#me reading hikago fanfic be like

[monoukotori]

👏LOVE 👏 IS 👏 STORED 👏 IN 👏 THE 👏GOBAN👏

[rakiah]

18, 24 for the fandom asks?

18. All time favorite fanfic

Damn. I'm utterly unable to just say one so deal with it.

Twisted Wonderland

[Leovil] Just the two of us by @disownedbytiime

If you've followed this blog for a few time, it's not a surprise. I'm weak to the single dad trope, that's all.

[MallRollo] Dark Fire (Smoldering Desire) by @rolloollor

Just a blessing after the first release of the GloMas <3 Bad ending but also a sequel with Consort Rollo and I love both very much.

Kingdom Hearts

[Xehaqus] Windmills & Windowsills by @teekally

When it was quite a rare pair, finding this fic felt like finding an oasis after miles in a desert.

[Xehaqus] Satellite by Solsync

A pure gem about old men thinking about their past actions.

MDZS

[XueXiao] The backyard is full of bones by @veliseraptor

I had had the pleasure to be matched with Veliseraptor for a MXTX BigBang and it happened their writing became my favorite work in the fandom.

Hikago

[AkiHika] Sacred Hours by TheGirlWithBrightEyes

Such a sweet and neat work about the first steps in a new relationship.

24. Funniest fandom-related story

Some time ago, an anon asked me on my KH tumblr if they could write a fic based on one of my headcanon for Xehanort and Eraqus in their thirty's which was the greatiest thing in the world for an artist. So of course I accepted.

Later, when they came to tell me in my asks that their chapter based on my headcanon is done I was astonished to discover that the anon was the writer of the current Xehaqus fic I was reading (Windmills & Windowsills)...! Keanu Reeves moment happened "u gorgeous" "no u gorgeous" and it ended up with me asking to illustrate the whole fic because I felt in love with!

You can download it here!

Kisses @teekally 🫶

[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: Hikaru no Go, Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends, Link Click (时光代理人), 猎罪图鉴 | Under the Skin (TV 2022),  Hunting (猎狐), Thunderbolt Fantasy (東離劍遊紀)

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 some 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 associated 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!

YULETIDE 2023 IS HERE AND IT SAYS 2000s ANIMANGA RENAISSANCE IS ON.

No, seriously. I’m totally going to lean into the fact that with ff.net no longer included for consideration, some of my most beloved canons are back in the game. Bring it on!

Hikaru no Go - Shindou Hikaru, Touya Akira

Oh boy. Oh boy. I cannot point out one single canon more significant to my fandom life than this. It completely possessed my brain after I first read and watched it, I simply couldn’t talk about anything else for days on end. It brought so many wonderful people into my life, and it started me writing fanfic: to say it was foundational seems like an understatement. I feel like I can go years without having a Hikago conversation, and then one day something trips me, and I want to climb into a soapbox and yell into a megaphone about it, or at least how my passion for something else actually has roots in this story.

Anyway, this story. It’s something that straddles two big themes for me, in a way that it’s never really one without the other. The first one, of course, is the eternal rivals (I can’t believe I’m typing this phrase in the year of our lord 2k23, omg I’m so excited) — the dynamic between Shindou and Touya is the core of the story and a big reason why I imprinted on Hikaru no Go. They are mutually obsessed, fierce, kinda ridiculous and ridiculously canon couple (in a way that means any hikago gen in my head comes with akihika implied). The other big theme, of course, is what unites all characters of this story into a vibrant tapestry: the striving for excellence, belonging & competition in a pursuit that’s bigger than one single man’s journey, the community and your place in it. There is not a single character in it whose story leaves me indifferent. Sai (Sai!), Nase, Isumi & Waya, Ochi, Ko, Yashiro, a wave of veteran players whose love for the game is a steady flame, the new wave burning with the desire to catch up, and coming to grips with their generation’s supernovas.

I would love a range of things for this fandom: anything post-canon and ship-centric, including getting together (or catching up with the fact that they were together) and addressing the mystery of Sai; anything with the ensemble cast and a good dose of fond humour; any AU which leans into supernatural forces you would want to tap into because the potential is right there; any AUs/crossovers that recreates the dynamic in a different setting is fine as well.

I’m choosing Shindou and Touya as nominated characters, but it could be centered on other characters if you really wish - as long as they are in the frame, so to say, and acknowledged for who they are.

Note you can take or leave, made in hopes to reduce stress rather than inject it: at the height of my obsession, I went to a Go club for a while and learnt a little of the game; it’s safe to say what survived through the years in my head is probably just familiarity with the Japanese terms for the game, its rules and main concepts. So it’s probably enough to understand a metaphor underpinned by what’s transpiring on the page, but definitely not enough to judge anyone for their Go strategy in fanfic. Be as specific or as metaphorically handwavy as you want to be.

My DNWs: I cannot handle other endgame ships for the characters if it means either Shindou or Touya is miserable, and I’m also incapable of stomaching any sort of romantic relationship between Sai and Shindou.

I'm up to date with both anime and manga, but I haven't seen the c-drama.

Natsume Yuujinchou (Natsume’s Book of Friends) - Matoba Seiji, Natori Shuuichi

I’m having the best time having a horrible exorcist relapse.

I don’t know what I was doing with my life, but I had the last several volumes of the manga on the shelf but unread for a couple of years, and only got around to them a little while ago. I am pleased to report Midorikawa-sensei still knows exactly how to get me ferally texting my friends within a few chapters, yelling about LOQUATS. Honestly I’m so pleased that what we’re getting on the page seems to be softer and more open to possibility than what we collectively imagined as a horrible exorcists fandom, yelling about bitter exes and divorces. I am so grateful that Midorikawa-sensei knows not only what we want, but what we need. There is surprisingly less knives and more communication, soft resignation and a working relationship as opposed to a bitter estrangement and mutual avoidance — not ignoring the feuds and bone-breakingly heavy legacies, but growing around them, somewhat? Miharu and Homura arcs were absolutely ruinous in the best way, and what we saw after adds more layer to understanding the history between the two houses but at the same time has enough soft bits around it that makes me hopeful? The mix is intoxicating, not going to lie. I’d love to be a fly on the wall and see the reaction of Matoba’s clansmen when Natori shows up in their boardroom to borrow their esteemed leader for a few days, on important business. HOW OFTEN DOES THAT HAPPEN, I need to know for science.

Also because I reread the manga from around Distorted World chapters until end of v.28, I have clocked it that the ongoing theme in author notes is gentle callout that Natori is doing a worse job of judging Matoba by what he does than what he says than even Natsume. He is so stubborn! And the invitation to stop listening to Seiji glibly run his mouth is right there! (I feel compelled to add here that Seiji running his mouth with the most clingy shit is my favourite thing. "Oh it would be nice to have Natori-san’s paper talisman." "Oh it would be nice to go on a wistful little loquat date again." URGHUGHG - me and Nastume both, probably).

Casefics, shipfics, boardroom comedy, AUs or futurefics — all good, as long as it digs into the dynamic between them. Messing with timelines, forced proximity, day jobs crossing with exorcist jobs, narratively convenient youkai curses forcing their hand, etc etc.

I'm up to date with English official translations of manga & anime.

Link Click (时光代理人) - Lu Guang, Cheng Xiaoshi

My request for them as I worded it last year seems woefully inadequate now that s2 has aired, so while in essence my wishes remain the same - all stories that aim to answer any questions posed by the show, fill in the worldbuilding gaps, offer casefics or day-in-the-life-of sketches, and above all, to lean into the fiercely protective dynamics between the main leads of the show are very welcome - I feel compelled to add a few comments to it.

The dynamic between Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang remains central to my interest. I ship them, but if you don’t want to explicitly include that, there is still all the rest of it that makes the two of them zing: cooperation, mutual protectiveness, the clear imbalance in knowledge, complementary powers and different styles, the blurry line between what’s actually a limitation in powers & bad practice, and what’s LG doing his damnedest to steer the events in a certain direction.

While I am right there in the first rows, gleefully screaming about Hypocritcal Homura Lu Guang erasing and rewinding timelines to protect Cheng Xiaoshi, I am also the first to admit that I don’t have a very good idea of how it works, and the implications of the time reset (resets?) initiated by LG. I’ve had a really good time reading other people’s theories and watching in fascination the corkboards with timestamps and visual cues offered by the production team, but the truth is, I do not have a firm understanding or a preferred explanation, so please feel free to take it as an invitation to play with it as fast and loose as you like. If you have an elaborate theory of your own — I’d be happy to see where it takes you, if you want to hand-wave the mechanics in favour of a general logic of a thing, or bypass it because it’s not the kind of story that you want to tell — don’t let that bother you. Timetravel is mindboggling.

Actual crossovers with Madoka, if you are inclined to go there, are totally welcome. I’ve refreshed my memory of it and have some thoughts on what sets the two shows apart, on the bone structure level, so if you want to play in that sandbox, please do. Just note that my interest in this crossover is not in packing any of the Link Click cast in frilly mahou shoujo dresses.

I am a big fan of Qiao Ling’s part in the story. She is such a grounding presence for CXS and through him, on LG. I am fiercely protective of the idea that her role in the story is not a romantic one, but it’s no less important for it. The way her level-headedness and empathy allowed for a break-through with Tianxi in s2, or the fact that she doesn’t shy from a fight but is not taking unnecessary risk — all of these things are an important part of the overall balance of power in the story.

On that note, what exactly happened at the end of s2 with Qiao Ling’s visions? Did she have her own powers awaken? What would be the impact?

The characters we got to know through s2 - they don’t capture my attention as much as the main trio. I found chosen themes resonant - e.g. the dismantling of the idea of a “respectable man” in the context of domestic violence, the imbalance of power and knowledge — but the characters via whom these themes were explored in s2 currently don’t occupy the top three slots for things I think about when I obsess about questions raised by the show. They are more of a vehicle to explore an idea, to me, that characters about whom I have intense emotions.

I'm up to date with two seasons as they aired on Crunchyroll, but I cannot claim to have absorbed all the lore shared via official twitter, on the account of my Chinese still being a learner level. I'm happy to read content based on that, though -- as long as you include an explanation and a link with commentary that will help me understand the context.

Under the Skin (猎罪图鉴 ) - Shen Yi, Du Cheng.

Always welcome the addition of Du Qing, Du Cheng’s fabulous sister, or the ensemble cast of the investigation unit.

For this show, I’m both charmed by the dynamics between the main leads, and the completely realistic (ha!) way they use art skills to solve crime. This is some anime level nonsense and I’m eating it up with a spoon.

Case fics case fics! Case fics that explore and develop the relationship between Shen Yi and Du Cheng. I ship them, and would welcome the acknowledge of the growing closeness and intimacy between them in the story, but you don’t have to push yourself if you are there for camaraderie alone. I think between their backstory and the events of s1, there is a lot that makes them tick as a duo. Things that particularly please me: the playfulness in dialogue and little things like picture notes, acknowledgement and reliance on each other’s competences, protectiveness and care that comes across both in the middle of real danger (how many hostage situations can Shen Yi get himself into? Asking for a friend) and in daily routine. (Food is love! Allowing people to have naps is love!)

The inherent domesticity of adopting one loner artist by a whole investigative unit. I really liked the evolution of how people warmed up to him, and different distance at which these relationships grow and show in their daily work.

On a similar note: how large will Shen Yi’s menagerie grow to be, if he keeps adopting all sorts of strays from his cases? *An amateur artist myself, I am very fond of the many ways art has been shown to interlace and influence things we perceive to be objective and tangible on the show. It’s not just about sketching a perpetrator’s portrait, and joke as I may about the realism of crime-solving with a sketchbook, I’m definitely fond of all kinds of aspects of art and its transformative power that were brought into the show.

Thematically, one thing that boggled my mind when watching the show is how it gravitated towards exploring violence and crimes perpetrated against women, and created a whole range of competent, sympathetic characters… and yet they all somehow were either in victims, perpetrators or both. It’s like the show writers are trying to engage in important issues, but stop before actually seeing it through to the logical end. Is it censorship? Individual creative decisions? I don’t know, but I would hope that in fic, we could be bolder about saying B after saying A.

The drama is available on viki.com, which is where I watched it.

猎狐 | Hunting - Xia Yuan, Wu Jiaqi

Don’t get me wrong, I love me a good white collar crime, especially one that busts a few capitalist myths. But let’s be real, the best parts of this TV show were Xia Yuan and Wu Jiaqi’s overseas 💕dates💕 I mean business trips, which mysteriously required they be outfitted like a well-matched pair of ridiculously long-legged models that strutted right out of the Vogue pages and into the metaphorical fire. The kind of fire that, in turn, required them to fake date, or dress up even more glamorously to impersonate filthy rich celebrities and their butlers, or deployed other similarly logical methods of tracking down runaway fraudsters.

I would eat up more of such adventures with a spoon, nay, a SHOVEL. Just like the epilogue showed, I’d like to imagine their adventures post-canon be a series of bright postcards (bang bang from Russia with love) capturing their antics in various capitals of the world.

Some ideas for inspiration could be: • Competitive not-dating. Xia Yuan and Wu Jiaqi just happen to contrive the circumstances in a way that makes the next operation seem conspicuously like a date, and the other one simply cannot let this slide and ups the ante. • I’m totally on board with some commentary or scheming from the peanut gallery of the Economics Crimes Division (I love you, Xiaolei!) to set them up faster. I don’t know if I love more the idea of the two of them giving in to the gang’s attempts to set them up, or the gang continuing to set them up completely unaware that the two of them are already dating, thus amplifying the comedy.  • As mentioned above, every city needs a pair of scarily competent and scarily beautiful law enforcement agents (who are also derps) descend on it to charm the pants off the local police forces and then solve some crime while they are at it. It’s also incredibly cute that Wu Jiaqi is the worldlier (or nerdier?) of the two, and can dispense funfacts and trivia at Xia Yuan’s incredibly soft face. I’m a simple girl and I like simple things. • ALL THE TROPES ever, as essential and completely logical ways to solve economic crimes. All the dress-ups. All the role-playing on the job with bae.

The show is available on viki.com.

Thunderbolt Fantasy (東離劍遊紀): any characters

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 hat on fire and pulls a bunny out of a discoball.  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 is 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).

Season three, god bless Urobutcher, just went and upped the ante by 9000 – time and space travel! Magical walkie-talkie pocket-sized boyfriend dolls! Dramatic daddies and villains literally yeeted into literal space, jjba-style! The sandbox has expanded exponentially, and if you think this is a good excuse to open the door wide for any perceivable AUs and still remain canon-compatible, well, then you have the right audience in me.

This year I’m not limiting my request to just the two main characters (though as you can see my fondness for them is great) because I think season three especially kicks the doors wide open for various kinds of hilarious team-ups, confrontations, family dramas and peanut gallery commentaries about one another’s delusions of grandeur. If you would rather write about characters in the demonic realm, or have been wanting a good match-up for characters that never met on screen, or bring back some dead faves — well, then s3 labyrinth invites you to play with it, and I’ll happily read it.

Thunderbolt Fantasy is available on Crunchyroll.

I’m also open for treats for any of the above -- to me, dropping stories into other’s stockings and finding some surprises in your own is definitely a highlight of the true Yule experience :)

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 :)

[hotpinkstaples]

2023 AO3 Year in Review!

Here’s my 2023 AO3 Year in Review!

Number of Fanfictions Published: 15 new unique works! 1 continuing work!

Number of Fandoms Written for: 3 unique fandoms!

Top Fandom: DC Comics (14 unique works!)

First Published Fanfiction: This Ship Will Carry Our Bodies Safe to Shore, a Hikaru no Go fanfiction, published May 5th, 2023

Last Published Fanfiction:

One-shot: Mashrabiya, a DC Comics fanfiction, published December 10th, 2023

Continuing: This Ship Will Carry Our Bodies Safe to Shore, a Hikaru no Go fanfiction, last chapter published December 28th, 2023

Fanfiction with the most Kudos:

Red Bangles, Black Anklets, a Naruto fanfiction (multiyear publication)

This Ship Will Carry Our Bodies Safe to Shore, a Hikaru no Go fanfiction

Fanfiction with the most Comments: 

Red Bangles, Black Anklets, a Naruto fanfiction (multiyear publication)

This Ship Will Carry Our Bodies Safe to Shore, a Hikaru no Go fanfiction

Top One-Shot (Kudos & Comments): With the Birds I'll Share This Lonely Viewing, a DC Comics fanfiction

Top Multi-Chapter Fic (Kudos & Comments):

Red Bangles, Black Anklets, a Naruto fanfiction (multiyear publication)

This Ship Will Carry Our Bodies Safe to Shore, a Hikaru no Go fanfiction

Fanfiction Most Proud of: Mashrabiya, a DC Comics fanfiction

Most Challenging Fanfiction to Write:  Philistine's Gambit, a DC Comics fanfiction

Fanfiction That I Wish Got More Attention: My 2023 JayJon Week fanfiction

Favorite Quote:

Could you fall in love within moments? Could you know, in a moment, that you didn’t actually want to die, and realize that yes, even the darkest night could give birth to a beautiful day? That everything passed, such was the nature of time? - That Lovely Face, Like a Moon, Where Did He Go?

Favorite Passage:

But what happened when a loss wasn’t truly a loss, but instead a separation worth eons, with millions of miles in between? What happened when Jon heard Superman’s heartbeat racing through his city, charging towards Jon’s apartment building on a Tuesday afternoon in mid-May while Jay was scheduled to pull a double and work through the night? What happened when Jon heard an old friend’s heartbeat while at the grocery store collecting items for dinner? What happened when the dead didn’t remain dead, and the whole world became undone? - The Man Who Returned to Earth

Total Wordcount Published: 161,626!

The first half of the year was focused mostly on getting my Hikago fanfic off the ground and ready for multiyear publication. DC Comics got its hooks back in me during the summer, so I had no choice but to exorcise the demons via one-shots later in the year to fill in the blanks and essentially opine on the comics I'd devoured these last seven months.

In 2024, I plan to go back to my fandom administrator roots and host a few fandom events. Currently have a darkfic week for Superman fans lined up for January 2024, and hope to run a BartKon week later in the summer for the Bartkon girlies (gender neutral).

As for publication goals.... lmao, who knows. I write what my heart desires, and sometimes it only makes sense to three people on the entire planet. And that's valid. This is one of my favorite old lady hobbies, after all.

Onwards, to a beautiful new year! Thank you for reading, as always.

[hikago-fanfics]

光の愛

All of the fanfics on this blog are titled Hikari no Ai. Hikari (meaning light) from Hikaru and Akari. I described both shining so brightly. And "ai" means love. Love takes many forms: life partner, brotherhood, friendship, and rivalry. 

I dedicate this work to hikago fans, especially the Hotta-sensei & Obata-sensei (Japanese manga) versions. Also to my friends, who are part of my life, who know and are equally crazy about this work, both those who are still alive and those who have passed away. 

This work is not intended to be commercialized. It is free to read, share, and rewrite (translate) in your own languages. But don't forget to mention the original source in English: this blog of mine.

This fics' genre is tragedy, Chika-san! Hehe, you're right. Sorry, apparently the main genre is tragedy. I think it's just slices of life. You can say it's all in one. No need to add horror or thriller genres, okay? For me the thought of death and endless suffering is horror. The scariest horror. 

Do any of you feel sad to the point of tears? Honestly I spent a lot of tissues. If you keep reading until here, maybe you are a masochist. Hehe, I was kidding. But I want to make one last fanfic after this with a warm ending. This time it really seems like the ending. I won't write hikago fanfics here anymore. Maybe. Please don't expect more.

Thank you to everyone who has read, followed, and sent messages plus giving advice to the end. Next I will focus on writing my projects. Not hikago anymore. And certainly not in English. I'm not confident with my English skills even though google translate has helped me a lot. Alright. Bye bye, minnaaa!

[akirasbangs]

⚪⚫ Hikaru no Go Fan Fictions ⚪⚫

To date, I've read lots of HikaAki fan fictions both short and long, mostly those posted on ao3. Big big thanks to all authors for writing those wonderful works!

Here are some of the fics that I personally like (not in order, I love all of them!) no spoilers

By you, for you | traceylane | 24,659 words | published: 2021 | Explicit

This post-canon with so many things happened in the story shows how they develop their feelings for each other. The characters are on point and the story makes sense. Something mentioned in this story made me grab the manga again to admire that the author did a really good job writing it. A little angst, Hikaru is lively and cheerful as usual.

Preliminaries | stirring_still | words not sure 2-hour read I think | published: 2009 | Explicit

This story is somehow different from most HikaGo fics I've read. Yet very believable how Hikaru and Akira would develop their feelings for being so so close playing Go and doing things. It's pretty domestic, and I love these two being domestic together.

everything you see is ours | laricina | 10,374 words | published: 2020

I have to admit that this is my most personal favourite. It's Akira's POV. The story was beautifully written. I wholeheartedly adore Akira in this fic. How Hikaru had come into his life and changed something inside him. I like how everything was connected so perfectly that led to Akira's realisation. So so beautiful.

Would You Marry Me? | TheGirlWithBrightEyes | 39,295 words | published: 2020 | Explicit

I love how Akira is portrayed in this fic as so close to the official picture by Obata-sensei in 2008 (the one his hair is slightly long and he was wearing a brown coat and a turtleneck). In this fic, he's a cute little dork and a bit awkward which I can imagine him acting that way too. There are a few scenes that really cute and just made my heart warmth. There are also one-shot stories from the same author that I love. I'll talk about them in another post!

The shame of being unsteady on your feet | snappea | 12,780 words | published: 2013

First of all, this is POV second person which is something I don't usually read. Plus, fan fictions with OCs in them aren't really my cup of tea. BUT, this fic is something else. I couldn't stop reading once I started it. The flashback sequences are insanely amazing, the tension built and everything! The OCs are there for a massive valid reason and I really need to find out more. These aged-up Hikaru and Akira here are matured and complicated. The author did a marvellous job here, I just wish she continues this work...

Outside of the Lines | Aishuu | 13,917 words | published: 2014 | Explicit

I'm usually not a big fan of AU, but this fic is so fascinating I want to talk about it. Hikaru and Akira are manga-ka. I just love the references in this fic. I believe people in the fandom may be able to relate to it. Their characteristics as mature young men are adorably charming.

Massive thanks to all the authors for contributing your work into HikaGo community.

I love talking about these wonderful fanfics. HikaGo-obsessed side of me is very happppyyyyy! Any more recommendations?!

[0ssianic]

(writing about my ao3 stats because i find it interesting)

My first fic posted to ao3 was in 2017 and everything else was written this year. over the course of this year, everything ive written has steadily been increasing in word count! something im really proud since i started writing more fanfiction in an attempt to improve my writing in general.

so far, the trend is to keep posting larger and larger works (with the exception of that last one because its meant to be a collection of short chapters), which holds true even with my most current wips. (1300, 5300, & 4900 - all set to be formatted as multi chap fics)

its interesting to me to compare across fandoms because persona is going to be bigger/more active than Natsyuu or HikaGo. it explains the relatively large hit and kudos count for Thin Layer. The next fic with the largest hit count is Proper Goodbye, most likely because the Natsyuu fandom is small, but enthusiastic and dedicated. (i say this because the hit & kudos count have plateaued for a long time, so all those would’ve come from 2017). Makes sense that the hikago numbers are lower bc its an old series and pretty niche, even for a shounen.

It amuses me that the fics that feature Hikaru as a character are way more popular (by ~a factor of 5 lol) than the ones that don’t. Which could mean a couple things: people arent interested in those characters/relationships (poor touya and ogata!) or i need a better summary or both. My best guess is still that people prefer to read about Hikaru

One last thought: ive been trying to leave more comments on fics i read since i really love all the ones i get. pay back the favor, basically. and after writing more of my own, i have a deeper appreciation of all those super long fics out there, the 50K+, 100K+ ones. after getting the writing ball rolling, i have the urge to write more rather than read more fanfic, which is an interesting side effect

[tenspontaneite]

Paper Cranes Q&A 3

Topics covered: ‘disease’ progression, lots of things related to Sai and metaphysics, spiritually sensitive canon characters, What’s Up With Touya’s Weird Soul, technicalities and things and stuff. 20 questions covered in total.

Spoilers for: Up to end of chapter 22. Maybe some very slight hints of things to come.

When exactly will Hikaru begin feeling effects of his Problem?

Well. Uh. Spoilers? But like I said in the notes, it’s not going to get Very Bad during the timeframe of the story. The reincarnation-AU I’ve been planning is another matter entirely though since it’s set at least 15 years later Also while dysautonomia can lead to tremors, which would make it difficult to play Go, different patients may experience very different symptoms based on which parts of the nervous system are damaged first. So…it’s not guaranteed he wouldn’t be able to play Go. It’s just possible that at some point he’d have bad enough tremors to possibly launch Go stones across the room by accident instead of placing them. Or accidentally majorly mess up the stones surrounding where he placed his. Etc.

 If Sai came back, would be be able to fill up Hikaru’s soul and stop the degeneration?

Well, hypothetically, any possessing spirit could do this. Not just Sai. But it works best between physically similar souls – the more similar they are, the easier they mesh. That’s another reason why Sai’s soul-bits stick around like they do. The lingering emotion and intent isn’t the only thing there. Very dissimilar souls would passively damage each other in such a possession, so even a benevolent possessing spirit would have a hard time not hurting its host.

 Are there other spiritually sensitive canon characters?

Kuwabara is the only one I’d class as actually sensitive enough to be aware, so to speak. But there are others who are….predisposed, let’s say, to being sensitive, and becoming more sensitive. That should be talked about relatively soon in the story. Next few chapters maybe.

 What’s up with Touya’s unusual looking soul?

See the above question. It’s highly relevant. The Touya males certainly aren’t the only ones, either.

 Will Touya find out?

Spoilers!

 Will Yashiro find out?

…Spoilers!

 Why was Nurse Furutani so suspicious?

She is good at noticing Obvious Things, like the tension between Hikaru and Touya, and is watchful for any hint that Touya might commit the cardinal sin of Upsetting A Patient or even Causing A Ruckus. After a while she determines that their discussion is probably okay and leaves.

 Is there a way to heal soul damage in a living human?

Absolutely not. It’s a fundamental property of souls anchored in a true physical body that the soul can’t significantly change in form whilst anchored. This includes growing, healing, or changing ‘shape’. Embodied spirits work differently. Reincarnated major spirits and kami work slightly differently.

 Wouldn’t calling out the grid position only work if Touya was on Hikaru’s side of the board?

Now, I’m no experienced Go player, but considering how frequently people might be required to place moves recited by a speaker (e.g. one person reads from kifu, other person places) I always assumed they defaulted to Black’s side of the board, because that would make sense. If anyone more familiar with this stuff than me knows otherwise, do let me know, and I’ll add it to the minor-edits-list.

 Can humans make donations to Hikaru?

I….well…uh….they could??? If you got someone (Hikaru or a spirit) to rip out a chunk of their soul, yes, yes they could. But 1) human souls are far more viscerally entrenched than disembodied souls and it’s far, far more traumatic to remove parts of them than it is for disembodied spirits, 2) the damage to them would never heal until they were dead, and they’d become a possession target without the advantage of Huge Leftover Energy that Hikaru has, and 3) most human souls are like…small. Bits of them are even smaller. They wouldn’t be very useful donations. They’d last like, a few days. Certainly no longer than a week.

 Is Hikaru going to feel better about the early expiration date when he thinks about how Shuusaku died at 33?

Well…no. No? I mean, in general, ‘x person I never knew had it worse’ is not really consolation for ‘my own situation is downright shitty’. And really, while Torajirou would have been Extremely Screwed if Sai ever left him (over ten years of possession, yikes) his death from disease was unpleasant but relatively quick in comparison. I mean. Degenerative diseases are awful, okay.

Also I’m very fond of the way you worded that. ‘Expiration date’. Hah.

 Is it weird that I want to write fanfic of your fanfic?

You know what, no, I don’t think it is. I’m definitely not biased on the matter, nope. Also at some point I’m going to be writing fanfic of my fanfic, so.

 Is Sai aware, wherever he is?

SPOILERS.

 What does Utagawashi’s usual outfit look like?

Like this. https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/shinto-priests-at-meiji-shrine-during-ceremony-picture-id597589563

Basically very similar to what Sai wears. Also that picture contains the priestly baton things that I’ve mentioned in the story a couple of times.

 Does Hikaru get any foxy qualities from the bits of fox soul he’s using as adhesive?

As Hikaru is a Live Human, his soul cannot undergo any significant form changes. The soul bits are extremely personal but can’t influence the nature of Hikaru’s soul.

 Could it be argued that Hikaru’s aptitude for Go comes from Sai’s soul/energy?

No. I would like to outright, unequivocally word-of-author this: Hikaru’s talent is his own. He is good at Go, and has a talent for it. The end.

What could have plausibly been influenced by Sai is his enthusiasm and enjoyment of Go, but only via the same sort of cross-contamination as seeing a friend of yours be really enthusiastic about something. More intense, because he can directly feel the emotions of Sai on the matter, but same concept. As mentioned before, live human souls are highly resistant to forcible form changes. Modification of interests and talents certainly falls under that.

Also plausible: Sai’s instincts and impulses with regard to the game might have carried over during the active possession, which would have helped him learn faster. It would have been very subtle, though. And the traces remaining now are not nearly cohesive and sapient enough to have that sort of effect.

 Would the Gigantic Spirit Boom Pillar be detectable to exorcists/priests outside of the city?

As a rule, no. Hikaru would feel something like that. Probably Kaminaga too, at this point. Anyone else would have to be very close, as very few living humans are that sensitive to the currents in the spirit layer.

Spirits, though? They live in the spirit layer. I’d say every spirit in Japan and many others further out would have felt the ripples. Any particularly powerful spirit would have felt it on the other side of the globe. Suffice to say, every spirit in Japan knows that Something Big went down, and gossip and word-of-mouth is sufficient for them to know that it was Ancient Demon specifically who went down. There’s...so, so many rumours among spirits, right now.

 Would foxes enjoy soap operas?

Well. Based on individual tastes, I guess? They are generally all quite mischievous by nature and will be far more interested in what they can witness personally or perpetrate personally than in the antics of fictional characters. But that’s subject to individual differences as it is in humans. Some will prefer some types of media to others.

 What will happen to Utagawashi’s shrine now that its aspect of Inari has died? Will a new aspect replace it?

To make a new aspect for that shrine, they’d need to do a ceremony to imbue the shrine with Inari’s essence. So, pretty much, make a new shintai. I think Utagawashi’s chances of making this happen are pretty high, but if he can’t get it done through official channels he’ll probably just team up with an Inari fox to do it himself.

 Do you know that Paper Cranes is the most kudosed Hikago thing on ao3 aside from esama’s multifandom thing?

I check my stats every single day, anon. I am most definitely aware of that. And it’s glorious. You know my thing has approaching twice as many bookmarks as the next closest competitor, right? Like, dude, it’s amazing. You would not believe how often I sit around preening about my story’s stats. And...well, idk, I might be running out of hikago fic readers who haven’t got to my story yet, but if I can get another 1k kudos by the time the story ends I could get genuine first place there. I’m not bothered if not, but it’s definitely something I think about.

[akirasbangs]

I've been wanting to express my thoughts/experience on this topic for a while. And I think this is the right platform to do so, right? Right?

HikaAki . AkiHika

I embarrassingly admit that I was introduced to yaoi community through HikaAki fanfic and that was before I even read HikaGo manga. Anyway, that first fic I read Akira was an uke as well as fanart and doujinshi I later found. So it stuck with me that he was an uke. Then I kinda forgot about the whole HikaGo and shifted my interest to something else.

When I'm back to this fandom, I first craved for post-canon fanfic. I read heaps of them in English on ao3. And interestingly, these seme and uke characteristics weren't really mentioned at all. Instead, it's reversible. What I found endearing was they were written so true to characters regarding their personalities.

I've read those that portrayed Akira with sharp glares and cold and him being a dork etc, and some fic that portrayed his slightly feminine traits. I could be convinced as long as it's him and the whole things make sense.

I think they both have seme and uke traits in different situations. Their relationship is deep and dynamic, so I believe their roles can be reversible.

I can even imagine them play a game of Go and the winner may choose who will be a seme/uke after the game 👀 (perhaps, someone wrote this plot already?)

(Still, when I see a fanart that Akira is drawn very manly, it makes me cringe a little bit like I'm not used to seeing him that way 😳)

.

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Here's the official pic that I think Akira looks androgynous. Hmmmmm.

Well, for me it's not an issue. I love them together! HKAK or AKHK, they're now happily married right? RIGHT.

[hikago-fanfics]

I've read a lot of hikago fanfics for inspiration before continuing my own fanfics here. Some of them stir my emotions. I feel frustrated, sad, disappointed, angry, surprised, feel funny, and laugh happily. 

There are some I can raise into my story idea. Some start off interesting, but I feel a bit disapproving of their character changes. Or even though there is something very interesting, I think it's impossible to line up with my current existing plot. 

BTW There is one dialogue that sticks in my memory. I can imagine their reactions, expressions, and movements in my brain, fufu. Too bad I'm not good at drawing, I also have trouble to translate from Japanese. This is how their dialogue: 

Akari: I'm different from you, Hikaru. I still have to find a job after college. 

Hikaru: Why don't you just be like my mother? Be a housewife. 

Akari: What are you talking about? Being a housewife means having to get married, have a husband, and raise children with him. 

Hikaru: Yeah, I think you're perfect for that role. You can do everything. 

Akari: But, but, wi… with whom? 

Hikaru: What kind of question is that?? Of course with me!

Akari: Eeeeeh!? 

Hahaha, it's totally Hikaru! So in that fanfic they skipped going out for a while and got married immediately because they were already comfortable with each other. A marriage that doesn't start from passionate love, but starts from a usual routine together. FYI their setting is in their favorite cafe right before Akari is about to graduate from college.