#instead i seem to just reread my favorite fics

[llycaons]

something else I really love about feast and famine is how wwx isn't all 'wow lan zhan you're the best I can't believe you've been putting up with me I'm SO grateful you're literally perfect even though I'm so needy thank you so so so much' bc that sentiment arises in a lot of fics that handle his trauma or mental health and it's SO tiresome not to mention ooc. like it's not there for no reason bc wwx did express gratitude in canon and lwj IS a really good and supportive partner, but it's really refreshing to see wwx in a stable and reliable enough relationship where, except that one time he was triggered and panicking, he literally never once doubted that lwj would support and stand with him, nor did he ever feel the need to even thank lwj for being a good partner, even through the extremely heavy and difficult work of supporting him through what happened

and they DO communicate a lot, it's more that the gratitude is left unsaid because it's mutually understood to be unnecessary. and as much I'm in favor of them communicating their gratitude to each other, I feel like this dynamic for them is so much healthier and more mature and illustrates how strong their relationship is and how much they trust each other. also the idea of lwj as this...saintlike martyr who nobly supports and reassures a self-hating wwx is really tiring. he has his own struggles to be sure, but he has them away from wwx and the writing doesn't frame him as some tragic, self-sacrificing hero for it. like I love lwj but that's what it should be about, right? this was always going to be wwx's story first and foremost and I really appreciate works that let it be that

[revelboo]

(Huddles in corner rereading ur knockout fic for the 3rd time) Craving knockout so bad

He’s so pretty uggggh

Sure! And he’s very aware that he’s pretty

My Favorite Accident Pt 8

Knockout x Reader

• Engine grumbling as you walk much slower than necessary back to your apartment with him shadowing you at a crawl, he knows you’re doing it on purpose. That you’re sulking. “Primus, you’re like a sparkling. I had to go patch up one of the commanders. I didn’t ditch you.” And you shoot him a scowl, arms crossed as you walk. Knows he should just go and leave you to your little pity party, and revs his engine in threat to do just that. But doesn’t. Because you’re helpless and who’s he going to race with that will actually challenge him if he leaves you and you get yourself murdered?

• Huffing in the deepening night, you can’t believe he’s idling along beside you instead of going to do important, secret alien things. He’s dropped enough accidental details for you to understand his people are at war. That they’re here on Earth with their enemies. Why Earth, what they’re fighting for, that stuff is a mystery. “So are you with the good guys or what?” And his engine almost stalls before snarling, back tires spinning to kick up loose rocks.

• Primus, you really are like a sparkling. “It’s war. There’s no good guys or bad guys,” he growls. And you’re back to glaring at him again. “Why do you humans need things to be black and white?” Because war isn’t. It’s not like all the atrocities can be neatly credited to one side or the other. Both sides have done horrible things. ‘That answer sounds like something the bad guys would say,’ you mutter to make his engine snarl again.

• Engine grumbling because Knockout is just barely crawling, he’s going so slow. Apparently happily talking to that human and Breakdown can’t figure out what the fascination is. How does he know you? One of the humans he’s always racing? Why reveal himself to you, though? Or is he running the avatar and playing at being human for you? He’s not really sure which scenario is less unsettling. Because the Knockout he knows doesn’t like humans, doesn’t even notice them. So why had he opened his door for you like he was trying to lure you inside? Why does he despise it when you flick your fingers at Knockout, head turning to smile at him. Does Knockout let you touch him? Willing to risk his paint getting smudged for you? Does he smile back at you?

• Fine hair at your nape prickling, you glance back at the dark road. Unable to shake the feeling that you and Knockout aren’t alone. That something’s there. But Knockout doesn’t seem concerned, so you just ignore the feeling as best you can and let him escort you home. Even if he begins muttering loudly about burning the apartment building down as soon as it comes into view. You’re almost sure he won’t actually follow through. You hope he won’t. This is the only place you can afford. “Thanks for walking me home,” you say, turning to smile at the glossy sports car. “You know, you’re sweet when you want to be,” you add just to make him growl in affront. Grinning, You head to your door to let yourself in.

Previous

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[wavelikewhat]

Bend It Like Mingyu

Pairing: Professional Soccer Player!Mingyu x reader (any pronouns)  Summary: It all started the day Mingyu ruined your picnic with his stupid soccer ball. Ever since then, he keeps showing up everywhere. Why won't he leave you alone?! Wordcount: 3.2k Content notes: extreme fluff, zero smut, Y/N's best friend is pregnant and later cares for the baby (baby is mentioned but not seen in the story) Genres/themes/appearances: enemies to lovers, super sweet and fluffy, Mingyu is very clumsy and very reliable, there's only one bed! (no smut), I am American so it is called soccer in the fic

"Watch out!" 

You looked up in alarm at the man's shouts, and not a moment too soon. A black and white ball was flying through the air aimed directly at your patch of sunshine. 

Reflexes kicking into action, you tossed your book aside and scrambled backwards just in time. The ball landed exactly where you had been sprawled across a blanket rereading your favorite book for the 26th time. 

You stood up and shook yourself off angrily, stalking over to where the book landed when you unceremoniously threw it from your hand. In your peripheral vision you noticed a man coming your way and you ignored him to let your rage build while you gathered your things to leave. He had officially killed the mood.

"I am so sorry!" a man's voice exclaimed from a few feet away. You spun on your heel, ready to unleash your anger, but instead you found yourself speechless as you gazed at the most beautiful man you had ever seen. The sunlight was shimmering all around him. 

Wait, no, the sunlight was reflecting off the sheen of sweat covering his bare arms and legs, visible beyond his loose tank and rather short shorts. He pushed his longish hair back from where it had covered his eyes. Your eyes tracked his hand as it moved.

You felt yourself start to lick your lips but you caught yourself. That's right, you were mad at this man! How dare he come to a public park and ruin a perfectly good day with an errant kick! Doesn't he know how to handle the ball?

"I'm really sorry," he apologized again.

You glared at him. For some reason your brain was having trouble forming a response. "Just try not to do that again," you said coldly before turning away to pick up your things.

…

"What did you end up doing yesterday?" your best friend Hani asked, taking a big sip of lemonade. She was craving a lot of lemonade these days.

"I went to the park," you replied, "but this annoying guy kicked a soccer ball right at me and totally ruined my vibe."

"That's so rude!"

"Thank you! That's what I thought!"

"Did he say anything?"

"He apologized. I think he was trying to say more but I just left."

Your friend laughed. "When we were seven years old you would have thrown a rock at him even if he apologized."

"You know what this is? Growth."

As you both giggled, you scanned the room with your eyes. Hani and her husband were hosting their baby shower, and all the friends and family crowding their house looked nearly as happy as the parents to be. You turned to look in the other direction and your jaw dropped.

"What is he doing here?!" you asked in shock.

Hani turned to look and a huge grin spread across her face. "Oh, it's Mingyu!" She waved enthusiastically and the man smiled as he walked toward them. Then he seemed to take in the person beside Hani… and he did a double take. You could only stare.

"That's right! You two haven't met!" Hani realized as she gave Mingyu as much of a hug as she could, given her belly. "Y/N, this is Mingyu. Mingyu, this is Y/N, my best friend who you have heard so many good things about!" 

She turned to look at you. "Mingyu is a professional soccer player, but he's been playing overseas for a few years. He just got traded to the team here in the city though! We're so excited to have him here," Hani added, giving him another hug. Who on earth was this man, and why was Hani so obsessed with him?! She was supposed to hate him in solidarity with you!

Fortunately, all that came out was "Professional soccer player?" in quite possibly the most skeptical voice you had used in your entire life. 

Mingyu at least had the decency to look sheepish. "It's true, you can look me up online!" he said defensively. Then he switched back to that infuriatingly warm smile. Two little canines popped out as he grinned. Ugh.

…

[Unknown Number] Y/N are you on the way to the hospital? [Y/N] who is this? [Unknown Number] Kim Mingyu [Unknown Number] Hani gave me your number in case of an emergency [Unknown Number] I guess that's what this is!

You scrunched your nose in annoyance. What was Hani doing giving your number to strange men?

You sighed and looked out the window of the taxi. You had to admit he wasn't a random man. He had really stepped up and helped out Hani and her husband over the last few months, even taking Hani to a few unexpected doctors appointments that her husband and you couldn't help with. You and her husband both worked on the other side of a bridge that was currently under construction, and traffic was getting crazier every day on the way back to the neighborhood where you all lived. Eventually he had started working from home because it was getting too close to Hani's due date. 

(By then, she was complaining to you every day that she felt like her baby might actually be a baby elephant. You didn't really think that part was a problem because baby elephants are super cute.)

Your phone buzzed again.

[Unknown Number] I'm waiting for you in the main lobby [Unknown Number] We can go up together when you arrive

You never even said if you were on your way to the hospital! You sighed. Ok, fine, he knew you were probably on the way to the hospital. Hani had texted you that they were on their way, and that she was turning her phone on do not disturb because she didn't want it to distract her. As soon as you saw the message, you got in a cab.

[Y/N] ok

Mingyu found you as soon as you walked in the hospital, just as he promised. He led you to the waiting room. You set down your things and stared at the chairs as if waiting for them to tell you what to do.

Mingyu interrupted your racing thoughts. "Should we sit down? Do you want a bottle of water? I have a couple here." He unzipped a gym bag, and you registered that he must have come directly from the gym because he was in loose sweatpants and a plain tee with a sheen of sweat giving him what could only be described as a beautiful natural glow. How unfair. When you went to the gym you did not look glowy.

He handed you a bottle of water and sat down opposite you, motioning with his hand that you should sit too. You did, opening the water and taking a sip for something to do.

For the next while, Mingyu kept up a mostly one sided conversation about a variety of topics you didn't follow at all. Your mind was on your friend.

"Are you okay?" Mingyu asked with concern.

You looked over at him. You didn't have any fight left in you. "I'm really nervous."

"I understand." He came to sit beside you. "My sister had a baby a few years ago. I was a nervous wreck. My mom had to hold my hand and calm me down!" He laughed a little, then he became serious again. "Is it okay if I hold your hand? It really helped me."

You gave him a small nod and he took your hand. Against all odds, his grip really was comforting. Then again, you had gotten to know him better over the last few months, and he seemed like a genuinely good guy who cared a lot for Hani and her husband and the baby.

He felt you leaning towards him, and he released your hand so he could wrap his arm around your shoulders and pull you against him. He moved his other hand to yours and squeezed. You felt yourself tearing up and closed your eyes. Suddenly you were relieved this man you barely heard about until recently was sitting next to you.

…

"Finally, we can have some adult time!" Hani whispered loudly as she shut the bedroom door and tiptoed towards you.

You and Mingyu shared a look on the couch. Hani had always been dramatic and theatrical, even as a kid, but she seemed sillier than ever to you now that she was supposedly a mature mother to an infant. Her husband finished washing dishes and joined her on the other couch.

The four of you agreed to put on a reality dating show with a ridiculous premise that kept going viral on social media. Might as well find out what the fuss was about! It was definitely entertaining, but before the second episode ended you drifted off and fell asleep.

When you woke up, you were lying down on the couch with your head on one of the fluffy pillows and a blanket draped across your body. You twisted to get comfortable and fall asleep again… and that's when you realized the pillow was in Mingyu's lap, and he was fast asleep with his head leaning back on the couch.

Doing your best not to wake him, you flew off the couch and grabbed your phone from the table. There was no way you could show your face in the morning knowing where you had just been. It was better not to think about it too much.

"Y/N!!" came a frantic whisper from behind you. You stopped and turned as Hani approached.

"Why are you up? Are you okay?" you asked, trying to change the subject before it was even broached.

"I was up to feed the baby. Every two hours, remember? Anyway, that's not the point. What is going on between you and Mingyu?!" she asked excitedly.

"Nothing! We just fell asleep. It was a long week."

"Fine. I believe you. But things seem different between you."

You couldn't help yourself. "How so?" you asked. The truth was, you felt like things were a little different, too. You and Mingyu had started texting after the baby was born, and sometimes you carpooled to hang out with Hani and her husband for a bit before they got tired. (Luckily you didn't carpool today.) 

The four of you had developed a special dynamic, but you would be lying if you said you didn't look forward to those car rides with Mingyu. Sometimes the two of you picked up takeout before going to see your friends, which meant spending twice as much time together as he picked you up from work or home before driving to a restaurant and Hani's place, then he drove you home afterwards. And sometimes you sat in the car chatting with him for quite a while instead of saying a simple goodbye and leaving.

"You and Mingyu seem like a good match for each other. I'm just saying… think about it. He's a great guy."

"I'll think about it," you replied, as if you weren't already going out of your mind wondering what he thought of you and if he thought things were different between you two and if he maybe just maybe was interested in spending some time with you on purpose instead of under the guise of hanging out with your friends during the precious 45 min after the baby falls asleep before the parents fell asleep too.

…

A few weeks after that conversation, you found yourself on the couch with Mingyu again as Hani and her husband checked on the baby. When Hani came out she spoke to the two of you. 

"Do you two want to use the guest room tonight? It's so rainy and I don't want you to drive in this weather. There's clean sheets on the bed and towels in the bathroom closet, and it's a king size bed so you won't even notice each other!"

It would be a miracle if you were in bed with Kim Mingyu and didn't notice him. That was simply impossible.

Before you had a chance to say anything, Mingyu spoke up. "Sure. Thanks, Hani."

"Excellent! We'll make you a big birthday breakfast, Mingyu!" Hani disappeared, claiming she was getting clothes for you and Mingyu to sleep in.

You looked at Mingyu in surprise, barely able to process the exchange. "It's your birthday tomorrow?"

"Yes," Mingyu admitted. "I've always been overseas so I didn't get to celebrate with anyone besides the team."

"We'll do something special for you," you said without thinking. Mingyu locked eyes with you, and his gaze felt heavy. It occurred to you that the two of you were about to share a not nearly large enough bed.

"Here you go!" Hani interrupted, dumping a pile of clothes into your arms. "Goodnight!" 

"Goodnight, Hani!" Mingyu said to her as she spun away with a mischievous glint in her eye. It was a good thing he had all his faculties available because you definitely did not. He led the way to the guest room, a room you had both clearly used many times, separately, but this was definitely going to be so different. You both knew where the spare toothbrushes were, and he offered the bathroom to you first. 

After you switched places between the bathroom and the bedroom, you slid into the side of the bed that didn't have his water bottle beside it. This was unreal. Now you know which side of the bed he preferred. It was the opposite of the side you liked. You prayed that the king size bed really was big enough not to notice him.

"Can I turn off the light?" Mingyu asked a few minutes later. He was in just a pair of gym shorts. You nodded in response. Your mouth had gone dry after seeing his bare chest, and arms, and stomach, and neck, and…

Mingyu slipped into the bed quietly and you heard him put his phone on the bedside table. You had turned on your side to face away from him. Out of sight, out of mind. Hopefully that strategy worked on his body. You thought of something else that could be on his body. (You.)

"Do you remember that day in the park?" Mingyu asked suddenly. 

You were so surprised to hear this that you turned toward him and opened your eyes in the dark. The two of you had never acknowledged the fact that you actually met one day before Hani introduced you to him.

"Of course I do," you replied. "Why?"

"I actually kicked my ball toward you on purpose," he admitted.

"WHAT!?" you exclaimed.

"Shh!" Mingyu whispered, and you felt his hand cover your mouth for a moment. Your breath caught in your throat until you were recovered enough to speak.

"I was so annoyed that day," you said, but more quietly. "That's why I was so stunned to learn you played professionally!"

"I meant to kick it to land near you, so I could strike up a conversation. A butterfly flew in front of my face while I was running up to the ball and it threw me off."

You giggled. You could picture his focused face converting to his excited face after he saw the butterfly, then it probably transformed to a look of fear after he realized the ball was not going to facilitate a meet cute.

Before you could comment, he went on. "You were so pretty that day, and I really wanted to know what you were reading that made you look so happy." He paused and you replayed his words in your mind.

"I think you're pretty every time I see you," he added. "And when I don't see you."

"Oh," you responded quietly. Even though this was a conversation you had been hoping for, it still caught you completely by surprise. Your mind was reeling.

"Could you tell me what you're thinking?" he asked. He sounded very close to you all of a sudden, but you didn't realize he had moved. He was speaking more softly than you had ever heard him.

"Me too," you said, which technically didn't make any sense at all given what he had revealed and what he just asked. He seemed to understand your meaning because he gathered you in his arms and gave you the sweetest, softest kiss. Then he turned to face away from you and drew your arm around him. You automatically tucked in close, against his back.

"Happy birthday," you whispered.

"Thank you," he replied, pulling your hand to rest on his heart.

[dragonmuse]

How to be a Dirtbag Fic Writer

I got to do some talking about writing today and I couldn’t stop thinking about it so here are my full thoughts on the matter of being a dirtbag fic writer.

Being the disorganized thoughts of someone two and a half decades into the beautiful mess that is writing fanfic (and a few non-fanfic things too).

What is a dirtbag fic writer? 

 I am talking about someone who is not cleaning up anything. We show up filthy, fresh out of rooting around in the garden of our imaginations. We probably smell a little from work. We will hand you our hard grown fruits, but we have not washed them and we carried them in the bottom upturned parts of our t-shirts. The fruit is a little bruised. It’s not cut up or put in a bowl yet. But we got it in the house! It’s here. Someone can eat it.  

Why dirtbag it? Because the fruit gets in the house. If you’re hemming and hawing, if the idea you want to do seems to be big or you want it perfect and shiny. If you’re imagining a ten thousand step process, so you’re not taking the first step? Dirtbag it. 

How do I dirtbag? 

That’s the best part. You just write. Sit down. One word after the other. No outline, no plan, no destination. No thought of editing. Just word vomit. Every word is a good word. It’a word that wasn’t there before. Grammar sucks? Who cares. Can’t think of the perfect word? Fuck it, put in the simplest version of what you mean. 

Write the idea that you love. The one thing you want to say. Has it been done 3000000 times? WHO CARES human history is long, every idea has been done, probably more than twice. YOU have never written it before. It’s your grubby potato that you clawed out of the ground and guess what someone can still make it into delicious french fries. 

Now here’s the critical part. Write as much as you can squeeze out of your brain. One word in front of the other. 

And then I challenge you this: at most, read it over once and then put it into the world. Just as it is. AND THIS IS IMPORTANT: DO IT WITHOUT APOLOGY OR CAVEAT.  I challenge you, beautiful dirtbag to not pre-emptively apologize. Do not make your work lesser. THAT IS YOUR POTATO! It has eyes and roots and dirt clinging to it because that is what happens.  We are dirtbagging it today. Hell really confused people at do #dirtbagwriter on it.  

Dirtbag writes id, base, lizard brain. Dig in the fertile garden of your imagination. What is the story you tell yourself before you fall asleep? What’s your anxiety this week? Your fantasy? What is going well? What do you wish things looked like? Who is the feral imaginary character you’ve been crafting to take your frustrations and joys out on? 

But, VEE, I wish to have an editor and an outline, use a cool software like scrivener instead of retching up onto a google doc and making it look NICE and PRETTY!

COOL! DO THAT THEN! IF YOU’RE ACTUALLY DOING IT! You should have a process! That’s cool and healthy and necessary for sustainable writing. But if you’re not writing because all of that seems too much? THEN DON’T. 

Did you know fic is free? That we do this from love? From sheer desire? For the love of the game? If you have a process, and the words are flowing, amazing, I love that for you, you don’t need this essay.  If you don’t, let us continue. 

What does dirtbag writing look like? 

It’s messy. It’s a little raw and tatty around the edges sometimes. It’s weird.  It’s someone else’s first draft. Maybe it winds up being your first draft, Idek, that’s your business. 

It’s jokes that make YOU laugh. It’s drama that would make YOU cry if you read it. You are your first commenter. You are your first audience (and possibly continuing pleasure! If you don’t go back and reread your own work sometimes, you might be missing out on one of your favorite authors cause you wrote it for you! Wait until you’re not so close to it. Years sometimes. Then hey, maybe some of this is pretty dang good actually.) 

It has mistakes. 

Dirtbags make mistakes, but dirtbags have published pieces. They have things other people can read out there. 

What if I don’t get good feedback? 

Look, the most likely outcome of any new, untried fic writer (and even established writers trying something new-ish)  is that you get no feedback. That’s real. Silence. It’s eerie, it’s terrible, it sucks. I don’t want to pretend it doesn’t. But nothing is not negative. It’s a big fic-y ocean out there and we are all wee itty-bitty-sometimes-with-titty fishes.  

You should still do it all over again. And again. And again. You get better at writing by writing. You just do. Nothing else replaces it. If your well is dry? Fill it with new things. Go do something new, read a new kind of book, watch a new film,  (libraries have so much good shit, you don’t even have to spend money for so many things if you have a library card), just go for a walk in a new direction. Stimulate yourself. Got a cup of something hot and eavesdrop on conversations. Refill yourself with newness. 

And hey, speaking of, do you leave comments? Because you get what you give. You can build relationships with people by commenting and that builds community and community means places to get feedback in the end. Comments are gold. They are all we are paid in. Tip your writers with ‘extra kudos’ or ‘this made me laugh’. And hey, when you go back for a re-read so you can tell them your favorite part? Ask yourself how they made that favorite part? What do you like about it?  Tone? Metaphor? The structure? Reading teaches us how to write too! 

BUT, okay. Sometimes. Sometimes there is actual bad feedback and people suck. 

You know the best part about being a dirtbag? Unrepentant block, delete, goodbye. You don’t own anyone with a shitty opinion any of your precious time on this earth. You did it for free, you gave them your dirty, but still delicious fruit and they went ‘ew, this is a dirty strawberry, how could you not make a clean tomato?”  Because you didn’t plant fucking tomatoes, did you? Don’t fight, don’t engage. Block. Delete. Goodbye. 

If someone in person, looked you in the eye when you brought them a plate of food to share at a party and they said “Why didn’t you bring me MY favorite? This isn’t cooked well at all.” You would probably write up a Reddit AiTA question about it just to hear five thousand people say they were an asshole.   Fic is no different 

And hey, when you dirtbag it? You know you did. It’s not your most cleaned up perfect version. So who cares what they think? You might make it more shiny and polished next time! You might NOT. 

Ok, but what if I don’t finish it? 

Fuck it, post it anyway. 

What if it’s bad? 

Fuck it, post it anyway. 

What if it doesn’t make sense? 

That’s ART, baby. Fuck it, post it anyway. 

What if what I want to write doesn’t work with current fandom norms? 

Then someone out there probably needs it!  And what the hell is this? The western canon? FUCK IT POST IT ANYWAY* 

*Basic human decency is not a ‘fandom norm’. Don’t be racist, sexist, ableist, fat shaming, classist or shitty about anyone's identity on main, okay? Dirtbag writers are KIND first and foremost. Someone saying you are stepping into shit about their identity is not the same as unsolicited crappy feedback about pairings. In the immortal words of Kurt Vonnegut: "God damn it, you've got to be kind.”

You’re being very flippant about something that’s scary. 

I know. I know I am. I know it can be scary. But no risk, no reward and hell, you aren’t using your goddamn legal name on the internet are you? (please for the love of fuck do not be using your legal name to write fic) You’ve got on a mask. You’re a superhero. With dirt on your cape. 

That niche thing that you think no one cares about? Guaranteed you will find someone else in the world who wants it. Maybe they won’t find it right away. Maybe they will be too shy to comment or even hit a button. But your dirty potato will stick with them. They will make french fries in their head.

You have an audience. But they can’t find you if you have nothing out there. 

Go forth. Make. 

You have some errors in this essay. 

PROBABLY CAUSE I DIRTBAGGED IT.  But I picked this strawberry for you out of my brain, so I hope you run it under some cold water and find the good bits and have a nice snack. Or throw it away. Or use it to plant more strawberries (I know that’s not how strawberries work, metaphors break when stretched).  

#dirtbagwriter 

Go forth and MAKE

[heterosexualomegaverse]

Personal top favorite fics on ao3 of all time

- living's just a waste of death by author tothendoftheline

Best Political Animals fanfic out there. I consider it the canon ending. I think all my longest comments ever I posted on ao3 were on this fic. It's a mostly canon compliant detailed exploration of what TJ's life would actually be like. How his (childhood) trauma effected him. His time as a white house kid, his sexuality, his addictions. It starts pre-canon and goes on long after canon has ended. TJ starts working on himself, his relationships with his family change, he gets new friends (kinda). Idk if I'm selling it well but I love it so much.

- Known Associates by author Thingswithwings

Fic that made me ship Steve and Rhodey lol. Though Steve calls him Jim. Was rereading it yesterday and damn its so good. an (I think) realistic depiction of queer life in the 1930's and 1940's then the movie plot happens and Steve is in 2012 and now has to figure out what/ who he is in this century. Also got a plot about kinda being experimented on and turned into super soldiers.

- The Barnes Files by author PaintedDoe

Bucky Barnes' therapy sessions in transcript format. (can you tell I love character studies)

- Flawed Perfection by author Squiggles13

Also part of a series but I haven't read the other parts yet. This one also mostly starts as Bucky going to therapy but then the tfatws plot happens but changed to be way better.

- Teach Me by author stucktogether

Steve/Bucky college au. Steve things he's straight but can't seem to keep his eyes off of Bucky. It's isn't until they've fooled around a half dozen times or so that he things he may just be bisexual. This Bucky's also got some deep lore.

- Treading water by author sparkagrace

SteveBucky olympic swimmers au where they were childhood friends that got separated at 12 but reunited at the olympics, except Bucky's presence brings back a lot of feelings that Steve can't deal with. This one gets real angsty. It has a sequel that is even more angsty.

- (A series) 'Til the End of the Line by author ohstars

SteveBucky with marvel canon except what if they were gay. Until endgame where shit is changed a lot cuz you know the time-travel staying in the past obviously doesn't happen. It does go on after that. They finally come out to the team (cuz they were closeted to whole time with Sam being the only one who knows) They have kids together, get married and then there is some time travel shenanigans and a lot of stuff until they both die of old age.

- The Island Man by author Amber_Skye

What if Steve Rogers was never found in the ice and got rescued by shield, but instead got out himself, but still only in 2012? And no one believes he is actually Steve Rogers Captain America? He ends up homeless doubting his own mind. Maybe he really isn't Steve Rogers? Maybe he really is crazy

anyway idk why I wrote this. I just wanted to list some of my faves. didn't really put a lot of thought into this, it's late and I'm tired.

[linkspooky]

Hi there, I was rereading your Maki Zenin fanfic (Tyler Durden and the Culling Game piece). I must say when I read it the first time reading it, the way you depict her mentality, emotion, and actions. It was so emotionally draining and at the same time cathartic as it reminded me of myself back then and now still (well minus mass murdering all lotta people). But also surprised me, cause I have never this depiction of her after Shibuya Incident. But over time as I look at your analysis on various characters and paid attention to her upbringing by rereading the manga chapters focused on her, I realized the way she behaves in the Culling Games after what happen to her throughout her life. She is kind of stable??? Regardless, even though she is already my all-time favorite character. Your depictions of her makes me love her character even more as I actually relate to her more and felt those similar feelings. But I'm glad she is alive and is doing ok near the end of the manga, so I wanna ask. What do you think about her character now since JJK is VERY close to its end? And how do you feel about where she is right now as of Chapter 269. Sorry for the long ramble, I might ask more lol.

Thank you so much for your ask! That reminds me I need to start updating my culling games fic again sometime soon. For anyone curious the ask is about THIS YUTAMAKI FIC HERE.

Maki's kind of a hard character to talk about because even though Maki is clearly one of my favorite characters to explore in fic, and I love to dive deep into her motivations and inner struggles in the fanfics I write every time I criticize her writing in canon a little bit her fans jump me.

So instead I'm going to share one recent Maki scene I really liked, and one little tweak I think would have made both Yuta and Maki's character endings perfect.

You're right, for a lifelong abuse victim who just murdered her family Maki seems oddly stable all throughout the culling games. I no longer think this is a Maki specific problem, but rather a Jujutsu Kaisen problem. Basically, post Shibuya most of the character conflicts in between characters are dropped so everyone can work seamlessly together as a part of one big team.

This is a storytelling choice on Gege's so he could eventually set up for the Shinjuku Showdown fight, it'd be impossible for everyone to keep jumping in and out of the fight if people kept stopping to argue and have interpersonal conflicts in the middle of it.

If your name wasn't Megumi or Yuji, then basically all your personal hangups, your self-reflection, all got dropped. Which now it kind of makes sense why the audience was yelling at Megumi for not being able to immediately get over his sister's death, like in comparison none of the other characters spend any time at all dwelling on personal issues because Gege needs them to move to the next fight.

I'm not complaining, I'm just saying this is how Gege chose to write his characters post Shibuya, most personal conflicts got dropped for story reasons.

However, there was one moment that made me really get on board with Maki's writing again, and it was a... you guessed it moment of personal conflict.

This moment where Yuta is bringing up the idea of body swapping with Gojo before the group, and Maki despite being firmly against it is unable to do or say anything substantive to stop Yuta.

It's the first time I've seen that yeah, Maki is still in fact reeling from the loss of Mai. It doesn't really show most of the time on the surface, but Maki's always been like that - like an island able to stand strong without the support of anyone else. It is her strength, and also her greatest weakness.

Remember, the last time someone she loved walked away from her and decided to sacrifice their body and autonomy so they could become a weapon for the greater good Maki wasn't able to say or do anything to convince Mai to stay with her and stay by her side too.

There's the parallel with Maki and Sukuna, that Sukuna chose to devour his own twin in the womb in order to survive and therefore gained a body perfect for sorcerery. When Mai died, Maki gained a body just like Toji's.

Maki carved everything away in order to become a true void, but unlike Sukuna she didn't do it by choice.

We know she wouldn't willingly sacrifice Mai. She begged Mai to stay. Yet, she kind of did choose to sacrifice Mai with every choice she made before that. Maki chose being a Jujutsu Sorcerer over Mai every single time, to the point where when it counted she couldn't do anything to convince Mai to stay.

Maki consumed her twin and became a monster like Sukuna, a true void. She didn't choose to do it per se, but every choice she made leading up to that point indicated to Mai that Maki would rather be strong on her own then weak together with Mai. That Maki is someone like Gojo, and like Sukuna meant to stand strong all alone. Maki is an island and that is her greatest strength and her greatest flaw.

As when it happens again and someone she loves is about to become a monster, she can't find the words to convince Yuta to stay with her on the beach instead of walking into the ocean the same way she couldn't find the words to stop Mai. After all, Maki is someone who chose to become a monster like Toji after losing everything else, what right does she have to stop Yuta from becoming a monster too?

How could she possibly stop him from walking the path she walked? I think it's telling to thde depths of her love that Maki who values being a sorcerer above everything else, would have rather had both Mai and Yuta stay human and stay with her, but also telling of her complete inability to express that love.

It's "You're too important to us" because the words "You're too important to me," doesn't occur to Maki in both cases with Yuta and Mai, because Maki is an island. She can keep going on even after Mai and Yuta are gone even if she doesn't want to.

So here is the one change I would make the Maki's endgame to make her and Yuta's character arcs perfect. I would just have Yuta not be able to come back from Gojo's body. Otherwise, Yuta being magically fixed after the fact makes that whole plot twist kind of inconsequential and as much as I love Yuta in Gojo's body it kind of just seems to exist for shock-value now considering how easily it was resolved.

Yuta not coming back would provide a consequence for Yuta defiling Gojo's body, and also in general give the perfect bittersweet ending to both him and Maki's arcs. They both chose to become monsters in the end to defeat Sukuna, and as a result Maki is standing alone at the strongest. It would also provide the perfect parallel to this scene with Geto and Gojo. You could even have Maki musing on how she was left behind again. There's a pretty big parallel to Maki and Gojo both being people who seemingly don't need anyone because they're so strong and self-sufficient and yet they crumble at the idea of the one person they've always been relying on walking away from them.

It would also parallel Megumi and Itadori as well, because the reason that itadori is eventually able to reach Megumi is specifically because unlike everyone else he refused to give up his humanity to defeat Sukuna.

You could have a really heartbreaking parallel of three generations of friendships broken apart by the Jujutsu World. Satosugu, and YutaMaki aren't able to reach each other and stay together, but finally by never giving up on reaching out towards one another Megumi and Itadori are both able to find each other again after the world and Sukuna pulled them apart.

I do enjoy this scene a lot - especially the parts where Maki seems borderline arrogant by insisting she could have done things all on her own and if they went with her plan instead of Yuta's then they would have suffered far less losses. Especially since Maki's not genuinely trying to chew Yuta out here, she just knows no other way to express her worry over him besides being hyper aggressive and confrontational.

It still shows that Maki's personality problems are all still there, she loves people a lot but she loves people from afar and can't admit to needing them but like I'm just saying we could have had THE UTLIMATE DOOMED LOVERS ending for YutaMaki.

[captainsophiestark]

Nosy Best Friends

Tristan Flynn x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Based on this request from Anon! It was very fun to write and it gave me a second, related idea that I'm planning to post Monday, so thanks for sending it in! Hope you like it!

Fandom: Crescent City

Summary: Flynn's been disappearing a lot to spend time with his human girlfriend, and his friends have decided to finally figure out where he's been going.

Word Count: 2,219

Category: Fluff, Humor, maybe a tiny bit of Angst? But not really

A/N: This fic also has a prequel called Presentation Problems and a sequel called The Best Night Ever, but can also be read on its own!

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

Ruhn's POV

"Where the Hel are you going?"

Flynn barely stopped at the sound of my voice, half-turning back with an irritated look. I gave him the same one right back.

"I'm going out. Why do you care?"

"You've been disappearing doing Urd knows what for weeks. Come on, Flynn, what's going on?"

Flynn just rolled his eyes. "Nothing, mom. Just relax and mind your own business."

He turned on his heel and walked out the door without looking back. I watched him go, then turned to Dec on the couch.

"Something's going on with him."

"Yeah. Think it's time we do something about it?"

"Definitely."

****************

Y/N's POV

I sighed, rubbing my eyes as I tried to reread what I'd written for the thousandth time. I'd been holed up in my apartment for almost forty-eight hours straight working on a paper for grad school, and I'd started to go a little crazy.

The only reason I hadn't gone crazy about twenty hours ago was my boyfriend, Tristan Flynn. He'd been keeping me company, providing a stream of encouragement and my favorite snacks and helping me take a break when I really needed it, even if I wouldn't admit it. He'd left a couple hours ago to go do something he needed to do, and I'd come very close to hurling my laptop at the wall in his absence.

We'd first met in a similar situation, when I'd hurled my notebook across what I'd thought was an empty classroom. Flynn had been looking for somebody the Aux had followed to campus, and only his fae reflexes had kept him from taking my notebook to his head. If I hadn't been stressed out of my mind already, I would've been worried about having accidentally attacked a member of the fae Aux, especially as a human, but I'd hit my limit that day, so instead I'd shouted at him for interrupting my studying.

Luckily for both of us, once he'd recovered from his shock, he'd seemed to be into that. He'd tried to get me to leave for safety reasons, and I'd refused, so he'd stayed. We ended up hitting it off the bat, and the rest was history.

We'd been together for a few months now, and despite every warning I'd ever heard against dating a member of the Vanir, it was quite honestly the best relationship I'd ever been in. We hadn't told anyone else in our lives yet, mostly because we didn't want our little bubble of happiness being burst, but I had a hard time believing anything could ruin what we'd found together.

The few seconds I'd spent losing myself in memories had been nice, but the glaring light of my laptop screen didn't let me escape for long. I sighed heavily, trying to decide whether it was worth it to power through. I didn't entirely have a choice, unless I wanted to drop out of grad school, but maybe I could find something to do as a small break.

Somebody must have been listening to my silent pleas, because a moment later my phone rang. I smiled when Flynn's face popped up, a terrible picture of him that I'd taken when he wasn't ready. He always switched it back to a shirtless one he'd taken himself when he got the opportunity, and it had become a little silent war between us.

"You have amazing timing," I sighed as soon as I picked up. I could hear his smile through the other end of the phone.

"I always do. Come downstairs."

"...You know I shouldn't. This paper-"

"Is something you've been holed up in that apartment working on for way too long. You're driving yourself insane, and last I checked, you can't turn in anything if you smash your laptop to pieces against the wall. Besides, humans need sunlight. And fresh air."

"An expert on that, are you?"

"I sure am," his voice purred over the phone and I rolled my eyes, but I also felt heat rising on my cheeks. "Just come down here, and I'll show you how much of an expert I am."

I let out a long breath through my nose. Flynn was right. Sitting in this apartment driving myself insane wasn't helping anything. And besides, I really wanted to go spend time with him.

"Alright. I'm on my way."

"Good. I'll see you in a second."

****************

Ruhn's POV

"What in Hel is he doing here?" I hissed to Dec, trying to keep my voice down. We'd tailed Flynn to some apartment complex not far from the college we'd chased some monster down at not long ago.

"I don't know..." said Dec. "Maybe he's got a lead on something for the case? Or a new case, related to all that shit we dealt with last time?"

"You think Flynn's spending his time off work doing more work?"

I shot Dec a look, and he snorted.

"Okay, you're right. It's probably not that."

We turned back to watch Flynn, who had a full bouquet of flowers in his hands. He'd put on the nicest clothes he owned, and if I didn't know better, I would've thought-

"Oh! Tristan, holy shit!"

Dec and I stared wide-eyed as a human female came out of the apartment building, absolutely beaming at Flynn. She ran to him and jumped in his arms, hugging him tight, as he picked her up and spun her around. He kissed her, and when they pulled apart they stayed close, forehead to forehead, just staring at each other lovingly, something I'd never seen Flynn do with a female. I glanced at Dec to find him looking just as shocked as me, and when I turned back to find Flynn practically floating looking at the girl in front of him, I couldn't help my surprised shout.

"WHAT THE FUCK?"

****************

Y/N's POV

Tristan and I whirled around in sync at the sound of a loud shout from across the street. I found two fae males staring at us, looking absolutely outraged, and I started to get a little worried until my boyfriend shouted back.

"What the FUCK are you two doing here?"

"I take it you know them?" I asked, turning to Flynn and keeping my voice low. He shook his head, but the irritation in his eyes faded the second he looked at me.

'Yeah, sweetheart, I do. They're my roommates and my friends from the Aux. And they're absolute idiots."

I turned to find the idiots in question storming across the street and towards us, shouting at cars that almost hit them in the process. Unconsciously, I took a half step towards Flynn, and he immediately wrapped one arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him.

Not a moment too soon. His friends finally made it across traffic to come to a stop in front of us, and my jaw literally almost hit the floor when I realized one of them was the Crown Prince of the Valbaran Fae.

"What the Hel are you doing?" demanded the prince before turning to me. "And who is this?"

"I'm his girlfriend," I snapped, not quite able to stop myself. Both newcomers stared at me in wide-eyed shock, then whirled on their friend.

"Your what?"

"My girlfriend," Flynn said, an edge of steel in his voice that I'd only heard once or twice, usually in relation to Aux business.

The fae before us shared an absolutely shocked look, then whirled back around to look at Flynn.

"Why the Hel didn't you tell us?"

"Is that where you've been sneaking off to every day for the last few months?"

"What the fuck, Flynn?"

They shouted their questions at Flynn in sync, then without waiting for my boyfriend to get ahold of himself enough to answer, the one I didn't recognize turned to me with an apologetic smile.

"I'm Declan," he said, holding out a hand for me to shake. I stared at it for a minute, then slowly took it. "It's nice to meet you."

"...Nice to meet you, too."

"Ruhn. Also nice to meet you," said the prince with a chin nod of a hello in my direction. Then, he turned back to Flynn. "You know everybody's gonna lose it when they realize you've been keeping a steady girlfriend a secret from us, right?"

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Bunch of Aux members, a spy, and Bryce, it's your own fault for not figuring it out sooner. You should be better at your jobs than this."

Ruhn and Declan's mouths dropped open, and I laughed. I could see them getting ready for a comeback, so I stepped even closer to Flynn and fixed the other two fae with a bright smile.

"It's been nice to get to meet some of Tristan's friends, and I'm sure I'll see you both again soon. But right now, I was promised a break from my term paper by my wonderful boyfriend, and I don't intend to let anything get in the way of that."

"I'd listen if I were you," said Flynn, a massive smile on his face as he looked at me with the most lovesick expression I'd ever seen. It made my heart melt. "We met because she almost clocked me in the head with a notebook for interrupting her study session."

"Well technically I threw the notebook before you came in. And then I yelled at you for interrupting."

"Are you trying to say you wouldn't have thrown the notebook at my head anyway if it'd still been in your hands?"

"...No, I probably would've."

"I know. And I love it." He grinned, leaning in for a heated kiss. It still took my breath away, kissing him, even though it'd been a few months now, and he pulled away far too soon for my liking. "What do you say we get the Hel out of here for your distraction?"

"I say Hel yeah, let's go."

He gave me one last quick peck, then pulled back with a wink. His arm stayed wrapped around my waist as we turned to head off to whatever surprise he had planned, not bothering to spare more than a nod at his absolutely stunned friends.

"You get the weekend, Flynn!" one of them called after us. "And then we're having a party and getting to know this female you're so head over heels for!"

"Sure!" Flynn said, calling back over my head. "As long as she decides she actually wants to meet you!"

I snorted, and when I looked at Flynn I found a beaming smile on his face as we walked down the street together. He held out the hand that wasn't around my waist, finally presenting me with the gorgeous bouquet he'd first shown up with.

"For you."

"Thanks, Tris." I took the flowers and leaned into him, and we continued in comfortable silence for a moment. Then Flynn cleared his throat.

"So, do you... uh, do you want to meet them? My friends and everybody?"

"Well, that depends a little bit... why were they so shocked? Was it because I'm human?"

"No." Flynn's response was immediate, and he stopped dead in his tracks to turn me to face him. He put both hands on my shoulders, his warm brown eyes finding mine. "I would never voluntarily spend time with people who felt or thought that way."

"Okay... then why did they seem so surprised to see you with somebody?"

He grimaced. "You... might be the first serious girlfriend I've had. Ever."

My eyebrows shot up, and my heart skipped a few beats.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I think my record before this was... seeing the same female for two weeks? Maybe?"

I couldn't help barking a laugh, and Flynn grimaced again. My heart, on the other hand, was soaring as I reached up to gently cup his cheek.

"Well, I guess I can see why your friends were so surprised then. I'd be happy to meet them. And I'm honored to be the first female you've decided to stick around for."

He grinned at me, making my heart race even faster, then slowly leaned in until our lips were just a hair's breadth away.

"I'm honored to be a fae male you're willing to date. Based on what another friend has told me, a human like you wouldn't be willing to give just any of us a chance."

I snorted. "Yeah, no kidding. But I'm glad I gave you one."

"Me too."

I gave Flynn a little smirk, then leaned in to close the rest of the distance between us. He wasted no time kissing me back, hard, and we quickly deepened the kiss. I let my one free hand wander up to tangle in his hair, and I was ready to lose myself in him right then and there, but after a few long moments he gently pulled back.

"As much as I'd like to continue this... I think you'll really like the surprise break I have planned."

I smiled, going in for one last quick kiss, then pulling all the way back.

"Alright. Let's go. As long as we can continue this after I finish my assignments?"

"If I ever say no to that, you should be concerned."

I laughed as we headed off down the street together again, hand in hand. I still had many hovering stressors, from school to finally meeting Flynn's extended friend group, but I knew I'd have him with me for all of it. I was starting to get the feeling he was in it for the long haul, and even though that brought plenty of challenges, I couldn't help being excited for it all the same.

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury @kmc1989

[bright-and-burning]

january books

masters of death by olivie blake

a fun time!! read this in 3 hours straight right after deciding to get off tumblr for a while. a really fun ensemble cast whose various connections constantly had me gasping (at one of the reveals i gasped so loud my dad thought something was wrong), an interesting enough mystery that was fed to the audience in bite sized chunks. gay people! which i genuinely missed the lgbtq tag on storygraph; what a joy to be surprised with. honestly almost cried at the end... which is less of a book thing and more of a me thing.

the city & the city by china miéville

picked this up on my dad's recommendation, since it's one of his favorite books ever. i kind of got confused by his explanation (and by the fact that he had watched a sci fi tv show w a similar premise except involving two cities occupying the same space in a like. pocket universe sense) so i went in thinking it was going to be like, two cities with dimensional borders. so it took me a minute to pick up what was going on. FASCINATING spec fic. much chewier than masters of death lol. it's two cities that occupy the same Physical space. and all the people in one city Unsee the people and architecture and cars in the other. and then there's a MURDER! that seems to involve illegal border crossing between cities! extreme reread potential. has anyone read this? please somebody have read this i dont even have anything intelligent to say i just want to shout incoherently with someone.

organizing solutions for people with adhd by susan c pinsky

ok this one shouldn't count lol. but . whatever. lots of interesting ideas; the ones i've started putting into practice have in fact been game changers, so. the whole philosophy of like, maximizing efficiency and kind of lubricating your life makes a lot of sense!! im about to reorganize my whole kitchen bc of this lol

the department of rare books and special collections by eva jurczyk (DNF)

i was promised a mystery. this was not a mystery. a very expensive very very very rare book is stolen from her library, and the main character is getting drunk with her ex (and current employee/colleague) from 30 years ago in the stacks instead of paying attention to idk the employee who has disappeared or suspicious behavior or ANYTHING! that would lead to finding the book!!! got about a third of the way through and was so fucking frustrated like 'when the hell does this become a mystery' and then i googled it and apparently it was originally marketed as a "women's book" (whatever the fuck that means) not a mystery. and honestly yeah if i wasn't reading it explicitly bc i thought it was a mystery set in a special collections library it would probably be a fine book. maybe even a great one! but it was a bad mystery. and i was not willing to read 200 more pages just to get to SOME attempt at investigation. much less 400 more to get to the answers. so... DNF. :/

the da vinci code by dan brown

haven’t finished this yet (please don’t spoil anything for me… i have escaped any kind of knowledge abt the contents of it and i’d like to continue that way) since it’s my train book and i have slowed waaaay down. need to be more deliberate abt reading bc i really do hate reading on the train when i can’t finish it in one sitting. anyways potentially controversial opinion i like it so far!!! i love a mystery. love a mystery soooo much. and i love art (and bonkers art history). and im squicked out by catholicism. so perfect for me. realized like idk 70 pages in that it was a sequel and was like well fuck but i think i can go back to the first one without being terribly spoiled on anything. also only just discovered there’s a MOVIE??? with fucking TOM HANKS??????? what the hell.

january overall summary: read three books in four days and then fell way the fuck off once i got back to my own place. but i do now have a library card for libraries not several states away. and i know im currently capable of reading like crazy if i just sit down and do it. so february we work on that…

[e-b-reads]

Books of 2024!

In 2024, my private reading goal was to not pay too much attention to how much I read, instead allowing myself to take time over books I enjoyed and not push to finish them. Also, I always do end up reading a good amount anyway overall, so I was trying to let myself recognize it's OK to savor a single book over a few days, both because it just is OK, and because there will always be some series eventually that hooks me and has me reading at an average rate of about 1.75 books/day for a little while.

For the most part, this went well! I still logged my reads but tried to not pay attention to totals until I went to make wrap-up posts. This has all led to me thinking about how I choose books for my wrap-up posts. I don't have an overarching rating system, because what I'm hoping for out of a book can vary widely. I realized that in everything I read, there's some things I read and then quickly stop thinking about, but others books (or series) take up a lot of brainspace and I find myself thinking about them, writing mental fanfic for them, writing actual fic for them, etc., even when not reading. These may not always be the Best Books (or even necessarily my favorites, though there is overlap), but to me, they are The Books.

So this year, I scrolled down the StoryGraph list of books I read, and wrote down all the ones that I know I spent some non-reading time thinking (positively) about - actually 7 books and 5 series. (And some brief notes on the reasons for the thinking, cause I'm me!) Do I necessarily recommend all these books to all people? Nah. But if one sounds interesting, go for it! And let me know!

In vague order of when in the year I read them:

Bride of the Rat God, Barbara Hambly - I enjoy the commitment to the sort of pulpy historical horror plot, and the author's voice, which makes the characters seem realistic in very unrealistic situations!

The Shepherd's Life, James Rebanks - reread, always enjoy thinking about the finding of place and self between university and family land

My Brother Sam is Dead, James Lincoln Collier & Christopher Collier - I mean it's very sad. but well-written. despite the warning in the title, the ending scene is burned on my brain.

Hilary Tamar series, Sarah Caudwell - just incredibly entertaining! had not realized these were so funny!

The Waterman, Tim Junkin - been thinking about it again lately, and I read it back in Feb. more about this here.

Locked Tomb series, Tamsyn Muir - reread GtN and HtN, read NtN for the first time. the kind of books that consume brainspace. you can't take loved away.

To Shape a Dragon's Breath, Moniquill Blackgoose - some on this here!

Invisible Library series, Genevieve Cogman - had to consider, but I do think that while I was reading these I spent a lot of non-reading time thinking about them too! Wanted to write fanfic about the dynamics between the main 3 characters.

Becoming, Michelle Obama - made me optimistic about politics at a time when that was really needed. (I did read it pre-election, so...maybe need a reread.)

Perry Mason mysteries (assorted), Erle Stanley Gardner - love Perry + Paul + Della doing their thing. I kind of want to try writing fanfic with Garnder's voice.

Emma, Jane Austen - a bit here.

Emma Lord mystery series, Mary Daheim - kept me reading for 26 books, so there was something there! at the height of my obsession, I was writing lots of fanfic in my head. little made it to paper.

[fandomfablesunleashed]

New Year Update

Today, I fully finished And They Were Roommates. I just need to sleep on it and reread every chapter before posting, but for sure, it will all be up this month. I was smiling like an idiot while writing the ending, and then I laughed like a maniac, imagining how much you all would hate me if I made the previous chapter the last one. Although, that did spark an idea for another fic, but I’ll share that later.

For now, here’s a tiny teaser of the ending:

And just like that, you weren’t just roommates anymore.

Besides that, I have tons of ideas for longer fics (about ten😅), with eight being planned as a bit shorter. There are four Modern AUs—three about Ace because I'm insane like that🫣, and one with Law. In addition, there’s one about Zoro, one with Sabo, and two with Law. I need to decide which one to focus on right now (there's no way I will be able to put them all out this year).

I also have two hopefully bigger ones in the works: one featuring Ace and a Marine’s daughter, and another with Law and one of his crew members, possibly with OCs instead of a reader insert. I want to fully flesh out these characters, and since these fics will be longer, avoiding descriptions would be much harder. However, these stories will require a lot more time, dedication, and improved writing skills, so it might be a while before they see the light of day. Fingers crossed they eventually will!🤞

Right now, I’m working on a longer one-shot about Roommate Law. Instead of being cute and fluffy, it’s going to be pure angst (the one I mentioned earlier). I’m also planning one for Valentine’s Day with Law and fake-dating during a charity event his hospital is hosting. I had this idea for Ficmas but knew I wouldn’t be able to write it in time, so I’ll tweak a few things and hopefully finish it by February 14th. Honestly, I kind of feel like that story fits better for Valentine’s Day than Christmas anyway.

I also have some one-shots (mostly about Law and Ace, since they’re my favorites, as you can easily tell by looking at my blog🫢) that are more or less done, and many more swirling around in my head.

Most, if not all, of my followers are here for One Piece, as it’s what I’m currently hyperfixating on the most and posting about the most. However, I’m also planning to finally finish and post some content for Genshin Impact as well.

I know it seems like a lot, but I have an awful habit of working on a few things at once. On top of that, I’ve been writing for a while before starting to post, so there are already quite a few works in progress. That’s why I wait to post longer stories until they’re mostly finished—otherwise, the wait for chapters would be endless (or forever, haha).

Maladaptive daydreaming and possibly ADHD is an interesting combo! 🤯

But most importantly, I want to thank everyone who reads what my strange mind has come up with.

Love you all ❤️❤️❤️

[semantics-error]

I hope that this doesn't sound weird now but I wanted to thank you for last year. Your writing is everything. I struggled a lot in the past year. Your writing always made me happy though like damn "for having loved a little while" is a masterpiece. Even though I am certain you hate me, bc you aren't not giving me and the boys happiness.. and I finish "I could never deny you" in one setting. It's my comfort fic. I reread certain chapters every night. Just wanted to say thank you. ❤️

Thank you for spending your precious time reading my stories! I'm sorry you struggled last year, and I'm so glad my stories could help make things a little bit brighter for you :) Your incredibly sweet message doesn't sound weird by the way! I'm generally open to asks but one this kind is definitely okay. It also came at a perfect time, since I've been feeling disheartened about my writing lately. Thank you for this encouragement and the reminder that my words have the power to touch people's hearts <3

I am sorry about For Having Loved a Little While... I definitely did not mean to have a delay right when things finally turn toward angst T.T I had a hectic holiday so I won't post this week, but next week things should be back to normal! As an apology for the delay and a thank you for this kind message, here's a snippet of Chapter 15 of For Having Loved a Little While (subject to change in editing of course):

~~~

Sand was wasted. That much was clear, as he stumbled his way up the steps to his apartment.

He figured it out from the way the world spun as he got on the courier bike home. Or maybe he knew all the way back in the third shitty bar, where he had drunk two more awful shots and a beer. For how seedy the place was, the bill had been astronomical. At least, if he’d read the numbers correctly. Which, now that he tried to remember how math worked, seemed unlikely. 

At least he was almost home. 

Instead of heading inside after he climbed the stairs, Sand leaned against the cool wall of the hallway and texted Nick.

> coe outside

Sand’s phone lit up as Nick called instead of texting back. Sand declined the call with a jab of his finger. 

> where are you 

“Shhh,” Sand chided his phone when it chimed. He took his time, using autocorrect to get all the letters correct. 

> come outside. don’t tell ray

A minute later, he heard a quiet shuffling and then the door opened. 

Sand stepped back, wobbling to keep his balance, but intent on drawing Nick out of the apartment.

“What-”

“Shhh. Don't tell Ray.”

Nick rolled his eyes but gently closed the door behind him and followed Sand around to the stairwell. 

“Why can’t you just come inside?”

Sand thought that was rather obvious. “’M drunk.”

“Yeah, I can see that.” Nick looked him up and down, eyebrows raised incredulously. “What the fuck, Sand? We’ve been so worried.”

Sand leaned his cheek against the cool plaster of the wall. Why was he here? He should have just stayed somewhere else until he sobered up. There was always his mom but-

“Sorry,” he mumbled. 

Nick sighed and opened his phone. 

Sand made a grab for it. “Don't tell him.” 

Nick swung the phone easily out of the way of his clumsy hands. “I’m just letting him know that you're safe and I'm with you. Sand—he's really worried.”

Sand blinked owlishly for a moment, processing Nick’s words. Worried about me? Why? “Don't tell him I’m drunk.”

“You should trust him more.”

“Do trust him.” I'm the problem. “Drank whiskey. Hibiki.”

“Shit,” Nick cursed under his breath. 

Ray’s favorite whiskey. Sand didn't even know why he'd picked it—he hated whiskey. Never drank it willingly, especially not the high-end Japanese stuff. But he couldn't see Ray with the smell of whiskey on his breath. Any alcohol was bad, but whiskey—he could never do that to Ray.

He had known that when he started drinking—he had wanted this conclusion. Wanted to punish himself without the option for Ray to smooth it all away.

But now, maudlin and without the recourse of Ray’s effusive affection, he regretted it deeply. 

“Wanna see Ray.”

Nick rolled his eyes as he propped his shoulder under one of Sand’s arms. “You literally just said you can’t.”

“Oh. S’right. I miss him.”

“Come on,” Nick said with a sigh.

Sand dug his heels in against Nick’s pull and made a questioning noise. Even if he couldn’t go into the apartment like this, he wanted to be here. As close to Ray as he was allowed. 

But Nick kept tugging. “I’m not waiting around in our stairwell for you to sober up. Let’s get coffee or something, that’ll help.”

Sand groaned but Nick made a good argument. And if they were out getting coffee there was less chance he would buckle and just stagger inside, clinging to his poor boyfriend with the smell of poison on his breath.

[azes-silliness]

OH MY GOD. I CAN'T DESCRIBE IN WORDS HOW MUCH I LOVE YOUR FICS WITH WANDERER. THIS IS A MASTERPIECE BRO!!! I CAN REQUEST YOU TO WRITE SOMETHING FOR ME/??

angst with the wanderer and the teenager (17 y.o) ! reader.

Backstory - being a child, the reader lost his parents and witnessed their murder before his own eyes. The thing is, the reader's parents were deserters from Fatui and unfortunately, they were ordered to be killed.. And this was done by Scaramouche soldiers, in the reader's house. But when the little reader came home, at that very moment the life of the reader's parents ended before her eyes.

Even as a child, the reader witnessed the brutal murder of her parents, which left her with a lifelong trauma. As soon as Scaramouche wanted to approach the unfortunate child, she simply ran away far into the snowy forest of snow. And so, 4 years passed and the reader became an adult, received a vision and joined the adventurers' guild.. But when the reader decided to visit Sumeru, she meets a wanderer and recognizes him.

(Maybe, the fact that the reader remembers the wanderer is due to Nahida? Maybe it was she who called the reader to the temple of Surastana, returning her memory, and leaving her alone with the wanderer, the one who deprived her parents)

ENGLISH IS NOT MY NATIVE LANGUAGE! SORRY FOR MISTAKE! By the way, maybe in Taivat there is no term "trauma" but in Dori's voicelines, when we give her bad food, she says - "You expect me to eat this? Hmph, you'd better compensate me for the mental trauma!"

TY!

Sweetest Revenge

Tw: Wanderer angst no comfort, SFW Warnings: Spoilers for Sumeru quest, su1cidal thoughts, su1cide (reader), hate, strong words, An: I hope you like it. Sorry it took so long to answer the request💞 School has been keeping me really busy for tests.😭 I'm sorry if its bad I didn't reread or proofread this.🥹🫶🫶

AHHH IM SORRY I POSTED THIS TWICE I FORGOT TO ADD THE ASK 😭😭😭😭

”Scaramouche…” you hiss, your smile already falling from your face, slipping into a cold expression full of hate. The man infront of you was undoubtably the same on who haunted your dreams at night. The same one you thought you had started to get over after comfort from the new family you found.

Scaramouche, 6th Of The Fatui Harbingers.

Or in other words, the murderer of your parents.

You could still remember happily calling for your parents as you enter the house, excited to show your new project from school, already ready to be swung in their warm arms as they called you talented, smart and gifted.

Instead, you were greeted with the sight of the walls of the living room you had shared your moments with your parents drenched in red, crimson splashes staining the carpet and walls.

And…

“Mother! Father! Whats happening!?” You cried, running towards the place where you heard their voice, tears threatening to spill out of your eyes as you pushed open the door slowly. Yout parents were on their knees, two scary men pointing sharp things at them as they seemed to be begging, tears in their eyes as they turned to you, shocked.

And you were horrified.

Your father was breathing slowly, his hand on a gaping wound stretching over his stomach. Your mother seemed only half conscious, her arm basically in shreds, her favorite pink dress was stained and torn.

“M-mommy? D-daddy?” You whisper, your eyes widening as you tried to approach them, quickly being stopped by two of the men who put their arm infront of you, casting your parents a dark glance.

Grownups just had a weird way of communicating, right? Mommy and Daddy are just secretly talking with this person to-to- to throw a surprise party! These people were your parents friends, and this is just a normal grown up thin-

A gunshot echoed through the room.

You couldn’t even hear your own scream, overpowered with the fear thrumming in your ears and skull.

It was only later you found out the harbinger Scaramouche was at fault.

So you thoroughly convinced yourself that it was all his fault- it was when you were tired of hating yourself, blaming yourself.

But hate and guilt so deeprooted never disappears.

Its only passed on or redirected.

It was all his fault

“Do I know you?” Scaramouche huffed, sighing. He crossed his arms, his eyes showing how seemingly disinterested he was.

“You probably mistook me. I’m The Wanderer.” He grumbled, pulling his hat down and looking exasperated, his eyes sharpening to look at you.

You felt your jaw clench, holding the urge to throw the nearest item at him or atleast smack his idiotic face with it.

“Very. Funny.” You managed, your gaze still staring him down with utter disgust. This scum on earth. Ofcourse he didn’t know you. Of course he thought he could go erase himself from Irmin-whatever and all his sins were forgiven.

Really, what did you expect from this man? An apology? Some guilt? Maybe some empathy?

Hah. You had overestimated him, haden’t you? You didn’t even get recognition.

I mean, I suppose why would he care about just another child from the victims of his horrorendous crimes?

“So a joke? I don’t have time for jokes. I have homework.” He said, shrugging as if the matter was over. Done with.

But no. It wasn’t. Maybe this interaction should be though. Get this ugly hat-topped dwarf out of your sight.

So you bade him a smileless goodbye, simply muttering out the words and leaving.

—

It was incredibly reaccuring after that interaction, you’d always have thoughts of revenge, yet never daring to do it. It was as if your hand was on a loaded gun's trigger, yet you couldn't bring yourself to pull it. You had convinced yourself it was just due to the fact you were scared it would fail, that it might misfire. But only you knew, deep in your heart, you already begrudgingly admitted this was hardly the same person who had ordered your parents exterminated. — You were scared. Of Scaramouche? Of course not. Never. You had long steeled yourself against him. Your scared of the person you becoming. A cold hearted killer, just like him You had already made several plans of revenge against him- poision, sabotage, lies anything to make him suffer like you did. Anything to make him feel the pain you felt that day. You hated him. You despised him. But you never went through with it. You didn't want to kill someone, you wanted to believe he had gotten better. But he had killed your parents. He coudn't get away scotch-free. You wouldn't let him. You couldn't let him. Why were you like this? You had always been patient, bubbly and strong, not a hateful mess with a mind filled with only bloody vengeance. "I hate you..." You murmured quietly, blinking back your tears as you clenched your fists so tightly you felt it bleed. "I hate you....I hate you..." You repeated like mantra, tears threatening to spill with every word. You hated how he had mercilessly ordered your parents death. You hated how annoying and uncaring he was. You hated how he seemed to be so free of the past now whilst you were drowning in it. You hated, you hated how you felt he didn't deserve to die. You hated how you didn't want to hate his anymore. That... Idiot. — Those thoughts swirled unrelentingly in your head as you looked down, at your feet, biting your lip so hard you swore it bled. You held your vision in your hand-the symbol of the oath you had made to avenge your parents. "I'm sorry mother, father...I'm so...so...sorry." You choked out, tears welling in your eyes. Right. The vision, the gift from the archons that you had interpreted as them giving you the power to take revenge for everything you lost. What was its meaning now when you couldn't even convince yourself to go along with it? What made you so special your parents had died while you had survived? You didn't deserve this. A mere bratty child who's only thing on their mind was how to get enough candy for the day didn't deserve to live over your parents who had carried your world on their shoulders. So you didn't deserve to be here. You really didn't. And so you prayed to the archons that they would forgive you, they would accept you giving everything away. But deep in your heart, you didn't care. All you cared about was to be able to restore those days with your parents, the days of boundless bliss. So you jumped.

[seriouslysam8]

I have to say -- I keep getting your fics confused with canon. Your Demelza has cemented itself as my official version. I found myself just accepting Marlene and Teegan from Brumons/Selcouth as canon too. I do miss Hermione in your fics, but I get your aversion after reading some of your explanations. I think writers spend too much time making her this all-knowing "go away for a chapter to research and then comes back with all the answers and piercing insight" type of character who can make no mistakes. But I have a bit more fondness for her so I notice her absence more.

I miss Brumous but I could 100% see where you were beginning to struggle/flame out with it. I'd noticed inthe last few chapters there was a lot less Harry/Ginny conversational time, which is where I think your writing really shines the most. You've got a great grasp of their voices.

Plus once you get to a certain point in plot deviation fics it becomes way too easy to just try and match everything into the official storyline and then it's more like...why even bother writing it? So instead you have to cut and adjust the canon into the new universe which can feel more like work than just exploring the relationship interactions JKR never really gave us.

It's my favorite part of Selcouth, too. So I'm really looking forward to that next chapter. I've got a lot of empathy for Harry's career choice there, dealing with stuck-in-their ways medical professionals is the worst, especially as a new physician.

I’m glad that my fics get you confused with canon! I’ve put so much love and effort into some of these OCs or more developed canon characters. I always keep them pretty consistent throughout all my different universes so they all read cohesively!

The Hermione missing just puzzles me all around. There are plenty of fics that drop other characters from their plot lines. But everyone seems to be hung up on Hermione in my fics. I wish other characters could receive as much love as her. There are tons of characters who deserve just as much or move love than her.

The Brumous burnout really wasn’t because of any frustrations with the plot or not knowing what to write. I’m perfectly comfortable with not matching with canon or worried that my writing chops aren’t up to snuff to divert dramatically from the source material. Not to sound conceded, but I do think I have the ability to tell unique stories and the ability to stray away from the stations of canon with no shortage of creativity. The main issue is, I think, boredom. While writing the longer stories in MIT, I was able to maintain writing one-shots and short stories within that universe to keep my interest from falling behind. With this, I can’t jump around in the timeline without spoiling everything I have planned. So, then, I think of totally different ideas that draw me in and those stories are never short and sweet. My attention keeps getting pulled more and more. I’m at the point now where I need to completely reread Brumous to continue and get back into the groove. That’s a task daunting with and within itself. Couple with the overwhelming response I’ve gained from Selcouth… damn, it’s hard to get back into the teenage Hinny mindset.

[angst-is-love-angst-is-life]

Can you recommend me some good fics where Barry Allen gets kidnapped :) since in one of your tags you said you read a lot of them lol

I read them, I write them, I live and breathe them. Absolutely anon, allow me to dive into my bookmarks.

Just a reminder, always be sure to check the tags and warnings to know what you're getting into. Stay safe out there folks!

Juncture by @pennflinn may be my favorite fic of all time. Technically he gets kidnapped before the story's events but that's because it's an alternate ending to Escape from Earth-2 (and he is held captive for pretty much the entire fic so). The whump is SUPREME and the overall story is so well written. I will always recommend this fic.

One Second by pennflinn. Another one by penn because she is an incredible writer and HOLY FUCKING SHIT THIS FIC!! It takes my favorite premise for a fic "What if Barry was kidnapped in this scene/episode when he wasn't in canon!" and brings it to a WHOLE nother level. This one is diverges from 1x14 "Fallout" where, instead of everyone getting away semi-safely, Eiling kidnaps Barry and whump ensures. BUT there's another twist to this fic that (in my opinion) makes it stand out from many others-- every once in a while, there's a glimpse of a parallel universe where the events were different and let's just say some of those universes h u r t. Also, I wanted to kill Eiling so bad after reading this that I wrote a ficlet with the sole purpose of murdering him :) Anyways, go read; it's amazing.

Miles Through The Night by @hedgiwithapen. First off, this is an everyone whump fic, Barry is not the only one who is kidnapped but 1. IT HURTS GODS IT HURTS SO BAD I'M DYING. 2. The writing is spectacular, all the characters are super well done, and the story is INTENSE I'M STILL DYING SORRY I'LL STOP NOW. In this one-- actually nvm, the actual summary will do it justice. "With Eobard Thawne dead, life in Central City can go back to normalish. But Barry’s greatest enemy is not a speedster from the future fixated on him, and Eobard’s threat may have been the only thing keeping Team Flash safe from someone who doesn’t consider any meta to be human." THAT'S RIGHT-- AN EILING FIC! Just. Go read it, it's so good and I'm dying.

Lightning Bug by Hedgi. The writing in this was SUPERB and Eiling is a fucking bastard as always (count your days general.). And this time we have another speedster in the mix-- a toddler Wally! Ngl, I just reread this while getting the link and it was SO GOOD-- and once again my words can't seem to do it justice so I'll leave you with the summary "Months after the defeat of Zoom, Barry's main concern (aside from the odd metahuman attack) is helping Joe and Iris raise the four and a half year old Speedster Wally West, Cisco-named "Lightning Bug." And while that's hard, it's nice to have this speedster as family, not an enemy. Things are pretty easy.

Unfortunately, that doesn't last. After all, General Eiling's deal was only good for as long as their mutual enemies were still a threat." Eiling needs to die in a ditch as you can see, but there's some really sweet whump in this and it's because of him soooooo-- anyways, go read; it was fantastic.

Can’t Take That Away From Me by SophiaCatherine (or @sophiainspace on here). DUDE. DUDE DUDE DUDE-- I LOVE THIS FIC. I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS FIC. EVen once the whump passes, the A N G S T is so delicious! From the beginning of the first chapter alone; you'll see the sweet whump AND angst this fic has in store. Oh, and it's Coldflash which I somehow forgot to mention even though that's a foundation of the entire fic lmao. I love it, go read. Also, there is a sequel but it's not Barry being whumped this time... double also; there's a prequel and it's really sweet (no whump in that one fyi)

I Never Told Him by messedupstargazer. I am SCREAMING. THIS. FIC. Fyi, it's Coldflash. SO MUCH ANGST THE WHUMP-- IT'S SO GOOD I HAVE NO WORDS. DYING DYING DYING I AM DEAD I HAVE PERISHED.

Looking through all of these at once has filled me with many emotions and I apologize if some parts were incoherent. I'm probably missing a few and may add more as I find them but for now I'll finish with these two I wrote.

12 hours Barry's kidnapped before the events of the story but I think it still counts. He's trapped in Zoom's lair and forced to run for twelve hours every day :)

Trophy this is my beloved and the entire fic is a Barry whump fest (and angst. a lot of angst.). (or will be, There's one chapter posted atm) Technically we haven't seen the kidnapping yet but in the first scene he is in a cell so. Premise is that Zoom wins in the season 2 finale and everything goes to hell from there. I do feel obligated to warn though that there's not a happy ending for this one.

Thanks for asking! I'm always eager to share Barry whump! :D

[lovelyelbowleech]

All's Fair is incredible! I am on my third re-read and it is just as much of an emotional gutpunch as it was the first time. The emotional impact sneaks up on me every time, even when I know what's coming. It blows my mind how carefully woven everything is. Even just small characterizing details that help make the characters and situations feel so real. You also have a way of writing that flows so smoothly with the emotions each character is feeling, like I don't know how to describe it but it's so well-paced and descriptive and I can picture and feel everything when reading it both from the characters POV and also in a more objective sense at the same time, which is extremely difficult to pull off in my opinion. It is insane to me how easy you make it seem with your writing.

Another thing, too, is that this doesn't even really feel like an alternate universe. It's like you shifted one thing in the beginning with a little flick and we're seeing the ripple effects of that play out naturally, as though you're just sitting back and reporting your findings instead of crafting an entirely new story from thin air. Everyone is so in character that I can hear their voices in every line. Even your OCs feel 'In character' even though you literally created them for the story lmao?? Like I actually forget they're not canon characters sometimes.

ANYWAY- I got sidetracked. my intention for this ask was to actually ask how you pictured some of your characters in more detail. I want to draw art of my favorite scenes and am trying to compile little snippets of character appearances, particularly of Guo, Yuxuan, and Haoyu. I have sincerely contemplated starting a google doc to catalogue all the little details of every character, even the minor ones, like a Pokémon deck I can flip open and consult whenever I want to refresh my memory.

Thank you so much for such a lovely comment, it was wonderful to wake up to! I am glad you are enjoying the fic so much (enough for a reread or two even!) There is some really high praise there, and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy 😂❤️

It is always very exciting when folk say they want to draw art of the fic (even if its just for themselves!) So I will try to add a more detailed description to the character description page I have somewhere. There is not too much in the way of description of the OC's in the actual fic - and there is certainly no wrong way to depict them in art! What is in the fic is not hugely detailed 😂 but a very brief collection of the descriptions would be:

Guo: Short and stocky, facial hair, and a wide craggy face. Big broad hands. Hair currently short (post East Lake) gruff and grumpy to look at.

Haoyu: on the shorter side of average, about 18, round face, green eyes and dark brown hair, currently cut short (post East Lake). Very earnest and open looking face (which has been used to get him out of trouble more than once)

Yuxuan: a year or two older than Haoyu, long dark brown/black hair and honey coloured eyes. Good looking, and has a certain amount of rakish charm.

I am not sure if that is helpful or not! I will try to update the character sheet with additional OC's this week if I can. And thank you again for the wonderful ask!

[coopigeoncoo]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love ❤

Thank you for the tag, @andypantsx3! I am both delighted and horrified to have my work regarded in a positive fashion because apparently my emotions are just like reaching blindly into a bag of trail mix; you get what you get.

But as my homeboy Socrates said, 'The unexamined life is not worth living', so it's probably beneficial for me to slow down and do some reflection on my work as a writer and appreciate the journey of growth I've been on.

So, in no particular order, here are 5 stories I've written and why I'm proud of them.

The Cardinal Rule (Hawks x Gender Neutral Reader)

A story where Hawks learns that while humans might be awed by his flying skills, the bird population is decidedly less impressed. --- "The birds are refusing to work until their demands are met," you explained, trying to subtly slide your body between Hawks and the birds who were quite literally calling for bloodshed. "Which are?" Hawks asked as he lifted the bottle of water to his mouth and took a long sip. "They, ah, want you held accountable for your numerous bird crimes." Hawks abruptly choked, water spurting from the corner of his lips as he attempted to swallow the remaining liquid as he sputtered helplessly. "My what?" He coughed, thumping solidly on his chest with a closed fist.

This one started with a late night passing thought: 'What if birds hated Hawks?' and it spiraled out of control for there. I entered into some sort of fugue state and wrote and edited the entire thing in like, three days (which is very likely a person record for me). But everything just clicked together so easily on this one- my scenes flowed well, my jokes seemed to set themselves up, and I honestly had an absolute blast writing this. This is likely the story I reread the most because I have so much fun coming back to it.

2) An Itch to Scratch (Creature!Kirishima x AFAB Reader)

Kirishima Eijiro is everything you never thought you'd find when you packed up your car and moved to a dilapidated fishing town.  He was handsome, funny, and kind; the sort of man who took your breath away.   And that might actually be a bit of a problem. --- "Good girl ," Eijiro praised, his hands like a vice on your hips as he pulled away from your mouth with a satisfied grin.  You returned his smile with one of your own; the vibrant joy that had churned in your belly unfurled throughout your body, leaving you feeling breathless and lightheaded.   "Eiji," you gasped, eyes widening in panic as your lungs seemed to seize in your chest.  "I- can't breathe!"

I knew going in that if I was going to write a Mermay story I would want to write one that subverted expectations and common tropes. I removed the story from the typical tropical setting and plopped the Reader down into an dilapidated New England-ish fishing town, and threw in an additional surprise plot twist that I'm incredibly proud of.

I focused a lot on the world building here; on making the town and the people in it feel real and fleshed out. I really wanted to make the Reader feel connected to the situation they were dropped into and feel like I managed to do that successfully and even fell in love with the aging fishing town a bit myself.

3) Hot Dish (Shigaraki x AFAB Reader)

Down on his luck and scrambling for survival, Shigaraki Tomura was just looking for a place to score a hot meal. Instead, he ended up scoring a hot date. --- "You want gravy?" You asked, waggling the ladle of onion sauce enticingly, some of it sloshing over the edge of the spoon and falling back into the pot with a wet squelch. Tomura glared at the chunky sauce disdainfully before closing his eyes and sighing. "Whatever." "Gravy it is!" You cheer, pouring the sauce over the meat patty before passing it to him. "There you go! A hunk of meat for my favorite hunk." --- A slow, domestic romance between a volunteer at a soup kitchen and the newly destitute leader of a notorious villain organization.

Hot Dish is most popular story by far, which was honestly very surprising for me! I didn't realize how big Shigaraki's fan base was heading in because I wrote this for a server gift exchange and hadn't really read too many LOV centric stories. But I really enjoyed the challenge of trying to craft a soft romance for such a difficult character and think I managed to write a believable scenario where Shigaraki would be receptive to romance.

4) A Persistent Lack of Follow Through (Shouto x AFAB Reader)

Shouto had learned a lot from his Father; how to take a hit, how to pull himself back up, and how to hold a grudge. But one thing Endeavor could never teach his children was how to be a good partner. Shouto had to learn that particular skill the hard way. --- He had spent long, sleepless nights reflecting on the things you had told him; the reasons you left. Every moment of your acquaintance was turned over repeatedly in his head and examined until one devastating conclusion was reached: "I was a bad boyfriend," Shouto muttered dejectedly, idly picking at the label of the shochu bottle in the middle of the table. --- A story where Shouto loves, loses, and learns.

I'm very much a happy ending sort of person, so it was a real challenge crafting a story around the prompt of 'heartbreak'. Hearts, obviously, needed to get broken; but then I wanted to try and write a believable healing journey would look like for two people in a shattered relationship. It was equal parts satisfying and frustrating building the same relationship up twice, but ultimately I feel like the relationship I depicted is stronger because of that struggle.

It was also my first time writing Todoroki Family shenanigans, which is honestly now one of my all time favorite things to do.

5) The 3-Cs of 3-A (eventual Bakugou x AFAB Reader)

This one links to Ao3 because I'm still in the process of crossposting it to Tumblr.

Mineta Minoru is a perverted misogynist whose antics should have had him expelled from UA long ago. But he wasn’t. And now it’s your job to fix him. May God have mercy on your soul. --- “Well then, I’ll leave myself in your capable hands,” Mineta purred before popping open the top two buttons on his shirt, sending you a coy look from under his lashes. “Mold me into the perfect hero, Pygmalion!  Make me your Galatea!” he screamed as he ripped open his shirt, buttons flying haphazardly through the air and pinging off the walls and floor.  You throw your arms up to cover your eyes, as though blinded by the pale skin of his belly.   “Why do you always have to make this weird?” you moan forlornly, already bending down to search along the floor for the missing buttons.  

Aaaah, my passion project. This was my first foray into writing MHA fiction and my only continual WIP. I'm constantly editing and working to improve this one because it's so important to me.

I noticed very early on that Mineta is a character that authors tend to ignore or replace entirely, so his character really appealed to me because I hadn't really ever seen it explored very thoroughly before. 3-Cs is, at it's core, a Mineta redemption story where I try to mold him into the character he could have been; but it's also a place where I get to explore a lot of my ideas about what it's like for an average person to live in a Hero-centric society.

My absolute favorite moments as a writer are when people comment on chapter 1 with messages like 'I really hate Mineta, let's see how this goes' and then 10 chapters later are posting comments like 'What have you done? I actually like this grape-flavored weirdo now.' I actually had someone mention last chapter that they now were interested in a Mineta x Reader story, so I'm putting some weird vibes out into the universe and proud of it!

I think a lot of the people that I would tag have likely already been tagged, but just in case here are some no pressure tags! @confused-red-head @grxywxrrxnn @auraxins @pikatsum @lou-struck @stellamancer @namodawrites @sipsteainanxiety