#my fanfics are a labor of love and I want to talk about them

[aligustie]

I love to write, always have. But looking at a story, seeing nothing but likes and maybe one or two comments... I can't help but feel no one really cares much about my work. I'm always told I should be satisfied with people clicking like, and that just makes it worse because then I feel selfish. I constantly ask myself, am I being unreasonable to want to be told I did a good job? Am I even doing a good enough job to be told that? Why does it always fall to the writers to work hard to bring the readers content, yet so many readers feel no obligation to even acknowledge it? It's a very lonely and discouraging feeling. 😞

too sleepy to elaborate at this time but I miss the old fandom culture of interacting with fanfic writers and fanfic artists as members of the fandom community who enjoyed engagement and discussion and feedback instead of the modern trend of seeing us as content creators up on a pedestal who don't need positive feedback but DO need to churn out constant content to feed the a03 machine

[yellowocaballero]

There's a genre of post that I see pretty frequently, which can overall be summed up as, "Modern fandom has a culture problem where fanfic authors are treated as content producers instead of community members and their fanfic is treated as a commodity to be consumed instead of a high-effort labor of love that deserves attention and compliments given directly to the author". I agree with 3/4ths of that. I find the part I disagree with very interesting, the same way I find a lot of writeblr interesting, because it's a perspective that I had to work very hard to actually understand.

Because the posts have such a warped view of what writing is and why we post our writing! They say that fanfic fights against the commodified internet we live in, but all they're doing is changing the currency of payment in this attention economy. Another way you can summarize about 70% of these posts is, "My payment for writing and posting my fanfiction is compliments, and if you do not give me those compliments you are not paying. If you give those compliments behind my back, or talk about them privately without giving them to me as well, then you are stealing from me." I don't want to put it like that, but a lot of these posts use words like 'deprive', as if the reader who enjoys the fic without commenting is withholding something from them that they deserve. They use the word engagement, and they do talk about how part of that engagement is just the joy of talking about AUs and ships with other people, but when people say that comments are their motivation to keep writing, what they mean is that validation is their motivation to keep writing. Which is compliments.

I understand that, because I understand that fanfic writers are not immune to the attention economy. But I don't understand how almost every one of these posts talk about how this lack of attention makes them stop writing - that this act of theft is killing their desire to write. I could understand this if they meant 'desire to POST fic' (I don't post fic I think zero people would read.), but they talk about how lack of payment stops them from writing at all.

IMHO, that is what creates a commodity from fic. People want to treat fic as art, but an artist makes art for themself. Art is made because we want to hold parts of skills and ourselves in our hands. If you won't make art if you get no payment, then you have devalued the art completely.

We think of AO3 as this unique site that's born entirely from passion and is filled with fics written for love of the game. But guilt-tripping posts that shame people for not commenting on a fic they enjoy, and that describe how there's no point in writing fic if it's not getting attention, are directly contributing towards the culture of treating fic like a commodity.

I also really want a fandom culture where the relationship between artist and reader is reciprocal, where it feels like a community, and where I get to talk about my fanfic with people. My favorite part of posting fanfic is rambling about it on my blog, because I can talk about my art all day and I love it when people stop and listen. But I love that because I love my own art. If you love your own art, then it'll always have value.

Also Google your username, just trust me, that's how you find The Secret Discussions. Someone made a TikTok fansong of me once. WHAT?

[n30n-l1ghts]

Okay, I need to rant. Fuck AI. And I mean seriously. FUCK. A.I. I know I’m probably preaching to the choir here, but more people need to be talking about this, and there’s no point in me saying that if I’m not willing to talk about it too. AI has done nothing but ruin our communities and defile the art that millions of hands have spent millions of hours creating. Fanfiction is a work of passion. Drawing is a work of passion. Voice acting IS A WORK OF PASSION. AI has no passion. It takes the soul out of the things we love and cherish. It steals what we as a collective community have lovingly crafted, and it shatters it to a thousand pieces, spits on it, curses its family, and throws it in a flaming dumpster to be eaten by rats. It is despicable and disgusting.

I won't lie, or pretend I’m a perfect saint. I myself was a user of Character AI until somewhat recently. And as ashamed as I am to admit that, I feel it’s necessary to own up to my own faults. But after seeing the damage it causes, I can’t in good conscience even consider touching that site. Many of us write because it is our passion. Many of us because it is our job. And many of us because it is our *friend*. AI steals the writing of your favorite creators WITHOUT PERMISSION and mashes it together like Frankenstein’s fucked up monster to create storylines that aren’t even fucking coherent. Not only that, but Character AI uses whatever you respond to it with to teach itself as well, which means that the company has access to whatever you chat about, and free reign to do whatever they want with it. They also make absurd amounts of money from it, which in comparison, fanfiction writers, who spend countless hours writing stories for our favorite characters, more often than not charge nothing. And the ones who do charge, tend to have reasonable, if not highly lenient prices for their labor.

Which leads me into another side rant. SUPPORT WRITERS THAT YOU LIKE. It’s really not that hard, it takes two fucking seconds of your time and it makes someone's day. Reblog. Share with your friends. Like. Comment. Just let the writer know that you saw it, and that you liked it. The amount of fanfic writers I have seen get completely discouraged from writing because of lack of engagement is astounding. I’ve seen several posts on Tumblr or Twitter or Bluesky talking about creators that were incredibly popular but never knew it due to lack of engagement is appalling. If you can rant about your love for their work on Discord, you can rant about your love for their work in the comments. Just fucking copy paste it. Tell them how much you love it. Show them support. Especially the ones that don’t charge. Because for those of us that don’t, our only payment, is your feedback. Even constructive criticism is greatly appreciated by damn near every writer I can think of. Because even that shows that you read it, absorbed it, and thought about it enough to have something to actually say about it.

The same thing goes for artists and voice actors. You see a drawing or animation you enjoy? Comment. Like. Share. You see a character in an anime or a game and you love their voice? Go check out their voice actor, maybe they do some other cool stuff, and you might just discover your new favorite series or streamer. A perfect example is Alejandro Saab. I became a fan of his through his astounding performance in several series dear to me, and lo and behold, he’s also a streamer I enjoy. Same story with Aleks Le, or Ray Chase. Yuri Lowenthal, Lizzie Freeman, Landon Mcdonald, Zeno Robinson, the list goes on. But seriously, it’s not that much effort to just show a little love to the creators you enjoy. The people who breathe life into the series’ that we all hold dear. AI does not breathe that life. Using AI, and supporting those companies, will destroy those pillars of our community. And if that happens, the AI would crumble too, it would have no new information to use. SO really, what’s the benefit? I’ll tell you. There is none.

Stop using AI. All it does is bring harm and slowly kill our community. It’s disgusting, appalling, and downright fucking egregious.

Thank you for coming to my TedTalk.

[mari-thesapphic-lady]

Agathario pregnancy dialogues prompts:

-

(I had a lot of fun writing this, I have a lot of ideas about my fanfic and this is a way to share it with you. I haven't posted it yet, I'll probably do it only in November. In the meantime, enjoy these little pieces. It's my own view, but I thought flipping some things around would be funny and it made me think a lot about certain possibilities.)

Note: That's all based on my own fanfiction. Kind an epilogue thing.

Pregnancy dialogues:

“So... you're going to have a child?” “We’re going.” “Oh. Okay. Wait what?!”

“Look, if you don't want it, I can just, you know, make it disappear.” “No! No way! It's mine too!”

“So... no true form for nine months?” “Unfortunately.”

“What if it's a boy?”

“What if it's a girl?”

“NO BABY SHOWER.”

“I'm just going to collect a soul, Agatha.”

“You'll do a good job.” “Thanks.”

“I have a human growing inside of me, I'm not fine.”

“It's a cozy place. A few runes here and there and, there you go, home sweet home!”

“I feel so emotional, I need a slap to stop me crying. Sweetheart!”

“Stomach bug?” “Worse, morning sickness.”

“I'll take that.” “Hey!” “No knife playing for you!”

“My boobs hurt, I can't stop crying and I'm horny all the time, which isn't so bad, but I'm sweating in places I didn't even know humans had sweat glands!”

“Come home to me when you're done.” “Home? I like the sound of that.”

“I know it's the hormones talking, but you’re pissing me off.”

“I'm in the garden, and I don't want to be disturbed!”

“Oh, the neutral face of displeasure. What have I done this time?”

“Nothing fits me.” “Don’t say that, you look fantastic, cariño!”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY BABIES?”

“Troublesome twins, mi vida!”

“Agatha, sweetheart, I love you, but if this kids gets your hips I will murder you.”

“Aww, they already look so much like me!” “Agatha! They're symphoning magic! From the womb!”

“I'd say I'm officially pregnant now.” *patting her growing belly gently*

“I've never seen you sleep for so long. I almost thought you were dead but you're Death, so.”

“I'm pregnant, not fashion-senseless. I refuse to wear these clothes.”

“You have been throwing up for hours, I'll make you some tea. Maybe it help.”

“It's enough you trying to kill me sometimes, I don't need the kids on the list.”

“WHAT'S THIS?!” “... a body?” “Not that! Look at you!”

"I don't even know how to change a diaper!"

“Kicking already?!”

“You're clingy.” “As you used to say, It's just the hormones.”

“Can we try the 'having sex to try and induce labor' thing?”

“I'm excited to see you changing a lot of dirty diapers in the near future.”

“I have stretch marks now.” “Keep them, looks good on you.”

“Nicky would love to be a big brother.”

“Using my sentences against me?” “Feels good, doesn't it?!”

“I'm craving sunflower seeds.” “Hun, you just had a huge cherry tart.” “I don't see your point, Aggie.”

“I have to do my job, Agatha!” “Fuck your job! You're carrying our offspring! Think about them! About us!”

“Do you think these babies were a mistake?”

“I think, this could be a second chance for us.”

“Do you think they'll be afraid of me? The real me?” “They're going to love you completely, cariño, just like I do.”

“Winifred? Circe? Agnes?” “Ugh, definitely none of those.”

“Since when do you paint? Wait- that's me? Uh, I look big.”

“What's the reaction of the souls you collect seeing Lady Death with a seven-month bump?”

“I'm not obligated to socialize with other pregnant women every time I go out! Why they don't stop talking too me?!”

“The bump is in the way, we can't have sex.”

“Your kids have been kicking me all day!” “Oh, so they're mine now?”

“How many babies are we having? There is enough clothes for a 100 of them.” “It never hurts to be prepare.”

“I think I'm in labor.”

“You're doing great, cariño, great.” “You aren't helping me!”

“Make it stop!” “Shh, you're almost, they're almost here.”

“Hiya, hun. It's me, your mama.”

“Look at these fingers, sweetheart, how can they be real? They're so, so tiny. Is it normal?” “It's normal, love, twins are just that tiny. Here, hold her.”

Babies/Toddlers dialogues:

“They look identical to you!” “I don't know what you're talking about, that mouth isn't mine.”

“Mami’s got you.”

“Who’s the cutest babies in the world? You are! Yes, you are!”

“I don't remember you pushing this babies out.”

“Oh we do make cute babies.”

“How many coffees is that?” “You try having two babies who refuse to sleep.”

“I'm not afraid of anything.” *twins start crying at the same time* “Maybe one thing.”

“Take a break. I’ll stay up with them.”

“So… the girls are fine, I want you to know that first, they're absolutely fine.” “What did you do?”

“If they won’t stop crying in a minute I think I am going to start crying.”

“Wakey wakey sunshine, it's your turn to change one of them.”

“I’ve never heard her cry like that..” “I tried to keep her calm but, she's missing you.”

“You have your mama's eyes, muñequita.”

“And she stopped me and asked me if I was going to take the girls to be baptized. Can you believe it?!”

“I took a baby's soul today. She was months old, like our girls.”

“Look how cute, they're crawling!”

“I hate sleep. I hate feeling sleepy. I hate sleeping.” “Yes, yes, cariño, now go to bed.”

“They're smiling...” “I told you, they'd never be afraid of you.”

“Stop wiggling! I need to get you changed!”

“If you lay a hand on my child you will lose the hand.”

“Skull lovers. Really take after your mama.”

“Hush little baby, don’t say a word, mama has a headache and your crying hurts.”

“Are you day drinking?” “It’s lemonade, not whiskey.”

“Please don’t vomit on me. Please don’t vomit on me. Please don’t… You vomited on me.”

“You're dripping blood everywhere!” “Sorry, is there a place you'd prefer I stand and bleed?” “The bathroom. It's easier to clean up and to keep the girls away.”

“Don’t give your mama too much trouble.”

“Nah-ah-ah, do not eat that, hun!”

“No daycare, Agatha, there's no way! It's the third time in the week that she ripped out an animal's soul, imagine a child!”

“Whiskey, brandy, wine or water?” “Pour me a glass of water and I may be one leaving this time.”

“Come on little one, walk over to mama!”

“Mami, ma-mi.” “Mami!” "... Agatha, she said mami first!"

“Throw your food around one more time and there will be consequences!”

“How did she get there?” “Get down from there little lady!”

“Come on, hon-” “No.” “Pero, muñequita-” “No, mami!”

“I already want one more.” “Let's see how we're handling these two.”

“Te amo!” “... Did she just?”

“Don’t, don't run, honey, you'll fall– I warned you.”

“Di mami, ma-mi.” “Mami!” “Eso, muy bueno, mi chiquita!”

“Cariño, she's unwittingly torturing a squirrel's soul again.”

“Fuck!” “Fuck.” “Nooo. Don’t repeat that, it’s a naughty word. Your mama won't like it.” “... Fuck!”

“Please never become one of the angry teens in the sitcoms.”

“Sweetheart, catch her! She ran away from the bathtub again!”

 “That's a grown-up grimoire, sweetie, why don’t you hand this to me. Yea, that's right, carefully-”

“Mami's bony face!” “Ey, chiquita- Stop laughing, Agatha.”

“Okay, time to sleep.” “ ’nother story?” “Sweetie, I just read you a story.” “Witch's Road!” “Witch's Road!” “Ugh fine, you win, the story or the ballad?”

“You know, i’m kind of surprised your children aren’t seriously injured at this point with you two being their parents.” “Haha, yeah… yet.” “What do you mean not yet?”

“My daughters are more talented in magic than me and they're only two years.”

“It’s your turn, go on.” “They’re your daughters before four o’clock in the morning.”

“My little girl’s better than yours!” “It's not a competition.” “Who said?”

“Mama! Look at me!” “Yes, hun, wh- WHAT THE FUCK?”

“Girls, let go of my dagger, mama won't like this.”

“Fine, fine, rock, paper, scissors to see who has to go calm down her.”

“I don't know how I survived with you cooking.” “Is this how you thank me?” “For burnt pancakes? Yes.”

“Was she crying, because of this?!” “Looks like someone's attached to mami's bony face.”

“Purple!” “Yeah, muñequita, it's mommy's watercolor, spread on the couch.”

“I've caught her watching you when you're outside and I think she's been shy about asking you to take it with you to the garden. You could probably let her help you with your garden.” “She’s just two, Aggie. What if she eats dirt, or worse, the flowers?”

“Agatha, I swear— If we have a child while the others are in diapers I will murder you.” “Why are you saying that?” “I'm feeling something, probably maternal intuition.”

It's probably not what many of you expected, but I always think it's cute to imagine Rio, who's Lady Death, Death itself, giving birth, you know?

Living all this confusion and mess that's pregnancy. It would be cute and funny, the effects of pregnancy on someone considered as powerful as Rio, all the dilemmas of motherhood, after all those centuries, after losing Nicky, and after the pain she and Agatha felt. It's not like I think pregnancy fixes or saves a relationship, that's not the baby's job, who has no responsibility for being there and existing, it's the parents' job to understand each other, and that's exactly what I wanted to explore with agathario here. A few domesticity years and a few adorable daughters.

This all takes place in 2009, and I'm still going to write about them during this period of pregnancy, and probably when the twins were little too.

-

AAA's full of angst but let's see the happy side of all!

We gained so much with them, and I LOVE this couple so much, they made history!

So let's enjoy a little and save our tears before the last episodes!

[biopicsabouthorsesonly]

Are we gonna talk about the Hozier fanfic that's going to be published and released next year?

IF NOT FOR MY BABY | Coming August 5, 2025

"It’s the duet of a lifetime when a rock star and his backup singer find a new kind of harmony off stage in this sensational contemporary romance.

Clementine Clark isn’t looking for love. Growing up with a single mom who weeps over a new guy each week tends to have that effect on a girl. But Clementine doesn’t mind being the rational one—she’s even buried her musical dreams so deeply within herself that she hardly notices the hole it’s left in her life.

That is until her best friend calls her with a life-changing opportunity: to join Irish megastar Halloran on his first US tour as a backing vocalist. Clementine wants to reject the offer, but the pay is enough to change her and her mom’s life. Overnight, Clementine goes from serving enchiladas at the Happy Tortilla to belting high notes before a cheering crowd.

But the whiplash of trading small-town Texas for sold-out stadiums is nothing compared to the rush of performing with the enigmatic Thomas Patrick Halloran. Poet, introvert, and lyrical genius, Halloran quickly gets under Clementine’s skin. The two couldn’t see the world more differently. And yet, over the course of the next eight weeks on tour, the romantic rockstar might just strike an unforgettable chord in Clementine. But will it be enough for an encore?"

Anyways, I went ahead and made bingo cards guessing what's going to happen.

I'm literally losing my mind about this book and I want to hear everyone thoughts.

If you wanna support my labor of love, you can pay on Etsy and print them at home, but also feel free to save for yourself. I'm not pressed.

[ghoulfuckersincorporated]

I’ve been a lurker for a little bit and I love your stuff, could we pretty please get some Headcanons for Charon or Gob. I’m on my knees over here they have like no fanfic or content 😭

What a coincidence, I literally just posted headcanons for Gob here (NSFW), and our favorite bouncer is next. I also have long-form works for both in the pipe, but the Charon piece already has some serious work done on it.

Charon's writing frustrates me endlessly tbh. He's so intriguing (and fuckable, obviously), but there's so little there in the canon to answer the questions you naturally have about him. So, I may be taking a few liberties here.

Charon (Fallout 3) NSFW Headcanons

I firmly believe he's prewar, and I think he's been enslaved/"under contract" since he became a ghoul. Regardless of how the whole contract thing works, he has the same issue as Gob where he hasn't been allowed to have desires or boundaries, just in a different way (Charon is obviously able to defend himself physically, and even technically has some manner of free will, but he knows that there are often unpleasant consequences for failing to obey his contract holder). The man IS a slave, but a strangely complicated one. If you want meaningless sex, he'll give it to you. Whether or not he actually wants or enjoys it, you'll never know without a real connection or a long, long time of studying his general behavior. He's incredibly hard to read up front, agreeable but not really warm or open.

His contract is supposed to entitle the holder to his labor in combat, so he's not really required to do anything else, as far as I can tell, including have sex with them if they ask, but I think he would use it as a sort of excuse to do so if he was already inclined.

You can't give him the contract or otherwise "free" him from his enslavement in the game, but in my opinion, that's silly. Sure, I think it would take a long time of him getting used to the idea of it, but I also think he'd certainly WANT to no longer be a slave at some point. Eventually, the contract is moreso an excuse. He never takes it from you when you offer it to him; he's following you because he has nowhere else to go, because he wants to. Eventually, he's following you because he's in love with you in his own way. But as long as you physically hold that piece of paper, he has the excuse.

If he does care about you, he will resist your physical advances, at least at first. He believes he's protecting you, as he always does, by sparing you from the social consequences of choosing to be with a ghoul. However, at the end of the day, he wants you, too, and eventually he won't be able to deny himself, especially if he knows you won't deny him. Even then, he'll kind of hate himself for being too weak to not fall in love with you, and he'll feel insanely guilty and selfish for not letting you go like he should. He's a fairly morose man overall, and I think he'd spend a lot of time pondering what the consequences of you two choosing one another this way will inevitably be.

Even with that under consideration, he'd still be happy with you. Keeping you safe and happy is pleasing to him (even if he likes to feign annoyance at your little peculiarities and your choices sometimes), and you'd get to slowly, painstakingly slowly begin to see him sort of begin to become his own man again. Over time, he'll talk more, but it's still almost always to ask about you, to remark about something that isn't himself.

Speaking of which, once he begins to "wake up", so to speak, become more aware of his newly-granted autonomy and his desires, as well as your own, he's gonna be rearing to go all the time. Slowly, he's gonna become fully cognizant of the fact that you really do want him as much as he wants you, so...why shouldn't you be fucking right this second, again? Doesn't really matter where you are. Who's gonna stop him from fucking you? Who's gonna succeed if they try? What I'm saying is this: I hope you're ready to basically be a free-use pocket pussy for this big-ass ghoul.

Some ghouls, like Cooper Howard, were once pretty serious ladies' men who've developed some hard edges over their long lives; despite this, that charisma often remains buried somewhere deep inside them, waiting to jump out at the right person. Charon is not that. This man had zero game before the war and he has less than none now. If you want traditional romantic gestures from him, you are going to have to specifically explain and request them, as unromantic as that may sound on its face. He wants to see you happy, but he's never really had to think romantically, so it doesn't come naturally to him at all. He knows about foreplay as a concept, but lacks patience and finesse when it comes to getting things started. Lots of shoving his hand up your shirt, down your pants sort of awkwardly in the beginning. Roughly groping you to signal he's in the mood to the point where it sort of hurts.

You know what they say about men? The dense ones fuck the hardest. Charon IS that; he's not unintelligent, just a very straightforward thinker. But he's obviously great at following directions, including when you beg him to fuck you until you can't stand.

He's just as quiet during sex as he is normally, save for a few grunts and growls and occasionally asking if you're okay, but you may notice over time that he's more physically affectionate. Likes to stroke your face, pet your hair, pepper you with kisses in a way he usually doesn't. I think he would see you being distracted by him rearranging your guts as an opportunity to be slightly more vulnerable.

Big fan of cockwarming. Already likes to just hold you in his arms while you both do something quiet, but he likes it even more when you're doing whatever you're doing slid down on his cock. His favorite is when you climb up into his lap, naked from the waist down, sink down on him, and immediately take a nap on his chest.

[itsagoodluckkiss]

I Know The End

Pairings: Roronoa Zoro x f!reader, platonic strawhats x f!reader

Summary: This is based on one of my favorite songs, I Know The End by Phoebe Bridgers, and I take the meaning of this song as a "when you're at the bottom, the only way is up" kind of song. Reader is a friend of Nami, she has air powers and joins the Strawhats after they help her save her town.

Warnings: Mild East Blue spoilers, kinda OC Zoro, typical OP violence, otherwise pure fluff, no use of Y/N

WC: 3.7κ

A/N: Oi, hello there! This is my first One Piece fanfic, took me a bit more than I expected but I did it! I have another one for my first request on the way, but since this is my first, I had to post one about my fave! Also, I'm sorry for any mistakes, english is not my first language. Anyways, hope you enjoy it, and if you do, pretty please leave a comment! Requests are open! ❤️

“I’m not gonna go down with my hometown in a tornado, I’m gonna chase it. I gotta go now, I know. Driving out into the sun, let the ultraviolet cover me up. Went looking for a creation myth, ended up with a pair of cracked lips… A slaughterhouse, an outlet mall, slot machines, fear of God… Big bolt of lightning hanging low. Over the coast everyone’s convinced it’s a government drone or an alien spaceship.”

Feeling out of place is something you get used to when living in this part of the East Blue and seek adventure; it is called the weakest sea for some reason after all. Even if she loved her living place, she disliked the fact that people mostly minded their own business without blinking an eye to the suffering and corruption around them. She couldn’t entirely blame them; it wasn’t an easy thing caring about neighboring regions when your own was constantly hit by natural disasters, causing deaths and lifetime labors destroyed.

She had just learned that the Conomi Islands had been freed by Arlong’s cruel rule after eight whole years. She wondered how Nami was. They had met a couple of years ago when she caught her rummaging her family’s vault and helped her through it without getting her caught. She hid her in her room while the Navy was looking for the thief. She didn’t need the money and it was obvious to her that Nami did. Nami was her first real friend. The week they spent together, drinking and getting to know each other, talking about their backstories, their wants and plans for the future was the best in her life. She had promised that after she’d buy her village back and free it, she’d come to see her again. She hadn’t heard from Nami since.

They said it was because of the Marines the islands were liberated. She could never believe that for one second. Her curious personality always managed to get her into the Navy’s business, making her family’s influence and prestige on the island take a hit every time she got into trouble with them. She couldn’t help that all this talk from the Marines about justice and keeping the peace made her want to throw up on their shiny uniforms. She knew it was all an act for them and their allies to maintain power. How could Marines talk about values when regions and people were enslaved and the Navy turned a blind eye instead of helping, just for power and some berries?

Her dream was to end all that fake order and bring actual freedom to those in need; to become a freedom fighter and help people. She needed the right opportunity but also, she had to take advantage of every situation if she wanted to get away from that place someday and seek what she so wholeheartedly craved. So she learned her family’s secrets and strengths. It’s not every day you see generations of people knowing how to yield the air around them, giving them a bunch of abilities like flying or sucking the air out of their enemies’ lungs or causing hurricanes of every size. She knew when to play nice and be obedient so that her parents would teach her their ways, thinking that she would grow out of her rebellious phase, would learn about and protect her family’s rule. It’s not an easy task for them to cover up the Navy’s dirt on the island after all.  

The more she mastered her power, the more she could see that something was wrong with her family. She had started to notice the patterns. Every time the island was hit by a storm or a natural disaster, they were never home. At first, it would make sense that they’d go and help their people. Then, after the storms, her island’s Navy unit and its captain started collecting “taxes” for rebuilding the infrastructures. Thing was, the taxes would constantly go up, bringing inhabitants to their knees. Meanwhile, her family didn’t seem affected at all. They would just roam the island, giving advices and pacifying the angry voices that protested the Navy. So, she decided, in the next hurricane, she would learn her parents and older siblings’ sketchy business. She had to know what was the cause of all this and what she could do to change it.

~

Meeting new people travelling between islands and seas was a fascinating thing. She loved hearing stories about their adventures, about different places and bigger dangers, fights between pirates and marines or about the golden age of piracy. About the Grand Line, the different weather conditions in each island, the devil fruits and the abilities they gave their users. She would always wander through the port, looking for more myths coming to life by the sailors that docked their ships on her island for supplies.

When she spotted a beautiful pirate caravel, with a sheep figurehead in its bow and its Jolly Roger with a straw hat, docked in their port, she felt a strange wave of excitement and peace. She couldn’t explain it but that beautiful ship radiated so much love and care, like it had a soul of its own and a smile that made everyone feel like home if they stepped into it. She stood there, admiring it from afar, when she felt someone standing next to her.

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she? Her name is Merry! She’s my ship.”

She turned to look at the stranger. A boy around the same age as hers, with a small scar under his right eye and a straw hat on his head, and that made her assume this was the captain. He had a smile so vibrant, it reminded her of the sun. His energy was so welcoming, she felt like she could be friends with him on a whim.

“Hello. She is indeed a sight to behold.”

She gave him a warm smile back, raising her hand to introduce herself.

“That’s a pretty name. I’m Luffy, and I’m gonna be King Of The Pirates!”

She couldn’t help but laugh, but it had no malice. She loved dreamers, being one herself, and even if she met that boy only a couple of minutes ago, she could see he would give everyone in the world a run for their money. A gust of wind blew, taking his hat away, and before he could react, she brought it back to him through the air around her. She placed it on his head and gave him a toothy grin.

“There! You can’t be King Of The Pirates without your trademark, right?”

“THANK YOU! YOU’VE GOT AIR POWERS? THAT’S SO COOL! YOU SHOULD JOIN OUR CREW!”

She was dumbfounded by his enthusiasm and his abrupt proposal. Never had she met anyone like him, so thrilled by her presence and her little air tricks. Before she could reply, she heard footsteps and another male voice behind her.

“Oi Luffy, stop scaring people by asking them to join us like that, will you?”

She turned to look at the deeper voice, and for a moment it felt like lighting coursing through her veins. Taller and more muscular than the boy next to her, he looked a bit older than them both, with short green hair and eyes gray as steel, three golden earrings that gleamed in the sunlight graced his left ear. He had a sharp gaze that radiated a strong and confident energy, one that lacked fear or hesitation. She never believed in love at first sight, but this felt as close as she could imagine it would feel. The man approached them and introduced himself to her.

“Roronoa Zoro? As in ‘Pirate Hunter’ Zoro? In a pirate crew?”

Of course she had heard of his reputation. Who didn’t know the infamous bounty hunter swordsman in the East Blue? He chuckled at her surprise.

“Yeah, well, long story short, this guy here has an effect of convincing people easily.”

“There you are, you idiots! We’ve been looking for you everywhere! We’re not here for me to babysit you not getting lost, we’re here to find my-”

She heard a familiar female shriek before she felt soft arms around her, squeezing her tight, and she immediately knew who it was. She could never forget her best friend’s hugs. She returned the hug as she screamed Nami’s name, before they both started to cry tears of joy. Her hand grabbed her upper arm, and she felt deep scars where her Arlong tattoo should be but was replaced by another, prettier one.

“I was so worried about you! I learned what happened to your village and I didn’t know what to think!”

“You should have known I’d be okay, you know I always pull through. Although, these guys were the greatest help I could get. They are the reason I’m freed and I wanted to keep my promise to you.”

She looked at the boys around them with gratitude, two more joining them, a blond boy wearing a suit, who looked like he would burst into flames from the heart eyes on his face and another one with wavy hair, a long nose and mischief in his eyes.

“I can’t thank you enough for helping my friend. She means the world to me!”

“Whoa, Nami’s your friend? Now you should definitely join our crew! We’ve heard so much about you, the only reason we stopped here before Loguetown was to find you!” Luffy said with enthusiasm.

“Yes, it’s not every day you hear someone born into money giving them away without question, hiding the thief in addition and fighting their way to get them out safely. You must be quite the character.” Zoro smirked at her.

“And to add to that, you’re also a sight to behold, my lady!” the blond boy said as he kissed her hand and introduced himself as Sanji, making her laugh at his advances.

“We’ve heard you have a great mind for plans too. Could use a strategist in this group of idiots that run into danger head on. I always device a plan to beat my enemies. I’m Usopp by the way.”

She was dumbfounded to say the least, taking them all and their kind words in. She met these guys a few moments ago, yet never had she felt such a feeling of being so welcomed by the people around her, she was so used to being ignored that this interaction almost made her sob. She kissed Nami’s cheek before letting her go.

“I… thank you guys… you’re all so sweet… but I don’t think I’m that good-”

“Bullshit, you’ll be the smartest person besides me in this crew. Come on now, I know how much you long to get the hell out of this place, they’ve never appreciated you anyways, and I don’t think anything changed since we met.” Nami proclaimed, smiling at her.

“No… not much anyway. I just learned how to use my powers now… Look, I don’t know what to think of this, I have-”

A loud rumble shook the earth below them. She felt the temperature drop rapidly and she knew what was coming. Now was her chance to find out the truth she looked for, the one that could possibly make her decide to cut ties with her family if her speculations were true. She turned to the Strawhats, as they called themselves, and smiled brightly.

“Thank you guys. But I have to run now. There are rooms for rent down this road, run and cover yourselves and don’t come out before the storm passes. Maybe I’ll see you around after that.”

As they started to protest, she flew off to the source of the hurricane she could see coming from afar.

And sure enough, the feeling of throwing up from disgust and despair overwhelmed her when she arrived at the source. She saw her family controlling the hurricanes and lightings that hit her island, and the Navy captain, who she knew was a devil fruit user, was shaking the ground, causing the earthquake, while his Unit watched from the sidewalks. Bodies were scattered around damaged buildings, scenery of pure horror. Before she could react to stop this, she felt boulders hitting her, splitting her lips and bruising her body, blood running down her jaw as she fell down.

~

Logically, everything fell into place. Emotionally, nothing made sense. She couldn’t comprehend how she could have been raised by such cruel people. Her eyes welled up with tears, but not from the pain she felt on her body, but from the sight in front of her, as her parents approached her, proclaiming she was not mature enough to understand their family’s best interest and how she has always been such a disappointment, never listening, never following orders, an annoying, meddling child.

“Do whatever you want; we can’t do anything about her anymore.” Her parents proclaimed to the navy captain as he too approached.

“You’ve always been a pain in the ass and I can finally get rid of you.” The captain proclaimed as he unsheathed his sword.

She closed her eyes but she never felt the blade on her skin. The captain’s scream echoed as his arm got cut off from the shoulder, his sword hitting the ground.

“Swords are not toys, captain. You don’t get to play with them.”

Her head spin to the male voice behind her and her eyes widen as she saw the five pirates ready to fight. Zoro was the closest to her, having drawn one of his swords that was now covered in blood, leaving a clean cut on the marine’s shoulder. Usopp was standing a few feet behind, a slingshot in his hand as he shoot at the navy soldiers, the collision ended in blasts and the soldiers started to run away. Nami was holding a strange, long, steel pole that seemed by its use to control the weather around them with air bubbles.

“You’re not hurting a lady on my watch.” Sanji proclaimed before his leg collided with the bleeding captain’s face, kicking him to the ground.

“He was already done, curlybrows.”

“Shut your mouth, marimo!”

They were bickering as if they all were not in a life or death situation. The most shocking thing was Luffy, who was stretching his body as he was wielding what seemed to be the bark of a tree around, taking soldiers and her family with it.

“Nami said you had problems with your family. You seemed worried. So we followed you.” He said with a toothy grin.

Zoro grabbed her hand and raised her from the ground.

“You know how to fight I assume?”

“Yes I do.”

“Well then, let’s give them hell, pretty girl.”

~

Either way, we’re not alone. I’ll find a new place to be from. A haunted house with a picket fence, to float around and ghost my friends. I’m not afraid to disappear. The billboard said "The End Is Near". I turned around, there was nothing there. Yeah, I guess the end is here.”

And sure enough, she couldn’t believe the six of them managed to stop the destruction while fighting the whole navy unit and her family combined, who were now running away from the angry crowd that had assembled when the hurricanes stopped and saw the whole thing happening.

“You guys… I can’t thank you enough-”

“Pffff, that was nothing, it was funny being blown away, felt like flying hehe.” Luffy laughed as he grabbed her in a hug. “You’re Nami’s friend, so you are our friend too!”

She had started crying by now as she hugged Luffy back, the feelings she felt in that moment couldn’t be described.

“I think… I think I’ll join you guys!”

~

A week had passed since her family fled off the island that was now filled with marines who listed the damages and arrested their own dirty kind. They had made a futile attempt to take the strawhats in, and before they would even start a fight, the people of the island wreaked havoc, not even letting them close to their saviors. She took the crew in the house that was now hers.

She helped Nami move all the gold from the house onto their ship. She gave Usopp advices for his trinkets and how they would fly through the air easier. She cooked with Sanji and then would catalog the storages that would be taken with them to their journey, with Luffy receiving several kicks from the cook because he tried to eat everything. She had never had so much fun in her life as she had with them. Her favorite moments came at night, usually spent drinking with Zoro. They had talked about their childhoods, he had told her about his family how died when he was a toddler, his promise to his childhood friend who died way before her time, how he acquired that big scar across his chest. The more she got to know him, the more connected she felt to him, like a final puzzle piece falling right in to place.

On their last night, everyone was fast asleep, getting the rest they’d need since they would cross the entrance to the Grand Line the next day. But her anticipation wouldn’t let her sleep. After tossing and turning for what seemed like hours, she got off her bed and walked around the house, taking it in one last time. She had decided to gift it to a large family whose home got destroyed. It was a fact that she didn’t want anything to do with that place anymore. Tomorrow morning her life would change forever. Her mind leading her nowhere in particular, she walked to her terrace. The wind, soft and gentle, rustled through the leaves of the trees, creating a soothing melody, and she could see the sea ahead, illuminated by the moon, which casted a silvery glow on the water. It was a peaceful scene, yet she could feel her heart racing when she saw Zoro sitting on the bench of her terrace, polishing his swords. 

“Why aren’t you sleeping?” he asked as he glanced at her.

“I… I guess I’m nervous about tomorrow.”

“It must be a little overwhelming, I guess. Don’t worry though, we’re a good crew, we’ll take care of you.”

A small smile played on his lips. His words were reassuring, but there was something else in his tone, something that made her heart skip a beat. She bit her lip, walking to the edge of the terrace, her hands holding on to the railing as she tried to find the right words to say.

“I know I’ll be safe with you, guys. It’s just… it feels like the end is near for me in this place… and being in a pirate crew is going to be something so new and big… and I don’t feel like I bring a lot on the table…”

He chuckled softly as he placed his swords down, walking towards to stand next to her, taking her hand in his to give a firm squeeze.

“The end is near for this part of your life, indeed. But you’re strong, you’re brave, and you’re a great fighter. You’ve been through a lot and yet you’re one of the kindest people I’ve met, still standing here, ready to face whatever comes next. That takes a lot of courage, and it takes character. I think you bring a lot, and you’re going to fit right in with us. You’re not alone.”

She smiled shyly, feeling warmth spread through her chest, her eyes almost welling up. He smiled back, his expression genuine.

“Thank you, Zoro. You really have no idea how much that means.”

“I think I do. I know what it’s like to be uncertain about the future, to feel like you don’t belong anywhere. But you belong with us now. You’re going to make a great crewmate. It’s good to have you on board. I have a feeling you’re going to surprise all of us with what you can do.” He paused, his expression a bit more serious. “And… if you need to talk… or vent or… anything… I’m here.”

A deep blush crept up across her cheeks. “I… thank you… for everything. Same goes for me.”

She felt her heart flutter as he continued to hold her hand, her stare moving to meet his gaze. She couldn’t help but feel more at ease with him and he couldn’t deny the way he felt either.

“For now, I think we should just enjoy being together and explore this new thing we’ll find ourselves in. Who knows what kind of trouble we’ll stumble upon?”

“I’m looking forward to seeing what awaits us.” She leaned a bit closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. “And I’m looking forward to get to know you better too.”

It was time for his heart to skip a beat at her words. Her eyes widened but before she could shy away, he leaned in closer, and their lips met in a tender, hesitant kiss, a slow, gentle brushing of lips. The sounds of the forest faded away, leaving only the beating of their hearts and the rush of blood in their ears.

~

“Take care!”

“Come back soon!”

“Sorry I was mean to you, can’t wait to see you again!”

“Be safe and make us proud!”

“Don’t disappear!”

Most of the town’s people were at the port to give their regards to the strawhats and her. The others were already abroad, her being the last to climb the rope ladder on to her new home. She turned around before hoping on to the deck, and took in how weird and eerie her town looked now, like looking at a haunted house from afar.

“So, the end is near, then?”

She lifted her head to see Zoro’s smirk as he gave her his hand to lift her on to the ship. Someone shouted at her to not disappear. She wasn’t afraid of that. She was afraid of staying still. Her head turned around one last time and she saw nothing there.

“Yeah, I guess, the end is here.”

And she took his hand.

[chershare]

Comments

So I've been seeing stuff about commenting lately going around. Reading them and having readers assume that they "bothering" authors or "being weird" about it is blows my mind.

Please bother me??? Be weird??? I am also very weird so please be weird with me about my weird little fanfic???

Where did this "don't interact with the author" thing come from? Where did the "don't talk to other people in comment threads" thing come from?

I routinely go through and reread comments on my fanfic. It reminds me that other people also enjoy the fact that I share my labors of love and occasional silliness. Sometimes it's people yelling at me - or each other - about something I did, but they still interact.

I love repeat commenters! I love seeing the progression of the story through their eyes and words! It's so fun to know that little thing was noticed by at least one person even if it's been years since the original posting or update!

Sometimes I see the Hit counter on Ao3 and notice it jump by a lot, but that I don't get any comments. It's usually on a completed fic that I notice traffic with no interactions. Why don't people comment on completed fic anymore? Why don't people comment at all anymore? I don't care how old it is if you liked it I still wanna know what you thought! I want to know if you liked it! Kudos are great but sometimes people just hit that button automatically and i wanna knoooooow.

Just because it's from years ago doesn't mean I don't remember how much I loved writing it. It doesn't mean I don't still love it. I wrote it for a reason, because I wanted to, the same reason I shared it with you. There's no time limit on love or appreciation, and no one will be mad if you show and communicate your own thoughts.

I would love those thoughts as well. Like, okay, if you thought it was shit just say nothing - and don't put it in your bookmark notes please jesus christ we can read those - and hit the X button. Life is hard enough please don't shit on my labors of love.

Anyway.

Did you like a certain line? Were you angry about a cliffhanger even if you could read the next chapter immediately? Did something confuse you before it was answered later? Was it not answered?

Hell, people don't even seem to Kudos very often anymore. It used to be I'd get a laundry list of Kudos in my email every day. Now I really only get more of them when I update, and only for a few days. (which might be a me problem yikes maybe I'm just not cool in the fandoms anymore (＞﹏＜) ).

Anyway, I love comments and definitely go through and reread them often. Reminding myself of things people liked or found or just felt something about. I reread the incoherent rambling and the quoting of my own sentences back at me. I reread the essays and the screaming. Everything, I reread it.

Sure, I'm really bad at answering comments, but I still read them. I still want to know what you thought, how you feel.

I write for me but I share for you readers. It's just nice to know I'm sharing for a reason.

[paverage-blog]

It occurred to me (while looking for one I lost) that a fic rec list is like a good mixtape. And for those of you who weren’t kids in the 1980-90s my heart hurts that you may not know the specific feeling of making or receiving a perfect mixtape (no, a playlist is not the same! Hush up now, an old person is talking.)

And then it occurred to me that fanfics themselves are a little like a mixtape. You take things which already exists and which you love and you make them new. Maybe you put in an unfamiliar genera or artist as juxtaposition, you create a new story or feeling by recontextualizing, you reshape the original into what you want it to be or want it to communicate. Sometimes you go off on a hunt for something new to add and you expand your own horizons.

Or you are exposed to something that becomes your new obsession through what someone else shares with you. You discover artist you never would have found otherwise, and your horizon cracks a little more. Sometimes (in the really great ones) art accompanied the mixtape and there was a whole new layer of meaning and magic to explore. God, sometimes there were multiples and they become a series!

All of this mixtape making was a labor of love. A mixtape said, “Here, I took the time to make something out of what I love and I want to share it with you. I really hope you’ll enjoy it. I’m gifting it to you for free because I care about you and I hate capitalism.”

And that is what fanfic is to me: creating and sharing what you love, because you care about the fandom and you hate capitalism.

Thanks to all of you who take time to create and share your writing. Thanks for reading mine. Thanks for loving the characters and keeping the story going. MAKE MORE FIC REC LISTS!! (Also, fuck capitalism.)

[pretz3l-log1c]

Recently I saw a post explaining cats vocalize around humans as a way to social signal. That Humans do a lot of social signaling as well. That's why people talk about the weather or will grumble about the long wait in line to the person near them. Or why people will ask 'Hey, how's it going?' and just want a 'good. Thanks for asking. And you?'. It's all about recognizing you're part of a group.

Then I saw, and reblogged a post, explaining that compared to most marketing stats, fanfiction is exceptionally above engagment averages at even 10% kudos per hits.

Yet, fanfic writers often feel as if they're screaming into a void and that engagement is down/dwindling/dying/etc.

So now I'm wondering if these two things are connected.

I think the problem fanfic writers are currently facing is a matter of community. In a way participating in fandom by writing fanfic is a way of social signalling. It is a way for the writer to go "I like this thing, don't you like this thing too?"

It's like the writer is calling out hello only for 90 out of 100 people to blankly stare at them. 10 out of 100 will wave hello. Only a few out of 100 will actually say something back.

Is it any wonder writers feel like they're screaming into a void? At least when you scream into a void you don't know how many people heard you, you just hear who screams back. It has to hurt mentally to put your heart out there and feel like it's being ignored.

I think about how forums of the early internet age have largely died off. How Tumblr engagement has ebbed over the years. How fanfiction has become some people's main means of engaging in fandom because it's 'free'.*

So I genuinely think the problem here is fanfic writers want community and are trying to gain that through fanfic. And they feel largely ignored/abandoned/snubbed because they're not recieving that engagement.

So my advice to writers:

turn off/hide/ignore your fanfic stats. If email alerts for kudos and/or comments spark joy then keep them. Otherwise turn those off as well.

create and/or join fandom focused discords. Find people you connect with and build a community that way.

put an author's note on your works that you like to engage with readers. That you want their thoughts, feelings opinions, etc. on your writing. Provide links for people to to chat you up on whatever social media site you prefer.

My advice to readers:

if you're going to talk to fandom friends about a fic you read, maybe leave a comment as simple as 'I love this and I'm going to share it with everyone I know.'

if you find a fic you regularly re-read or an author you loyally follow, let the author know that.

if a fic had a huge impact on you, let the writer know that.

Readers please note: I am not saying leave kudos more often, I am not saying comment on every fic. I am saying, in short, if it moves you then let the author know you were moved.

* yes I know fanworks are a labor of love/hobby and not actually free for the creator at least in time/effort. I write fanfic. I'm just saying it doesn't typically cost money to consume.

[pixiecactus]

sorry nonnie for the second time, and thank you for your patience!

but i think that i need to make this a separate post completely, but i'll start putting up the first part of your ask here, if you don't mind (i really hope you don't!)

to get people on board of what i will be talking about here, let me show you the quote once again and give you the link to the fanfic.

the supposed grrm quote is this:

“Okay so GRRM, arrived in Toronto yesterday for a book signing and unfortunately because of an exam, I was unable to attend (BOO!) so I asked my friend to ask him about Gendry and Arya’s “relationship” and if they would ever reunite again. His response was that Arya and Gendry have separate futures but whether they’ll ever meet up again, you’ll just have to keep reading.”

the fanfic is called the lost wolf and in chapter 21, you can find the first time that this quote was posted.

About G/A and the separate futures phase. Whoever published it was a very dedicated shipper who got devastated by his response. I don't think anyone would lie about that because this fan was genuinely very upset over this.

what i can say about this (for the second time because i lost what i had written as a response completely before) is that i recognize the username of the writer, and yeah, the fic was published in 2012, so we can say it was a different time... but i made the mistake of reading the fic in which the quote was posted, and this is not me trying to discredit the writer as a gendrya shipper, but oh my god, how i wish i hadn't read that fic at all; i have so many problems with it and the characterization.

i'm going to put the link to the google doc i made here, in case someone wants to share the suffering i went through. no one is obligated to read it, but i think that is going to help to support a little bit of what i'm going to write next about the author. but then again, let's put a little reminder here that everything i'm going to say is my own assumption and that this person seems to no longer have a presence on the internet or in the asoiaf fandom to defend themselves.

now here's my opinion, so if you have read my ranting session, i think that would make sense for you what i'm about to write next: i'm like 95% sure that the author was pretty young when this was posted. why? you may ask because the characters act in ways that are nonsensical to an adult with a fully developed frontal lobe. here's where my own experiences come into play to defend this opinion of mine, but i did write a fic like this when i was a kid; i was around 12 or 13 at that time, i'd like to say that it wasn't this awful in comparison, because there wasn't a rape storyline in it, but the main couple surely had moments where they were hating each other and threatening to break up because of a stupid and idiotic misunderstanding like "you didn't look my way when i was talking to you... so you don't love anymore" and the classic "i love you but i kissed x person or x person kissed me and now i think that i may love them and not you, my honest mistake" thankfully i didn't have an internet connection available at the time and my home's computer was back in my house (duh!) and i spent most of my childhood at my aunt's house, so i wrote those fics the good old fashion way with a pen and a notebook, and now those notebooks are lost to time and the act of moving out.

another point that is more credible than my own word is that in the author's note this person talks about going to school most of the time; that's the chosen word, i believe if they were in university they'd just say so. also this person said that they have a job, and i know that child labor laws are different around the world, but it seems that this person was based in canada, since the "quote" mentions grrm in toronto, so the info i could find about it told me this:

the lack of any other people's accounts that could collaborate on this info as truth, it's what does it for me. i think that if it was a truthful statement, we would have a lot more info about it. since the author's friend wasn't the only one who was at this book signing, there would be a lot more people around them both and within hearing range... but everything you see about this quote is a short copy and paste.

after all this time, why don't we have any kind of official source? it's been 12 years; that's more than enough time for it to appear somewhere; a reputable source would be the most ideal of all, though.

it's just people lie for attention all the time on the internet, and it's more common for kids to do it too... so i tend to lean that this is the case here.

i can admit that this "quote" absolutely wrecked me during my teen years, but now as an adult, i see it more as asoiaf's very own "my uncle works at nintendo" type of rumor.

i know that i'm not making a strong case because i don't have the intellect for it, so i think that this post is more food for thought than anything else.

now i promise you anon that the next thing i'll post is your ask with my answer, and i'll give the little spoiler that i actually agree with you

[ask-missparker]

Okay, who’s driving? ~ Marvel Blurb

Pairing: Mia x Nikolai, Liane x Ethan, Rick x Luna, Cole x Jeremy

Friendship pair: Josh & Bella

Summary: Moments like this the universe just wants to make it harder on us. In other words, they should’ve just called Cole…

Other characters included/mentioned: Rochelle, Michelle, Cole, Rick and Luna

~~

Warning: Slight small mention of labor, but it is mostly comedic relief to move the story forward more than anything else. Nothing graphic or informative or insane. So you’re fine. ANYWAYs, please chaos from the young avengers and family members enjoy 😉

Note: Sorta OUAT but also could be Marvel fic haha (depending on how you look at it 😊)

A/N: This was a fun idea that could be seen as crack too, due to how much going on in the fanfic. Please enjoy!

~~~~~

It was supposed to be a simple afternoon—well simple for the average group, due to them all hunting down the potions and stuff to stop the tide coming their way. A wicked protection spell.

You know save the day and explore that kinda thing?

So in response they were all sent a little goose chase and hunt for it at the docks.

It was good, they found the hidden gems and a piece of the puzzle to make the potion for later. Even broke half of the curse, destroying the spell, thanks to Liane, Joshua and Bella—restoring memories back for everyone. Yay, everything is safe and sound.

Just as things were going well at the docks with everyone talking and deciding to go back to the town square, Mia felt something off. She gripped Nikolai’s bicep and winced slightly.

“Love, are you alright?” He asked softly placing a hand on her lower back for support.

Mia chuckled awkwardly, “Eh, he he, well, either that was a Braxton Hick or a real one…”

“You’re a two weeks early, t-that’s not possible.” He replied in surprise, his tone sounding calm despite him internally freaking out.

“Yeah, well, since when have your children ever been one to surprise us by coming late?” She added jokingly.

Ethan, who was walking with Liane, looked up noticing his friends in distress. He knew his question would sound stupid, yet he still asked, “Are you guys alright?”

“You’re about to be an uncle again.” Mia murmured before clearing her throat once the contractions left and smiled in relief.

“Oh shit! I’mma be uncle again, I wasn’t there the first time around and now I am! This is exciting news—”

He was swiftly cut off by Nikolai who chuckled, “Uh Ethan, buddy, can you help me get everyone in the cars? Mia, where are the keys?”

Liane gasped, “You let her pregnant ass drive us to the docks?! Have you no shame?!”

“No! We took her car and I drove us here, I gave her the keys for safe keeping afterwards!”

“That still doesn’t make sense to me! You got magic and you couldn’t drive yourself!?”

“My car is getting fixed at Tony’s shop! We did needed another form of transportation here, and I will have you know I drive pretty well.”

Liane grinned, “Well in that case I’m driving! Me and the kids in one car. Ethan, Nik and Mia in the other. To the hospital people! Chop chop!”

The blonde sounded way too confident and overly proud of herself with that statement.

Everyone else looked at her like she was nuts. Yes, they were all vastly skilled in their respective fields but they all had their weaknesses. Everyone and their mother knew that Liane wasn’t the best driver per se.

Ethan loved his wife too much to say anything about it, as he was too busy in shock that Liane snatch the keys out of his hand. Joshua rolled his eyes and groaned at the idea, rubbing his mother’s shoulder in comfort. Even he was a better player in driving someone around.

Nikolai whined knowing it wasn’t the best idea to have the blonde drive both teenagers around to the hospital.

The only one truly brave enough in the chaos at the moment, despite being awakened by the curse to speak up was youngest lady there.

“Absolutely not!” Belladonna exclaimed snatching the keys out of her mom’s hands. “Are we really going to listen to her? Josh back me up here!”

Liane gasped in offensive frustration, “Um excuse you, young lady, but who do you think you’re talking to, sweetie?”

“Mom, I love you, but unfortunately you’re not the best driver.”

“I’m an experienced and excellent driver, sweetie.”

Bella muttered under her breath, “Yeah, when we were cursed and under that damn spell…”

“BELLA?!” Liane screamed in shock and gasped. “My own daughter this is—”

Joshua sighed speaking up, “Aunt Lia, she’s got a point. Last week you decided to give an another driving lesson and crash into a mailbox.”

Liane eyes widen and scoffed, “Well if I ever…it was one time!”

Joshua smirked, “It happened more than once. Also I think I should drive.”

“Him?!” Ethan yelled putting stuff in the car and bumping his head against the trunk.

“You?!” Liane added dramatically, “You’re both children you don’t even have you—”

Bella smirked as well nudging for Joshua to pull out his drivers permit, as he showed it to the others. Liane’s jaw dropped as Ethan blinked. Nikolai was rubbing his wife’s back and snickered at their reactions. He was proud.

“Since when did you-?!” Liane yelled breaking the silence.

“Back in New York, I got it.” Joshua added simply, a hint of confidence in his tone.

Bella couldn’t help but crack a smile and tease him, “Yeah, sure, it took him almost 6 months but he got it..”

Soon enough, different set of bickering broke out between the 5 of them.

“They are both babies they aren’t drive!”

“Liane not the time!”

“I can’t believe you decided to tell us now, Ethan?!”

“What you yelling at me for?!”

“I don’t know, it just feels right to yell.”

“Oh my god..”

“Are you sure we can’t all just drive together in one car?”

“Not a bad idea…out of both of us, who was the biggest space?”

“Idiot, how would that work, Nikolai?”

“I’m brainstorming, shut up.”

“Cause you guys stop fighting please? It’s not helping. I can take us three there, while Ethan gets there first.”

“Joshua, you’re a child!”

“I’m 17!”

“It was worth a shot, Bella…”

“Just let me drive!”

“Mom no!”

“Bella, please, the adults are talking.”

“You don’t even the slightest directions to the hospital!”

“THERE IS GPS FOR A REASON!”

“Shouldn’t we just call an ambulance?”

“That would take too long, Ethan!”

“Oh my goodness my nieces are gonna be born on a dock!?”

“No they ain’t!”

Mia finally shouted over everyone, “GUYS!”

“What?!” They all yelled back.

She sighed pointing to herself in a sing song tone, as if stating the obvious. “Hello.” She added hands on her hips for added effect.

The group was silent before getting the hint all making “ohhh!” and “ah, oh yeah, right.”, along with a bunch of apologies being given by the others. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes and smile despite the mild pain she felt, coming and going.

Ethan spoke up as they followed the lead to the cars and asked, “Wait, wait, who’s driving?”

“I am!” Liane added, as if it was obvious.

She quickly got a bunch of objections and heads being shook in disagreement over her statement. Some rapidly shouted, “NO!”

Nikolai put a hand on his wife’s shoulder in silent support and turn to the group firmly, “Ethan’s driving us, Joshua’s driving you guys.”

“Yes!” Joshua exclaimed happily as him and Bella fist bumped.

Bella called shotgun and scurried over to the car.

Liane opened her mouth to speak wondering if Nikolai was serious or not, but one firm look from the brunette and she shut up completely.

——

———

Soon enough they all arrive to the hospital, Joshua was left to park both cars as Ethan and Liane helped Mia into a wheelchair.

Nikolai was filling out forms when he noticed their friends all there. He stood there in shock, “What hell-? How did you guys—when did you guys get here?”

Michelle smiled sitting in one of the waiting chairs, “You really think we would miss this? Dude, it’s my nieces being born. Plus it’s gives me a chance to give Alexander the middle finger if he arrives.”

“I—But I didn’t call you! No one texted you.”

Bella smirked looking up from her phone, “Oh, when Josh was driving I texted Michelle. Figured she would like to know, but I didn’t expect her to come.”

Rochelle rushed in from one of the hospital rooms and smiled, “Oh hey! You’re here, that’s great, well me and Luna were already here anyway when Michelle called me.”

Mia, who was sitting in the wheelchair rubbing her backside, was about to ask what happened when the loud screams were heard down the hall. They belonged to Rick. Along with the insults.

“Long story short, Ricky got hurt earlier while experimenting on something with the kids..” Rochelle added, “He’ll be fine.”

Bella and Mia both rolled their eyes as Nikolai stayed quiet shaking his head.

Just before anyone could anything a cloud of magical thick smoke appeared. As the smoke cleared away, it showed Cole looking annoyed, angry and worried. The man was enjoying a peaceful afternoon in his shop, with his husband Jeremy while babysitting the children, when he got the damn news. He was in the middle of teaching one of his nephews, George, some cool spells! So he wasn’t happy.

Liane froze meanwhile Ethan signed looking at his brother.

“You should’ve call me!” Cole exclaimed loudly rushing over to the group. “Why did I just get a damn text from Bella that my angels are coming?! You idiots, you could’ve just call me instead of arguing over who gets the bloody keys?! UGH!”

“Cole, we can explain.” Liane started but was cut off.

“Ha! Please tell you didn’t drive, last week you hit my mailbox.”

“THAT WAS YOURS?!”

Ethan and Michelle snorted loudly but was stopped short by a glare from Cole.

Rochelle stay quiet running away to go check on Rick and Luna, not wanting to feel Cole’s wrath today. The redhead almost bumped into a wall rushing away from the group.

Besides Rick yelled, “WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON OUT THERE?!”

Luna shouted over him, “Ricky stay still! The doctor is trying to remove the nails and splinters!”

Cole looked at Nikolai and pointed, “And you! What were you thinking?! As her husband I would believe you would have some sense to inform me or not waste time—”

Nikolai raised both eyebrows and furrow his eyebrows, “Don’t even start with me! I was more focused on my wife than calling anyone. None of us expected this to happen and we would’ve gotten here sooner, if it wasn’t for Liane’s performance.”

Liane gasped, “Me?! I offered to drive but you all refused to take me seriously.”

Bella and Ethan shared a look, slowly wheeling Mia away from the group and into her hospital room. Michelle got the hint, scurry off to follow them into the hallway as well, not without snapping pictures for blackmail later.

Joshua walked in a few minutes later, after successfully parking both cars, seeing his father, aunt and uncle Cole fighting.

“What did..?” He started before being dragged away by his best friend, “Gah, son of—!”

“Come on I’ll explain later.” Bella remarked ushering him into the room.

“Bella what did you do?!”

———

—————

Hehe I agree nothing! Also the poor mailbox 😂

Let me know what you guys think!

Tags: @ask-starrk @missstrawbs2001 @purpleprincessonfyre @wizzzardofoz @thechoooooosenone @rickb-chaos @luna-d-marsh @marvelsfavoriteuncle @elzabeth-stark @sci-fi-lexcon @jackiequick @blueboirick @gcthvile @aidanxsophxoxo @meiramel @trulysummersprivate @gaminggirlsstuff and etc

[auroraknux]

I'm still terrified about posting these, but I keep seeing other people posting headcanons/fanfics about Mario and Peach having kids, and I've caught the fever too. I won't be cured until I get all of this out of my head. So, here are my own headcanons/ideas about them as expecting parents (also featuring Luigi x Peasley).

Mario and Peach are both being depicted as trans here, FYI. Yes, that means Mario is the one carrying the babies. If you comment with anything transphobic, or about this being "cursed" or something, you're getting blocked. If you don't want to read something like this, then scroll past.

This is all taking place in some kind of game/movie combo AU, just to clarify.

Mario's mom knows before anyone else does. He's recently been dealing with nausea and dizziness, and feeling unusually tired. His symptoms act up when he and Peach visit his family. His mom experienced similar symptoms when expecting him and Luigi, so she recognizes it immediately. She convinces him to see a doctor. Sure enough, he's pregnant.

As soon as he tells Peach the news, he finds himself being showered in kisses. She's already thinking of names.

Luigi is so excited to be an uncle! He jokes about how much he's going to spoil Mario's kid.

When Luigi is visiting the Beanbean Kingdom, Peasley lightly teases him about his excitement. Luigi says that Peasley can be the kid's uncle too, and Peasley half-jokingly asks if Luigi is proposing. Turns out he is. He nearly drops the ring, before shyly asking if he wants to get married. Peasley finds it endearing, and answers with a passionate kiss.

Toadsworth is overjoyed when he finds out he's going to be a grandfather, to the point that he can't stop crying. (On a side note: I like to imagine that, aside from being Peach's father figure, he's also become like a second dad to Mario.)

Turns out it's twins! Seems like it runs in the family. Mario is ecstatic.

Mario and Peach aren't actually married yet. They decide this is as good a time as any to tie the knot. They don't announce the pregnancy until the end of the ceremony, but everyone kind of guessed because Mario's baby bump is visible through his tux. (Mario's family, who are obviously there too, already know and have barely been holding back from blabbing about it.)

Luigi, along with his and Mario's mom, frequently drop by to give Mario and Peach food that they've cooked. This is something they've both already been doing for a while, but they do it a lot more during the pregnancy (and for a while after that, while Mario is in recovery).

Mario's dad is aware of the fact that he wasn't exactly the greatest dad to Mario and Luigi when they were growing up. He promises to try and be a better grandfather.

Peach loves singing lullabies and reading to the babies. Mario finds it adorable.

Mario finds it difficult to get around in the later months, and has to be helped around the castle all the time. He's very grouchy and stubborn about it.

He's especially grouchy when he gets put on bedrest near the end. Peach tries to make him feel better by pampering him a lot, and giving him plenty of cuddles.

Shortly before the twins' birth, Mario expresses worry over whether he'll be a good dad. He talks about how his dad was tough on him, and how it was because of his dad's own upbringing; he's afraid of repeating the cycle. Peach assures him that won't happen, and that he'll be a wonderful father.

When Mario goes into labor, Luigi knows because he senses his brother's distress. He shows up to give extra support.

During labor, Bowser attempts to attack the kingdom. I say “attempts”, because Peach absolutely snaps, and sends him running with his tail between his legs. She quickly returns to Mario, to the relief of a panicky Luigi (whose hand was nearly broken).

Luigi is too worried for his brother to leave, but seeing him in so much pain makes him anxious. He is given tasks as often as possible, so he isn't just sitting there and freaking out the entire time. Somehow, he fusses over Mario more than Peach does.

Peach does everything she can to comfort Mario. Holding him close, kissing his head, stroking his hair, whispering encouraging words to him. She's as anxious as Luigi is, but desperately tries to stay calm for everyone else's sake.

The firstborn twin is a girl with brown hair and Peach's eyes. The second is a boy with blonde hair and Mario's eyes. They both have the Mario family nose.

Mario bursts into tears when he holds his children for the first time. He's wanted to be a dad for such a long time, and he can hardly believe that it's finally happening. He already loves them so much.

Luigi sends a photo of the newborns to Peasley, to tell him that he's an uncle. He receives a very long-winded response gushing over how cute they are.

Mario's whole family shows up to see the new babies. He's happy to see them, but is still very tired and quickly gets overwhelmed. Peach gently but firmly asks them to give him some space and let him rest. The family's attention redirects to Luigi, who now has to deal with questions about when his wedding is, and whether he's having any kids himself.

Peasley shows up a couple days later, with a ton of expensive gifts for both the new parents and the babies (and Luigi too, obviously).

After several months have passed, Luigi and Peasley have their own wedding. Mario and Peach leave the babies in the care of Toadsworth and the Toads. They love being parents, but are very tired and appreciate the break.

Between the Toads and Mario's family, Mario and Peach always have a lot of help with the babies.

Luigi and Peasley don't currently plan on becoming parents, at least not anytime soon. They love spending time with their niece and nephew, though. In turn, the kids love their Uncle Weegee and Uncle Peas.

[thatmexisaurusrex]

I love love love your denial-verse series. I really enjoyed your characterization of Tommy, Buck and Eddie in them.

I’m also so glad about the way you wrote Taylor. People tend to villainize her in fanfics but you wrote her so well. She was my fav LI other than Tommy. She wasn’t a good fit but the show gave her something other than being just a LI.

Speaking of character who are just LIs in the show, I even loved the way you wrote Marisol. The show never really gave her any characterization and you wrote her so well even her not being such a good person was well written. There were so many signs that both Tommy and I missed.

Can’t wait to read whatever you post next.

Oh my gosh, thank you so much 🥺 The Denial-verse series is a labor of love and it's been such a bonus and a joy to know that other people love it too.

Now, this is more like behind-the-scenes, craft stuff, but I will say that I'm not actually a huge fan of Taylor Kelly. But I also believe that part of what you should do in writing is find what inspires you about a character and let that shine and live with that in order to create the well-rounded character you can write with them. And, you know, I like Taylor Kelly much more after writing her than I did before. While she's not a good match for Buck, it is a little disappointing that she doesn't have a once-or-twice-a-season cameo or a seasonal mini-arc with her involved as a frenemy reporter who might shine a good or bad light on the LAFD.

And, people can use death of the author here, but I wrote Marisol here to feel like a friend. Someone likable even if they're not perfect. And there are a lot of people out there who have her same red flags. Many of them can figure themselves out, grow out of those bad thoughts, reframe how they view the world for the better, become those better people; and many of them don't. I feel that what makes Marisol hurt the most is the possibility of goodness in her and her sheer denial of wrongdoing; her inability to look past her perceived reality and grow into someone who can live with what happened without lashing out in harsh and unfair ways because her life isn't what she thought it was. I like Marisol. I don't like Marisol in the show, more because they treated her like a sexy lamp more than anything, but I liked this Marisol. And that's why she hurts so much when she sours - because people you think would be kind to you can be, sometimes, crueler than anyone else.

I'm sorry. I'm talking your ear off here. But I just wanted to say thank you for loving the series. Thank you for reading. The Denial-verse is, for the most part, a character study in loneliness, belonging, what it means to be and feel loved, and what steps it takes to finally believe one can have happiness, and it truly blows me away that people have been enjoying it as much as I've liked writing it.

Also, the fourth story within the Denial-verse,  The Fire is Inside the House, is out now if you'd like to read the first chapter.

Thank you again for this magnificent ask. I hope you have a spectacular morning, day, or afternoon wherever you are!

[frillyfacefins]

A constructive approach to building a solid Femslash Subculture in a new fandom, a thread (+ anecdotal “Case Study”)

(I posted this as a thread on twitter a week ago in response to some pretty old arguments getting thrown around again; the situation has cooled down now, but somebody asked me to put this thread on tumblr, and I thought it could help some people, so here we go.)

In 2013 I was in the Silmarillion fandom when the Hobbit movies brought in a giant influx of new fans.

I was not one of the people who had been into the Silmarillion for ages, I only just read the book too, and the fandom at the time was very much in flux.

Since Baldur’s Gate is in a similar situation - a very old fandom with a new influx of fans and new characters - I think it might be helpful for me to explain how we created a space for fanwriters and -artists to explore and celebrate femslash ships.

Here are my recommendations for femslash fans who want more f/f fanworks in the Baldur’s Gate 3 fandom, sectioned off in

“3 Warnings”

“3 Ways forward”

and a “””Case Study””” of what happened in the Silmarillion fandom.

Warning 1: Be aware that your fandom is a baby.

Nominally, the game has been out for less than a month. Most people who will write amazing fanfics for your favorite characters maybe don’t even have the game yet because they can’t afford it until the Christmas sales, or they just haven’t finished it yet (like me). Most people don’t want to write for a fandom until they have consumed all available canon. You don’t know how the fandom will look like yet, but you can start building a solid foundation to influence it.

Warning 2: Don’t alienate the Astarion-fans.

Astarion is fandom-bait. He is the exact kind of character people who ‘don’t get it’ have been fuming over for decades, and who people who ‘do get it’ get obsessed with. He is the exact formula that has been working since at least the 80s: A morally grey bad boy with slightly edgy good looks who is also - and this is THE key for this kind of fandom-bait - very vulnerable and can absolutely be made into a better person/ be healed by his love interest.

This is why most heroes in (especially older) romance novels work. This is why Lestat worked. This is why Kylo Ren worked.

The thing is - the people who go gaga over him now? A lot of them will grow bored at some point. Either they will leave the fandom, or they will become invested in other characters from this fandom.

So the worst thing you can do is make them feel like the femslash community is rude, confrontational, whiny. Sorry, but that is how fandom works.

Fanwriters write fanfics for 2 reasons: 1. They have fun while writing something specific. 2. They get great interactions because they write something specific. If they look at the f/f corner and see people constantly fighting or complaining, guess what? They won’t be as interested in writing about their favorite female characters. And especially in Baldur’s Gate 3, the female characters are not easy to love, but once you do, they have potential to make you into absolute stans. I disliked Lae’zel a lot during Act 1, but by now I honestly think she’s the absolutely cutest. And Shadowheart is definitely intriguing, but I want to know how her story ends before I get really invested in her. (And we don’t even have to talk about Karlach…)

Warning 3: Lurkers have no voice in fandom.

Sorry, but this is a fact. If you don’t write fanfic or draw fanart, you don’t get to complain about what other people draw/write about. We create fanworks because we are enjoying them, not because of some social obligation. We are giving you free labor, and if you keep complaining about the things we write because it’s not what you want to see, we will just be less likely to write the things you want to see. So if you don’t create your own fandom content, you can whine as much as you want, but you will just make those who actually do create look at your whole niche of fandom with way less interest than they might have had.

Now, what can you actually do to build the basis for a solid femslash subfandom?

Measure 1: For lurkers: Support those who create fanworks you like.

And I’m not saying financially. I’m coming from an old-school-fandom perspective here. You know what will absolutely make me want to write another fic for a pairing that maybe doesn’t have as much works about them as the big ships? Really, really nice people who either write detailed comments on my fics, or who engage with me on social media - like, actively comment on my post or even hop in my DMs and tell me how much they liked something I have written.

Complaining about people who don’t write your ships is the worst thing you can do. Celebrating people who do write your ships is the best thing you can do.

Measure 2: For most writers: Kind of logical, but - write.

Write long-fic, short-fic, flash-fic about your favorites. Plaster your social media profiles with it. Do monthly challenges, request your pairings in cross-fandom exchanges, write long rambly threads about how awesome they are. Right now, YOU get to potentially create the fanon. You get to sway people’s opinions of characters. And you get to actively build this community.

And please, try not to get discouraged if it’s hard at first. Like I said - this fandom is a tiny baby that only just started screaming its little red head off. New fans will come. And they will do the same as the person in the screenshot, and maybe if they actually look through the ‘other tag’ bar or by filtering for F/F, they will find your works and be super happy about it.

Measure 3: For fans who want to invest more time and effort: Organize cool stuff for your community.

Fests, exchanges, challenges, discord servers, tags on tumblr or mastodon - there are tons of things you can make happen that will inspire people to create. Make a femslash month with themed weeks and prompts every day, for example, both for fanfic, fanart, edits, fanvids, whatever kind of fan-work anybody wants to contribute. Or make a challenge with a list of prompts, or a generator, or anything else you personally are able to do. Invite people to participate. Make it easy. Make it fun and welcoming.

And now to my “”case study”” which is completely anecdotal but which definitely left an expression on me.

The situation: The winter of  2013/2014. The second Hobbit movie has come out, Elrond is hot, Galadriel is hot, Tauriel is polarizing, Legolas looks weird. A ton of new people come into the Tolkien fandom, and discover the Silmarillion.

The Silmarillion-fandom has to deal with a new influx of people like it never has since the LotR-films. These are new fans who are used to new fandoms, not the LJ-survivors who make up a lot of the fandom. The new fans glom onto the usual suspects - Maedhros/Fingon, especially. But with Galadriel and Tauriel being so prominent in the Hobbit movies, the few fans who were already trying to put some femslash flavor in this fandom suddenly get a trickle of new people. Not that many. But some.

And then somebody decides to try and build a little bed for that trickle. Tumblr-User Elleth (not sure if she’s still around) creates the (by now defunct) archive “Textual Ghosts” to register all 600 unnamed wife characters in Tolkien’s work. A labor of extreme love for a fandom, and a big stepping stone for a developing femslash-subfandom. Soon afterward, tumblr-user Elleth and I start the first Legendarium Ladies April Event (legendariumladiesapril.tumblr.com) which would - without my continued support because I’m a fickle bitch and I’m still sorry about that - continue until 2020 and fill the event archives on AO3 with 150 new fics - which doesn’t seem a lot, but it also leaves out a lot of fanfics, fanart, fanpoems, fanedits etc. that were only ever posted on tumblr.

Meanwhile, I - always a multi-shipper and not devoted only to femslash, but VERY devoted to kinky smut which is also not really such a big thing in the Silmarillion fandom at this time - open a kink meme for the fandom. It creates a few new smuttier fanworks, but it also creates a few handful of female-centric works when I make a mini-event for world women’s day.

I am sorry to say that I abandoned this one too after about a year or two, but the kink meme is still there. (It would take another 8 years for somebody to be like “Hey so maybe you have incapacitating adhd, would you like to try ritalin?”)

Anyway, in this way, that trickle did become a brook. The M/M and even M/F works still outnumbered the F/F ones by miles, but F/F fans (and fans of female-centric works) WERE fed. And maybe more importantly - we built a community of people interested in the stories of women who were treated extremely badly by their source material. We made friends, we wrote stories for one another, we had fun. And that’s how you make a community within a fandom - you find some way to make it FUN.

(If Elleth should read this, I’m sorry for being an absolute flake, you’re wonderful.)

Oh also this is when I realized I’m not straight. So there’s that, too.

So if really love a fandom and you want to have more femslash works in this fandom? Start working towards it. You don't have to do it alone, there are other people out there who want to help you. But you need to find each other.

And you REALLY need to encourage each other.

(And also, stop making people outside of the femslash space associate you with nothing but complaints. That's not going to bring anybody into the fold. Be inviting, welcoming, have fun, be a positive community people WANT to join.)

And just to make my own position a little clearer:

[alicent-vi-britannia]

This beautiful drawing was a gift from a dear friend and a reader of my fanfic, @kireikoami. I think it's a great way to celebrate that today I finally finished writing my Code Geass fanfic. Code Geass: Bloodlines.

It took me tears, sweat, blood and several headaches, but I did it! You cannot have the slightest idea of the immense satisfaction I felt when I wrote the word "end." Not even I can describe it. It's an extraordinary feeling that can't be compared to anything (well, I like to compare the creative process with labor, although I think that the creative process is more enjoyable despite everything; I don't know, I'm not a mother). Some authors don't like to use that word. I suppose because it will seem childish to them or the story of the characters doesn't conclude after the final point. I do it more than anything because of the meaning it carries for me. It's the end of a project that I have spent several years of my life working on with love and dedication. It's my farewell to some characters that I became attached to after giving them a fair ending. It's my break and theirs.

I must say that I cried a couple of times writing the ending and if I start to remember the final scene, I would start crying (I was already crying when I wasn't writing it yet, because I knew it was going to move me at the time). I suppose it will be inevitable that I will cry again when it is time to edit the epilogue to publish it. So it's not the "final goodbye" for now, it's the "see you soon."

I loved writing to Lelouch and accompanying him on his journey. I trust that I won't disappoint readers or the source material. They will read it in a few months and tell me about it. The fanfic has a total of 45 chapters, including the epilogue, and I have uploaded chapter 39 so far. With this, I'll be able to be more constant with updates.

I'm a little sad that I can't continue updating the English version of my work, but I wasn't the one who translated it. It was my friend who since she started her new job months ago she doesn't even have time to talk to me for a few minutes about the weather. A shame.

Now that I've freed up a bit, I hope to bring back this week an analysis that I wanted to do. Expect it soon.