#got over 200 posts in drafts now

[perilsensitive-sunglasses]

Oops. I only posted half of what I wanted for Leslie's birthday. Ran out of hours and energy. I got to watch a couple of his movies the other day. So that was nice. Worked on some things (mostly twojamie). Then tossed them into drafts. Most are finished, still working on others.

[portgasdwrld]

📂 Op men + them being jealous

part 1

Featuring: Monster trio (Luffy, Sanji, Zoro)

Warning: fluffy fluff, ended up being the monster trio being subtly jealous lol Ik I was going to make it suggestive but I like it better that way, might change it for the others

Note : After 200 weeks, 1500 minutes and 25 years, I’m finally posting this serie after thousands of drafts 👩🏻‍💻 y’all don’t know how many times I wrote and erased stuff 😭

Luffy

The crew just landed on a new island, it was a huge forest, not a person in sight. You weren’t particularly a big fan of walking around in an unknown deserted place, especially in the New World where you never knew on what or who you could fall.

On the other side, Luffy was absolutely fearless and enjoyed the thrill of exploring the unknown and seeing unusual creatures; Sailing was all about that for him. An adventure wasn’t an adventure if he didn’t feel that rush of adrenaline faced to a strange situation. He had insisted you come with the exploring team while you pleaded to stay behind with Robin and Usopp.

But here you were walking glued to Sanji as your boyfriend lead the way somewhere in this lost territory filled with trees and the noises of wild animals. He was screaming in excitement when he came across weird insects or odd looking vegetables. You sighed heavily as the anxiety was still heavily present in your system.

The cook adjusted his pace to match yours sensing your uneasiness about the situation. He knew you only came for Luffy, so he made sure to help you feel more comfortable in his own way.

Luffy ran forward as he noticed a beautiful blue flower tinted with yellow strokes that looked like gentle waves. He took it and searched for you with his eyes.

-This would look so pretty on your hair!

He exclaimed as he walked over to you and Sanji while waving the flower in his tan hand. You smiled as you thought it was adorable, but Luffy’s eyes quickly glared at your arms wrapped around Sanjis. He didn’t say anything and simply fixed the flower behind your ear, complimenting you with loving eyes and his cute grin.

-You look perfect!

He announced as he put his arm around your neck, naturally removing you from Sanji. A giggle left your lips as you melt into his familiar warmth. His eyes looked down at you with so much love and care, he wouldn’t want nothing to happen to you. Sanji laughed as he noticed Luffy successful attempt to get you away from him.

Your boyfriend closed the distance between his face and yours. With slightly furrowed eyebrows and serious eyes, he wondered if you were fine.

-Yeah, I just feel uneasy about walking here if I’m being truly honest. I’m not a fearless warrior like you, let’s say~

You explained calmly as you stared back into his big brown eyes. His expression softened up and he moved his arm to be able to grab your hand instead.

-Alright, then stay close to me only. I’m the strongest, so I will protect you no matter what! I promise!

-You’re sweet, thank you Luffy.

He gave a squeeze to your hand as you two followed the group through the millions of trees. Luffy smiled to himself, knowing you were relying on him to protect you now~

Zoro

It was all going well, a great night where Zoro was simply enjoying his time drinking with the others. It was all going great until he noticed a man that kept staring at you. You didn’t notice as you were busy goofing around with Usopp, enjoying a fun conversation.

Zoro felt this feeling of frustration grow in him the more he glared at the person shamelessly eyeing you like he clearly couldn’t see you were taken. That’s when it snapped for him: maybe they couldn’t tell? And that angered him even more. How can this person stare at you like a candy while he was sitting just next to you.

The swordsman pulled you closer to him, making sure his arm around your waist is noticeable. He smirked relieved when he saw the man look away with an annoyed huff. He took a sip from his beer as his smile got bigger. Zoro took that opportunity to slip a quick peck on your jawline.

You stared at him weirdly, wondering what have gotten into him.

-Wassup with you?

-I cant kiss you or what?

-Yeah, but you don’t usually do that.

-You always complain

He whined as he rolled his eye, but still he was glad that no one was hungrily looking your way anymore. You were his and he would make the possible to make it known. Even if it needed him to be outside of his comfort zone, he was going to make sure you were safe from lingering unwanted eyes (maybe to also make himself feel better)

You gave him a funny look, confused about his unusual bright expression. You pecked his lips not giving too much thoughts about it, before going back to your conversation with Usopp. You leant your body on your boyfriends that surprisingly responded to it by holding your waist tighter and rubbing his thumb against your tummy.

-You’re really acting strange, but I ain’t complaining

You said under your breath so only he could hear. He chuckled as he drank some more. You looked over your shoulder with a smile.

-Great, because you’re not leaving my side tonight.

Sanji

Hand in hand, you two walked through the village in the middle of all the varieties of shops surrounding y’all. You wanted to buy a necklace so you were hopeful to find something of your taste and Sanji was more than willing to help you.

He had already made his grocery shopping with you yesterday and organized everything late in the evening, so it was his rest day. He wanted to enjoy the sunny weather with his awesome lover on this pretty day.

It all started when the seller was proposing you multiple options at the table and he invited you to come in the store for something more refined for a beautiful person like you. Sanji didn't care, because of course you are beautiful, so it was only natural that other people would notice. He nodded excited to see what other options the man had that could fit you even better.

Sanji cocked an eyebrow when the seller pushed your hair behind your shoulders and got close to your face as he commented about you smelling good. You laughed as you thanked him, mentioning how your boyfriend bought the scent for you as you pointed at the cook. He put a gorgeous silver piece around your neck and handed you a mirror.

-What do we think?

He asked with a content expression, you stared at the mirror with a floating smile as you nodded, approving the jewelry.

-It's so gorgeous! Oh! What about this one?

You asked as your eyes flew to a more elegant necklace. You walked away from Sanji quickly as you engaged in a great conversation with the seller about the jewelries and some specific information, that your lover was honestly unfamiliar with. Sanji felt like you kind of forgot about him and started to wander around the store on his own as he kept an eye on you, still.

"...should I get into jewelries.."

It was those type of thoughts that occupied his mind as he sulked in his corner. Though, Sanji is a gentleman and he loved more than anything to see you happy and passionate, so he put his jealousy aside to let you enjoy your moment. So, he put his ego aside and started to think about which one would look hotter on you-

-Chérie, have you find something you liked?

He asked you as he wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you into him. You hummed as you looked at the other man and you both nodded, agreeing on something the cook had no clue about.

-I'm going to take this one, what do you think babe?

Sanji kissed your cheeks and whispered in your ears with a smirk.

-They all look beautiful to me, because you are stunning. I don't think I will be of a great help, my love.

You smiled to yourself, because Sanji likes whatever you wear or not. On his end, he just wanted to leave already and pamper you with kisses & hickeys all over your neck to celebrate your new necklace and maybe to let people know you were his..

[sakurasnowfall]

hi, Idk if i’m doing This right, but could you please write Some angst that turns into fluff about Reader x anime sanji? reader can be Afab or gender neutral, i don’t mind. You can also choose the scenario, Full control :)

thank You 🤩 and its ok if you don’t get to this, LOVE your writing by the way it’s So beautiful

Hi! As regards to your *Idk if im doing this right* no worries fam, neither do I (your request was perfect, though, so no worries!) 😭

Here is the story. I brain stormed maybe 7 ideas for this starting the night I got this request. It stumped me so freaking bad, and it took a couple weeks to get an...almost complete draft down. I let it sit for way to long, hence why it has been nearly a whole month. So here is what I am gonna do. I just wrote the missing 1/4 of this. I am going to post what it now. I WILL BE GOING BACK TO EDIT THIS AND MAKING IT BETTER. My anxiety was screaming at me to at least put out SOMETHING. So, I hope this is okay FOR NOW. I know it sucks, but I promise eventually I will improve it for you!

Thank you thank you thank you for the compliment!!! Lots of love <3

Tw : Blood, syringe mention, death mentioned

Established relationship, fem reader, and () used as a name placeholder.

Sanji usually loved red. Maroon roses. Vermillion wine. Scarlett sunsets. Ruby hearts. But now? He hated it. He hated it so much. Seeing it, dripping from every spot on her body. Covering her in a sheet of sickening crimson. Imagining what he would give to swap their places was not a thought for the faint of heart. All he could do was watch as Chopper gently cleaned the blood off of her arms and her face. As the tiny doctor wrapped her torso in bandages, her hovered, almost like a ghost with how pale and silent he remained. Ironic...that the chef of the crew himself was the only one who did not eat. Actually, that was not quiet true, as he forced himself a few forkfuls of food, guided by the phantom scolding he heard from () about neglecting his self care. He spent that night in the infirmary with her. Listening to the fragile, feathery breaths that balanced her on the edge of his world and the next. He thought that was the worst sound he would hear that day. This was not the case. Sanji learned that the worst sound was not the sound of her anguished screams. It was not the sound of her painful, labored breaths. He learned it was not the sound of her unconscious cries.

Sanji learned that the worst sound was no sound at all.

No amount of force on the Grandline could be guaranteed success in trying to restrain him. Sanji couldn't see Chopper scrambling to her bedside or hear him shouting. He couldn't hear Luffy's yelling. He couldnt hear Zoros grunts as the swordsman tried in vain to hold the cook down, slamming him to the floor after narrowly avoiding a kick to the head. If he couldn't see Robins powers prop up various instruments for Chopper, then certainly couldn't have seen one of her hands stabbing a syringe into his arm.

------------------------

When the cook awoke, it wasn't his head, or his knees - which had been bent underneath his weight - that hurt the most. It was his heart. His ever-bleeding heart, over flowing with the love that gushed and overflowed. How he found the strength to stand, he wasn't sure. But when he did, he found himself in an unfamiliar place. A place that held a bright, white shimmer and a peculiar haze about it, yet for all it's light gave off no warmth. He rubbed the back of his head, turning to better gauge his surroundings. That's when he saw her. Standing, maybe 200 feet away from him. Standing. Almost shimmering, radiant. Alive. If his legs had ever held a purpose other than carrying him to her, they didn't remember, as he sprinted toward her. She was just about to turn to him, when shadow, greater than anything he had ever seen, was summoned forth from the white ground, casting an ugly contrast, dragging whatever twisted world he was in from chilled to ice-cold. Sanji knew what this shadow was. More sure than he had been of almost anything in his life. It wanted her. Maybe it wanted him as well. He had run from it more times than he could count. But there was no running this time.

Rage guided his motions, and his love refined them to a deadly point, spearing the sheer power of his attacks into his opponent's core. If fighting death itself was all that stood between him and his life, then he would gladly fight it. Death wanted his life, and it would not have her. His fire lit it's shadows, extinguishing them, bit by bit, piece by piece. Until there was nothing left but air.

By the time he was done, adrenaline had rewarded him with the energy to run the remaining distance to her. When he reached her, he stopped. He reached out, his hand shaking. "()........" His voice failed him, his hand attempting to make up for his words by softly coming to rest at the side of her face. She had not broken her silence, but he could see her returning to him. Shutting her eyes and leaning into his touch, a few stray teardrops escaping her eyes, his own eyes mirroring the action. Her kissed her softly, hoping to regain his words through his actions. He pulled back after a brief moment, resting his forehead against hers. His hand had now moved to intertwine with hers. When his voice returned to him, in a whisper "let's go home......"

When Sanji woke up, his eyes had hardly opened before he sprang out of bed, scrambling into Chopper's office. He saw () sitting up, awake, eyes locked on him. He paused, before carefully approaching her, perhaps afraid that THIS was the dream.

"Are you.....how are you......feeling? " the blonde came to gently sit on the edge of her bed, carefully reaching out to cup to side of her face. () placed a hand atop his.

"I'm okay." He nodded, a few stray drops of bittersweet relief sliding down his face, quickly whisked away with a small laugh.

[ghostoffuturespast]

WIP Whenever

*takes a deep breath* Tagged by @streetkid-named-desire @wanderingaldecaldo (you two I think at least twice lol) @seeker-of-truth

@baublekute @scarlettspectra @aggravateddurian. Thank you all very much for thinking of me! 🧡

Tag backs for everyone above 😘 and @luvwich @merge-conflict @shimmer-like-agirl @mynonsenseistingling

@fly-amanitaa @dani-the-goblin @tarmac-rat @lavnderkiwi @morganlefaye79

Cash your tag in now or later and feel free to do whatever creative projects you're working on! Doesn't even have to be fandom related.

It's been a minute. This one got long.

I largely haven't been doing any fandom stuff other than VP because my work schedule has been insane the past two months. And the only reason I have VP to post is because I'm generous about snapping pics and the vast majority of photos y'all are seeing are ones I took back in March/April/May.

Things at work are starting to be slightly less hectic though, so hopefully I can get back into the swing of things. I'm trying to be gentle with myself about the time and energy I do have but it's been frustrating wanting to do things and not having the beans to do them. Spending most of my workdays outside for extended periods of time means I'm bone tired when I get home. And then I have more work to do outside...

Gardening

My garden is gonna be very scraggly looking for the rest of the year, but if I can keep it alive, in theory, the plants should come back bigger and bolder next year. Shortgrass prairie plants spend the bulk of their first few growing seasons establishing their root systems since water is often in short supply, so the tops of the plants are very unimpressive rn. Most of them probably won't get much bigger than this or even flower this year.

I've gotten a good chunk of the plants in the ground, have irrigation lines going to all of them, and did the lil concrete paver patio. I still need to finish planting the plants that have been languishing in their pots for over a month, bury the irrigation lines, and do a bunch of other random things, but we're getting there. Not planning on covering the bare dirt with mulch because I'm doing fall and spring seeding and I want the plants to self-sow. Going for wild pocket prairie and I'm gonna let it go absolutely feral. I'd eventually like to get rid of the river rocks too but baby steps.

What's really funny is all my native plants seem to be doing reasonable well. My vegetable garden on the other hand... It's sad. I know where I fucked up though (I should not have done that soil experiment lol and attack of the cutworm catepillars), so I'll just have to cut my loses this year and reevaluate for next. The worm composter is doing good though 🪱

Drawing

Attempting to get back into drawing. Again, it's been slow. Have been doodling some mutual's CP2077 OCs when I have the time and still have a ways to get through my list. I'm surprised by how much fan art of Grandpa I've received so I figured I'd return the favor for some folks. It's always a pleasant surprise getting some lovely art in your inbox. Probably won't be coloring most of these from here on out. I have a love hate relationship with coloring. Sorry, I just find lines more interesting. All of these were done with dip pen, ink, and watercolor.

I've got another more formal piece I need to work on as well and get done by the end of the month. Keep forgetting to do the layout sketches...

Writing

The slowest of them all. Been working on the same damn short fic (No. 1 of Les Preludes) and then brainstorming for about fifty other projects that are waiting their turn in line. Plus, I'm still trying to read too. But when I can only manage a chapter of a fic about every two weeks...

Most of my writing efforts have been bopping into my drafts now and then and pecking out a sentence or two. However, I did manage to spend 45 minutes detangling a section of about 200 words 🐢:

Have you or a loved one been in an accident or injured on the job?  Are you missing your former quality of life?  Holed up in the bathroom, Robert winced at his reflection in the mirror and at the crusted blood he picked at underneath his nostrils.  Then consider Arasaka Cybernetic Implants!  Fully functional prostheses are capable of replicating the full range of human motion and more!  Available in a range of sizes and styles to suit all your lifestyle needs.  The body of the future is NOW. The corners of his mouth tugged on a bruised eye and what former experience had taught him was a broken nose. Call 1-800-IMPLANT today for a free consultation! Low-interest financing and payment plans available. A rapid fire of unintelligible fine print was drowned out by the sputter of the faucet. Robert cupped his hands and scrubbed at his face, the pain disappearing for the briefest moments with the black of shut eyes and splashes of cold water.      Arasaka Corporation.  What can we do for you? Dry flecks of red decorated the sides of the sink before rehydrating into inky swirls of blood that slipped down the sides of imitation porcelain. Yellowed, cracked, and starting to chip. The plastic hadn’t aged well.

This snippet gives me the hardest war flashbacks to those late 90s/early 00s TV phone ads. Anyone else old enough to remember these things?

[mean-scarlet-deceiver]

Wilbert's Worst

Right, so I really was open to having my mind changed on The Worst One but nobody’s argument has budged me.

I was going to write a complete, balanced essay on The Worst W. Awdry Book, but I’m a) mired in the research phase (hey if anyone knows someone with an encyclopedic knowledge of Tom and Jerry hit me up, for real) and b) right now I wanna talk about the characters and their Beloved Dynamics instead. 

So I'm just gonna get this out of the way so I can post the poll and move on to answering fun asks and watching Tom and Jerry in peace. Behold: a salty and unbalanced review.

Wilbert’s biggest failure of a children’s storybook? 

Henry the Green Engine 

Ohhh… because of the, uh, ra —?

Because of the racism, yes!

Oh. You do know that since 1972 they’ve republished it without the n-slur? 

Good for them. Two things: 

1. I know it used to be there, I’m never able to read it without knowing it was there in the first edition.

2. I consistently try, when ranking the books, to consider them in the context in which they came out. Because of this, I don’t like using “things that happened later” (like a new character never being properly used again or whatever) against the book. This helps me evaluate the author’s successes and failures against what they were trying to achieve when they wrote it vs what I would most want (blorbo content). It helps me not bring to bear the whole weight of fanon and fandom on a text that should be able to stand or fall on its own. Tl;dr I try to read the books like a guy who picked it up in 1951, or whatever. 

And yeah, if I’d bought this when it came out it would have had the slur. I’m going to judge it accordingly. 

Look, racism is bad, no argument, but does that mean the book as a whole must be condemned? 

Yeah, I think the slur and the “aaaand suddenly, blackface! heeheehee” bullshit fuck over the entire book, game over. Go directly to jail, do not collect $200. 

The Railway Series is not a work of high art or deep thorny complex literature. The books are meant for children — small children, at that. Children small enough to get bedtime stories read to them. The main goal of each book (especially this early on — you do have to manage secondary priorities like “pleasing the long-time fanbase” the longer you go, but right now we’re only 6 books into the series) is to create a happy imaginary world to enhance childhoods and family lives… to impart to other parents and kids a similar cosy happiness to that the author and his own kids enjoyed when he was workshopping/drafting the stories for them. When we say “children’s book” we really do mean little’uns — these average 1.25 full-color illustrations per page!

And these books sold in large numbers. This means it’s a certainty that somewhere in 1951 there was a Black family who owned the whole series, who went out to the shops, whose kid was like “ooh! Henry gets a book, neat…,” who like everyone else enjoyed the wild ride of Henry’s inspection and coal and wreck and rebuild… only to get verbally spat on one page from the end. 

Real mood-killer there. Epic fail, as the cool kids used to say in my youth. 

All right, fine, cool kids never said that. Anyway, statistically speaking there was certainly even more than one family that got that experience. Not to mention the non-Black families who even in 1951 were like “... wtf? i’d smack my kid if they ever said a word like that around me, geez. no.” Just a lot of people who had the light the book was kindling in them snuffed out all at once. 

You can actually be totally racist and your book not commit creative suicide on the penultimate page! Awdry flubbed his job of 'bestselling books-for-six-year-olds' here. Creative failure. Unforced error. Automatic zero. 

But times were different then, you have to consider it in the context of the time. 

1951 U.K. was not the nadir of multiracial equality or Black power, but jfc. I can assure you that over 99% of children’s books published that year in the Anglosphere managed to not use the n-slur. 

All right, all right. That was bad. But this feels off-topic. If you had never known about what used to be “Henry’s Sneeze,” would you still rank the entire book as dead last in the Wilbert Awdry corpus? 

Not dead last, but it is not a strong book. “Coal” and “The Flying Kipper” are super-interesting as material for Henry, but after that the book kind of falls off a cliff; the intrigue drops dramatically. The railway incidents chosen to make stories of are all solid choices, but it was not only “Sneeze” where Awdry’s handling of the material feels clumsy and weird. (And I’m not even talking here of the “heehee blackface — ain’t i a stinker?” gag in “Sneeze.”) 

But… “The Flying Kipper”? C’mon. It’s a superb story and no book that contains it can be the absolute worst in the series. 

“TFK” remains easily the best single TVS episode ever – but a lot of that is down to Britt and David’s artistry and judgment. 

Don’t get me wrong, a full-on railway wreck makes interesting material. But I don’t think the book does nearly as much with it as it could (and I’m trying sooooo hard here to forget about the amazing TVS adaptation, as I think it REALLY shows Awdry up. Even so, the storytelling here is surprisingly tepid and low-stakes). I get that Awdry probably wanted to lean into the comic angle and not make Henry’s condition afterwards seem too grave, in order to ensure the material wasn’t too dark for his young audience? (*mutters* again, a level of tender consideration for his readers’ youth that went right out the window when it came to small Black kids, evidently coz he couldn’t imagine that they read) Understandable, laudable — but if he outright refuses* to make the wreck too dramatic or scary then, well, then the wreck isn’t real scary or dramatic. And it can’t save the rest of the book from its flaws. 

*For all I know it could have been the publishers who insisted that the wreck be made preschooler-safe, that’s possible (although it’s also consistent with Awdry’s brand of humor and his overall low degree of emotionalism in his writing). Either way, though, the end result book is what it is and it will be judged accordingly. 

In addition to not being as exciting as many remember... @trainsupessandhuntresses asked me once if I thought some of Awdry's stories were "mean-spirited." I had to assent vigorously. And a surprisingly high proportion of those "mean" moments are in Henry the Green Engine? For some reason? It’s not just the racism. Awdry was not in the game to give Henry a deserved happy ending, he’d wanted to kill him off (the fuck?) and when his publishers prevented him (I don’t say this often, especially since I love how salty the Awdrys get about their publishers, but this in case good job, publishers!!) he wrote “TFK” with the primary motivation of giving Henry a new engine basis. Any soft or hearty emotions we get out of the deal are a side-effect — the only emotion that was fueling Awdry as he wrote this was spite, spite and a weird resentment towards his poor, long-suffering, invaluable illustrator. (I don’t blame Awdry for being frustrated that the engine illustrations were continually inaccurate or confusing, but I do think it’s weird to read all this great Henry material knowing that it was written with such poor grace.) 

So his ‘happy Henry’ stuff feels perfunctory; his Percy interlude is just brutal (why did you have to drag Percy into Henry’s book purely to give him a fuck-up, a scolding, and a messy dunce cap?); Gordon’s savaging of Henry for being too happy after recovering from a near-death experience is such an incredibly low point for Gordon that it’s hard for me to accept it as canon (there’s being proud, boastful, and self-absorbed, and then there’s being the straight-up raccoon dumpster fire Gordon is in that scene). Oh, and I think “call the police [local constabulary, doesn’t bear firearms]” woulda probably a less reckless way of dealing with the rock-throwing youths than the sneeze of hot locomotive ashes, which of course the Fat Controller doesn’t like, that shit coulda been real dangerous! Mind, there are small rays of kindness throughout that do get me (the interactions between Henry and his crew feeling to me the least perfunctory and most heartfelt), but this is overall such a mean-spirited book. God. It starts off with such a gentle story (almost a non-story, if you’re in it purely for the “railway incidents” game and not character drama), but in short order the vibes just sorta suck. At least in other RWS books, when the vibes are off, they’re usually off near the beginning and then improve by the end. This one gets worse as it goes on. Oof. Don’t like that. 

Also, the last page is sooooo lame. I suspect the publisher strong-armed Awdry into writing most of it so that at least the slur wasn’t on the last page of the book... and if Awdry had any idea of how much he’d just empowered Henry and all his fans in this book he shouldn’t have found it hard to find 50 extra words to sum things up. As it was, he’s just filling space and running out the clock, lol. Lame wrap-up. Boring. As usual when it comes to every little thing about this book, Britt and David closed this up better (mind, their closer – “He had taught Gordon and silly boys a lesson, with a whistle and a sneeze” – also sucked. But at least it was blessedly short.)

Didn’t you once list HtGE on a list of your favorite Wilbert Awdry books? 

I did list it as one of the books that “at one time or another” have been my favorite in the series. Unfortunately in the case of HtGE, that was back when I really couldn’t read a story that I knew from the TVS without mentally substituting the adaptation into my brain as I read… largely overriding the actual text. Plus, everything I knew from TVS as a kid kind of automatically got a halo effect. Plus, I was super into Henry’s arc. 

The first time I read HtGE after calming down and actually reading all the books as books... massive disappointment. There is such a gap there between what I'd thought the book said (all our incredible fanon work overanalyzing and headcanoning Henry and building this beautiful fantasy arc about disability!) vs. what it actually said (limp and careless writing, mean vibes, airbrushed n-slur, bad aftertaste). 

I do think there is some stuff about the development of Awdry’s storytelling technique here that is interesting (again, Tom and Jerry superfans reading this, please shoot me a message!) but it doesn’t counteract everything else. 

At least we’re over the racism stuff? 

Nah, I’m not over it, actually. 

[makingapril]

october 11th 2024: screen considerations and other such

preacher: good morning! i'm sick today =_=

as i mentioned in a previous update, we've decided to discard the matrix idea entirely and go for an LCD screen instead by repurposing my phone. here's another draft! it also includes doodles in consideration of how to include storage compartments in the leg stump.

in any case, i'll need another phone if we are to use this one for a screen. the replacement phone already arrived but unfortunately i can't use it for several reasons, so right now we're venturing out into town to sell it and buy another one, despite my sickness :p

yesterday we went out to buy a power bank to serve as an additional power supply for APRIL. this project is turning out to be XSPENSIVE. i might post a budget summary at some point for my own curiosity. it's definitely over 200 euro at this point.

in the meanwhile, APRIL is stationed indoors because she is no longer a closed system and we don't want water and bugs getting into her. she also got a wig! scott hates it but i think it's cute =w=

[crazy-ache]

19, 22, 25 for the fic game asks

19. the most interesting topic you’ve researched for a fic

I have recently researched the art of reading tea leaves for a BOE/Elucien fanfic I have in my drafts. That was really fun getting into the weeds of learning because I head canon that Elain can do this as well with her Seer powers.

22. do you ever worry about public reaction to what you’re writing? how do you get past that?

I think I have normal nerves when it comes to posting that any writer may experience. But I also have been posting fanfiction to the internet since I was like in middle school LOL. Looking back my writing was NOT good. But you know what? I remember getting really nice comments with helpful feedback. I listened and it got better and better...eventually this fanfiction writing interest turned into a real writing interest and I took creative writing classes throughout HS and college. At one point I had posted nearly 200 oneshots/drabbles for just one ship over several years. Knowing it stills exists somewhere on the interwebs helps eliminate some shame and embarrassment about posting. Cause like...I am a much better writer now haha.

But my advice is....keep posting. Just post. Remember that it's always supposed to be fun. Seek out feedback, it will make you better. Engage with other writers- you make each other better. Every time you post...it means the next post will be even better. You can't get there unless you make the first step.

25. besides writing, what are some of your other hobbies?

I enjoy cooking, baking, and pickleball. Yes, the trendy sport old people play. I'm fucking fantastic at it.

fanfic writer ask questions

[littlemissmanga]

hi! saw your 200 word blurbs requests!

can I get #9 or #1 with Jesse? whatever floats your boat, I’m sure I’ll enjoy it either way!

thanks for considering!!

Send me one of the following for a 200 word clone drabble

Nonnie!!!! I did NOT forget about you! I had this in my drafts and I thought I had posted it. Thank you so much for your patience!!

As much as Jesse would love to see you in his shirt, I haven't done No. 9 yet, and I think it's time someone got tied up.

Pairing: Jesse x gn!Reader

W/C: 828 (I did not hold back on this even a little bit and I'm not sorry at all).

Warnings: M, Juicy Jesse being himself. Talk of bondage, filthy desperation, just absolute filth and sin, but no action. just the promise cause I'm a horrible tease :) Minors DNI

Divider by @samspenandsword <3

Also, this functions as a pt 2 to the Jesse kiss prompt :)

Dinner was only half done. The table still wasn’t set. You hadn’t even changed into the cute outfit you bought just for tonight. But with the way Jesse was kissing you, you doubted any of that mattered to him.

It’s his fault for not calling, anyway.

So, you decided not to let it bother you, either. You melted into his kiss, molding your lips to his as his gloved hands slid underneath your shirt, the rough fabric scraping deliciously across your skin. The rough stubble of his jaw chafing your lips and chin, but each scratch just fueled your need. The burn was a constant reminder, even when he pulled away to pant against you, that he was here. Home. Safe.

“Bed. Now,” he barked, his command only undercut by the breathlessness of his voice. Your stomach swooped at the total control he kept over himself, even as his need became evident. You planned on making him a little needier.

He was so fun when he lost control. And you wanted to be taken for a ride tonight.

With a flirty smile, you quickly shut off the stove, Jesse’s presence looming behind you, silently urging you to move faster. He was at his limit, and you loved it. Now he needed to bring you to yours.

You took his hand and pulled him into your room, letting go and slipping your shirt over your head. You turned away from him to face your bed to strip off your pants as you heard his armor falling to the floor.

Waiting …

Any moment now …

A low growl rumbled from behind you as a warm, bare chest pressed to your back. You held your breath to stop the shiver from racing down your spine.

“Mesh’la?” His tone was unnaturally calm considering, and you knew you wouldn’t be walking much tomorrow.

“Yes, baby?”

“Why is there rope next to the bed?” Jesse asked as if inquiring about the color of the bedsheets, nipping lightly at the tops of your shoulders.

“Oh, that.” Your Cheshire grin had taken over your face as you turned in Jesse’s grasp. “I wanted to do something special to welcome you home.”

The Republic cog tattoo on his forehead shifted as he raised a cocky eyebrow. “And you’re planning on tying me up?”

“Hm, maybe. If you’re good,” you tease, giving the tip of his nose a gentle peck and earning a chuckle from him. “But actually, you said something on our last call …”

Tilting the tone at the end of the last word, you let your voice fade, the embarrassment of actually saying what you had in mind stealing your words. You looked at him expectantly, hoping your smart ARC trooper would remember the words he let slip so casually that had you teasing yourself in his absence several times over the past few days.

Jesse’s eyes — the ones you insisted were the “kindest in the GAR” despite being shared by so many others — sparkled with mischief.

“Go on, gorgeous. Tell me.”

He wasn’t going to go easy on you. Not that you really wanted him to. You could already feel yourself getting wet at being forced to admit your desires.

“You said you …” You paused and leaned forward to bury your face in his neck, taking in the scent of regulation soap and sweat that was uniquely your Jesse. Liking it or not, you still weren’t able to look at him directly just yet. “You said you can’t wait to see how many times you can get me to come.”

You damn near purred as his arms came around you, holding you nice and tight as his hand traced your spine.

“I did. And I plan on finding out tonight,” Jesse promised in a low voice, his lips right next to your ear. “But that doesn’t explain the rope.”

You nestled closer, running your tongue wide and wet over his Adam’s apple. You felt his cock twitch against you through his blacks.

“If I’m tied up, I can’t pull away.”

Jesse spat a curse as he lifted you and tossed you roughly onto the bed. In a flash, he was on top of you, pinning you beneath him. He reached between you to run a single, thick finger along the seam of your underwear, making you writhe against him.

“Oh yeah, can’t have you squirming now, can we?” He teased, but you couldn’t answer as his finger pressed harder against you. “You wanna be all tied up like a pretty present for me so I can thoroughly ruin you?”

You nodded frantically, delighting in the wicked smile that spread over his face. Jesse leaned to the side, grabbing the rope and pulling it through his hands just to see your eyes widen at the sight.

“Well, then. Let’s get started.”

Taglist: @dreamie411 @wings-and-beskar @starrylothcat @blueink-bluesoul @wolffegirlsunite @secondaryrealm

[notedchampagne]

20 questions for 20 writers!

tagged by @waitineedaname i am surprised i qualify for this game thank you

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

15 :] thats a good number can we all pretend like thats all im going to write forever now

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

148,323 oh my god

3. What fandoms do you write for?

homestuck before, tlt now. i had one haikyuu draft i was too embarrassed to post or finish

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

intern the sixth - 975 kudos (holy crap)

songs made on the meteor - 636 kudos

love in its disrepute - 587 kudos

secondhand confession - 485 kudos

first kiss second time around - 433 kudos

5. Do you respond to comments?

i try to reply to all of them but i lose steam Very Easily

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

M.I.L.F! it is also the ONLY fic i wrote with what i consider an angsty ending. im ridiculous for putting only hideous fluff out there im sorry someone has got to put me down

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

i cant answer this because all my fics were engineered to rot your teeth with sweet stuff. i cant reread my old fics to determine which is the worst because they make me embarrassed

8. Do you get hate on fics?

i got hate exactly once but it was more like unwarranted criticism of intern the sixth - someone complained that they felt the dialogue was complicated and that harrowhark was swearing at the age of 12 because she has been running the ninth for 2 years. personally i just disagree with their interpretations of the characters so haha

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

no and if i ever do take it as a red flag ok?

10. Do you write crossovers?

i actually hate crossover fics most of the time im sorry daljfsjacio30

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

nope

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

dont think so

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

no but @/thatneoncrisis revises + writes dialogue chunks for intern the sixth sometimes

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

haha. [gritted teeth] grdlhrk..

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

i have a wip where gideon and harrow undergo perfect lyctorhood and live forever. i hope i PRAY i finish it one day. i also wrote 3328 words for that one sakuatsu fic and i dont think ill finish it but it TORMENTS me that noones read it. if you wanna read it just dm me

16. What are your writing strengths?

i know uhm... how to sway the algorithm. ive read enough fanfic to know the exact diction and order of words that will get people hooked. sometimes i edit my friends' fanfic summaries so that theyll get more clout on ao3

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

finishing the damn writing. i write so slow ok its a miracle if i can make 200 words in one day. also i write dialogue in 'my' voice before translating it into character voices so i struggle with keeping things in character

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

impressive! could never do it though

19. First fandom you wrote for?

[gritted teeth] hmstck....

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

im really proud of MILF because i wrote that thing in one fevered afternoon and i dont know what came over me

[karasimpno]

you guys, I finally got to 1.5k followers :’’’’) (after having to go through and delete what feels like at least 200+ spam accounts over the past several weeks)

I know it may not seem like a lot to some, and I’m moots with some really cool people with followers well in the thousands and feel so lucky to get to interact with them too, but coming from someone who just created this blog when she started law school in the pandemic because she was scared and overwhelmed and needed a safe space to read and write about her hyperfixations, it was incredible when I had 15 followers and it’s just absolutely insane to me now to have a hundred times that number

with how much I’ve been through in the past 2.5 years of having this blog and reaching a point of not being able to create as much as I used to, it really still just means a lot to me that y’all stick around. thank you for tolerating the personal posts, thank you for all the love you show me when I do have the capacity to be creative, and thank you for giving me that safe space I so desperately needed. not even being hyperbolic, I do NOT know how I could have survived the past 2.5 years without this space and I couldn’t be more grateful to you all. I can’t believe I’ve maintained this blog for so long and my hyperfixations haven’t faded, but rather expanded into new ones as well! I have my last law school class ever on Monday and then some finals but....this is really special timing.

with everything I have going on right now, I can’t do a follower celebration in the way I might like to right NOW - though I may be able to after finals - but I’ll do my best to finish off one of the dusty pieces in my drafts as a way of saying thank you to you all <3 I’m really really so so grateful to each and every one of you I’ve ever interacted with, and even to those of you who are too shy, though I really cherish talking with you all. GROUP HUG!!!!!

[batfam-rewrites]

Batfam During Quarantine: First Patrol (Remastered)

Batfam During Quarantine: First Patrol

Hey, quick heads up, this is a slightly reworked version of the second post I made for this series. My continuity on this series got really messed up for a bit and I have so many drafts that I still yet to publish so I'm going through all of my old stuff to fix the chronology of the stories and also put a bit more pressure on me to finish this series. Please keep in mind that my writing skills kinda improve throughout the series, so this is not my best but just somewhat reworked, and there is a good chance this will be reworked again in the future.

Dick: Unfortunately there was a homicide down in crime ally a few hours ago...

Jason: Ooooooh! What are we talking about? Was he shot, strangled, mangled, stabbed?

Dick: He was cut open and the killer dug around in his organs. Only the lungs were missing.

Jason: So mangled, got it! I will give you $50 for the case!

Dick: It’s not a bid, I’m going to assign the

Damian: $100 for the case!

Stephanie: $125!

Duke: $200!

Jason: $210 and I won’t use any fire arms!

Dick: Interesting, who thinks they can top that?

Tim: $225 and I’ll give you my secret stash of Keurig coffee cups!

Cassandra: $250 and I’ll let you take my mini fridge!

Jason: $350 and I would exchange my lethal rounds for rubber bullets and I won’t cause property damage or kill anyone!

Dick: SOLD!

Cassandra: DAMMIT!!!

Dick: Okay, so cases will be assigned as normal with the exception of Jason’s. Now because we’re in the middle of a strict city wide lock down crime has reached a low meaning some of you will have shorter nights on patrol. Each sector has been divided between all of us so make sure to stay in your sector. There’s been a little bit of activity caused by Scarecrow in sector 1, Babs I’m putting you in charge of putting a stop to it. Kate you have 2. There isn’t much going on there but there has been a reports that bags of heroine and cocaine are being left against some windows. It could be nothing but just take a look to see if anything is going on. Tim and Steph you have 5....

Tim: Woah, I thought we weren’t partnering up!

Dick: You’ll partner up for an hour, but mostly on calm nights you and Steph will patrol for 3 hours by yourselves. You’ll get half of the shift and Steph will get the other half. Anyway, Selina you have 3. Cass, 4. Harper, 8. There’s not much going on in those sectors but just patrol for a little bit. Duke, last night there were some gun shots heard in sector 9, go investigate. Jason you’re in sector 6. Julia and Alfred, you’re going to be here updating us on anything that happens. And Damian you’re going with me in sector 7.

Damian: Because you don’t trust me!

Dick: No, because you’re Robin. It would be weird for Batman not to be with Robin while you’re in Gotham.

Damian: Oh, yeah that makes sense.

Dick: We’ll be dealing with Two-Face. There’s been chatter that he’s going to make a move on the Falcone crime family. I’ll take sanitation duty tonight. Keep your radios on and contact someone if you needs help. Now, move out!

Batgirl

Batgirl: *she flies over the civilians in sector 1 in the bat-jet and sprays an antidote for the fear toxin until noticing Scarecrow, then drops down beside him and kicks his side*

Scarecrow: *falls to the side* Ah! Batgirl! *he gets up and tries to run away*

Batgirl: Oh no you don't! *chases after Scarecrow*

Scarecrow: *turns a corner and hides along the side*

Batgirl: *turns the corner too and is immediately stabbed in the arm with a syringe, she is then standing in her apartment and hears a knock at her door* No, no, no, no, no! *she then moves forward towards the door and places her hands on the door knob*

Scarecrow: Oh yes Batgirl! Not even you, let alone Batman, could stand this new batch that I made specially for you lot. *moves closer to Batgirl and kicks her side*

Batgirl: *she opens the door and is shot in the stomach, then falls to her side, she sees the Joker standing in the door frame, staring at her limp body, as he begins to start kicking her* Ouch!

Scarecrow: *he keeps kicking Batgirl as she is lying on her side in the street*

Batgirl: NO!!! *she tries to fight the feeling of paralysis, she begins to bring her knees to her chest*

Scarecrow: *he kicks her again and this time Batgirl rolls to her knees with the last kick* Stop fighting Batgirl. There is no use in doing so! *he moves closer and winds up for another kick*

Batgirl: *she rolls backward and gets back to her knees and sees the Joker shoot the floor of her apartment but the recoil makes him stumble a little bit, which allows her enough time to stand back up and she squares up*

Scarecrow: I anticipated this much resistance, but I know that you are still seeing the boogeyman that lives in your head. *he walks closer to Batgirl*

Batgirl: Rent fucking free. *she throws her punch but the Joker dodges it*

Scarecrow: You're slow.

Batgirl: *kicks in the direction that the Joker was standing in but he dodges*

Scarecrow: Weak. *he begins to reach forward to inject Batgirl with more fear toxin*

Batgirl: *grabs Jokers arms as he tries to grab her, but he pushes her against a wall*

Scarecrow: Stop resisting, you can't fight me and the toxin at the same time.

Batgirl: *continues to try and push his arms away, then kicks up at his balls*

Scarecrow: Ah! *he hunches over only to get kneed in the face which causes him to fall back* Fucking Bat-bitch!

Batgirl: *she reaches for her utility belt and reaches for the antidote, and stabs it into the inside of her thigh and leans against the wall*

Scarecrow: *he gets up and lunges over*

Batgirl: *dodges Joker and kicks him again, she reaches for a sleeping agent*

Scarecrow: *stands back up*

Batgirl: *stabs Joker with the sleeping agent and continues to punch and kick him until Joker falls to the floor unconscious, she looks around and notices that her soundings have changed, she then sits down for a minute and collects her thoughts* Batgirl to Bat-cave.

Julia: Go ahead.

Batgirl: Scarecrow is down.

Julia: Copy, go ahead and tie him up then survey the area and continue to help spread the antidote.

Batgirl: Got it.

Red Hood

Red Hood: *looks at the the crime scene and finds a pair of bloody latex gloves from behind a trash bin* Penny-two.

Julia: Yes, Red Hood?

Red Hood: I’m going to stop by to run some finger prints and a blood sample. 

Julia: Alright, I’ll set it up.

Red Hood: *he rushes over to his motorcycle and rides off to the Bat-cave*

Batwoman

Batwoman: *spots a girl in a sky blue hoodie and a dude in a yellow hoodie, and drops down into the alley as they place drugs against the windows*

Girl and Dude: *turn and look at Batwoman* Run! *they begin to run*

Batwoman: *She kicks the boy into the wall, grabs the girl by the shit and pins her against the opposite wall* Why are you doing this?

Girl: You know exactly why! Not all of us could run around the city playing dress up, taking down criminals and claim to protect this city! Some of us need this just to get by!

Batwoman: Where’s your boss?

Girl: Don’t have one. We make it ourselves.

Batwoman: *she grabs her grappling hook and fires at the top of the of the building and reels her up, then lifts the girl over the edge* Where’s your boss?

Girl: I’m telling you, we don’t have one!!! Don’t drop me, please!!!!

Batwoman: Who's we?

Girl: Me and my boyfriend!!!

Batwoman: Leave, take your drugs! If I see you or your boyfriend again I won’t hesitate to drop you from a rooftop! *they lower down to the ally*

Girl: *grabs her boyfriend and they run*

Batwoman: *she reaches for her utility belt and places the card of a local rehab center in between the windows, then continues to patrol the area to make sure there is no more drug activity*

Red Hood and Julia

Julia: The blood definitively belongs to the victim.

Red Hood: Run the prints then.

Julia: Already done. They belong to a man named Doug McGrath. He’s a crook arrested several times for drug trafficking, drug possession, and suspected for robbery but was not convicted. He is also has 3 accounts on a HENCH.

Red Hood So this could be the work of one of Bruce’s rogues.

Julia: Indeed.

Red Hood: Can you send me his location?

Julia: I’ll get on that now. Done, his coordinates

Red Hood: Got it, if you could, hack into his HENCH account and see what offers he has recently received. *he begins walking back to his motorcycle*

Julia: It’s insulting that you even asked.

The Signal

Signal: *he drops to the street and walks around where the shooting occurred and notices the two bullet holes in the buildings, but witnesses have said they heard three. He walks down the ally and searches for anything but can’t find the bullet, but finds blood on a few trash bags. He opens the backs and looks inside and finds a pair of lungs and a few other organs*

Thug: Hey kid!

Signal: *turns and runs towards the thug, throwing a few punches*

Thug: *pulls out a gun and shoots far over Signal's shoulder*

Signal: Nice shot, I heard the Empire is hiring. *he sweeps the thugs legs from underneath him* Maybe you should get a job as a Stormtrooper. *he throws a few more punches knocking the thug out. then examines the body and notices on his phone that there was a notification from HENCH*

Red Robin and Spoiler

Red Robin: I don’t get it! I could patrol the entire time and still help Bruce. It’s called never going to sleep.

Spoiler: You realize you're the only person I know that has ever made me worry about their health, right? Why can’t you be normal?

Red Robin: Ask my parents.

Spoiler: Dick.

Red Robin: No, I’m Tim. You’re getting your Robin’s mixed up.

Spoiler: HA!. Don’t you think you’re spending too much time with Nightwing if you’re making jokes like that?

Red Robin:  Eh, maybe.

Red Hood: Hey, Red Robin, I need you to patrol 6 for a bit. I’m following a lead. I got the okay from Batman.

Red Robin: Got it. *he then takes off, jumping from roof to roof off to the other side of the city*

Batman and Robin

Batman: Got it Red Hood. Robin, Red Hood is on his way.

Robin: I hate Red Hood!

Batman: You realize you’re quite a bit like him, right?

Robin: NO I’M......

Batman: SHHHH! We don’t want to attract too much attention.

Robin: I am nothing like Red Hood.

Batman: *looks out at the site and sees Bane and Two-Face then grabs Robin's head and turns it towards the direction of where the two are standing, then watch as a black SUV drives in and Carmine Falcone steps out*

Falcone: I see you brought your muscle. Where’s my drugs?

Two-Face: I have it where it should be. 

Falcone: I'm not playing games, Dent! Give me my drugs or there will be consequences.

Two-Face: Hit me with your best shot!

Batman: Signal, Spoiler, Red Robin I’m sending you the coordinates to our location. Somethings about to go down. Red Hood, where are you?

Red Hood: Not too far.

Batman: Everyone else stand by, in case this goes south.

Falcone: Release the beast.

Batman and Robin: *jump in between the few crooks and start throwing punches and kicks, when they hear a gun click from the behind them*

KGBeast: I've been waiting for a while to put down "The man who killed Batman" on my list. *aims right for Batman*

Robin: *turns and looks at KGBeast* You ASSHOLE!!!! *rushes towards KGBeast*

Batman: ROBIN! NO! 

Bane: *rushes towards Batman*

Batman: *attempts to evade Bane’s each strike, eventually diving towards Two-Face, knocking him down*

Bane: *punches towards the two*

Batman: *rolls out of the way, causing Bane to punch Two-Face in the head*

KGBeast: *fires towards Robin*

Robin: *dodges each bullet then jumps on KGBeast's back, he then reaches for a batarang and slashes at KGBeast's back*

KGBeast: *tries to get Damian off of his back*

Red Hood: *shows up and starts shooting at KGBeast*

Robin: *jumps off of KGBeast's back, throwing a few explosive batarangs at KGBeast's feet*

KGBeast: *flys back a few feet*

Robin: *rolls forward landing next to Red Hood* You could have shot me!

Red Hood: I would have enjoyed that! *lifts up his arm and shoots Falcone a few times*

Falcone: *falls to the floor*

Bane: *throws Batman into a wall*

Signal: *arrives and runs right for Bane* Red Hood, boost me!

Red Hood: *squats down and gets ready to launch Signal towards Bane*

Batman: *throws a few batarangs at Bane's face causing Bane to look away*

Signal: *throws an uppercut to Bane's face*

Batman: *runs up at Bane and punches him in the face*

Red Hood: *jumps on Bane's back and puts him in a choke hold, hanging from his neck*

Bane: *tries to swing Red Hood off but falls to the floor*

Dick: *huff* Anyone else feeling the aster? *huff*

Jason: AHG!!!! NO MORE WORDS FROM YOU!!

Dick: Come on.............

Jason: NO!

[radioactivecallista]

MY ROUGH DRAFT IS DONE!!!!!! (Update: final version done too and posted! new WC = 20500)

Word count: 16000.

It's an absolute disaster, of course. I haven't written an entire fanfic - a 200-word jokefic or shitpost doesn't count and neither does anything I abandoned 1-2 chapters in - in roughly 15 years. Just abandoned starts and half-completed jokes and that kind of thing. And now I have a 16K rough draft in its ENTIRETY.

Also got my AO3 account activated today so I made the sideblog @admiralcallista (same name as on AO3) to move the little writing updates over there, and not clog up this blog and dilute the memeing.

ETA: guess what happened. Not only am I baaaack, but I'm writing a whole damn series now. Well, it's two main fics (one posted, one posting in progress) with a vaguely related one-shot in between and also an experimental WIP that takes place after both, and wow did this grow like weeds.

[thestupidhelmet]

6 and 18 for the writers questions ask!

Thank you, sandalaris! 🥰

6. Do you have any kind of consistent writing schedule or just hoping for the best?

Right now, hope for the best. 😅

Used to be very consistent ... then my colon exploded and almost killed me. 🙈🙊 Health and physical/mental healing takes precedence. Before last year, creating largely did. (How else could I churn out 200 @those70scomics then write/revise a fanfic and get them all out in a relatively short amount of time? Now, I'm happy to get one or two days a week to write for a few hours. A temporary situation but my current one.)

18. What is your most and least favorite part of writing?

Favorite, a tie. First, I love the initial creation I do in my mind. I essentially write the outline / first draft mentality. Second, the first revision. Once I have my first draft on the page, I enjoy greatly reading it and being in editor-mode to make it better.

Least favorite, also a tie (ish). The final revision: the words-used-too-many-times per chapter check and the resulting changing of sentences. I did this for One Difference: Jackie and Hyde Don't Kiss (Over the Summer) meticulously. I stayed up until three a.m. too many nights. It was tedious, and I hated every second of it. (That's the only fic where I had to switch to a chapter posted every-other-week schedule relatively consistently.)

I don't do this (much) with fanfic anymore. I'm likely the only person who notices. Regardless, the cost-benefit ratio isn't worth it.

My other least favorite part of writing is getting the first draft out of my head and onto the page. Much of it is fun to do, but I also feel different kinds of pressure at the same time. I don't edit or revise (mostly) during a first draft, but I've got a ton of writing technique I incorporate into that first draft (too much to list). That's why my first draft on the page resembles more of a second draft (unless I start with my outline/first draft hybrid style).

I write myself revision notes, which helps with the pressure. Anything from a character name change to remember to describe the weather in this scene consistently (and his the characters experiencing it) to change X plot point to Y plot point (with detailed instructions).

Fanfic Ask Game

[irawhiti]

to be clear with regards to my post attempting to coin ngāti rangiātea, i say a few times in vague terms that people will expect you to go to drastic lengths to find your iwi that are not reasonable nor moral. i'm not remotely exaggerating, especially about the moral part.

the final straw that prompted drafting the post and term for me was when, after mapping out my entire family line to pinpoint the person who came from aotearoa to australia over multiple years only to find VERY solid evidence that they were born on the ship to australia and their mother deliberately obfuscated their identities + there is literally no tribal record due to them fleeing aotearoa during the musket wars, i was told to send a physical letter to a person who married into my family who i found out by chance currently lives in aotearoa. this was only possible because i found she is semi-popular in certain circles and has a p.o box at her work address.

despite this being a pretty extreme invasion of privacy, i sent a hopeful letter asking for any information she may have had. obviously i never got a response. this was met with people telling me that i need to send more letters to this complete stranger. when i said "yeah i don't want to do this, there is a 99.9% chance she doesn't even know we're māori due to my specific situation, she clearly isn't interested in speaking to me, i've just found out she was a truly awful person towards my immediate family, and this is a gross invasion of privacy" i was criticised for giving up.

and forgive me for saying that i just don't think that this should be the state of things. to put the concept of Maybe Potentially finding one more crumb of info to put towards Maybe Potentially discovering a piece of your family history above basic human decency and respect.

and it's like... alright. theoretically: what if this did lead to the discovery of my iwi? what exactly does this do for me? like, functionally? i'm not from aotearoa. my family have been diaspora māori for almost 200 years now. my fires have been put out, i have no access to a marae, my entire family (alive and dead) has had a fundamentally different life experience than the other māori from the iwi we came from. hell, entire iwi have come and gone in 200 years, absorbed into other iwi through marriage or wiped out through conquest.

apart from being a brief nod to my whakapapa in a pepeha (followed by the harsh reality that i still wouldn't know my hapū to recite immediately after my iwi), what would this mean for me? for my whānau? why am i expected to run around in circles, ripping myself and everyone around me who may have a single fucking crumb of information apart? who does this validate? because it sure as hell doesn't validate me. i've decided that i'm much more interested in representing and learning about my whānau than the people i was separated from nearly two centuries ago at this point and hey, if that makes strangers feel a bit pissy for some reason, that's really not my problem.

so, i'm ngāti kangaru, a tongue-in-cheek label, and i'm ngāti rangiātea, a call to action.

and above all, i'm done doing morally objectionable shit and begging like a kurī for a scrap of fucking respect.

[nemirutami]

hi i was curious what fic you were refering to in your minato/akechi art :>??

It's a fic i've been writing on and off for a year now but i havent posted it anywhere yet haha.... unless?

In summary: It's about Akechi finding new work at a company called R.E.I (reliable, experienced, innovative) where Minato is the CEO (and widower) with a child Akechi comes to know as Rei (yep Minato named the company after his daughter). The fic focuses on all 3 influencing each other and helping each other cope/grow from their traumas but is also my biggest excuse to write cute scenes where Akechi gets to have an adopted daughter and be the dad he never got to be (he's terrible at it). If you're wondering "why would Minato hire Akechi" then don't worry. He has a very good reason. Minato hired Akechi because Akechi gave him shitty customer service and Minato took one look at him and said "I can adjust his attitude." now Akechi works for Minato bc he's an idiot. Most the fic is also me writing them comedically stupid and sad and very stupid. Oh, and I guess they kiss maybe. But really it's about broken people building a family w/o knowing. I made the fic as a joke and that's why it can't be named anything other than "Is it wrong to hit on my boss?" I've made a ton of art for it (some which I guess i've already posted alluding to the fic). I did make a cover sketch for it tho! There's a bunch of foreshadowing in the items on display (but it's too sketchy to make out I'm sure).

The 100k part of this fic is already up on patreon but I'm writing/editing the other 100K. So like, uh... 200+ pages of text and 29 chapters so far. In theory, the fic is already finished/has an ending, but I just need to fill in the gaps and tie plot points together.

If you're interested, I'll add the prelude/first chapter below the cut lmfao. It pretty much sets up the premise as tightly as possible in under 2K words. It has not been edited at all so take this abhorrently constructed first draft with no shame. You can judge my noodle words all you want but remember if you say a mean thing I will die.

Title: Is it wrong to hit on my boss?

Pair: Minake

Ch 1: That's not how this was supposed to go.

10 AM on the dot, to no one's surprise, he was flawlessly punctual as usual. Today was too important for missteps, and Akechi had carefully calculated each and every word he was going to use to land this job opportunity with one of Japan's biggest corporations in web development and online advertisement. Having worked at a low paying job for the most part (one with a boss that relentlessly attacked him and tried to convince him that he would amount to nothing, no less) didn’t prepare him for the call he received from R.E.I's founder about a new job opportunity. 

Cocky with confidence, he quit his job before the interview. 

After all, if this founder somehow went out of his way to request him, he must have done so with good reason.

With his hair tied back neatly into a ponytail and his shirt tucked beneath a more-than-a-little expensive looking business suit, he walked into the lobby, checked in, and got told to take the elevator up to the 3rd floor. He cocked his head curiously at the attendant before turning his gaze towards the elevator. Next to the elevator was a fire extinguisher for emergencies, and a metal plate outlining over 100 floors for the building. Naturally, there had to be some mistake. Floor 1 was considered the lobby, floor 2 was a storage for supplies and spare parts, and floor 3 was where their call center started. Their web developers were a fair bit higher up in the company, which made his directions only more confusing. What was a web developer supposed to do at a call center? While the thought of not having to fake a smile over the phone was comforting, the very image of having to do customer support 7 hours a day for the rest of his life put the fear of God in him.

"Pardon my rudeness, but there m-" Must be some mistake. The old lady at the counter was one step ahead of him and delivered her message with a sharp tone that left Akechi speechless.

"The founder's office is on the third floor," she interrupted her sentence with a huff, "-treat yourself to the coffee upstairs, you're gonna need it." and punctuated it with a dismissive wave of her hand. If more people hadn't entered the building and tried to take care of their own business, Akechi would have asked her to elaborate. But since he now for sure knew he was going to meet the founder, he decided not to make a scene.

"I… see. Thank you for the offer, but I must decline. I'm sure everything will go smoothly." But if they put him in a call center to provide customer support around the clock he was prepared to personally wire that black coffee maker into a homemade bomb and take down the whole building with him. While that thought crossed his mind, he smiled politely at the woman and took the elevator ride up.

Never in his life had he been so confused by a layout. He was aware of the building's size, but this was beyond ridiculous. The hallways almost looked like a maze, with paintings scribbled from wall to wall. Upon closer inspection, they looked like kids drawings. Either this was part of some PR stunt, or the founder was really into bright neon colors. If Akechi didn't hear the man on the other line himself and came here looking for a job, he'd expect to find a kindergarten at the other side of the many doors down the hall. His confidence was dwindling more and more with each step.

Once he reached the door he assumed would take him into the workplace where the founder was seated, he grasped at the handle only to find it locked. He blinked, and twisted the doorknob again, hoping it would open the door. When it didn't, he pulled a little harder until he heard a click from the other side, and noticed that the plate beneath the handle had the word "push" written in caps. Without thinking, he put far too much swing into his movement, and ended up smacking the poor sap on the other side that kindly unlocked the door for him, and the man's coffee poured right onto his suit and onto the floor in a loud mess.

"Ah, sorry!" He would have stayed and apologized properly if he wasn't at risk of running late. "If you give me a minute, I'll be right back and help you clean up!" and he was gone. He could have stayed and helped but chose to prioritize the meeting. In the end, that guy was out one cup of coffee and still had a stable income, whereas missing out on this interview might cost Akechi not only his career, but his livelihood. If this went south, he could wind up homeless. Unless he begged for his old job back.

No, the chill of winter would be less humiliating than going back on his hands and knees to the boss that not only demeaned him, but continuously plagiarized his work for his own benefit.

"Hewoo," In the midst of his early mid-twenties crisis, a soft voice spoke to him, but the only people he spotted were already head-deep in work. Another faint cry, this one, a bit more shy.

"Heo…" he turned his head down, and spotted a tiny girl hiding beneath a desk with her fist against her lips and her knees up to her chest. She looked about four years old, short curly hair with a clip-on to keep her bangs out of her eyes. Really, if she hadn't called out to him, he never would have spotted her in those shadows. He stared at her stupidly before turning his head up and asking if anyone brought their daughter to work. The girl shushed him, and got his attention once again.

"M, hidin…" 

"Ah," It was too early for a break, but he supposed someone might have taken some time off to call a responsible adult to come pick up their child from work. Still, he couldn't help but smile and crouch next to her, putting one finger over his lips with a whisper. "It's ok, I won't tell anyone." The little girl smiled so wide she was practically squinting. 

"Who r u…" He cocked his head slightly. Did she know most of the people on this floor? She spoke as if she knew he was a stranger. He shrugged it off. That can't be right. Must have been childish curiosity. 

"I'm Akechi Goro, and you?"

"Ake...ak...e...Aket…" She struggled and fumbled over her words, before she furrowed her brows with confidence and looked upset she couldn't yet pronounce his name.

"Gowo." He couldn't hold back a smile, and the little girl, now forgetting she's supposed to be hiding, shouts at him.

"Don't laff! That's mean!"

"Sorry!" His words said sorry, but his smile told her differently. At least, until his phone began beeping. It was now exactly 10 am.

"Sh-!" Too much in a hurry, he rushed to stand up quickly, and banged the back of his head against the table. He fell to his knees again, pushed down by the tabletop, and grabbed the back of his neck. The little girl, to no fault of her own, laughed at him without a shred of sympathy. Before he could get up on his feet, an arm patted him on the back.

"Hey, you ok?" He couldn't tell with his eyes closed, but the little girl mimicked the man's movements and reached her tiny hand out to pat Akechi's knee as if to comfort him. Before he could respond, he heard the man say "There you are!" followed by a tiny high pitched scream that honest to God was only giving Akechi a headache.

Still better than his old job, despite the abuse and trauma he's had to endure thus far.

When he opened his eyes, he saw the man that he accidentally slammed into squishing the little girl's cheeks, possibly as punishment.

"What did I tell you? You can't win."

"Mmmrmmmrrrr"

"Do you give up?" The child stubbornly stared him in the eye and only repeated her mumbling louder. The man sighed, but with the hint of a smile.

"Alright, go hide again." The joy in that little girl's eyes could part the skies on a cloudy day. She beamed and quickly ran off to hide elsewhere while the man covered his eyes and began counting. As soon as she was gone and he no longer heard the tip tap of feet, he got up and extended his hand towards Akechi.

"You look lost. Do you need any help?" This was humiliating. A kid laughing at him, he could handle, but a future coworker extending him his aid this early in their partnership was shameful. Especially since this was the same guy he left high and dry just moments ago.

"No, no, I'll be alr-" His voice was now much less sympathetic.

"Just take my hand." So much for debate. He didn't appreciate how everyone in this company cut him off mid-sentence, but took the other man's hand to get back up on his feet. As soon as he did, he got looked over rather thoroughly, a little too intensely to his liking.

"Doesn't look like you're bleeding, but if you're feeling dizzy, there's a nurse just two doors down to the left. She can examine you in case you've suffered any severe damage." His concern was flattering but unnecessary and sadly a waste of time.

"Haha, no worries. Actually... I need to get to the founder's office. Do you know where that is?" 

"Yes, but I wouldn't worry about t- Rei, don't climb the bookshelf! Junpei, will you-" 

"Aye, aye, boss! Come here you trouble bunny! How about you hop hop into bed and take a long looong nap? Man, uncle Junpei could use one too. I'll show you how it's done, like a pro!"

"Iori, sleep on the job and you're fired."

"Come on Philei, your dad is scary when he's talking to people that are not you!"

So much happened in the span of just a couple of seconds.

"...Rei?" He felt his blood run cold. "Her name is… Rei?" The man, somewhat confused that he was still standing there with a dumb look on his face, spoke as if this was basic knowledge Akechi should have known before stepping into the building.

"Of course, that's my daughter," he holds out his hand again, this time, expecting Akechi to shake it. "-and I'm the founder, Minato Arisato. And you are?"

Absolutely screwed.

[storymaker14]

Hey y’all. You may have noticed that I haven’t been posting a lot of updates on how the final draft (!!!) of The State of Our Union is going. This is for two reasons.

One, the going has been a little slow. My mood and emotional status have not been at 100%; very thoroughly distracting myself is a good way to pull me out of a spiral. Writing does not distract as much as I would like, especially when – see above – it’s slow going. So I’ve been distracting myself, and not writing much, which makes me feel down about myself, which means I need to distract myself more… and on and on.

Two, I’ve been writing the final draft in a bit more piecemeal fashion than I had anticipated. Like, Act I Scene I just flowed. I.II, I got wayyy stuck. So I worked on the Act I interlude, which was mostly doable, except for the bit that I really needed to write after I wrote I.II. So back to slogging through the mud and calling 200 words written in a day a victory. Yikes. Plus during all that, there’s a super short but important bit that comes much later in the story that just popped into my head and begged to be written, so I did. So, I haven’t really had the one-by-one milestones I had with the second draft, the easy points at which I can say “this bit is done! I’m at X words!”

All that to say this: I finally had a breakthrough on I.II, it’s not even lunch and I’m around 750 words today, and the whole durned thing stands at 13,501 right now. So it’s going, at least, even if somewhat slowly.

I have no idea how realistic it is right now to shoot to be done mid-April. The words might come trippingly, begging to ooze from my fingers onto the screen. The words might give themselves up only sparingly. I don’t know yet. But ideally, I’d like to be done by mid-April, just to say this thing did not take a whole damn year to go from the first serious notes about it, to the finished product.

So, just in case anyone’s interested, there it is. I think the next thing I’ll work on is that last bit of the interlude, now that I.II is in a good state. But we’ll see; we always do, don’t we?

EDIT, FOUR HOURS LATER:

Oh. My. God.

I wasn't done for the day. Not even close.

The bit of the interlude that needed to wait until I.II was written. It flowed. In fact, that's an understatement.

I don't want to get premature, because this final draft is more about tightening up and trimming down than expansion, but... I just fucking wrote it. Just like that. A bit over 1500 words, and it just sort of happened.

So, unless I write even more today, I can say that today, after so much mud and slog and all that... I wrote 2286 words, to bring my total in the final draft to 15,032.

More days like this, please.