#rough draft I say and then write the whole thing out anyways

[tricksheart]

Rough Draft of Akira's Final Fantasy 16 verse.

Mostly isekai'd / transported into the world, as in his magic doesn't have cost issues except for like getting a good nights rest. His age is between 18-19 and is after the Strikers sequel. He wears his phantom thief attire but sometimes doesn't have his overcoat on himself due to the clothing being somewhat an obstacle because it keeps getting caught on stuff.

Goes by the name Arsene, as this name is more in line with the world of Final Fantasy 16's setting. Can use the jump command despite not being a Dragoon class. Uses mostly knives as his melee weapon but can and will use his magic-like gun to defeat monsters and the like. The other weapon does raise some eyebrows but most are wanting to free the realm, too busy to really question it. Curse magic is his main ability but is shown to use other elements to his advantage.

Sometimes is the Dominant of Alexander, transforming into a living breathing castle and is good at being the ultimate defense. Not tied to an element and doesn't even have the penalty effects of normal Dominats. But does suffer from the ability to go back to his home world if he uses it for too long. Only uses the form sparingly.

If he's not a Dominant, then he has full access to his personas but still needs to level up to use the more powerful ones. He has to explain that no, these are not Eikons but demons / shadows that come from mankind, not from some god or otherworldly presence.

Joins the party and resistance before the battle of Drake's Head. No one really questions his existence and his quick thinking makes him tell everyone that he crossed from the seas beyond the continent like their leader Cid had done previously. Constantly wears a permanent smirk on his face, causing others to comment on how there is a guy smirking ( him ) and a guy scowling ( Clive ).

People that are warm to him right away are Jill, Gav and Cid. Clive takes a few months to come around but is appreciated of Akira's sometimes somber silence and quick wit with strategy, which is valuable all around, even in the battle field. Akira also quotes words and actions from the play Clive likes, taking the field as Mordu ( sp? ) and makes a really good villain. He quickly tries to know as much about this world as he can and is usually found near Harpocrates's location in the hideaway. Akira is still a huge charmer, even in this world. Too bad most of them are looking at Clive and his outfit.

What happens to him during the end game is purely speculation but he mostly makes it back home, despite all the connections he made in this world.

[nohva]

Zoro drunkenly (or while tipsy) confesses his love to Sanji one night but, in the same breath, tells him it’s okay—he knows Sanji is straight and is fine with them remaining "only" crewmates, he just had to get these feelings out of his system. And Sanji is overwhelmed because ???? Where is this even coming from? Why is the mosshead suddenly saying these things? This isn’t how their relationship is supposed to work. They don’t do the whole talking thing, especially not about serious topics?? When they have emotions to work through they fight each other, maybe throw in an insult or two. But this? This is unfamiliar territory for Sanji, so he’s really not sure how to react, much less respond.

So he doesn’t; he just stares at Zoro, his mouth opening and closing. Zoro takes that as his sign, gets up from the stairs he’d been sitting on, and leaves for the sleeping quarters. It is quite late, after all.

The next morning while preparing breakfast Sanji is oh so tense. He’s still mostly confused because there’s just no way the green-haired brute could harbor any such feelings toward another human being—least of all him—could he? And what if this does change things? Zoro said it wouldn’t, but who's to say?

And Zoro acts like nothing ever happened, he's just the same old moss ball that drinks too much Sake and takes way too many naps during the day and Sanji is so confused and he's getting angry now, because how can he act so nonchalant while the cook is over here losing his god damn mind over this? Does Zoro maybe not remember confessing? Had he been that drunk?

And obviously Zoro DOES remember, and he's NOT calm at all. He's freaking out internally every time he and Sanji are in the same room, but he'd rather lose his remaining eye than have anyone notice. So he does his best to play it cool. And yeah, maybe he takes a nap or two more than usual, and maybe he spends even more time working out in the crow's nest than is strictly necessary, but that is nobody’s business but his own, isn’t it?

Bla bla bla cue Sanji questioning the universe and his existence, freaking out over his sexuality, sloooowly coming to terms with it and then freaking out again about telling Zoro and what it means for the crew dynamic etc etc.

Also Robin being somewhere in the background of the story, smiling to herself, sipping on her tea, because of course she knows something is up, and she has a pretty good idea of what it is about, even if she doesn’t know the whole story, because she knows pretty much everything that’s going on on the sunny, cause she’s the responsible older sister™️.

————————————————————-

I have never attempted to write anything before, not even a rough draft like this, but Zosan has been living in my head rent free for the past few months now, and once the idea for a possible plot popped up in my mind I absolutely needed to note it down. Oh well, I hope I am not embarrassing myself too much by posting this.

Anyways, this is the most I can offer due to a lack of actual literary skills, but I still hope you enjoyed!

The obligatory English isn’t my first language speech: please excuse any spelling and grammar mistakes, I tried my best, I swear!

[zerodaytesttape]

another caldre writing that literally had 0 reason but I wanted to write it and it's been in my drafts for like a month.. i didn't proof read this so idk if it even makes sense, but I need it outttt of my drafts😭

NSFW AND RELIGIOUS/HOMOSEXUAL URGES GUILT

andre’s hands shake as they run down cal’s body, sliding under his shirt. ‘don’t do this,’ he thinks, but his fingers move anyway, tracing over cal’s ribs, feeling the way his chest rises and falls. cal sighs softly, and the sound is like gasoline poured onto the fire already burning inside andre. ‘fuck, stop,’ he tells himself, but when cal makes that tiny whimper, andre’s whole body reacts. he can’t stop now.

his hand dips lower, fingers brushing the waistband of cal’s pants, and cal lets out this quiet, breathless moan that makes andre’s skin crawl. not because it’s bad, but because it’s too good. too real, too "this is actually happening. 'this is wrong,’ he thinks, but he keeps going, pushing past the guilt that’s clawing at his chest. cal arches into his touch, his hips pressing up, and andre’s throat tightens. every noise cal makes is like fuel to a fire he can’t control, each one hotter, heavier.

“sir,” cal whispers, voice playful and slightly-laughing at the teasing nickname. andre’s hand falters, his mind racing. ‘don’t fucking do this, dont be this way, don't be a stupid fucking f-ggot.’ but he already is. he’s been that from the moment he started staring at his best friend a little longer all the way up till he kissed cal for the first time, from the moment he let himself get lost in it. he feels dirty, repressing every part of himself that feels wrong, but his body won’t stop.

"shut up," andre barks, his face blank, he genuinely wanted cal to shut up, he couldn't take the guilt anymore. cal giggles in return.

he then gasps as andre’s hand dips lower, just barely brushing below his waist, and the sound hits andre like a punch in the gut. ‘stop,’ he thinks again, but cal’s soft moans, his shaking breath, it’s all too much. it feels like the walls are closing in, like the world is collapsing around them, but cal’s the only thing holding him together. he stares at the pale scars on cal's hips and feels sick, he's really doing this, he's really THAT close to cal that he can see those, he feels horrible.

“fuck, andre,” cal says, the nickname fading, his voice cracking, and andre can’t breathe. there's no nickname to block that it's andre whose actually doing this, his fingers curl around the waistband, but he hesitates, his mind screaming at him to pull away. ‘you’re not supposed to like this you’re not supposed to feel this way get the fuck off of him.’ but he does feel that way, and he doesn't move. he can’t stop himself. it’s like every noise cal makes drives him deeper into something he doesn’t want to admit to, something that feels dangerous, something that feels too fucking good.

cal’s hips shift under him, pushing up into his touch, and andre closes his eyes, trying to block out everything he’s feeling. but it’s impossible. he feels every inch of cal, the way his body trembles, the way his breath hitches, and it’s like they’re both caught in a spiral they can’t escape. ‘i’m not supposed to want this,’ andre thinks, but he does. god, he does. he hates himself for it, but he can’t stop.

cal moans, soft and broken, and andre feels like he’s suffocating, like he’s drowning in the heat of it all. ‘dirty. i’m so fucking dirty.’ every touch, every sound is like another match thrown onto the fire, and andre feels like he’s burning alive. but he can’t stop. he doesn’t want to stop. the star of david necklace that he threw into the lake years before still burns in his memory as it burned his chest whenever he thought about kissing his boy best friend, he feels disgusting.

the thought of all of this is making andre aggressive, violent, a bit too rough with the way he moves and grabs at his best friend. the way cal laughs in response infuriates him more.

despite his anger, andre’s hand slips lower, hesitating for a moment, his breath caught in his throat. ‘don’t. don’t go any further,’ he thinks, but cal shifts beneath him, pressing closer, silently begging for more. andre feels trapped, pinned under the weight of his own mind, but he can’t stop. cal’s skin is warm, soft under his fingertips, and every small noise cal makes pushes him closer to something andre’s been fighting for too long.

he takes a shaky breath and slides his hand fully below cal’s waist and under his boxers. cal gasps, a quiet, breathless sound, and it makes andre’s stomach twist. ‘fuck,’ he thinks, his heart racing. ‘i’m really doing this.’ but instead of feeling worse, instead of the guilt crashing down on him, there’s something else, something that feels almost like relief. cal’s body is trembling, his breath coming in short, quick bursts, and andre can feel the heat radiating from him.

“andre…” cal’s voice cracks and it makes andre’s heart stutter. cal’s fingers dig into his shoulders, pulling him closer, and something shifts. andre leans down, their lips brushing together as he whispers, “i’ve got you.” his voice is rough, but softer than before, like he’s finally giving in.

“andre, jesus christ dude- fuck,” cal breathes out, and andre can feel his resistance melting away, slipping through his fingers. ‘i shouldn’t…’ but the words are gone, lost in the way cal feels, the way he arches into andre’s touch, the way he makes those quiet and desperate noises that andre can’t get enough of.

"cal shut the fuck up, fuck-" andre commands as he squeezes at cal, the rush of guilt and aggression rising in his chest. he wanted to scream and yell and beat cal until he was nothing but mush.

he slides his hand out to unzip cal's fly and he feels cal’s body tense beneath him, and for a moment, everything freezes. but then cal moans and andre moves before he can think about it. ‘god, i hate this,’ he says to himself, fully. but as he looks at his best friends face, his pale skin, his light eyes, his stupid structure, there’s no more fighting it now. he will have to give in and deal with the guilt later.

“you’re good, cal, it's okay,” andre murmurs, his tone switching fast, kissing him again, deeper this time, letting the warmth of the moment take over. cal’s breathing hitches, his hips rocking up to meet andre’s hand, and andre feels that heavy, suffocating guilt slip away, replaced by something better, something that feels right.

cal lets out another breathy moan, and andre’s head spins, his pants feeling suffocating, cal's scent making him feel safe. every sound cal makes is like fuel to the fire, every gasp and whimper pulling him further in. ‘fuck, i can’t stop now.’

“you like that?” andre whispers against cal’s lips, his voice low, and cal nods frantically, his eyes glazed over, barely able to form words and he smiled crookedly.

“yeah- yes. i- yeah,” cal breathes, his voice shaky as he laughs at his stupid stammering. andre watches cal, the way his chest rises and falls, the way his fingers feel as they curl in andre’s hair. there’s no turning back now, no holding onto the doubt that’s been eating at him for months. cal's face rushes with red as he feels heat pool in his stomach and sweat bead down his cheeks, "fuck- this is so wrong," he laughs. but instead of andre stopping and stressing again, he laughs too.

'this is okay. it has to be. its not wrong, not anymore' he thinks, the thought making him feel safe.

"it's okay you idiot, it has to be. doesn’t feel wrong to me, cal. not anymore.” he says, his tone joking and sweet, the words making cal feel safe as he laughs in return.

[just-prime]

Question to Dreamling folks…have you heard of Swedish Death Cleaning?

Okay so this has been hiding in my drafts for a WHILE now so bear with me

It's both a book and now a show, and I've been watching it recently. (well, it was recent when I originally wrote this) And the funniest idea has made its home in my brain...which is Hob getting stuck on this show. Logistically there are a lot of reasons why it wouldn't work...but let's just handwave all that, and say Dream is pulling some strings so that Hob's not recognizable on camera. I'd assume one of the Hob's employee friends at The New Inn volunteered him for it.

The camera crew are just trying to not be totally obsessed with this dude's quiet goth boyfriend who's raven keeps shouting curse words. Matthew has made it his personal mission to make Hob crack up on camera. Or the large maine coon who only is around sometimes despite being very obviously pampered, with eyes that have a really weird sheen to them.

The whole premise is 'decluttering your life so that after your death your friends and family won't have to do it' and I can just imagine that Hob's preparing to fake his death anyway, so he just says sure, what the hell only to realize that he needs to move all this stuff to a storage facility that is holding a bunch of stuff from past lives. And suddenly on the fly he is trying to come up with excuses of why he needs to keep a random glass bottle while a rather stern Swede is unimpressed. Plus employees of the New Inn keep mentioning different closets that are filled with things, so there's just a constant stream of really important things that Hob has to keep slipping to Dream to hold onto in the Dreaming so that nothing precious gets tossed out accidentally.

Or having to confront his grief over past loves that he's not truly over when he finds some last vestige of Eleanor and breaks down on camera. When it gets to the therapy section, it's kinda rough as he has to figure out what to censor himself on to stay realistic for his apparent human lifetime. The thing I love about the show is that one of the three hosts is an actual professional therapist, so Hob's gonna actually have to confront some of the harder truths that he may not even want to admit to himself yet.

When it comes time to have the final reveal, Dream helps with the decorating, and finds it incredibly soothing to put everything in the right place. After everything done, Hob jokes that he should become an interior designer or something...

This has been in my drafts long enough that I forgot when I actually started writing it...so yeah, just thought I should throw it out there finally instead of just keeping it in my drafts forever :P

[trensu]

do you think you'll put "Stasis in darkness" on AO3 eventually?

see, when the idea first came to me, I hadn't really planned on doing anything with it because I wasn't sure if I could make it work. there's a level of gravitas in the relationship between a god and their devoted servant that I didn't think would translate well to steddie because, let's be real, those boys are goofy dorks. but the idea wouldn't leave me alone so I typed up the original post in an attempt to work it out of my system and move on.

(the post kind of blew up, which I was not expecting at all!! like, not even a little bit! i post all sorts of rough little ideas for my own amusement and I've been able to do that without drawing much attention until that point.)

Anyway, I wouldn't have done much with it but @acowardinmordor left some comments/tags/what have you that helped me nail down the setting in my head which really opened the door for me to explore how the story could progress. (apologies, strife, I'm not sure I ever properly thanked you for that burst of inspiration, so please accept this shoutout as an expression of gratitude). And the amazing @ent-is-indecisive allowed me to rant about it which really helped flesh out the story. Seriously, there are elements and lore coming up that would not have existed if it weren't for ent. (and thank you once again ent for the ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL fanart you made for the reveal scene, I'm still overcome with joy whenever I think about it!).

Once it got to that point, I knew I wanted it to be a self-contained story and I was afraid that if I did a multi-chapter fic I'd lose the thread and never make it to the ending I want the fic to have. (no, the end scene hasn't been written yet but I KNOW what it's going to be and I hope everyone will love it as much as i do). So I promised myself that I was not going to post it on ao3 until the whole thing was written out completely.

However, I occasionally need a confidence/motivation boost so I've been posting consecutive parts of the rough draft here. you have no idea how much the people who reblogged with tags or left comments have helped me fight off the discouragement my brain likes to bog me down with; off the top of my head, @godsweakestboy , @redfreckledwolf, @fuctacles , @spectrum-spectre , and @lawrencebshoggoth have given me lovely, enthusiastic words of encouragement. and they're only the ones I can think of at this moment. there's so many other people who've done this, so if you've ever left me nice tags or comments, please know that I've read every single one of them repeatedly whenever I need to get over a slump. I'm so grateful for all of you!

Anyway, all this is to say yes! It is going to be posted as a oneshot on ao3 once I've finished writing it. <3

[tryingahandinholdingapen]

okay so I got distracted during my initial attempt at writing abt this au so we'll just call the first post (which I will link) a rough draft of a scene in the theoretical fic, and THIS post can be the summary of the actual idea for the au that I originally intended to write. okay? okay

here goes

(cw for discussion of noncon/dubcon sex but nothing explicit probably)

edit: I got distracted again and this time I ended up writing a whole scene wherein the Uchiha brothers discuss What The Fuck Is Going On but! I also managed to actually describe the au this time so! I'm saying it counts and this is a successful post summarising the au,,,mostly

so abt that au in which, during the war, Tobirama has a lot of dubcon sex with various Uchiha...

this au would have one and only one similarity to my blessed stray cat au which is that the Uchiha have a problem, somehow stumble upon something that seems to work as a solution to said problem and promptly go "well I have no idea why this is happening/working but sure this is doable" and if they knew what the Senju (particularly Tobirama) knew they'd know exactly why,,,but they don't, so they don't

that's the only similarity between the two aus though

anyway. in this au Izuna is the one who starts the whole chain of events. He's very impulsive, has heard+made a few too many jokes along the lines of how Tobirama would be more bearable if he just got laid, the Uchiha are having problems with trade due to the Senju that Izuna is CONVINCED are Tobirama's fault and is absolutely fucking furious about (and is more than a little obsessed with his rival whoops)....and he decides a logical way to vent his anger would be to track down Tobirama, trap him, and fuck him. Test the theory that the bastard would be more bearable after sex

So he tackles Tobirama and manages not to die in the ensuring fight mostly because a) Tobirama is exhausted physically mentally and in terms of chakra after a long mission and b) the second Tobirama realises Izuna is trying to get into his pants rather than slit his throat, he stops trying to kill Izuna. Which Izuna definitely noticed and is taking as a point towards his theory

This is not to say that Tobirama cooperates or even that he doesn't try to fight Izuna off, because he absolutely does, but overall the reaction is such that when Izuna ultimately leaves Tobirama restrained (it's fine the prick will be able to get out of it pretty easily given enough time and not having to multitasking fighting Izuna at the same time as trying to undo said restraints) the Uchiha is significantly less pissed off/satisfied and also is like. Theory confirmed?? Possibly??

And then it takes less than two days, barely even one day, after that encounter for the problem the Uchiha had been having in regards to trade to suddenly be resolved. And rumours/spies suggest that Tobirama was the one who changed the Senju patrols/practice again so that the Uchiha civilians were no longer being killed when they tried to restock on supplies

And Izuna is like....Holy shit?? Are these two things (resolved issue (probably by Tobirama but not 100% confirmed) and the encounter a day or so prior) connected???

Man I may have thought he'd be less unbearable if someone got that stick out of his arse but not to THIS extent what the hell, Izuna thinks, reasonably

Izuna toys with the idea of tracking Tobirama down again the next time he sees the Senju alone, to see if he can prove his theory definitively, but now that he's not running so much on rage and impulse he can logically assess the odds and be like. Okay we are usually equals in a fair fight, and if he's trying to kill me and I'm NOT trying to kill him just restrain him, then that puts me at a massive disadvantage. I succeeded last time, barely (OW my fucking ankle I can't believe he broke it the shit) but only because he was so close to his limits. Realistically if I try to go after him again when he's less exhausted (...and when he might expect what I'm doing? depending on how strongly opposed he is/isn't?) then he WILL win and probably just kill me on the spot

But Izuna desperately wants to confirm his theory because like, it would be completely insane if it WAS accurate, but also if there's even 0.0000001% of a chance that a fuck is sufficient for Tobirama to ACTIVELY WORK AGAINST his clan fuckibg the Uchiha over...that's valuable intel right?? Like that could be so good that could pay off so so so well for the Uchiha

IF the theory is correct. So he needs to confirm it. But how to do that without getting murdered in the process??

Hmmmm

Ultimately he decides to go to Madara about it for a second opinion

Madara is not impressed

"Otouto please tell me this is some new evolution of your fucked up humour," Madara says, pinching the bridge of his nose

"I am entirely serious," Izuna says, hand on heart, speaking ever so sincerely and earnestly and definitely laying it on too thick

Madara groans

Izuna waits

"Two main problems with this," Izuna nods, gesturing for Madara to continue, which only earns him a glare, "Firstly, do you realise how ridiculous this sounds?"

Izuna flings his hands in the air, "I KNOW! It seems like it must obviously be connected but it's just too crazy, which is why I want to CONFIRM IT somehow! I just can't figure out how to do that, which is why I came to you!"

Madara concedes the point and moves on

"Secondly, you're aware that once myself and Hashirama are heads of our clans, I had intended to try to make peace, as he keeps loudly offering?"

"I still think that's a bad idea. There's no way he's serious, not yelling about PEACE on a BATTLEFIELD whilst actively attacking you," Izuna says, almost reflexively returning to the old argument

"Senju Hashirama doesn't have a single deceptive bone in his body, if he refuses to make peace he refuses, but if he accepts he won't backstab us so it's worth trying to reduce how many of our people die every season," Madara returns, equally reflexively, then sighs and scrubs a hand over his face

"We're getting off topic. My point was... You're aware that Hashirama at least claims to want peace, and that I want that too, for the sake of our clan," Madara prompts, and Izuna nods somewhat reluctantly

"Yeah"

"And you're aware that the main reason Hashirama ever gave for wanting peace was for the sake of his little brothers?"

"Yes, I remember you told me that..."

"And you're aware that he only has one living brother left?"

"...I don't like where you're going with this," Izuna says, petulantly

Madara gives a wordless shriek of frustration, then gestures wildly such that Izuna has to dodge back a step from his brother's desk

"Uchiha Izuna did you rape Hashirama's last baby brother?!"

Izuna takes a moment too long to respond and Madara groans, slumping back into his chair with head in hands

"Otouto if you've just sabotaged our chances of eventually stopping this kami forsaken war and keeping our people SAFE, so fucking help me..."

Izuna cleared his throat awkwardly, staring at the ceiling

"I don't think I...did?"

Madara looked up to stare blankly at Izuna

"You don't think raping the beloved baby brother of the only Senju vocally in favour of peace has damaged our chances at ending the war," he states, flatly. It's not a question

Izuna stubbornly met his eyes and shook his head, even as he cringed inwardly at his own words, "No, I mean. I don't think I DID...rape him"

Madara stared at him for a long, incredulous moment, because by Izuna's own description that was not the impression he got, then sighed and leant his elbows on the desk. He waved a hand in Izuna's direction

"Go on then. Explain yourself"

Izuna cleared his throat awkwardly. Wow that ceiling sure is interesting!

"...Right. So admittedly I didn't exactly give the bastard a choice in the matter BUT," he hurried on before an already-exasperated Madara could interrupt, "BUT he absolutely did not fight me as much as he could have. Like when I first caught up to him he was fighting like he wanted me dead, but the very SECOND he realised I was going for his pants he immediately stopped trying to kill me. Didn't stop fighting, sure, but he definitely wasn't trying to kill me anymore and by the end he wasn't even pretending to try to escape"

"Thats really not sufficient evidence. You said yourself he was low on chakra and exhausted from whatever mission he'd been on, he could have just run out of energy or even given up-"

"-AND," Izuna cut him off loudly, "and at one point I stopped fucking him to see how he'd react, and okay yeah he didn't ask me to get my dick back in him, but he did almost immediately start bitching at me for stopping like you wouldn't believe, he was so annoyed about it it was actually really funny. And when I'd finished with him-,"

"Finished or FINISHED," Madara muttered snidely, but Izuna nobly ignored him in favour of finishing his explanation

"-that was the most relaxed I've ever seen the bastard. Like, ever. He actually almost seemed HAPPY. And, if nothing else, not once during the entire encounter did he actually seem upset, or scared, or sad. Angry at points, yeah, but, well, HE certainly didn't seem to feel violated," Izuna shrugged, a little awkwardly, "...so, honestly? I'm.. PRETTY sure I didn't rape him, in his head at least"

They were both quiet for a minute

"...I don't even know what to say to that," Madara spoke at last

".....Yeah that's fair," Izuna admitted

...

"....You're sure we're not going to have a furious Hashirama coming for our heads? Or, well, your head at least?"

"I would be extremely surprised if Tobirama told the tree anything at all," Izuna said honestly, "but no, I don't think we have to worry about death via mokuton any time soon"

"....Okay. That's good"

"Yeah"

...

"So about a way to confirm your ridiculous theory..."

"Yes! Give me ideas! I've been thinking about this since I first heard the Senju had laid off our traders and I've got NOTHING"

They did manage to confirm Izuna's ridiculous theory

And so ensues a ridiculously long period of time in which any time the Uchiha are having a problem (besides outright battles), with the Senju, someone goes to hunt down their surety heir (in other words, Senju Tobirama, the 'spare' to Hashirama's heir) and fuck him, and for some reason this results in the problem being solved very shortly thereafter like, nine times out of ten, which is a completely INSANE success record, so naturally they keep doing it

It's often Izuna who does this (because he's way too eager for an excuse to fight/fuck his rival hey who said that), but not always. They figure out pretty rapidly that Tobirama doesn't actually fight them THAT hard once he realises what they're aiming for (he still fights completely brutally on missions/battefield/patrol/random encounters though), so the main requirement for hunting the surety heir down becomes "can avoid dying in a fight with Tobirama long enough to make it obvious what you're going for"

(...and "can prevent him from escaping for the duration", because Tobirama fighting half-heartedly is still TOBIRAMA FIGHTING which is still a very difficult opponent for the overwhelming majority of the clan. And if Tobirama manages to escape before you can fuck him quiet, he will break a shit ton of bones in retaliation, vanish, and whatever the latest problem is won't get solved. Yes the unfortunate fucker who discovered this is still bearing a bit of a grudge, they were stuck in the healing halls SO LONG so many fucking bones broken and they were just stranded there before someone could come rescue them for fucks sake-)

They have absolutely no fucking clue why this works. Nobody's got anything better than Izuna's initial half-joking "guess he did really just need someone to fuck that stick out of his arse", but like, that is absolutely NOT SUFFICIENT to explain the extents the Senju heir will seemingly go to to make things easier for the Uchiha in the aftermath. So like what the hell?

But they haven't been able to find a better explanation, and just because they don't know WHY it works doesn't stop it from WORKING sooooo....

[maniculum]

Bestiaryposting Results -- Gligglae

Sorry this is later than usual; traveling for the holidays makes it difficult to keep up with this sort of thing. The smart move would have been to write it up a couple days ahead of time, then on Monday just update it with anything new that had been posted since, but see, what happened was that I did not do that. Instead, I tried to type this up Monday evening in between various family obligations, realized I didn't have time to do it properly, and just shoved it in my drafts. Then all of Tuesday was taken up with the long drive back home from where my family lives, and now you're getting it on Wednesday.

(Also, don't worry, I followed all CDC guidelines appropriate for someone who had recently had covid, and wouldn't have traveled for the holidays at all if I hadn't been without a fever for 48 hours prior to departing. Plus I drove instead of flying, didn't visit anyone but immediate family, and had a mask the whole time, so even if I am still contagious somehow, exposure was pretty minimal.)

Anyway, the entry that our artists are working from is here:

And, of course, all previous material on this matter can be found at https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting.

I think a larger number of people than usual identified the animal in question right off the proverbial bat, because this one has some pretty blatant tells, but as always I appreciate everyone trying to put it out of their minds.

So, anyway, in rough chronological order:

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) (thank you for providing your own alt text, I really appreciate it) brings us her usual impeccably medieval-stylized rendition -- the swirls and curves in this one give it a really interesting vibe, I think. We can see the Gligglae in full-body profile on the left there, and a group of them doing their cluster behavior on the right. The, like, griffin/cockatrice/vampire look is pretty great, also. I enjoy the overall design, which you can find some discussion of in the linked post. Gold foil also a nice touch.

Coolest-capybara also notes that the entry is very interested in the ways in which the creature is "almost, but not quite, entirely unlike a bird," and I can explain why that is. It is because this entry is in the Bird section of the bestiary, so officially this is a bird -- I mean, it flies, what else can it be -- but it's sufficiently un-bird-like that it really sticks out to the authors, so they need to explain the ways in which it's Doing Bird Wrong. Everything else in this section does X, so we need to point out that this one does Y, kind of thing.

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) has drawn an absolutely adorable little Gligglae. (Adorable if you have my sense of aesthetics, that is -- I suspect if you're among the portion of the population that finds aye-ayes more creepy-looking than cute, that might apply here as well.) There's an explanation of design decisions in the linked post, including a number of references to real animals that provided inspiration. I like the decision to play up the "lowly" and "mean" part of the description by making it small and kind of scruffy. And the general concept of blending "gliding rodent" with "nocturnal primate" to make an arboreal mammal with elements of both really worked out well here, in my opinion.

@aethereaii (link to post here) has done this beautiful piece in a style that kind of gives "19th-century naturalist" vibes. (Actually, it makes me think of James Gurney, but I suspect that association says more about my childhood reading habits than anything else.) This is a great design in my opinion, and you can find some brief discussion on design decisions as well as an earlier version of the Gligglae in the linked post. The earlier design is also very good, but I agree with Aethereaii that this one is a step up, particularly with the Anomalocaris-inspired faux-wings. I also really like the inclusion of the juvenile Gligglae (Gligglings?) clinging to their parent's back in the corner there.

@karthara (link to post here) decided to go in a reptilian direction with this one, which (a) works well and (b) caused me to spend a chunk of time reading about flying snakes on Wikipedia just now. So in this version, the "rowing motion with its skin" is a description of the Gligglae flaring its ribs and undulating through the air -- which I genuinely think really makes sense. The entry seems to legitimately disagree with itself about whether this critter has wings (or, taking it entirely literally, it has wings but flies through a completely separate method that specifically does not involve said wings, which I think we're justified in deciding is Wrong), so I think going with such a non-wing-like flight method works here. Also like the concept of making these very cuddly (and apparently loving, according to our bestiary author) creatures into a type of animal that usually isn't seen that way. The linked post also contains some brief notes on design decisions.

@strixcattus (link to post here) has, as per usual, provided a really excellent modern-naturalistic description of the creature they've designed in the linked post, and you should definitely go check it out right now. I'll wait.

... back? Okay good. I particularly like their interpretation of the "grape-cluster" behavior as a social group that's specifically not a kin group; and also the fact that said group is officially referred to as a "cuddle". The choice to make it a whole genus and show us several different wild and domesticated species, also very good, love it. As with several of these drawings, Strixcattus's Gligglae (Gligglaes?) are extremely cute -- which, really, does also fit the description provided in the entry. They're like tadpoles crossed with sugar gliders.

@cheapsweets (link to post here) credits Ken Sugimori's Pokemon illustrations as a stylistic inspiration, which I suppose explains why the Gligglae cluster seems to be hanging from a Sudowoodo. The linked post also draws certain parallels between medieval bestiaries and the Pokedex, which I think is actually pretty insightful. There's also a breakdown of their design decisions there, go read it. I think this is a pretty good rendering of something that is like a flying squirrel but distinctly not a flying squirrel, and I like the shaggy look of the fur.

Also, thank you for providing your own alt text.

@pomrania (link to post here) is, I think, the only person to take the bestiary author at their word that this animal has wings but flies through some other, non-wing-related method. You can see the tiny useless wings at the shoulder there. I really think that's fascinating as a concept: what evolutionary pressures would produce an animal that (a) has wings and (b) flies but (c) those two things are unrelated? Although this many appendages on a fur-bearing creature puts us firmly in the "alien biology" territory, so maybe it's silly to expect it to make sense by the standards of terrestrial biology. Regardless, I like it, and I think the decision to run with the "rowing" description by giving it those oar-shaped appendages is a good & creative one. The post linked above contains a fair bit of information on design decisions and the drawing process here -- there are sketches and everything.

@vindikat (link to post here) has interpreted this in a way I find really charming. The art is of course excellent, very well drawn, and I appreciate the effort that went into doing these different poses. However, I really like it from a worldbuilding perspective: this gives me the impression of a small species of griffin that's adapted to urban living, more pigeon/cat than eagle/lion. (Come to think, both pigeons and cats are examples of feral populations finding a successful niche, rather than wild ones that adapt to a city, so maybe we can speculate that these guys are also descended from domestic ancestors.) Also the Gligglae under the eaves there remind me of pictures of chimney swifts that have made the rounds on Tumblr.

The design is also generally very appealing; I think the extra wings and the long tail really work here. The linked post includes an explanation of the design decisions that I think is worth taking a look at.

@moustawott (link to post here) has given us another very cuddly version of the Gligglae. I particularly like the wing design here, how it's kind of a mammalian version of a pterosaur -- Moustawott indicates that they were specifically trying not to draw the animal that they're sure this is, and I think the pterosaur-squirrel design here is a great way to make something that could fill kind of the same niche while being an unmistakably distinct creature. The little round head and eye markings remind me of a chipmunk, also, which is cute.

@rautavaara (link to post here) continues to do interesting stylistic stuff with their contributions. I like how the limited color palette here makes this look kind of like a single-block woodcut or similar relief printing. Like, you could plausibly see this as a design someone's carved into a wood block, then printed on mustard-yellow paper with purple ink. (I'm actually not 100% sure that's not what it is; I would just be surprised if someone actually went the extra mile of breaking out the engraving tools for my little bestiaryposting thing.) Very dynamic scene, also, and a charming creature design; love the huge mouths with pointy little fangs.

All right, these are all the ones that come up on the search; if I missed yours, let me know please.

(I have to apologize here for another delay that's absolutely my fault -- I would have had this out a few hours ago, but I got derailed by impulsively deciding to check out that Hbomberguy plagiarism video everyone's talking out, and... yeah.)

Anyway, as a number of this week's artists indicated, this one was really easy to guess, so the reveal seems a little pointless, but we have a format, so:

Obviously, this was the sheep.

What? Look, you can't make assumptions with these things. Some of these medieval bestiary entries are really counterintuitive. Medieval Europeans believed there was a species of small, highly-social, flying nocturnal sheep native to Ethiopia.

Really, it's in Pliny the Elder.

...

Yes, fine, I'm just lying to you for fun. It's the animal you all think it is, there are no flying sheep to my knowledge. Here's the Aberdeen Bestiary illustration.

Yep, it's the bat. Oddly human face on that one, and generally I don't think this was drawn from life, but it's definitely a bat.

I do kind of find the way it's described in this entry kind of interesting, though. The confusion about whether bats count as having wings (even after having been placed in the "bird" category) is kind of odd, and the "rowing" description is not one I would have ever thought of. I very much like the declaration that the way bats huddle together is "an act of love of a sort which is difficult to find among men"; it's a sweet way to talk about a creature with a generally negative reputation, which contrasts interestingly with the fact that the author also thinks of them as "lowly" and "mean". You kind of get the idea of a creature that's a bit wretched but in a sympathetic way. "Scrungly", one might say.

[accio-sriracha]

Hii! @bradleysass thank you so much for tagging me in Your Post!

It looks like a super fun wip game, and I think I'll ask @silence-between-seconds @regulusblxxk @equippedtolove and @menwrittenbywomen ONLY if they want to do it, because I'm curious about their wips🧐 but open tags!

Tell us the name of your/ one of your WIP(s)

I have SO many, but I'll go with If Not For Wings

Describe your wip/one of your wips in the format of “___ + ___ =___”

Jegulus + Icarus = ... depressing southern poetry?

What tags or warnings will your / one of your wip(s) need?

Well... there's a few, but Major Character Death, Multiple Pie Addictions, and Southern James Potter I feel might be the most important

An alternative title to your/ one of your WIP(s)?

The acronym "INFW" was decided, but originally (in the VERY beginning of the project) the fic was going to be named "The Tragedy of The Sun"

Which wip you're most likely to finish next?

This is funny because I'm literally working my way down a list right now, trying to finish them all. The next is a drarry fic called "A Heart For The Holidays"

What is your document of your wip called? (not the story's actual title but what it's saved as)

Technically it's called "☀️ The Draft" but the entire doc is just labeled "If Not For Wings"

Post any sentence from your wip:

I couldn't choose so...

“Whatever you say, cowboy.” Regulus smiled back, grabbing James' black hat from the countertop and putting it on his own head.

And, of course:

James looked away, a single tear rolling down his cheeks. He had never been a fan of poetry anyway.

A scrapped idea for your WIP

Well, there was actually only one throughout the entire thing. I originally had Sirius overhear a conversation from his mother...

She was talking about Regulus.

Sirius felt his heart race, fear overcame him in waves.

They found Regulus.

What’s a story you’d love to write but haven’t even started yet?

I actually only have one wip that doesn't have anything written down yet. It's called If It Comes To It:

A zombie apocalypse has torn humanity to shreds. With less than half the population still alive, survivors need to band together in order to keep safe from the spreading infections.

Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter, and Peter Pettigrew couldn't be less alike. But in times like these? They were the closest thing to family they had.

How many Wips?

HAHAHAHAHAHA

122...

Is there a scene or anything in the WIP you are struggling with right now?

Right now the full rough draft is done so I think my main struggle is trying to edit😭

And because I'm a sucker for sneak peaks, this is a small side plot from Chapter 10:

Sirius shouted for Evan to play the song again and he did.

Barty’s laugh was loud, infectious, Sirius found himself laughing too.

Sirius lifted his free hand into the air, letting the force of the wind push it backwards.

It was like magic, the way his whole body seemed to come to life all at once.

He was going to find his brother.

The thoughts made him laugh again, letting out a shout into the open air, swallowed by the wind and the swell of the music. Barty whooped loudly as well, raising his own hand into the air.

Even Evan was laughing, cranking up the volume on the song until it drowned out everything but this feeling humming in Sirius’ very soul.

[marchiekana]

Greetings fella, I have way too many ideas and since I love your writing I'll drop some over time. Can I request an s/o with calloused and rough hands with some of the hsr ladies maybe Kafka, Stelle and Serval ? I don't know if you do Asta too, there isn't enough love for her she is so witty and sweet 😞

Hsr ladies with a s/o who has rough hands?? Count me in babes🫡

This is basically a word vomit i did while speed running through my projects🤭

Kafka x reader

Stelle x reader

Asta x reader

✨ fluff, established relationships, women❤️, cuteness, reader is a fighter in Stelle's, and Asta's.

Kafka

(your a violinist in this.)(no questions asked. Shush.)

Kafka doesn't really mind it cause she has calloused hands too since she wields a katana (probably?) And she loves that your hands are calloused and rough because you play the violin. Shows how much of a hardworking person you are.

Also loves it when you play for her. As a certified violin enjoyer, Kafka would definitely ask you to play her a a song and would praise you for how well you play.

Holds your hands ALL the time. Clingiest women in the whole of HSR fr.

Will unconsciously play with your hands or hair while talking to you or doing other things. She just loves touching you all the time. Overall she's a touchy women so let her touch you (😏)

Stelle

Stelle calls you and her as the "Power couple of the century" (self proclaimed)

This women is just absolutely, shamelessly, indefinitely in love with you (let me be delulu for a while pls) and so she loves every part of you which includes your hands too. As a fighter herself she too has calloused hands, and in her words, having rough hands shows how strong you are! Maybe it was her way of saying she loves your hands.

Will hold your hands all the time too(like mother like daughter) clingy women no.2 also shows off to everyone that your her lover. You don't see the point but oh well. Just let her go crazy(as if she wasn't already ❤️) the type of girl to boast about her lover and tell how great and nice they are .

Also loves how strong you are. Kinda relieved to know that you can keep yourself safe, but that won't stop her from protecting you.

Asta

This girlfailure probably doesn't even notice! But ofc you don't care. But really she does know how rough your hands are but just doesn't ask cause she knows it's normal for someone who fights

She's quite busy too so less time with you. The most time you spend together are in the mornings and night or when she has a break. It's sad but it's fineee you know how much she loves you.

Will also hold your hands when you're out on a date(which is rare af) and most of your dates consist of going to the museum or an aquarium!(you'd have to scold and stop her cuz she ends up spending too much money.)

On days you feel insecure of your hands or body, she'll always be right next to you. She'll say something cheesy like" this shows how strong you are, and how much you've practiced and improved in fighting love" with a geeky smile and a flushed face(such a girlfailure fr. I love her) Will try to take you clothes shopping but then again she bought you clothes just a few days ago. And a few days before that. And a few more days before that. And- well you get the point she spoils you rotten and doesn't even realise that she's spoiling you. Sugar mommy (unintentionally)

Only wrote for three cause now I'm just tryna speedrun through my drafts cause I'm busy for the next two weeks. But ANYWAYS women + boobies=happiness (this is exactly why I'm single 😔)

-------—-------—-------—-------—------—------

© marchiekana do not repost, copy, translate or, plagiarize my work .

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

[bisexualnerd]

Writer tag game

I wasn’t tagged, but I saw the game randomly posted by another user so I want to play anyway! (red for fic links and blue for series links)

1. how many works do you have on AO3?

35 (and only one draft because I don't really like working on multiple projects at the same time)

2. what's your total AO3 word count?

395,306

3. what fandoms do you write for?

I write the most for Batfam, mostly Tim and Jason but usually, the whole fam (more or less) is also there.

I write a bit more for some other fandoms but there are only one or two fics for each (2021 Produce 101 - Chuang Zao Ying, Hollywood Undead (but these fics are not finished), Julie and The Phantoms (1 fic - finished), Arsenal Military Academy + The Legends (they are kinda connected in 1 fic) and I have like, one translation project too.

I'm hoping to write Star Wars fics one day too. Really like the whole time travel thing and Obi-Wan is my beloved.

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The Monster Under My Bed (The Monster Down The Hall)

"Back Away From Him."

if i lose everything in the fire, i'm sending all my love to you

Cold

A Pile of Sleeping Birds

5. do you respond to comments?

All of the comments, definitely. I really enjoy reading and replying to them and sometimes, I even come back to re-read the comments to feel validated 🤣

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

I write angst a lot but I have a thing for happy endings. But if I look at the fics individually and not like, as a part of a bigger series, it might be i have so much to say but you're so far away. But if not just the ending but the whole plot in general, it can be any fic really (I would recommend Restless Heart Syndrome, And Now You're Home, The Monster Under My Bed (The Monster Down The Hall), and What The Heart Remembers).

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

They all have some sort of happy endings (though some fics that are a part of a series might not but the series will have happy endings). But since all I have talked about is Batfam, I would recommend this from Julie and the Phantoms. I don't write romance often, but this is just a short soft, cute love story of two ghosts (Reggie and an OC based on his real-life wife) plus some humour in the band - ‘Cause I’m Not Too Far And You’re My Favorite Place. I was very satisfied with how it turned out and I still come back to re-read for my own enjoyment a few times so I hope you guys will give it a chance.

8. do you get hate on fics?

My most controversial fic would be Hold Me Close, Don't Let Go (Watch Me Burn) but it's not like people showed hate to me. They just didn't like the story and how I wrote it so there were some unpleasant comments. The newest one, I think I did well with my response. It's a rather heavy fic because I went through a really rough time when I was writing it (along with many others) so if you want to read it, be careful.

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

I don't. My fics are all rated G or T (mostly because of swearing and violence, and also some with suicidal theme or idealisation because I did have a really bad time).

10. do you write crossovers?

Just for two fandoms, Arsenal Military Academy & The Legends, because they share the same lead actor and actress so I thought it would be fun to write something about reincarnation. It's Then and Now, Forever and Always.

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don't think I'm famous enough for that.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, into Chinese, actually. It's The Monster Under My Bed (The Monster Down The Hall). The link to the translated fic is in the fic.

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Not really. I planned my current series How To Steal A Brother with my friend Den and she is also my beta-reader for this series but I still write all of the stuff, which she reads and corrects the mistakes for me later.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

That's hard to choose. I really like Robin (Dick Grayson) and Starfire. It was like my first ship ever because I watched Teen Titans as a child. I also like Marinette/Adrien, very cute but the secondhand embarrassment is not very healthy for me (at least she has gotten better at interacting with him). The Doctor (10th) and Rose was one heartbreak that got me crying like a baby in 8th grade.

So honestly, I don't think I can pick because those were the three that came to my mind first, but I still have like a few dozen left.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

The Hollywood Undead fic - When Gravity Pulls You In. It was a really fun idea but then I ran into a big writer's block and I haven't recovered for this fic. I have been writing for Batfam again but I doubt I can go back and finish this one (at least anytime soon).

16. What are your writing strengths?

I don't think I'm too good with dialogue but I do have a strength in describing and like some sort of metaphor (English is not my first language so this is a difficult question to answer). I don't know if this is also considered a strength but like I said, I don't really write many fics at the same time so I can manage them pretty well. Most of my fics are completed before I move on to another one.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Dialogue. And I forget a lot of stuff so I have to go back to the earlier part so the plot won't be inconsistent. And of course, I write in English, which is not my mother tongue, so sometimes, I lack vocabulary or my grammar can feel weird.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I mean, I would add translation or explanation very subtly in there. But I saw a Star Wars fic where the writer had like, floating texts or something for the conversations in Mando'a so like, I will research on that if I need to write in another language.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Batfam. Tim-centric.

20. Favourite fic you've written?

Damn, that's like asking a parent for their fav child on national television.

In terms of like, wording and metaphors and descriptions and all the technical stuff - And Now You're Home - because some of my fav paragraphs are in here. In terms of logic, time can never change for the flying bird under the summer sun because I went crazy with all the planning for the whole time-travel-but-nothing-changes-the-future thing. In terms of plot, i'm so out of touch with everyone, and everything's a blur to me. This was one of my earlier ones but when I came back to this earlier this year, I found it so enjoyable and fascinated. I couldn't even believe I wrote this one. But it is a part of a series so you might want to check out I've Got You Brother.

This has been fun and I have been shamelessly PR-ing my fics. I don't really know who to tag so anyone else who wants to play, go ahead and have fun!

[bunnbam]

Move on ( Lee Heeseung)

Quote: We're not who we used to be- Two ghosts

Ready for more?

syn: Your boyfriend had asked you to walk with him on the Hangang bridge without telling you why. But felt that you knew exactly what he was going to say. Wc: 400+

Contains: Anst? Fluff?, Petnames (Princess..)

It was cold were you stood. The wind was rough against your face as you felt the tears start to fill your eyes.

"I don't want you to cry" Heeseung said, as he also started to sob.

The two of you were standing on the Hangang bridge only two meters apart. You wanted to reach out and hug him som bad, but you knew. You knew that if you did, you would never be able to let go.

You had known that this moment would come for a wile now. All the dates that never happened, all the times that either of you had canceled on the other for no reason. You never hung out anymore, and even though how much you wanted it not be true, you both knew that the feelings between you two had changed.

"But why? Why can't we just figure it out Hee?" It was hard for you to understand. No matter how much you though about it, it never made sense. When did it go wrong? How did it go wrong?

"You know why. Things have changed, we just can't" You saw he didn't meen it, you saw he didn't want to.

You felt lost where you stood. It felt like he was moving farther and farther away from you, even though he was still standing right there. You felt dizzy, you felt like the world was turning.

"Y/N!" Heeseung yelled when you fell. He tried catching you, but failed last minute. He picked you up in a sitting position on the ground as he tried to get your attention. "Y/n? Can you hear me?" His voice was weak, breaking slightly as he spoke.

You looked him in the eyes, giving your best attempt on a smile. "I'm fine hee, I'm ok" You were both left in silence the only thing you could hear was the waves under you both.

"Hee?" He turned his head twards you as you broke the silence.

"Yes princess?"

Can I ask for one last thing?" he nodded for you to continue. "Can I get one last kiss, please?"

He chuckled, "Of course, anything for you princess"

Even though it hurt so much. The pain hurt a little less in the moment that his lips touched yours. The same lips that you had loved and cherished for two years. You tasted the salt of the tears rolling down your cheeks and in between your lips.

But even though the wind was howling and your heart was in a million peaces, you felt whole in this moment, never wanting it to end. But alas, as your lips parted and reality ret in, you knew you would be ok. It was going to take some time, but you would be fine.

Eventually

hmmmmm, i don't know what I think about this one. Was it angst? I don't know. PRO TIP! If you ever think about writing angst or like a genre you aren't that close to, read a bit before. it might idk help ig.

But anyway, this was legit the fourth out of my drafts because the story KEPT CHANGING man, but here it is, yippeiiiii!

ALSO can you walk on the Hangang bridge? I tried looking it up but I found legit nothing😭 but I wrote that you can so it’s ok 👍🏽

[vir-tanadahl]

Please don't feel any pressure to respond - I just wanted to send you a big internet hug following your post about your writing and your decision to go private. Ten days or so ago, I similarly had a panic attack and a half about my own writing following some of the big callout posts regarding AI usage. In a moment of weakness, I ran some of my own excerpts through AI checkers (predominantly Originality.Ai) with similarly all over the place results with no rhyme or reason (apart from the fact that it seems to hate nearly ALL of my historical fiction pieces with formal dialogue). It made me feel like absolute garbage about my writing (and like you, I have my outlines, edits, drafts, etc...) because even with all of those things and the time spent writing, it'd be so easy for someone to just take a sample, run it through an AI to look for AI (ironic, isn't it?) and force me to defend and justify myself with evidence and reciepts... which... I don't think fanfiction writers should need to do just because someone thinks that they should. Anyway. I am rambling. If what you need to do is distanct yourself for a while, I totally get it. This is meant to be a a for-fun hobby, not a point of stress.

If you ever want to vent or chat, please feel free to drop me a line! I'm in a pretty chill group of creators/writers with a similar stance, as well, should you ever want to drop into say hi.

Yeah, I think I accidentally sent myself into a panic attack last night ;.; I kept trying to edit the piece so it wouldn’t get flagged, but nothing was working unless I wrote in the most plain, stripped-down way possible.

Yes! Originality.AI was the one that said my work was 100% AI ;.; ZeroGPT said it was human with 7.5% AI and Undetectable AI said it was 100% human written.

I honestly can't figure out what each AI detector is actually looking for. And if I tried reaching out to the companies, I’m sure I’d just get some vague response about how their detector uses a "proprietary blend" proprietary information and they can’t share the details.

Yes! I also noticed that if I write more formally, I keep getting flagged left and right. It’s super frustrating because formal writing is just how I write. In my job, I have to do a lot of clinical notes and documentation, which are naturally more structured and formal—so now it feels like I’m being penalized just for writing the way I’m used to.

All of my "proof" is kind of chaotic. I usually start by physically writing out my ideas in a notebook because I like being able to hold them. Then I put together a rough outline to map out where I want everything to go. After that, I work on the first few chapters to get a feel for the story as a whole. Once I have that foundation, I go back and create a more structured outline for the rest of the chapters.

My drafts are even more chaotic because I usually only keep one or two documents—I find having too many versions of the same modified draft overwhelming. But this new program that was recommended to me (and that I’m trying out) might actually help with that!

Like, I write fanfic for fun. I like playing in someone else's sandbox. I like just being able to show up and write and not have to really focus on worldbuilding.

I’m going to take a few days to process everything before deciding whether to keep my work private or make it public again. Cause honestly, this whole thing has been so overwhelming and stressful.

And honestly, thank you ;.; I think I’ll check that group out because I really thought I was the only one feeling this way.

[altraviolet]

Hello Violet!!!

So I've been wondering about The Echo Garden, when you started it did you have a plan in mind? I think you get these sorts of questions often but, did you ever intend for it to get this big? And one final thing, when you went into The Echo Garden did you edit it as you go or did you write the whole thing out and then edited it? I love your work by the way, keep it up!

Hi potato-sauce!

[googles "potato sauce" to see if that's a thing, finds Czech recipe. oh hell yeah, that looks really good]

:D

>did you have a plan in mind?

I had the very rough plan of "Soundwave needs to go from not feeling to feeling, and then on the side I need to develop Soundwave/Rodimus in a realistic way against the backdrop of the Lost Light." Sub plans included "make the other alt-dimensioners each have a problem that SW solves" and "make the LL bots have different reactions to SW" and "uhhhhh he needs a hobby. crystals?"

My method of writing is more "discovery" than "planned," or at least it was until the end of the fic. Until, say around ch 40ish, I had Vague Ideas for what needed to happen in each chapter, and so I'd write them [aka each ch needs to complete X goals to push the narrative forward], and then as I went, my brain somehow magically sewed almost everything up together. Once it got towards the end of the fic, I could 'see' where things needed to end up. But even then, things were quite fluid when it came to sitting down and typing up any given chapter.

>did you ever intend for it to get this big?

No. I had no intentions at all. I didn't even have a GUESS or a THOUGHT it would get this big. The pairing was SO weird, I thought maybe 2 people would read it. Maybe. One of them has been with me since the beginning, and the other is a friend. I was SO sure everyone would go "pff weird" and skip over it. I was really nervous posting it, actually.

Keep in mind that the pairing is fairly well-known now, and that also a lot of people extrapolated soundrod from Cyberverse. so it doesn't feel weird now. BUT IT WAS INCREDIBLY WEIRD when I posted Ch 1

>when you went into The Echo Garden did you edit it as you go or did you write the whole thing out and then edited it?

I wrote it out over the period of 4 years and posted chapters as they were finished. anyone who read along as it was being posted would never know when a chapter would drop xD I tried very hard not to let too much time elapse between chapters, but sometimes there were large gaps. and other times I'd post 3 chapters within a week. I got too excited to dole them out more slowly, haha. I was bursting to share :D chapters usually came out on Sunday nights or around USA holidays, because I needed some temporal distance from my job in order to get my brain working

I don't think I could've finished the fic if I had fully written it out and then posted it. the comments I got while it was an ongoing WIP helped boost me and made me feel so happy, and that what I was doing was important and worth my time, and worth something to other people. without comments, the Echo Garden probably never would have been finished. that's why I always tell people to comment! especially on ongoing WIPs that you love. it's so encouraging and helpful for authors to know that their hard work is being enjoyed!

anyway I wrote each chapter and then edited the HECK out of it and then posted it when I was done. I also wrote a lot of things out of order, so sometimes when I got to the next chapter, I could grab a chunk of writing from my 'already written scenes' doc and then write around it to sew it into the existing story

the only editing I did after the fic was completely done was going through and fixing grammar/related mistakes. there are a couple things I would change, structurally, if I were going to go through and really edit it, as one should do with a novel. technically, the version on AO3 right now is the first draft! the fic could be edited further, but I'm going to let it stand where it is =)

thanks for the ask! cheers :)

[festivating]

hi!!!! absolutely LOVING attrition, I wanted to ask about your writing process...

how long have you had the idea for the story? what's your outlining process like? how big of a backlog did you have before you started posting?

your dedication and committment to this fic is incredibly impressive and i am astonished (and grateful!!!!) for the consistent weekly updates and fr i just wanna know how you manage it all... (speaking as someone who has been working on the same 40ish chapter fic for over 5 years lol....)

keep up the fantastic work!!

Omg hiiiii friend thank you for the questions I LOVE talking about writing!! I usually start writing long stories after I get an idea for a particular scene, and then I heavily outline around that scene and I plan everything down to the smallest detail, but for attrition I just.... didn't plan at all, that fic spawned to existence out of pure whimsy and happenstance. It was supposed to be a ONE SHOT 😭I started writing it in May of 2023 after I read the first book and I was like mm wouldn't it be interesting if Glinda found Elphaba at the convent surely this won't be longer than 5k words...

I am a severely delusional person.

By the time I hit 20k words I realized perhaps it would not be a one shot lol. I didn't really have an outline I just kept throwing ideas on the page thinking eventually I would just run out of things to say, but it actually took a very long time before that happened. The backlog is pretty much the whole fic tbh, I finished it all and sent it to my beta reader (who was horrified because the whole thing was one massive document not even divided into chapters) and then we went back and forth for months while I polished things up, tightened loose ends, added foreshadow, cleaned up the prose and things like that.

I'm still working on revising the final chapters, but the fic was 80% done before I started posting in November! I am truly more of an editor than I am a writer, the first draft of this thing was finished very quickly and it was very rough, so it took a lot of revisions before I was satisfied.

But anyway, yeah! I may not be the best person to ask how to manage it all because my process is weird I write super fast very unpolished first drafts then spend two lifetimes editing and revising. Mad respect to you and other writers who are able to write exactly what they want from the start and post that to incredible results!!

[sloppysequinz]

hiii glitz [cool new nickname for you]

i was wondering if you could speak on your writing process? all your stories are so good and as someone who veeery occasionally writes i'm curious how you go about doing it? thanks !

[definitly not drunk-girl shh]

Ok definitely not @drunk-girl! I've been dwelling on this ask for quite a while. I really appreciated the question a lot :) This answer ended up being kind of long so I put it under a read more for courtesy. Also I loooove the nickname glitz <3

So generally my writing process starts with a little seed of an idea. It could be a text post or a photo I see on here, something that happens across my mind while I'm out and about, it could be a suggestion from a friend. Baby's First House Party came from being in a town where I used to go to school and feeling nostalgic about house parties, Step-Mom came from a story with drunken wetting on here that I just found unexpectedly hot, Meet Cute came from memories of when I lived in a place with a screen door that had a view of my whole living room. The idea just has to spark some kind of interest in me. Sometimes I recognize it right away, sometimes it takes a little bit.

Then I usually spend some time fleshing it out, just in my mind. For me, this usually happens right when I'm falling asleep. I tend to daydream about horny stuff in bed anyway, so it kinda comes naturally. I just spend some time figuring out character dynamics, what the "core" scene or scenario I'm getting at, and to be crude, what turns me on. I follow the turn on down the rabbit hole and let it take the wheel. Sometimes I don't realize I have a good idea until I'm lying in bed fantasizing about something I hadn't thought about before. Sometimes I think I have a good idea, but if I cant generate organic fantasies about it, it won't make a good story.

Usually by the time I sit down to write, I have a good idea of what the characters are, the key thing I want to get to, and how I'm going to get there. For characters, I don't necessarily have names, but a general personality and archetype. When I say key "thing", that's usually whatever I find hottest in the imagined scenario that I want to frame in the center. For Step-mom, this was the scene of her drooling on the table and grabbing her own tits while pissing. For Meet Cute, this was Mel staring in awe as Yvette chugged a whole can of beer. For the first Mona and Lacy story, it was Lacy drunkenly begging Mona to drink while calling her mommy. I have a rough idea of how I'm getting those characters to that big scene.

Usually I just sit down and start writing from the beginning, describing the scene as I see it in my head and writing any dialogue I've thought of that seems hot or in character. Sometimes the characters will surprise me and say something I'm not expecting. Sometimes I have enough momentum to just write the whole thing from start to finish and be done, but not usually. Usually I'll write the opening, then I'll just jot down bullet points for the rest of the story. As an example, I pulled this from a draft of a sequel to Meet Cute that I'm still working on:

Yvette's a little forgetful but lets her in

Mel has brought more beer and a bucket of fried chicken

Yvette has two of the 12 beers left and half a pizza

Wants Mel's help to finish the pizza

"Come sit."

Once I have a rough outline of all the events I want to happen, I go back and slowly flesh them out. Depending on how much time I've spent dwelling on the idea, I may take some time here to workshop what works and what doesn't, what's hot and what isn't. Also, sometimes I start with the juice scene I want to get to, then do bullets for both before and after.

Once I've gotten it all written down, I save it as a draft and leave it alone. I come back a day or two later and proofread it. Once I'm done tinkering, I tag it and hit post (sometimes I realize there are typos or mistakes and I'll just edit the post if I have to).

In general though, the strength of my writing comes from the fact that I am a 30 year old woman who writes for my job. My work writing is a very different kind of writing (which makes this a fun break), but all the same, I have a LOT of practice. On top of that, I have multiple academic degrees that required a lot of writing to get. I also love to read and have read a lot of books. My advice if you're looking to get better at writing is just to do a LOT of it, and to read a lot of books. When I first got into intox kink at 21, I couldn't even figure out how to write down my fantasies, and now I just can't stop.

[bullet-prooflove]

Sending hugs always!

Rain: Have you ever made yourself cry with your own writing?  If so, what was it?

Grass: What’s the biggest change you’ve made in your WIP since you started it?

Ice: What do you always get stuck on when writing?

Please and thank you.

Rain: Have you ever made yourself cry with your own writing?  If so, what was it?

Yes a few times, however the worst time was when I came up with a story line for Stuart Scola’s partner Sasha. They’d just divorced in their storyline and then spent the night together after a long time apart and I was trying to figure out which direction to take them next.

I had this idea that Stuart left his scarf and she returned it to him. She went to his house to return it and realised that  seeing him around his kid was too hard so didn’t stick around like Stuart wanted her too.(They had broken up because she couldn’t give him kids and then he found out he had a son with someone else).

Anyway later that day she is called to diffuse a bomb but it’s impossible due to the way it’s built. They are trying to evacuate a building and the only way to buy them more time is to clutch a deadman’s switch which will effectively kill her when she lets go. At the end Jubal asks her if there’s anyone she wants him to call over the radio and she thinks of Stuart but she can’t do that to him and she says “No there’s no one” and for me that was a so sad, that she literally has no one in those final minutes, she’s alone. Jubal’s there on the radio but it’s not the same. The bomb explodes and she died and Jubal has to tell Stuart who is devastated esp when Jubal expresses she was alone at the end.

Stuart discovers she took care of her own funeral arrangements because death is always a huge possibility in her job. She basically arranged a direct to cremation service so no one would have to deal with it. There’s no memorial, just a cremation that’s already taken place, Stuart asks what will happen to her ashes and he’s told they’ll eventually be scattered along with the other ashes that are unclaimed and it breaks his heart. He takes them and scatters them in the place they got married because she’s always loved it there. On special occasions he returns there and puts flowers down for her.

After rough drafting the whole thing it made me really upset. As to date I’ve not used this storyline and I’m not sure I will.

Grass: What’s the biggest change you’ve made in your WIP since you started it?

So the biggest change is probs with the above WIP. Instead of going that route, I ended up with a prompt that changed everything. Instead of Sasha turning up at Stuart’s place and realising she could never be a part of his life, they accidently bumped into each other the next day during a meeting regarding an prison escapee, the guy was someone who had tortured them both in the past. They both shared a moment and ended up going into a safehouse together with his son Jack, rebuilding they’re relationship.

Ice: What do you always get stuck on when writing?

I don’t really get stuck because I’m usually good at working out  what isn’t working during a piece. Usually if I start meandering, I know I’ve made a bad decision somewhere so I go back and try and find out what it is.

An example with this would be with a Dwight Manfredi fic I was working on recently called Poker Face. I was having trouble with the ending and I realised it was because the deal they were making was unfairly balanced, there was no reason for Dahlia to take her poker games to the Buck. So I started to think about incentives, what did he have to offer her that she couldn’t get herself and it turned out to be legitimacy, there’s a lot of risk with illegal high stakes poker games and he has a gambling licence she can work under which legitimises the way she makes money. Once I worked that out, the story fell into place and ended up being great.