons for you – mimicking your attitude, he spoke to his son, but his eyes were glued on you – First, always remember to hold your sword the right way. Second, never start an assault without measuring your adversary’s strength.

He let go of the sword at last, turned his back on you and left.

When all the signs of his presence disappeared, you let your sword down and turned to Senjuro. Swallowing every bit of shame or disappointment, you opened a smile. The gesture confused him, but soon you clarified it.

– Your father is right. In a battle, prudence is everything – and, wielding your sword again, – Let’s try again.

***

Days have passed.

During all this time, you haven’t seen Shinjuro except for one time or two, and only at distance. No conversation happened between you, not even through the servants. Not that you were sad or ashamed by it, of course: you did what you had to do to defend Senjuro, and you were always trying to be reasonable and polite despite the unfavorable circumstances; unlike your husband, you had nothing to regret about. The only thing you felt was an increase in the tension that already existed inside the house, which put you in an even deeper state of alert. On the other hand, no interruptions happened during your next training sessions, and Senjuro seemed more at ease whenever you were around: he has been fulfilling his tasks with more diligence, and didn’t hesitate in calling for help when necessary. You were happy to see that a slight chance of him reaching a healthy, mature state still existed despite what he has seen and might still see there.

But not even this proof of your right decision to take care of him could erase the uneasiness in your perception concerning his father: you couldn’t help wondering why, and how, he became the person you were seeing now. Your parents, each one in their own manner, assured you that he was a good, honored person, someone who dedicated his life and energy to protect people from literal demons – so what kind of thing could provoke such transformation, that is, if he was really how your parents pictured him?

This mystery has been eating your mind up, and you had no courage to ask Senjuro about this; you didn’t want to be intrusive, neither you intended to bring back unpleasant memories he might have had. At the same time, you didn’t see ways to figure it out by yourself, or at least no one that didn’t involve invading spaces that weren’t meant for you, including parts of the house which access was forbidden, such as the living room. With all the things that happened since you went to live in that house, as well as the fact that you were too concentrated on your own feelings, you hadn’t the time to feed any curiosity about these places, but this started to change since the argument at the garden. What if the answers were all inside them?

Part of you was convinced of this, yet was against an intrusion: you weren’t even expected to be there a few months ago, and now you wouldn’t be able to follow a simple rule? What kind of adult you were? Other part, however, was just waiting for an opportunity.

And it came one day, when Shinjuro decided to go after his sake by himself.

You were passing by an inner corridor from where you could see the front door when you noticed it was left open. At first, you supposed that Senjuro forgot to close it and went there to do it, but one step toward it and you saw Shinjuro walking away, passing under the portal and heading to the street that led to the town. He was dressed properly and wearing sandals, so you understood he was going to spend some time away from home and was probably see a significant amount of people; besides, he had empty hands, implying that his bottles were all empty as well. You’ve already suspected that, after the beef in the garden, he learned to buy his own drink without bothering his son, and now you were relieved to confirm it. You quietly closed the door and followed through the corridor.

Guilty clenched a hand around your heart while you approached the door and pushed it to the side, but that wouldn’t make you give up. You took a deep breath and stepped into the living room…

And found it completely tied up, as if someone cleaned it yesterday.

The floor was glowing with a new wax layer, the furniture and decoration had no signs of dust over it, and so did the paintings on the walls; there was a slight scent of perfume in the air, confirming your supposition about the cleaning. You observed the space and thought it could be a living room as any other, if it wasn’t for a detail.

The photographs.

They spread everywhere you looked, from the tables to the walls, silent guardians of the house’s memory, of a time when that family had a different, correct, happier structure, where every member had their natural, special place reserved among their loved ones, each one united with the other by the strongest bond.

A time that this family will never see again.

There you observed a younger version of your husband, whether in common, traditional clothing or in his uniform as a member of the Demon Slayer Corps, and understood that your parents were referring to this Shinjuro whenever they spoke about him, the healthy and tied up responsible head of his house, the hard worker you’d never guess that existed if it wasn’t for your parents’ word and those images. A man who was no longer there, though he continued to live.

And beside this man you found the ones he lost, people who also ceased to exist, but in a literal, painful sense.

First, a young man who resembled him in each trait, and who chose to follow his steps judging by his solo portraits in the Corps clothing. On his face, always a content, vivid expression that made you smile before you could stop yourself. You imagined how loved and cherished he might have been in that house… and how much of that very house’s light was gone when they found out he would never step into it again.

Second, sometimes with her free, delicate hands on sight, sometimes with them occupied holding a baby who became your stepson, a woman with light clothes and brown hair falling over her shoulders, maybe younger than you by the time those photos were taken, always by the side of the man who was now married to you, but the happier version of him, surely being like this because of her. A woman with a quiet, peaceful smile and a pair of ruby gems as eyes, staring at the camera with a gaze that would trespass the lens and the time to reach you, making you unravel the mystery that has been haunting your mind those days.

This was the woman he loved, then. This was the reason why he couldn’t stand you.

You sensed a hole forming inside your chest and tears starting to blur your sight, making the family disappear before you, but it wasn’t jealousy you had of them, not even of the woman. It was pure sadness.

What a beautiful woman… What a beautiful family… What has my father done?… What am I even doing here?…

You turned to your side, to the door’s direction. Leaving that room the way you found it and forget about what you saw there was the most decent thing you could do after disobeying the rule you’ve been taught. Maybe that was the reason why you should never be allowed there: it wouldn’t do you any good to see what those people were before you entered their lives, and what they’ve lost before they were given you as a poor excuse for a member. But now it was too late to regret this.

As well as it was too late to hide what you did when, standing at the doorway, you found Senjuro staring at you with worried confusion in his eyes.

Chapter 4

[caeli0306]

024 Fic Writer End of Year Roundup ✨

Answer and then tag three or more creators to keep the game going!

I was tagged by @skyfallscotland <3

1. How many words did you publish on AO3 in 2024?

375,016!

2. How many fics did you complete this year?

Eight! All of them are in my pinned post on my Tumblr.

3. How many in progress or ongoing fics did you start this year?

If we're just counting the ones that already have a chapter up on AO3, four. If we're counting the ones that haven't been posted yet, I'm not entirely sure by at least 10 lol

4. What was your favourite thing you wrote?

This is tough! I loved VSGTSAS for obvious reasons, but castles crumbling/TFTAB is my baby. I really don't think I can choose!

5. What piece was your most experimental or different from your usual style?

Oh, definitely cold woman and in the eye of the beholder. They were my first forays into third person pov, and the first fics I wrote that weren't from Xaden or Violet's pov (not including Swan Song in that count bc those characters were all OCs). I really enjoyed writing both, but man was it hard to go back and forth between writing my first person fics and the third person ones.

6. Did any fics surprise you - either while writing or their reception?

Definitely Violet Sorrengail's Guide to Spinning a Scandal. That was my first time participating in any kind of fic exchange, and I thought the idea was great but wasn't sure that many others would think the same. castles crumbling didn't have as many people reading it at the time and I had maybe like 25 followers here on Tumblr, so I was fully expecting no one to really read VSGTSAS. I was thrilled when people read it as much as they did when I was publishing it, but it was definitely really surprising for me at the time!

7. Do you have a fic you wrote and loved that went under the radar? (This is your sign to reblog/repost it!)

cold woman! I absolutely adored this fic, because I think Lilith is such an interesting, multi-faceted character. I cried SO HARD when she died, and being able to write out what I thought her final thoughts were was really interesting.

8. Who is an artist that inspired you?

All of them! That might be overly generic. I literally like and save just about every piece of art I come across, but I tend to follow writers more than artists if that makes sense, so I probably couldn't name a specific one.

9. Who is an author that inspired you?

Going to copy @skyfallscotland and say @justallihere. Reading SITQ inspired me to start writing Swan Song, which was where I got my start writing fanfic!

10. Who is a new author you discovered?

Does myself count? Jk -- @widebrimmedhatsblog and @suebswrites! The number of times I've read their work is astounding; they're absolutely phenomenal!

11. Did you do any collaborations? How did it start?

Nope!

12. What accomplishments are you proudest of?

Pulling myself out there, first and foremost! I was SO scared to post the first chapter of Swan Song back in February -- I was convinced that people would hate it. And while it really didn't have many readers before I put it on hiatus, writing it helped me figure out what I wanted out of writing fan fiction and how I wanted to write it. I'm equally proud of myself for not giving into the pressure to push myself to update more or write my stories a specific way because that was what people wanted from me. As a chronic people-pleaser, that was a big milestone for me.

13. What did you learn about writing or creating this year?

I learned that sometimes you need to step out of your comfort zone! If I hadn't done that and let my nerves stop me from publishing that first fic, I never would have gained the wonderful community I have through the FW fandom.

14. Any advice you’d like to share with new or aspiring writers?

Writing fanfic is what you make of it! Comment on the fics you read, shamelessly promote yourself, and write what you want to write -- not what others want you to write (unless you also want to write it!)

15. What are your creative goals for 2025?

Finish cc, finish the Did Someone Say Shots? series and danger zone and XRGTSAS, and then getting around to writing my super secret wip fic!

I have no clue who's done this and who hasn't so I'll be tagging @overjoyedisland @suebswrites @witch-and-her-witcher @essjaywrites and @ubiquitouslyme!

[pynkhues]

Back in hs (over 10 years ago omggg) I used to write fanfic. I really enjoyed it but over time I stopped writing. I’d like to get back into writing but all my interests are in dead fandoms and I know it sounds dumb but I really feel like I need the validation of reviews. In part bc another thing holding me back is I’m afraid that I’m just not any good at writing.

Any suggestions? It’s okay if not. I really enjoy you as a writer and thought there’d be no harm in asking🤍

Hey! Thank you for your kind words, and how exciting that you want to get back into writing! Mm, when you ask for suggestions, are you asking for advice on writing, or in figuring out what fandoms to write for when the ones you're most interested in writing for are dormant?

My suggestion with the latter would be to write for them anyway. I think you'd be surprised at how many people do still check for fandoms that look dead from the outside, but even beyond garnering engagement, starting to write fic in the storyworlds you're most interested in is going to be what keeps you writing.

I think following your interests is one of the most important things you can do as a writer, both in fic and in original writing, because the things that you're interested in are going to be the things you engage with the most curiously, the most creatively, the most passionately, and that is something that comes through in writing to readers. I think you can often tell when someone's chosen to write something because they know it hits a sweet spot in fandom and will likely maximise comments or engagement, and while there's nothing wrong with that per se, I think it can be creatively limiting and usually won't be someone's best work.

It feels such a cliche thing to say, but in writing - particularly in writing fic - you should be your own primary audience. Write for yourself, write the stories you wish other people were writing, hell, write the stories other people are writing, write what you want to read, because that's what fanfic is ultimately for. There's no way to guarantee engagement, let alone validation through writing - I truly still, after years of writing fic, couldn't tell you at the point of posting which of my fics are going to get me 300 comments, or 30 comments, or 3 (and I've had plenty of the latter, trust me, haha) - so focusing on the thing you can guarantee needs to be your own enjoyment and creative fulfilment.

Loving the act of writing, even when it's frustrating, even when it makes you want to tear your hair out, has to be a part of the process, because you're never going to be able to know if people are going to love reading it, or even read it at all.

It's also important to remember that writing is a skill like any other. We tend to romanticise artistic skills, but the reality is that, as with anything else, you get better by doing the thing. You can read about writing (and you should), and reading broadly and thinking about stories is definitely vital, but the only way to really get better at writing is by writing. In a lot of ways, smaller, more dormant fandoms are the best places to start too as sure, you might get less comments, but there'll often be people hungry for fic there which in turn offers you space to develop your skills.

I've actually got a writing advice tag which I've used on an ad hoc basis over the last few years, so there's a bit in there if you're interested. I've cherrypicked a few posts that I've written that might be useful, but if you have other questions, please let me know and I'll do my best to answer. :-)

Writing advice posts

Broad advice for new writers (plot in three questions, cause and effect and character agency)

Advice for new writers: three questions to build your plot

Talking about scale, scope and stakes (concrit of The Batman)

Disruption of ritual and inciting incidents

Tips on finding a character's voice

Tips on getting dialogue to flow / writing conversations

Tips on writing dialogue (Rio from GG, but also general)

Tips on writing sex scenes

On where to break a paragraph

[lovesickeros]

Hello! Since this blog doesn't see much activity nowadays, I wanted to say two things: 1. How are you? You were one of the people who inspired me to dive into SAGAU in 2022 and captivated me endlessly with your writing style. Your writing immersed me in what felt like a fantasy world in the best way—rife with possibilities, danger, love, and so much more. It propelled me to new heights and made me wonder what it would be like to be more than the reader, to wield a pen and use it as the brushstroke to paint all kinds of worlds, creatures, and characters.

On that note, I'll follow with the second thing: 2. You are one of my biggest inspirations as a writer. Because of you and others, I've spent the last two years writing and creating like never before in a way I didn't think I was capable of. I have an AO3 and a Tumblr blog, mainly dedicated to posting my musings in a "stream-of-consciousness" format for narrative purposes. Because of you, I've grown—as a person, friend, and writer. Because of you, I made countless memories I'll cherish for years: sharing and building stories with my friends' group chat, roleplaying, making AUs, etc. Because of you, I did everything I thought I couldn't: I fostered my creativity and cultivated it to plant what is now a thriving garden regularly visited by my friends. It has helped us bond immensely and provided me solace in my darkest hours.

Because of you, I wrote my first book on Wattpad. I hopped onto a wild, emotional, and unforgettable rollercoaster that saw my interest in watching movies and reading literature be re-ignited for the sake of inspiration, have a taste of fandom culture via Steven Universe, Genshin Impact, Murder Drones, and several other games and shows that have undoubtedly and irreversibly changed my life. Because of you, I made OCs, I discovered YouTube movie recaps, and now I can write a pretty good summary myself!

That is to say that I'm wholly grateful to you, Eros, and everyone else who led me down the path of the writer, supported me throughout with their comments, memes, stars, and kudos, and generally showed enthusiastic interest in my work. I wouldn't be here if not for you all. I hope your ship of life continues sailing smoothly, as has mine, after years of turbulent weather and unpredictable storms that threatened to throw us overboard if I hadn't held on to others (and myself) for support.

May the new year bring you joy and prosperity, and hey, what do you know? Maybe I'll write something for SAGAU someday. The only reason I haven't taken the plunge yet is because of how inactive (for lack of a better word) the community there has become, and I don't know what I would write. Ideas, anyone?

Anyway, I've talked for long enough. Keep up the good work, Eros, and remember that in someone's (my) heart, you are still held dearly as an inspiration. Even if the golden age has long faded, we will always have our memories to keep us company: "Don't cry because it ended. Smile because it happened."

it is unfortunate that the collective sagau fandom has kind of died out, honestly. its what got me really into writing as well (which i feel like i have to mention @/nicebonescomrade for being the writer to get me to make my first sagau blog. one of the other og's and also a phenomenal writer). im glad it had such a large impact on you though!! that makes me really happy bc ive always been self conscious about my writing and writing style ngl, though i never grew out of it bc it worked for me. i can't imagine stories like books as a movie in my head like some people (literally head empty) so i lean more on actually putting more feeling and description into my work to compensate. it gets a bit wordy but it helps me write bc i do not plan anything i just start writing based on vibes.

sagau downfall was definitely inevitable (and a part of why im super inactive) but im happy with how it turned out anyway bc of how big the fandom is and how many people turned to creative hobbies bc of it. its nice to know i at least had some kind of impact myself KJHKDH i wouldnt consider myself one of the "big" sagau accounts by any means so its a bit of a surprise ngl um. looks around.

i genuinely just spend most of my time these days printing out random fics when i get the urge (once in a blue moon, 99% of which are in my draft vault), playing whatever game caught my fancy this week and playing genshin because it's still a black hole i will never escape from! honestly maybe one day ill come back to this account for real instead of sporadic posting but uhhh. probably not unless a new big au pops up again.

[horizon-verizon]

Been observing a rather strange phenomenon within fandom reactions regarding HotD and the criticisms pertaining to Ryan and Sara's writing.

The Black faction is dissatisfied because of issues such as the writers' lack of adherence to canon, distortion of character, sidelining/erasure of PoC actors

The Green faction is upset because the show didn't validate the elaborate headcanons they had constructed about the Greens: about Aegon and Aemond's brotherly love and loyalty, about Alicole's selfless courtly love, about Aemond being a caring and dutiful son. And many of these are not just unsupported by canon but outright rejected.

Book Aemond didn't care to rescue his mother and sister who were trapped in King's Landing. He even remarked that Aegon's crown looked better on him. Criston Cole was always an opportunist with a bitter obsessive hatred for Rhaenyra. He joined Alicent for no reason save for his own gain.

It seems like some people are still unable to wrap their heads around the simple fact that the Greens are the villainous antagonists of the Dance.

Ryan Condal has uttered a lot of bullshit but saying that the book was biased in favour of the Greens isn't one of them. This show went out of its way to bend canon and water down the Greens' villainy, at the expense of the quality of the script I would add. But there is only so much the Condal and Hess can do, biased that they are, without completely changing the entire plot they have to adapt.

Wrote about Aemond, Alicent & Helaena HERE. And in the line of the book where Alicent employs Criston, it is immediately described after Criston is responding to Rhaenyra's rejection and killing a man in rage during a melee/vis-a-vis spectacle. Definitely an opportunist.

This show went out of its way to bend canon and water down the Greens' villainy, at the expense of the quality of the script I would add. But there is only so much the Condal and Hess can do, biased that they are, without completely changing the entire plot they have to adapt.

This wasn't elaborated on. Why is there "only so much they can do" and how does this undisclosed information/explanation show that they couldn't have adapted the original story's most criritcal FACTS as they were the best they could instead of going into a totally different direction, even oppositional. Esp to go so far as to try to equalize Rhaenyra and Aegon. As political leaders, social and individuals, with is to undermining the misogyny that Westeros/many Targs practiced, which enabled the fall off of the dragons and magical imbalance of the world?

Many changes have been done that didn't need to be there but were there for a particular "moral" reason of preventing the violence we're going to witness. That's a whole other conversation, point is that this is a clear CHANGE and many projects have been able to display competiting medieval entities w/o caricaturizing them.

Like yes, the Dance was people concerned with political power and thus it seems that it was a petty dispute...but the commentary is that what makes this dispute petty is that they really could've let Rhaenyra reign (who committed no great wrong against vulnerable individuals nor smallfolk, and esp not the way Aegon had before the war), but the greens didn't and their supporters didn't because BOTH they thought they deserved that power and that men should maintain exclusive rights and access to women's bodies and general/more political authority through the transfer of power that is male primogeniture. That status as the "world's" leaders. As if Rhaenyra's reign would have totally upended patriarchy in an instant or end male privilege , but bc it would at least set up a change towards women having more power even if it would take YEARS, they responded violently. For the HotD team not to really internalize that and not see the value in several things they have outright changed to make some faux, pretentious claim of moral superiority when they try to be "neutral" is to actually be against the story's point in the first place. It's affected how Daemon treats Laena, it's affected how Daemyra operate around each other, how Rhaenys was written the way she was, how both Rhaenyra and Alicent were and basically every female character.

That is not them having "difficulties" with adapting but trying to make said story "appealable" to audiences who really don't know much about ASoIAF.