#or like ???? insert another hot character I love here idk idk idk

[wurm-food]

I think I finally have a new tattoo idea 😈 now let’s see if I can get on their books

[lainiespicewrites]

A lesson in flirting

Hi friends! This one had been sitting in my unfinished stories for a while. I love a good Henry fic It's another OFC because I can't seem to get off the "Self-insert" thing rn! LOL but you guys seem to love these stories and writing myself as a main character just gives me this air of confidence...Idk lmao... anyway enjoy! Also maybe doing this is part of kinktober?? Idk I’m not really following a prompt list buuut this kind goes with size kink??? Idk? I just wanna post more!

Plot: In which Alayna and her friends are at a bar, she's trying to explain to her friends that flirting is easy. until she sees Henry and her friends tell her to put her money where her mouth is.

Warnings: Smut Like just so much smut. Dirty talk, Oral (male and female receiving), P in V smut, creampie

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 “No, I mean it! It’s so easy! Men aren’t THAT complicated.” I exclaimed. Hayley shook her head at me. I laughed and downed the rest of my drink.

“You are so boy crazy,” She laughed, “If it’s so easy prove it!” she smirked. Shit, I’d been drinking and lord knows I’m not one to back down from a challenge. I looked over at Skyler who had the same look on her face. 

“Come on Alayna, you look so good tonight! Don’t waste it! You’ve been eyeing that guy by the bar for the last 5 minutes. Go for it!” She urged. I really stuck my foot in my mouth here. I’d been telling them about a time I went out a few months ago and decided I wanted to kiss this guy and just … made it happen. I may have been a little overconfident. I looked over again at the guy they were talking about. He was absolutely gorgeous. He was at least 6’1 with beautiful dark curls and one of the sweetest smiles I’d ever seen. 

“I-I don’t know, I’m all talk,” I said immediately going back on my previous statement. “This guy is way out of my league.”I sighed. 

“No he isn’t!,” Skyler said quickly, “You’re literally so hot! He’d be stupid not to be into you.” Hayley nodded. 

“She’s right dude! Prove yourself right! Go talk to him.” I took one look back at him. Well hopefully if this doesn’t work out I don’t make myself look like an idiot. 

“Alright,” I paused looking at the girls. “Commencing phase one.” I joked.

“Jesus,” Hayley shook her head and Skyler just laughed. 

“Yes! Go get your man!” She cheered me on. Okay, Phase one. Luckily this would be easy. The bartender Nick was already down at his end of the bar so it was the perfect excuse to “Bump into him” and squeeze my way up to the bar to order another drink. It helps that it’s a little crowded too. I pushed past a group of country boys standing around holding their Busch lights. The kind that rolls into the bar in tattered jeans they’ve been working in all day and dirty old work boots. Definitely not my first choice. I shake the thought out of my head starting to get nervous as I approach him. His back is toward me now. I walked up next to him at the counter, my shoulder brushing against him. 

“I’m so sorry!” I blushed. He turned to look at me and smiled. 

“That’s perfectly okay! It's a bit crowded here tonight huh?” he asked, chuckling softly.  Sweet baby Jesus, he’s British! I nodded. Nick was still with another customer so I took the opportunity to make light conversation. 

“Whatcha drinking?” I asked. He fully turned to face me.  Beer bottle in hand. 

“Guinness has always been my favorite.” He said, taking a sip. “Are you a beer drinker?” he asked. I shook my head. 

“Not unless I'm already drunk, or it's in an Irish car bomb.” I joked. He laughed and raised an eyebrow.

“An Irish car bomb? Wouldn’t have assumed that’d be your drink of choice.” He smirked.

“Oh, it’s not! but my brother took me out for my 21st with his friends, they’re like my brothers. Anyway, I did a full “bombs away” Not sure if you’ve heard of that?” I raised an eyebrow. He chuckled, nodding. 

“I do, That had to be a rough time!” 

“It was certainly rough the next day!” The bartender was finally ready so I made eye contact with him to signal I wanted to order. 

“What's up?” he asked. 

“Hey, can I get another Rum and Coke please?” He nodded and walked away to get it started. Nick was a man of little words. I appreciated that about him. 

“Not a bad choice,” I heard the guy say. I laughed

“It’s been my drink of choice since my friend and I started stealing “captain” out of her parent's liquor cabinet senior year.” He chuckled softly. Just then Nick came back with my drink. I smiled and thanked him again. He just nodded. I turned back to the mystery guy and smiled. “Well, it was nice talking to you!” I said. 

“You too! Sorry, I don’t think I got your name.” He said. 

“Alayna!” I said quickly. 

“Alayna,” He repeated and smiled. “I’m Henry,” 

“Nice to meet you, Henry!” I said and started to walk away. 

“Nice to meet you, Alayna!” He called after me. I walked back to the girls' new drink in hand and a spring in my step. I smirked sitting back down in between them. 

“Oh my god how’d it go?!” Skyler asked immediately. 

“So he’s fucking British!” I stated. 

“You’re kidding!” Hayley added. I shook my head. 

“Dead ass! His name is Henry, and that’s about all I know! Except he’s even more beautiful up close!” I tried so hard not to squeal. Having a crush was thrilling and fun even if it went nowhere.

“Okay not to get your hopes up but he’s definitely looking this way!” Skyler said. I brought my drink to my lips took a long sip and let my eyes fall in his direction. He was and he was smiling. Before I could catch his eye his attention was brought back to his friend as they continued their conversation. 

“I told you.” I shrugged. Hayley shook her head.

“That doesn’t prove anything buddy, maybe he just thought you were nice,” she stated. Skyler laughed

“He was absolutely staring at her ass as she walked away but okay yeah he just thought she was nice.” She said, I was blushing and trying so desperately to act cool but I knew it wasn’t coming out that way. I took a long pull of my drink and sighed.  

“This is gonna be a high school crush situation all over again if I can’t hold it together. God, he’s so beautiful up close though. I really don’t know how I managed that conversation, let alone blatant flirting.” I shook my head and changed the subject. Asking the girls about work. I had neither of them fooled but they let me change the subject.

 “It’s going okay but I certainly could use a vacation,” Hayley said. I laughed 

“Says the girl who was in Hawaii 3 months ago!” I rolled my eyes. 

“Yeah, and you left us here!” Skyler argued. Hayley retorted with something sarcastic but I didn’t hear her. Henry was walking in our direction and I immediately caught his eye. He smiled when he saw me slowing down as he was walking past. 

“Hey! Are you having a good night?” He asked. I nodded and gave him a big smile.

“I’m having a great night! Just out with the girls. And you?” He quickly glanced over at them and smiled softly. 

“That’s awesome,” He turned his attention back to me and it was a bit dark but I’m almost positive he gave me a once over. “And I’m good! Great now, just a little buzzed and headed to the toilet,” He chuckled. 

“Well don’t let me keep you!” I laughed. I watched as he smirked slightly, looking me over again. He gave me a quick wink.

 “I’ll see you later, love,” He spoke and then walked away toward the restrooms. As he walked away I heard Skyler trying to hold back a squeal. 

“He was absolutely flirting with you!” She smiled. Even Hayley agreed. 

“Dude it’s like we weren’t even here,” She said. I smiled.

“Yeah, I noticed that. But he does seem really sweet! I’m gonna let him make the next move though.” All of a sudden feeling a rush of energy I downed the rest of my drink.  “Fuck it let's go dance!” I said standing up and pulling both of them up with me. I heard Hayley start to complain that she can’t dance so I took her hand and spun her. “Just move! Everyone’s drunk anyway. No one cares! Let loose!” I said. Skyler grabbed my hand and spun me and then jokingly twerked on me. We were laughing and genuinely having a good time. 

This is what we came out for tonight. Just to have fun and be carefree. The song switched to some early 2000s girl group. The kind that makes you feel invincible. The girls and I were still dancing. I spun around and almost ran directly into Henry. 

“I’m so sorry!” I giggled. Clearly more a little more buzzed now. Henry smirked. 

“No need to apologize darling. You’re having fun!” He chuckled. 

“I am!” I exclaimed. “You should dance with me!” He smiled but raised an eyebrow. 

“I’m not much of a dancer, Love,” He said. I pouted. 

“Please? It’ll be fun!” I begged. He chuckled. 

“Of course, I will, for you!” He smiled. I let out an excited squeak causing him to laugh. I grabbed his hand and pulled him to a slightly less crowded area of the makeshift dance floor. I turned around and pressed my back to his chest. Immediately his hands found my hips. I slowly started to move my hips against him and looked back giving him a cheeky smile. 

“Told you I’d make it fun!” I said. He smirked and licked his lips slowly.

“I never doubted that,” He spoke. He slowly started moving his hands up my sides. I bit my lip. I loved the feeling of his hands on my body. I felt my shirt rise a little as his fingers moved over the hem of the crop top. Then I felt his fingertips against my neck as he brushed my hair back off my shoulder. I pressed against him, grinding on him to the music. His breath was hot against my neck. “Enjoying yourself, love?”  He spoke his voice low and gravely. I knew he wanted to make a move. I could feel him against me. But He was trying to be respectful.  Or as respectful as he could with my ass pressed to him. 

“Mmhmm, but I’d be having more fun if you’d kiss me.” I started trying so hard to play cool. My heart was racing and the anticipation felt like electricity coursing through me. He moved his hands back down squeezing my hips before he turned me around to face him. He was smiling. God, he was such a beautiful man.  He brushed a strand of hair out of my face. “You have the prettiest smile I’ve ever seen by the way.” I blushed, losing my nerve now that I was looking him in the eye. 

“You’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen,” He said back. I blushed. 

“That can’t be true, you’re like, insanely hot!” I blurted out. He chuckled, tightening his grip on my hip and pulling me flush against him. My hands were on his chest. Fuck he was solid. We were so close. I was even more nervous now that I had the chance to really look at him. He was wearing a plaid button-up with the top 3 buttons undone and revealing a patch of chest hair. His shoulders were broad and strong. I felt small in his arms. The way he was looking at me I felt like I’d have fallen over if he hadn’t been holding me up.

“Yeah, and you’re absolutely gorgeous,” He stated. He caressed my cheek softly before leaning in and kissing me. I immediately kissed him back. I moved so my arms were wrapped around his shoulders and tangled my fingers in his hair. He groaned softly, walking me backward until my back was pressed against the wall. He kissed me roughly and as he pulled away he caught my bottom lip between his teeth biting down softly before pressing one last gentle kiss to my lips. He looked down at me hungrily. “I wanna take you home with me.” He growled in my ear before he started kissing my neck.

“I’m sure the girls won’t miss me,” I smirked. He stopped peppering kisses along my jaw and looked me in the eyes. 

“Is that a yes, love?” He raised an eyebrow, a small smirk forming on his face. 

“If I don’t go with you, you’re coming home with me! I don’t wanna miss out on you!” I said. And maybe it was a little eager but I meant it. There was no way I was walking away from him now. “Give me like two seconds to let my friends know so they aren’t panicking though!” I said. He gave me a soft smile and kissed my cheek. 

“Of course darling,” I walked over to where the girls were still dancing not far from me. No doubt they’d seen our spur-of-the-moment makeout session. I didn’t care. 

“Hey so um…” I started. 

“You Whore,” Hayley stated before I could say anything. I just laughed. 

“You know it!” I joked back. 

“Just make sure you use protection! I mean it!” Skyler said. “And I want details!!” She added. I laughed. 

“Okay well, I’m gonna go then … you guys get home safe!”

 After a quick goodbye, I turned around and found Henry at the bar closing his tab. He smiled when he saw me and pulled me to his side. 

“Are you ready to get out of here?” He asked. I nodded. He kept his arm around me as we walked out. He led us to his car, opening the door for me. He got in started the car and paused. “My place or yours?” He asked nonchalantly. 

“Yours, one of the girls lives right down the hall and I don’t need her keeping an eye on me.” I chuckled. 

“It’s sweet that she checks in though. Do you live alone?” He asked. 

“Well hold on, how do I know if I tell you that you aren’t gonna stalk me and murder me?” I raised an eyebrow. 

“Because you’re already in my car and if I wanted to kill you I could just do it now.” He paused for a second and chuckled. “I’m not a murderer, I promise. Besides if I killed you I couldn’t take you on a proper date after all this. That wouldn’t be very chivalrous, and to be honest I just know I wanna see you again.” I was blushing. 

“Okay, you make a good argument,” I said. “I wanna see you again too. And we haven’t fucked yet.” I immediately squeezed my eyes shut. I can’t believe I said that. And I was too nervous to see the look on his face. I felt him put his hand on my thigh. I slowly looked over at him. He was smirking. 

“Oh, but we will.” He stated. He looked over at me letting his eyes roam over my body quickly before he focused back on the road. 

Fuck. He’s so hot, this man is about to ruin all other men for me. I heard him chuckle. “Doing okay over there love?” He squeezed my thigh and let his hand wander further up. I bit my lip and nodded. 

“Y-yeah, having the best time right now!” fucking idiot. 

“It’ll be even better in a few minutes. You’re so sexy. Do you have any idea what you were doing to me back there?” It was my turn to smirk. 

“I’ve got a pretty good idea. Pretty sure I could feel it!” I teased. He playfully smacked my thigh. God this was gonna be a good night. 

“Not sure how you could miss it with your ass pressed against me like that.”  I just laughed.

“I didn’t hear you complaining!” I said and laced my fingers with his hand that was resting on my thigh. 

“I wasn’t,” he smiled, bringing my hand to his lips and kissing my knuckles. He let go of my hand as he turned into his driveway and put the car in park. He waited for me in front of the car and took my hand again leading me up to his house. He quickly unlocked the door and I followed him inside.

 He flipped on a light in the entryway so we could see where we were going. Then he turned back to me grabbed me by the waist and pulled me into him. I initiated the kiss wrapping my arms around his shoulder and tangling my fingers in his curls pulling him down to me. It was a very needy kiss. Pressing my lips to his and letting him suck my bottom lip between his. He backed me into the wall and started to kiss my neck. “Fuck your such a naughty girl, what am I gonna do with you?” He asked and then scraped his teeth across my neck. I moaned and tugged at his curls. He growled against my neck, soothing it with soft kisses. His touch was sending shockwaves through my body. I needed more of him. I ran my hands down his shoulders and over his chest. I brushed my hand over his cock, he was already getting hard. I teasingly squeezed him over his jeans. “Mmm” he moaned softly pulling away from his assault on my neck to watch me tease him.

I continued to explore his body, slipping my hands under his shirt and letting my fingers brush across his abs. I bit my lip when I felt him tense under my fingertips. He chuckled and stepped back pulling off his shirt, a proud smirk on his face. He was incredibly muscular. His chest was solid and broad. He was hairy which I had to admit was a serious turn-on. I hadn’t realized it until now. His stomach was hard and defined. It’s like he was carved out of stone. His happy trail matching his chest hair. He had to be incredibly strong. The muscles in his arms were large. He towered over me making me feel small. But his face was so soft and kind and gentle. His eyes were crystal blue and so inviting. He had such a warm smile. God I was mesmerized by this man.  His voice broke me out of my trance. 

“Come here Darling,” he said, pulling me to him again. He pulled at the bottom of my top and leaned in pressing a sweet slow kiss to my lips. “Take this off for me?” He asked. I bit my lip 

“mmhmm” I mumbled, taking a step back to take off my top. I dropped it to the floor and looked up at him. His eyes were focused on my chest. 

“Fuck” he whispered and licked his lips. His eyes flicked back up to mine. “I could tell you had big tits but, wow” he whistled jokingly and I rolled my eyes and laughed. 

“Omg shut up! Says the guy literally built like a Greek God!” Now he was laughing. I stood on my toes kissing him again. I reached my hand between us rubbing over his jeans. He growled against my lips.

“Mm slow down baby, we’ve got all night.” He led me to his couch and pulled me onto his lap so I was straddling him.  Trust me Im gonna fuck you tonight darling, I’m definitely gonna fuck you.” He started kissing my neck down to my chest and he kissed the top of my breasts. Then he pulled my bra down and took my nipple in his mouth. I moaned, arching into him and he wrapped his arm around my back holding me to him. 

“But you’re going to make me beg first,” I teased, biting my lip. He hummed around my breast smirking before biting down and dragging my nipple between his teeth. I gasped and ran my fingers through his hair. 

“I love hearing the sounds you make for me,” He moaned as he gave the other breast the same attention. He was driving me crazy. I whimpered softly grinding my hips feeling into his. Trying to get some friction against his now fully hard cock in his jeans. 

“Please Henry,” I moaned.  as he finally unhooked my bra and tossed it aside. He dug his fingers into my hips keeping me still. I couldn’t help the whine that escaped me.

He kissed back up my chest leaving a chaste little kiss on my lips. Fuck he was such a tease. 

“God you’re desperate for it, aren’t you love,” He smirked. “Why don’t you show me how bad you want it,” He nodded toward the floor and I knew exactly what he meant. I slid off his lap and onto my knees in front of him. He stood from the couch and pulled himself from his jeans. Fuck he was big, and already so hard. There was a bead of precum glistening from the tip. If he wanted to tease two could play that game. 

I leaned forward and licked the head of his cock smiling up at him sweetly. 

“Mm don’t stop now love, we're just getting started.” He moaned cock twitching in his hand as the other hand brushed the hair out of my face and rested on the back of my head. 

“You’re just so big, not sure I can handle all of you,” I teased. He chuckled softly running his thumb over my bottom lip. 

“You’ve been talking big talk all night baby, I’m sure you can make it fit,” He winked. I blushed but let him guide me forward taking him in my mouth. I hollowed my cheeks bobbing my head slowly. At first only took him halfway and slowly let him hit the back of my throat. He was already moaning for me. Tightening his fingers in my hair guiding me along his cock. “That's it, love, just like that, fuck,” He growled. He pushed my head further down forcing his cock further down my throat. I choked and my eyes started to water but I let him hold me there. I knew it had to feel incredible for him. He pulled me back and I came up gasping for air. He chuckled. “Fuck that’s so sexy. I need more of you.” He held out his hand to help me up and immediately crashed his lips to mine. He bit my bottom lip dragging his teeth across it slowly before finally releasing me. 

“Are you gonna fuck me now baby?” I asked shyly gently running my fingers down his chest. 

“You’ve more than earned it now darling.” He said kissing me again more gently this time. “But I still wanna please you first.” He smirked bending to pick me up over his shoulder. 

“Henry!” I squealed laughing softly. He chuckled and smacked my ass as he carried me to his bedroom. He dropped me gently onto his bed finally ridding himself completely of his jeans and boxers. He gave me one last look asking for permission before stripping me completely as well. He didn’t speak just smiled to himself and started to kiss and grab and feel all over. Kissing my chest and my stomach. Squeezing my breasts. He settled between my legs spreading my thighs kissing and biting at the inside. He slowly made his way up to my core. 

“Fucking dripping for me. I could feel it when you were in my lap. So needy.” He ran his fingers through my folds spreading my slick smirking to himself. I whimpered softly unable to take it anymore. 

“Fuck please don’t tease me, I need you to touch me. Please, Henry.” I begged. He just smirked.  He spread my lips swiping his tongue through my folds. He pulled me closer by my hips and started circling my clit with his tongue. He pulled it between his lips sucking softly and continued to lick. I moaned tossing my head back and my fingers found his curls again. “Oh fuck!” He slipped two fingers into me curving them into me as he continued his assault on my clit. 

It wasn’t long before I felt the coil build up in my stomach. “Henry, I’m gonna cum!” I whimpered. He didn’t let up just continued through my orgasm licking up my juices and pulled back with a growl. Kissing his way back up my body. 

“God you taste incredible,” He moaned in my ear before flipping me onto my knees on the bed and spreading my thighs. “I need to be inside you.” He groaned, lining himself up with my core running his head through my folds gathering the wetness there. He started to push in slowly. “Such a tight little pussy.” He groaned. “Relax for me, baby.” He leaned down kissing my shoulder as he pushed all the way in. “Such a good girl for me, always so ready for my cock.” he growled. I whimpered. I’d never felt so full. It felt incredible. He finally pulled out slowly and started a rhythm holding onto my hips as he took me from behind. Our moans the sounds of our bodies meeting filling my ears. 

“Mm it feels so good,” I moaned pulling at the comforter I could feel my orgasm building again. I started to squeeze around him. Henry pulled out and I whined softly. I heard him chuckle. He flipped me onto my back wrapping my legs around his waist as he shoved himself back into me. 

“I need to see your beautiful face when you cum on my cock baby.” He moaned picking up the pace. He was starting to get close too. He kissed my neck and I dug my nails into his back surely to leave scratches there tomorrow as I came undone around him. He growled in my ear as he thrusted a few more times letting go inside me. 

“You’re so fucking perfect.” He moaned. He kissed all over my face and smiled. “Are you alright darling?” He asked catching his breath

“I’m amazing,” I laughed. 

“Fuck yeah you are,” He chuckled. He laid down next to me for a moment pulling me into him. “Just give me a minute,” he breathed. 

I knew we were just getting started.

[kacievvbbbb]

Idk why I find the fact Mihawk writes Y/N Reader inserts so funny but so true and I have reader inserts blocked on here like I hate them but oh my god so in character for him.

And he does not give a shit. Absolutely go king and getting fantasy dicked down by all the hot guys in one piece world I support! Also him being a sengoku shipper iconic. I was say maybe he thinks about Kuzan but I think he’s out off by his general laziness and apathy and not in a fun apathetic way like Barsolino in a depression way. ( he’s looking in a mirror and does not like it.) but if he learns Dragon used to be a marine and friends with Akainu he’s making the most toxic relationship of them friends to enemies to nemesis type shit.

He’ll write a new book and it will be a sensation and no matter the fact he changed the names everyone with a brain cell will be able to figure out who it’s about.

Sorry this took so long to reply! but

YES YES YES!!! I don't really like self insert stuff either but it's so in-character for him I'm so obsessed.

And yeah it really is just the adventures of reader as they travel across the grand line getting dicked down is definitely one of his most beloved and acclaimed series. Shanks goes hot and cold on that series a lot because while the idea of watching mihawk getting dicked down by another man is very hot Shanks is also a jealous man and he is very jealous of these "fictional" men. He tries to find out if mihawk has ever fucked any of them in real life and maybe 👀.

Also yeah I just threw in the marine thing because I thought it was funny but I'm glad it stuck out! 😂. I don't think he self ships with any of the marines (maybe in his GILF era sengoku or fujitoro) I think because none of the really strong marines appeal to him but he would fuck smoker if he was stronger. and just because I remembered dude and I think it would be so funny imagine if his only self x marine ship is with Ryokugyu (the tree admiral) I think he'd hate him in life but he's not blind. I think this realllllly pisses shanks off because he does not like him and honestly its a bit of a snake eating his own tail because a lot of the reason he doesn't like him is because of Mihawk's fanfiction of him.

I think Mihawk's natural reaction (mostly because it's mine) is to ship Sengoku with Garp but he hates Garp and even the thought of picturing him in that way is enough to make him want to pour his ears to bleach his brain. I think it be funny if during one of his lackadaisical checking out marine headquarters rooms (because realistically who is going to stop him) he stumbles upon and old picture of Garp Sengoku and Tsuru when they were young and he is very intrigued by thetwo hot young men then he notices that one of them is Garp and he almost throws up, the thought wont leave him alone tho.

Also yes i don't think Mihawk actually knows dragon but he has definitely heard of him and being Garps son is enough cause for pettitness in his eyes. Dragon's identity is a little harder to parse out I the books but Akainu's is so fucking obvious. And it is a loved and well-cherished series. Anytime that Mihawk attends a warlord meeting or just genuinely has an unpleasant interaction with akainu (which is every interaction) he puts pen to paper. It'd be funny if this was the most "tame" series though more focused on the fictional romace which confuses dragon and pisses akainu off even more because what? do they think he can't take it? and mihawk is very pleased with himself. he drops a new edition right before he goes to any warlord meeting so he can watch akainu seethe in real time as the new talk of the town takes root (this series specifically is very popular in marine towns)

as for the real life identities. I think he definitely makes it a bit hard not to protect anyone. Still, because he thinks it's fun to make people guess and adds to the mystery so there is definitely a fan club (which Shanks leads) dedicated to putting the clues together on just who all the different men are (shanks needs this for....research purposes 👀) some of them are obvious if you're in the know like the Benn ones or Crocodile while others are just plain obvious because the Red Haired Emperor is definitely shanks like if you know shanks you know its him there is only two people with hair that red. It's not kidd( it does give both kidd and shanks a bit of a reputation of some islands because his book counterpart is infinitely more dashing and "masculine" that shanks' bum and kid's manica energies) and I think he makes the Akianu ones very obvious to anybody that literally even if you've just ever heard of him you know its him just to fuck with him.

[koukouture]

Kou's AO3 ffxiv fic rec list

I am so insane and I literally have only been reading FFXIV fanfics for like the past four or so months so here r some of my favorites

I will split it up into three categories: reader inserts, WoL OCs, and then yk fics with only the characters.

WARNING: I read lots of unsavory shit so please heed the tags in the links as I will not be going over those in this list.

*length of fics will be rounded to nearest thousand

Reader insert's

The Rise of Emperor Solus zos Galvus by amandaterasu

(Emet Selch x reader) Length: 25k Status: Complete (one shot) Review: You don't understand I think about this fic at least once a day oh my fucking LORD. 25k words just GONE in an instant I read this in like under an hour. Actually gigging and kicking my feet this shit bro liiiiiike the way this author writes Emet Selch... ouuuuughhh. I love it when a man is just so insane for his woman that he finds her in another life and immediately starts courting her. Honestly, this shit is just so good it reads almost like a historical drama in the best ways possible. Yeah it's romance (and smut) but it's also politics (kinda) and idk about you but those are my two favorite things. I now need a full length novel about Emet Selch's rise to emperor of Garlemald but yk what this shit is just as good. Bonus points for this author for introducing me to fanfic reading extensions to replace certain terms I will be using this from now on.

Tremble, Duck, & Weave by OwlEspresso

(Estinien, Aymeric, Haurchefant, Urianger x reader) Length: 31k Status: Incomplete Review: This inspired my current big project, Hellbound and yeah idk something about Ishgardian politics man. I'm gonna warn you right now a lot of these reader insert recs WILL be yandere/yandere-adjacent with a lot of unhealthy themes, general debauchery, and doves ranging from beaten to dead so uh... yeah. That aside, this is just a really fun time. Seeing everyone interact with the reader insert and all the different ways they show (or think about) their twisted affections... hnnnng it makes me a little insane okay. Also, shout out to pervert Haurchefant you will always be near and dear to my heart. We were ROBBED in the English translation

Captivate by samsaur

(Aymeric and Estinien x reader) Length: 41k Status: Incomplete Review: Remember what I said about doves ranging from being beaten up to dead? Well, the dove is definitely dead here, but it's rlly juicy because this shit really does feel like a horror story. I am not qualified to speak on it, but I think this is a great portrayal of Stockholm syndrome and the way it's written really puts you into the shoes of the reader insert and you kind of feel that hot and silent shame of being held captive like this. Also, one of my favorite niches of FFXIV fanfics is apparently villain Aymeric. Idk why but he is so good as a villain probably because he had every single reason to turn out one, and he would be a far more terrifying villain than Thordan. If Aymeric wasn't our ally during Heavensward, he would undoubtedly be a huge threat to us and this fic kinda takes that and dangles it over your head. Because, yes, Aymeric is holding the reader captive but he is also helping Alphinaud and Tataru out. It's this balancing act where we know Aymeric is capable of really fucked up things but he is still playing at the perfect image of our noble ally. You find yourself yelling at everyone else not to trust him because you, the reader and his captive, know that he is a piece of shit in this AU and I think it's glorious. Uhhh Estinien is there too ig. It's no fault on the author's part but I just don't really vibe with Estinien as a love interest. Though, his dynamic with Aymeric and the reader is extremely interesting to me. I can't say too much without spoiling all the fun, but I think in a way Aymeric has him trapped under this thumb too.

I'd Ask For Your Soul, But It's Already Mine by Dotharl

(Zenos x reader) Length: 29k Status: Incomplete Review: Guys it's fucking Zenos PLEASE read the tags on this one. Anyways I love my porn kjakjfjkjakhshjfjhk. Okay but genuinely I always say this, but Zenos is surprisingly genuine as a love interest because he doesn't put WoL up on a pedestal and just loves them for all of their worst bits and THAT is the appeal of enemies to lovers. This fic plays with that, especially with the reader insert being a Dark Knight WoL where Fray talks some sense into them and helps them recognize their self worth. I won't lie to you, this fic starts out with VERY fucked up Yandere fuckboy Zenos energy with all of the dubcon included, but I kinda don't care + it's just genuinely well written at times. The dynamic between WoL and Zenos is very nice here, bc yeah it starts out... like that and then it evolves into mutual respect when the reader realizes that Zenos would treat them well and not yk use them as a weapon. Albeit, it does go kind of quick but eh, it's like 4 chapters so I can't fault the author THAT much. Besides, not to diminish the fic, but it IS pretty clearly just kind of a pornfest and that is A-Okay with me! This shit was also last updated in like 2022 so I'm pretty sure it's abandoned.

Not a Champion, Just a Knight by Kei_Cordelle

(Haurchefant x reader)

Length: 23k Status: Incomplete Review: This one is in kind of a weird position because this is an AU where WoL dies at the Vault instead of Haurchefant, so there isn't exactly any HaurcheWoL action to speak of. But, WoL definitely haunts the characters' actions. Bro, when I tell you, the worst part of this fic is actually Alphinaud being very NOT OKAY bc WoL is dead. He is just a baby what the fuck do you mean he watched his friend, confidant, and hero die in front of him???? Yeah sorry I love Alphinaud a normal amount. (that is my SON) Anyways, this is written in first person which is weirdly a turn off for some people? I don't get the hate tbh, because first person just opens up so many fun opportunities! You can break the fourth wall much easier and directly address the reader, and you can also have the vibe that this is a retrospective of what the character saw. The later is definitely the vibe this fic gives. It's like, if the Heavensward memoir was written from Haurche's perspective in this AU. To me, I like to think that this fic is Haurchefant telling the tale of his greatest love and regret in writing. I feel like the action scenes could use some work but they're not terrible. It's just that they're literally one to one recounting of the Heavensward trials and it's just not the best. I think there's also the issue of the cast becoming slightly bloated so it is a bit rough to account for everyone's actions during fight sequences. I really do love this fic though because I think it's really interesting to see how everyone is unraveling. Obviously, we as the WoL take on a lot of things that are almost impossible for everyone else so to see them take on the monumental burden of the hero is very interesting. How would our companions react to certain things? Since during most trials in canon we take it on alone, how does everyone else fit in? Are they all doing the mechanics correctly? All in all, solid fic and I am holding out hope for that fated final fifth chapter since the last time it was updated was back in January and it was started back in 2022 so one day I hope that this will be complete and I get to see the final mental breakdown as the squad completes Heavensward with the legacy of WoL looming over them ✨

WoL OC Inserts

Coerthan Traitor by Cascanora (@cascanora here on Tumblr)

(Zenos x OC, a bit of typical Emet Selch and Azem reincarnation messiness) Length: 190k (GOD DAMN-) Status: Ongoing Review: The author of this fic is highkey like a celebrity to me bc I gobble up their art like it's fucking Christmas morning. Imagine being God's favorite and being blessed with the ability to draw AND WRITE??? Fucking insanity bro. Also, their OC, Crow is fine as hell like one chance ma'am pleeeeeeaaaaaseeee goddddddd- Anyways onto the actual fic, I am admittedly only on the first arc which is kind of like the childhood arc ig. But I really love it so far because I've just never seen anyone really write Zenos being kind of young and vulnerable and playful? That's a lie, I think I've read like one Zenos fluff that I'll have to dig through my AO3 history to find again (bc you'd best believe none of my bookmarks are fluffly...) so I just really like the change of pace. Zenos is obviously always put in more enemies to lovers type scenarios so I kinda like this different angle because yeah maybe he was something resembling normal at one point. Obviously he's very fucked up for a reason, but he was a kid too. He didn't always go off about biting jugulars and drinking blood or something, he got fucked up. I am so far absolutely living for a lot of the political stuff bc as I've said before, romance with a side of politics (or vice versa) is my cup of tea and nobody pulls this shit off better than fanfic authors. I'm really interested to see where the political stuff goes but it's like 2am (sheesh) as I'm writing this so I will have to delve further into this fic later. Anyways can I take a moment to talk about Crow and Zenos? Because they're so fucking cute I love themmmmm. I feel like I'm coming at this as someone who has seen a lot of Cascanora's art so I see when Crow and Zenos' relationship develop into when they're adults, so seeing the early stages of it is really cool to me. I don't quite know how to explain it? But anyways I am raving about this fic bc I think it just builds them both up so well and again, I don't see Zenos written to be playful and yk act his age the way he does around Crow. They just work together so well and while at the point of the story I'm at they're definitely just friends, I think that's the beautiful thing about friends to lovers. Regardless if it's romantic or platonic love, Zenos and Crow are a package deal. Also, Emet Selch/Solus in this fic is perfect. I LOVE my geriatric old man telling stories about his past. I would go off about how I am very captivated by the whole Galvus family dynamic but I will save that for the other fics bc this review section is already super fucking long and you had BEST BELIEVE I'm scouring the internet for Galvus family fics. I lied I will talk about this a little more because this strikes an odd chord with me as someone who wrote a lot of my own longform OC x Canon growing up. I kinda shamed myself off doing that kinda stuff as I got older, but diving into FFXIV where everyone becomes fucking Shakespear with their WoLs has made me let go of my fears of being a cringefailure and embrace the OC x Canon. To see really well written and thought out OC insert stuff is very comforting to me bc I often worry abt my own OCs being shitty and not really fitting in but fics like this assure me that hey, maybe I can make cool shit and that really is the most beautiful part of fanfiction and fandom in general. Fandom is this incredible loop of finding amazing shit and thinking "wow, I wanna do that too" and it's just really rewarding.

Save the Last Dance For Me by lalahganaja

(Alphinaud x WoL OC) Length: 11k Status: Complete (yatta!!!!) Review: ALPHINAUD MY BEAUTIFUL SONNNNN AAAAAAAARRRGGHHHSJGFKJGSGKHJHJF. This fic is so delightful bc it feels like I'm cheering on my children to kiss. A'tahja is so fucking precious and her and Alphinaud just bounce off each other so well. This fic also has the other Scions making an appearance and I fucking love it so much. Found family will never NOT make me absolutely batshit insane. Like yes, Y'shtola mamma cat <3 anyways *chews on Alphinaud and A'tahja* This is just so insanely fluffy and it made me slam my desk every few minutes bc cute teenage love story!!!! How can I not!!!! Alphinaud just acts like an adult a lot of the time and gets put in a lot of adult situations, but in this fic he just gets to be a little guy. A'tahja too, obviously as the WoL she's often off doing insane shit that no teenager should ever have to do and bearing burdens that are too much for a little skrunkly such as herself. But here they just get to be silly little kiddies who are very down bad for each other and it's adorable. I think another thing I really liked was A'tahja getting more in touch with her femininity? Idk how to put. But basically she had really short hair for most of her life bc she pretended to be a boy while in poverty, so to see her be A) pampered and B) learn to take care of herself and be more girly was super cute to see. Also, I am just always really surprised whenever I remember that Alphinaud can drink lmao. Like no, you are a baby (I was the same age as Alphinaud when I started playing this game) put the beer down and go sip on a capri sun or smth. God. Kids these days...

Canon character fics (?)

and i'm your clone, your strange creation by egg(strwpup)

(Fortemps familial angst from Artoirel's pov) Length: 6k Status: Complete (oneshot) Listen to me, I love this fic beyond words, but for the sake of my mental health I will NEVER read this shit again. My daddy issues go fucking DEEP like this is utter insanity. Don't get me wrong it is beautifully written and I love complicated family dynamics- but by god this fucked me up so bad. See, I like to personally believe that Edmont was a good, albeit flawed father but his sons know that he loves them and they love him in turn. But I know deep down in my heart of hearts that it is so much more complicated than that because you know, we can't have nice things here at Square Enix. It just personally fucks me up because I too, like Artoirel in this fic, am a momma's boy at heart and I... kinda hate my dad lmao. Basically, I kin Artoirel in this fic. Oldest child who has it out for my father + hates that I'm kinda like him. He loves his mother but holds contempt for his father, perhaps unfairly but can you blame him? (yeah I'm not only describing Artoirel here...) Edmont is a less than stellar father in this fic but you can tell he loves his kids and aaaaaaaaa I'm tearing up again. The complicated family dynamics + the drama of what happened in Heavensward is just so fucking delicious bro. 10/10 this fic destroyed me in every sense of the word and I do not want to go through that emotional reckoning again. However, I will be writing Edmont as a shitty dad in my fics now. Sorry but I am always just so insane for that sweet sweet eldest child and father dynamic because it's always so disastrous. Having parents is just so strange.

mon corps, le mien; mon coeur, le tien by steelthighsvoideyes

(Aymeric x Haurchefant x Estinien with a side of angst + Haurchefant survives the Vault AU) Length: 43k Status: Incomplete Review: I also started tearing up while writing this review because Haurchefant just does that to me okay? I feel like with a lot of Ishgard trio ship fics Haurche is always kind of left out? Or, he feels a bit tacked on to the Estimeric dynamic. That, or he's just sitting there with unrequited love bc clearly this man has not suffered enough. With this fic however, it definitely feels a lot more balanced. Like yeah a majority of the fic is just Haurchefant and Estinien bonding in the hospital, but Aymeric still feels present because of their shared past and how it's constantly being brought up. (in a good way) All three of them get the spotlight so you don't really lean towards one pairing. Romance aside, I really like the Ishgard trio's established dynamic in this fic because they're just guys being dudes. Besties who were in the military together. Like, Aymeric balances the trio out, Haurchefant is the sort of boisterous youngest member and Estinien is gruff and sarcastic and the banter between the three of them just flows so naturally. It's an actual friendship dynamic that serves as a solid foundation for what will hopefully be a romantic dynamic later on. Once again, friends to lovers is so good for this reason because the foundation is already there. You appreciate them as a person and you are aware of their flaws from the get-go, so when it turns romantic you skip a lot of the awkward exploration phase and can just be comfortable with each other. Anyways as for the crying part- the Fortemps familial drama follows Haurche throughout this fic and it does make me a little, tiny bit crazy. Not gonna spoil it, but the way Haurchefant feels about his family in this fic is just so real and visceral because of course it's super complicated. Once again, I like Edmont being a good dad, but realistically, it's shades of gray. Another thing about Haurchefant that not only this fic does but a lot of other people also head canon, is that his selflessness and willing to give can be self destructive at times. Once again, not gonna spoil, but it's just super heartbreaking to read Haurchefant be almost hypocritical, telling his friends to take care of themselves only for him to almost completely disregard himself. That's kind of what he does at the Vault in the first place, like that man died knowing that he did the right thing and protected his friend and oh god I'm gonna cry again I should stop talking... (I am not even kidding when I say that I will eventually write a Haurchefant character essay...)

Unicorn's Favor by Neyasochi

(Aymeric x Haurchefant x Estinien, yet another Haurche survives the Vault AU) Length: 34k Status: Complete Review: So, this is one of those fics where I feel Haurchefant is kinda just taped onto the Estimeric dynamic, and that's fine, it's whatever, I'm here for the porn and the banter. The premise of this fic is that Haurche helps get Estinien and Aymeric together and then smutty gay things happen. And that's all well and good BUT I NEED TO TALK ABOUT THE FORTEMPS BROTHERS IN THIS FIC!!! *holds them gentle* For me, the best part of this fic was Haurchefant's relationship with his family which for a change, is NOT super angsty and complicated. It's all very heartwarming to see how in this fic the brothers get along very well (contrary to canon where unfortunately we know they were never very close) and to see Haurchefant really appreciate that he's still alive and gets to be around the people he loves more. It's just super cute and fluffy and now I just need fics like this in general. Yeah whatever it's not canon that the Fortemps bros actually like each other this much BUT IDC!!!! YOU NEVER SEPERATE TRIOS!!!! Speaking of trios, the Ishgard trio dynamic in this is yk it's fine it's whatever. In this particular fic, I find it quite cute that Haurche had a crush on Aymeric as a kid, so even if they aren't all buddy buddy in this fic there's still that lingering admiration and it's cute. I also completely swear by pansexual Haurchefant bc that man does NOT discriminate. Okay enough abt the French I will talk about the Italians (Romans) now.

Far colder on the earth than in the heavens by Altimas_Bane

(Galvus family things) Length: 7k Status: Complete Review: I told you I love my familial angst. No, I'm NOT okay. It DOES make me absolutely rabid that Emet Selch as Solus couldn't help but have some hope for the sundered because of Lucius because can you fucking imagine that??? Your son who gave you a little bit of hope for the broken, shattered people who replaced your brethren dies and that is the nail in the coffin. That is what makes you fully believe that they are unworthy. It was briefly mentioned in the short story "Through his Eyes", but Emet Selch had a little bit of hope for Lucius, and he was probably distraught when his son died. This fic goes over that agonizing feeling of watching someone slowly waste away from sickness. It is slow, it is painful, and it is gut wrenching. Idk man, just read it.

Son, Father, Emperor by January Blue

(Varis reflecting on his life and especially his relationship with Zenos)

Length: 12k Status: Complete Review: Heyyyyyy do you bitches remember when I said that Varis probably loved Zenos when he was younger but eventually held contempt for the monster he created? You all probably thought I was crazy for reading them like this BUT I'M NOT!!!!! Anyways fatherly angst strikes again (I am in shambles and this fic goes onto the list of fics that I will never read again for the sake of my mental health) LISTEN TO ME AND LISTEN WELL; Varis and Zenos' relationship isn't so black and white. No I'm not defending Varis- but come on the entire Galvus family is fucking crazy man. Anyways, to quote the comment I left on this fic because I do not want to repeat and retype it myself: "Varis, in a lineage of men that are strong, born into the arena that is politics, is WEAK because he is EMOTIONAL. Solus/Emet Selch calls him emotional in the cutscene he was introduced in (unless I'm hallucinating) and that SENT me because I was forced to rethink all of the information we had been shown of Varis until then. I wrote him off as a shallow villain but I did some digging and Varis is surprisingly the most empathetic in the Galvus household and it SHOWS whenever Solus berated him in cutscenes." Varis had emotions, he had morals he had a line that he would not cross. He has been shown to be merciful (when we parlayed with him in the Ghimlyt Dark) and it's known that he at least cared for his late wife, Zenos' mother. Obviously, he would extend that to his son at one point, right? Perhaps when he was still young and unmarked by the world- right???? See, I really like this fic because it frames Varis' absence from Zenos' life as unintentional, but at the same time, it does not absolve him of the fact that he is a terrible father. I don't want to say too much because I would very much like it if YOU, my dearest reader, took as much emotional damage reading this as I did- but I digress. Varis and Zenos' relationship is not as simple as "Varis hates Zenos" there's obviously some shades of gray here. I personally believed that there's no way Varis hated Zenos because Zenos' mother died in childbirth, and clearly, other people think the same. Listen, you don't just hate your own flesh and blood, at least, not from the very beginning. It's a slow process, and I know it in my heart of hearts that Varis regretted what he let happen to Zenos This fic is just so wonderfully written and I was actually kinda bouncing around my room reading this. Once again, major daddy issues, so maybe that's why I like believing that Varis loved Zenos once upon a time. Something, something, father's love their kids until they grow a mind of their own.

And that's my list! In the future as I make my way through fanfics I have marked for later due to spoilers, I might make another one of these because I think people need to read this shit!!!!

If one of your fics is on here please send me an ask so that I might go back and edit this to tag you!

[rojaceartandgaming]

Hello IEYTD fandom, I know I'm not much of someone who... participates much. I lurk, I drop in to throw an ieytd fic at y'all and put Jackson through more hell, but... I have a legitimate question. Please don't be mad if I am out of line, but I'm genuinely confused as someone who is a storyteller himself and is learning game design in college. This leads me into another point here-

This will go into game and story analysis!

I'll admit most of my questions are rhetorical, so as rude as I may accidentally sound... I want to have a genuine discussion about this fandom, and I am coming in as a third party who doesn't partake in anything here really other then loving people's fanfiction and art. I watch, I listen, and yet... I am utterly exhausted and kind of frustrated with the state of this fandom as a mostly outside observer.

So, I'm legitimately just putting these questions out there to get them off my mind, and I really don't have the energy to partake in any arguments. I am not looking for any arguments like "well I don't think so" or "I don't see that." I have been here silently watching and yet what I shall bring up has stood out to me near-constantly.

Why is there just... such blatant mischaracterization in this fandom? And why, furthermore, are people so... shocked that people enjoy villainous characters? And even furthermore.... why are people constantly dumbing down antagonists? As a writer myself, I often constantly find myself mentally praising Schell on this amazing trilogy of games. Especially because 99.9 percent of the characters are villains. A hero is only as good as their villain - that is a crucial part of video game development. Of storytelling as a whole.

I am studying game design. Actively going to college for this.

I have been reading and consuming and analyzing fiction since I was a kid.

I've been working on an RPG for the past three years, my passion project.

No matter if you're reading a story, watching a movie, or in this case playing a video game, this is a fundamental concept. A hero is only as good as their villain. That is what makes us root for a hero. A villain has to be menacing, a threat to the main hero, needs to be compelling, and furthermore most of the time needs to be understandable. A villain that you can see exactly how they got to that point and can kind of empathize with that is a well written villain.

Being able to see or analyze how a villain got to that point is not excusing their bad actions or ignoring that a character is a bad guy.

That is someone critically analyzing a character and enjoying their arc. And furthermore, that is a testament to good writing.

Being able to understand exactly how a villain got to the point they're at makes them more terrifying.

Characters like Sephiroth (honestly most Final Fantasy antagonists, really), the Dead Three's Chosen from Baldur's Gate, basically every villain from Splatoon, Count Bleck from Super Paper Mario and so much more are not beloved characters just because they're just like, considered hot (idk fandoms be wild) or blorboified (is that even a term?).

They're loved because they are genuine threats who have such depth to their character and are interesting because they are villains. And furthermore, vanquishing or going against these villains feels important because they have depth. Because they can be analyzed.

That's what I love about IEYTD as both a gamer, and a storyteller myself. The Phoenix is a complete blank slate. The Phoenix is a player insert. That is not a personal stance. That is an intentional game mechanic. That is not a consequence of IEYTD being a VR game - many VR games have a proper named main character, even if they are a silent protagonist. The Phoenix is once again a blank slate for the player to project onto, and that is an intentional decision by Schell. This is how they wanted to tell their story. I love an oc-ified Phoenix as much as the the next person - I mean, look at Jackson - but the Phoenix is a literal blank slate. You cannot ignore that.

So how do you make a silent character with no appearance or voice interesting? How do you make the player care? Furthermore, how do you make the game feel rewarding?

You fill the game with a plethora of characters - primarily villains - that have enough character and drive that make the player feel good about overcoming the challenges and trials that come. That is just good game design.

Every single villain - from someone who barely gets any mention like Daniel Sans, to major, major villains like Solaris, Juniper, and Prism, to even a villain who we don't know shit about like Zor - is a menacing force. Overcoming the obstacles that are sent your way leads to a rewarding game play loop where you, the player, actually give a shit about the story, the world, the villains, and the player insert of the Phoenix themselves.

There is so much to every single villain that one can pick apart, that it becomes insulting to the characters and honestly to Schell's writers when you reduce their characters to just "a girlboss who kills people" (Fabricator) or "a whiny bitch of a privileged asshole" (Juniper) or "just a silly guy who likes bees" (Hivemind) or "she didn't do anything wrong, she was just manipulated" (Prism).

Even the most minor of a villain in this game has so, so many layers you could pick apart and analyze and... so many people in this fandom all but Flanderize them. It almost feels like people in this fandom cannot grasp the concept of characters being multifaceted.

And even more, that they cannot imagine liking a villain even though they are a villain.

This is a trend that I've seen a lot within fandom recently and... it's something I don't get. Writing a character who is a terrible person (and liking said character) does not make someone a terrible person. That is something that people do not seem to get nowadays thanks to likely lack of media literacy and... it kind of kills me a little bit as someone who analyzes so many types of media and is working on a story driven RPG, and once again is going to college for game design.

A character who is flawed is believable. No realistic character is infallible.

John Juniper is prone to anger, he is a man who is egotistical, arrogant, and a bit of a prick. However, these bad traits of his were likely preyed upon by Zoraxis and he became worse because of that. I am not saying he did no wrong, I am saying that you have to acknowledge that he is multifaceted.

The Fabricator has a fair bit of flair too, but to reduce her to just a quote-en-quote girlboss ignores her work. She makes Saw-esque death traps and delights in the pain and ultimately death her traps make.

Hivemind delights in killing people with literal bee stings. Think about that, think of how brutal of a death that would be. The average adult can withstand over one-thousand bee stings, or approximately ten stings per pound. And he laughs about it.

Prism knew what she was getting into, and hearing people say she did nothing wrong is... confusing. She worked for the EOD. She knew who Zor was. She knew what they would do. It is no secret that they regularly backstab their own employees. Zoraxis elite have a target on their back from their own employer. Prism likely knew that, and yet worked for them anyways. Yes, she helps the Phoenix in the end. But that is the culmination of her arc. You have to acknowledge that.

These are but a few examples - I am not going into full rants about every single character. I have an essay due on Sunday, I need some of my sanity left. But I feel like this had to be said.

To reduce these characters to Flanderized versions of themselves is to almost insult the writing in these games. To insult the very complexity and depth and thought that was put into these characters. And as a lover of story driven media who often analyzes - occasionally over-analyzing - these sorts of games for fun, and is aspiring to complete a story driven RPG with hopefully in-depth villains.... it is simply saddening to witness.

I felt this had to be said, thank you for your time if you read this. I now hopefully should have some peace of mind for the time being.

[starkkawajiri]

im feeling better and i had a brilliant brilliant genius idea scoob. (EXPLANATION BELOW)

okay class what was the author trying to say

fatui harbinger au. SHOCKED EMOJI

sub-au. an AU of an AU (marvel impact) because three things happened to cross paths in my big empty mind:

1. "man i would love an evil stephen au"

2. "man i need to draw genshin mordo"

and 3. "i love the harbingers" and when the idea lit up like a flame in my brain i exploded out of bed

this au consists of the best magic users ever being fatui harbingers (rip traveler) because evil hot and crazy sexy, instead of adding more harbingers they replace already existing ones because one two three enough fatui for me

so basically evil evil magic users au

((before moving on for ppl that do play genshin but dont know much about the fatui harbingers, there's 11 of them and they're ranked based on strength, personally i wouldnt even know how to scale them based on their powers so i didnt touch the ranks, just switched out the characters))

NOW EXPLAINING EACH OF THEM IN ORDER OF THEIR 'RANK' starting with lowkey

Loki is pretty self explanatory, he takes The Tsaritsa's place because cryo archon.... ice...god.....

i was initially planning on making loki take scaramouche's place because i found scara's "YOU'RE INTERRUPTING A CONVERSATION BETWEEN GODS......" dialogue in the sumeru quest so funny and because the idea of loki being a fake-god seemed cool, but her as the cryo archon and overall leader of the fatui was too good to put aside

IMPORTANT NOTE/EDIT: NVM YALL LMFAOOOO I DECIDED (iwas MANIPULATED /j /aimed) TO CHANGE LOKI BACK TO TAKING SCARAMOUCHE'S PLACE there's a lot more things they have in common and it sets an interesting dynamic between him and other characters in this au, including thor ("better version of him"), strange (using loki as a vessel to create a god) etc

Wong's the baddest bitch in this post theres no other explanation

im (half)joking (hes so fine) theres an explanation

it was between that and making him take Il Capitano's place, which would have been Rank 1, and he would have still ranked higher than everyone else (besides Loki) so i looked at their wikis .

The Director (Pierro) handpicked certain Harbingers, two of which being Il Dottore and La Signora (in this au, Strange and Wanda) so that was just the stars aligning for this au

Strange's gotta be even more self-explanatory than Loki's

il dottore. the doctor.

need i say more (no but i will)

i need at least 34084 aus of this man being evil idk i cant control myself

Sufian and Zandik (Dottore) already had a lot in common or parallel in the marvel impact au, both expelled students from the Akademiya, positive/negative relations with the dendro archon, man kissers, insert il dottore wiki

i want him to be scary and feared now and then, is that too much for a man to want from another man (rip eleazar patients)

clea had to be arlecchino/the knave because. because

clea in a suit primary excuse

arlecchino's cool hair secondary excuse

woman kisser back-up excuse

theres little to no explanation here i just sensed it spiritually (arlecchino is the best ily arlecchino) + the theory about arlecchino being half-hilichurl?? or something like that? because of the cool gradient on her skin, which is rlly awesome, so non-human bonus points

need more insane, cold, calculated, manipulative, insane, insane, deceiving, insane women sometimes

mordo he exists hes here save me mordo

im gonna be so fr with you guys rn

pulcinella is just there, i forget he exists often times

only mordo can fix that

after deciding on making Wong the Director, i considered making Mordo take Il Capitano's place or Pantalone's/The Regrator's, but i was really really unsure, he didn't seem to fit either of them and by making him take the Regrator's place I would be putting him in a rank that is wayy too low (9) and considering how little there is about Pulcinella (literally almost nothing), I would have a lot of creative freedom

wanda had to be one of the easiest to sort out....la signora..... alternatively "crimson witch".......? come on they forced my hand atp

im so sorry red bisexual i didnt want you to get such a low rank (8) i had no other choice

la signora is such a badass im tired of pretending shes not (+her Crimson Witch form is amazing)

consumed by grief and anguish, destroying themselves in the process? they twin

fandom theories about their resurrection? they twin

that was it i love being normal about any interest i have . ever

[peachpety]

20 questions for fic writers

tagged 230943 years ago by @schmem14 [x] @vukovich [x] @mintawasalreadytaken [x]

check out fics from these lovely, brilliant, fantastic, stellar, amazing [*insert lady gaga meme here*] writers:

schmem14 [some truly wonderful & witty rarepair gems y'all] vukovich [off-the wall, peculiar delivered in amazing prose] mintaminta [insightful angst/dead dove & hot kinky smut]

tagging @mystickitten42 @citrusses @kittycargo @lumosatnight @xanthippe74 @rockingrobin69 @stavromulabetaaa @bubble-gumhead @porcelainheart3 @roseharpermaxwell @curlyy-hair-dont-care

me, myself & i

How many works do you have on AO3?

76 + 1 in anon, to be revealed soon!

What's your total AO3 wordcount?

149,896

What fandoms do you write for?

HP, with emphasis on Drarry.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Come as You Are (3.8k) Sun Stroke (3.8k) Laundry Day (2.7k) 10 Easy Steps (1.8k) It's Called Fashion, Potter (2.1k)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

listen. yes. i try. and i am so far behind atm. honestly, i get the most wonderful comments from lovely readers. and i want them to know how appreciative i am that they took time to read(!) and let me know their thoughts(!!). even if it's just an emoji(!!!). i don't care, i love it.

What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

if you read me, you know...i do not write angst. i have one (1) fic where i stepped out of my lane and wrote angst-lite. it's not even really angst, but more moody atmospheric. and interestingly enough, the most purple i've prosed. my beta was like, peach, what? the weed which strings the hangman's bag

What is a fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

pfft, all my fics have the happiest endings.

Do you get hate on fics?

nope. i did get hate on a supportive/love comment i left on a friend's fic once. that's, like, 7th circle of hell troll behavior to be hating on a comment.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

i do write smut, yes. my smut has been described as [insert various descriptors like "inferno", "blazing", "scorching", and lots of🔥] hot paired with soft/romantic/sweet. i.e. fluffy smut. smuff.

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

nope. the closest i've come is inserting HP characters into a magical version of The Breakfast Club.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i'm aware of.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

not that i'm aware of, but i do have a blanket statement in my AO3 profile that allows it, so who knows?

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

nope.

What's your all-time favorite ship?

drarry, easily.

What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

i have a fic inspired by a movie and idk if i'll ever get it written. I COULD mention my xmas advent fic from 2020 but i'm determined to finish it this year. DETERMINED. 🦔

What are your writing strengths?

i'm good at characterizations & writing banter. and i'm good at writing lean.

What are your writing weaknesses?

recently, i've had the immense pleasure of listening to my fics read aloud in published podfics. and let me say, this is a brilliant way to spot weaknesses. and while my banter may be good, sometimes i maybe inject too much action into my conversations. it disrupts the flow. also, long, plotty fics ellude me. i'm a pantser/gardner style writer and plotting/outlining makes me hyperventilate.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

yes, if used sparingly, and in such a way that i (as an english only speaker) can intuit what is being said. and also if translations are provided as a footnote. i've got a french-speaking Draco in my Dron fics [1] [2], where he lapses in the heat of passion.

First fandom you wrote for?

drarry, baby.

Favorite fic you've written?

if i may, i have two: Deadheading the Odd Dahlia, inspired by the incredible art of @beyondtheclose Birds Behaving Badly (my longest drarry to date! 10k!)

[forcebookish]

thank you for tagging me, @ariadnekurosaki!!!

1 . How did you get into writing fanfiction?

uhh, when i was twelve i wrote horrendously bad self-insert inuyasha (and bleach?) fanfic on a now-defunct website that doesn't exist anymore lol since then i've bopped in and out of fandoms under different usernames across many platforms. often, i'll lose the muse in 2-3 year chunks, but get sucked back in for new fandoms.

except bleach. i always come back to bleach 😩

2. How many fandoms have you written in?

oh god, if we count dc, marvel, k-pop, and thai dramas (+rpf) as all their own respective fandoms (ie. not distinguishing between arrow, the flash, young justice, etc.), it's twelve - if we don't, it's almost thirty. a lot of my exo fanfics only reference other groups/solo artists, so i think that's too generous. the point is, it's a lot lol

3. How many years have you been writing fanfiction?

on and off since i was twelve (although when i was five i wrote a picture book about the disney princesses hanging out with me), but probably a total of 8 years actually active?

4. Do you read or write more fanfiction?

write more. i rarely read fanfiction unfortunately D:

5. What is one way you’ve improved as a writer?

i'm less verbose and my voice is cleaner.

6. What’s the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

quebecois sacres.

7. What’s your favorite type of comment to receive on your work?

when i make someone cry 😈 nah i really love detailed ones with quotations, ones that pinpoint exactly what parts hit them or meant the most to them. but tbh i love short keymashes too!

8. What’s the most fringe trope/topic you write about?

hmmm🤔 i don't think i write anything that out there... yet. i guess i like to write about psychic connections and niche super powers.

9. What is the hardest type of story for you to write?

ones with a lot of worldbuilding. and porn lol

10. What is the easiest type?

ones with a lot dialogue and character introspection.

11. Where do you do your writing? What platform? When?

my office, the tv room, my bed, sometimes outside. i used to write in coffee shops, at the library, work (especially when i worked at the library lol) before the pandemic and i became a hermit. in gdocs, because i write on my pc, chromebook, and phone. all hours.

12. What is something you’ve been too nervous/intimidated to write, but would love to write one day?

there's this one prompt from the bleach kink meme that i've been thinking about for ten years that has the potential to be really gross or really hot. or both. i might write it for the >5k au event in august idk

13. What made you choose your username?

lapmonster: my twitter username for a while before i decided to start posting on ao3 so i made my ao3 to match; it's a pun on rap monster. kairumption: when i started writing exo fic this was my livejournal url; another pun, it's kai + kyrumption (from angel). it's also where my nickname rum comes from. farewellswords: my twitter username changed from lapmonster in 2019 or 2020 because bts got too popular and army were accusing me of being a namjoon anti lmao; it's a chapter title from bleach.

probably should have kept kairumption as all of them, but i like farewellswords 🤷‍♀️ tbh it would have been my url here if an inactive acc didn't already have it. because, i mean, come on.

COME ON

okaaaay let's tag: @pomslices @retiredficwriter @komari-maxx @ellasaru12 @athousandbyeol @bytheforcebook and anyone else who wants to participate! :D sorry if i forgot you!

[werezmastarbucks]

golden

part two - Silver

part three - Black

part four - Green

credence barebone x fem!OC (platonic)

fantastic beasts x hogwarts legacy crossover = au

at the Circus Arcanus, Credence, who's looking for his identity and is trying to free Nagini, is a witness to arrival of a new 'freak'. She's constantly yelling something about poachers, and and revenge, and has strange golden chains on her arms and legs.

warnings: minor SPOILERS for Hogwarts Legacy!!!! mentions of abuse, active abuse, mentions of animal abuse (very light, I hate it), angsty of course, but not too much, violence

author's note: to combine the game and the movie, I had to insert a prophet type of the character, and do the time jump. Let's assume since the character had ancient magic, and is a witch, time is lenient to her. Also, as this is the insert of a game character, I gave her prophetic powers in part, to make it feel more like a reader. idk if it makes sense

word count: 8300

music: mermaid by skott, moon river by audrey hepburn, nature boy acoustic by aurora, hijo de la luna by mecano, la petite mort by coer de pirate

Credence couldn't stand this yelling. When Skender went on whipping another freak, trying to beat obedience into them, the boy with the mop tried to hum under his breath to phase out the noise. All of them were freaks, otherwise, they didn't have names. For the audiences, they had their circus names: the Bonfire Woman, the Wicked Twins, the Snake Woman. None of them ever said these titles out loud, none felt like artists. He, Credence, not being the one on the stage, was less than a freak; he was a nobody. It served him just well at the time. Skender would usually call him 'boy', or 'hey, you'.

There was also a serving house-elf who got the same portion of Skender love as everybody else. He didn't have a name at all, and everybody called him 'elf'.

There was noise. Sometimes his bones would burn, and his joints felt like they were about to be torn out. Credence didn't know whether he was screaming then, or the noise of the circus just became louder.

He only had one thing to do.

Unlike the freaks, he was relatively free to move around, and that and only that helped him to witness a new object being brought. The noise she created was almost insurmountable. Credence hid behind the curtain, his eyelids heavy from the lack of sleep. The smells of the circus were itchy in his nostrils; sweat, wet rags everybody wore, scat, sour smell of rotten food. The smell of burning flesh from the Zouwu cage.

Skender servants were whipping the horses, hurrying with the big cage mounted on the carriage. The girl inside was sputtering curses so quickly Credence couldn't process half of them. She was all golden and young, she looked like a hostage. But she wasn't a freak. Her long braided bronze hair was discheveled, she was definitely a witch. On her wrists, and her feet, there were thin but hot-looking golden chains. As she swirled around in her cage, jumping at the bars like mad, Credence noticed the same type of chain on her neck, locked so tight it must hurt her. Her eyes were bizarre, mad, like she was not all there.

He had the wonderful ability to hide so well Skender couldn't catch him even when he stood next to him behind a shelf with potions and medications. In the commotion of the newcomer, nobody noticed him.

The new freak was kept in a bird-like huge cage that was lowered from the roof of the tent; three people were needed to keep her in place with long poles while the cage was being put in place. Not because she would catch flames or turn into a cougar; but because she was so wild all the time.

The bars of her cage lit red-hot everytime one touched them; it was done not to let her move too much. There was just enough place for her to lay down in fetus position. Credence knew all that because he cleaned, and could hide like a ghost. To kill the time somehow in here, until he could come up with a plan, he hid around the corners, behind the curtains, below the desks, among the empty cages, and listened to everything. He was like a spirit, more than a man; and like an annoying poltergeist, he was treated.

As the dust settled, after her hectic arrival, Skender had the honors of listening to her interminable flow of curses and threats; all too rude and self-confident to Credence's taste. He would cram himself in between the clothing rag and the row of shelves standing behind the tent wall, and peek out with one eye to take a look.

"When I get out, and believe me, I will", she hissed with an accent Credence would place somewhere between Europe and north of England, "you will regret ever seeing me with your two eyes".

Skender laughed, his face almost hidden behind his uncombed, lush beard, his dirty face with little pig eyes glistening with sweat.

"You're now in this cage with the chains, little monster".

She tried to grab onto the bar, and the bar sizzled with the piece of skin from her palm. She yelped with pain and jumped back, cradling her hand. Skender started laughing again. Dull music of bells flowed into the tent in narrow torrents. Her face was almost covered with her hair, but big, golden hoops were glimmering through it in her ears; she looked like a jinn.

The girl crawled back and took the bars with her two hands, as if the scorching iron didn't hurt her at all. The movement was quick, sharp; Skender twitched with his whole body and held his breath for a second. For some time, the only sound in there was the bubbling skin on her hands as she held the bars.

"I will make you eat your own two eyeballs, poacher. Remember that".

Skender grabbed a walking stick placed against a box further away, and took two steps towards the cage. The girl slowly let go of the bars and sat down at the sharp sound of the strike.

"Sit back, and be quiet".

The man left, and Credence stepped deeper into the shadows. As the sound of Skender's steps faded away, he heard the girl moan with pain. He peeked out again: she crouched on the ground, trying not to scream.

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"Mesdames et Messieurs! Come closer, see tonight, at the Circus Arcanus, for your pleasure! The ancient creature of magic! Yes, you heard it right! The old hag looks like a young girl but let it not mislead you! For this creature was caught in the darkest forests of Scotland doing ancient magic!"

The crowd gasped. The girl sat in the middle of the scene, on the ground, seemingly unbothered by the dozens of pairs of eyes watching her. Her gold glimmered in the light of candles.

"These chains on her ankles, her wrists, her neck, and around her waist" - Skender banged his stick on the bars of the stage, and nothing happened. "These chains", he repeated again, louder. Of course, she wouldn't perform for him. Her body was shaking with rage. Skender bared his teeth, motioning to the servants to move into the stage and kick her. Nobody would volunteer. Finally, the house elf stepped into the little arena, trembling with fear.

"The chains you're about to see keep her magic at bay. These mind-boggling locks have been forged by Tubal-cain himself, and present another wonder of the world, recovered five hundred years ago in Jerusalem. Only a fine feature of blacksmith art can really contain power like this".

The elf approached the girl carefully and she lifted her face towards him. Surprisingly, she didn't attack him, but even let him get her up to her feet and lift the hem of her chemise a little, where the chain was seen. Having completed this little task, the elf ran back out of the cage quickly. She stayed standing, observing the audience like a wolf, with no human recognition whatsoever.

How old was she, Credence wondered. And does ancient magic really still exist?

"Now, if you will, ladies and gentlemen, on the sides of the cage, we need a little space", elated Skender continued. The spectators shifted and moved, chattering quietly. On both sides of the scene, two magicians appeared, with their wands ready.

"To prove to you how strong the hag is, we will lit her on fire. And believe me", Skender grinned with his showman's sneer, "no hair on her head will be harmed".

Credence caught himself holding his breath. As the two servants shouted, Incendio!, simultaneously, the long fiery tails flew out of the tips of their wands, rushing towards her. The last the audience saw of her was her unmoving position, her face with absolutely no expression. For several moment, she was burning, standing, like a straw figure they burn at the end of winter. After the fire ceased, the viewers gasped once again: the witch was still there, not a sign of burns on her; her clothes, her hair, her whole body unharmed.

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"The next time you levitate", Skender said. After the show, she was dragged and thrown back to her narrow cage, but didn't lose her spirits. Now was the time for her to laugh.

"Miserable fool. I don't levitate by command".

He waved his fist in the air as if he could do something with it. Credence had witnessed her jump on one of the servants with her feet and her fingers spread, trying to gouge his eyes out. She used no magic, but her anger alone gave her a little headstart.

"You will! You will do as I say".

"It doesn't work like that!" she shouted.

"Next time, you levitate like a fairy, or I will start torturing the elf".

The smile didn't quite leave her face, but her eyes hardened.

"You remember what I told you, Skender? Once I get out of here..."

"It won't happen", Skender spat on the floor in front of him. "You talk big, but you won't get out of the chains. You do as I say, bitch, and stop jumping if you don't want your face burnt like your hands".

Credence later interloped the elf as he was bringing her food, and gave him the ointment, for her palms. It wouldn't rid her of scars at once, but should take away the pain.

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Credence loved no one; Nagini loved him. Because he was braver than he seemed, and cared more than he showed. He was nice to her, he talked to her while everybody else, even the freaks, tried to keep their distance. In this little torture prison, the victims even formed alliances and the closest to Skender, put down the outcasts. Credence was not like them, and he was the only one who treated her with decency.

Only through him did she get any news of, if not the world, but at least the enclosed space of their circus. Who perfromed what, who Skender beat up, who left, who came. About the new freak, the ancient witch, she proposed to get closer to her. Maybe she would help them escape; she clearly desires that. Maybe, if they gave her what she wanted - Skender, - and free her of chains, she would liberate them together with her. Credence agreed, but he didn't know how to handle her.

"Be nice to her, like you are with me", said Nagini. Credence was looking down at his shoes on the dirty floor. He was, in fact, not the best for cleaning.

She did not levitate, the next time. As she said, the owner's requirements were unreasonable. There was no way she would levitate. The next performance was a disaster. She just stood there, disinterested, looking at the people outside like she wanted to crunch on their bones. No matter what Skender did; he poked her with his stick and lambasted her with curses, and screamed at her; she wouldn't leviate. Eventually, the servants were called to repeat the same trick with the fire. Credence asked himself, why she bled when stroke with a slicing curse, but wouldn't burn.

After the show, almost as it ended, he raced through the circus. He didn't know why the witch treated the elf so well, but there was talk of her killing poachers in dozens at a time, before she had been caught. He found the elf in the kitchen, mopping half-heartedly, and, with all the magic he possibly had in him, locked him in a huge locket in his little room at the end of the tent, next to the petty, where he slept. He threw some cheese and bread inside, and swore him to be quiet, and listened, as Skender ravaged through the circus, looking for him. He sat on the locket, shivering. Magically, no less than in a sway of miracle, Skender never made it to his little hole. After several hours of beating, screaming and bludgeoning everyone who crossed his path, Skender finally have gone quiet. Maybe he even left the tent to go to the city and buy a new elf; Credence opened the locket and begged with the elf to stay there for a while. The elf didn't much care and didn't fight back as he shoved him deeper.

She was yelling for Skender. Her voice was shrill and angry and made Credence hold on to his head as he approached her cage. The sharp pain in his temples razored him so deep he couldn't see for several seconds.

He sneaked into the place they were holding her and finally stood in front of the cage and not outside, hiding.

She was sitting with her back to the entrance, cursing.

"You should try to comply", he said, interrupting the torrent of crying.

"You should do what he says, for your own sake, and those around you".

He bowed his head a little out of habit. He was still a little intimidated of her, even though she was in the cage.

The witch turned to him, silenced at once. First, she was frowning, but, as she looked at him, her face lit up with a strange expression. He saw the recognition in her eyes, and it took him by surprise. For some time she was even quiet, and then, in a voice no one has heard her use here before, she called,

"Credence?"

She stood oh ner knees and reached her hand through the bars, careful not to touch them. Credence didn't move, uncertain what it meant.

"You know me?"

"Yes", her hand was reaching for him. The gold bracelet on her thin wrist glimmering. Credence wouldn't budge.

"How do you know my name?"

"It's a long story..." she appeared to be pondering something. Then scowled with horror.

"What year is it?"

She had a very young face; not older than eighteen, maybe. It was difficult to say. Her eyes knew something, there were dark shadows around them. But her face was the face of a maiden. And she asked him what year it was?

"Nineteen twenty seven", he said, observing her. She retreived her hand back, touching her head absently, trying to comb her long hair.

"Oh, no", she looked back at him, "we need to leave this place, Credence".

"Is it true that you have ancient magic? That you're old?" he asked, deciding to leave empty politeness aside.

"Yes, but these chains contain it", she said, looking at her wrists. "This one on the neck barely lets me breathe. And to think that I was back at Hogwarts, poachers' doom! That's what they called me! But I completely lost the track of time. I should've understood, when Dumbledore came to teach... I was away for too long..."

Credence blinked several times, frustrated at her empty muttering.

"How do we get them off?"

For a second she thought, then her face lit up. She was so different, so gentle, Credence noticed, when she wasn't screaming profanities at people.

"You could do it". The way she said it was meaningful.

"You... know what I am?" he asked. Familiar itch in the back of his head made him stoop, trying to contain terror tearing out of him. Suddenly he was expecting a strike, but it didn't come.

"Yes", she said tenderly, like someone who really knew him. Credence made himself look up and examined her face again. He was sure they've never met before.

"How? Is it because you're a... an ancient witch?"

"I am not ancient, Skender just invented it for the sake of effect..." she gasped, "the elf! What is with him? Is he alive??"

Credence watch her almost grab on the hot bars again and hurried to answer,

"I hid him. He's okay".

"Oh, thank you, thank you Credence. How many animals are in this circus?"

"Only Zouwu and a kappu. And, well, the elf", Credence shrugged. It felt secondary to him, but clearly, that's what she was most concerned about. "There also used to be a hippogriff and a couple of half-goblins, but Skender got rid of them".

Credence saw she was about to cry.

"What do you mean, got rid of them?"

He tried to actually pull the memory of them from his head; the months at the circus were blurry, like one big, loud, horrible carnival with constant bashing noise and the mixture of color.

"Look. Will you help us if I release you?"

"Who is with you?"

"A friend. Have you seen the snake woman?"

"Nagini?" she asked. Credence decided not to amaze at her knowing them all. He just nodded.

"We should get her out. And the elf. And kappa, and the Zouwu, very important".

He got agitated at her energy, seeing as the plan was suddenly being pulled at the seams. It wasn't their plan to rescue the whole circus.

"No, listen-"

"Bring me the biggest knife you can find, and a bell, alright?"

Credence listened to the outside, making sure nobody was listening to them like he used to.

"Alright..."

She outstretched her hand again.

"Give me your hand, Credence".

Maybe she was about to read destiny on his palm. He saw the scars on her hand, looking very similar to his own. As he touched her slender hand, he felt the surge of magic, and warmth, at the touch of a human. Strange thoughts howled in his mind. He wanted to slide his fingers up and tear the chain from her wrist away.

"We will get out of here. Believe my rage, friend".

As he returned to Nagini to give her the news, he was still pondering on the touch. It seemed he got a glimpse of what his magic could be; as if he touched something equally strong, and equally dangerous as himself, but more golden.

"The next time she's brought to performance, we escape", he said.

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The circus was readying for the evening show. The fire breather was brushing her hair; she gave Credence a glance of resentment as he passed her room. The twins were arguing about something, and the beasts were nervously pacing in their cages. He was overwhelmed with worry; he was sure the witch was going to complicate everything once she's out. It occurred to him in one of those moments, that he never asked her name; while she knew his and Nagini's. In his mind, she was the golden witch. The hoops in her ears, the bracelets around her wrists, and ankles, and neck, all vaguely symbolic, of what, he didn't know. As they gleamed in the bright candlelight, the flashes were as bright as the sun, almost white and iridescent.

Skender's workers poked her with sticks as she walked calmly towards the arena; she did listen to Credence, and became agreeable, convincing Skender he managed to break her down after all. Nagini had been picking a hole in her own cage, in the narrow, thin bars that kept her even in her snake form. At the right hour, she turned and slid quietly, concealing in the shadows of the drapes, while everybody was busy preparing for the show. The look of her empty room was the signal Credence had been waiting for.

He picked up a kinfe from Skender's empty room - he had been hiding the elf in his room, feeding him; he had to get him on a chain not to let him run back to his master. It was for his own good. He made a mental note to release the elf once the tumult begins. He had gone to see the lock on the Zouwu cage and realized it would be useless to battle with it without magic. The sight of the beast, contained in a small cage, stirred anger in him. He decided that he agreed at least on this with the witch. Zouwu had to be set free.

As she was being led through the corridors, happy Skender walking in front of her, Credence peeked from one of the sections of the tent, sending her a nod. She barely moved her eyes but formed fists of her hands. Credence ran. As he was running, he tore the hat from the clown's head, because it had bells. Nagini sliding beside him, his greatest weapon so far. He sneaked behind the back of the worker, and gave him a jab in the back of the neck. Nagini stroke, and the man fell on the ground.

The fuss began. Skender turned around, alarmed by the shrill scream of pain. Nagini slid between their legs, attacking the next guardian, while the witch kicked the third one. She jumped again - like a monkey, her limbs coarse from all the sitting, and started bashing his head on the ground. The horrified worker screamed. Credence watched as Nagini turned back into human and thought it a mistake; she would be far safer if she just crawled away from the path of the witch to let her deal with Skender. He didn't know why she did that. Behind her back, the witch was making her way towards Credence with her hand outstretched. He ran forward, hanging her the knife. A spell whistled just above her ear, hitting Credence in the shoulder. He caught himself on the wall, sharp pain in his limb crawling down to his fingers. He felt the black whirlwind inside grumbling with rage; he would lose control soon, and then the whole circus, together with his two accomplices would be buried. He clenched his teeth, looked into her eyes. The witch turned around and ducked, missing another spell. She was quite good.

Nagini attacked Skender with nothing but her short, sharp blade; and a green flash lit the narrow corridor for a split second. Credence heard himself scream as Nagini fell. The witch yelped with rage and threw the knife. As Nagini's body hit the ground, the weapon cut the air silently, and lounged in the middle of Skender's chest. He already put up his wand again, but didn't have the chance to yell a curse. The witch followed the knife, a golden lightning, and launched on him as he, too, crashed on the ground.

There were inhuman screams as she bent above him. Credence could feel the salt in his throat, while crawling towards Nagini. She was dead.

"What did I tell you, Skender?"

Skender shrieked with pain as she plunged her sharp fingers in his eyesockets. Then, gurgling sound, in Credence's head it sounded like music. He was half-way turned now, having forgotten about the elf, or anything else, for that matter. The world around him was already in shambles; the other freaks ran towards the noise, and now were scattering in all directions at the sight of what the witch was doing to their master. There was roar, and shrieking, and laughter, and terrified screams; wondering yelling from the spectators already at the arena, waiting for the show that would never begin.

She pulled on his shoulders with force, but was still unable to get him up if he didn't cooperate.

"Credence".

He lifted his eyes on her. Her gold touched her cheeks; long locks flying around her head.

"Please don't come undone; not now. You will kill us all".

He made it to his feet, and only then realized he was clutching her hand. She looked down at Nagini, horrified.

"This wasn't supposed to happen. She was supposed to live... what have I done..."

He bit his lip until his teeth hurt. He split his lip in two.

"Skender killed her".

She pleaded with him to go release the animals. The circus workers were already gathering, unsure what to do. There was no explicit need to fight them for they were unguided without the showman who was now lying on the ground, with his squelched eyes in his open mouth. Credence looked at her hands, covered in blood.

"I'll release the elf".

"Wait", she ran back to the body and recovered Skender's wand.

"I can't do any magic at all, but you can".

"I've never had a wand in my life", Credence mumbled. Her face was in front of him, her hands took his head, covering his ears.

"Magic is in you. You're a natural. You can do a simple Alohomora. Meet me at the Zouwu cage outside".

Credence thought of taking Nagini with them, but couldn't think of any possible way to carry her. The best he could do was, taking her to his hole - yes, it was tiny, and smelly. But he slept there, and there was no other remotely acceptable place for her. Feeling his face twitching with crying, he put her into his bed and touched her face.

He then cut the chains off the elf.

"I'll tell master Skender!" he yelled.

"Skender's dead. The witch killed him", Credence replied coldly, "you can come with us if you want".

The elf glanced at the body in his bed and shook his head. Then he walked slowly away, and Credence followed him into the corridor. As he walked, he watched the ravaged rooms and freaks running away. Kappa's aquarium was now empty; his travelling water bag was gone together with him. As Credence turned to exit the tent, he found the river vampire sitting on Skender's chest and sucking the blood out of a big cut on his face. Credence slithered between them and the wall and ran outside.

The witch was standing next to the cage of Zouwu. It was visibly nervous. The cage wasn't even big enough to pace, so it just rocked from side to side, puffing. Some servants were also outside, trying to get her with spells, but she was hiding behind the stands with colorful costumes.

Credence looked at the wand in his hand and realized he didn't know any offense spells. When he heard someone use them, he didn't pay attention, not even a thought in his head that he, one day, would wield a wand. The flashes were raining on the side of the tent, trying to get her, as she crouched on the ground, yelling at them. It seemed, she had lost her mind completely and was just trying to defeat them with verbal damnations. Credence pointed Skender's wand towards two men and thought, 'go away'.

A powerful surge of air picked up the rags, clothes and garbage from the ground, eventually reaching them. It held them in the air like toys, and then they were pulled with force, thrown away, against the nearby market buildings, like glass figurines. The other two made themselves scarce instantly.

The witch reappeared, a bit dowdyish but in one piece, and, suddenly, there was a big, big smile on her face, making her look like a girl again. She gave him two thumbs up. Credence swayed and ran towards the cage. There was a crowd gathering on the square already; people were concerned, someone yelled something about the aurors.

He ordered, Alohomora!, and the lock cracked, and fell from the bars. The witch made him step back as she opened the door and let the beast out.

"Where's the bell?"

He pulled the clown's hat from behind his belt and handed it to her.

She shook the hat in front of the huge beast. It was big, like all the circus itself; bright-red and fiery yellow, it had two gigantic amber eyes that now followed the tiny clown bell attentively.

"Get his collar off", she whispered. Credence didn't even register it until she pushed him lightly on the shoulder. She continued to shake the bell in front of the monster; Credence was getting angry. He wasn't some spell-ready machine, he didn't know how to get the collar off without hurting the Zouwu. He voiced that.

"Credence", she said assertively, tugging on his collar. Finally, a gesture familiar to him, brought him back to his senses. "Credence, my friend, listen to me. Focus on the collar, and say Evanesco. Can you do that?"

He stummered.

"I-I guess".

"Go on my boy. There are people gathering already, and soon, the people of Ministry will be here, and I don't trust them much".

He pointed his wand at the tight iron collar, barely visible in the beast's lush orange fur.

"Evanesco!"

Instead of quietly vanishing, the collar first narrowed, choking the Zouwu, and then broadened, and exploded.

The beast roared and moved its enourmous body in all directions. People around them shouted and rushed away, but Credence decided to fix it immediately. He tugged on the creature's fur, trying to run behind its moving face. He could hear the witch calling his name, and the sound of bells. A strong push bounced off of his hurt shoulder, and Credence was in the air for a couple of seconds. The Zouwu, and the square, turned upside down, and he crashed onto a pile of rags at the circus entrance. As the whistling in his ears calmed down, he regrouped, and saw the witch trying to calm the beast down. She was just like a little squirrel in front of its face. It didn't pay attention to bells anymore, it was snapping its huge jaws, trying to swallow her.

He couldn't control the obscurial anymore. He could feel, rather than understand, as it lifted him up, tearing his body apart. Black smoke lifted him above the ground and pulled forward, towards her. He only just managed to catch her reaching hand as he soared up, into the sky, losing his consciousness in the roaring vortex of the wind.

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When he woke up, the freshness of the air almost lulled him back to sleep. He saw the stars, glimmering silver, winking at him. The smell of fire near him made his stomach suck its guts with hunger.

He sat up, trying to adjust his eyes to the dark, and the fire, scared. Has he killed her?

"Good evening", he heard. She sat on the other side of the bonfire, comfortably leaned against a stack of hay. Credence looked around. They were far away from Paris; the spaciousness around, and the quiet of the night told him they were outside of the city.

Her face was only lit by the bonfire, and she looked like a fiery ghost.

"How long have I been out?" he asked, his voice rusty.

"Oh, not much. Maybe an hour. You're strong", she said, with a hint of strange admiration in her voice. She was pulling her hair, playing with it, finally relaxed. It was obvious she had been preoccupied.

"I- I never asked your name", Credence said.

"Orlaith Peverell", she replied, simply.

"Oh".

She grinned.

"Did you expect something else?"

He was embarrassed at his reaction.

"No, I just... just thought about you as 'the witch'", he said, bowing his head.

"Oohh, I like it. The Witch. The poachers used to call me the Cutter, but the Witch is much more noble and insidious, I think".

Across the fire, her smile glistened like lightning.

"The Cutter?" he wondered.

"I used to use Sectumsempra on them", she motioned in the air, as if she was slicing the fire diagonally. "It's a slicing curse. It opens up numerous little cuts on the body of the enemy. With time, I mastered it so well I could chop them into pieces with one spell".

"Why did you hunt... the poachers?"

"Yes. Well, when I was at Hogwarts, the Forest was swarming with them. I would walk through it to meet my peers, and there would be voices in the woods. I decided to clean the forest. You should've seen what they did to the animals they caught", her face changed into the grimace of hatred.

"And how did you get caught?" Credence felt like he was treading on top of a thread, asking her further, as if she could snap. He rubbed his neck which was a little sore after turning. In fact, he realized, his whole body ached, but now it was this warm ache of relaxing muscles.

"Oh, it was so simple. I was not being careful. Dumbledore told me to be discreet, but I was so arrogant. I have ancient magic, Credence. I could turn the earth. I could move mountains, almost. I thought I could take on twenty, thirty men at once. And I could. But, well, I hunted poachers, and they knew the strings to pull. They caught me up in between two flames. They said they wanted to put me in chains and one of them, he held this baby deer in his hands, threatening to slice its throat".

Credence frowned,

"Not even a magic beast?"

"Does it make any difference? As I let them put the chains on me, they let it go. I didn't know these were so powerful", she tugged on her wrist. "Can you try to take them off?"

She was, herself, like a magical chained beast.

He shook his head.

"If I tear them off, I tear you apart with them".

"I am useless", she sighed. "If I weren't useless, Nagini wouldn't have died. This wasn't her fate. She was supposed to live on".

Credence felt the knot in his chest, and concealed his face for a moment.

"Who will take her place now?" she mused quietly.

"What do you mean?"

Orlaith gave him a look of significance, as if she was seeing him for the first time. She even stood up and circled the bonfire to sit next to him.

"How are you after the flight?"

He was taken by surprise by her question. Very rarely, maybe once or twice in his life, has somebody asked him how he was. How he felt, whether he hurt. She was visibly unsure whether to touch him or not, and halfway through, Credence wished she did. She touched his hand quickly.

"I'm alright".

"Can I see your arms?"

A vomit-inducing feeling snaked into his stomach. No way, there are these cracks on his skin, through which the black core is seen. His core. He was dying.

He shook his head slowly and moved away a little.

"I asked you", he repeated, a bit colder, "what you were talking about, about the fate".

She sighed and turned towards the fire. Only now Credence noticed that the witch wasn't wearing any shoes. Her feet must be hurting.

"I know things. Like, your name, and what you are. And I know some of the future, although it's uneven. I can't tell you everything now, it's too sad for me. But... I know that, because I was there at the circus, Nagini died".

He was trying to place this kind of magical ability somewhere on the spectrum of what he knew.

"Are you clairvoyant?"

"Not quite. I just... know how the story goes. It's rather useless now, because I've already been changing the course of time. It seems I've bothered everything".

"Do you know who my mother is?" he asked quickly.

Orlaith was expecting this question. Her voice was filled with sorrow,

"No, I'm sorry. I know that you are an obscurial. Or, rather, there is an obscurial inside you. But your family..." she narrowed her eyes.

"You know, I can tell you this. You are the first - and the only - person in the history who hasn't only survived the first years with obscurial, but lived to see adulthood. You know what that means?"

Credence was silent, thinking, how many times he has reflected upon that. It wasn't something to be proud of, or amazed. Clearly, Orlaith thought that. That he was that special, strong, chosen one. She looked at him like that; like he was something.

"Come on, Credence".

"I don't know. I've thought about it. I can contain it now, control it a little. But I don't know what it means".

She rubbed her foot unconstrainedly. The chain on her ankle winked at him.

"I think... well. When you think about it like that... you must really be very strong to fight and even tame an obscurial like that, for so long. You must have some very old blood. Maybe you're one of the very powerful trees, Credence. I've only heard of several warlocks who could theoretically have that much of magical control".

"What's it good for?"

"It narrows the search greatly".

He shook himself up. Cope, he thought. She makes a lot of sense.

"And... who do you think..."

"I don't know American wizard families, I'm sorry. See", an upset laughter shook her body, "I know so many things, but none of them are useful for you".

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In the morning the first light woke him up. A foggy new day was rising above the countryside; Credence had no idea where they were. Chances were, he would need to turn and fly again, only to find out where to move on. While Orlaith slept, snuggled in the hay, he went searching for any houses at all; clutching Skender's wand, he was ready to use it to get some food for breakfast, and shoes, for her.

The remnants of a village were situated not far away, but no people. There was no food; he only found a couple of old, shattered houses, and a big, empty barn. Inside, he found a pair of beaten down boots, small enough for her feet. And a little brown chick, no bigger than a sparrow, peeping softly. He picked up the baby bird in his hand, feeling strangely hollow.

"There aren't even any scraps to give you, little one", he murmured. Together, a chick on his palm, and boots in his hand, they walked across the huge barn. He did manage to find a very old, half-empty bag of crops; but no human food.

As he came back, the witch was already awake, sitting there at the cold bonfire, like someone struck her on her head.

"Sorry, I'm not an early bird", she greeted him. He showed her the shoes, and the chick he found, sure she would love her.

Orlaith was amazed at the little baby like it was the most fantastic thing she'd ever seen in her life. She let it sit on the skirt of her dress, and then handed it back to Credence.

"I think she likes you more".

She was very grateful for the boots, too. Although they were still slightly big for her, she put them on at once, smiling.

The question of breakfast never came up. As they started discussing what to do next, it turned out they had very different plans of action.

"We need to go back to Paris and somehow hop on a train to London. From there, we-"

"No", Credence refused, "I have an address. There is a chance it's my mother's place. That's why I came to Paris in the first place. I have information. I need to go see her".

Orlaith shook her head assertively.

"No, Grinderlwald is looking for you. You won'd find anything in France, Credence. Your best chance is with Dumbledore. We need to seek him. Him, or Newt".

Just the name he recognized stopped him from shaking with anger.

"Newt? Scamander?"

"Yes, you've met him. He has connection to Dumbledore. He'll help you. At Hogwarts, with Albus, you'll be safe".

"I don't need to be safe. I'm looking for my parents", he pressed. Orlaith looked at him with her almost golden eyes. In the light of day she looked more tired, but still mysterious, sparkling. Like a fairy. It was a surprise she couldn't actually levitate; with all her wavy hair, and long dress, and round rings. She was all the light Credence lacked, in his appearance. He knew he was black, bloody and heavy.

"If Grindelwald gets you, you may get the answers, but then you'll die".

"That's what I want".

She stood up, towering above him. Credence was forced to look up upon her. Her face was concerned, unreadable otherwise.

"Don't say that again, Credence", she said quietly. "You will have a better life, without this curse. You will heal, and with healing, you will cast the obscurial out. Hasn't Nagini ever told you it doesn't matter what you were born?"

The sound of her name made him jump out.

"Don't use her like that".

"She was right", Orlaith continued, "you will find your family, but you shall find them not through the alliance with Gellert Grindelwald".

"Is that also a story you know?" he asked with his fists clenched.

"I'm much like you, but my destiny was more gentle with me. I don't know why I have ancient magic; my name only gives me so much to ponder on. But it doesn't matter how I came here, who sent me, why I know what's going to happen. I learnt to control it, it doesn't matter to me anymore. What matters to me is to keep the people I love, safe".

Credence turned away, away from her gaze, that made his spine twitch. He ignored the word she said, it didn't apply to him. Obviosuly didn't apply.

"I thought you only cared about animals".

He heard her chuckle. Her hand laid on his shoulder, and he felt the magic again. They were like two parts of a mechanism, vibrating off of each other. Two sources of infinite magic. It was surprising she didn't feel that, or didn't show. He put the little chick into his pocket.

"I need to go back to Hogwarts. They must be looking for me. They're looking for you, too".

"You go then". Credence hadn't mentioned still that he had no idea what 'Hogwarts' was.

"You don't understand..."

Credence turned back to her and clutched her narrow shoulders. He hadn't touched anyone in years, at all. He could feel the bones under his fingers, and her flesh, warm. He could almost feel her bloodflow, that's how vivid it was. And her slightly open mouth, her flaring nostrils, and her golden earrings, all of it, opened up a gap he didn't know existed in the world. Connection to someone else. She didn't retaliate, didn't scream at him; she didn't get angry or scared. The obscurial inside of him lingered obediently without raising its head. He let go of her, ashamed.

"You don't understand", he managed to utter, "I've been living, without a name, for twenty-seven years. I don't know anything about Grindelwald, and I don't think I care. I can't care".

She put her hands up, with her palms, scarred but much, much healthier than before the ointment; she never got to know that it had been Credence who sent it to her. The elf didn't actually like her that much at all.

She didn't get the chance to say anything, as her eyes enlarged with fear.

The sound of the wind was too swift behind his back, and the smell of someone's presence hit his nose.

Orlaith clutched his shoulder, digging her nails into his flesh, right where the spell hit him yesterday. She held him like she wouldn't let go even if they chopped off her arm. He stood next to her, looking at one man, who had apparated silently and was waiting for their attention.

How much had he heard? Shouldn't be too much, since Orlaith noticed him almost at once. But what if he had been creeping before?

His white face, a face of an old falcon with one glass eye, observed them with quiet contentment.

"My boy", he said softly. His skin crawled. He remembered this person, from before. His suggestive hands on Credence's neck, not warm, but dry and cool, the need to freeze and just comply that always overcame him when this man was beside him. Even when he looked different, Credence was awashed with the sense of importance, and doom, and inevitability. He did care, he thought, deciding the things were much simpler a second ago. Seeing Grindelwald quietly eyeing Orlaith, as he was ruminating. He now got the idea of urgency all of a sudden. A person like this, who had manipulated him to find an obscurial, only to use it, like a weapon. If he got a creature that wielded ancient magic into his arsenal, there would be horrifying things happening.

Her voice echoed strangely in his head. Sure, she would have these chains broken, but then she'll die.

Orlaith just clung onto his shoulder, trying to shove him behind, as the wizard examined them.

"Finally, I found you. Good that you're spending time outside of the city, Paris is so dirty. Who is your friend?"

"She's a freak from the circus. We escaped yesterday", Credence said, which came as a shock to himself. Without a stutter. He knew he could destroy Grindelwald if he really wanted. If he had time to practice, to use this creature inside of him. If he really tried.

As the wizard made a polite step forward, Orlaith barked,

"Don't touch him!"

Gellert's mouth formed an 'oh'. He was entertained.

"A freak, from the circus? And what little tricks do you do, mademoiselle?"

She was about to open her dirty mouth and flood him with everything she could come up with, but Credence took her hand and pulled it away from his shoulder.

"Nothing. She could barely levitate. Why are you here?"

"I have come for you, Credence", Grindelwald cooed quietly, his eyes still on the witch. Credence saw how the old wizard was contemplating her golden collar.

"Or should I take her, as well?"

Orlaith tried to grab him again, but Credence shook her off. He didn't even have space to give her a look.

"You need me? Let's go", he said.

"Credence!"

He closed his eyes and formed a storm. In a second, he turned, letting the obscurial out, and it was so easy, almost painless this time. Encircling her, sheltering her from the wizard, he whispered, hoping that she would hear,

"He can't know what you are".

He couldn't see her face, engulfed in the black and orange vortex of himself. The fractions of his soul were tearing at his eyes, ice cold. Then he moved towards Grindelwald where he knew the man was standing, and they flew, together, like two black swarms, towards the skies.

She kept calling his name.

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Dumbledore was most puzzled, happy, relieved and worried all at the same time. She begged him to go at once, but the blood pact weighed on him. As he worked on the chains, he was thinking.

"You know, Orlaith", he said, musingly, "that chick Credence found in the barn. What was it like again?"

The chains were almost choking her now. In presence of someone who could break them, they started killing her slowly, squeezing her throat.

"Well", she hissed, "it was small. Smaller than a chicken baby. Dark brown, with some spots. Interesting, green eyes, very uneven green".

"And the spots - golden?"

Something snapped. Orlaith already thought it was her own artery. The lack of oxygen made her dizzy, two Dumbledores floating in front of her. As she saw one golden little snake on the floor, she took a deep breath of air.

Albus was shaking his hand, like it burnt.

"Yes, pale golden", she said, touching her neck and feeling a scar with her fingers. "Why?"

The next chain, feeling its sister defeated, started crushing her ribs, and Professor rushed to disenchant it.

"Um... well... I'm thinking. You're right about Credence being uncharacteristically strong to whithstand an obscurial for so many years and even stay sane. It does mean very old and powerful blood".

"Don't tell me he's a Peverell", she squealed. One of her ribs cracked, and Dumbledore cursed the chain several times.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow ow ow ow!"

Finally, it fell down, as well. She could feel magic running through her veins, bright purple, and blue, and red. All her body was shot through with the warmth of it - a feeling she hadn't appreciated before. Albus mended her rib.

"Why?" there was a curious smile on Dumbledore's face.

"Why what?" she panted.

"Not a Peverell", Albus smiled wider.

"Oh, you know. Wouldn't want to find out that I fell for my cousin".

He was gentle with her wrist chains, smirking.

"Oh, no. See, I think this wasn't a usual chick. I'm not sure though - but", it was obvious Albus was uncertain. He gave her a long look.

He was fussing with the third chain, muttering.

"What was it then?"

"If it has pale golden spots, and unevenly green eyes, it might just be a phoenix, and coincidentally, my brother had confided in me, not earlier than three months ago, that he had had a son".

Orlaith let the magic shoot down her limbs, busking in its welcoming tingle. The rest of the chains broke and fell off her. Dumbledore stood up, content that he had no need to kneel down now.

"Professor, you think he's a Dumbledore?"

"Not sure, but he might be. He's the right age. And you can stop calling me Professor".

She looked outside, where spring light glinted on the surface of the great lake. How the boy would have loved the sight of these peaceful mountains.

"My brother met this muggle-born girl in summer of 1899. He only decided to tell me now, because, well, Fawkes left him, all the while Newt brought news of an orphaned boy with obscurial. You know there had already been an obscurial in our family".

She nodded.

"And Aberfot thinks his son ended up in America? How did he become orphaned if he has a living father? How did you not know of his existence these twenty-seven years?"

He laid his firm but reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"All of those are good questions, Orlaith. But do answers really matter right now? If Aurelius Dumbledore is in Grindelwald's hands, we should throw all forces to get him out".

She nodded again, now, in agreement. She rememebered Credence wasn't big on all this philosophy. Aurelius wasn't.

"He only went because he was afraid that Grindelwald will figure out I have ancient magic".

Behind her, Albus sighed with his kind, wise sigh, and it sounded like a smile. Aurelius, she thought. Golden, like her.

[maitaiwiththecorpses]

That Time Mat Went Batshit (Pt. 6/???)

So, idk if I've ever mentioned this, but I have kids. Like, little kids who look up to me and I make sure to check in with every day. They're my babies. And I need to do a character profiling exercise, so I'm going to introduce you to them in the most batshit way possible! (I will not be using their real names, obvi, but enjoy!)

Griffin:

shitposts in the group chat all the time

does not know the difference between a controversial joke and an unacceptable joke.

has???? a minimal???? amount of rizz????

knows everyone's secrets

can be wise when he doesn't wanna be an ass

the best techie EVER

The Jalapeño:

bby bisexual

addicted to Warhammer and Zelda

watches too much anime

forgets drink water

DnD DM

so. many. allergies. It's so fucking hard to feed him.

misled from time to time (reddit is his news source so we've had to have talks about what's fake news and real news)

is a gentleman (will give u his sweater if u accidentally bled thru ur pants no questions asked)

Stylish Arguer:

forgets she's desi all the time

too much tik tok

hot cheeto girl /pos

Gets into stupid arguments that I have to defuse 24/7

wears flared yoga pants >>>>>:\

the BEST hair of all time

so so good at basketball

Am I Your One And Only:

Will scream at you from backstage bc you're being a dinkwad

sexually frustrated lesbian

so many younger sisters

probably has committed a homicide

volleyball girl

wears slides everywhere (?????????)

Sam I Am:

OH MY GOD IF I HAD TO BE WORRIED ABOUT ONLY ONE OF MY KIDDOS FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE IT WOULD BE HIM

depressed

needs therapy desperately

misinformed (reddit and twitter are his sources)

bitter at the world and needs reminders that sexism is still real

actually such a nice person tho

dyes hair, shaves hair

carries a suit in his backpack all the time

Abraham Lincoln:

has a dog :D

my og kiddo #1

NOT my fav tho (or maybe he is... we'll never know)

always gives me his ramen

is a gentleman (will give u sweater if u bled thru ur pants... but he'd ask so many questions and when he finds out... so embarrassed)

despite being uncomfortable about puberty, learns everything he can for his baby sister

baseball boy

mini golfs so much

can be a bit of an icarus (aka: jackass) from time to time. But if u yell at him about it, he will cry. So. Find a new way to tell him he needs to cool it.

smort boi

MENDOZA, IN MY OFFICE:

so much character growth from him!!!!

my og kiddo #2

NOt mY FaVoURITE i SWEAR-!!!!1!!

always lets me take his hat (it's his hat in my pfp!!!!!!!!)

learned how to be an intersectional feminist over night for reasons that will be disclosed later on

also baseball boy

bffs w abe link ^^^^^^

has minimal rizz, still pulls

mischievous

finds pics of me and my worst enemy and photoshops hearts onto them

steals my food. Easy to feed.

anxious

asks a lot of questions abt sex. I'm happy to answer, but really HOW MUCH does he need to KNOW??????

Mini Me But Not Quite:

got louder over the course of eight months

big hamilton, heathers, beetlejuice, in the heights, [insert every musical here] fan

BANGER music taste

LOVES percy jackson, heartstopper, the owl house, amphibia [insert all quality media types here]

another bby bisexual

is the reason MENDOZA, GET IN MY OFFICE became an intersectional feminist overnight (that night was the night they started dating)

material GoWrl

is totally not my favorite

NPC:

blonde.

an amazing singing voice

came out of her shell bc of me??????????? T.T

does fortnite and tik tok dances all the time

gets into some dumb arguments

shit talks everyone

so kind

works so damn hard and she KNOWS it

not innocent.

fav Lover song is Paper Rings :D

Ham Boi:

doesn't understand hamilton refs despite being a hamilton

so dumb

Is The Jalapeño's bff

easy to feed

thinks you need to be 'one of the guys' to play DnD

knows what a chancla is (now.....)

is the baby of the group

needs positive reinforcement 24/7

LIGHT:

got drama

quiet

so fucking loud after she met me

judges everyone.

has a good sense of Girl Code

SO stylish. My girl will coordinate her skirt, her hijab, and her JACKET in the same color family and show up to school lookin FLAWLESSS

thinks that I am a replacement for health class (I am)

makes such amazing art it makes me cry

writes so well and works so hard

I won't even deny she's up there with the favorites.

BASICALLY, THEY ALL MAKE ME FEEL OLD

(i beg u to look at the tags. they're so fucking random)

[aristocrating]

Hot Take: Jack and Bitty are good for each other. Y'all are just mean LMAO

YEAH YEAH YES GOOD I LOVE THIS

fandom is just one hermeneutic cycle of being an anti until arguing for the ship that's on the front of the book cover becomes a hot take again!!

ok so (looks straight at camera) im a confessed zimbits-snarker, right? hate those guys. fuck those guys. BUT. i would love to play devils advocate for *checks notes real quick* the most popular pairing in the fandom for a minute. watch me, i'm about to do the mental gymnastics meme where both the top and the bottom just say "zimbits good"

one thing i think that draws people to zimbits is the aspect of wish fulfilment. with bitty serving as the reader-insert, it's easy to see why: bitty begins the comic as a fish out of water to college hockey, he undergoes the journey of being integrated into the group and learns to be part of its larger culture. add to that that Jack is literally set up as a handsome prince with a dark mysterious past who serves to sweep up Bitty and usher him off into the sunset. the author has even said that Jack specifically has to fulfil certain hunk duties as eyecandy. its cute! whats not to love! another thing that intrigues me specifically is that zimbits kind of starts out as enemies to lovers. me at age something-teen reading Check Please for the first time, seeing tall dark and handsome year 1 asshole jack yell at Bitty? i was like "oh i need him carnally", and evidently so did Bits.

Next, coming from the Jack side of things, it's just such a cozy concept for the ending of his character arc, right? After all these years of torturing himself, here is finally someone who is just willing to shower him in affection, who loves nothing more than to dote on him and bake him homemade pie, which is a very fitting image for the domesticity that jack could use after the fuckery that is his Icarus arc.

Another thing that I would love to see explored more is how Bitty's and Jack's stories end up falling in parallel when it comes to their upbringing. Both of them feel like they can't live up to being their fathers, which neither of their fathers necessarily want of them, but it's a sort of self-imposed expectation for both of them. As a woman who is certainly "my father's daughter" i find that very relatable.

Now here's where I'm gonna come in with my own hot take and say that, Jack and Bitty are good for each other– for a while. And that's okay. When I read their relationship, it always gives me the sense that here are two people who found each other at very pivotal points in their lives (i mean whats more epitomic of the college experience than that) and who profit from each other's company while they're going through that growing process. They work because first and foremost they're each other's friends. I think in year 2 this is especially evident when the buildup to their romance happens. Bitty cares about Jack's safety, his happiness. Jack wants to give Bitty what he can to make him happy.

When I think about where I see them in the future I always think, like. Happily divorced. There's a scene in Company by Sondheim where Peter and Susan, a sexually repressed guy who lusts after the protagonist and a southern belle ray of sunshine, get a divorce and it's the best thing that's ever happened to them. I rewatched the 2006 revival recently and at that scene I went "oh shit that's them. that's zimbits". At one point the protag asks Peter where he's gonna live now that they're divorced and Peter says like "Right here. I got Susan and the kids to take care of, I would certainly never leave them?" And obviously the scene is highly facetious and satiristic, but I think it's emblematic of how I see their relationship work out. They're probably not longterm compatible romantically but they'll still have each other's backs.

At least until Jack finds out about the vlog.

Idk I don't think there's anything to rate here. Zimbits good is a scorching hot take on this blog. To ME.

[the-paris-of-people]

not to be mean but kinda cuz why are d4xtons so delusional? and i love paxton but devi and paxton would never be the type to wait for each other or keep up with a distance relationship. paxton wasn’t willing to do that on s2 (ben was btw). they are not even close enough friends to keep up with one another in the same place. with ben that’s believable cuz they have a foundation that has never been shown w paxton. ben and devi can be close friends while in other relationships. ben and devi only talk when they are together because outside of that there’s not common ground. devi not knowing paxton was going to work at school as a coach just meant they didn’t communicate at all the whole summer break. she wouldn’t care abt paxton if he wasn’t back in school. he is meant to be just her high school dream and i think this will be touched upon on season 4.

and now they’re saying ben and devi being all about sex now but that’s been d4xton’s whole foundation since the show started? devi went after paxton because he was hot and wanted to have sex w him. it remained the same until season 2. on season 3 devi realized she wasn’t ready. and wouldn’t be fair for both devi and paxton to be with people that are in the same life stages as them? growing up with them?

the way some dxtons are acting because devi didn’t own her first time to paxton so idk why they are self inserting on devi. she was not comfortable having sex w paxton but did when ben. that’s her choice.

paxton is great just not w devi.

okay I really like this ask and there's a lot to talk about here.

1.) I totally agree Paxton and Devi are not close at all- they didn't even talk AT ALL (or barely at all) after they broke up TWO YEARS AGO when they dated for TWO MONTHS. In an actual high school timeline, they would never speak to each other again. If Paxton didn't work at her school, they never would've spoken, and you're totally right, they weren't even close enough for Devi to know he was working at Sherman Oaks! Also... can we just comment on the fact that the writers MADE Paxton drop out of college (I am like 90% sure) and act as a swimming coach at his former high school just to revive Devi and Paxton's relationship? Like, I'm sorry, but that is so extreme and a testament to how distant they are. Meanwhile, Ben and Devi just naturally wind up speaking to each other again because they gravitate towards each other and share common interests (extracurricular activities, classes, etc.) I feel like also aside from the short period of time they didn't speak after the cheating, they've always been in each other's lives. Daxton doesn't have that history.

2.) I haven't heard them saying that Ben and Devi are all about sex, but that's genuinely so weird. The reason the sex is such a big deal and why Ben getting with Margo after sleeping with Devi is so hurtful is because it was such a personal decision for Devi and she only did it with Ben because she's emotionally connected to him and felt comfortable enough to do it. I don't necessarily agree the Daxton relationship was all about sex for Devi, although it started off that way, I think it's more about Devi's pressure to conform to societal coming of age standards and the idealized lifestyle of an (American, because let's be real that's a huge part of it) teenager, while Paxton sees Devi as a representation of the person he wants to be (bolder, smarter, more exciting).

3.) I totally agree and I love that you said it's not fair to EITHER of them. Honestly the main reason I am annoyed with Daxton is not only because it's a huge character regression moment for Devi, but also for Paxton! Like he really was doing so well with his life and moving on... only to go backwards which is maybe what going back to his high school to assistant coach represents I am not sure.

4.) YES this is my main complaints about Daxton, it seems so much more focused on Paxton then how they are as a couple. The self-insertion is too real, it drives me crazy. If any of these people were anything like Devi, they would never date a Paxton.

[zukkacore]

I would fucking love to learn about hockeygate

I'm not the most involved in booktok but i was privy to this drama i don't know how but i did stumble upon it. To be fair. There's literally like articles and videos and stuff that probably explain it better than me, like this is actually getting mainstream coverage it's kinda wild.

Anyway it starts with the fact that there's this Why Choose (reverse harem) hockey romance book that blew up on tiktok called Pucking Around.

So it becomes a thing on tiktok for people who like this book to basically to do faceclaims for the characters with actual real hockey players—i'm not sure if this was independently inspired or if the author was like "yeah these fictional hockey players are totally inspired by [insert real hockey player here"]. One of said fancasts is this guy named Alex Wennberg who plays on the Seattle Krakens.

This booktoker named Kierra Lewis blows up really quickly and gets a pretty decent following mainly from, like, making comedic tiktoks that are basically thirsting over these real hockey players on the Seattle Krakens & how much they look like her book boyfriends which includes Alex. & im sure its like meant to be all in good fun & hornyposting online has its sphere as long as its not invading the lives of the real people involved (kinda like how everyone had the hots for Pedro Pascal which i get but contriving every interview so that he's bombarded with everyone's thirst tweets and comments feels like its devolving into harrassment guys) so i get that. A lot of the jokes are sexual & there's a pretty common one she makes about wanting Alex Wennberg to "crack her back" etc, its play on "break my back" i think? Or maybe its a kraken pun?? idk.

& a lot of the hornyposting about the hockey players involves like making fancams of the players groinstretching on the ice & in these poses that fans sexualize them in, etc etc. I wanna point out that like it's not just Kierra doing this, its a whole sphere of hockey romance booktok, but she is a pretty prominent figure in this story.

Anyway all this hornyposting about the seattle krakens gets the attention of the kraken's actual social media account, so they start playing into it too. Posting thirst traps of the players and stuff. So The Krakens were benefiting from the attention from Booktok, but at the same time, it feels pretty ridiculous to claim that a popular team in a well-loved longstanding sport was, like, "discovered" or made relevant by booktokers.

Kierra Lewis actually gets invited to a Krakens game, like she gets flown out, she gets like a Kraken's jersey that says "booktok" on the back etc etc. & she's posting tiktoks from the game. & i'm gonna editorialize more than i previously have to give more of my personal opinion here, but this is the part that I think is particularly just, inappropriate and in bad taste. b/c she's like filming the players on the ice while they do their stretches and making sexual comments, like shouting "crack my back" to them while they're on the ice, like it's very much the same thing she's doing on tiktok but online is one thing, that's at least worthy of a conversation of like what privacy really is online, but it's another thing to be making comments like that to their face while at a person's place of work.

After all this, the wife of Alex Wennberg, Felicia Weeren, makes a post on social media basically asking people to ease up on all the suggestive comments about her husband online, not just for her sake but b/c it makes her husband uncomfortable, too. She's basically asking for people to be more mindful of how they post, and im paraphrasing in her sentiment that people would view this behavior targeted towards her husband and the other hockey players and inappropriate if women were the recipients of the sexual comments.. It's been impacting their lives because their online presence now is basically just swarmed with people making suggestive comments, people in their lives irl are commenting on it & making jokes about it, etc etc.

(& i personally don't love when people make the "if the genders were reversed" arguments b/c that tends to lead to false equivalency & also b/c people broadly don't take harassment of women seriously, but tbh she has a point. While people don't take harassment of women seriously, i think broadly left-leaning people at least understand the shape of like, what a catcall is and why its bad. & part of the reason this went uncommented on for so long is part of the patriarchal stereotype that men always want sex which is used to dismiss male victims)

She was pretty measured about the whole thing all things considered, especially b/c she said she's all for female empowerment and sexual expression & she doesn't know if there is a simple answer to this stuff, but there has been boundary crossing with how extreme and vocal its getting & especially b/c its affecting her husband at his work.

In her post, some of the examples she included as inappropriate comments included posts made by Kierra. She didn't single out Kierra directly, but she did use her posting as representative of a larger trend in the hockey romance booktok fandom.

The post from Felicia was taken really poorly by booktok and people started harassing her and her family including their kid, and saying she was being dramatic, saying she wants to be the center of attention, fabricating rumors about her and Alex wennberg that they were having "marriage trouble" etc etc. This includes Kierra lewis getting pretty upset and taking the post as though she's being singled out personally. Mostly doubling down, deflecting, saying it's all just a joke.

And perhaps it does suck to be treated as representative of an entire group of people, and being the most prominent face of something, she would inevitably get the brunt of backlash. But also she was the one invited to the game and was making all those comments like shouting at the players and stuff, so I do think she has to take a larger ownership over her behavior than random people posting online.

During this time she also finds out the Kraken's social media unfollowed her, so she's also expressing resentment that the Krakens were playing into the thirst trap stuff but suddenly have turned against her.

And yes, it was all just probably meant to be in good fun, but from the wider internet outside of booktok, it just seemed pretty inconsiderate and crappy to double down after people expressed that they were uncomfortable with what is basically sexual harassment. Yes, the Kraken social media was feeding into the hype, but the social media account is not representative of the players and their attitudes, and it was clear that the players stopped being comfortable with what was going on. Tbh there was quite a bit of victim blamey rhetoric. Consent can be revoked at any time. (& i have seen some arguments that b/c its sexual harassment (& in the workplace!) and not just like, an encounter in the bedroom, it wouldn't even have been possible for Alex Wennberg to consent in the first place b/c you can't consent to harrassment. It was just harrassment the whole time.)

Anyway, the harassment toward Felicia got so bad that Alex Wennberg had to come out and also make a statement in support of his wife

But the reason that post is making fun of booktokers thinking they made hockey relevant was b/c that was a pretty funny and common argument from Kierra and other booktokers who were not backing down on their position that they did nothing wrong. They kept being like "well we made the Kraken's relevant", "we brought all this attention to hockey", "the Krakens would be nothing without booktok." it was all very bizarre.

[waffles-for-brunch]

20 questions for fic writers!

tagged by @lovevamp

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

4. One's an okay oneshot, then I did a fix-it after 15x20, then I lost my mind completely and spent three years on a season 12 rewrite and now I'm back again writing another fix-it. My twilight zone is self-inflicted.

2. what’s your total Ao3 word count?

540,492 (insert kevin james shrugging meme here)

3. what fandoms do you write for?

Just Supernatural. I started writing a fic for Baldur's Gate Bloodweave but then Destiel dragged me back to the dark side. Maybe I'll finish that one eventually.

4. what are your top five fics by kudos?

they're not gonna be in order bc I'm just gonna go thru my bookmarks real quick but - "And this, your living kiss" by opal_bullets "On labor" by a_good_soldier (i reread this one twice this week) "The Nanny" by Kitmistry and those are the ones i feel like mentioning. :)

5. do you respond to comments?

Admittedly rarely. Mostly because I'll open my email when I'm getting up in the morning and read them and then work all day and forget to respond. I do appreciate all the comments I get tho. And a lot of the really kind ones I send to my groupchat and/or save in a folder on my email labelled "nice comments" also just sometimes I don't feel like I have anything to say. Like idk sometimes thank you just seems too small or something you know. It's strange. Then I'll just get in my head about it and say nothing and the cycle repeats lmao. But I do read them all.

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Dog you know I'm not writing any angst without a happy ending. I can't take that shit lmao. It's happy endings only in this house. Happy and found family and loveliness. :)

7. what is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I literally end everything the same way. Please I have the worst case of projection imaginable with these fics.

8. do you get hate on fics?

If I do I'm unaware. But I'd probably know it if I do, I stalk my own name and fics wherever I can because I'm insane and nosey. But nah the most I've gotten is just people being mad about a certain character's actions, but like that's not even hate it's just frustration with a character which is a given in certain circumstances. Now if someone was like "wow bad characterization" I'd be like girl, but no I think people are pretty respectful in my corners for the most part.

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

Bro let me tell you in "Our Old Heroes" I wrote like a singular sex scene and like maybe one or two other hot and heavy ones and good god did they take me so long to write. Like I'm not a very sex oriented person in general so writing this stuff out? Bro it's embarrassing how much poetry I put into that in retrospect (i jest, it's fine) but like I don't generally orient towards it just because it's very time consuming for me. It has to be very intimate and just right.

10. do you write crossovers? what’s the craziest one you've written?

So short answer no, I haven't. Longer answer I love the concept and would be open to it. Particularly if it involves Dean being psychoanalyzed in some way because that's my favorite thing to write so it would probably be criminal minds. I think crossovers have so much fun and wonky potential tho.

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

I hope someone printed my fic to bring into prison and make a black market hot commodity. It would be the highest honor. I guess that's not theft, it's just the free market. But so I guess really no, if I have I'm unawares.

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I'm aware of but I have had people comment in other languages or on twitter people will talk about it in a different language, which is pretty crazy. It's so wild we can be so connected to a story in that way despite not speaking the same language or growing up in the same environment.

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

no! but as @lovevamp has said we've talked about a few that I'm certain one day we will follow through on. I've also talked with @icaruspendragon about maybe doing one at some point bc we seem to have the exact same mental illness that is the dean winchester brain disorder.

14. what’s your favorite all time ship?

I live breathe and bleed destiel, it's truly unfortunate for me.

15. what’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I just have a lot of ideas in my docs that will probably never become more than the ideas they are. Usually when I start a fic like for real I follow through with it. I would feel bad if I didn't lol.

16. what are your writing strengths?

I've been told my characterization is pretty good, which I appreciate. If it was bad I'd probably kms (jk). But fr idk that's the biggest comment I'll get is in regards to that which I really do like because I spend a lot of time trying to find a balance and make sure I'm expressing everyone the correct way they'd express themselves or not express themselves.

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

Sex scenes aside I do struggle with action mostly because I find it boring to write out. You just have to try and find so many different words. Ugh. I love dialogue. That's really where I start getting going. But writing action? I tend to do that last because I wanna get through all the good bits first then circle back and do the boring bits.

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language?

listen I can barely remember english i'm sorry

19. first fandom you wrote for?

i'm an og baby i started here (destiel) and this is where i'll die (maybe not, we'll see)

20. favorite fic you’ve written?

Well, I don't really have many so it's probably the massive one. "Our Old Heroes" by adelaclancy (that's me). I was really in a bad place when I started it and I kind of just gave myself this crazy project for several reasons. One I was stopping drinking so I needed something else to do with my time. Second I was jobless and goalless and really didn't have a lot going for me and writing was really the only thing I have ever had consistently so I was like okay well I'll start this stupid project and it's gonna be like 26 chapters and 500,000 words long and it's gonna delve into all my issues through projection of these fictional characters and if I actually manage to finish it I can finally say I finished something. So I did. And I actually managed to work on myself a lot in the process. So over all that time I went from living in bad straights as an unemployed drunkard to a full time worker with a few years sobriety under their belt and a better sense of my own boundaries and thriving friendships and I dunno man, in a way that fic really was a bridge for me and I think in that too for a lot of the readers they get to see that now too. Like they can see my little notes at the beginning of chapters and how they change over time alongside the characters in the book and it's kind of an experience in that way I suppose. If not through Dean Winchester and Castiel then maybe through me, if someone out there finds a little bit of hope from that silly little mess of words then I suppose that's something to be proud of then, isn't it? Anywho...

tagging: @icaruspendragon

(Bro I know like two people sorry)

[s1mpa1]

I just wanna talk about Anime!

1. Naruto

After watching Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, and episodes here and there of Baruto, I just wanted to express my feelings towards this anime.

Some things to note before I start :

Opinions vary for everyone. When it comes to Anime, I feel like many are already drawing out their weapons, the moment someone says “Well I think ( insert any anime) is…” So please! Let’s be respectful! Let’s not be rude! Sharing your personal opinion and thoughts is perfectly fine, but let’s not insult others for their opinions, if they differ from ours!

I might curse a bit here and there. If you’re uncomfortable with that…uh…just imagine hearing a loud BEEEP, whenever you read it.

I finished watching all of the Naruto series! So! SPOILERS! WILL! BE! AHEAD!

What was Naruto to me before?

So, I’ve been watching anime since 2006. And even if Naruto never caught my interest at the time, I still knew about the Ninja Anime. Naruto in the Anime community, was and still is, very much considered an Anime classic. And little me at the time, was like “Eh. Sure”. I respected it, but never really bothered to look too much into it. One of the main reasons I had no interest in Naruto, was because of like…three reasons.

I was DEEP into Shojo Anime/ Manga. If it didn’t look cute and girly, I wouldn’t watch it. ( Ugh, I know! I’m sorry, and I have changed my ways! I’ve grown up! (T＿T) )

“ Why watch this long anime…when I can watch over 5 others? ” To younger me, it was about watching the most anime. Quantity is what mattered! Not stay stuck with just one, for what felt like decades.

The more I was told “ OMG! You should watch Naruto! ” the more I was set on NOT watching it. ( Idk what’s wrong with me（・□・；） )

So what changed my mind?

This might sound cliche, to the point where you will roll your eyes all the way to Asia, but the answer to that is…

✨ Friendship ✨

A bestie of mine just started to one day tell me, and tell me, and tell me, and tell me, and tell me about Naruto. Until I finally texted her :

Me :

Since I have nothing better to do, on Tuesday, I…GUESS I can watch some episodes with you.

Friend

AJAJDHXJSNDJJDJDNSS bet.

And that was the beginning of…a long…LONG journey.

So what happened? How did I go from “ I’m just gonna watch some episodes TODAY. See what the hype is all about. ” to “It’s New Years, and I’m about to finish Naruto…idk how to feel about this. I don’t want it to end…”

I’ll tell you what happened!

The world of the Ninjas

From the cool hand signs, to the many types of clans, I found myself amazed ( and a little slow to process it all ) by all of the depth that this world has. I really found the hand signs fun, and can see why so many Naruto Fans know them by heart. ( It’s so cool!!!! ) I really like the design of Konoha, and while 99% of the population were a bunch of ASSHOLES to little Naruto, Konoha is still cool.

Once we were introduced to the other villages, I’m gonna be honest, I really like The Land Of Lightning. The village hidden in the clouds, is SO cool to me! I love it!

Look at it! It looks like a cool blue spinning top!

….

But we also know why we stay for an Anime. And that’s it’s characters. Let’s get to the good stuff, okay? (ﾉ≧∀≦)ﾉ

Characters that made me stay

*coughcoughfavoritecharacterscoughcough* top 3.

- Kakashi Hatake -

Okay, okay. Let’s just get it out of the way here, guys.

Kakashi is hot.

Yeah. Yeah, you heard me. You’re probably rolling your eyes, or saying “of course” either in your head, or out loud. But it’s true, and now that I’ve said it, let’s move on. I’ll fangirl about him another day.

He’s proof that you could have the shittiest life, been in the darkest place within yourself, and still grow to be a good person. Because that’s what he did. He was so broken, and empty. Yet he managed to find meaning to life. Showing and teaching others on how to improve themselves. He became the Sensei of some of the strongest ninjas of the Leaf Village.

Okay but seriously. The man lost his dad to suicide, and his mom is gone…idk what happened to his mom. Does anyone know? He lost his friends. Obito died in front of his eyes, causing some major trauma. Karin died by his own hands ( even though he had no fault on that ) but yet, guess what? MORE TRAUMA! He then lost his Sensei, and himself. His past was just so sad…and then he had to fight Obito after thinking he was deeeaad!?😭

He was not only a Sensei to Team 7. He was a FATHER figure, and no one can change my mind. While he could have checked up on Naruto before ( knowing that Naruto is Minato’s son, and that everyone in the village hated Naruto with a PASSION ) , he soon took it upon himself to care for Naruto. Bringing him vegetables, feeding him when he was hurt, teaching him about himself, and what it is to be a Ninja. Teaching him life lessons, and how to overcome them. He also believed in Naruto’s dream of becoming Hokage. Believed in HIM. With Sakura, while I didn’t see that much, cause Tsunade later on took Sakura under her wing, I know he cared for her too. He was there to comfort her, whenever Naruto and Sasuke had another one of their fights. He was thankful that at-least she wasn’t the one causing trouble. When it comes to Sasuke, I’ve seen some comments here and there, that Sasuke was Kakashi’s favorite student, but I honestly don’t really agree. Sasuke is clearly a student ahead of everyone else. He can’t be taught like the others! It’s just the truth. And who else would teach Sasuke about his Sharingan, if his whole clan was wiped out??? At least Kakashi had ONE! Surely he could teach him something! He was the only one!

- Rock Lee -

Surprise? Not surprise? At first I didn’t think people liked Lee, but my friend told me that he’s actually a quite popular character. That made me very happy!💚 (*＾ワ＾*)

Apparently, and correct me if I’m wrong, but apparently Lee was designed to symbolize human strength. And there is so much in that. Lee is a Ninja that cannot do Ninjutsu, nor Genjutsu. The only thing he can do, is Taijutsu. And boy, does he hold on to that. I am a SUCKER, for characters like him. The whole “I may not have what everyone else has, but I can still prove myself”. It makes him feel more human, and for me (personally) more relatable. Knowing that you lack, compared to everyone else, and holding on to what you’re somewhat good at. Going above and beyond to continue to keep that special to you, and working nonstop to be the best at it, cause that’s the only thing you think you have a grasp on- ugh! I’ll stop before I start crying. I just relate to that, and find him a very inspirational character. I love him, he’s like my son.

I also like his rivalries were mainly healthy. He never really hated on his rivals. In fact, he was friends with all of them! With Naruto? They comrades. With Neji? Sure, their relationship was a bit bumpy at first, but they eventually came to respect each other, as they grew up. Shira? They became BFFLS! Had me in tears! 😭 And don’t even get me started with Gaara! Even after all…THAT ( amazing fight by the way ) the two ended up being the best of friends! Like- would you be friends with the person who not only broke your arm and leg, but had you go through a risky operation, having you question your existence, and tried to kill you when you were asleep? Naaaaah! Nah! Lee is an Angel!

Oh! I also watched the Lee Spin Off series! Pure. Perfection. Highly recommend. My favorite parts, are when we get to see Lee just create random scenarios, and drags everyone around him into them. 😂

- Obito Uchiha -

Guys.

This boy…

My god.

There was no rest for him, ever since he was born.

I like to have this thought that everyone has their Uchiha. Many choose Sasuke, Itachi, Madara, Shisui, etc. For me, it’s him. Obito Uchiha. I find it hilarious, and again- SPOILER ALERT that when we were introduced to TOBI, I loved him so much. When he said he was “Madara” I was in disbelief, but very much enjoying the supposed twist. But then- surprise! It’s Obito! I was having the time of my life. I was an Obito fan, without even knowing it. He’s my favorite Uchiha, even though…yeah…yeah he did a bit of big oopsies.

I enjoyed seeing who he was, before life decided to be a bitch to him. Helping the elderly, his rivalry with Kakashi, his wish of also being Hokage, and being a bit of a softie (which I found endearing ). He lost all of himself, and like many comments I’ve seen “He was the Naruto that gave up”. And I see that. And it saddens me every time. To see that man, if Naruto would have given up…this could have been him. When Obito was ready to die, I was actually understanding of it. Unlike prior deaths in Naruto, with Obito’s death, I…accepted it. I understood why he preferred to die. He did too much harm, that he couldn’t possibly see himself being anywhere. He was going to die, while bringing the others back to life. But…that didn’t end up happening, and he was given some more time. Just seeing the contrast of who he was before, and who he currently was, was very bitter. Him pushing his old self away, and just being blinded by so much hatred and sadness.

Man, I just really his character. I like what he represents, and how without knowing, he in some way, influenced Kakashi, and Naruto. I also really like his design with the goggles, and all. So cute! (*＾ワ＾*)

The Fights That Had Me SCREAMING

They’re Ninjas! Of course they’re gonna fight! Good action, good execution, good choreography- Naruto Fights are one of a kind, and I always found myself at the edge of my seat with them.

Rock Lee Versus Gaara of the Sand.

THE LEE VERSUS GAARA FIGHT. Okay okay I won’t comment much about this fight-just go watch it. PLEASE! No amount of words can describe this fight! Not only do we see Lee UNLEASHED, but the animation, the music, the moves, EVERYTHING. It’s so iconic, and at the time, I bet it had the world in awe. My boi Leeeee!!!😭

Obito Uchiha Versus Kakashi Hatake

This frikin fight hurt me guys. While it’s so badass, and nicely animated, the addition of the past them and present them fighting HIT. HARD. Again, that moment when Obito pushes his old self back, is so painful to watch. It has my heart shattering into pieces every time I see it. There’s this part, that I’m obsessed with.

THIS! Idk why! I just find myself repeating that part, over and over. Is it just me!?

Madara Uchiha Versus The Shinobi Alliance

Yeah, Yeah this isn’t surprising…BUT YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND WHY! YOU MUST! All that hype that Madara kept getting, was about to be proved with this moment! And MY GOD!!!! The tension, the raw screaming of the Ninjas running towards him, knowing of who he was. And Madara just nonchalantly killing everyone he laid his eyes on! Did you see his eyes!? The immediate read! I- The METEOR-No- THE TWO METEORS. You cannot top this. This introduction to Madara Uchiha, will be forever engraved in my brain. Loved it. Just seeing the Meteor slowly falling, and seeing the scale of it. Everyone running-OH! And how Flying Grandpa (The Tsuchikage) and Gaara stopped it- had me jumping on the couch. Amazing, simply amazing. GO WATCH IT. Cause my rambling on it, does it no justice!!! 😭😭😭

Okay listen, one thing we can all agree on, when it comes to Anime, is that Anime Intros, and Outros, are a BIG part of it all. Especially the Intros. If Intro isn’t good, would you still watch this anime? What makes a good Intro song? Is it the animation? The lyrics? The artist? All of these come in to play, to create a masterpiece. An aid for an anime.

Naruto, has a lot of intros. BUT MY GOD- does it have triple the outros.

I’ve listened to all of them, and I’d just like to share my personal favorites!

Intro’s that hit ( From Naruto to Shippuden )

Far Away -Asian Kung Fu Generation

( Second OG Intro )

So before even watching Naruto, I came upon this song on Spotify. And there was just something about this song, that hit. I am a big fan of Japanese Rock ( J-Rock ) , and Asian Kung Fu Generation brought it all out with this song.

I feel like it really catches the aesthetic, and the overall vibe of the Original Naruto Series. Hype, full of energy, and hypes you up for the new episode. I really love it, and even if I didn’t watch Naruto back in the day, hearing this, causes me major nostalgia. A mystery, I know.

Wind and Waves Satellite - Snowkel

( Seventh OG Intro )

It’s the start that does it for me. Seeing everyone get ready to leave on their next adventure, fills me with some type of emotion. I don’t know how to describe it. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s nostalgia, but it fills me with this kind of sad/good feeling in my chest? Something like that. It’s great!

Blue Bird - Ikimono Gakari

( Third Shippuden Intro )

Perhaps one of the top favorite songs out there, in the Shippuden Intro List. And I can see why. Or well- HEAR why.

It’s a bop. The vocals, the instrumental, oh-THe HARMONICA! That person goes OFF! 👏🏼

Diver - Nico Touches The Walls

( Eight Shippuden Intro )

At first, I didn’t really feel much for this song. It was alright…UNTIL IT WASN’T.

I found myself sudden listening to it, back and forth, and…I love it now? Yeah, it just happened, I don’t know how.

What I love about this one, isn’t only the song. But the animation of it. What we see, is Naruto falling, and simply sinking down deep and deeper into the water. This obviously referring to his current depressive state. He’s lost, and is beginning to give up. Then, one by one, the hands of all of the friends he’s made along the way, slowly but surely push him up. Naruto is finally out of the water, and when he looks down, he sees that Sasuke is also sinking, similar to how he was before. Seeing that he has no one, Naruto prepares himself to dive down for him. Remembering his goal again. Save Sasuke from the dark path he’s chosen, and bring him back to the village.

It’s beautiful really.

Lovers - 7!! Seven Oops

( Ninth Shippuden Intro )

I didn’t know how to feel for this song. But after a while, I started bopping my head to it- and then poof! Loved it. It’s good!

I like the part where there’s that explosion behind Killer Bee, and that glimpse of Sasuke’s smile. That unsettling smile, letting us know that he’s waaaay gone. It gave me goosebumps the first moment I saw it.

Silhouette - Kana-Boon

( 16th Shippuden opening )

I’ll admit, I knew about Kana-Boon before listening to Silhouette. I love this band, with my life.

It’s such a good song! Great! A masterpiece! That’s right! And it left its mark on Shippuden, as it SHOULD have!

It’s just so good guys. Highly recommend! ❤️

Honorable Mentions ( yes ) :

Sign - Flow

Moshimo - Daisuke

Niwaka Ame Ni Mo Makezu - Nico Touches The Walls

Blood Circulator - Asian Kung Fu Generation

Outros that punched ( From Shippuden )

I honestly don’t recall any song that stuck to me from the Naruto series…I’ll probably go back to give them a second listen.

Broken Youth - Nico Touches The Walls

( Sixth Shippuden Ending )

I quickly became a NTTW fan, and this was no exception. The guitar at the start, the vocals! *chefs kiss*

I also like the cute story of seeing both Sasuke and Naruto as both wanted people.

U can do it ! - Domino

( 15th Shippuden Ending )

I just love the story being told here, the animation guys! The animation of Naruto practicing with Team Guy and Konohamaru! It’s soooo good!

The song is a bop. I’m totally not being biased cause Lee is there. I swear-

Sayonara Memory - 7!! Seven Oops

( 24th Shippuden ending )

I honestly think this deserved to be an opening- but either way, this is a great song.

Black Night Town - Akihasa Kondo

( 27th Shippuden ending )

It took me by surprise. It’s just very different, and I think that’s what caught my attention at first.

I don’t see many talk about it, but it really is

Niji No Sora (Rainbow’s Sky) - Flow

( 34th Shippuden ending )

It’s one of the cutest stories out there, that is told. Just the beginning of little Naruto’s love for Ichiraku Ramen. Watching him grow, and just how many people go in and out…it’s so cute and made me teary eyed.

I mainly liked it because of the story telling-but it’s also a cute song!

Honorable Mentions :

YOU CAN DO IT!!! - Dev Parade

I can hear - DISH//

Never Change - SHUN

Kotoba Ni Naranai Yakusoku (A promise that doesn’t need words) - Sana

So!

This is all I wanted to talk for the time being. I’ll probably talk about ships some day! Hope you enjoyed reading my…I don’t even know what this is. I just wanted to share my thoughts on Naruto.

Have a lovely day/afternoon/night! 🧡

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Old WIPs time

So I reread this middle school WIP I had called Perspectives. I also rewrote it in high school but didn't get very far.

A few things of note:

The MS version is done in blatant diary entries while the HS version I committed to the gimmick of the same scene five times. Unfortunately I didn't get past the first scene three times.

So funny this takes place in 2025. I really thought this would be published by then.

For once, I'm convinced my protagonist Hollyn is straight. Most of my old OCs had queer undertones (I mean they still do but it's primarily intentional now) but Hollyn is not put off by boys like the rest of them. She could be bi or pan or something but idk she doesn't fit the vibe. May make her that later down the road but it depends on her vibe.

Ohh her best friend Laurel is the self-insert this time, got it. MS version she complains about Hollyn being boy crazy for having one crush.

Fun fact, Laurel was my first intentionally queer character. In the HS version she is lesbian and I did not shy away from making that clear even though she was not out consensually.

Jess was also a bit of a self insert. He's Hollyn's love interest and I think the first boy POV I ever wrote. I go into more natural descriptions of his attraction to Hollyn than I do Hollyn with him. For her it's "his black hair fell over his dark eyes" and Jess is talking about how her skin is so dark and the most beautiful he's seen ever and she has dark brown chocolate pools as eyes and he's stepping closer and omg how did I not know I liked girls????

Jess is also asexual like me probably because he's the one complaining that "fourteen year olds shouldn't call each other hot that's an exclusively adult thing"

Another blond bully named Jason like in TSP. Jason Sturges in TSP and Jason Mace here. Mace???

Jason swore but Jess (me) censored it.

In the HS version though I was more comfortable swearing and Laurel narrating "Shit with a capital S-H-I-T" was actually really funny.

Unironically Hollyn was part of a giant lie collectively referred to as The Incident

Writing in Payton's pov was interesting since she was a morally gray character. Doing that in middle school is interesting for me.

I literally had soap opera plot twists planned. May scrap that since they're not interesting

I think I'm gonna call this WIP This Story is Told Five Times. Maybe just Five Times. Repeat ×5. I don't know man!!!! Perspectives is nice and straight to the point but not only are fun quirky titles, well, fun, I like them longer. But I want something that gets the idea of the story being told five times across better. Idk I'll think on it. It's not like I'm gonna work on this immediately.

I thought this would really work as a MG novel as opposed to my usual YA. But then I read the "S-H-I-T" line and that's too funny I can make it YA.