#otp: amor fati

[fishandships]

Happy birthday, Luchino! you mean more to me than i have the words to say, but i tried to let my art do a bit of the talking for me 💚

[knifeknifebaby]

I really want to be held by one of my F/Os and feel warm, safe, and secure in their arms this Christmas Eve night

[burberrycanary]

👻💍

👻- 2 or 3 sentences from something you haven’t posted yet

She knows he’ll be able to hear.

He’ll hear the lap of the water against the sides of the tub, the way her heartbeat changes and the breathy exhales that he has always wanted to draw from her even when he had been conflicted about so much else.

Diana touches herself under the water. The motion sends ripples out across the surface.

He could be anywhere in the house and hear this.

—from The Careful Boundaries We Draw and Erase (ADOW, Bishmont)

💍- your most underrated story

This is a tough question since I’ve recently gotten lost in a maze of writing fic that I know no audience exists for just because I like Matthew Goode in some obscure role. (So these stories are equally obscure but rated about as they deserve.)

So I’ll go with Amor Fati, which is a fluffy fix-it to explain in Watsonian terms why on earth Matthew and Diana go horseback riding. ADOW has moments where ticking off genre boxes feels very Doylist—genre is as genre does, and this is ADOW performing one of its most throwback romance genre tropes just ‘cause.

As much as I like how the horseback riding scene is shot (and it is beautiful) and adore the sexualized breathing mixed into the audio track and Matthew’s joy in seeing Diana happy, which you can pry from my cold dead hands—it’s all lovely stuff—but seriously, show. What the fuck?

Diana is at the start of destroying a career she’s spent her entire adult life building; she’s on the run from people who want to coerce or hurt or kill her; she has pressing things she needs to deal with. But, no, hey. Let’s go horseback riding. Some part of me was haunted by the need for an in-universe and character-based explanation that connects this genre-driven moment back to the specific story being told with these characters.

I called this story Amor Fati, to love one’s fate, because both Matthew and Diana here are struggling to accept these fated changes that are irrevocably transforming their lives, love and magic, which come with such risks and costs.

Rakasa butts up against Diana’s shoulder with a snicker and Diana presses her forehead against the horse, whispering hypnotic reassurance in the same soft voice. “Shh, yeah, I know, I know. You weren’t made for a pen.”

&

Diana doesn’t take the step back that he expects, which means that he should. He should, but he doesn’t.

But it was also a way for me to nudge this conventional genre moment within ADOW’s storyline towards something that made emotional and psychological sense to me for the characters in this situation, rather than being a half eyeroll, half guilty pleasure moment I accepted as simply fated within the genre.

So I think this fic was me solving a pain-point for myself (and for @village-skeptic) that most people don’t view as being a problem in the first place :)

But hey mutual pining and UST are two great tastes that always taste great together and are at the heart of Amor Fati.

Thank you for the asks!

Send me a writer’s ask →

[natsora]

Year-End Writer’s Roundup: 2020

Tagged by @crackinglamb​ @asaara-writes​ Thank you!

Tagging @lauraemoriarty​ @barbex​ @1esk19​ @inquartata30​ @cassandra-pentughasst​ @obvidalous​ @agentkatie​ @jt-boi-n7​ and anyone who wants to do it. No obligations

Word Count: 395,587 I’ve keep track of this. Mostly because I was asked this same thing last year. Let me just check and.... Ok I know it’s a large number but I wasn’t expecting that. There’s just a few more days in 2020, so it will grow a little more before the close of the year. 

The Top Five by hits:  The top 3 are my long fics that I’ve started last year. It’s my epic project with @seokanori​, she has been, and is always, amazing drawing me cover after cover, week after week. It’s truly an amazing feat. 

The other two are two of three of my She-Ra fics. The erm... the rate those fics gather kudos and hits are quite something to behold. 

The Persephone Arc - Gen fic fRyder & Femshep, Mass Effect Splintered Minds - F/M fRyder/Harry Carlyle, Aro Main Character, Mass Effect The Lost Childhood - Gen fic, Femshep’s origin story, Mass Effect Fractus - f/f Catradora, She-Ra Cephalalgia - f/f Catradora, She-Ra

New Things I Tried This Year: I’ve started writing for a new pair, Lexi T’Perro / FRyder in Maybe Something There.  I’ve also started writing for a new fandom, She-Ra (The Long Road Home). I’ve got a shit load of ideas for it, just no time to devote to it. 

Fic I Spent the Most Time On: Always Been You , that’s for sure. That’s the bulk of my writing this year. It’s this and another long fic (Uppercut) which I’m still writing and not yet publish, you’d probably read it next year after Always Been You is done. 

Fic I Spent the Least Time On: Hmm... I guess the shortest one shot I’ve written? Sleep would fit the bill. 

Favorite Thing I Wrote: It has to be Ace. It’s a deeply personal fic and it brought me surprises I’ve never, ever, ever, ever, ever expected.  And Always Been You. It’s OTP fic. I can’t help but love it. 

Favourite thing I read:

@wickedwitchofthewilds‘s Chasing Ghosts and Send The Pain Below - She has the ability to make me care of her OCs

@jt-boi-n7‘s Amor Fati - It’s Cass! It’s angst! It’s so much angst T_T

@inquartata30‘s The Darkest Timeline Snippets - So dark, so angsty, why wouldn’t I like it?

Writing Goals For Next Year: I want to finish Uppercut. Get to work and finish the Adopted Kid AU for Cass/Trev, the OTP is not done with me. THEN! I want to get started on the sequel for Cetus and Lost Childhood. It wouldn’t be concurrently written, I’ve learnt my lesson on that, but I think, THINK, I can swing at least two longfics next year if this year is any indication. 

[wexarethewalkingxdead]

[5] female characters [5] male characters [5] otps [3] bromances [3] episodes that make you cry [2] quotes [2] holiday themed episodes

TV SHOW MEME

[5] female characters 

Carol Peletier (The Walking Dead) 

Det Alex Eames (Law & Order: Criminal Intent) 

Abby Griffin (The 100) 

Sara Sidle (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation)

Devon Adair (Earth 2)

[5] male characters 

Special Agent Fox Mulder (The X-FIles) 

Rick Grimes (The Walking Dead) 

A.D.A. Rafael Barba (Law & Order: SVU) 

Marcus Kane (The 100)

Gil Grissom (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation)

[5] otps 

Carol & Daryl (The Walking Dead)

Marcus & Abby (The 100)

Goren & Eames (Law & Order: Criminal Intent)

Barba & Benson (Law & Order: SVU)

Mulder & Scully (The X-Files)

[3] bromances 

Rick & Shane (The Walking Dead)

Chandler & Joey (Friends)

Brian & Stewie (Family Guy)

[3] episodes that make you cry 

“On the Beach” - ER Season 8, Episode 21

“The Body” - Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 5, Episode 16

“Wild at Heart” - Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4, Episode 6

[2] quotes 

“It seems to me that the best relationships, the ones that last, are frequently the ones that are rooted in friendship. You know, one day you look at the person and you see something more than you did the night before. Like a switch has been flicked somewhere. And the person who was just a friend is suddenly the only person you can ever imagine yourself with.” - Dana Scully (The X-Files Season 6, Episode 8 “The Rain King”)

“Scully, I was like you once. I didn't know who to trust. Then I... I chose another path... another life, another fate, where I found my sister. The end of my world was unrecognizable and upside down. There was one thing that remained the same. You were my friend, and you told me the truth. Even when the world was falling apart, you were my constant. My touchstone.” - Fox Mulder (The X-Files Season 7, Episode 2 “The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati”)

[2] holiday themed episodes

“How the Ghosts Stole Christmas” - The X-Files Season 6, Episode 6

“I’ll Be Home for Christmas” - ER Season 8, Episode 10

[mrslittletall]

for that prompt thing: write literally anything focusing on ds1 crestfallen. SOMETHING. ANYTHING. he doesn't get enough attention despite being one of the more memorable characters and it breaks my heart 💔 poor guy deserves more love

I wish you would write

I actually already had an idea to write a small thing about Crestfallen, but that motivation went elsewhere. He is a difficult character to write for, because he basically has given up. There isn’t much to do with him, so I can understand why nobody wants to write about him. However, while not the main focus of the fic, check out “Amor Fati” on AO3. It has an arc about Crestfallen Warrior and we get a really interesting insight in his character. Also, that fic is really good.  Maybe one day I write about Crestfallen... maybe one day... for now, my writing motivation is low even for my OTPs. 

[fistful-of-fandom]

The X-Files: 07 x 02 The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati

[fishandships]

was sad, needed LuchiRo snuggles 🥹

i also tried out a new lighting technique on this one and while i do need more practice with it, i do like the results!

[fishandships]

i was rewatching the CoA7 shorts with my bestie and it reminded me that i REALLY wanted to draw this.......(it's the car makeout scene from...uh...one of the Fast & Furious movies, i forget which one 😅 )

not pictured: Frederick screaming in the passenger seat >:P

[fishandships]

Can we see a height chart for Rosario and the f/os? A simple one, like a stick figure—

i've been meaning to put something like this together for my own reference so thank you EXTRA for this cause it gave me the motivation i needed XD

Norton and Andrew's heights are from the IDV "popup museum" and the rest are the best i can figure based on those + the height of an average door lol (also if it's not obvious i lowkey traced the canon characters' Appearance Decoration Menu poses to make this quickly alsdfkj)

individual comparisons to Rosario under cut!

[fishandships]

Happy Halloween! i don't need a seasonal reason to bring back the vampire butlers, but it sure is a convenient excuse 🧛

[fishandships]

obsessed with Harvest AU they're a Farmer's Market couple forreal 💚💚💚like yeah the situation is fucked up but less so than canon!!! as usual Luchino is doing experiments on himself and Rosario is into it supportive UwU

this is kind of a redraw since it's VERY similar to a pose i've done before but. i love this pose for them ;w; and i keep forgetting they're the same height because i'm used to drawing height difference couples oops

[fishandships]

kees kees 💚🦎

[fishandships]

Somewhere that’s green…

i hate literally everything about CoA VII so i'm making my own CoA with blackjack and hookers where everyone lives (summary below cut)

so the POV is from Ada, who in this AU is looking for a cure for the fungal infection that's killing...i mean everyone but in particular her bae Emil

so she and Emil go to see Luchino b/c he's a toxicologist who's working on the cure in the laboratory housing Patient Zero so Luchino is The Guy who will figure it out if anyone can

and they and their team of a couple others are going to go to the source to find an antidote (which is what happens in the canon short)

so Frederick walks in like "can we get going already" and Ada is like.....fielding him b/c Luchino isn't ready to go yet bc he knows he might not make it back and he wants to make sure Patient Zero is provided for

Patient Zero being Rosario, who is in a state of suspension to prevent the infection from killing them before a cure can be found

So the events of the canon short happen where everyone goes to the source and Gets Got but instead of everyone dying Luchino sees Rosario in his hallucination and they're Not Quite Themself so he realizes what's happening and is able to snap out of it and save everyone, and they book it tf outta there with no cure

BUT WAIT

on the way back to the lab they come across Deux ex Machina Andrew aka Withered Leaf, who in another canon AU i hated was ALSO a survivor of the apocalypse who was working to recover some plant seeds (he died in this AU because every AU is Kill River's Faves Horribly). so they bring him with them and he's given his Faith In Humanity back bc of their kindness, and he gives the seeds to Luchino, who realizes that one of the plants has antifungal properties (most antifungal drugs are plant-based).

so they grow the seeds Andrew gave them and are able to successfully produce a cure for both Emil and Rosario.

THE END UwU

[fishandships]

s-....smiling into kisses...🥺🥺🥺

[fishandships]

For Luchino- " I really, really want to kiss you right now"

Kiss Prompts (thank you!!!!)

      It was a quiet morning. Thus far Luchino had been left to work contentedly without interruption, and had made good progress analyzing a particularly rare venom sample he had managed to obtain from an old colleague. After quite some time peering through a microscope, however, his eyes were beginning to strain. He was just considering taking a break when he noticed the steady scribbling sound coming from Rosario’s desk by the window had stopped. Glancing in their direction, he saw them poring over a book, an expression of rapt interest set on their face. He smiled to himself as he observed them. Lost in their research, they paused to switch from one book to another in the array spread before them, diligently fact-checking before scribbling again in their battered notebook. In between, they rested the end of their pencil against their lower lip, the eraser sinking slightly into the soft surface. Their eyes were wide with fascination, their whole countenance glowing. It almost appeared as though they were entranced by what they were reading. Luckily, Luchino knew the magic words to break the spell. “Caro mio,” he called softly. 

His smile grew when they immediately looked up at him, their expression softening and the spark in their eyes shifting to fondness. A pinkish hue quickly spread over their cheeks and nose. “Why are you looking at me like that? Was I making faces again?”

“Not really. I’m just admiring you,” he replied. “What are you working on so intently?”

They blushed deeper, bright red racing to the tips of their ears and a boyish grin spreading across their face. “Warblers’ adaptations to brood parasitism. It’s fascinating.” 

He came over and pulled up a seat opposite them. Leaning on the desk, he rested his chin in his hand. “Tell me about them.”

Before they had been softly glowing, but at this their entire countenance grew positively radiant as they passionately disseminated the subject that had so thoroughly captured their interest. Luchino’s heart swelled with affection until it almost ached. He listened, hanging on every word, while at the same time studying their features adoringly, practically basking in the light they seemed to give off. Now and then he took advantage of a natural pause to ask a question, all of which Rosario was more than happy to answer. Everything about them in the moment - their wide eyes, their animated gestures, the reverence in their voice - had their partner riveted. This was one of the things Luchino loved most about them: their endless wonder and curiosity, as consuming and unrestrained as that of a child.

As the conversation wound down, Luchino laid his hand atop Rosario’s. “If I may,” he said, “I very much want to kiss you right now.”

They looked a little confused, but smiled softly nevertheless and leaned forward. “Okay.”

A pleasant shiver ran through them as he trailed the tip of his claw along their jawline to tilt their chin up. He kissed them sweetly, lingering long enough for them to offer two more kisses in return. Then he settled back in his chair. “Thank you.”

Rosario’s eyelashes fluttered rapidly as they attempted to get their brain back on track. “Thank you…What was that for?”

He smiled fondly. “I love listening to you talk about your passions. There’s a light about you…it’s like glimpsing the light of Heaven.”

Bright scarlet tinted their face again. “My love, I am only the moon to your sun,” they said with an affectionate smile of their own. “Actually, on that note…”

They mirrored the pose he had been in moments before, their elbow on their desk and their chin on their hand. “I want to hear about yours, too. And then kiss some more. Please?”

Luchino chuckled. "I'm more than happy to acquiesce that request."

As he began to speak, that look of rapturous fascination he so loved was fixed on him. It was so distracting he was almost unable to wait until he was finished to claim more kisses.

Almost.