#like i’m thinking at LEAST 1 fic per month

[ur-not-reddie]

in the new year i’m vowing to write more reddie content

[prael]

Kinktember 2024 - A Retrospective

What. A. Month. I want to start with my gratitude to every single person who read, commented, liked, reblogged, sent asks, discussed, and otherwise interacted in any other possible way with this whole shebang.

To close it all out, I want to give some of my thoughts and peel back the curtain a little on Kinktember.

Some Facts

168,396 words. One hundred and sixty-eight thousand, three hundred and ninety-six words. Averaging at 5,155 words per fic. Wow.

52 unique idols made an appearance and four were featured on more than one occasion; Wonyoung, Karina, Chaewon and Sakura are the four idols who hold that prestige.

Writing time on these pieces varied heavily, while I attempted to constrict myself to writing each fic in a single day, some of them got far beyond initially planned, with the most amount of time being spent on day 18, the IU fic. That one took roughly a total of 20 hours including editing. The quickest was as short as a 2-hour turnaround on days 14 and 15 (Chaewon and Youngeun).

Special Thanks

I’d like to take a moment before giving my personal thoughts to make a special token of gratitude to certain people. While there has been so much support from so many people and I would love to shout everyone out, I’m limiting myself to just a few.

Firstly, to @maemisnippets for the message on 14/07/2024 that was simply “Stand and carry” in reference to Youngeun. That single simple message became the catalyst for this entire Kinktember.

Secondly, to @midnightdancingsol for taking the time to help me make the initial plan for all the days of Kinktember and making many great suggestions that spawned a lot of these fics. Also thank you to everyone else for your suggestions and ideas.

Finally, to @capslocked for a great many things, from discussing details as small as how to format my posts to everything else you did.

Your Questions

Did you set yourself a time to do each one like a challenge to finish each to make it manageable? I gave myself 1 day per fic, whatever time I could spare during that day would be all I had to complete it, I think for around 27 of them, I managed to stick to this schedule. Some of them did spill over into a second day, such as the longer ones like IU.

How the hell did you find the motivation/inspiration to complete the whole thing? Honestly, I found it incredibly fun. I think I often get stuck in bigger projects and my brain gets all foggy, but with all of these fic being quick and snappy, I never got that feeling. Things kept being fresh and exciting and I was pretty much always looking forward to jumping into the next fic.

How did you approach choosing your kinks? / How did you come up with more of the exotic kinks? First I started with the obvious ones, the ones that instantly came to mind, and just threw them into a list. There are some niche ones that I always wanted to write too, but never had a reason to, such as electrophilia and vicarphilia. So even the more ‘exotic’ choices, I was acutely aware of. Then to round it out I did a little research online and pulled together a list of ‘potential’ kinks, which allowed me to fill out the missing slots.

Did you find varying each entry to be easy or difficult? What went into your thought process when it came to setting up each of the entries and the kink involved? Collecting a list of varied kinks was rather easy, at least initially, once I cut that down to the ones I would like to write, I ended up with a few spaces, and those final few became really difficult. But that’s why it’s great to have a community to lean on and ask for ideas. The thought process wasn’t really anything special beyond that. I just created a list and then picked out what I wanted to write, and then decided on idols to feature in each one. This leads nicely onto the image below, I scraped this initial list from a DM with another writer. As you can see, the initial list I put together on day one contained a large number of the ideas that made it into the final cut. This also serves as an answer to the questions on what ideas I decided to drop.

How did you match the featured idol(s) to the kink you have planned? Was it based on their idol personality? Or was it just random? I approached it in a similar way to how I would with most other fics, where if I think an idol’s personality lends itself to the fic, then I will do just that. Of course, it’s impossible to be really accurate and I had to take some creative liberties where needed. Although, on some occasions, I did just throw an idol in there and write her without thinking about her actual personality too much. This usually happens with idols I know less about.

I'm curious how you went about writing some of the more nicher kinks like electrophilia? The simple answer would be to say that I approached it the same way as I did every other fic. None of the kinks required me to do any further research as they’re all kinks that I’m familiar with and am interested in. So in the end I just wrote what felt right.

Was there an idol that you started liking after finishing writing her? For the sake of my own enjoyment/motivation, I only chose to write idols I already liked. Though I would say that writing the Shuhua fic made me a lot more attracted to her than normal. I could also possibly put IU here too, since she’s not really on the forefront of my mind, but became much more so after writing her.

Was there an idol in particular that you 'wanted' to write, but ultimately switched it to a different idol instead? REI. How did I not write REI?! She was in the original draft list where I was going to do some form of bondage piece, but ultimately all the ideas I had for it were absorbed into other fics.

This feels like a good point to share this initial list I completed with Sol while planning. A lot of this remained true to plan, but you may spot some changes.

Now that it's done are you glad you did it or did you end up regretting your decision at some point? Overall, I’m happy and proud and think it was 100% worth it. I relished the challenge and it took me out of my comfort zone. Right now, the only regrets I have are the fics where I know I could have done more/better but I know that I have to accept that I did the best I could in the time constraints. There were times along the way when I had my regrets and wondered if I should even have bothered, particularly when a fic wasn’t well received, but I know now I had just to accept that.

Do you feel more familiar with your style/voice as a writer, if so: what have you discovered? Did you learn anything from this writing-wise? Discovered some new writing styles and possibly improved some? I think the most important thing I took away from this is how important it is to just get words down on the page. I have spent time previously stuck in my own head and grinding to a halt in a fic when trying to make things work. Kinktember simply wouldn’t allow that, so I had to adapt. I learned to be ruthless by deleting the things that didn’t work and pushing on without trying to be overly perfect. I don’t think I developed my ‘voice’ or style too much because I believe it did have to take a backseat at times in order to maintain pace. However, I did get the opportunity to try new things, such as FxF and writing for a gender-neutral reader and also varying the pacing within the fics. Fics such as the Kkura one where I cut together four short, connected scenes really suited the concept and were very fresh to write.

Which fic do you think the idol and the kink are a 'perfect' match? Maybe in terms of reader reception or how quickly you got into the flow state when writing it? Well, I wasn’t sure at the time, but I was told that Karina and dressing up as a maid worked really well. I also think there were a few really obvious combinations that I leaned on, such as spanking Chaewon and having Ryujin and Yeji scissor, or having Minju be a doll. Those are ones that just instantly clicked for me and I thought to myself it was a perfect match. I would say I entered the biggest flow state when writing the Moka x Yunah, I found it incredibly hot, so much so that I finished the fic and then when going to edit, I wrote the second scene. Idk I’m just really down bad for Moka rn. Also, I hear that I really nailed the Yunjin/Kkura/Chaewon dynamic, so probably that one too.

Is there a fic that you would have written regardless but just so happened to be included in kinktember, if that makes sense? I never really know what I’m going to write next until I’m writing it, and I never know if it will be posted until I post it. This makes it hard for me to really guarantee that anything in Kinktember would one day come to fruition. The closest to it would be part 2 of the Minji fic, How Sweet To Be Alone. I always wanted to follow up on it, so being able to add it as a kinktember fic became a bit of a perfect storm. There are other fics too that I always wanted to write, and maybe I would have one day, but kinktember made it a reality.

Would you do kinktember(or any other variant) again? Would you recommend writers to try it at least once? I would say I’m more likely to do it again than I am not, but I can’t guarantee it. As for recommending it to other writers… the honest answer is no. I feel that it goes against so many of a writer's natural instincts. It takes over your life. It consumes your time. You’re forced to work unnaturally hard and you’re forced to reduce your standards. I don’t think it’s healthy for anyone to push to do something like this.

Finally, throughout the month I had so many nice asks that I couldn't respond to, but I read them all and appreciated them all so much.

[cirrus-grey]

From June 9, 2019 to September 23, 2023 I posted something new to my Ao3 account at least once a week, every week (allowing for some deviation between weekend/weekday posting in the early days). From January 25, 2020, I’ve had an update every single Saturday. In total, this has amounted to 219 weeks of content, 299 individual updates, and 204 unique stories (approximately - I think I miscounted somewhere in there).

4 years, 3 months of weekly posting. 3 years, 8 months of Saturday stories.

I’m very glad I’m taking a break, because finding time to post every Saturday has been getting difficult, but it still feels very weird to not be posting something today.

Anyway, I’m very proud of how much I’ve created over the last few years, so I wanted to do a bit of a statistics breakdown because I’m a sucker for hard data:

Per Ao3 sorting here, I’ve posted�� 209 stories. Yeah I definitely miscounted. Anyway.

Fandoms:

203 for The Magnus Archives

2 for Discworld

2 for Good Omens TV

1 for Good Omens Book

1 for Skulduggery Pleasant

1 for Malevolent (which was a TMA crossover lol)

A bunch of other fandoms got dragged into the stats because of Vinettes, but I only added TMA stories to that one in the last 4 years.

Of the 203 TMA stories, 6 are multi-chapter longfics, including Yesterday is Here - which kicked off the Saturday posting, and remains my most popular story to date.

Wordcount:

Approximately 819,000.

Which equals about 530 words written per day.

My average story length was about 3,919 words.

If you take the 6 longfics out of that math, the average drops down to 2,623.

2020 had the highest per-year wordcount, at 236,485.

The highest wordcount for a single story was 57,758 for A Matter of Diplomacy.

The lowest wordcount was only 215 for Best Wishes.

You could fit 268.6 Best Wishes into 1 AMoD.

Random:

40 of the oneshots were posted as direct, week-of reactions to TMA S5 episodes, encompassing 19.14% of the total fics.

30 of the oneshots were for the Castaways series, for 14.35% of the total fics.

The 203 TMA fics are 97.13% of the total.

Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist was in slightly more stories (189) than Martin Blackwood (186), but significantly more stories than the next-most common characters, Tim Stoker (32) and Sasha James (26).

Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist was, unsurprisingly, the most common relationship, at 94.26% of the total (197 fics).

My ten most common tags were, in order: Episode Related (65), Fluff (53), Post-Canon (42), Short (41), Post-Episode: e200 Last Words (39), Location: Somewhere Else (29), Canon Asexual Character (27), Season/Series 01 (22), First Kiss (19), and Happy Ending (14), which says a lot about the type of story I like to write and also that I really like tagging when and where things are set.

Jon was still just ‘Jonathan Sims��� when I started this…

‘Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist’ arrived on the scene in May 2020, so 149 (78.84%) of the Jon stories have the long tag, and 40 (21.16%) have the short.

[muirmarie]

mcspirk month mYEAR planning post

idk if anyone likes these (these being planning posts), but here, it feels weird to have it tucked away in my notes when my BTHB and mcspirk bingo planning posts are on here, so. anywho. you know the drill: this is just me rambling, feel free to ignore!!

the bolded are those i still don't have a plan for <3 - as per my usual these are all tos unless otherwise noted

Day 1: Forced Proximity (“this isn’t a blessing,” mccoy hisses. “one day,” the king says, “you’ll see that is it.” - the one where spock and kirk cannot get more than an arm's length away from mccoy for 30 days w/o causing him debilitating pain)

Day 2: Touch-starved (spock and kirk cuddle mccoy out of touch starvation - this is like 75% done, I just need to finish it)

Day 3: Only One Bed (established mckirk to mcspirk. um. very nsfw. by far the most nsfw i’ve ever even considered writing lmao. currently sitting at almost 12k, probably will be around 15-17k all told. i don't even know how to describe this. kirk aggressively helping spock play gay chicken with mccoy until mccoy finally believes spock wants both of them, idk.)

Day 4: Hand Holding (maybe the one where spock & kirk slowly gaslight mccoy into holding hands with them - yes the tags are spones but i am very certain kirk would be very happy to gaslight mccoy into hand-holding as well)

Day 5: [hurt comfort or against a wall (no story planned)]

Day 6: Protective McCoy (no story planned *eta - actually i think i am going to take the one elian assigned me w/o even asking me lmao, where mccoy drinks the poison meant for kirk, but don't tell him that)

Day 7: Hand Kink (the one where spock is cucked w/ hand sex lmao)

Day 8: Public Display of Affection (would you still love and/or employ me if i was a worm?)

Day 9: Spock is a Hopeless Romantic (the flirty spock one probably?)

Day 10: [Hands or a bonus (no story planned)]

Day 11: Fuck or Die (vulcan sex magic hanahaki, this is, like. I have elements of it, but it’s not nailed down yet quite how it works. it's a vulcan disease but naturally mccoy's the one who gets it.)

Day 12: Aliens Made them Do It (the plato’s stepchildren one - i've been poking at this one since. like. january lmao. it's maybe 30% done, but it's not gonna be super long, i'm just slow with it. it is. hm. not a fluffy story. the platonians decide that mccoy simply needs to learn to say yes to them. how helpful they have spock and kirk around to help underscore the point.)

Day 13: [time loop or sex in a three way body swap or a bonus (no story planned, BUT do I really wanna write another time loop fic and/or can I really handle writing another smut fic lmao. If I did do time loop tho it would be the one where Kirk refuses to leave the time loop until he can solve the no-win scenario, i just don’t know how that goes yet. The sex in a three way body swap would be the AOS mcspirkura one, probably. Or the tos spones to mcspirk one. idk idk.)]

Day 14: Tarsus IV (kirk: i always knew i’d die alone. this is....jim character study, i think? I do need to come up w/ a happy (or at least: not sad) ending for it tho. So I’m still Thinking about this one.)

Day 15: Fake Dating (the one where the royal is trying to marry mccoy in order to keep him, and spock and kirk independently decide to fake date him to save him. also sarek loves trashy romance books. background uhura/scotty.)

Day 16: Lost the Ability to Speak (bones and uhura signing in federation common sign language - yes that's vague but all i need is something to center around tbh)

Day 17: McCoy Hurt w/ Spock & Kirk Comfort (this is like 95% of what i write lmao but i don’t have a specific plot yet)

Day 18: [Jealous Bones OR Oral Fixation (no story planned but it it’s jealousy it’s not gonna be traditional jealousy, bc I’m generally not a fan of jealousy storylines (unless all parties are unaware that they’re jealous - those I find VERY funny)]

Day 19: [Kirk is Missing, Presumed Dead or a bonus - probably a bonus (no story planned)]

Day 20: Accidental Voyeurism (okay the one where mccoy wakes up and his arm is trapped underneath kirk’s head and spock’s holding that hand as he’s laying on top of kirk and making out with him. I will have to find a plot tho. a reason. a Reason. It’s not established spirk either)

Day 21: Bondage (heh established spirk discovering mccoy’s penchant for getting tied up and/or tying others up and then literally not able to shut up about their platonic friends private habits for like a solid three months. they only care platonically of course. you don’t need those other ppl to tie you up bones you’ve got us. this one’s about 10% started.)

Day 22: Mirrorverse (mirrorverse katra sharing, it’s a whole thing, this is out of my wheelhouse but i have some Ideas, but this one isn’t going to be anytime soon)

Day 23: [reunion or teasing or a bonus (no story planned) - *eta actually for teasing i could maybe do the one where spock conducts an "experiment" in a private lab where he has mccoy & kirk work on a project for him while he gets extremely handsy w/ them - he's doing a study ("study" - they're all aware this is just spock's ideal version of foreplay) about human arousal in a working environment, and they're supposed to not let him distract them*]

Day 24: Temporary Blindness (this is going to be such a long messy mccoy whump story tbh. orpheus and eurydice part two. before i can even really start it tho i have to decide on pov, because that….really affects things for this one. but i mostly know how the story goes. also not anytime soon tho, maybe not even this year)

Day 25: Praise Kink (i COULD go temporary awkward ability if i don’t want to write anything too sexy, but the planned version is, like, kirk blossoms like a bashful babe and spock is genuinely moved when it comes to praise, but mccoy turns bright red and wants them to stop? BUT they like so much the way he flushes and struggles to accept the praise that they ask him to be good for them because THEY like it, and so he’s absolutely mortified but still? allows it for them? and they of course like it because they want to make him accept it.)

Day 26: Expectations vs Reality (counseling fic! The one where spock and kirk are dating but still somehow drag mccoy to their relationship counseling.)

Day 27: Vacation Gone Awry (no story planned) (*eta actually i think i'm changing this to Voyeurism and stretching that to make it work for the spirk - they keep coming up w/ weird sex injuries until they can finally convince mccoy to come over to help them figure out what they're doing wrong....he probably needs to watch....actually maybe hands on is better....actually maybe he just needs to stay forever*)

Day 28: Awkward Spock (checking for pulse over the liver instead of the wrist because he forgets where human hearts are when jim or leonard is hurt)

Day 29: Getting Interrupted (mcspirk sexy 3d chess - that’s right they’re interrupting mccoy’s WORK lmao)

Day 30: Desperate Measures (the enemy within one that’s 80% finished where kirk’s wolf and sheep sides both have to have sex w/ mccoy while spock melds with them both, all for very important science reasons - don’t worry about it.)

Day 31: Insecurity (*eta - mccoy gets out of a LDR and is bummed, and kirk tries to cheer him up by putting his name up for the underground "sexiest starfleet officer" bracket that scotty & uhura are running, to prove to mccoy that ppl find him attractive. unfortunately it turns out the crew finds him VERY attractive, kirk is having some jealously-related revelations, spock is gonna kill jim if he has to watch mccoy get asked out one more time, and mcco is yay close to having a nervous breakdown from being turned into a sex symbol*)

Bonus 1: nightmares (look this is fucked, just trust me this is a very messy thing and it is very fucked and i have to make all my maths fit together before i write it or it will feel too flimsy and fall apart, but. kirk's trapped in a nightmare by a parasite that bleeds into the waking world (there are reasons for it) that cause physical damage to mccoy. spock melds w/ kirk to try to change the dream. this has unexpected side effects. - this one WILL be written for mcspirk month i just don't know what day i'm replacing yet.)

Bonus 2: pet names (i think i might be able to fit the kiss me/fuck me fic into this prompt but i’m not 100% sure yet - aka the one where mccoy & kirk use “kiss me” as a SFW swear for “fuck me” and “don’t make me kiss you” as a SFW swear for “fuck you” and annoy everyone around them w/ this silly in joke until one time mccoy says “kiss me” w/o thinking to spock, and spock’s just. hmm. don’t mind if i do. and kirk thinks it’s so funny he starts kissing mccoy all the time as WELL. very pre-them even realizing they want a relationship (except for spock, spock has Plans, thank you). this will be written at SOME point, it depends if i need another bonus/if it fits the prompt enough.)

Other bonuses i’d consider if i need them, but no stories planned: blindfolds, misuse of the bond, uhura helps them out.

Other vague stories i have that i could rotate until they might fit a prompt: pacific rim au, space forgetties, [number]+1 of mccoy getting kissed awake/the +1 getting kissed to shut him up, spock going through the wringer re: mccoy getting hurt (that was written spones but could easily by mcspirk), empath era katra au, post-empath spock won't stop touching mccoy, katra transfer requires a kiss, this isn’t even all of them, it genuinely is absurd how many tag spirals i’ve written like this lmaoooo /sigh 

[wyattjohnston]

not perfect (but we were) - nico hischier

summary: sierra needs a rescue and there’s only one person she can think of to call.

word count: 3,559

note: this is for @ryngrvs's birthday bingo! i hope you have a fantastic day, c, and that you get lots of fics to read 💚 this doesn't hit the technical definition of bingo, but i used 5 prompts per your rules! thanks to @matthewtkachuk for reading it even though she was absolutely about to fall asleep when i begged.

prompts: 1. exes to lovers 2. handwritten notes 3. car troubles 4. "could you leave?" 5. blind date

There was a moment, just before it all went to hell, where Sierra thought she was actually going to make it. She’d just gotten off the turnpike at the correct exit, she was ten minutes from her final destination—she could practically see the restaurant.

And okay, it had taken a few turns of the engine to get it to start when she hopped in that morning and the battery light had been on for more than a few days already. The engine light had come on halfway to Woodbridge. Maybe they were signs she should have found a different mode of transport or just rescheduled entirely but it was too late to think about those things when she was desperately trying to corral her spluttering car off the road before it died a sad and final death.

“Betty,” Sierra whined to her ten-year-old Beetle, “I thought you loved me.”

She put the car in park and turned the key in the ignition, even if there was no chance it was going anyway, tapping the steering wheel as she tried to think of her options. She wasn’t good with cars, had never needed to be, and she knew she gave off that vibe whenever confronted with anyone even tangentially related to a mechanic, so calling a tow truck was out of the question.

It was just that it was midday on a Wednesday and she had very limited options for who would be able to come rescue her.

Very limited.

“Uh, hi?”

“My car broke down and I need someone to come get me.”

Sierra heard shuffling on the other end of the phone, some distant voices, before his voice came back through the speaker with a shocking clarity, “Sierra��it’s Nico. Did you mean to call me?”

“Yes,” she said through gritted teeth, staring darkly out her windscreen. She didn’t like to be the woman who called her ex when she was in a bit of strife. “You’re the only person not working right now.”

“I’m at practice?”

Sierra sighed in frustration, but still said, “Sorry. I’ll try call a tow truck. Sorry. Bye.”

With the call ended abruptly after, Sierra stared down at her phone and hoped to god that she could search tow truck new jersey and whoever she got would be nice to her and her questionable car decisions.

At least, that’s what she started to hope before a text came through from Nico that said Send me your location. Practice is nearly over.

And then another immediately after from the person she was meant to be meeting that said leaving now b their soon.

Sierra felt her blood run cold and there was no way of knowing which message it was that caused it. She blindly sent Nico her location, with no accompanying message because she was trying to come up with a response to the other text that didn’t sound as flaky as she felt. That conversation was immediately muted.

Despite it not even being remotely cold outside—though compared to the beginning of the month it was arctic—a chill was seeping into the car with the engine dead and the heating not functioning. From the back seat, she pulled the coat she’d brought just in case and struggled around in the driver’s seat to pull it on.

She flipped up the collar and pushed her hands deep into the pockets of the coat, ready to force a nap knowing that Nico would be at least half an hour away. Her hand touched a piece of paper before she could shut her eyes and, out of sheer curiosity, Sierra pulled it out to look at it.

It was halfway unfolded when Sierra realised exactly what it was; there was no heading back.

Familiar handwriting stared up at her and before she’d even started to read it, Sierra felt her stomach drop but also simultaneously warmed to the core as she heard it in her head. Nico’s voice was all too clear.

Hope you have a good day today! Stay warm, drink lots of coffee. Ich han dich gern.

Sierra folded it back up again, throwing into empty space behind the gearshift to never think about again.

She definitely thought about it—and the many other letters just like it—in depth for however long it took for there to be a knock on her window that scared her so much that she squealed involuntarily.

Nico looked apologetic, at least, when she looked at him through the glass. She sighed again, her shoulders up around her ears, and unlocked the door so she could open it just enough to talk to him. He had other ideas, though, and opened it wider because he wasn’t going to speak to her through a tiny crack in a car door.

“Are you alright?” he asked before anything else.

“Frustrated, but yes. I’m alright.”

She wasn’t forced through more small talk, and she didn’t blame Nico for not even trying when she refused to look anywhere but through the windscreen.  He was nice enough to not remind her that she was the one who called him.

“Do you want to take out your things?” he asked, gesturing to the scattering of belongings Sierra always had in her car. “In case you need any of it while it’s at the mechanic?”

Sierra agreed; the tow truck was already on its way because Nico had had the foresight to call for one as he was leaving Prudential Center.

Sierra watched Nico cross in front of her car, and only moved when he opened the rear passenger’s side door and started putting some things into one of the many bags floating about on the backseat. She couldn’t let him clean out her car alone so she joined him in reaching into her backseat and filling a bag.

“Do you know why Betty broke down?”

“Battery’s super dead,” Sierra said, not looking up at him. “I shouldn’t have driven her.”

Nico moved to the front passenger’s seat with the bag and started to move things out of the footwell. She couldn’t let him clean her car out alone, but she was long past being embarrassed by the collection of crap her car seemed to accumulate.

“Did you have a job interview out here?”

Sierra looked at him, then, through the gap between the front seats, and managed to get out a soft no that had Nico tilting his head waiting for further clarification—he moved back to picking things up when it became clear nothing more was coming.

She was caught up in how afraid she was to tell Nico it had been a date she was going to and only realised that Nico was lifting up the paper from the console as he was unfolding it.

He didn’t say a single word after reading it, just folded it back up neatly and added it to the bag. Sierra watched on, her stomach flipping in horror, still at a complete loss for words.

The tow truck arrived just in time for the silence to become smothering—Sierra took her time walking back to Nico’s car to deposit her things on his backseat, just so she could take a few deep, centring breaths without him noticing.

Sierra stood beside Nico as he talked to the tow truck driver, trying to not look completely out of her depth. There was no real pressure for her to listen and understand but she knew that there was always the possibility that the person they were talking to would decide to take advantage of Nico for not being American, so a balancing act had become part of their routine.

It all took far too long, even with the tow truck driver being decent enough to speak to both Sierra and Nico with respect and decency. The wind was picking up, a cool bite getting through Sierra’s jeans and she kept catching herself as soon as she was leaning closer to Nico’s body heat—Nico either didn’t notice or he was kind enough to not mention it.

Sitting in Nico’s passenger seat felt as familiar as it always had, she fell into the seat and immediately played with the seat’s positioning to fix it after whichever giant teammate of Nico’s had been sitting in it and moved the vents so that she could hold her hands up to them to restore some warmth to her fingers.

“I found the letter in my pocket,” she said when they were back on the turnpike. “It wasn’t just sitting in my car.”

“I—” Nico cleared his throat. “Yeah, I figured. Do you find a lot of them?”

“Not as many as I did the first week,” Sierra said, thinking of the notes she’d found in obvious spots like in the book she’d been reading, the pocket of her purse or in a pill bottle when she’d needed the extra strong anti-inflammatories for the first time in months. “How many are there?”

“I don’t know. I don’t even know where I would have hidden them all.”

Sierra’s roommate found a few, too, because there were only so many places in their two-bedroom apartment to hide things. Nico had found all possible hiding spots, though. More than Sierra had ever expected.

Apparently not content with silence like Sierra, Nico asked, “What were you doing out there? Dressed so nice? If it’s not a job interview?”

She tried not to bristle, saying calmly, “It doesn’t matter now.”

Nico took his eyes off the road for a brief moment to look at her, Sierra could only see it out of her periphery—she didn’t want to give anything away in her face and knew he wouldn’t think anything of it because she never liked it when he took his eyes off the road.

Sierra picked at her nail polish where it was growing out, peeling flakes of purple off and only caring a little that she was dropping them into the footwell.

“We can turn back around,” Nico offered. “I don’t have anything else to do today.”

“It’s fine.”

“Sierra.”

Through gritted teeth, she said, “My sister set me up on a blind date. It’s fine. I wasn’t really interested anyway.”

She couldn’t help but look at him after he went firmly silent, curious about whether she could get a read on what was going through his mind. Sierra was devastated that she couldn’t tell what he was thinking at all, it hadn’t even been very long since they broke up.

He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel and Sierra tried not to sigh out loud as she turned back to look out the windscreen.

“A blind date? In 2022?”

She swallowed the sudden lump in her throat, “That’s your problem with it?”

“I don’t think I have a right to have a problem with anything else.”

“I guess not.”

Sierra didn’t know what to expect when Nico told her he was coming over. Asking questions would have been the smart play but part of Nico’s appeal was the half pieces of information he gave—always just enough to remove stress from the situation and still keep it fresh and exciting.

That didn’t necessarily mean the same thing when they were broken up.

Still, when her doorbell buzzed and Nico was waiting on the other side holding her car keys in the air, she couldn’t help but squeal and throw her arms around his neck in excitement. It wasn’t until she was pulling back, excitedly saying ‘Betty!’ with Nico’s hand pressed against her lower back that she realised what she was doing.

His cologne nearly drew her back in.

She managed to stay strong and took the keys from Nico, rushing down the steps towards her Beetle and barely refraining from laying across her in a hug. She patted the hood instead and beamed up at Nico gratefully.

He passed along the message from the mechanic that they replaced the battery and something about an oil filter that she didn’t understand—the whole reason she’d had Nico do it for her in the first place. She nodded as he spoke, trusting that he trusted his mechanic.

“What do I owe you?” she asked hesitantly, picturing the already low numbers in her bank account dwindling even further. If she was extra nice in the lead up to Christmas maybe her boss would give her a nice bonus.

Probably not, but she’d have to really fucking try.

“Nothing.”

Sierra was incredulous, “You get free work from your mechanic?”

Nico nodded once, short and stiff, before averting his gaze entirely. With the keys still in her hands, he surprised her and managed to unlock it solely to reach in and open the hood. Sierra knew him well enough to know that he was going to change topic.

“Nico, what do I owe you?” she asked again as he was lifting the hood and beginning to point to things in the engine bay that Sierra didn’t care about.

The mumble that left Nico’s mouth was maddening.

“Nico,” she said, desperate for any answer. He closed the hood and Sierra registered the surprise on his face when he saw just how uncomfortable and furious she was.

“Could you leave?” she snapped, knowing that there was nothing else to say if he wasn’t going to let her pay for the work done to her own car.

His eyebrows pulled together, always so expressive and telling. “Leave?”

“Leave.”

Taken aback, Nico asked, “What did I do?”

“You can’t just pay for my car and expect me to be okay with it. You know that. We aren’t together, Nico. You made sure of that.”

“You don’t have the money for it and I do. It’s fine, Sierra.”

“It’s fine if we’re together, Nico. But I don’t know what you want from me when you do this. Thank you for picking me up and thank you for dealing with the mechanics. It should have ended there.”

Nico was so blasé, so seemingly unfazed by it, that he shrugged at her, a little proud, “It’s not a big deal.”

“It’s a huge deal!” Sierra couldn’t help but shout. “I miss you so fucking much but I can’t have you and then you go and do this and it’s not fucking fair!”

“I’m—I’m sorry, Sierra,” Nico said, the pride draining from his body instantly. “I didn’t think about it that way.”

“I know, Nico, but still need you to go before my heart gets broken again.”

“I didn’t mean to break it the first time. You know that, right?”

Sierra remembered every second of that day, could remember the very specific way her heart crumbled—slowly and piece by piece. It brought tears to her eyes to even remember it.

“That’s not what I felt like. I remember the conversation about the team and it getting you down and it causing you stress and you not wanting to take that out on me—you weren’t, though.”

“No?”

“No,” she said resolutely, all but snapping at him. He flinched. “You broke up with me anyway, and we’re still broken up so. Could you please leave?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry, muus. I really didn’t mean to hurt you.”

He nodded, quick and firm, before he patted Betty’s hood and started to walk away.

Sierra raced back inside before she could do something stupid like hold him again. Let him hold her. Let him tell her all of the ways he never meant to break her up before he did exactly that.

Sierra looked out her bedroom window when she was securely inside to see Nico staring down at his phone and it was only then that it occurred to her that, if he’d driven Betty to her, he was stranded.

Sierra closed her curtains abruptly and decided it was a good time to re-organise her chest of drawers. Getting rid of clothing was hard, even if it was something Sierra didn’t wear often. There was always the possibility of the perfect pants coming along to match a slightly out there top, or sometimes it was just because the dress that she’d folded up and pushed to the back had been part of one her best memories of her time with Nico.

That specific dress—delicately embroidered with flowers, described as very flirty by her roommate—deserved better than being scrunched up and hidden but as much as Sierra couldn’t bring herself to throw it away, she’d felt her heart seize whenever she saw it hanging up.

She pulled it out, gave it a shake to bring back some of its shape. If she hadn’t been so on edge, she may have missed the piece of paper floating out of it.

I will never forget this dress, muus. I’ll find another reason for you to wear it. It was the best night of my life, just being there with you.

Her eyes screwed shut, tears prickling at the corners. She held both the dress and the note to her chest, crumbling them in desperation to—Sierra didn’t really know. Merge them together? Return to the night? Bring Nico back?

Impossible, she knew, no matter how hard she tried, so there was one other option.

Sierra ripped her car keys off the bed and nearly bowled over her roommate as she ran back outside, ignoring her questions about whether or not she just saw Nico outside.

As Sierra was opening the driver’s side door, she ran her hand over the roof and said, “Let’s go, Betty. We’re on a mission.”

Betty drove just as well as Sierra had ever known—even better, perhaps—and getting to Hoboken was a breeze. Sierra knew her way around New Jersey, having lived in various areas of the state her entire life, and she knew the route to Nico’s apartment like the back of her hand.

In record timing—and with a few speeding tickets surely coming her way—Sierra arrived and she didn’t let her nerves get the better of her. She sat in Betty for no longer than it took to turn off the engine.

She stood at the front door to Nico’s apartment building and pressed the buzzer. Waiting patiently for him to answer the intercom was difficult, her chest heaving as she failed to control her breathing.

A panic rose within her when she was still standing at the building’s doors five minutes later; no response at all from the other end despite a second press of the buzzer. There was no video camera that connected to Nico’s apartment, she knew that for a fact, so it couldn’t be that he was actively ignoring Sierra specifically.

She pressed the buzzer again for good measure, third times the charm after all, and then melted entirely into a puddle on the doorstep when there was still no answer. She buried her heads into her hands, out of frustration and to protect herself from the wind that was still getting progressively colder and her cheeks and lips were struggling.

It was silly, truly, to have rushed over to Nico’s almost as soon as she’d told him to leave. Silly would be the best word to describe so many of her decisions.

“Sierra?”

Her head snapped up so quickly that she felt a twinge and she nearly tripped over her own feet in a rush to stand up.

“Did I beat you here?” she asked, looking over her shoulder to see whether or not she’d missed the door opening.

“My Uber driver got lost.” Nico was speaking hesitantly. Even his half step up the stairs was an indication of how unsure he was. “Are you okay?”

Sierra admitted, easily, without a second thought, “I miss you.”

“You said. Before. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, I did,” Sierra nodded, moving closer to Nico. With the height difference of the steps, they were face to face. Sierra inhaled deeply and released it slowly as she thought about exactly how she wanted to word her thoughts. “I didn’t give you a chance to respond properly and you said you didn’t mean to break my heart and I have to know what that means.”

Nico looked less unsure in that moment; Sierra had been expecting the exact opposite. He smiled at her, albeit sadly, and half shrugged in an apologetic manner more than morose, “That’s what it means. I really thought I was making you miserable, muus. You deserve better than that.”

Sierra made sure to make eye contact with him as she said, “The only time you made me miserable was when you told me we should stop seeing each other, Nico.”

“I’m sorry, muus,” he whispered, dropping his eyes to his hand that he was pushing into his pocket. “I was actually going to give this to you before but I thought better of it.”

It was a small piece of paper, torn from wherever Nico had found blank paper, and Sierra took it with a slightly shaky hand. She was smiling, though, as she took it, her heart beating rapidly against her ribcage.

She’d barely finished the last word before she surged forward, pulling Nico towards her with her hands holding his cheeks.

Muus, I’ll always be there for you when you need me. You just have to call. Ich han dich gern.

[nullsleepy]

The Strike of a Villainess

Chapter 4: Dull Green Meets Equally Dull Blue

Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4(here), Chapter 5, Chapter 6

“Marinette. What do you think you’re doing?” A cold, shiver-inducing voice rang out into the field, calling to attention to everyone nearby. Marinette could feel her body begin to shake, as if she was about to break into a cold sweat, but, still, she looked right towards the voice.

“….Papa?” Marinette let a whisper, her eyes producing tears at an unseen rate. Even as she wanted to go and hug the man, something was stopping her. Something… was wrong.

“I will not ask again. Marinette Von Eden, what the hell do you think you’re doing?” The man, her father, spat out, staring down at her. Marinette let out an unconscious squeak as she felt the air around her become ghastly cold.

“Papa..” was all she could mumble out before she felt the air around her move again. She quickly hit the ground, gravity having finally taken its toll on the young girl.

“Useless.” She heard her father’s cold, so unfamiliarly cold, voice before everything around her went black.

-

“Would you like me to brush your hair, my lady?” A close-by maid stood behind her as Marinette faced a bright pink dresser. She couldn’t bring herself to respond as she sat in front of the mirror, familiar(not familiar) sharp eyes staring back at her. The maid must have taken her silence as a signal of acceptance, as she watched her gather up all the blue silky(she never spent enough time to ever produce such softness) locks. Her bright hair stood as a stark contrast to her unblemished(where were her scars? Or her uneven freckles?), pearly white skin(she looked more like Snow White than the sun kissed half-Chinese girl that should have been staring back). Anyone could spend hours looking at such a beautiful person(but she wasn’t just anyone, she WAS-)

“Oh look at how cute you look, my lady! Perfect as always!” The cheery maid sat down the brush, seemingly satisfied after untangling all the invisible knots. Marinette made no noises of approval or any sort of sign of disgust. No, Marinette continued staring in the mirror.

And the cruel image of a small girl stared back.

Notes: hiiiiiii. You can read the tags if you want to seen me a bit more energized. But guess what! It’s almost been a year since I started this fic and I somehow procrastinated sm that I only wrote 3 chapters. So this doesn’t happen again, or at least as long, I decided to make these chapter likely a bit short. It just helps me start parts of the story. I can do an update thing where I ping people at a certain word count so they can binge read if they actually like/liked this series, but for now I’m just gonna pretend I didn’t leave for months and it’s totally just been a couple days. I need sleep but I’m too nauseous to move so fanfic time. I will gain all my inspiration for this fic back even if I have to rip it from my younger self’s cold, sleepy hands!!!!!

Also there’s a chance I won’t do that and will just write 1k words per chapter but I doubt it. I imagine this as a Manga in my head so that’s why it might seem a bit different from how I usually write. And yk what, there will likely be things that don’t make a lot sense, but as I’ve come to realize, fanfics are about having fun. That’s why I started and that’s why I’ll continue. It’s about what I want to write and not about trying to make everything fit together so close like a puzzle. So if something sounds cringey, I’ll let be cringey!

Please note the above is mostly a pep talk to myself, it’s not meant to be mean or denounce you or something. I’m just trying to become consistent in updates and that means finding the reason I started writing fanfics in the first place.

Thank you so much for reading so far, I am lucky to have you Readers.

Taglist(please leave a comment if you would like to be taken off or added!): @khneltea @cydaeashootingstar @shadosakushi @jeminiikrystal @fangirlingfanatic

[luaspersona]

january bts archive ♡

welcome to my january bts fics recommendation list! before we start, i’d like to say a few things 🥰

⇢ my blog is +18, so even if this list has some sfw stories please, minors do not interact!

⇢ this month alone i think i’ve read around two stories per day at least, but to better organize my recs i settle on 10 works per list, especially since i know i won’t be able to keep this rhythm once my classes start and i want all the lists to have the same length

⇢ this list only has fics i reviewed (reblogged) in january. it won't have ongoing series (or series i haven't finished yet), although i plan on making a series rec list in the future.

⇢ think there's some fic missing? let me know! (also, please send me hobi recs!! 😭)

⇢ lastly, this isn't in any particular order (although is somewhat the order in which i read those works).

All because of you

authors ⇢ @taegularities and @hoebii pairing ⇢ seokjin x reader genre ⇢ fantasy (HP!au); friends to lovers; fluff; smut rating ⇢ +18 | minors do not interact word count ⇢ 8.3k summary ⇢ They say food is the ultimate way to someone’s heart. It would be a shame if Seokjin didn’t at least try to confirm this belief. why i loved it ⇢ this fic was a huge surprise in the sense that i didn’t know i could love seokjin even more. the way rid and melody wrote this filled me with so much warmth, but then it was pure sexyness and world wide handsome handsoming. the dialogues are amazing, but the descriptions? the way they set the mood? it’s impossible not to be drawn into the story as soon as you start reading it. ⇢ my full review (with spoilers!)

Two in One

author ⇢ @here2bbtstrash pairing ⇢ hoseok x reader x jimin genre ⇢ smut (threesome); friends to lovers. rating ⇢ +18 | minors do not interact word count ⇢ 12k summary ⇢ you finally have a much-needed smoke session with your best friends, just like old times. you’re also pretty sure they’re gay… right? why i loved it ⇢ i’m sure this is one of the best examples of good mood setting i’ve ever seen. m does an amazing job here of making us interested and into all the characters involved because they are just so sexy and smooth and fucking cool. not to mention this is one of the best threesome fics i’ve ever read and well… it’s fair to say i’ve read a few 👀 ⇢ my full review (with spoilers!)

Fallen

author ⇢ @casuallyimagining pairing ⇢ yoongi x reader genre ⇢ fallen angel!au; strangers to friends to lovers; fluff; angst; smut. rating ⇢ +18 | minors do not interact word count ⇢ 21k (divided in two chapters) summary ⇢ If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, then where does that leave you? Spurned by your ex-fiance, you seek the one person who can help. But as it turns out, the price of revenge may be a little more than you bargained for. why i loved it ⇢ this fic deals with a lot of heavy topics in such a touching and heart clenching way. the imagery courtney evokes here is no joke, and the atmosphere is set in a way that makes it unable for you to stop looking. the descriptions, the pace, everything is… ugh, just flawless. ⇢ my review: part 1 | part 2 (with spoilers!)

Stardust

author ⇢ @euphoricfilter pairing ⇢ jungkook x reader genre ⇢ friends to lovers; fluff; smut rating ⇢ +18 | minors do not interact word count ⇢ 5.5k summary ⇢ If Jungkook would have known an unintentional orgasm would have led to this, then he would have begged you to work out with him sooner. why i loved it ⇢ i went into this expecting a filthy mindless smut, and received the most pure longing in the forms of astronomical analogies and posthumous promises. jungkook���s perspective here is just so honest and genuine and it makes you fall in love with this couple as if you've been with them from the moment they've met (it's a slow burn encapsulated in 5.5k words). i was so surprised and it made me so happy to read this.  ⇢ my full review (with spoilers!)

Photograph you in this light

author ⇢ @yoongiphoria pairing ⇢ jungkook x reader genre ⇢ fluff; some angst rating ⇢ free to all audiences, but the MJ's blog is +18 only word count ⇢ 0.5k why i loved it ⇢ fun fact: i had a full meltdown because of this fic lmao. it took me less than two minutes to read it and two business day to get over this and i honestly feel like i lack the words to live up to it (i did say a bunch of stuff in my review tho, but i strongly recommend you read the drabble first). ⇢ my full review (with spoilers!)

The one with Jungkook, his son, and the lightbulb

author ⇢ @eoieopda pairing ⇢ jungkook x reader genre ⇢ fluff rating ⇢ pg-13 word count ⇢ under 1k why i loved it ⇢ this is just the cutest fucking dad!au i’ve ever seen. jade writes this in such a creative way that they were able to capture years of relationship and love in such few words. i almost wanted kids after reading this lol (so i backed away immediately 🥴). ⇢ my full review (with spoilers!)

Thus with a kiss…

author ⇢ @uarmymoonlight pairing ⇢ jungkook x reader genre ⇢ fantasy!au; historical!au; forbidden/secret relationship!au; angst; fluff; light smut. rating ⇢ +18 | minors do not interact word count ⇢ 899 summary ⇢ two times Jungkook got so lost sliding his hands through your soft skin and staring into your gentle eyes, that he had to fight to remember the stories of brutal cold-blooded and dead-eyed killers his brothers raised him up with. stories of your kind. why i loved it ⇢ this has one of the best opening paragraphs i’ve seen in fanfiction. it’s just so good and the fever dream way it’s narrated fits the story and its theme so well that you can’t help but be swallowed by the events. although this is just a teaser for an upcoming fic, i do think it stands tall on its own, because it suggests so much and crafts such a nice world already. i just know that i'll be revisiting this a lot.  ⇢ my full review (with spoilers!)

Velvet cherry

author ⇢ @jeonqkooks pairing ⇢ jungkook x reader genre ⇢ exes to lovers; agent/spy!au (non-specified); some fluff; angst; smut rating ⇢ +18 | minors do not interact word count ⇢ 5.9k prompts ⇢ “call me that again” & “lay down and stay still” why i loved it ⇢ i think this is one of the firsts — if not the first — jen fic i’ve read. i was mesmerized by her control here. the way she conducts her scenes are so interesting, and how she throws us in the middle of jungkook and the reader's story and we’re able not only to catch up but to feel like we were there all the years of the relationship. ⇢ my full review (with spoilers!)

Tales of broken hearts

author ⇢ @taegularities pairing ⇢ taehyung x reader genre ⇢ exes to lovers; childhood sweethearts; fluff; angst; smut rating ⇢ +18 | minors do not interact word count⇢ 24.8k summary ⇢ “Love has become a noun again.” When a work trip brings you back home, you don’t expect for anyone to await your return or remember you. But despite the time apart, Taehyung still does — still looks at you the same way he used to five winters ago. why i loved it ⇢ i’m not sure i loved it as much as i am sure i was completely destroyed by this. it took me hours to finish it ‘cus there were times i had to stop to try and remember how to breathe. it’s one of those stories that just stays with you way past the last word and you wanna hug each and every character until you squeeze all the sorrow and sadness out of them. it’s fucking good (and it has a happy ending, so rest assure you won’t die). also, this fic made me stop reading rid's work for a while 'cus otherwise i just know this list would be all hers lol ⇢ my full review (with spoilers!)

Holiday Inn

author: @bangtanintotheroom pairing: hoseok x reader genre: non-idol!au; rap group!au; humor; smut; strangers to enemies to lovers rating: +18 | minors do not interact word count: 37.6k summary: If it’s not the loud music, it’s the constant rapping. If it’s not the constant rapping, it’s the hysterical laughter. And if it’s not the hysterical laughter, it’s the moaning and screaming women. How the hell hasn’t your neighbor been kicked out yet? Oh right; he’s a beloved rapper.  why i loved it: this fic is just delicious. it happens in the course of five days — that start out as the worst but soon become the best ones of the reader's life! and hoseok here… let’s just say there wasn’t much sunshine and i never thought i’d love an asshole version of hobi THAT much. although it’s a longer fic, the pace is really good and it felt like watching a movie: the tension rising and the events escalating in such a delicious and continuous way that a shorter version could never provide. ⇢ my full review (with spoilers!)

links ⇢ navigation | reviews

[k-s-morgan]

Hello Katrin!

I read your recent ask about loosing job and overall situation and I want to express my wholehearted empathy. I had similar experience a year ago at a place I worked for 7 years and it felt awful. A year passed and I am happy where it got me. I’m at a better place now with better financial situation and mental health. By the way I am also from Ukraine but had to leave the country because I was getting depressed in the war and couldn’t live like that anymore. I am your huge Tomarry fan. WHGTB is one of my favorite ffs of all time and I am deeply invested in ATLWETD🫶 The way you render Tom and Harry’s characters, the way you understand and see them is just out of this world. You are amazing!

I subscribed to your Patreon, it’s a small thing I can do for what you bring to our fandom. I know it’s not gonna resolve your financial situation, but if everyone who reads and loves your creations subscribed as well for $1/month (which is nothing compared to what you do for us) it would really help.

I hope that more people will subscribe to the extent you won’t need work anymore and could just write🥺

Hello, my dear fellow Ukrainian! Thank you so much for your support, both on Patreon and here. It means a lot to me, and I'm so happy that my writing has been bringing you joy. It's second saddest anniversary today in the life of our people - I hope you're feeling ok. So much has changed.

I'm glad you are in a good place now. Fortunately, I also found a new job already, plus my old one got in touch with me yesterday and asked for my help with some of the projects!

Needless to say, the very idea of being able to quit my job and just write my fics and update at least once per month is a huge dream, but I'd need around $800 monthly for this, and I don't think it's possible right now. Still, a lot of people helped me; many have been helping for years now, and I'm so overwhelmed with gratitude and happiness over it that I can't describe it. So many things became possible thanks to them - to you.

Thank you again! While it doesn't seem likely, I still hold onto hope that Ukraine can free and better itself… that the brighter days are still ahead, not behind us.

I hope those of your loved ones who remain in Ukraine stay safe!

[nehswritesstuffs]

banish every gaslight; let clarity shine - Part 1

I’ve been stewing over this for, like, three/four months at the very least and it recently exploded in my drafts so congrats y’all are being subjected to this now.

2694 words to start, going to be over 12-15k altogether; shout out to @gendervapor14 who was not my beta per say, but they did suffer through my ranting and raving and raging over this fic (so more like my enabler I guess lol; blame them for it getting as far as it has); will ultimately contain lots of Dressrosa bullshit and headcanons and so on and so forth (surprise, surprise, surprise); title comes from the English translation of Ado’s Fleeting Lullaby bc that song is fire; fair warning: I headcanon Dressrossan as an unholy union of Castilian Spanish and Catalan and thus act accordingly

Someone is sitting on the Heart Seat when the Straw Hats and Law head into Dressrosa. It changes nothing… until it does. [AU where there is a Third Corazón, whose very existence makes Law’s life hell]

It was the middle of the night as toys rushed to load crates onto the cutter ship docked in the underground port, the ship’s Human crew staring in amazement.

“So, they just… do this like it’s normal…?” the captain asked. A young woman in a bright pink roquelaure cloak and gilded half-columbina mask shrugged nonchalantly as she checked off the crates on a clipboard.

“I guess when you see them for ten years, they don’t faze you anymore,” she said. “Come on—pick up the pace, hobbies! We only got the one tonight, so the sooner we can get this done and the sooner we can all rest!” The toys all seemed to regard her with silent ambiguity and did not, in fact, pick up the pace.

“Hobbies…?” the captain wondered.

“Just what we call them; nothing to it.” She smiled devilishly, the smirk being accented by the blood-red lipstick that sliced all the way into her cheeks. “You got a problem with that?”

“Why would he have a problem with you, Corazón?” the first mate laughed awkwardly. He didn’t want to be on the receiving end of a kick from her steel-capped heeled boots, and he was sure his captain didn’t either.

“It just seems like something that happens after people meet me,” she replied. The Corazón flipped her high ponytail of sun-bleached light brown hair back and pretended as though it did not bother her. “They don’t expect an Elite Officer of the Family to be so young… to be a woman… to be me…”

“…well that’s silly,” the first mate assured. “I mean, you earned that position, right? Problem solved.”

“One would hope,” the captain scoffed. He then suddenly found himself with a sword to his throat, the Corazón having not made a sound as she moved.

“I really don’t think that you want to continue along that line of thinking,” she warned. “Since I’m feeling generous, you’ll get to sail away… except…” She snapped her fingers and the toys stopped loading up the crates. “This is all you’re leaving with.”

“We paid the whole amount!” the captain snarled. “That’s extortion!”

“…and if you lie to Kaidou about where the rest of the merch is, I’ll let him know exactly where everything is and why.”

“Please, Corazón, forgive him,” the first mate implored. “He is of no importance to us… to our organizations.”

“Like hell I am!” the captain snapped. He turned towards the first mate only for a knife to find its way between his ribs. Blood gurgled from his lips and he slumped to the floor, dead. The first mate wiped his blade with the corpse’s cape and turned back towards the Corazón.

“As I said: he is of no importance. Please reconsider.”

She snapped her fingers again and the toys reluctantly resumed their work, the task of tidying up the fresh corpse now added to their load.

“Many men are lost at sea, especially in the currents around Wano; I wish your promotion had been under better circumstances,” Corazón nodded. The new captain returned the nod—their additional contract was now sealed despite not even being one of words. “Give my regards to Kaidou and his son if you can; I look forward to our next meeting.”

“As you wish, Corazón, ma’am,” the new captain said with a bow. He then turned towards the rest of the crew and began commanding orders as though it had been his job the entire voyage.

The Corazón allowed herself a faint smile.

This… this was power… and she was right to wield it.

Before long, the toys finished loading up the cargo and the Beast Pirates left the underground port. Feeling the weight of the hour, the Corazón went to the lift that brought her to the first floor of the palace, taking a deep breath once she was out in the open air. Fruit trees and flowers filled her nose with what was likely the best scent in the entire world. She meandered in the gardens until she came upon her favorite bench and sat down, looking up at the moon and stars.

“I can smell you,” she said, not taking her eyes away from the sky. Someone nearby scoffed and sat down next to her.

“I wasn’t trying to sneak up on you,” Baby 5 grumbled. She stubbed her cigarette out on the side of the bench and blew out the last of the smoke. “You shouldn’t be out here, Antonia. The night air is bad for you—it’ll make you sick.”

“Superstition,” Corazón chuckled. She looked at the other woman—so much like a sister—and shook her head. “You’re going to ask me to read your humors or recommend a chiropractor next. Maybe that smoking relaxes the vocal chords…”

“Even when you’re joking, you’re always serious,” Baby 5 said. The Corazón took off her mask and stared at it—the design was one to invoke her father, and yet it always made her sad to see. She ran her thumb over the partial starburst that sat under her right eye and felt something was simply off about it. “Maybe if you stopped beating yourself up over it…”

“I had two parents who loved me, and now I can barely remember Dad and Mom is just this fuzzy thing…” She looked at Baby 5 with tears in her eyes. “My strongest memories are from after we landed in Dressrosa. I’m scared I’ll forget them. They’re fading every day…”

“The Young Master won’t allow that,” Baby 5 assured. She let Corazón lean on her, the other woman bending awkwardly in order to rest her forehead on her shoulder. A choked sound escaped the Elite Officer as she tried not to sob, causing Baby 5 to bite her lower lip in an attempt to steel herself.

Donquixote Antonia, Third Corazón of the Donquixote Pirates and Princess of Dressrosa, needed her to be strong, and strong she was going to be.

“Ah, two of my favorite youngsters.” Baby 5 looked—it was Doflamingo sauntering up towards them. “My darling Antonia, you’re late with your brief.”

“Can you let her give it later?” Baby 5 scowled. “She’s not feeling well.”

“Oh…? Should I fetch a doctor…?” His tone was frivolous and dismissive, sparking a fire in the young woman’s gut.

“Girl things—you wouldn’t understand,” she claimed. He held up his hands in surrender before crouching down and sliding his pointer finger beneath Antonia’s chin, turning her head towards him.

“Did the cargo get loaded, at least?”

She nodded.

“Good—I’ll get the rest of the brief tomorrow. We have a busy day ahead of us: all the preparations for the Levely need to be kicked off. Plus the factory needs inspecting.”

“It’s not due until after we return,” Antonia replied. Doflamingo let go of her chin and shrugged.

“While technically-true, I want it done before we go, so that we are not thinking about it. This is going to be a generational Levely and I don’t want us to miss out on anything.”

“Yes, Uncle Doffy,” the young woman muttered. Doflamingo glanced over at Baby 5, noting how pointed her glare was becoming. “Fufufufu… what’s with that look?”

“I need to get her to bed—she’s been working too hard.”

“Suit yourself.” He sauntered off, not sparing them another look, while Baby 5 indeed helped Antonia to her feet. She put the Corazón’s arm around her shoulder and she led her along, bringing her through the castle corridors.

“Bee?” Antonia whispered when they were just outside her room.

“Yeah?”

“What’s wrong with me?”

“The pressures of being Corazón, I’m certain,” she replied. “It would drive anyone mad.” They were now inside Antonia’s room and she let her sit down in a chair. “Do you want me to get you for breakfast?”

“Please. Thank you, Bee.”

“You’re welcome, Nia.”

As Baby 5 entered the corridor, her knees began to feel weak. She shut the door to Antonia’s room and leaned against it, certain that nothing was going to feel right ever again…

…not unless Law came back.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“Alright, so tell us what it is that we’re preparing for.”

Law looked up from his plate and turned his attention to Nami, who was sitting across from him at the table. He swallowed the food that was in his mouth and took a drink of water.

“In terms of what?” he asked. “There’s a lot to cover.”

“The Donquixote Pirates: what are we preparing for? What’s their organization like?”

Law exhaled heavily and frowned. “They’re a pseudo-royal family, who moonlight as underground crime bosses,” he explained. “Doflamingo’s at the top, under him are four Elite Officers, and under them are other, junior-ranking Officers. The man we saw on Punk Hazard was a former Elite Officer.”

“I could tell you he wasn’t Elite,” Zoro grunted. “Who are they? The big ones?”

“Trebol, Pica, Diamante, Corazón, with Doflamingo above them as the Joker,” Law listed, ticking them off on his long fingers. “They act like his Cabinet and Ministers, helping to keep his rule over Dressrosa tight. The first three have been with him from the beginning, the last being more recent an addition.”

“Then the first three must be closest to him,” Robin figured.

“No.” Law shook his head. “That would be the Corazón. It means Heart in Dressrosan—whomever holds the title of Corazón is Joker’s closest confidant. I wouldn’t be able to pick her out of a lineup, unfortunately.”

“A lady~?” Sanji gasped. “I wonder what wonderful Dressrosan beauty is burdened with such a title as Heart?”

“Cool it, love-cook,” Zoro chided. Sanji got ready to kick the swordsman in the face as Zoro reached for his swords, only for Robin to hold them both back.

“A woman like that is dangerous, or have you forgotten the last time you two had a Warlord’s right-hand woman to contend with?” she reminded them. Sanji and Zoro both soured on the idea of fighting and Robin gestured towards Law to continue.

“Her public persona is Princess Antonia of Dressrosa, Doflamingo’s niece and heir,” the surgeon continued. “I’ve tried to get a decent photo of her, but nothing I’ve been able to scrounge up gives me anything identifiable.”

“So then a true family affair,” Brook noted. “It must be something in their bones.”

“Last I checked, Doflamingo didn’t have a niece, so this woman’s true identity is a mystery,” Law frowned. “You’ll be able to tell the other Elite Officers apart—overly-tall men in their forties—but the Corazón? All I can tell is that she’s about a shade over six feet tall and is very dangerous.”

“Doesn’t she have a bounty poster?” Luffy asked, mouth full of meat. “There has to be something; she’s a princess.”

“Unfortunately, she came into the crew after Doflamingo was invited to join the Shichibukai. The best images I’ve been able to get are out of the social section of the newspaper.” Law took some papers from his inner jacket pocket and placed them on the table: old and crinkled bounty posters for Trebol, Pica, and Diamante, along with a newspaper clipping that contained a blurry photo, one figure in motion circled in red. “For being the darling of the nation, she is notoriously difficult to photograph.”

“Verily, we’ll have to ensure we take extra heed when dealing with women in the area, to be safe,” Kin’emon nodded sagely. His face then grew red with blush. “I wonder what sort of beauty she is if she avoids the camera.”

“Probably just someone aiming for the Joker position who wants to balance her rise to her intended reign,” Law scoffed. “I’m sure she’s there for a reason, so we will have to watch our backs until we know exactly what we’re dealing with.”

‘Until I know what poor kid he took in to replace me,’ he thought privately. Law picked up the newspaper clipping and looked at the photo in it for what felt like the thousandth time. Princess Donquixote Antonia of Dressrosa and her lady in-waiting. Whomever the false princess was, it certainly wasn’t Baby 5, as her face was clear in the photograph.

At least he knew that whomever she was, she was going to regret taking on the name Corazón.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Viola did not like waiting.

Ten long years she had been waiting for the justice owed to her family and nation. Ten years she suffered as she worked within the very organization that disgraced her father and threw her niece—only a child!—into the coliseum as a participant, no less. Ten years she watched as Doflamingo made a mockery of everything she was raised on…

Ten years of waiting and she was no closer to her goals.

She was changing behind her dressing screen, listening to Doflamingo as he talked on the transponder snail with the man whom she only knew in whispers and secrets: Trafalgar Law. This man was high on Doflamingo’s Shit List, something that honestly made her immensely proud of him. The more the pretender was upset, the more likely it was he would make a mistake and fall to those who opposed him. She heard the clunk of the call ending and the scrape of his chair against the floor, only to moments later feel his hands against her bare hips and his breath on her neck.

“I’ll be back later,” he purred, lips not quite touching the back of her jaw. He must have been kneeling down or crouching somehow though she did not dare turn around and look. “I have to take care of a little pest problem.”

“Take your time—you know where I’ll be,” she replied.

Viola tried not to grimace as he dug his fingertips into her before letting go, jumping out the open window with a laugh. She finished putting her clothes on and had to actively stop herself from rushing through putting her hair up. The more different she acted, the more suspicious it would look, and while finally so close to progress? It would be foolish to fuck up now. She left the bedroom and made her way down the corridors, knowing precisely who she needed to find.

“Baby 5,” she said coolly, keeping herself level as entered the sparring room. She waited until Baby 5 and Antonia stopped their match, the two women breathing heavily from their hand-to-hand combat training.

“Yeah?”

“I need to speak with you. Now.”

“Let us have another go, Violet,” Antonia smirked. “No Devil Fruits makes this a fun match.”

“It’s urgent.”

Antonia raised an eyebrow. “An emergency? What is it?”

“You should clean up before a meeting is called of the Elite Officers, nena,” Viola replied. Antonia gave a low whistle.

“Sounds intense—we’ll finish this later, germana.” Antonia took her workout bag and left, leaving only Viola and Baby 5 in the sparring room.

“What can’t wait that you have to interrupt us?” Baby 5 frowned as she grabbed her water bottle. Viola waited until after the younger woman had taken a drink and was toweling off her face before she broke the news.

“Law is coming.”

Baby 5 froze, staring slack-jawed at Viola.

“Law…? As in Law-nii…?”

“The very one.” Viola folded her arms across her chest and shifted her weight onto one hip. “Doffy’s headed towards his current location, but I doubt he’s going to find anything except for maybe why Buffalo hasn’t been reporting back.”

“Then it’s a good thing I stayed behind with Nia,” Baby 5 realized. “Who knows?”

“Just you.”

“How much time do you think we have?”

“Knowing how quickly Doffy moves? A few hours before a meeting is called in the Hall of Suites.” She saw the worry in Baby 5’s expression and she sighed heavily. “Don’t worry—we’ll save her. We all will.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“…because if Law’s coming, then that means that our best time to act is almost here, and I am not going to let ten years piss down the drain like Pink’s dignity.”

Baby 5 could only let out a weak chuckle at that—seas, she hoped Viola was right.

[chai-hat-tea]

2022 Evaluation of my Fics

I was tagged by the nicest people @beardyboyzx and @thinlinez to answer a bunch of fic questions. Here goes nothing:

1. Number of stories posted to AO3 this year: 9

2. Word count posted for the year: 55,469

3. Fandoms I wrote for: One Direction

4. Pairings: Larry and Ziam

5. Story with the most:

Kudos: Stranger Coffees

Bookmarks: Stranger Coffees

Comments: Up until now it was Stranger Coffees, but @thinlinez swooped in and changed it to I'm Weaker Without You

6. Work I’m most proud of (and why): 

I like to think it's the latest fic I wrote (I'm Weaker Without You), but I genuinely can't choose. Maybe each story of mine has different reasons attached for my being proud of them. But yeah, even if they suck, I'm proud of all of my fics <3 but I admit I have a very soft spot for My Light and Fix You. They were the most thought-provoking or had the most character development of sorts and I love that.

7. Work I’m least proud of (and why):

Hahaha on a normal day, I can't bring myself to read any of my works because I hate what I've written and can see it could've been so much better than what I've done, so again, I can't choose (yes I'm a terrible decision maker).

8. Share or describe a favourite review you received:

@thinlinez literally made my year by commenting on every chapter of I'm Weaker Without You and letting me know what they think! I was so nervous about this fic because I wrote just over 30k words in a little over 3 weeks and my brain was so fried, I was worried people would find my story pretentious or "trying too hard". Each comment from them was a godsend. :')

And I received comments from @beardyboyzx and @cigsandchampagnethat helped me get better and have faith in my writing, especially when I was at my lowest.

9. A time when writing was really, really hard:

I think writing in general has been really hard for me, especially fanfiction writing because 1) I've never done any story writing before this, and 2) I didn't think I could write any romance. But this month has been the hardest for me. To write 2 stories at the same time with life happening was just wild. I feel so drained out physically and mentally.

10. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you:

I think it would be the first smut scene I ever wrote. I didn't think I had it in me, but I managed to, even if it was really lame.

11. A favourite excerpt of your writing:

It's not a favourite per se, but I love the tenderness of it:

“Where are you lost,  jaan?” Hands wrap around Liam’s frame as he’s gently brought back to the present. He feels a soft kiss on his temple as he takes a deep breath in.

He turns back around to see Zayn smiling at him. He smilingly lifts his head up, Zayn leaning down to kiss him on the mouth.

“Nowhere, mon amour. Was thinking back to the times when I should’ve realised I’m not into girls.” Liam laughs.

Zayn makes a sound. “It’s okay, you were so young. You couldn’t have known, especially because you were around such homophobic people.”

Liam sighs. “I know it was bad, but honestly? I wouldn’t change anything about it. Because all of that led me to you, my dear husband. I would go through all of that and more, if it means I’m with you.” Zayn just kisses him.

Every first with Zayn has been one blissful moment after another. They’ve been through so much together, and he knows it only made them stronger, and more certain in their love for each other.

Zayn opened his studio and handed Liam his heart when he showed Liam his art for the first time. Liam hasn’t dropped it since.

12. How did you grow as a writer this year:

I just grew haha!! I began writing, and that for me is the biggest growth. I know I have soooo much to learn in the world of writing, but I got over my fear to begin, and that in itself is a major growth for me :)

13. How do you hope to grow next year:

I just want to keep writing and have faith that I'm doing well. I just want to improve and get better in any way I can, because writing has been my best outlet and escape.

14. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc):

Comments from @thinlinez, and my friends @beardyboyzxand @cigsandchampagne. Every author in this fandom is a godsend, and I aspire to be half as amazing as all of you.

15. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year:

A bunch actually. The Mane Man was based on me going to a salon (minus all the romance of it) and Fix You is very very very personal.

16. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers:

I'm a baby writer, I'm the last person to be able to give any advice!! But one thing I would say is - WRITE. Write everything you can think of, and read even more than that. Read every genre, every book that you can get your hands on, and talk to fellow writers. You'll learn SO MUCH.

17. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year: 

I have a few ideas in mind, but nothing really concrete. I am considering taking part in more fic fests, so that it motivates me to write plot driven fics instead of just one-shots.

18. Tag some writers whose answers you’d like to read.

I would tag...@twopoppies, @indiaalphawhiskey, @greenfeelings...gosh so many authors I can think of (God these people know I exist now...yikes!! I'm a big big big fan by the way <3)

EDIT - I’m going to be courageous because today seems to be a good day, and tag EVERY author I can remember. @taggiecb @lululawrence @justalarryblog @wabadabadaba @allwaswell16 @jaerie @sadaveniren @beelou @fallinglikethis @panye @phd-mama @hearyouhowling @neondiamond @kingsofeverything @cherrystreet @disgruntledkittenface @crinkle-eyed-boo @marchessa @jacaranda-bloom @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed @jishlerfics @tommokat @zanniscaramouche @thedevilinmybrain @isthatyoularry @mizzwilde @londonfoginacup @mercurial-madhouse @wicked-archer @alivingfire @mediawhorefics and members of @writerscornercafe that I’m clearly forgetting and I’m forgetting many or I don’t know their tumblr urls so yeah

[newgenog]

REVENGE

Notes: This is part four of chapter one. Much more than halfway through, and the parts will be super snack-sized until we get to the end. 😎 If you haven't already done so, please stop and read parts one , two, and three.

This fic is an AU based on the ABC tv series #Revenge. I felt like there were a lot of really cool parallels between the characters, and thought it would be fun to reimagine #Batwoman so that Ryan Wilder had a more deliberate pursuit for vengeance. 

CHAPTER ONE - DECEPTION (Part Four)

Summary: Robyn Wilde, formerly Ryan Wilder, continues to make connections that set the stage for her revenge. Wildmoore Week Prompt: Night Club

1 DAY BEFORE MEMORIAL DAY: SUNDAY, 10:00 AM

Kate Kane walks into The Hold Up before it’s opened. 

Jordan: “Your girlfriend’s here.”

Sophie: “I don’t have a…oh.” 

Kate approaches the bar, where Sophie is looking through a binder.

Kate: “Don’t look so happy to see me.” 

Sophie: “Just surprised. It’s usually Luke.” 

Kate: “He’s off today.” 

Sophie: “Good to know you give him days off.” 

Kate: “I’m not a villain, Sophie.” 

Sophie finally peels her eyes away from her binder, exasperated, and gives Kate the attention she came for.

Sophie: “What’s up?”

Kate: “You didn’t RSVP.” 

Sophie: “Huh?”

Kate: “The invitation? That Luke left…”

Sophie had forgotten she tucked the envelope in the back of her binder. She quickly flips to the back cover, and pulls it out of the sleeve. It hadn’t even been opened.

Sophie: “I’m sorry. It’s been so crazy around here…” 

Kate: “It’s a ticket to my parents’ Memorial Day Soiree on Monday.”

Sophie: “Oh, yeah… Mary actually begged me to keep her company at it, yesterday. So, I guess I’ll be there.”

She slides the unopened letter back over to Kate, indicating that she already has her ticket. It's possible that the envelope contains more than a ticket, but Sophie is okay with never knowing the answer to that. Kate seems to take the hint, at least for now.

Kate: “One more thing… You know I never charge your mom late fees, but she’s technically behind two months on the rent. I’m not sure how much longer my parents are going to let me keep this building if they feel like it’s losing money.” 

Sophie: “Aren’t losses a good thing when you run businesses?”

Kate: “We have enough of those for taxes. We got out of the real estate business a while ago, and this is the only one we keep, in part because I know what it means for your family. So, if there’s anything you can do to help me out…” 

Sophie: “That’s why I’m here, Kate. I’m trying to figure it out.”

Kate: “I know, and I’m sorry. I’ll let you get back to it. See you tomorrow.”

Sophie returns to her binder, appearing even more distant than before, and Kate about faces, making her way towards the exit, with the invitation in-hand.

7 YEARS AGO: POINT ROCK Kate was straddling her motor cycle with her helmet in her lap, and her bag wrapped up behind her when Sophie arrived. She’d texted Sophie to meet her out front. A few hours prior, she’d overheard some other cadets joking about how they thought Kate wanted to be one of the guys, and how they could show her how to be a woman. One said all he needed was one drink with her at a night club to turn her back right. She’d defended herself, and started an argument with them. Of course, she was reprimanded for instigating the situation. She felt the guys also should have been held accountable for harassment, but that would have required the Sergeant to acknowledge what was being said about Kate was unacceptable.  Kate: “I’ve got to get out of here.” Sophie: “What? We’re so close to graduation. Why do you even let the things those guys say get to you? They don’t matter!” 

Kate: “Sophie, I have never been closeted in my entire life. I want to be with you, but not like this. If you want to be with me too, I think you should come with me.”  Per usual, Sophie and Kate had lived completely opposite lives, and this was just another example of that. In the beginning, it was fun to sneak around. She’d noticed Kate noticing her, and she’d never had the chance to just let go and explore those feelings. When Kate finally approached her one day, she just went with it, and let herself feel what she was feeling.  But they were so different. Being gay in an organization that preferred not to recognize the existence of queer people was easier to get through if you weren’t doing it alone. But that was really the extent to which they had anything in common. And beyond having someone to take comfort in, and know your secret, they spent so much time disagreeing on things, it wasn’t actually that hard to convince people they didn’t get along.  Sophie: “That doesn’t make any sense, Kate. Why would you stay this long just to leave before you make it to the end?” Kate: “Everyone has their limit. I’m tired of hiding parts of myself, and feeling unwelcome here.” Sophie: “You’re at the top of the class, and everyone loves you. What are you even saying?”

Kate: “They love the version of me they’ve convinced themselves I am. They don’t even know me. Only you do.” Sophie: “No, you know what? That you can even ask me to walk away from this after I’ve invested so much, and you know what I have to go back to - you talk about them not knowing you, but do you even know me?”  Kate: “I know you’re better than these people. They don’t deserve you.”  Sophie: “I’m not doing this for them. I’m doing it for me, and my future. And if you don’t get the difference - that you have the privilege of walking away from something that you chose to do out of convenience and just happen to be great at, because you can be anything you want when you get home…and that I’ve had to give my all to even be seen standing next to you…Maybe it is best if you do go.”  Kate: “Are you serious right now? You want me to leave?” Sophie: “I don’t want you to do anything. What you decide to do is none of my business.” Kate: “Don’t be that way.”  Kate tried to reach out for Sophie’s hand, but Sophie wouldn’t take it. She realized that she’d been holding onto this relationship as some sort of safety net that she didn’t need. Kate wasn’t going to be who caught her if she fell. If Sophie fell, she’d pick herself up, just like she always did. 

~~~~~

To be continued...

Usual Reminders: I'm sharing these parts of chapter one of Revenge on Tumblr for @wildmooreweek. 2-ish more parts to go after this, and then the whole thing gets added to Ao3, so you can re-read it congruently, in one place (and comment, and such). And, I'll probably continue in this fashion for the length of the story (accept not updating daily; probably more like weekly).

All #Batwoman things I do are also in the name of #SaveBatwoman. Go follow all the social handles and support the cause, please.

[a-swiss-and-a-spaniard]

Twenty Questions for Fic Writers

Thanks for thinking of me @yoellglia ! I had fun reading your answers and even more so trying to answer myself :)

1. How many works do you have on A03?

Jeez, should I consider both of my accounts? Let's do it, why not.

I have 12 fics in total. 7 for Tennis RPF and 5 for the DC Universe.

2. What's your total A03 word count?

37,211 words combined. Ngl, I thought it would be less than that as there are only two multi-chaptered fics and the rest are one-shots. Hopefully, I'll add some more words in the upcoming months :)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently, I only write Tennis RPF. I've been toying with a few ideas for the Good Omens fandom, but I haven't opened a new doc yet. And I used to write for the DC Universe, but I haven't done that in ages.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

(I’m gonna keep this Tennis RPF only bc this blog is tennis themed)

Waking in the Night Light: Fedal share their first kiss in a parking lot.

A New Target: Fedal have sex in the locker room.

Moonlight in Paris: Rafa goes to Roger's hotel room.

Strawberry & Dulce de Leche: Roger and Rafa get ice cream.

Somewhere or Other: Fedal phone call.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes yes yes! At least I try to. Although more often than not I get the notification, reply in my head, then forget to actually write back, and I'm too embarrassed to answer if more than a week has gone by… so apologies for that. That doesn't mean I don’t appreciate every single comment I have ever gotten, they always make my day in fact.

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

Mmh… perhaps Moonlight in Paris. It's not angst per se but it does have an overall sense of uncertainty.

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

Strawberry & Dulce de Leche, definitely. Rafa's joy at the possibility of Roger going to his birthday party is everything.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No, thankfully. I’m glad I haven't unlocked that side of fandom yet.

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

I do, but I consider myself a newbie at it (smut writers, pls teach me your ways).

Generally speaking, I prefer it when smut has a little plot. It doesn't have to be anything complicated or serious, I just need a bit of a story behind what's happening for it to feel more organic. I also like it when the focus is on the emotional aspect of it, though descriptive can be nice as well. And I don't mind wordy smut as longs as it doesn't mess with the flow.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Nope, and I'm not a big fan of those tbh

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Story time! Yes 💀 Although it wasn't the whole thing, just a fragment. The fic in question was None but the Lonely Heart for the DCEU. And I only found out bc a lovely person left a comment on my fic, letting me know what had happened and the link to the other fic. I checked and the writer had indeed literally copied and pasted one of my scenes, they'd just changed the names of the characters. So I reached out to the AO3 team and they took care of everything.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No

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

No. Stef and I had an idea for a Fedal fic, but who knows if we'll ever get to actually write it lol

14. What's your all time favourite ship?

I don't think I have one, really. I would say my main ones/the ones I keep coming back to are Fedal (Roger Federer/Rafael Nadal) and Superbat (Superman/Batman). Though right now I've been reading almost exclusively Ineffable Husbands (Aziraphale/Crowley), so it mostly depends on my hyperfixation at the time

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

Oof, that might be a Superbat (long) fic set post BvS, where resurrected Clark has lost his powers (and the sun seems to actually make him sick now), so Bruce helps him to get back on his feet and of course they fall in love in the process. I have the whole thing outlined, sheets of dialogues and a couple of scenes already fleshed out, but I took a break from the fandom bc it was draining me out. Idk, maybe one day I'll get back to it. I mean, never say never and all that, but it's looking highly improbable right now

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think I'm good at setting the tone of scenes, be it fluffy, angsty, whatever.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I tend to write in long, long sentences. Seriously, you should see my drafts, sometimes a whole paragraph can be a single sentence. I don't know if it's due to my Spanish hard-wired brain or what, but I’m working on breaking things up a bit more.

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

I love it! But you need to make sure readers will still get the message through context, so I think it's best to stick to single words and/or common phrases. Unless, of course, you want to leave your character (and thus your readers) feeling confused.

I do it often when I’m writing Rafa and it's part of the reason I love writing him so much.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

DC Universe

20. Favourite fic you've written?

Tough question… can I say an unpublished one? I have this sort of introspection/character study of Domi, his struggles coming back on tour after the wrist injury and dealing with all the ups and downs. There's not a story to it per se, like I'm not trying to get him from A to B. It's just a dive into his mind, where it gets kinda dark real quick, and it's unlike what I usually go for in tennis fics (fluff), so I've been enjoying the challenge of getting out of my comfort zone there

[lalaurelia]

2022 Fic in Review

So I do this every year, and it’s kinda fun? So I’m doing this again for the stories I’ve written this year. I won’t be counting a collab though, since I never do, and my stats are a mess because I’ve transferred my Russian-language works to AO3 this year, but I will be counting them. I think. We’ll see if it takes xD

total number of completed stories: 9 total, +1 collab. It wasn’t a good year for writing, I’m afraid. Hopefully I’ll be able to make 2023 a better one.

total word count: 16266 words. I’ve added a lot of words to WIPs though, I think about 17K extra. The focus this year was what game designers call MVP, minimum viable product. I just wanted to get the stories finished - so they were mostly uncomplicated and short. Wow. I haven’t been writing short things for a very long time.

fandoms written in: Gotham and Gobblepot, baby, these things don’t change XD

looking back, did you expect to write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d expected? I always, always expect to write more. But considering all the shit that’s been happening this year, I think I wrote more than I expected to do. I feared I wouldn’t be able to write a single fic.

what’s your own favorite story of the year? This is unexpectedly hard? I like practically all of them this year? I guess I’ll choose the one I finished the year with, In the dark. It was a lot of experiments, and it was really exciting to try all those things.

did you take any writing risks this year? Yeah, I’ve been trying to get used to experimenting with my writing styles and options more, because I desperately wanted to see progress somewhere. And this was my progress. The first experiment was The Crown and the Shield, my first-ever second person story, and the other one was In the dark, mentioned above. I feel that trying to write in the way that’s unfamiliar to me helps me get rid of a number of my usual hangups I stumble over when writing.

do you have any fanfic or profit goals for the new year? Finish at least one WIP. Write a fic for each month. I hope I’ll manage at least some of that XD

best story of the year? In the dark XD Okay, okay. I do think it’s Mango Daiquiri this time around. It’s both subtle and not, which I find enjoyable.

most popular story of the year? AO3 stats to the rescue! Apparently, it’s Drunk on You, which is cool, I loved writing it. It also helps that it was written in the beginning of the year.

story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: The Crown and the Shield could use a little more love, but I know that readers will always read what they want to read. If it’s not a story I’ve written, or not the one I want them to love, well. It’s okay. I love my fics regardless XD

most fun story to write: You know, I’ll name Trick, or... because I didn’t really expect to whip up a Halloween-themed story on short notice, but then I hit a stride and it turned out pretty fun.

story with the single sexiest moment: In the dark, hands down. I haven’t been writing many explicit stories this year though. But I still think it’s the sexiest one for all the stuff that’s going on in Jim’s head and then out of it~

sweetest story: I have trouble writing fluff, so I just want to give Sweet Morning an honourable mention.

“holy crap, thats wrong, even for you!” story: I just don’t think this way when it comes to stories. In fiction, anything goes. The only thing I got hang up on this year is ‘maybe there are too many kinks per paragraph in this one’, but then again, why the hell not have as many kinks as you want XD

story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters & most unintentionally telling story: Can’t go into details, it’s a WIP. Yes, there are still depths to find out about my fave boys. Sometimes they’re not quite what you expect them to be.

hardest story to write: Another WIP. I struggled with it a lot, some parts of it flowed, some were set on stalling. I’ve hit yet another snag in it recently. Ugh. I’ll get through it, but I have the urge to whine about it too lol

biggest disappointment: I don’t think I have disappointments this year when it comes to my stories. That’s a nice thought. Writing was a solace for me this year, so... yeah. The disappointments are all external.

biggest surprise: How deeply satisfying the writing experiments are. It’s like opening a window that’s been closed for months and getting some more light and air into your space. That’s why I want to try doing more experiments from time to time.

Tagging, if you want to do a fic review of your own: @birdwatching-goesbothways, @killerrabbitofcaerbannog, @whatwould-misha-do, @stardustloki and anyone else who wants to try this~

[hepatosaurus]

2022 AO3 Wrapped!

Last year, inspired by some people on discord, I decided to actually track my fic reading for once. I’ve been logging my books and movies for a good 20 years now, so why not try that with fic? I hoped it might help me comment more too, or at least get a sort of baseline number that I could improve on. So, after crunching the numbers: I read 110 fics and 1,188,700 words across 15 fandoms (...more on that last point later)! It was a fun experiment that I’ll definitely do again, with some tweaks. Please forgive any weird numbers/percentages; I haven’t taken a math class in manymany years, and it probably (definitely?) shows. The vibes are accurate, at least.

(I posted an earlier (and shorter) version of this on twitter, but wanted to archive it here too for posterity’s sake because...twitter.)

Word count

This is about what I expected, though I was surprised to see that I only read one 50-100k fic (only one 100k+ fic too, but that doesn’t surprise me at all). I finished up a couple long(er) fic in January (notably, one 200k+ fic), hence the high numbers there, and only read one (1!) fic in July, which explains those low numbers. Otherwise I generally read between 50-100k total per month.

More details behind the cut, aka god damn girl, you sure know what you like and stick with it, huh. (I really hope this text cut works...)

Top Fandoms

So, about those 15 fandoms. I really did think I might have more variety back in January - like maybe I’d be able to chart fandom trends over the months, something like that! - but lol nope. My FE3H fixation is still going strong, three years later. I’ll get to those Witch Hat Atelier and Stranger Things fics in my Marked for Later pile...eventually.

Top Authors

110 fics, 80 authors! There were definitely some repeat offenders: merionettes! desmodus! notallbees! printers_devil! epistrophic! nebulia! No names in the pie chart, but look at those pretty colors. You're all stars.

Top Pairings

No real surprises here. I’ve been in sylvix hell since early 2020 so I knew they’d dominate, but there’s an okay showing from...other Sylvain ships...and gen! and Claude ships! Hi Claude! (Graph cuts off at 20 for my sanity.)

Top Characters

Ha. ha ha ha ha ha ha. Surprise! Listen: I knew Sylvain would be #1, I’m not an idiot. However I did NOT realize he featured in 60% of the fic I read in 2022, jeeeesus christ man. (He’s versatile, okay!!!) Chief Blorbo aside, my Blue Lions/Golden Deer bias persists. Maybe in 2023 I'll read all those Black Eagles fics I saved? Or fic from other fandoms?? (Again, chart cut off at 20 for sanity.)

Tags, Tropes, and Ratings

Looks like I sure read a lot of horny post-canon friends-to-lovers get-together fics with a good dose of pining, huh. That...tracks. Regarding AUs, modern AUs won (14.8%), followed by college/university, canon divergent, and modern with magic. Also fun: figure skating! magical girls! rock band! time loops!

I definitely need to rethink how I track nsfw content though - it’s very inconsistent and redundant here, and doesn’t really tell me anything. The explicit rating is self explanatory, but what’s the deal with those different NSFW and smut numbers? Where did I draw the line? It probably make more sense to scrap the latter tag and just track PWPs.

Etc: Commenting, Rereading, Reccing, and Bookmarks

Commenting: I mentioned earlier that I hoped logging my fic reading would help me comment more, or at least find out how frequently I leave comments, and turns out that number is 46/110, or 41.8%. (Mer reminded me that this number does NOT include alpha reader comments, which is very true. ✨⛸️) Not bad, but I think 50% (or more?) is definitely doable next year. This whole practice really did help me comment more - it made me stop and think about exactly what I did or didn’t like about each fic I read, from <1k vignettes to 200k+ canon retellings. Obviously I’m not telling the authors what I didn’t like, but as for the good stuff...like, I found a lot of compliments hidden in the Comments/Notes field of my spreadsheet that never actually made it to a proper comment, but they definitely could have. I’m never gonna be a person who comments on everything, and I’m NOT going to lie and tell an author that I liked their fic when I really...didn’t? but: 50%. I think I can do that.

(also I cannot emphasize enough how great it was to have a completely private space to bitch about terrible (or not-so-terrible) fanfic. does this fic use too many repetitive epithets? does that author NOT understand Character Y at ALL? was the resolution to this otherwise decent fic just a liiiittle too rushed? tell it to the google form!!! A+ would recommend.)

Rereads: As expected! I don’t reread a ton, with some exceptions. (Honestly a lot of my non-FE fics this year were rereads of old favorites.)

Bookmarks: Without double-checking, I think I bookmarked fewer fics compared to previous years, mostly because I was already keeping track of them in my spreadsheet. I’d like to get a little better at consciously bookmarking fic going forward, though - it’s really handy to have a public, easily accessible list of my faves. (I also say this as someone who frequently raids the public bookmarks of other commenters/authors/etc.)

Recs: 46.4% “yes”! interesting. Only one hard no, and that was partially my fault for not reading tags/warnings correctly.

In an ideal world I’d have some actual fic recs here too, but that...did not happen.

Overall!

This was a fun and very satisfying experiment, especially as someone who loves tracking things. I know a lot of people hate the idea of having an actual/official AO3 Wrapped, and honestly I wouldn’t like that either, but it was fun to actively (and manually) subject myself to this particular Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known Through Fanfic Tropes. I DO think it made me read fic a little more...deliberately? And therefore I read a little less fic than normal, maybe. I noticed that I hardly dropped any fic at all, either because I was more picky with what I read or I just powered through, and I don’t think that was the case in previous years. There was also a tiny bit of pressure at the beginning to start off the year with the “right” fic. Like, “oh god is my first fic of the year seriously going to be this unfinished 2nd person, woke-up-with-the-wrong-junk CYOA in which Claude and Lorenz investigate fuckplants and discover the true meaning of friendship.” (for the record, it was not my first fic of the year, but I DO recommend it.)

God this is long. One benefit of twitter is that it doesn’t allow me to ramble on like this, but oh well, that’s what you get. I really, really hope the cut tag worked.

[bleachbleachbleach]

2022/2023 Fandom Goals!

At the end of last year I set out to accomplish what then appeared to be achievable fandom goals for 2022. 

WERE THEY, THOUGH. WERE THEY. 

Let’s see:

2022 Goals (Review)

1. be more shameless on Tumblr - I’m pretty sure I’ve gotten at least a little better about this, though I guess it depends on the day. Posting things on the Internet causes me anguish, and I consider doing so an intentional conditioning process. All the same, I would still like to feel less anguish. But I also don’t want to be actively annoying or boring and simply be *unanguished* about it, LOL, and therein lies my hangup.

2. stop damning reblogs to Draft Purgatory - I have been very good about this this year! Browser tabs purgatory, on the other hand…

3. prioritize accessible joy - This one was about not abandoning Tumblr for months at a time, and I feel like I’ve actually improved here and merely abandoning Tumblr for 1-2 weeks at a time. One thing that was way more helpful than it had any business being was making a special "mini dash" that just has blogs that primarily post original Bleach content and/or mutuals who are friends, so that if I get overwhelmed I can jump ship and use that dash for a while instead, and still get to see a lot of my favorite things. I say this like my normal dash isn’t mostly Bleach and like I follow a zillion active blogs. I do not. That’s why it’s ridiculous that my mini dash is as great for me as it is. XD 

4. finish reading the Soul Society arc - I am on… Chapter 68 LOL, and Ichigo has not yet so much as entered Soul Society. Making progress on this re-read is challenging because there are a lot of ways to enjoy Bleach and this reread is the only one that’s not a moving target—the manga’s not going anywhere; I’m not going to 'fall behind' if I don’t read it—and I have a regrettably limited amount of Bleach time. But I think I’ve become more confident in my reading/ability to search stackexchange and read about grammar, so I am still enjoying this!

5. write my fanfic - I wish I had done more of this, but this was a Year—a huge number of moving pieces IRL. I think last year I had written like… 10k of this fanfic? And now I have probably 20-30k, and most of that original 10k got scrapped. This fic has done a lot of shape-taking this year, which is very good. I had these grand plans of finishing two full chapters (Akon and Matsumoto 5) by the end of the year, which I have modified to finishing one chapter. I have *one scene left* but I think it’s probably in the Top 5 of Scenes in This Fic That I Already Know Are Going to be Hard to Write, and I’ve already written and deleted it once. There were so many bugs in the deleted version, so many bugs for absolutely no reason. I don’t know what the scene will ultimately look like, but I can assure you you’d never guess what scene used to Have Bugs, because there is so little reason there should have been bugs.

2023 Goals

1. Write my fanfic! For the sake of SMART goals, let’s say at least 1 line per day, every single day. Come March I will have been writing this for two years and WHAT do I have to show for it.

2. No more tabs purgatory! I don’t know how obvious B3’s posting habits are to others—but for my part of the equation, I tend to be That Person who reblogs 15 long textposts and adds 90 tags to everything, all the span of the same 2-hour block. I don’t think this is actually a good way of using Tumblr and I’d prefer to… not do that. XP And to find ways of being more with the flow of the dash. 

This is mostly me needing to carve out better interstitial space for fun time, because I want this for my own pleasure and I also because I want the OP to know how VERY EXCITED I AM TO SEE IT and tabs purgatory feels like the opposite of being able to do that. SMART goal? Uhhh don’t let tabs languish for more than a week?

3. Make space for fandom, and for fandom things that give me most joy. Again, this is part of a broader life assessment that in a better world would boil down to "working less" but in this world is not accessible if I want to continue being employed. So I’ll settle for being extremely intentional about how I spend my free time, and by consciously thinking about ways to create the kinds of interactions I most enjoy. That sounds very cerebral but I promise I just mean things like "that meme where I asked people to send in random stuff they loved about their Bleach faves was super fun I should do that again sometime" and "try to make friends" and "talk about fanfic with people” and “make progress on that bleach reread occasionally.”

4. Be more shameless on Tumblr. YEAH I have no strategies here, but I’m gonna keep this one on the list.

[ifridiot]

I posted 8,089 times in 2022

70 posts created (1%)

8,019 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@wambin

@tabakabhangigkeit

@jawnwicks

@grassfire

@rainbow-smite

I tagged 442 of my posts in 2022

#tagged for me - 27 posts

#luce writes - 23 posts

#tyler bait - 13 posts

#frank castle - 10 posts

#uuu - 10 posts

#wade wilson - 10 posts

#cable - 9 posts

#nathan summers - 9 posts

#cablepool - 8 posts

#deadpool - 8 posts

Longest Tag: 129 characters

#or they tell you you're remembering your own life wrong because the story you tell 'couldn't have happened to a child that young'

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I believe with all my heart that he can do this

29 notes - Posted August 5, 2022

#4

For the mini fic: Cablepool, with the prompt 'noise'

Noise

There's a noise Cable makes when Wade does something just right, and call Wade a sucker, but he can't get enough of it.

It's not (shockingly) a sex thing. Or at least, not strictly. Wade can get Nate to make the sound when they're in bed (or on Nate's couch, or in the kitchen, or wherever else clothes happen to come off), but it's just as likely to happen elsewhere.

It's an approval sound, low and throaty, somewhere between a grunt and a hum. With Nate's growly Charlton Heston voice, it's a sexy sound, even when the moment isn't right for sexy things.

Just a little sound, soft even, but Wade loves it. He finds himself, on his best behaviour – or at least his most useful behaviour – going out of his way to make it happen.

39 notes - Posted July 31, 2022

#3

Cash-strapped sexy writer seeks YOUR wallet TODAY!

Home repairs are hell and I’m trying to get out from under a doozy of a bill I’ve had to put on credit. If I can pay my tab before April 30th 2023, I won't owe any interest, which would be rad. Unfortunately, disability pays like shit. SO.

Would you like to buy a series of commissions? Now's your chance. How about a backstory for your new OC? Wham. Want to read some niche porn? I've gotcha there too.

What’s on offer:

Original fiction (includes erotica) – 10c per word

Fanfiction (includes erotica) – 5c per word

Editing (fiction, non fiction, essays) – 5c per word

Copy writing for websites, flyers, etc. – 10c per word

I’m willing to write for basically any fandom, or even OCs if you provide me with character details. However, if you want me to do lots of research (watch a show, read a book, study a wiki about your obscure fave), I have to charge for my time.

Opening five slots a month, starting today!

OCTOBER

1. TAKEN

2.

3. 

4.

5.

Examples of my writing are HERE

Venmo (@Ifridiot) or PayPal accepted

GOAL: 000/ 375 month

TARGET AMOUNT: 1081/$3000 by April 2023

170 notes - Posted August 2, 2022

#2

Hey all, so I finally found a good therapist who doesn’t think that lupus can be cured with positive vibes and veggies, and although he’s only charging me 40$ a session, I’ve now got to find an extra $160 a month on top of the utilities, student loans and the other fun shit that I barely meet each month. I also need to get my cat groomed and vaccinated this or next month, which was planned for until the electric company decided to double my usual bill.

I’m a disabled trans writer. I write gay erotica, angst, and monster fucking, both in fanfic and original work. I’m willing to write for most any fandom, or even OCs if you can provide me with character and plot detail. However, if I’m being asked to do extensive research (watch a show, read a book, study a wiki about your obscure fave, learn the nuance of your OC), I will need to be compensated for time.

I’m doing at least 500 words per $12 spent. This means you are GUARANTEED 500 words, but likely will get something more like 750. The more money you spend, the more words I write you. Spend more, get more words, easy peasy. Max commission at this point is 5000 words guaranteed ($120).

 Please talk to me first before paying for a commission, in case what you want is something I can’t or won’t write. Hard no’s include but are not limited to: incest, bigoted anything (no racism, trans/homophobia, ableism), gratuitous violence against animals or minors, pedophilia.

Email me (fixyouupnice @ gmail) or send an ask to discuss what you’d like written.

I’m currently opening six (6) slots to start!

1. @eritela

2. @formlessvoidbeast

3. @eritela again

4.

5.

6.

If you can’t donate or don’t want to commission, please help by reblogging.

Paypal is HERE

Examples of my writing are HERE

UPDATE: the electric bill has been paid! I'm still working on the medical debt. Unfortunately, I just got stuck with another 500$ bill on top of the 230$ I owe for various blood tests and imaging stuff. Help is still very much needed and appreciated!

387/730$

407 notes - Posted January 8, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Nobody's stopping you from taking 4 tablespoons of butter, melting it in a pot, and adding two tablespoons of minced garlic. Nobody's stopping you from letting that garlic saute for like two minutes, or from then adding in two tablespoons of shaved parmesan. And nobody will stop you from stirring half a pound of al dented pasta into that buttery mess, cracking some pepper over it, and feasting on the garlicky spoils gained from such labours.

Nobody's stopping you. The cops can't even arrest you for it.

33,223 notes - Posted May 8, 2022

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