#my first official fandom where i actually posted the stuff i wrote

[itsjustdg]

Apparently I can never leave the Psych fandom...

It always sucks me back in with writing fic eventually, and that's happened again recently.

I also realized I "officially" joined the fandom over 15 years ago and WOW that was a whole thing where I now feel old. 😆

Also, to the readers leaving kudos on AO3 that I'm getting emails about, I love you but please note that many of those fics were written over a decade ago and many still make me cringe if I think about them too hard. So there's that. 😅

[the-badger-mole]

How do you think Zuko and Katara would get engaged?

How would Zuko propose to Katara and how would Katara propose to Zuko?

There's a lot of varying opinions in the fandom, and I wanted to see your two cents, lol

I think I've answered this before, but it was at least 2 years ago, and I refuse to sift through Tumblr's useless archive for the post. In my mind, Zuko proposes. It's always Zuko who proposes, and I will never write it differently. I have 2 reasons for that.

Reason the first: I'm a traditionalist when it comes to this. I, as a woman want to be proposed to. In my own personal experience, if a woman is proposing to a man, the chances are good he doesn't actually want to be married. Now, before you get upset with me, that's not me saying that's a rule. If you feel differently, that's totally fine. I'm not predicting doom for anyone's relationship if the woman proposes to the man. This is just something I've observed enough times for me not to be into that dynamic, but if you like it, I love it. For you.

Point the second: There is a disheartening lack of darker skinned women being romanced in fiction. We tend to be relegated to the sexless, strong, independent, don't need no man stereotypes. I want Katara to get the full romance novel experience of a powerful man willing to move the stars to make her happy. I like the idea of her getting to experience being taken care of and protected and pursued romantically, and that includes Zuko doing his best to give her the perfect proposal (it doesn't always go well in my stories, but he tries very hard, and that's the point). So in short, no. I will never have Katara proposing to Zuko. Although, I think I like the idea of her giving him something to celebrate their engagement after she accepts, so I guess something like him getting a betrothal necklace from her isn't off the table (except it probably won't be a necklace, because it's never confirmed in the show that the SWT does betrothal necklaces, and I have decided that in my canon, they do not).

Now as for how he'd do it. It depends on the story, but he will definitely not use a necklace (I mean, I have one story where he does, but I wrote that years ago. I did a lot of things in that story I wouldn't necessarily do today). My head canon is that the SWT gives practical gifts, and I like the idea of him tailoring those practical gifts to what she'll need in the Fire Nation- a new fancy waterskin, a golden pen for all the policy she'll be writing, a crown that honors her heritage somehow, stuff like that. He wouldn't present her with all of that during his actual proposal, though. That's for the official betrothal.

[redjayson]

Hi! It's almost time for the progress report again! I was going to ask next week, but my parents are visiting so I will clean the entire house and forget about stuff due to stress soooo.

You posted a new chapter of Baby's first SVSSS fic (which was really great btw) and the febuwump (which just occasionally haunts me). How are you doing with the big bang? We're finally in the time frame where stuff is getting posted and most people have posted a teaser before that. Are you going to post a teaser too? I am so curious about what your fic will be, so I figured I'd ask!

No pressure obviously, I'm pretty sure the word count of your big bang entry is the size of an entire novel (or two)

end of the month means progress report tiiime. was about to respond to this post all "woe is me I've not written much this month" but then I actually checked my spreadsheet and it turns out I've written 25k so far and there's still a week left so ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Baby's First SVSSS Fic (I've got 2.2k of chapter 5 written already, yay!)

blood and seafoam (I'm going to finish this fic in february, goddammit! I swear I am. chapter three is currently 9k + like 1-2k in my notebook that I need to type up. it may well end up being split into two chapters to post; the three chapters was a guesstimate on my part)

big bang fic (I'm still putting in a good amount of work editing it; total word count is still hovering in the 120k range, but there's 21 chapters total and I usually add to my word count while editing lmao. I have an official posting date, though! march 9, mark your calendars, everyone. I'm going to post the first 5-6 chapters then; I may post a teaser beforehand, but we'll have to see)

omegaverse jinlan city fic (added a bit to this, so now chapter 3 is 3.7k)

shrine maiden au (about halfway through my big bang fic I wrote something that made me go 'hey that base idea could be used in another fic' and thus the shrine maiden au was born. I wanted it to be short and fun and almost immediately porn but you know me. it's currently 5.5k and binggeyuan have only just kissed)

I signed up for Fandom Trumps Hate (with two offers) and the MXTX Remix 2025, so that's three guaranteed fics at some point! obviously I don't know any details for them yet (and even once I do I won't be able to share much until the fics are posted), but that will be happening this year :D

[uozlulu]

Thanks to @firebatvillain for the tag

How many works do you have on AO3? 154 on my uozlulu account

What's your total AO3 word count? 838,672

Your Top 5 stories by kudos

Our Soulmate Academia - Boku no Hero Academia/My Hero Academia - 200k~ TodoBaku soulmate AU, 406 kudos

Pain - Banana Fish - Ash/Eiji fic where Eiji finds the plane ticket, manga AU - 300 kudos

Crush - SuperWolf (Supernatural/Teen Wolf) - Stiles has an unrequited crush on Dean - 283 kudos

Names and Promises - Black Clover Asta & Yuno soulmate AU where I just briefly explore the concept and Asta and Yuno are platonic/familial soulmates

A Gift - Daredevil (Netflix)/Avengers (MCU) gen fic where Matt meets Clint at a Claire's store (because I misread a Tumblr post and couldn't unsee the interaction)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I always respond to comments because it seems polite especially since people don't leave them like they used to anymore.

Do you write crossovers?

I do. I have 15 official crossovers, but I technically have 19 crossovers, but for whatever reason my last four DP3 fics aren't counting as crossovers on AO3, which is an interesting choice on AO3's part. Because they think Dr. Stone (anime)/Dr.Stone (manga) is a crossover, but Deadpool (Movieverse)/The Amazing Spider-Man/Spider-Man (Raimi)/X-Men (Movieverse) is not a crossover. It's weird. Drives me crazy when I want to read Dr. Stone or JJK or Dandadan fics because since anime/manga = crossover I can't actually filter out crossovers in my searches so I have to slog through stuff I don't want to see because AO3 stopped putting animanga franchises as one Fandom category.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I have written a handful of smut fics. When I write it, I always write it with plot and the smut is usually one or two scenes depending on what's going on in the fic as a whole. I'm not sure if they're sexy or not, I don't get off to this kind of smut. Most of the time I prefer to fade to black.

Best Laid Plans - Banana Fish manga AU where Ash and Eiji end up in Japan, the smut in this wasn't really to be smutty so much as a way to explore how someone with a history of csa might deal with their past while entering into a relationship with someone as an adult

Swallow My Fang at Night Island - Interview with the Vampire (AMC) Devil's Minion human AU where Daniel falls for his daughters' teacher at the turn of the millennium. I wrote smut in this one because people mistook my disinterest in reading explicit sex scenes for naivete and I wanted to show I had the chops since I used to RP sexy stuff back in the day.

You Can't Run from Your Nightmares and Your Dreams - Deadpool 3: Deadpool & Wolverine Vanessa/Logan (tWW)/Wade fic in which Logan adjusts to the new universe, gets haunted by his memories a bit, and ends up in a poly relationship. I put smut in this because it fit the vibe of the movie and there was something kind of appealing to me in the idea of ripping each other to pieces as a sexual metaphor in that Honda scene. Also it would feel weird given the pairing to not address sex at all in the fic.

Can You Hear the Eyes in the Sky? - DP3 Logan (tWW)/Wade fic in which the climax of the movie causes them to share consciousnesses. They get put back in their respective bodies and deal with the consequences for the rest of the fic. I put smut in this one because again, it fit the vibe and I also was curious what would happen if I wrote the most popular pairing in the fandom atm. What happened? Well, 60 kudos and 2 comment threads, so not bad at all.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

The first and only time I used a beta they stole my fic, which is why I never use betas, though I will get Kitty to Britpick for me because I trust her.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

I've had people ask me a handful of times and I always say "Sure," and then no one ever tells me if they did it.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

My little sister and I have several fics floating around in dead internet space somewhere. We haven't written any together in over 20 years though.

What's your all time favorite ship?

Kagome/Inuyasha. There is no evidence of this anymore because I lost all my high school fics when I migrated from ff.net to a different fic archive that then went down, but they are the ship that would be at the top of my AO3 relationships list if those fics survived.

What's a WIP that you want to finish but probably never will?

I wish I could get it together and write this BnHA/MHA fic idea that's basically Class A and Aizawa go back to their universe's equivalent of the 70's to save Yami who's in high school a la Tenchi Muyou in Love. Unfortunately I didn't like how the manga ended enough to motivate myself to go for it. I did start writing it before we knew what Hagakure's quirk did, but I was having trouble with a Midoriya and Nana scene and set it aside for later

What are your writing strengths?

According to the reviews, fight scenes, cuteness, and some characterizations.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Sometimes I write things that are too weird. I fill holes that were technically never holes because no one wanted to read it in the first place. I also am not good at writing some characters, which doesn't always stop me from writing them.

What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet, but want to?

I'm excited to start writing Dandadan fics sooner than later. I've already got a quick outline of one done.

What's your favorite fic that you've written?

I have three fics that I've used #self indulgent with, and I love all of them and reread them when I'm feeling heebie jeebie and they help calm me down. There are probably some fics I transfered from ff.net that should have this tag but I can't remember which ones they would be anymore.

The Land Across the Sea - Black Clover/Boruto crossover where Boruto gets sent to Clover via a tidal wave and knights from the Black Bulls and Golden Dawn have to take him home on a diplomatic mission. I wrote it pre-Land of the Sun arc in Black Clover, so it was a way to explore where Yami came from (a fishing community on the shore of the Land of Fire in Naruto's universe). Black Clover manga spoilers up to chapter 295.

Sometimes a Family Is a Sewing Demon, the Angriest Weasel, a Glotonita, the Best Dog, and the Ghosts Haunting Their Apartment - DP3 soulmate AU (romantic, platonic, and familial) where I explored Laura living with Wade and Logan, the PTSD the characters might carry, and what soulmates might mean to different people. I had fun with it.

Finders Keepers - DP3 fic in which Logan is a clone of his universe's Anchor Being. His universe kidnaps him back and Wade has to go bring him home. I wrote this because I wanted to read Logan is a clone fics and no one had any that I could find.

Some other fics I will always read whenever I see someone bookmarked them or I'm having a bad time of it:

Can You Hear the Eyes in the Sky? (admittedly I do not reread the smut scene lol, but the rest of the fic is pretty self-indulgent)

We Have Thieves - IwtV (AMC) fic set during the Night Island years, kind of a horror/comedy inspired by the premise of the Night Island show that never was

The Mystery in the Fog - ACD Holmes/Watson fic in which they discover they're both a bit asexual and gay because they went to a wedding put on by a queer club they didn't realize they both belonged to for various reasons. Set post-Garridebs.

...save.... - BnHA/MHA fic in which Shirakumo overcomes Kurogiri's programming to try and urge Aizawa to save Shigaraki from AFO. Meanwhile Midoriya, Uraraka, and Todoroki are having similar ideas about Shigaraki, Himeko, and Touya.

And Still There Was Hope - Black Clover AU in which things went differently during the past and there is no wind grimoire waiting for Yuno. Yuno deals with the search for his grimoire that eventual leads him to the Spade conflict and manga spoilers up to chapter 309

All Fortune Plays End - Black Clover fic that explores what Asta's demon form could look like/function before we had any canon information to go on. I like the warm hollowness of the ending especially.

If No One Else Will - Captain America (MCU)/Avengers (MCU)/X-Men (Movieverse) Monuments AU in which Steve never gets picked for the super soldier serum project, so he and Bucky go across Europe trying to help preserve art against the Nazis. Bucky gets kidnapped along the way and that leads to Steve's destiny as a tiny!Steve Captain America. This fic is definitely #self indulgent. I wish I'd fleshed it out more though and made it a chapter fic instead of a 12k oneshot.

Nobody's Ever Ready - Teen Wolf fic in which Harris (a hunter like SPN thinks of hunters) tries to help Finstock with Greenberg's ghost

Burn Mark - SPN fic in which Dean finds out the consequences for Adam post-season 5 but written before we canonically learned the consequences

In the Pasture of a Vale - SPN fic in which Dean runs into Adam and Ben while on a hunt set five years after season five

Choices - SPN fic in which Sam and Dean run into Dean's former GED tutor

I tag @angofwords @bandedbulbussnarfblat @allegra-writes @olenskas

[ithilien-writes]

For the ask game, 2, 9 and 20!

Which of your fics is your pride and joy?

i love all of my fics so much is the thing. not in a conceited way but just like in the way that i literally wrote them because they were what i wanted to read. and now they exist and i can read them whenever i want!! which is the best part of being a fic writer imho

but i guess for my recent buddie stuff i'm gonna go under the rocks and stones. i re-read that one a lot. i like the dreamscape of it all and it's just a very visual fic for me, like i can picture it almost as clearly as an actual episode in my mind

How did you get into writing fanfiction?

ooh. yeah i'm gonna date myself here lmao. so when i was like.. early teens? maybe? there was this official warner bros branded message board for hp called the harry potter dialog centre. i believe that is both where i first read and first posted fic (shortly followed by ff.net, then livejournal, before tumblr and ao3 came into the picture). and like, obviously i found it because i was super into harry potter at the time, but also like. i was a friendless queer nerd who had just moved to a new town, so. that was a part of it too. participating in fandom for me has always been, first and foremost, about community

also i have never been able to consume media in a normal way. so there's that 😅

Share your favorite kiss scene from [insert fic]. If there's no kiss scene, share your favorite moment of intimacy (romantic or platonic)

so this is decidedly less pg than a kiss but. i'm gonna say one of my favorite moments of intimacy i've written is the scene where buck first helps eddie jerk off in reach for me. eddie's in such a vulnerable place but he trusts buck so much and buck is dealing with all these big feelings that the shooting brought to the surface but that he can't put a name to and it's just.. aaah idk!! like obviously its a sex scene but it actually is mostly platonic but also it's buddie so it's not not romantic, and i just. i like that it can be all those things at once, i guess

[rosieblogstuff]

🌸 ⇢ do you have any pets? if you do, post some pictures of them

🥤 ⇢ recommend an author or fanfic you love

🍓 ⇢ how did you get into writing fanfiction? 

🌸 PETS

Yesss indeed, our household has 4 cats, 1 tortoise, and a whole lot of plants I baby and sometimes can even keep alive. I don't usually post my pets on here for anonymity reasons but can I give you a plant photo? Back in January I took a leaf that had broken off my African violet and stuck it in a glass with some water just to see if it would root. And yes! Yes it will! And then after about a month I stuck it in some potting soil to see if it would live. And yes, it did! The bif leaf that I'd planetd died within about 6 weeks but before it died it sprouted a bunch of little leaves. And now it's all leaves all over. I'm very proud of my little plantlet. And weirdly, it's actually much happier than either of my big African violets that live in official African violet self-watering pots?

🥤BELOVED AUTHOR+FANFIC

ok ok this is the easiest because I'm at like the 90% mark with what is surely the very best thing every written for MacGyver (2016) fandom and HAVE YOU READ TURKEY DAY YET? I read the first Turkey Day a couple years ago and then looked at the sequel and I was like, "How could it actually be better? Surely I'll end up disappointed!" And I was so so wrong.

Haven126 is my fanfic writing idol.

But this here: Turkey Day: Just Desserts by Haven126 -- this is a masterpiece. It is a gift. It is the whumpiest pile of whump that's ever whumped you.

If you like adventure. If you like whump. Just read it. (But read the first Turkey Day first.) I know it's 400,000 words long. I promise, they are ALL GOOD WORDS. You will be on the edge of your seat for all of them. You will get to a point 200,000 in where you come to The Scene and you will scream and cry and sob and wonder, how could Haven do this to my heart? Are they a monster? 😭

This story will absolutely live rent-free in my head forever. I've been sort of dragging my feet on the last few chapters because I'm going to be so sad when I don't have any new story left in the story.

🍓HOW DID I GET INTO FANFIC WRITING

Umm well that's a long story. Literally long because I wrote my first fanfic in middle school at a time before graphical web browsing and years before fanfiction.net existed. Back in my faraway time my Dad got gifted a subscription to an Online Service for Christmas, and when I logged into this online service (bulletin boards) I poked around and discovered a fan club Anne McCaffrey's Pern. I was 13 and it was the 1990s, and Anne famously sent cease-and-desist letters to fanfic groups who weren't following her rules, which included not producing porn set in her world, so it was an incredibly teen-friendly environment of people writing pretty much everything except smut. A lot of really good writers, too. I know a ton of people from those groups who went on to publish fiction. Anyone who's following me here for fanfic would've liked the type of stuff my fanfic groups were doing back then so much!

[crab-people-overlord]

Intro 🧡

guess I might as well do an intro

diagnosed adhd software engineer here (🩷💜💙, coming to you from the Rocky Mountains (where rich people's empty ski homes are literally everywhere and driving up costs….. pls send help)

writing stuff + ao3 link

just finished a canon-adjacent story about the main kids. it’s a short story that I had so much fun writing :) and I hope to focus on more short stories in the future.

also doing a south park/good place crossover because why not

wrote this thing called "the cultish conundrum" which... exists... (planning to rewrite it someday when i git gud™️) (wrote this when I knew NOTHING of fandom so I did try to be canon-compliant but knew nothing of creative writing when I first started, so I hope to revisit to rewrite it to be actually… good one day lol)

Also if you’re an ao3 writer of your own and want me to kudos/comment just lmk!! I know this isn’t an excuse but my adhd makes it so bad for me to read others works but if I’m instructed to I genuinely love it and want to support y’all as from what I’ve seen, there’s SO many talented SP writers out there that I genuinely want to support so badly but am literally so bad at committing when there’s so many choices lmao

quick stats:

mid 20s and fresh out of college (studied computer sci so bear w me if I sound too tech bro; I won’t be offended if you call me out for doing something wrong as I not only don’t get offended easily, but acknowledge I have no idea what the fuck I’m doing since literally the only time I’ve had social media in the past is when I would look at tumblr in middle school cuz it allowed porn it im being real with you 👀)

9w8 ISTP (took the official tests in college tho acknowledge it’s only slightly scientific lol)

ex-mormon who served a mission (emphasis on the ‘ex’- 🫡 🥲 god the stories I have lmfao)

works in tech and works from home

builds legos and games most nights (i wanna learn new hobbies besides this, hence the whole trying to learn how to write thing. pls bear with me- i BS’d my way through English classes in college lol)

so yeah!! south park has basically been my comfort show/emotional support media for as long as i can remember. like it's literally been keeping me sane through… everything

absolutely down to chat about anything!! just use my ask box or dm if you're 18+ (minors please no dm). This blog will likely stay sfw, but it may occasionally not be! I’ll tag when it’s not, but this is your warning now. i promise i'm super chill and just here to vibe with other cool humans who don't tolerate any transphobic/racist/etc behavior. I don’t ever do social media but just want to connect with others in the fandom so here I am 👋not here for any drama and will respect ships in the fandom though i am partial to style (what got me to look into the fandom space in the first place)

also I like writing meta posts but just know I do it all for fun and that I completely understand and respect that my opinions are just that- opinions. at the end of the day it’s just a silly show and that’s the fun of fandom- being able to share these

[theimaginatrix27]

So it's been a year since I began delving into Star Trek fandom properly

It's officially my birthday in my timezone! This time last year, I was gushing on the server @kintatsujo made for our circle of mutual friends about the best/most well-thought-out part of my Star Trek AU, now dubbed Galactic Warp, after its most important advancement. In a few weeks, it will be the one-year anniversary of my joining the Trek server where I would make all the friends I have in that fandom (particularly gonna shout out @roguetelepaths, who you may have noticed I've been reblogging a lot of posts from of late).

A lot has happened over the past year on that front, if I'll be quite honest. I've posted eight! fanfics for DS9 (holy shit), bringing my number of works on AO3 up into the double-digits and totalling about 140 thousand words! And there are many more to come, I assure you—the plot bunnies living in my brain evolved into tribbles and started churning out ideas for this fandom and these characters, as if making up for lost time.

I hit a lot of milestones this year (remembers the name of the first Trekfic I posted and laughs). Let's see if I can remember them all! :D

I discovered I can write Sci-fi, actually! Honestly I'm looking back at my confident assurance of the exact opposite of this and laughing, because I have proven that claim false in several ways over the past year. (See my Threshold fics for the most obvious example). But like. Also. The backdrop of one of my original series is kind of a Sci-fi setting, so I've been doing this for a while. Yeah, Kinta, laugh it up, you were right and I was very silly.

I can write Star Trek fanfics, actually, and if I mess up on anything, nobody's gonna care! I was so scared I'd embarrass myself in front of a fandom I found very intimidating, but so far, everyone's been so welcoming and people like what I've put out there! They really like it! I'm honestly humbled and grateful for all my lovely readers who have said such nice things to me in fic comments, and in private on Discord. You're all wonderful! But critically, I did make a mistake, and nobody gave a single, solitary shit. The story's an AU anyway, and people have been enjoying it, and I was worried for eleven years over nothing. You won't believe what that does for a lady's confidence.

I've learned some stuff about my own personal writing process, which is a big step forward! I've been taking in writing advice for as long as I've been fully online. I've listened to writer after writer tell me how they work, how they do things, and I've tried plenty of it myself, but to no avail. Earlier this year, I ran out of words to paste into 4TheWords, a website I'd joined several years ago because I liked its premise (turning writing into a game, where you could defeat monsters with words you wrote). I hadn't written on it live before, due to copy/paste issues I was able to resolve (the font in the site editor is different to the font I use on my computer when writing offline), but I actually started doing it because there is a particular group of enemies that are specifically time-based (all enemies have a time limit in which you must defeat them, but these guys set a timer within which you must keep typing), and I thought I could use that as freewriting sessions. Freewriting was something I'd been sure would work for me if I needed to get unstuck, and I'd actually noticed I could untangle issues I had by talking about them with friends in private, often without them even being around to help. So I tried it. And wonder of wonders! I got unstuck! On multiple stories! Just by rambling about them on a timer! And then I started writing words to defeat other enemies on the site live, and wait. How many words did I write this week? On this day? It's been a real game-changer, particularly as my edits count as more words, which impresses the fundamental truth that every word you write matters, even the ones you delete. Even the ones you edit away because the sentence didn't feel right. Even the passages that ultimately don't work. It all matters, and it all helps. And if I get stuck again, there's always the endurance monsters to help me out! About half of the stuff I've posted was shared in the last three months. And it's all thanks to 4TW. If you think this sounds cool, look them up! They're good eggs and don't support generative AI in creative writing. :)

I've also achieved a few writing firsts as a result of that last point!

This probably doesn't come as a surprise to my writer friends, but I've fully accepted the fact that the first thing I need to do as a writer is write. I have heard that a thousand times before, and I knew it was true on some level, but I would always let my anxiety and perfectionism get the better of me, and overthink myself to a standstill. With the method I've been employing on 4TW, I've had to press forward if I want to beat the clock, which has pushed my ADHD brain into doing what I want it to (part of why 4TW works for me is that it sets little deadlines outside myself. I cannot set my own deadlines, I know the person who drew up that schedule and she's too easily distracted and also likes to have fun too much). With even the low-stakes pressure of beat this guy before time runs out, I've been able to at least get started, and once I've picked up a little momentum, I get excited about my stories again, and we can have days where I write over 6000 words in twelve hours, because I don't want to stop!

I've stopped trying to force my chapters to be a certain length. I let each one be as long as it needs to be, and if that's a couple thousand words longer than the last one, fine! It achieved it's purpose for the story, and I'm not going to cut stuff when it was all important! Besides, I've noticed that each story finds its rhythm if I give it the space it needs, and the chapters end up being close to the same length anyways.

I've been getting bolder and bolder about the stories I write or consider writing! Too often in the past, I've been unsure about whether an idea will work for my audience, but the more times I've let myself be weird on main, and nobody has come out of the woodwork to yell at me for it, the easier it's been to be that little bit more wild with my ideas. And having friends to babble to helps with that too, people who tell me to go for it are super important and I appreciate every one of them!

I've actually written stories inspired by prompts! I'd never really done this before. Being prompted by a post is one thing (love ya, Threshold AU), but actually doing prompts for a challenge? That was always difficult for me. I'd always second-guess myself if I came up with any ideas for a particular prompt set, and then procrastinate on trying for years. But this year, I participated in Dominion Week, and although I've only posted four out of the seven prompt fills, I do have ideas for the other three days and will write them when the tribbles are done filling in any gaps they think should be patched in the AUs said prompt fills are relevant to. :D

Related to the above, I wrote oneshots! That stayed oneshots! And one of them stands completely on its own! That. That has never happened before. I've said several times on this blog that I'm not wired for short stories. I wrote my mother a story for her birthday and it was a backstory event from my Ylonaverse because I couldn't think of an idea that could stand on its own. And then Dominion Week happened, and I started two series of single-chapter stories, and wrote a oneshot that was a thought experiment and won't be a part of any of my currently existing AUs, and I'm still mind-blown that that even happened.

It has been a good writing year for me, in other words, despite its ups and downs.

Oh, and I also have had the capacity to Braille up my stories for a year now, and although I'm a perfectionist about this and want the Braille versions to be just right, because I intend to podfic them, I'm still very glad I can Braille things up at all.

But that was gonna happen anyway. The Brailler and paper were part of last year's birthday present, much as the binding combs and binding machine were part of this year's one. And the discussion of that part of my creative life should have its own post at some point. Probably when I have compiled enough to start actually podficking.

[justreckin]

20 questions for fic writers

alright @emonydeborah said hey there's a thing and i say yes (ages later)

1. How many works do you have on Ao3? 6

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? 28,070

3. What fandoms do you write for? Honestly, whatever's catching my fancy in that moment. Of the things I've posted, The Librarians is the only fandom that I've ever even posted more than one fic for.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Raising Harry (Harry Potter/Underworld) Where Selene comes across Harry playing at the park alone at night and decides that the best idea is to sorta adopt him.

Never Say He Isn't Grateful (Agent Carter/Captain America) Howard realizes he owes Peggy big time and the best way for him to repay her is to go rescue Steve.

5 Times Ezekiel Called Eve Mum and the Time They Made it Official (The Librarians) 5+1 what it says on the tin.

Second Time Around (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) Coulson went in on the Bahrain mission, May died. Oneshot re-write of the first episode that I considered expanding and have actually written other chapters for but... 🤷‍♀️

How Apep got Ezekiel Grounded for the Rest of his Natural Life (The Librarians) Season 3 Finale in the same universe as the previous Librarians fic that has a second chapter I have yet to write...

5. Do you respond to comments? I certainly try to. I'm not the best at it, but I love getting to have a conversation with anyone who likes the same things I do.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Heh probably I'm Not Your Mother but even then it's a) not really all that angsty and b) mostly that I dropped a mean bomb on characters and then ran away because I have no idea what else to do with it.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? ...everything else? Look, canon is already regularly very mean to characters. I am here to live in my happy little fantasies where everything works out.

8. Do you get hate on fics? Not hate per se but I'd left up an unfinished multi-chapter fic at one point and someone commented that I was the reason they'd lost faith in authors with unfinished works and is maybe more responsible for me not posting any of the myriad of things I have on my computer than I want to admit.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Nah. I write more family than relationship stuff, really.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? Yes. Uh... it's not posted, but maybe the Harry Potter/Song of the Lioness that I hashed out at one point.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Don't think so.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?  Don't think so.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Ha! @emonydeborah and I spitball all the time (it's wonderful) and she absolutely gets credit if that parent trap fic ever gets finished, but I don't think I'm up to the group project that would be co-writting a fic.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? the Enterprise NCC-1701 dash nothing! All jokes aside, it genuinely is the only ship I go back to on a regular basis.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Uh... honestly, I don't know that I'll ever finish half the things in my WIP folder.

16. What are your writing strengths? Probably dialogue. I feel I'm pretty good at getting the character's literal voice down.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Anything happening around the dialogue. In my head these people are always moving around and doing things, but it always feels so clunky if I try to put that onto a page.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? Maybe an individual word or two for a curse or endearment. I know enough Spanish I'd probably be comfortable writing in it. But that'd be about it.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Uh.... Star Trek? One sec, must check files. Yeah, pretty sure it was a short TOS thing. Hmm might need to take a look at that again, clean it up, repost...

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? Posted? Probably Ezekiel calling Eve mum. Not posted? Nah, actually, don't know that there is one that's not posted.

.... @the-redhead-in-a-dress and @sun-lit-roses did you do it yet, did you do it? I wanna see 😁

[notquitejiraiya]

8 YEARS

Last year, I wrote my first yearly recap after having been inspired by a tradition set by the wonderful @unioncolours each year. That recap contained an array of fics and thoughts and inspirations after the insane year for me that was 2022. It was a huge year for me in terms of many things. Shortly after my last recap, I got a master’s degree and officially became an engineer, something that honestly spurred on my creative drive. While studying for that degree, I had my coolest year of writing in a while: as you know from the last recap, if you read it, I wrote 9/10, Love Means Nothing (which, yes, will be finished in time, don’t worry), and most importantly, I wrote Strangers.

Most importantly, I say, because the entirety of 2023 would ultimately hinge upon what Strangers began. But that is something we’ll come to in time.

Be warned, this will be long, but if you'd like to read about my last year, please do keep reading below :)

Before we begin with the majority of this essay, I wanna give a shoutout to the lost soul of the year that is Traditions. It wasn’t long and it wasn’t hugely exciting, but it kickstarted this year in terms of fic posting, even if only on Tumblr, and it was a cute one. I always love a little challenge like those from a gift exchange, and it’s always nice to give a gift. I hope it was nice to read, too!

But, starting on the meaty stuff, I think it’s important that I address the two constants throughout the history of this blog. The first, which comes as no surprise to any, is ShikaTema: the most important ship to ever exist, to me, and the heart of some of the most wonderful experiences I’ve had throughout my fandom life. The second constant is a topic explored in a lot of Shikamaru-based content across the fandom and one that I will never tire of.

That second constant is chess.

The game of chess is something very special to me. The first day I met my partner, we played chess against one another for hours (and I lost - the only time he’s beaten me, actually). My best friend, who introduced us that day, gave me a rook keyring that I have kept on my house keys ever since, whether I’ve lived in my home town, another city, or now even in another country entirely. My favourite musical - one of the things I connect to my father best with - centres around chess, its politics, and its capacity for obsession. And probably the most important fic on this blog to date obviously takes its name from the game.

I have no doubt that most people who follow me, especially those of you here on Tumblr, discovered my writing as a result of Chess, either by reading it or maybe through the incredible art which that fic was lucky enough to receive. It was so special and personal to me to write, and while it’s certainly no longer my best work as an author, I’m still immensely proud and pleased with how it resonated with people. I think, so far, it is the most beloved thing I’ve written, at least to others.

But something that always bothered me about Chess was how little chess there actually was in it. Sure, there were a couple of scenes where chess was played, but there was more flower arranging and fish and chips than there was time sitting across a chessboard. It felt almost like a wasted opportunity to write about Shikamaru being a chess whizz and doing next to nothing with the skill. I couldn’t let the idea die. In many of my older stories — Tumblr-only stories — Shikamaru plays chess (or shogi) or inspires Shikadai or Temari to do the same. But nowadays, it feels like it has all been leading up to right now and to the monster that 2023 has birthed.

When I came to write Strangers in 2022, an idea came to me as just a little easter egg. That idea was that, in the Strangers universe, Temari’s husband would be a world-class chess player, and she, too, would have an equally worldwide job. It sort of naturally followed that Temari, too, could be a chess player; what she might lack in terms of natural strategic prowess, she more than makes up for in drive and ruthlessness, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned about chess players in my life, it’s that they hate to lose. Temari 101, methinks. As I made my way through writing Strangers, that fact nipped at my brain tirelessly until, before I knew it, I had a 30k outline and, by association, a goal for what 2023 would be for me as a writer.

2023 would be the year of Grandmaster.

I’ve always been more of a character writer than a plot writer. I think perhaps that’s one of the reasons I’m drawn to writing AUs over canon works; to me, while writing, it’s more interesting to explore how an existing character would behave in a totally alien environment to their canon one, and Grandmaster is this year’s attempt at that.

I mention this because, while I call Grandmaster (GM) a ShikaTema fic, it is, first and foremost, a fic about Temari. Shikamaru is there — of course, he is — and he plays a crucial role in so many of the elements of her life within the story. But the story is unequivocally hers. We see what Temari sees, focus on what Temari focuses on, suffer through Temari’s delusions of her own self-importance, and feel the weight of the expectations put upon her. It’s an exploration of the weight of ambition that’s not necessarily your own, and it has gutted me to write more than Chess ever did.

I don’t have enough delusion of my own self-importance to yet write and publish an essay on this story, why I’ve written it, and how it feels to write it, but there are a few points that I have to voice in this yearly reflection because they’re so crucial to my last year as a writer and online.

You will hear me sing the praises of my friend Bex to the ends of the Earth. While we share a name, we have very different approaches to writing, and we often tell quite different stories, but she is truly responsible for inspiring me to write Temari-centric stories. 100%. If you are reading this and somehow haven't read what I truly consider to be the greatest ShikaTema fic of all time (no one cries for unknown soldiers), follow that link, read it right now, and then come back a changed individual. And you will be changed, I promise, because it changed me on an almost chemical level with its power. Everything you write, Bex, has that power, and it is extraordinary and frankly terrifying in the most incredible way.

I had already started GM by the time you began releasing When I am Gorgeous, but holy fuck, if that didn’t spur me on. The character growth and arcs in those stories are something to behold and something I strive for. With that in mind, the first point of this writing reflection is a thank you to Bex specifically, without whom I wouldn’t have had nearly as much fun writing as I’ve had this last year, and I wouldn’t be sitting where I’m sitting as I write this. So thank you - a hundred times over and more. I am honoured to share a corner of the internet (and a name) with you, my ‘rival’. Thank you.

The second point is another thank you. This time to @clumsydragon28, who is again a dear friend and without whom GM wouldn’t be what it is. From support in DMs to insane and phenomenal essay-like analysis in comment sections, you are outrageously inspiring to em and others and there aren’t words for my gratitude for that. But, as you already know, there are elements of GM and what is to come after GM that exist only because of you and your own beautiful writing and stories. I will refrain from spoiling the joys of the latter chapters of Plié — another absolute must-read where the love and joy of an art form ooze from every word and captivate you with their wholesomeness and beauty — but it helped me find the missing piece at the end of GM that lets me tie it up with a bow, and ultimately set into motion the fic that will follow. I can’t thank you enough, truly, but thank you. 

Having thanked those who frankly made it happen, I’ll get on with the writing-specific stuff. No spoilers, but it will be a little self-indulgent so bear with me.

I’ll start with something kind of trivial. GM is my first real time writing OCs in a fanfic as more than a passing reference. It doesn’t have many because I like to bring in canon characters where applicable. But sometimes that’s not viable, and I’m not about to force some character into a hole they don’t fit into because I hate when other people do that, so Danya and Mischa kind of had to happen. And I’ve had a really fun time writing them. It’s not uploaded yet, but there’s a chapter coming soon that’s quite focused around Mischa, and I think it’s some of my best writing in the whole story, and so GM has kind of gotten me over my fear of OCs. Nobody’s complained about their existence, and they’ve made the story more complete. A lesson learned, for sure.

Secondly, it’s no secret that I really like Rasa. Do I think he’s a wanker? Yes. Do I think hating him for what happened canonically is valid? Also, yes. Do I think that there’s nuance to his character that is often disregarded or forgotten? Absolutely. And, as a result of that, do I think he’s criminally underutilised in fics? Fuck yeah, I do.

So GM has a lot of Rasa. More than I initially intended when I began writing it, actually. He’s there pretty much all the time — if he’s not in the scene, he’s probably influencing what’s going on in it either directly or via years of impressionable behaviours. And it’s been really interesting to write that. Challenging, for sure, because I have to keep in line with all the relationships set out in Strangers and realistically make them come to a head where they do. And challenging in the sense that it doesn’t feel good to write some of the things that Rasa has to say in this story.

There have been a few times in my 8 years as a fanfic author where I’ve written something and actually felt violently emotional after having done so, but GM has given me a fair few of those moments, specifically as a result of Rasa. I won’t say which moments they are, partly because the expectation of how one is ‘supposed’ to feel consuming anything takes away the authenticity, I feel, but I wonder if when people read his dialogue in certain chapters — some already up, and some soon to come — they will feel the same as I did writing them. It’s an interesting thought I’ve never had the opportunity or time to really consider until GM, and one I am sure I will consider more going forward.

Speaking of Rasa and the link in relationships, I don’t know if I’ve even officially said in this recap that GM is the prequel to Strangers. I’ve never written a prequel before, but it’s a unique experience. It’s like working from the end to the beginning; it feels wrong and yet makes perfect sense. Keeping the sibling relationships in line with Strangers is really fun, honestly. Writing that fic, I had little opportunity to just write the three of them having fun or being loving in traditional ways, and I had zero opportunity to utilise Yashamaru.

Writing this fic, Yashamaru has been everywhere, and he has become one of my most beloved characters.

I have nothing else to say on that, I just wanted to give it it’s own line. He’s played a big part of warming my hear this year, and I love him.

Finally, I feel like this fic has really brought out the introspective beast within me. Introspection has always been my forte, but it’s really taken the reins this time. In some ways, I’m quite annoyed with myself for it and for being word and long-winded. I’ve always had the biggest respect for those who can say what they want to say concisely, and I have never been one of those people.

That’s the goal for the 9th year of notquitejiraiya, for sure, and I plan to do so with a fic in the same universe as has captivated me these last 2 years, this time with the focus on Shikadai. Shikadai will be a new challenge for me, too, especially a grown up Shikadai, and I'm excited to try and tell his story, concisely and without even half the discontentment present in both GM and Strangers lol. We deserve some cheerfulness and range here at NQJ Ltd.

But at the same time, I’m proud of the way I write and the way I express myself and the characters within my story. I think I’m quite good at following a train of thought in a realistic way — not quite to the level of my idol, Mr Alex Garland, but I’ve time to learn — and by being Temari-centric, GM has let me into Temari’s head and let me run havoc her thoughts. I’ve received multiple comments on GM about how it’s somewhat frustrating not to have Shikamaru’s point of view, and while I get why: no thanks.

This is Temari’s story. There will be some moments we see through other’s eyes, certainly, but I’m of the opinion that if we saw both sides of GM, it would be far more frustrating. This story will span ten years and for me, it’s an exercise in writing someone piecing together parts of their life during that time into something worth living and figuring things out as they go. In life, while you might get to hear what the people around you think from what they say and how they act, you don’t get the privilege of seeing inside their heads. Neither does Temari, and by association, neither do you. I hope it pays off in the end; I’ll be proud regardless.

But enough about Becks the writer. Something pretty insane happened for Becks the human being last month, something that she’s not completely over. I live in Finland now. I’m learning Finnish, and I’m on Master’s degree number 2 (yes, I am addicted to learning, do not judge me). I have, frankly, no time to write, but am I going to do it anyway? Of course I am. I can’t stop myself, even if I tried. Not to mention, the pressure of my first MSc gave me Strangers, and I’m not going to resist if the 2nd brings on something equally fun.

Another constant this year for Becks the human, that I am certain my friends must be sick and tired of, is The Brothers Karamazov. I bought myself that book as a treat for finishing my exams in 2022 and have been slowly chugging through it for the last year. I’m sure it comes as no surprise with my wordy introspective tendencies that I love a classic, and I think it’s quite fun that I’ve somewhat accidentally aligned reading this particular classic alongside falling into the Bungo Stray Dogs fandom and, even more fun, aligned with writing GM. Two wildly different stories of trios of Russian siblings. These trios – they follow me around, I swear! But jokes aside, I have only 98 pages left of this almost 1000 page beast, and it feels like the end of an era. Never in my life have I seen characters as humans more effectively, and never have I felt more inspired to make sure the characters that I write appear human, too.

But like I say, being wordy is my weakness. The evidence is in this almost 3k ramble alone. There are so many more things I could say, and maybe once I’ve finished GM and it’s all published and tied up with a bow, I might share those thoughts, too.

But for now, I must say thank you to the 8th notquitejiraiya year for being so memorable, despite my blog and my ao3 page having ‘little’ to show for it by way of variety. The 9th year will be a good one, I’m sure, and I enter it with incredible friends — authors and otherwise — and the will (of fire) to improve.

And become more concise. That’s job no1.

Thank you all for playing a part in the last 8 years, whether we’re close or we’ve never spoken. Your time means the world, and I hope you have an incredible day / night / life.

Becks x

[lyriumsings]

oh damn I was just wondering if I should ask if you took oc questions and I saw a post about you wanting to talk about them. so. this is your sign: free pass tell me whatever you want about whoever you want. I’d like to know stuff about them (please. thank.)

This ask has literally been sitting here for like a year and I can’t stop thinking about my infamous mc so i’m gonna use this as a sort of preview introduction lol so anon if you’re out there im so sorry lmaooo and i absolutely love asks about my brain blorbos or anything really ngl i’ll probably copy and paste all this information to their Official Art ™️

Name: Octavia “Tavvi” Blackwater

Stage name: Tavvi

Pronouns: they/she

Sexuality: Bisexual

Band name: Beneath the Challenger (BTC). Octavia came up with the name and it’s basically a metaphor for them being super depressed lmao. It comes from the Challenger Deep which is the lowest point on earth beneath the Mariana’s trench.

Vocal Insp: donna missal (pinnacle voice bc for them tbh), The pretty reckless, the haunt

Music Insp: The Pretty Reckless, The Haunt, (for all of these bands i have very specific songs that i plug in as BTC’s lyrics lmao i have a playlist for them that i basically hc as their songs), Bad Omens (Just Pretend is SUCH a seven x mc song and i hc it as BTC’s best song), Mothica (VICES tho), and Honey Revenge! Here’s their playlist it grows everyday lmao

Fandom: Aquanauts. I hc that Maya figured out the bands meaning and picked based on that, Octavia genuinely loves it and finds it cute. And somehow the fact that the name makes sense to what the band name is makes them feel very seen and comforted tbh

Ep: Under the Water

Favorite unreleased single: The Slowest Heart (Which i actually took from Gilded Lily bc that song has heavy Octavia x Seven vibes) They have “the slowest heart” tattooed on there left rib age side boob area lol Although I feel like if she wrote it it’d be closer to the sped up version and a bit angrier mixed with hurt but the lyrics are perfect)

Romance: Seven’s ex. Still has his initials and doesn’t bother to cover it. And they are harboring a very blatant crush on Orion that if they’re being honest about started specifically because Orion seems pretty unattainable and they have no actual expectations of that fantasy becoming a reality (at least at first). Some cute stuff about them and seven tho: I hc fans called them Seven8 cuz Octavia means 8 or i guess Setavia works but Seven8 is so cute to me. And that seven had them in his phone as “8” and Octavia had him as “7 Ducky”

Some backstory:

Octavia is biracial her mom is white and her dad is black (specifically has afro indigenous roots but he was a foster kid so very estranged from these cultures) does not have a good relationship with their parents at all. Their parents didn’t really want kids? Sort of had Octavia because that’s what they were “supposed” to do next after getting married. Octavia is very much just an item checked off a list in a lot of ways regarding them. Very much the type of people who probably shouldn’t have had a kid not because they didn’t provide physically but they’re just emotionally nonexistent and incredibly dismissive lol. So yeah, so she had a very lonely childhood.

They did lots of ballet/contemporary dancing and soft ball which she does still actually enjoy as hobbies presently, but for the most part she’s obsessed with music and making music. They have a bat from highschool that they call “Lucky Lucy” where for two separate games in a row she hit nothing but home runs with it. Now, she takes it to every show and makes everybody touch Lucky Lucy before performing.

Octavia is obsessed with old hollywood glamour and old movies/shows from that era— most specifically Audrey Hempburn. They have several references/quotes from her tattooed on them: “never throw out anyone” is a partial quote from “People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed; never throw anyone out.” that they have tattooed directly under their S.D. tattoo which is my favorite lol and another is “i was born with an enormous need for affection, and a terrible need to give it.” probably on their opposite forearm from S.D. (There’s more but i gotta map them out.) They can do a transatlantic accent, and did so for many months as a teen to annoy their parents.

Lastly, romantic history: before Seven they had a girlfriend, Maria. Who was pretty much their polar opposite—very straight laced, serious, and structured but also incredibly sweet, polite, absolute wifey material—and honestly while she supported Octavia’s dream on a surface level she thought Octavia needed a more concrete plan for the future. They dated for about half of high school and split amicably when it became clear that Octavia wasn’t going to change/Octavia’s underlying feelings for Seven became a bit too obvious to ignore. They’re still in contact and friendly and Maria is married and has two kids.

Post Seven, Octavia had one serious relationship that was on and off for 8 months about a year after their initial split. It was bad. Incredibly toxic content warning type bad. Dean Clayton was the lead singer of another indie band Violet Vapors and was a general misogynistic piece of shit. It was a they just didn’t see the red flags until they were already in it type situation, bc no one advertises themself as a pos partner obvs. She doesn’t like to talk about it and borderline actively ignores it, but if they ever saw him again they’d probably take their bat to him tbh. Octavia is in a muuuuch better place now (comparatively speaking, which i mean the bar is in hell so do with that what ye will) still does drugs and drinks but it’s not nearly as bad as uhhh this era of their life.

[pierswife]

@wyrmmak SOOOOOO TRUE well get ready for the Manda Lore Unlock cause this one is a fun story

Okay, let's go all the way back to November 2019. It's my third semester ever of college. I was doing so freakin good at avoiding leaks and spoilers for Sword and Shield (except for official release trailers) and was just SO excited to pick up my preorder after class (it was an 8AM Friday lecture and I sadly couldn't go to the midnight release even though I was invited got a call from gamestop that night and everything). I even requested the day off from work too because I'd be dammed Taco Bell kept me away from my pokemon and it was midterms too so extra excuse to request off (did this with Three Houses too fun fact). This is to set up how this man absolutely blindsided the fuck outta me when I first saw him.

So here I am, absolutely powering through this game having the time of my life playing it because idgaf what people say and idc how much a pokemon game may suck, if I have the ambition I'll finish it in less than a week. Keep in mind, I had no fucking idea who Piers was. And then I get to Spikemuth and I am ABSOLUTELY loving the vibe and the music and I am absolutely jamming out to everything. And then I get to him and he gives his little before battle speech thing and tbh I'm enthralled because I just love the way his dialogue was written and also just found it so cool that he was the still 7th gym leader without being able to dynamax his pokemon and honestly commended the fuck out of it (I'm not a big fan of it myself and only used it when I absolutely had to). I'm also just a sucker for his aesthetic and found myself getting a little crush after finishing his gym. Also his battle music was a fucking banger and I would just constantly listen to it for a few days after. And then we got to the lead up to Rose Tower and I fell harder when he just kinda shows up and basically is 100% down for some anarchy to help the kids stop Rose. And then GOD the post game where it shows that he's just such a good older brother and constantly worried for his sister, but also accidentally adopting the player character and Hop along the way and being the most tired mom friend like ever, icing on top of the cake. And I was cackling when at the end of the post game he gives you his rare trainer card and basically goes "never contact me for something like this ever again" and just LEAVES. Had me giggling like a maniac. So yeah by December that year I was pretty down bad.

Overall I just appreciate how he's a pretty chill and down to earth dude, but 100% is so fucking down for violence (think along the lines of "violence is the question and the answer is yes"). I also just love how like... prickly he seems on the outside before you do kinda get to know his character a little bit more. I've always found characters like that super neat in general! The more I learned about him the more I felt "hey, this would be someone I'd be super comfortable being myself around" and he wouldn't mind my Mentally Ill Moments and would actually sit with me and help me work through them (because my and a lot of people's headcanon is that he's been through some shit himself so he understands). I also have the old fic I wrote forever ago where he helped me repierce my ears (cause irl I was repiercing them in my bathroom lmao) and that was just absolute nail in the coffin I would die for this man. Tbh it's a mix of his mannerisms and how you could fill some stuff in with headcanons (a lot of which a majority of the fandom agreed on) and how I just see him as someone who I could just let my guard down around and relax that made me like him so much.

[redyarns]

long post

how many works do you have on ao3?

31 but i always publish and then delete stuff. also my google docs is COOKED with how many wips i have

what's your total ao3 word count?

527,056. planning on hitting 1m by the end of this year from undertow alone ERRRR

what are your top five fics by kudos?

in my prayer (genshin impact, zhongchi. 4,587 kudos)

resist much, obey little (hazbin hotel, radioapple. 3,008 kudos)

acoustics (demon slayer, zentan. 2,204 kudos)

ruin me (hazbin hotel, radioapple. 2,153 kudos)

peach keen (demon slayer, zentan. 1,751 kudos)

embarrassing that two of these are hazbin hotel. im turbo depressed that undertow isnt in the top 5 but i guess that makes sense, its still a relatively new fic + the tf fandom isnt big on ao3. but also dont read that first fic. or any of these for that matter, theyre all either old or really bad or both

what fandoms do you write for?

ERRR this is a long answer. right now its tf (primarily megop) but i know that i made a few popular fics in genshin impact, bridgerton, and demon slayer. i also wrote for bnha and supernatural, but i also have a ton of wips for fandoms i never officially published.

i have a lot of stuff for mcu (stony) for some reason, as well as an egregious amount of v*ltron shit thatll never see the light of day. im currently trying to organize every single wip by fandom and theres just too many to count

do you respond to comments? why or why not?

uh well... im trying? but i tend to forget/get overwhelmed. i read each and every one tho, to the point i can recognize regular readers

what's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

i havent ever written a fic that isnt hea. but i guess the closest thing to an angst ending would be the ones that never actuall ended and are in abandoned hell LMFAO

what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

uhhh i guess ill go by cheesiness? starry-eyed ended with tanjirou proposing to zenitsu, or something else that i find cringe. that one i wrote years ago so i dont remember the exact details

do you get hate on fics?

ohhh yeah. lack luster got a lot of negative attention and it nearly killed me LMAO

do you write smut?

see i try but then after i publish it i get so embarrassed that i want to kay em ess. undertow is supposed to have pre-planned smut scenes and i have a few betas, but i will be deliberately writing those scenes in a different document they dont have access to bc ill die of embarrassment otherwise.

do you write crossovers?

no, i never did even when i was a kid on wattpad

have you ever had a fic stolen?

yes and it pissed me off. a few months ago some loser took resist much, obey little and published their version ON AO3. WHY ON THE SAME SITE, ARE YOU STUPID

have you ever had a fic translated?

a few, i dont remember which ones though

have you ever cowritten a fic before?

a few times yes, but ive found that often the other persons writing style isnt something that meshes well with my own, so its not feasible in the long run. i do have a very fun collab cooking up though so stay tuned for that!

what's your all time favourite ship?

MEGOP OOOO O O OO but reluctantly klance was where it all started so i suppose it might be my favorite. the angst material from that ship was top tier

what's the wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

lmao all of them? but if speaking seriously then maybe my kickass miraculous au that i wrote a good chunk of. its really cool and i poured a lot of thought into it but im too preoccupied with undertow to focus on anything else

what are your writing strengths?

my characterization is peak and im aware of it. it gets on my nerves if i feel like i dont quite have a character right so i always read a lot of content to get a general grasp of what people seem to expect and then i both follow/break those rules to better fit my narrative in a way thats both acceptable and exciting

what are your writing weaknesses?

oh my god. uhh well definitely action scenes, but in general i would say i have a poor time with showing rather than telling at times, and im also pretty piss at balancing prose with dialogue

thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

i think its cringe. i remember a long time ago there was a sort of series of fics where one of the characters consistently spoke korean, and as someone who knows korean, i can tell you that that shit was cringe and incorrect as hell. i think its fine if a character can speak a different language, even cool, but using italics and typing in english is preferable to another language being written

first fandom you wrote for?

fairy tail, my home base. it all started bc i was on youtube as a kid just watching random people duet violin and piano, and i happened to stumble upon a pair playing some music from fairy tail. it moved 12 year old me's brain so much that i found the source and boom i got sucked in. still one of my favorite shows

favourite fic you've ever written?

undertow hands down. it is consistently the best written in all aspects: the plot is tight but explorative, the characters are well established, and there is a very delicate balance between action and romance thats been (so far) achieved. i consider it the peak of my writing career and everything else falls devastatingly short

Tagged by @shichidikai to answer 20 questions for fic writers, ty rin!

how many works do you have on ao3?

36

what's your total ao3 word count?

171,154 (100k+ from last year alone which is still bonkers to me!)

what are your top five fics by kudos?

Gay Chicken (zosan pwp)

Roll For Charisma (zosan dnd au)

life's a precious thing (zosan longshot)

my heart in your hands (marichat soulmates)

fervid as a flame (gelphie omegaverse)

the marichat fic has stuck around for a while, wrote it AGES ago. i have a feeling it might be overtaken by the gelphie fic soon

what fandoms do you write for?

one piece 98% of the time. there is a ghibli fic i wrote for a zine on the backburner, and a half-finished gelphie (wicked) fic i might get around to

do you respond to comments? why or why not?

almost always! if anyone knows me you know i'm a serial commenter on fics i read, and i'll always try to respond in turn. i am behind rn tho, especially for my unfinished fics - i'll get to them i swear!! there are also some comments that rub me the wrong way that i prefer to let be

what's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

well... probably The Germa Headphones. All of my non-con fics do not have nice endings, but idk if i'd categorize them as "angsty"

what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

i'd say Roll For Charisma, ignoring the fics I wrote years ago because I was all fluff back then lolol. Gave them a nice sweet epilogue in that one.

do you get hate on fics?

weirdly, only for my sanami fic. it was a transphobic asshole and i reported the comment. i've also gotten indirect hate in a way due to participating in a certain ship week event that ruffled a few people's feathers

do you write smut?

yes, especially pwp. it's what i find the easiest to write these days and so i can spit them out pretty quickly if i have the right motivation. i didn't start writing smut until i got into zs tho lmaoo it's been a learning process for sure

do you write crossovers?

not since i was 13 and on wattpad lmaoo. there's an amazing google doc in the bowels of my drive called "ATLA, MLP, Death Note Crossover" and it's a chaotic mess. one of these days i'll write my makima/sanji fic tho trust it'll happen

have you ever had a fic stolen?

i certainly hope not...

have you ever had a fic translated?

nope

have you ever cowritten a fic before?

technically, yes. it was a haikyuu crack fic my high school friend and i concocted on a call together in the middle of the night. i did post it but every day i get closer and closer to divorcing my account from it and leaving it on theirs. i've TRIED to co-write actual fics, or rp, but i've found my long form writing style (write 500 words then leave it for a month) is not very conducive to it ahah ha..

what's your all time favourite ship?

right now definitely zosan. all my otps have been hyperfixations but klance and kagehina have special places in my heart too.

what's the wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

oml too many... i still mourn my haikyuu witch au i wrote like 10k of and never posted. i don't see myself ever finishing it but i did like what i wrote. for one piece i'm still holding out hope i'll actually finish all my wips. we'll see how that goes ahah

what are your writing strengths?

i'd say my character-based plots & conflicts are pretty good, or at least that's what i find fun and easier to write. i usually feel pretty confident in how the characters im writing are feeling and the reasoning for their actions. also, i guess smut now lmaoo every day i get closer and closer to writing original smut and taking commissions

what are your writing weaknesses?

annoyingly, plotting. that's the biggest one and it makes my head hurt every time i try to write something more than 5k words. i also fall into clunky prose and run on sentences a lot. metaphors and more abstract writing has never come naturally to me and i know it's not nEEDED but it's a good toolset to have for certain story types. i used to edit as i wrote a LOT but i've been decently successful at beating that habit out of me.

thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

i do try to avoid it, but sometimes words or phrases will pop up. i wouldn't do it without reason. if that reason is zoro finds sanji hot when he speaks french? so be it. i do nOT trust google translate tho

first fandom you wrote for?

my little pony, back on wattpad. i deleted most of them which i also wrote directly into the app so those are lost to the times. i have some chunks of one of my "fics" saved which was me transcribing episodes into terrible prose from fluttershy's pov.

favourite fic you've ever written?

don't look now but probably Deep Sleep. it's the most self indulgent thing i've ever written and even though i don't think its my BEST work it's definitely the one i have the most fun with.

tagging @mihawking @fivedayslater @agnesclementineblog @jesterboystrick @redyarns @daerigo

[fandomgirlz01]

Lightsabers and Guitars Pt. 2

Charlie Gillespie x Reader

Imagine on my fandom instagram?: No

Prompt?: No

Request?: No

Requested prompt?: No

Edited: Yes

Word count: 5,445

Ko-fi

Masterlist

Warnings Here

You can listen to the story be read out loud here.

Post Date: August 8th 2022

Post Time: 12: 32 pm

Summary: When the reader gets tired of being around her friends she tries to leave and ends up finding herself in a fight with one of those friends. Reader then stomps off and finds a quiet place {she believes nobody else will be there} where she can practice swinging her lightsabers. What happens when she and Charlie stumble upon one another? Will they become friends? Or maybe something more? 

PSA: I am still learning Guitar so I’ll write it as best as I can for you guys. I just looked up the chords and wrote those, but I am unaware if they are the official chords so bare with me here. If you guys know that any of them are wrong please please please consider letting me know and I will fix it as soon as I can.

Y/n’s Pov:

“Knock knock. Is y/n in there?” Siana asks as she taps on my forehead, effectively snapping me out of my mind. 

“Yeah. Sorry. I just have a lot on my mind,” I answer as I shake my head and yawn, then start to pour myself some juice. 

“I’m sure you do. It’s been about a month you’ve been seeing this Charlie now,” she taunts as she smirks, wiggling her eyebrows at me. 

“That’s not what it was at all,” I verbalize as I feel my cheeks heat up. 

“Oh, you're so blushing right now! So that’s a total yes! You were thinking of him!” she shouts as she pokes my cheek with her pointer finger. 

“No, I wasn’t-” I start to reply, but my phone stops me mid conversation as my text tone goes off. 

“Is that Charles as your text tone…” she continues to tease and I roll my eyes. 

“Yes… he insisted on it so I’d know it was him…” I explain as I lift it and it lights up. 

“That’s actually so, so cute,” she coos and I roll my eyes.

“We’re just friends…” I reply as I smile while replying to his text and she shrugs. 

“Don’t listen to me… but honey, he most definitely likes you… I bet today is the day he makes a move. Hell, he’ll probably do that whole arm around you to show you the chords thing…” she remarks as she does some weird hand gesture, making me quirk an eyebrow at her. 

“Ok… what the hell was that hand motion?” I ask her with a giggle. 

“What! Isn’t that how you play a guitar!” she shouts and I giggle, shaking my head. 

“No. That is definitely not how you do it. Charlie would cringe so hard at whatever you just did,” I explain as I wave at her and she shrugs. 

“Well, whatever. I’m not the roommate who’s into that stuff, that’s you,” she waves her hand in dismissal and I laugh, shaking my head. 

“Yeah. Yeah. Imma go shower now…” I gesticulate over my shoulder and she rolls her eyes. 

“You're showering to go to the beach? Oh! Wait, it's for Charlie isn’t it?!” she questions, but then quickly changes to a declaration and I roll my eyes. 

“It’s so for Charlie, isn’t it! So you do like him! I was right!” she says as she happily claps before starting to push me to my room. 

“Go! Go shower and pick the cute red bikini. The one that brings out your eyes…” she declares and I guffaw at her. 

“I can’t pick that one!” I exclaim and she gives me a look of confusion. 

“Why can’t you?” she asks almost like she’s offended. 

“That one’s far too sexy for me!” I exclaim and she guffaws at me. 

“Honey, sexy is what you want in this situation,” she explains as she goes into my closet before returning with the red number. 

“Are you sure? Cause I really like him…” I finally admit as I play with my fingers and she claps. 

“Sweetheart, listen to me! I’m the one who gets most of the guys,” she explains pointingly as she sits down next to me. 

“I know… it’s just this is the first real guy I’ve been around after my whole swearing them off thing…” I nervously explain and she nods. 

“I know. Your last relationship wasn’t the best. But hey! Maybe you waited three years for Charlie. Maybe he’ll be better then stupid Greg,” she remarks before giving me a grossed out look. 

“Oh, he’s definitely better than Greg,” I agree and she smiles. 

“See! So isn’t it worth it to see where this thing will go?” she asks me and I sigh before nodding in agreement with her. 

“Yeah. I guess it is…” I agree with my own smile. 

“Well, go get in the shower then!” she declares as she again pushes me towards the bathroom. 

“And wear the red piece!” she yells from the hallway and I giggle, shaking my head. 

~ Time Skip ~

I pull up at the beach and turn my car off. After taking a moment to look over myself one last time, I start to get out of the car. Once I’m out, I pop my trunk before going around to get the practice sabers out along with my backpack and old guitar. 

I close my trunk and look around once before locking my car. I then walk to our spot where we meet up every week. I set my bag down by the wall before looking around for Charlie. 

After looking around, I don’t see him so I just sit against the wall and take my phone out. I text with Anna for a bit before a dog comes running up to me and starts to lick my face. I start laughing as I pet Koa and Charlie comes up behind him and pulls him away from me. 

“I am so sorry. He must be really excited to see you today,” Charlie explains as Koa runs off to the water. 

“It’s ok. Really. I’m glad to see him too,” I reply with a light giggle. 

“So, which are we practicing first today?“ Charlie asks as he now sets his stuff down by mine. 

“I was thinking we could practice the guitar, then sabers. That way we can go for a swim after getting all sweaty from the sabers,” I explain and he nods before opening up his guitar case. 

“Ok. So did you practice the chords that I taught you last week?” he asks as I bite my lip and nod lightly. 

“I did practice, but I’m still having a little trouble with them,” I inform him and he nods his understanding. 

“Ok, then we’ll start there,” he decides out loud and I nod before pulling my guitar onto my lap. 

“Ok. So put your fingers on your chords and I’ll help you fix what’s off,” he explains and I nod before starting to try and place my fingers right. 

“You almost have it. Just this finger goes here and this one goes here. It’ll feel a little foreign at first, but I promise the more you practice this song it’ll just start to feel natural,” he explains as he moves my two fingers into place. 

“Now try playing the chords,” he orders and I nod before sticking my tongue out and trying to play the chords right. 

I play the first two right, but then both me and Charlie cringe as one sounds completely off. I take a break with a huff as Koa runs up to his daddy and licks his hand. Charlie chuckles before petting his baby’s head and after a few minutes, Koa seems satisfied when he runs off again. 

“Ok. Play it again, let me hear it and see what’s up,” Charlie tells me as he watches and observes as I place my hands back onto the chords. 

Again I play the first two right, but as I play the next one it sounds off again. I giggle when I see Koa cringe.

“I take it even Koa doesn’t like how that chord sounded,” I state and Charlie chuckles before looking over my guitar. 

“I think your guitar may be out of tune again. Good time to practice tuning it then,” he notes and I nod as I pull out the little tuner I bought at the beginning of last month. 

I put it on the end of my guitar before starting to try and tune it like he taught me to. Once I think I have it, look up at him. 

“You think you have it?” he asks and I nod. 

“Ok. Let me see,” he comments before I hand him the guitar. 

He plays a few chords before fixing one or two of the pegs. Once he’s done, he looks up with a smile as he hands me back my guitar. 

“You did good. I just made a few small tweaks,” he explains and I nod with a smile. 

“Ok. Let’s try the chords again. You got this,” he tells me with another smile. 

“Ok Luke…” I joke with a roll of my eyes and he smiles. 

“So you watch Julie and The Phantoms then?” he asks with a grin and I nod. 

“Oh, I most definitely did. I also watched Speed Kills and Love You Anyway,” I tell him and he blushes lightly. 

“Well, what’d you think?” he asks and I give him a serious look. 

“I thought they were bad…” I deadpan as seriously as I can.

“Oh…” he falters and I giggle as I shove his shoulder. 

“I’m joking. I loved them. Especially Speed Kills. I got to see teenage Charles. What’s better than teen Charles?” I jokingly ask and he gasps with his eyes widening in surprise. 

“That was so mean! Umm, maybe 23 year old Charles!” he exclaims, rolling his eyes as he crosses his arm like a child would and I giggle again. 

“Mean is my middle name. Didn’t anyone tell you? And… I guess 23 year old Charles isn’t so bad…” I tease, bouncing my eyebrows at him and he shakes his head. 

“What will I do with you, huh?” he asks and I grin before winking at him. 

“I don’t know, love me maybe…” I trail off with a giggle and he shrugs. 

“What’d you really think of them though?” he asks seriously now and I smile. 

“They were great Char, but I definitely like Speed Kills more than Love You Anyways,” I explain and he nods as I smile when I see a light blush come over his face. 

“Why’d you like Speed Kills better?”

“Ok. Each has its own qualities, but I like more action. Love You Anyways was a little slower. And don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love romantic movies, but action is just so much more thrilling,” I explain. “Especially when you're single and a hopeless romantic that nobody really has eyes for.”

“Hey. That’s not true… I’m positive there’s some guy out there for you,” Charlie declares and I smile as he blushes lightly. 

Why is he blushing?! Omg…! 

“Well, thank you. If you're confident about it, guess I can be too,” I agree with a shrug and he grins. 

“Also John Travolta is in it, duh. If John Travolta is in it, it’s an amazing movie hands down,” I continue and he chuckles. 

“John Travolta is THE sexy Danny Zuko. Who wouldn’t like a movie with the man in it,” I express and he chuckles, shaking his head again. 

“Well I won’t say you're wrong. That man is a legend,” he agrees with me and I grin. 

“Right?!” I beam as I look over at him and he smiles. 

“What was he like to work with?” I ask and Charlie chuckles. 

“He was great. He literally took me under his wing while on set,” he tells me and I smile. 

“That’s so cool. Danny Zuko showed you the ropes,” I beam with a smile and he chuckles. 

“What’s your favorite of my works then?” he asks and I smile. 

“Actually, it’s Julie and The Phantoms. A good second is Runt, even if you're only in it for like, point fifteen seconds,” I joke and he chuckles with a smile. 

“Yeah, I had fun on both. In Julie and The Phantoms I made so many friends that became like family. I’m sure you’ll get to meet them soon,” he explains and I grin as his passion shines through him. 

“On Runt, we all just acted crazy when the tougher scenes were done. Cam was always the head of the crazy-ness, but he was also the calmest on set,” he explains as his face changes to one of pure sadness. 

“I’m sorry he passed. I did hear about it. It must have been gut wenching,” I sympathize as I set the guitar to my side before scooting a little closer and laying a hand on his. 

“It was. His heart was always so open. I remember being like ‘bro, I watched this kid on TV…’ He was so nice to everyone he was around. It was crazy… I really wish you could meet him. He’d like you,” he tells me while getting choked up and I smile as I rub his back now. 

“I’m sure I would have loved to meet him,” I quietly agree with him and he smiles a watery smile. 

It’s quiet for a while as we both just watch Koa play in the water. He sniffles for a few minutes and I lay my head on his shoulder as I continue to rub his back. Koa comes running back over to us and he plops down in front of Charlie. 

I let out a light giggle when Koa’s head tilts to the side as he looks over his dad. He walks over and nudges Charlie’s hand. Charlie lets out a light chortle before petting his dog on the head. 

Koa nuzzles his head into it with a little face of contentment. Koa then rolls over and closes his eyes as Charlie pets his stomach now. I find myself suddenly perking up, pushing my head off his shoulder as I think of a way to make him smile. 

“I will say the fans of Julie and The Phantoms got a real treat in Episode 2. 4 minutes and 44 seconds in, but who’s counting…” I try to flirt with him, but fail miserably when he turns his head and looks at me. 

I still count it as a win though when he slowly grins and I try to push my blush down as I clear my throat. I turn away for a small moment to hide my blush as I pick the guitar back up and lay it across my lap. 

It’s like when I actually try while looking at him, I fail it every time… ugggh dumb idiot… at least it made him smile. 

Koa lets out a whimper as Charlie stops rubbing his stomach. Unsatisfied with him, Koa lets out a loud huff as he shakes his head. He gets up, making me and Charlie laugh as he runs back over to the water. 

“So you have the time I take my shirt off memorized then?” he playfully jokes as he bounces his eyebrows at me and I feel the blush rush quicker up my neck again. 

“Correction, Siana does. She has a thing for abs… a thing that’s way over the top if you ask me,” I admit with a shrug of my shoulders, but he just gives me a coy grin. 

“So you don’t like my abs?” he coyly asks and I groan, rubbing my face. 

“No, you have very nice abs… I’m just saying she’s the one that paused it… I’m going to shut up now…” I try to explain, but my tongue only starts to do what it always does as I spiral and stick my foot in my mouth. 

“Well I’m going to take the compliment. Thank you very much,” he jokes with a chuckle and I groan again. 

“You enjoy making fun of me, don’t you?” I whine out, only making him chuckle again. 

“Sorry sweetheart, but it’s so very fun,” he responds and my stomach flips at the nickname. 

“So unfair!!!” I cry out and he laughs like full belly laughs at me. 

“Oh, hi baby!” I exclaim, putting the guitar down as Koa comes up to me now and I pick him up. 

I cradle him like a small baby and he nuzzles into my stomach as I lightly rub his stomach like his dad did just moments ago. I hear a chuckle, making me look up to see Charlie watching the scene practically with heart eyes. 

“What?” I ask him and he scoffs playfully. 

“You treat him like a real baby,” he points out and I grin. 

“He is a baby!!! A sweetheart of a baby,” I point out right back and he chuckles, shaking his head. 

“He loves you more than me at this point and he’s my dog,” he exclaims and I giggle as I continue to rub Koa's belly. 

“Daddy’s just jealous, isn’t he?” I ask Koa who now has his tongue stuck out. 

Koa lets out a bark and Charlie scoffs, rolling his eyes. I look back up at Charlie as I set Koa down on all fours and he runs off again. 

“I am not jealous…” Charlie denies as he crosses his arms and I giggle. 

“You so are. Let’s get back to the guitar now? Yeah?” I ask as I once again pick it up and he nods. 

“Ok. I’m going to try those chords again,” I tell him as I place my fingers back to where they are supposed to be. 

I start to try the chords and again I play the first two right, but the next one comes out sounding off again. I huff again before quickly putting the guitar down to the side. I bring my knees up and wrap my arms around them before leaning my forehead against them. 

“This is no use. Maybe we should change the song. I don’t think I’ll be getting it anytime soon…” I muse as I put my chin onto my knee while I watch Koa. 

“We don’t have to change the song. You’ll get it. It’s ok to mess up a whole bunch of times,” he explains as he puts his hand on my back and starts to rub it. 

“How?! Huh, Char?! We’ve been working on it for a month and I’ve been stuck on this same chord practically the whole time,” I bark out in anger at myself and Charlie just nods. 

I look at his face and he seems upset. I sigh as my anger disparates and I slowly start to feel guilty. 

“I’m sorry Char. It’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. It’s me who can’t get it,” I quietly mummer and he quickly shakes his head. 

“No, no. It's ok. I’m not mad, I promise. It’s not your fault. It’s ok to be a little upset. Learning something new can be hard sometimes,” he is quick to reassure me and it works. 

“I don’t know why I can’t get it…” I whisper out as I turn back to watch Koa. 

It goes quiet for a moment, but Charlie still rubs my back. Tears come to my eyes, burning them but I refuse to let them fall. 

“Here. Let’s try something else,” Charlie cuts into the quiet as he reaches behind me to get the guitar. 

“What?” I ask, but he doesn’t reply.

He just pushes lightly on my back and I give him a confused look. He motions for me to move forward away from the wall and I confusedly do. He slowly sits down behind me before pulling me back into his chest and my eyes widen. 

He brings his one arm up and over as he pulls the guitar over my head. He rests the guitar in my lap and I relax into him. 

“This ok?” he asks me and all I can bring myself to do is nod. 

“Ok. Put your hands on the guitar…” he tells me before trailing off. 

I do as he tells me and shakily bring my hands up before putting them onto the guitar. He then moves his hands and puts them over mine. He positions both of our hands over the chords before he starts to help me pluck them. 

I smile as I finally reach the third chord and pass them each better than I’ve been doing. We continue on like that until we finish the song. 

“Oh my gosh. Charlie, I did it!” I beam as I turn back to look at him and he grins. 

“See, you got it. I’ll keep helping you and lessen up a little every time. Don’t worry, you’ll get it. Here, I’ll also name the chords as we go so you’ll remember them for other songs,” he explains and I nod as I turn back around. 

He lessens his hold just a bit before we start to play again. He squeezes my finger lightly to signal the first chord to me and I pluck it before letting it ring out light. 

“This one is A Dm then you switch to a Bb which is a B flat like I taught you at the beginning of last month,” he explains the first two chords that I have no problem with. 

“The next one is an F chord and that one becomes a C chord,” he explains again as I play the chords with a grin. 

“Then switch back to your Dm and B flat,” he tells me as he guides me back to the first two chords. 

“Then back to F and C,” he states as he still guides my hands. 

It’s only then that I recognize the song that he’s teaching me. I stop him from playing and he stops before I’m pushing his arms up. I crawl out from underneath his arms and sit up onto my knees as I excitedly grin at him. 

“I know the song now!” I exclaim and he smiles. 

“Ok. What is it?” he asks me and I jump excitedly. 

“It’s Perfect Harmony, the song Luke will never know about…” I start off happily before my face falls. 

“Poor Luke will never know, Char,” I burst out as tears come to my eyes and he chuckles. 

“You really ship Juke that hard?” he asks and I quickly nod. 

“Ok… ok. Don’t nod so hard. Your head might fall off,” he jokes and I groan. 

“Boys don’t get it…” I huff as I turn back around and plop back on the ground with my arms crossed. 

“Oh! Come on, I was joking. Yes it’s sad, Luke will never know about Perfect Harmony,” he agrees with a playful roll of his eyes. 

“Really though, that scene had me crying so hard…” I admit and he grins again. 

“I’m glad you liked it,” he adds and I smile before scooting back to be right next to him. 

“Can you teach me that dance too?” I ask and he chuckles. 

“I mean, I guess. I don’t know if I remember all of Julie’s parts though. I know I remember Luke’s after doing it like twenty times with Mads, but I’m not too sure about Julie’s,” he explains as he shrugs. 

“Couldn’t you just ask Madison herself?” I ask and he chuckles. 

“I guess I could. I didn't even think about that,” he admits and I giggle. 

“I’ll talk to her about it later,” he promises before smiling. 

“Wanna continue working on the chords now, though?” he asks and I nod eagerly, making him chuckle as I move back over between his legs. 

He grabs the guitar again before setting it into my lap. I put my hands on the neck and body first then he puts his back over mine. 

“Ok. Do you wanna start off where we left off?” he asks and I nod. 

“Ok well, we left off on the third Dm and B flat. This is the one you’ve been having so much trouble with. I think you just get all switched up in your head,” he explains as he moves both his and my fingers back to the chords. 

“Then comes the C and F except before it was C, F so they just switch places,” he continues to explain as his hands still lightly guide mine. 

“Now from there you just do that all a second time,” he tells me before just plucking the chord in the same order. 

“And there you have the first verse,” he informs me as his hands come away from mine for a moment. 

“Really, that’s all it is?” I ask and he nods. 

“Do you wanna try it on your own now?” he asks with a light grin. 

“Yeah. I know you're here if I need you,” I agree and his grin widens. 

“Ok. Let’s see it then,” he agrees before pointing at the guitar that’s still in my lap. 

I wonder for a moment if I should move or if he will, but when he stays I decide to just stay too. I then position my hands into the first chord before plucking the chords by myself this time. 

Same as the last two times, I get the first Dm and B flat and the F and C out perfectly, but when it comes up to the third Dm and B flat, I have to concentrate a little harder. I finally get it and I smile as I stop and excitedly look at Charlie. 

“I got it!” I exclaim as I grin and Charlie nods with a proud smile of his own. 

“See, I told you ya would. Now there’s nothing to it, you have the whole first verse down,” he points out with the smile still on his face. 

“Ok! Let’s keep going!” I excitedly sit back down and he chuckles. 

“Ok. The chords are mostly all the same, just played a little differently, ok?” he asks me and I eagerly nod, making him chuckle again. 

“Do you want my hands or just you?” he asks and I smile brightly at him. 

“Yours for the first time, please. Then I’ll try it on my own,” I ask and he nods as he brings his back up to be over mine. 

“Ok, the first part of the chorus is the F. Then you’ll give a B flat,” he explains as he again shows me the chords and I focus on trying to memorize them, but his chuckle pulls me out of my focused state. 

“What?” I ask and I feel him shrug from behind me. 

“You're just super cute when you focus,” he admits and for the millionth time today, I feel the heat run up my neck as I blush. 

“What’s so cute about me when I’m focused? If anything, I think I look dumb,” I note and he chuckles again. 

“Nope, it's definitely cute. You stick your tongue out and kinda space out,” he explains, making me throw my head back against his shoulder and groan. 

“How is that cute?!” I proclaim and again he chuckles as he shrugs. 

“I don’t know, but it is. And it’s 100% you,” he responds and I lift my head to shake it. 

“Sometimes I don’t get you, Charles,” I joke and he just smiles charmingly. 

“That’s my charm,” he jokes back and I playfully scoff. 

“Charm, my ass,” I mutter and he gasps. 

“You don’t think I’m charming?” he asks and I giggle as he playfully pouts. 

“Oh, stop the pouting. Your lip will fall off…” I state with a laugh when his mouth falls open. 

“Ha! Got you at your own game!” I shout as I poke his thigh. 

“That’s not nice,” he grumbles and I giggle. 

“Oh calm down, of course you're charming,” I affirm with a fake roll of my eyes as I pretend he’s being dramatic. 

“Thank you for admitting the truth,” he playfully jokes and I again roll my eyes. 

“Drama queen,” I mutter and he gasps again. 

“Take that back,” he shouts as he pinches my side, making me squirm. 

“Nope! Not happening,” I joke back and he grins. 

“Oh, you wanna play that way, huh?” he asks and my eyes widen. 

“Koa! Dogpile!” Charlie shouts as he effortlessly moves so now I’m laying on my stomach with him on top of me. 

“Koa. Baby, don’t…” I warn the sweet baby of a dog, but he doesn’t listen to me and hops up onto his dad's back. 

“Koa! You betrayed me!!” I shout out with a giggle and Koa just tilts his head to the side. 

After a moment of looking at me, Koa jumps off Charlie and comes around to me. He licks at my face and I giggle as Charlie pushes him away after almost ten licks or more. 

“Ok. Koa, I know you're sorry,” I coo at the dog as he sits before me. 

“I’d pet you, but I’ve got a lump on top of me right now,” I tell the dog and Charlie gasps again. 

“You did NOT just call me a lump,” he retorts and I giggle. 

“Oh, I 100% did. What ya gonna do about it, huh?” I admit as I finally get myself turned around. 

“This…” he remarks and before I know it his lips are on mine. 

I let out a small gasp as it was a surprise to be kissed by him. I really wasn’t expecting it, but that being said I wasted no time in returning it. His hands rest on my hips as my own arms wrap themselves around his neck. 

My hand treads into the hair at his nape and I massage his neck with my other thumb. He deepens the kiss and it isn't how I expected the kiss to be; no fireworks or sparks or anything that ignited something within me, but there is something else... something indescribable, a sort of happiness that flows through me like a warm buzz. Yes, definitely better than the fireworks.

It lasted for a while, us kissing, wrapped up in our own world before it was rudely interrupted by a bark that made us pull apart from one another. We both laugh as Koa squeezes in between us to lick both of our faces. Koa then runs back over to the water and Charlie smiles lightly as he sits up and pulls me with him.

“So. I was wondering if maybe you’d like to go out with me?” He asks as he pushes some of my hair back and plays with it. 

“Depends. Where, you taking me?” I ask jokingly and he grins. 

“So that’s a yes?” He asks and I playfully roll my eyes. 

“No. I’m just asking where you're taking me for the fun of it. Of course it’s a yes Char,” I joke and he chuckles, shaking his head. 

His thumb rubs my cheek as he continues to grin at me. I smile as I lean into his hand as I reach up with mine and grab onto it. I close my eyes for a moment before opening them back up to see him looking at me with a gleam in his eyes. 

“Can I kiss you again?” He asks me and I giggle. 

“Ever so polite Charlie…” I joke as I look into his eyes. 

“You don’t even need to ask bubs. Just kiss me,” I whisper out and he nods. 

His other hand comes up to my cheek as his lips land on mine and I smile as he tenderly holds me. Our lips mold together as I hold onto his wrists. All to soon though he slowly pulls back before putting his forehead to mine. 

“Wanna skip the lightsaber work today and just go for a swim then maybe cuddle while we watch the sunset?” He asks as I turn and sit back against the wall. 

“Sure. We can dedicate next week to sabers. Can we finish the song before swimming though?” I ask and he grins as he puts his arm around my shoulder. 

“I’d say that sounds reasonable. As long as I can steal a few of these from you,” he replies before leaving a peck on my lips making me smile and cuddle into his side. 

“Works for me. Steal as many as you’d like,” I agree and he smiles as he rubs the top of my shoulder. 

We sit cuddled up for a little while longer before finishing off practicing the song. Then we go for a swim and Koa plays around where we are. Once our swim is up we both get out and grab our towels before drying off a bit. 

Charlie walks over by our stuff and lays his towel out before turning around to look at me. He motions down to the towel as he gives a light bow making me giggle. 

“After you Angel,” he offers and I once again grin. 

“Don’t mind if I do,” I remark with a giggle as I walk past him before taking a seat on the towel. 

He sits down next to me and again puts his arm around my shoulder. I lay my head on his as he pulls me slightly closer and together we watch the sun go down behind the horizon letting our night end on a very positive note. 

To Be Continued…

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Bridgerton Asks Re: Season 3

Okay so I’m getting the hell out of this fandom, that fandom have officially made it feel unsafe and inhospitality for me and other fans of colour alike so I’m clearing my asks out by releasing them for anyone else still in the fandom to respond! I’ll be posting them in batches so first up is asks about S3 speculation! 

These first two asks are related to this essay I wrote about the S3 Plot: 

As for this one below, I actually do have an answer and since D @randomthotshit​ liked it I will indulge this one but anyone else feel free to add on!

I think he should especially if they want him to be his own person from Penelope (cos let’s be real he’s an accessory to her story at the moment) 

On that note, I have a suggestion about his career: I basically think if they wanna make him better person and not just some white dude on his coloniser vacation, I think he could acquire his own publication print and publish books written by the actual locals he meets on his travels. Kind of how Rick Riordan has done with all kinds of mythology stories from other cultures and hyping up writers of colour under his Rick Riordan Presents print. I think it would give credit where its due and make his books more interesting and informative rather than from a Englishman’s Lens. 

Anyone wanna expand on this, feel free to do so! 

EDIT: Oops missed one

Yeah,,, they love stealing all the other ships’ stuff to fluff them up. I mean S2′s pen pals which is Philoise’s thing and then again at Tadum with the painting,,,, nothing is original about the show version 

I don’t know about the Grucy bit so any Grucys out there feel free to answer this! 

[captnjacksparrow]

I heard there were rumors about Naruto being developed into seinen after Shippuden. Wouldn't that have been wonderful? I think it was such a wasted opportunity for another amazing experience. We wouldn't have any child marriages, or that recycled bs Boruto. And a challenge for Kishimoto. Although I am not sure about that last one, he kind of lost the plot towards the end there.

But even so, what a wasted opportunity.

What's your take? What could have been the implications of that?

Am just going to take this ask as an heartful rant!!!!!! 😊😊😊😊

Just because of this ask, I decided to dig deeper into his past interviews and found things that even confirmed my opinions even stronger. 

Damn you!!!! Kishimoto!!!!

Thanks to you @sneezemonster15 🤩🤩🤩. LOL. Because When your speculation becomes true, you will experience some satisfaction which is immeasurable.

[[Anything I am going to cite from an old interview, after this line of the post is something I got to knew only today. Which means I never knew about these interviews before. Probably SNS shippers knew about these long back but to me it’s a new thing.]]

I heard there were rumors about Naruto being developed into seinen after Shippuden. Wouldn't that have been wonderful?

I never heard of such development and even if they do, they already did a lot of damage in the name of Boruto. And I don't think they can tell anymore story after Shippuden in a convincing way.

For me, Shippuden is in and of itself looks like a big seinen based Manga because I believe there were certain themes which were told in part 2 that are simply not suitable for a 12 year old to comprehend. Even I was overwhelmed by such plots because it really questioned my world view.

I mean, what can a 12 year old understand about Hatred or World peace which Nagato planned to implement or Itachi's pain? Yeah, there may be very few who could understand but majority don’t and hence we could see some part of fandom who still thinks ‘Sasuke should have left alone and made to start a new Village as a Revolution, or he should’ve destroyed Konoha to dust’. Any mature audience who consumed various media and have a broad world view would never spout such nonsense. Because the real world wouldn't work that way.

he kind of lost the plot towards the end there.

He didn’t actually. I believe he was made to create that Kaguya plot as a thread to continue Borutoverse. It may not be his idea. I am just speculating. Because Kishi is a damn genius in dropping threads much earlier in the story.

Example, Uchiha Madara.

When Sasuke and Naruto battled in VoTE1, I was wondering about the statues as to who might they be?. Then Kakashi slightly hinted us that the statues represents the men who created Konoha, but they were fighting until the very end for some reason. Similar to how Naruto and Sasuke fought there. And when Madara’s name was dropped for the first time when Sasuke suppressed Kurama, it just got only better.

So, I think Kaguya was a plot which was created right when Naruto was decided to pair up with Hinata and have a baby who will lead the Next Generation. When the series was going on and on about Sharingan, all of a sudden it took a U-Turn towards Byakugan. I was like, ‘Who the fuck cares about Byakugan anyway?’

Then it all made sense after looking at the abomination called ‘Boruto’, where all the Aliens were seen having Byakugan. So, It feels like he lost the plot. But I really think he was forced to. 

So far, whatever I wrote till now was my observation. 

That Damn Kishimoto gave an interview long back which proved my hunch right.

So, You see, he was never interested in a sequel series to happen. He was just forced to. 

Do you know what was the real ending he aimed for?

In many of my posts, I wrote about how SNS was a carefully constructed bond which Kishimoto paid a lot of attention to. I mean, there’s no way we can call the chapter 698 as a Retconned one. Every clues and hints were already there.

It seems that the bastard confessed about this 15 years ago, in 2006 Shonen Jump Interview and again in 2015 NYCC comic con.

He didn’t talk about Ships and shits in any of these interviews. He already planned the ending long back when he finished Part 1. The ending with Naruto and Sasuke doing Reconciliation Seal with Hashirama and Madara statues by visualizing everything into details and that too in freaking 2006. 

[[Click the picture to see the full view]]

Reconciliation of Naruto and Sasuke was something Kishi planned long back after finishing part 1. He even visualized all the panels in detail and that's the ending he was striving towards.

It seems, he never planned about pairings and stuffs ahead as many shippers would like to claim. I am not saying he planned SNS as the endgame couple either. But I honestly think, Kishi wished for an ending similar to Chapter 699. Like without any pairing trash, finishing off with Naruto and Sasuke sharing their dreams and hopes together. 

And this is what I’ve been screaming in all my posts... That I speculate, I guess, I believe and so many similar words... that Kishi always wanted to finish with Chapter 699 and Chapter 700 feels like an afterthought.

But anyways, with Studio persuaded him into pair up his Main Characters, he was asked to write Boruto Script for one last time and it seems, that’s the only movie where he wrote the entire screenplay from A to Z. He said that Boruto movie is the ‘Pinnacle of his career’. Does it mean, ‘The Last’ movie was not his pinnacle, eh??? 

And what do I always scream about Boruto series in every posts?

That I feel like Naruto and Sasuke seems to Babysit Boruto like a parent. 

And that’s what he wanted to finish as the last chapter of Naruto.

I mean throughout the movie, there were no trace of Hinata and Sakura playing any major role in their Child’s life, instead Sasuke is seen talking fondly about Naruto to his Son, I mean Naruto’s Son. So, If he envision drawing 2 guys taking care of a child as the last chapter, then what was he trying to say?

This Kishimoto is just too sinister!!! 

And it seems, he dissed ‘The Last’ movie subtly in his own words. Like almost he claims he had no part in that movie. Well, I always had my doubt regarding that movie. Never expected Kishi would say this.

Couple of days ago, I made a post about, how Kishi never gave 2 fucks about Sakura from the beginning. I analyzed that post based on my observation by carefully reading through panels in the initial chapters and his motivations to draw the panel in a certain way. That gave me an idea of what Kishi’s style of designing a character. I never knew about this Interview thing, when I wrote that post.

It seems, in an Interview, he pretty much confirmed my view about him.

Kishi’s assistant was posed with a question, ‘How every character, no matter how bad they are, gets redeemed in some way?’

To which he answered, ‘Before even making a first appearance, Kishi will lay out how he wants the character to be, what it’s personality traits are, what was it about to do.’

So, Kishi really never planned to make Sakura redeemable. Her fate was sealed when she unveiled her grand dream in chapter 4 before her teammates.

What I would like to conclude is,

Kishi developing anything after Shippuden will not have his full heart. So, that development based on Seinen may not be true. 

Kishi planned Chapter 698 long back when he completed Part 1. He even visualized every panels about how it is going to be. So, probably Chapter 699 is where Kishi intended to end the series. Hence, the abomination you were made to see in Boruto is not his idea.

He never planned about pairings unless he was asked to. Hinata was the popular one and he just went with it. It’s not like he always intended for Naruto to end up with Hinata.

When he was asked to write a story about Boruto, he envisioned Boruto movie as the final chapter of Naruto series, if only he had the opportunity to draw this as a manga. In this movie, Naruto became an Hokage, Sasuke is a Shadow Hokage, Naruto’s son was adopted by Sasuke. Hinata and Sakura were the bench warmers. 

It seems to me that Kishi somehow wants to place Naruto and Sasuke as the face of this series towards the end. He knew that he can't make them as an official couple and when things didn't go as he planned he made them into an unofficial couple who takes cares of a boy with all the care.

Geez!!! I wish I were wrong😏😏😏😏. But all these interviews proves that I was right about many things without even realizing it was there.