#like truly i love him. and it makes fanfiction writing for his pov VERY fun but kind of maddening.

[moonshynecybin]

I know we have 0 proof and all assumptions but what do you think Vale s true self is like

like this

[aesthetic-gamersnail]

A Nightmare (Trolls, Broppy fanfic, oneshot)

I have been thinking about and cooking up my Brozone therapy fanfiction, but I also wanted to write and think about something else for a change. (They have quite occupied my mind) So, I present to you an angsty Broppy fanfic with a happy ending. It takes place somewhen after TWT, but it is not really relevant to the plot (except that Poppy and Branch are already dating). And it is all written in Poppy's POV. I have only written two fanfics before this one (and I'm not even sure these count as fanfics), so please don't be too harsh on me. But I still would love to hear your constructive criticism and personal opinions, therefore feedback is very welcome (I want to grow as a writer and in my creativity in general) With all the things said, I hope you have fun and you like it :) ----------------------------------------------------

It was a nice sunny day. Poppy was in her pod sitting on a couch. With both of her feet up and her scrapbook material in her lap, she hummed to herself satisfied while doing her most favorite activity: scrapbooking. Right beside her sitting was Branch who was occupied with reading a book. The book was called 'Effi Briest'. She asked Branch once what the book was about and he said it was about a girl who at a young age married a baron. They have a child together but because she was unhappy with her marriage, did not feel respected by the baron and was generally not happy with their current situation, she had an affair with the major, one of the baron's friends, but immediately regretted it and stopped seeing him when they moved to a different place. Years later, with their marriage actually already improved over the years, the baron finds out about the affair and kills the major in a duel. Effi is divorced, loses the custody to her child and is exiled from society. At the end she dies at the age of 29 in her childhood home. She asked him why he would read something so sad. At that he pouted and said that first of all it is classic and a 'poetic realism novel' (whatever that is supposed to mean) and second of all it is a book that reaches deep within what the construct of society really is and how it influences our morals and understandings of the world. She nodded at that but still did not quite understand why he would specifically want to read that story. She would rather read something at least with a happy ending. But when she sees how at peace with himself he seems when reading this book, she can't really complain. He is truly one of a kind.

Before them was a coffee table, with two mugs and a tea pot. They both decided on peppermint tea, because he thought that berry tea was too sweet and she thought green tea was too bitter. She put her scissors down for a while and took one of the mugs into her hand. She took a sip of the warm, minty beverage and took her surroundings in. She looked at her pink walls, the sunny world outside her window and her boyfriend besides her on the couch. Wow, boyfriend. To her this thing was still pretty new - and terrifying. She never has had a serious relationship before, and she did not think about having one in her future because she almost always only thought about her responsibilities as queen. But now, it was impossible to think about a future and Branch not being there. He was her other part that complimented her and she hoped she was that to him too. You may say, he was her ying to her yang - or the butter to her cookies- well, of course you could make cookies without the butter, there are substitutes out there - getting off track here, Poppy. The point is: he slipped into her life and without her noticing he became the most important part of it. With his stupid cute ears, that were moving to the slightest sounds, but also sometimes exposing his true feelings. His giggling that was the softest she has ever heard. His ramblings about various topics that she would listen too, even though she did not always understand all of the things he talked about, she was curious to know what he was interested in. And he would do the same for her. And the way he would sometimes hold her hand while brushing his thumb over it, made her ecstatic. And she knew she could always be honest with him and she could trust and depend on him, because he was always honest to her.

Before that it was sometimes pretty lonely. It is not like she did not trust her friends and didn't enjoy their company, but people do not always feel inquired to be honest to someone who will be or is a queen, even if that said person is in the wrong. But Branch was never that way. Whenever he thought she was in the wrong, he would always tell her. She may have not appreciated that many times before and may also not have listened to him which she is not very proud of. But now she really, really appreciates it. She needed that. And it took some stress off her shoulders, because there was now always a person who really got her back. Who would tell her if she is going way out of her head or making the wrong decision. She could really trust him. And she felt understood.

And besides that she really loved him. And that scared her. Because by now he was just - Branch. He was irreplaceable. And she didn't know how she would deal with it if something were to happen to him. She shook her head. Nope, noooo, happy thoughts, happy thoughts. What is she getting all sad about? Everything is fine. He is here with his kinda sad book and he is fine. Why is she thinking about such negative things? At that she sighed. Branch turned his head to her and asked: "Hey, everything's alright?" She smiled at him: "Yes, everything is fine. Just-" she looked at the book in his hand "How many times have you already read this book? I mean you summarized the whole plot to me in a few seconds." "Oh. Well, I guess like, augh, the sixth time by now?" "WHAT? Are you obsessed with this book? Because that is honestly some excessive reading." "I guess it is one of my favorites, but to be honest, I have a lot of books I have read more that a few times. If you have a lot of time alone, you find various ways to spend it. But, actually, what I have been wondering about, what is your favorite book?" "My favorite book?" She had to think about it. And contemplate if she should actually tell him.

"....Promise you won't laugh?" "Sure, cross my heart and hope to die." "...Ok, I don't want you to die, so you better keep the promise. I know it is actually a children's book but I always quite enjoyed 'Alice in Wonderland'." He looked at her, thought about it and nodded. "Literary nonsense, huh.", he said, "...Yeah, that suits you." "Um", she was a little offended, "excuse me, but what exactly are you calling literary nonsense?" "What? Oh! No, no", he waved his hand, while shaking his head and laughing, " 'Literary nonsense' is a genre. It breaks common rules, violates proven things and norms of language. It is largely absurd and a game with language. Nevertheless, the genre is not pointless and cannot be dismissed as simple nonsense or jokes. Because nonsense is not only funny or satirical, but also follows certain rules or sequences. And I thought to my self, that it makes sense that you would enjoy this type of literature."

"....Wow", she smirked at him, "You are one big literature nerd." "At least, I'm not a scrapbooking nerd.", he put his hands to one his cheeks, while closing his eyes and speaking in a way too high pitched voice,"Braaanch, do you know which glue is the best fit to put a scrapbook together? Braaanch, do you know which materials are the coziest to put into a scrapbook? Here are the top five." She had to giggle. "I do not sound like that." "Are you suuuree?", he said while instensely blinking at her. "Hey! Stop that!", she scooched closer to him and took one of his hands into her own. "You", she pointed a finger at him while smiling," are such a dork. I sometimes can't believe that you are the most serious guy I know." He smirked at her. "Well, I just find the middle ground. Guess I am the perfect man after all." "Yeah, yeah, sure. Throw narcissism in there too, if you're at it." "Poppy, you are, augh," he put his free hand over his heart, "too cruel. How can you do that to the person you love?" "Well, honesty is the best policy." He chuckled and said: "Can't argue with that." Poppy looked him in the face and had to keep herself under control. Why, for the love of god, was he so cute? And have the bluest eyes in the world? Argh! It was making her mad for no reason. "By the way,", said Branch while smiling at her, "your dad invited us to go fishing later." "Oh, that sounds very nice." " I do have to ask though." "What is it?", she said it while smiling back at him and squeezing his hand. "Is the sky bleeding?"

Suddenly everything went red. The sky was not baby blue anymore, it was a dark red and the clouds were moving at an indescribable pace. The warmth in her hand was gone too and she looked at the couch. Branch was gone. She stood up franticly and looked around but he was nowhere to be found. "Branch? Branchifer? Sweetie? Where are you?!" Her heartbeat was increasing rapidly and her breathing became irregular. Her sight was getting foggier and foggier and it became harder to breath by the minute. Her thoughts were scrambled, she couldn't form a single sentence in her head. Her whole body was filled with a sense of dread and she was ready to collapse any minute. Breathing pained and with the last shaky breath she took, she woke up.

She had to blink a few times to understand, that the whole thing was just dream. She looked outside her window and saw that the sun was already coming down. She was on her couch with Branch resting on one of her shoulders, cuddled up to her and holding her hand while slightly snoring. She remembered now that they were talking about literature before and were just giggling and messing around but it seems at some point, they have both fallen asleep. Her mind must have taken that and mixed reality with her dream world to create the nightmare she just had. She sighed relieved and cuddled her cheek into Branch's soft hair and melted into his warmth. Thank god, it was only a dream. And that Branch was right here by her side too, so that she was reassured that he was ok. Guess she was more scared of losing him than she thought. But, it would be alright. Because she would always be there for him and be by his side. No matter what.

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

So, we have come to the end. My head canon that Branch is a literary nerd brought me the pain to think for an hour which book I should give for him to read, so there is also that hahaha But I hope you enjoyed it :)

[skylarstark4826]

Mirana POV

Walking down the halls with my Ladies shadowing me, I felt…odd. I wasn't sure exactly what it was, but I felt so out of place- like I didn't belong here. Like I wasn't supposed to be in the overly fancy dress or like I wasn't supposed to be adorned in all these unnecessary jewels. I felt as if I should be outside, working in the garden near the Flowers or tending to the trees (because I knew Ella didn't do it correctly- she rarely did). I felt like I should be in my room, writing poems about lord-knows-what instead of being so bloody perfect all the time.

For heaven's sake, I couldn't show any emotion without being questioned! If I was happy, I had to calm myself and the same when I was angry or a little too annoyed. I had to cover my frown when all I wanted to do was go and sob into my pillow like I was a little girl again. I had to stay quiet when I wanted to laugh at some of the people who came to court me because they were too…perfect. And, unfortunately for them, they expected me to be the same.

On normal circumstances, I'd comply, and have dinner with whoever had decided to pay a visit. But there were certain days- much like today- that I just wanted, needed, to see my friends and be, well, imperfect. Because, certainly, I was nowhere near perfect at all. If anything, I was rather strange. Tarrant had told me, as had McTwisp and even Alice, who was normally so quiet around me. The three of them seemed to be scheming all the time, usually trying to get me to do something that, in their eyes, was funny. Unfortunately for me, I was the butt of their jokes; the reason behind their giggles. This fact was unfortunate as well- I enjoyed it. I knew I was the odd one out; the one Queen who wasn't quite as dignified as the rest; the Queen who acted child-like and relaxed in front of her friends.

The one that nobody truly understood.

"Excuse me, Ladies, but I must be departing from your presence. I'm ever so sorry, but this is an important matter," I added softly, smiling at them. They curtsied and left me to my own devices, which, sadly, weren't as creative as I had once thought. I dropped my hands to my sides, picking up my skirts, and running silently to the Hatter's workroom. When I found that no one was there, I walked a little further down the hall to Alice's office. When I neared, I heard the laughter and the talking and that's when I knew. They were doing it again.

"Did- did you see when she got that letter? The one from the Prince of god-knows-where?" asked the Hatter, his laughter chopping up his sentence. But I heard a different note under that laughter, one of jealousy; bitterness; anger, as he said, "The boy was merely 17 years old."

"She looked about ready to fall apart at the seams! I was waiting for her to scream 'How many more letters will I get before they realize I won't court them?' I was surprised when she didn't," giggled Alice. I had to admit, Alice was very perceptive. That was exactly what I had wanted to say. Yet I couldn't help the anger that started to boil in my blood.

"Exactly! And then she almost started crying, I swear!" he shouted. I bit my lip as the anger transformed into hurt. Was the Hatter really talking about me like that? I thought…well, I had actually thought I liked him, which was why I hated all those letters. For a while, I even thought that he liked me too, but I guess not. If he was willing to make fun of me, then he really wasn't worth it. Was he?

"But still, I have to admit- I felt bad for her. She kept glancing around the room, looking for someone to help her out. I just wanted to give a big hug," whispered Alice. I smiled softly- this was why I kept them around. They knew how to make me feel just right even at the worst times. Sometimes, feeling stupid and victimized made someone feel beautiful and loved at just the right moments.

"Yeah, me too," added the Hatter, but, again, it seemed as if he wasn't quite saying all that he wanted to; like he was keeping something in. But who was I to judge him? After all these years, I barely knew the man. He kept everything bottled up inside of him- all except his madness, of course. I leaned closer to the door, holding my breath, as they continued talking. I heard them sit in some chair, Alice's skirts ruffling and Tarrant's hat being placed on a table.

I straightened and walked, dignified, down to the kitchen. No one dared to bother me in there, my room of sanity. As I entered, everyone emptied out and left me alone. I do wish they wouldn't do that. Either way, I could still concentrate on my potions and pastes and cakes and general concoctions. I started by making a batch of pishalver and Upelkuchen, since there was a strange shortage of it lately. It was that I realized that I hadn't been in the kitchen in weeks. I smiled quietly to myself and tried out a new recipe, one I'd always wanted to try. About an hour past when I started dancing around the table, suddenly happy. I was getting the recipe right this time, finally. It was a very delicate one- one mistake and you've screwed it up.

"Hello, hello…my, my, my- what have we here?" I blushed a dark red and glanced up at the intruder, grinning effortlessly, though I was almost certain it was a fake grin. I couldn't really tell the difference anymore.

"Hello," I said, quietly, still a little upset about him speaking about me. "What brings you here, Mr. Hightopp?" At my use of his formal name, his composure slipped a bit; his hopes crushed…whatever he had been hoping for.

I wondered, sadly, if I'd had any affect on his emotions. It was too obvious, but it was noticeable. What was he planning on doing? Why was he here in the first place? But, as I pondered over it, I realized something that near killed my almost happy mood.

I'd gone and burned my damn Caramel Spotlocks.

Tarrant POV

I walked out of Alice's office with a huge smile on my face. We always knew just the right ways to make each other laugh. The only problem was that Mirana wasn't there…that alone downed our mood a lot. Alice and I may start the laughs, but Mirana kept them going. I had spent, maybe, a total of 10 minutes with Alice today because we quickly ran out of things to say. So I decided to track down Mirana myself, seeing as Alice had to get back to work.

I figured she'd be in the throne room, sitting, staring, generally bored as always, but no one was in there. Well, she could've been in her receiving room, but nope. Wasn't there. I checked the library, the balconies- because she loved those. I checked the towers and gardens and finally, I came to my senses.

She's in the kitchen, you idiot! I shouted at myself. I just spent well over an hour searching for her, and she had to be in the kitchen! I walked silently through the door, my surge of anger done with. She was dancing about, picking a few ingredients, the putting some of them down without even using them. She'd stop, occasionally, to check a giant book that was left precariously perched on the edge of the table, next to her left elbow.

"Hello, hello…my, my, my- what have we here?" I said softly, so as to not startle her. She stopped her dancing and blushed, looking up to grin at me. I smiled slowly, wondering what she was thinking. Certainly her thoughts weren't about me, but how I wish they were!

"Hello there, Mr. Hightopp. What brings you here?" she asked, going back to her work. I blinked once and my mouth fell open without my thinking. I shook my head the tiniest bit and I could swear she didn't notice. What if she denied me? I'd worked up all this courage to ask her to have dinner with me and out of the blue she starts acting so formal? I noticed as she grew frustrated, slamming her spoon into the pan she was looking at.

"Wha's wit this Mister Hightopp?" I sneered the words, "Here ye are, telling me to call ye Mirana or Mira and no' the Queen ahnd yet ye have the nerve to call me Mister Hightopp?" I screamed. I walked around the table, towering over her, staring down at her. She backed up slowly, her face barely portraying a look of fear. She wasn't one to show emotion and I shouldn't have been scaring her like this.

"What is wrong with you, Hatter?" she shouted back, taking advantage of my pause. "Why are you yelling at me? I should be yelling at you, if anything! After what you said about me earlier, I should have you put out of my life!" My mouth fell open, again, and I was completely shocked. Had she heard what Alice and I spoke about? No wonder she was so angry! But…had she heard the end of it? Certainly she wouldn't be mad if she had heard that…Maybe, I could use this in my defense.

"What part are you talking about?" I asked, my voice louder than it was before. "Are you talking about the part where we complimented on how you looked today? And yesterday, as well? Or are you talking about the part where Alice said she was worried about you? What about the part where I said I loved you?" She was a mere two feet away from me, and the wall was right behind her. Without thinking, I moved her backwards so that she was against the wall, held her arms next to her head so that she was pinned in place, and I kissed her. I only held her arms up because I knew she would try and fight me, and yet I was surprised when she didn't. I pulled away, only to be disappointed. She was staring at me with her mouth hanging open, completely shocked. I dropped her arms and ducked my head in shame. Still, I was a bit happy that I did that. I might have never gotten a chance like that again.

"You…love me?" she whispered, still thinking.

"Loved you once, love you still, always have, always will. That's what my parents used to say and, Mirana, it couldn't be truer." As a smile began to form on her lips, I felt better. She walked closer to me and wrapped her arms around my waist, leaning her head on my shoulder. My arms snaked around her body, pulling her towards me.

"I'm sorry we talked about you. I'm sorry we laughed at you. I'm sorry we made fun of you. I'm sorry-"

"Stop," she whispered, "Just…kiss me again." She looked up at me and I leaned down, smirking, as I kissed her once more. The only other thing on my mind, besides her, was the smell of burned Caramel Spotlocks.

[dangerously-human]

3, 26, 50 for the writer ask game :)

Thank you for your patience, I know I took forever to answer all of these but this one took even longer because I decided to indulge myself with ALL the details and that was a time-consuming genuine delight. 😅

3. What are some tropes or details that you think are very characteristic of your fics?

I am a big fan of playing with metaphor and challenging myself with defined structure. Years ago, I wrote a Continuum fic (Still Here) with POV from every character in the story, with the swaps happening in a sort of chain based on who the characters interacted with - Dillon talks to Carlos, then we're in Carlos's POV until he thinks about Garza, then we're with Garza until she picks a fight with Emily, and so on - all looking at the same theme of how Kiera returning to her time left a hole that deeply affects everyone she left behind. Love giving myself a theme to work around, like chapters in developing relationship fic each based on a color of the rainbow. As is probably quite apparent, I enjoy writing "five times/things" fics and drabbles, and combining the two. Sometimes I go a step further and do the variations on a theme thing for five interconnected drabbles, like the Sparky five senses series. I like giving myself a challenge with fanfiction so it still feels like I'm growing my writing skills, even though a lot of things come easier than with original works.

26. Would you rather write a fic that had no dialogue or one that was only dialogue?

Easy, I write fics sans dialogue all the time. I do really enjoy dialogue and I think I've improved my ability to write it a lot, but introspection is still where I thrive.

50. Answer any question of your choice, or talk about anything you want to talk about!

Oh goodie, love this question! I'm going to answer 29: What songs would be (or are) on a playlist for [Here's a Safe Place to Lay Your Heart Down]? Explain your choices if you want!

I never used to be the kind of writer who had separate playlists for individual projects (outside of the occasional original work), just one massive playlist for the fandom. It's been a fun way to focus on some of the more effort-heavy, long-term WIPs! Here's the one for the ring fic:

The Graduate - The Arcadian Wild: The bittersweetness of growing up and your perspective shifting so you see the world as it truly is, for better and worse simultaneously. "When you were younger, you dreamed of being tall, but you discovered growing up just leaves you feeling small" / "Failing is fruitful, so long as we do not forget to move" / "We are wandering through the wild, we are wondering when not if we'll reach the other side... When we were ever alone? Together we'll make our way home"

Anomaly - Angels & Airwaves: Lockwood crush angst! "I never wanted to say how much I liked you, I never wanted to be one of your sad discoveries" - not feeling worthy of Lucy

Dark Mirage - Matthew Parker, HIDDEN EYES: Lockwood struggling and Lucy feeling helpless. "I don't possess the power to drive off the darkness that's haunting you, I pray the truth gets louder" - Felt fitting for the wallowing portions of this fic, considering Lockwood vastly overestimates his negative effect on Lucy. Also like... this level of angst is exactly what Lockwood is terrified of inflicting on Lucy, it's not actually like this but he's worried it could be if he's not constantly on high alert (which is what Lucy tells him she's willing to do if he ever needs it)

Taxi Cab - Twenty One Pilots: Ooh, this one hits hard on so many Lockwood & Co levels. "I wanna fall inside your ghost and fill up every hole inside my mind, and I want everyone to know that I am half a soul divided" is just such a good way to showcase Lockwood's growth, from the soul divided being between life and death to being part of a whole (with Lucy). The repetition of "don't be afraid" throughout a lyrical story that is so Lockwood all over just. Argh, it's very very hard for me to put this one into words. Like how the "don't be afraid" could at first be giving up but then it's a promise not to. And it gets at the same idea as the books do with Lockwood as both Christ figure and the one saved ("and then I asked them, am I alive and well or am I dreaming dead? And then one turned around to say, we're driving toward the morning sun, where all your blood is washed away and all you did will be undone"). There's a lot of imagery here I associate with the Other Side and the return, and so I connect it with Lockwood sort of dying and, upon symbolic resurrection, choosing a new life that involves opening himself up to Lucy... Ugh, yeah, this one's harder to explain, it just means a LOT to me

Hot Tea - half•alive: Obsessed with this as Lockwood being pathetically in love, tbh ("Wanna be here ar your door 12am and sleeping on your porch until you get in, looking into your eyes endlessly, crawling into your lap desperately"), and "can't afford to lose you any longer" fits very well for the canon era chapter, but also just the warmth of belonging to each other ("Hold you in my hands like hot tea, knowing I'm safe 'cause you want me")? That is always the Locklyle vibe I'm going for, but especially in this fic. Also the line "sip you through my front teeth" makes me think of Lockwood and his blue whale thing, hahaha

Spiders - Bear's Den: I will eventually come back to write the spiders symbolism kidfic that slots in later in this series, which is the only reason I did not end up using these lyrics for this fic despite it fitting the vibe so well. (Love, I'm Trying had at least three WIPs competing to use it as a title for a while there.) But, yeah, the whole thing with spiders as indicative of a haunting lends extra power to this one in an L&Co context, with lines like "I can't take back all the hurt I've caused, everything I love I have somehow lost, it's four in the morning abd the spiders are crawling in my mind, replaying pictures of all I can't undo, love, I'm trying, but I can't oull myself when the darkness comes" - and that being when Lockwood has to learn to go to Lucy, because that's what they do for each other, they pull each other out when they can't do it alone

Rain Clouds - The Arcadian Wild: The growth! While usually I associate this song more with Lucy, it does still work for Lockwood and the guilt he carries, moving from "I'm being shadowed by my past, reminding me of what I was and what I could become" to a sort of conversation of "I need someone to be my guide, listen to my voice, close your frightened eyes, hide behind my love for you, fear's only a choice, one that we all must make someday"

BREAKFAST - half•alive: Chosen as the title source for good reason; this song is all about vulnerability and the mortifying ordeal of being known, and practicing embracing the safety of leaving your heart in someone else's hands - starting out feeling reluctant and even panicky at the idea of openness ("I fled to the walls, yeah, be sure I'm surrounded, where no one can find me") to fighting your instincts and opening up no matter how hard it is, and being met with the reassurance of being seen and loved in all your complexity ("say you're open through tears and trembling, it's a major step, it's okay to fret, here's a safe place to lay your heart down"), and the reminder that messing up doesn't mean you've broken the relationship irreparably ("it's a second chance, it won't be your last"), which is a message Lockwood really needs to hear from Lucy in this fic, as they repeat old patterns with new endings

Lifeline - Angels & Airwaves: The forgiveness and gentleness Lucy offers Lockwood - "We all make mistakes, here's your lifeline"

Your Burden is Mine - Sarah Sparks, Kenny Komatsu: The doing life together part, a reminder that it's pride that intereferes with letting love in - "Don't spare me from anything, your burden is mine" / "Careful, my brother, there on your own, for it is a fool who suffers alone, there's none self-sufficient, only those who try, so swallow your pride, your burden is mine"

TrusT - half•alive: Ooh, this song absolutely messes me up re: redemption, and also unchanging adoration/stability even in the midst of conflict. Lockwood needs to hear it from a romantic relationship perspective ("rest and know the love you hold won't be taken back, no, how sweet the taste of certainty, the gift you gave is safe with me"), but it hits hard for me from a Christian theology perspective - and isn't that just the surprise theme of this fic, the ways marriage is meant as an echo of Christ's love for his bride, the Church. Also fits really well for this in-between space they find themselves in as they have an answer for the Problem yet are still working on the solution ("the tug of war in the now-not-yet... can you tell me why I feel this way? I have faith that the world I'm in will be redeemed again, but there's a weight that I can't explain, so tell me why I feel this way"), which I think is a tension in the background of most of my work in this particular series

The Kitchen - Tow'rs: For the imagery of dancing together in the kitchen as a way of making amends after a fight - "You made me dance in the kitchen with you, if I was the night then you were the moon"

What Home Feels Like - The Afters: Gosh this song is so CUTE, and that is the Locklyle vibe! Just the idea of finding home and belonging with the person you love - "There is no place I'd rather be for the first time in my life, I know what home feels like" / "No, I never wanna leave, 'cause I've found where I belong, this is what home feels like"

Let's Get Married - Bleachers: This is THE love post-trauma song, and fits the warmth of 35 Portland Row so well along with Lucy and Lockwood promising to make it work even when it's crazy hard, because they recognize where they're a little broken but they also believe building a life together is worth it

[protect-daniel-james]

ao3 wrapped: 3, 5, 15, 17, 18, 30!

3. What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?

I have to say The stands of Villa Park. It opened a whole new territory for me. I'm shocked I never thought of this concept (ha ha) earlier. I'm shocked I didn't think of this when writing my academic thesis - because I was writing exactly about this, the connection between a club and a stadium and its city. That's probably why I also feel so strongly about these Enfermo del fútbol series.

And, honestly, I just writing these stories about Unai, because....it would explain so much of his behavior, but also make him truly special. And, without getting too personal, I think writing about Unai like this, and reading a little bit on conceptum/objectum sexuality, sort of also worked for me personally as a way of...realizing that sexuality and being sexual is nobody else's business and you can do whatever you like/want to try? Like, it's your body and your fantasy and your imagination, and if you want to fuck whatever you'd like...go for it? Unai staying behind at the stadium, dropping to his knees and kissing the random seat does not hurt anyone, and it makes him happy. So why not? Better than Jamie Jamie cousin Jamie doing A Bad Thing....and needing to control another person. Unai's relationships with clubs, football, stadiums, trophies is definitely healthier and more equal lmao. I just love that. I love how it's like a completely different level of fanfiction?

And yeah, I'm also shocked and happy that other people read these Unai fics! Because I know they are weird, I'm well aware of that. But I hope they are also somewhat wholesome?

5. What work of yours got more feedback than expected?

I was always surprised at the amount of kudos and comments for the Grizione fics - because there's very few works for them in English (although they have so much material and seem to be quite a popular and reasonable ship!) so I just always assumed maybe people weren't into them. On the contrary, maybe me being one of the few who write for them in English makes it easier to harvest the kudos and hits and comments, he he. Honestly, I stopped looking at hits and kudos the moment I started writing obscure ships - I know that the number of hits and kudos does not guarantee a quality fic. And I'd much rather write an obscure fic about something I'm really into than force myself to write Messi/Neymar or something similar that I just don't find interesting at all.

And the three Scamacca/Paquetá fics! It was a very random pair - and it will never come back again lmao but it was fun. I always got such angry vibes from Gianluca - and Paquetá with his dances was the perfect foil. Funnily enough, I started the year with writing a bit of piss kink with them....and look where we are now. So yeah, I was shocked anyone was reading that.

15. What WIP are you taking into the next year with you?

I hope to finish the two WIPs that are halfway done and fully thought out - Ange/Poch and Unai in Russia. Hopefully before Christmas. And maybe work on the 3rd chapter of Fate up against your will so that could also be done by the end of the year?

I have so many ideas that I haven't even started working on, so I suppose they will happen either in late December or next year:

Unai staying at Villa Park after the match against Legia, worried that the stadium was hurt - wanting to feel what the stadium feels, wanting to be there, feel as one. Unai self-meditating himself into a state of feeling like one with the stadium (get ready for the concept of mental orgasm).

Jamie-centered/POV fic. Jamie remembering Dad doing things....saying things...showing him things....Jamie thinking of Franko. A LOT.

Daddy Abramovich/Sheva on the boat, with Sheva's wife as well. A lot of grooming, although *nothing* happens, really. Nothing at all.

Daddy Abramovich/Franko on the boat. Nothing happens, really. Nothing at all.

Todd Boehly/Graham Potter. Once I figure out how.

Eddie/Jason origin story. Or maybe more like... JT origin story. Why is he like he is, why is he so loyal, so desperate, so devoted, so willing -

the Mikel/Unai academic!AU! - I'd rather keep it as a one-shot because I can't handle more multi-chaptered fics haha

and probably many more that I haven't even put down on paper as ideas ...

17. Your favorite character to write this year?

I think this has to be a tie between Franko and Unai! One Sad Round Man and one Greasy Basque Vampire. I love them both, albeit a bit differently.

Franko is such a sad character, a product of his parents, influenced by all the shitty things that Dad did and said in his childhood - and I'm surprised more people didn't build on this well-known fact that his Dad was toxic. It provides such a good background to the character - the repression, the need to be like Dad, to please others, to be complacent - it sets up the whole tragic story beautifully. Honestly, I might know the most about Franko out of all footballers now because of the extensive research that's been going on since early summer. And I don't even like him.

Unai, Unai, my sweet anxious Basque vampire - I truly fell in love with him this year. Here I have the advantage of being almost the only person who writes fics about him - so there's not much to work with/dispute. And all the other reasons are mentioned in the response to no. 3.

18. The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?

Probably the Redknapps, especially Harry in the recent fic! I can't figure out what is his *problem*, what is his reasoning, what is his motivation - - - With Jamie, I wasn't initially sure what is he actually like, but I think now we figured out ha ha. But Harry...idk. Also, the fact that he's this old, old-school, English, probably very inappropriate guy...I don't want to make him a caricature, but also I want the sleaziness (but also the charm! that's why people love him!) to shine through.

Also, Mikel in Txoria txori. I still need to...get more into his motivations and reasonings. I don't want him to just observe Unai, I want him to also show his personality.

I'd say writing any "new" character is a challenge because I'd hate to make everyone the same. I want every single character to have their own characteristics, to be different from others, to behave and speak differently, to do different things - I don't want my Ashley Barnes to be interchangable with Sheva or Scamacca lol.

30. Biggest surprise while writing this year?

That there will always be people who will read the most twisted and fucked up and weird stories that I can come up with (and I'm so happy with that!). This year was very liberating - I just wrote whatever I wanted, honestly, and seeing that still a few people read and liked it was so nice! I write a lot of self-indulgent fics but obviosuly a feedback is always welcomed!

[idanit]

possibly underappreciated Good Omens fics I enjoyed once upon a time

Indirectly inspired by a video series about fanfiction I watched, I decided to pull together a list of Good Omens fics I have bookmarked as stories I enjoyed, but which have less than 250-300 kudos at the time I’m writing this. No particular order. They’re accompanied by short excerpts from my private fic reading notes (not originally intended to be read by anyone but me, mind), sometimes slightly edited for clarity—and, sometimes, the comments I left on the fics.

This list sat in my drafts for a long time and the recent S2 announcement reminded me of it. I’d love it if it inspired you to do something similar! Spread the love.

And mind the tags, please.

△ = general and teen ▲ = mature and explicit 

thermodynamic equilibrium ▲ 7K the author has such an ear for dialogue and is unapologetic about what they want to write the characters like. They think of the characters as a mix of TV and book canon, but they feel like a homemade blend to me. (...) It’s very funny.

such dear follies ▲ 6K I can really picture this Aziraphale—Crowley as well, but her especially. She’s rather distinct. (...) Nice writing.

The Words Were With - △ 1.2K post-Blitz vignette, Aziraphale realizes what he feels and wonders if they're human enough for this. I liked it, and I liked the tag "transhumanism, but in reverse?", too—what an interesting idea. I'd say it's a vignette in a dire need of a follow-up, but, well, there's the show. The show is the follow-up. It fits very nicely within the canon and I totally believe it could have happened, like a deleted scene.

Gossip and Good Counsel △ 19K/? I love their companionship and how they're set up to be opposites by the management even though they get on pretty well. It feels very in keeping with the canon, but I feel like the fact that it's an F/F set in this particular time period adds a meaningful layer to the situation. It's women supporting each other in the world of men, working with the personas that are created for them, but, privately, being normal, well-rounded people. (...) and of course your writing is always a pleasure to read. (...) SDHDGDHDHDG Maisie is truly an Aziraphale.

Crowley Went Down to Georgia (he was looking for a soul to steal) △ 6K This was nice. Based on a song I didn’t know. Crowley goes to a funeral in the USA, one of a fiddler he knew and lost a bet to once. (...) The fic has not one but two songs composed for it and embedded inside it and that makes it even better. I really enjoyed the experience.

The Thing With Feathers △ 18K WARLOCK you'rE HORRIBLE AND I LOVE IT I would read an entire novel-length fic just of Crowley fighting his battles with Warlock. Written like this? It would be a blast. (...) The OCs are believably characterized and well-loved by the story. (...) Everyone seems to need a friend in this house. (...) This was so fun, and at the same time, their mission has weight here (...) We wonder about what the future holds even though we know it.

Here Quiet Find △ 11K This fic aimed for my head and the aim was sure precise. It was a story of Crowley sensing Aziraphale's distress and finding him in a self-quarantined English village in the seventeenth century, tired and anxious. It's hurt/comfort, so there was washing and bedsharing and I had to love it, so I did.

outside of time △ 2K Post-Almostgeddon, (...) nicely-written, short, but strung with a soft kind of tension and unspoken words. There's no drama, just "can we really", and "do you really" of sudden freedom. They fall into being inseparable. Book canon, which I like for this story (sitting on a tarmac). I liked the footnotes. There's a mention of Eliot. All in all, very much yes.

She'asani Yisrael △ 2K It’s Crowley going through a two-hour service and drinking blessed wine. He also keeps an eye on a boy he was asked to. It’s 1946. It was pretty good, so far the best Jewish GO fic, I think, from the ones I’ve read.

To Guard The Eastern Gate △ 11K  I loved it. You really made Sodom feel lived-in; the description of Keret, Hurriya and Yassib's house and relationship were great. I got attached to both them and the city (...) Aziraphale and Crawley’s interactions were generally very entertaining. I laughed (...) Your rendering of their voices just lands so well (...) But then oh, the entire ending (...) hurt, hurt a lot, and your descriptions are so vivid.

If you’ve been waiting (for falling in love) △ 14K AAAAA a good ending line. The whole paragraph, in fact. I love a good smattering of philosophy in my fics, and this was really nice. I can get behind Thomas Aequinus's and Crowley's view on eternity. It's (...) a pretty simple fic (...) - the courage to express yourself and take a risk is awarded with winning what was at stake by the virtue of reciprocity - but the way it was intertwined with a study of how they would experience a forever was done well. 

Holy unnecessary ▲ 2.2K It's well-written. (...) this is my type of sexual humour if I have any. So subtle. Blink and you'll miss it. Lovely.

The Parting Glass △ 17K Through the ages, they're dancing around their relationship until after the Armageddoff. (...) Wow, this was really, really nice. Very simple in its concept and nothing I haven't read before, but very well-executed. (...) AAAAH I LOVED the first chapter. I always like abbeys as settings, that's a given, but the banter, the good writing, the moral ambiguity!

Name The Sky △ 33K This Crowley is different, but very intriguing. Without his sarcastic talk, and much more animalistic. (...) I love how expressive Crowley is. (...) This fic has a very nice balance of drama and levity. I don't love Crowley-before-the-Fall stories very much, but with this execution I can read about it. (...) Okay I've read Crowley offering fruits, and even Aziraphale biting fruits, but the two of them sharing the apple? Outstanding. Ingenious. What a take.

A Flame in Your Heart △ 5K post-Blitz (why are so many dance fics post-Blitz?), they go to the bookshop and have an actually believable conversation. Then they dance the gavotte. It was really nice! Believable writing, emotions, the dancing! (...) Of course it's too early for them, (...) but the author's note? yeah.

Put down the apple, Adam, and come away with me ▲ 32K At this point it's just reading original stories with characters with names and some personality traits that I recognize. (...) I really enjoy this, the careful dance, the opposition between their views. (...) This is well-written, wow. (...) it's not an easy read (...) this story feels very believably 50s, but also reaches out to the present time. 

Liebestraum ▲ 10K/? It really is like music. I'm enjoying the writing a lot. (...) oh my actual god. This, this? Wow, uh. This came for my throat. (...) THE MUSICAL COMPOSITION, THE MOTIF RETURNING, THE AUTHOR KNOWS WHERE IT'S AT (...) Excellent. This hits the right beats so precisely, (...) and with feeling, too.

Down Comforter △ 2.4K and they lay down in angeldown, a soft rug ‘neath their heads– alright. Well, Crowley lies under Aziraphale's wing on a Persian rug after the Apocalypse, and they talk (...). It was sweet.

The Corsair of Carcosa △ 5K Crowley wakes up from a nap, visits Aziraphale for some drinking, and they read The King in Yellow that he happens to own. Good writing, so I'm bought. Aziraphale mentions Beardsley, so I'm bought twice over. My god, a discussion of etheral/occult madness? Caused by some wrong/true reading? Yes.

Very Good, Omens! △ 6K It's rather well-written, well-pastiched. People don't do that too often, nowadays - try to write in the style of a particular writer. (...) I love wordplay like this.

Reviving Robin Hood: The Complicated Process of Crème Brûlée △ 30K it's well-written (...), has a rhythm to it, and quiet humour. (...) Finally some nice, good, light writing. The attention to detail! (...) I'm still reading most of it aloud, the rhythm of it compels me to. (...) okay this does sound like Pratchett&Gaiman, the Good Omens itself (...) The fic is meandering, hilarious, sensitive in all the right places, and overall lovely.

my dear acquaintance △ 1K Oh. Oh. Yes, yes! Aziraphale in Russia, Russia I've never been in, but I can feel the snow and the evening of. Very real, and the bar, too. Attention to detail - vodka flavoured with dill, what on earth? Yes. He would totally have a distinct taste in operas and he would totally complain about a subpar one. I'm glad Tchaikovsky's there.

there is a crack in everything △ 1.8K This was good! Ah. Inspired by a comment (...), I went looking for Mr. Harrison and Mr. Cortese fics—really, what a big brain moment someone had and why have I never thought to look for them? This is Crowley getting suddenly anxious and Aziraphale going out of his way, through all his layers of not-thinking and denial, to console him. I also really liked how the Arrangement is a carefully unacknowledged partnership-marriage.

Scales And Gold And Wings And Scars △ 6K  No conflict, no plot, one tiny arc like a ripple on the surface of water on a calm sunny day - of Aziraphale discovering Crowley’s scars. It's the South Downs and it's early summer. They bask and swim in a spring. Non-sexual nudity, love in the air like a scent. Nice.

Nineteen Footnotes In Search Of A Story △ 0.4K This is a Good Omens story told only through footnotes. Your mind can fill in the gaps. Fascinating (...). Also, it’s an experiment so apt for this particular fandom.

Hell on Earth △ 6.5K Oh, I loved it! How could I not love it: it's Beelzebub-centric, it's historical, it has classical painting, and even a hilarious scene with a cuneiform phrase, as if I didn't enjoy this story enough already. There are so few Beelzebub fics out there and I find searching for them very difficult (I accept recs if anyone has any), and it's such a shame, so this was really like a gift to the fandom. I absolutely adore the way you portrayed them, small, frightening, powerful, and confident. Also, it was super fun to see how different Crowley seems when we're not in his POV or in a story about him and Aziraphale. (...)

Go Up to Ramoth-Gilead and Triumph △ 24K Daegaer is... pure class. (...) hdhdhdh what pfttt why you so funny (...) I love this Crowley. (...) This got unexpectedly intense. (...) I love the little nods to the fact that Israelites, especially the poorer ones, still believe in other gods. I also really like that they sleep on roofs. It's just the kind of detail that grounds the story and shows that the author is, in fact, a historian. 

[daechwitatamic]

Ok I've had time to read 15 three times now and emotionally process it all.

First of all, "if you're ready to talk I'm willing"... what kind of weak ass apology is that OC?!? She needs to be running these things by Kiko and Bridget so they can tell her when she's being an idiot, but that made me think about how she's been sort of hurt in the past about Kiko not opening up when she is pretty much doing the same throughout. It made me really appreciate the importance of the Kiko/Yoongi storyline in helping OC see some of her unhealthy tendencies in someone else.

The scene with Jungkook at the bar... OC is queen of giving amazing advice that she never follows herself, huh? She extends a lot of grace to Taehyung. She doesn't ignore his flaws but understands where they're coming from and knows that doesn't make him a bad person or unworthy of friendship and love. She needs to extend that same compassion to herself as well! 😢

Ofc so happy Davis finally got what he deserved. Imagine beating a cheater and not feeling guilty and instead just doubling down to hurt that person! Taehyung may not be processing his guilt properly and inadvertently hurting Jungkook, but the difference in how he and Davis reflect on and handle their mistakes truly shows their differences.

The storm coming back full circle here. These two have so much to talk through now and I can't believe we only have one chapter left!

Ok those are my quick thoughts but I'm sure I will have more. Do you think you might do Taehyung POV drabbles like for CF? There are so many moments I would love to see from his perspective!

I love WWH so much. You are a gift. Thank you for writing it!!! 💜

🌴

🌴anon..... this was amazing. I literally hugged my laptop. Lemme go in order here and address everything.

OC is for suuuuure in her clown era but like... in HER head she was extending the olive branch with that 'if you want to talk'. In HIS head she's a piece of shit and yknow I can't really blame him.

I love that observation about the importance of the Kiko/Yoongi storyline bc not to get to Literary for fanfiction, I did purposely make their relationship a foil to OC/Tae - when OC/Tae were getting deeper, Kiko/Yoongi were breaking up, and then the reverse. And YES, I made that choice largely so that OC could see her own mistakes being made by someone else and hopefully adjust accordingly

"OC is queen of giving amazing advice that she never follows herself" lemme just.... make that the series summary lmfao

lololol you totally called what would happen with Davis. Tae would neeeever let someone talk about his baby like that >:(

Yesssssss I tried in so many ways to make Davis and Taehyung very different and the biggest piece of that is accountability

the storm!!!!!!!!!! a callback to the line in chapter 6 "there'll be other storms" awhfiuwqhfiuh

i can't believe there's only one more either :( i'm super sad about it but I guess I'll just have to channel that into thinking about what comes next! If you haven't read Complete Faith yet, it's got similar themes to WWH, and I have a Tae x Reader one-shot called TRIP posting on Aug 29!

YES I will A B S O L U T E L Y make a POV request post after Chapter 16 is up. Please please request as many as you want, they're so much fun to do and I miss this couple already :(((

thank YOU for reading and giving me~ such a gift as these excellent conversations. this is truly the dream when we post :( don't be a stranger bby, pop by any time!!!

[fuckspn]

fuckspn’s mini deancas fic rec

i said a few days ago that i would write a mini fic rec list, and here it is! i tried to limit it to fics i hadn’t seen on other rec lists before, but there are a few that i couldn’t resist adding even though everyone and their mother recommends them. there’s a whole section for “dean pulls cas out of the empty” fix-it fics because i know what the fuck i’m about. also literally all of these are deancas because i don’t read any other type of supernatural fic, and they all have happy endings because i’m not reading supernatural fanfiction to make myself sad.

a quick disclaimer before we start: i generally don’t like explicit sex scenes in fic unless i feel like they’re really narratively earned, realistic, in-character, and necessary to the emotional arc of the story. so while there are explicit fics in here, all but the last two on the list are sufficiently character- and plot-driven that you can skip the sex scenes entirely if you want.

Finale Fix-Its:

(they’ll never break) the shape we take by ~ME~ (Teen, 9k) Yes, this is my own fic, but listen, I wouldn’t have written it if it didn’t hit what I wanted to see in a fix-it! I’m not gonna make any promises as to whether or not you’ll like it, but I do, and that’s what matters here. Read it if you want to see basically every wrong prediction about the finale rolled up into one fic, if you wish they’d kept the Empty as a morally neutral outsider instead of a villain, or if you just like somewhat uncanny, slippery dream logic and gratuitous callbacks. Also even though idk if I’ll ever finish or publish it, I’m working on a fluffy domestic follow-up featuring, among other things, fixes for both Jack and Billie’s endings. I’m just saying that so if you read this fic you know that even though it’s not mentioned, Jack does come back and get to be a normal toddler with his two dads.

my heart a compass by lagaudiere (Teen, 10k) Again, I REALLY hope you like uncanny, slippery dream logic because that’s in this fic too! Cas POV is such a rare and difficult thing and I think lagaudiere nails it. Literally my only complaint about this fic is that at one point Cas imagines Jack having missing baby teeth at age 4 and my immediate reaction was to worry about why Jack would be missing teeth that young. This is because my brain is broken. Your brain is presumably not broken in the same way mine is, so you should enjoy this fic fine.

The World At Large by cenotaphy (General, 4.9k) This fic is so sexy because cenotaphy was like “hey what if there were actual stakes for Dean in the Empty besides the threat of losing the love of his life? Like what if he had a time limit? What if he got fucking stabbed?” and then somehow turned it into the softest little thing about how much all the characters love each other. Truly incredible artistic decisions made here. Despite being relatively short and deancas-centric, Sam and Jack get a lot of screentime here too and they’re absolutely delightful. Tbh you should probably read all of cenotaphy’s season 15 fix-its but if you’re only gonna read one, make it this. (Or Bring Home, but I’ve seen that one on so many rec lists that I think statistically everyone on Earth has read it.)

Other:

You And Your Husband by mikaylamazing (General, 17.9k) 5+1, Dean and Cas getting mistaken for a couple, 80% fluff then 10% angst that genuinely hit me like a gut punch then 10% fluff again. Dean and Cas are at PEAK old married couple in this fic. Yeah they bitch at each other constantly, but they also will tool around the country in their car like a couple of retirees and Dean will indulge Cas’ random flights of fancy even when they’re for something he hates, like the original Starbucks at Pike Place Market. (I’m with Dean on this one.)

Command Me To Be Well by prosopopeya (Explicit, 28k) Not gonna lie, this one hits the “angst with a happy ending” trope hard. The author is NOT fucking around with the warning for internalized homophobia, and I damn near cried at how Dean and Cas clearly loved each other and wanted to be together but just couldn’t because Dean’s psychological hangups were hurting them both. But not only does the happy ending come, the fic luxuriates in it—this is no band-aid slapped over the end, they genuinely fix their shit. Also, this fic has my favorite “Dean coming out to Sam” scene I’ve ever read.

Bring Up the Deep by deathbanjo (Explicit, 22.6k) Okay. Listen. Yes, this is the fic I was talking about the other day, with the tags that make it sound way kinkier than it actually is. And yes, technically this fic does contain dom/sub undertones and sex pollen. But look at me—hey, look at me. This fic owns. It’s a horror case fic, so it’s mainly plot (and three brief sex scenes, but two of those are part of the plot). The monster is genuinely creepy and creative, the supporting characters are enjoyable to read about, the setting is well-drawn, and the ending is something I’m still digesting but in a very enjoyable way. As far as the kinky tags go, the fic basically plays out like Dean and Cas (who are in an established, albeit new, relationship) are slightly randier than normal due to case weirdness: the dom/sub undertones are so light that I barely noticed them, the “sex pollen” is a deliberately unnerving plot device, and both Dean and Cas have nuanced emotional reactions to the whole situation that they are allowed to process and talk through with each other. I’ve never read A Complete Kingdom and never will, but if you’ve ever wanted a Deancas horror casefic set in coastal Maine that won’t leave you a shattered husk of a human being, Bring Up the Deep is for you!

Though The Course May Change by imogenbynight (Explicit, 51.5k) I’ve seen this one on a number of rec lists, but I couldn’t not include it because it’s just so fun. Another case fic involving Dean and Cas staying in a cabin in a rainy, semi-isolated location surrounded by colorful OCs, but this time the only horror is the prospect of fake-dating the guy you’re secretly actually in love with. It’s a delightful read.

More Than Ever by Sass_Master (Explicit, 20.2k) Canon-divergent fic from 2015 about Cas choosing to become human and Dean being a real bitch about it. It’s very fun, but I’m mainly recommending it because it’s part 1 of a series and therefore provides the necessary backstory/buildup for the next fic on this list.

You’re There by Sass_Master (Explicit, 11.5k) This is part 3 of the same series (part 2 is not required reading, it’s just a short explicit fic set in between these two fics), and while most of it is about sex, it’s also a fucking A+, 10/10, award-worthy character study of Dean and his internal relationship to his sexuality. Literally I was reading it going, “That’s it! That’s the Dean Winchester who lives in my head!”

till the juice runs by deathbanjo (Explicit, 8.4k) The epic saga of Dean’s terrible knockoff-Grindr hookups while Cas waits at home for him like if you could see that I’m the one who understands you been here all along so why can’t you see you belong w— Listen, I’ll be honest here, this fic is completely not my usual speed (lots of sex, relatively light—but not nonexistent!—romance, zero Big Emotions), so it doesn’t have much in common with any other fics on this list besides a rotating cast of fun OCs. It is, however, the single funniest fucking deancas fic I’ve ever read in my life. Fun minigame: count how many times one of Dean’s hookups is described as having messy dark hair and/or blue eyes.

[hottest-mf-that-has-ever-existed]

Chuuya-san.

Author's note: Please excuse any mischaracterization or inaccuracies as this is my first time ever writing fanfiction and I did it in 2 hours without breaks at 5 am.

Written from Akutagawa's pov, Chuuya's pronouns in this are he/they, Gin's - she/they. I hc that Aku is agender but you can read them however you'd like as it's written from 2nd person! All of the relationships are platonic but if you wish to interpret them differently feel free to do so! (except for Gin and Aku, they are siblings.) Dazai is only mentioned.

This is weirdly focused on Chuuya but I am a Chuuya simp so thats fine ❤

CW: some references to canon abuse

-

Chuuya Nakahara had a pretty small build for a person in their early 20's, they were only 5'3" tall to be exact, but he felt larger than life whenever they entered a room, air instantly buzzing with overwhelming energy that instantly made you feel excited or on edge for what's to come with his arrival depending on the situation.

You knew that Chuuya would never intentionally hurt anyone who is innocent and had nothing to do with the thing or situation that had pissed him off but sometimes it was truly terrifying, feeling the anger (and sometimes even grief after missions with tons of casualties, you never understood how can the executive mourn disposable people he didn't even know) rolling off of them in waves, consuming everything. It was the effect that they had on others. The mafia life taught to become emotionless in order to become stronger and better but Chuuya used his feelings as a deadly weapon instead.

You couldn't help but admire it even if you couldn't relate at all. Your own emotions always felt like they consumed you in a way you couldn't control which made you feel weak. It felt truly pitiful to be this way, to be overwhelmed by something as simple as that. You guessed Dazai never really got it out of you. The only thought you can form about this matter is that you are a lost cause. Pathetic. No matter how hard you try, never enough.

Chuuya wasn't like you. Chuuya was strong and kind to his subordinates to the best of his ability. You wished you could keep your temper in check. You wished you weren't so violent for no reason but you couldn't help it. Violence has seeped into your very soul and bones a long time ago, never leaving. You wished Higuchi would finally stop worshipping you for her own good. It made you feel uncomfortable, the way she reminded you of yourself while you still longed for Dazai's approval. They say that pain only makes you stronger but you only felt worse and worse after every bullet or kick that came.

Chuuya was far more kinder, you appreciated it even if you didn't really know how to accept it but tried you best. It's hard to accept nice things when you've never had them before. It makes the past more painful, when you realise how truly bad it was.

You and Gin knew that from first hand experience. It was hard to suddenly have a far better life. You both still mainly visited thrift stores to buy clothes for yourself as you did in the very beginning after joining Port Mafia because having this much money still seems unreal and going to expensive stores for yourself seemed scary even if you knew that it wouldn't impact your finances. Old habits die hard, you guess.

Chuuya liked to drag you both to high end stores though so you just buyed expensive gifts for each other because it felt easier, to give to them than to spend it for yourself. Chuuya always seemed a bit sad in the beginning when they realised that you hadn't bought anything for yourself but he didn't push it which you were thankful for. They still made sure to let you know that they immensely appreciated the gifts and the time you spent with them. It made you feel nice, knowing that you can make someone you care about somewhat happy. Chuuya bought gifts for both of you too as he had figured out you wouldn't get anything unless someone gifted it to you. Now it was a fun unspoken game between you all, noticing what the other was eyeing and then buying it. Or sometimes just noticing something the person would like, you all had gotten really good at guessing or knowing exactly what to get.

You often bought Chuuya expensive wine and pretty hats while Gin really liked flowy dresses and fun accessories. Gin in turn got you tea and beautiful, handmade tea sets that you couldn't get enough of even if you didn't get to use them much with how busy you were. Chuuya often travelled so they got you tons of interesting antique stuff from different places, you especially liked the calligraphy. He also has gotten you some of your favourite clothing pieces, they had an eye for that kind of stuff. Your most favourite was a black long dress that reached to your ankles. It made you feel really pretty whenever you twirled in it.

Seeing For the Tainted Sorrow in action was thrilling, it felt like your blood was singing at the raw display of power, the control with which Chuuya manipulated the gravity never ceased to amaze no matter how many times you worked with him on the same field or sometimes regrettably watched from the sidelines for whatever reason. Sometimes it was because you were too injured to go on, other times it was because Chuuya needed space to deal with it alone without hurting anyone from your side.

You hated being useless, always striving to prove yourself, whenever it be Dazai, Chuuya, the Port Mafia, yourself, or still Dazai even after he left. Thinking about it left a bitter taste in your mouth.

You tried to let go of your obsession multiple times over the years while he was gone from your life but he had left too much big of an impact to erase. You felt like you could never escape so you just stopped trying to fight it and are still fighting for his approval even if the weretiger said you had already gained it. You wished you could believe it but there was just too much pain, the wound never closing even after that single time Dazai did finally acknowledge you.

Gin despised him for what he'd done to you even if they tried to conceal it to the best her ability. Instead they tried to spend as much time with you as possible which was nice, you loved spending time with your sibling whenever it be "forcibly" shopping with Chuuya or just eating dinner at your house (sometimes also with Chuuya as they seemed to love worming himself into your lives. You didn't mind and hoped they knew that too as you weren't too good at showing it). You often wore the black dress Chuuya bought during dinners with him as they always seemed to look happy whenever you wore anything that they had gifted. Gin really liked the joy Chuuya brought in your home and you couldn't help but secretly agree. It kinda felt like you finally had your own little family even if you felt like you didn't deserve any of it.

Sometimes you all even hanged out with the Black Lizard at the headquarters during lunchbreak. They were a rowdy crowd but it was still pleasant to see people that cared about Gin and Chuuya. It made it feel like there maybe is something good in this cold, unforgiving world.

end.

[mprosperossprite]

I Made Stuff in 2020

Shoutout to @nevermindirah for the tag

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 favorite works (fics, art, edits, etc.) you’ve created this year and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you’ve brought into the world in 2020. If you don’t have five published works, that’s fine! Include ideas/drafts/whatever you like that you’ve worked on/thought about, and talk a little about them instead! Remember, this is all about self-love and positive enthusiasm, so fuck the rules if you need to. Have fun, and tag as many fellow creators as you like so they can share the love! <3

In 2020 I re-watched Leverage, which led me to tumblr, which led me to seeing these posts about this movie The Old Guard, which led me to watch one of the best films I’ve ever seen, which led me to AO3, which led me to discord. Before falling down The Old Guard rabbit hole, I hadn’t written fanfiction since 2012. Unsurprisingly, a lot has changed since 2012 for me and for the internet. For the first time since my participation in internet fandom, I feel like I’ve found a community online and that is probably the big theme of this post: making for each other has been an absolute joy in an otherwise pretty shit year.

This is not really a year in review, so much as a last two months review (my first fic of the year was published on November 2nd) but it’s been a utterly delightful and impactful couple of months, so here we are. On to the fics!

1. The Sport of Bright Steel - This was the fic that started it all.  Someone on the Old Guard kinkmeme prompted a Joe/Nicky fic from the POV of their swords and I sat down on my couch one Saturday morning and an hour later had a lil piece of fanfiction all written out. And then I panicked that it was terrible and weird and so posted it anonymously to the kinkmeme. And then someone in the discord rec-ed it in the fanfic channel and then I dusted off my old AO3 account and posted for the first time in 8 freaking years.

2. Our Toil Shall Strive to Mend - This was my second foray back into fanfic (once again, inspired by a kinkmeme prompt), and the first multi-chaptered fic I ever wrote. Big manly man with tiny human? I am weak. I love all of the Old Guard characters, but I think Booker will forever be my favorite to explore in fic. Unlike the others, Booker is a reluctant soldier and much of his pain comes from losing his identity as a husband and father. This fic asks what if Booker’s path to healing comes in the form of fatherhood? Writing the last chapter made me cry happy-sad tears for him.

3. The Perfect Shot - From the idea that both snipers and photographers are in search of “the perfect shot” came this delightfully silly little fic. Nicolo di Genova, sniper and international man of mystery, knows one damn pun/pick-up line and just so happens to find the one man (Joe, photojournalist) whom it works on hook-line-sinker. Everything about this is fun and makes me happy. Never in a million year would I have written this, if not for a very silly post on this website that someone on discord suggested as a Joe/Nicky prompt. Inspiration strikes in the most unexpected of ways. And I fucking love puns, y’all.

4. This Rough Magic - Nicky is a selkie who accidentally get himself married to unsuspecting, marine scientist Joe and it might be my favorite thing I’ve written all year. It’s a story about identity and the unexpected and being willing to take a leap of faith. This fic would not have happened without the discord, and made me so so grateful and happy to be creating with other people and as part of a community. The joy of fanfic is that it is freely created and given, and I never would have dared to write this story without the inspiration, support, and enthusiasm from internet friends. 

5. Bring the World Back into Tune - aka my Book of Nile opus, still a work in progress. Technically it’s a Hades/Persephone fusion, but really it’s about finding family, finding healing, and finding love, about making meaningful choices despite whatever fate or the supernatural has in mind. I fell into Book of Nile because who they are beyond being immortal has so much in common: growing up basically ghettoized in a country that doesn’t give a damn about you, fighting for an imperial army because there were no other viable choices, knowing the pain of missing 1st families. In Bring the World Back into Tune I love that I get to explore what it means to be fated for something (they’ve become Hades and Persephone without realizing it, in addition to the whole immortal thing), and also what it means to still get to choose how you arrive at and cope with that fate. Very few people are reading this on AO3, but it’s something I love working on and through because the characters and ideas are so compelling.

Honorable Mention: Leaving AO3 Comments - One of my greatest joys this year has been in giving to others the kind of love and support I’ve received as a person who makes stuff on the internet. I love leaving AO3 comments, and applying my English major brain to what I’m reading. The things we love most are deserving of our critical attention, including and especially fanfiction. I’ve met fandom soul-mates in the AO3 comments and befriended authors. In response to a shitty anon comment on another fic, I crafted what might be my fanfic manifesto: why fanfic is the heir of western storytelling moreso than our popular media and why the “expectedness” of fanfic is in fact its greatest feature, not it’s biggest flaw. It is A+ work, if I do say so myself.

None of this would have been possible without the internet (the kinkmeme, tumblr, discord, and of course AO3) and, perhaps more importantly, without the great, supportive Old Guard fan communities. Thank you for the beautiful fic and stunning art. For the thoughtful meta and funny headcanons. For the cheering and screaming and encouragement. For the kudos and comments. We make for ourselves and each other and that’s a truly remarkable thing.

Thanks to @hyper-fixate @sweetlyenchains and many others for being so lovely and kind and making my 2020 better with The Old Guard fic and art and thinking and community. If y’all are inspired to do this year end recap too (whether tagged or not), please tag me! I’d love to read about your triumphs too!

[heavensenthearty]

ZK Self-love Saturday

Ooooooooooh!! This is gonna be so much fun!! 🤩🤩🤩

I'm not very good at this self-love thing, I don't even know where to start, but I'll do what I can.

Going down the nostalgia road, Zutara wasn't the first ship for which I wrote fanfiction, but it certainly has been the one that has inspired me the most for my creative journey and to surpass myself as a writer and an artist. On top of that, it has helped me go through some tough times. I've hardly kept it a secret that I'm not on my best place geographically, politically and emotionally speaking, but creating truly gives me an escape from it... even if I'm at a mental place where sometimes I have to push myself real hard to just want to do things. But when I get like that, as I said, Zutara and its fandom inspire me, and they give me new ideas that I want to see come to reality, so I bring them myself. Some other times I don't get much recognition for those works, still they are stories and scenes that I want to read and that keeps me going.

When I published my first Zutara work, The words never said, I didn't get a single comment until I was past midway to the end of the story. I thought I was doing something wrong, but I've always been one of those "If I say I'm going to do something, it's because I will" people, and... I liked my own story.

Sure, most of my first writings are pretty sloppy, I can see that now, but back at the time I got hyped whenever I re-read what I had wrote and I was the one who wanted to find out how my story would look like finished, so I continued.

If I hadn't, I probably wouldn't have reached this much development in First Person POV — which is the way I write most of my ATLA fanfics because I think it fits with the characters — and I wouldn't have read so many writing tips to become a more versatile writer.

I admit it, sometimes I'm not that much kind with myself, sometimes I set impossible milestones and reprimand myself if I don't reach them; I can take more than what I can handle, and then get angry because I really can't handle it all. I've lost count on how many WIPs and future projects I have waiting, and that's just in writing, I also want to draw the scenes I've created, but I can recognize I've too much on just one plate to take another. It's discouraging when it seems you're making all this effort only for you to be the only one that appreciates it... nevertheless it's still worth it because I still like my content and I still want to surpass myself at the things I'm already good at.

I've been practicing parallelisms a lot in my Avatar!Zuko AU, it's a story that I've envisioned to explore Zuko's sense of identity and willpower a whole lot more; he doesn't only have his Fire Nation mirrors trying to break him and tell him what to do, he also has the past Avatars telling him their own mistakes that he's in danger of repeating, the rest of the world that counts on him to carry it on his shoulders, and his shoulders and his friends that don't always agree with him. For someone as insecure as Zuko is, that's more than enough to break him, yet even insecure people can remain firm in the choices they make. And those choices can hurt, too, and I want Zuko to grow with those experiences.

Oh boy, if I start ranting about that AU, we would be here all day 😅

As excited as I am to write it, I'm excited to finish it as well to focus then on my Avatar!Katara AU (I've learned to just take one project at a time) which I ironically have envisioned to be a whole lot darker than my Avatar!Zuko one 😳😳 Imagine the Katara that we know only that this time, instead of just her friend group, the whole world needs her to look after them. Imagine being the person that everybody looks to take care of them, but nobody does the same for you...

No worries, past Avatar Aang (and then Zuko 😏) is there for her! 😌

After that I going to start my post-canon rewrite to explore all of the GAang's feelings and goals after the war! 🤩🤩🤩🤩

Well, you get the idea, I've got a very active imagination 😅

I better cut it short here to keep myself from fully ranting, but this was great! I feel great! Thank you so much @zkfanworkweek for coming up with these whole week, it has been amazing and motivating and inspiring and... and... I'll think about more adjectives when I'm not so hyped 😅

With love,

Angel

🌊💘🔥

💋💋💕

[cherrymoonvol6]

absolutely no one asked for this but i will rank every kent parson pairing that i can think about (warning: SUPER subjective, but i tried)

kent/bad bob

i don’t even know what to say except NO. come fucking on. -1000000/10

kent/fry guy

i mean... first of all, LOL. second of all, if we take in account that all the times we see fry guy he’s being annoyed by either jack’s or bitty’s accomplishments/happiness, then i can see them bonding over that and going straight to the hook up. but again, come onnnnn in the best cases this is either a blatant self-insert or pushing the concept of a crack-ship, at worst this is deliberatedly ignoring richer characters in the comic in order to pair kent with the LOL option. 2/10

kent/bitty

i feel like this is the one pairing that makes NO sense at all yet i know people are gonna go for it because two conventionally attractive guys together cute. imo a lot of people go into this thinking bitty is morally superior than kent and it’s like an extension of the kent discourse and a form of a “fix-it” for him (and fix WHAT?) (if you don’t, you are so valid and please keep going). like, do you really think kent parson would give a single fuck about eric bittle? i love bitty, but c’mon. this is like the kinda thing bitty would come up with in his own head to make himself feel better about his second-hand feelings of anger and sadness over kent and jack’s history. your only shot at this is to write one or both of them ooc, which, valid i guess. 3/10

kent/holster

same thing with fry guy: holster isn’t very fond of jack, he and kent can bond over that. i can totally see holster being kent’s type, too. maybe holster wants to act some of that steamy jackparse fanfiction with him. 4/10, has potential

kent/ransom

bro did you SEE ransom’s face while talking about parse coming to the epikegster on year 3????? and kent remembering ransom on that forbidden update????? after all, ransom was the one holding kent’s body issue on parse ii. nhl guys are ransom’s weakness, 200%: they’d hook up and then they’d spent the rest of the night gushing about how hot tater is. 6/10

kent/tyler seguin

bro this pairing is like, fucking hysterical. whoever came up with this, i love you because is there anything more on brand for kent than pairing him with the irl hockey player he’s based off??? this is a crack ship done right. 6.5/10

kent/whiskey

listen....... i’d be so up for this. whiskey and kent are essentially the same person. whiskey is literally what kent would’ve been if he had gone to college. they’re SUPER ambitious and competitive, have problems opening up, it’s all about the Fronts(tm), but like. what’s that age difference, again? like, six years? idk. idk, man. if they were to end on the same team, though, they’d vibe so hard with each other... opening up to each other might be pushing it, though. whiskey must have mad respect for him because he’s a great player and same with kent! so like, if i pretend i do not see it, 7/10

kent/scraps

am i imagining it or did ngozi describe scraps as someone who sees kent as the smartest one in the room? or something like that. anyways, it’s about time that kent gets someone on his life that he can confide in and then return some of that love. if they’re not higher on the list is because i like them more as the platonic bond kent desperately needs (also i’m not sure about what the age gap is?), but friends to lovers following deep conversations and personal growth in an incredibly toxic environment? good shit. 7/10

kent/lardo

i feel like this is either a hit or miss with whether you headcanon kent as gay or bi, but even though i always think of kent as gay i’m so up for this pairing. i feel like they have so many things in common and you could truly portray them in such different settings! and i love to think about them opening up to each other. oh, the softness and tenderness that could come out of these two!!! bonus if we get jackshit as the background couple, plus that damn jackparse reconciliation. 8/10

kent/omc

i love kent parson, which means i’m always up for the idea of him getting himself a boyfriend who can challenge him and drive him to want to become a better person so that he can come out of that self-destruction spiral that his life in the nhl has been. free space, you can quite literally do anything with this. 8/10

kent/swoops

i hate to say this but this pairing, though it’s the friends-to-lovers crusade that kent deserves on his nhl life, is kind of a wild card because swoops is just a shell of a character. this pairing is kinda like kent/omc but the omc has actually appeared in canon. but again, FRIENDS TO LOVERS and there’s SO many cute and angsty and wholesome things you could get out of it. 8/10

kent/tater

listen, enemies-to-lovers isn’t my shit, i’ll admit it. but i love tater and i love kent and seeing them clashing looks like so much fun. i feel like once kent shows some of the ugly things he’s hiding inside, these two could click so well. and also that one panel with tater lifting kent off the ground with one hand, out of pure anger at this little shit trying to make jack’s nhl life a living hell, boy oh boy do i love me some of that. with them, and if done right, there could be a great balance between humour and the deep angst we all know and love from kent fics and character studies. plus, it’s going to eventually push a jackparse reconciliation. gimme all that closure baby! 9/10

kent/jack

you 200% expected this if you have seen a single post from my blog. i mean.... this literally has it all. the two characters with the richest backstories and/or development. rivals to friends to “lovers” to enemies to ??? to enemiesANDrivals to eventual lovers??? YOU pick it. you get all the angst, all the conflict surrounding each others’ expectations, the pressure of the hockey world around them, the APOLOGIES and the growing up, the delicious trope of them individually solving their shit and then coming back to each other. all the personality clashes! legends on the ice! kenny and zimms! jack and cat content! absolutely everything you could wish for. hot and steamy? we got it. angry and challenging? hell yeah. soft and forgiving, eventually? just the best of the best. you get the closure that bitty’s pov couldn’t provide, character studies, SO many different types of pining and unrequited and forbidden love... if you’re not on the jackparse life, you are missing out. come join us in hell. 1000000/10

[livinginsunnyhell]

Ask game for fanfic writers! ⌨️🖊📓📝

1. What fandoms do you write for?

2. What pairings do you write for?

3. What is your most popular fanfic?

4. Do you write original stories as well?

5. What fanfic of yours should everyone have read?

6. What is a fandom you will never write for?

7. What is a ship you will never write for?

8. Archive of Our Own, FanFiction.net, Wattpad, Tumblr, etc. which platform do you prefer?

9. What are your favorite fanfics?

10. How do you stay motivated to finish what you’ve started?

11. What’s your longest fanfic?

12. Do you want to break your readers‘ heart or make them laugh?

13. What is your planning process?

14. What have others criticized about your fanfic?

15. OCs or no OCs?

16. Do you use sentence starters, writing prompts and/or fandom headcanons for your fanfics?

17. Do you use/follow advice from writing blogs/posts?

18. What is your favorite writing prompt?

19. Dead or overused tropes?

20. Can we get a list of all of your current available fanfics?

21. What’s your shortest fanfic?

22. Do you listen to music during your writing process? What music do you listen to while you’re writing?

23. Long chapters or short chapters?

24. How many WIPs (work-in-progress) do you’ve got?

25. How many WIPs will you finish?

26. First-person-narrative or third-person-narrative?

27. Do you take requests?

28. I will name you three things (drunk Ian — shared bachelor party — Gallavich): write a paragraph or two!

29. What’s more difficult? Fanfics or original work?

30. What writing software do you use?

31. Do you use beta/sensitivity readers?

32. Past or present tense?

33. Do friends and family know that you write fanfics?

34. How did you find the magical world of fanfics?

35. What is your favorite review?

36. Did you ever delete a work of yours?

37. Did your work ever get plagiarized?

38. Do you partake in any fanfic/writing events? (Big bangs, zines, NaNoWriMo, etc?)

39. Collaborations or working solo?

40. Do you have any rituals before uploading a fic?

41. What is something you don’t like about your writing?

42. Rudest review?

43. Guilty pleasure tropes and scenarios?

44. Does fanart of your fanfic exist?

45. Do fanfics of your fanfic exist?

46. Few long essay reviews or many short reviews?

47. What fanfic of yours is truly underrated?

48. What is your favorite sentence that you’ve used in a fanfic?

49. Where do you draw inspiration from?

50. Can we get a teaser for an upcoming chapter?

(Don't feel obligated to answer. Thought if you're into these kinda things, that'd be a nice ask. ;))

Oh this is so nice!! Thanks for sending this @annansmith

I chose a few of them to do. 

1. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently, I’m writing for Shameless (Gallavich) but I’ve written for:

Veronica Mars (LoVe), Veep (Amy/Dan), Arrow (Oliver/Felicity), Once Upon A Time (Hook/Emma), The Old Guard (Joe/Nicky), That 70′s show (Hyde/Jackie), Sons of Anarchy (Tara/Jax), Vampire Diaries (Klaroline), Hart of Dixie (Zoe/Wade), Gilmore Girls (Rory/Jess), X-men (Rogue/Pyro), One Tree Hill (Haley/Nathan), and a few others.

2. What pairings do you write for?

Now I write Gallavich. 

But I’d say my top ones I love writing for now (my fanfiction writing has spanned about 14 years) are Dan/Amy, Veronica/Logan, Klaus/Caroline, Mickey/Ian.

3. What is your most popular fanfic?

My most popular fic on Ao3 is The Course of True Love (Arrow) and on FF Of Bloodshed, Babies, and Epic LoVe (Veronica Mars)

4. Do you write original stories as well?

Yes, I do. I’m working on a book, well, two books. But it’s going very slowly. The first is a memoir of my travels from around the world and the second is a vampire urban fantasy one. We’ll see how it goes, but I’d like to finish them by next year and see if I can get them published, but it’s hard so who knows. 

10. How do you stay motivated to finish what you’ve started?

Well, recently I’ve really been trying to finish everything I write. I have a lot of WIPs from years and years ago and even within the the last year, so this answer is pretty new. Basically, I focus on one fic at a time and write a little every day to stay motivated. Now, I try to update once a week on a certain day. I think comments/reviews and kudos and people being genuinely encouraging helps though. It’s also what’s gotten me considering finishing my older fics.

11. What’s your longest fanfic?

Of Bloodshed, Babies, and Epic Love (over 165k)

13. What is your planning process?

Now, it’s different. I have a doc of ideas and I wait to see which one I can’t seem to shake. Then I plan out each chapter with a few sentences and I have a list of things I want to focus on in the story. Usually, each story now has a kind of theme to it and a main focus. I sometimes will just want to write a certain situation/scene/focus and the story is born from there. But what really helps is writing down chapter 1, 2, etc. and having a sentence or two for what I want to happen. It doesn’t always go according to plan, but I never get writers block or forget what happened in previous chapters now.

16. Do you use sentence starters, writing prompts and/or fandom headcanons for your fanfics?

Probably a mixture of fandom (or my personal) headcanons. I don’t start with prompts unless it’s a challenge or sentence starters. Usually, I have a scene I already want to write in my head and then I sit down and write it.

17. Do you use/follow advice from writing blogs/posts?

Yes, I’ve read several books on writing. My undergrad was creative writing too, so I learned a lot there. I also follow writing instagram accounts which are helpful. I take everything I learn with a grain of salt and I see what is best for me. The best advice I heard recently was short sentences and so now I’m experimenting with that.

20. Can we get a list of all of your current available fanfics?

There’s a lot from many different fandoms. I used to be on FF.net as Psyc0gurl0 and now I’m ProstheticLoVe on a03. I like writing on ao3 better cause it’s easier and I love the tagging process. Plus the gallavich fandom on there is unreal. So to think about going back to ff.net to finish my WIPs seems like such a process now. 

Currently though, I’m writing an Ian’s POV 5 chapter fic called Chocolate. It’s not out yet, but it’ll focus on Ian from 1x06 to 1x09 or so and how his feelings for Mickey change and evolve. It’s the second part to a series called Chocolate and Cigarettes. Mickey’s POV was Cigarettes.

22. Do you listen to music during your writing process? What music do you listen to while you’re writing?

Yes, I listen while writing but I need silence while editing. I have a Love (lol) playlist. It’s basically all the love songs that remind me of couples I ship. So for example, The Acid is in there a lot because their music is great, but also Basic Instinct is so haunting. Overall, I like all music except country, so sometimes I’ll listen to my larger playlists while writing. 

23. Long chapters or short chapters?

So this has changed over the years. Initially, I wrote short chapters, then when I got back into fanfiction while writing klaroline they got a lot longer and now it’s just basically where the chapter has a natural ending. So the chapters are between 4 - 10k words depending. I try to get over 4k though. Right now, once I’m done with my current fic, I really want to write something over 100k.

24. How many WIPs (work-in-progress) do you’ve got?

A lot...none in Shameless though. Well, I guess my current one, but I haven’t posted that yet. I’d say I probs have about 10 WIPs spanning different fandoms. I know. But my goal for 2021 is to pick two and finish them. 

25. How many WIPs will you finish?

Not all of them. Some of them are from years and years ago. But I’d like to finish the ones that I still get reviews on. So there’s a SOAs fic I want to finish cause that fandom is so lovely. I also want to finish a klaroline one cause that was fun to write. And my Amy/Dan ones I’d like to finish. I would like to finish my Veronica Mars ones (I have two) but they need a lot more attention, so when people message me about them I tell them the planned ending.

28. I will name you three things (drunk Ian — shared bachelor party — Gallavich): write a paragraph or two!

“Fuck, Mickey, I probably shouldn’t have had the third Hot Toddy,” Ian grimaced as the world around him spun. 

Mickey laughed at him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Ian wanted to think his future husband just wanted to pull him closer, but he had a feeling it was to steady him.

“Probably should’ve cut you off earlier,” Mickey said tugging Ian closer. 

Ian wobbled and plopped down on the back steps of the porch. Mickey followed suit a moment letter and they both looked out toward the backyard where the Gallaghers, Balls, and a few of the Milkovich cousins were alternatively huddling around a fire, drinking, and dancing.

“I blame Lip for making us have this stupid shared bachelor party in the first place,” Ian grumbled.

Mickey kissed him on the forehead as Ian lay his head on his shoulder. “It’s Sandy’s fault too.”

Ian hmmed in response and Mickey knew he was going to fall asleep any moment. He ran his hand up and down Ian’s arm and watched as Debbie bounced over to them.

“Jesus, you aren’t even married yet and you two are like an old married couple. Are you going to come dance or what?” she whined.

Mickey looked down at Ian, whose eyes were already closed, and then back up to Debbie. She was watching them with knowing eyes.

“We’ll dance at the wedding. Go grab Lip, I need his help to get Sleeping Beauty upstairs.”

Debbie turned to go get her eldest brother and Mickey looked back down at Ian. In his sleep, he nuzzled Mickey’s shoulder, breathed deeply, and a gentle smile appeared there. 

3 more days and they’d officially be husbands. 

34. How did you find the magical world of fanfics?

I was about 10 and my cousin used to write a buffy the vampire slayer zine. There was a link to a site called buffyworld.com or something like that. And I found fanfic that way. There was a link on the site to ff.net and that’s how I stumbled across that. I stayed there for many many years until my second time in the veronica mars fandom around 2014 when I was lead to a03 and then I’ve been there ever since. On and off, my writing has fluctuated through the years based on my personal life.

49. Where do you draw inspiration from?

Everywhere! omg. It’s insane. Gallavich I love writing for. There’s so many different facets to them, but truly everywhere I find inspiration. I have a whole doc of gallavich ideas that have stemmed from other fanfics, headcanons from me and other people, rewatching episodes, what’s going to happen in s11, cute moments i’d like to see happen, holidays, and just general life. I saw a pic of WW2 vets who were in a long term relationship and i was like mickey and ian! another idea is born.  

[izumisays]

dear yuletide author

Thank you so much for reading this and taking part in this wonderful annual conspiracy!


First of all, I hope you have a lovely time! If any of the fandoms below pique your interest, I’m delighted already, and ready to hear all the stories you want to tell.

Fandoms:  Chihayafuru, Nirvana in Fire, Thunderbolt Fantasy

As for reading preferences, I’m happy with a wide variety of tones and genres, of any rating, ranging anywhere from lighthearted antics to dramatic casefics. But the core of all the stories I love has always been character interaction and interplay of their competences.

How the characters play off each other and bring out their best/worst, how they’d react to a divergence of events, how true they’d stay to themselves in a different setting – I love fanfiction for allowing us to reconnect with our favourite stories time and again by asking these questions. And there are so many ways to do it! To name a few favourites, I’m always game for POV hijinks, a missing scene, a casefic, canon expansion, backstories and what-ifs.

You may notice that quite a few of my requests lean towards shipfic – those, too, are welcome in a variety of tones – but I also tried to include openings for gen ideas if that’s your jam. Additionally, while it is not usually my top interest, I don’t have anything against AUs if there is something that you are itching to explore: I tend to enjoy them for a new aesthetic that fleshes out the favoured character dynamics in a new light, or a fusion that redefines the playing ground to allow the characters to exhibit their core competences in new and exciting ways.

I would be very grateful if you could avoid a/b/o and similar kinktropes, played-straight soulmate fic, and character interpretation that runs contrary to their core values. If in doubt, please reach out to me on anon - the askbox is open!

CHIHAYAFURU: Mashima Taichi, Wataya Arata, Suou Hisashi

You don’t have to include all three characters, but I’d love to see a fic that explores the connections between them better. I’m up to date with all manga scanlations.

Wataya Arata/ Mashima Taichi

In the immortal words of Henjin Meijin, Arata is that person for Taichi whose opinion makes or breaks him. (His wording may have been different, but if I go rummaging into the chapter archive to find the exact quote, I’ll end up binge-rereading year three into the night again, and then where would my Yule sign-up be?) (On that note, what kind of a MASSIVE LOSER waxes poetics about Taichi’s boyfriend problems to Taichi’s MOTHER, whom he JUST met? Suou Hisashi, that’s who.) Needless to say, that paramount opinion was not always great, and neither was Taichi’s general wellbeing.

Good news is, Arata is confident in his manliness, and he has no problem acknowledging Taichi’s ridiculously pretty and not too bad at karuta these days, and he’s also moving to Tokyo. Taichi’s definitely pretty and has an apartment in Tokyo, where a country bumpkin of paramount importance may possibly stay over until things are sorted out… eventually. Hint hint.

Jokes aside, I pine for the dynamics between the two of them. I nearly lost it, reading the Meijin semifinals — and if you can show me a person who saw them bawl as they crawled into each other’s laps on Japanese national television and didn’t bawl in response, well, that person is sure not me.

I’d like to see a story that lets them build and explore that connect. I do not object to eventual OT3, but I think Chihaya is on a quest to find her own footing and pursue other goals at the moment, and I’d really like it if she was allowed to do this (join forces with Shinobu to drag karuta into a professional league, girl!). I’d like to think that in that space, different bonds and relationships can develop and strengthen, starting with Arata and Taichi.

Taichi the overanalyzer, the hardworker and the looker, the golden boy who at some point surely hit that red button, meme-style: you will be perfect at everything, you will have everything, except the one thing that you want above all. Arata appears to be his perfect foil: steady and serene where Taichi’s scrambling and flawed, adorably awkward and disarmingly sincere where Taichi’s groomed, smooth and miserable about his own deceptions. But they don’t see it like that! And they keep tripping each other up so beautifully!

I’d love to read your take on them growing closer and hopefully smooshing their faces together. Roommates in Tokyo? Long-distance friends? Figuring out how to tell your flatmate you’ve been in love with him since you were 12? Established relationship while hijinks happen? AWKWARD THIRDWHEELING WITH SUOU?!

On that note:

Suou Hisashi & (or / - wejustdon’tknow.gif) Mashima Taichi

I cannot believe that ridiculous man. Did you see a grown ass adult swoon because his unrequited disciple I mean not-friend I mean Taichi just up and went to meet his relatives??? To  help reconnect them?? One can do things like this?? What next, being able to make phonecalls like an adult??

Does not compute.

I was there, Gandalf. I was there when the story first indicated that we might be getting an unlikely team-up of the world’s weirdest Meijin and Tokyo’s most miserable overachiever. But even in my wildest dreams I did not dare hope to see them sprawled on the carpet on a humid summer afternoon, Taichi comfortable in his own skin and Suou, erm, probably not very comfortable with his fascination :D He did not sign up for this. He, a grown ass man in what must be his early twenties, is too old for this youthful seishun sakura bullshit. And yet it is he who mournfully accosts Taichi’s mom to talk about how this other boy is paramount in Taichi’s universe. He who gets offended because Taichi knowing how to adult and work the social ropes is too sexy and competent. He who finds something compelling in the painful struggle of genius and skill.

Arata - Taichi - Suou

For maximum indulgence of yours truly, bring those into one place. Arata coming to Tokyo and finding Suou a fixture in Taichi’s life how?! Suou being infinitely pissy at the Fukuyi upstart and yet dragging himself to socialize with the boys regardless like a totally-not-pathetic adult with a social life of his own? Arata being mildly puzzled about the antagonism, but in there for the sweet snacks?

You tell me! I delight in my anticipation.

NIRVANA IN FIRE: Mei Changsu, Xiao Jingyan

Is this a complex, narratively inevitable historic tapestry strangling people with its treads, full of delicious politicking and identity porn? Yes, it is.

Is my burning – nay, primal – desire so simple as to smoosh two faces together and watch them kiss? Yes, it is :’)

I mean, I will obviously not say no if the kissing is giftwrapped in the said tapestry of beautiful, politicky plot, but the fever I can’t get out of my system is this: LET THEM KISS, GODDAMMIT. LET THEM BE HAPPY. I welcome canon divergences, alternative endings, fix-its, insert eps and codas where it looks like they would have kissed (erm, or at least confronted each other in a way that would inevitably end with them making out) if only Mei Changsu wasn’t so caught up in self-loathing and fluffy foxfur coats, and Jingyan didn’t talk too loudly about his so dead, so very dead beautiful ex to hear Mei Changsu weep stoically into his beautiful white furs.

I adore Prince Jing. He is 90% cheekbones and 20% heartbroken pouting over his so very dead friends, and all of it noble and awkward and stubborn and deserving of happiness. Mei Changsu is ridiculous, and capable, and twisted into pretzels of his own creation: not above gloating over his enemies while daintily dipping cookies into his tea, he gets too caught up in weaving the tapestry to notice he is a part of it.  Pull him off his high horse, Jing! Render him helpless by being yourself! Do something about being hopelessly charmed with each other, through resentment, loss, bitter pining, and narrative inevitability! JUSTKISSALREADY.gif!!

THUNDERBOLT FANTASY: Rin Setsua; Sho Fukan

I LOVE THIS SELF INDULGENT WUXIA NONSENSE AND I CANNOT LIE!

Sanfan is a mixture UTTER GLEE and deep fondness for the genre staples, self-aware and masterful playthrough of all the wuxia tropes in the book, and one goddamn well-constructed story. It plays the tropes straight, calls them out with a knowing wink, walks the tightrope between the two with panache, and just as you are relaxed and enjoying this trapeze show, it grins cheekily at you, sets the discoball on fire and pulls a bunny out of a hat.  It’s DELIGHTFUL and fun and lovingly crafted, just like a good passion project should be.

I want anything that capitalizes on the absolutely hilarious dynamics between Rin Setsua and Sho Fukan (and while personally I end up using the Japanese versions of their names more often, please feel free to go with the Chinese names if you prefer). Sho Fukan does not want any of those heroic quests, he’s the human equivalent of been there, done that mood, and he just wants to REST and hopefully dump a bunch of magical murderswords someplace safe. Rin Setsua is a Totally Respectable and Non-Villainous Member of Society, of which he will inform you firsthand in the most high spoken and verbose way possible, and maybe even produce paperwork that has definitely not been tampered with. He harbours no ulterior motives, ever, and does not trail behind Sho Fukan for any reason beyond the pleasure of his company, and his mission to personally victimize and cockblock every morally derelict villain in two countries, by no-one’s request.

Whether you go shipfic (yiss!) or canon levels teamup circus (also yiss!), don’t hold back your horses. Everything about this is Extra, and should continue to be so <3

I am okay with both expanding the canon and playing with AUs/crossovers/fusions for this one, provided they retain the character dynamics. I love the extended cast as well: any characters including the Seiyou gang (and on that note, if you want to write the Seiyou backstory for Shou’s gang that has no Rin in it, you’re welcome as well), reappearance of the familiar faces from Touri (read: Rin’s victim list, past, future and present), original characters lined up and waiting to be screwed over (guaranteed) and rescued (the administration does not bear any responsibility etc etc).

Thank you for taking the time to read the letter, and I’m greatly looking forward to reading your story — and hopefully, getting to chat about these ridiculous and wonderful characters post-reveals :)

[laughingpinecone]

Yuletide letter

I am laughingpineapple on AO3  

Hello dear author! I hope you’ll have fun with our match. Feel free to draw from general or fandom-specific likes, past letters, and/or follow your heart.

Likes: worldbuilding, slice of life (especially if the event the fic focuses on is made up but canon-specific), missing moments, 5+1 and similar formats, bonding and emotional support/intimacy, physical intimacy, lingering touches, loyalty, casefic, surrealism, magical realism, established relationships, future fic (when in doubt, tell me what’s happening to them five, ten, twenty years in the future!), hurt/comfort, throwing characters into non-canon environments, banter, functional relationships between dysfunctional individuals, unexplained mysteries, bittersweet moods, journal/epistolary fic, dreams and memories and identities, tropey plots that are already close enough to characters/canon, outsider POV, UST, resolved UST, exploring the ~deep lore, leaning on the uniqueness of the canon setting/mood, found families, characters reuniting after a long and/or harrowing time, friends-to-lovers, road trips, maps, mutual pining, cuddling, wintry moods, the feeling of flannel and other fabrics, ridiculous concepts played entirely straight, sensory details, places being haunted, people being haunted, the mystery of the woods, small hopes in bleak worlds, electricity, places that don’t quite add up, mismatched memories, caves and deep places, distant city lights at night, emphasis on non-human traits of non-human characters (gen-wise, but also a hearty yes xeno for applicable ships), emphasis on inhuman traits of characters who were human once and have sort of shed it all behind

Cool with: any tense, any pov, any rating, plotty, not plotty, IF, unrequested characters popping up.

DNW: non-canonical rape, non-canonical children, focus on children, unrequested ships (background established canon couples are okay, mentions of parents are okay!), canon retellings, consent issues, actual covid (fantasy plagues are okay)

Les Cités Obscures: any

This is a very general “please, anything in the style of canon, just maybe with less thoughtless sexism” request. I want to lose myself in these cities again, and in the strange lands that connect them. I’d be happy to follow any of the known characters and/or OCs, or eschew characters altogether and write about the cities themselves. What caught your imagination in Brüsel, Xhystos, Taxandria, Alaxis...? The history of some cool building that was only marginally featured in one of the stories? Or an OC city! If you’ve got a favourite European city that doesn’t already have its obscure counterpart, please tell me all about it! Go big, go wild! What strange and classically surrealist happenings take place within its walls? Or even... outside Europe... Nerding out about architecture is of course very welcome. I would also love to read a story based on any Schuiten illustration, contextualizing it as if it were part of this ‘verse. Here’s a bunch of them, for example!

Ghost Trick: Cabanela

You know.. him. Dazzlingly OTT, untiring, rock-solid self-esteem, loyal to a fault, following a rhythm of his own, flawless intuition until it fails and it all burns down… him. I just want to see more of him doing stuff! The way he’s chill and open toward new people (like Sissel and Missile in ch15) makes him perfect to throw at most other characters and see how they react to the sparkles… I’d love some focus on how ridiculous his aesthetic is, half Saturday Night Fever half hardboiled detective half bubbly preteen (for a total of 150%) and yet he makes it work. Or how ruthless he can be, possibly for the sake of the people he cares for. The quote “The intimacy of big parties”. Him and Alma in the new timeline bonding over knowing (once Jowd has spilled the beans) but not remembering that terrible timeline. Some tropey scenario on the job. Snark-offs with Pigeon Man, by which I mean PM snarks and it bounces off him like water off a spotless white goose’s back.

Ship-wise it’s only Cabanela/Jowd whenever it’s not infidelity, Cabanela/Alma in what-ifs also if it’s not infidelity and Cabanela/Alma/Jowd for me (and Lynne/Memry and Yomiel/fianSissel on the side). There are a bunch of shippy prompts in all my past letters - I would however reiterate here that Jowd. is. the worst tease. always. Like, just saying, but assume he’s pining big time and Jowd and Alma figure it out - they’d make a national sport out of excruciatingly protracted teasing.

Conversely, Cabanela/Lynne and Cabanela/Yomiel are NOTPs especially from Cabanela’s side. So while I appreciate the thick tension of a good Yomiel VS Cabanela confrontation like everyone and their cat, and also really appreciate a roughed-up Cabanela, and I do love Yomiel in his own right… I don’t want Cabanela being into it. Adrenaline junkie he may be but this hurts and his coat’s a mess and there’s no perfect winning scenario so he hates every second of it. (JOWD being super into Cabanela being roughed up is another matter altogether and he should probably mind his own business. ...incompatible kinks, truly tragic. they’ll have to find some other common ground. they’re smart, resourceful, playful fellows, I’m sure they’ll manage)

Kentucky Route Zero: Donald kentuckyroutezero

I love everyone in the cast, all acts and interludes, and I am extremely into all the themes this incredible work of art ended up exploring. Agreeing with the overall doom and gloom up to Act IV, I was blown away by Act V’s strong affirmation of the importance of the arts and of the bonds we make and of carving up spaces for ourselves in capitalism’s wake. Donald was, indeed, not a part of any of that. Even the final interlude updates us on Lula and mentions Joseph, but the big guy is nowhere to be seen. So, you know, there’s fanfiction! He’s so static, defeated. I am fascinated by the chain of metaphysical spaces that goes surface -> Zero -> Echo -> Dogwood and even within that framework, the hall of the mountain king is like a hopeless dead end. Dude’s terminally stuck. So - once again, in the spirit of transformative works, how could he get... you know... unstuck? Did Lula’s momentous appearance in Act III shake him? Having a functioning Xanadu again, perhaps? How could he interrogate that oracle, what recursive wonders would it show him? If he decides to leave, what does it feel to be on the surface again after so long, or on the river perhaps? Maybe he is forced to leave by the flood, if not this one, the next... Having him meet any other character would be amazing. Past or future time spent with Weaver... seeing Conway again, changed... programmer guy chatting up musician androids... did he know Carrington from his college days or was Carrington only a friend of Lula’s?

As for Lula herself and Joseph too: “Flipping through the pages, Conway is able to gather that it’s a story about three characters: Joseph, Donald, and Lula. It’s something like a tragic love triangle, but much more complex. Some kind of tangled, painfully concave love polygon.” 😔 I ship them as a full triad, if you can nudge them in that direction, good. But I’m very open to non-romantic resolutions as well, going past their messy feelings to find each other as friends after so many years maybe. Or... a start. idk.

I’d be interested in fic that leans on the game’s adjacent genres: wanna go full-on American Gothic? Dip into surrealism? Take a leaf from Twin Peaks with tulpa / split narratives to explore the characters’ issues? I’m also open to AUs, real or through Xanadu. This also feels like a good place to stress that I really, really like caves.

And now for something completely different: FAQ:  The “Snake Fight” Portion of Your Thesis Defense is in the tagset this year. I’d say that the crossover with the snake portion of Here and there along the Echo writes itself, but it would not be correct, as in fact I would like you to write it for me. Feel free to not feature Donald if you focus on this crossover instead!

Uru would be a fun crossover too, for Donald specifically. He’s very DRC-shaped in how he tilts at doomed projects which just so happen to be deep underground.

Pyre: Volfred Sandalwood

This is a Volfred solo, Volfred&literally anyone or Volfred/Tariq, /Oralech or /Tariq/Oralech request. I adore everyone in that Blackwagon+Dalbert+Celeste, so if you want to add a Nightwing or two to any prompt, please do! I also love all the Scribes and find Erisa a compelling tragic figure, while out of the other triumvirates, I’m “love to hate them” for Manley, Brighton, Udmildhe and Deluge and would not like to see them featured in sympathetic roles. fwiw I also enjoy Jodi/Celeste and Bertrude/Pamitha a lot!

I feel deeply for all of Pyre’s main themes - literacy, degrees of freedom, the fragile time that is the end of a historical cycle, nobodies rising up to the occasion, building a better society, and of course found family, “distance cannot separate our spirits” and all that jazz, and Volfred is squarely rooted at the center of all of them. I really really love everything he stands for, even if he’s overbearingly smug in standing for it. Just please tell me things about my fave. His relationship to the Scribes (as a historian, a some kind of vision, via *ae or once he’s a star himself)? A ‘forced vacay’ Downside ending where he looks at the Union from afar and keeps living in this strange transformational place? Life in a cramped Blackwagon that was meant for like 5 people tops and is currently eight Nightwings, a herald and an orb? Since he picked him for the job to begin with, does he respect and cherish Hedwyn as he dang well should? What does it feel like to try and Read a herald? Was he ever in danger, in the Commonwealth or in the Downside? What daring act of resistance did he and Bertrude pull off at some point in their past? It’d be cool if one of his old pamphlets came up at some point. Does he puff up as prime minister because he’s nervous, and who can see past his hyper-professionalism and lend a hand? Please roast him big time about the votes he assigns to the various Nightwings in his planner? What’s his attitude toward the flame’s purification (what with being a tree but mostly like, as a general concept. He did nothing wrong!) (well he definitely said some things wrong and sometimes oftentimes the ego jumps out, but his intentions did nothing wrong)? When did his calculating approach fail him? Something with Pamitha along the lines of that edit that goes “Can we talk, one ten to another?“/"I am an eleven, my girl, but continue”? Dude could easily be voted sexiest voice in the Downside - how much is he aware of it? Does he sing? I love how he bears his ‘reader’ brand proudly. And speaking of scars, I have to wonder, looking at Manley for comparison, if the shape of his head, with that massive crack, isn’t also due to injuries.

As a refrain from my general likes: emphatically yes xeno to both shippy interactions at all ratings and to gen explorations of what a Sap is like… I’d love to read all your headcanons.

Ship-wise, I enjoy him with Tariq as this kind of esoteric connection of minds, guarded words full of secret meanings, long contemplative walks together (is any external pov watching...?), Volfred’s Reader powers brushing against Tariq’s mind and getting weak in the knees at the starlit expanse he finds there, so unlike mortal thoughts. Tariq finds his individuality learning from him; Volfred presumably gets a transcendent glimpse of the Scribes. And I enjoy him with Oralech as pretty much the opposite of that, Oralech is so very mortal compared to him, such a precious, fleeting, burning life especially after his fall. Oralech’s idealism is very dear to me, it was their plan, their shared revolutionary spirit, I find it deeply moving. And I am very interested in seeing them rebuild their connection now that Oralech is back, changed, and in some ways he can learn to let go of his misconceptions and slowly open himself to Volfred’s love again, but in other ways that’s who he is now, with this deep-set anger, and what does it even feel to realize that you’re the symbol of the end of an era (the end of the Rites, the fading of the Scribes). I’m interested in both topside and downside endings for all of them, as long as they end up on the same side, the revolution was peaceful and they don’t angst too much about the side they ended in. Tariq can ‘find his way home’ in the near post-canon somehow or even be summoned again, as a different aspect of the same ‘moonlit vision’ that once inspired Soliam Murr.

Strandbeest: any

https://www.strandbeest.com/

I would just like words to go with these, please and thank you so very much. Worldbuild to your heart’s content! Specifically: I’m fascinated by the premise that the strandbeest are living creatures that evolve and adapt to their ecosystem. A world where life is just wind stomachs and sandy joints, and the tide that can catch you unaware. I would like a story that feels distinctly inorganic. The wonder that is the existence of these creatures. Their unique struggles. Weird and experimental if you like. With a mechanical focus, maybe?

I nominated four critters as a selection of the different cool things they can do - Percipiere Excelsus is huge and has the hammer mechanism, Suspendisse’s tail senses the hardness of the sand, Uminami is my fave caterpillar and the caterpillars overall feel like a new paradigm after a mass extinction event, Ader straight-up flies... but they’re all wonderful. If you want to focus on different strandbeest, please do!

Twin Peaks: Lucy Moran

Case fic but they don’t find out jack shit, someone disappears, David Bowie was there, it’s complicated. Fragmented, shifted, mirrored identities. New Lodge spaces. The risks of staring into the void for too long. Gentle illusions. Transcendence. The moon. Static buzzing. Any title from the s3 ethereal whooshing compilation used as a prompt, actually. Whatever goes on on Blue Pine mountain or the even more mysterious things that go on on White Tail mountain where exactly zero canon locations are found. Twin Peaks is all about the mystery to me, the awe of mystery and unknowability and the human drive to look beyond and the risks of getting a peek, and about shared consciousness and trauma taking physical form in an uncaring world. Go wild with the ethereal whooshing! But I also love the human warmth at the heart of it all, and sometimes it’s enough to anchor these characters and let them have a nice day. A fic entirely focused on some instance of coziness against the cold chaotic background of canon would be great too.

For Lucy specifically, a big draw for me is how canon (...s2 need not apply) empathizes with her way of processing the world. Not just Peaks, but On the Air’s protag who is basically a Lucy expy also gets the narrative completely on her side and that’s great. And I love how in s3, her focus on the small things around her is always echoed by bigger, climactic events beyond her horizon (bunnies / Jack Rabbit’s palace, chair order / Garland’s chair, her first scene talking about the two sheriffs / doubles everywhere...). It feels to me like some kind of off-kilter mindfulness and I love it. She’s also got a loving husband and an amazing son, which, in this economy and also this canon? Damn. The one functional family, imagine that. I am not interested in focus on family dynamics, but singularly, either Lucy/Andy or Lucy&Wally are great - in particular, I’m interested in how strange they are and yet they make it work. With the ruthless critique of traditional family structure that’s all over canon, maybe they make it work specifically because they’re not doing any of that. A bit like the Addams family... but... not goth...? Anyway. I’d love to see Lucy interact with and maybe strike a friendship with any character she’s never shared a scene with in canon! In the tagset, there’s Diane for some secretaries bonding, Audrey because??? why not?, Albert because it’d be an epic enemies to friends slowburn, some version of Laura in the future, if we’re feeling really daring maybe even some version of Coop in the future, still fragmented... or anyone you want! Outside the tagset I’d be curious about Hawk, Margaret and maybe Doris in particular, I think, and Phil, and Nadine and the Invitation to Love fandom in general (Frost says it still airs - did it get as weird as TP s3 did?), but if you have an idea with someone else, absolutely go for it!

Canon-specific DNWs: any singular Dreamer being the ‘source’ of canon, BOB (let alone Judy) being forever defeated in the finale, Judy being an active malevolent presence in the characters’ lives, clear explanations for canonical ambiguities, ‘Odessaverse’ being the reality layer, the Fireman’s House by the Sea being the White Lodge, whatever Twin Perfect’s on about, Cooper/Audrey, Cooper/Laura

[jinxofthedesert]

Hi there! Annoying anon that loves rambling about the Valeska twins is here again 🤣 Let the discussion continue! 😂 Yeah, I totally get your point of writing such stories as a means of fulfilling wishes. I guess it makes sense from the writer's pov that they want to give these characters a different (better) treatment. Valid point, but still, they don't feel real to me.

(Below this is the rest of the messages, put together. Farther down, below the line, are my responses)

It's like I'm reading a story with a character that's called Jerome/Jeremiah Valeska and looks exactly like him, but it's not truly him (just like you said, at their cores they are bad guys). But it's perfectly understandable and all right that people want to give them a rest from their chaotic lives haha 😊 everybody’s got their cup of tea ☕

Damn, yes, these stories are so hard to find! I imagine that writing something of the sort and investing so much in such complex characters can be draining and daunting, so yeah I get the reason why there are not so many fics out there... and OCs are so difficult to write haha you are right. They take too much time and effort 🤣

Yeah, I guess Ecco was not the best example. It's very true what you say about Jeremiah's and Ecco's relationship. In the show it was portrayed as a professional one. So we don't really know if there's anything else beyond that, save for some level of concern. So I guess I should have gone with Bruce instead because, just like you said, Jeremiah went totally bonkers when he realized that Bruce was the only one who saw past his resemblance to Jerome.

Basically, what I was trying to say is that in these fics there's not really that same vibe of evil obsession and lunacy from the twin's side. Maybe just some sort of heightened jealousy when their partner is addressed by other characters, but not in a really "Valeska" way. In fact, it is also strange when Bruce is completely absent in these stories when the twins' obsession revolves around him.

Yeah, there is sooo much to explore, so that is why I am very curious to see how people construe their backgrounds, but usually it's just the repetition of the show with some added scenes and dialogues here and there 😅 I would love to see something a bit different, but well, I guess I am being very demanding 🤣 Don't worry about it and thanks so much for replying! 😘 I am now doing some research in different sites 🤣

It's a bit weird because even though I enjoyed the show, I have to say I merely watched it to see ma broski boys in action 🤣 so If I wasn't so lazy (and didn't have other unfinished projects) I would try to write something (my mind is already full of vague ideas OMGGG 😏🤔😂), but I don't really know much about other characters or subplots, so I would not be sure how to tackle it 🤔 Thanks again for the lovely discussion! 😊

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Hi anon! Don’t you worry about your rambles, they’re not at all annoying! I find it rather fun to discuss the twins. 

I’m sorry you’ve not been able to find the content you’re looking for; usually, I always run into comments on Tumblr or Pinterest about how you look for certain fics and when you can’t find them, then it’s time to try a hand at writing it yourself. I’ve done that and, even though I enjoy writing, it’s still pretty hard, especially to find a drive to do it when I really am not feeling it.  With the twins not feeling real, I understand, ‘course I now think I’m at the point where I might read anything if I’m gifted with more content lol (though there are some tags that, if I see them, I don’t touch if I can help it). 

I think, usually, with most writers, it’s easier to take a character like Jerome/Jeremiah and, instead of doing the tremendous work that comes with trying (emphasis trying) to change them, they do a few things and that’s enough for a road to recovery. Because, most of the time, they’re not writing to change the character, or even to make it realistic; sometimes they’re just writing, or they wanted to try a different aspect. There can be so many reasons and sometimes digging deep and getting a character 100% correct isn’t at the top of the list of what you want in that story. Personally, I’ve learned to broaden my sense of disbelief with characters and just enjoy what I manage to find, especially since the Gotham fic-oriented content is sooooo small 😢

After reading your last message, I actually went onto Ao3 and searched ‘character studies’ under the characters and yeah, there’s not much, I read a few and I honestly wasn’t sure what to think (not to call anyone out). It reminded me a lot of my years reading batjokes on fanfiction or, again, Ao3 where, if you search long enough, there’s a fic for almost all your needs. There have been some good gems in there that delve into character studies and helping these characters try and become better. Comparing that to Gotham’s arrangement of fics is sad, to say the least, but batjokes in all media have a lottttt of years to have such a collection of wonderful content. (Even if you’re only a Gotham fan, stretching out into the actual Batman fandom can be very rewarding, even if your next step is into the Nolan movies or even Batman in general cause you can replace the characters in your head if you really want too)  I think one big problem with Oc’s is that, in a way, they’re easy to make, but in the worst way. You can create a character to put in the place you want, a blank space and they’re just nothing. This comes up a lot in anime type works, where the main character is so blah for the purpose of the audience (reader in our other case) to put themselves in the place of the main character. This also happens in a lot of movies as well, instead of fleshing the character out and allowing them to move and breathe the way THEY would and not how the audience thinks they themselves would. Because of this, oc’s can be very flat. There are the exception, of course although I have no examples since I don’t remember the last Oc story I read . . .  *wracks brain* yeah no idea. Though I’m sure it’s somewhere in my saves.

Even if one doesn’t ship Jeremiah with Bruce, it’s very difficult to ignore/brush under the rug that there was definitely an obsession and that originally, during their weeks of spending time together, building the generator, there started a friendship. The first is very obvious, show-wise (and friendship kinda came with the territory) and the gay subtext can be there if you look at it that way. As much as an interesting character Ecco is, she’s both not important enough in the show (sorry Ecco lovers) or to Jeremiah or to anyone for that matter. While with Bruce and Jeremiah, with how their first meeting go’s and all the meetings that follow after (very willingly on Jeremiah’s part even though I’m sure before this NO ONE was allowed in the inner parts of his bunker for long periods. Probably not even Ecco) the relationship is much more pronounced than anything we’re given prior.  I like to think that even though Bruce was manipulating Jeremiah when they first met, he actually did see him as his own person. Even though he, like Jim and Harvey, have personally bore witness to Jerome’s tyranny. (And that only twists the knife harder when Jeremiah eventually loses his mind because both him and Jeremiah saw him as his own person and in a way Jeremiah doesn’t become like Jerome, he becomes worse)

One could argue that since we didn’t see a ‘true’ way the Valeska’s love that any type of them showing affection might never seem very Valeska. Unless one looks at their reactions and interactions with Bruce as something more than just ‘wanting to kill him’ or ‘obsession’. This would be another reason I’m don’t read much in the oc-area or out of the romantic’s lol mainly because the moment they take Bruce out of the picture, everything seems off. Jerome, while willing to divide his attention, only does it with specific people, who are: Jim, Bruce, Jeremiah, and, on occasion, Oswald (though he’s much less in comparison to the ‘big three’). Other then them, we don’t see him hyper-focus on anyone else in the show, and if he does, it’s for a second and to simply kill them after. If these three aren’t integral to his behavior and actions then things feel flat and out-right ignoring his obsession with Bruce and his inner darkness can be unrealistic. With Jeremiah, this is much worse because in canon, once No Man’s Land starts, all he can think about is Bruce. Everything he does in that setting and before this even started was for Bruce. This type of obsession is . . . well, something that can’t simply be ignored, it’s a big part of his character and also very integral to just who he is after the spray. It may not be as bad at the start of the spray (because he’s too busy rebuilding Gotham in his image) but literally second to that desire is his connection with Bruce. If there were a summary of Jeremiah as a character it would be IMPOSSIBLE to write it without Bruce (same with Jerome though his might be a footnote, depending). So him suddenly focusing on someone else is . . . odd (even with Jim he doesn’t give his full attention too and, in the finale, Jeremiah only starts moving around and doing shit when he realizes that Bruce has come home early and that it’s time to finally come back to the spotlight). Especially since he’s supposed to be the ‘Joker’ in the Gotham world, which, technically speaking, means this obsession with the Bat (a.k.a Bruce) will only ever get worse from here (not to mention the fact he knows Batman is Bruce because he remembers the prophecy Ra’s told him, which we’re shown in the finale when he first sees the Bat and comment’s ‘you’ in a knowing way; this can be argued he’s just recognizing that this is what the prophecy was talking about or that it’s Bruce but personally I think both cause the prophecy was about both of them.).

It’s hard not to repeat things in canon though, believe me, I know and if you ever try writing a time travel story, it’s much worse cause then you have to change literally everything if you’re doing it that way.  Nah, you know what you like; the only problem with that is it’ll be hard to find it most of the time. I wish you luck in searching! Hopefully, you’ll find something.

Same. My older brother introduced me to the show and his way of doing so was first telling me it was a batman show, that I would LOVE Oswald’s aesthetic and that there was a Joker-type character just introduced. I was sold lol. There’s been a lot of drama with the show though, concerning the twins and I honestly wish they’d just stuck with Jerome or if they did still use Jeremiah that he wasn't just . . . a backup plan for killing Jerome off. And, if they’d been allowed to go on for a few more seasons, I wouldn’t have been surprised if they would have also killed Jeremiah and a third (never heard of) Valeska twin (triplet) would show up, playing into the overall Joker lore about there having been three. 😒🤨😑 Which I find humorous because they did so well with Jerome, he was a well-rounded, fleshed out character and, as much as I love Jeremiah, it’s hard not to consider what we could have gotten if Jerome had lived *wistful sigh* I won’t lie that the drama hasn’t affected how I watch it too these days, or at least left me with a lasting impression.  I was very invested in the first few seasons, it was a good show, minus the plot-holes and annoying characters (yes, some annoy me and there are some I can’t stand) but when the twins were on screen, it was probably the show at its best. If they had implicated them more so into the main story I probably would have watched all the way to the end (I can admit, I’ve never seen season five, but I saw many clips, have been completely spoiled and DID watch the finale lol and . . . I think I saw some of season four? Maybe, not sure anymore.) because when they’re also interacting with Bruce, perfection. I could watch that shit for days. 

Also, if you did write it, it wouldn’t have to be about other characters if you don’t want it to be. You’re talking to me, who has never seen the last few seasons and when I wrote my first fic ‘Blindly Evident’ literally all my scenes I had to LOOK UP because I only knew the base of what the scene was even about lol. So sometimes, you can totally bullshit your way lol and somehow it turns out to be really good and you like it. Or it’s just snippets of small scenes with your characters (I’ve been writing a fic like that for awhile because it’s fun and easy and yet you can make it so thought provoking because these snippets are so smallll.) I would implore you to give it a go. Even if you have no idea what the other characters are doing or even what their names are. 

I feel like this has just become me rambling about Gotham and writing tips at this point lol but you’re welcome~ I am here to try and help and always willing to listen about Gotham and talk (or rant, I’m not picky lol). Thanks again for your ask, anon! Hope you find that content you’re looking for 🥰🧡💛