#this has also been in my drafts for four months😅

[poppadom0912]

By my side

Characters: Kelly Severide x Platonic!Reader, Matt Casey x Platonic!Reader, Sylvie Brett x Platonic!Reader

Warnings: Toxic men, abuse, protective firefighters.

Summary: You should've been better but at least your family is by your side.

A/N: For the sake of this, there'll be two ambulances which means two PIC's.

This has been sitting in my drafts for months unfinished and I suddenly decided to finish it after work on the train. Also couldn't be asked to proofread so sorry for any mistakes!! And I know this aesthetic thing sucks but it's been a long day and I'm tired, so sorry again. 😅😅

Being a paramedic had always been your dream.

Growing up in a first responder household: firefighter dad and patrol officer mum, paramedics were a constant presence around them. So, it was only natural that was were you gravitated towards.

Following this, working at firehouse 51 was a given since that was where your father was a Captain at till he became battalion chief and moved to another house.

Your family had history in this house, making it somewhat sacred ground for anyone who shared your family's surname.

Yes, there had been times when you had to prove your worth and that you weren't a nepo baby but your family in everything but blood were always somehow five steps ahead of you.

So it only made sense that when you started to skip going to Molly's and skimping on details about what you did during your day offs, that they were concerned and confused to say the least.

Six months later, after nearly holding an intervention, you introduced everyone to your boyfriend Mason.

It was safe to say, everyone had their suspicions, even after being together for a year. All of which you excused, diverting and switching blame.

*****

You thought that you were finally happy with how everything in your life was settling but all of a sudden, fate decided that stability wasn't necessary for you.

Shouting and constant arguing should've been the first sign, blaring as bright as the sun, warning and shouting at you to break it off before reaching the one year mark but you briskly ignored it and marched on.

Then, the drinking problems, anger problems and impatience were made alight when you started living together. (he invited you to move in with him when celebrating one year together)

You found yourself not liking the man he started becoming the longer you were together. It irked you to no end and you constantly were skittish around him, finding it harder to have a civil conversation with him the more time passed.

It seemed that your feelings somehow transferred themselves over to your work life because you were suddenly snapping at the stand-in paramedic for Sylvie when she was sick for a petty reason.

The PIC in you forced you to immediately apologise before Kelly dragged you into his office, Matt following without a word.

Naturally, the three of you including Sylvie had a bond of 'commanding officers' as you were all in charge in some degree and over several years, the work relationship blossomed and the four of you were as thick as thieves.

It also helped that Matt and Kelly worked with your father and knew you from their pre-firefighter and your pre-paramedic days.

Under their concern filled gazes, you found yourself crumbling, eyes all of a sudden filled with tears from the stress of it all.

They couldn't help but confirm their fears which you tried to deny incessantly, for some reason defending Jason and explaining that this could all be fixed and everything would be back to normal in no time.

If only you didn't.

*****

Over the past year, everyone found you changing.

The stern but loving PIC you once were had become but a memory. It was as though you were a shell of your past self, something of which you agreed with.

Mason was draining the life out of you and the only time you weren't losing yourself to him was during your 24 hour shifts before being surrounded by him for the next 48.

You tried your best to leave, you really did but at some point in your now two year relationship, things took an abrupt turn and Mason had become this toxic, controlling man who has a newfound urge to resort to violence when you were being your true self.

Being PIC meant you had an amount of power under your title and after many years of work, you had perfected your nature. It's why you and Sylvie were so good at what you did; you used force when necessary and compassion was always on hand.

Over the course of the past year, you found yourself on the end of many interventions held by Matt, Kelly and Sylvie.

With all the reasons in the world, they argued and argued with you, laying out the easiest ways to break you free. They were as desperate as you were at this point to get you to break up with Jason. They missed and needed the old you back.

Unbeknownst to you, they schemed behind your back, trying and failing to convince you to leave Mason for good but you found yourself pathetically laughing at them before going home to endure hell.

You struggled to understand your behaviour. Abuse to this degree was something you never you experience firsthand and you would never wish it upon your worst enemies.

On sleepless nights, you constantly contemplated why you wouldn't leave. You wanted to, you really did but then you could hear him whisper in your ear and you remained firmly glued to his side.

So badly did you want to rip your arm out his earth shattering grip and run back home, to the safety of love and familiarity.

Your final decision was set in stone when he finally made his mark a month ago, fingertips bruised into your wrist when he wouldn't let you leave his car in front of the firehouse.

"Alright then, thank you for dropping me off. I'll see you tomorrow." You said, pressing your lips together in a tight smile, hand reaching for the door handle while the other fiddled with the handle of your tote bag.

He replied with something, you weren't too sure because you were already out the car, closing the door with practised precision and gentleness.

Your expressionless face brightened at the sight of your colleagues/friends/basically siblings at this point. The firehouse and all its inhabitants were truly your saving grace and without it, you weren't too sure where you would be.

Just as you were going to walk up the apron to meet them halfway, you were being pulled back by a random force. It was so sudden that you dropped your bag, your things spilling out as they rolled away.

You yelped, attracting the attention of those who weren't previously paying attention to your arrival in their mortal enemies car.

Scrunching your eyebrows, you turned to Mason in confusion, your eyes following the hand gripping your wrist to his face you were once infatuated with.

"What the hell Mason?!" You said with gritted teeth, trying to escape but he wouldn't let go. "Stop, your making a scene."

Before he could reply, several shouts came from behind you and before you knew it, you were being pulled into comforting arms as big and bulky men dealt with Mason.

"Oh Y/N." Sylvie's heart melted for you while it ignited in flames because of Mason. With your bag in one of her hands, she somehow collected all of your things, she brought you into her arms and hugged you tighter than a koala.

"Let me see your hand." She muttered under her breath, unbothered by the fuming men huddling around you in a protective barrier, on guard as they watched Matt and Kelly deal with Mason on the street.

She sucked in a sharp breath through her teeth at the finger shaped bruise on your wrist, you copying her when she lightly touched it. Despite her angelic exterior, you saw a red glint flash across her eyes, one you rarely saw but had seen several times before on the rare occasion.

If this was her reaction, then you were dreading Matt and Kelly's.

And your feelings were very much justified because as soon as they sent Mason away, you found yourself being subject to a very strong worded conversation.

They played the role of overprotective brothers perfectly. With the help of detectives who you were lucky to call good friends, your plan was set in stone and would take a week to fully come together.

Despite how meticulously everything was planned, you somehow ended up in the emergency room. Surrounded by doctors and nurses you recognised, you felt their sympathy and felt nearly emotional with the care that greeted you.

Thanking Maggie, you smiled and watch the charge nurse leave but you weren't alone for even a minute before three certain people came barging in.

With wide eyes, they drank in your slouched figure.

Matt looked alarmed, Kelly disgruntled and Sylvie on the edge of a breakdown.

You choked out a watery laugh, harshly swallowing back tears as you shook your head and blinked repeatedly. Releasing a shaky breath, you felt your chest tighten as your oxygen was constricted before it was all treated when enveloped in the loving arms of your 'siblings'.

Had it not been for your intense emotional state, you would've barked out in laughter at the anger displayed by Kelly who imitated a caged lion, Matt who spewed words Hank Voight would find offensive and Sylvie who played parts of a mother comforting their daughter but also Satan prepared to burn and punish sinners.

Your pain was muted by their presence alone. With their constant love and never-ending companionship by your side, you were sure to heal.

[aritsukemo]

Paradise | Chapter Three - Sabito and Makomo | KNY

Summary: Sakonji Urokodaki's grueling training begins!

Warnings: Nothing much. Tanjiro, Y/n, and Sumiko are in pain for the majority of this chapter.

A/N: Here's chapter three that's been sitting in my drafts for like two to three months now! This is my first time doing a first pov so I hope my lack of expertise doesn't show too much!😅 I'm going to re-remind everyone once the next chapter comes out, but chapter four will be posted alongside the first oc profile! You'll only be able to read it over on Wattpad, but I hope everyone goes to give it a quick read whenever I post it! :D

Tagging: @overluvsick, @nursedflowers, @jspidey5 + anyone who wants to be tagged! <3

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Third Person Pov

Crickets and other noisy bugs converse loudly during the night. Tanjiro sits at a small table, a singular lamp by his side as his soft hand holds a brush—which bristles already stained in ink and are coloring symbols into the once clean sheet. The brush glides across the page until it comes to an abrupt stop and  goes back to the start, hovering over the next clean area of the paper. Tanjiro looks behind his shoulder. Nezuko sleeps peacefully on the futon behind him. Y/n sits propped up against the wall with one of her legs kicked up, her eyes closed, and silent snoring coming from her in steady breaths. Sumiko leans against her, also fast asleep.

Guess it's finally time to get some rest. After all, his first day of training begins tommorow.

Closing the book, the light shines on the book cover. It displays in big symbols and clean, black ink, "Journal" with his full name written in smaller characters below that. Tanjiro's hands leave the book at last after spending his final free day writing for hours without end..

First Person, Tanjiro's Pov

 "The Demon Slayer Corps has around several hundred members. It's an organization unrecognized by the government, yet it has existed since ancient times and continue to hunt demons today. As for the one leading the Demon Slayer Crops, however, that remains a mystery."

 "Demons. They mercilessly kill and feed on humans and their flesh. No one has a clue where or when they first appeared. Their physical prowess is remarkable. Wounds heal in the blink of an eye. Flesh is restored no matter what damage comes to it and limbs that are hacked off can easily regenerate. Some demons can shapeshift, others have otherwordly powers. The only ways to kill these heinous creatures are via sunlight or decapitation with a special sword."

 "The Demon Slayers battle demons with their mortal bodies. Since they're only human, they're wounds are slow to heal, and once lost, their limbs never grow back! Even so, they continue to selflessly fight to protect other humans!" Those were the first words Mr. Urokodaki spoke to us when our training to become demon slayer swordmen first began. As he was explaining everything, I couldn't help but look at her from the corner of my eye.

Y/n's face hid everything from me like an iron wall. Her scent opened a window for me to peer into, but whenever it did, it always left me puzzled. It always contradicted her in some way and that fact worries me.

I want to ask her so many questions. About these contradicting feelings, about her past that she for some reason refuses to tell.. I want to have a heart to heart with her like a brother and sister would..

But now's not the time for questions. For now, I need to focus on becoming a demon slayer so that I can start finding a cure to turn Nezuko back into a human!

 "I am a trainer. I literally train swordsmen," Urokodaki said to us that early morning, "There are many trainers like me all over Japan, and each of them train their pupils with their own regimen in their location."

 "To join the Demon Slayer Corps, you must survive the Final Selection process held on Mt. Fujikasane. Whether or not you're eligible for Final Selection is up to me," He explained. I remember thinking at the time, "Simple enough."

How naive I was..

 Starting today, I'm going to keep a journal for Nezuko.

 I'm decending the mountain again today. I'm going to train my hardest so that I don't die during Final Selection!

 After repeatedly descending the mountain, day after day, I'm starting to learn how to avoid most of the traps. I've become stronger and I'm even more adept at detecting scents than before. Even so..the traps are getting more and more difficult. At this point, I'm starting to believe he's actually trying to kill us! I nearly fell into a hidden pit of knives today..

 Despite the increase in difficulty, I seem to be the only one struggling to keep up. Y/n and Sumiko have cleared the mountain a couple times without problems. At first, Sumiko would trigger traps left and right fearlessly and would just narrowly dodge them. She really worried me for a while, but after some scolding from Mr. Urokodaki, she started trying to dodge them at last. I'm relieved that he stepped in before she got seriously injured.

 As for Y/n, she seems to be on a whole different level! She's quick on her feet—quicker than both me and Sumiko—and her natural senses manage to keep her from triggering most of the traps on the mountain. In only half a day, she had already managed to make it up and down the mountain three times! Seriously, how does she do that?

I run down the mountain as fast as I my legs can take me and leap over an oncoming rope. As soon as I planted my feet back onto the ground, a log comes swinging right at me! I barely dodged it and stumbled a bit. Because of that, I nearly triggered a trap..

Mr. Urokodaki's scent hits my nostrils and leads a clear trail to the next trap ahead. Knives fly from the trees and I find myself stopping to look. My heart skips as I swing my body out of the way, just bsrely dodging as the knives dig into the tree behind me.

My legs felt like jelly and I wobbled right into an obvious trap. I nearly twist my ankle catching myself before I fell completely into the hole—thank goodness for that, because under me were sharp knives, threatening to cut me open with even the slightest touch.

I gasped out in horror without realizing. But really, is a pit of knives really necessary?

As this was happening, Y/n and Sumiko shoot past me. Y/n is ahead, her face still like a stone as she hopped over ropes and other traps without so much as pausing for a breath. Sumiko mimcks her, taking wide leaps over everything until her foot steps down on her demise. A snap is heard and I suddenly see her dangling in the air by her foot.

 "Ah, Sumiko!" I manage to maneuver myself out of the way of the hole and crawl to my feet. I jog up to my little sister in need only to realize that the rope was just out of my reach. Oh no.

In the end, I accidentally triggered a trap trying to help her down and got myself stuck as well. Mr. Urokodaki had to cut us down and we both got a scolding for our slip ups..

 I made my descent down the mountain again today, sword in hand, but it really hampered my movements. I can't stop getting ensnared by traps! Sumiko seems to be having as much trouble as I am, if not worse. Her sense of balance has been thrown off entirely and she can't seem to dodge even the simplest of traps..

 Y/n started only a few days before we did, but she's already gotten the hang of her sword. She truly is amazing!

I run down the mountain, large sword hanging heavy on my hip and Sumiko by my side, and we simultaneously hop over a rope tied low to the ground. Urokodaki watches us in silence, arms crossed. And, although I can't see his face because of the mask, I know he's judging our every move.

Each trap I hop over, Sumiko lags behind, just barely being able to mimick my movements. She leaps after me, but she doesn't make it high enough to avoid a rope. I hear intense ruffling along with a small yelp and look over my shoulder to see that Sumiko's gone and there's a large pit where she used to stand.

 "Sumiko!" I find myself sliding to a stop, "Don't worry, I'll—" And then another snap echoes throughout the forest; a warning that I didn't process fast enough to heed. I fall back, but I wasn't even able to hit the ground before I'm snatched into the air..

We were kept stuck in our traps until Y/n finished her descent through the mountain. What makes things worse is that when Mr. Urokodaki cut me down, I fell right on my head..

 I swing my sword today. Well, it's not just today. After descending the mountain, I, along with Y/n and Sumiko, swing our swords until our arms nearly fall off. We do this every day.

 "Nine hundred ninety-one.. Nine hundred ninety-two..!" Numbers were shouted out in unison by all three of us as we stood side by side in a clearing at in the mountain. The evening glow shines down on us and our blades which causes them to gleam every time we swing downwards.

Every inch of my arm throbs with each tense of my muscles that are caused when I swing my sword. I've been clenching my teeth for so long that I'm scared they'll shatter if I don't ease up, but how am I supposed to do that? Even though they're beginning to numb over, my arms hurt so badly!

But at last, I can finally rest, "One thousand!" We all finally yell out, but immediately after we said that, Urokodaki gruffly follows up with his own shouting, "Five hundred more!" He told us.

And just as that demand reached my ears, I felt my tired soul completely shatter into pieces..

 "Swords break easily," That's what he told us beforehand. Though it's strong vertically, it's weak horizontally, so you need to apply the force straight along the blade. The blade's direction and the direction in which you apply force must be exactly the same. And that's when Urokodaki added, "If you ever damage the blade, in other words, break it, I'll snap your bones as well," in a very threatening tone of voice. Just thinking about it, makes me nervous all over again..

 Today, we did nothing but fall. We started training to break our falls and get up quickly from any position.

 We wield our swords, charging at Mr. Urokodaki, really trying to kill him. In contrast, Mr. Urokodaki is bare-handed and unarmed. Even so, he's ridiculously powerful! He flings me away and I roll on the ground every time..

 Even someone like Y/n seems to struggle when up against Mr. Urokodaki. She starts off good, getting up faster than me and Sumiko and manages to get a few swings in. None of them ever hit him, however, and in the end, she's always flung away just like me.

 Sumiko seems to have it the worse since she tends to charge at him with the intent on fighting bare-handed. Her sword gets in her way and she's always flipped or tossed away quicker than either of us. Every time it happens, my heart skips a beat thinking she'll accidentally land on her sword and hurt herself..

We stand before Mr. Urokodaki, swords in hand. I merely blink and in an instant, my world is flipped upside down! ..Literally. Before I even had the time to process that my feet were no longer planted on the ground, my face was already sliding against the gravel and my nose was already being invaded by the strong, muddy smell of the dirt that I had begun to grow used to.

As I crack my eyes open again, I spot Y/n running towards Mr. Urokodaki. She had already managed to regain her senses after the temprorary lapse and got up. How does she do that?

With her face scrunched in conentration, she charges forward and swings her blade when she's close enough. She immediately follows up with an upward slash attack after her intial strike misses. The movements of her swings are sharp, but I get the sense of aggression towards the tail end of every single strike. It's passive-aggressive which contrasts Mr. Urokodaki, who's movements are pretty lax as he dodges the majority of her swings by simply moving out of the way of her blade.

That relaxed air around his being leaves him for a mere moment as he goes on the offense. He suddenly charges forward and Y/n immediately raises her sword. She swings downwards with the intent of landing a singular strike, but he sidesteps her attack and I find myself having to tense and squint my eyes as to not miss Mr. Urokodaki's next movements. While she's still focused on her previous attack, Mr. Urokodaki steps behind her and lands a kick to the back of one of her knees which causes them to fold. She falls on one knee and Mr. Urokodaki waste no time in kicking her in the side and sending her tumbling away.

Both me and Sumiko get up at the same time, but I attack first. I run as fast as I can, mouth open and yelling as I hold my sword above my head..

And in less than a second, my view of the world was flipped upside down again and spinning like a wheel. I couldn't feel the ground anymore either which made it finally dawn on me what just happened; Mr. Urokodaki had flipped me into the air and the momentum of his throw had me rolling midair!

The revelation hits at the same time that I hit the ground. I land right on my chest which knocks the majority of the air outta my lungs in a loud gusp. Quickly after that, I hear light groans that signal Sumiko's defeat.

 "Again!" I hear Mr. Urokodaki demand and I catch myself groaning softly as I peel myself off the gravel. I don't know how long I can take being tossed around like this..

 Today, we learned breathing techniques and some forms. We'd get yelled at for not bracing our stomachs and clobbered to a plup..

 "Total Concentration breathing?" I questioned, my head instinctively tilting to the side a little.

 "That's right," Urokodaki said, "And I'm going to teach you three all ten of the Water Breathing forms."

 "Remember to take a long breath so the oxygen flows into every cell in your body," He told us, "This will enhance your body's natural healing power, and both stabilize and energize your spirit."

 "Relax your upper body.." He instructs and we do as he tells us to the best of our abilities, all of our shoulders' slumping, "..while bracing your lower half," I tense up my legs and feet. Y/n and Sumiko do the same.

 "All right, now breathe!" My head tilts back, and at a turtle's pace, I suck in as much air as I can. I exhale just as slowly, my whole body slumping..and then, bam! My eyes shoot open as pain shoots through my entire body and spit is propelled from my mouth and shot out in all directions.

Mr. Urokodaki had smacked me in the stomach and it felt horrible!

To try and ease the pain, my body curls into itself. I'm hunched over, shaking with my arms wrapped around my stomach and my knees bending when I hear Mr. Urokodaki yell, "Wrong!" And I hear groans. I guess Y/n and Sumiko had met a smiliar, painful fate.

 "Next! Forms!" Mr. Urokodaki shouts and we have no choice but to straighten back up. He didn't give us much to go off of, but I was determined and struck a pose anyways.

 "Right! Like this?" I ask, "Wrong!" He yells. And so, I snap into a different pose.

 "Like this?" I ask again only for him to repeat, "Wrong!" I change poses once again and promptly ignore the sideway looks of confusion, dissaproval, and embarrassment I get from my sisters—the latter two more apparent in the look Y/n gives me; the former one more accurately represented in Sumiko's dot-eyed expression—and yell out, "This?"

In an instant Mr. Urokodaki had popped me in the stomach once, then twice, then a third time, and unfortunately a fourth, fifth, and sixth which elicited a loud, whiny moan from me.

 After that, he told us to become one with the water.

We stood fairly high up on one of the ledges near the mountain we descend every morning as a warm up. Before us was a large waterfall that was so noisy that we struggled to hear each other despite standing side by side with one another. It loudly flowed it's abundance of water down to the bottom, which I couldn't really see all that well due to the constant stream blending together and crashing down producing a light steam at the bottom from the sheer coldness of the water..

And then, our demise rings out in the form of Mr. Urokodaki's voice, "What are you waiting for? Get in there!" And we're suddenly kicked off. Off instinct, I try to run away from my fate, but all it does is prolong the inevitable until gravity finally hits me and I go falling along with Y/n and Sumiko.

My stomach flutters in an uneasy sorta way at the airy feeling of falling from such a high vantage point. I scream, going to call out for the first person that pops into my head, "Nezuko..!" I drawl until I finally hit the water with a loud splash!

After a moment of floating along the stream, we all manage to pick ourselves up and huddle under the waterfall. As the heavy water comes relentlessly crashing down onto us, we stay firmly planted with our hands mashed together as if we were praying.

 "Nezuko..!" I find myself yelling, my voice being carried in the wind. Echoing and bouncing off the rushing waterfall, "I...! ..Am...! ..Water..!"

My constant yelling must've really irked Y/n, because after a while, she shouted at me, her voice strained but angry, "Could you..! Shut up..! ..For one second..?"

 As of now, it's been six months since Nezuko was last awake. Mr. Urokodaki summoned a doctor right away and had him examine her, but he found nothing wrong.

 But it's not normal for her to stay asleep like this.. I'm scared. Scared that one morning, I'll wake up to find her dead. Not a day goes by that I don't worry..

 Sumiko had begun staying up later and later at night. I think she's also worried about that possibility and it's causing her to fear sleeping. I try to soothe her nerves as best I can, but I fail to do much.. At least she seems to be getting along with Mr. Urokodaki well. I sometimes catch them talking late at night when they assume everyone's asleep. I have no idea what their talks could be about, but soon after their late night talks began, Mr. Urokodaki had started supplying her with books. She tends to stay up all night reading them now and it got to the point where catching her fast asleep, face first in a book was a common sight we all saw of her in the mornings.

 Whenever we talk about Nezuko, Y/n's face scrunches and she always says that it's only a matter of time. It upsets me badly to hear that she has no faith in Nezuko ever awaking up again, but now that I think on it, this is probably her way of coping with the situation herself. I think she's trying to be overly pessimistic in case of the worst happening so that she doesn't fall apart. Looking back on it, she acted like that for a while when dad's health started to decline and he was bedridden..

 My descents are getting more dangerous and the air's even thinner since we've started descending from a higher point in the mountain. Time and time again, I think I might die, but at the same time, I've felt that, not just I, but all three of us have gotten stronger! Under Mr. Urokodaki's steady, stern guidance, we've all grown and I was sure at the time that we'd reach unspeakable heights with his help! ..And then it happened.. }

 "As of today, I have nothing more to teach you. The rest is up to you!"

 A year after we arrived at Mt. Sagiri, he told me that all of a sudden after I descended the mountain. I remember that initial feeling of surprise that struck me followed quickly by fear. After all, when he said that, it was just me there. I was the last out of the three of us to make it down the mountain. My first assumption was that this was some kind of punishment because of my own shortcomings, but then he told me to follow him. We walked for a long while—long enough for the air around us to grow colder and the snow to finally start falling—before we finally made it to a wide clearing with..a boulder in the center of it..

I found myself staring on in awe. Before me, was the largest boulder I had ever seen in my life. It was taller than both me and Mr. Urokodaki and wide to boot! That being said, it was surprising to see that a rope with long shide attached to it was wrapped all the way around it.

 "If you can slice this boulder, I will allow you to enter Final Selection," Mr. Urokodaki said after a while of my gawking. Without blinking, my eyes glide over to look at him and I only move my head a little to gaze at him for a moment before my head slid back in place and my eyes found itself on the large rock again.

I found myself thinking, "Is a boulder, especially on so big..even capable of being sliced with a sword? ..I don't think I can.." I barely noticed it, but my hand had made it's way to wrap around my sheathed katana, just under the hilt, "My sword will snap, no question!"

During my silent distress, Mr. Urokodaki stayed just as silent. Without any advice or tips or instructions, he turned on his heel and began walking away from me, "Mr. Urokodaki, please wait! ..Mr. Urokodaki!" I called his name again and again, but he just kept walking without turning back or saying anything to acknowledge my calls, leaving me alone with the tough boulder and the soft snow falling around me.. 

 After that, Mr. Urokodaki never taught me anything again. Not just me, he apparently did the same thing to Sumiko and Y/n, taking them to one of the many designated clearings in the mountain and giving them the same task before leaving. That thought comforted me a little knowing that I wasn't alone in this.

 Every day after that, I practiced what Mr. Urokodaki taught us over and over by myself. I was able to go over the basics like holding my breath and flexibility without trouble thanks to the notes I'd written down in this journal. But, even after six months had passed, I still couldn't slice the boulder. I felt frustrated. I wasn't training hard enough and it showed every single day I failed..

 But, just when the despair of the situation started to set in, he appeared..

A loud clank rang, echoing my failure throughout the area. I stood there with my sword laid against the boulder after having smacked my blade against the thick rock. My head hung low under the evening's bright, yellow glow and I huffed softly, unable to catch my breath.

 "Am I hopeless?" The thought stained my mind like ink on paper. It spread, inviting similar thoughts into my head until it plagued my brain entirely.

 "Have Y/n and Sumiko already sliced their boulders in half? Will they go on to become demon slayers without me?"

 "Is Nezuko going to die without ever waking up?"

Those thoughts made me anxious which made it hard to shake them away easily. They were dark, like black paint and had smeared itself all over and made it hard to think of anything else aside from this heavy feeling that had already begun to sink to the bottom of my gut; that depressing feeling of self-dissatisfaction.

But I can't give up! I've spent all this time training! It can't all be for nothing! I won't allow it to all be for nothing! This is for Nezuko!

Using those small pebbles of determination, I clench my teeth, move my sword out of the way, and headbutt the boulder. All while yelling words of encouragement into the air.

 "Keep working, Tanjiro!" I told myself, "You can do it! You have to!" And then landed another headbutt to the boulder. That seemed to anger it, because after that second headbutt, it screamed at me, "Shut up!"

..Wait, that wasn't the boulder. Looking up, my eyes immediately lock on a fox mask and I feel my brows scrunching from confusion. Sitting atop the boulder with his leg kicked up, was a kid seemingly around my age. His pink hair reminded me of a ripe peach and blended well with our surroundings, which were colored in orange and yellow to match the sky above. That said, his kimono top and calf leggings were covered in clashing, bright, yellow and green shapes that had me racking my brain from how familiar the pattern was.

 "A man shouldn't whine. It's unseemly," His voice caught me off guard because of how much deeper it was compared to my own. However, it wasn't gruff like Mr. Urokodaki's and still held this certain smoothness of youth that kept me from thinking he was older than me.

His sudden appearance raised questions that temporarily shushed the loud, disheartening thoughts screaming and running amok in my head. There was no scent to him which formed some of my biggest questions. Never in my life have I never been able to catch the scent of someone. Never.

 "No matter how much your suffer, a man should always bear it in silence," He got to his feet, and that finally made me take notice of the wooden sword in his hand, "That is, if you call yourself a man," And with that, he gracefully lept into the air. His plain, white haori raised, floating in the wind just like his hair. It distracted me, and because of that distraction, I wasn't able to process the shift in the air when he flipped. If it wasn't for my instincts, I would've also missed the raising of his wooden sword before it was brought down onto me with a sudden force.

His blade clanged against my metal hilt and before I was able to take in the fact that he was suddenly attacking me, the boy landed another attack on me. This time twisting to land a kick to my chin that had me flying back and landing on my head.

 "Slow. Weak. Immature. None of those are qualities of a man," He said and I found myself growing angry. Not because of his petty insult, but because of the fact that he attacked me without reason.

 "What are you doing?" I asked him only for him to mimic me and ask, "I'd like to know what you think you're doing."

 "What do you mean? I'm training," I told him, but he replied with a mean, "Hardly."

 "Now, how long do you plan to sit on your butt and not take a stance?" I don't know why, but when he said that, my body immediately moved. The authority in his tone was terrifyingly familiar so maybe that was the reason.

In so many ways..he reminds me of Mr. Urokodaki. I guess that's why my body jumped to do as he said.

He raises his hand and gestures me closer, "Come on. Come at me," He said, but I found myself hesitating.

 "But I have a real sword and you don't! What if you get hurt?" The question made him pause. I thought that was because it finally dawned on him how crazy he sounded for suggesting me to attack him wih an actual sword, but that didn't seem to be the case. Instead, his shoulders—no, his entire body shook and he threw his head back, laughing as if I had said the funniest joke in the world.

 "Well aren't you considerate! Thank you for worrying about me," He said, but the way he said it didn't sound the least bit grateful. He then said, "So, you think you're actually going to injure me?" And then he was suddenly in front of me. I stepped back on instinct with my blade raised halfway—a good move on my part, because he immediately brought his blade down on me and I was fast enough to meet him the rest of the way and block him.

He was strong. Even though he was fighting me with a wooden, practice sword, I still found my body shaking, quivering under the power he's putting against my actual sword. I remember it shocked me along with his next words, "Well, you have absolutely nothing to worry about!" He so confidently said to me, "I'm far more powerful than you! After all, I've already sliced my boulder!"

Those words echoed in my ears as they were slowly injested. He..sliced a boulder? The thought shocked me as much as it sparked hope in me. The fact that it's not impossible made a tiny weight lift off my heart.

But I had no time to dwell in that feeling, because the masked boy jumped into the air. As dust kicked up where he previously stood, I found my eyes closing—an almost deadly mistake. I was lucky enough that time to feel the shift in the wind. I turn at the last second, just fast enough to throw my sword up to block the boy's incoming attack from above. It didn't faze him at all. He jumped back and immediately jumped into the air again.

His speed was incredible. I could just barely catch the aftermath of his jumps as he zipped around me. I could only assume that he would touch the ground whenever he passed a tree because I could never catch him touching the ground. It was almost as if he was flying and it left me looking around like a chicken without its head.

Then suddenly, he was right beside me. I was able to see him at last, but him being right at my shoulder didn't process fast enough. In the end, all I had time to do was turn my head to look at him—with a look that probably told everything I was thinking in that moment—before the thunder of my first defeat was sounded and I was suddenly on the floor, my face and body stinging and shaking a little..

 "You've learned nothing," He stood behind me, totally composed aside from his voice that sounded pretty upset, kinda like Urokodaki when he used to scold me for my mistakes, "You haven't mastered a single thing! Certainly not the breathing technique taught by Mr. Urokodaki; Total Concentration Breathing!"

That caught my attention most out of everything else he said. It made waves of confusion and surprise wash over me and temporarily redirected me from the pain he inflicted on me, "He knew Mr Urokodaki? The breathing technique too?" Were the questions that intially surfaced, but his identity is still on the top of my list of questions for him.

As I turned my body to face him and sat up, he continued, "All you did was memorize it as fact!" He lifts his sword and points it at me, "Your body has no clue what it needs to do!"

 "Just what the hell were you doing for a whole year and a half?" The question rang out extra loud just as his sword clanged against my steel, "You need to slam it into your flesh!" He shouted as he broke away as did I only to immediately clash our blades again.

 "More!" As he picked up speed, I tried to do the same, trying my hardest to replicate his movements. Thankfully, I was just fast enough that his blade met mine continuously instead of my battered skin, "More!" I took the defensive, staying strong as he slammed and hammered his blade against mine in a quick succession, "More!" A particularly strong hit sends me back but I plant my feet into the ground and manage to still myself before he closes the distance and I was forced to go on the offensive once again, "So that you become the embodiment of what Mr. Urokodaki taught you!"

He sends me back again and I recover quick enough to watch him ready his next attack and swing it at me, all while screaming at me, "Pound it all into the marrow of your bones!" 

 "I'm trying!" I found myself crying out the next time our blades met, "Every single day! I'm trying with everything I got!"

 "..But I'm not making any headway!" As my own words sunk in like a rock falling to the bottom of a lake, I found my voice slowly cracking apart just as my resolve has been these past six months, and I finally admitted aloud, "I just can't go any further!"

Despite that all he did was tell me as he lunged at me, "Don't 'try', just do it! If you're a man.." And then he quickly landed his attack on me, smacking me in the chest. I clench my teeth as the striking pain begun to spread and my feet left the ground for just a moment before they're forced back down as he harshly slammed his sword down onto my arm, "..If you call yourself a man!" And just as I raised my sword to attack him back, he spins and his sword hits my chest again, but at an angle this time.

 "There's no other way to go but forward!" I stumbled back, my feet uncomfortably light which made me tip and sway in different directions. The boy followed after me as if he was chasing down a fleeing wild animal. Our blades clashed again and he shouted, "Bring it on!"

 "Show me what you're capable of!" He swings at me, but this time I'm quick enough to completely jump out of the way. His words had an extra surge of adrenline shoot through me and I found my mouth falling open and letting out a loud scream of my own. No words, just a strong yell that came from the core of my chest—from the depths of my heart—where all my pent up frustration resided.

But then I miss my swing and my second defeat is sounded in an instant. It's painful, moreso physically as I watched his arm swing up and I felt his wooden sword collide with my chin. It was an extra powerful swing, one that had me flying several inches off the ground when it hit me. My entire jaw immediately numbed over in a desperate attempt to soothe the searing pain that shot through it and up my cheeks.

And then, suddenly all I could feel was that pain as my vision slowly faded. I had passed out, but what made matters worse was that I hadn't even hit the floor before everything went black..

The next time I opened my eyes, I was met with the sight of the crescent moon peaking through cracks made by thin clouds. All the pain in my face had dulled aside from my chin which stung like a bad bee sting. Everything around me had a blue-tinted screen over it that matched sky, signalling that nighttime had arrived. My eyes widen at the realization.

 "Are you alright?" A voice asked. It was soothing to my ears, kinda like putting a cool cloth on a bad bruise. It was nothing like his voice.

I shot up, immediately turning my head to be met face to face with eyes that match the night sky above. Despite her sudden presence, the only question I asked her was, "Did you see that?" She tilted her head, signalling to me her confusion but I continued regardless, my eyes blown wide.

 "That was an incredible blow! Not a single bit of unwasted motion! It was beautiful!" I praised. It really was amazing and my words could hardly explain it in a way that gave it proper justice which is probably why I started moving my hands and shaking my head to further exaggerate my point.

Now that I look back on that moment, I probably looked really silly to her.

 "I want to become a swordsman like that!" I exclaimed and then I asked her, "Do you think I can become like him?" And I watch as her lips widen into a smile. One without a hint of underlying doubt or hidden skepticism. It was a completely pure and trusting smile that she gave me as she spoke in a soft voice.

 "I'm sure you can..since I'll be looking after you from now on," She told me. And it was only then, when her thick eyelashes fluttered and her eyes closed, and that pure, trusting smile of hers widened that I realized just how pretty the girl before me was..

But who was she? It was then that it dawned on me that I didn't even ask. And so, with my cheeks tingly and warm and my heavy jaw having my bottom lip hung low, I mumbled out, "Who are you?"

 That night, she told me her name, Makomo, as well the name of the boy I sparred with, Sabito.

 Makomo points out the defects in my style. Throughout countless days, she corrected my unnecessary movements and my bad habits.. I found myself wondering, why? Why is she doing this for me? Where did she come from? I once asked her, but she didn't tell me anything. Something in me refrained me from asking the others about her or Sabito..

 Speaking of which, Makomo often said, "We love Mr. Urokodaki very much." It was her favorite phrase. She said that Sabito and her weren't siblings and that Mr. Urokodaki raised them after they'd been orphaned.

 "They're other children besides us. They're always around, watching you, Tanjiro," was something she said to me once. You see, I've come to realize that Makomo is a bit of a strange girl. Her way of speaking is abstract and dreamy and she says things in a weird way..

 "See, Total Concentration Breathing accelerates your blood circulation and your heart rate. That causes your temperature to shoot up and makes you strong like a demon despite still being human," She explained, "You expand your lungs and bring lots of air into your blood and when it gets excited, your bones and muscles scurry to heat up and grow stronger!"

 "..Huh?" Was all I could say, my face twisted into a puzzled expression. Maybe it was the words she used to explain it, but I didn't understand the majority of what she said. And so, I asked her, "How can I do that?"

And she looked at me with that kind, angelic smile and told me in the nicest voice ever, "Train to death. At the end of the day, I don't think there's anything else you can do."

 I swung my sword over and over so hard until my arms and legs felt like they were going to fall off.. Until my lungs were ready to burst into flames, I did that for so long..but even then, I just couldn't beat Sabito.

 I would train hard under Makomo's gentle guidance until it felt like I was going to just kneel over and die on the spot, but he still always got the better of me. It was only until six months later, and six months after Y/n cut her boulder, when the snow coated every speck of grass and every wilting tree in sight..

I stood before Sabito once again. The sun was out, but you wouldn't be able to tell by looking due to the thick clouds that covered it and made snow fall in all ways and directions. The wind was icy against my dirtied skin—colder than when I first stood before him and the boulder—but I didn't flinch even when it blew so strong that my hair flailed it's grown out lengths wildly.

 When I challenged him that day, Sabito was wielding a real sword..

 "After six months, finally, you have the look of a man," I watched his movements as he gripped the scabbard and used his other hand to grab ahold of the hilt. The eerie sound of the steel sliding out didn't scare me and neither did the sight of his blade gleaming under the dim lighting as it was pulled out and pointed at me.

I had long pulled my sword from it's scabbard and gotten into my stance, my brows creasing downwards and scrunched into my dirt-covered skin, "Today's the day I win!"

 The head-on battle was simple. Who ever was stronger and faster wins.

My mouth opens as wide as a small crack—just wide enough for air to enter my mouth. Slowly, I breathe in. My chest steadily rises as my lungs swell with air. I then close my mouth, my grip tightening on the hilt of my katana..and dash forward at the same time Sabito does.

 The battle was over in an instant..

We immediately found ourselves closing the gap. Both of our swords were raised the entire time, and it was in that fraction of a second that I swung down with all my might..

 On that day, in that moment, for the first time, my blade reached Sabito first.

With a hollow clack, his mask split and fell on either side of him, suspended on the sides of his neck by that thick, red rope that was tied to it. His face..didn't match anything I had pictured originally. His eyes were a foggy purple and gentle like the falling snow around us. It contrasted that peach pink hair of his which barely covered the sides of his face so I saw that large, spiky scar that hiked up at an angle and covered the majority of his otherwise smooth skin. And his smile.. That smile that he gave me as his brows scrunched together..was so full of relief.

 That moment I won, Sabito smiled. It seemed like a sad smile to me at the time, but looking back on it, it seemed more proud and reassuring than somber..

 "Tanjiro.." I was so encaptured by him and that smile of his that it took Makomo's gentle voice to pull me back down to earth which, seemed much foggier than when I left it a mere moment ago. I find myself blinking, as if what I was seeing was an illusion or hallucination, but the thick fog never disappeared.

 "You did great," Her praise is what made me finally turn my head her way. Her body was steadily disappearing in the fog and I found myself looking on in silence, at a loss for words for what I was witnessing..

 The next thing I knew, Sabito and Makomo were gone..

 "Don't forget what you just did and win against them, okay? Beat that guy too," And she was gone, disappearing into the shrouding fog as if she was never there to begin with..

 ..And my sword, which I was sure had slashed Sabito's mask..

I turn my head back, but Sabito was gone too. Leaving me to gaze at the thick fog and watching as it slowly cleared away into nothing. Sabito and Makomo were still nowhere to be found, but that wasn't what made my eyes widen. What made my eyes grow wide like a bug's was the fact that I was gazing through a rocky opening  just narrow enough that only my blade could slip through.

 ..had sliced the boulder in half.

Y/n Kamado | *Arms crossed* So, you actually managed to do it..

Tanjiro Kamado | *Smiles with hands on his hips* Yeah! I was shocked, too! I never imagined I'd be able to cut a boulder like that! I couldn't have done it without Sabito and Makomo. I can't thank them enough.

Y/n Kamado | ..Who are they?

Tanjiro Kamado | *Speechless by his own slip up*

Y/n Kamado | ..Well? Who are—

Tanjiro Kamado | *Panicked* Uh- Now, It's time for a Taisho Era Secret!

Y/n Kamado | Wait, you haven't answered my—

Tanjiro Kamado | *Leans in and whispers* Why does Mr. Urokodaki wear a mask? I heard that's because demons used to make fun of him for looking too kind.

Y/n Kamado | *Visibly irked* Hey! Don't ignore me! Answer—!

Tanjiro Kamado | Everyone, we'll continue working hard to find a cure for Nezuko! And Ms. Ari, I hope that you make a full recovery soon!

Y/n Kamado | Who the hell is that? And who are you talking to—

Tanjiro Kamado | Next time, chapter four, "Final Selection"! Bye everyone! *Runs away*

Y/n Kamado | Tanjiro..! Get your ass back here and answer me! *Runs after him*

Dividers were made by me, pictures used are from Pinterest, post formatting is inspired by @xxsabitoxx

[zuppizup]

Work in Progress Wednesday

As we approach season six drop, I’ve been working on tidying up some of my near complete WIPS (Purgatory and Zoom-mates), preparing others for posting (A Dark Alternative) and playing around with some of the prompts for Rayllum month. I've also started another novella length fic (or that's what I want it to be) focusing on long term possessed Callum and the fallout from that.

For WIP Wednesday, I usually share a snippet from one of my WIPs, but... well, I've got lots 😅

Let me know if you're interested in one in particular and I'll share what I can. 😊

Purgatory - next chapter drafted up and marinating. Did some more refining of the final chapter and epilogue

Zoom-mates - polishing up older chapters, fixing text formatting and image embedding. Re-reading and then hiding from final chapter(s)

A Dark Alternative - re-reading chapters 1-30 (arc 1) in the hopes of getting ready to post after Rayllum month

Mage’s Study - enablers in my ear. Have begun one chapter in earnest, and another has vague notes

Another-fic-where-Rayla-suffers-that-has-no-name - Viren has joined the cast, much to Rayla’s annoyance

Rayllum month prompts - four/five prompts with ideas notes

All in all about 9k added to various WIPs, edits and re-writes included. Calling that a decent week in full knowledge July will throttle my typical daily word count.

[linskywords]

From this post!

How many fics have you worked on since January? 12, not counting snippets I've started and not finished. (I posted 299,668 words, which is so painfully close to 300K. Should've been less concise somewhere...)

What’s something new that you tried in a fic this year? I had never written a wandering heart story before, and I'd never posted two stories with overlapping timelines in conjunction with each other. I'd never written an ace romance. I'd never written a four-person polycule. I'd also never turned anyone into a worm.

What piece of media inspired you the most? (This can be the fandom you wrote the most for, the one that spawned the most ideas, the one you thought about the most, etc.) I would have to say anonymous tumblr asks.

How many fandoms did you write for this year? Just the one!

What ships captured your heart? I wrote a lot of Jack/Nico this year and a lot of McDrai, and a lot of assorted others. I'm really enjoying the overlapping recent eras of USNTDP players and siblings.

What characters captured your heart? I just want Connor McDavid to be happy 😭

Did you write for any new fandoms or ships this year? So many new ships! Roope/Wyatt, Jamie Benn/Joe Pavelski, Jack/Quinn, the Edmonton polycule, Macklin Celebrini/Will Smith.

What fic meant the most to you to write? Oh man, tough call. Maybe the one where Connor turns into a worm.

What fic made you feel the happiest to work on? Probably the Where You Lead 'verse fics. Writing sub perspective is just the best.

What fic was the most satisfying to finish writing? Probably Help Me Hold Onto You, the Trevor/Jamie WYL story. I had had so much of it in my head for months by the time I started writing it, and the fic itself was such a long journey.

What fic was the most difficult to write? Like a Handprint on My Heart, the Jamie Benn wandering heart story. I made Jamie waaaay too depressed in the first draft and had to tear it all out and start again.

What fic was the easiest to write? The Great Leon Draisaitl Lookalike competition. Practically that entire story came to me in the shower, and then I wrote it in a single morning.

What were your shortest and longest fics posted this year? The Great Leon Draisaitl Lookalike Competition was the shortest at 2,092 words. Help Me Hold Onto You was the longest at 75,926 (though the Quinn wolfverse story will almost definitely be longer than that when it's all posted).

What were your go-to writing songs? I don't usually listen to music while writing, but I did get into Gracie Abrams and Maisie Peters and Olivia Rodrigo this year.

What was the hardest fic to title? Titling is the WORST. I either have a great title from the start, or it's a nigh-on impossible quest. The Hughescest story and the 1988 wolfverse timestamp were both posted around the same time and I had titles for neither of them, and then the titles I found were annoyingly similar to each other (What a Fire Feels Like and And His Heart Is Burning). Kinda Wanna Kiss Your Boyfriend (If You Don't Mind) was hard to find and required a lot of discord brainstorming. And I spent a while agonizing over various possibilities for the Jack wolfverse story, Like Juliet or Guinevere or Eloise, because I wanted to use a Marianne quote from the Sense and Sensibility movie but I also didn't want people to think Jack was going to die. 😅

What's your favorite title of the year? I'm really fond of But the Punchline Goes, from the Roope/Wyatt soulmate story, because I think it fits the story on its own and it also has the delightful (to me) easter egg of being the lyric from All Too Well right before Taylor snaps back at her ex about their age difference ("I'll get older but your lovers stay my age"), which was very relevant to the fic. I also really like Proof Enough of a Broken Heart, because Quinn is SUCH an Elinor Dashwood.

Share your favorite opening line: I tend to use opening lines as sort of...preliminary thesis statements? Things to be disproven? Something like that. So most of them contain a big chunk of the story premise but aren't necessarily all that punchy on their own. My favorite is probably from the Will/Mack story: "Mack finds out he’s pregnant in the usual way: from a blue stripe at the bottom of the toilet bowl." Totally confusing and a piece of worldbuilding I continue to be delighted with.

Share your favorite ending line: How dare you make me look at the last lines from all my stories. Last lines are the worst.

Share your favorite piece of dialogue: Don't know if it's my favorite, but what's coming to mind is Mitch and Dylan at the end of The Great Leon Draisaitl Lookalike competition, after Dylan has successfully set Connor up with this guy who is totally not just actual Leon Draisaitl, nope. Dylan is congratulating himself on finding such a good lookalike, and Mitch is like, “You used to play in the pacific division, right?” “Yeah, why?” says Dylan. “No reason,” says Mitch.

Share your funniest line: Woof. No, that's way too hard.

What's something that surprised you while you were working on a fic? Did it change the story? I was super surprised by how intensely piney the ace!Quinn/Brady fic got. I thought my ability to write pining was powered to a large extent by sexual tension, and it turns out that was not true.

What writing programs did you use? Did you write by hand? Scrivener, baby! Hahaha I would not be able to write this much by hand.

If you had to choose one, what was THE most satisfying writing moment of your year? Moment? Sheesh. I don't know, writing is a pretty satisfying activity in general.

Did you do anything special to celebrate finishing a fic? Posting feels like enough of a celebration for me.

How did you recharge between fics? I don't, really. By the time I finish posting a long thing, I've spent so much time editing that getting to start drafting again is refreshing in itself, and short things don't really require a recharge.

Did you create fanworks other than fic? Not unless you count responding to tumblr asks.

How many events did you take part in? (bangs, exchanges, ship weeks, zines, prompt memes, they all count!) Lol, I think just the HRPF CestFest. Though a lot of my stories were prompted, directly or not, by people on tumblr.

If this were an awards show, who would you thank? My wee hrpf discord. makeit-takeit. My irl bff who gets to hear all my story ideas in great detail despite not being into hrpf. My husband who thinks it's great and not ridiculous that I spend all this time writing.

What's left on your to-do list for 2024? Not much, fortunately, since it's over.

What would you like to write next year? Ah, the most important question! I of course want to finish the Quinn and Jack wolfverse stories, which is more about editing at this point. I have 2-10K written on no fewer than four different Where You Lead 'verse stories, and I'd really like to finish at least some of them (::cough:: Connor ::cough::). I'd also maybe like to start wolfverse stories for Trevor and Cole; I have somewhat specific plans for Trevor, and some vague notions for Cole. Aside from that, who knows? Maybe more WillMack, maybe some Nate/someone (Jo???). There are a lot of other couples I've been meaning to add to the wolfverse (gotta add TK/Patty to at least ONE of my 'verses). I've had a psychic wolf companions McDrai story bouncing around in my head for a while. Would still love to write a Persuasion AU (maybe that's the Nate/Jo). A Cyrano de Bergerac AU would also be fun, maybe via tindr. So many possibilities!!

[stormofbats4224]

This has been sitting in my drafts for a month bc I WAS gonna draw examples (and I’m halfway done with them, so they might still come) but if I leave it I’m Going To Explode

So

LETS TALK ABOUT TEEF

Side note: I’m using design and place ideas from several different continuities for two reasons: I like those versions best, and not all of these bastards are in RiD or Prime.

Other side note: some headcanons were built from reading specific fics, either by roundabout or directly correlated to, and will be credited at the end of the relevant section. Highly recommend them all, tho they are all just straight up porn😅

As it stands, there’s five groups I like to put fang types in (six if you count combined outlier types like Tarn and my Jeep Axle, but we’ll get to that later): Tetrahexan, Velocitronian, Warframe, Rodionite/Dead Ender, and Beast.

These are just where the style is seen most prominently, and most fanged bots from other places fall into one of these categories so it didn’t make much sense to split them any further. If there’s any offshoots you’re curious ab, feel free to ask!

Starting off with the smallest group, we’ve got:

Tetrahexan!

The nearly dead warrior race with a single canon representative gets its own type, why? Bc I gave him and my gal Cross Brace really cool teefers, and I think it separates them very nicely from the rest in more ways than one. Double why?

DOUBLE FANGS. AND SELF-SHARPENING.

Double fangs? Like, a set on top and a set on the bottom?

NO

Four true fangs on top, none on the bottom, made for the sole purpose of ripping through heavy armor with brute force. All four are thick and slightly hooked to better do their job, and so well sunk into a bot’s “gums” that it’s more likely to tear their own helm off than break one.

Thinking comparatively on the self sharpening, the other types of fangs are like needles or swords —needing some kind of outside source to keep them from going dull— but Tetrahexans have their own built-in sharpeners attached to their lower jaw.

Depending on the bot, it can either be a set of false lower canines that sit neatly between the front and the back fangs when the mouth is closed (Cyclonus, his false fangs are decently worn and curved outward a bit), or a set of indents that the teeth rest in like a knife block (Cross Brace, she’s absolutely terrible at not getting her lip stuck between her teeth and the slot). Both sharpen the fangs naturally as the bots open and close their mouths.

Like I said, there’s really only Cyc and CB to use as examples, but it works out bc they have the two different types split between them.

<a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/54813724">Listen, they deserve a ridiculous amount of Teeth</a>

Moving on, we’ve got:

Velocitronian!

Bc I believe the zoom zoom bastards deserve them, as a treat. Also bc KO exists. He will be lending his service to us today alongside my lovely, spindly asshole, Coast.

The main thing that sets Velocitronians apart is they are what we would consider the baseline. They’re your average two on top, two on the bottom set that most would assume when thinking of fangs. Except that they’re really, really fucking sharp, and the rest of their teeth are basically just incisors, making their whole mouth like one of those guillotine paper cutters.

If guillotine cutters were made to chomp through as much thin plating and tubing as fast and clean as physically possible, which they Are Not, but these bastards are!

The fangs themselves are catlike, fitting together like scissors, and about average as far as fragility goes. Their purpose is simple: take as big a chunk off in as little time as possible without sacrificing momentum.

While most speedsters are built to be light, they’re also made to be aerodynamic and even, most importantly. Chomping off even a little too much from a competitor has the chance to give someone an edge, and while it’s technically not a legal move in racing circuits, you’d be hard pressed to find a bot that doesn’t do that shit.

Knock Out, unsurprisingly, is the textbook for Velocitronian fangs, well-maintained, sharp to the touch, and neat; my little whack job Coast, on the other hand, is all the way on the other end of the spectrum: crooked, chipped, and she doesn’t care as long as they’re sharp.

Moving away from city categories, we have a build type instead:

Warframes!

You love ‘em, I love ‘em, they’re great for size differences, and who better to use than THE Warframe, Megatron? Also, Blitzwing is here because this hc is ENTIRELY his fault.

Unlike Tetrahexans and their cannibal rumors (they weren’t), or the measures Dead End Rodions turn to for survival (more on that later), Warframes are actual bot-eaters. Or, at the very least, they’re designed for it.

Paired with a tank system that can break down just about anything and convert it into fuel and frame repair, Warframes have teeth that are built to kickstart the process.

Like molars mixed with sharp gears, Warframe teeth crush without care and interlock neatly for maximum crunch and proper mouth fit. Their teeth sacrifice sharpness, but it doesn’t really matter in the end when even the strongest plates crumple under the highest psi and thickest teeth of any other fang type (teeth tend to make up almost or more than half of a Warframes mouth).

While Megatron was the textbook average for Warframe fangs at the height of the war, years of getting his aft beat ended up warping his helm just enough that they never quite sat right, and after the war he ended up getting the edges flattened down to a less intimidating shape, though they’re no less dangerous.

Blitzwing, on the other hand…

Blitzwings teeth are just weird. The front’s fine, there’s nothing wrong there, but where the molars would be on a normal set, his teeth move. They’re set on a short track that churns them backwards like tank treads, adding to the level of rip-crush-tear he’s capable of.

<a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24332080?view_adult=true">The Inspiration</a>

Shifting back to cities, we’ve got:

Rodionites!

Plus their Dead End counterparts! Bc this is the best example of circumstance changing the fangs use. Drift was obviously first pick for examples, and Sweeper ended up tagging along bc I wanted more lore to give him.

By far, Rodionite fangs are the weakest type one can have. They’re long, thin, and shallow-set in front of the canine position like vampire teeth, more for show than anything. They tend to be so long, in fact, that it’s not uncommon for fangs to need special pockets in or below the lower gum line to properly fit. Due to their removability, they’re seen as highly customizable frame parts, sort of like body jewelry.

The one thing they are useful for, though, is piercing lines.

I’m sure you can see where this is going.

Dead End Rodionites do what they can to survive, and if it means sometimes siphoning energon from the already deceased (or still alive, depends on the bot) to keep going, it’s a price to pay. Other than that, most will either sell their fangs for a quick shanix, or lose them in any number of ways (fights, deterioration, thieves, what have you) over the course of their functioning.

Drift was one that managed to keep his —abnormally long— fangs from the start, and not even he is quite sure how that happened, considering both his history in the Dead End and the frame rebuilds, but he’s appreciative nonetheless. Sweeper, by contrast, quickly replaced his fangs with a shorter pair. He found long, needly teeth more a pain than anything (plus dust kept getting lodged in the resting holes) and changed them out not long into his first job.

Lastly, we’ve got my personal favorite:

Animal Based!

Not only does this encapsulate beastformers, but also whatever the RiD ‘Cons had going on, and will be explained as such by my beastformer and a RiD ‘Con, Richter and Steeljaw.

The main trait of this category is that it’s far more fluid than the others. If their frame is animal-inspired, their teeth will imitate said animal within reason, and with few exceptions (the exceptions are usually bug based). Their purpose is the same, function changing with the animal, and it’s all around a rather simple category to wrap one’s head around.

With Steeljaw, he’s got the standard teeth that a wolf might have and uses them in a similar fashion, they’re just more compact and human-looking to fit better in his mouth. Likewise with Richter, though his Sabertooth fangs are the ones he uses in alt, and stick all the way front to back through his helm instead of ending in the gum (they’re also technically removable, but leave an uncomfortably large nightmare hole through his head).

The unofficial Mixed category is a group of bots that, for one reason or another, ended up with two or more kinds of teeth in their mouths. Representative species are Tarn, bc I wholeheartedly believe that man would reshape his mouth hole to better imitate Megs (his original Velocitronian-type fangs and Warframe everything else, but it was a little shoddily done, so they don’t lock together properly.), and Axle, who…technically kept their —normal-sized— Rodion teeth, just added Warframe teeth to the mix in an attempt to ensure a meal at the cost of their frames nervous system and a few non-life-sustaining bits and bobs, but they’re fine. Probably.

I wish I could say my reasons for spending so much time on this were warranted, or that the length was reasonable, but no, all this shit came from a late night fic binge and my longstanding fascination with teeth and fangs. If you read this entire thing, know I am extremely appreciative ❤️😅

[crystaltrainwrecks]

Just spent nearly five hours straight re-editing chapters one through three of my fic ‘Virus of the Spark’. Why? Cause I’ve been meaning to anyways, and I seriously needed a refresher before I dive in on editing my rough draft for chapter four 😅😂

It also gave me a chance to re-read everyone’s comments and just—-

My heart. It’s going to explode while I sob in the corner over how sweet everyone is 😭😭

IM GOING TO FINISH IT I PROMISE! Chapter four has just turned out to be a lot larger then I anticipated so it’s taking me some time. Fingers crossed on HOPEFULLY getting it done within another month at the most🤞🏻

[christinescupofcoffee]

one of my 9 wips — As the Seasons Grey

the other 8:

Quarter After Twelve | Throughout the Dark Months of April and May | Love is Not Enough | Blood & Chocolate | The Confectioner’s Tale | The Skeleton Key | Midnight Oil | Time is Coming | (i also have a few works that are anonymous)

started — February 2023 | genre — erotic romance, fanfic | pov — 3rd person perspective | status — first draft | currently — writing book two (Dark Roots of Earth)! | themes — student/teacher dynamics, higher education, affairs, secrets, escapism, death, unlocking memories, healing

blurb | “You’re a sweet man, Alex—you deserve a break once in a while.” He was the substitute teacher with the hands as fast as lightning, and she couldn't help but feel something with him. But it's a collegiate setting, and there's a boy next to her with unsaid secrets and adventurous streak, a quartet of girls like moths to a flame, a lady with her eyes wide open, and a mysterious woman on his caller ID.

excerpt | She was the kind of person that only entered a classroom once in every while, and yet she seemed like someone who should have been there forever. A spirit in the night, the way that she moved about, everything and more. She wasn’t one to have a crush on anyone else around her, either; merely someone who had come to class to do her work and ask a few questions here and there, to which she held on to every word that emerged from his lips, and she tended to her notes all the while. There was something so hypnotic about her, especially for him. 

She had come to the college on a whim, much like how he had as well. It was as if the stars had bound them together, and yet, there was nothing to tie them by the hip. 

The whole entire thing resembled a dream of sorts, as if something beyond them wanted them to be together forever. 

There was something in the air that day at school as well, especially once she strode into the classroom and took her spot there at the front of the room. She caught him there at the teacher’s desk on the far-left side of the room. He sat there with his back to the classroom: she knew right away that it wasn’t Mr. Hansen. 

note: a personal favorite! This one actually started life as a one shot for Kinkmas 2022 and then I began thinking about how much I love Alex and how much I want the best for him. I started writing this one during a stream of bad snowstorms and we didn’t have internet for four days—before it went out, I caught Lana Del Rey’s then-new song “A&W” and it became sort of a driving force behind it. I made lots of art to go with it, too. I did have to put Dark Roots of Earth on hiatus this past summer because a.) my 10-year-old laptop finally died on me and I had to rely on my iPad to write, and with this, I had to choose what to write over the summer; and b.) I needed to take more notes. Christine is undoubtedly my avatar and her relationship with Alex is undoubtedly one that I think about quite often.

And I won’t go into it—and it’s purely speculation at this point, too, i.e., I can’t really confirm anything—but it seems this fic has more or less gotten me into some trouble recently 😅 oh, well. Nothing I can do about it and I’m pressing on anyway.

[zarvasace]

PROGRESS POST

(12/18/23)

If you're interested in what I've done recently, the state of my projects, and what I plan on doing in the new year, read on! :)

By Fandom

Linked Universe Projects

Shatterproof: I have more backstories cooking, and a half-finished fic or two, but that's about it. I plan on updating a story at least once before January

Council (1931 AU): backburner, haven't really had inspiration. Still on my radar though, and it spins through my head on occasion!

Marvelous Misadventures: been plucking away at this! I recently had an epiphany regarding the next part of the plot, so hopefully that gets me more excited to work on it

Considering expanding the coloring pages I made into a whole series, that could be cool

Misc stuff includes a couple half-abandoned oneshots, a few drawing ideas, and a major art project that probably won't happen because I'm trying not to burn myself out 😅

Four Swords Projects

Fairytale AU: recently gained fire for this again. Reread and organized all my existing material, edited the outline, and I desperately want to finish it soon. Hesitantly scheduling for before the new year. Draft currently maybe about 30% of the way, at 8k.

Isekai AU: I don't think I've mentioned this to anyone outside discord, but ta da I'm deep in this. I'm probably 90% done, about 30k. This will be a Christmas fic, I hope!!

Vampire lords AU: rambly vampire plot is going. Somewhat slowly. I've been trying to not overload myself with too much, so this has been demoted slightly. :) Bite fics happen spontaneously, though, and there might be another coming.

Rinthia AU: my original world, the one seen in Nothing New Under the Sun. This is kind of a passing thought, definitely in planning stages, but I would kind of like to expand this—see where the other characters are, give y'all some answers, because the answers are there

Non-fandom

I want to do more traditional art, graphite and watercolors mostly, and that usually means using photos or life instead of fandom stuff. Makes it a bit less exciting, but maybe I can find a way of doing that. I miss my lil oil paint studio area but I can work with what I have

I'm crafting a few Christmas presents instead of buying them because I do not have much money. That is something I need to spend like, this next week doing

Sanderson merch: I have a goal of getting a booth at Dragonsteel next December, and selling some small souvenir stuff. My plans involve making more pins (I ordered a couple already, and they're very nice), drawing some coloring pages, and maybe advertising here a little once I actually have some stuff I'm proud of up. This will ideally take a year to get together, though, so no rush.

By Month

November

I spent most of November working on The Worst Thing About Earth, kind of an impulse fic that spiraled out of control. I think I burned myself out a little on this, so I've been taking it slowly. Trying to, anyway.

December

So far, I've mostly worked on holiday gift exchanges and some backburner stuff. Like I said, I've been taking it kind of gently. I plan on finishing the FS isekai AU this month, and getting most of the way through the fairytale AU. Getting those off my plate will free me up to think about other things, I think. I also plan on maybe one more bite fic and one more LU disability AU thing before the new year.

January On

I'm not sure what the next month will bring! Ideally, I'll be wrapping up the fairytale AU and intermittently posting a few little things. I'm hoping to return to a couple of my older projects soon, mostly Marvelous Misadventures, because I've left that thing unfinished for LONG ENOUGH.

This next year, I want to try to devote more time to doing things for myself that aren't fandom things. I'd like to reread Stormlight Archive before #5 comes out in December, play more video games, and do more painting. I would like to establish a better habit of making and eating food. I want to play board games a little more often.

Still, the muse can be fickle, and as you probably know by now, I am very good at chasing my inspiration!!

[thechaoscryptid]

🌿 ⇢ give some advice on writer's block and low creativity

(ask me writer questions!)

I love this question! I have many thoughts on this and I'll try to make them coherent lmao. I'm pulling out my writing books for this too because in Gentle Writing Advice (pg. 199), Chuck Wendig pretty well summarizes my thoughts:

And therein lies the secret: Writer's block isn't all that bad. Because, if you really think about it, writer's block is sometimes like a warning light letting you know something is off. It is a tremor in the spider's web, or an ill wind blowing. It's doing us a service, as bad as it might feel. Think of writer's block as the voice of your intestinal flora, the choir of hypersentient bacteria in your gut that provides the insight of instinct. You can ignore them and push on - that's okay, too, as long as you fix in edit - and there's also nothing to say our instincts are uinversally correct. [...] My process in this regard needn't be your process: certainly there's value to mashing the accelerator and driving that machine as fast as you can till the thing either gets you over the finish line or explodes in a fiery ball before tumbling down a plot hole big enough to swallow Central Park. You can always fix it in subsequent drafts. The point stands, though, that writer's block isn't necessarily all bad. There's gold in them thar hills. The question is whether or not you can dig for it.

I think writer's block is unfairly maligned. That's my hot take on it. We should spend less time boohooing the fact we're blocked and more time figuring out why it's happening.

Throughout the above book, Wendig talks a lot about the writing process and how your life outside of writing relates to it, and there's also a great section that basically boils down to "block or breakdown," in which he posits that some of what writers consider "creative block" is actually something more serious (mental or physical illness, weird/wrong environment, etc).

Writer's block is my sign to check in with myself on both a writing and personal level to ask what's gone sideways. Sometimes I can push through it with an extra coffee and a little effort. More often, it's my sign to rest, chill out, cool my jets. Take a break for once.

In the same vein, low creativity!

AWFUL thing to experience. Terrible! The worst! There are fewer things I hate more than the times my creative well has turned to sludge and writing is a fucking slog.

And, like writer's block, realizing my well is running dry is a signal for me to stop, step back, and reassess.

I've actually been struggling really hard with both block and being creatively dry for like, four months now. I've been writing fuck all except 100 words of BG3 fic at a time on work breaks, and it's been rough.

What I have been doing?

Reading. A lot of reading, and analyzing style/structure/characterization to figure out what new elements I might be able to incorporate to a new creative project. I've been reading fantasy, sci-fi, classics, writing books, other nonfiction, books on myths - I'm really chewing through titles 😅

Resting. Not forcing myself to sit down and work on projects. I've actually avoided working on writing projects even on days I feel like I can or want to write.

Other creatively involved work. I've been cooking and baking more, as well as doing a lot of zine admin work. Shit that involves creative projects but doesn't necessarily involve creativity. I looooove creative-adjacent work for low creativity times!

Redoing old work. I'm talking like, rewriting and editing 5+ year old work from the ground up. You already have the raw material, and this is an easy, low-pressure way to get back in the saddle OR just keep those writing muscles limber (but also, you canNOT beat yourself up about "oh I was so bad how did anyone ever like this" that's not allowed).

Not putting pressure on myself to perform. This is a huge cause of creativity issues for me, ngl. But over the past two years or so, I've really been working hard at just allowing myself to create at my own pace. I feel, especially in fandom, people feel obligated to churn out content as quick as they can lest they get ignored and forgotten; learning to break out of that "gotta go fast" mentality has done WONDERS for not draining me as quickly, even if it still feels shitty to see more popular writers dropping a new 15k fic every week.

Slowly but surely, my creative well is refilling. My blocks are becoming fewer and farther between and when they do hit, I'm better prepared to know if it's something I can push through and fix later OR if it's something I really do need to sit back and consider.

So yeah!

I guess TL;DR my advice is basically (though easier said than done, I will admit):

Know thyself and thy limits

Step back, get your head clear, and assess

Do non-writing creative work that sparks joy

Remove yourself from the comparison game

[glorious-blackout]

Introduce yourself! What’s the story behind your username/what should people call you? 

Picked the username Gloriousblackout for my fanfiction.net account at the age of 15 because those were my favourite Muse songs at the time. Twelve years later, I'm simply too attached to bother changing it 😅

(I also answer to Rachel)

How will you be participating in the Shadowmonkeys Big Bang 2024 (e.g. organiser, artist, writer, artist, reader etc)? 

I'll be a writer, and also looking forward to taking part as a reader 🥰

What are your favourite fic tropes? 

I'm a sucker for a good 'Friends to Lovers' fic or anything with a 'Sharing a Bed/There was only one bed' trope... I also just love angst and hurt/comfort in general more than I should.

If you’re a writer/artist, what’s your favourite piece of work you’ve created for this fandom? Feel free to link it! 

It's been a long time since I revisited it so I'm not sure how well it's aged, but I'm still very proud of my 'You've Always Been Here' series for being my gateway into writing for this lovely fandom and for marking the first time in many years where I was writing a fic purely for sheer self-indulgence. The fact that other people seemed to like it was a lovely surprise 💖

What’s a fic/piece of art in this fandom you’ve loved recently?

I absolutely adore 'Four Walls' by @uhbasicallyjustmilex which I recently binged while stuck in bed for a few days with a chest infection - it was a beautiful, gorgeously written distraction which I was very grateful for and can't wait to read more of 💖

Can also highly recommend 'Maybe Tomorrow' by @applysome which is the most recent fic I read - it's such a beautiful little piece 🥰

Do you prefer reading/writing from Miles or Alex’s POV? 

Don't have a strong preference! I have more multi-chaptered fics written from Alex's point of view so I suspect I'm more naturally drawn to him, but I've finally broken that pattern with my Big Bang fic 😅

What’s an album that you love reading/writing/drawing to? 

'Songs of Leonard Cohen' was an album I kept revisiting during the writing of my Big Bang fic, but my writing playlist changes with every fic. 'Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino' has been an endless source of inspiration in the past and I find classical or instrumental music quite helpful as there's no lyrics to distract you from what you're writing.

Here are some of the songs I listened to on repeat or referenced during the planning/writing of my Big Bang fic 💚

If you’re a writer/artist, what do you struggle with most in your creative process? Is there anything that helps? 

Mostly just motivating myself to write that first paragraph - honestly that stage alone can take months. Once I've gotten over that hurdle I tend to really enjoy the planning and writing process and working through the first couple of drafts is enormous fun. The stage I'm at right now (i.e. the final few edits) are when it starts to feel a bit like a chore - the novelty's worn off and my eyes are more drawn to the flaws in the text rather than anything that makes it good 😅 Chatting with other writers certainly helps me though, as does creating a good writing playlist that fits the mood of the fic.

Have you participated in a fandom big bang before? 

I have! I wrote this fic for the last Shadowmonkeys Big Bang which was immensely rewarding, not least because it inspired the cutest artwork ever from @rock-n-roll-fantasy:

On a scale of one to ten, how excited are you for the Shadowmonkeys Big Bang 2024?

9/10. I'm docking a point for the fact that I'm also a little nervous after working on my fic for so long and the fact that the week I want to start publishing it is a nightmare in terms of my work rota 😅

✨ SHADOWMONKEYS BIG BANG GAME ✨

As we're now officially into the second posting window and the gloomier half of the year, we thought we'd share something hopefully a little fun to keep everyone feeling motivated!

If you're taking part in this year's Big Bang in any way (whether that's as an artist, writer, beta-reader, or just as someone who's going to be reading and supporting the collaborations when they're posted!) and feel like sharing a little about you and your relationship with fanfic/fanfart then please reblog this post with your answers to the questions below 🥰

Introduce yourself! What’s the story behind your username/what should people call you? 

How will you be participating in the Shadowmonkeys Big Bang 2024 (e.g. organiser, artist, writer, artist, reader etc)? 

What are your favourite fic tropes? 

If you’re a writer/artist, what’s your favourite piece of work you’ve created for this fandom? Feel free to link it! 

What’s a fic/piece of art in this fandom you’ve loved recently?

Do you prefer reading/writing from Miles or Alex’s POV? 

What’s an album that you love reading/writing/drawing to? 

If you’re a writer/artist, what do you struggle with most in your creative process? Is there anything that helps? 

Have you participated in a fandom big bang before? 

On a scale of one to ten, how excited are you for the Shadowmonkeys Big Bang 2024?

[lucy--chen]

LUCY CHEN out of uniform in The Rookie S3

part one // (part two)

[justoneofthoseghosts]

10, 13, 17, 24, 30, 33, 48

I hope that aren’t too many! I love reading your fics. They are different and often a fresh breath of air! Big compliment!

Ahh, Thank you so much, Katie!! Really huge compliment coming from you since I love all your fics and your writing 🥰 It's nice to know you enjoy mine!

Also, there can never be too many asks!

10. How do you stay motivated to finish what you’ve started?

The compulsive need to finish what I started with a burning passion 😂😂 but tell that to the WIP I haven't opened in months.

Kidding aside, before I start writing, I try to make sure the idea I have is fleshed out enough. I also try to stick to a schedule. I write mostly on weekends - like, the first basic draft that has most of the dialogue is drafted by Sunday night then I edit weeknights, adding more descriptive stuff. If I'm stuck, I listen to music which normally jogs my brain back into writing or I stop and do something else for a bit. Also, it helps that as much as possible, I like tackling one WIP at a time. My job makes me multitask enough so it’s nice to be able to focus on one thing only when it comes to writing 🤣 and comments also help because it's nice to know that someone actually reads what I write, haha.

13. What is your planning process?

If it's a one shot, it's pretty much free flowing. Usually, I would play around with an idea or scenario and work from there.

For multi chapter fics, it's figuring out what to include in each chapters. I'll create a short outline in my notes app and use it as a guide when writing. If I get more ideas, I'll just add them in.

17. Do you use/follow advice from writing blogs/posts?

I read a few posts from @creativepromptsforwriting when I'm stuck and it does help. There's also a few websites I've bookmarked which have helped with adjectives, body language, facial expressions and there's one that's 500 alternative words for 'said' 😅 I usually struggle at lot with describing expressions and body language.

24. How many WIPs (work-in-progress) do you’ve got?

Four

30. What writing software do you use?

I just open a new pages document on my laptop for every fic and add the word count at the bottom so I know how much I've written. I've very low tech!

33. Do friends and family know that you write fanfics?

They do not 😅 which is why I don't cross post Ao3 links on Twitter. I've been thinking about creating another Twitter account but all the fandom mess online makes me go, nope, never mind.

48. What is your favorite sentence that you’ve used in a fanfic?

More a passage than an sentence but it's this one from this fic:

“What?”

He grabs her by her sweatshirt, pulling her towards him, “Can you feel it?” He asks.

Sylvie knows exactly what he’s talking about. It’s the feeling that this is the start of the rest of their lives.

Because it finally is.

[deaneverafter]

His hair looks so swooshy 🥺❣ If he keeps this hair even after shaving the beard, I will be slayeth 🔥 (also, am I crazy or does it look lighter than before?)

P.S. I'm just seeing a draft in my posts from a month ago that I never posted about how this beard must be driving him insane, because four months before that when it was a lot shorter and tamer, he was already done with it, and now it's been another month and he still has it. And presumably, he's going to have it for at least a few more weeks or even months, depending on how many episodes before he shaves it, no wonder he's grumpy 🥺😢😅

[oldfashionedmorphine]

So I feel like oversharing because this chapter has been quite a journey…

I teased this chapter forever ago! I originally started writing it back in October/November I think? All I know is I started working on it not too long after finishing chapter one and I didn’t even start posting chapters until until December when I was midway through chapter four (because for a little while I wanted to be done with the whole damn thing before I posted anything or possibly never post it at all cause I was super nervous about what people would think but had some lovely encouragement and went for it lol) >:[

But… this chapter was initially supposed to be a small part of chapter five (as a 3 part flashback idea I had) and then it snowballed. It got to 5k on its own really quick and then by December I thought it deserved to be its own chapter and that’s when I teased this part, cause I thought it was funny… but anyway, after splitting it from my original idea I decided where exactly I was going to place it within my outline and unfortunately that meant I wouldn’t get to post it for a while, so here we are, months later…

And now it’s a monster just shy of 10k words and drama drama yay… but damn it’s been in my drafts forever!!!!! It’s also kinda fun to see how much this one part changed too :D

(CW will be added to the chapter notes and I may be updating the tags accordingly so please read at your own risk!)

Currently doing some final proofreading, but it should be posted really soon if all goes according to my plan. I hope you guys are ready for it—You can yell at me after 😅

(But seriously it’s so crazy how much can change while writing a story!!)

PS: I already added the songs to the playlist cause someone (you know who you are!!) bullied me into sharing them (totally kidding! 🤣 I actually always add the songs once I start proofreading so the timing just seemed that way lol)

—————

@across-thestars (you’ve been waiting the longest for this one 😉) @boahey @daydreams-in-the-moonlight @booksandpaperss @greenfiend @rebellius @better-queer-rep @magentamee @sparks-olivarpente

My contribution to WIP Wednesday.

It was funny to me 😆

Part of a chapter I’m working on for I’m a Wreck (Without You Here).

4 chapters have been posted so far for anyone interested 😉

[writtenwhalien]

fic writers ask game

tagged by: @cutechim 💞

which new trope would you like to try writing?

an arranged marriage au for sure! I’m trying to plan one but it’s quite difficult and there’s lots of different ways to go about it (like are they already married in an unhappy marriage and then fall in love/do they have to marry and then fall in love/does reader love someone else and then has to get married and which role does the member play - lover or fiance?? I kind of want to do all of them but I’m not full of many ideas 😅 ). So I’m in the very very early mindmapping stages of that :)

which trope do you want to write again?

enemies to lovers - i have my reasons which will probably make more sense after reading the a/n for the GML epilogue lol. 

Also exes to lovers or a Hogwarts AU (i hate the hogwarts one i have 😖)

which draft are you most excited to post?

currently, the Give Me Love epilogue - comes out tonight!

but i’ve had the historical/fantasy/royalty AU title, summary and moodboard ready to post for a while and i’ve been holding back even though i’m so excited about it!

is there any new genre you want to explore?

okay, now i’m stuck because what’s the difference between trope and genre? 😂 (this is why i’m only a fanfic writer) but since we’re here, I’m excited about the mafia AU (A Lover’s Redemption) and the action it’s going to bring :) that said, it’s very difficult to write.

do you have a favorite line in any of your drafts up to now?

epilogue spoiler alert?...

 “I miss you too Y/N. More than you know.” 

have you decided on any creative goals for 2021?

um, I think to just take more time with my fics and not rush them/feel like i always have to put something out.

and to write for some other members (but all my current wips are Jimin so it’ll be a little while before that happens)

describe your journey on this blog last year in three words! and three more words for what you hope for 2021!

(It’s only been five months but...) exciting, frustrating and growth.

For 2021: fun and more growth! ✨ (four words but whatever)

Thanks for tagging me Hana! Tagging: @a-tangerine-suga-kookie @gyukult @mercurygguk @lurejoon @jiminniethemarshmallow @cupofteaguk 💗 (only if you lovelies want to!)