#nach0 writing

[nach0]

MCYT Yuri Week; Day One - Dance/ Break

"Are you taking notes on our date?"

Wordcount: 1504

AO3 Link

It’s not often Pearl and Gem get the chance to relax and take some time away from things. It should have been nice, and by all accounts would’ve been, if only Gem could stop stressing for five minutes.

(Featuring art at the end!)

Gemini Tay, Grand Wizard of the Crystal Cliffs, was proud to say she was good at social interaction. It’d be disappointing if she wasn’t, after all the time she’d put into studying the cultures of each and every important person she’d ever have a chance of interacting with.

It was like a test. A constant, neverending test that she had to pass or else she’d start a war.

But she definitely wasn’t on edge at all! Large formal events totally didn’t make her nervous in any way! In fact, one on one interactions should probably be a breeze in comparison.

Courting wasn’t something she’d ever bothered to study. The Crystal Cliffs historically hadn’t held any close alliances for more than trade, the previous Grand Wizards emotionally detached by design. She’d thought herself the same, even after the Wither Rose Alliance was formed. It was the most involved the Cliffs had been in hundreds of years. Still, romance was something she hadn’t considered. It involved too much trust, too much vulnerability, for her to ever picture herself wanting.

That lack of foresight left her cramming every book on romance she could get her hands on five minutes before her very first real date with Pearl.

Apparently they’d been on ‘dates’ before, quiet moments stolen away in the midst of the chaos that was their lives. Pearl had mentioned a stargazing date fondly, leaving Gem thoroughly confused. It had been entirely spontaneous, she hadn’t even dressed up or planned anything, and it didn’t line up with anything she’d learned about how dating worked.

Not for the first time she wished there were more books on Helianthian culture. Maybe it would help her understand the distinction between ‘date’, ‘hanging out’, and just ‘chilling.’ She still wasn’t sure if they were all separate things yet. Maybe she could ask? But then it would reveal how little of her girlfriend’s kingdom she knew, then Pearl would get offended and break up with her, then leave the alliance, then the Cliffs, Mythland, and the Grimlands would all be without food and everyone would starve.

She was spiralling again. It was thoroughly unproductive.

None of her books were helping anyway. They were all about formal courtships, something Pearl had laughed about with her before-

“Now I get the intent,” she’d said, giggling slightly as she put the sunflowers into a vase. “But he would have had to buy these from my empire to gift them back to me.”

“Traditionally, it’s considered a sign of respect to give things of the courtee’s empire. It shows an interest in the culture they come from, and a willingness to compromise and combine their own culture in the process.”

Pearl rolled her eyes with a smile and Gem quickly closed her mouth, a long honed instinct from accidentally finding herself on the edges of people’s patience, but she got the odd impression that Pearl wasn’t annoyed at her.

“All this courting stuff has its place, but it’s not for me. If I find someone I want to go out with, it’d be nicer if it was natural. And if I don’t… no big deal. I’m happy with what I have. Besides, I know my type.”

Gem’s heart quickly found its place in her throat, thumping so loud she was surprised Pearl couldn’t hear it. “Can I ask what that type is?”

“I can say for sure it’s not-” Pearl squinted at the note, “-Brad from Mythland. Sorry buddy, better luck next time.”

They both laughed, and the matter was dropped.

-or wild, whirlwind romantic fantasies that moved so fast she had to put them down before uncomfortable bile rose in her throat. The thought of jumping into anything without preparation, but especially something as deep and personal as romance, made her nervous. She could handle spontaneity, liked it at times!  But there needed to be trust there first, a baseline to deviate from. Would Pearl try to move too fast for her? Would she say anything against it even if she did? There was no script for her to work from here, no guide to where normal boundaries lay. She was going in blind for the first time in a very long while.

Then a knock at the door signalled her preparation time was up.

“Gem?” Pearl called through the wood, amusement already creeping through her tone. “Did you lose track of time again?”

“No, I’m ready!”

She ran a hand down her shirt to clear all but a few methodical wrinkles, enough to seem casual without looking sloppy, and nodded once in satisfaction. The heavy wooden door opened for her with ease (and she definitely didn’t use magic to make herself seem more impressive.)

“Wow, you look… really nice.” Was Gem imagining the blush on Pearl’s cheeks? She had to be, especially as her voice quickly picked back up into fond teasing. “I didn’t know you even owned any casual outfits.”

The outfit could be considered casual. If one didn’t know the quite frankly overkill amount of thought Gem had put into it. Muted colours to give off a softer feel, an inversion of her regular layers as a symbol she wasn’t acting as a ruler but instead herself. Amethyst around her neck and hanging from her ears both for power in case of an emergency and a reminder of her empire’s resources. Her gloves were, admittedly, mostly just because she wanted an excuse to wear them. But to anyone that asked she could easily pass it off as a combination of the two of them, the stars and moons pattern conveniently fitting. She liked her regular gloves, the leather preventing any distracting textures, but it was nice to make a change every once in a while. 

“I’m full of surprises.” Gem smiled, looking Pearl up and down. She could analyse what it meant later, when they had a quiet moment, but for now they had places to be. “You look pretty as well.”

“Don’t I always?” She flipped her hair, tied up neatly in a braid that made Gem’s breath skip, turning her nose up for a moment before the act broke down into laughter. “Come on, I know you have a schedule for this. Lead the way.”

~

In Gem’s opinion, the date was going pretty well. She’d hit all her talking points and had genuine discussion, Pearl had laughed at her jokes, and she’d learned much more than she’d expected. They were taking a break while their horses drank from a nearby stream, Pearl leaning against a tree and Gem leaning on Pearl. 

It was nice. It was peaceful. It was very abruptly interrupted by the scratching of Gem’s pencil that was so much louder than she’d anticipated.

Pearl cracked an eye open and glanced down at her. “Gem?”

“Mhm?”

“Darling?”

“Yeah?”

“Person I adore more than anything in the world?”

“...Yes?”

“Are you taking notes on our date?”

Gem blushed, ears pressing against her head in embarrassment. She should have been more subtle, or just tried to remember everything she needed to know, even if it meant she’d have less energy to spend on concentrating on what was actually happening, she should-

Pearl pressed a kiss to her head, carefully avoiding her antlers.

“It’s cute, fawn.”

“I just want to get it right,” she muttered, picking at the fabric of her gloves. “I haven’t done this before, before or after becoming Grand Wizard. It’s all complicated and there’s no rules to fall back on if I get lost.”

Pearl hummed gently and unfurled a wing, wrapping it around Gem at her silent nod.

“We just came out of a war with a demon. No one expects you, or any of us, to readjust instantly. If you wanna put this on pause, catch your bearings a bit, I’ll get it. Just tell me, yeah? Don’t get trapped in that head of yours.”

She moved to tap her forehead but pulled back at the last second, humming gently instead. Her gaze didn’t hold any expectations, just a gentle patience and a warmth like the sun.

And oh, Gem remembered why she fell for Pearl in the first place.

“I don’t want to stop. It’s just… a lot. Sometimes. Not that it’s your fault!” She hurried to add. “Rules are just easier to work with, knowing the limits and expectations.”

There was no judgement. The world didn’t collapse, no one mocked her admission of weakness, and Pearl didn’t immediately rescind all of Helianthia’s resources.

It was… a little disorientating, if Gem was being honest.

“That’s ok. We can figure out what works together. I don’t mind if you write your notes or want to set guidelines, so long as it’s not hurting you. Don’t sacrifice what you want for me or anyone else.”

She pulled her ever slightly closer, and the wing around Gem’s shoulders was more comforting than any weighted blanket she owned.

“For today though, let’s just enjoy this break from the chaos. We’ve earned it.”

For once, Gem couldn’t agree more.

(if my laptop messes the colours of this up i'm going to explode btw ^^)

also i know i had a taglist but it's been like a year since i last used it so idk if anyone still wants to be tagged, i'm down for starting it up again though

@mcyt-yuri-week

[go-learn-esperanto]

listen if i have to be nailed to a cross for all the omegaverse enjoyers to see that theres nothing wrong with silly little escapism fantasies i WILL GLADLY GO

but i will NOT stand for being called a freak openly. (only in the sheets ok bb) nevertheless.

this is for all the mutuals and non-mutuals, aint nothing wrong with enjoying a little wolf roleplay here and there and certainly nothing wrong with reading or writing omegaverse fics.

keep being freaky, freaks.

Are you sure that was what happened? Are you sure your just not that good at Monopoly? 🤨 @nach0 I need optinions. How bad is Max at Monopoly?

But I degrees, so you're saying you're the Omegaverse Jesus? And where does that put me? Are you saying I'm selling you to the Romans (non mutuals) 😘

[wolfclaire]

N & U

Hi, thank you for your ask!

N: Is there a fic you wish someone else would write (or finish) for you?

I used to had this Attack on Titan ific idea (back before covid). I had several sheats and powerpoints ready to help me shape this up, but after one specific character's death, I just...couldn't bring myself to finish it. If there was somebody out there who could write that absolute horror when MC character finds out just how fucked up int he head their Significant other has become...the angst would be so tasty man...

U: Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.

The first one is someone I just have to mention. They were also writing a lot of Attack on Titan fanfiction, most of which was angst, heavy angst...one time their fanfic actually had a happy ending :D Their work is amaizing, and they are very great with description... (one time the MC was trying to figure out what to do about woman crying in front of them for 4 paragraphs!). I would love to share their stories, but they would have my head (plus it's not in English so...)

The other one (or two, let's be honest) would be the creators of the TACOMLU series, @pattonflower666 and @chambers003 . Their sheer dedication and worldbuilding is simply *chef kiss*. If you don't check out the work...just what are you doing with your lives, man?

The last one...shit thats so hard. There are so many people... Let me just put 3 people whose work left a mark on me and filled me with joy, dread, happiness and hopelessness: @nach0 @geekord @hazelnuthelper

I just simply couldn't choose just one!

[pikablob]

I posted 9,129 times in 2022

118 posts created (1%)

9,011 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@nach0-reblogs

@furashuban

@aroacesonics

@discoursed-dracula

@sailor-arashi

I tagged 658 of my posts in 2022

#ask pika - 90 posts

#friends - 73 posts

#fanfiction - 20 posts

#<;33 - 15 posts

#hilda the series - 12 posts

#oh - 11 posts

#bon bon <;33 - 10 posts

#yes - 10 posts

#toh - 9 posts

#hilda netflix - 9 posts

Longest Tag: 131 characters

#me when a song about a girl pushing a man down a ladder is the theme song of a character whos most famous appearance is as a corpse

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

tag mutuals you wanna get to know better!

I was tagged by @wallywestfest - honestly the fact you’d even consider me for this makes me really happy thank you so much!! <3

favourite time of year: hmmmm... prolly either early summer or around the winter holidays :))

comfort food: spaghetti bolognese, but specifically the M&S ready meal version I’m sorry I have 0 shame and it’s good XD

favourite dessert: toffee!! Is guud

things you collect: kids’ books! Picture books, graphic novels, and illustrated middle-grade stuff mostly. I also have a pretty sizeable collection of figures (Funko Pop & Nendoroids included) and I collect model trains (mostly OO9 for those who know what that is!!)

favourite drink: milk; just, a lot of milk XD

favourite musical artist: The Oh Hellos 90% of the time, but also Stan & Nathan Rogers, and Grace Petrie :))

last song listened to: Fogarty’s Cove, Stan Rogers

last movie watched: oh this is hard just because I don’t watch movies much XD I think the last one I actually went to see was Spirit: Untamed (what can I say, I liked Riding Free XD)

last series watched: either Hilda or Harriet the Spy depending on what counts (because I’m just using bits of Hilda for fic reference rn)

current obsession: Hilda, as always; also Infinity Train, Harriet, and The Owl House a bit.

dream place to visit: hhhhh there’s so many but probably Newfoundland :))

place you wanna go back to: Tromso, Norway; it’s genuinely magical in winter

something you want: well there’s a certain art commission I’m really excited to see finished motivation to write more and more money for commissions :))

currently working on: another Wildflowers Fic (Hilda S2 fix-it hurt/comfort) - Hilda writes a letter in this one!

I tag @pikawarrior @nach0 @starlit-lion @discoursed-dracula @dallasurr @strawcherrydeercake @furashuban @sarasplenda @stargazer-sappho (no pressure) and anyone else who wants to! :))

31 notes - Posted September 6, 2022

#4

I’m having so many feelings about Little My right now.

From the outside, she’s just another one of the Mymble’s many kids; the smallest member of a huge family, who’s never had her own space, shuffled from place to place and raised by an absent guardian who really doesn’t seem to care much about her at all. Of course she’s turned out loud and abrasive; she had to be, to make herself big and take up space and force people to pay attention, because otherwise she’d get lost in the shuffle.

And then she comes to Moominvalley, and meets Moomin and his parents, and she forms a real friendship and chooses to stay and ends up adopted. And sure, she’s still loud and abrasive and a troublemaker, but she’s a neglected child (her mum didn’t even realise she’d stayed behind) and for the first time she has a real family and friends in the bargain and it’s just really getting to me right now.

I haven’t seen the whole show yet (I don’t mind spoilers) or read the books (I know she’s not the same in those I don’t think she has this side of her), but do you think she ever worries about her place in the home? Do you think she’s afraid on some level, deep down, that they’ll want to get rid of her, just like how they wanted to get rid of the rest of her old family? Do you think she pushes the boundaries sometimes, just to make sure she’s really loved?

IDK, I just have a lot of feelings.

33 notes - Posted November 2, 2022

#3

I love the new starters!

See the full post

35 notes - Posted February 27, 2022

#2

Asking about fixing S2 of Hilda! :D

(I watched it, but my brain is very much like a sponge, so there may or may not be some holes in my memories of it. But I'd love to hear your opinions on that!)

Okie, so, I've talked about my problems with Season 2 before, but I'm going to go over them in the most detail I can here, before I explain how I'd fix them. Sorry in advance, but this is going to be long.

My Problems:

Fundamentally, Hilda is still my favourite show, and more of my favourite episodes are in S2 than in S1, but there's one big thing that ruined the season for me, and that's what it did to the relationship between Hilda and Johanna. Season 2 wanted to have an arc where Hilda makes mistakes and needs to learn not to lie to her mum, but instead, in the narrative presented, Johanna is the one in the wrong to me.

It's absolutely a cycle. Hilda lying about her adventures makes Johanna worry, which makes her more protective, so Hilda needs to lie even more. But The Troll Circle establishes pretty plainly that this cycle started with Johanna; when Hilda runs outside the wall by accident, her immediate reaction is "Mum would kill me if she knew."

And the way Johanna acts when Hilda comes home proves that she's right; Johanna has become more restrictive and isn't letting Hilda do the things she used to. She wants Hilda to be safe, I accept, but this is after a whole season where Johanna repeatedly says that she loves Hilda for who she is, and explicitly includes her adventures in that (see The Bird Parade and The Troll Rock especially).

Because it is a part of who Hilda is; "such is the life of an adventurer" is her mantra, and even Season 2 itself establishes that she's been allowed to roam freely on her own in the wilderness since she was about 6 years old, the same wilderness that Johanna wants to keep her from in The Troll Circle.

Hilda's choices aren't "lie to her mum" or "be good", they're "lie to her mum" or "give up being who she is". Johanna's the one who changed, and it's not even properly acknowledged; they try and retcon the troll from S1, and just claim that things have always been this way between Hilda and Johanna when that's just not true (I'd argue The Troll Rock implied Johanna knew about it anyway).

The show does try and show Johanna's side, especially in The Fifty-Year Night, but that's one of the reasons it's my least favourite episode. I know she finds it hard, being so harsh on Hilda, but she doesn't have to; she should have been more understanding at the end of The Beast of Cauldron Island, it's her fault things got to that point, and nobody's forcing her to be more protective. She needs to realise she's being unfair and that she hasn't handled this well, and as a result it feels like the narrative is guilt-tripping Hilda for her mum's mistakes.

The Stone Forest hits into the same issues; I'm not going to deny that what Hilda says to her mum in that argument is genuinely hurtful, and that she shouldn't have said it, but she's an upset child. The resolution of that episode is that Hilda needs to stop hiding things, but the conflict was caused by Johanna being restrictive and honestly, more than a little selfish; I'm not trying to bash her, I know why she wants Hilda to stay home and spend time with her, but she should have let her go.

I'm glad that things seem to be back on track in The Mountain King, but when Hilda has to promise not to hide things at the end of The Stone Forest, it doesn't quite work as a resolution for me, because while I do genuinely appreciate Johanna telling Hilda she loves her for who she is, she doesn't promise to let Hilda be herself or make any apologies of her own. It's "you have to talk to me" not "you can talk to me", and for me that's the distinction that really ruined the season.

And all of this comes from one, single place:

Everything I've just mentioned, including all three of Johanna's worst scenes (the dinner in The Troll Rock, Hilda's first grounding, and the argument over Dungeon Crops in The Stone Forest) and the resolution that I didn't think went far enough, are lifted directly (including a lot of dialogue - although some of it, especially in that final resolution, is said less kindly in the graphic novel) from the graphic novel Hilda and the Stone Forest. And this is the fundamental problem; Season 2 of the show has to adapt this story, which is a problem, because Season 1 of the show made substantial changes from the graphic novels, that honestly made me think that maybe there wasn't a way to do the Stone Forest arc well in the show.

In the graphic novels, Johanna is not a good parent. She's not as bad as the tie-in novels, where she genuinely reads as abusive in all but one, but she starts out as a generic "overprotective parent" stock archetype, and only really breaks out of that a couple of times (she's actually very good in Hilda and the Bird Parade, but in a completely different way from the show version of that plotline). Hilda in turn is a little more selfish and rebellious, so their whole dynamic is different.

And The Stone Forest, in both versions, has Johanna at her absolute worst. It's actually my least favourite graphic novel, specifically because of how awful Johanna gets in the beginning, which is basically just an extended falling-out combining all of her worst moments from Season 2 and making them even worse. And that's where the problem crept in, because in order for the Stone Forest arc to happen, Hilda has to try and sneak out via Nowhere Space, and Johanna has to try and stop her, and the whole thing needs to be precipitated by a mother-daughter falling out.

So the solution the show's crew took was to try making Johanna more like her comic counterpart, and to space the arguments that start The Stone Forest out across the whole season so it doesn't feel abrupt. But the two versions of Johanna are fundamentally different characters, and Comic Johanna is already a bad parent who's flaws aren't acknowledged in this arc, while in the show she's a realistically flawed but genuinely amazing parent and those flaws are addressed in Season 1.

And the result was just making Johanna almost as unsympathetic as her comic counterpart in Season 2. I don't even think that it really cured the abruptness, because it's still an awkward retcon in the first episode, and there are still episodes in S2 where Johanna is firing on all cylinders (The Deerfox and The Yule Lads - which actually handles a mother/daughter dispute caused by Hilda really well), so to me it feels less like a relationship that's having ups and downs, and more like a relationship that's fundamentally changed but only sometimes.

(There are other problems with adapting Hilda and the Stone Forest, namely David and Frida, but I think the show actually handled them well).

So, How Would I Have Done It?

I'm going to rule for this that we have to keep the fundamental plot of The Stone Forest; Hilda gets in trouble with her mum, gets caught when she tries to escape, and has to learn a lesson about being open after she and her mum get out of the Stone Forest. For a while, I genuinely wasn't sure how to make that work within the show in a way I'd be happy with, but in the end, thanks partially to the tie-in novels of all things, I do have a solution: we're actually going to build up the relationship shift, and it's going to have an acknowledged shared responsibility.

The Troll Rock happens almost as it does in canon, but there is no moment where Hilda thinks her mum will 'kill' her for going outside the wall. She still gets home late, and there's still a little awkwardness in the conversation, but Hilda gingerly admits the truth:

"Well, I was going to go to David's... but then I saw this elf getting kidnapped by a dirt clod with legs, and me and Twig kind-of had to go outside the wall to save him."

And Johanna just gives a patient sigh; there is a bit of tension in her voice, she's clearly not 100% happy with this, but she also accepts that this is her daughter:

"That was a good thing to do, sweetheart, but please be careful outside the wall. You know I worry about you."

From there the episode goes on as normal; barring one thing. I'm torn between cutting the "you never told me about that" exchange entirely, and changing the tone of it. In the latter version, instead of suspicion, Johanna is genuinely just surprised, and Hilda's response is something like "Wait, I didn't?", but either way, things go on normally from there; we've established that there's going to be friction between Hilda and her mum, without making things bad immediately.

The next big change is that The Eternal Warriors doesn't happen. It will, eventually, but I'm taking a leaf from the tie-in book Hilda and the White Woff, and saving it for later use. Every other episode gets shunted up by one space, but is otherwise unchanged until we hit The Beast of Cauldron Island, where I'm going to make a major change.

Instead of Hilda just lying, we're going to build on The Old Bells of Trolberg; when Hilda reaches the flat, she's reluctant to cancel their picnic, but she is prepared to explain things and possibly even ask for Johanna's help. But when she gets inside, Johanna is apologetic, and before Hilda can explain, she does:

"I'm really sorry, Hilda, but we can't have our picnic today after all."

"Why not?"

See the full post

39 notes - Posted February 17, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

16,713 notes - Posted February 26, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[killmebythebeach]

📝

[nach0! so so so SO cool! love your writing and talking about ideas with you. writing friend!]

(Sorry took this on my finals schedule wfjcdjk)

[lockoutkey]

It’s nearing the end of the season. Alliances have crumbled. The red army grows stronger by the day and there’s only a few survivors. Pearl is on two lives.

Scott is on one.

He doesn’t want to raise the axe, aiming it to swing right down on a defenceless Pearl, but the corruption is guiding him, whispering in his ear and helping him along. He’s trying to fight it, to lower his weapon, but he can’t. He can’t even form an apology on his lips, but Pearl understands and forgives all the same. Pearl closes her eyes and the axe goes higher, ready to swing down-

-and then he has control again, pulling back and dropping his weapon, confused.

You have been gifted a life!

A life? Who would gift him one, why would they? And then he looks down and Pearl’s name is red. Everyone’s noticed, the red names are coming over and she’s just smiling.

“I’ve got your back, remember?”

She pulls herself up and grabs his discarded weapon.

“Go, I’ll hold them off while I still can.”

Scott nods and runs into the tree line with a sob, finding a spot to hide and wait for his chance to escape.

Grian was slain by PearlescentMoon

PearlescentMoon was slain by Smalishbeans

how dare you because do you realize what this means

Scott stares at the words that are now repeting in his head. Joel did it. Joel is responsible. It's Joel's fault. He killed Pearl. He killed Pearl. Hekilledpearlhekilledpearlhekilledpearlhekilled-

He stops running. He has two lives and there isn't a point anymore. He would be found eventually. His best friend was dead. She was all he had on this server. She was there for him when he lost each of his lives. She was there for him when he had to turn away the red lives he once called friends. He was there for her when Jimmy...when Jimmy died.

He recognized this clearing. Large dark oak trees had once stood here. They were burned now. Burned by the hatred of a woman who's feelings of betrayl ran through the blood she had to spill. It once occupied a kind woman protected by a loyal knight. He had kept his promise in the end. He watched it. But it wasn't enough to save the once great Shadow Queen.

"Ironic, isn't it?"

Scott turned. He wouldn't give Joel the pleasure of seeing his pain. He had felt for a few moments how much they enjoyed it. "Ironic how? That you would be the one to kill me and Pearl? You would kill me in the same place you killed your own wife? Or Ironic the first one dead will be the last one alive."

Scott would have thought Joel flinched at the mention of Lizzie, but he knew better. He didn't feel anything anymore. None of the red lives had. Grian certainly didn't. He refused to believe his laughter upon slicing through Scar was anything but happy. Pearl was mistaken when she said he was crying.

Then again, if red lives didn't care, he wouldn't be alive.

Joel tossed him an ax. "Go ahead, fight back. I'll give you a chance. It's more fun that way."

Scott sttared at the weapon on the ground. It glistened with fresh and dried blood. He wondered whose corpse it came from. No one named their weapons anymore. Not when they would break so easily. "No."

Joel sighed. "Fine, we'll do it the boring way. Set your spawn, I don't want to go tracking you down if you're so willing to die." Joel placed a bed from his inventry, watching scott the entire time.

Scott stared straight into Joel's uncaring red eyes. It was all a game in the end. He would go right back to empires after this. He agreed to this and he would agree again. He didn't know why. He never would. What was the point of the continuous pain.

"Just get it over with." Scott said.

Scottsmajor was slain by Smalishbeans

It was different when he came back. He felt the same urge from before. Joel grinned, seeing the change in demeanor. "See, this is what I'm talking about!"

He grabbed the axe from the ground, stalking towards Joel. He had no reason to hold back. He was on red. Anything could go. He could kill Joel however he wanted to. He wanted it done quick. He wanted this hell to be over.

Scott barely had time to block Joel's swing. The man was drunk off death. His wild eyes saw through Scott, and for a moment he wondered what he hoped for. If Joel won, what would he do.

Scott pushed back and fought. He fought for all the wrong that had gone on. For Pearl. For the sacrafice he was wasting because he was weak.

He changed to his sword at the last minute and made sure it went right through Joel's heart. They both stood, fearful at what would happen but aware of what was done. Scott stepped back, letting the sword drop along with the dead man.

Joel fell, body dissolving and name greying out. He threw the axe to the side, glaring at the diamond weapon.

"That's for Pearl." Scott whispered.

Joel was always better with traps anyways.

Was this how Grian felt last time? Completely alone in a world of chaos and destruction. A place he fit in and belonged to yet wished to leave. Grian had stood on a ledge and jumped, they had all watched him. They were silent this time. It was different.

Perhaps that was the only right way to end this game. Do it yourself. How else are you supposed to?

He made his way to Ren's crumbling tower. He had never filled the hole completely and the black abyss was open to anyone had they still been around.

He didn't hesitate like grian. He stepped over the ledge, letting the rock crumble under him. Wind whistled past him. He didn't know where the bottom would be. Didn't care. It would be there and this would be over. He could go home. He could see Pearl.

Scottsmajor fell from a high place.

[empiressmpheadcanon]

More “how hard can I project onto Gem” headcannons, special pain edition!

Gem’s always had trouble reading tone, a trait that her parents often tried to suppress when training her to be the future Countess of the Grimlands, but to no avail. Luckily Fwhip was always there to tell her what was happening, and when they grew up the plan was always for him to be her advisor so she never worried.

Things changed. She ran away to study magic and Fwhip became the new heir. She developed a spell that would help her understand, but the other wizards very rarely lied to her anyway. She was a great Grand Wizard and Fwhip was a great Count. She kept using the spell and soon it became second nature to her.

She never used it with Fwhip.

She trusted him of course, Fwhip had never lied to her. Fwhip had always had her best interests at heart, and so when he proposed a plan for peace she was overjoyed! Peace was what she wanted, and if she helped bring peace to two kingdoms on the brink of war then there was no denying she made an excellent Grand Wizard! (No one had said anything to her face of course, but the doubts crept up on her in the quiet moments, when there was no one around but her thoughts.)

But then things went wrong. Jimmy was upset, the Cod Empire was upset, but Fwhip was still grinning like nothing was wrong. She told herself it was for peace, but unease was growing in her gut.

She asked Fwhip again if this was really the right thing to do.

He said yes, smiled, and asked if he would lie to her.

The spell said yes.

AAAAAAA everything ab this just,,,

[rayveewrites]

For the title asks: “The First in a Millenia”

For the first time in millennia, you're not alone...

Oh, this is a Last Player title for sure! Definitely Cleo-centric, timed at the point Joe Respawns, and it's just fond memories and melancholy nostalgia until she gets the notification right at the very end.

[ultimate-kaisa-simp]

F, I, J (for the Littlest Keeper), and M?

F: Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

“You were looking for me?” she asked, voice so vulnerable that it made Johanna’s heart break.

��Of course I was looking for you! What would make you think I wouldn’t spend as much time as possible looking for you?”

Hilda’s eyes diverted and started growing misty.

“You probably wanted a better child. One who didn’t go off on adventures and lie to you, and if I left, then maybe you could get a better child, and you wouldn’t have to worry about me or see me ever again and-” Misty eyes turned into full on sobs and Johanna pulled Hilda close again. Hilda didn’t hug back this time, just leaned on Johanna for support as her tears shook her whole body.

“Is that really what you think?” Johanna asked, heart breaking as Hilda nodded into her coat. “Honey I would never give up being your mum for anything in the world. I love you so much and I’m sorry that you felt like I didn’t, that I wouldn’t want to see you, but I’m here now. I’ve got you back and I will never let you go again.”

Johanna picked up Hilda as she stood, and started to walk home. There was so much more to be addressed, but for now they had each other, and maybe that was enough.

This is the conclusion to my fic for @pikablob‘s Runaway Hilda AU! I’m really proud of this because of the emotion (and angst) that I managed to put in it! It wraps up the fic really well, paving the way for Pikablob’s sequel!

I: Do you have a guilty pleasure in fic (reading or writing)?

Not so much in the fics themselves but...

Sometimes in class I will open one of the longfics I have saved and read it instead of doing the work (school is very boring ok?)

J: Write or describe an alternative ending to Littlest Keeper.

Hmm, I never really thought about it. The first thing that comes would be a whole AU of the AU, one where Gerda takes Hilda in instead of Argus.

There could still be all the guilt and self blame - she turned the system back online, maybe it had gone offline as safety thing? - but it would be interesting to see how Hilda and Gerda interact vs Hilda and Argus.

(Read LK here)

M: Got any premises on the back burner that you’d care to share?

You ask this knowing full well what I’m working on smh

But my latest WIP is called Hilda and the Queen of Summer, a crossover with Aster and the Accidental Magic, a graphic novel published by Nobrow, the same company that publishes the Hilda books and comics.

EDIT: Aster is not published by Nobrow, I’m dumb lol

I also have a Frilda oneshot that I’m waiting for the inspiration monster to revist.

Thanks for the ask!

[ladylynse]

Did you ever finish your old DP HP crossover from 2018? I found the first two parts but I’m not sure if there were more not linked.

Love your writing and will definitely be checking out ur AO3!

Sadly, the first two parts of this fic are all I have so far. I put it aside in favour of other WIPs while I figured out a setting, which turned out to be a terrible idea, because I promptly worked on the other fics and never tried to figure out the setting. Thing is, I need to know which book to set the story in to have a good idea of how the rest would play out, since the plot isn’t terribly developed. I’d been leaning towards book three--either before, during, or after--so that I could have a feasible reason to comment on dementors, but my main requirements at the moment are that Hagrid is around and Dumbledore is alive. (I’d hinted at wanting to know if anyone had a preference for the setting but got no bites, and I still haven’t actually reread the series since then.)

I’ve also debated turning it into a quick story, something short like The Curious Case of Danny Fenton, where I play on a few ideas and then move on with the possibility of revisiting it later, and at this point, that’s most likely what would happen if it gets continued, just so I don’t get myself tangled in another long fic where I don’t have a good idea of the plot. (I write much better if I have at least a vague plan in mind, though truthfully that plan usually doesn’t have an end when I start.) It’s what I’m trying to do with Forewarning.

That being said, I’ll probably be doing a follower fic giveaway at some point this year--I’m maybe 75 followers off my next milestone?--and another chapter of this fic is fair game, so it’s entirely possible someone might force me to figure this out. *grins* (In a previous giveaway, someone picked a fic off my WIP list that I hadn’t touched in...easily six years...and it was fun writing another chapter for it.)

[spacedykez]

alright here’s what gives Big Blog vibes to me. Not all of these need to apply at once.

Seems professional. Organized.

Multiple people mention your blog regularly

Lots of asks

Not incredibly active. Actually doesn’t post too often.

Or alternatively, posts regularly and often.

Many mutuals/users they interact with. Seems well known.

Has a sideblog

Oslo Funkily has many mutuals. Gets many asks. Does not post extremely often.

nach0 has a dedicated main blog and reblogging sideblog. Posts original content regularly.

Juno Scribbling-dragon gets many asks, is very professional, is not online extremely often, and writes at inhuman speeds. This is why we are afraid.

Too many of my bullet points applied to me and I don’t like that.

[nach0]

inspired by this stunning art and my everlasting love for e1 shinyduo

Gem didn't have a clock in her study. This did not stop her friends from barging in and making unreasonable demands like "do you know what time it it" and "how long have you been in here" and "Gem we thought you'd been kidnapped again answer our calls-"

Like she said. Unreasonable demands.

However no matter how much she pointed this out, they kept doing it. Case in point...

"I am going to forcibly install windows in here." Pearl declared in that way of hers that made Gem know there really wasn't any point in arguing.

But that had never stopped her from trying.

"It's solid stone," she huffed, looking up from her book just long enough to make sure Pearl saw her eye roll. "What are you going to do, punch a hole?"

"Yes."

"Magically reinforced stone. I'm not going to heal you when you break your hand."

She would, but Pearl didn't know that.

"Yes you would."

Fine, maybe she did.

"I could just try ramming it," Pearl mused and Gem's head shot up with warnings on her lips, didn't she know the damage that would do to her horns didn't she know it would hurt didn't she know the mere suggestion would worry her-

And then Gem saw her grin and sighed because of course she knew.

"You're the worst."

Pearl laughed, light and musical in a way that made Gem's heart flutter, as she leaned down and gently kissed her head.

"And yet, you love me."

"And yet I do."

Gem would never admit how much the touch unraveled her. Physical affection didn't come easily and on her darker days it was all too easy to think less of herself for it. Pearl always seemed to understand, though. Always knew how to help her.

Sometimes, that help was tapping her on the forehead repeatedly until she zoned back into the conversation.

"I think you need to get out of that big head of yours," she said with a softness that would have made Gem bristle had it come from anyone else. "You've been cooped up here too long."

"It's only been-" a quick glance at Pearl to gauge her reaction, why did she have such a good poker face that was unfair- "...a few hours?"

"Two days, Gem."

So she was only slightly off then.

"Two days." Pearl repeated, gently taking Gem's hands into her own and rubbing the back with her thumbs. "It worries me when you lose yourself like this."

"I didn't- it was an accident."

"Was it?"

The look Pearl gives her is sad and worried and knowing and it makes her want to cry just a little. She won't though. Not in front of anyone; not again.

That almost seems to make Pearl sadder.

She drops it, though, pulling Gem up from behind her desk and leading her towards the door.

"It's a nice day out and I made a picnic. You are going to relax and fall asleep in the sun because I know you haven't since you went into your tower and if Fwhip or Sausage find us I have blackmail ready to go."

She blinks as she's pulled out of the dark. Pearl laughs again and, for once, she laughs back.

Pearl ended up being right, because of course she did.

Gem fell asleep wrapped in golden wings. No nightmares dared to touch her.

Just for an afternoon, everything was alright.

[moonlitceleste]

I’m a warrior (now I’ve got thicker skin) Pt. 1

Part 1          Part 2          Part 3          Part 4          Part 5

I’ve toyed with this idea for a while, but I never posted it because I couldn’t think of the right song to go with it (that part comes in later). Thankfully, the idea came to me and I get to write it out!! It’ll probably be long, so I’ll split it into separate parts.

It’s three years since Hawkmoth started attacking Paris. By this time, the class has long turned on Marinette; however, she found solace in Adrien, Chloe, Kagami, and Luka. Together, they make up the permanent Miraculous Team.

They’ve finally defeated Hawkmoth. Gabriel Agreste, Nathalie Sancoeur, and Lila Rossi have been arrested. It’s made very public knowledge that Lila initiated contact with Hawkmoth out of pure spite and that her sole purpose was to target Marinette-Dupain Cheng and get her akumatized.

Lila is unable to lie her way out, because ever since Lila had gotten Marinette expelled, the latter had been keeping detailed notes on everything she had lied about and done. The only reason Lila hadn’t been exposed earlier was because Marinette was actively preventing it. She had deduced that Lila was working with Hawkmoth and knew she was a valuable connection.

Alya had also been posting Lila’s lies on her blog consistently, and there were quite a few blatant jabs towards Marinette in there.

Anyways, it’s been three weeks since that all went down. And people were still following Marinette around, from reporters to random citizens. The public was curious as to why Hawkmoth decided one girl was special enough as to be his target.

Tired of having to evade everyone, Marinette decides to give them what they want. She has an adequately large Twitter following since she was best friends with Adrien, Chloe, and had previously worked with big names such as Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale.

She shoots a one-take video and explains everything, but not before a quick disclaimer.

“I didn’t know whether or not to, but I realized that telling this story could raise awareness, or maybe just help someone feel less alone. But before I start, please don’t send hate to anyone mentioned in this video. Whether or not they deserve it, and no matter what they did to me, no one deserves to be bullied.”

“I’ve never really told anyone the full story before, and as counter-intuitive as it may seem, telling it to a camera is a lot less scary than it is to an audience.”

Marinette doesn’t hold back. She starts from the very beginning, from when Lila came in. I don’t like the Marinette-creepily-follows-them-because-of-jealousy thing, so I HC that in Volpina she followed them because she got bad vibes from Lila and was worried for Adrien’s safety. She says she saw Ladybug calling her out and that’s how she knew she was a liar.

She continues telling the story about how when Lila came back, everyone believed her immediately. She repeated the lies that Lila said and tore into the ridiculousness of them--the tinnitus she got from saving Jagged Stone’s cat from an airplane runway, how her arthritis flared up after saving Max’s eye from getting gouged out by a napkin and seemingly switched wrists constantly. How her classmates glared at her for being the cause of Lila’s pain and how the teacher didn’t even check for a doctor’s note or blink when they moved her to the back of the classroom.

She talked briefly about Lila’s threat, and how an akuma went after her but she managed to calm down in time, and that Lila was akumatized immediately after.

And then she talked about the expulsion. In great detail. But not before a little backstory about how her principal was quick to ignore anything her childhood bully did because he was easily swayed by money and influence. How her teacher had always told her to be the bigger person. Set a good example. Show people what the Marinette’s of the world are like.

And despite her being the “example”--the perfect student and class president, he expelled her without a second thought or even proof if what Lila accused her of was true. Lila’s parents weren’t even at the meeting, but hers had to be.

She wasn’t un-expelled until Lila herself claimed that she had a “lying disease,” which she later figured out was because Adrien helped her out.

She mentions how ironic it is that “my classmates who I’ve known since childhood and my best friend all turned their back on me in an instant. The four friends who stuck with me were all very new, and I had a dislike for 3/4 of them at some point in time.”

After explaining the beginning in detail, she summarized the rest of what they did--it started with glares and small jabs, then escalated to tripping her in hallways. Most weren’t outright malicious, but the more bull-headed like Alya, Alix, and Kim did the worse stuff like “accidentally” pouring water on her. After all, she was bullying Lila even after Lila had been so nice to her!

And then the Hawkmoth part. Emotions and akumatizations.

“Even though I know I didn’t do anything wrong, it was hard for me to remember that since the whole world seemed to be conspiring against me. But my true friend were there for me, and if they weren’t I’d have long succumbed to Hawkmoth’s influence.

I didn’t actually think Lila would turn my friends against me; I trusted them. Every time I was almost akumatized, it was because of injustice. I just had to remember that in due time, justice would come for her too.

I think my greatest fear was that even once Hawkmoth was gone, Lila would be able to lie her way out of it and somehow, she would convince everyone that I was in the wrong again. But that didn’t happen, and I’m glad that I didn’t give in to my negative emotions.

Part of that is because after a while, I just became numb. I haven’t let myself feel anything after all these years--at this point, my automatic response is to click and delete my negative emotions. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that I don’t have to do that anymore. The reason I never talked about what happened was because I was scared once I started, I wouldn’t be able to stop, and I couldn’t risk getting akumatized.

My knee-jerk reaction right now is to say I’m fine, but I’m not. I don’t know when I will be. I still have thoughts of what I did to make everyone leave me so easily--why they were so quick to turn. But hopefully, letting all this out is a step towards healing. It’s made me stronger, but I’m ready to close this chapter of my life and move on”

She ends the video after a brief end note and a reminder to not send hate to her classmates (but it ends up happening anyways).

“Maybe this could have been all prevented if my classmates had at least tried to listen to me, or if my teacher or principal had done their job. Everything may have worked out in the end, and I’m very grateful for that, but maybe it could have been stopped earlier if anyone had stepped in to help. If you see someone struggling, don’t stay silent. My true friends stuck by me, and they gave me the hope that there really was light at the end of the tunnel. You can give someone hope too.”

(There’s more said in the video, but those are just snippets I have right now.)

Parisians are horrified at the full story, and it spreads like wildfire. People add English subtitles, and it spreads even more.

A girl being targeted by an emotional terrorist for three years, having to suppress her emotions while actively being targeted by said terrorist or else the world would end?! Yeah, people ate it up.

And then Adrien and Chloe tweeted something, and then Bruce Wayne got involved, and soon enough, Marinette became known as the Girl Who Saved Paris.

TAGLIST

@2confused-2doanything @abrx2002 @alenee13 @animegirlweeb  @anonymously-odd  @buginetye @catthhay @certifiedbidisaster @dreamykitty25   @ertyzeta @fishandnoodles  *@how-to-function-properly  @iamablinkmarvelarmy  @ihavehomeworkbutistillhere @i-wanna-be-a-ninja @kris-pines04  @miracleofadisaster @momothefemur  @nach0 @nathleigh *@our-preciousss  @starpony999 @swiftie-miraculer13 @t1dwarrior-of-earth @thatonecroc  @theg0ddesspersephone  @thenillabean  @thequeenofpotatoeunicornss @tired-butterfly @trippingovermyfeet @user00000003 @velvetterabby

[fox-the-anon]

Hello there, I'm Foxy/ Copper/ Nach0! (I have many names, just use whichever lol)

This is a sideblog I made to keep track of any writing or anything like that I do on anon

Asks and DMs always open!

Antro base by Teranen, feral base by Softbat, close ups/ ref sheet parts by RetroSpectra

[pikablob]

To celebrate the end of the year, here's one Behind The Scenes fact for each of my fics:

(barring a few that had nothing interesting about them - some of this I have said before but I'll try and keep this to new facts):

Swim Until You Can't See Land - this was originally going to be two fics, both based on @sarasplenda's really nice headcanons. Summoning Sickness would've been a Wildflowers fic set the morning after The Jorts Incident, where Hilda feels ill and tries to hide it from her mum, leading to everything coming out. Big Sister would've been about Alfur using his nickname for Hilda, and her asking Kaisa what it meant. But in the end I merged both ideas after hearing the song that inspired this fic.

Seventy Times Seven - this fic is actually fluff for a D&D campaign I ran, where the Lady of Pain was trying to rebuild Sigil and the players were trying to stop her because it would mess up the multiverse. I actually really hated the Lady before I wrote this (and in official D&D fluff I still do) but I'm really attached to this version of her,

The Aurora Static - "Makunya" isn't a real Russian name AFAIK; it's a nickname a character in that same D&D world had that I reused, and should mean "little poppy". Looking at it now, I'm 90% sure I botched the diminutive.

There Was A Kindness In Her - this fic breaks a longstanding rule of mine; it's the only Hilda AU I have where Stone Forest/Mountain King happens like it does in canon. All my other AUs either never have Johanna and Hilda's relationship change (Spare Room Safety is most blatant about it) or fix things before the end of Season 2 ("Wildflowers Fics") - the only exception is the Runaway Hilda AU, which diverges after the argument in Stone Forest.

They Wanted A Son - Johanna's parents' apperances are based on Postman Pat and his wife, purely because his wife sometimes looks exactly like Johanna (I actually had to reference her design from the Pat movie specifically to get around this):

Endings Come In Increments - there's a whole cut extra scene in this fic; the original plan was to have Luz get back to the isles and break down in Eda's arms. That's why Eda's in the opening and why it doesn't start with Luz already on Earth. Also this fic is responsible for my pinned post on my main blog; the bad comments were on a reddit post about this fic.

You're Home - it doesn't directly address it, but this fic is meant to be a direct sequel to Blue And Yellow; they can stand alone, so I didn't think it was worth marking them as in a series, but there is one line in this fic that hints at it: “And I meant what I said when I found you,” she continued softly, “when we stopped Andrias; I’m not mad at you. I understand why you wanted to run away.”

Blue And Yellow - this fic literally only exists because @nach0 sent me some of @goodartitude's phenomenal Amphibia art; I actually cried a little at the scene and because of that I had to write it. The detail about it being Marcy's hoodie was also Kamila's idea :))

The Bitter Sting - this is based on an actual bit from the tie-in books; it's just mentioned offhand at one point that Hilda cut herself while trying to get a woodworking badge, and I couldn't get the idea out of my head from there:

(image by @remked :))) - also the knife in that fic is a real one I own, but I just use it for cutting cucumbers.

The Worm Ferned - this fic is named after a filk song about a were-worm called "The Worm Turned"; it has absolutely nothing to do with the fic's content. Worm Fern is a specific thing though; it's the leftmost frame over Hilda's sofa in the apartment (in some episodes it looks more curved & worm-like than others). The name is thanks to @randomwords247 who noticed it while drawing a really cute commission for me (the art at the end of You're Not My Mum).

Spare Room Safety - the ending of this fic, with Frida as the adopted kid asking to sleep with her mum to help her feel safe, was actually re-used from my planned ending to You're Not My Mum, which got changed thanks to the aforementioned adorable art.

You're Not My Mum (And That's Good) - I literally bought the original three Hilda tie-in novels just to write this thing. Thanks to the excerpts I had seen of the books, I was already very iffy about Novel Johanna, but after @trolbergoraclecolumnist described her to me as genuinely abusive I had to write something to fix that and that meant I needed reference. I still have those books; I chose not to donate them or anything partially because I just get super attached to inanimate objects and would feel bad giving them away, but partially so I have reference material if I ever want to write more in this AU. I have also debated getting book 4 (because Novel Bellkeeper and possibly even Novel Victoria could maybe work as alternative adoption routes in a future fic) or the Mountain King novelisation when that comes out just in case it has any details (ranks, weapon designations, protocol stuff) about the Safety Patrol that wasn't in the show.

12 Stands - this fic's concept is much older than the fic itself. It dates back to around the same time as The Cruel Wars (summer 2019) and it basically just sat on the backburner for two years.

Authorisation Void - there wasn't a place to fit it into the fic, so it's not strictly canon, but I do know why Simon came back in this AU; my thought process is that his number was high enough to cause an integer overflow and crash the train's delete process, leaving him orphaned in the train itself (for various reasons in my headcanon the train is basically an overgrown database running Transact-SQL; I have in fact written SQL commands for it for two scenes in my Oregon AU).

After The Fall - a few people have noticed the big change in tone between the chapters in this fic, and that's mainly because I changed the plot late into planning. The original idea was actually to have Gretchen have died in the collapse, and then Gina would meet Nikki while visiting her grave (Nikki would have been visiting Martian Man); I ended up changing it right as I started writing, but I really like it this way.

Rise Again - this fic also has a deleted scene; when I planned it, there was meant to be another train that would pass by after Kaisa left the tracks, which would have been implied to be the Infinity Train (further tying this fic to Trains In The Night), but I ended up feeling it ruined the tone a bit. This is also the most recent fic of mine to mention The Basics of Hyperspatial Spirit Dynamics, which I really need to get back on.

The Author, The Overseer, And The Offer - the theme song of this fic was changed when I posted it. It was actually written (and this whole AU concepted) to Nickelback's Sea Shanty version of Rockstar.

Take The Pain Away - this fic actually took a long time to get written; there's a reason this plotline is mentioned in Checkmate. It was originally supposed to be set after A Day At The Aquarium, until True Colours came along (and now that's changed again). I actually have an old WIP of the original version lying around, back when it was called Dear Sister.

For Lalage's Sake - I very nearly didn't buy the book that this is based on. It was in a nearly-empty WHSmiths, on a really desolate shelf right down in the corner. I ended up going back for the book and going through self-checkout to avoid being judged because it's even more kid-centric than my usual fare.

Checkmate - this was never meant to be posted. I wrote it just to get this scene from Titanomachy down, but a friend of mine said I should put it up to drum up hype for Take The Pain Away, so I did. It is currently considered broad-strokes canon, cause there's a major new moving part I need to work out in Andrias' fall.

The Ones Left Behind - I've talked about the inspiration for this fic before, and how the ending changed, but what I don't think I've mentioned is there's an Owl House reference hidden in it; Frida's chapter is specifically called The Witchling.

You Make Me Feel Safe - the story at the start of this is actually taken almost word-for-word from The Railway Series (Thomas The Tank Engine), just cause I needed a scary story for Hilda to tell and that fit the bill.

You Thought One Day You'd Be Happy, If You Held In All Your Screams - this fic got a lot longer as I wrote it compared to what I originally planned. I genuinely considered cutting this thing off at the end of Grace's first portion, as just an introspection on her after the events of Book 3, but in the end I had to include Hazel. The idea of her making her own way back was inspired pretty heavily by an idea @starlit-lion had, so I'm really thankful for her help on this one (and a lot of my fics tbh; she's one of my best friends and a really good advisor on plot).

Learned Behaviour - that's not the original title. I desperately wanted to call this one 'Problem Child', but I couldn't, because Problem Child is already a fic of mine (the Soul one). This fic also spawned my favourite Hilda fic of all time; @trolbergoraclecolumnist's In Your Arms, so it has that going for it too.

The Girl In The Snow - I've only talked about it with one or two people briefly, but this is actually the first part of an AU comparable in scope to Titanomachy or the Runaway Hilda AU, named Broken Crown. It has unique character designs and multiple arcs planned out, with the idea being a series of stories spanning the entire main continent of Runeterra; I actually have titles for several potential stories in this setting (Betrayal in Demacia, The Piltover Affair, Battle of the Bilgewater, and The Stars Made Manifest). But I'm not sure if I'll ever put the rest of it to paper.

Get Out - I actually think this fic has the weakest Wildflowers moment I've written; I think the reconciliation was handled a lot better in some of my other fics, even Cold Is The Night, but I'm still really happy people like this one.

No For An Answer - this fic was written at a train station in Brighton (incidentally the town where I bought my copy of Hilda and the Mountain King, although that was a different trip) while I was waiting for my train home after visiting the town and seeing my grandparents. I'd actually written off the fic's concept at first, because I didn't think I could pull off the subject matter, but @trolbergoraclecolumnist helped me change my mind (something similar happened with The Bitter Sting).

Hilda And The Secret Of Black Rock - for this one, you need to know a bit about how I write; whenever I need to get a character to sound right, I listen to their voice and try and get it in my head. When characters don't have a voice, I improvise; the result of this is Erin is Hilda pitch-shifted up slightly (I also characterised her with a shorter temper).

WW/blackrabbit_overR_21.02_113.exe - I don't think anyone's noticed this, but the version of Bonnie's app (21.02_113) contains the month it was written (February 2021 - it was posted later); this is cause it's actually taken from the version number of the software I test at work, and we release monthly (113 is completely made up). That being said the code in this is complete bunk; it's my attempt to expand the pseudocode seen in the game over screens in Popgoes and has bits taken from SQL, Windows Shell Language, and Java (specifically "bootstrap started", which is a reference to the old Minecraft Launcher that I use as an occasional running reference).

Two Girls In A Bus Stop Shelter - I actually like this version of Lucy's realisation more than her one in How Did You Know? Also, this fic's title is actually re-used from an old scrapped Oregon idea called Two Girls In A Gas Station Forecourt.

Someone Else - the bit at the end of this fic, where Johanna "hugs" Alfur using one hand because he's that small and knocks the hat off his head with her thumb, was actually inspired by a meme gif, specifically this one (I have no idea who created this sorry I just have it in my images folder):

Nothing's The Same - Tontu wasn't actually supposed to be in this fic; there's a reason he's mentioned as keeping to himself at first, because this was set out as a Gerdanna fic. But I couldn't get Gerda's arrival to work right, so I ended up using Tontu instead, and I think that made the fic a lot better.

Crossing The Divide - this was actually inspired by some fanart I saw which had Twig as a human. I can't find it again now (IIRC I unfollowed the creator because they were really into South Park and I just don't like that show), unfortunately, but it was really cute and it made me want to do an AU where that happened for real. I will say that as a human physically Twig is ~3 years younger than Hilda despite considering himself the older sibling.

Insubordination - this is a rewrite of one of my oldest fics, with the original (still available on fanfiction.net) dating back to 2016; it was supposed to kick off an entire Insubordination-verse that eventually got rolled into my Multiverse crossover before finally being cancelled.

Hearts And Minds - I actually pirated Raya specifically as reference for this fic; I still have it downloaded as a result, although I haven't watched it in a while.

Everything's Changed - this fic marks the first time anyone did art for my fics without already being a friend of mine (although I've had people offer to write for my AUs before), and I really really love what @airborneice drew for it. For a long time that was actually the Runaway AU's unofficial cover art in my notes, before the actual cover came along. Also because I got things slightly wrong and don't care enough to change it, this fic makes Runaway Hilda technically a year younger than her canon counterpart.

How Did You Know? - Trans Girl David was very nearly named Luna; the name just kinda got stuck in my head, but I ended up changing it to Lucy, something similar-sounding but different (taken from the Infinity Train character) because Luna didn't flow well with Hilda and Frida's names.

Trains In The Night - the general vibe of this fic, with the awful apartment and Johanna's struggles of trying to raise Hilda and Simon alone, draws a surprising amount from the Percy Jackson series. Most notably, Martha Laurent was directly based on Gabe Ugliano.

To The Hills - I actually can't reread this fic without crying now; every time I get to the end, and it sinks in that Hilda isn't coming back for a whole year, it gets to me.

Full Disclosure - I don't remember who it was, but someone on the Hilda subreddit discord server actually named the Mayor of Trolberg in this fic for me. Visually in my head I based her off Hester from Mortal Engines, although without the distinctive scarring that makes her who she is which the movie erased.

Cat Wolfslayer: The Axe-Lord's Daughter - I've considered writing a sequel to this fic several times, but I've gone off it every one, because I think there's one big problem; Cat wouldn't join Kipo's group. She has her own family and would go back with the Timbercats at the end of Episode 4, so I decided not to explore that AU.

The House On The Sand - this fic literally changed everything for me; it was the fic that made me realise that the Runaway AU could be an anthology, and it's the only reason the AU is so fleshed out as a result.

Hideaway - my favourite chapter title of any fic is in this; specifically Chapter 3: I Can't Tell You All My Secrets. Like all the chapter titles in that fic, it's a song lyric, but it's specifically the first from Strong, which is Sally's song in the Lightning Thief musical (she actually says it later on in the fic, too). And while this chapter is very much about Sally caring for June and reassuring her, the thing that really gets me is that in the narrative; it's June who can't tell her secrets at this point, not Sally. I just love how well that reversal works.

After Hours - what is there to say about the first and greatest Wildflowers Fic? I've explained the inspiration behind this fic and how much it changed already, but what I'll just add is that I had to rewrite it slightly because I got the layout of Hilda's apartment wrong at first. The original had the flat being across two floors, because I assumed it was, but upon rewatching it's very clearly all on one floor so a staircase became a corridor in the scene where Johanna catches Kaisa.

[nach0]

MCYT Yuri Week; Day Two - AU/ Post Canon

"You loved me?"

Wordcount: 776

AO3 Link

Being wanted for your own murder was something Gem never once thought she’d have to deal with, let alone welcome the accusations. It certainly made her job easier, even if she’d prefer not being hated by nearly every faction.

When she goes to an old ally for help, long kept secrets are revealed in a way neither expected.

Gem knew contacting the villains was risky. She knew it would only push the public’s opinion of her further from vigilante than it had ever been.

(She knew having to face her old friend, twisted into someone dark from rage and grief, would hurt more than leaving her behind the first time.)

But it was something she had to do. If she wanted to take down the organisation, if she wanted to stop anyone else from becoming like her, Boatem was her best chance. She just hoped they’d send anyone for the meeting except-

“You’ve got some nerve, Refraction. Asking us, asking me for help, after what you’ve done?”

“Eclipse. I thought I was going to speak with Conductor.”

Gem kept her voice even despite the knife at her throat. Refraction didn’t show emotion. Refraction couldn’t show any form of weakness. Maybe she would come clean after her job was done, but it was safer for everyone if she remained detached.

“He decided to let me take the lead on this. My first real mission as one of them, deciding whether we help you…” The knife pressed further into her throat, a trickle of blood warm against the cool of the night. Gem tried to pretend the thumping of her heart was from adrenaline. “Or whether you bleed out right here, right now.”

She let out a long laugh, high with a hint of madness, and nothing like the warmth her laughter used to hold. But it wasn’t productive to think about the past. Not yet.

“Is this how Inferno felt? When you trapped her in a burning building? I’m sure you thought it was all very ironic, or maybe you thought it was justice,” Eclipse hissed into her ear. “You make me sick.”

“I don’t see how she’s relevant to this. Villains aren’t supposed to be attached to heroes, and you don’t have to like me to give me the information I need.”

In a moment Eclipse had withdrawn the knife, flipping her onto the ground with a force that took the air from her lungs, showing nothing but rage as she shoved a knee into her chest to keep her down.

“Inferno was a better person than you’ll ever be. If anyone would have been able to change the system from inside it would have been her. But you robbed her of the chance to even try.”

“Inferno was an idiot!” Gem shouted, anger shattering her carefully even tone. “She was just another pawn for the heroes, never once questioning them! She wouldn’t have changed anything!”

Admittedly, it wasn’t a smart idea to piss off the villain currently in a murderous mood, but she couldn’t stand the thought of being martyred. She hadn’t ‘died’ a hero, in any sense of the word, and she’d certainly never been smart enough to see through the cracks of the organisation in life.

The knife slashed across her face and she had to scramble to keep her mask attached, caring more for her identity than the wound itself.

“I was going to get her out.” Eclipse’s voice was flat. She was never calm, always full of emotions, and the emptiness was almost scarier than her mania. “We had a plan. It was just a matter of waiting for the right time to explain things. Then you took that chance away.”

“Why do you even care? She wasn’t your partner, and I know you wouldn’t be this worked up if it was someone like Glacier.”

“I care because I loved her!”

The world stopped. Eclipse’s breath was harsh and her eyes were wide, like she hadn’t meant to admit it, but the words seemed to echo through the otherwise quiet night. Gem couldn’t help the response that slipped out.

“You… you loved me?”

After a pause, a devastatingly long moment in which they were the only two people in the world, Eclipse reached down to tug away her mask. 

“...Spark? You’re- why didn’t you tell me? You let me think you were dead, I was about to kill you for- for murdering yourself!”

Gem allowed herself a moment before she acted. A moment to imagine reaching up, pulling Eclipse, Ray, Golden, whichever of the thousand little nicknames they’d come up with together, into a hug so tight they could never separate again. 

The moment passed.

She shoved Eclipse off her, scrambling up and pulling the crystal from her neck to hold it towards the sky. The moonlight shone through it and she used her power to amplify it until it was blinding.

By the time it cleared, Gem was gone.

Conductor delivered the information she needed three days later. 

~

@mcyt-yuri-week