#they don't even use it for character growth it's just?? angst for the sake of angst atp

[bentacled]

it's been one day and im still pissed when will this end. season 4 had some neat assassination scenes but none of them shined as bright as the writers assassinating the characters like go off monarchs

[buckevantommy]

What fic tropes do you most want to see for bucktommy?

big fan of hurt/comfort and some angst, which i think we will get.

i want them to be settled in their relationship and be solid and be each other's home, and then comes the angst, but not in a way that threatens their relationship, more like: one of them gets hurt on the job for physical hurt/comfort - i would love to see tommy get hurt actually, and buck stays at his place to take care of him; proof that this capable brickhouse of a guy is not invincible. and he struggles to let himself be taken care of, and evan helps him realise that he has people who care about him - not just buck; maybe eddie visits! chim! hen! he's been on his own for so long he's quite self sufficient but buck isn't having it; this allows for some first fight potential, where tommy insists he can do it himself (bc he doesn't want to be a burden or seem weak) and buck being frustrated and a little hurt that tommy doesn't want him in his space or want his help, which makes buck feel like he's being too much and caring too much.. but they work it out! but maybe before they do we get chim/hen/eddie paying tommy a visit to check on him but moreover spend time with him and also talk things out a bit; tommy realising it's okay to let people in (chim would be perfect for this callback).

and tommy dealing with his asshole father for some emotional hurt/comfort - i just really want to see a less coolcalmcollected tommy, and i think buck seeing that and being there for him and tommy realising he has someone to lean on will strengthen their relationship.

and early season 8 with gerrard in charge is perfect for some emotional support and understanding: tommy being there for buck as he vents. and tommy confronting gerrard (not just about his treatment of evan and the 118 but about who he is and how he does not deserve to be a captain at all) which doesn't go well and brings up a lot of issues for tommy (his past self, his father and upbringing, etc) and results in him being riled and losing some of that cool calm composure buck is so used to - maybe we get buck finding tommy at the gym, or tommy and eddie doing muay thai because tommy needs the release. and eventually we get buck calming him down or tommy running out of steam and breaking down a little.

(this is all very tommy-centric i know, i just want more of him! more screentime! more emotional variation! more character and relationship growth!)

and as much as i want them to be a solid couple, i want there to be moments of uncertainty: jealous buck when he sees tommy is friendly with one of his exes or sees a guy flirting with tommy. tommy being so sure about a future with evan -has never been more sure of anyone in his life- but holding himself back because he doesn't want to move too fast for both their sakes - but he opens up by the end of the ep and it culminates in him asking evan to move in with him.

open and honest communication is integral to their relationship so i don't really want to see any secret keeping, but i could see one of them keeping a secret about the gerrard/ortiz drama to spare the other one worry or to keep them out of the crosshairs. but it won't be a lingering issue, preferably sorted in an ep or two.

also just: gimme friendship for tommy! gimme tommy and chim and hen and eddie hanging out (separately or together) because we know they're friends. gimme tommy and karen, tommy and maddie brunch dates - with jee! gimme tommy babysitting jee and the others! would also love to see some of tommy's coworkers and friends. basically let tommy have some platonic relationships because it's important to show he has a place in the 118 extended family even when evan isn't in the mix, and that he has a life outside the 118 too.

since tommy is a first responder i think it's a safe bet we'll see him working with the 118 at some point - lafd is linked from the streets to the skies - maybe buck doing a rope rescue out of the chopper or tommy rescuing buck and some civilians from a cliffside or highrise. maybe the 118 responding to a chopper crash. so many scenarios they could give us, and i want tommy working with the rest of the 118, too.

[siriuslysatorusimping]

Meaningless vs. useful angst

Kiko is about to fucking rant.

Maybe I'm beating a dead horse, but I feel like this is something that people will relate to more than I realized before. Plus, as someone who is going through a lot of shit IRL, I completely understand the need to read some angst as an outlet. But the constant angst caused purely by the exact same issues over and over and over with zero growth over 100k+ word fics gets incredibly exhausting and sometimes it genuinely ruins my day because the angst didn't serve as a useful outlet; in the end, it actually just filled me with more grief.

In my (likely unpopular) opinion, these stories show a lack of depth and creativity in a writer. They give the impression that the writer doesn't know how to write conflict without falling back onto the exact same issues and tropes, and it just becomes a revolving door that will never have a satisfying end.

Meaningless angst leaves readers unsatisfied and empty. It provides characters that readers don't want to root for. It lacks proper character development and typically includes angst for the sake of angst, for the sake of piling the pain and anguish onto characters (and readers) until it's just more than anyone can take. It reaches a point where absolutely no ending will be satisfying for anyone. Eventually, characters are irredeemable and beyond saving.

Making your readers feel grief through your writing does not make you a good writer by default. Sometimes, it just means that you've written a shit ton of angst with no clear direction and it left your readers feeling unfulfilled and empty. Angst with no purpose beyond drawing a reaction from people isn't good writing, it's lazy and uncreative. Most of the time, it's used as a means to keep people hooked because they're compelled to read until there's a satisfying end, but the problem is that there won't be. Essentially, what you've done is you've opened a wound that will never be closed.

For angst to work, there has to be a clear goal and characters worth rooting for. We want them to make it through the angst because they're strong and compelling. But once you have characters making the exact same mistakes for the fifth or sixth time with no signs of growth or any attempts to learn, it becomes drawn out and meaningless. The issue with this kind of angst is that it doesn't drive us forward, it either takes us backward or keeps us stagnant. It leaves your readers unsatisfied, and it traps you in a cycle that feels absolutely hopeless. We start just wishing for the end no matter what that may be. We don't want them to keep going.

The purpose of angst is not just to cause pain. Angst is a rhetorical vehicle to reach a clear goal. Angst works when it has purpose beyond evoking strong reactions from readers. It works when it's necessary to move the story forward.

These are all reasons why, in my writing (Another Level, Physical Paradox, and even in Before I Love You), I've tried to make sure that angst has a clear meaning and purpose. In Another Level, our angst didn't last too long. It wasn't drawn out for no reason, and it had a clear result. Every time we had angst, we clearly saw the growth in Rinko and Gojo. In the end, it always worked toward strengthening their trust, not completely destroying it. The angst began because of 'realistic' reasons, not cheap plot twists that make you angry and leave you unfulfilled (I hope).

Anyway, that's my rant about angst because it seems like there are no stories that can balance the angst well enough to reach a satisfying conclusion.

[ratstuckinamarble]

What's weird is that Clawd had a wholeass animated theme song on mh's youtube channel that hinted at him being an inventor and an artist, which like, yeah, that's cool, that could work! And the show just doesn't hint at... Anything of that? Him being a quick thinker who can make different things on the spot because he had to learn how to improvise while hunting for pests in Behem could be fun! Or maybe have him have a rivalry with Frankie, maybe he has troubles with understanding how Frankie can (seemingly) often create things that don't really have a point? And maybe he could learn that things don't always need to have an important point and you can just make things for fun. Or maybe he wasn't able to pursue art in Behem because he was busy helping his mom and didn't have the time/materials to create? Or an episode where Clawdeen thinks that it's so cool that Clawd got to see so many different weird creatures and such, since she loves anything supernatural, but Clawd brings her down to earth, because it wasn't at all fun for him to often be put in dangerous situations, and they kinda reach a new understanding, maybe Clawd is jealous that Clawdeen got to go to a normal human school, and then she can show him that it wasn't nearly as fun for her as he thought it would be.

I liked that bit in the newest episode where Clawdeen and Clawd are trying to throw a birthday for Apollo and Clawd thinks that it's so weird that people on Earth eat cake for birthday? That was neat; I think that you're right that his past in Behem should be explored and give him a bit more angst? About missing his mom, him adjusting to life in a place where he doesn't have to fight for his life every day, and that he can stop looking out for threats everywhere? I'm not saying to give him some serious case of PTSD, I don't think that it would fit the tone of the show, but you know what I mean. Maybe Draculaura could be into his slightly more brooding side, and they could bond over their creativity, Clawd with his inventing and Draculaura with magic and potions? Both of these things can be dangerous and used for combat/evil, but they both managed to make it something their own, and "tame" it, use it as their own way of making art and beauty?

Okay, sorry for the tangent lmao. Sidenote, but I always wanted Clawd and Clawdeen to have more wolf-like mannerisms, maybe Clawdeen finds them embarassing/hard to deal with sometimes, like she shreds homework, chews on things when she's stressed/bored, barks when someone knocks on the door etc, so maybe with Clawd around, who was aware that he's a werewolf since he was born (I think) she has someone else to go through it with, and she isn't as embarrased?

Those are some great ideas! If they'd implemented any of these he'd already feel like a more compelling character.

I find it curious how his artsy and inventive side were a whole point in that mv, yet they don't make use of that at all, and he's been in a lot of episodes so far. Even if that's planned to come up in the future, it not getting mentioned at all so far is strange. We shouldn't have to rely on external media to make a character seem more interesting.

I love your idea of him not getting how Frankie can make things just for fun because he never had the time to create just for the sake of it, that could make for an amazing plot and creates ample opportunity for character growth. We could see him learn about what moves him and see the beauty in things existing for no other reason than to bring joy.

You're idea for an episode about Clawdeen and him would be perfect for showing how differently they grew up and how that shaped them as people- we could learn more about how growing up where he did impacted him, and them possibly even envying the other? The realisation that it wasn't sunshine and rainbows for either of them would be a wonderful bonding opportunity.

I do think he should get just a little angst. Yes, this show is fairly lighthearted, but it's tackled plenty of types of conflict, and if you're setting a character up with this kind of backstory, you have to explore the consequences.

His and Draculaura's main interests having the potential for destruction, but them both choosing to do good with them would genuinely be a neat parallel. And Drac is shown to have an artistic side aside from her witchcraft, she was painting in one episode and we know she has an interest in acting. These are things they could bond over if, you know, Clawd ever gets to be shown liking art.

Speaking of that, the music videos talked about Clawdeen's interest in fashion design too. How come that hasn't come up yet either? We're pretty far into the season, and she is the main character.

[jesse-cosay]

I was reading through a couple of the Enchanted to Meet You side stories that I'd missed after the main fic had ended and when I got to Where There Was Me and You-

"Some of the background noise quieted as the bus paused, releasing a handful of children to roam the streets and (hopefully) get back home."

OH MY GOD

OH MY GOD OF COURSE THE KIDS AT SCHOOL ARE THINKING ABOUT DEATH CONSTANTLY

OF COURSE THERE ARE INVASIVE THOUGHTS ABOUT OTHER KIDS DYING

OF COURSE

Even the smaller and more subtle parts of your writing are genius. I usually don't like angst, but you do it in a really beautiful way because it feels like real people in the aftermath of tragedy rather than misery for the sake of misery.

Alright I shall slink into the shadows, goodbye.

YES YES YES! That's exactly the feeling I was going for! In my experience, death (especially in small towns) can alter the entire community. Obviously it hurts the family and friends the most, but everyone around them sees that and they change how they act and what they do based on them as well.

Depending on the person or situation it can often feel alienating and scary, which I haven't delved into as much because none of Lake's classmates really know they were attached to Jesse. Only Tulip. It's definitely something I want to dig into more with Nate's character, if I can potentially write some stuff from his POV in the future. (I really really want to. Portraying grief through different ages is also important to me.)

I Wanna be a Hero had a similar theme! I don't think it's explicitly stated, though? It's Lake babysitting Nate which isn't unusual or suspect at all.

Until you remember that Nate is in middle school and doesn't need a babysitter. But any parent who has lost a child would be much more protective of their remaining kids.

I'm also really touched that you can tell it isn't angst for the sake of angst! I don't even like writing angst. I like dumb tropes, fluff, and silly headcanons.

This topic is just so important to me and I've never had an opportunity to put it into words. (Also I love ghosts. So much.)

Infinity train has made me really think more than any other fandom has. The characters and the lessons are all about facing your problems and fixing them, and it's so relieving to see that. To see these people you've grown to love work through issues that you deal with.

And I wanted something like that for grief. Because death is so often used for "character growth" or as a plot device and not really as a main focus. I think Book 5 would have been really promising in this aspect, to see the progression of grief.

But I wanted a happy ending. Because you can be happy. And people deserve to see that, and to not feel guilty for being alive or being happy after losing a loved one.

[luminantrondo]

"Hate" is a bit of a strong word here, but I get where OP is coming from. I don't hate Estelle (she's actually in my top 5) and I don't hate Karol either (ranked somewhere near Repede on my list). But I'll be the first person to say that Vesperia has a LOT of random side events involving Karol. I think this is mainly due to Vesperia really wanting a kid hero/coming of age story, and they couldn't do that with Yuri. After all, CoA is a very common trope in JRPG...

How many times do you have to rest at a random inn just to see into Karol's dreams? You need to stay at the inn at Dahngrest for a total of four fucking times just to get his Mystic Arte. Then there are other inns you stay at so you can see Karol's self-esteem issues, which is totally unnecessary cause the game goes out of its way to show that Karol has low self-esteem in the waking world. We even get a random dream where he's in his crossdressing outfit.

The scene in Zophir (Zopheir? Whatever) where Karol fights the Baitojoh is almost a Big-Lipped Alligator scene because it adds nothing to the plot. It exists primarily to wrap up Karol's arc.

A common issue I have with Karol is that the story really likes to focus on his character development more than its own protagonist (Yuri). He also takes away from characters that needed the screentime such as Judith or Raven. Hell, I'd argue even Rita could use more development. Or you know, Estelle?? The thing with Yuri is that he exists to "further other characters' growth". I'm pretty sure this was also stated in an interview, too. Which isn't a bad thing, so to speak. Yuri's an adult at the start of the game, which is already rare for JRPG due to ageism wanting the typical Coming of Age story... So it makes sense why he wouldn't need 40 million scenes like Karol does.

The problem is that Yuri is the protagonist. The problem is that Yuri does have conflict that gets resolved with a little slap on the wrist. I think Vesperia would have been much stronger if they focused more on Yuri's conflicts instead of dedicating all these side events to Karol's self-esteem.

Estelle on the other hand gets criticism because of her indecisiveness. However, that's part of her character. She's indecisive because her whole life, she's had things planned out for her. She's never had to make decisions on her own. It is frustrating? Hell yeah it is. Even Judith calls her out on it several times in the story. But she does change. One thing I would have liked to see more from Estelle is the repercussions after Sword Stair. Vesperia's story is quick to sweep up any angst under the rug for the sake of ticking off Tales Tropes on the writer's clipboard. As it is, we just see she's totally fine and she punches Raven off-screen (unfortunately), then everything's fine and dandy.

Again, I don't hate either characters. But I do roll my eyes at people who bemoan that Karol was "done dirty" in gacha because he didn't get the same amount of alts as Yuri or something. I remember on a first playthrough how quickly annoyed I got with all the Karol side events. He gets plenty of screen time in-game. You're lucky it's even in the damn thing itself instead of keeping all the important tidbits to side content that will never be translated (Judith's light novels). He's not a bad character, he just didn't need so many sidequests/events dedicated to him when it should have been saved for characters that did need it...

[honouredsatoru]

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤

summary. jjk men grieving over their lost on the love of their lives.

warnings. death, heavy angst (?),profanity, denial. crappy writing, bcs i never proofread anything i write.

characters. gojo, nanami, geto.

notes. inspired by rosie posie's famous last words. i've been feeling really down for the past few days so writing this was sort of like a release for me, so enjoy haha. also, geto took me the longest because i had to do my research on birth complications, as well as it is completely ooc whereas gojo and nanamin took place in the jjk universe.

tags. @noritoshiikamo @kotarousgf @sirthisisa-wendys @megumisichigo @megumifushi @laudthingcat @lazy10ieiri @nkogneatho @sasso-oda @sookyshima @tojisveryown @fushigurocockslut @saintgojo @nanamisbreadstick @megumislonghair

nanami kento - kneeling on the floor with your beaten up body in his embrace, he held you close to him. no. this can't be. you can't be gone. just a few hours ago, you handed him his bento box, cheeks warm and so was that smile of yours, the smile that never failed to make his worries and stress go away.

from the corner of his eyes to the sharpness of his ears, he can hear the nearby curse oogling in happiness, feeling like it is on top of the world, managing to destory one measly human who happens to be the love of his life, the essence of his soul, the light that brought him joy.

gently carrying your body to the edge of the empty room, he kisses your lips, trying to capture the warmth he fooled himself into thinking that is still there. your cheeks were stained with blood and tears. it's breaking him. before all he felt was guilt but now, anger has made his heart its home. fishing out for his weapon, he looks at you once more, smiling softly with adoration.

"rest in peace, baby. you don't have to be afraid anymore. i hate to say this but, i have a work slightly overtime but i will be back, wait for me, okay? i love you."

geto suguru - no. no. no. today was supposed to be the happiest day of your life, of his life. the day the two of you welcomed your twin daughters, signifying the growth of the family you both craved from the moment you were pronounced man and wife.

"what do you mean you can't fucking save her?"

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU MEAN MY WIFE COULDN'T MAKE IT?! YOU ARE A FUCKING DOCTOR. IT IS YOUR JOB TO MAKE SURE... that.. that she will be safe.. i-it was your responsibility, doc."

"i am extremely sorry, mr. geto. [your name]'s body seem to be in a state of shock after nearly 14 hours of labour, causing postpartum haemorrhage. and her weak heart couldn't handle the pressure. i tried. we did our best to revive her."

he rolled his tongue against his inner cheek, scoffing as he took a step forward, grabbing the man in front of him by the collar, finger's crumpling the medic's pristine white shirt with his other hand raised in a form of a fist, ready to give him a punch.

"it's clear to me that you didn't try hard enough. you didn't do shit."

"sir. i would like to keep it civil between the both of us. please, for the sake of the other patients and for you as well."

he sighed, putting his hands down, taking a step back. his nails left crescent marks on the palm of his hands. tears threatening fall from his eyes to his cheeks. but no. he won't allow anyone to see him in that sort of state. he found it hard to breathe as the nurses covered your breathless silhouette, even with the doctor wishing him his deepest condolences, patting him on the back, the man of white coat and fatigued eyes excused himself, leaving suguru to the abyss of his own mind, completely blank with the only thing drilling into his eardrums were the clicks and clacks made by the doctor's shoes. he slumped against the wall, grabbing his hair, finally letting his ego down and grief washed over his body.

how will he survive without you by his side? his deadpanned stare was interrupted by a nurse lightly tapping his arm, asking if he would like to see his twin daughters in the newborn nursery. salty tears quickly wiped away and soft nods were given to her. the nurse guided him to the front of the nursery, politely showing him his twin daughters. a smile appeared as he nod and whispered thank you to her, turning his attention back to his two little darlings warmly wrapped in their blanket with two tags around their ankles, respectively. suddenly geto's body began to shake, he's crying again. those two girls are a result of his love to you and a gift from you to him. but you're gone. you're never coming back. he will continue to love, he said to himself but deep down, he knows that love will never be the exact same as it was before.

gojo satoru - shock. anger. guilt. those were the emotions running within his veins to his very heart. he was not ready to feel this sort of pain again. no. not after losing his best friend. now he lost his sweet love. you. nothing could've prepared him when he was informed of you losing your life to a mission that was even hard for other grade one jujutsu sorcerers. but its time to face the music. taking in a deep breath, he rested his hands in his pockets, making his way to the morgue. the moment he stepped in, everyone from the first year students to ijichi turned their attention to him. their eyes were filled with sympathy and grief for him but he didn't care for any of that. all he wants is to see you. his hand reached out to gently caress your hair, lightly tugging your bangs, a gesture that annoys you but he loves dearly. he leaned down, planting a soft kiss on your forehead. this time, it was a gesture you favoured to the gods.

hm. weird. she's freezing.

cold.

that's what he felt as his warm lips touched your skin. he takes off his blindfold, cerulean eyes staring at your beautiful face, tears making its way to the corner of his eyes as it gently streamed down his cheeks.

"[your name], you okay, munchkin? i love you. i love you. i love you... i love you, [your name]. you're gonna be alright. i am here now. i am never leaving you alone from this moment onwards. please.. i know you can hear me."

seconds passed by when finally, he covered your face with the cloth thats over your body, turning around to face everyone with a faint smile. only now, that streak of happiness you once gave him no longer lingers in his eyes. ready to leave the room, shoko grabbed his arm, asking if he is okay.

"yes. im fine, ieiri, i just need to grab [your name]'s favourite snacks. she's looking a little pale, don't you think? poor baby, she must be hungry..."

for you see. even the strongest of them all can some times crumble into a pile of nothing but dusts. it is only the matter of time and wind when it'll blow that dust into the horizon.

© 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘶. 𝘳𝘦𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥.

[yoonpobs]

we don't talk together | myg

pairing: min yoongi x oc

genre: angst, hurt/comfort, growth! exes that remain exes

words: 2, 842

summary: it's hard to say it's over

What they don't tell you about goodbyes is that it isn't the end.

It's far from the closing of a book. Goodbyes are the itch that urges you to pick up an old book from the shelf just to feel what you first felt when you re-read certain parts of a book; the same remorse you felt when a character you grew attached to didn't get the ending they deserved. Or, maybe it was the villain that was misunderstood—your own heart wishing to reach out to the sad soul that couldn't even be recognised when all they do is speak.

But some books will end up dusty, forgotten, tucked away in the corner of your shelf; or in the most drastic of cases: lost.

"The park looks ... different," Yoongi speaks up for a lack of a better conversation starter.

You hum. What would you say? That it wasn't the same from when we used to spend our Spring's blended into Summer's until it got too hot for us to lay in each other's embrace?

It was still too fresh even though it's been nearly a year.

"There are more dogs," You point out the moment a tan pomeranian runs past the two of you, the owner an old couple laughing away under the cherry blossoms.

He nods, fingers stuffed in his trench coat. You note that it's the same one he wore on your anniversary, plans abandoned when there was a mix-up with the reservations until the two of you stumbled across a hidden gem that soon became your go-to date place.

You will yourself to look away so no more memories can resurface. It seems like every part of your life has somehow seamlessly intertwined itself with traces of Yoongi that it was impossible for you to exist as just yourself.

"How are things at the firm?" He asks after the two of you walked side-by-side in complete silence as more and more chatter fill your ears.

"It's ... going," You chuckle dryly.

Yoongi raises an eyebrow at you, shooting you a brief glance over until the two of you reach a bench. You dare say it's muscle memory that dragged your heavy feet into the direction of the only bench that you've known in the park. The compressed reminder of the initials of your names that you carved as teenagers likely still staining the years old wood. It was meant to be an emblem for wisdom, the ring of growth that meant to be the endgame for the two of you.

You almost laugh in bitterness and how literal the metaphor was.

"Everything okay?"

Yoongi takes the first step to sit on the bench because he always did. Ever the gentlemen when he opened doors for you, let you into the car first, waited until you stepped ahead of him to trail behind like a shield.

The first date, first kiss, first confession.

The first one to decide that it was over.

"My boss is just being sexist, as usual. I thought I'd get used to it after spending two years there but ... there are some things that you just stay unfamiliar, you know?"

It was very like you to speak in double-entendres without intending to. But it was also like Yoongi to pick up on it, especially after years of learning all the best and worst parts of you; he was and probably will be one of the few people in your lives that will always foresee your next move.

The two of you sit a fair distance apart on the bench even if it was a battle for space anyway. You didn't have the liberty to lean into his embrace anymore and he wasn't in the position to say that it was okay for you to breathe, to relax.

"You shouldn't get used to those remarks. There are times where you learn to grow used to constructive criticism but if what he's saying makes you question your worth because of very arbitrary reasons like your gender then that isn't criticism, nor is it constructive. It's bigoted and chauvinistic."

You look down to your thumbs as you fiddle with it, his words comforting you. It was woeful that you still chased validation from him even after learning to be that person to yourself.

"Yeah, I guess."

Then how did you get used to things?

If time didn't make things familiar then what did? Was it not the five years with Yoongi that led you to see him build an empire for himself all the while destroying the relationship that you had? Or was it because he was the person that you thought of doing the most minuscule things?

"By the way," He clears his throat, eyes still set forward, "Namjoon says hi."

You raise an eyebrow, surprised to hear the name of a mutual friend—or more appropriately, friend by association and acquaintance when that link was broken.

"He knows that you're with me?"

Yoongi nods his head.

"I needed to let someone at the studio know and ... well, he's the only one that knew of our situation."

You chuckle bitterly.

Of course. The suggestion of his work only made your heart drop because as much as you wanted to be supportive of him, even after the break-up, the name of his studio or songs only reminded you of the battle that you helplessly lost.

"You can tell him that I'm still a text or phone call away. No need to play messenger," You return.

The atmosphere is more reflective than awkward. You know that the two of you had your pieces to say, your own narrative to tell but neither brave enough to break the calm that you were settled in. It was a nice difference from the way that things ended, and you supposed that you were similar enough to believe in a mirage than the inevitable truth.

But you didn't call him out after six months to sit in silence to walk away with your heart feeling heavier, nor did you invite him out just to remember what it feels like to have him next to you—even in complete silence.

"Would you have really quit?"

This time, you gather all the bravery that you've built over the past few months to ask the question that has been mulling in your mind since the night you decided that it was officially over.

It was a painful break-up. Even if you expected it when Yoongi came home earlier one night with bags under his eyes and his keys that he usually left at the studio because he knew you'd always be home to open the door for him.

"I'm sorry?" He seems taken aback.

You don't blame him. You've always been more passive in dealing with confrontation due to your conflict-averse nature—but that didn't mean you didn't get angry or annoyed—or hurt. But if you learned anything, it was to stop asking yourself questions that you'll never have the answer to.

"Would you really have left the company to save our relationship?"

You chose your words carefully. Instead of saying to be with you, knowing that he lost the love, he had for you somewhere along the way—you point out the one hole that he held on to for the sake of stability. The one thing that was constant in his life with how unpredictable the music industry was.

"Yes."

Somehow, the answer doesn't make you feel better because even with time apart you knew he was lying to save your face.

"You don't owe me anything to lie to my face, Yoongi." You frown.

Yoongi sighs, rubbing his hands across his face as he leaves your statement hanging in the air to mull over his answer.

You prefer the silence that way. It showed that he was at least listening, or cared enough to decide his next set of words. Nothing like how much it pained you to acknowledge the responses you got from him when you were crying were just out of obligation than sincerity.

"No, I wouldn't have."

You nod your head, expectant of the answer but you needed to hear him say it himself rather than drowning yourself in ruminating thoughts of how there was still a semblance of hope that he would've given it up for you, for your relationship—or the life that you were meant to build.

"I wouldn't have asked you to, anyway." You confess.

Yoongi turns his head to look at you and for the first time since you've met at the park, he notices the absence of a necklace around your neck. The necklace that you never took off. He wants to comment on it, ask where it went or if you've pawned it off out of pettiness but he held no remorse towards you. You were tolerant with the break-up even as you sucked in your tears when he knew that it killed you on the inside. Yoongi didn't have the heart in him to ask you.

"Oh."

"You were the one that said you'd quit so we could stay together," You say softly.

Yoongi doesn't respond as he looks back to the night where the two of you sat down to talk about the standing of your relationship. It was a rollercoaster of emotions that started off with an amicable discussion that eventually led to the two of you yelling until you surrendered to your tears and just left the battle completely.

He said a lot of things that night. From things that he's been bottling up for months, to things that he's always wanted to tell you and things that he didn't remotely mean, and things that he's regretted the moment it left his lips.

"I guess I did."

You sigh, leaning back into the bench as you observe a couple walking in front of you, passing your bench as they share an ice cream on a cone; bickering on who'd get the first lick. To anyone, you and Yoongi would've looked just like a couple that has reached a comfortable point in your relationship where intimacy was just sitting next to one another.

But you admit, there was something oddly intimate and heart-breaking about sitting next to someone you've loved with your whole heart and feel nothing but ... weightlessness. Like the burden of your concerns was lifted ever so slightly just being here.

"I wouldn't have made you choose between your relationship or your dream, Yoongi. I would never have done that to you."

Yoongi knew you would never have made him do something as abhorrent as that. You were far too understanding. But you had wanted from him too, that he wasn't willing to provide just yet. He didn't know if it was because of the expiration date to your relationship or because of the stress he was under at work—but he convinced himself that it was you that was asking for too much instead of him compromising too little.

"I ... I know," He whispers, "I'm sorry."

You purse your lips. You try not to let your emotions appear on your sleeve. You were tired of allowing your face to speak before you did. You needed to use the voice you had.

"I loved you so much, Yoongi," You murmur, "I loved you so much that I would have taken anything I could've gotten with you just so I could be with you."

Yoongi stays silent at this.

"I didn't mind if you spent more time at work than at our home. I just wanted to know if I was ever in the picture when you were talking about the future. I know how much you love music and I supported you through every audition and failure ... and to know that I was just—" You swallow, the words still painful to say. But you needed to make your peace with it, "—that I was just someone that would wait for you instead of your partner. That's when I knew that you didn't love me the way I loved you."

Yoongi chokes to speak up but you shake your head.

"No, Yoongi. You loved me, you did. But somewhere along the way you stopped and you just pretended that we were okay even when I was trying my best to fix the seams. I wasn't your girlfriend anymore, I was just someone familiar to you and I didn't deserve to feel that way." You tell him sternly.

Yoongi surrenders to his silence as you take a deep breath to continue.

"Maybe I loved you too much in a way that you couldn't understand."

"_______, don't say that—" His eyes widen when he tries to reach a hand to yours to comfort you, but your body language remains stoic as you keep your hands in your lap.

"—and that's okay Yoongi. I loved you but not in the way you needed. I'm not here to make you feel bad about what I chose to do on my own because it wasn't my fault that I couldn't be what you need." You say sadly, but a small smile on your face as you finally say the words that have been eating at you for months.

"... okay," Yoongi accepts.

"We all have different ways to love and be loved. I loved you and that was enough for you at one point but love isn't all a relationship needs. You loved me too, in your own way and I accepted that but just because it was enough for me doesn't mean it was enough for us." You glance over at him to see him staring at you intently.

"I'm sorry that things turned out this way," Yoongi says softly, eyes gentle.

You wave him off.

"I don't think I'll ever love someone as much as I loved you, though," He confesses, eyes returning to the scene in front of him filled with different colours of life that seemed to look vibrant under the Spring sunset.

You shake your head and chuckle softly.

"You say that now but you'll meet someone one day and you'll remember all the reasons why you love in the first place. And it'll be enough for you, and them."

He shrugs, a small smile itching on his face.

"I really did love you," He says, "But I'm sorry for not being honest with you. I owe you that much of an apology."

"We're not here to forgive or forget, Yoongi," You look at him kindly, "We're here to move on."

He purses his lips and hums, nodding his head.

"I hope you get that promotion at work you were talking about months ago, ______." Yoongi offers, a gentle grin marring his face.

"I did," You shrug.

It feels liberating to have achieved something and only feeling content by acknowledging it yourself. Months ago, you would've hurt at the fact that Yoongi didn't know. But the change you welcomed after the end only showed you that there was a new path for you to walk on.

His eyes widen, but eventually, he chuckles and shakes his head, muttering something under his breath that sounded a lot like knew it.

You push yourself off the bench, dusting your hands on your pants as you offer him one last smile before you say goodbye for the second time.

"I hope you find someone who you'll love more than you ever did with me." You tease.

He rolls his eyes.

"Impossible," The grin on his face is easy, and your heart still clenches at the nonchalance, but you don't expect the feeling to go away so easily—nor do you mind. It just shows that you needed to wait and that you were willing to do it.

"Of course you will. You're a musician, Yoongi. You need a muse," You smirk at him as you turn around, a small wave on your hand to say goodbye.

As you walk away and his body gets smaller and smaller from your vision, you turn around to say:

"We don't talk together is a beautiful song."

Yoongi's smile is genuine, and so is his goodbye. A gentle acknowledgment of his hand as he stands up himself, walking to the other direction of where you were headed.

You still had a love for Yoongi, and you suppose you always will. Just like how you would feel pleasant when rediscovering a childhood hobby that triggers a fond memory, or how you love different things in your life in different ways. Whether or not you love someone more than you've ever loved Yoongi isn't your concern, because when love comes in one form, it goes in another.

When you still take the same route you'd usually take with Yoongi after your walks back home, you pass the cafe you used to frequent to see that it's replaced with a new bar. You smile fondly to yourself, shaking your head.

You loved that place.

But eventually, you'll find another cafe with a beautiful interior and a latte to match, and you'll love it too.

[saintobio]

Ok, I finally gathered the courage to come here and give you my two cents about Sincerely Not, so pardon me for writing this long ask.

First of all, what a well written story. The way you outdo yourself in every chapter? I'm envious. Also, the way you convey emotions and write the characters? It's amazing, you know. I always prided myself for having a great heavy-angst tolerance and yet, you still manage to give me a heartbreak in every paragraph.

Y/N is an amazing woman and, being this sweetest of a main character, she is actually a breather. I don't get why people tend to forget that both burdens of prestige and legacy rest heavy on her shoulders and want her to be more badass. In a sea of pretentious and fake people, she is the only genuine person — and Gojo is missing out on it. Not even Sera, under the pretense of having a background of "real" struggles (let's put like this, because her struggles don't make Gojo's and Y/N's any less hurtful), seems that much of a genuine lover.

Being calm, patient and composed doesn't make Y/N weak because, being in the position she is, it actually makes her access the situations she is in seen in a better light. And I love her for being so emotionally intelligent.

I wrote this before the dreadful chapter 8 and I was waiting for your askbox to be open, so I'm yet to read it. But I sincerely think chapter 8 ll be important for Y/N's growth. She's her own person but she's also a woman of duty, so she'll keep doing things for the sake of her family and the people around her. Hopefully, this mindset is going to change after the chapter and she's going to start valuing her own dreams and goals.

As for Gojo, I hope he fails miserably with the merge with CFG and his downfall starts, lmao.

I have so many theories and thoughts, but I'll leave them for another time. Just... thank you so much for sharing this story with us. I'm enamored by it.

Sorry for the long ask.

omg babe reading as how you wrote this before getting to read chapter eight ?? shsndjsdbdn i hope u were prepared plz. and thanks sm for ur kind words :’) they’re always appreciated !!

yn’s growth will be satisfying to see (unless gojo holds her back, again 😣) i’ve actually unintentionally answered a spoiler on discord on what would happen to gojo in his company soon and my dumbass just realized 😭 i hope no one brings it up for the surprise factor

[thyandrawrites]

H, K and L for the fanfic ask?

Uhh some interesting ones 👀

H. How would you describe your style?

Good question. I never really thought about it. I guess it could be described as heavily introspective...? I definitely tend to favor introspections over descriptions or even dialogue. I love writing character study pieces and I think my style reflects that. It often reads like a character going on a deep inner monologue and trying to make sense of things. My sentences tend to be on the long-ish side. When I was hunting for 100/150 words samples for zines I realized my style isn't easily quotable. When I go for impactful imagery or cool metaphors, they tend to span over paragraphs or across chapters. I also use far too many sentence fragments for emphasis, lol. My greatest enemy when hunting for samples (hey look! This was also a fragment!). I don't have a style with short sentences that feel like you've just been punched in the face, so to say. Sometimes I do pull off cool one-liners, but it's rare XD you're less likely to remember a story of mine because of a strong line than you are to remember it for an unexpected emotional punch / introspection

Another thing that comes to mind is that a lot of people commented on my pacing in BE. Apparently I can pace stories well? Tho I lowkey think that was a polite way to tell me "the characters haven't kissed yet but I find your premises cool enough to stick around" XD

K. What's the angstiest idea you've ever come up with?

One idea I almost wrote but then scrapped for being too angsty was probably my fiancee breakup dabihawks idea. It was supposed to be an exploration of Hawks' fear of committment and of his inability to communicate his emotions healthily. It involved Hawks intending to propose, buying a ring, and then getting drunk and cheating on Touya because he gets scared of his feelings. Touya was supposed to find the ring after the breakup and take it reeeeal bad.

That was a whole lot of pain I didn't really feel like unpacking tho fhhdjs. The more I thought of the idea the more I realized I couldn't just "fix" their relationship after that strong a loss of trust without making their relationship extremely unhealthy so I just scrapped the whole AU lol. I can't write angst for the sake of angst. I need it to be instrumental to character growth or otherwise have narrative weight but that idea was just... Too much. It would just end up as hurt no comfort

L. What's the weirdest AU you've ever come up with?

Mmmh... AUs I have actually written? Maybe my "Hawks proposes with a ring that's part of his hero merch" crackfic? XD so many readers took that as a fluff piece, lmao

Okay, no, scratch that. My weirdest fic was probably the one where Hawks receives an egg with his face on it (like the keggo emoji from ctabb) from a fan. That fic was mostly an inside joke with a friend but 😂😂 I suppose it must've been a strange read for those who had no context

[Fanfic ask meme]

[gallickingun]

I hope you don't mind me asking... How did you get followers? I want to start my own blog but I want to make sure I can reach audiences I want to reach. I don't have any friends who know I write, and honestly I'm not sure I'd want them to read my works anyway. I get embarrassed easily. It's much easier for me to talk to someone that I don't have a face for. Does that make sense? Probably not. But how did you start your adventure here?

I want to preface this with follower count can make sense, or it can’t. I’ve made friends with some of the most amazing, most talented writers who have less than a thousand followers. I’ve made friends with amazing, talented writers who have thousands of followers. I genuinely don’t know how to trick the algorithm into listening to you, haha, but just know that numbers don’t equal talent; popularity does not always equal skill. So please, even if you don’t have the high follower count of someone else, don’t let it discourage you from writing! Everyone starts somewhere, and everyone grows differently. 

But, I’ve found that it all depends on who you write for, what you write, and how often you write. 

Who you write for: Bakugou is one of the most popular characters. I truly didn’t know this when I entered the fandom, but it was really what got me started on the upward climb. I’m by no means a big blogger, lol, but I know that writing for Bakugou was what helped me out initially. He was originally the only character who I could write for because he was my favorite and I hadn’t really gotten too far into the show. I think the same goes for other fandoms - if you write for the more popular characters, who have more content in demand because they have more fans, you’re more likely to gain more followers. 

DISCLAIMER: Do not let this keep you from writing for other characters who are less popular, if you prefer to write for them. Content is needed for all characters! I am desperate for some Sugawara content, but he’s not one of the more popular characters that people write for (see: Kuroo, Ushiwaka, Bokuto, Oikawa, Iwa, and Akaashi). If we only focus on the popular characters, the ones that get us the most growth, but those aren’t the characters we love, the content can seem disingenuous, if that makes sense. I got lucky by Bakugou being my favorite. But like, when I try to push out Kaminari content, I find that it’s a real struggle for me because I don’t necessarily vibe with Kaminari as a character. The same goes in reverse. If the minor characters have your heart, but you try to force out content for the popular characters, it can be tough to write and come across like you don’t really want to write it. Write who you want to write! 

What you write: This is a really big deal right now, but I’m just gonna say it lol. NSFW gets more notes. I don’t say that to force you into writing NSFW content - I actually had never read/written NSFW content until this past March, and I’m 22, going on 23. Originally, when I decided to start writing, I wanted to be NSFW-free, but some stuff changed in life and in writing and I chose to make the change.

Also, I’ve found for each fandom, different things are more prevalent. For instance, the BNHA fandom seems to do a lot of AU’s and full length fics, but the Haikyuu!! fandom seems to do more traditional works that follow canon and then the content itself is mostly headcanons and short scenarios. I think you have to find what works for you and write it to the best of your ability. I suck at headcanons, I’ve never really been able to do them and they stress me out. So I stick to full length fics. I know this means I’ll do better in one fandom versus the other, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to start only doing headcanons just because it’s what’s popular. 

DISCLAIMER: This does NOT mean that just because someone wrote 10k words of smut, that it’s better or more involved than your 10k words of fluff/angst/domestic/etc. writing. Unfortunately, there are horn dogs out there who are especially touch starved during quarantine. It doesn’t make anyone better or worse because they choose to write about being naked versus being clothed. Please don’t let this discourage you from writing SFW-only writing, as there are tons of people out there who are just as desperate for some comfort fics about cuddling completely clothed. 

How often you write: When I first started, I had a lot more time on my hands and was able to pump out content much quicker. I grew pretty rapidly in a short period of time because I was able to consistently put out content. Since I’ve gotten more busy and my mental illness has reared it’s ugly head, I’ve not been able to write as much and I can tell my follower count growth had tapered off. But the pace in which you post content generally helps increase your follower count, because people know that you will continuously feed them with the goods! Sometimes it might be good to set a schedule so others know when you’ll be posting - say a new fic every Friday? Or sometimes it can be good to keep your followers engaged with thirst posts (SFW or NSFW), or specific nights where you do events that focus on a certain character or genre. 

DISCLAIMER: DO NOT FORCE YOURSELF TO PUSH OUT CONTENT. Please be aware within your own self what your limits are. Just because one writer can sit at home and push out tons of short scenarios and drabbles during the day, but you can’t, doesn’t mean either of you are doing anything wrong. It just means that one person has a different availability than you. I don’t really do thirst posts a ton in the same respect that others do them, because I know that I’ll want to write a whole fic out of the couple of sentences that my followers might send in. However, there are many others within the fandom that can respond with a few paragraphs that take a few minutes to type out. It doesn’t mean that they’re better than me and I’m a horrible writer, it just means that in this area, they’re more skilled or have more time. 

Also, don’t be afraid to tag people and send out DMs! I promise your writer idols are not nearly as scary as you think they are. And they’re probably just as excited to get a DM from you as you are to talk to them! I was really hesitant to reach out to anyone before, because I never really did much chatting in other fandoms, but the anime fandoms I’ve been apart of have been very kind and welcoming, and helpful! I made some of my closest friends because I tagged them in my works or I joined a server with them in it, or I read their stuff and reached out to them to fangirl over it. Don’t be afraid to reach out, even if you just keep the conversation focused on your writing, it’ll still be worth it in the end! The worst thing that could happen is they don’t reply or the conversation fizzles out. Either way, you will have made a connection, and blasted one another with some serotonin.

Remember to take breaks. Take a hiatus every once and a while! Take some time for yourself to recharge. If this begins to feel like a job, like an obligation, and you feel yourself dragging your feet just to put out content, please step back and reevaluate. This is a hobby, it’s supposed to be fun. Once it stops being fun, take a breather and reassess what you’re doing. Sometimes this means closing requests, sometimes this means opening requests, sometimes this means participating in collab fics, sometimes this means disconnecting entirely. This is just tumblr, in the end, and you should be able to take care of yourself first rather than pinning yourself into a corner to try and post content for the sake of your followers. In the end, everyone wants you to be happy and healthy, so you can put your best foot forward in life and in your hobbies. So please, for the love of everything, take a break every now and then. Disconnect, recharge, and regroup. 

I also had a blog before this one, my main, so I’ve been on tumblr for eight year prior to this. I’m not going to even claim that I begin to understand how this hellsite works, but I will say that I’ve been writing on here for a while now, since way back to my band blog days. Eventually you just write what you want to write, and chat with your followers and your friends, and you’ll grow organically. When you start to pressure yourself over it, it can become like a cloud looming over you, and then when you don’t perform up to your preset standards, it might be a little disappointing. Follower milestones are cool to want to achieve and celebrate, but don’t pour all your focus into them. For the most part, I use milestones for celebration events to give back to my followers, or to set goals for myself like opening commissions! But they don’t determine my worth as a writer, because sometimes the tumblr algorithm is more giving to some rather than others.

Whew, this was a doozy. But I hope it helped! Some of these answers might come off a little crass, but I’m just trying to be honest. Don’t let anything deter you from doing whatever the hell you wanna do.

You wanna write that rarepair? DO IT. You wanna write character x character? DO IT. You wanna write about your Original Characters? DO IT. 

Whatever it is you want to do, do it! And have a helluva time doing it 💕

[elizabethrobertajones]

i love jack a lot but i don't get everyone's excitement about dean eventually adopting him. like why would you want to force him into another parental role with a kid with unstable powers JUST when he's escaping his role with sam? i'm not accusing you or anything i'm just really really frustrated at fandom's mentality

Yeah, there’s some good posts around discussing the various metaphorical and direct representations of the bad family dynamics going on here. I think it’s possible to enjoy and dislike the same thing from different angles. I LOVE Jack choosing Cas as his father and setting his personal compass by Cas. It’s perfect. But for Cas’s sake I’m genuinely skeeved out by it because of the way Jack(’s powers) latched onto him from the womb and that it is basically what I figured all along - that Jack himself is an innocent sweetie pie because he has a soul and he is therefore gifted free will and a blank slate to be what he wants and is at the very least not inherently evil… 

But his powers still did something because of his increased awareness and powers in the womb that I don’t like, which is… convincing… Cas to be his guardian. Cas being forced into the dynamic is one of the metaphorical parallels to the brothers’ issues which I’ve enjoyed the meta about, because of course Cas can still love Jack and all and have meant it because I don’t think he wasn’t acting from the heart in 12x23 because have you met Cas, that was a classic example of his heart on display. And I’m actually hoping they do have a sweet dynamic when Cas gets back. But I still don’t like HOW it happened, in the exact same way I really dig sweet moments between Sam and Dean which don’t have the complicated baggage, but I can still be uncomfortable about romanticising other parts of their relationship, and critical of how Dean was forced to parent Sam… 

So yeah. Anyway, I think the thing with Dean and Jack is that it’s the goal - Sam already likes Jack and wants to give him a chance. Cas has his connection to him already and it’s unlikely he’ll hate Jack on his return :P Dean is not wrong to be upset and critical based on the information he has like @k-vichan‘s post I just recently reblogged was explaining (Sam hasn’t even told him on camera that Jack said that Cas is his father which means until we get past the point of disbelief that he hasn’t said it off-camera that’s still something we might find out later from Dean’s POV to affect how he feels about him. Although I’m usually careful not to get over-attached to what hasn’t been said on camera in case the writers start assuming it’s obvious they shared it and leave an emotional gap… But this is such a big thing it might HAVE to be said on screen or else be a gap.)

Like… Obviously the emotional hook for “coming to like Jack” is something that falls on Dean to have while the others are already seeming to be clear on it. He’s the obstacle - the thing standing between Jack and a happy families thing (so it might be a long haul or Dean is just starting to warm up when things go bad either with Cas’s return or something that happens with Jack for what will be a frankly bizarre season if they don’t tease him ~going dark~ to test him at some point). It’s like a will they won’t they on Dean liking Jack :P 

And I think that in this case it’s not forcing anything on Dean when he comes to NATURALLY adopt random youngins and other hapless friends (like Garth, tbh :P) but that he has to want to do it and it is something he does instinctively because he’s a nurturer and has a caring soul. Maybe because of the Sam stuff but it’s not weird when he does it to, like, Krissy or something. It’s one of his softer traits but in this case it has mytharc relevance, since Jack is, WE can tell, really sweet, but Dean is in no position to see him for what he is, which may compromise them looking after him, and even if Jack is sweet and squishy right now, he has cosmic powers and intentionally or not he’s going to be dangerous on a huge level even if it’s just for drawing attention. I think Dean coming to like him will play a big part in reconciling this whole situation just because he’s the one who instinctively doesn’t like Jack already. And that’s something where he’s messed up with grief and hasn’t seen anything to convince him Jack isn’t a problem, so it’s set up to be a bigger struggle for him.

And that probably also plays into Dean as the emotional centre of the show - that Sam is usually dealing with the plot stuff head on, while Dean is the filter we struggle with it through. I think Dean not trusting Jack is another way of drawing out uncertainty and tension about Jack in the narrative. Is Sam wrong to trust him? Is there still something hinky between Jack and Cas? Will Jack turn bad? Even if it’s seeming quite clear that Jack is not as bad as Dean thinks by far, and Sam’s made the right call here, to go with his confidence in leadership and standing up for himself arc, playing the reconciliation to Jack’s presence in their lives through Dean is giving us (or, well, the surface level read of the show, which I pay as much attention to as I can out of curiosity as a writer about stringing appearances and cheap drama out of more complex stories and I watch the episodes from the POV of “what is the show trying to tell us” before “what can I read into this”) a more drawn out exploration of who and what Jack is and the conclusion on what his character can be. 

And I think that means Dean will be challenging Jack too, and always probably be more on the side of checking if he really is what he seems or second-guessing his actions etc. It will give Jack something to grow and fight against, especially since people HATE letting Dean down and Dean is the moral centre of the show when it comes to love, humanity, what is the right thing to do, the free will choice, just generally a beacon of these themes. If Jack has to win Dean’s approval, it’s going to be a complex and satisfying story and a good way of proving we can definitively trust him. Not because Sam makes bad choices or because Jack doesn’t already seem like a good guy, but just because Dean has Standards which are so high you can define and navigate the story by them. Like Cas rebelling in 4x22. Or on the flip side, 6x20.

This is all kinda wishy washy stuff for later in the season that what we already have, though, and I don’t know how thoroughly others have thought it through or if I am missing some really obvious lines of thought here myself, but I don’t think the instinctive reaction that people are wishing Dean adopts Jack is all just forcing a new child on him, or that people think Dean shouldn’t come to that choice himself, and approve of Jack for real reasons. One of the short posts out there about it that I like is a line of spec that Dean will start to like Jack after he does a Benny - does something to save or help Cas that Dean can’t deny Jack is good any more after seeing. That’s not just wishing another child to look after on Dean, that’s a complicated series of Dean recognising Jack’s potential to be good and understanding him better or now having a motivation to reach out to him. 

And I do personally find it kind of creepy to be super gung ho about Jack as any of their children - Cas for the reasons I already said although I like it for Jack and would be open to Cas being cool with it :P But Sam and Dean as well because I think there’s a lot of point scoring going on with who gets to parent Jack like it’s a token or trophy for them, unlocking a whole bunch of parent headcanons and also, and I know it’s weird to say about a 1 day old baby, infantilising Jack. I think he’s already starting to get an idea of the more complex stuff and a lot of his literal born yesterday mannerisms will disappear as he gets older, since he has an adult intellect to deal with the world, so I’m very curious about his character growth. 

I think it’s just a fandom thing to be eager for the main characters you care about to have fun relationships and the idea of just giving them a kid can be appealing to some people, but it kinda weirds me out. I saw a gifset of the father reveal to Sam captioned with “Sam realises he’s an uncle” and I like that a lot more because it emphasises his brother relationship to Cas, and puts Jack in that context to him. I think since Jack said Cas is his father, “parenting” just means “we are responsible for guiding this young soul” not “I will be his father” and Sam and Dean are basically his uncles, not surrogate fathers, and I’m pretty much just gonna treat it that way, personally, since it’s less skeevy to me. That’s a YMMV thing, though, so I’m not saying you can’t enjoy the dad TFW stuff, I just don’t wanna :P 

(The Claire stuff was different since they didn’t have a whole bunch of responsibility over her and the episodes she was in never made it weird, and it was a side storyline… With this it’s all such high tension it sort of feels to me like I need to draw much stronger lines, especially since with all the fatherhood parallels some/all of TFW are going to be examined through being John at some point or another… There is a LOT more going on with Jack that makes it complicated and fraught :P)

So… uh… tl;dr… I have no idea if I’m even answering your original thought any more :P Idk about the wider fandom of crack posts and cracky art, but I think the meta folks I follow are not being too weird about it or will at least entertain all the posts being critical or introspective about these dynamics and I think some crack posts are just made in the spirit of fun, though it doesn’t help NOT give the impression everyone’s gaga for dad TFW and not being very considerate of the deep dark meta stuff and character angst going on… :P 

[bindy417]

brittany, I'm sorry to hear some comments on your work were upsetting. I think the "problem" is that often - especially right after reading, when you're still living in the story - it's so easy to forget that you don't know the whole story yet; that there's a different perspective or resolution to come in the following chapters. so I for one am exicted to see where you're going with this. clearly you put a lot of effort into this story and it shows. thank you for sharing your writing with us!

Hi Anon,

Thank you very much for your kind words and your continued faith in my story and writing. I don’t mind constructive criticism and would never try to censor comments. Feedback is so valuable to a writer, and I truly do take to heart what my readers have to say. I had anticipated the heated reactions to the latest update of Bound to You, but it is disheartening when some readers lash out or feel the need to be rude because they disagree with something.It’s disheartening when some readers accuse you of only loving certain characters or tell you how your story is going to play out when they haven’t seen the full picture like you said. That’s the thing with fanfiction. It’s serialized and with each update, the story moves forward but not all the pieces are in place yet. So I get how that can be frustrating, especially when a chapter is left on an uncomfortable cliffhanger, but that’s the nature of it. It’s impossible (and not nuanced writing imo) to stuff every emotion or explanation of an ongoing arc into one moment or chapter. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

I absolutely have put a lot of effort into Bound to You. So much planning and detail went into it long before I could start writing. I love James Bond movies and shows like Nikita, so there are certainly strong elements of those genres mixed with Arrow in this fic. But the emotional struggles of the characters in this world I created are what intrigue me the most.  I can’t even express how much I love both past and present Olicity (and little Connor!) and empathize with their struggles.

When I set out to write this story, I knew it would have some very painful and angst-y plotlines. What made me love it so much, though, is the opportunity to write a love story for these characters in which they have to fight like hell through their fears/imperfections, in their darkest hours, to find the light and become the best/strongest versions of themselves individually and as a couple. That’s something I think the show has been seriously lacking, especially this season. It’s not about perfection. It’s about growth, and I would never make Oliver or Felicity do something for the sake of needless drama. I would never write something I wasn’t sure they couldn’t overcome.

While some readers might be uncomfortable with the level of angst and struggle at the moment (whether it’s because it’s not to their taste, they’re inserting show canon, or they’re just sensitive because of the current season), Olicity have reached a point in both timelines where they will finally be completely honest with each other. And I’m so excited to be writing the journey of how learning to trust in each other inevitably heals their hearts.

I don’t write my stories because I have to but because I want to. It’s what I love, and I’m grateful to anyone who wants to come along for the ride.  So thank you, anon, and to all of my other followers who have been really kind and supportive. It really means a lot!