#god i hope this fic is even coherent once it's done I CAN'T EVEN TELL AT THIS POINT

[ivorydice]

In the beginning I thought this fic would be 10k of "teehee Noct and Gladio trapped down a mine shaft" and then it turned into this mess of angst and feelings, and now my second draft is currently 28k, just slightly bigger than the entire first draft and I haven't even finished it yet, and so it's looking like it'll be nearly 40k when it's done I'm suffering lmao ✌️

[petrichor-han]

i am absolutely overwhelmed rn and i hope i can even write out my thoughts coherently but just ..... wow. i read idle town so long ago and back then it broke me and it's one of the fics that stayed with me and pops into my mind a lot because even though i am the kind of person who loves happily ever afters the thought of everything that transpired between them and how their differences and actions managed to diminish a relationship as strong as theirs to the point that it stopped existing had me so sad since you made it so realistic and raw. i never expected to see a part 2 of it and as much as i knew that that was just wishful thinking, i really hoped things would be better this time around but it ended up hurting probably even more than the first time :') the constant what if? had me feeling so empty and to think that she has everything bjt yet it all seems to be for naught without beomgyu is just so.... infidelity is something that i can't ever forgive and it made me so disgusted with both of them and yet i still wished for them to be happy together even though they'd probably still be unhappy then, they've changed too much and caused too much damage to both themselves and others that it's always going to be gnawing at their conscience whether they're together or not. both yeonjun and karina deserve so much better, knowing that there is no way for everyone to get their happy end just hurts me so much. plus beomgyu finally moving there too after losing everything, knowing that they could've been happy together if he hadn't been so selfish about going there and if he'd moved there with her is truly so heart-wrenching because it's just too late now.. i am so amazed by your writing and how it makes me feel so nostalgic and longing for a time that i never experienced, i felt every bit of the guilt happiness love and pain the characters were going through that i'm 100% that just like the first time, this fic will linger in my mind and come back to hurt me at the most random times. it's been a long time since i've written such a long review for a fic but i just need to let you know that i'm so grateful and in awe of you for writing this fic, i only took a short look at your blog so it might not even apply anymore but especially since you're technically in hiatus and don't write for txt anymore from what i know i was so shocked to see the second part and i can't tell you enough how much i appreciate it!! you did an incredible job as always, your writing abilities are just out of this world truly. i'm currently in the process of setting up a blog so i can rec nsfw fics as well, so i'll reblog it as soon as i've done that but i just needed to let you know how much i loved it and to once again thank you so much🤍

hello lovely!! first of all, my god—the fact that you read idle town way back when and you came back for the sequel? i’m touched 🥹 that alone means so so much!!

oh, the what if’s 😫 that’s exactly what i wanted to focus on and really nail in the sequel; the constant wondering and doubting of their decisions. i think indecision and regret is a big fault of humanity in itself and it’s really the sole reason why both beomgyu and y/n are unable to move on from the past. thank you for pointing this out specifically, that makes me really happy!

aaaaa i’m literally so bad at responding to such sweet messages but just—thank you for saying all of this. the fact that it had an impact on you at all is just making me smile so hard it hurts.

honestly—i’ve been considering coming back to write for txt because i really do like all of the ideas i have that fit with their personalities so it definitely still applies, thank you!! i really want to come back and write full fics more often but life gets in the way as always 🙃

i feel like i’ve said thank you so many times in this response but i really truly mean it!! i wish there was another way to express my gratitude because two words doesn’t feel anywhere close enough. i’ve listerally showed my MOTHER this ask and all my irl’s because it made me so so happy (not to be corny) but i appreciate you so much.

i’m so glad you liked the sequel as well as the original. thank you (again) for your kind words 🥹

[dreamylyfe-x]

Woah boy here we go ok. I need to tell you about my feelings for Bound. Which I have been meaning to do for literal weeks, but I read it so quickly the first time I wanted to give myself a slower second read through in the hopes that it would help me form some manner of coherent thoughts to offer you about why it is so brilliant.

I regret however that that strategy does not seem to have worked. I started a little notes doc with thoughts for each chapter and it began with full sentences but then as I went on and got more pulled into just reading the story the sentences turned into mere collections of words and then single word exclamations. The last note I have is jaaaaamiiiiiiieeeeeee!!!! And after that I gave up the pretense of taking notes at all and just let myself devour.

I think it is perfect?? Perhaps it is a perfect piece of writing???

From the outset, the very beginning of the prologue it is so visceral. Your descriptions of feelings are so physical, that the whole time one of them is in pain, I also feel that I am in pain. And so I feel like I have spent quite a lot of the story in pain, but the phenomenon of that makes me feel that I am so closely connected to both Ian and Mickey and I love it. And likewise when they are feeling joy or desire or relief. God the relief! It starts in that first reunion they have at the Kash and Grab after the gun incident, every second of that is filled with this wonderful release of physical tension, and then it simply escalates from there. I can't begin to describe how effectively you manage to convey the experience of having an emotion as part of your physical body, and how that is heightened by the soul bond aspect of the whole thing. Incredible.

What else? The world building! Heavens. I have read not that many soulmate AUs, but in terms of creating and explaining the rules of this adjacent universe where soulmates exist and endowing it with history and prejudice and letting that all just bleed into and across the story, you have eclipsed every single one. I totally buy into this parallel history and the nuances of opinions and variety of bond experiences and antiquated terms for gay bonds, it's all a very rich tapestry and I think you've done an excellent job of weaving it.

I am so here for a story that follows the canon without exactly recreating it. There are so many moments where you can pick out specifics from the show that are reflected or echoed, but are in a different context or setting, and yet manage to create that same feeling. And it's great because it's like a little easter egg, a little hit of recognition, but also is original in its form and serves its own purpose within your story. It connects us to Shameless without binding us into it and it is very deft and I enjoy it immensely.

We also have to talk about characterisation. Which. I actually don't know if I can talk about at all eloquently but you have to know that I am enamored with it. Ian and Mickey, but equally MANDY my beloved, who is sharp and brutal but also caring and so willing to help. I really like Ryan, I feel like you totally have that guy's voice, even though we knew him for only a few short moments, and I like that you made him not at all a predator. These kids need some adult advice once in a while! Which leads me onto Veronica. Best Aunty I love her, she is perfect.

But mostly I am just in awe of how you have written these versions of Ian and Mickey who feel so true to who I know them to be. I appreciate so much this Mickey who is accepting of his feelings for and connection to Ian from so early on, but that you haven't transformed him into someone who is really very soft in expressing those things. He is still motivated by fear and that fear makes him hard-edged, even when his insides are goo. And I love your Ian, who is sunshine itself, but also so much more alone than he ever is in the early seasons of the show because he isn't able to be out even to Lip really. His relationship with Monica is so heartbreaking and his descent into his loneliness and into resentment and feeling like Mickey doesn't care, all of it feels like something I could have been watching on the show.

That thing that Shameless does where they give you a little moment of pure wonder, and then follow it up by socking you in the mouth, it's that. You've captured that.

I swear there is so much more I could say but I feel that would be maybe concerning and you might take out a restraining order. But honestly I have been thinking about how to write this more succinctly for days and I couldn't come up with a way that could accurately convey how excellent I think this fic is in less words than I have used.

In short though, I love your writing and this work specifically and am very invested in reading the next chapter and all of the chapters after that.

🖤 Howl x

Hello! I'm slow! I'm sorry about that!

I'm also blown away. This whole thing is amazing and makes me grin like an unhinged person. But I sometimes am like "should I reply privately or is that rude?" -- I think I landed on that it's rude (so apologies to people I've done that to) and I apologize for my neuroses.

So first of all: super glad you like Bound. Super glad you have feelings about it! Totally love that you tried to make notes -- it's truly amazing that you'd make that kind of effort over it. Much love. 💕

Bound started life as a one-shot so sometimes I’m momentarily surprised when people talk about how the story starts in season one. I’m glad you enjoy the relief because I feel like it’s the emotion I write with them the most and a lot of times I’m like “I hope this doesn’t feel repetitive…” (though. Not a problem in recent chapters I guess). But. A bond under threat has a euphoric quality when they get to be together.

Also, because it was a one shot I didn’t expect to have to do much world-building, but that’s maybe one of the things I have the most fun with. Like tonight I was doing the dishes and starting wondering about how, exactly, things work when you bond with a psychopath. These are the things that haunt me.

I like the idea of the socio-economic impact of soulmates, so I very much want the other characters to continue their canon journeys. It’s maybe a little pessimistic but I see enough situations where we decide something that occurs naturally is wrong and must be fixed for me to think that people would accept the actual rules that seem to exist around soulmates without wanting to shape them into something else.

So happy you like the characterization! I’d never written Mandy before the one-shot but I immediately loved her. And I love wiring so many of the characters. Iggy. Fiona. DEFINITELY V. So glad you enjoy Mickey and Ian, too. I don’t think absolute security in a relationship is entirely possible for Mickey — but also, even knowing that he’s bound and that Ian loves him, it can still be really uncomfortable for him to be open about everything that means to him. I also, since I will probably never write a 3x12-4x07 fill-in fic I really wanted to get into Ian and Monica. That relationship is so interesting to me.

I don’t know who these people are who look askance at people taking the time to tell them they really like their work ARE, but I assure you I am not among their number. Truly so grateful for this. Thank you for your time, your attention and your really kind and thoughtful words. It truly means so much to me.