#did. did i just write and post my first a3! fic.

[xenomorphee3]

Will you consider writing a new Quartich story about a new OC from a different clan or will this really be the end 🥲😭

Wow okay this question made me so sad when posed like that! So bear 🐻 with my emotional reply.

Almost a year ago, I finished A New Mission: Ash to Fire having started it in January 2023 and completing it in June. It took about 5.5 months to finish that nearly 400,000 word longfic. But I loved this world and the characters and felt there was more story to tell. And so I started A New Mission: Happiness is Simple in August 2023 having posted the first chapter on September 1st and proceeded at a much slower pace than its predecessor. But it too is coming to a close. I anticipate late June, not too far from a year after ANMAF finished which is a funny coincidence.

I love my story and my OCs so much. My life has been dedicated to them for a fascinatingly long time considering the random urge to just start this massive saga in the wake of my many Avatar 2 theater viewings and borderline obsession. I was a sleeper Avatar fan since the first came out and boy did the vindication of the second's success feel sweet. I was ready to ride the Avatar wave and I certainly did 🌊 But writing these longfics was an unexpected way to ride it.

To be honest, I don't know if I'd write more stories. A big part of me—and I'll be sincere in saying this—wishes I didn't start A New Mission at all. Not because I don't love it, but because I do. Too much. When all is said and done, my series will be about 740,000 words. All written in about a year and a half. That is... a remarkable feat, shocking even to myself. It was a result of the longest actively cultivated dedication and hyperfocus I've ever had. To keep this up, I have been purposefully strained from all my hobbies and even other movies and shows to not get in the way of my "Avatar high". My stories together are over 10 times bigger than my dissertation which I finished while writing the sequel. Geez.

My sadness over starting these stories primarily stems from how as soon as Avatar 3 comes out, the void that these 740,000 words fill for myself, Avatar readers, Quaritch, and recom fans is officially filled. And I hate, despite the frothing at the mouth excitement I have for Avatar 3, how sad that makes me. Sure some people here and there will still find my stories, but I don't see how there will be much interest and demand given the third film and new canon. I accept that, even for my own mind, but it still saddens me deeply. At least my stories will be able to breathe on their own for about a year and a half before Avatar 3 releases.

I just wish to close this interesting, complex, and fulfilling chapter of my life. So happy to have done it with such a dedicated cabal of amazing readers. Everyone has been so kind and supportive and your enjoyment has kept the fire going 🔥. As a thank you, I hope you can all tell that I've been desperate to keep up the quality of each chapter. I never want to give the impression of losing interesting or untidily wrapping it up. I am as dedicated to the closing of this fic as you all are to read it.

I won't say I'll *never* write again. There will be a four year gap between Avatar 3 and 4 and I think Quaritch is going to do some cool stuff in A3. Maybe I'll be inspired again. But damn I really do love Zu and her and Quaritch’s little made-up family. It would be hard to let them go.

[cuddly-asexual]

Okay @buffintruder and @allpurposepanda convinced me to do this fic writer asks post, even though I didn't write too much this year. So here goes!

1.What’s something new that you tried in a fic this year? How did it turn out and would you do it again?

I wasn’t consciously thinking about trying something new, but I did write a fic from the point of view of a child which was pretty fun. I think it turned out pretty well. I think most media tends to miss what kids are likely to notice and think about (at least based off the kids I work with), so I did try to make sure I included those things. For example a tall bookcase might seem towering to a small child, or how a relatively short amount of time can seem extremely long to them when they’re simply waiting. I would definitely do it again, it’s fun practice for getting into the minds of characters you like even when you never see what they were like as children.

2. How many fics did you work on this year? (They don’t have to be finished or published!)

I definitely didn’t finish much this year, but I chipped away at quite a few wips. I posted 3 fics. I have another unposted, but finished. I wrote a few paragraphs for one of my wildermyth characters. I rewrote a decent chunk of a school nurse files fic. Other than those it was mostly just a few words here and there on my various unfinished works. Surprisingly most of my creative energy this year went to drawing.

3. What’s something you learned about yourself as a writer?

I don’t think I learned anything new about myself as a writer. I’ve known for sometime that writing is a bit spontaneous for me. I guess I’m coming to realize that I’m pretty good at writing dialogue, which is always nice.

4. What piece of media inspired you the most?

Well if we were talking about drawing that would be one thing monkie kid, but for writing probably Wildermyth. Even though I didn’t finish any of the pieces I’m writing for it, the writing in the game itself was so lovely to read. It felt like someone was reading a storybook to me, kind of like a bedtime story, with a soft voice.

5. What fandom(s) did you write for this year?

I wrote more original stuff this year, but I wrote for A3! and Kamen Rider OOO. School Nurse Files as well sorta.

6. What ship(s) captured your heart?

Haha the made up ship in my brain of one of my Wildermyth characters, Ystral, and the star in the Minuet event, good LORD they didn’t leave my brain for weeks. In-Pyo and Eun-Young from School Nurse Files also dominated my mind for a while there too. I rewatched the series again this year and man those two are so AAA. They were on my mind more last year, but since I posted a fic about them this year I’ll mention that Goda Eiji and Ankh make me go insane. Also I haven’t started any fics for them yet, but I had lots of ideas for Alear and Pandreo from fire emblem engage.

7. What character(s) captured your heart?

Again, mostly oc’s. I worked a lot on one world in particular so my baby, Aurelius (full grown woman in her 50’s), took over my mind for a while there. I’m also constantly thinking about Juza and I had been missing him. I had lots of thoughts, for both writing and drawing, about Clayton and Al from The Deep.

8. Did you write for a new fandom or ship this year?

Wildermyth was probably the only new one this year. The only new things I was into this year were channeled into drawing more than writing.

9. What fic meant the most to you to write?

Ooh this is a tough one, but probably my Juban fic for Juza’s birthday. First, because I really wanted to write it for his birthday. Second, because I wanted to explore a specific aspect of his character, his thoughts on touch. Juza grew up pretending to be someone he wasn’t because of the way others treated him, but when he came to mankai he’s able to be more himself now that he’s surrounded by people that support him. One of these things being that he actually quite enjoys physical affection and it was nice to write about him rediscovering that part of himself.

10. What fic made you feel the happiest to work on?

Working on my Wildermyth fic made me feel giddy like a school girl, you have no idea. My heart fucked SWELLED for these 2D bitches. And it’s not even done yet.

11. What fic was the most satisfying to finish writing?

My OOO fic for sure. I had been sitting on the idea for a long time and I finally kicked my ass into gear to finish it and boy that was a fun writing session. I just really wanted to show how evil I was for that idea hehehe.

12. What fic was the most difficult to write? Did you finish it?

My School Nurse Files fic eludes me constantly. I definitely like parts of it, but I’ve rewritten the beginning at least 3 times, I just don’t like how any of them came out. I have yet to finish it, but I haven’t given up on it yet!

13. What fic was the easiest to write?

Probably my Juban fic. I’ve written Juza and Banri enough that they come to me pretty easily. As long as I have a concept ready I can write anything for those two.

14. What were your shortest and longest fics this year?

Just going with the finished ones of course. My shortest was the first part of Ocean Memory, my original work about some oc's, at 734 words and my longest was my OOO fic at 1431 words. Pretty standard for me I think, a little on the short side this year.

15. Rec a fic you wrote or posted in 2023

My OOO’s fic please, I had way too much fun writing it. I love when a loved one gets body snatched by something that pretends to still be that person.

16. What were you go-to writing songs?

I usually just play my big instrumental music playlist that has everything from video game music to movie soundtracks to experimental ambient electronica, but this year was probably a lot of the Grindstone soundtrack.

17. What were your go-to writing snacks?

Don’t have anything specific, but I usually always have a coke on hand.

18. What was the hardest fic to title?

THAT FUCKING OOO FIC. This title eluded me that’s why I just said fuck it and picked something stupid. “A Wish Is a Dream Your Heart Makes”??? bro WHAT.

19. Share your favorite opening line

Opening lines are not really my forte, I’m not really sure I have a favorite, but I like the imagery in my Wildermyth fic.

He sees stars behind his eyelids now. Countless, warm and flickering like soft flames.

20. Share your favorite ending line

That he was happy and healthy and loving life brought endless joy to her heart. Pallas was truly a precious child.

Technically there’s a line of dialogue after this, but anyway, I love writing Aurelius being happy about baby Pallas expressing his feelings.

21. Share your favorite piece of dialogue

“Hey, Settsu. Do you wanna cuddle?” It’s an odd sentence, something he’s never asked someone before, but Banri’s name feels like it belongs there. He doesn't miss how the other perks up, then tries to disguise it as a stretch. Banri pulls out of his hold to face him. “Never thought I’d hear that from your mouth,” Banri smirks playfully. Juza lets out a chuckle.  “Never thought I’d hear it from my own mouth either,” his gaze finds Banri’s. “It feels…natural though. Saying it to you.” He can’t read Banri’s thoughts, but he sees the other make an expression that’s something between fondness and annoyance. “Ugh, you really just said that,” Banri falls onto his back, face in his hands, with a groan. Juza raises an eyebrow in response. “You gonna join me down here or am I supposed to cuddle myself?”

I really liked this exchange between Juza and Banri. The way Banri jokes to make everything a little less intense (also he’s absolutely flustered), and how Juza responds with genuine honesty. I think I captured the vibe I wanted super well.

22. Share an excerpt from your favorite scene

He sees stars behind his eyelids now. Countless, warm and flickering like soft flames. They bring him comfort. One of the many reminders of that night almost a year ago. Ystral's leg glows with a soft blue-white light. The tips of his fingers begin to show signs of it as well. A small smile finds its way to his mouth as he admires the way they sparkle. You wear it well. A familiar whisper circles around him. His smile fades. A pang of guilt makes him want to deny the statement, but the thoughts are gently guided away, replaced with wordless reassurances. The unpleasant thoughts could never win. Not when the very stars opposed them.

I had a lot of fun with this opening scene to my Wildermyth fic. Writing anything with stars gets my creative juices flowing and boom we get crazy poetic shit like this.

23. Share the final version of a sentence or paragraph you struggled with. What about it was challenging? Are you happy with how it turned out?

Gonna be real, I have no idea.

24. What's something that surprised you while you were working on a fic? Did it change the story?

Every time I write Banri I somehow make him even more mushy and soft, so it’s a surprise every time.

25. What did you use to write? (e.g. writing programs, paper & pen, etc.)

Just Google Docs really.

26. If you had to choose one, what was THE most satisfying writing moment of your year?

Finishing that OOO fic after watching it stare at me for like almost a year.

27. Did you do anything special to celebrate finishing a fic?

Not really. They were all pretty short, not super life-changing pieces.

28. How did you recharge between fics?

Play games, draw, rewatch stuff to get back in the mood.

29. If this were an awards show, who would you thank?

My friends who listen to me rant about my crazy ideas all the time. Juza for being an unending font of inspiration.

30. What’s something that you want to write in 2024?

SO MANY THINGS. My Wildermyth fic for sure. I have some ideas for The Deep that I also really wanna write. I really want to write something longer for once. I think my goal this year is to write a 5k word fic. I have so many ideas I’m sitting and still so many more wips to finish. Good luck to 2024!

[killerandhealerqueen]

For the 'ask a reader' meme - A3, A9, B3, B4, C4, C9, D2, D6, D7

A3. When did you get your AO3/FFN/Wattpad account (whichever was first)?

Oh lord...I got my FFN account first and I was in highschool then, probably 9th grade so...2014? I had an AFF (AsianFanFics) account and a DeviantArt account before that where I posted fanfics. That was in middle school so...maybe 2012-2013?

A9. Who was your first ship?

Goku/Vegeta. I still enjoy reading fics for them every now and then but it's very hard to find good ones

B3. What’s the best device to read on (phone, laptop, tablet…)? Why?

I like reading on my phone, just cuz it's right in my hand, but I also don't mind reading on my laptop if I'm alone in my house. I'm on my computer almost all the time, so it's just convenient for me

B4. Who is your current favourite author? What is their best story?

Okay, so other than myself (because it's very rare these days for me to read something other than my own fics) I'd have to say Only_1_Truth. I really enjoy their 00Q fics. My favorite of theirs is Noster nostri. I go back and read it quite a bit. But all of their 00Q fics are really good

C4. What thing that fandom loves do you actually kind of hate? Why?

Hatewatching? I guess? Or like...continuing to watch a drama even though you like...aren't happy with it? Cuz like, if it's not vibing with you or you don't like the characters...just stop watching? And stop making posts about how much you either hate the drama or hate specific characters and shit cuz like...the rest of us don't wanna read that, you know? (I don't know if fandoms love doing this but it's something that irks me. Like if you're not enjoying something, just stop doing/watching it)

C9. What show did you really try to watch, but you just couldn’t?

Uh...I watched the first 2 episodes of Vigilante but I just can't get into it. The reporter in it pisses me the hell off and idk, the MC is overly violent for a vigilante. Not that it's a bad thing, I'm just like...some of his methods are a little...much. For me personally. I normally like these kinds of shows but I think the reporter pisses me off to much for me to enjoy it. Same with My Roommate is a Detective. I got through 10 episodes before I had to call it quits because the reporter in there just pissed me the hell off. In both cases, these reporters care more about stories and fame than actually reporting the truth and sometimes they don't even care about the consequences that their actions might have on the victims of the cases. And as someone who works/has works/wants to work in forensics...you gotta be mindful of the family and their feelings as well as the victims (if they survive the attack). And like...if you blatantly disregard that all for a story...then you're just a piece of shit whose journalism license should be revoked

D2. Who/Where did you get your last fic rec from?

Last fic rec was from a mutual on here who reblogged a Beyond Evil fic. It was really good

D6. How many bookmarks do you have?

352. I'm very picky with my stories and like I said, I mainly just end up reading my own because I write what I wanna read

D7. Why did you leave your most recent comment? Will you share it with us?

The last comment I remember leaving was on a CSI: Miami fic. I wrote: "I adored this fic. It’s so well written, I feel like I’m reading an actual episode. Well done, I loved this"

I left it because the fic felt like I was reading an actual CSI: Miami episode even though it wasn't one. It was just so well written, all the characters felt true and not ooc and just...it was just a nice read. Had me on the edge of my seat the entire time

ask a reader meme | send me asks

[icharchivist]

so there's lucifer, lucifaa, and... lucio? though that last guy may just be lucifer or lucifaa's beach mode, i'm not sure. i've literally only seen him with sunglasses i think.

anyways. i come bearing riddles three! not riddles. just things. the first two are: well. hm. to be a bit shameless i posted two a3 fics on ao3 lately so. if youd like to have a gander at them they are There. so onto #3: i went through a springtime snooze! just a few thoughts regarding that:

firstly i almost went and watched conquering misoshiosa island by accident instead lol. luckily they mentioned the spring winter trip and i was like huh... i dont remember that event... and then i realized my mistake. the intro scene was very nice. specifically hisoka sleeping up in a tree. and the fact that tasuku knew that he was there.

it did make me think tho like. i REALLY have got to make a chart that lists out how each character calls each character. like yuki calls tenma "hack" but has he ever called him just tenma before? who knows... it's difficult writing fic!! >< (if u know of a chart that exists already please do let me know lol like. i'll make one if i have to but i'd rather not. though the chart probably has azami and guy on it huh... is that spoilers......)

anyways im obsessed with chikage being like. ah it would be good to have data for my incredibly shady spy work and tsuzuru reacting to it by calling him technology-addicted along with itaru. never change my guy. this is why i think the tsuzuru & chikage dynamic has so much potential it's bc like In My Head chikage is like. how did this man write a play that was incredibly targeted towards my own issues... who Is He... and he doesnt realize that tsuzuru kind of does this to everyone and therefore chikage is kind of Just Some Guy to him. i mean there's like nuance to it but i enjoy the idea of this.

i'd known the trip was expensive because they mentioned it in the next event, but the moment azuma took care of trip planning i was like. ah. that's how they got past sakyo. like if anyone would just lie to sakyo's face. it'd be him. doesn't sakyo assume azuma's yakuza at some point.

I also love that tasuku was in charge of the like training parts because. well I assume that means azuma talked with him about timing somewhat and it's like oh... they're bonding post-nocturnality... like when they're doing the family skit later and azuma and tasuku r both parents i was just sitting there like oh! them!! also loved chikage ribbing tasuku a little by suggested he be the mom. not as outside the box as either of them think tho imo but. i kind of really enjoy him being a little shit since he was so empty smiles at the beginning.

also citron getting them all to do red light green light was so fun. like considering how he mentioned being gifted dango at the beginning its just so delightful to me that citron like. seems to interact with so many people and make friends. he's lovely. also liked that tasuku made it into practice. it's like yeah ofc the guy who (with tsumugi) was like. our free time away from theatre is extra theatre (have a great trip) it makes perfect sense.

i thought masumi was trying to take a secret picture of everyone for izumi, not like... be her first instagram like, but that's kind of like. so stupid yet teenager-charming you know. i actually really liked this event in terms of how masumi was? like he's not... mean to everybody in favor of izumi, you know. and it was sweet seeing everyone like pay attention to him and take care of him. hisoka finding him a napping spot was so nice and the cg was so cute!!! just so peaceful. i also loved the small moment where chikage and hisoka met up in the dead of night. it was just. rly nice to see chikage be like oh how can i help. its like... theyre brothers!!! (wait. hang on. is the reason theyre called gekkabros bc gekka is like. month or something. sudden realization i was just like huh wow its close to gekkan shoujo....)

i was so not normal about tsuzuru's 180 on his poor family plotline. like the rags to riches was just. one the guy is clearly going thru it two i just had sever mizuno thoughts. do u ever think tsuzuru dreamed about winning it big on the lottery and seeing mizuno again. and then felt deeply angry and frustrated at himself for even considering it. I don’t think that guy has bought a lotto ticket in his life actually. but he must’ve known in heart that was why they weren’t friends. anyways him as a southern belle was. hilarious. should've been one of the cards like. imagine him dressed as. you know the really old fancy shoujo wakamatsu reads in gsnk (ch 14 or 23 show examples) i imagine him like that. speaking of gsnk every once in a while i pretend that kashima yuzo and kashima yuu are related just bc i think it would be fun. i'm glad people laughed. honestly for all izumi said it was unrealistic i felt that was very like. New Money vibes.

sakyo finding out they lied was such a good moment like. when izumi got a video call request i out loud said "oh. he's right behind me, isn't he" so seeing them be like izumi look at whos right behind kazunari made me laugh very hard. love that sakyo calls out azuma and chikage in specific abt doing shady forgery. like azuma what a Vibe u have. i

anyways. just a nice event! sorry abt sakyo's wrath but i'm glad everyone had a good time. it’s late where I am so sorry if I said anything incoherent… autumns up next!! excited :)

HELPPP yes indeed, it's Lucifer, Lucifaa/Lucilius, and then Lucio. Lucio is his own separate character to the other two yes. But yeah he's famous for his beach look especially since it drives Sandalphon crazy and Lucio is a messy bitch who loves drama. those are the three Lucifaces. so you're already good remembering them!!

AND OOOH I'LL DEF CHECK THEM OUT!! it's a bit late rn so i'm answering to that and be done for today but i'll def need to check that!!!

and heyooo Springtime snooze!!!

ok read more time!

oh god, mixing up the two events is unfortunate but thanks god you caught on what was going on then ahah

gotta love Sleepy Hisoka, my favorite Hisoka type (along with all the others Hisoka type)

The yaycupcake pages do list at least the general nickname by character if you check the relationship tab, but it's from the fantranslation rather than the official EN translation (for example for Yuki: https://yaycupcake.com/a3/index.php?title=Yuki_Rurikawa#tab=Relationships it shows you the list of characters, how Yuki is addressed as by these characters, and how Yuki addresses them as, as well as the name of their relationship in the Coin Talk corner. But yeah it'll be fantranslation, so you'll see "Hack" translated "Useless Actor" for example) idk if there's a chart with the official nicknames though. and it doesn't help for like, how regularly they call each other that way, esp for like "when does Yuki stop using the nicknamme" yaknow? but yeah also any charts will include Guy and Azami on the lists, and while for Azami it should be clear for you, Guy will come with spoilers for certain.

to answer you, Yuki usually calls Tenma 'hack" so often that the one of the few times he did call him Tenma (when Tenma came back to the troupe after his father forced him to leave in the first summer chap) Tenma is shocked Yuki calls him by his name.

on some easy ones for fics if it helps, Sakyo and Tasuku for instance always refers to everyone by their last names, except for the chara without last name (obviously), and, in Tasuku's case, Tsumugi who's called by his first name, and Azuma who's called "Azuma-san" no matter what, and for Sakyo, Azami who's called usually his name or "bon" / "kid". This type of details. (it's silly but it does sometimes happen to me that i see Tasuku being written in fancontent where he refers to chara by their first name and it breaks my immersion like "he wouldn't say that." terrible icha moment.)

AND HELPP I LOVE WHAT YOU SAY ABOUT CHIKAGE and especially his dynamic with Tsuzuru. Tsuzuru making him Just Some Guy because he does that with everyone while Chikage is in full blown spy worry about it all. priceless. And i do love the way Tsuzuru puts him on the same level of Itaru. Pros: you keep your secret. Cons: you're considered a gamer trash just like your roommate.

Azuma being evil on purpose <3 the absolute disaster duo that Chikage and Azuma made this whole event like yes we're going to manipulate Sakyo into it, no worries, we have it covered. And yeah there's an early backstage (Azuma's first SR, [About to Bloom] - "A Lively Home") where they play a sort of boardgame where they have to build a Yakuza empire, and Azuma comes in like "oh i'm not sure i know how to play" before just destroying everyone and coming toe to toe with Sakyo in term of how to build an empire. And everyone is a bit shocked except Sakyo who's like "yeah no, makes sense to me, i've met yakuza with the same behavior he has, and they're the most terrifying ones because you never know what to expect out of them". and then Azuma replies "i would never do anything bad. maybe you want to see it for yourself, in my bed, tonight, i can be so gentle." and Sakyo stares at him, dead inside. So yeah Azuma, official menace, that Sakyo sees as "at his full potential, he could be a dangerous yakuza type." And Azuma knows it and uses it against Sakyo and it's brilliant.

And waaa what you bring up about Tasuku's training parts that's so sweet. any bonding between those two is always nice. And yeah loving Chikage's whole "you forced me to join your found family so now i'm going to become your own personal menace" character arc. he opens up one teasing at a time and it's so sweet.

Citron is sooo good aahh he's always so so good. And Tasuku always managing to make all of those things some more theater addict moment god bless him;

and yeah aahh so true for Masumi. The first time i read it i actually was so found of Masumi the whole time and then learning he was just waiting to be the first to like Izumi's insta post kinda bummed me out because the scenes were really soft about how he is less mean to people and enjoy being with them more and is definitely growing closer to them at his own rhythm that it made me sad to make it back about Izumi again, but you're right it still fits him so well and it's still sweet, and the interpersonal relationship development is still there so it's so nice.

the CG was so so sweet!! and Hisoka joining it was adorable. and yeah sobs i loved the Chikage and Hisoka scene it's so soft. AND HDLFKJD YEAH. YEAH… "Gekka" is a way to say "moon" which is also the way to say "month" (since the writting for "month" is the writting for "moon" in Japanese as well). So they are "the months" and "the moons". In Chikage's first solo, when he says "All alone beneath the moon, aah I'm filled with thoughts of you", the term he uses is "Gekka" as well. "gekka" tends to specifically ties them back to the organization in general. the usual term being used online about them is therefore Gekkagumi (gumi being how to say "troupe", re fuyugumi = winter troupe), and when we want to especially refers to them being brothers we call them gekkabros ahah

AND HELPP THAT'S SO TRUE POOR TSUAURU. and oh god i love this scenario so much. I could see yeah, Tsuzuru would never have bought a lotto ticket bc with their money situation they would need to focus everything on making sure the kids are all well cared for, and he didn't have money to leave to chance and would find it preposturous. But with how much he loves to fantasize i could totally imagine him wondering sometimes if maybe winning big, getting rich, would bring him closer to Mizuno again. He knew it was never Mizuno's intends and that it was his parents that tore them apart, so i could honestly see Tsuzuru put together that their class divide was probably a reason why, and perhaps ending up thinking about what if this gap could be filled even like that yaknow? but yeah i feel like he'd probably try to stay as rational as he can about all of this :( ANd HELPP I LOVE THE IDEA. Tsuzuru dressing in fancy dresses would be amazing i want him. Yuzo and Kashima being related would be hilarious. and hey, Kashima is also a theater kid, so why not having her related to Yuzo. It works out. It explains so much about why she'd be like this. And yeah it was really fun aahh

AND HELPP YEAH. YEAH. The moment Sakyo catches them in the lie is so funny. They really just ended up betraying themselves so readily. and i love how Sakyo knew how to single out those two, while also they were the two being all ":)? us? we did nothing wrong :) except for all the attrocities :) but it is nothing :)" meanwhile some of the rest could easily freak out because "oh Sakyo is going to kill us".

Honestly that CHIKAGE ends up being like that, as a spy, yeah, sure, alright even, but Azuma is so funny since he's supposed to be more on the normal side. Azuma you shouldn't be standing to the same level as a yakuza and a spy in term of "chill over lying and fooling people with forgery". He's so cool.

I'm glad you had fun with the event!! <3 And yeah, the good time but at the price of Sakyo's anger. worth it.

Anyway! thank you for sharing, as always, it's always a blast to read!

Autumn next!! hype to see your thoughts ;D

Take care and rest well!!!

[blocksruinedme]

22. describe your writing process from scratch to finish.

28. handwritten notes or typed notes?

44. any writing advice you want to share?

22) my writing process!

be living my life, possibly babysitting or driving (maybe talking about blorbos)

think "hey what if...."

become possessed

from there it splits Version A - the fastest, and rarest, one

A1. get to my couch (or a different laptop place, or a notebook if desperate)

A2. Frantically let words spill out of me, often wishing my fingers could keep up with my brain. It's sometimes almost painful, needing to get the words out

A3. edit for a variable amount of time an post

My first published mcyt was like this - watched ranchers in the crossover at 11am, ideas marinated all day, came up with "what if tango's the key to fix fwhimmy" walking to my car at 5pm, started writing like 5:15 and published at maybe 1am. almost 5k long. Insane. that was MY EX STOLE MY SOULMATE.. | Empires SMP S2 1.19 (rated T) and I'm told also With Their Knife to His Throat (rated M) but I legit have next to no memories of writing that one, I think it was 48 hours from idea to published (4k).

B - normal version. Note: all of this is interspersed with working on a lot of other stories

B1: Have an idea, probably frantically but maybe it builds

B2: Think about it a lot, maybe ideas in a little notebook if they are coming at the wrong times. 

B3: write down bits of prose as they come, do a lot of outline in gdocs. 

B4: start writing from the beginning based on outline but also what feels right - in any given moment, i know more about the story than i did when i wrote the outline

B5: if i’m lucky write chronologically and work through the outline and add things. Often a section isn’t coming and i skip ahead. If it’s not happening, it’s not time for it to happen. To write the way I really want to, I need to know how it ends, so I can have the story build. 

B6: probably fuss a lot

B7: beg people for help and to tell me it’s okay to publish

B8: stress a lot about if it’s good enough and about minor changes i could make

Optional: B9: put it down for 1-7 months (i just published a fic from january, and two of my bang fics are from september and november)

B10: publish it pretty much the same as it was in B8

(I deleted C by adding B9 but already wrote D)

D: Probably just the once

D1: See a prompt for driving after dark and get unexpectedly interested

D2: write 2k of notes while trying to get another story done

D3: Give myself 6 days to write those 2k of notes and then it’s 20k and my longest fic ever and oops needs a lot of typo fixes: The Key to His Problem (rated E)

The editing etc process:

 During every version of this I have a gdoc shared with people and am begging for advice. If i can’t decide on a word when i’m writing and have some flow going, i say “they were all [very] surprised” and leave a comment (or just the brackets) to come back later and fix it. THIS IS MUCH OF HOW I WRITE FAST. The first draft is to get out it out of my head, the second draft is to get it into the reader’s head. SOMETIMES the flow is perfect and i don’t need to do this, but like, idk, 10% of the time? 

A lot of the words in [brackets] will wind up staying as is, but it gives me permission to move on without feeling like i’ve settled. 

Editing sometimes involves a lot of of editing passes, sometimes just because i want to work on it and don’t want to write. This can mean the early parts get soooo much more love. 

Sometimes I print out a fic that has gone through a set of editing and do more on paper. It can be great. I just see the story differently, and it mostly keeps me from adding huge amounts, and i catch errors i didn’t otherwise. 

Usually i put up the ao3 draft a few days earlier and start adding tags and putting in my text (which i do in html) to look at it. The title often comes the day i publish, cause i wait till the end.

28. handwritten notes or typed notes?

typed unless i don't have my laptop. I started carrying around a pocket sized notebook in march and i'm onto my second one. I got it in a Japanese stationery store and got hooked, i have this line in many sizes, here's my pocket notebook -https://www.jetpens.com/Maruman-Mnemosyne-N184A-Twin-Ring-Memo-Pad-A7-Graph/pd/7379 I've written in this baby in the corner of a club cause i had ideas waiting at the bar for a drink.

44. any writing advice you want to share?

You have to get the words out. You have to get the words out. You have to get the words out.

Good words can be, often are, born of less good words.

Don't be afraid of editing! Great fiction generally comes from editing! Put down some fucking words even if you hate them and get to the next part. I do this, I am not preaching advice I don't take. I'll leave a comment sometimes to tell my future self I didn't think they were good words, I just needed them out. It's fine, I survive every single time.

If you don't need to edit, swell! But if you're stuck, just keep writing something -- or if that won't work, or you feel shitty, take a break. Work on another story, do something else, but if you're miserable and slamming your head against the wall, STOP! Don't hurt yourself! Because you shouldn't hurt, and because you'll associate writing more and more with hurt.

Get other people involved. Share snippets with your friends (if you've got an appropriate discord, make a channel for it!) Trade off reading with your writer friends. If you like my writing, know that not a single word I've ever published hasn't been read by multiple other people. My pre-fic writing was generally group works, so that's what feels normal. The idea of publishing with not even anyone to say "Hey Vee, this makes sense in your brain but not mine" is terrifying. You don't need to Have Serious Beta, it can just be cheerleading or really general "point out if anything is a big problem". I found out this week i am a "phenomenal cheerleader" -- your friends, or some kind soul on a discord, don't need to give you literary analysis to say "this part is cool, your fic is good, i hope you publish!"

Fandom is shared joy. Share your joy in every way - cheerleading others, getting other to share joy with you on your works, leave comments, leave kudos, reblog, make happy posts, keep the negativity to smaller spaces, SHARE THE JOY. I've been in fandom legit longer than some of you have been alive and it's always the joy, that's what it always comes back to. Hold onto the joy, that's what will last in your hearts. <3 <3 <3

[athela-3]

crushing defeat

1.7k words; gen/comedy; hints of shipping if you blink, look here, and look away again; if everyone gives aspec vibes that’s my bad, I have no idea how allos work; 3 am nonsense is practically its own genre; mild language (canon-typical); no content warnings.

Yuki’s never had a crush before. Normally that’s not a problem, but now that he really needs to know what it’s like, nobody else in Mankai can seem to give him a straight answer. And what does cake have to do with anything?

“You. Elite Swindler. What's it like to have a crush?”

Itaru looks up from his phone and finds himself face-to-face with Yuki's inquisitive eyes. “Um.” He blinks, stalling for time while he forces his brain to take a U-turn from his game. “Why do you ask?”

Yuki sighs, swatting aside a strand of hair and tucking it behind his ear. “My character's supposed to be in love, but no matter how many times I try saying my lines it never sounds right. The Director said I should try asking around to get an idea what it's supposed to feel like, and you're sitting right here. So are you going to tell me or not?”

“Huh.” Well, that sounds like something she would do, Itaru concedes. He sits up, placing his phone face down on the sofa next to him. “If I have to describe it, I'd say it's inconvenient. Just because you like someone doesn't mean you'd like liking them. It's kind of like pulling a gacha and getting an SSR. If it's your favourite character, cool, but if it's a character you don't like and you already have three other copies of the exact same card, and now you have to grind all over again… not cool.”

Yuki rolls his eyes, and for a second Itaru thinks he's about to be on the business end of his trademark sarcastic zingers again. “But what is it like? It can't be as sappy as it looks like in Muku's manga.” Beat. Slowly, with dread creeping into his voice: “Is it?”

Itaru opens his mouth to answer, only for a better idea to spring into mind. He cranes his head to look into the kitchen, where Homare is nursing a cup of some fragrant tea blend with a complicated, bougie name. “Hey, Homare? How would you describe the feeling of falling in love?”

There's a brief pause, filled only with Yuki's wide-eyed Oh-No-You-Didn't stare, which Itaru diligently avoids. Then Homare places his teacup on the saucer with a gentle plink and replies, with the absolute certainty of an astronomer looking at the night sky: “Devotion astride with every doki doki… a sugary somnambulism, nefelibata's mazurka of watchfulness, feather-light fingertips painting patient litanies!”

“Exactly.” Itaru grins. “See? It's not that hard.”

Yuki's expression is flat, but Itaru thinks he can see the gears turning inside his head. Eventually he sighs. “Fine. You've made your point.”

“Look, that's all I've got,” Itaru shrugs. “Besides, why don't you ask someone who definitely knows what it's like? Have you tried asking Muku?”

“Duh. He tried to hand me a bunch of romance manga for reference. But that's fiction. If I want my acting to be realistic, I need to look at real life examples.”

“Why not ask Masumi then?”

“And listen to him babble about the Director for the next three hours?”

“Mm. Kazunari?”

“I'm not an idiot. I already asked everyone in my troupe.”

“Tsumugi?”

“I would, but he's not home. Tasuku says he's out tutoring. And before you start, I already asked the Muscle Freak. He mumbled something about high expectations and ran off.”

“Citron?”

“You've got to be kidding me.”

“Taichi?”

“The Dumb Dog? That's… a good idea. Plus I needed to check on his sewing anyway, he's supposed to finish them this—”

“Yo, Taruchi, where are you? Don't just go AFK on me like that!”

They turn to see Banri emerging from the stairwell, phone in hand and an annoyed look in his face. Itaru waves him over at once, relieved to find a potential back-up partner. “Banri! You gotta help me out, man. I need you to describe what having a crush is like.”

Banri stares slack-jawed, caught totally off-guard. “A crush? It's distracting, that's what. I mean, they're all you can think about, right? No matter what you're doing or where you go, you just keep thinkin' about 'em.”

Itaru snaps his fingers. “Right! And you know you've got it bad when you keep finding excuses to be around them. Or when you do weird stuff to get their attention, like giving them things or teasing them or picking fights with them—”

“Why would you pick a fight with someone you like?” Yuki squints, thoroughly unimpressed. “You can't expect them to fight with you and then magically like you back afterwards. That's just stupid.”

“Well,” Itaru grins, “it is.”

“Ah, but such is love!” rejoins Homare, his sentence punctuated by a neat clink as he places his drained teacup in the sink. “Even the greatest of geniuses are fools when it comes to love. Perhaps I should write a poem about that… the overripe ache of tenderness, rotting one's mind even as it enriches the soul…”

Banri shakes his head sharply. “Yeah, whatever. Just get the interrogation done with so we can start the next match.” With that, he marches off into the kitchen, brushing past Homare without a word to fetch a glass of water.

As the poet leaves, still murmuring fancy thesaurus words under his breath, Itaru turns to Yuki and raises his eyebrows. “So? Think you got a better idea now?”

“A little,” Yuki admits. “You're not so useless after all.”

“Huh. I don't know what I expected. Guess I'll take what I can get.”

At that moment, the front door swings open, and in walks Juza, carrying a bag full of groceries in each hand. Behind him is the Director, bearing an identical bag in her arms and pulling the door shut behind her with her foot. “We're home!” she shouts.

“Welcome home, Director, Juza. Whoa, that's a lot of loot today.”

She laughs. “Turned out there was a sale, and since it's important that we save money I thought we might as well stock up ahead. I was lucky Juza came along to help, otherwise I couldn't have carried all of this back alone.”

While she stops by to talk, Juza keeps heading for the kitchen to unpack his groceries, only stopping when he realises his roommate is blocking the way. When it becomes apparent Banri has no intention to step aside, a scowl clouds over his face. “Move.”

A corner of Banri's mouth quirks upward. “Or what? You can't touch me, your hands are full.”

“Don't have to. You can stand there if you want, but the Director won't like it.”

Begrudgingly, Banri inches aside just enough for Juza to squeeze through. When he sees the topmost layer of groceries, he makes a small wolf-whistle. “Three bottles of strawberry milk? What d'you think this is, Hyodo, a damn onsen?”

“Ya gonna stand there babblin', or ya gonna make yourself useful?”

“Nah, I'm good.”

“Oh, Banri? Since you're already in the kitchen, and you're not doing anything,” the Director chimes in, industrial-grade cheerfulness dripping from her every word, “why don't you help me make dinner?”

Itaru snorts. “Curry duty? Ouch. I'll press F for you later.”

“Actually, tonight is sweet and sour pork. I got a deal on bell peppers, but they have to be eaten quickly,” she tells him, before calling out to Banri: “You can start by washing and chopping them, by the way.”

“The Currian chooses not to make curry?” If Yuki's eyebrows rose any higher, they'd completely disappear behind his fringe. “Did you hit your head on the door coming in?”

“I'm sorry, we can have curry tomorrow if that's what you want,” the Director smiles sweetly, and Itaru wonders if this is what she's like in the office. He tries picturing her giving instructions to her juniors and suggestions to her superiors, all in that inhumanly saccharine tone of voice. The mental image alone gives him the chills. “Oh! How's your role study, Yuki?”

“Eh, it's a work in progress.” He pauses, eyeing her with a slight squint. Oh, no, Itaru thinks, here we go again. “But now that you're here, why don't you tell me what you think a crush is like?”

“Me? I haven't had a crush since…” her voice trails off. She walks to the kitchen, places her groceries on the counter, and starts unpacking them alongside Juza. “I don't remember. What I do remember is that when you've fallen in love with someone, you want them to be happy. You remember the little things they like and don't like, because there's no feeling like seeing them smile and knowing it's because of you, or something you did. If they're happy, you're happy. But if they're upset about something, then you feel bad too, even if it wasn't your fault.”

Yuki hums a wordless acknowledgement, face scrunched in thought. “And you?”

Silence. After a few seconds, Juza looks up from the cabinet he is currently stuffing with raw pasta. “…Me?”

“Yeah, dumbass. Who else?” Banri snorts. “Oi, gimme the pineapple. I can't find it in this mess.”

“Didn't get any.”

“What, so we're making sweet and sour pork without pineapple? Who eats sweet and sour pork without—” Realisation dawns in his eyes. He blinks, as if startled, glances at the Director, and looks away again. “Oh. Huh. Well, that's interesting.”

“Whatcha talkin' 'bout, Settsu?”

“None of your business. Now answer the damn question already so we can cook in peace.”

“We ain't cooking, you are,” Juza points out. “An' I dunno.”

“You don't know?” Yuki presses impatiently. “Or you're not telling?”

“Dunno. Never had a crush.”

“Tch. Of course you've never liked anyone. All you like is cake.”

Itaru nods comprehendingly, shooting up in his seat. ”Banri's got a point, you know, the cake does kind of give it away. Bet you also like dragons.”

“Wait,” Yuki interjects, “what's cake got to do with anything?”

“You don't know?” Itaru twists to face the boy completely. “Aw, man. I thought you of all people would know. Do you like cake?”

“What does it matter?”

“C'mon, it's just a yes or no question!”

“They're OK? I'm not that big on sweets, but I like the really pretty cakes. Especially the ones with edible flowers on top.”

“The real question is,” Banri looks up from the cutting board and points the knife at Yuki, “would you rather fall in love or eat cake?”

“What kinda stupid question is that?” Juza mutters, still playing grocery Tetris with the cabinet and therefore completely missing the death glare Banri sends his way.

“Shut your cakehole, nobody asked you.”

Yuki's brows furrow, and Itaru notices his eyes flickering to Juza before he settles on a reply. “If I had to choose, I guess I'd choose cake. Having a crush sounds so exhausting. Besides, I know what cake's like, so I know what I'm getting myself into.”

Itaru claps his hands together, triumphant. “See? Congratulations, you're Team Cake! Don't worry about the dragons, we'll get there when you’re ready.”

“But what does any of it have to do with—you know what, forget it.” Yuki throws his hands into the air, mere millimetres away from clocking Itaru's head. “I should've asked someone who knows what they're talking about. You guys are hopeless.” With that, he turns on his heels and makes his exit, presumably off to interview the next hapless sap to cross his path.

“Good luck!” the Director calls out.

Itaru shakes his head. “And here I thought we'd get more affinity points than that,” he mutters. “Talk about being hard to please.”

“Don't blame him, it is a tough subject to crack,” she points out. “Oh, does that mean you're free right now? In that case, can you please make some rice while I get the pork ready?”

“Welp. Is this a mandatory quest?” She nods, and he sighs, slowly stretching to his feet and pocketing his phone. “All right. But you owe me cake. All this talk's got me craving a slice.”

“I'll grab you some tomorrow, how's that sound?”

Banri's head snaps up again. “Hey, if he gets cake for helping, then how come I don't?”

“You don't even like cake,” Juza grumbles.

“I’m just sayin’, it ain’t fair. And don’t pretend you don’t want some.”

She reaches past them to grab the packet of pork on the table and laughs. “All you had to do was ask. You know what? I'll get you cake. Both of you.” She pauses to scratch her chin. “Come to think about it, maybe I should just get a nice big cake for everyone to share. I've got a feeling we're all gonna need it come tomorrow.”

[solomon-tozer]

Because I like lists and rearranging things, here's a list of my bingo prompts, next to the date the fic was posted.

November 2021 01/11/2021 - E2 "thomas armitage" 01/11/2021 - B4 "knotting" 05/11/2021 - C1 "memoirs" 06/11/2021 - A4 "snow blindness"

December 2021 08/12/2021 - A3 "injury recovery"

March 2022 19/03/2022 - B2 "time loop" 19/03/2022 - B3 "soulmates" 20/03/2022 - C2 "glory hole" 21/03/2022 - D1 "borrowed time" 21/03/2022 - E5 "1.09 the c the c the open c" 22/03/2022 - E4 "sexual frustration" 22/03/2022 - B1 "cock worship" 24/03/2022 - D4 "reincarnation" 24/03/2022 - A2 "trade" 24/03/2022 - E3 "jealousy" ** 25/03/2022 - C4 "1.05 first shot a winner lads" 25/03/2022 - D2 "trapped together" 26/03/2022 - A5 "canon divergence" 27/03/2022 - C5 "angst with a happy ending" 28/03/2022 - B5 "the illusion of privacy" 28/03/2022 - E1 "dereliction of duty" 28/03/2022 - A1 "ritual" ** 29/03/2022 - D5 "sensation play" 30/03/2022 - D3 "mutineers" 31/03/2022 - C3 "free space" **

So that's 20 fics posted in the space of 12 days, 15 of them written in that space of time. (I think there were 5 I wrote between December and March.)

Mostly I look at this and wonder what I could actually achieve if I did things consistently...

Although, speaking of consistency, I decided to focus on only one pairing, unless anyone requested something specific, so that I didn't lose time trying to pick which characters to write (with the exception of the free space, which was always going to be Armitage/Heather/Tozer). The one (1) fic that doesn't include Armitage/Tozer was done as a request.

I've posted 67,111 words in total.

Fics that aren't/aren't just Armitage/Tozer are marked with **

And... yeah. There we go! I had a lot of fun, thank you to the mods of @theterrorbingo for organising this!

- Link to my bingo fics on AO3

[romijuli]

5, 7, or 9 for the ask game!

I’m doing all of these :3

5. Have you had a writer you admire comment on your fic? What was that like?

Okay so like: the benefit of being in reasonably small fandoms—a3 isn’t like “this game’s been around for four years and still hasn’t hit 1k fics on ao3” status a la dqxi but it’s still pretty cozy!—is that this happens fairly regularly! Which means I very quickly went from “OH GOD” reactions to just like “oh neat! :D”

Also this is vaguely related but once I commented on something and the author was like “oh my god the author of [fic] is talking to me????” and I was internally like. This is flattering but also I am VERY uncomfortable with being mildly pedestalized like that. (For what it’s worth I think it was just that initial OH GOD, subsequent replies were WAY more chill haha.) So I think that also colors it for me! You know, freak out privately but just be chill in actually replying.

7. What do you love most about being a fic writer for your fandom?

It kinda differs depending on the fandom? Like, for DQ I love taking canon and Getting Funky With It, exploring small changes and seeing how they escalate into bigger ones! God once Troublerouser’s done with I’ll have a FIELD DAY with it.

For A3 it’s fun to explore character dynamics! I guess because like…okay not that dq doesn’t explore character stuff at all but it’s largely individual because that’s just the nature of the source material, whereas a3 really plays into the interpersonal stuff, and I LOVE taking on different ways in which these characters relate to each other.

9. What inspired you to write your first fic?

We talking like…baby-teen-Chel’s first fics, or Semi-Modern Chel’s first fics, or post-gender Oh I’m Doing This For Real Chel’s first fic? Oh this got long hang on.

Baby-teen-Chel was writing typical early-teens self-insert shit, which like…okay I still do that but it was just kinda that vibe of “I wanna be in my favorite series!” Which, again, mood. Those aren’t around anymore and weren’t terribly good but hey, they’re a part of growing.

Semi-Modern Chel had some ideas that they wanted to write. Honestly I don’t remember the specifics because they got complicated by Life; there’s a KH multi-chap series thing I started working on and had every intention of finishing until Mister Chel’s mom died, and that took a lot of steam out of it. There’s also a twewy fic I wrote as a favor to a friend who REALLY needed a pinch hit for an exchange; other than that I didn’t really write a lot of fic in those days. I wanted to be a Proper Writer so a lot of my effort went into original projects that inevitably never went anywhere.

Post-gender—okay the gender thing is unrelated but it’s a good point of reference to timeline stuff. Alright so I can tell you EXACTLY what did it; I was absolutely in love with dqxi and experienced the feeling of “I HAVE to write for this.” So I decided on an itty bitty snippet-of-canon rewrite. And now I have friends.

A3 fic writing gets its own section cause I never actually intended on it! I was fully going to just read fics and leave comments and leave it at that. Something something fear of fucking up characterization or whatever. Anyway I was doing a little prompt challenge and figured “eh why not write some little a3 character-focused stuff” and churned out like 1.5k of cabbage man stuff and wound up liking it enough to toss it on ao3. And then I just kinda stuck around? And now I have more friends!

[moekaneko]

I noticed you like OHSHC. The A3 april fools event reminded me of Ouran (bc they were a host club), and i got to thinking. . .Mankai Host Club au would be a fun fic to write.

Yes, I absolutely love it! And yeah I think it would be, so I'm going to. (This is the first time I've written a headcanon and the first request I've ever gotten so pls bear with me) WARNING: SPOILERS AND RUBBISH WRITING °you can't say I didn't tell you° this is just stuff from ep 1, I do hope to do more. I couldn't include everyone, but I don't want the post to be too long.

_________________________

Muku after hearing about juza and banri catching the guy who stole the director's purse: Hey! Juchan! Juchan! Juchan, you're a hero? Amazing!

Juza: I'm not a hero, I'm just a decent person.

Juza: And who are you calling "Juchan"?!

~~~~~~~~~

Chikage: August, this is too much.

Chikage: I've been caught by a ridiculous bunch who call themselves "Mankai".

~~~~~~~~

Random yakuza member: I heard you're keeping an unpedigreed little kitten?

Sakyo: I wouldn't say a kitten, more like...

Sakyo: Oh, speak of the devil.

Sakyo: Thanks for shopping for us, little piglet. Did you get everything?

Azami: P-pig?!

~~~~~~~~

Masumi: I got these new headphones. They have the best sound quality in Japan.

Tenma: I have this jacket, it cost around ¥30,000

Sakyo: Damn rich people...

~~~~~~~~~

Taichi: I'm sorry, I'm late.

Sakuya: Taichi-kun! Omi-kun!

Tsuzuru: We've been waiting this whole time for you.

Taichi: I'm sorry. I was waiting for Omi to finish his training, but I drifted off to sleep. (idk if he trains I just feel like he does)

~~~~~~~~

Chikage when he first joined: Is that boy really a high schooler?

Itaru: Sakuya-kun is a prodigy despite his appearance.

~~~~~~~

Muku: Juchan!

Muku: Juchan, want to have some cake with me?

Juza: No I've already had loads. I'll have some later.

Muku: Well, I'll let you borrow my bunny shoujo manga, "Usa-chan"! (Yes, I slipped that in there. Come at me.)

Juza: No, I'm not up for "Usa-chan", either.

Muku *Holds up manga with picture of a cake themed bunny*: You don't like my "Usa-chan"?

Juza: I-It is cute, huh?

Muku: Take good care of it, okay?

~~~~~~~

*Sakyo telling the autumn troupe to do things*

Taichi: Sakyo, what about me?

Sakyo: Nanao...

Taichi: Mm-hmm?

Sakyo: Go have some cake.

Taichi at a table with a random cat: You know what? Everyone else said they were too busy.

___________________________

Thanks for the request! I tried my best! I know most of it is probably inaccurate but I'm tired so whatever, I tried.

[fieryanmitsu]

Hello, i've been following you for a while and was wondering if you still write...? Especially will you continue the kindergarten series of Itaru, tsumu, tasuku and izu??? I don't mean to force or anything, just wondered

Hello Anon!! Thanks for swinging by! ☺️ Yes, I do still write!! I’ve just been very slow at it the past while because RL work has been insane this past half year 😭 I’ve also been modding/beta-reading for a couple of A3! fanzines and that has taken up a lot of my free time that I use to write! Things have finally slowed down now with the zines and work (I think… I hope lol…) so I’m actually gearing up to get back to writing more regularly again!!

I DEFINITELY will be continuing “Intertwined Roots” (the Izumi, Itaru, Tsumugi and Tasuku childhood friends fic) and working on the next chapter is one of the first things I plan to work on! 😊 The other pieces I need to get done are my one-year overdue follower milestone pieces OTL I’m so sorry to everyone who I promised something for that—they are in the works, I promise!!

Your ask made me realize that I actually did put out some other writing this past half year, but I hadn’t gotten to posting them here on Tumblr (I only uploaded it on my AO3). This has jumpstarted my brain again so I’m gonna make sure I cross-post them here and update my masterlist!

Thanks again for checking in!! It really makes my heart full knowing someone liked one of my fics and is interested in more!! 🥺 I’m going to work hard to deliver as much as I can!

[bereft-of-frogs]

#Whumptober2021 progressss

- reminder that as usual, I’m planning on posting in November, starting on October 31, so I have an extra month to work on things. ;-) Hopefully, presuming I can finish it, I’m going to move up 30. Digging Your Grave (Ghosts) to post on Halloween because...well, it’s much spookier than what I’m writing for the actual first prompt.

- I’m a little bit behind where I probably should be if I want to finish all 31 prompts, but I went back and looked at my document from 2018 (the only time I did finish all 31) and I didn’t start those until October 1 so...there’s still hope!

- I have 6 completely done (1 from the alternate prompts on the opposite side of the page, so it doesn’t make it into the photograph): 6. Touch and Go, 12. It Will Be Fun, They Said, 15. Feed a Cold, Starve a Fever (BEES?!?!), 16. On a Need to Know Basis, 18. The Doctor Is In, and A3. Caning. I have 9 more in-progress, with decent progress is being made on 1. All Trussed Up and Nowhere to Go, 4. Trust Fall, 28. It’s Not Just In Your Head, and 30. Digging Your Grave. The document word count is at 25,588.

- ones that probably have too much plot involved: 22. They Made Me Do It, 23. You Break It, You Buy It, and 30. Digging Your Grave. I feel like if I want to have a hope of finishing I need to cool it on the like...extensive outlines and focus more on whump-without-plot for the others.

- I...think I have passed an event horizon, friends. In that...some of these might actually center OCs and yesterday I was feeling very confident about it, today I’m back more to the ‘oh no maybe I shouldn’t’ but also...I think I’m going to try it out for a couple short ones, at least. I might chicken out, maybe not, I don’t know, we’ll see. (This was...extremely noncommittal, A+ me) XD

- as for other fandoms, yeah, I’m sorry guys: it’s all Star Wars this year. I just...think I need a break from the MCU, I haven’t been able to come up with any ideas. Mostly Fallen Order, honestly, its getting out of control. I...have no excuses other than this game hit so many of my favorite tropes and ends on what is my favorite premise to base fics on (found family in space) so...yup that’s where we’re at.

- I’m starting to think about titles. I honestly have a love-hate relationship with what I did last year, because I liked drawing all the titles from the same album....but I also feel like doing song lyrics was a mistake. I still get those songs stuck in my head when I get comments on those fics. I was thinking about doing poetry (but that seems like it might be kind of pretentious) or epigraphs (but finding a bunch of related quotes sounds like a lot of work) so...I don’t know what I should do this year? If you have an idea, lmk haha

That’s it! Now I have to go to work and hopefully have some time to work on prompts at work instead of doing my job ;-)

[farfromsugafanfic]

guksthighs Interview

I, the interviewer, typically don’t interrupt at the beginning of the interview, but Jess is legit one of my favorite fan fiction writers of all time and I’m so honored that she took the time to speak with me. Anyway, onto the interview!

First off, can you start off by introducing yourself (whatever name you feel comfortable using) and telling us a little bit about yourself?

I’m Jess, an eighteen year old writer from the UK! I’ve been writing for BTS for a year and a half but supported them since the Boy in Luv era! I stan all seven boys ( but lean towards my angel child Kim Namjoon ) and when I’m not writing or doing schoolwork I’m usually doing some sort of sports! Also I just wanted to say thank you so much for asking to interview me, it is only such an honour that I’d make the cut!

Q1: Why did you first begin writing fan fiction? A1: I’ve always loved writing and the easiest way to share it and get people to read your work is to write for a fandom - well that was my ideology in the beginning. In reality, what’s kept me writing are the messages I receive every now and then ( from people like you ) that make me feel like the luckiest person ever and like I’m doing a decent job at writing!

Q2: You mainly write imagines/ preferences, but you do have a few series and longer pieces on your page. Do you prefer to write in shorter forms? A2: When I first started out writing, rather embarrassingly, my aim was to grow a following on Tumblr so I posted daily for the first few months and because shorter forms are faster to write I was able to continue that and now I am able to balance my life and writing easier. I’d love to write longer pieces but I’d prefer to publish a smaller piece weekly than work on a huge project!

I also have a lot of started and unfinished pieces which is more of a reflection of me - I’ve always had a huge imagination and am always planning the next idea but I do intend to start posting longer pieces soon! Q3: Have you written fan fiction for other fandoms? And/or before starting your current account? A3: I have! My first ever fan fiction was One Direction ( it’s deleted now - thank god - and on looking back I’m ashamed to say I used a plot for original characters to try and garner more reads - it worked ). I have a wattpad account ( jeonsthighs ) where I’ve completed a 50 chapter Haikyuu piece called An Angel’s Wings. Last I checked it had 125,000 reads and in summary is about a deaf volleyball player who overcomes her self taught ideology that relying on others makes you weak. I’ve also written for other anime fandoms; Fairy Tail and Kuroko No Basket, so I guess you could call me versatile ~ Q4: Do you write anything outside the realm of fan fiction? A4: I write columns for my school newspaper and have the honour of having written an article that has been used in a newspaper!

I used to write stories in school on scrap pieces of paper that would be passed around the class as I wrote them which encouraged me to share it online to try and spread more happiness!

These days I tend not to write any fiction outside of fan fiction due to the amount of work I have but I’m hoping after my exams I’ll be able to juggle my account and work on some ideas I’ve had for a while! Q5: Were you scared to begin posting your work online? A5: Surprisingly no! I’ve always written as a form of stress relief and mindfulness as I’m able to channel any negative emotions into words. So I wasn’t too worried about no one noticing me and am still surprised at the size my account has grown to. The only thing that scares me these days is someone I know finding my account and confronting me about *some* of the more mature content I’ve posted. Q6: Has writing fan fiction taught you anything? About writing? Reading? Yourself? A6: Fan fiction has taught me not to hide away from myself and all of my emotions and thoughts which means I’ve been able to deal with my depression and anxiety in a way I wouldn’t have done before. Often I write characteristics that reflect myself, often without meaning to and upon looking back on my work I notice the resemblance. Writing has been the best and most helpful form of mindfulness and by participating in publishing Fan fiction I am able to connect with others! ( Even if it has given me unrealistic expectations for dating TT )

Q7: What’s your favorite piece you’ve ever written? A7: I’ve thought about this question a lot and come to the cheesiest conclusion ever, even so I stand by it. Every work I publish is my favourite, they all reflect different parts of myself and have different journeys and memories to me and others. I do however have a special place for Golden Boy, a Park Jimin piece because it was my first ever embarking on a journey to write 10,000 words. Q8: Do you notice any stigma surrounding fan fiction or fan fiction writers? A8: That we’re crazed fans or disgusting. I feel authors are criticised for using real people in their work - which was the scariest thing for me as I was moving from the realm of anime and literal characters to writing about real living and breathing humans. However, I use the boys as characters for my writing, I am aware that everything I do is imaginary and do not think it’s likely to come true ( which is one of the reasons I prefer writing crazy alternate universes over more realistic pieces ) Another top stigma is that fan fiction writers are not talented which is rather hurtful. Oh! Also that we’re all perverts and write fifty shades of grey style pieces ( I know there are accounts out there that are nothing like that ... just maybe not mine aha )

Q9: If so, how do you feel about this stigma?

A9: It doesn’t bother me particularly, instead of going on long winded rants that will be skipped by people who believe these I try and be active in changing that stigma ( apart from the smut cus a girls gotta sin ). I’ve started my author recommendations list to support smaller accounts who are just starting up which has had an amazing reception and results!

Q10: What’s something you’ve never been asked but want to be? 

A10: Favourite book? Q11: Is Tumblr the site you prefer to post fan fic on? If so, why?

A11: Tumblr is my preferred site - to an extent. It is amazing for creating and talking to the blog family, as well as making friends. However, as I said earlier I’ve been in this fandom a long time and the recent surge of new fans has resulted in more arguments and fights that I don’t like seeing.

Q12: Do you ever want to be published in a professional capacity one day? A12: Yes! I’m hopefully going to university next year to study English Literature and hope to either go into journalism or publishing/editing. I’d love to be a published author but I’m happy to support others in accomplishing their dreams!

Thank you so much for interviewing me and letting me share my thoughts and journey as a BTS fan fiction writer! It’s an honour to be someone you wanted to interview and throughout the process you’ve been so kind ! I really would encourage everyone to try writing, whether it’s poetry, short drabbles or even thousands of words long chaptered pieces because you never know what your mind and imagination are capable of until you push them! Thank you again and happy reading!

Check out Jess’ amazing imagines and fan fiction on her Tumblr page guksthighs and on her Wattpad jeonsthighs! Once again, thank you, Jess!

[edelwary]

when you were first getting into art, what and how did you draw? (like did you just doodle ur masterpieces on pieces of paper and posted-notes or did you have a proper sketchbook) how did you find motivation? bc ive been trying to draw but I always get unmotivated and stop while still wanting to get better just by doing nothing.

REALLY LONG, LOTS OF ADVICES FOR ARTISTS : 

TL;DR ; skip to the HOW TO ACTUALLY FUCKING DRAW part bc i have a megaton of shit to say lol + The MOTIVATION part 

mmh… I’ll get into details with this one tbh bc it’s a long ass process ahah : 

I live by the sea ; when i was youung i used to draw TONS of boat, but like, dollhouse boats, you could see the insides and stuff ; i loved to add tiny details and stuff, and imbricate everything together !

around 8 or 9 yo, i went to the public library with school and discovered the wonderful world of mangas ! I basically… Copy pasted an entire Mermaid Melody tome x) 

For about 2 years i alternated between reading mangas and trying to copy them ! Then i just kept drawing in the margins of my schoolwork for about… 5 years ! I have a Fuck Ton of sketchbooks of that time, it was… The start. Lol. Never say it’s bad because it’s never bad, just not there yet !!

Around my 13 yo, i went every saturday, for two years, under a bookstore ; there was a cave, and drawing classes ; that teacher was mean and harsh and stuff, but like… Not really. He would take away my eraser for the class, force me to use pencil, to draw something else (bulky boys instead of magical girls). 

I’ve learned a lot, more in terms of How To LEARN to draw than to draw itself, but i still progressed a LOT !! 

Then i kept drawing by myself for a year and i really worked hard on it ; about hours a day, trying watercolors and stuff ; i have a real problem with colors in traditionnal art, but i’m much better with lines (i should scan some RAD stuff i made in the weekend, yall ive never done anything this good i stg i dont know why i always forget im so much better on paper) 

This gets us to my sweet 16 ; i have to year of advance, bc i got ‘’’promoted’’’ idk how to say it ; anyways, i entered my (current) animation school for the first year at 16; vERY IMPRESSIVE AND TERRIFYING. 

And i learned. A fuckmegaton. Of shit there. 

Now i’m going for my third year there and i can make photorealistic marmora blades and cyberkpunk decors if i want to and that’s rad, but here is

 HOW TO ACTUALLY FUCKING DRAW : 

I have one HYPER important advice, and i’m keeping it to heart since i’m like, 11 : Have. Sketchbooks. Please !!! It’s very important. Here’s why : 

You keep everything with you in one place. You have 1 sketchbook, it’s basically easy to take every where (a A5, or A4 are pretty easy to carry, i have like, 12 of those, and around 8 of A3) 

You keep track of what you’ve done. It’s super important, bc first you can cry of laughter at your old stuff bc its cute but not so good, and second, you can just be like ‘holy mama’ and see how much you’ve improved

It’s very important to be organized. I WORK in art, and trust me, if there’s something that i’ve learned this year through tears and missing files and bugs : Be. Impeccable. Now if it’s for fun, go a little loose, and just have a folder for art on your computer, and a sketchbook, no need to stress, but the better you try to keep a record of where is what, the better you’ll see whats wrong

Notebooks are friends !! You can draw, write, glue stuff, make notes, lists, everything !!! I have my life in those. It’s more important to me than any of my phones. 

Be proud of it. Like, not everything, duh ! But try to tell yourself than it’s like a RPG ; even if it’s only 2 xp here and there, one day you’ll beat level 40, and that’s super important : art is. Fuckin. Long.

I cant stress it enough. It’s soooo long !!! SO LONG !! it’s years. It’s like karate and fishing and ANYTHING. To be good at it, it takes time, but it WILL COME if you keep trying. There’s no secret passage. 

You’re gonna me it, believe in me who believes in you. 

Use. References. 

Coming from a little shit who’s got a really good visual memory, that can sound like bs, but i stg everything is always AT LEAST twice as good if you’ve used a visual support. 

I’m not saying COPY EVRYTHING (even though thats a good training) I’m saying, if you really want to do that asian tiger, please have at least two or three pictures of it nearby. Take photos of your hands, and stuff ! 

Make it harder. 

No eraser. 

Paint. 

I draw all my backgrounds on my sketchbook with INDIAN INK; no returns, no refunds. 

Ink, Ink, INK !! Don’t allow mistakes.

And if you make mistakes :

New page, restart

It’s okay

It’s for you

I once started back again a whole EXAM bc it was bad, i got one of my best grades 

You’ll improve and be more assured if you know you just have to DO IT. Trust me. It’s VISIBLE; if you can erase, you fidget and hesitate and ‘’kbeujebez hahhaaa idkkidsd’’ ; stop ; do it, and if you don’t like it ? Try again, there’s no time limit

Draw as large as you can 

There’s no interesting story here, it just helps. Bigger movement of the hand, more place for details, breathing lines

Thin lineart helps

Thinner. Make it even thinner

Break the rules, but not the ones that structure your art 

Big lineart ? Why not

Unfinished lines, vaporeous colors ? Pretty

Cubism is actually based on extensive and intense practice of classical art, it’s not wibbly wooblly ; the anatomy is more correct than you think 

Structure and composition are important, but so is movement and life ; choose your fighter ; mine is fluidity and fun, i’m like, a rogue/archer in drawing. Some people are dwarf fighter. That’s amazing and great. 

Don’t be afraid to do nothing

Pages and pages of my sketchbooks are actually just lance facing right and smiling, you know… 

Sometimes it just doesnt work : two ways :

Take a break, Kiki’s delivery service style

Keep trying, break your art until it obeys and comes back

Take breaks. Breath. 

Don’t compare. I do it, it doesn’t help at all. You’ll make it ; and if you compare, keep in mind that everyone’s different

I’m not gonna lie, it’s NOT easy, it’s even hard 

But I really, really think it’s worth it 

MOTIVATION :

My main bitch 

I’m always pumped for art because i can LITTERALLY NOT do anything else ; i love reading and writing and stuff but at the end of the day i just want !!! to draw !!!! aaaaaa-

Fall in love with it, and with the possibilities ; i have stories to tell, tell me yours ! Do your best, one day it WILL work

Actual advices : 

I have an inspiration blog where i just reblogs stuff i like to draw them later

Find a picture, copy it. Do it again. Change the characters (i have 2 ocs and Lance and Keith as default characters) in the pic. 

Like an artstyle ? Break it to its very core, analyse it, copy it, redo it, trace it and ABSORB it. Don’t copy/past, LEARN from your heroes.

Do what you like. I have 86578 pieces of voltron, this is not a coincidence. I have ENDLESS ideas for this show, wtf. 

Try new things. Buy indian ink im begging you. It’s so cool. 

Have a game with yourself, or a challenge. STICK TO IT. 

Study. When you’re bored, usually it’s because you’re stagnating. Make it harder or do hands until you cry. 

Love your backgrounds; make backgrounds, study trees, and tokyo streets, and venice’s bridges. Decor is just as cool as characters, if not more

Mess a little with everything. My roomate more than one found me stained from head to toes trying to DO STUFF 

Draw outfits. Draw what you want but can’t afford 

MAKE YOUR LIFE A COMIC. Remember those sketchbooks ? Make a comic a week/month/every full moon, whatever, and draw your life (mine’s the roomates au lol) 

Prompts blogs are cool too 

Make fanart of a fic you liked ; you have the characters and the pose already, you just have to illustrate ; double bonus, you probably will make a writer’s day, if not year !

That little movie that plays when you listen to your favorite song ? DRAW IT

Your favorite scene in your favorite movie ? Redraw each shot. On post it. Plus it looks awesome afterwards to have the infamous TREX scene of Jurassic Parks in post it

Get bored. That’s inevitable. Dance, scream, get back to it. Walk, draw everything you see. 

Make a paper google map street view : Take a walk : every 50 meters, draw what is in front of you. 

Snapchats your friends. Draw their snapchats when they answer 

Draw maps. Invent places. Invent bikes, and hovercrafts, and monsters. Make your everyday inventory. Make your life a video game, and do the concept arts of it. 

FETCH your inspiration. I have approx. 20 artbooks, full of drawings and concept arts of my fave movies/games ; take what you like and add it to the story you have since you’re 8. We all have one. 

Ask for it ; your sis, your mom, me even ! If you dont have ideas, someone will have them. 

WELL i’m gonna stop there, even though i got like, 9864567 more to say, but with this you should be fine ! Anon, i’m rooting for you ! we all start somewhere, just hold on!!!! 

[tonystarkbingo]

Week 4 Roundup

Name of Piece The Botanical Garden by @duckmoles Square Filled S4: Crossover Rating teen Warnings demons, identity porn Summary Tony Stark/Steve Rogers (light)

Steve doesn’t know Tony Stark very well. After a battle, it turns out that he knows even less than he thought.

A daemon au.

Mod Tisfan Commentary Cute piece, if you like daemon AUs... little bit of identity porn and a little bit of Steve being a snoop 

Name of Piece The Futurist and the Stonekeeper by @rinnwrites Square Filled T2 - Drabble Rating Gen Warnings light angst Summary   Tony Stark/Stephen Strange

The Futurist & The Stonekeeper turn from what is there, and hold fast to what is here.

Mod Tisfan Commentary Cute, very poetic. 

Name of Piece Dear Thor, You’re Still a Dick by @dracusfyre Square Filled K5 - Five Things Rating not rated Warnings epistolary format Summary Loki/Tony Stark

Tony writes a letter to Thor and thinks back over the years since he got soul bonded to Loki (AKA Five Things Tony Learned About Loki) For Square K5: Five Things.

Mod Tisfan Commentary I am continuing to enjoy this series.

Name of Piece That’s a Sharp-Ass Knife by @toneestark Square Filled  T1 - Fuck or Die Rating explicit  Warnings dub-con, whump, non-con Summary Tony Stark/Steve Rogers

When a familiar foe captures Tony Stark and co., he makes sure that Tony is hurt in every way possible. Will be multiple chapters. For T1 fill for Tony Stark Bingo 2018: Fuck or Die.

Mod Tisfan Commentary pretty harsh, watch your own mental state. 

Name of Piece: A Year of Gravestones by @mariesbookblog Square Filled: K2 - Graveyard Rating: Teen Warnings: past canon minor character death, minor made-up character death Summary: Graveyards are a good place to think. To find the strength to face the future. Or: After the Civil War, Tony visits the dead.

Mod Tisfan Commentary lovely, and sad

Name of Piece Tony and Jarvis by @toneestark Square Filled S4 - Jarvis Rating gen Warnings none Summary Art of a young Tony Stark looking at JARVIS’s core code. Tony has a screwdriver tucked behind his ear. Caption: Little Tony’s hard work pays off when he finally meets baby JARVIS. Mod Tisfan Commentary this is amazing, I love the colors, both warm and secretive

Title of Piece: One Hand Washes the Other by @tisfan Also on A03 Square filled: A4 - WTF Warning: unrepentant fluff, weird coping mechanisms, first date Pairing: Tony Stark/Bucky Barnes Summary: Bucky doesn’t always eat with the team. It takes Tony a while to figure out why.

Title of Piece: The Weapon-Maker’s Son by @polizwrites Rating: General Audiences Square K5 - Fairy-tale style narration Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Crossover, Gentlemen Bastards Summary: Once upon a time, a man who had everything wanted more. He took a wife, a lovely, talented young woman who he bent to his will. In time, she bore her husband a son and named him Antonio. A brilliant, strong-willed child, Antonio could stand in his father’s shadow only so long.

Mod Tisfan’s Commentary good style, very epic poemish

Title of Piece At Your Own Risk: Chapter 1- Priorities by @dracusfyre On AO3! Square: A1 - Doing Groceries Warning: None (for this chapter) Rating: General (for this chapter) Relationship: Loki/Tony Summary:  When Loki and Tony get stranded on an alien planet, Tony at least has his priorities straight. This chapter is for Square A1: Doing Groceries. Part 4 of Loki Radio, aka the Soul Bond verse, in case you’re like uh wtf is happening.

Mod Tisfan Commentary This was hilarious and I loved it

Name of Piece: Drink Me Down by @27dragons Square Filled: S2 - vampire/werewolf Rating: E Warnings: Sex, Blood-drinking (vampire) Summary: Tony Stark/Bucky Barnes

Of course Bucky’s grateful to Tony for showing him that he doesn’t have to be a monster just because he’s a wyr. But that’s not the full extent of his feelings for the vampire.

Mod Tisfan’s Commentary I love it. vampire, werewolf, pining, Steve being a jerk (in a loving way)... what more could you want?

Name of Piece So I Give You My Life to Keep by @ayapandagirl Square: R4 - arranged marriage Rating: Explicit Warnings: dub-con (magic-induced lust) Summary: Ironstrange, 

The Ancient One came to Tony Stark seeking a husband for student, Stephen Strange.

Mod Tisfan’s Commentary I really enjoyed this piece. So much sass!

Title of Piece: Finding Balance by @tisfan Square: K5 – Innocent until proven guilty Also on A03 Warning: blow job, Anal Sex, barebacking, breakup and get back together, lying, stealing, jealousy issues, mention of intended rape, gambling, Irish AU, caber tosser Bucky, irish dancer Tony Summary: Tony Stark/Bucky Barnes

Tony’s still trying to get his life back on track when he runs into his ex. Bucky, who gambled away a fortune and then stole money from Tony… and then lied about it. Well, Tony’s still trying to find some balance… 

Name of Piece You Broke the Rules by @trammelsb Square A3 - Freespace Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Bruce Banner/Tony Stark Additional Tags: BDSM, Flogging, Dom Bruce, Sub Tony, Dom Bruce Banner, Sub Tony Stark, Self-Hatred

Summary:

Tony looked over at him, eyes wide. Bruce glared at the bruising down his neck from the fall he took in the fight. Bruce wanted nothing more than to grab Tony and hold him for the next week, keep him safe, but that wasn’t what Tony needed right now. What either of them needed. “But, I - I didn’t-” Tony tried to back away but Bruce held him, tugging at his hair. Tony froze. “Mm. You did. You know you did. You broke the rules. You know what happens when you break the rules.”

Mod Tisfan Commentary delicious

Title of Piece You’re Welcome to Try by @wakandan-wardog Rating: General Audiences Square Filled: K4: Nick Fury Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Voice Acting, Workplace, Fluff, Snark Summary:

Nick finds out that Tony and Steve are dating, and calls Tony into the office to talk about it. Tony takes it about as well as you would expect, but luckily his boyfriend's waiting on a shining motorcycle to speed him away to lunch.

Mod Tisfan Commentary Continuing to enjoy this little bit of fluff series, too

Title of Piece: Negative Space by @duckmoles Square Filled: K3 Character Death Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Major Character Death Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark Additional Tags: Grief/Mourning, Hurt No Comfort, Angst, Clothing Summary: If he closes his eyes and breathes, he can still catch the smell of Tony’s aftershave and shampoo.

Mod Tisfan Commentary I almost skipped reading this because I wasn’t in the mood for death fic, but I’m glad I did. it was lovely and beautiful and very, very sad.

Title of Piece Wedding Dress for Sale (worn once) by @voodoofee Rating: Mature Square: A3 - freesquare Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark Additional Tags: Wedding Dress, Amputee Bucky Barnes, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Shy Bucky Barnes, Bucky Barnes Feels, Tony is wearing a dress, crossdressing but not really, it was a bet, but a good bet, now with art!, amazing araydre Summary:

Bucky finds a strange note in the elevator reading, Wedding dress for sale, worn once by mistake, with the number of someone named Tony. Bucky only knows one Tony but he doesn't think that's the guy’s name. Why else should the packages he sometimes receives be addressed to one A. Edward Stark? Whoever it is, Rebecca's wedding is coming soon and he wanted to buy her a dress. Maybe this one fits? He's pretty sure she won't mind that it has already been worn once...

Mod Tisfan Commentary continues to be cute. now with art

Name of Piece A Shard of Fear by @rebelmeg Square Filled: S4 - Reunion Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Additional Tags: Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Tony and Nebula: Dark Humor Buddies, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, Science Bros, Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Mentions of Major Character Deaths, Blood, Major Character Injury, Thaddeus Ross is a dickwad and Tony shuts him down, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony is not in a good place, Mentions of Pepperony, Tony willingly going to medical is a bad sign, Tony Stark Bingo 2018, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Mentions of Iron Dad and his Spider Son, Thor is also not in a good place, neither is clint

Summary:

Picking up immediately where "I Told You So" left off, everyone gets caught up with what has been going on. They're all suffering. They don't know what to do. And Tony is bleeding.

Mod Tisfan Commentary tries not to cry... cries a LOT

Name of Piece Language by @hereandnowwearealive Square Filled R1 - May Parker Rating T and up Warnings language Summary Hypocrits, the both of them

Comic: May Parker and Tony Stark discussing every day events with swear words. Peter almost knocks over a glass and says Shit. Both May and Tony fuss at him for language.

Mod Tisfan Commentary hilarious, and cute!

Name of Piece Slack Water, part five: Tsunami by @tisfan Square Filled K4: Mates Also on A03 Rating Mature Warnings: violence, gore, panic attacks, hurt/comfort, mermaid AU Summary: Tony Stark/Bucky Barnes

Bucky and Tony need to get out of the Hydra facility. Too bad the Red Skull and Zola have been notified about their escape attempt…

[fieryanmitsu]

Worthy | A3! Rare Pairs Week 2020 – Day 1 (Itaru/Izumi)

I AM SO LATE, but welcome to my first entry for the A3! Rare Pairs Week 2020!

This writing event is being hosted by @A3!_69min on Twitter and AO3 and focuses on writing romantic fics for unpopular A3! pairings. As it happens, every single Izumi pairing except Sakyo/Izumi is a rare pair per the event’s definition of rare pair.

SO, MY GOAL IS TO WRITE IZUMI SHIPS ALL WEEK!

Of course, I’m starting off with my OTP – I love ItaIzu so much, I’ll take any excuse to write them.

WORTHY

PROMPTS: Adoration / Jealousy

CHARACTERS: Itaru Chigasaki, Izumi Tachibana

PAIRINGS: Itaru/Izumi

My fanfic masterpost: Here

AO3: Link in my Blog Menu

Izumi was curious.

The question had been on her mind all day since her conversation with Muku over breakfast. The middle schooler had been excitedly telling her all about the shojo manga he was currently reading. Apparently, he hadn’t slept well the night before because he had gotten worked up over the latest chapter.

“You’re staring a hole into my head,” her boyfriend remarked suddenly, though his eyes never left the television screen in front of him, his thumbs flying across his controller.

Itaru was playing some kind of action-adventure game and was currently exploring an underground dungeon with his character. Ever since she had mentioned that she liked the background music, he played this particular game whenever he had to wait for her to finish reviewing her post-rehearsal notes.

“Oh, sorry – I was just… curious about something. But, it’s a bit, er, awkward to ask about…” Izumi responded, one hand fidgeting with the pages of her notebook and the other absentmindedly poking the back of her pen into the Poyo – some pink, round mascot character that Itaru liked – cushion on her lap.

“Oh? Why don’t you try me?”

“Well… I was talking to Muku this morning about the shojo manga he’s reading. There was a scene where the rival character was confessing to the heroine. It was apparently a very heartfelt and passionate declaration of love. Something about how even seeing her with the other guy made his heart feel like it was being torn apart by knives. And that he hated seeing her cry because of that other guy and that he’d give up everything to whisk her away and make her happy. It ended with him asking the heroine to pick him instead.”

“Ahhh, yeah, that’s a classic. Never fails to stir up the fans,” Itaru responded with a knowing nod.

“And then, Muku gave me a 20-minute seminar on classic shojo jealousy scenes and, uh, well… They were more, um, thrilling than I expected? Sooooo, it kinda just, you know… made me wonder,” Izumi stiltedly blurted out. She couldn’t believe she was going to ask him this – her face was already flushed with embarrassment. Maybe Muku’s starry-eyed wonder was contagious. “Do you, umm… ever get jealous of seeing me with other guys?”

“Uh… I’m not sure how to tell you this, but you have twenty other guys, twenty-one if you count Kamekichi, hanging off you – sometimes literally – every single day. If I got jealous every time one of them sat next to you, I’d be six-feet under already.”

“Okay, yeah, that was dumb question – let me rephrase it!” Izumi backpedaled frantically. “What would you do if someone else confessed their love to me – like they were trying to steal me away? Would you be jealous? Would you fly into a blind rage? Or pin me against a wall and forcefully kiss me?! Or barge in and passionately declare: ‘Choose me, not him’?!”

“Man, you really are starting to sound like Muku – all of those options sound awful, by the way. But, in all seriousness, I, uh… don’t think that would ever happen,” he responded with a nervous chuckle.

Izumi felt herself deflate a bit, unable to help feeling just a teensy bit disappointed that he had shot down her fantasies so quickly. At the same time, she wasn’t sure that she could even imagine him acting that way. She just felt like… it wouldn’t be Itaru anymore – and that thought also made her feel uncomfortable. Maybe this whole jealousy thing wasn’t as exciting as she had thought it would be a few minutes ago.

As her thoughts came full circle, she suddenly heard an odd sound from the television. She had been watching Itaru play this game for a few days now and recognized the sounds his character made when he was dying. Thinking that he was losing against a boss, Izumi glanced at the screen and saw that he was just fighting a bunch of normal enemies. She noted that the usual boss music wasn’t playing, either. Yet, his health bar was slowly, but surely, depleting.

Thinking it was strange for him to be playing so badly, Izumi shifted her attention from the television screen to look at Itaru. What she saw made the blood in her veins turn to ice. Unceremoniously throwing her notebook and poor Poyo to the floor, she practically hurled her body across the empty space between them.

Itaru had taught her the basics of how to use his GameStation when she had borrowed a Blu-ray movie from a friend, and she knew that, if she pressed the middle button on his controller, it would bring the user back to the home screen. Reaching over his arm, she pushed down on the middle button and a blue screen immediately popped up, effectively pausing the game. Gently prying the controller away from Itaru’s limp hands, she set it down on his coffee table before she turned off the television screen.

“Itaru, what’s wrong?” she asked worriedly, placing a hand on one of his arms and squeezing it gently.

The salaryman’s brow was furrowed, and he kept his face averted from hers, gaze trained on the floor. Even from his profile, she could see that his mouth was set in a firm and tight line. It had been a long time since she’d seen him make this expression.

“You’re not going to like what I’m about to say,” he responded after a long pause.

Izumi could feel her stomach drop. She had heard those words before – it had been right before her last breakup. She had thought things were going well between them, but maybe she was wrong…?

“Why don’t you try me?” she prompted, trying to keep her voice light as she imitated his words from earlier.

At the same time, she did her best to brace her heart, despite that it was starting to beat erratically. Whatever he said, she would graciously accept it – telling herself that she couldn’t afford to have things be awkward between them.

“Getting jealous over someone… it only happens when you don’t want them taken away from you, right?” Itaru said slowly, deliberately. “So… I don’t think I could ever be jealous… because… I… I don’t feel that way.”

Izumi couldn’t have possibly braced hard enough for that kind of impact. She could feel a hot feeling well up in her throat and tears were already prickling at the back of her eyes.

“Does… Does that mean you don’t want to be with me, anymore?” she asked, unable to help the waver in her voice.

Her question hung in the air unanswered as she watched him clench and unclench his hands on his lap, his eyes still stuck on the floor.

“Itaru, will you look at me? Please?” she begged. She was starting to feel light-headed and she just… She just needed to ground herself somehow.

After a long moment, he shifted his position to angle himself towards her on the couch, though his eyes remained downcast.

Izumi gently cupped his face in her hands and lifted his head to level with her own. She could feel his jaw clenched beneath her palms.

“Itaru, talk to me,” she coaxed gently, fighting to keep her voice steady. “What did you mean earlier?”

Though he didn’t move her hands away, he continued to avert his eyes.

“I… I can’t be jealous,” he began quietly. “Because… if someone else confessed to you, it’d be better that way. I’d be happy.”

“Why would you say that?” Izumi demanded, her tone coming out harsher than she had intended. She inhaled deeply to try and calm herself, though her brain was still rattled by his words. “Weren’t you the one who confessed to me first, Itaru? You asked me to give you a chance, so why would you think that way?”

A long moment passed between them in silence, but Izumi could see Itaru’s emotions warring on his face. She didn’t dare breathe until he finally opened his mouth again.

“Sometimes… I think it was a mistake that I asked you out,” he said quietly, his voice cracking as he continued on. “The more time I spend with you… the more I think about how… how you deserve someone better than me.”

Suddenly, she felt a wet sensation tickle against her fingers. As tears fell from his magenta-coloured eyes, Izumi was struck by several emotions.

The first was awe. For the first time, she understood what it meant when people said that there were beautiful criers. Though she knew that it was morbid, at that moment, she truly thought that Itaru was the most beautiful man she had ever seen, even as tears blotted his cheeks and turned his eyes red.

The second was sorrow. She felt unspeakable sadness that this person before her had struggled through so much in his life that he felt unworthy of being with someone he professed to love and thought that she would be better off without him.

Anger was the third. She was angry at herself for being unable to reassure him, to stop him from feeling this way despite the amount of time they had already spent together.

Last of all, she felt a surge of… something. She had only been in a couple of casual relationships before, and none of them as passionate as the one she had experienced with Itaru in the past half a year. Nor were any of them as comfortable as what she felt when she was with him. Spending time with Itaru both calmed her and brought butterflies to her stomach. Never in her life had she felt like she mattered as much as she did than when this man looked at her.

Was this love? She didn’t know, since she had no landmark to compare it against. But, what she was sure of was that she didn’t want to see Itaru look this way. She wanted to see him with his usual crooked smirk, just like the one he always gave when he teased her. She wanted to see his eyes crinkle like they did when he won a game. She wanted to see a smile on his face – like the one that bloomed across his face whenever the curtains fell after a successful Spring Troupe performance.

 She didn’t know when it had started, but she was crying as well.

 “Itaru,” she started, ignoring the salty taste in her mouth as her tears rolled past her lips, turning his face in an attempt to meet his gaze. “You… You don’t mean that, do you.”

 “I do,” he said firmly, still refusing to look her in the eye. Instead, he took her hands in his and removed it from his face – but rather than letting them go, his fingers squeezed hers tightly.

“No, you don’t,” she replied just as forcefully, finding her footing again as her heart resolved itself. “Because if you did, then you wouldn’t look so torn right now. Your hands wouldn’t be shaking. If you would truly be happy to have someone take me away from you, then you wouldn’t have been dying against enemies that you can usually beat in your sleep.”

 Itaru closed his eyes, as if he were wincing in pain.

 “Itaru, please. Don’t push me away.”

 A fresh stream of tears rolled down his face as he let out a rasping breath, shoulders shaking.

 “Did you know, the look on your face just now was so similar to when you told me you wanted to quit the troupe? You couldn’t look at me when I asked you to admit that you weren’t interested in theatre – that you didn’t care about performing with the others,” she said softly, using her thumb to wipe away the tears streaking his face.

 As a quiet sob tore its way out of Itaru’s throat, he leaned forward and buried his head against her shoulder, quickly soaking the material of her shirt. Letting her own tears fall, she lightly ran her fingers through his hair.

 “I… I want… to be with you… I want to feel worthy of you,” he gasped out in between sobs.

 “Itaru, I’m not some deity on a pedestal. I’m just a regular person, like you. You don’t have to be worthy of anything to be with me,” she replied.

 She felt him shake his head against her shoulder, his hair tickling against her chin.

 “If you still think that way, then… then let me tell you what I told you once before. Give yourself a little more time,” Izumi said, wrapping her arms around him, and nuzzling her face into his hair. “You owe it to yourself to keep trying. And… it’s not all on you. I’ll keep trying, too. I want to be a person that’s worthy of your efforts.”

 Then, after a long moment cradled in her arms, Itaru slowly lifted his head and finally allowed his red-rimmed eyes to meet hers, a small, lop-sided smile sneaking its way onto his lips.

 “Well… then I hope you’re ready to accept responsibility for your actions again.”

 “Of course!”

I had hoped to put this out on the actual first day of this week, but I kept rewriting it because I wasn’t satisfied with it. Even now, I’m not completely pleased with the finished product, but, I honestly don’t know how long it would take me to finish writing if I kept mulling over it! So, I decided to finally just settle with this version and post it and not look back!!

 In the end, I still got my central point across: which is that I wanted to write about how and why someone doesn’t feel jealous in a romantic relationship. And, so, this happened, haha. But, I didn’t want a sad ending, so I ended up on a hopeful note.

 Anyway, I APPARENTLY ONLY WRITE ITAIZU ANGST. I’m so sorry, Itaru – I’ll do you right next time!! No, really, HAHA. My entry for Day 2 (which will hopefully get written out in the next couple of days) is another ItaIzu and it’s NOT sad, I promise. In fact, it’s just PWP, LOLOL.

 If you liked my first entry, please do stick around for my other pieces for “A3! Rare Pairs Week 2020”! After my ItaIzu for Day 2, I’ll be moving on to other Izumi pairings. It’s a secret for now which pairings will all be covered in the end, but I’m here to spread the Izumi love!!

 Thank you for reading and please do leave a comment letting me know what you think! Any reblogs are always greatly appreciated and would really help me out!

 I hope to see you again! Bye for now!

 -Anmitsu

[fieryanmitsu]

Intertwined Roots | ch. 8 - “laughter” | A3! AU

Ahhhhh!! It’s been almost a month since I last updated “Intertwined Roots” and I’m so glad to be back!! I still have to finish up my Rare Pair Week entries, but I really wanted to come back to my babies, so decided to squeeze in an update here first!

We’ve finally reached the chapter where all four kiddos meet!! This was a moment I was greatly anticipating, so I hope you’ll enjoy this chapter!

Tag list: @azamitmg​

“Intertwined Roots” is an A3! alternate universe series where Izumi, Itaru, Tsumugi and Tasuku grow up as childhood friends.

For the summary, background and notes about the “Intertwined Roots” universe, along with more chapters, please refer to the “Intertwined Roots” Masterpost.

Masterpost for my other fanfiction: here

AO3: Link in my Blog Menu!

INTERTWINED ROOTS – ch. 8

“laughter” | spring | Tsumugi (age 5), Tasuku (age 5), Itaru (age 5) & Izumi (age 4)

Itaru’s stomach was in knots. He had never been more nervous in his life.

“I-Izumi… Wh-What if they don’t like me?” Itaru asked quietly, his hands wringing the edge of his shirt.

“Course they’ll like you!” Izumi declared. “They’re my bestest friends, and you’re my bestest friend now, too! So, we’re all friends!”

“Umm, I… I don’t think… that’s how it works,” the brown-haired boy murmured, confused by her logic.

It had only been a few days since he’d met Izumi, but it had been a life-changing experience for the bespectacled boy. No matter how awkward or quiet he was, the energetic girl never seemed to mind – rather, she somehow continued the conversation even without his responses. She also didn’t laugh at how bad he was at climbing the jungle gym – always cheering him on instead of leaving him behind. Even when he won all of their games, rather than getting upset at his constant victories, she’d challenge him to another round with even more determination than before.

And, now that he had a taste of what it was like to have a friend, he feared losing her.

Izumi often talked about her two other friends, Tsumu and Tachan. She said that they were her best friends and that they were lots of fun – even though Tachan was a baldie butthead sometimes. The girl had been ecstatic to introduce him to them once they returned from their Golden Week visit to some out-of-town family members.

However, rather than feeling anticipation at meeting them, Itaru only felt dread. If Tsumu and Tachan didn’t like him, just like most of the other kids he’d met, would that mean he couldn’t play with Izumi anymore? The thought made his throat tighten.

“Oh, look! They’re here!” Izumi exclaimed, waving both of her arms above her head at three oncoming figures.

“Izuuuumiiii!!” a blue-haired boy yelled back. Beside him, a taller boy with hair shaved short to his head waved an arm back. Trailing behind them was an older boy with dark hair.

Itaru wished he could prepare himself better, but, before he knew it, the two younger boys were running towards them.

Izumi immediately threw herself at the blue-haired boy, hugging him tight.

“I missed you, Tsumu!”

“Me, too!” Tsumugi replied with a giggle.

“Hey, how come I don’t get anything!” Tasuku demanded.

Izumi turned her head towards Tasuku and stuck her tongue out at him. Itaru could see the taller boy’s eyebrows raise and, a second later, Tasuku smirked and jabbed Izumi in the ribs with his fingers. Izumi squealed and lunged at him, trying to jab him back, but the boy just danced away. With a yell of protest, Izumi chased after his retreating figure.

Itaru’s head was spinning and he dropped his gaze to look at his feet. He thought he might be feeling sick.

Then, suddenly, his vision was filled with yellow.

“This is for you!” a soft voice chirped.

Itaru looked up from the small bouquet of big, yellow daisies and came face-to-face with Tsumugi.

“F-For me?” Itaru asked uncertainly.

“Yeah! My grandma grew them! She said that the yellow ones are for friends!” the boy chattered excitedly. “So, umm, my name’s Tsumugi! Will you please be my friend?”

Itaru was thunderstruck. His gaze flickered down from Tsumugi’s shy smile to the flowers clutched in his hand, not quite believing that a second person – in the span of less than a week – was asking to be his friend.

After a long second, Itaru finally reached out and slowly took the bright yellow flowers from Tsumugi’s unwavering hand. He gentle fingered one of the petals – they were velvety and soft.

“Yay! Let’s play together lots, okay, Itaru?” Tsumugi said with a bright smile.

“H-How did you know my name?” Itaru asked, surprised.

“Izumi talked lots about you when we played yesterday,” Tsumugi responded.

Then, a whirlwind of brown hair flew past them and Izumi was suddenly behind Itaru, clutching onto his shoulders.

“You’re so mean, Tachan – my hair’s all messy now!” Izumi exclaimed with a pout. “You better not be mean to Itaru or I’ll beat you up!”

Itaru’s eyes flickered up to stare at Tasuku, who had come to stand beside Tsumugi.

“So, you’re Itaru, right?” the taller boy asked. “I’m Tasuku.”

Maybe it was because Itaru was taken aback by Tasuku’s size – being much bigger than Tsumugi and himself – but, instead of saying ‘nice to meet you’, like he had been taught by his parents, Itaru blurted something out instead.

“There’s no way you can beat him up, Izumi. He’s huge.”

“Wh-What?! I-I so can!” Izumi protested, stomping her feet. “Just watch!”

The girl then launched herself at Tasuku and headbutted him in the stomach. The movement took the taller boy by surprise and he yelped as he was knocked onto his behind. Izumi, unable to stop her momentum, promptly toppled over him.

A part of Itaru was alarmed at what had just happened, but another part of him found the entire situation – a tiny girl barrelling into someone a full head taller than her – so absurd that it was hilarious. So hilarious, in fact, that a laugh ripped itself out of Itaru’s throat and he was practically doubled over as giggles wracked his body.

“H-Hey! You’re laughing!” Izumi gasped.

Realizing that he was being called out, Itaru calmed himself immediately, nudging his glasses up to wipe his eyes with one hand.

“S-Sorry,” he apologized, suddenly nervous that maybe he shouldn’t have laughed. Was she mad?

“B-But…” Izumi’s eyebrows furrowed, and her cheeks puffed out. “You didn’t even laugh at my funny faces yesterday!!”

Itaru distinctly remembered the ‘funny faces’ she was talking about. He wasn’t sure how to tell her that they hadn’t been funny.

“Here, try again!! I’ll definitely make you laugh this time!”

Izumi then squished her face between her hands and puckered out her lips while rolling her eyes.

From beside him, Tsumugi burst into giggles. Itaru, on the other hand, could only tilt his head. It looked weird, but not quite funny.

“You look like a demon,” Tasuku remarked dryly.

Itaru clapped his hand over his mouth as he let out a snort.

“HEY!”

And there we have it!! Our babies are all together now!! I didn’t originally imagine that I would keep things chronological for so long, but I ended up really wanting to set up the foundation of how they all met before I jumped around! I’ve got one more chronological chapter left after this one to “wrap up” what I’d consider their first meetings, so to say.

After that, I plan to post non-chronological snippets from various times of their lives in no particular order. I’ll note that, timeline-wise, this fic series will only cover their “childhood” (i.e. up until Izumi and Itaru’s high school graduation).

I already have a pool of ideas, but I don’t actually have a preference for the order in which to write them. SO… I’d like to ask all of you awesome readers for opinions! Hearing everyone’s feedback on the chapters so far has been so motivating for me and I’m so happy that there’s people out there who love this series that I’ve put together! As my way of giving back, I’d like to open “requests” for the upcoming chapters!

How it’ll work is that you can request any “set” of characters (any combination of two, three or all four of our main characters) and then just let me know which age range you’d like to see (preschool/elementary age, middle school age or high school age). So, if there’s any particular interaction/combination of characters you’d like to see, please drop a comment/ask (anon asks are enabled!) with something like “Itaru and Tasuku, high school age” and I’ll write the next chapters in order of requests that I receive!

When I run out of requests to line up, I may open them up again, or do something different to decide what comes out next!!

Thanks so much for your support so far and I look forward to hearing from all of you!! As usual, if you enjoyed reading, please consider reblogging to help me out!!

-Anmitsu