#there’s a lot of rich oc dynamic stuff happening in there but that’s for me <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[impossible-rat-babies]

I’ve gotten really into writing fic with the whole idea that I am gonna be the only one going back into my drafts to read it

[pookie-mulder]

June 2024 fic roundup

Here are my favorite June reads:

👶📝 Of Our Own Making by @television-overload

I totally forgot to put this on last month’s list! I absolutely loved reading each new chapter every morning at work. I can’t not read a marriage of convenience fic, especially when there’s a baby involved.

💌🦃 Small Lives Awake by Jesemie’s Evil Twin

You know when you read something so sweet, so pure, that you feel like it breaks your heart in the best way? That’s this fic. It’s incredibly fluffy without being cheesy, and the writing style is so elegant.

🏝️👨‍👩‍👦 The Eden Series by Jacque LaVa

Was this the best fic I’ve ever read? No. Was everyone OOC? Definitely. Did I still enjoy it? You bet. I cannot resist the siren call of a survival fic, an amnesia fic, or a kidfic, and this had all three.

👰‍♀️🤵‍♂️ The Marriage Spectacular by @cecilysass

I’ve never met a cecilysass fic I didn’t like, and this was no exception. Fake relationship my beloved! Only one bed my beloved! Mulder and Scully being idiots in love my beloved! Absolutely delightful. 10/10, no notes.

🌀☔️ Hurricane Season by beduini & rah

This fic perfectly captures M&S’s “we’re completely and utterly devoted to each other and literal soulmates yet we still doubt our place in each other’s lives and we never actually talk about it” dynamic that we know and love. It takes place when William is a few months old and they’re still trying to define their relationship. I loved it SO MUCH!

(hmu for an epub — the chapters are long, which makes it easy to lose your place if you don’t finish the chapter in one sitting)

❄️✈️ WHITEOUT by EvanBlack

A classic “Mulder and Scully get in a plane crash and have to survive until help arrives” story. (You all know by now how much I love a survival fic!)

I absolutely adored the dynamic between them in this one. They’re down SO bad for each other, and it shows. I especially loved the beginning when they’re both wishing they were sitting next to each other so they could hold hands. That’s the good stuff right there!

🛁🧪 Antidote by Rachel Howard and Karen Rasch

Mulder and Scully investigate an unknown contagion in a remote town. You can probably guess what happens from there.

This was the perfect road trip read! Engaging and exciting without being too plot-heavy.

🤰👶 40 Weeks by @malibusunset-xf-blog

What if the IVF worked?

The most delectable pregnancy fluff with a dash of smut and a healthy serving of Mulder and Scully figuring out their relationship.

🪶🐎 Omens by @lepusarticus

I cannot say enough good things about this fic. It’s definitely a new addition to the Holy Grail list.

It’s a casefic, but it doesn’t feel like a casefic…more like an exploration of magic and family and love. With its spooky small-town gothic vibe and emphasis on powerful women and strange houses and ancient magic, it reminds me a lot of my favorite book series, The Raven Cycle. (If you liked this fic, you should go read TRC!)

This fic has layers and nuance and themes and motifs and gorgeous metaphors and one incredibly hot scene that ticked all my boxes. Even the OCs are rich and compelling. I would read a whole series set in this universe!

💥🚗 Goshen by Bonetree

Emily angst plus survival plus tending to each other’s injuries plus hurt/comfort? Yes please! I love it when I find a fic that seems to be created in a lab just for me.

(After reading the summaries of the following installments, I’m not quite sure if they’re really my thing. Has anyone read the rest of the series? Did you like it?)

👦🏻🦊 A Boy and His Fox by 6hoursgirl

Mulder and Scully “platonically” coparent their son. Mulder learns what it means to be a dad. Pure, unadulterated fluff! If you like kidfics, this one is a must-read.

📚👩‍⚕️ Heuvelmans’ On the Track by The_Mythopeodic

This fic is a fandom classic, and I can definitely see why. The author uses language in unexpected and interesting ways, which is not something you see very often in fic.

I tend to go for “popcorn” fics that are addictive and easy to binge. This one is more like a hearty slab of meat. Both types are good in their own way, but this fic made me work for it.

Anyway, I got a bit frustrated with myself around the halfway mark and kept having to reread passages a few times to truly understand what’s going on. I lamented that I needed a reading guide like they used to give you in English class.

After putting it aside for a few days, I came back and DEVOURED the second half. I don’t want to spoil anything, but if you’ve read it, you know what I’m talking about. I loooooved seeing Scully be resourceful and scrappy and capable, and the epilogue is incredible. I’m glad I pushed through!

🪡🌨️ Skamania County by Sarie_Fairy

This is actually the second time I’ve read this one, which I didn’t realize until near the end when I tried to leave kudos, haha. Anyway, I loved it both times! It has everything that makes survival fics so enticing: a nice trip to the woods that quickly goes wrong, one person hiding their life-threatening injury from the other, the intimacy of tending to their wounds, cuddling (naked) for warmth, and finally resolving that UST. Chef’s kiss!

🧙‍♀️🔭 The Mars Differential by @asteraceae-blue

This one is a WIP, and I cannot wait for the rest! It’s an intriguing casefile with plenty of msr.

I also read a bunch of @o6666666’s fics thanks to this masterlist that made its way around recently!

They are the master of writing fic that hurts so good. This IVF arc one might be my favorite, along with this season 9 one that squeezed my heart like a stress ball.

[wiihtigo]

do u have any tips for getting into ocs and developing them tho 🤔😭

Hmm I’ve had ocs in the past and I’ve wondered why I picked and chose favorites among the cast I made and I thjnk for the ones I didn’t gaf about it was because I was forcing myself to make characters filling space because I thought it would make my story look more complete but it just ended up I neglected those ocs because I found nothing about them fun or compelling to spend time on.

With casey I’ve definitely gone full self indulgence which was probably helped by the fact her concept was literally based on a joke self insert character so the fuel for me spending time with her was my intense fixation on booster gold and how much I wanted to destroy hurt kill bite kill punch to death kick kill him 😀

Make things fun for yourself! Don’t shy away from making things that you know you’re already crazy for … I’m not shy about saying casey as a concept is a culmination of a LOT of favorite characters I’ve had in the past like peridot (su), the invader zim and tak storyline, Daffy Duck .. to name a few!

And I spent a long time perfecting her design so that it was fun to draw for me …. I made her a secretary/office lady type character cuz um. I THINK THEYRE HOT? LOL … and I really like that fashion style I draw her in. So she’s almost like a mannequin for me to draw clothes I really like aesthetically. so I really have a lot of fun drawing her ^_^ you can tell by how much I do it LOL

So my number 1 advice in conceptualizing ocs is to make things fun for yourself. Are your favorite charaxters always mad scientists.. you can make one. Do you think rubber aprons are hot. You can give them one. Have you been struggling with your gender identity. You can make your oc a girl with he him probouns. Do you wish columbo was a lesbian.. you can make it happen.

As for development, as soon as I got the basic deets for casey and her role in the story I had for her to paper I found one of those tumbrl oc ask games and just filled out every single question for her. A lot of stuff was made up on the spot but just felt right and most often stuck that way but there’s no shame in making little changes as your oc grows on you and you get better aquatinted with eachother. For example I had the idea initially casey would have rich/well off and well meaning parents who were extremely normal and loved her a lot and it would be kind of a meet the robinsons “THEY ALL HATED ME” dynamic. But I quickly changed it as I thought more about casey because what I have with her and spider feels more.. fitting.

It also helps a ton if you have a friend willing to lend an ear :) and I don’t mean just 50+ messages discord chats (because those are extremely enlightening too) but I mean just posting and posting and posting about your little guy and getting those precious 4 likes on your lore document. I always take this sort of approach with original stuff LOL IF I POST ABOUT CASEY LIKE A LUNATIC FOREVER EVENTUALLY ILL TRICK EVERYONE INTO THINKING THEYRE CASEY FANS…!!!

Sorry for the rambly answer! I hope I was able to say at least 1 crumb of helpfulness

[faksyan]

17. Any OC OTPs? And 39. Introduce any character you want

17. Any OC OTPs?

I think all my oc couples are my otps. I love all of them. But I did immediately doodle Ray and Nevada upon seeing this question so take them.

Slowburn space pirates that start off as a thief and a headhunter that is running after them. Lots of drama and tentative bonding with some crime-solving on the side. They're having fun and hanging out, but then there is Nevada's revenge plan they leave for and a Ray traumatic event tm after which they both fuck off to a winter cottage to heal and have a domestic bliss arc. Some stuff happens after that also. It's not very fleshed-out. They are a bit of a perfect couple that is gentle with and cares for each other deeply.

39. Introduce any character you want.

I was thinking which of the Skyfall (the same space pirate thing) characters I haven't talked about before at all and there are Ms. White and Ms. Red (go as a package for Reasons). Those are fake last names, but they don't have first ones still (well, Ms. Red is Lin, but I don't have a name for White, so I won't be referring to her like that here so they can match)

They are the main antagonists of a part of the plot, in the end of which they have a very messy breakup because Red lied to White about business stuff to overthrow her and then White stabbed her.

They are highschool/university/some kind of long-time friends that wanted to go into business and politics and get rich together. They are a do not separate deal, have been doing everything together since they met. Know each other better than anyone else. Red has always been ambitious and ready to do everything to get what she wants, which led them getting invited to join a group of powerful people organizing some illegal gambling and underground fighting stuff. White used to be more quiet and follow her friend in most stuff, let her take the lead, and that eventually created a really weird power dynamic between them where they rely on each other too much, in Red's case very much bordering on obsession.

White accidentally kills one of the members of the group (possibly in some way orchestrated by Red), and Red helps her get rid of the body. There is a lot of 'there's no one else you can trust but me, I am the only one you can rely on' there, and they start properly dating after that. White becomes the leader of the group through more of Red's manipulations, and throughout the years develops into a much more confident, cold woman her partner has always wanted her to be, which shifts the power imbalance and is the reason they eventually fall out. Red is very much a devil on her shoulder in their early days, but when she doesn't have control anymore, she goes behind White's back to get her arrested (for good and real reasons too, funnily enough). White ends up in jail, but I like thinking somewhere off-screen Red gets her out and they get back together. You know that post about two people being so awful they can only be with each other? That's them. Very toxic co-dependant yuri with murder and collars and stabbing. the usual stuff.

[dufrau]

My favorite fic of yours

ONE? You want me to pick ONE!?!?! pfff. no. Red&White&Blue&Gold, the Fall Funfair one, and Orange Crush are the funny ones that jump to mind first that will always have a place in my heart, and then also the watertower fic and all of the TLOU AU fics. and also all of the bigfoot AU. and also just all of your stories.

Something I remember vividly from reading one of your fics

Bean cans and sexy disarmament from Entirely on Purpose. Chicken names (lol) and chicken deaths (oh no!) in TLOU au. Losing Barb in Into Dust.

What made me the most emotional after reading

Into Dust and just all of the TLOU AU

What I like the most about your writing

First off: you write fantastic dialogue and awesome banter!

But even more than that, the thing I love about your writing is that you are SO good at writing emotional complexity - both in your silly/funny stories and in the ones that make me cry. By which I think I mean you always write characters simultaneously feeling multiple things at once, often in ways that they aren't even fully aware of themselves. Like .... you're good at writing the conflict between the words people say (and the fronts they put up) versus the underlying feelings that they're either pushing away or leaning into, if that makes sense? Which works so well because you use descriptions of actions/physical sensations just very well and very judiciously. It's a lot of 'show don't tell' kinda work and its amazing.

Also, you're very very good at having a sort of lyricism/poetic-ness - with repeated phrases or callbacks and such - about your prose that just makes the vibes of your stories like ... really rich and satisfying (like a good stew... if it was also a piece of music? idk. I'm mixing my metaphors here.)

A question I have about one of your fics

Any favorite lines/parts you want to talk about from the last few fics you published??

(numbering got fucked up in this ask somehow - sorry!)

Brroooooo this is so nice 😭 Can you write my resume please you make me sound so good lol

I dont even know how to respond to all the nice things you said besides to say thank you for being nice to me 💜💜💜

I think this might actually motivate me to write today lol so thank you for that also.

Hmm. Things I want to talk about from my recent fics. Well. First of all I think the proposal in the boot fic is very sweet and i am really fond of that one and almost nobody has read it and they should because its cute.

And I really liked writing the Elaine scene in the jancy breakup fic, I never really write OCs and she only exists for like a paragraph but I am kind of obsessed with her. Also just that fic in general I think is sort of interesting structurally and I think I captured the mid twenties lostness of it pretty well.

And tbh I really enjoyed playing with their dynamic in the falafel smut? It's the smuttiest thing I have ever written but I feel like there is interesting character stuff happening there that made it fun to write in a way I often do not find smut writing to be.

now i just need to write something new to talk about lol.

thank youuuu!!

(questions)

[roobylavender]

What’s the dynamic between scydia? I never watched Teen Wolf but from what I’ve seen it was always stydia that was popular which I never understood because it didn’t look like much to me from the gifs and stuff I’ve seen 😂

stydia was popular bc it had everything going for it. no other relationship in the show was as extensively developed as theirs save the one between scott and stiles (and you could argue that stydia got even better development than sciles did at some point bc the former didn't require throwing either party under the bus the way sciles did in later seasons). and they were a recreation of a trope that first blossomed into the modern consciousness with dwayne and whitley on a different world, and that was then subsequently revived with seth and summer on the oc (which people very often joke teen wolf ripped off bc the parallels are.. uncanny): the relationship between the uptight rich girl secretly holding back reams of vulnerability and the loser nerd who didn't remotely fit the definition of your classic macho hero but nonetheless recognized uptight rich girl was special the whole time. i haven't watched a different world myself (i want to though!) but i do happen to be the oc obsessed and i honestly believe the appeal is in the self-insert nature of it all. i am a semmer shipper til i die, they are one of my favorite relationships on tv ever, but when you think about it a little more it's no wonder people were drawn to a relationship where the girl was externally blunt and rude to shield her own vulnerability, until that shield was allowed to come down bc she found a boy who worshipped the ground she walked on. summer got to be bitchy and smart and anxious about how people perceived her bc seth took it all in stride and adored her to no end. add on to this the fact that he had had a crush on her since he was ten years old despite the fact that she had never acknowledged him until it was necessitated by chance bc they ran in completely different social circles otherwise. he was the nice guy (with caveats, as there always are), and he got the girl in the end bc he loved her more than anyone

the same logic more or less applies to stydia. in fact, as i aforementioned, the parallels between the oc and teen wolf go down to the core four ship dynamics. stiles had also always loved lydia since he was a kid. he also had always known how smart she was. he was also a nerdy, psychobabbling loser who third wheeled his bestie's relationship with lydia's best friend, which necessitated her acknowledgment of him by chance. and so on and so forth. but what stydia got even more than semmer was the agonizing slow burn. they were literally not canon until the last season of the show meanwhile semmer were together from season one. so you got to see stydia go from being strangers, to acquaintances, to friends, to best friends, and finally to lovers. in addition to all of the self-insert stuff i really think that is what did it for people who watched the show in a stydia bubble. it didn't matter how many extraneous relationships either character was put through (stiles dated two people before he dated lydia, she also dated two people and had a weirdly bordering on sexual but never consummated dynamic with a cop at one point. jeff davis is going to hell), people knew they were meant to be, and that was what made the journey worth it. for me, it had the opposite effect in that i think the slow burn went too far and they dated too many other people for the ending they got to feel completely enjoyable. bc you could tell they genuinely loved and cared for some of the other people they were in relationships with, so the fact that those relationships were more or less only used as props to stall time until stydia actually got together was a bit distasteful and annoying. teen wolf shipping was essentially like musical chairs where everyone dated everyone so a lot of ships easily lost meaning and appeal. they literally had scott date every main girl except lydia, ironically enough

speaking of. sorry for the brief history lesson, but to go back to your original question. scydia basically developed into the show's underrated besties dynamic over time. they started off with a bang bc on scott's first ever full moon he was hormonally wild and made out with lydia even though he had no actual feelings for her, but their one-on-one interactions pretty much tapered off after that bc allison was the conduit through which they co-existed. scott loved allison. lydia loved allison. it was a fact on its face more than anything to really contend with so early on in the show. but throughout the first three seasons, you had scott slowly develop into a leader for the pack, so once lydia started actually becoming cognizant of the development of her powers in season three, that's when things started to shift. they leaned on each other. scott was a good friend and he was there for lydia. lydia trusted scott bc she knew he led with courage and compassion. you finally got: lydia would never run and hide. because of stiles? because of scott. and then, allison died. this is really the big climactic moment for scydia bc yeah they would always be very supportive of each other regardless of whether or not allison was there, but it was the fact that allison died that really made their relationship with each other.. affectionate. tender. forged in steel. they were both irrevocably connected to this one person whom they loved so, so deeply, and she had suddenly been torn from their arms forever. no one, not even stiles, understood that grief the way they did each other's. and from that point on, since allison was gone (and i hate to frame it this way bc then i sound like those heteronormative found family people) lydia slipped into this sort of matriarchal role for the pack alongside scott's pre-existing patriarchal one. she was the head, he was the heart, and they functioned like well-oiled cogs in a machine. stiles was also there but he was sort of the erratic factor in that he went on all of the wild goose chases that contributed to the plot (and to be fair lydia was also critical here as well. they were their own little scooby doo duo)

but anyway, that's the set-up that basically paved the way for their relationship development in the latter half of the show. esp once the writers started to develop this rift between sciles i feel like the appeal of their relationship with each other kind of died and all that was left in its place in terms of a close friendship (bc scott was dating kira at this time. at least before she got written out of the show) was scydia. this was emphasized on even more via the following: not all monsters do monstrous things. like who? like scott. there was basically this unspoken, unbreakable trust between scydia where they were literally each other's ride-or-dies. like i think in the same season that lydia said this scott also let himself be electrocuted (bc werewolves can absorb pain better than humans) so that she wouldn't be. and there were so many little moments where they were each other's rocks, so many little hand holds and meaningful stares between them. and then season five and six are kind of big blobs to me at this point bc the show was so bad by now (like allison dying truly killed the show in terms of plot), but season five for some reason decided to acknowledge that these characters were in school and were about to graduate so they needed to take classes relevant to their career interests. scydia enrolled in ap bio together. lydia bc why wouldn't she, she was the smartest person in the school, and scott bc he wanted to be a veterinarian. except that scott's ability to do well in school had always formed the butt of a joke among his classmates and friends, with the exception of—you guessed it—lydia. she believed in his ability to do well the whole time, which sounds very trivial bc this certainly was not the most important aspect of the plot at all, but it was soooo huge for people who were sick of scott being repeatedly trampled on by the writing of the show bc the writers had recognizes stiles was more popular. for scott to have one friend who truly believed in him and his compassion and his capabilities without conditions felt like dreamland at that point. and that's the last really notable thing i remember about their dynamic before teen wolf decided its final season would be the stiles show (which did provide its fair share of scydia moments to be fair. even if it was all about how much they were trying to remember stiles). but they were really great co-leaders and arguably each other's best friends by the end and i loved it so, so much, regardless of the fact that it was never going to be what i wanted it to be. also the movie that came out this year had some really great scydia content if the gifs are anything to go by. and ironically stiles wasn't in it so like yeah i didn't win but in a way i kinda did. the end

[rsmrymnt-tea]

oooh, would love to know about Dola’s relationship/dynamic with Mammon?

-@barbabetos

:o Mammon!

They had a rough start tbh! At the very start of the exchange program, Mammon stole and sold a few things from her as soon as he found out that she's an artist of some importance in the human world + didn't know her well enough to give a shit (not that she thought any good of him at first anyway, with an awful first impression >.>). Which lead to her collaborating with Levi to force a pact out of Mammon. Whole ordeal made for her using the pact to like... Force him to stay away from her for a while (which prompted some headbutting with Lucifer, and some rearrangements on her chaperone because she can't be without one, all that.)

But it does get a good deal better! Dola tends to stay back and observe, and during her observations she noted that Mammon's pretty redeemable and has his good points. Plus once she eased up on him + would actually argue against his brothers from time to time in his defense (mostly Lucifer), they started actually getting along. I think Mammon eventually figures out that he has to drop the whole tsundere thing with her, because even if she gets what he means she just doesn't have the patience for it.

Their relationship's a bit like... Older brother figure shows sheltered kid the world but like in bit of a clumsy way? Dola never really got out much growing up so there's a lot she doesn't know + doesn't really hang out one-on-one with Mammon that often, but whenever they do it tends to become him showing her something cool around the Devildom or something fun to do that she's never done. Usually there's a "what d'ya mean you've never done x or y???" Sometimes it works out and she enjoys herself, sometimes she hates the thing and may fight Mammon on wanting to go home hdfkfgh

She does appreciate what he does, though they do end up arguing sometimes because the way he communicates (or sometimes, fails to communicate >.>) gets on her nerves at times, plus there's the fact that his greed tends to get them all into some sort of problem that she doesn't want to deal with. She doesn't like that, and lets the others chew him out whenever it happens.

They also do like, chill bonding stuff like shopping together (usually his treat in the Devildom, her treat in the human world depending on where they're shopping) and he sometimes goes to her for help with modeling gigs? Since he knows that she's in some demand in the Devildom with her rep as Many Things.

At some point she goes after the witches who keep hounding him for cash and sorts out the situation with the kid that he's paying to have them foster her. She's rich so like... Either she pays them off herself or she just intimidates them into leaving him alone. Likely the latter once she's got the skills tbh

@barbabetos

Send me a character and I'll tell you how my one OC feels about them (or if you somehow remember the names of my other rarely mentioned OCs, you can ask about them too lmao)

[arcane-ish]

On Reader and OC

I just want to say, even though I personally have always leaned towards canon and close to canon ships and I actually like the challenge of trying to wrap my brain around how ships that are very starcrossed lovers and impossible in canon and trying the picture what would happen that they could work (Ekko and Jinx being an example), I want to say, I totally respect the Character X Reader and Character X OC trend. 

There used to be a time when Mary Sue was considered the ultimate slur, but ni the end, I feel that yeah, there are bad writing habits associated with writing oneself into a story, I feel like ultimately it was a majorly unhealthy thing to slap people down for. 

It comes across like trying to shit on somebody’s self confidence that they are  disgusting that they would imagine themselves in these cool worlds and imagine these characters they obviously admire falling in love with them. 

Like I feel ultimately, reversely, it sounds to me like potentially confidence boosting for people to imagine themselves loved and having cool adventures rather than self denying their own urges, minimizing them and projecting themselves into other characters (I remember reading some theorizing on the appeal of M/M for straight women and why they would self insert in a male character rather than a female character from canon that did give me some real self-hate-y vibes, like “I couldn’t self-insert myself into the canonical female love interest because she was too pretty and perfect” that just made me sad [again not saying that that was the only or even main one, you also read plenty of “there were no female characters so I projected on the male character” or “the female characters were flat and poorly written compared to the richness of the male characters” in addition to of course “it’s like straight guy attraction to f/f, one guy hot, two guys hotter”). 

Anyway, in as so much as there is some people willing to admit that self-projection is going on, again it seems just very self-affirming and brave to just go all the way and go reader/OC. 

Especially since if people are projecting their own issues into a character that doesn’t always lead to great writing either, if they have a vision of a character or dynamic they want and just bend the characters to fit that even if it’s a stretch when just doing an OC just solves that whole problem because you can just design them to be perfect for the dynamic. 

Also, when it comes to Reader vs OC, I also think it’s a cool appraoch because to me the problem with a lot of OC stuff has always been to me how to sell it to the reader, like the story is just less appealing probably as the reader when it’s about you the writer and the desired canon character, because I the reader don’t know or care about you the author, I don’t have a readon to be invested in you and your happiness and things that are resonant to you might not be resonant to me. And at the same time, the requirements of trying to make a new character appealing to an audience are very different from just wanting to jump in and getting to the good stuff. 

The “Reader” phenomon seems to me an interesting appraoch to me to make that kind of story acceessible to readers other than oneself. (though admittedly, I read neither enough OC or Reader fic to confidently say anything about what kind of tropes and habits they share or don’t share). I tend to imagine that trying to keep it Reader on the other hand then might cause problems in other areas and present some roadblocks in the kinds of stories you might want to tell. 

Sidenote: talking about Arcane in particular, to me that seems one canon that feels particularly ripe for reader/oc because it hinges on so many characters having deep psychological and emotional problems and blind spots and at the same time within the setting it often seems hard to buy that any of the other characters would have the knowledge or language to even understand and point that out to each other. Like structurally it’s a tragedy that relies on people barely missing each other and communicating badly, I can see how the emotional need might arise to go “I can just jump into the canon and fix them! I can fill those glaring needs!”. (again I doubt all or even most Reader/OC fic is based on that motivation, but this kind of “hole” existing in canon I can imagine helping with those stories maybe feeling more long term fitting/relevant)

Like to take Silco for example, with the constant “yeah he loves Jinx, but he was a bad father” debates, I can see why somebody might jump in “okay, so he has the right intentions, so what if somebody came in and just told him/taught him how to be a better father which he probably on some level does want to be!” (again in canon he is basically defined by how that would never happen because he doesn’t trust people and fears betrayal from everybody, but of course from a fan/author POV that is clearly just a fun challenge)

Or maybe I’m just talking out of my ass on a fic genre I very rarely read. :p I’m sure there is probably way more competent meta on the phenomenon that I have read exactly zero on, this is just my gut reaction as a person who remembers fandoms where self insertion was still sneered on. 

[novenaria]

Firstly, thank you so much for answering my ask!!! you clearly put lots of thought into your answer and I really appreciate it. 

Anyway, so, I've been thinking about a hypothetical Tenth house for a while now. I was so shocked when I got into reading fics and found absolutely 0 oc House fics because I was sure there would be tonnes, but possibly my brain is the only one that works like this. Most of my tenth house thoughts are a sort of nebulous background to an Heir to the Tenth Goes to Canaan House fic, because weird self inserts bring me joy.

General vibes: 

not much (if any) of the installation is on a planet -- it's all space stations or like, Saturn's million moons 

definitely an offshoot of another house -- I think you're on to something with the Fifth/Fourth/Second -- I think I'd probably go with the Fourth, since it's the most interesting to me, and thered probably be political stuff re: the Fifth trying to annex the Fourth.

they do have big cohort ties -- the Tenth provides a big chunk of pilots and maybe communications people? 

Maybe the Fifth tried exerting their power on the Tenth first, and that's why theres so much Cohort going on -- they allied with the Second to stop it from happening. theyve always had ties to the Cohort but as it gets closer to the myriad they get more and more as a defence from the bigger houses trying to eat them 

This means that the third is the only rich/powerful house that doesnt have a smaller house to bully. I'm sure they are very normal about it. 

recruitment age definitely a few years higher than the Fourth, youd probably see recruits from the Tenth taking the kids from the Fourth under their wing 

I imagine they dress like WW2 pilots, with jodhopppers and white scarves, bc Aesthetic

Founder(s)

definitely agree with the generations thing -- it makes no sense otherwise. they come in between Cyrus and Cytherea

I have a good idea of their personalities but i havent actually figured out their names yet, TLT names are so cool I cant actually find ones that Fit 

personality wise, the cav is the chillest person you have ever met. Shes like the human embodiment of the “well, this might as well happen” meme. 

whereas her necro is the embodiment of “!!!!!!!!!!”. He is at 1000% percent at all times, knows no chill. 

their dynamic is like, cav is sitting in the living room quietly reading, while necros in the basement vibrating with excitement, halfway to creating vampires with blood magic 

when they get to Canaan house they work with Cyrus and Valancy, since I assume hes big into flesh magic, working on the “grounding in the body” part of the lyctor theorem

idk why they decided to create their own house, maybe they saw everyone else had one and were like, whelp, might as well, everyone else is doing it, which is fair. They start setting up around the same time as Anastasia starts up the ninth, they dont get to do as much shaping of their house as the others because there isnt that much time between that and ascension/leaving the system 

Necromantic specialties: 

I think the founders specialities dont necessarily need to have much to do with there the house has ended up, bc like Anastasia was probably doing stuff with souls and she ended up with the skeletons house, plus they wouldnt get much time actually in the house to shape it (like I imagine Cristabel did with the Eighth) because of ascension/leaving the system

first idea, thanergetic transferral (? wording). Basically, using thanergy to enhance objects. Think like, cool flaming swords. I also had the idea of somehow creating a theorom/ward/whatever that when touched would drain the victim of their thalergy, turning them into a dessicated husk. In my head this looks like when I vampire steps into the sunlight and burst into flames, but that probably doesnt actually happen. The thalergy would then be used to bulk the necro/their cav or shoved into another object for use later. (thought I am now realizing that this might be too close to the Second houses thing?)

second idea, using necromancy to borrow the perceptions ala the winnowing trial, but instead of people it would be animals. Animals are dead and reanimated by the necromancer -- this is where the Cohort ties come in, they probably get them from shepard worlds since I dont think the system has many animals of it's own (though possibly that's just a Ninth house thing?) Animals could then be used for reconnaissance / intimidation, or in the case of larger predators, chomp chomp (woe, t-rex upon ye) 

third idea, I dont really have any other cool gimmicky idea, but possibly they could just be like, blood magic central. They have the best, most intricate blood wards, their adepts are good with stele travel etc etc

hi! I've been doing some worldbuilding for a hypothetical Tenth House for oc og Lyctor reasons, and I was wondering if you had any thoughts on the subject? how would you go about it? Sorry if this is a weird ask :)

This is a super interesting idea to consider! I'm throwing it in the main fandom tags and if anyone has anything to contribute please jump in.

I'd never considered this until today, but some thoughts off the top of my head:

History: Since the Houses are named in the order they were founded, I think the OG founder(s) should be a second generation Lyctor & cavalier pair, born in the Houses. The reason why I suggest the OC should be part of the founder group for this Tenth House, rather than just a necromancer from there (like how the Seventh House existed when Cytherea was born; she didn't found it) is because we know that Anastasia DID found the Ninth, and the Tenth would've presumably come after.

Location: the Tenth House installation shouldn't be as far out as the Ninth, for two reasons. One, because the Ninth's whole thing is that they're from the ass backwards middle of nowhere, and them having a close neighbour would cause too many ripple effects that I'm not sure you want. Second, for logistical reasons - I think it's easier to get a House up and running in the limited time between Anastasia establishing the Ninth (or beginning to) and the Lyctors ascending and leaving the system, if they're closer to the rest of the population and have more immediate access to resources.

My suggestion would be to put the Tenth House near Juppiter (Fifth) Saturn (Fourth) or on Ceres (asteroid belt, between Juppiter and Mars/Second House.)

In the first case, the Tenth could be a off-shot of the wealthy and influential Fifth House, or alternatively a Fourth House splinter group. Both of those are gas planets, so presumably the Fourth and Fifth are also based on satellites, but there are so many satellites to go around there that you're spoiled for choice.

In the second case: Ceres is a dwarf planet with a rocky surface, which makes theoretically possible to build an installation on it. It's in the middle of the asteroid belt (so there'd be some difficulties navigating back and forth with whatever resources you need to build a liveable installation) but relatively close to the Fifth / the Second / even to Earth, which is a plus in terms of actually packing up said resources. wikipedia tells me that it's pretty stable in terms of tectonics.

What does the House DO? That would depend on what you need your OC Lyctor to do, in terms of necromantic specialty and any other stuff. If it's an off-shot of the Fifth, maybe something soul / blood / spirit related; if they schismed from the Fourth, a different interpretation of thanergetic fission? If it's in the astreroid field, maybe the House is involved in training up pilots for the Cohort, or stele travel. But I think I would reverse-engineer this part depending on what you need for your OC

[zeppelin-and-unicorns]

Fanfic recommendations part six: 100% Alternate Universe stories.

Hey! It took me a while to post this and I’m sorry, got too caught up with, well, you know, life (ew). But I’m back!

All the stories listed in this are stories are 100% AU (yes, I’m including the Soulmate AU’s in this category). I’ve read and enjoyed them all.

Accidentally In Love by the bohemian flow.

Rachel Hyde was a witness to a strange romance that blossomed between her twin brother, Steven, and Jackie Burkhart, of all people. Her and Steven weren't the biggest fans of Jackie, but now, he loves her. How could Rachel possibly put up with her brother's girlfriend?

AU where Hyde has a sister. Not 100% focused on J/H, since it’s from Hyde’s sister POV, but it’s still pretty good.

This story is a WIP and it’s being updated constantly.

109k words, 28 chapters so far.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde, OC/Kelso, OC/Eric, Eric/Donna.

A Different Start Could Lead to a Better End by SoftBubbles

Instead of Hyde meeting her as Kelso's annoying girlfriend, what if he met her as his annoying English partner, whom he quickly learns is more than she seems.

This story is not complete, it was last updated on July of 2020, and I pray for the author to come back to it one day, it’s a really good story.

Trigger warning for child abuse.

13k words, 14 chapters.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

Bad Moon on the Rise by Badfanfic

Set around season 2. Jackie starts to develop feelings for Hyde, even though its the last thing she wants. Hyde is just trying to survive but is having difficulty controlling himself, especially around a certain cheerleader.

Hyde is a werewolf in this story. And THIS IS GOOD Y’ALL, I’ve read this like 10 times already.

Unfortunally, I think this story is abandoned, the last time the author updated was in June of 2020, but I still have hope, it’s really good and I’m DYING to read more. I absolutely adore stories with supernatural elements, and it’s so hard to find good ones in this fandom. Please read this.

13k words, 9 chapters.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

Focus by Jenny7

After a metaphysical awakening, Hyde develops the ability to telepathically connect with a single stranger. What he doesn't expect is that the girl that he shares the connection with, a rich cheerleader with a complicated past, will forever alter his views on life and love.

SO GOOD. It’s complete and it has a sequel (that’s not complete but still worth the read), called Darlin, Walk Awhile With Me.

2k words, 19 chapters.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde.

History Rewritten by kezztip

What if Hyde got his Season 1 wish and stole Donna away from Eric? And then what if Eric had turned to a certain tiny cheerleader instead?

This story is complete, and if you have a soft spot for Eric/Jackie, than you might like this a lot.

81k words, 25 chapters.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde, Jackie/Eric, Hyde/Donna, Eric/Donna.

(I absolutely hate the Hyde and Donna pairing but it’s temporary so it’s okay).

Playing Pretend by isnotme

Caught up in her teenager concerns – and some wounds to heal, Jackie didn’t realize that her parents' marriage was crashing down for real, causing a major turnaround in her world.

.

In the edge of seventeen, Hyde had too much on his mind. With graduation coming so soon, he knew too well he was about to be kicked out of the Forman's home. But when Bud’s illegal activities came to knock on his door, Hyde saw his plans falling apart once again.

Or

An AU where Jackie and Hyde get themselves in one of those fake relationship situation and somewhere along the way, they find somethings in commun. Highly inspired in every cliché Rom Com ever made, including Netflix's most recents TATBILB and Isi and Ossi.

This story is a WIP and it’s being updated often.

33k words, 13 chapters.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde, background Eric/Donna

Pretty in Wisconsin by BelleBae

Jackie Burkhart has a lot to deal with. Her dad is in prison, her mum can't get it together and one of her best friends is in love with her. Will she be able to sort everything out by Prom? Inspired by Pretty In Pink.

Cute and complete.

20k words, 23 chapters.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

Rock You Like a Hurricane by zeppelinandunicorns (yours truly)

Alternative universe where Donna met Jackie before meeting Eric and the rest of basement gang.

Jackie and Donna are 16 and 17 when they finally met the four basement misfits after a Fleetwood Mac concert.

This story is a WIP, and I do not plan on abandoning it, I love it too much to do that.

77k words, 15 chapters so far.

Rated M.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde, Eric/Donna, background Red/Kitty and eventual Fez/Laurie and Kelso/Brooke.

Also Available on AO3

She Belongs to me series by QueenBookBuff

A universe where Kelso cared a lot more about Jackie and Hyde getting together and implications of a deeper background for both Jackie and Hyde and Kelso and Jackie.

This got me hooked, it’s really good, please read it.

It’s complete and there are sequels! They are called All Our Tomorrows

and The Scarlet and SJ Chronicles.

27k words, 7 works in total.

Rated M.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

Summer Music Series by Wickedfetch

What if Hyde and Jackie didn't meet until 1985?

Complete.

7k words, 3 chapters.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

Also Available on AO3

That 70s show by Zenmaster21

What if Jackie had dated Hyde from the beginning instead of Kelso? This is simply a re-write of the episodes had Jackie and Hyde always been together.

One of my favorites stories from the entire fandom.

Not complete, but please read it, it’s worth it.

Trigger warning for child abuse.

152k words, 37 chapters.

Rated M.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde, Eric/Donna

The Fifth Forman by BlueZeppelin

What if it wasn't just Eric and Laurie? What if they had another sibling? Like...Jackie? What would happen with Hyde? Would Eric be happy with his sister dating his best friend? Would Red like his daughter to be with one of the basement dumbasses?

This story is complete!!

52k words, 18 chapters.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

The One Where Jackie Moves In by Floweerchild96

Jackie has been living in New-York with her family but after her father goes to jail and her mother abandons her, she is forced to return to a town she thought she was done with for good. How will Jackie's reemergence in the basement effect the gangs lives?

A really good story, but unfortunally, it’s not complete. Still worth the read.

103k words, 20 chapters.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde, background Eric/Donna.

Wall Around Your Heart by ourinvisibleink

Jackie Burkhart-Forman was adopted at almost ten years old by Red and Kitty, after her parents flee the country for drug trafficking crimes. Laurie grapples with addiction, Eric is messed up because of Red’s verbal abuse, Steven’s arrival is brought on by Jackie, Kelso is neglected, Fez is victim to racism, and Jackie befriends Jason, the new kid who happens to be gay.

This story is really good, but it deals with some serious stuff. I still love it.

Complete and it has a sequel called Plastar and Mortar.

52k words, 26 chapters.

Rated M.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde, Eric/Donna, Fez/Laurie, Red/Kitty.

One-shots:

A Little Less 70s, A Little More Modern AU by fairytalesandfolklore

A modern AU where the characters from That 70’s Show grew up in the 90’s x early 2000’s instead.

Cute as hell!!! Worth the read!

1k words.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

found a wife and a home (and a family that matters) by blackorchids

Hyde’s been part of the Forman family for years before they make him move in.

I placed this in the AU category because apparently Jackie and Hyde always dated, it doesn’t specify much.

1k words.

Rated G.

Pairings: background Jackie/Hyde and background Red/Kitty. This is not focused on the couples, but on Hyde’s relationship with the Forman’s.

Lady and The Tramp by soobeans

'See, I, myself, don't like you. I find you abrasive. But if I didn't know you, and I'd never talked to you, I'd think you were totally hot.'

In Point Place, Wisconsin, there are only three distinct areas. The Western area consists of the burnouts, thugs, outcasts, hopeless dreamers, poor people, and overall, tramps. The Eastern area holds the classy, rich, and more fortunate ladies and gentlemen. In between is where the two are forced to intermingle, but of course, they found a few ways to separate themselves.

8k words.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde, some minor background Eric/Donna moments.

That Disco Episode: Zenmasters Style by springsteenicious

What if Hyde had learned how to dance to impress Jackie instead of Donna? And what if Jackie hadn’t been dating Kelso?

That Disco Episode, rewritten for Jackie and Hyde.

2k words.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

Bonus: Soulmate AU’S:

I am so in love with Soulmate AU’s that I’m currently writing one, I wanted to make a special post just for this category but it would be too small so I just included it in here. 

Finders Keepers by nannygirl

It's said that before you find your soulmate you will find one of their lost items first, so what happens when Hyde finds a gold bracelet in The Formans' backyard? Will it lead him to his soulmate, someone who he's sure probably doesn't even exist?

This story is not complete, but worth the read.

5k words, 2 chapters.

Rated K+.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde, some background Red/Kitty

It Takes Time to Fall in Love by yabookreader96

Jackie can't wait to meet her soulmate, but a dire mistake on her part leads her to mistakenly identify him as Michael, while Hyde watches his soulmate clock hit zero and immediately knows that it's Jackie. Years pass, Jackie with Michael, Hyde saying nothing as he knowingly watches from the side. Will this dynamic be permanent or will destiny bring the true soulmates together?

This story is complete.

18k words, 12 chapters.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde, temporary Jackie/Kelso.

Mistaken Messages by MistyMountainHop

Jackie longs for her soulmate to accept her, and Hyde hopes his will leave him alone because he's in love with someone else. A stack of mystical index cards lets them communicate with their as-yet unidentified soulmates. But the more their soulmates write, the less control Jackie and Hyde seem to have over their fate.

This story is complete.

23k words, 5 chapters.

Rated M.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde, background Eric/Donna

Also Available on AO3

Until We Get There by poetdameron

Running away from their own wedding is the craziest thing Hyde and Jackie have ever done together. But the tug he feels at his heart when realizing she doesn't want to marry him? The worst.

This story is complete.

39k words, 8 chapters.

Rated M.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

Also Available on AO3

Voodooized by mc_1

Eric’s been noticing something weird going on between Jackie and Hyde. At a party one night, all of Eric’s suspicions are confirmed when the two become love-marked- an event that occurs when soulmates are ready to be together, resulting in a mark on the skin that bonds them together for life. The unlikely couple puzzle over how they could possibly be paired together as they struggle to understand each other.

This story is a WIP.

14k words, 4 chapters.

Rated M.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde. Eric/Donna

Where It Wasn’t Supposed To Be by moved-ao3

Jackie thinks it's a blessing, Hyde a curse. Set in an alternate universe where characters receive a list with their soulmate's worst qualities, Jackie and Hyde struggle to navigate their feelings for each other when everything else seems pitted against them.

Not complete, and it makes me want to cry, but it’s really good.

15k words, 5 chapters.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

Also Available on AO3

One-shots:

all i need by orphan_account

"When he is six years old, the words 'Pudding Pop' appear on his wrist in the curliest, loopiest handwriting he's ever seen. There's even a little heart dotting the 'i'."

1k words.

The author didn’t rate this one, I would rate it as T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

Blush by springsteenicious

On a person's eighteenth birthday, they swap bodies with their soulmate. Hyde doesn't have high hopes for his soulmate, but when he wakes up in a very pink room with posters and painted nails, his life is changed for the better.

4k words.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

Also Available on AO3

I believe this is all!

I’ll repeat this at the end of every single post (seriously, I literally copy and paste this every single time): Speaking as someone who writes, it would be really cool if you guys decide to leave a review (or a comment, if the story is on AO3) in the stories you read, especially the unfinished ones. It really motivates the authors, and receiving a compliment is always a mood lifter. I’ve seen some authors updating stories after years because of nice reviews, so… yeah, this is just an idea.

Feel free to reply to this post if you think I left out a good story!

Next category: Christmas fics!

[morethanaprincess-a]

@traumagiven said:  ∗ 18﹕ which of your verses or arcs is your favorite to write about ?

Experience Yourself Munday Meme - Accepting!

Ooh, good question! 

Usually my favorite verses to write in are ‘Non-Despair AU: The Princess of Novoselic’ (My Non-Despair adult verse), Post Neo World Program verse (My Post-SDR2 verse but pre-DR3 finale, if the events of the anime are to be followed), and my Talentswap!AU - Ultimate Mafia Boss verse. And depending on my mood and my writing partner, Sonia’s historical verses as well.

I really like looking at how Sonia, and by extension her Hope’s Peak classmates, proceeded with their lives post-high school. For students who were told they had to be the best of the best at their talents, I’m always wondering if they peaked in high school or went on to accomplish great things. Or did they even stick with their talent as a career later on? Anime in general isn’t great at showing rich, fulfilling lives post high school or university (Japanese culture has a lot to do with that, but I think/hope that’s changing soon!), but I think those are stories worth telling. Especially for high school-aged muses.

And for someone who enjoys writing quite a bit of angst, the post-game verse is always a fun one to explore. Dark and troubling and trying to find their way back to a happy life, but fun regardless. It’s also fun to think about if Despair could well and truly go away after the events of SDR2, which is a topic I’m currently exploring with @despairfiles in our Fate/DR canon crossover verse.

Despite the fact I don’t get a lot of reasons or opportunities to write Sonia’s talentswap, I have to admit it’s an exciting one to indulge in. I originally wasn’t planning to give her a Talentswap verse to begin with, but several mutuals I really enjoyed/enjoy (not many of them are active now unfortunately!) writing with had some for their DR canon muses, with a tone and setting that really resonated with me: darker plots, elements of teen drama, and generally higher dramatic stakes. Originally I’d been presented with the idea to make Sonia an Ultimate Yakuza, but that didn’t quite work for me and the stories I wanted to tell. So Ultimate Mafia Boss it is, and it’s been a really intriguing challenge for me to take elements of her canon personality and history and my headcanons and have them show up in an entirely new talent and backstory. It’s not a verse I bring out often, it’s mostly for talentswap AUs in general or crossovers that work really well (like the DR/Tokyo Revengers crossover thread I have with @phantasmalcalamity​). This is now making me miss the muns who inspired me to do a Talentswap in the first place :(

I’ve got plenty of other crossover verses and such as well. The ones I enjoy writing the least are SDR2 game canon threads (unless it’s setting something up for a future dynamic between characters, I feel like this story has already been told through the game) and Pre-Despair or Non-Despair high school AUs. Mostly because I get burned out on ideas of stuff for high schoolers to do that makes sense, is believable, and keeps tension and interest going for a longer thread. I don’t like recycling plots if I don’t have to, but this verse generally makes me recycle ideas more than any of the other ones I’ve got. Crossovers and OCs tend to make this verse more engaging for me, as it’s usually involving Sonia meeting someone new. But, I’m always really surprised/happy when I get a DR canon muse to write with whom I haven’t written much with in the years I’ve had this blog. This just happened with a Mukuro Ikusaba and I was very happy to finally find a Mukuro to write with!

[bookworm-2692]

About a week ago I finally finished bookbinding @airdeari‘s beautiful Zero Escape fic The First Nonary Game. It took about a month (between all the waiting for glue to dry and also several days each week when I was unable to work on it), and was so much fun! It’s so satisfying to just... hold this book in my hands. 

Details about how I made it, along with additional photos (and commentary) below the cut.

So I came across this post on Tumblr, which immediately inspired me to try bookbinding myself. I spent a few days watching so many tutorials from the youtube channel linked in the post (I’ll link the specific tutorials I used in this post), and googling how to actually manage to print pages so they form proper signatures, because the inbuilt booklet creator in Word doesn’t exist in my Word apparently so that’s fun.

Anyway, once I started, I asked @airdeari for permission to print and bind his fic, and he immediately said yes, so that was good. Then I spent a good couple of days copying the entire fic into a Word document, and fiddling with formatting so it would look like an actual book (section breaks, page numbers, headers with the fic title on the left page and chapter title on the right page (this took ages to work and I kept on stuffing it up), and making sure things just... looked nice. I added in the art After The War that @keycrash created specifically for the fic (third pic above), and an “afterword” containing credit and links and the author’s notes from AO3 (because even if I’m the only one who will ever see it, it still feels weird to not add the credit stuff in so it’s there).

I then saved the document as a PDF, and used CheapImposter to correctly shuffle (impose, hence “imposter”) the pages so when folded into signatures, each page would be in the correct order. This program was the first free one I could find, and was great because you could specify the number of sheets you want per signature, rather than stuck with a default. I chose to have 11 signatures of 6 sheets of paper, since that was the amount that would have the least blank pages and the end of the book. The file was 261 pages, so with two pages per side, and two sides per sheet, you divide the number of pages by 4 to get 66 sheets of paper

I then printed. There was only one (1) paper jam in the process, which was great. Unfortunately, I realised after I printed that one of the headers for one chapter was wrong (I hadn’t properly disconnected the two chapters), but fortunately that only involved reprinting 4 sheets of paper.

I used the following tutorials to make the books: DIY Textblock, a general “how to make a textblock” tutorial; DIY Kettle Stitch, a specific look at the stitching for a textblock, since the first tutorial doesn’t focus on this; DIY Book Cloth, since I chose to use fabric for my cover; and DIY Hardcover Book, how to put all those pieces together.

So then I started folding all the signatures. I was watching so much Brooklyn Nine-Nine during both the folding and stitching sections, since it was repetitive actions I didn’t need to concentrate on that lasted hours.

It was at this point that I sliced each signature one by one to make the end smoother and less pointy. In future I recommend not doing it at this point - wait until the very end. Instead, move straight onto stitching. 

I don’t have any photos of the stitching portion, since my phone died the morning I started the stitching, and I wasn’t able to replace it until after all the stitching was done. In fact, originally all the photos from before the stitching were lost too. It was only about two days ago that magically the My Photo Stream thing kicked in and brought back all the photos - if it had worked two weeks earlier I would’ve had more. As it is, all photos from September to January are gone forever, unfortunately. But that’s another discussion entirely.

The above is the first book photo on my new phone, so as you can see, all the stitching was completed, the spine was glued, and the purple paper attached. I couldn’t buy two A4 sheets, so instead I had to buy one A3 sheet and cut it in half. Which was difficult cycling home from the city with an A3 sheet that didn’t fit in my bag on account of being A3 and not A4, but oh well.

I don’t have a book press, so I used a pile of DND books and my brother’s weights instead, as shown below.

I then had to re-slice the book after this point bc my first go wasn’t even, on account of slicing each signature separately. Next time definitely I’ll just do it at the end like this. I then also sanded it to make it smoother. It’s still not perfect, but it’s something that’ll take practice and patience so.

Next I made the book cloth, which involves using appliqué sheets to combine cotton fabric and tissue paper. But first I want to talk about the fabric I chose for the cover, because I’m quite proud of it. I spent ages wandering around the shop, trying to find something that fit the feel of the book. Spoilers for the content of the fic if you haven’t read it yet, and also for the source material (999/Zero Escape). I was thinking about some sort of blue swirl thing, because of the Gigantic sinking. I found that, but hesitated because it didn’t fully fit, and my favourite colour is blue so I always pick blue. I also considered flames/fire because of the incinerator thing, but couldn’t find any. I can’t remember if I just couldn’t find any four leaf clover fabric, or if I’ve just since thought about that as a cover. But instead I chose the butterflies below. They fit in several subtle ways that I’m proud of. The colours of blue and pink(/red) matching the receiver and transmitter coding all throughout 999, as well as the moments of purple as well (I don’t think I need to get into that, I’m sure it was analysed to hell and back when the game first came out). The butterflies also point towards the butterfly effect, and in turn the different timelines present in the series. So together it just works. /spoilers over

It’s also just a pretty fabric.

Now the making of the book cloth. I had to make it twice, because I was too impatient the first time, so the iron was too hot and it steamed, which wrinkled and warped the tissue paper, so the fabric was all wrinkly too. The second time took ages and was a worse quality appliqué sheet, but worked well enough anyway.

(My parents: did you have the iron out? what were you ironing? you never iron)

And then I cut the book board to size, using the measurements from the tutorial video. I’ll repeat them here: front and back cover: width = width of textblock minus 3mm, and height = height of textblock plus 6mm, and spine width = width of textblock spine, spine height = same height as covers

I then glued the board onto the book cloth, and put it under the book press. The dnd books are not large enough to cover the whole thing, and also I really wanted the board to stay flat and not curl, so I grabbed way more dnd books and way more of my brother’s weights. I also accidentally started putting the glue on the wrong side of the board (bc one side is smooth and the other is rough), hence the colour difference as well.

The corners were cut and folded and glued over...

And then the textblock was glued in, and put in my book press for a whole weekend. I added a sheet of paper to absorb the glue so the pages wouldn’t become wrinkly, but instead the sheet I added was fine and every other page in the book is wrinkly. So I dunno what happened there. After the weekend I took it out and looked at it, and then put it back for another week to be sure.

And then the complete book is shown at the top of the post!

As I was starting I was talking a lot about it, like about the process I had to go through, or how I was going to obtain what I needed, etc. Mum asked if she could read the story. I froze, like a deer in the headlights... because this is a fanfic. She saw my fear and immediately backed down, explaining she only wanted to read it because if the story was that important to me that I was going to literally turn it into a book, she wanted to read it to yknow like know me better or something? Which makes sense. And when I got over my initial reaction, and remembered that indeed it was technically my dad who introduced me to fanfic, and thought about it more, I said okay. Because since the fic is technically a prequel to the first game, and most of the characters are technically OC’s (like, from the first game we know that all eighteen children must exist, but most of them don’t have names or anything so they are effectively OC’s), then knowledge of source material isn’t strictly necessary. This fic can probably be enjoyed on its own. I mean I’ll probably have to explain the concept of morphogenetic fields, and the last four chapters might not make sense? But I’m okay for my mum to read it. So when she’s less busy at work I’m going to download the epub onto her phone for her - we’ll see how it goes.

Anyway, this fic is a masterpiece, extremely well written and I highly recommend it. As said, most of the characters are effectively OC’s, and yet they are all given such rich histories and personalities. All of them have access to the morphogenetic field, so I’m just so glad that @airdeari​ explores nine unique relationships with the field - nine unique sibling dynamics, and esper powers and abilities. It’s just so good.

[soulvomit]

I’m realizing what some of my writing block is. This is why I’ve decided to only write *adult market.* I can’t write YA. I can’t even write for people who want to read YA. The narrative demands of an audience that wants everything to be Young Adult, are like handcuffs. I can’t write within those boundaries, I just can’t.  I can’t even write for people who read Adult then get mad that it’s not YA. I can’t write even for younger readers of erotica. I can only write for people with roughly my same level of social experience who are coming from the same place, who don’t require their characters to be moral paragons, or who want to read something that is coming from a different place emotionally, or... for that matter... young people who prefer to read older work.  Long winded diatribe about some of my more difficult, culturally incorrect romantic narratives I’ve written, as an example of this problem. In case you’re not going to read behind the read-more, no, I don’t write incest or pedo. (Doesn’t mean I won’t write a character who has experienced this if it comes up, I haven’t yet, but who knows. But I don’t write positive portrayals of it. I feel I need to write this disclaimer here.)  

Looking at my writing - I have some scenes I’ve written that are very passionate. It’s basically an OC fanfic type of scenario, it’s writing I did that spun off of a game setting my characters were in for a very long time, about two characters who later ended up married. (And I often do this when game groups fall apart, I start writing about my characters.) It’s some of my best writing, and I’ve often thought about filing the serial numbers off and cannibalizing this for some totally original setting. In the piece I’m looking at, the characters haven’t jumped each other’s bones yet, but there is a strong attraction between two lonely, unattached coworkers that is growing into... outright longing. These are middle aged divorcees with children. They have navigated love and lust before. They have been adults at this point for a long time. They are both sexually experienced (her, in fact, much more than him). It’s clear that they utterly want to rail each other from dusk to dawn until neither one of them can walk. Much of this is from the point of view of the male character. (And I LOVE writing het from the male point of view; it’s one of my favorite love/sex dynamics to write.) They’re definitely conscious of this attraction and in their private thoughts that I’ve written, before the attraction is consummated, there’s definitely “strong crush” energy. These are experienced, sexually mature, middle aged people who are both divorcees with children and they definitely are guessing correctly about the other person’s attraction and interest. They’re imperfect people: they’ve made bad life choices in the past. They’re equals, but it’s never *explicitly pointed out.* He’s a hypermasculine (but not toxically) and badass warrior type, she’s an engineer. She is older than he is, but that never matters and never comes up any more than the fact that I’m 6 years older than my fiance, ever comes up in our relationship. All four of us are *middle aged people* and it is just not a topic of conversation. Another thing that’s “eh” by YA standards is that The thing with how I portray and read erotic or romantic stuff, is that I am an older, experienced person, and I like stuff about older, experienced people. People who already know how to navigate these situations and don’t necessarily need everything spelled out. The thing is, I almost feel like - because of changing sexual mores - I can only write for people over 40 unless I totally rewrite the way everything goes and even the emotional temperature of their early relationship. Even though it’s very clear that my characters are absolutely mutually into each other, and it would be clear to any experienced person who navigates body language, I would have to navigate a whole new set of mores around having to outright spoonfeed my audience - we are really into tell don’t show now, we are really into long winded prefaces to everything explaining how everyone involved is really a good person, and I notice that there’s so little comprehension of nuance or subtlety now, things have to be spelled out, one character reading another person’s body language and flirting at a subtler level would be considered gross and against the present day’s mores around consent. My characters ultimately end up making out and going to bed and they never, ever talk about it and they never process it. The establishment of consent is very, very brief and amounts to one middle aged horny person basically saying “wanna fuck” to another middle aged horny person (personally, my absolute favorite way to start a relationship, that’s how my current and best relationship started, 10/10 highly recommend) and, 12 hours later, the other person pulling them into their hotel room. It’s the kind of establishment of consent that you would’ve seen in an older work and it’s not a particularly complicated dance. I didn’t write this work for public consumption outside of a handful of people and perhaps if I did, maybe I would have written it differently because I’d have to assume that “show don’t tell” doesn’t work on audiences who don’t read nuance, I don’t know. Also, in the lead up to the two characters doing the do, they totally sexually objectify each other in their heads. They think about how much they’d really, really like to pounce on each other. And this is... objectifying, or something. I always portray consent but there’s never a complicated ritual around it. I don’t enjoy writing that. Also, I really enjoy writing and reading stuff with spontaneous passion. I LOVE stuff where it’s even a little over the top.

But the big thing that seems to have changed? The big social more? It feels like you’re not really allowed to show your characters crushing too hard, or desiring too much. They’re certainly never allowed to have frustrating desire or one-sided attractions. (I’ve written lots of those. How the character acts on it or doesn’t, is going to depend upon what type of character I’m writing. I have a couple of one sided best friend crush types of dynamics that I’ve written, usually it’s same sex and incompatible sexual orientation.)   Characters are not really allowed to be horny and there seems to be a general disgust with horniness. Which is difficult to navigate because I love horny work, about horny people. I love stuff about crushes and frustrated limerence.   Also? I even love forbidden romance and forbidden sex and sometimes, and even characters doing things they’re Not Supposed To Do. (I think this is why so many people in my age group are into crime fiction, stuff about illicit affairs, etc.) I have the standard legal and moral limits, but yes I will even read about characters cheating on their spouses. It doesn’t mean I condone what the character is doing or want to do it, and it’s satisfying to see how the situation resolves. (It has to have consequences or it’s just not believable.)  

But even age differences between grown ass adults and massive social differences don’t bother me. I love reading and writing common and royal, rich and poor, people from forbidden and different social worlds.

I’m presently writing something in which a young (but adult) witch is married to an immortal god, and finds out she’s one of millions of his brides through history, and hundreds in the present time. And she is going to stay married to him because that’s part of, in my world, being the type of witch she is. OF COURSE there’s a power difference because HE’S A GOD. The story also spends a lot of time with her as a child, because I write CRADLE TO GRAVE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. I love to spend a character’s entire life with them, from the time they’re born to the time they die. But leaving that aside. The sweetest and most tender romance I’ve ever written, involved a sad 50something man and a 25ish year old woman. I was in my 20s when I wrote this. I had lived with the male character in my head for a long time and knew him inside and out. I was delighted when I realized that sparks were flying between him and another character, I’d lived through this character’s life story and its long history of unhappy self-sacrifice, and I decided to follow to see where it led... and it was delightful! I decided to let him have the happy ending. He deserved it after all of this time. She was the initiator of the relationship. She’s in love with him. He is a widower who’s lost everything and now he has a chance to rebuild his life and start a family with this new person. She has other suitors but wants him. She gets pregnant. But it’s narratively a blessing. She wants him, she wants their child, and he’s delighted (especially since his late wife and child are dead), it’s a matrilineal culture, she and the child will stay on the land with her family after he dies. This is a blessing for him. They’re on her family’s land and he’s an exile with no home. She is NOT a Literal Child; she is a grown-ass adult with her own agency, who is sexually experienced, and who has born a lot of responsibility, and is in a prominent social position. His existence is at the mercy of her family, though they keep him around because of his knowledge and abilities. He is the one who doesn’t initiate the relationship, because he’s conscious of the age difference and feels like an old fool, and worries she’ll tire of him one day. Who has the power? Also, he’s a “fish out of water” from another (completely fictitious) culture who ends up totally living among, and assimilating into, this new culture, and basically living out the rest of his life among them, with his bride and their children. And that’s something that isn’t supposed to happen, right? (Writers whose characters just show up in their heads, will relate to this. I don’t even pick my characters’ love interests.)

[hakuryuu]

PLEASE I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW (EITHER-OR!) NEW OR RONAH’S ANSWERS FOR THE WHOLE MEME YOU POSTED

NEW 1. How would you (or they) describe their gender, without using standard binary terms?: new would describe her gender as the color the sky gets right before the sunrise gets started in the summer


2. Are they religious?: no…..sort of…….religion is hard one bc gods like Canonically Exist in this world and she Knows This And Believes In Them but she’s not particularly spiritual and doesn’t have one god she’s particularly devoted to AND because of the memory thing she only like vaguely knows that the gods exist at all so sjdflkjs


3. What social media platforms would they use (if in a world where those existed) and what would they use them for? Bonus: What would they get cancelled for?: new would probably have an instagram but not use it very much, she’d maybe post pictures of stuff now and again and she likes to follow people who make cool things but i think she would mostly make an instagram account and then forget about it (bonus: paz and caramel are BIG on twitter)


4. Do they have any weird scars, and how did they get them?: she has a bunch of regular accumulated life-living scars from like scratches and bug bites and falls and stuff, but nothing really weird except for that she doesn’t remember how she got a lot of them


5. What crime are they most likely to be arrested for?: loitering U__U


6. Ok, what crime are they most likely to have actually committed?: trespassing


7. If the one prison phone call thing was real, who would they call?: paz w/o hesitation (paz is the richest and will probably show up with caramel and run anyway)


8. Do they collect anything? What do they collect?: she collects little trinkets and things! usually small emotionally relevant items that are from or remind her of experiences she’s had (her haircutting knife, that portrait of run in her bag, the small bells off her dress, etc)


9. Who would they platonically marry for tax benefits?: PAZ…….


10. What superstition/paranormal entity/conspiracy theory do they believe is 100% real, whether or not they admit it?: i can’t think of anything like this for new im sorryyyyy i’ll come back to this one


11. What’s something embarrassing they did as a child/teenager?: [REDACTED DUE TO MEMORY LOSS]


12. What’s something embarrassing they probably did yesterday?: walked up to someone without looking directly at them, assumed they were run, started talking to them, and then realized that they were just a random stranger and not run


13. What hobby did they try once and give up on? Why?: jewelry-making! she wanted to make more fun earrings and stuff for herself and her friends but she doesn’t have access to many of the right tools for it and the stuff she managed to put together didn’t look how she wanted it to so she just stuck with weaving as a hobby


14. What niche topic do they get incredibly pedantic about?: SJKDGLF THANKS TO HER LIKE WEEK OF RESEARCH AT THE PIPER TOWN LIBRARY THAT ONE TIME SHE KNOWS SO MUCH ABOUT OLD RICH FAMILIES ON PANSIA…..paz will make some offhand comment about a family the mahaleys work at and new will be like. eyes emoji


15. What’s their favorite food to make?: she loves apple cinnamon oatmeal and loves to make it from scratch ;__;


16. What do you think this character’s worst decision was? What does this character think their worst decision was?: New Has Done Nothing Wrong In Her LIFE (SHE thinks her worst decision was agreeing to abandon caramel and run & go with paz when paz left them, even though they ended up turning back pretty quickly)


17. Is there anything you wish the writers had done differently with this character? Why?: I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO SEE THE WRITER GIVE HER SOME MORE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT IN THE SECOND HALF OF FMFY, I THINK THAT SHE AND ALL OF THE CHARACTERS COULD HAVE REALLY BENEFITTED FROM EXPLORING THOSE NEW WEIRD DYNAMICS BEFORE THE CLIMAX OF THE BOOK,


18. What character from another work do you think they’d get along really well with?: within my own works (elise nano extended universe) i think that she would get along with maimou from ttsp (he’s that kind of friendly that would put her at ease and draw her out of her shyness somewhat i think), and outside of my own works i have this vague sense that she might get along with charlotte’s oc io?


19. What character from another work would be their mortal enemy?: not mortal enemy but i think that she and turnadot from lamsm would be at odds because of the like difference in approach they have to everything that’s happening to them and the difference of experience… oh iro i think would get frustrated at her easily i think


20. What’s a headcanon you’ve always wanted to share but none of these ask memes ever ask you about it?: I Am Constantly Sharing All My Headcanons And No One Can Stop Me

---

RONAH 1. How would you (or they) describe their gender, without using standard binary terms?: you know when you light a fire in the snow at night and the light is orange and the shadows are this bright blue? that color


2. Are they religious?: yes! they’re a big believer in the moon and the cycle (ironically….. :( )


3. What social media platforms would they use (if in a world where those existed) and what would they use them for? Bonus: What would they get cancelled for?: gjsdlgjsf i really feel like the closest they have to a social media presence is like. a goodreads account. and then they show up in the background of thrip’s tiktoks sometimes and their brothers reference them in tweets and raiv’s instagram has a lot of selfies with them


4. Do they have any weird scars, and how did they get them?: the only weird scar they have is one on their thigh where they accidentally cut themself mid-switch between elf and wolf forms and it took forever to heal and it’s BRIGHT red


5. What crime are they most likely to be arrested for?: grim answer: being a wolf shifter


6. Ok, what crime are they most likely to have actually committed?: accessory to murder U___U


7. If the one prison phone call thing was real, who would they call?: they’d want to call raiv, but they would call laithe (they would consider calling bliss “walked barefoot across the country to get out of a witchcraft trial” parvo and then immediately decide against it)


8. Do they collect anything? What do they collect?: they have a modest storybook/folktale book collection, just a small shelf of their favorites, but they aren’t really the collecting type


9. Who would they platonically marry for tax benefits?: they would (queer)platonically marry bliss for tax benefits, although honestly bliss is getting the benefit because it means they never have to do taxes again because ronah will do them


10. What superstition/paranormal entity/conspiracy theory do they believe is 100% real, whether or not they admit it?: probably one that they’re kind of embarrassed about but still believe deep down that lonaih and unaech (wolf shifter folk story cornerstones) are still alive and out there somewhere somehow


11. What’s something embarrassing they did as a child/teenager?: they were VERY into performing songs and plays and stuff when they were younger, which is something that they feel kind of silly and embarrassed about now (but they still love to tell stories)


12. What’s something embarrassing they probably did yesterday?: walked around the corner and saw themself in a mirror and scared themself


13. What hobby did they try once and give up on? Why?: music, because it was impractical…. :(


14. What niche topic do they get incredibly pedantic about?: LITERALLY EVERYTHING, THATS LIKE THEIR JOB, I LOVE THEM


15. What’s their favorite food to make?: do you remember that braid of pesto bread iro was briefly eating in the beginning of lle? you might not because i suddenly can’t remember if you read the whole thing or just the kavi chapter, BUT ronah learned how to make that because it’s both iro and thrip’s favorite food


16. What do you think this character’s worst decision was? What does this character think their worst decision was?: i personally think that the decision to actively assist their family in a scheme to murder a moon goddess for revenge isn’t the BEST idea they’ve ever had. ronah thinks their worst decision was leaving raiv behind


17. Is there anything you wish the writers had done differently with this character? Why?: it would be cool if the writer had. written the last three to five chapters of the book they’re in. i think that would have been neat
.

18. What character from another work do you think they’d get along really well with?: i think that they and kavi would bond over a love of family and stories!! w/i my own works i kind of like to think that they would get along with farfara from tayl. sonia from ttsp would also remind them of their family, and i think they’d like her for that


19. What character from another work would be their mortal enemy?: this is niche but the bounty hunter from see me through would hate them


20. What’s a headcanon you’ve always wanted to share but none of these ask memes ever ask you about it?: they used to dye their hair when they were younger!

[jejciu]

i wish u branched out more in ur art ... :'( its so sweet and soft and still can be so rich and dark theres so much potential ughh u never miss ........and gawd i know its never gonna happen but! whatever midground is id love to see snippets of the story expressed in drawings and such ah! anyhow have a great day or night, ur drawings and Especially watercolors never cease to be a source of inspiration and ily pls remember that im always here refrshing ur blog in excitment :3

idk what is this ask im drunk and sappy and felt a need to write it

ugh yeah sadly im aware my art isn't really diverse.... that's mostly bc I really really suck at most stuff outside basic bust portraits. but also it hurts when some people just assume I share everything i draw, that I never look up references or tutorials and never even try to experiment or go for something more ambitious.... the truth is, i practice a lot, I just really hate how most of those drawings turn out (God, just yesterday I was drawing for the entire afternoon, i wasted so much paper and still have nothing to post......). when I go for full body drawings, my artstyle seems to have gone m.i.a. and it just looks as if I traced another drawing, and when drawing dynamic poses everything still feels either terribly stiff or unrealistically bended in uncomfortable ways, it really sucks. I wish i could draw scenes from midground! maybe short comics, even! i really do. I wish I could give more to people who happen to think my artstyle is pleasant or are somewhat interested in my ocs. its all really disappointing, even tho I know I don't really owe anyone artistic growth, that even if i literally never did anything besides front-facing mercies, I wouldn't have to change for anyone, as long as it would bring me joy. But I do wanna evolve and get better as an artist..... and god, I feel like the more I try, the more inferior I feel to all the real artists who post a detailed realistic and fully rendered portrait with a caption of "Just a simple warmup sketch" and like, get 15k notes and their commissions cost like 200 dollars. like I'm so far fucking away from that it's unreal.

Anyway thanks for the kind words, I'm happy my drawings bring u joy and since I've done a lot of illustrations to midground in the past (back when I thought I'd draw one illustration per chapter and put it in the pdf of the story lmao... Or drawing covers for each book and all that) maybe I could try to redraw some of them as practice.... I don't know. But still, thank u, it's really sweet of u to say all that, I really appreciate it! Messages like that make me feel like its all worth the work, if I can inspire even one person. Thanks again, I hope alcohol went easy on u and u didn't have to wake up hangover this morning.

[mamamittens]

As promised, I’m delivering work summaries of the stories that are currently up to vote about which will be written, completed, and published on AO3 first! See below the cut! Titles may not be the same later on down the line, but it is the best I’ve got so far. And One Piece art-specific characters at the end!

Apricity - My Hero Academia

In a world where most of the population has a superpower and heroism is a viable career path, Yuki happens to be lucky enough to be one of the 80 percent born with incredible power. But she doesn’t really want to be a pro hero, in fact, it’s only made her incredibly lonely. An icy interior being seen as a frigid exterior. In the face of personal tragedy, perhaps the way to a happier life can be found in the halls of UA High. Maybe even friends. And who knows, she might even find out what it takes to be a hero, even without a cape and license.

Cuts Both Ways - One Piece

When the Spade pirates find a small, deserted island, they unexpectedly find another crew member and a chef (finally, some good food). Young, passionate, and talented, Joan is a perfect fit for their crew, even as she prefers to cook over fighting. But they can accept that from their unusually-tall-for-her-young-age crew member. With luck, and maybe even intervention from Whitebeard and his crew, Joan can find out how she got to that lonely island and the mystery of her strange ‘curse’. Perhaps her birth father is the key?

Dresden Ocean Waves - One Piece

Curious and mysterious, Emi seeks only three things. Answers, adventure, and freedom. On her journey to find out her past, and what she is, she finds her way onto the Moby Dick. Even with her eyes set on the past, Emi can’t help but think she can find her past and her future on Whitebeard’s crew. Meanwhile, said crew can’t help but wonder what Emi’s hiding under her hood--and what about the emerald she stole. From a Celestial Dragon no less! Maybe if they convince her to stick around, everyone will be satisfied!

Notice Me Not - One Piece

Calypso is a loyal marine in much the same way a sea king is a good fish. Only by the loosest standards and convenient happenstance wherein she has nowhere better to be. 16 and ready to retire already--and very ready to stop accidentally ending up in secret meetings--she takes the chance to repay her debt to Garp by saving his grandchildren. If she plays her cards right, she might even be able to get off the Moby Dick to retire peacefully on some no-name island for the rest of her life. The marines blissfully unaware that the Ghost of Paradise Lost is no longer actively in their ranks due to her devil fruit! Of course, the hardest part might be leaving before the Whitebeard pirates, as well as her newly adopted brother, get attached. Surely there’s time, right? Right? Why is Ace laughing? Why is Whitebeard laughing?!

The Sibling Type - One Piece

Isabella is a lot of things. Bold. Dramatic. Fond of jewelry, both horrifically expensive and ridiculously cheap. But never let it be said that she leaves good friends hanging. Even if their version of hanging is spending a lot of time around beautiful, dramatic rich kids as strange entertainment because of suspicious financial debt. She’ll gladly juggle her inherited jewelry company-related duties and indulging the wealthy elite’s desire for a good sibling role models to support Haruhi against the very ridiculous rich boys of the Host Club. After all, where would she be without her best friend? If she’s lucky, Haruhi might help her out with some new ideas she has for her company!

Arm Yourself - Pokemon Sword and Shield

Halia, mostly known by Hailey, would usually be described as quiet. Being selectively mute will do that. But there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that she was going places, though Hop would loudly ask where. To the top isn’t a question, but Hop would like to know how far to run before his best friend reaches her destination, because her ditzy demeanor is a lie. A dirty, filthy lie that only gained traction because he’s one of the few that Halia actually talks to, and no one believes him when he says Halia wrestles her pokemon for fun. She’s either a genius or absolutely crazy, and Hops isn’t sure even she knows most days. Regardless, Galar has no idea what’s coming when they start their journey to fight his brother, and neither do they.

If anyone wonders why all three One Piece characters end up on Whitebeard’s crew, it’s because I’m a slut for found family and a lot happens to the Strat Hat crew that I’m not ready to map out yet. Because good OC fanfics follow the plot and alter it depending on character dynamics, and a lot of the early stuff is very important later on down the line. And One Piece isn’t even done yet, so I’d have to find a stopping point in the main plot of an entire series or be doomed to write a fanfic as long as the source material. And. You. Can’t. Make me! Anyway, here’s the promised picture! I will grudgingly admit that Oden has gotten better at slightly more realistic female anatomy in more recent episodes, but that bust-waist-hip ratio still implies that at least half of their ribs are missing. And there’s not a lot of good reference pictures for gemstones, so just know that’s supposed to be Emi’s hair, literally. Very Land of the Lustrous, which was also an inspiration!

Vote here!