#so i was like. okay. so i’d basically only be getting £10 maximum after shipping

[fingertipsmp3]

I love starting to do something and just, immediately realising I have neither the patience nor the communication skills for it lol

[unforth]

Hi there! I absolutely loooove the destiel fic collection and think that it's a genius way to expose fans to fics that might not always get as much attention on fic recs and when searching on ao3. I was thinking of trying to create a similar collection for another fandom and was wondering if you have any tips? Or if there's anything that you wish you knew when you started it? Thank you!

Hi!! Just for openers, sorry I didn’t reply to this yesterday, my mom’s basement flooded and took with it all my writing time, sigh. ANYWAY. On to the topic at hand. How to make a “faves survey” for another fandom, and have it resemble what I’ve made for Destiel? Well, here’s what I’ve done, hopefully some of it will be applicable to you...

1. This is the most important part: Do NOT let it become or be perceived as a popularity contest. Never release the raw stats (except perhaps to a small number of people who you trust to help you). Never announce a “winner.” Never share a ranked list. Never act as if more votes equals better. Never ever suggest in anyway that your purpose to find “the best.” Treat people and fics who get one vote with just as much fanfare as people and fics who get 50 votes. I do release a “top 20″ list just because so many people asked, but even then, it’s in alphabetical order, and meant more as a snapshot. Encourage people to vote for their favorites that aren’t already in whatever collection you end up making, and encourage people to vote for things they don’t usually see on rec lists. Aim for an expansive range of types of fics being voted for, and make it clear - no ship shaming (or secondary ship shaming, if yours is ship-based like mine, rather than being general to a given fandom) or kink shaming. 

2. Keep the survey super simple. People don’t read complex instructions, and they’re not going to want to rank lists or anything like that. You can see the one I use here. Feel free to emulate it, copy it, modify it for your own purposes. I used to just do boxes but people would routinely put in way more than 5/10, and while I didn’t really mind the extras, it greatly increased the amount of work I had to do, and since the survey routinely gets a couple hundred replies that I go through, I decided to make it a little harder for people to go over the limits. Don’t bother asking for people’s names or trying to validate the results. I’ve tried. People don’t want to put their names, and validation encourages people not to submit...AND doesn’t prevent cheating...so is really pointless. Just keep it anonymous, after four rounds I can say...that works best.

3. And, speaking of people going over the limits, and cheating...people will cheat. No matter how clear you are that number of votes don’t matter, no matter how much you insist that whatever data you’re collecting will only be used in so-and-so a way...you will spot people “cheating,” for various definitions of the word cheating. People who vote for their own works. People will submit multiple surveys. People will “ballot box stuff” for their favorite(s). People will list more than the maximums you’ve asked them to. People will submit works from other ships, and - though it’s never happened to me - if you make it fandom-general I’ll lay heavy odds at least one dumbass will submit for some other fandom entirely. It happens in different permutations every time, some more obvious than others, but it happens. And the conclusion I reached is...so fucking what? In the end, since the idea is to highlight as many different great works as possible...screw it. Let people vote for themselves. Let people ballot box stuff. Let people submit multiple surveys, or list more than whatever maximums you’ve set. In the end, since every work is treated as equal and one vote is worth as much as a hundred...if they’re cheating to up the vote count, it’s irrelevant, and if they’re cheating to vote for more works, then yay! more works to include! and basically the only thing I’ve found that reduces cheating is to make it absolutely clear to people that I’d really rather they not but ultimately I can’t stop them, so do their thing I guess? And it does help. I got less cheating each time I do it, or at least less that I’m able to catch lol. (as a side note - the one exceptions is the “works for others ships.” Those you can see listed on the “INELIGIBLE” sheet of the spreadsheet I link below, but I don’t add them to the AO3 collection.)

4. Spreadsheets are your best friend. You’re going to want some way to organize the data you’re collecting. I’ve got a public version of the sheet I use that you can see here. It’s pretty similar to my “private” version, except the private version includes actual vote counts, separated by which time(s) I did the survey that the work in question got votes. I mostly use that data so I can do comparisons over the years (“this year X works were added to the collection that were never in it before!”) and because I like numbers. However, depending on how exactly you plan to use the data, you may not even need to tally vote counts, and you could do one that’s more similar to my public version. Also, if you make an AO3 collection, you’re going to want some way to track which works you’ve invited, which have been added, etc., cause otherwise it’s just a nightmare to keep track of. (a little more on this later).

5. Decide how and where you’re going to share your data - as an AO3 collection? As a public spreadsheet? On social media? Maybe you want to make a side Tumblr just for it? Or a Discord server? etc. etc. Like, I’ve got a pillowfort group (though I hardly use it) and a channel in a Discord server (thanks again to the PB folks for making space for me!) with the AO3 collection being the main portal. You want to make sure that it’s advertised enough that people know it exists, and also be prepared that short term you’ll hear basically no feedback on whether people use it, and even long term it’ll be once in a blue moon and suddenly eight people will be like WAIT YOU’RE THE PERSON BEHIND THAT THING I LOVE THAT THING. In that respect it can feel a little thankless but I’ve definitely found that people do use it, it’s just that there’s no real way for people to let YOU know they’re using it (and, honestly...good? This isn’t really about us, after all, it’s about all these fic writers, the goal is to bring attention to them, not ourselves, we’re just a go-between for the writers and the readers.)

6. For making an AO3 collection, you’ll have to invite every single work individually. Some people have their accounts set to auto-accept invites, but otherwise whether the work actually gets added will depend on the authors. Some people will never accept the invite. Some people won’t know how to accept the invite. Some people will accept the invite and then subsequently remove their work. Some people have left these parts completely and will never even see the invite. That’s why it’s important to track who has added and who hasn’t, and periodically double check it (I double check every six months or so). For the people who don’t accept the invites for whatever reason, you can bookmark the item to the collection. HOWEVER, if you do this with your personal account, every single one of those bookmarks will be listed under your personal AO3, which is why I ultimately made the Faves survey its own account - it’s entirely to facilitate bookmarking. You can also use the “Bookmark External Work” feature to link to works that aren’t on AO3, and to tag them to whatever extent you want to. Here’s some examples of how I chose to bookmark external works.

7. Things will inevitably get complicated. Authors will change their names. People who do the survey will use shorthand you’ve never heard of for some fic you don’t know. People will misspell things and you’ll either recognize it even with the typo...or you won’t. People will vote for things that list eight different ships and you’ll have no idea which one is endgame. People will vote for things that have been deleted, or they’ll tell you it’s definitely on AO3 when it’s not, it’s on some other platform. The list of random things I’ve had to deal with is stupidly long and I’ve probably forgotten even more. Just...roll with it. Do your best. Ask for help (“Someone nominated a fic abbreviated as ABC to the collection and didn’t give the author and I have no idea what it is, help me Tumblr!”). And in the end, if you’ve done everything you can think of and you still don’t know...let it go. It’s just not that worth worrying about. And sometimes if you step away and look again in a few days you’ll figure out another way to search and it’ll pop up. But honestly I’ve got a handful of works I still haven’t been able to track down, and that one work that someone submitted that’s only available in Finnish and is explicit and behind a log-in wall on a small independent Finnish-only fic archive...well, I spoke to the author and confirmed the work exists, but otherwise...whelp, it’s not linked, and I did my best. That’s all you can do.

8. No matter what you do, someone somewhere will probably get upset about it. The first time I did the survey, when it got the most traction, I actually got a little hate, and I got some anons who were like “oooooo did you know that ~x~ is cheating” and I had a little “HOW DARE YOU NOT PLAY FAVORITES WHAT ABOUT MY PERSONAL FAVE?” and just...decide how you’re approaching the survey, and stick to your guns, and if anyone is a douche, hit the block button. And, related...

9. Transparency is most important imo. Not transparency for vote counts obviously, but transparency for what you’re doing, and why you’re doing it, and what you hope to accomplish. Make sure your goals are clear from the start (mine weren’t that first time, hence some of the problems I encountered) - if it’s to highlight as wide a range of works as possible, say that. If it IS to pick a favorite, say that too. Just be clear, and honest, and above board, and it should work out okay.

10. Side note...one of the saddest things about all this is that if you do it over an extended period you’ll see authors deleting their works. As such, I personally chose to download every work that gets a vote, that way it’s at least preserved. I then expanded that into a much larger archive that I’m still adding to all the time, trying to save as much Destiel as possible. But then, I’m an archivist at heart, whether you want to branch out in that kind of direction is up to you.

...okay, that’s everything I can think of. Hopefully I didn’t scare you too bad. I don’t know what fandom/ship you’re looking at but for perspective...first time I did the survey I got about 400 replies, and then the next two times it got about 200, and this most recent time it got about 300. I chose to do mine annually, on the assumption that gives some time for people to come and go for fandom and a lot of new works to get created, and I deliberately timed it for about a month after the biggest fandom event (the DCBB) that generates fics, to give people time to read those fics and consider them in their voting. For me, that means I happen to run the survey starting on January 1st, and I keep it limited to 15 days, since usually it tapers off anyway. But you could try experimenting with different schedules, or leaving it open all the time, etc., it just depends how much time you want to devote to monitoring and updating it. For me, I mostly want to do a big burst of work and then not have to think about it most of the rest of the time, lol.

So...questions? comments? thoughts? wanna tell me I’m dead wrong? I’m all ears, lemme know how I can help!

[tsarisfanfiction]

Fic Rec Bingo

Okie dokie, this is the Fan Rec Bingo - idea courtesy of lightvials on twitter, but I don’t have a twitter that I ever use, so I’m filling it out here instead.  Let’s see if I can fill it all out!

I did, and then some.  To save poor dashboards, it’s all under the cut!  If I know author tumblrs they’ve been mentioned - I know pitifully few so if anyone knows the ones I don’t, let me know so I can mention them, too!

A fic you love without knowing the source material: The Dragon-King’s Temple by Kyral (Stargate SG-1/Avatar the Last Airbender)

Through the spite of the spirits or plain rotten chance, a door that would have been better left untouched has opened. On the other hand, with Fire and Earth as one's allies, sometimes escaping is the easy part. Rated: Gen.  AO3 Archive Warning for Graphic Descriptions of Violence. Characters: Zuko, Toph Beifong, Janet Fraiser, Sam Carter, Jack O’Neill, and more Words: 196311.  Status: Complete

I very rarely read fics without already knowing the canon, but one that I think counts would be a Stargate/ATLA crossover, because I know nothing about Stargate and I have yet to finish ATLA!  This was recommended to me due to the creativity of the author regarding a language barrier (something I always enjoy, and my friend knows that).

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A fic series with a premise that shouldn’t work but it does: Crazy=Genius by blackkat (Bleach/Harry Potter)

Minerva McGonagall isn't about to let Harry go back to the Dursleys after his first year. She finds an alternative, and along the way, Bazzard Black finds that he might have more family left than he'd ever thought. Rated: Teen.  AO3 No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Bazz-B, Harry Potter, and more Words: 21682.  Status: Incomplete

Okay, I cheated and picked a series.  Not my fault blackkat decided to make this universe a series of oneshots rather than a single entity and you’re certainly not getting me to only pick one of the five already published ones.  Bazz-B being a Black and also kinda a wizard is a brilliant concept, and having him adopting Harry is pure gold.  Not sure how crazy Quincy adopting poor, neglected Boy Who Lives works, but it does!

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A fic you’ve reread several times: The Guardian (Director’s Cut) by SGTBrowncoat (Naruto)

Itachi Uchiha receives his first mission in ANBU: protecting a certain trouble making Jinchuriki. He bonds quickly with the boy, but dark forces rise to threaten Itachi, Naruto, and those they care for most. Rated: T.  Canon-typical violence Characters: Uchiha Itachi, Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Shisui and more (includes Uchiha Itachi/Inuzuka Hana background pairing) Words: 35945.  Status: Complete

Back to my first ever fandom, here, and a really fun non-massacre AU fic, with lots of Itachi and Shisui goodness.  There are a fair few ANBU-looking-after-kid-Naruto fics but this is by far my favourite of them!  There is a sequel, but unfortunately it’s not finished and hasn’t been updated in a long time (I live in hope!)

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A fic you still remember many years later: While The Ring Went South by Thundera Tiger (Lord of the Rings)

What happened after the Fellowship left Rivendell but before they came down off Caradhras? Behold the missing scenes. Rated: K+.  Canon-typical violence Characters: Legolas, Gimli, Aragon, Gandalf, the whole Fellowship Words: 149624.  Status: Complete

I refound this fic completely by accident the other week, after first reading it (according to when I favourited it on FFN) in 2011!  It was just as amazing as I remembered, and is really the standard I hold all other LotR fics to, especially ones that involve the entire, pre-Moria, Fellowship.  It has a sequel but sadly that’s not been updated in some time (but again, I live in hope!)

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A comfort fic: There May Be Some Collateral Damage by metisket (Bleach/Harry Potter)

Ichigo’s been ordered to go undercover at a magic school to bodyguard a kid named Harry Potter, and this would be fine, except that he’s about as good at bodyguarding as he is at magic. And he considers it a good day, magic-wise, if he hasn’t set anything on fire. Rated: Gen.  AO3 No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Kurosaki Ichigo, Harry Potter, Weasley Twins, and more. Words: 61209.  Status: Complete

I have no idea what this means by ‘Comfort Fic’ but if I want a laugh and Umbridge getting a pile of comeuppance, this is definitely the fic I’ll turn to.  As the A/N says: ‘sending Ichigo to Hogwarts is basically the same as swinging a wrecking ball directly into the side of the castle’.  Beautiful chaos is what we get.  Beautiful, beautiful chaos.

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A cathartic fic: See You Again by cookietosser (One Piece)

Rocinante has been through a lot in his life. Adding uncontrollable time travel into the mix? That's just the icing on the cake. Rated: Teen.  AO3 Violence and (canon) Character Death Warnings Characters: Donquioxte Rocinante|Cora-san, Trafalgar Law, Heart Pirates Words: 15755.  Status: Complete

You want to rip my heart out and trample it into lots of little pieces while still making it all better because Law and Rocinante?  Well, this little time-traveller’s wife AU fic is just the one for all that.  Sad moments, frustrating moments, happy moments, all wrapped up in this oneshot!

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A fic you’d print and put on your bookshelf: Thrower of the Dart by Vathara (Artemis Fowl/The Avengers)

What might have happened instead of Artemis Fowl book 6, if it'd happened in the Marvel Universe. Megalomaniacs ahoy! Rated: Teen.  AO3 No Archive Warnings Characters: Artemis Fowl II, Tony Stark, and more Words: 101272.  Status: Complete

It’s long, it’s epic, and it would nestle in perfectly at home alongside my Artemis Fowl books on the bookshelf!  It’s not so much a rewrite of book 6 as a complete replacement of it, with a new plot and an all too familiar villain!

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A fic you associate with a song: Goodbye, Brother by Serena Estelle (Bleach)

Ilforte's final moments as I like to picture them-with his brother. Rated: T.  Canonical character death Characters: Szayelaporro Granz, Yylfordt Granz Words: 3073.  Status: Complete

Might be cheating, because the author actually names a song in their starting A/N, but this definitely brings to mind Exile Vilify by The National, and I fully recommend listening to that (on loop - there is a 10-hour loop version on youtube) as you watch this for maximum tear-jerking effect.

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A fic that inspires you: Magic of the Rose Cross by Awensweth (Harry Potter/D.Gray-Man)

In Harry's 4th year the Triwizard Tournament is brought back to live, but the appearance of a fourth mysterious school about which only Dumbledore seems to know brings new secrets with it for everyone. Who are the students of Rose Cross? Rated: Mature.  AO3 Chose Not To Use Warnings Characters: Harry Potter, Allen Walker, and more Words: 66632.  Status: Incomplete

I have been inspired by many, many fics, but I chose this one in particular because it was the main one that inspired me to join the HP/DGM Triwizard Tournament wave of the early 2010s - indeed, The Combat School is one of my most popular fics, but without this and other fics of the trope, I probably would never have written it!  That’s not to say I’ve copied this fic - aside from the base trope I tried my best to make my own work unique against the others, and hope that I succeeded!  Sadly, this fic is incomplete and hasn’t been updated for some time, but it’s still worth a read.

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A fic that brought you on board a new ship:  Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell by MsChunks (Boku no Hero Academia)

Uraraka and Bakugo have a secret. It’s not what their classmates think it is. Rated: Teen.  AO3 Chose Not To Use Warnings Characters: Bakugo Katsuki, Uraraka Ochako Words: 182478.  Status: Complete

Putting Bakugo and Uraraka together was something I’d never considered, and I started this fic with some trepidation after a friend recommended it to me, but said friend has never steered me wrong with fics and didn’t start now!  Fake dating, Uraraka actually being badass, the most terrifying couple in class 1-A?  That’s this fic.

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A fic you wish could be a movie: Mission Impossible by Loopstagirl (Thunderbirds)

Being selected for his first solo mission should have been exciting for Captain Scott Tracy of the Air Force. But there was something else at play. Something dangerous and deadly. Something that could cost him more than his life. Rating: T.  Warnings: Violence Characters: Scott Tracy, Gordon Tracy Words: 55048.  Status: Complete

Air Force!Scott?  W.A.S.P.!Gordon?  On a joint mission together?  Yes, gimme, gimme, gimme.  Gimme Scott’s awkwardness alone on a boat of WASP personnel, gimme Gordon’s horror when he realises the suicide mission pilot is his older brother, and now give that all to me on screen!  And we can’t forget the Hood, of course!  Might be a bit higher rating than the current Thunderbirds stuff, but hey, I’m old enough.  Gimme.

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A fic that led to you becoming friends with the author: The Gabriel Project by Aceidia (Bleach)  - @thetwelvecaesars​

When Szayelaporro knew Aizen's reign in Heuco Mundo was coming to a close, he took matters into his own brilliant hands. He reincarnates himself and the other nine Espadas into a new life full of surprising turns and irony. Yet, the harmony and ignorance is not forever as they begin to remember. Rating: M (violence) Characters: Szayelaporro Granz, the Espada Words: 116030.  Status: Complete

Well, this fic sparked off a friendship that’s still very much there, even if neither of us write much for Bleach any more!  What started off as a challenge to identify who the Espada were turned into essay-length PMs about anything and everything, and then RP groups and now random emails about whatever at random times of the day (different timezones don’t help)!

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A fic you’ve gushed about irl: Living Like Kings by CLynnB (Thunderbirds)

The world wants to know more about the Tracy brothers. So Lady Penelope takes it upon herself to show the world just who they are. Through YouTube. Rating: Gen.  AO3 Author Chose Not To Use Warnings Characters: Lady Penelope-Creighton-Ward, Tracy Family (background Pen/Ink, Scayo, Virg/Brains) Words: 35348.  Status: Complete

I love social media fics like this one, and my poor boyfriend got the brunt of it while we were on holiday... he knows basically nothing about Thunderbirds except for what he’s heard from me (which is a lot because he’s amazing and lets me gush).  I mean, Tracy boys playing “The Floor Is Lava?” and tackling each other to the ground?  Gimme.

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A fic you associate with a place: Thunderbirds Meet Thunderbirds - Alan trip in to the movie verse by ak47stylegirl (Thunderbirds) @ak47stylegirl​

Crazy stuff always happens to Tracys, don't they?  Add felling into a different world to the list. Rating: Gen. AO3 No Archive Warnings Characters: Alan Tracy, Tracy Family times two Words: 25599.  Status: Incomplete

This might be a little random, but this fic was one that I found while I was ill on holiday to the Lake District last autumn.  Sadly, it’s the only trip there I’ve ever done where I couldn’t climb a single fell (and my car’s clutch burnt out after having to reverse up a pass... thanks bus coming the other way), and this fic’s updates while I was there kept me sane!  This has actually very loosely inspired a fic of my own which is in the making - which might get posted in the next year if I’m lucky...  Still waiting eagerly for this fic’s next update :D

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A fic that made you gasp out loud: The Colours Of The World by MaiKusakabe (Fullmetal Alchemist/Harry Potter)

When Roy Mustang went to retrieve his eyesight from Truth, he wasn’t expecting to end up doing a job in exchange. It couldn’t even be an easy job, of course, because Edward’s assessment of Truth was a pretty accurate one. Rating: Mature.  AO3 No Archive Warnings (but watch for canon-typical violence) Characters: Roy Mustang, Albus Dumbledore, Sirius Black, and more Words: 120578.  Status: Incomplete

Badass Roy yesss.  Twists and turns and Truth is a pretentious you-know-what but Voldemort’s even worse so where does that leave poor Roy except caught in the middle and very much a war veteran at this point... much to the horror of a few wizards!

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A fic you found at the right time: Seafaring Heartless: Exit North Blue by Avian Swallow (One Piece)

Pirates may be considered evil by the majority, but Law had met quite a few of the world's navy who were corrupt to the core and putting up a very thick facade. He reasoned that if he was going to manipulate and scheme his way into that goal, at least he was going to be honest enough to admit it. Rating: T.  Canon-typical situations Characters: Trafalgar Law, Bepo, Penguin, Shachi, Heart Pirate OCs Words: 159644.  Status: Complete

Is there ever a ‘wrong time’ to find a fic?  (a 100k+ at 4am debatable, but shh).  When I craved Heart Pirate content, this fic (and its sequel, still in progress but updating) appeared!  Only loosely clings to canon at the moment, thanks to some SBS revelations, but with well developed OCs to fill the faces we have no names or personalities for at the moment!

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A fic that you would read fic of: Only a Boy by Riddle Lee (Harry Potter/Merlin)

Merlin has changed Camelot forever but while that part of his life is complete, destiny has a new task for him. Now he has to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, hide the fact that he's the Merlin, and defeat a Dark Lord that's messing with magic he knows nothing about. Rating: T.  Canon-typical situations Characters: Merlin, Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger, and more Words: 340998.  Status: Incomplete

An amazing universe with Slytherin!Merlin, no Harry Potter/Boy Who Lived, and the good old ‘hiding real identity’ trope to underpin the whole series.  Currently just into the start of Merlin’s third year at Hogwarts, aka “The Prisoner of Azkaban”.  This universe has so much to give, although Riddle Lee is doing a fantastic job at it.  It’s incomplete and slow to update but does update!

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A fic that made you laugh out loud: HOW’S THE COMA GOING by ossicle (One Piece)

Kidd and Penguin keep trying to murder each other and Law is done with their shit. He assigns them to take care of each other’s injuries so they’ll learn to get along. It doesn’t work. Rating: Teen.  AO3 No Archive Warnings Characters: Eustass Kid, Penguin, Trafalgar Law (background KidLaw) Words: 2062.  Status: Complete

Oh this one had me in stitches basically the whole time.  Kid’s bedside manner should not be mimicked in the slightest, but a beautiful bonding fic in typical pirate fashion - beat ‘em up ‘til they have your approval.  Poor, poor, Law.

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A fic with a line (or two) that you’ve memorised by heart: On Their Side by Gumnut (Thunderbirds) - @gumnut-logic​

She trusted these boys with a great deal. Rating: Teen.  AO3 No Warnings Apply Characters: Colonel Casey, Virgil Tracy, Gordon Tracy Words: 1116.  Status: Complete

I think I have basically the entire thing memorised.  This one also falls into several other categories, most notably ones that made me laugh and ones that I’ve reread several times, but it really belongs here on this list.

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A fic that gave you butterflies: it’s a long way forward so trust in me by aloneintherain (Miraculous Ladybug)

Six times Marinette carried Adrien (plus one time he carried her). Rating: Teen.  AO3 No Archive Warnings Characters: Adrien Agreste|Chat Noir, Marinette Dupain-Cheng|Ladybug (all sides of the love square) Words: 5611.  Status: Complete

Aaah I have a weak spot for strong!Marinette and this fic ticks that box time and time again, with a side of blushing!Adrien and general love-struck Adrien/Chat.  I mean, what more could a girl need?

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A fic that embodies something you value in life: Team Itachi by Killer of thy Cookies (Naruto)

What if the Third Hokage stopped the council before they could order Itachi to commit the Uchiha Clan Massacre? Itachi is one of the village's strongest ninja, and has now been given the task of being a Jonin sensei, assigned to Team 7 with his little brother Sasuke, the 'dead last' Naruto Uzumaki, and fangirl Sakura Haruno. This is Team Itachi. Rating: T.  Canon-typical situations Characters: Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and more Words: 155092.  Status: Complete

(Yup, another non-massacre AU.)  Loyalty.  Honestly, there are so many fics that have loyalty in them, especially in fandoms like Naruto, where loyalty is a pretty big thing anyway (alongside friendship, of course), but this one is Itachi staying openly loyal to the village because Sarutobi actually saved the clan, and of course lovely bonds between the team!

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A favourite AU: A Son By Any Other Name by carryonstarkid (Thunderbirds)

Cursed as a child, Scott Tracy lives a life in which everyone he encounters must follow all of his given commands. Rating: Teen.  AO3 Chose Not To Use Warnings Characters: Scott Tracy, Tracy Brothers, Kayo Kyrano, and more Words: 83429.  Status: Complete

I rarely read AU fics - my preferred sandbox is the canon one, or a nice slice of canon diversion, rather than completely taking characters out of their home and dumping them somewhere entirely new.  This fairytale AU, however - reminding me very much of Sleeping Beauty except instead of sleeping it’s, well, what the summary says - is fantastically well done and addresses the strain such a thing would put on even the closest of family relationships.

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A fic you stayed up too late to finish reading: As N Approaches Infinity by Corisanna (Bleach/Puella Magi Madoka Magica)

Despairing as yet another timeline goes horribly wrong, Homura wanders into Karakura. There she discovers that while the spiritually-aware people of Karakura were distracted by Ichigo Kurosaki and Xcution, Kyubey had managed to contract the Kurosaki sisters as magical girls. Drawing the attention of the shinigami could be just the advantage Homura needs. Rating: Teen.  AO3 No Archive Warnings but watch out for canon-typical situations for both fandoms (especially Madoka) Characters: Akemi Homura, Kurosaki Karin, Kurosaki Yuzu, Urahara Kisuke, and many more Words: 465297.  Status: Incomplete

There are many fanfictions that have kept me up til dawn.  Many.  This one, however, has literally robbed me of all my sleep and I’ve still been unable to finish it in one sitting.  It’s good, the pacing is fantastic, and with Homura as our leading lady, that means those time resets really hit hard when they happen (and they happen.  They really, really, happen).  Might be incomplete, but is still updating - and there’s plenty to keep you occupied in the meantime!

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A fic that made you feel seen: A Seed Once Grown by Darkestwolfx (Thunderbirds) - @darkestwolfx​

Believe it or not, they did have a garden on Tracy Island. It looked a little like a… tip. And that was being kind. Rating: Teen.  AO3 No Archive Warnings Characters: Ned Tedford, Tracy Family Words: 4785.  Status: Complete

Okay, so I’m taking this literally because I spend a lot of time feeling invisible on the internet so having a fic written for me from someone I’d barely spoken to before was a whole pile of screaming.  Not that it’s the first time someone’s written a fic for me, but the other ones have been done by friends I’d already known for some time, and not someone in a fandom I’m just starting to find my feet in.

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Free space: whoo boy, fun time!  There are a few fics on the top of my head that didn’t fill any of the above prompts (or got beaten to the punch by another), so my wildcard space is going to be a few fic links without the extra detail because I’ve already spent about 12 hours on this to get to this point (did I get sidetracked and re-read a bunch?  You bet) and I’d quite like to also get some fic written today, too!

Eight-Day Week (JoJo Spotting) by TrufflestheMushroom (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)

The Trouble With Eastern by teaandtumblr (One Piece)

Remembrance by ClioSelene (One Piece)

Legacy by MaiKusakabe (One Piece)

A Fleeting Smile by AnonymousTwit (Boku no Hero Academia)

Too Loud For Comfort by vaporeon_ninja (Boku no Hero Academia)

A Dragon’s Hoard by Chezka (Boku no Hero Academia)

Nine Lives by P_Artsypants (Miraculous Ladybug)

Chat’s Eye View (Love Letters To Paris) by Icka M Chif (Miraculous Ladybug)

Gabriel’s Lament by Chaotic Neutral (Miraculous Ladybug)

What The Cat Dragged In by Kyral (Avengers/Miraculous Ladybug)

Weekend Warrior by BlackDog_66 (Avengers)

Fitting In (Tiny Spaces) by aloneintherain (Avengers)

Autonomy by beetlebee (Naruto)

Great Minds by ScreamingViking (Final Fantasy VII)

Dear Kunsel by Sinnatious (Final Fantasy VII)

Cracks in the knight by authorettejasmin (Magic Kaito)

To Wrap An Elvish Princeling by Jael (Lord of the Rings)

There are more, many more, and I’ll probably post a few more recs around - you can also find some on my blog and I’ll try and get that updated with a few more at some point because there are many more than that!

[musicalravencreates]

MusicalRaven’s Commissions

So I'm being forced to switch jobs, which means I'll be short on funds for a few weeks. In that time, I'd like to offer commissions for the first time!

Requests vs Commissions

While I do my best, requests sent to my inbox are subject to my interest and time, and may or may not get filled depending on many factors. As much as I want to, I can't always fill all my requests.

Commissions, on the other hand, are sent to the front of the line, so to speak. If you order a fic from me, it becomes a priority and is promised to be filled. I may take some time finishing it, as real life does get in the way sometimes, but it will be finished. I will also keep you informed of my progress on your piece.

Rates

My basic rates are $0.01 per word, with a minimum of 500 words and a maximum of 10k. I.e. 500 words would cost $5, 1k would cost $10, and so on and so forth. You can DM me and I will send you my Paypal information.

Full payment is required once the commission has been accepted by me. However, if your fic is above 5k, I will allow half payment until I finish an outline that you can review. After that, I require the rest of the payment before continuing.

Special Pricing

I'll be offering a few deals, for those interested.

• Three 500 word fics for $10 • Two 1k works for $15 • 1/2 off any fic over 1k words if you commission a piece over 3k

Commissioning Details

Whether you want me to write something based on your art, expand on a previously mentioned idea of mine, or create something from an idea all your own, I'm happy to help. Below I've listed all the fandoms (and ships in those fandoms) I'm open to working with, listed from most knowledgeable about to least. If you have something I've not listed, feel free to ask but know it's not guaranteed I will know what it is and/or accept to write it.

Fandoms and Ships

• Game Grumps (my number one choice rn) ○ I am open to any and all ships involving the Grumps in both a monogamous and polygamous capacity ○ I'm also good with ships involving the Grumps and Jack or Mark, i.e. Egosepticbang, Egoplier, etc etc. • Psych ○ Shules ○ Shassie ○ Shawn/Gus • Good Game ○ Rylex • Welcome to Night Vale ○ Cecilos • Welcome To Hell ○ Johnathan/Sock

My Limits

I am open to doing any genre or type of fic, including smut. However, I will only do smut if you are able to prove you are 18+. No exceptions.

What I won’t do

Scat

Emetophilia

French kissing

Abusive ships

Reader Insert

Noncon

NOTE I'm okay with consensual noncon aka rape play, however, I will only write true noncon if it's essential to the rest of the plot, does not involve minors, and is not between the characters being shipped.

Terms of Service

I reserve the right to refuse a commission for any reason.

If I have to terminate the commission for any reason after payment, you will be sent a full refund. If you wish to cancel the commission and I have not begun the piece, you will be sent a full refund. However, if you want to cancel in the middle of a piece, I will only be able to refund 50% of the original price. There are no refunds once a piece is completed.

If you have any questions or are interested in commissioning me, send me a message!

[panticwritten]

10 Questions from Breakeven2007

Haha, thanks for the tag @breakeven2007, I’m always a slut for answering questions.

Since I forgot to put the rules on the post last time I got tagged, I’ll go ahead and do that this time. Basically, if you’re tagged, you answer the questions your tagger left at the bottom of the post, then you tag some other folks and leave your own questions at the bottom for the next people to answer!

I’ll do this under the break again.

1. What OC makes you want to tear your hair out and why?

Okay, when it come to writing a character, like getting the writing down when I’m writing them, it would probably be Jay. They spend so much time locked away in their lab that they talk to their androids more than they even see other people. They have shaky morals and I always want to write them as being better than they are.

With the way characters act and general ‘what are you doing?’ tearing my hair out, I’d say it’s Sawyer. Because most of my writing is daydreams and I’m writing the things that happened in my daydream, I write with the knowledge of how much those decisions fucked me over. Sometimes I wish I could go back and whisper in my past-self’s ear saying “NO!”

Retrospect is 20/20 and I hate it.

2. Do you like going back and reading old writing or looking at old drawings? Why or why not?

Oh my god, yes. To a point. I love reading 2014-onward writing. Before that, there are things I should just let die. I have a completed Johnny the Homicidal Maniac/”Gory Demise” by Creature Feature fanfic in the depths of my DA, for Christ’s sake.

The worst part is, on my particularly nostalgic days, I have thought about rewriting that ;^;

But I like looking back and seeing how far I’ve come in my writing. I like seeing how different projects change the way that I write. If I read my god-awful writing for 2010, I can actually start to believe it when people tell me my writing is good. Because no matter how many flaws it might have, It’s better than it was. That’s all that matters in the end.

3. Have you ever had a daydream so long and extensive you actually have to catch yourself before writing all that shit down because it was good.

HA yes.

I’d like to say that all of my daydreams that I end up writing are like that, but I know that isn’t true. I waited about a month before I started writing Breaking Furnace, and it took one of my friends asking questions about what in my daydreams was bothering to get me to write Sequence of Regrettable Happenings. I started writing Trollhunter’s: Subverted a few says after the daydream started, but I wish I’d started sooner. So many little details were lost from the first couple days.

The daydream sequence that brought Journey to the Center of Our Mind around is what I’m thinking of for this one. So much just started happening at once and I started writing it as soon as I could tear myself away from the actual daydream.’

On a vaguely related note, the beginning plot for Savior Destroy came out of an actual dream, and so did Damien, one of the paras/characters I have.

4. What is the hardest genre for you to write?

I’m not sure if this actually counts as a genre, but the hardest thing for me to write is physical fights. I’ve never experienced an actual fight, and I have a hard time balancing pacing, action, emotion, all of that stuff.

5. How often do you pull all-nighters (if you do)?

I don’t really pull all-nighters, but I come close a lot. I normally go into staying up past 2am expecting to stay up the whole night because I used to all the time. I never do, though, because I get tired and can’t function. I’m already so tired all the time, I have a hard time when I reach the middle point between normal levels and the I’ve-been-awake-for-36-hours-I’ve -never-felt-so-alive high. I miss the manic feeling of staying up the whole night, but it’s probably not a bad thing that I can’t seem to get there anymore.

I normally just end up making bad decisions lmAO

6. Is your writing better with or without sufficient sleep?

Without. I do good writing between like 8pm and 6am which is why I try to stay up so often, even if I know I’ll fail.

7. Do you have a favorite fandom? If so, why?

Favorite fandom, not really. If I stay on the very surface of fandoms, they’re fine but most of the time if I go any deeper I just end up getting uncomfortable so I tend to not delve. I probably like what I’ve seen of the Dragon Age fandom the most, though. Particularly DA2 because I will fight on my stance that DA2 is the best game in the series.

I just like things. I like the things and I especially like it when I watch/read/listen to things without my brain deciding to give me another 500,000 page-worth daydream to obsess over. Can I just be a casual fan for once in my goddamn life please.

8. What book would you recommend to anyone who asked, regardless of personal taste? (Doesn’t have to be your favorite.)

The Belgariad and The Mallorean. It’s actually two five-book series, but they are everything to me. It’s a fantasy series by David Eddings (and his wife, Leigh Eddings, though she wasn’t credited until much later), and it’s a wonderful coming of age story.

The Belgariad is really focused, most of the characters (except for the protag of course) know roughly what they need to do and who the bad guys are and where they need to go.

The Mallorean delves a lot deeper into the particulars of war. That even the ‘bad guys’ aren’t necessarily evil or irredeemable. There’s a lot more confusion, mystery, and the unknown plays a big part in how the story plays out and the decisions the characters make.

They’re Good Books.

9. Is there an author that you can’t stand? And conversely, one that’s on your auto-read list? Why?

I think I’ve answered a question similar to this on this blog. I haven’t really found an author that I hate, partially because if I start a book and can’t get through it I tend to forget that it and its author exists. Mostly, though, it’s because of how writing grows and a writer can do terrible work in one genre and be great in another. For example, I don’t really like most of James Patterson’s work because the way he writes crime fiction is a little too much for me. I love his YA modern fantasy/science fiction writing, though! Maximum Ride and (okay god I can’t remember what the series was called, like ‘W’ or something, it’s about witches) were genuinely enjoyable, even if they have some big continuation and plot issues that come along with the past pace at which authors like JP write.

I’d say that I want to read every piece of writing that Daniel Handler has ever created as Lemony Snicket. The voice in his work is SO GOOD and fun to read. I’ve been reading TSOUE to my sister and I’m noticing more and more that went completely over my head when I first read it in middle school. Some jokes that are more relatable now that I’m older, and I fully appreciate how terrifying Count Olaf is as a villain. I’m also in the process of reading ATWQ, which takes place in the childhood of Lemony and his first mission as an apprentice in the VFD.

10. If you were a published author, would you support fanfiction of your work? (This is tumblr so I kinda assume so, but some people wouldn’t want someone to “mangle” their work, if you will.) Would you support complete crack ships or ships that you didn’t agree with canonically?

This is kind of a double edged sword, to be completely honest. Since, even in the works I could publish, the main character is a version of myself from my daydreams, fanfiction could be a little weird for me to read.

But, like, fanfiction?? And fanart????? Of something I wrote?? That would be awesome. It would be cool to see how people see my characters, even if they completely fuck up the actual characterization. There is only one noncanon ship that I wouldn’t just say ‘oh, okay, not what I had in mind but fine.’ I wouldn’t ask people not to write it because you know write what you want, but Sawyer and Dominic is something that doesn’t sit well with me.

And that’s a wrap!

I’ll go ahead and tag @cadewrites @itstheenglishkid and @alextriestowritestuff

Okay, here are my questions for you! 

1. Do you have any pets? How about your OCs?

2. How do you beat writer’s block?

3. Where do you draw most of your inspiration from?

4. How do you and your OCs feel about pineapple on pizza?

5. If you had to choose a fictional universe to live in, which one would it be?

6. Would you get along with your OCs if you met them in person? 

7. Which of your OCs would burn a house down or overreact in a similar way if they even thought they saw a spider?

8. What’s your favorite time of day to write?

9. Have you ever written an AU of your own work?

10. Have you ever written a scene so emotionally charged that it hurt you upon rereading it?

A fun story relating vaguely to question 7. Once, I was drawing during the summer with the window open. A dragonfly zoomed in as I was about to close the window and go to sleep, so I abandoned my room in terror, screaming, and slept in the living room instead.

I’m not even scared of dragonflies?? They just don’t belong in my room.

[winterironshieldbang]

FAQ

Why a WinterIronShield Bang?

Because Bucky, Tony and Steve are awesome as individuals, but even more awesome together. We just can’t not love them and there’s not enough great stories with the three of them, so we need more, always more.

What is a WinterIronShield Bang?

A Bang is a writing and art challenge where Artists make art for a chosen story by an Author. The WinterIronShield Bang is focusing on the Marvel characters James “Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Tony Stark/Iron Man and Steve Rogers/Captain America, and well, the love between them – be it a romantic or a friendly love.

This bang is a simple one. This means there’s no mini or big bang: every story needs to reach a minimum 10,000 wordcount (no maximum limit) to be a part of this bang and every story will get at least one accompanying piece of art.

What pairings are allowed?

The main requirement concerning pairings for this bang is that the primary focus of your story be on Bucky, Tony and Steve, as in together. This relationship both can be a romantic relationship and/or a bromance/friendship. There are some variations you can use, here are some examples: you can start with Tony/Steve and later add Bucky, or you can start with them already in a polyamorous relationship and break one of them off of it, or you can even write a full or partly bromance/friendship story, and so on and on and on. It’s really up to you what you do with these three boys, what’s important is that you have to build the main story line around the relationship of the main ship of the bang.

Also, any side pairings are allowed until the main pairing is Bucky/Tony/Steve.hitter.

Is the Bang limited to any specific Marvel Universe, for example MCU?

No, you are allowed to write stories that are based in any Marvel Universe.

What are the important dates and deadlines?

On the upper bar there is a ‘Schedule’ link that will take you to a page where you can find every important dates and deadlines, or you can find the post about the schedule below this post.

How do I sign up?

On the upper bar there is a ‘Sign Up’ link that will take you to a page where you can find the informations about what you need to do to sign up as an Author, an Artist, a Beta reader or a Pinch hitter.

I’m under 18. Can I still participate in the WinterIronShield Bang?

Yes, you can, but with some restrictions. See the next question for details.

What are the rules for minor participants? What is allowed and what is not?

The main rules/restrictions concerning minors:

Minors need to keep their fic or/and art made for the Bang to the equivalent of an Ao3 rating of T or less.

During the claims process minor artists may not claim fics rated M or E. If anyone try to do any tricks, they will be immediately banned from this years Bang; no questions asked or second chances given, I will not accept any promises about finally minding the rules. It’s in everyones best interest to be honest with each other.

As the organiser I also reserve the right to bar minors from some of the channels on Slack where the group chats of this Bang will be happening.

As a general rule for every participant, no explicit sexual content involving characters under 18 is permitted, be it fic or art, and pedophilia for the sake of pedophilia is also a serious no.

I request that all participants, regardless of age, be mindful of these restrictions and rules.

Furthermore, if there’s anything you’d like to discuss concerning the restrictions/rules or have something in your mind that you’d like to add to the list, you can get in contact via email (winterironshieldbang@gmail.com), and we’ll see.

Can I sign up both as an Author and an Artist?

Yes, you can. But you have to submit two sign-up form, separately. One for Author, one for Artist.

Can I sign up with a co-Author?

Yes, you can. When you sign up you can indicate whether or not your story will be a collaboration. If this is the case, you only need to submit one sign-up form, but every name will be needed to be on it.

Can I sign up to write more than one story?

Yes, you can. But you’ll need to fill the sign-up form for each individual story you wish to write before the sign-up is closed.

Can the story be a sequel to an already published story?

Parts and sequels to stories you’ve written are acceptable in case they can stand on their own and the reader will be able to understand your bang story without reading anything extra.

What about crossovers and AUs?

The answer is simple. NO to crossovers. YES to AUs.

I’d like to participate as an Author, but I’m not sure what to write. Will there be a prompt list?

We don’t plan to make a prompt list. But you have time to dream something up until it’s time to submit the summaries for the claiming process. If you won’t submit the summary of your story by deadline, you’ll be automatically dropped out of the bang with no penalty. So it won’t hurt to sign up without a plot in your head, maybe your muse will strike you with an amazing idea at the last minute.

Also, I encourage you to go and look around on the @imagine-stuckony blog where you can find some pretty amazing prompts.

What kind of art is permitted?

Pieces of art can be any of the following:

·        traditional or digital art

·        comics

·        collages or gifsets (gifsets must include at least 6 gifs)

·        fanvids (min. length must be 1,5 minutes)

·        mixtapes with cover (at least 10 tracks)

·        podfics

·        photography

·        graphics

These are only the basic bang art styles/techniques. If you have something else in mind, go for it.

What if I can’t finish my story in time?

No problem, at all. It’s absolutely understandable if life or your muse won’t cooperate with you during the bang. You are free to drop out of the bang with no penalty any time before or during the 2nd Mandatory check-in, but preferably before an Artist claimed your story. It is allowed to drop out after the 2nd Mandatory check-in, but you’ll be banned from participating next year’s bang. Please consult with your Artist before you make your decision, then warn a mod about the drop out.

What if I can’t finish my art in time?

Life and stuff happens, it’s fine and understandable. If you think you might need to drop out, please warn your Author first, then contact a mod – preferably at least a week prior to the claimed posting date of the story & art so we still have time to contact a Pinch hitter. Artists can drop out with no penalty during the 3rd Mandatory check-in; after that they’ll be banned from participating next year’s bang.

What if my Author dropped out after I claimed their story?

First of all, do not worry, there will be not a single one Artist without a story. If you’d still like to participate, you’ll be able to claim an other story as a second Artist or sign up as a Pinch hitter.

I don’t have a Beta reader, but I’d like one. What should I do?

Beta readers can also sign up for this bang, so if you need a beta, email us (winterironshieldbang@gmail.com) and we’ll try to find you someone who could be a good match for you and your story.

Where can I post my story?

There will be a collection on Ao3 for the bang, so everything will be in one good place. Important! If you’d like to participate as an Author, you’ll be required to have an Ao3 account to be able to post your own fic(s) to the collection. If you don’t have an account, you can request one HERE.

Detailed posting instructions will follow closer to the deadline.

Can I post my story/art before the posting begins?

No, you can absolutely not! Every Author/Artist collaboration will claim a specific posting date for their work. You’ll have to post the story and the art during that specific day – not sooner and not later.art.

Can we post sneak peeks of our fics to tease and excite our followers?

Yes, it is okay to post sneak peeks of your fics. However the lenght of the sneak peek can not be more than 400-500 words. You can post more than one sneak peek about different scenes, but please remember that it doesn’t mean that it is permitted to post 400-500 words per day… The element of surprise has its own power in a story! So as long as these sneak peeks will only tease and excite others, there won’t be any problem.

All of this was helpful, but I still have questions! Where can I ask them?

Just send an ask here or a message via e-mail (winterironshieldbang@gmail.com) and a mod will get back to you.

[maiasaliger]

GodHand SPN-120 Ultimate Nipper 5.0 ⚜ REVIEW

Got my new GodHand Ultimate Nipper in the mail the other day so I figured I might as well try and do a review on them because why not. Excuse crappy phone pics on carpet floor please, I’m on vacay. Huge review ahead, be warned.

Since my cheap (in every meaning of the word) 5€ diagonal pliers from the hardware store just didn't cut it for perfectionist me *bricked for bad pun*, my inner OCD self forced me to finally get one of these rather ludicrously expensive, exquisite tools. Snagged them from an auction for 43,47 EUR ( $51 )(which is the lower end of the price range you find them for), plus it had glorious ゜ﾟ･*☆ free shipping ☆*･゜゜ - for me who's used to 8,52 EUR ( $10)-$40 shipping costs to Europe that felt like a killer deal. And an investment in the future, maybe it'll finally make me build my BI Bladey and DCS-J that I've been putting off for a year now due to lacking 'proper' tools. Actually who am I kidding I still don’t have any space for them. Anyway, let’s take a look at this thing.

On the back, there are what looks like loads of instructions, details and warnings. Unfortunately my Japanese is as good as my Swahili, i.e. nonexistent, so I have no clue what any of this might say lol. "3mm" at least is somewhat universal and likely the maximum thickness of plastic you should cut with this nipper. Seeing how thin and fragile the blades look, I don't deem it wise to experiment where their limit is. I've heard enough stories of people breaking them and it seems not incredibly difficult to accomplish. I'd already be wary of using them on hard plastic, and I definitely advise against using them on translucent/clear plastic, that will blunt them in the best case and might break them in the worst. The blades are single-edge, minimizing the stress on the plastic and avoiding stress and crush marks that would occur with e.g. Tamiya cutters. Instead of clipping the piece off, the cutting blade slices the gate like a knife and stops at the other 'blade', which basically acts like a chopping board.

On the inside of the folded cardboard, there are more instructions on cutting, some more, some less obvious. Also I can't read 50% of them, whoops. You can use the nipper to cut the piece from the thick runner, however, I consider it more senseful to do this step with your standard diagonal cutter like my cheap Lux pliers. Then, when you have freed the piece from the runner, you can do the trimming with the GH nipper. Directly cutting the gate of the part while still on the runner may be okay for tiny pieces and very thin gates, and/or soft plastic (like the joint caps for motorized Zoids), but I wouldn’t really advise it for anything else. Cut the runner at 1 cm-ish away from the gate with any tool but the GH nipper, then use it to cut the gate at the far end (an optional step imo), and ultimately flush with the piece. Reserve the GH nipper only for when you absolutely need to use it to not cause unnecessary blunting of the blade.

Speaking of the blades. The blades on this nipper are thin. As in, crazy thin. Comparing them to my obnoxious Lux pliers seems like absolute overkill. At the broadest part, they're barely 2 mm thick. Also they are sharp. People saying in reviews that they cut through runners and gates like butter aren't exaggerating one bit. They really do. But since they're made of steel they will still dull after a while so try not to use them more often than necessary. Also don’t touch them too much or get any moisture on them or they will rust like my other ugly cutters.

Because this nipper is so special, GodHand has a whole page here with instructions on how to handle it. The blades are just so fragile and especially the tip is easy to break when handled incorrectly. They compare the cutting process to cutting tofu with a knife on your palm - you want to slice, not push through the part, and ease the force you apply as you near the other blade. There is a screw to prevent you from pressing the blades together too tightly, but I wouldn't take my chances. Be gentle with this nipper, if you need force you’re doing it wrong and are risking damaging it.

Depending on the shape of the piece, even if you cut as close to the part as possible, you might still have a tiny (emphasis on ‘tiny’) leftover of the gate that needs to be sanded off or shaved with an xacto knife (which always chops up my thumb... need to find a way to avoid that). You can get a near perfect result in many cases using the GH nipper only, but if you want to make the marks completely invisible you’ll have to go the extra mile of shaving and sanding. The nipper’s purpose is to reduce the stress on the plastic as much as possible and produce clean cuts that might suffice for most people, however perfectionists like me will still need to reach for an xacto knife and (wet) sandpaper. [Random model kit tip #01: a drop of water on your sandpaper will result in a smoother surface because it acts as a lubricant.]

The nipper also comes with a neat pouch, which is a much needed protection for the blade.

I did a comparison of my old crude Lux cutter against the GH nipper on one of the runners of my new Gun Tiger (review coming soon; tiny tiny kit but packed with lots of detail!). I tested them on the shiny dark gray runner, as the plastic is somewhat soft and also shows stress marks quite clearly. Which my phone camera failed to properly focus on, unfortunately.

First pic: cut with the Lux pliers. Can you believe I used those to clip off nubs until now? *shudders* Second pic: cut with the GH nipper. Such a nice cut! Due to the nature of this plastic, cutting through 3 mm thickness results in some surface stressing. Third pic: to reduce whitening, I massaged/scratched the surface with my fingernail, greatly lessening it.

What glorious difference.

[Random model kit tip #02: scratch white stress marks with your fingernail, applying a considerable amount of pressure. In many cases, it will greatly lessen the whitening or even make it disappear. For some kinds of plastic, this makes the mark even darker than the rest.]

Testing the nipper on an actual kit part:

The Gun Tiger kit has wonderfully tiny gates on an already tiny kit. They are so small you can use the GH nipper to directly cut them off the sprues, which will look like in the top right photo. I then clean the mark up with my fingernail, an xacto knife if it needs some shaving, 5000 grit sandpaper + water and lastly polish it with my tshirt lol. The unevenness of this mark is due to me being a dork and not managing to cut straight... and the GH nipper is so sharp, it will cut the angle you place it at (I accidentally cut off a bit of the edge as well on another part cuz you don’t even notice any additional resistance).

[Random model kit tip #03: rectangular felt pads from the hardware store are a great way to make small DIY ghetto sanding sponges. Just stick them on the backside of the sandpaper and cut around it. Cutting sandpaper will damage scissors though so use some that you don’t care about much.] 

Wrapping up with the ultimate question for the Ultimate Nipper:

Q: Is it worth the money? A: Honestly it still takes time for me to get used to it, especially since it handles like a McLaren P1 compared to the Caterpillar 797F my Lux pliers are. It’s super delicate in every way. But I’m certain it will make building kits a lot more enjoyable now that I don’t have to deal with the frustration anymore that my old cutters caused me more often than not (building my Gun Tiger was already so much fun with the GH nipper). That said, it’s up to each person themself to decide whether they want to afford this luxury or are okay with less than ‘the absolute best’. There is also the GodHand PN-120 nipper which is just a step below the SPN-120 which may be a great and cheaper alternative; or the Gundam Planet Premium Nipper. The perfectionist in me is satisfied at least and omg I’m never giving them away again.

If anyone wants even more information on it, there's some more additional stuff on the official page of the GodHand SPN-120 Ultimate Nipper 5.0. 

[flabbergabst]

Captain Canary Series: Against the Wind (10/12)

Amazing illustration as usual for this Chapter is drawn by @audiovizualna​ and it could be viewed HERE or click http://audiovizualna.tumblr.com/image/156580258309

Check it out to be able to visualize a scene in the story! 

Story is also available in AO3 + precious chapters’ links available below:

Ch 1     Ch 2     Ch 3     Ch 4      Ch 5

Ch 6     Ch 7     Ch 8     Ch 9

Chapter 10: Unexpected Avalanche

*Third Person POV

One call from the Waverider.

Mick and the rest of the crew discovered a beginning of a time aberration created by the Legion. They were jumping through time, attempting to go back to when Snart was in the Legion, before the Legends could get back to him. They were trying to catch him prior to his conversion as to erase anything else that follows...erasing his reunion with the Legends, erasing his time with Sara, erasing his children.

They’re always so close, but always interrupted with their lack of resources to do so. Or maybe even time itself is against them. Even the Legion were in a trial-and-error process after losing all their source of power the last time they were beaten by the heroes.

But that one call from Captain Rory shook them. One final trial. One last fight arranged by the Legion of Doom. An all out war between the good and the bad and everything in between.

Mick suggested hiding the Snarts and letting the Legends, the Team Arrow and Team Flash deal with the three psychopaths and their minions. Leonard almost agreed. But both former rogues know that Sara isn’t one to back out from a fight, not when the advisories have done so much to hurt her. She needed to be there to see the light from their eyes fade. No one could convince her not to.

It was like the battle with the Dominators all over again. All the leather-clad fighters gathered in the huge Star City parking lot, waiting to be picked up by the remaining third of their bigger team aboard the Waverider.

“This is still insane, you guys know that?”, Diggle said, wide-eyed, as the time ship landed.

Oliver, minus the green hood, was the first to approach the ship. Before the hatch could open he looked back at the superheroes and vigilantes in front of him and said, “We’re not only doing this for our cities. We’re doing this because we love their family. And I will do everything in my power to protect them. I hope all of you will do the same.”

Ever the positive, Barry spoke. “The entire ruckus will end tonight. And we’ll be going back to our cities alive.”

“I’m not doing this for Snart. I’m doing this for the cute little kids,” Cisco said, dragging Felicity to the ship he enjoyed during his last visit.

---

All three teams were gathered in the Waverider’s bridge, all of them throwing out ideas into the table, calculating each move so that they could do the most efficient way of defeating the Legion with the least numbers of casualties from the civilians, as well as from them.

Sara is perched on the center console, leaning on it and listening intently to every course of action. Leonard, however, has his mind far away from what was happening.

He turned on his comm, as it’s all connected to Gideon, and softly said, “Gideon, where could you place your full maximum security? The most impenetrable part of the ship?”

“That would be the brig, Mr. Snart,” the AI said through the man’s earpiece.

Without excusing himself from the group, he strode away from the bridge and towards the room he once shared with Sara, and upon opening it, he saw the kids watching an animated movie being shown from the wall.

The moment he stepped in, Luke carefully sat up from where he was lying, careful not to wake his sleeping sister, and asked Gideon to pause the film.

“Daddy?”, Luke said, waiting for Leonard to sit on the head of the bed. “I have a lot of questions.”

Leonard chuckled at the kid’s statement. “Of course you do. Fire away, bud.”

“Ok-ok, first, why is everyone here?”, Luke said, bright-eyed. “Uncle Ollie is here, and Uncle Barry, and we’re back with Uncle Mick?”

Before Leonard could answer, Luke immediately followed up with another set of questions.

“Are they back, Daddy? The fast man and the two other evil guys? Are you all gonna fight them? Or are we hiding again?”

Allowing Luke to catch his breath, Len spoke in response to his son’s questions. “Okay, hold on, Lucky. Let me answer some of them before you add a bunch more.”

The kid nodded, allowing Leonard to take a deep breath and formulate his answer. “Yes, the Legion is back. Your aunts and uncles are here because, well, the bad guys asked for us. One final battle.”

“Battle? With all of you? You’re gonna win, right Daddy? You’re gonna kill all of them?”

Wincing at the boy’s mention of killing, Leonard ran his hand through his son’s hair. “We’ll do what we can to defeat them. I’ll do what I can to protect you and your sister.”

Luke tilted his head. “And mommy?”

With a smirk, Len replied, “We both know Mommy can defend herself,” earning the smug smile of his son, “but yes, of course. I’ll protect her too.”

---

Sara entered the mess hall, where Gideon said Leonard currently is in. She saw him open a bottle of beer and when Len’s eyes caught Sara, he grabbed another bottle and slid it across the table, fast enough for her to catch it.

“Nice reflexes. You a ninja?” Leonard said with a smirk. “Are you a single ninja though, because I’d like to take you out.”

Sara chuckled before sitting on the mess table, feet on the seat beside Leonard’s seat. “Sorry,” she said, raising her left hand and showing him the ring on her ring finger.

“Damn,” Leonard replied.

The two of them sat in silence, drinking their beer and Leonard finishing his first after two big gulps. He then leaned his forehead on Sara’s thighs, silently sighing.

She placed the beer down and ran her hands through his short-buzzed hair.

“The kids are in the brig,” he said. “Gideon said that’s the most secure place. They’re watching a movie.”

Sara smiled. “I bet it’s Zootopia.”

“Oh yeah. The cute bunny and the criminal fox,” Leonard murmured.

“That’s basically us,” Sara chuckled, and so does her husband. He finally stood up from his seat and took Sara’s hands on his.

“You’re not cute. You’re scary,” Leonard replied, earning Sara’s glare. “Okay, kinda cute.”

They both stared at their joined hands and after a moment of stillness, Leonard spoke. “I didn’t really listen to the plan. Can’t seem to focus.”

“I know. I did tell them I need you backing me up so you’ll just have to go wherever I am,” Sara said without looking at him.

Tilting her chin upwards, Leonard said, “The summary of our marriage.”

Sara laughed at that and pulled him in. She then wrapped her arms around his torso, her head resting on the crook of his neck. “This is gonna be easy.” she said, feeling his hand massaging her nape. “There’s like, a hundred of us out there, ready to send the Legion back to hell.”

“Twenty one,” he replied.

Sara broke away from the hug and stared at Leonard questioningly.

The man sighed and started reciting. “Queen. Glasses. Spartan. Girl Arrow in Red. Girl Arrow in Black. Hockey Mask. Rags. Terrific. Allen. Frost. Ramon. Kid Flash. Kid Flash’s girlfriend. Jax. Professor. Mick. Mick’s girlfriend. Boyscout. Boyscout’s boyfriend. Me. And you. Twenty one. Not a hundred. There’s just 21 of us.”

Grinning, Sara lightly shoved Leonard. “They’re our friends, hon. Use their names when they’re around, at least.”

“They’re gonna save the kids,” he said, turning serious. “I’m gonna call them whatever they want me to call them. I’d finally allow Cisco to marry my sister if he finally pulls his head out of his ass. And if we survive this.”

“We will. We always survive the worst.”

“I hope. Don’t die out there, Snart,” Leonard said, pulling her in for a kiss.

---

Pristina, Kosovo 1984

The battle was at night-time and in attempt to have a good vantage point, they decided to arrive early.

They should’ve known better because the moment the hatch opened, armed men from all sides of the Waverider appeared in front of them, firing at any direction possible. All plans were thrown out of the window and everybody just instinctively surrounded the timeship. The only part of the plan that they executed at that moment was to divide themselves equally according to each of their capabilities. With none of the three Legions in sight, the first course of action is to eliminate the armed men, which is most likely fighting them under the control of Darhk.

The immediate response of the three speedsters they have on their team is to sneak behind the shooters, especially the snipers, and knock them out. The three of them went separate ways, all guarding the front hatch, and the right and left wing of the ship.

The archers also divided themselves in the same sides of the Waverider. Oliver fought alongside Jessie on the front hatch, shooting an arrow or two at the men attempting to gun down his friends. His hits weren’t fatal, but enough to stop them from shooting again. Wild Dog is alongside them, trying to control himself from fatal shots, failing.

Thea was on the left wing with Wally, Diggle, and Ragman. The latter covering the three, Rory tries to get near the men shooting them, so both Diggle and Thea can approach their advisories closer, too.

Felicity and Cisco remained on the ship, with Curtis along with them to protect them just in case some of the Legion’s men got inside. Caitlyn is working on the Medbay for the same reason, and also just in case they need medical attention. She agreed to use her powers only as last resort.

Barry was situated in the right wing, assisting Evelyn as she tends to still give deadly arrow shots. With them is Mick with his Heat Gun at its maximum power, firing large at the men closest to them. The man felt a burst of ice by his side. He turned around and saw his old friend turning his back against him, icing every man that attempts to shoot at them.

“Aren’t you supposed to be with your wife?”, Mick turned his head back and yelled at Leonard. “You’re supposed to be backing her up.”

“Yeah, the plan went to shit and now she’s in the middle of the crossfire with Heywood covering her,” Leonard grunted. “She can handle herself. You need me more here.”

Sara is, indeed, in the middle of the crossfire with Nate and Amaya. All three of them breaking every arm of the enemy, grunting, punching, and kicking their way out of the mess.

“Where the hell is the Legion?!”, Sara yelled as she got her way out of being attacked by three men.

In full metal body, Nate went to cover Sara from the stray bullets and replied, “We should’ve expected this. They would know that we’re bringing everyone. Of course they wouldn’t risk being caught.”

Heat was felt from above them as Firestorm searched the grounds for the Legion, blasting enemy weaponry along the way, together with the ATOM. From the duo’s view, they’ve sent almost all of their advisories down, but a few still kept pouring in.

The fight has been going on for a long stretch of time. Soon enough, they’re gonna get tired and rest will be needed.

They still have a long way to go.

---

“Luke-y!”, Lily whimpered as she scoots closer to her brother.

The sound of the crossfire from outside the ship softly resonates inside the brig. Gideon attempts to cover the sound of gun shots and explosions with increasing the sound of the movie they’re watching. But that has long been forgotten.

“Hey,” Luke said, draping his arms over the little girl’s shoulders. “That’s just noise from the movie, Lil. That’s just the movie…”

“It’s not!” Lily started crying, her fear of explosions triggered. “It’s not the movie! It’s happening outside! Mommy and Daddy are outside, Luke-y. We need to go help them, please, we need to!”

“Daddy asked us to stay here until they come and get us,” the older kid calmly explained. “We just need to trust them.”

“But I’m really scared,” Lily pouts, covering her ears with her brother’s hands. “Will they come soon?”

“Soon. I promise.”

---

The crowd of armed men thinned, giving time for some of the heroes to take a breather. Sara, as soon as her hands were free, left Amaya and Nate and searched the grounds for Leonard. They had a long time fighting and if her assumption is right, her husband’s Cold Gun would be running out of charge soon. Scanning the field, she saw the glare of the Heat Gun a few yards from where she’s standing.

It was as if time slowed down around her. She doesn’t know it it’s because she’s tired or if things are just happening very fast.

She can see Wally transfer the destination of one of Diggle’s bullets from the chest to just the thigh, making less damage. On her far left was Amaya, tackling a group of men like it was nothing. The blast of Ray’s laser beams surrounded her ears. In front of her is Mick, trying to cover Snart as the latter fought with a hand gun, his famous weapon hanging on its leg holster.

She walked towards the former rogues, remembering their earlier days of fighting. Forgetting the fight that’s happening around her, she walked a little bit faster, trying to reach Leonard as soon as she can but still taking her time. Wandering.

“Hey Len,” she whispered, trying to walk faster but then she felt a small sting on her side. She ignored it and kept walking.

Maybe Leonard heard her because he turned his head towards her. His eyes narrowed and his gaze landed on her side. Sara glanced where the man was staring and she saw her leather suit turning crimson red.

“Len,” she said, failing to tell him that she got shot all because they both know it.

All the fuzziness in her brain cleared. Her assassin way of thinking kicked back. Mick covers Leonard’s path as he ran towards her, meeting her halfway.

---

"Sara!" Len said, running towards his injured wife, "get behind my back, I'll cover you.”

He cocked his hand gun back to its original place, replacing his weapon with the Cold Gun and powering it up to use its remaining power.

Sara glanced around and counted the men pouring in. How the hell did the Legion get so many men? Were they promised a good score? Were they recruited or forced into this?

She then turned to Leonard. “No, Len. Go back to the ship,” Sara firmly said.

“You’ve just been shot!,” he replied, gripping her arms tightly.

“I can handle a hit, Leonard,” she responded, her eyes fixated on his. “Go back to the kids, please. Defend them. Don’t let them get hurt. We’ll ward them off from here.”

His hands went from her arm to her bloody side, warm and sticky, staining his gloves. “I’m not leaving you alone here.”

Sara sighed, her hand dropping one of her boe staffs and reaching Leonard’s cheeks. “I’m fighting with every hero we know. I’m not alone. Get Luke and Lily to the jumpship fast. Please. Tell Gideon where you’ll go and I’ll follow you after, I promise. Just make sure they’re safe. Do everything in your power to get them out of this hell-hole if hell breaks loose.”

“No,” he said straight and sternly, staring her down. His jaw tightened, wanting to be as selfish as he can, wanting to just grab Sara with him.

Before he could do so, she replied.

“Just do it.”

So he kissed her. Just like how she kissed him the first time at the Vanishing Point. Except this time, he believes they will see each other again in no time. Everybody is pulling every muscle to try to at least get to the Waverider alive and unhurt. He has to believe it.

He looked at her deeply after they broke away from the kiss. Sara gave him a little smile and he ran. He ran towards the front hatch, asking Gideon from his comms to open it up. Leonard ignored Cisco and Felicity’s questions and ran straight to the brig.

When he got to the brig, he saw the kids hugging each other, waiting for either him or Sara—or ideally, both of them. Luke was whispering something to Lily, blocking the sound aroung them, knowing how much his sister hates it.

“Kids,” he said as he opened the brig. “Let’s go to the jumpship. We need to hide.”

Lily stood first, running towards Leonard and hugging him, “How about mommy?”

“We’ll wait for her there, then we’ll leave,” he said, distracted by his fear of everything that’s happening. “Don’t worry, she’ll follow.”

He carried Lily, kissing her on top of her head as she cowered onto her father, and took Luke’s hand on his’. They made evasive steps in running to the jumphip and as soon as they got inside the jumpship, Gideon locked the bolt door.

Because the jumpship is at the edge, attached to the Waverider, the sound of explosions are sounding nearer and nearer. Leonard was panicking and there’s no way he could hide it.

“Mr. Snart,” Gideon said, interrupting the man from his task of putting on seatbelts on both the kids, “some troops are approaching the Waverider from the right wing, west entrance. Nobody is guarding that entrance at the moment. They’re all situated at the front hatch, preventing a larger crowd from entering. Captain Rory is already informed and is asking you to leave with the jumpship immediately.”

“We will wait for Sara!”, he annoyingly said, strapping himself in between the kids.

“Mrs. Snart is down, Mr. Snart,” the AI added. “You don’t have much time. Captain’s orders are to get the kids safe.”

His right arm was tugged with a small force. “We can’t leave Mommy here, Daddy. There are too many bad guys,” Lily’s big blue eyes tore his heart apart.

“You only have three minutes before they reach the jumpship, Mr. Snart.”

Leonard screams in rage and unstrapped his seatbelt to walk over to the console. He flies his ship anyways, away from the Waverider. Away from the chaos. His kids crying, longing for their mother.

---

Sara is lying on the ground, beaten up and bleeding. The sound of chaos turning into a minimum.

Mick is kneeling by her side, trying to stop the wound from bleeding. Ray and Nate surround them, covering them from whatever may hit the two.

She then sees the jumpship fly away from the timeship and smiles as a tear dropped from her eyes.“Protect them, Len. Keep them safe."

She then turns to Mick.  "Too bad I don’t have super powers, huh?”

“Shut up, Blondie,” Mick said harshly, the gentleness on his voice showing. “We all know you don’t need powers or fancy guns to kick ass.”

She chuckled but then became serious immediately after. "Mick, once this is over, track them please. Make sure they're okay, will you?"

Mick gripped on her hand, squeezing it tightly. "Shut up Sara, you're not dying. This is just a gunshot. You’ve survived a lot worse. I watched you go into labor for Lucky. That was hell. This is just a gun shot. Live for your family. Your kids are too young to lose you. You know that.”

She knows. But she also knows she has lost a lot of blood. Still, Mick is right. She’s survived a lot worse. Hell, she gave birth twice.

She squeezed Mick’s hand.

"I’ve been in this position for too many times, Mick,” Sara said, using her upper body strength to get up. “This almost-dying situation is getting boring. And to be honest? I’m so sick of this. Help me up. Let’s find the Legion and let’s kill them before they get to my family.”

---to be continued---

It’s been almost two month since the last update. This chapter took so much time for me to finish and I apologize for that. Mental block and holidays and university stuff got in the way. 

PANDArt has been the best, the most patient and understanding partner ever. I love you. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

[inexchangeforyoursoul]

Not gonna lie... with as much feedback I get (i.e. 1-2 faves/kudos a week, if I’m lucky), writing this feels like a fucking chore nine times outta ten. And I hate tedious grinding. Which is a fucking shame, because there must be like 15 readers out there who get to the chapters as I’m posting, and literally all I’d need is like 2 random commenters and my motivation would be reset till almost the end. Maybe September will bring back some of those verbose peeps who disappeared into the blue... maybe. ffn ao3

30. Knights of the coffee table

As she gets further away from the door, then the submarine, Kat starts shaking. A moment of hesitation; instead of going straight for the bedroom, she walks up to the toilet, which is vacant, to her great relief. The entire ship is eerily empty as people are scattered between the dining room and the shore from what she can hear through the beeping sound in her ear.

She slips onto the floor with back to the wall, and stares into nothingness for at least a few minutes. Returning to reality, she realizes that she's gotten sweaty. Again. And there's also a knot in her stomach. Still a little light in the head, she ambles outside to the sink and leans onto it. Stares another hole into the drain.

She's never felt so misplaced in a body, any body before, dawning sicknesses notwithstanding. Nor can she remember the last time her anxiety got this overwhelming when making a wrong move. It feels as if her ghost was dragging some kind of dead weight around. She… she legitimately just tried to kiss someone. On the lips. That's just not something she would do. Even in her wildest dreams, she's only receiving those.

Her comatose confusion soon turns into frustration; this… is so not her. Where's the real Katja and what did she do to her?! How could she have ever mustered so much… such confidence, to just, like… try and do something like that? Maybe, it's just the pill… but quite frankly, all she noticed being off was getting sleepy as fuck. And thinking out loud, which she avoids when in company. Is… is it her 'mask,' then? Or the powers? Can being taller, stronger, or just in a man's body itself, really make such a difference? Is she really like this…?

Kat peeks into the mirror; that's... not Law. Just his shell, and whoever she's supposed to be.

What could he be thinking of her now… oooh...

Having spent god knows how much time standing there with face buried in her hands, she decides to wash quick, then go down to the girl's room and be awkwardly miserable there. Frankly, she should be targeting the kitchen, but her nerves killed any appetite she might have had.

She considers lying down upon arrival, but has the feeling that she wouldn't be able to fall asleep anyhow, so… she crashes on an armchair. Staring into nothingness until she gets sleepy… a long-forgotten classic.

Twilight soon turns into darkness, and eventually Nami and Carrot arrive and blind her with the sudden lights.

"Ow," she mumbles while rubbing her eyes slowly.

"Oh… you are early," Nami notes in surprise; "did you piss him off by being nice again?" That still doesn't clear up why she was sitting around in the dark, but…

Ha ha, being… 'nice,' yyyyeah… "I," she heaves a lethargic sigh with hands still plastered over her face, "did worse." Thinking about it… she didn't buy the bear because of… or, did she? No… nope, she did those things yesterday to cheer him up, this is new. Oh… oh, nooo.

It's because he was nice to her later, isn't it? FUCK. How pathetic can she get?! That's pretty much all it has ever taken… she just started being totally suspicious of people's kindness down the line. Except for… this time. Fucking breach in the defenses.

Hearing this, even Carrot slows down, taking a questioning look at Nami. What can be worse with Trafalgar Law than being too nice or excruciatingly dumb?

"Well… did you do something stupid?" The navigator asks before closing the door, zeroing her leftover options.

Kat slides the hands off her vision. "…" Well… technically speaking, "that too." Something really stupid at that. If she didn't do that… this whole situation wouldn't be an issue.

"Then we pass, since you are not the obnoxious type, and that's the last known thing he hates apart from some psychopaths, the government, and bread," the mink shrugs, settling on the coffee table.

"I feel like there's a story to tell here," Nami notes, also sitting into the other chair. "You look quite taken."

"… uhhh… I suppose so," she creaks. Whether she's going to tell anything is another matter. Spilling the beans could make her the laughing stock of the alliance for as long as she's here…

Nope, not happening.

Nami squints at her; something is definitely up. "Well?"

She goes back into hiding and grumbles. Carrot places her hand on her chin, pondering. Her and Nami take a passing glance at each other; Kat is one to answer direct questions that don't involve opinions, so this is certainly out of the ordinary. The mink takes over the interrogation:

"That bad, huh…? On a scale from 1 to 10, how uncomfortable is it to talk about?"

"…" She doesn't want to talk or even think about this, like, ever again… but Kat also feels the peer pressure building up. And she can share this much, if nothing else. "… nine." At the very least. She has no idea what a solid 10 would be, but the minimum and maximum scores might as well not exist as far as she's concerned. There's always better or worse possibilities than what one can imagine. But this one does cut it pretty high, no matter how she looks at it. Fuuuck… how is she going to show her face tomorrow…?

"… so, let me get this straight," muses the navigator; "Additionally to doing something stupid… you did something else that bothers you, personally. And you are, by all accounts… embarrassed?" If not ashamed… it's the best she can figure from what she can see.

She moans again; that's a fucking understatement. She can feel getting red in the face again…

The girls sink into their thoughts; what's something… that would embarrass Kat?

For starters, it's not an easy thing to do. Odd hobbies, odd habits, the worst of what the world of puns can offer, anecdotes that are usually more disturbing than funny, regardless how entertaining she herself finds them… she's not bothered to share these, and also gives zero fucks about her language, which includes everything from obscure words to cussing, and her working class also shines through at times. She takes well to being corrected on things, so that's not it, either.

This has nothing to do with how she presents herself as. The key to this the other involved party, that is to say, Trafalgar Law.

"You either made him so uncomfortable that you ran away…" starts Nami, cocking her head to the right; Kat would probably overreact in a situation like that…

"… or murdered Torao with a cold-blooded joke comment, and he himself kicked you out." continues Carrot, tilting hers to the left. She can say things without thinking that could be hurtful, then regrets doing so right away.

"… or both," they nod together once they've run through the other's idea quick.

Apart from being a cold-blooded ego murderer… they are not far from the overall basic solution.

"Honestly… the quote-unquote worst thing I could think of… is something like trying to get too cuddly with him," the redhead adds after a chuckle. Oh, he'd hate that. "You pass out hugs left and right, but he gets grumpy whenever people dare to even touch him. You wouldn't want lame hugs and never ending complaints." He could barely handle the one he got the other day…

"Ha ha, right! Although… well, it's an extremely unlikely option and you'd be more pissed than hiding in a corner, but I cannot even begin to imagine if he was the one stomping into your comfort zone. It's more likely that you accidentally squeezed the life out of the dude… or were flirting with him, he would probably die from that, too," Carrot nods as they giggle to each other, then catch the flaming red ears behind Kat's hands as they glance back towards her.

… Ah.

"YOU ACTUALLY HIT ON HIM?!" they scream in unison, Nami being more on the horrified side of things while Carrot is more excited than anything else. The awed sparkles in her eyes are entirely unnecessary.

"SO WHAT IF I DID?!" Kat screams back at them in embarrassment and panic, and with a burning-up face. Technically, she just straight-out skipped the flirting part and went for the finish line. She can't quite believe it herself… the more she thinks about it, the less so. Because she never would have thought to be capable of even getting that close to... to kiss someone. Gave up on having any kind of relationship eons ago, too. Ugh. She's having kind of a personality crisis right now, okay?! More importantly, however… "And why are you yelling it for all to hear?!" Seriously…! This is already bad enough as it is.

"Okay, okay, okay, calm down," Nami instructs her after snapping out of her surprise; "Zoro's probably out cold in the crow's nest, and there's noone left on the Sunny right now! Your secret is as safe as it gets!"

That… actually sounds very reassuring after the heart attack; Kat slumps down in relief. She's also on the verge of tears, to be honest.

"Either way, Kat…! What was it that you said?! Was it on accident?" asks the mink without any other care in the world.

"It's… less about having said something. It's what I did by a hair that was out of line." If she's lucky, he didn't get a word of that… what if he can read lips, though? Nooo…

"… like, slapping his ass, or so?"

An awkward smile appears on Nami's face while she starts thinking that maybe she should get a hold of Carrot's horses, here.

"NO!" Kat screams in bewilderment. It's… not without precedent, but the couple of occasions when she did something even remotely similar were all a dumb joke among female peers. Boy thighs and butts are out of question! … even if said boy is in her body.

"Joking, just joking!" Carrot protests with raised hands; "Because we said 'hitting on,' get it?"

Kat stares at her. "… I'm not even getting quality jokes anymore," she sighs eventually, grumbling, with hands on top of her head.

"You're obviously tired, so I don't blame you," the rabbit girl continues with a shrug. "Hell, you are definitely blowing things out of proportion because of it. Whatever you did cannot be all that serious… sleep on it, alright? It won't seem that bad in the morning." Unless, of course, Kat did break the bejeezus out of him.

The initial answer is an elongated, whiny moan. "No, it is bad! Very bad!" she bursts out then, reaching back to the uncharacteristically aggressive voice from a minute ago before covering behind her arms that she pulls forward. Then, she raises one hand up with a gap roughly the size of a longer nail between her thumb and pointing finger; "I was literally… this close. This close! " She takes a big breath before continuing; "To… mack on him." Her sentence ends in half a whimper. Taking another sniffle-suspicious deep breath, she collects her composure and peeks out towards the table from behind her bars. "Then he winced, I backed the fuck out... and we were locked into the most awkward space sharing nonversation of the century." She fucked up sooo bad…

"You… you actually did that?" asks Nami, the reality of the situation setting in. She can see how this is not a situation her friend can handle. Kat… doesn't get physical with people she doesn't know. She did notice her flinching last week when shoving her towards the infirmary, even though she wasn't hurt there; she figured she's overstepped her boundaries back then. Afterwards, she's made a point to let Kat initiate, and it seems to have worked out perfectly fine; now she'll readily give and receive pokes and hugs whenever. That girl really is kind of like a cat in this regard.

Similarly, unless someone straight-out asks for it, she rarely shares her opinion on anything out of her jurisdiction… the navigator had to poke around a little last Saturday just so Kat would tell which dress she thinks would suit her better. Then the spare time artist went into a five minute monologue about pros and cons, and the details of color theory and whatnot… making the decision even harder, to be honest. 'Just choose whichever you are more comfortable in, you will be the one wearing it, not me,' was her final conclusion.

All in all…. she keeps to herself, to an extreme. And today, she intruded into another's personal space, and judging by her recap, and the kind of person Law is… it must have come off as incredibly rude.

"... yeah," She squeaks almost questioningly as she emerges from her shame barrier, then takes a rugged breath and stares at the ceiling. Never in her wildest dreams… What the fuck has gotten into her back then? She refuses to believe that she'd be capable of such an act... "The funniest thing is, though," she continues as her vision slides down the wooden walls, "that the idea came outta nowhere. I just had this... garchu moment while the painkiller and drugs were still kinda tickin' and gave 'im this big ole bear hug. Which was fine, aye? But I took too long to leave 'im alone proper, wondrin'bout how small and cold he is right now, and darn me if I did not like this person 'ere as much as wee liddel me did her mum back in them days, and..."

Nami puts a hand out in front of her face, contemplating to wave if she girl doesn't react. "Kat... Kat, calm down, your lingo is getting thick and hard to follow..." The words started rolling really fast somewhere down the line, too.

She does come to a full stop, though; her mouth twitches. "Then, he looked up. At me. That close." She lifts her fingers up again a bit, with downcast eyes; they have been displaying the short distance ever since she gave that estimate. "And that's when I... just thought, 'holy shit.' I mean, I could just... blame being high, but..." She feels like blushing again and puts that hand to her temples.

Carrot, who's been listening all spellbound, looks over to Nami. "… falling in love sounds hardcore."

Kat buries her face in her hands again and moans. "I haven't had a crush on anyone since I was 13. That's a literal decade! This is so embarrassing..." And will be super awkward for however long they'll be stuck like this. Maybe… maybe it will go away in two weeks. Please, be a two to four weeks phase like with anything or anyone this has happened with.

Nami sighs and walks over to her to give her back a stroke. "There, there…"

Having all of this bullshit out of her system (and getting a long overdue, nice petting,) Kat feels really tired all of a sudden. She can finally focus on other stuff now, too; reviewing the convo with the girls, she speaks up again: "By the way… you said the ship's empty? How come?" This place is always teeming with life…

"Yeah, it's Friday, and as Luffy has declared… it's party time," the redhead sighs, straightening herself and stretching. "He dragged everyone past our already half-drunk sleeping beauty out, but I didn't sleep all that well last night, so I'm all partied out already." Having said that, the navigator yawns.

"Oh… yeah, I forgot." She herself told the captain and Usopp about it, too… she needs some goddamn sleep.

"Shit, right…! I promised to get back for another round of booze and the karaoke," Carrot says and jumps up near immediately; "see ya!"

With that, the door is already slamming shut.

"... was Carrot playing your bodyguard, or…?" Kat asks with a raised brow.

"This area gives me the creeps at night," sighs Nami before ambling towards the light switch. "Like, no offense, but this is quite a ghost port." She swears she can see things move in the shadows at night.

Kat starts yawning away again, too. "You are not wrong about that. Ain't nothing in this corner but dying businesses and hooligans." She crawls onto the floor to find her cocoon. "At least the rent's cheap in the vicinity," she moans with the covers already over her.

"That's one way to look at it," the navigator nods, getting rid of her pants. "G'nite," she moans then a little later into the pillow after crashing into the bed.

"Good night to you, too," Kat sighs. She feels more like a zombie instead of a ghost now. Kind of like after crying. Yeah… maybe she really just needs to sleep on it. Maybe.

[technato]

Reliefband’s Motion Sickness Wearable, Take 2

Two years ago, I tried the original and judged it to be my favorite gadget ever. Version 2.0 aims for better form to match its function

Photo: Tekla Perry

The author’s “geek stack”: a Fitbit, a hair tie, a small analog watch, and Reliefband 2.0.

The motion sickness wearable Reliefband changed my life back in 2016, making me able to comfortably ride in cars, planes, and boats without sleep-inducing motion sickness drugs. There’s no arguing that the wearable works amazingly well for me, someone who is severely susceptible to motion sickness,.

There was also no arguing that generation one is not the most attractive design. It resembles something my kid got as part of a secret agent spy kit when he was six. Or like a toy compass from a cereal box.

And indeed, after just over a year of use, the plastic case started cracking. A replacement unit had a battery door that just wouldn’t close. I solved both problems with duct tape; it wasn’t pretty, but I wasn’t giving up this gadget I’d come to rely on. Instead, I tucked my sleeve over it to hide it as much as possible, and wore it only as long as I had to.

Back in 2016, the company promised that it was in the midst of a redesign, and would be shipping a much sleeker and more functional band by the end of that year. It took a little longer than that, but now Reliefband has finally rolled out generation 2.0.

But while Reliefband 2.0 is now my band of choice, it’s not superior in every respect to the original version.  

Before we get into why, here’s a quick refresher on the basic operating principle of both the old and new bands. They work by emitting electric pulses; carefully positioned contact plates on the device send those pulses tingling up the middle couple of fingers. These intermittent pulses work to block the neurological signals that trigger motion sickness. The electric jolts have to be spaced carefully, company reps told me. Not frequent enough, and they won’t do the job. Too frequent, and they’ll make the nerves insensitive to them.

As someone who gets motion sickness essentially anytime I’m in a car and not in the driver’s seat, I can attest that my original Reliefband works brilliantly. Only once in my two years of using it has it failed—and even then, it helped me recover quickly.

Reliefband 2.0 solves some of its issues, but creates new ones.

First, the look: Version 2.0 is much more attractive. The bulky part of the gadget, containing the battery and electronics, has been moved to the top, so it looks like a smart watch or bulked up fitness band.  Only the metal contacts wrap to the inside of the wrist. (The previous generation had to be worn with the entire gadget seated on the inside of the wrist. But there’s a reason most people don’t wear watches like that: You bump it constantly.)

Photo: Tekla Perry

The author’s original Reliefband after more than year of use, slightly cracked but still working. Reliefband 2.0 (photo at top of post) appears to be far more durable.

I no longer was self-conscious while wearing the band, wondering if it would attract questioning looks. So, I was willing to leave it on for extended periods, such as during long airline flights, just in case the skies turned turbulent. I assumed when I was fiddling with the controls people would just think I was checking my watch or responding to a text message—no one ever asked. It’s part of a geek stack on my left wrist that includes my Fitbit, a small analog watch that I just can’t seem to give up, and a just-in-case hair tie.

Then there’s the fit: Unfortunately, it’s now only so-so. Version 2.0 is definitely not designed for my slim wrist. It comes in only one size, and that size is BIG. This means the edges protrude and catch on things. It also impinges on the device’s functionality, making it hard to adjust the band properly and line the contacts up with the correct spot on my wrist. After many, many, attempts, I discovered that the only way to make it work is to wear it backwards (with the controls towards my shoulder instead of my fingers). This makes those buttons harder to reach however, and adjustments counterintuitive (the “up” button is down and vice versa). Had I not had experience with the previous model, I might have left it positioned incorrectly and missed out on the benefits.

The controls: Despite them being upside down on my wrist, I can say they are now a little better. The original Reliefband had one button; each push advanced the intensity of the pulses from “off,” through the maximum level of five, and then back to off. Reliefband 2.0 has two buttons: One doubles as the on/off button and ratchets intensity down; the other ratchets the intensity up. There’s a finer division of intensities (nine instead of five), and I appreciate having more options. But turning the gadget off is a challenge. It requires a long push and hold while watching for a little “N” to flick on and then off. It’s not complicated, but it’s hard to see in bright light. A number of times, in spite of how careful I’ve been, I’ve found that I somehow failed to do this properly. I also found out the hard way that plugging the gadget into the charger turns it on automatically; it has to be turned off manually when done charging. Not intuitive.

Battery life: It’s okay. I’ve never had it run out of charge in normal use. A full charge of its internal rechargeable batteries lasts about 12 hours at the slightly higher than middle intensity I typically use. The device sends a low battery warning after 10 hours. But when I stored it, fully turned off, for a week or two, I found that the battery ran down to nothing—a disappointment. At least it does recharge quickly—in less than half an hour in my experience. The previous model used coin-cell batteries, which lasted for months, and could be replaced in seconds. So, I’m still packing the older version as a security blanket, just in case I inadvertently leave the new one on or forget to recharge it at the end of a day.

So the net net: If you just want to try the technology and see if it works for you, the original Reliefband is still on the market for under $100. If you have an average sized wrist, though, and plan to use the device on a regular basis, Reliefband 2.0, at $180, won’t make you look like a total geek.

As for me, I’ve mostly converted to version 2.0, but I’d be a lot happier if it came in a smaller size. And I would think there would be a huge market for one, given that children are particularly susceptible to motion sickness and their parents are likely eager to find non-drug alternatives.

Reliefband’s Motion Sickness Wearable, Take 2 syndicated from https://jiohowweb.blogspot.com