#i do have 2.5 fics written too this year

[fonulyn]

So I saw your 2023 in review post and I was wondering what about fandom made you think about pulling away?

What ever you decide to do in the future I just wanted to say thank for posting your works, I've gotten into some new ships and I may or may not have gotten some shipping brainrot from some of your fics :'D

the stifling silence and lack of interaction, to put it shortly. i don't really have a lot of friends to talk to, people who'd like the same things i do, and it makes it hard to keep motivated to write anything. and writing thousands upon thousands words and then getting maybe two words in return. getting super excited to share a fic and then people aren't super excited to read it. i can't keep hyping myself up every time only to crash land moments later. i'm just worn out and tired.

but another reason is the remake. i don't want it lol. i mean, i'm sure it's good! but it's not the same. and in every sense that matters fandom-wise it's replaced the original. sure i can go play the og game anytime, like so many people say ("Just go play your original! Problem solved!") but... it's got nothing to do with the problem. the existence of the remake isn't the issue, it's its prevalence in fandom spaces. every headcanon, every fic, every piece of fanart, every meta post, every opinion, all the gushing posts... remake. and most of the time even untagged remake. and I'm so tired of it. it feels like the thing i love, the characters i love, have been wiped out of existence and replaced with these strangers (again, they're probably really good characters! but not the same characters) so it's increasingly much me watching all the other kids play in their remake sandbox while sitting with my bucket and spade digging at dirt alone (altho i do love that mental image lol :'D)

i'm not saying people can't or shouldn't enjoy it, they absolutely should, and they should have fun with it. but it's not for me. and it means I am left out, just as a fact, as a natural consequence of my own choices. still doesn't mean it doesn't suck balls. so ehh.

BUT ANYHOW. glad to hear you've enjoyed the ficcage :) thank you for the kind words!

[vitalverstappen]

Homecoming SMAU - C. Leclerc

summary: have you ever had a massive crush on your team rival? (smau edition)

pairing: Charles Leclerc x Red Bull driver!reader

fc: various, just pretend they're all the same person

a/n: i kinda love this fic wayyy too much to let it go so soon, so I decided to make a smau version for your enjoyment!

written

masterlist

liked by redbullracing, charles_leclerc, and 737,602 others

tagged: charles_leclerc

yourusername: Didn't go how we planned, but grateful to snatch a point. Congrats to Charles for the home race win!

view all comments

charles_leclerc: thank you!! can't wait to celebrate later!

yourusername: lmk when and where and i'll be there!!

user1: wdym my two fav drivers are definitely about to get plastered together??

user2: they've been friends since she broke into f1, only makes sense they would user3: yeah "friends" he's been in love with her since he saw her for the first time

user2: no.

maxverstappen1: over/under on how long it takes for her to get ready? line is at 2.5 hours

logansargeant: over

landonorris: over

oscarpiastri: over

redbullracing: over

user4: there's no way she really takes THAT long

logansargeant: you'd be surprised

twitter & max's texts

liked by user1, user2, and 36,583 others

f1gossip: some of the drivers out and about in Monaco celebrating Charles' home win!

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user5: whoever let lando dj needs a RAISE

user6: i heard logan and oscar were also there!

user7: is it just me or do charles and y/n look weirdly close together??

user3: im telling you guys there's got to be SOMETHING going on between them

user2: again, guys and girls can be just friends.

user6: it's also a club. they're gonna be packed together

user8: i don't even want to know how much money they spent

monza media day

liked by: logansargeant, francolapinto and 673,842 others

tagged: logansargeant, francolapinto

yourusername: wdym i'm now the only one here repping the red, white n blue?? but in all reality, it's been an honor getting to know you Logan, you'll always be my best friend & I can't wait to see what you do in the future!!

but welcome to the grid Franco! you've got some tough shoes to fill

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logansargeant: thank you y/n. gonna miss you <3

yourusername: at least now you wont have to spend the 4th in the UK... again...

francolapinto: gracias y/n! No puedo esperar a ver qué trae el resto de la temporada!

yourusername: i have no idea what you just said but yes!!

user9: oh she's just like us

user10: girl is down bad

user2: @/user3 no like from Charles... how are you feeling after this?

user3: by the end of this season i'll be yelling i told you so from the rooftops

liked by yourusername, charles_leclerc and 987,325 others

tagged: yourusername

redbullracing: The queen of COTA has arrived! 🇺🇸

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user11: ugh she's glowing

user12: her austin looks always slay

user3: CHARLES IS BACK IN THE LIKES! I REPEAT CHARLES IS BACK!!

user2: you weren't kidding when you said you didn't give up hope

maxverstappen1: you guys better not be plotting to get me in a cowboy hat

yourusername: pffffft why would we do that??

redbullracing: fine, we'll go put it away...again...

charles_leclerc: if you need someone to dress up, i know a guy

user13: omg stand up king, this isn't even y/n's insta

yourusername: @/charles_leclerc wdym "you know a guy" you couldn't even wear your hat properly

liked by charles_leclerc, kimi.antonelli and 985,432 others

tagged: charles_leclerc, kimi.antonelli, jackdoohan, texasfootball

yourusername: hook 'em 🤘

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texaslonghorns: it was a pleasure to have you! same time next year?

yourusername: you know it! 🫡

texasfootball: thanks for the support! we'll have to get you suited up next year

yourusername: as long as i don't get tackled im yours

user14: awh y/n and charles are already starting to adopt the 2025 rookies

oscarpiastri: i do not need any more siblings

charles_leclerc: thx for showing me the joys of college football 🧡

yourusername: anytime charlie!!!

user15: CHARLIE?? girl WHAT?

user3: GUYS ITS HAPPENING!!

liked by maxverstappen1, charles_leclerc, and 985,920 others

yourusername: P1 baby!! It's always special to race at home and being able to win it means even more! A weekend I'll forever remember ❤️🤍💙

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redbullracing: congrats y/n!! a win well deserved!

liked by yourusername

maxverstappen1: honor to be on that podium with you! let's run it back in vegas

yourusername: only in vegas??

maxverstappen: your ego is gonna get too big if you win everything else

user16: RAH RAHHHH AMERICA 🦅💥🦅💥🇺🇸

user17: U! S! A! 🇺🇸 U! S! A! 🇺🇸

charles_leclerc: congrats on the win!! now, drinks on me tonight?

user18: oh charles grew a pair

yourusername: @/charles_leclerc actually, i think i still owe you for monaco 😊

user3: 👀👀👀

liked by user3, user2, and 45,832 others

tagged: charles_leclerc, yourusername

f1gossip: newest wag(s)?? charles and y/n were caught making out in a club in Austin. The two, along with the rest of the grid were there celebrating y/n's homecoming win. Cheers were heard from the other drivers as the two shared their moment.

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user19: oh. my. god.

user20: what in the romeo and juliet with a happy ending??

user2: @/user3 go ahead. say it.

user3: @/user2 I TOLD YOU SO. I TOLD YOU ALLLLL SO

user3: I DON'T LOOK CRAZY NOW. I KNEW IT

user21: what does @/redbullracing have to say about this

redbullracing: i'm just glad it isn't one of the mclaren boys mclaren: we wouldn't date you either its fine

want more? @coco-loco-nut wrote a sister story. Check it out!

[hawkeish]

2024 Writing Round-Up

thanks for the tag @rookinthecrownest! it’s been lovely to meet some new writer mutuals thanks to Veilguard ☀️

words posted: 19,717 (which is way more than I thought!)

additional words written: throw in another couple of thousand because I throw away so much

fandoms: Dragon Age and BG3

highest kudos: noceur; or, one who stays up late with 68

highest hit one-shot: also noceur

new things I tried: a new fandom/pairing! writing for a zine (DA: Terminus, I’m so so excited to see the finished product). PLANNING

fic I spent the most time on: romance sonámbulo, without a doubt. I wish I could spend more on it (I will in 2025!)

fic I spent the least time on: noceur. it took maybe 2.5 evenings to complete?

favourite thing I wrote: the first Lucanis interlude in romance sonambulo and noceur are tied. Lucanis’ POV is really satisfying.

favourite thing(s) I read: so I haven’t read too much this year! I’m trying to get back into reading & sharing fic, but I also suffer with Everybody Is Better Than Me And I Wish I Could Write Like Them, so reading too much fic can also make me insane. here’s what I’ve enjoyed this year:

A World Alone by tollofthebells/@bitchesofostwick. Cullen/Trevelyan. so phenomenally written, characterised and plotted. everyone should read this.

Miss the Cook by @veorlian. early game enby rook/Lucanis flirting. Fran is not only one of the most wonderful people I know, but a fucking brilliant writer. everyone should also read this.

A Murder of Crows by @nightingaletrash was also on my list! Such a good read - another bastard of the Antivan king becomes a member of House de Riva. I need to read more so badly!!

writing goals for 2025: I have a couple of pretty simple ones. Write every day, continue/finish my current longfic for the first time, read more of other peoples’ work without being too self-critical. also get back to my roots by sharing the fics I stumble across and love!

new works: not new but I’ll be continuing romance sonámbulo if it’s the last thing i fucking do. anything else will come to me in a vision and I’ll spend a couple of nights writing frantically before flinging it on ao3 with no warning.

—-

tagging @veorlian @katuary @aymayzing @librivore42 @canavaris and any other writer mutuals who I’ve forgotten (PLEASE message me if you want me to tag you! my brain is goop whenever I try to create a tag list)

[arvensimp]

your father should know, pt. 3

Arven leaves you with something more than either of you bargained for when he goes off to Kalos for an internship, and through a series of miscommunications and heartbreak, he returns a few years later to learn that he actually has a child.

arven x fem!reader, nsfw content (in pt. 1), pregnancy (pts. 1, 2, & 2.5), angst, and stupid miscommunications

[part 1][part 2][part 2.5]

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY I'M BACK. pls be aware that this got WAY too long so it's gonna have to be another part or two before we actually get to the happy ending that i promised. yes this will still have a happy ending. i won't hurt arven or the baby like this lolol. the skeleton for the rest of the fic is already written, i just need to flesh it out, given it some muscle, organs, and maybe cute accessories.

ANYWAY I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS PART. please thank my mega awesome beta Katie for her help with this too. she's my rock.

---

The ceiling rattles.

"So. How'd you get here today?"

"I, uh... I took my cyclizar?"

Rika nods and takes note of the answer. The not-so-distant sound of muffled battling can be heard through the thick walls of the League building.

"What brings you to the Pokemon League today?" Rika goes on as if nothing is happening.

"Badda!" The little one sitting on her lap shouts. Rika pats his head without looking away from the student in front of her. "Shh. Let her answer my questions first."

Basil babbles a bit in response, some of his words making sense.

"To...become a champion?" The student replies.

"Good, good..." Rika continues on with the rest of the interview, asking different questions and going back and forth with the kid in front of her.

"Okay," She says later, now addressing Basil. "Now you can ask her a question."

"What?" The student asks.

"Not you." Rika corrects tersely. "Go on, Munchkin. Ask the champ-in-the-making whatever you want."

"Um... " Basil seems to think for a moment, but then he gets shy and hides his face against Rika's torso.

The student blanches. "I... I-I'm sorry? Did I do something wrong?"

"Pssh, nah. He just gets timid sometimes is all. But let's see..." Rika leans into Basil and speaks soft and sweet to him. "Whaddya think, Munchkin?" She gives his tummy a bit of a tickle, making him laugh and open up a bit. "Does this kid pass our test?" Rika keeps tickling him as he shrieks with laughter.

"Uh....Is...is that a yes?" The student eventually asks.

Rika pauses, then stands with all the pomp and importance of one in her station, propping the baby up in her arms.

"Yeah, I'd say so." She announces casually, in stark contrast to the serious air she feigned just a moment ago. "Congrats, Kid. You've passed your first test." She holds out a hand to shake and makes sure that Basil also gets to shake too.

Never too soon to start teaching the ins and outs of professionalism or whatever.

"Before you move on to the next step, you'll just need to wait a few minutes for his mama to finish her battle with one of your peers. Once she has him back, I can start your battle test. Sound good?"

The student nods, and sure enough within a few minutes, you arrive through the elevator and greet the room cheerily.

"We've got quite a few challengers today, it seems!" You announce as you take Basil from Rika. The boy had been making grabby hands for you the moment the elevator doors had opened, speaking in broken little syllables of his desire to be in your arms again.

You boop his little nose and smoosh your mouth to his pudgy cheeks in a kiss. "I wasn't gone that long, Sweet Boy!" You tell him. "Were you good for Auntie Rika?"

You look to the woman in question for her assessment.

"He did great. He's getting a real knack for these interviews, I tell you what. Asks some pretty insightful questions, right, Kid?" She says jokingly, turning to the student.

"What?" The kid looks between the three of you. "Oh! Um. ...What? Is this another test?"

Rika laughs. "Everything here is a test."

The student blanches a bit. "Oh... Then. Um. What was the question again?"

Rika ruffles the kid's hair. "Yeah, that's about par for the course. Don't worry about it. You're doing fine." She turns to face you. "For real though, Basil was great. He ate all his snacks and took a great long nap earlier and slept through all the noise of the battling. Super well behaved.” You smile at the comments, your heart swelling with pride as Rika goes on. “So you're headed out then?"

You nod, adjusting Basil on your hip as he starts to fiddle with a button on his overalls.

"Yup. Today's the day!"

Rika whistles. "Well good luck. Lemme know if you end up needing anything, yeah?"

You nod. "Thanks, will do. It should be fine though. Basil, say 'bye-bye!'"

"Bye-aye!" He mimics, waving at Rika.

"Say 'Good luck, Challenger!'"

"Goobuh, tsaduh!"

You laugh and ruffle his hair while the student gives him a determined thumbs up.

"Good job." You murmur into his sweet little head.

You grab the rest of yours and Basil's things and leave the Pokemon League building. You thought it'd do your team some good to get some energy out before their big event today, so you convinced Rika to let you take on some of the Champion Testing battles.

Within an hour or so, you're in the meadows out by Medali with a picnic set up.

Basil is seated in a bouncing little chair that meets the height of the picnic table, and you're finishing up the preparation of food for him and the pokemon.

You kneel down to help him handle his sippy cup.

"Are you excited, my littlest?" You ask him, as he babbles happily. "I'm excited, too."

It had taken you a decent amount of time to build up your courage to quite this stage.

Sure, all your Pokemon met Basil back when he was just a little potato of a thing, barely had his eyes open and could really only eat, sleep, cry, and sometimes pull your hair. But you knew back then that having your Pokemon out and about in the house, within the grasp of a little person who could easily get hurt or unintentionally piss them off was a recipe for trouble.

So your Pokemon were temporarily kept separate from your son for everyone's sake. Of course you still saw them and cared for them and battled with them, but never when Basil was around.

Now he's...he's more like a real person. Now he can run around and play. He's still learning words, but he has thoughts and can speak for himself and understand many things about the world around him. Sometimes so much so that it surprises you!

So. You can trust him enough and teach him how to behave around Pokemon.

You know your team as well as, if not better than, you know your son. You know they won't hurt him.

Still... Tinkaton's hammer is so heavy...and Skeledirge's flames burn so hot... And Raidon...

But no!

You can't keep your loves apart like this any longer!

It feels like it's been ages.

You look back to Basil and swipe your thumb across his cheek where some juice left him sticky.

"Oh, you sweet creature. Are you ready to meet Mama's friends?"

"Mama!" He chatots back to you.

"Okay, Basil." You lay out all six PokeBalls before him. "Take your pick for who you wanna meet first, okay?"

Your boy regards the PokeBalls with shining, eager eyes. He's seen these before. Chubby fingers grasp at a red and white ball. Your oldest.

"Oooh, that's a good one, my love." You say, rolling the ball gently along the table's surface with a single finger, though never removing it from Basil's grip.

"My very, very best friend is inside here." You lean in close and whisper dramatically, making Basil giggle. "But you won't tell the others, yea? He and I have been together for longer than anyone else. He's super excited to meet you. Wanna say hello?"

Basil nods.

"Can you hand me the PokeBall?"

He picks it up, having to hold it with both hands as he maneuvers the thing to your outstretched palm.

"Very good, Basil! Alright. Let's meet Skeledirge!"

You toss the ball into the air, with only a little more than your usual flare that you have when you battle, and the big, beautiful crocodile materializes with a thud on the ground in front of the table. It rears back on its hind legs and gives a mighty roar.

Basil, for his part, stands as best he's able in his chair, with you holding a supporting hand behind his back, to watch the spectacle, clapping his hands at the pokemon before him.

"Keledur!" He shrieks, delighted, before moving to climb down and onto the ground.

You lift him up easily enough and prop him against your hip, but Basil wants no part of being held when something so cool is nearby. "Whoa whoa whoa, wiggle wurmple." You tell him. "We gotta learn how to say hello to Skeledirge, yeah?"

"Hello, Skel'dur!" Basil mimics automatically, still squirming.

Skeledirge has the patience and wherewithal to stay planted while you wrangle the little one to stand in your lap as you sit cross legged in front of the Pokemon.

"Okay, Basil. Now, you need to be gentle with Pokemon. They're our friends, so we always need to be nice. Can you say 'nice'?" You take both of his hands in yours.

"Mm..." He corrects the sound. "Nnnnice!"

"Very nice! Good job! So when we pet Pokemon, we have to be very nice." You help him lean in toward Skeledirge, placing his hand on the Pokemon's nose, just to the side of the tiny firebird, which graciously hops out of the way. "See? Nice. Gentle..." You help him repeat the petting motion.

Basil squeals delightedly, petting Skeledirge's snout as he stomps his feet between your legs.

The Pokemon grumbles softly and shuts his eyes, relaxing into the ground a bit.

"Aw, Skel'dur go slee'?" Basil asks you, as he keeps petting the massive creature. "'Ats okay, Skel'dur. You go slee'. Shh... Shh..."

"Good job, Basil..." You tell him, whispering into the soft bits of fluffy hair behind his ears. "You're being so nice to Skeledirge! While he naps, do you wanna try and meet someone else?"

Basil turns to face you and nods excitedly, gripping the hem of his shirt in his little hands.

You stand and lead him back to the table where the other balls are.

Once again, Basil selects a red and white PokeBall. Briefly you wonder why he doesn't care for any of your specialty balls, but you decide not to question it.

He holds the thing tight in both hands.

"Okay, Bas', that's another really good one! I mean, they're all stellar, obviously, but this one is fun. This Pokemon and I also go way back. All the way back to..." Your heart clenches a bit, but you push past it quickly. "The very start of my journey! A very special person gave me this Pokemon."

Is it bad that you haven't brought up Arven to Basil yet? He isn't that old yet... Not even two yet. He hasn't asked about a papa or a daddy... So? You just kinda let it ride.

"How about you throw the PokeBall this time, huh? Give it a shot. Just throw the ball, hard as you can." You mime the motion to him.

Basil nods solemnly, looking to the ball, then he takes a deep breath and chucks it with a shout!

Or.

Well, he...

He kinda tries to chuck it.

In reality, the ball falls to the ground beneath his feet. It doesn't really matter though because the reddish glow of the releasing pokemon is still able to distance itself from the pair of you as Raidon materializes upright and gives a full body shake, making a chirring sound. 

Basil stands in awe of the dragon that towers over the pair of you.

"Big!" He shouts, and you laugh.

"Yup! It's a big pokemon! This is Raidon!" You pat the creature lovingly along its shoulder, encouraging it to return to all fours. It eyes Basil up and down curiously, tilting its head from side to side. The sight of your baby helps bring it back down to earth a bit, and once it's on all fours again, you kneel to Basil's level.

"Now Raidon is really cool because--"

Basil shrieks, and your heart jolts momentarily before you realize it's a cry of laughter as the pokemon presses its snout up against his chest, chittering happily at him.

Your gaze softens, watching Basil pet along the dragon's snout, just as he had with Skeledirge.

"Good job... We always wanna be nice to pokemon, yeah?" You eventually say, petting along Raidon's shoulder and back.

Basil nods but doesn't take his wide, shining eyes from the creature in front of him.

"So... One of the neat things about this Pokemon is that..."

-

Just like both of his parents, Basil falls in love with Pokemon quickly and whole-heartedly. He's just as eager to meet everyone else on the team as they are to meet him!

Basil makes sure to play nicely and pay keen attention, or as good attention as his developing brain can make out. When someone shuts their eyes, they've "gone to sleep," so they're done playing. If someone is bouncing around, they can still play! He especially likes trying to kick around the little ball you brought along with them.

The Pokemon are also all very gentle with him. Not that you doubted any of them, really. Well, maybe Tinkaton, a little bit... But even then! They seem to understand their strength and how to tone it down for play with a teensy human.

When the sun starts to set later that evening, and Basil's eyes start to droop as his hands lose their grip on the last few bites of his cut up sandwich, you decide it might just be time to head in.

You recall all the pokemon to their balls, pack up the picnic, tuck your boy into his stroller and get started on the trek back to your apartment.

-

You're not alone.

You're not alone.

You're not alone.

You repeat the phrase like a mantra.

You're not alone.

You know that.

Not in, like, a spiritual sense or whatever, or even in the literal sense. You're fully aware that you have your little boy with you nearly at all times.

But you're not alone in raising him.

There's Nemona and Rika who are consistently proving themselves and trying to outdo one another as Best Tía of All Time.

There's Clavell who is always happy to take Basil for an afternoon when you're busy on research business for the academy.

Even Larry has taken your boy once or twice. You recall once how he gave a small sort of half smile when he took the stroller from your hands and waved you off.

"It's fine." He'd said, "He makes good company at meals."

"He can barely talk?"

"Exactly."

So.

Yeah.

You're not alone in parenthood.

Except when you are.

And...you currently are.

It's late at night. Well past Basil's usual bedtime. Past any time you'd feel comfortable asking a friend for an extra set of hands.

You can't blame Basil. Not really.

This isn't his fault. He's a good, sweet boy. He isn't even two yet, and he's already so smart.

Sometimes you even forget how little he is because he's so smart and perceptive.

That's your fault.

So... Maybe you jumped the gun a bit.

Maybe it was too soon for Basil to have a pokemon of his own.

Maybe you didn't realize how tricky it was raising a pokemon in tandem with a toddler.

How was Basil to know that dog pokemon can't eat raisins?

How were you to know he'd figured out how to open up the pantry?

You'd only been in the other room for a few minutes, changing into your pajamas and brushing your teeth when Basil had slowly pushed open your bedroom door, shuffling from foot to foot.

"Mama... Buddy frowed up..."

So...here you are, after a tearful admission on your son’s part, rushing your sweet baby's maschiff to the closest Pokemon Center.

Basil is inconsolable in your lap as the taxi flies. Your attempts to calm him fall on entirely deaf ears, partly due to the fact that he's crying so loudly that even the Taxi Driver can barely hear anything. You’ll have to tip him really well.

Basil is a good, sweet boy. He really is, but the situation isn’t aided in the slightest when he flails about in his tantrum, bashing your nose with one of his tiny fists more than hard enough to draw blood. Beyond the pain and having to hold back your own tears for your boy’s sake, you also have to calm the rage, the fear, the panic building in your heart that makes you want to scream. You also have to stanch the blood haphazardly, pressing your tender face to your shoulder, while Basil bawls out his apologies to you.

Maybe if someone else were around, someone could have been watching Basil while you changed.

Maybe if someone else was around, they could have stayed home with him while you rushed off to the Pokemon Center.

Maybe if someone else was around, they could have talked you out of letting your baby boy have a pokemon of his own.

Maybe if someone else was around, you could allow yourself to panic a bit, too.

As it stands, you need to be the sole pillar of support here. No one is here to give you a hanky to wipe at your nose or dab at the unshed tears in your eyes. No one can rub your back soothingly and let you know it’s okay, help you calm your racing heart. No one is there to help quell the nauseous churning in your stomach.

It hits you then that you’d been so busy today that you hadn’t eaten dinner. Again. An empty belly certainly didn’t help the situation.

You try to take a breath. At least, a breath through your mouth.

Buddy the Maschiff (newly hatched as of a few weeks ago from an egg that had been sitting in your box for so long you'd had no idea what was even inside) will be fine, you tell yourself. They'll get him to keep throwing up or whatever needs to happen to get the rest of the raisins out of his system.

Basil will be fine. Maybe a little scared, but fine.

You will be fine. You'll keep the food up higher. No, the raisins were plenty high. Basil pushed a chair. You'll lock the pantry. No, that's crazy, you don't want to restrict food like that. You'll... You'll...

You'll calm down after maybe a few hours of sleep and a snack, maybe. Then you'll be able to think straight again. Maybe.

It's hard doing this alone.

--

"Okay, I think I'm set to go then!"

"Aw, babe, that's great! You sure you don't want me coming along?"

Arven sighs, rolling his eyes good-naturedly. "I'm fine, really. I'm just packing up the rest of my stuff from my old storage unit in Mesagoza and coming right back here."

"Coming back to me, you mean?" His companion brazenly flirts. Arven lets it slide. He opens the door of the company car and steps out to the rush of the Lumiose City airport.

"I'll see you when I get back."

"Text me, babe!" She pushes, smiling wide, but Arven is already walking away.

He doesn't... He doesn't mean to be distant to the clingy woman. He's just...a little nervous for this trip is all. Paldea was the only home he ever knew before now, and he finally got the courage to leave for this Kalosian job. He was ready to grow from beneath the shadows of his world renowned parents and League Champion friends. He was ready to find something for himself and come into his own! And he’s done that! He’s still doing that! But it came at the cost of seemingly all of his friends back in Paldea. After your argument and subsequent blocking, everyone else dropped off like venonats not terribly long afterward. It really stung, and it still stings. Arven isn’t entirely sure what to expect when he returns to his home region. Has anyone been following his success? Will anyone even be happy to see him? Should he really just lay low, pack up his stuff, and spirit himself away like he was never even there? Somehow a Galarian goodbye feels worse than not even trying to rekindle a connection with some of his old pals.

Then again, none of this is an excuse to be rude to the woman who gave him a ride. She's been nothing but nice to him the last few years, serving as his PR rep at Bon Applintit. Maybe he should be nicer? Maybe he should finally cave and take her out on that date she's been seemingly begging for... He assumes she probably has some hand in the neat little reputation he's built online for himself as this chef-influencer guy.

Not that he really thinks it totally suits him entirely, but folks seem to really like his content, especially when he pairs human and pokemon food together, showing off how amazing Mabosstiff is.

That's really what it is at the end of the day, he figures. Mabosstiff is the real star of the show.

Not that he's bad, or something! He’s put a lot of effort the last few years into unlearning some of his old, unhelpful thought patterns. It's just... People love dogs, and Mabosstiff is the best!

So he's really lucky. He's hit a pocket of internet fame, and the company is keeping him on longer than his current contract. Kalos has been kind to him so far... It seems like a good place to plant roots, so... He may as well pack up the last bits of his life from Paldea and haul it off now.

The flight to Mesagoza barely takes any time. Boarding and disembarking truthfully take longer than total time in the air, but that's fine.

Arven steps into the streets and...

He's pleasantly surprised by how nice it feels to hear his own language again.

Kalosian isn't bad. He's gotten much better at it, really, even if he wasn't great with foreign languages back in his classes with Salvatore...

Maybe he should thank him? Or apologize? No, thanking him would probably be better.

Plus, if he stops by the school, he could see Clavell and Saguaro.

He wouldn't have to walk by his old apartment next to his storage unit yet.

The last place he hung out with you.

He won't have to think about how you weirdly got angry and shut him out after he had to cancel a few video calls.

He won't have to think about how empty his old place is. How he misses all his peers in his age group. How everyone else ended up dropping off within the year after you blocked him.

He won't have to think about his parents' old belongings that he needs to either pack up and move or toss.

...Yeah, stopping by the academy to see some of his old teachers might be nice.

Plus, Mabosstiff might like to check out the old stomping grounds again.

Arven makes the turn toward the massive set of looming stairs and releases his pokemon from his ball. The dog, for his part, takes a moment to slowly swivel his head from side to side, as if not quite believing his surroundings. He looks up at his person and tilts his head, one of his ears flopping inside out.

Arven laughs and pats his head, fixing the ear in the process. "Yeah, Bud." He says with a smile. "We're ho--...back for a bit. Wanna go stop by school? I bet Saguaro will have some treats for you."

Mabosstiff boofs loudly and gives a bounce--or, as much of a bounce as a dog of his size can really give--before bounding up the stairs. The sight makes Arven laugh even louder, taking after his pokemon, but Mabosstiff is much faster. He gets to the mezzanine landing in no time flat before pausing, his nose held high in the air. Mabosstiff clearly sniffs for several seconds before catching the smell of something and taking off like a bolthund, not bothering to wait for Arven to meet him.

"Hey! Buddy!" The man shouts after his pokemon, picking up the pace, but Mabosstiff pays him no heed and is out of sight within seconds.

The rational part of Arven's mind knows that Mesagoza's Academy is a safe place for pokemon, and that Mabosstiff knows how to handle himself, but at the same time, he can't help but worry just the tiniest bit as he rushes onward and upward along the stairway to try and catch up.

The tiny seed of worry sprouts and grows when he hears Mabosstiff's growling bark and a tiny shriek of a cry not long after.

"Mabosstiff!" He shouts, finally scaling the last of the stairs, doing his best to stave off the feeling of being winded. He isn't the teenager who used to traverse the region anymore, after all. His eyes dart along the courtyard, looking for a massive black cloud along the grass.

"Mabosstiff!" He shouts again, before another screech draws his attention to one of the benches where his dog seems to be perched on top of something.

"Mabosstiff, stop that now!" He calls over, running toward the scene. As he approaches, Arven makes out a speck of yellow and brown yampering and trying to climb up Mabosstiff's back, nipping at his ear.

Upon closer inspection, it's a little maschiff, but Mabosstiff is hardly paying it any mind, his attention entirely focused on using some kid in a stroller as a lollipop. Said kid is the one yelling up a storm.

"Bud!" Arven scolds him, grabbing Mabosstiff by the scruff of his neck. "Down! Now!"

With a pathetic sound, Mabosstiff backs off, as do the sounds of the little one in the stroller, whose squeals die into giggles and fits of laughter.

Arven breathes a sigh of relief that the kid wasn't frightened of his massive dog and that the shrieks he was hearing were probably just laughing. He returns his dog to its pokeball as the maschiff whines.

By now, Arven’s got enough wit about him to look to the kid's parent.

"Hey, uh, I'm so sorry about that. I really don't know what got into my Mabo--" Arven's words die on his tongue when he sees that the kid's accompanying adult was none other than Director Clavell, giving him a look as if he's seen a ghost.

"Oh! Director! Hi!" Arven greets him, embarrassed. "Sorry, I... I actually was stopping by to catch up and say hello to you. I'm back in town for just a few days and I wanted to, uh...catch...up... but, uh... Wow," He says with an awkward smile, gesturing to the stroller without actually looking at it. "Y'know, it's funny, I spent so much time with you as a kid, while Mom and Dad were in lab, and now–"

"Yes, well, Master Arven..." Clavell interrupts him, blithely moving to the child in the stroller who is briefly blocked from view as the director fiddles a bit, no doubt wiping away Mabosstiff's drool and adjusting their hair, something Arven remembers him doing countless times to him as a little boy.

A moment later, Clavell stands back up, an icy indifference covering his face, a perfect match to the chill that settles in Arven's veins as he actually looks at the kid in the stroller. "I'd say you bear a striking resemblance to your father now. We must be going. Good day."

Clavell turns the stroller around, and Arven watches as his old teacher walks off with a toddler that looks like a carbon copy of...himself, complete with a tiny maschiff following along at their heels.

His head swims. What? Who's that kid? How did Clavell get him? Why does he look just like Arven? And what was with that comment about him looking like his dad now?

Arven numbly lifts a hand to his chin. Sure, he'd let his facial hair grow out a bit, but... What? Clavell knows how Arven feels about his dad. That...that had to be a dig at him, right? Did...did the facial hair look dumb? It couldn't look that dumb? No, what was this about? And who is this kid?

By the time Arven has recovered enough to move his stupid legs into the building that Clavell and the boy had disappeared into, bolting to the director's office, the door is locked, and he's informed that Clavell has already left.

Fuck... He... He needs an answer here. Something is very wrong.

Did his mom or dad have some other kid he didn't know about or something? And then he had, like, a sibling or half-sibling somewhere who was unloading their spawn on the director?

No, that’s outrageous.

Maybe the kid just...just happens to look just like Arven?

This is stupid to just guess about. He just needs to be able to talk to someone.

Arven hurriedly makes his way to the Home Ec room and knocks at the door where the familiar face of Mr. Saguaro greets him with a friendly smile.

"Arven! Hello, my boy! Do come in, come in! Would you like something to eat? I just made pokemon treats, and I’m sure your Mabosstiff would love one!" His voice booms as Arven is ushered inside and enveloped in a tight hug.

The sensation nearly knocks the wind out of him, not just because of Saguaro's strength and size but because...well, he truthfully wasn't expecting such a warm welcome after getting the cold shoulder from Clavell. Or, he had been hoping for a warm welcome from his father figure only to be met with what he can only describe as paternal disdain.

Arven hugs Saguaro back. "Hello, Sir..." He says softly, forcing back the lump in his throat. "I, uh... I was just in the area..."

"Oh?" Saguaro asks, disengaging and pulling up a pair of seats for them to chat at a table. "Well, I'd love an opportunity to catch up with one of my most successful students. Please, sit and tell me what brings you by."

It's tempting. It's... It's really, really tempting to sit and chat about Kalos and Bon Applintit and all the good things lately, but Arven can't get the thought of that kid out of his mind.

"Sir..." He starts. "I saw Director Clavell on my way in..."

"Yes?" Saguaro asks, prompting him to continue.

"It, uh, it looked like he was... Maybe babysitting?"

Saguaro's eyes go distant for a second and he sighs. "Ah, so you saw..."

"Yeah." Arven interrupts before his former teacher has a chance to continue. "Who was that? The kid, I mean? And, well, why was the director taking care of--"

"Arven..." Saguaro sighs and stands back up, placing a hand on his shoulder. It's a comforting gesture, warm and heavy, but when Arven meets his gaze, hoping to find some type of answer to his confusion, he's met with sadness and what almost feels like disappointment radiating from the larger man. "Arven, I don't think I should be the one to tell you anything about that little one..." He says, his tone matching that same disappointment in his eyes. "That's a conversation you'll need to have with the child's mother."

"His mother...?" Arven asks, flabbergasted, his mind racing about who that could possibly be.

Saguaro nods. "You might find her at the Pokemon League this time of day, if you're lucky. I assume you don't have her number anymore?"

"Anymore? Wait, Sir, I'm not following here... I seriously have no idea what's g--"

Then it hits him.

You.

He slept with you.

It was...well, almost three-ish years ago? So...the timing would work out for a toddler. Not that he really knows what kids look like at different ages, but...

A toddler.

His toddler.

His toddler?

Arven doesn't realize his knees buckled. All he knows is that he's sitting in a chair, presumably placed beneath him by Saguaro just in time, a mug of water in his hands, while his teacher rubs gently at his back.

"Arven? Son, are you okay?"

"Don't say 'son'..." Arven mumbles out, his hands shaking as he grips the cup with near-white knuckles. He feels bile churning in his stomach. "I... I gotta go to the League... She hasn't spoken to me since...since..." He's trying to do the math in his head, but there's a block there, and between the rush of nausea and extreme anxiety, he can't focus.

"I gotta go. Sorry. I mean, thanks." He says, standing unsteadily before rushing from the room, Saguaro's protests falling on deaf ears.

Luckily, the Pokemon League isn't terribly far from Mesagoza, and Arven can make the trip on foot fairly easily in under an hour.

The whole trip there, he's panicking internally.

Did you really have his kid? That's...that's not what he actually saw was it? Then...then who was that little boy? Whose was he?

Beyond that, why hadn't you told him? Was this why you got all bitchy and dropped off the face of the earth? Well, maybe it wasn't bitchy...maybe it was hormones? But still! You never told him! Sure, he had to cancel your video calls several times, but... But you still could have found a way to tell him! You didn't need to block him! Was this why everyone else shut him out, too?

Actually... It all kinda lined up now. You blocked him, then...some number of months later, everyone else stopped talking to him, too. Even Penny stopped sending him the occasional meme.

What the fuck. Everyone thinks he's a deadbeat dad.

He is a deadbeat dad.

Or...is he? Can he be a deadbeat dad if he didn't know? ...Maybe that makes it worse? Fuck.

Maybe you didn't want him around for any of this, and that's why you didn't tell him... You knew he'd be a shitty dad or something. After all, what kind of dad could Arven be when his own dad didn't even want him? 

No.

No, that's not right.

That's no way to think about any of this.

Something...

Something else has to be at play here.

Arven has talked himself down from the precipice by the time he's made it to the top of the hill on which the League building sits.

He's just about to open the door to enter when a smartly dressed person with long, teal hair exits, arms crossed and a stern look on their face.

"Hello. How can I help you today?" They ask formally.

"Hi, yeah. My name's Arven Sada-Turo. I'm looking for, uh..." He falters for a moment before giving your full name and title. It felt strange saying the whole thing out loud again, like lead on his tongue.

The person hums at him critically, then gestures with their chin back toward the building.

"Let's talk, Arven Sada-Turo."

He breathes a sigh of relief, following them through the doors.

"Oh, thank you so much. You know, I spent the last few years in Kalos, and I just came back today, so--"

"You've been in Kalos?" The person--Rika, according to the nameplate and pronouns on her desk--says. "Kalos is pretty nice. You must've been having a great time over there." She goes on, taking a seat and folding her hands in front of her.

"I, uh..." Arven eyes her, unsure. "I was... Um, I just came back to, um... Actually, is she gonna be here soon?" He asks, confused.

"Please." Rika gestures to the chair across from her desk. "Have a seat. We can have a chat while we wait for my dear friend, yeah?" She asks, her eyes narrowing like a Luxray.

"Um... Sure..." Arven says, sitting down uneasily. "So, she'll be down? I, uh, haha... I never bothered completing the League challenge while I was in school, so..." He looks around the lobby. "I dunno where she might...um...be..ya know, in the building..."

"Yeah, don't worry about it," Rika speaks over him glibly, leaning back, crossing her ankles up on her desk. "I just wanna talk for a second. So you just decided to come back to Paldea to see my dear, sweet friend? Just a little pleasure call, or...?"

Arven splutters. "Excuse me?"

"I'm just trying to get your angle here, Sada-Turo. I don't see why you're bothering to come back after all these years. She's built a good life for herself, y'know? Super successful Champion, one of the best field researchers for our scientists. One hell of a mom. She doesn't need you or whatever pathetic excuse of an offer you might be trying to attempt here."

"Wh...What?!" Arven stammers, his heart pounding painfully in his chest when your status as a parent was confirmed. "I didn't even come back to see her! I came back to get the rest of my stuff and move permanently back to Kalos! It was only--"

"Then why are you here? Why don't you go?" Rika asks, her eyes going dark. "We don't need you. She doesn’t need you."

Arven's heart sinks. Rika was re-affirming all his worst thoughts, and as much as he feels urged to believe them, he fights it. This isn't a conversation he needs to have with some random woman at the Pokemon League. Who was she anyway? Your girlfriend? No, she called you a dear friend, but still…

Ugh, Rika’s relationship to you doesn't matter! He needs to talk to you.

"Is she coming down or not? Is she even in the building?"

"Not anymore." Rika smirks, checking her phone.

Arven audibly sighs and stands to leave. "You're wasting my time. I need to talk to her about...whatever this is that’s going on." He says, gesturing vaguely as he leaves the building.

"Oh, now you wanna talk to her? Why? Wanna try and convince yourself you're better than your own daddy because of your follower count or some tauros-shit?" Rika calls after him. "See if she gives you the time of day, Sada-Turo! Just see!"

Her words sting. Really badly, actually, but Arven tries to just let them slide off his back best he can. That woman doesn't know him. She isn't the priority right now.

You are.

He just needs to figure out some way to find and talk to you…

His phone buzzes obnoxiously in his pocket. He spares a glance at it as he hails a taxi on the off-chance that maybe you'd reach out, then turns the screen off. He doesn't have time for his PR rep right now.

[awritingcaitlin]

2024 Wrap Up

It's still before New Years where I'm at! So let's slide this in!!

Some stats! Words Written: 283031 (give or take) WIPs Worked on: 10 Books read: 3 Beta reads: 10

WIPs Drafting Stage: 8 WIPs Revision Stage: 3

I'm gonna post some snippets from the year under the cut!

January - Finished editing Draft 15 of TBW, and workshopped it with my critique group. In January in specific, it was mostly writing the last chapter. Here's some content from then: Nathaniel and Riela in the hospital after all the shit went down.

For those of you who are newer, TBW is something I've been working on for ages with my co-writer. (If the number of drafts isn't any clue.) But we're 10+ years now. Anticipate seeing more of it as we're probably going to try to do revisions again this coming year.

February - Did some revisions on Heist. Honestly, it was nothing major because I spent that month packing (for a move that never ended up happening -_-) Here's a conversation I was tweaking at the time, having already rewritten the first few chapters of Heist in 2023. (Also this says Draft 3, but it was really more like Draft 2.5. This content is now in Chapter 5.)

Heist is a staple you've all seen me talk about I'm sure! It's set in the same universe as TBW, but with different MCs. I started it in 2022, started Draft 3 in late 2023, and as you'll see, started Draft 4 in late 2024. Still, I'm loving how it's all coming together!

March - Revising stuff in the first 5 chapters of Heist Draft 3. Some content from that time for you: Lelia and Ronan talking!

April - I'd made it through 15 Chapters of Heist Draft 3. However, midway through the month, I had some Life Happen, and stepped away from Heist for Reasons. I'll share some snippets from those works too. Here's a new Em and Vinny conversation that I wrote during that time.

April Part 2 - Due to Grief reasons, I ended up rereading most of CTQ, which is my GriefWIP™, and expanded on one of the scenes for a flashfic contest at that time, now in second person!

April Part 3 - I also ended up working on Aftermath, another Grief WIP. Which did not actually start as a WIP about grief... but I suppose when the premise is surviving after overthrowing an evil dictator, I can see how it went that way.

May - I started working more on Heist again, and got through 22 whole chapters! Some content for the time: the Jam Session!

June - I got Heist up to 34 chapters! Have some theology! It was very hard to find a snippet that was new content compared to the previous draft but also was not a blatant spoiler.

July - I got Heist up to 35 chapters, but then got stuck. Yes, this snippet says it's from Chapter 36 and that's because later I went back and added a chapter (and also had to restructure this whole area of the WIP.) New content: Lelia and Marcella conversation!

July Part 2 - I started working on my Dragon Age fanfic. The premise being that all the origin characters survive and join the party (though not as Grey Wardens.)

August - Heist revisions looked a lot like I didn't know how to number chapters at the time. Chapter 34, Chapter 35, Chapter 36, Chapter 35, Chapter 35, Chapter 36, Chapter 37..... Anyway, this is when I went back and added a chapter that fixed the problem I'd been having. So here, have Lelia and Ronan talking!

August Part 2 - While all that was going on, I also put another 10k into my WardenWIP.

August Part 3 - I also wrote a crossover fic with @rarmaster. This was an "ending" of sorts for two characters from our respective Kingdom Hearts fanfics.

Premise: The Riku Replica survived Chain of Memories by going to another universe. Years later, he and Namine talk about how they made it.

August Part 4 - Lastly, I wrote a thinly veiled Dragon Age fanfic, modeled after the Urn of Sacred Ashes trailer.

September - I got Heist up to 44 chapters and wrote one of my favorite sequences ever!

September Part 2 - I also wrote another 20k of WardenWIP.

October - Finished Draft 3 of Heist! Then I kind of just rested. (As was my right.)

November - I worked on worldbuilding documents, both my encyclopedia and my history doc.

Working on the Magic Encyclopedia was something that's a long-time coming. There's a very in-depth magic system for the world of Tyrysius, and half of drafting up an encyclopedia for how magic works is so that way we can minimize contradictions! I expect to go back to it in 2025 and continue fleshing it out.

November Part 2 - Working on the History document was good for nailing down what has transpired since the cataclysm 1200 years ago, what nations have risen and fallen, what technology has done, and plenty else. I anticipate working on this more in 2025 as well.

November Part 3 - I also spent a lot of time working how Draft 4 of Heist was going to come together because I already had ideas for revisions and the motivation to do them.

No fancy snippet but:

“Shierdi has rejected my last offer for it. So you’re going to steal it. Shierdi isn’t looking for you because you haven’t done anything for me.” “Yeah but you’ve been trying to get my attention for a year.” “She doesn’t know that. She works through mortal staff a lot and has been wrapping me up in red tape. But, one of the benefits of being known as the drunken god is that none of the other gods think you can make up a plan.” “Yeah but there are other gods of alcohol.” “Everyone knows Adelus can’t plan! Even still, Shierdi thinks I’m more of a drunk than he is.”

December - Dove into Heist Draft 4! Have a snippet of a new conversation between Vinny and Em, that recycles dialogue from a scene with Lelia and Em that got cut.

December Part 2 - Also I started writing another crossover scene. The premise of this one is that Xion decides the Riku Replica is her little brother. It was rar's idea.

“Sister?���  She giggled. “Yeah.”  He blinked and mouthed the word again, as if tasting it on his tongue. His eyes lit up and he smiled. “Sure,” he laughed. “Why not? Why can’t my family get ridiculously bigger?” “That’s the spirit!” she said. “Want to go get ice cream?”  

That has not really gone anywhere yet, but I needed to get the initial dialogue out of my head.

Anyway, yeah, that was 2024 was a lot of writing. Here's to a good 2025!

[cyclogenesis]

The past couple of years most of my writing has been in the form of book reviews in which I'm, tbh, not afraid to be extremely critical (my two most liked reviews are among my harshest 1/2! they love it when I'm a hater) and now that I'm actually finishing a story for the first time in 2.5 years it is SO interesting the effect this has had on my fic writing. It's always been easiest for me to think in terms of what I don't like or want (usually in relation to life choices) rather than the more nebulous and broad aspects of what I do like, especially with a verrrry novelty-driven ADHD brain (what DO I want? idk lol probably something new and differently stimulating that I haven't come across yet) so I would think that would just make it more difficult to create because you can't build something new out of what you're trying to avoid.

But it's ended up being really helpful because I notice things like structure and pacing a lot more, and being able to articulate what I identify as bad in those areas has I think greatly improved my ability to step back and see a story from a distance - to see the whole shape of it, and figure out what I'm trying to say with it/what it's about, and thereby more easily see what I need to do to fill it out so that it gets my point across. It's also been helpful because there are a lot of books out there that I think are badly written, or have catastrophic missteps that should have been caught by literally any editor along the way, and yet those books still land on the shelves, while here I am over here like "what if people think I didn't completely justify the inclusion of temporary vampirism in this MCU fanfiction story I'm posting on the internet for free, and that the tonal shift from situational comedy to rough sex is too jarring, and they think the story sucks, and that I also suck?" What then?! Well, nothing. It's all fine, and as I know from seeing all the five star reviews on books that I think are an egregious crime against the written word, most people just aren't reading that critically, nor should they be, because who cares. Anyway, hopefully I'll get this thing posted before I go to bed tonight. Writing!! AAAAAH!!!!

[olderthannetfic]

https://olderthannetfic.tumblr.com/post/731262721490911232/in-my-experience-grumbling-about-increasing I think anon is a bit too simple about it. The simple answer they want is "There is no problem, why are people grumbling about it, it's inclusive so let's just add it." The problem is that it's not that simple. The people grumbling about it did give good reasons as to why adding new relationship denoting symbols might not work, and why other options would be more sensible ie tagging. I'll shorten it to RDS: relationship denoting symbol. QPR: Queerplatonic relationship. 1) People already misusing the ones currently in use, despite how the broad types of relationships they cover. & and / 2) The idea for to + be for QPR is incredibly narrow compared to the relatively broad scope of relationship dynamics you get with & and /. Someone already mentioned that most AO3 users seem to agree that & isn't just friends, and / isn't just romantic, additionally that neither denotes that the relationship has to be positive either. It's just something that seems part of AO3's culture of understanding. What other relationship types could + cover that makes it a worthwhile addition? As it's proposed right now it seems to be both narrow in it's use being specifically for mainly QPRS which are a specific relationship, and specifically seems to denote a positive relationship. 2.5) If it's only there to denote one very specific relationship you might just be in better company tagging the specifics of the relationship instead of adding a RDS just for this one need. As many have said. 3) Tagging as a way to specify relationships beyond the RDS is way more helpful and easily to understand for users, and most importantly probably more inclusive as well. 4) ONTF said it, + can have various meanings in different fandoms, and trying to bruteforce it into being just for QPR's when some fandoms might have years of established meaning behind it already is probably not realistic. 5) What would that mean for QPR fics that would have been written before this idea? Just asking as a hypothetical. This would in my opinion, be the opposite of inclusive because you'd have to change a large part of your search habit if you're actually into queerplatonic relationships or any that might be pushed under the +. Old fics will be excluded if you use the search function because they simply won't be tagged. I think one of the commenters of the linked ask goes into more detail.

--

I do think that discussions like these are a good reason to have a new major archive every 10 years or so and to have multiple archives because new ones can be designed to have different metadata in the first place.

[ryehouses]

i was tagged in this by @bobafett, who wants to bring back ask box games! this was really fun and really helped drive home the fact that i am maybe a little too wordy!

y'all know the drill. copy, paste, fill in your own answers! feel free to share!

How many works do you have on AO3? impossible for me to say because i have shed ao3 handles like a particularly robust hermit crab, but if i'm just counting everything under iridan, thirteen!

What’s your total AO3 word count? ......1.3 million, as iridan. if we throw in some of my other psueds and the truly awful eragon fanfiction i wrote when i was fourteen, we're probably loking at 2 - 2.5 mil.

What fandoms do you write for? presently, star wars, jujutsu kaisen, star wars again. i have some witcher fic in my gdocs and older projects in rdr2, dishonored, anything that can catch and hold my attention for long enough for my brain to produce a bit of dopamine,

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? all five of them are in the ast 'verse except for lost country

Do you respond to comments? i try to, but it's really hit or miss! i am painfully shy and usually can only go '!!!!!' in thanks

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? of my completed fics, none! i am not really in to the angst ending. if i ever do get around to finishing it, i started a dishonored/his dark materials au that would have ended with corvo going slowly, gently nuts and taking over the outsider's place in the void

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? i like happy endings, so all of them!

Do you get hate on fics? occasionally. i still think about that one commentor on ast who accused me of blaming the jedi for order 66 like, all the time. mostly no, though, everyone is really nice!

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? i've been told that 'wrestling as nasty foreplay' is something of a signature move of mine, so! 1) yes and 2) whatever kind of smut 'wrestling as nasty foreplay' applies as

Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? yes, but almost exclusively his dark materials crossovers. i do have a witcher/temeraire fusion au sitting in my gdocs

Have you ever had a fic stolen? no, not that i'm aware of. i do semi-frequent google searches to see if my shit pops up anywhere.

Have you ever had a fic translated? i don't think so! ast was podfic'd, if that counts.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? i don't think so, because i am a whole idiot and am hard to collaborate with.

What’s your all time favorite ship? of ALL TIME? impossible to say. i am inconsistent and flighty. bobadin hit me pretty good, though

What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? haha too many. i started a jedi!din fic and didn't get far. i've had several WIPs on ao3 sit without an update for years. i have drafted, redrafted, and drafted again a novel that will most likely never see the light of day. finishing even one of those would likely water my crops for several years

What are your writing strengths? i take particular pride in my settings! somebody on ao3 told me last week that i have nice turns of phrase, too, and i am proud of those too

What are your writing weaknesses? i have never once said anything in six words when i could say them in six hundred million billion instead

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? obviously i've experimented in various projects, but i am fundamentally kind of lazy and prefer to sprinkle in a few words here and there instead of spending the time to learn about another language's grammar structure

First fandom you wrote for? the first fandom i published anything in was eragon, way back in the day! the first fandom i wrote for was his dark materials, in a composition notebook in like the fifth or sixth grade!

Favorite fic you’ve written? could not possibly pic! they are all like my children and also my therapist.

i'm tagging @meyerlansky and anybody else who wants to participate! consider yourself invited!

[novorehere]

Hey all! Just wanted to give everyone a bit of a content update.

I apologize for the lack of content for the past… year. I’ve been working through some stuff, and it’s been hard for me to find the motivation or inspiration to write. It comes in short bursts, meaning I’ve been (very) slowly chipping away at multiple projects at once. I just thought I’d update everyone on how things are going and make a list (partly for myself) of what I have in the works, what still needs to be done, and what you can expect from me in the future. Admittedly these are mostly obey me fics but I DO have other things tumbling about in my brain, I promise.

Opposite Day: 2/5 chapters finished, the rest 100% planned and around 30-40% written.

I’ve been sitting on an unfinished chapter 3 for almost a year now, and have written good portions of the other chapters in the meantime. This is the project I’m most excited to finish, and I feel bad for abandoning it for so long. Rest assured, I *am* still working on it, and am extremely happy it’s been so well received.

Untitled Simeon Comfort Fic: 75% finished.

Originally I wanted this written for his birthday (which was in February lmao) but as you can see that did not happen. I’ve got the beginning and end all written out, I sort of went off the script at the end with fun purgatory hall family fluff so the only thing I don’t have written is… actually the eating part. This will probably be the first fic I actually post, seeing as it’s the closest to completion.

“A series of Obey Me Vore Headcanons” Re-Write (Title Very WIP) 2.5/7 chapters re-written

This one I don’t think I’ve mentioned on here yet. I’ve grown increasingly unsatisfied with my original obey me headcanons list that I posted last year when I first got into the fandom. A. Because I hadn’t gotten very far into the story when I wrote it and didn’t get the full scope of the characters yet and B. (Most importantly) I feel like I really didn’t do the characters justice.

Since I originally posted it, there’s been a healthy amount of discussion on depth and nuance in vore media and reducing characters to tropes, etc. I’d like to re-write this series to focus less on physical aspects and “how they eat you” but rather more of an emotional and story driven story of why they eat you and their emotions and struggles that come with it. The obey me brothers are incredibly interesting characters, and I’d like to explore them in more depth and show you how interesting they can really be and why I love them so much.

This one might take a while to complete, but it’s gonna happen at some point. I‘ll keep up the original half-finished version in the meantime since I don’t want to delete it and ao3 doesn’t allow privating fics without orphaning them. I know it’s ugly in it’s current state, just know I’m working on it and the rest of those chapters will be overhauled eventually.

“Miss Em”: 80% written (kind of)

I’ve had this one sitting in my drafts for a while now. Originally I had plans to start another multi-chapter series but then Opposite Day sort of went to shit so I scrapped it knowing it was way too ambitious. But now I still have a mostly written Mammon fic in my notes app just sitting there and it would be a shame to just…leave it. I’m not sure what I’m gonna do with this one, Maybe I’ll write the Beel companion piece to it that I had planned and just leave it as a 2-parter. Who knows. It’s really cute, and I want to share it at some point.

Untitled Obey Me mini-drabbles: 60% written

Honestly this wasn’t supposed to be a whole thing. I started randomly writing one day on a burst of inspiration and it turned into little mini “scenario slices” for all the characters and I really like how it turned out. I still need to write for two of the characters and polish up some others, but it’s a fun low-stress thing to work on in between projects. Also excited to share it possibly soon since they’re fairly short and shouldn’t take long to finish (but you know me…)

An unspecified ITWOM fanfic: 0% written, 50% planned

For those who aren’t familiar, “In the World of Monsters” is an amazing novel authored by @vore-toast that just recently received a fantastic ending and epilogue (Please read it! It’s fantastic!) And I really would like to write a little something for it to show my appreciation. I have an idea planned out, but details would involve spoilers so I can’t say much. I’d need to ask for guidance on what exactly to include since the things I would like to write about haven’t exactly *happened yet* but I’ve said too much already… hee hee. I don’t know when this fic is gonna happen, but I swear to you it will. And if my original idea doesn’t work out, it’ll be something. I WILL be writing for this series, mark my words.

Heroes Off-Duty. 0% written, ??% planned

Huh? That’s weird... That one’s not supposed to be there. Ah well, It’s not relevant anyway. Carry on.

[voxofthevoid]

Hey, I actually don't know if you've ever answered the question I'm going to ask (I'm like 90% sure you did lol), but you're very active on Tumblr, so I couldn't find an updated direct response 😅 - have you ever considered to post more often on ao3, not just one chapter for each work you're currently posting? From my understanding, all JJK and Marvel works you have on a current schedule are finished? And don't get me wrong - of course you have life and I don't mean you SHOULD post everything all at once, but as a fic writer myself - I do not have a patience to sit on my works for long! Like I need to share my obsession I have with certain ships ASAP. For example, your Shibuya Swap fic - someone already picked on that too - will take 2 years to post! That's insane, I don't know if I would like my own stuff in 2 years enough to not feel embarrassed about it and delete, and you will be coming back to it on a monthly basis for 2 years at best, 2.5 at worst, if something will not change the schedule by that time.

Or could it be, that those works aren't actually *finished* it's just that you have a general idea or "drafts" how will it start, progress and end?

I really admire your consistency though, but sometimes can't help myself, but think "Man, I wish you'd post *that* fic more often, it's SO good!" Or post like one fic, just 3-5 chapters of it in a month or sum. But alas, I will restrain myself from begging on my knees in the ao3 comments, because I can understand how annoying it can get, FAST (I dealt with certain people there, too).

Have a great day and please don't take this question as an attack, I'm just a desperate fan of yours, who can't even mind my own business most of the time due to being an ANNOYING person with ADHD lmfao🙏

You WILL see me generally commenting *OMG SO GOOD WOW HOLD UP* gibberish on your works, though (it is a threat).

Haha, don't worry, I won't bite your head off for this. No offense taken or attack interpreted 💜

I have answered a few versions of this question before, twice in relation to JJK and at least once in relation to MCU. They're all somewhere in this tag (link only works in browsers), and the former two will be more recent...but well, that tag has 127 pages of results and Tumblr search sucks balls; even I can't find my posts most of the time, so I definitely don't expect others to. But I did hunt down the most recent one: https://voxofthevoid.tumblr.com/post/746745605036064768/hey-i-was-wondering-why-you-post-one-chapter-a

As for stuff you've asked that's not covered in that answer—

My works are all finished, not just drafts. The "plot bunnies" I talk about are outlines of varying detail, but the fics I'm posting to Ao3 as well as the fics I've posted in previous WIP Wednesday installments are all complete. They need editing, but my first drafts are essentially my final drafts. I proofread to catch typos and grammar errors and to generally polish the phrasing. My day job is editing, which means I'm extremely lazy about editing my leisure writing, but I manage a decent pass.

Regarding how I feel about my work years down the line: I've more or less settled into my writing style. It's still changing and growing, and I enjoy experiments and challenges, but the base quality is at a level I'm content with in terms of both prose and mechanical elements. I'm not embarrassed by anything I've written after 2018, and I don't really see that changing. I will always see the flaws prominently, both objective and subjective ones, but I'll also see the strengths. The older fics (2014–2018) are of significantly poorer quality as well as clumsily executed in many, many ways, but I'm still proud of my ideas and absolutely delighted by how they still entertain so many people. Regardless of my personal feelings toward my writing at a given time, I won't delete my fics.

As for patience, I am indeed patient 🤣. Well, for a year or so, I've been posting snippets from whatever I'm currently working on as WIP Wednesday posts, so I am actively sharing the pieces that I'm working on, but I'm pretty comfortable with sitting on the full stories for months or even years. It just doesn't bother me.

The only issue with how I build a backlog is that once I lose interest in the ship/fandom, my posting slows down, and I get 100 times lazier about editing—to the point I'll likely post the rest of my MCU and Bleach works all raw and dirty. One of the reasons I'm posting as much as I do for JJK is that I'd like to avoid a similar fate in this fandom. Fool's errand with how my inspiration and writing function, but hey, no harm in trying.

And, in line with the post I've linked above, even if I had fewer fics on the roster, my pace would remain a chapter a month per fic. Let's say I suddenly stop writing and also whittle my backlog down to only 2 fics: That won't mean I'll post 3 chapters each for those 2 fics every month; I'll still only post twice a month in total—one chapter from each fic.

As long as no one's being rude or entitled (I've seen some asinine takes about prewritten fics being posted slowly), I consider people wanting more of specific stories as a compliment! However, you'll have to be patient right along with me 😂

And that's a wonderful threat; I look forward to it 🥰

[thgfanfictionlibrary]

E Rated Fics Masterlist (15)

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10 / Part 11 / Part 12 / Part 13 / Part 14 /

Created: November 18th, 2023

Last Checked:---

More Than One Night-thegirlonpeetamellark (ao3) Summary: Written for S2SL "I told myself I wasn’t going to do this. I went out tonight intending to get a girl’s number, not to bring a girl home. I was hoping to find a nice girl who I had something in common with, a girl I could get to know better. But I really want to fuck this girl. Now."

More Than Words-OfPearlsAndShoelaces (ao3) Summary: At the end of their ill-fated Victory Tour, Katniss and Peeta are forced to do the unthinkable to save their families from President Snow's wrath. Together, they struggle to cope with a different set of circumstances and hold onto themselves while rebellion simmers in the background. A Catching Fire AU. Adult content and mature themes.

Motivation-merciki (ao3) Summary: Sometimes, all we need is a tiny little bit of motivation. … An Everlark story, set at the gym.

Namaste-dispatchesfromdistrict7 (ao3) Summary: Katniss Everdeen has been feeling scattered with too many demands weighing on her mind. At the urging of a friend she decides to try a yoga class where she meets Peeta Mellark. Written for the Write-Me-A-Story Hunger Games Challenge.

Need-glintwarsgreatest (ao3) Summary: Katniss needs something from her best friend, but what that thing is may surprise him. (Ok I suck at summaries. Basically this is a smutty one shot so enjoy).

One Last Night-annieoakley1 (ao3) Summary: “We walk down the hallway. Peeta wants to stop by his room to shower off the makeup and meet me in a few minutes, but I won’t let him. I’m certain that if a door shuts between us, it will lock and I’ll have to spend the night without him. Besides, I have a shower in my room. I refuse to let go of his hand.” -Catching Fire, p. 260

One Need In the Night-msdisdain (ao3) Summary: “Classy, too,” he said, and as he leaned in further, she shivered. “I like you right here, Mockingjay,” he murmured in her ear. “You need someone to shut you up.” Katniss makes an ill-advised secret visit to a still very-hijacked Peeta.

Opened Eyes-endlessnightlock (ao3) Summary: Katniss breaks up with Gale. Why did she start dating him in the first place? And a better question is why does she care what her blue-eyed friend from class thinks?

Paperwork 2.5-oakfarmer (ao3) Summary: Year 2.5 Gale’s first visit to 12 after ‘so after’.

Peace-hutchabelle (ao3) Summary: A room mixup at Panem Resort brings two hurting people together for a vacation of healing.

[hearteyesmcgarrett]

WIP Year in Review

Number of WIPs Begun this Year: 45 (including finished ones) that are actually more than just ideas or notes. Add like 4 that exist only in note format

Number of WIPs Finished this Year: 44! I dont post things unless im done with them lmao (I WROTE 44 FICS THIS YEAR???? HOLY SHIT)

Longest-Running WIP: again, i dont post things unless ive finished them so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ if we count series though, i'm (theoretically) going to write more stargate kinkmeme fills, and that series is 8 works deep and was started back in July. I wanna write more anxious danny stuff too but that series was started years ago (I did add to it this year tho!)

Newest WIP: unnamed nick/monroe grimm fic inspired by a work i like. will theoretically be finished and posted eventually

Most Worked on WIP: I guess we'd have to go back to the kinkmeme series bc I finally finished whumptober earlier this month

Favorite WIP: honestly the kinkmeme has been a blast but im excited to add more to my anxious danny series. mcdanno will always have a special place in my heart

Favorite Completed Work: oh man this is tough!!! If i had to choose, I'd probably say You're the reason I dont want the world to end. it was written for the SGA server birthday bash, follows mcshep over the course of the series, and is the longest oneshot ive ever written. its different than my other works and was fun to do

WIP You're Most Excited to Finish: okay i havent even technically started it, but damn do i wanna create my Thunder Road mcshep series!!!

WIP You're Not Sure You'll Finish: will i ever write the SGA hockey AU???? your guess is as good as mine

WIP Resolution for 2024: write and finish the goddamn thunder road series. now that I'm done with whumptober maybe ill actually have the time and energy to write it.

I just wanna say a massive thank you to @spurious for tagging me in these every week even though i almost never actually participated lmao. joining the gaggle of sga writers on here has genuinely changed my life! i love you all dearly and you aggressively snapped me out of a 2.5 year writing drought. Ive had an absolute blast writing this year and i still cant believe i get to chat with folks whose work I ADORE <3 i can't wait to see what 2024 brings all of us and our ao3 accounts

[claudiajcregg]

📈, 👀, and 😬 for the emoji fic writer asks. Please & thank you.

Thank you for asking, Danielle! Forgive me if half the things don't make sense... Still battling this stupid flu, but I'm finally on the mend.

📈 How many fics do you have?

This is such a broad question! The short but true answer is that the number is in the hundreds, between all the stories I wrote in my tweens/teens, to the ones I've written in the last few years. (I know I have probably reached and surpassed more than 100 stories all split between various notes, docs, and word docs.)

But if it's posted... 18 on AO3 (though one of those fics is like a small collection, so it could be 21). Then we have some of those stories in my teens, but I've lost count... At least 2 more on FF.net, and a few more somewhere on LJ and various forums.

👀 Tell me about an up and coming wip please!

I have a lot of them, to different degrees of “just need another pass before sending it to a beta” to “will I ever finish writing this?”

The one that I'm most focused on right now (even if I haven't touched it in ten days) is a pregnancy AU. I had the idea in February but only started writing it in June, and it's basically a TWW season 4/5 AU in which CJ gets pregnant. I'm still struggling with the vision already, but it's been fun to explore almost the same events from S5 on the show through this new lens. There are 9 chapters and 55k words written so far! As I mentioned the other day, I'd say I'm either halfway or two-thirds in, but I'm not sure how much I'll cover. And though I don't know what to think of it, those who have read it do like it. (I cannot post it until I am either done with the story, or know I won't tweak things. I would take so long to update.)

I also have a campaign vignettes fic that I still write from time to time, and a bunch of almost-ready stuff that I need to edit once I find some energy. (I also get the sense people are not into my stuff, so it's not like I prioritize it.)

😬 Which of your fics would you be most horrified for friends, family, or coworkers to stumble upon?

Part of me wants to say 'all of them' because my writing and stories still feel personal, and I don't know what they'd think about it. I'm not a writer!

But the true answer is another wip that Ally/@onekisstotakewithme has dubbed the 'one bed sexy bits' (I called it 'one bed 2.5'). The thought of anyone reading that is just too much two people have 🫣🫣🫣. This goes for other spice I've written in other WIPs, but that one is too much.

[logicheartsoul]

I miss writing, but tonight, especially song writing.

I’m sitting in this place while waiting for my friend to use the restroom and random music is playing and like…it’s loud enough I can’t hear vocals but some of the instrumentals just reminded me of a song I wrote (only the first half of it) in 2021. And the song is kinda haunting me like a ghost of a melody like a song that gets stuck in your head but you can’t remember the words even though you know them coz they’re stuck on the tip of your tongue waiting for it to draw out.

And I dunno I would love to finish the song but also write more. But I haven’t written music way longer than I’ve written stories (2.5-3 years now for the stories).

The funny thing about the song is that it was for a fic — it was a musician AU and it was an original song for the character and it’s kinda written in his POV but the lyrics are vague enough to apply to a whole load of people (and fictional characters) but somehow one day i would like to record and finish it to just be a song that exists, even if the story never comes to be.

Like it has a title too but the second half just…eluding me and I do have the chorus too but *shrug*

[boba-beom]

Happy 2.5 years and 2k followers to this blog

I’m grateful for the friends I’ve made and for meeting so many lovely people here, this place has always been a safe space for me and to think I’ve managed to interact with quite the loveliest people, I consider myself grateful indeed.

Thank you to those who admire my work and support me throughout, letting me share my thoughts and little stories with you! I did start this writing blog for fun and I’ve had so many doubts about keeping this up or not, but I get inspired and just think you guys would appreciate it as much as I appreciate TXT. Thank you for letting me befriend some people through this bond <3

I’ve been extremely busy with uni that the only things I have written and scheduled are two beomgyu-dedicated fics for this month and just plans for the 80s inspired txt fics that will drop randomly, so I’m sorry I don’t have anything prepared for this milestone 😅 But nonetheless, I never thought I’d reach over two years with this blog, never mind a following of 2k 🫶🏼🪷 thank you again!!

— Smiles 🎐

also, enjoy these similar photos of blurry me and gyu ^^

just a little announcement too, my taglist form is no longer working so if I do / don’t tag you in fics let me know through asks if you want to be removed / added <3

[dyed-red]

is there any chance of you getting back to Desiderata?😔

This is not @ you specifically anon, but I am getting a little tired of answering this question, and I'm going to be a bit snarky about it.

Yes, I am getting "back" to Desiderata, insofar as I ever "left" it, which I haven't. It's been about 10 weeks since the last update, or 2.5 months, which honestly isn't that long in the grand scheme of things, as much as I very genuinely understand the impatience of waiting for an update.

What I genuinely don't understand is why there's become this default assumption that it's abandoned. You're the third comment *this week* starting on the assumption that I've left it aside or am not planning to finish it.

I've said repeatedly in the comments and on here that I'm finishing it. I was always going to finish it. Its not marked as on hiatus or abandoned. If you look at the original post date to most recent update, it's clear the fic has been posted slow (actually in fits and starts) between updates, so this is par for the course, here.

I won't meander into personal stuff, but the reasons for why posting slowed are personal irl crap and not creative lapse. Another 10k+ words of the fic are already drafted and I've mapped out the core pieces that aren't already written, even if some of those may be re-written and/or strung together differently as I finalize the final few chapters.

And look, just wanting to repeat that this vexed tone of mine isn't @ you specifically, it's just that you were lucky caller 100 and I got a bit annoyed with repeating myself. But if you are open to the suggestion, I do recommend you ask authors about updates without starting from the assumption of abandonment. Not all authors feel the same about questions about updates so take that with a grain of salt, but at least in my case, a question like "any word on the timeline of an update? 👀👀" is more fun than "any chance of you getting back to this thing which I assume you've left? 😔"

More generally, most advice you see floating around is that if you want more of a thing you like, hype it up instead of being sad or demanding about it. Instead of asking for updates (which, again, I don't personally mind! It's the assumption of abandonment of a mostly completed story that irks me), the usual advice is to write a comment on ao3 about what you enjoyed about the story, maybe highlight a line or two, or even one each chapter. That can reinvest an author's energy (if it has indeed lapsed) by drawing their attention back to the parts of the story that are loved, and their attention to it is half the battle sometimes, getting them revved up from there as they re-experience the story from the reader's point of view.

If that's too much work, drop a compliment about the fic in the author's inbox instead of just a question. "Loving this story, [insert genuine compliment about plot, style, scene, characterization, or etc here]. I couldn't find it in the fic comments or your tag for the fic here on your blog, so just checking if there's any word on future updates? Either way have enjoyed it so far!"

Boom.

All right I'll stop soapboxing now. I try not to get grumpy with readers. I love how much you guys love this fic and I never in a million years expected half this much interest in it, to be honest. I literally had the draft open last night, it's not abandoned. I'm here with you, nonnie, wishing it wouldn't take so long but on the journey to see it finished anyway.