#this is why i don't have a timeline of all the fics in chronological order

[tsukimefuku]

Tie me up

After failing to make a romantic dinner, you're very upset. Hiromi volunteers to “help you out” with that frustration.

WC: 3.5K

Tags: +18 SMUT, Jujutsu Kaisen, Higuruma Hiromi x OC/f!Reader, little to no plot (finally), filth, fluff, movement restriction kink, f!top x m!bottom dynamic, she's a tease, he bottoms so well it hurts, consent and talking is sexy (do not change my mind). NEVER tie anyone right over their joints.

This is part of my "Jujutsu Partners Canon Divergence AU". A sequence of short stories and random drabbles for a Nanami x Reader x Higuruma long fic I might write. To see the ever-growing list of one-shots and short stories, please visit my masterlist :) 

Disclaimer these stories are NOT written and posted in chronological order of events. To see where this story fits in the timeline, please check the masterlist mentioned above.

Tag list: @g-kleran @redlikerozez @otomesass 

"So, I believe we kinda suck at this." You said, defeated, staring at the pan. It had what was supposed to be your and Hiromi's dinner, completely charred, and smelling dangerously close to setting off the fire alarm. Earlier, Hiromi had tried cooking a small piece of meat with some rice, only to end up with a coal barely resembling food and mushy white paste.

"I think we should order some take out." He answered, sitting with his jaw on his hand, elbow on the counter top of his kitchen, while looking at you. "How about pizza?"

You nodded at him, then locked your eyes on the ruined food, grunting, displeased. "I hate doing things I'm not already good at. I don't know why I thought this was a good idea, this is no fun at all." Your arms were crossed in front of your chest, and your lip formed a pout. 

The plan you both had for a stay-in cooking date went out the window. Hiromi told you he couldn't cook for his life, and you weren't the best cook in the world either, but still wanted to give it a try, believing it'd be a fun experience. Up until this point, it didn't quite feel like it. He noticed you were upset, and got up, walking towards you. He had his home clothes on, comfortably dressed with a white t-shirt and gray sweatpants that hung loosely around his hips.

Hiromi stopped right behind your body and embraced you, pressing himself against you. Then, he began planting some kisses on the side of your neck.

"Hey, come on. The night is not ruined. The way I managed to get spices all over the kitchen was kind of funny. It still stings, though." He had tried opening a small packet of mixed spices and ended up tearing the thing apart with his enormous hands, sending a painful powder throughout the air, eliciting a terrible cough from his lungs. After the debacle, Hiromi changed his previously more formal attire to his home clothes and tried washing the burning sensation away from his face, while you did your best to keep down your laughter while aiding him.

This robbed a chuckle from your mouth. "I guess. I was trying not to burst into laughter."

He hummed amused, nosing your neck, sliding his hooked nose up your earlobe, and down again. "I noticed, darling." Hiromi breathed warmly against your skin, a smile on his voice as he spoke.

You sighed. "I'm still a little angry at how things went south, though." To the sound of that, Hiromi turned you with his hands on your waist. Now facing you, he got closer, and began brushing his lips to yours, while pinning you against the edge of the kitchen sink. That instantly relaxed you a little, and he pressed a kiss on your mouth, breathing you in. You cupped his face, deepening the kiss, as you both stood there, taking in each other for a minute. As your lips parted, he seemed to have had an idea, and you waited for him to speak.

"Want to let some of that steam off on me?" You blinked, slightly confused. Does he want me to... hit him?

He noticed your puzzled face. "I meant in the bedroom." He chirped, spirited, taking a step back and pulling in you by your waist to lean on him. You could feel his taut muscles under the fabric of the shirt, grazing the tip of your fingers on his abdomen. Just the thought of him half naked from his waist up thrilled you, riling you up and making your heart skip a beat.

"Yes, please." You huffed against his mouth, sliding your hands up to dig your nails to the back of his hair. "Yes." Excitement had officially taken over you.

Hiromi let out a chuckle and began walking towards the room in reverse, pecking at your lips and face, never letting go of the embrace his arms had around your body as he did so, pulling you with him. 

As you both finally made it into the room, you glanced at two ties he had hanging over his desk's chair, and that gave you some... ideas.

You both got to his bed, and you pushed him with one hand on his chest to get him on the mattress. Stepping deftly into the push, he fell on it, supporting himself on his elbows, as you stood before him with mischievous eyes. He took notice of that, and smiled.

"What is on your mind?" He inquired, curious.

You felt suddenly shy, and chuckled a little, diverting your gaze somewhere else before answering. "I think... I'd like to tie you up."

He was definitely surprised, tilting his head to the side, eyes slightly wide. "Like... To the bed?"

You were still looking away, smiling hesitantly. "... Not exactly. Take your shirt off, please."

Still not fully understanding what you meant, he followed your command, and tugged his shirt up his head, revealing his figure. He looked like a slender and statuesque Greek God, and you could perfectly see the definition of his muscles, his flesh. Your mouth instantly began watering at the sight, as you made your way to grab both the ties.

Now, Hiromi was completely at a loss.

You approached him and put one of his ties normally on his neck, letting it fall over his bare chest. He lifted a brow and looked at you, amused. "You keep getting more interesting by the minute."

You chuckled. "I sure hope so. Don't go getting tired of me just yet. Now, slide a little further in the bed and put your hands back."

Hiromi sat up, doing as told, and rested each hand behind him, beginning to understand what you were on about when you said you wanted to tie him up. You went behind Hiromi, folded his forearms over the middle of his back, and circled the open tie close to his wrists and around itself. Then, you gave it a basic knot, tugging at the tie just to be sure it wouldn't slip. After it was all well and secure, you crawled your way back to be in front of him. 

With his shoulders propped back by the tying, he looked at you, smiling, but still a little puzzled. You pushed him delicately, just so Hiromi would be resting against the wall. That was when he stated, "Ok, now I understand what you meant by tying me up. However, I still don't get the point to this," he said, looking down at the tie you had previously put around his neck.

"Oh, that?" You answered, grinning slyly. You approached Hiromi, putting your legs open over his, and grabbed his neck tie, giving it a sharp tug to pull him closer. He instantly blushed, gazing at you like he was ready to become nothing but a puddle under your thumb. "For this. Like a dog collar."

“Oh” was all he mustered up to say, face flustered with a tiny smile forming. 

“Will you do as I say?” After asking, you bit his jawline, having Hiromi trembling and nodding in response.

“Of course. I’ll get rewarded if I do, won’t I?” Hiromi purred, loving being tugged and pushed around by you. You chuckled softly, pressing him back towards his initial position.

Then, cradling on his lap, you pressed your clothed sex softly right under the edge of his sweatpants, as you could feel the pulsing barely covered by fabric. Hiromi let out a soft moan, shuddering with relief from some friction. You began grinding your hip over his, and in response, he involuntarily squirmed underneath your legs, grunts stuck in his throat, bucking his hips up, pleadingly looking at you. You were gasping softly, using his shoulders as support for your hands.

"Behave," you said, smiling at him in between pleasured sighs, using one of your hands to grab his face, nails digging into his cheeks, "or I won't kiss you when I'm touching you."

That elicited a whimper from him, as Hiromi tried earnestly to still his hips and let you lead the dance. "I’m doing my best, I promise" he said, biting his lower lip in a delicious anticipation.

Ah, just the sight of him starting to break apart for you was breathtaking.

"Good boy."

He closed his eyes and let out a soft sigh, relishing in the sensation this praise washed over his body, no witty comeback this time around.

You got off from him and stood just beside the bed. "Now, open your eyes, or you'll miss the show." You cleared your throat. “I mean, not a show, but you get it.”

He chuckled softly and promptly obeyed, opening his eyes  to gaze at you. First, you began to slowly slide his pants and boxers down, with him swaying his hips side to side in order to make the task easier. As you were finished, you saw his cock splayed over his belly, already leaky and flush-red. Then, looking at him and not breaking eye contact, you began to lift the edge of your shirt, watching as his jaw slightly dropped. Hiromi's eyes glazed over your body, and began following your hands.

You pulled your shirt over your head, tossing it aside on the ground, revealing a simple black bra. Then, you began sliding your pants down your legs, making it possible to see you had a somewhat matching set of underwear — at least in color. You didn’t have many sets of underwear — it was definitely not a priority for you as a jujutsu sorcerer — and tried to at least have the colors match for this date.

Hiromi couldn't care less, completely hypnotized, thinking how sensual and erotic it was to simply watch you undress in a perfectly ordinary way.

After taking off your clothes, you looked at him, and he seemed like the boy that got exactly what he wanted for Christmas. Delighted, you said, "open your legs", getting back on the bed, still covered by your underwear. Hiromi immediately did as you told him to, and you kneeled right in front of him, in between his limbs.

You put your left hand on his left thigh and began slowly sliding your way towards his groin, making sure you were pressing firmly on his skin as you did. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back, opening his mouth in a soundless whimper. As your fingers clasped around it, giving a few soft pumps just to acclimate your touch and check how sensitive he was, he jolted his head down with a groan, looking at you eagerly. He was definitely sensitive with all that foreplay.

You giggled softly, leaning over him, while still striding your hands up and down at a steady pace. He began wriggling under your touch, making every humanly possible effort not to fuck into your hand. Regardless, he failed, and began bucking his hips, desperate for it to be quicker, stronger. You clicked your tongue behind your teeth disapprovingly, and looked at him. "What did I say?"

"I-I'm sorry," Hiromi replied, trying to halt his movements as much as he could.

Abruptly, you got a hold of his tie and pulled him, unceremoniously. "No kissing, then." 

You heard the man grunting in complaint, and smiled lustfully, eyes flickering with delight. Without warning, you removed your hand from his cock, putting your middle and ring finger tips on top of his bottom lip, as you ordered, "open up." 

He did, and you slid both fingers inside his mouth, pressing them against his tongue, as you still had a tight hold on his neck tie, pulling him into a sitting position. "Now, suck on them."

Hiromi whimpered, completely in the undertoe of your commands, and began sucking on your fingers. You let your other hand go off his tie and grabbed his length again, resuming the pumping around his cock with a tight grip. He moaned and whined with lips locked around your fingers, sending vibrations that traveled down your whole body.

You picked up the pace, having him sounding progressively more desperate, before you took your fingers out of his mouth, stopped pumping him and put those same fingers inside your mouth, just to taste his mouth indirectly. His entire body stiffened up, as a frown took hold of his face and he dangled his head back, despairing for relief.

It felt good to finally be in control, doing something you were very good at.

“I’m edging us both today, you won’t regret it. I promise.” You kissed his forehead as he opened his eyes, looking at you. His eyes begged for more.

“Woman, you will be the death of me,” he said, panting lightly, with some sweat starting to form on the surface of his body. 

You laughed, content, and slid yourself back on the mattress, having another joyfully wicked idea. He must’ve seen the sparkle in your eyes, because he instantly said, “how else are you planning to torture me today for us both ruining dinner?”

You covered your mouth, blushing a little at the thought of it. His face was just looking so gorgeous, his lips, his hooked nose, his perfectly messy black locks falling a little over his forehead, his angular jawline. “Can I sit on your face?” You asked. “I mean, I’d like to sit on your f-“

“Please. Sit on my face. Now.” Hiromi said that taken by some kind of unknown urgent desire of smothering himself while tasting you.

You were pleasantly taken aback at such urgency and grinned at him, amused. “ Okay, then. But I’m not coming just yet.” 

You pulled Hiromi gently by his tie to put two pillows right behind his body, just so his upper back and head would be comfortable and not pressing his hands tied to his back as he laid down. 

You got up and stood by the end of the bed, poking fun at an idea you entertained.

“I’m going to manhandle you now,” you warned.

He was confused for a few seconds. “What do you m-“

You gripped his ankles and pulled him, having his whole body slide down the mattress, and landing his head and upper back on the soft pillows. 

You could distinctly see him sighing before he let out a satisfied groan. “I really enjoyed that.”

You laughed and took off your underwear while he waited for you. “Did you, now?” You asked, slowly climbing on Hiromi, extremely amused at how thrilled he seemed to be with this entire thing.

You put each shin beside him and sat on his chest for a moment, caressing his hair, brushing your nails delicately against his scalp. It felt wonderfully soft. “If you need a moment to breathe, bite my leg, okay?”

Hiromi smiled coyly, as he gazed at you from the bottom, face softly blushed at the sight of your entire body completely bare and exposed to him. He also quivered at the sensation of your wetness smearing over his chest. “Oh, I definitely won’t.”

The way he said that, sounding like a ravenously hungry animal, had you shuddering. You propped yourself forward, putting one hand on the wall directly in front of you for support. Your other hand, however, traveled down his pitch black locks on the top of his head, and entangled in them, giving it a firm tug at the roots. Hiromi moaned, his mouth nearly touching your folds, bottom lip trembling with bated breath.

Adjusting your legs, you began descending on his face, and as soon as you were in range, he projected his mouth forward, latching his lips around your clit. You gasped, and he began lapping at it with the tip of his tongue, now opening his mouth to graze his entire face with you. Hiromi was effectively making out, in the messiest way possible, with your dripping cunt.

You were actively trying not to hump his face, but his relentless licking against your folds was turning it into a nearly impossible task. What broke you, however, was the moment he nuzzled against your clit with his nose, digging his tongue inside your entrance as far as it could go right after. Trembling, you involuntarily began grinding against his face, and Hiromi noticed it, letting out a feral groan that reverberated all throughout your core, sucking desperately at you, intent on making you reach your tipping point before you could escape his mouth.

Your mind was hazy enough for you to almost ignore the moment your body began tightening, getting ready for the snap. But, you had said it — you were edging the both of you tonight. 

Realizing you were about to climb out of his face, Hiromi tried his last desperate attempt, starting to suck intently at your nub as he grazed over with the tip of his tongue. You let out a cry, and projected yourself behind, body convulsing from your near orgasm experience. Hiromi groaned in utter and complete frustration, as if you had interrupted the meal you both hadn't had the chance to eat tonight, yet.

“Smart ass,” you said, sitting on his abdomen while panting, trying to regain the air for your lungs as you felt the need to support yourself with both of your hands on the bed.

“I was top of my class,” he huffed, a smile creeping up the corners of his mouth, “I guess I do come with some brains along with the pretty face.”

You laughed, and reached for the condom, opening it up and quickly sliding it over his cock, having him gasp softly when you finished rolling the rubber over his length, giving it an appreciative squeeze. Both of you were edged enough, and the desperation to fall apart with him inside, filling you up completely, was now an all-consuming fire.

You motioned over and began sitting on him. Then, you grabbed his tie, bottoming out instantly, at the same time you sharply tugged at it to seat him up. As he violently jolted forward, Hiromi let out a loud — emphasis on loud — mix of a groan and a moan, staring at you, glassy eyed and out of breath. He had your wetness completely smeared all over his face, and his debauched looks were rosy tint flustered. 

You just knew you both wouldn’t last long at all.

You began riding him, mewling and moaning as you bucked your hips skillfully, having him sliding lusciously inside you. He motioned his hips too, as best as he could under the restriction he was currently under, desperate for his release tightened by the plush of your walls. 

You drove one of your hands under your body to rub on your clit, and both of your arms accidentally pressed against the sides of your breasts, perking them up. Hiromi was completely enthralled by the view, and began trying to lean himself over. Noticing it, you pulled on the tie to help him reach your breasts, and he took full advantage, immediately sliding his tongue over one of your nipples, pressuring it with a tang.

And it was all just too much. Your verged pleasure, your fingers rubbing your core, his hot and wet mouth over you, all intensely tipping you over the edge as you came with a cry out for his name, desperately. Your entire body jolted and seized on top of him, while you still kept a firm hold on his tie, now completely crumpled and disheveled.

At the ungodly tightening around his cock, along with the tugging, the breathlessness, your taste, your smell, the relentless teasing, Hiromi came with a shout, all of his muscles getting impossibly tense against their restraints. Following suit, the man felt all of his limbs weaken as he pumped sloppily into you, nearly whimpering — from release, desperation or bliss, he did not know.

“We’re so much better at this.” You said, huffing and laughing softly at the same time, pressing a quick kiss on his lips. You could still feel your essence on his mouth, and shivered in response.

“Mm-hmm…” He answered, nodding, trying to regain his strength.

And then, panting into each other, a memory started tickling the backside of your brain.

"Hiromi..." You said, slightly lifting yourself and parting your bodies for a moment, pulling him closer to untie his hands on the back of his body, while his face cradled in the small of your neck. You did, and lightly pressed over his skin, feeling the markings dipped over, massaging them softly.

He was still coming back to Earth after biblically orgasming, wondering if he ever came this hard before in his life. "What, love?" Hiromi asked, still in that subspace of blissful stupor, as he brought both of his hands to hold your waist, sinking his digits on the plush of your skin, pressing soft, breathless kisses on your neck and chest.

"Did we ever order the pizza?"

--

End notes:

If you'd like to be a part of the taglist, just leave a comment below or send me a message :)

[ironduke10]

Master List

Welp, all the cool kids do it, and in light of my planned updates, I should probably do it too. Everything I'm writing is Spiderverse. For now. If one day I finish everything I have planned in my head, I may dabble in animated How To Train Your Dragon.

Works in Progress

Que Sera, Sera (M) - Oh boy, why did I write this. I'm a bit nervous to even mention the topic material in description. In any case this is the most controversial thing I've ever written and probably will ever write, but I promise that I will treat Miles and Gwen with the uttermost respect. I'm *this* close to finishing my draft of Chapter 2.

This is not connected to my Ghostflower series out of respect for those who don't want to think about this topic with regards to Miles and Gwen. It could be considered standalone. But it is written in a way that it could fit in there, if you so choose to imagine it.

Crazy Shit 똥 That Ganke Overheard (And Sometimes Saw) (E) - This will be my stress relief from in between bigger written updates. One day, while writing the WIP Que Sera Sera, I thought to myself: "Ganke had to have known. He had to have." Then my mind wandered and I thought...what else did Ganke know about? This be a Ghostflower Drabbles series...through Ganke's eyes. With the barest hint of a Ganke arc and character redemption.

Finished Works - My Series: Ghostflower Blooming

This series only exists because my daughter loves to creatively write (she's written over a hundred handwritten fics by her count), and she's a ballerina, and she does karate, AND most importantly - she loves her some Gwen Stacy. And Miles Morales. And the clear, undeniable romance between the two. So one day I wrote 1, 2, and 4 in this list, gave it to her as a early birthday gift...and was shocked when she asked Dad for more. So. Here we are. Listed in chronological timeline order.

Onto The Right Foot (E) - Written as a companion sequel to Ianmalcolmreynolds' "I'll Lift You Up." I had thought to myself - boy it was nice that Rio and Gwen got a reconciliatory moment in the Post-BTSV chaos. I wondered if I could get her and Jeff to have a similar one. Gwen's two scenes with the Morales parents in ATSV were so rough, I just had to do some damage repair here.

The Unexpected Pas De Deux (E) - Pure fluff, nothing redeeming of it. Probably the only time I'll write out and out fluff. But since my daughter does ballet, I just had to write Miles and Gwen attempting aerial ballet.

The Dreamer Within (E) - A companion to the Spiderverse animated short "The Spider Within" but from Gwen's POV. After I heard Miles' famous line of "One Girl" I just had to get Gwen her "One Guy" moment. If you read this, I would greatly appreciate a comment from you explaining which reality was really real.

THE Talk Between A Father And Son (E) - In the early days post ATSV's release there was much online discourse about Gwen's love language clearly being touch. And if there's one thing I can't resist - judging by my works - it's the insertion of Miles and Gwen's parents into their lives. Miles learning about love languages, is the result.

Requests and Promises (E) - Another hot topic of discourse post-ATSV release was the idea that Gwen and Miles should get to go to a school dance in E65. So she could get the closure from arguably the most traumatic event in her life. This is my take on her closure at said dance.

For Business Or For Pleasure? (E) - Another tribute piece to ianmalcolmreynolds, this time to his "Slip From Your Tongue Like Words." Admittedly, this is my weirdest structure. Chapters 1-3 are a prequel to that work and wonder at why the flower (Gwen) would wilt at the mere mention of Miguel. Chapter 4-5 are a sequel to that work and his cafeteria/Hobie scene that I love so much.

For Everything There Is A Season (E) - FlyingSpaceDonut wrote a Thanksgiving one-shot that choked me up, and in thanks, I wanted to write him a Miles and Gwen Christmas story. This sprawling monster and the story of a Ghostflower Couple's First Christmas was the result. Written as a prequel to Are You My Mother?

Are You My Mother? (E) - A work that I wanted to write ever since I realized that Gwen's mom died when she was young, and I saw that second scene between Rio and Gwen in ATSV. In those 5 seconds of Rio silently staring at Gwen in her living room, it was like Rio's voice clearly spoke in my head: "Oh my God, this girl is in love with my son." Thanks to the existence of that moment, I felt like I could pull this off and explore what Rio and Gwen's relationship might look like approximately a year after BTSV concludes.

[a-little-bit-of-ravioli]

20 questions for fic writers

Tagged by @the-real-azalea-scroggs! Had to wait until I was of my phone because doing these is a nightmare on mobile lmao

1. How many works do you have on A03?

18 as of a few days ago!

2. What's your total A03 word count?

157,937! Which is. Only a fraction of the word count in my Docs folder. Be prepared.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

I mainly write for The Legend of Zelda; specifically Linked Universe! In fact, that's all that's posted on my Ao3 currently, since my fall into that fandom began with me uploading there! Pre-Ao3 I wrote for Black Cat (Anime/Manga), Megaman NT Warrior, various Pokémon things, Assassin's Creed, Yugioh, Final Fantasy XIV and Octopath Traveler! Some of these I still write privately, but I haven't gotten around to re-posting any.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Whistling on Deaf Ears - My longest fic on Ao3, focusing on Wild and Twilight's friendship and how good intentions can lead to disaster.

Iconoclasm - Warriors deals with the room full of portraits in Cia's palace. The Chain also deals with it, but with a bit more fire.

Deserving - Twilight finally tells Rusl that he was the wolf in the village during TP, but that also means dealing with some heavier topics. Colin half overhears them and forms his own conclusions.

Something Greater - The start of the "Hyrule can see magical auras" series! In this one we deal with Legend and his many rings.

Ocean Magic - Mermaid Legend and Zora Time have a race and then fight one of the Big Octos from WW! Fun times.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Every single one!! I love comments, they give me an excuse to ramble about my fic more!! I am always down to ramble about every single insignificant detail of any line and/or section. If you ever want more background info about one of my fics, look to the comments!

So please, I adore comments, I treat them like treasures, not responding to them would be a CRIME.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

There's no contest; Inevitable, my (so far) only MCD fic.

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

Hmmm, that's hard to quantify. I usually try to end fics on a hopeful note regardless. I'd say possibly either Deserving, where Twilight reconnects with his family, or Shimmering Blue, Striking White, where Time meets the Fierce Deity settled down on Satori Mountain and they both get closure.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Thankfully, no! I've been blessed with mostly amazing and patient readers, even when my upload schedule isn't the best.

9. Do you write smut?

No, not really. I've attempted it, but I'm too asexual for it lol

10. Do you write crossovers?

Very, very rarely. Mostly privately, and only very specific ones. Only a single one has had an actual plot, so far (more on that one in question 15!).

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Also a nope! I tend to write for smaller fandoms, where these things don't tend to happen a lot!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have! But it's been a while. Over a decade, in fact! I tried to find the fic to link it here, but it was on the German fanfic website fanfiktion.de, and my friend who posted it back then must have deactivated her account, because it's nowhere to be seen (I still have the Word file though!). It was a Multi-Crossover that started as an RP in a forum, and we took turns turning the RP into prose one chapter each. "If a Hero Turns to Dark" was its title. We were edgy teenagers.

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

Hissssss. Bad question. Shoo. They are all equally important!!

But it's probably TenRose from Doctor Who.

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

One of the very few crossovers I've ever worked on; a crossover fic between Assassin's Creed and Doctor Who, that I have mapped out in both chronological and timeline order, and yes, those are different. I only ever wrote about a quarter of it, since my primary audience of it disappeared when we graduated. I doubt I'll ever pick it back up properly, and if I do it'll probably go through heavy rewrites first since it's so old. Finishing it is a nice thought, but realistically, after 9 years it'll never be high priority enough for it to actually happen.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue, especially arguments, and emotional impact. I've been told I do really well making characters feel alive and believable! Also I like to believe I'm decent at setting a scene and giving it the vibe I want it to have!

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I struggle with dialogue tags when nothing much is happening besides the talking. I always feel it's too bland, and fall back on the same phrases. My scene transitions could use some work too.

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

I've done this with Japanese phrases, because I was a massive weeb. Usually I followed them up with their own translations, though; I'm not the biggest fan of footnote translations, unless they are properly linked to. Simple dialogue tags are my favourite way of indicating a language switch.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Black Cat the Manga/Anime! It's a series about an assassin turned bounty hunter trying to live a life separate from his murdery past, but getting dragged back into things by still wanting to avenge his best friend's death. The series has a special place in my heart and my bookshelf, it left an imprint on 13-year-old me that will never leave.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

Probably Jailbreak, uncharacteristically enough! It's one of the only fics I never got stuck in once. Writing it was a great feeling from start to finish. I love writing all of my fics, but that was a special few days.

Tagging @ahrva @nowhere-to-go-but-down @silvercaptain24 and @aeghina! And anyone who wants to do it, really, go wild

[fountainpenguin]

hiii new reader here! I'm loving your neighborhood watch au :) I have a question though, what's up with all the hidden fics if you don't mind answering?

Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying it! I'm hoping to post more for that AU during 2025; working on the buffer this winter :) Next up should be "Goodchild Oscar," which I started a long time ago and have been itching to share. I love NW AU so much...

And good question! My hidden fics are in an unrevealed collection called Riddle WIPs:

Hidden works are my drafts, but in a way that prevents them from being auto-deleted by AO3 after 30 days (i.e. the way AO3's actual draft feature does).

Keeping my works in this unrevealed collection lets me see everything, organize everything, link them to other works, prep my tags in advance, and do my color-coding HTML in advance (for works that use the green/yellow/red name system for life colors). Multi-chapter works also get their spoiler dropdown boxes in advance too.

This is a lifesaver when working with series. I have my works in multiple series, and every time you add one of those (or an inspired work), you have to save/post to refresh the page before you can add another. People who subscribe to a series (as opposed to the story or author) get the notification after a work is posted. I like to make sure my work has all the series attached to it upfront, not just one. It's nice to feel like I have plenty of time to do everything I want for prep purposes without stressing about a 30-day timer.

In short, it's a LOT easier to stick to a weekly upload schedule if all the work on the AO3 side is done in advance and all I need to do is slap the chapter in and post. Here's a draft I prepped last night, for instance:

/slaps his little head - This work can fit SO much body text when I'm done.

On posting night, all I have to do is add the text, change the update date to the day I post, remove it from the unrevealed collection, and presto! People subscribed to any of those series (or to me as an author) get the notifications :) Huge time-saver that lets me keep my regular update schedule.

If you check that publish date, you can see I actually made this draft in April. I just did the tags and cover art for it last night, as I'd like to get this work posted very soon. It takes me a while to get around to each individual project, but at least I always know where to find them and I can do the parts I have energy for when I have free time.

I just made a spreadsheet this week that links all my docs and AO3 works, so I am living large...

Another reason I do this is because I often have limited Internet access, but I do have offline access to my writing docs. I have a lot of back-and-forth time on the road, and sometimes I finish my writing when I'm away from home. It's so nice to prep the AO3 side in advance while I have a stable Internet connection and mouse instead of doing all that on the trackpad.

[cnt'd - Long post]

Back when I started doing this with hidden works, it was mostly because AO3 had a bug where every time you rearranged a series, you had to manually edit every single work that came after it if you wanted the Previous and Next links to work properly.

And I did. Every time I posted. Because that's how I am. I write a series titled 130 Reasons Why I'm Fairy Trash, which used to be arranged chronologically before I went through and changed them to recommended reading order, and there are 130 one-shots in it. I have tasted so much pain...

In other words, the series feature was great for people posting new works that come "next" in the series, but it wasn't working well for people who like to rearrange the order when they post something new. Ex: I have both the Pixels Imperfect and Neighborhood Watch series in chronological order. Using the unrevealed works, I took the time to arrange all the hidden works in advance so that the timeline was properly arranged regardless of what order I submitted fics in. This way, I only had to dedicate a couple days to getting all my current WIPs prepped and arranged, with the hope being that my links would work properly for a long time before I wrote a new work and had to find a place for it. I have never written a series chronologically in my life and I think it would kill my motivation if I forced myself to do that, honestly.

I'm pretty sure this rearrangement bug was there since I joined AO3 in 2018. Guess what they fixed while I was in the middle of adding all my drafts and arranging them all :'D

This is the best bug fix ever; my crops are watered daily and my skin is clean. I live in constant fear this bug will return and I will once again be relegated to spending hours of an evening painstakingly updating every work that comes later in a series... instead of the 2 seconds it takes to place a work now.

Bonus reason why I like the hidden work feature: I have thousands of documents after my 13+ years of posting fanfics and writing original works, many of which are no longer as up-to-date as posted versions that received minor revisions over the years (like spelling fixes).

It's super nice to have a place on AO3 to keep backups where I can easily find them and not mix them up with my outdated files (which I should clean out, but hesitate to do so because it would take me days).

I do have downloaded backups of all my works as well (Bless FicLab). Went through and did a sweep last month! I will not lose over a decade of my life... I bought a flash drive necklace to slap them on, so they will literally have to pry this stuff from my cold, dead hands.

FFN went down for a week earlier this year and I had a few works that were exclusively on FFN, not yet on AO3, so I was very quick to slap those into my WIPs collection as soon as I could, haha... One of those is 30k words. Yep. Not losing that.

I really wish AO3 would let people use Previous and Next to navigate through a hidden work because it's very obnoxious for me and others who want to click through the series and then we slam into a hidden work, but c'est la vie.

I fear the bug's return with my life, and for this, everyone must click extra times to navigate around the wall.

Fun bonus screenshots of what I see on my end even though these works are hidden for you guys:

Pixels Imperfect #2, baby! ... The first wall you hit if you're trying to read the series by clicking "Next," haha... Oh no.

And some Neighborhood Watch:

The story beats are there! I'm just not yet... but it's a much bigger decision to drop a WIP if you're already "halfway there" because you've got the prep work done. Some people may not want to put that "pressure" on themselves, but I don't mind it. I like seeing the works yet to come so they remind me of how excited I am to get there. They just seem so close...

I'm easing into a hiatus from posting fanfics this winter so I can build my 'fic buffers and post a few one-shots I've had sitting around. Fingers crossed that 2025 will have a lot of NW content. I'm very excited for it and I'm glad you're looking forward to it too!

-> I am so glad NW is only the first 5 Life seasons in the same timeline, because if I had to work Wild Life's mechanics into the worldbuilding, that would be a rough one...

My late-2025 is set up to be extremely busy IRL and the next couple years are sure to be as well, so I'm putting my all into prepping buffers right now. This'll be a lifesaver for me down the road.

[alexandraisyes]

this is so silly, I didn't know you shipped the eclipse trio!! Do you still ship them after Solar's death?

Omg an ask! *Dances*

Yes, we do!

Adding a cut because I'm gonna talk about Highly Unconventional (The series "The Deal" belongs to) and there are light spoilers regarding the story as far as our creative process goes. As well as talking about future plot ideas.

In Highly Unconventional we're actually planning to have Total Eclipse (the ship name Turbo and I affectionately have dubbed them as) either in the third or fourth book. Hopefully not the fourth, because if we get to 1k+ pages I think that Turbo will have an aneurysm.

Trying not to spoil too much, but that is going to be a thing haha. There are certain canon events that we plan to cover in the fic from the show. Those who have read the fic know that we're not as far along in the timeline due to the timeline being a bit skewed.

To recap, KC and Moon separated before the twins went to antagonize Sun. The 'villain family' lives in an apartment complex downtown ("who in their right mind went oh yes seems legit" thank you that one commenter for that quote). The twins obviously never died, (RIP Sun's cats in their place), etc.

There's a handful of milestones that we do have planned tho! Eclipse's death, Ruin coming into the picture, Moon's death, Eclipse coming back (he always comes back), Eclipse getting yeeted outta the picture again, Ruin's betrayal/Solar's death. . . that's all I'm gonna say because I don't want to give away too much on how we're going to handle writing things, haha (not necessarily written in chronological order).

Thankfully "The Months in Between" is going to be pretty chill, there's only a couple major milestones we're going to touch on for that fic because it's supposed to be about Sun's mental health arc, and repairing the twin's relationships with their currently disowned family. But in the third installment, name pending, it's gonna get back into that hardcore shit hehe. And then we'll be having some total eclipse popping into the picture AS IT SHOULD.

I make the joke a lot that Eclipse could only ever care (not really love because he's a sociopath) about himself, and I've already written one fic on Eclipse/Ruin so we (Turbo and I) thought why the hell not. I think that our readers will be pleasantly (or maybe horrifically) surprised by how we plan on tackling everything revolving around Solar's death in the fic. . .

Especially because they're all going to be together by the time it happens.

Sorry for rambling, haha. Can you tell I never get asks in my inbox? Lmfao

[muninnhuginn]

Link Click Fic Recs

I've seen some of these around and thought I'd have my own go. As others largely have the shippy side covered and I've historically struggled to find good gen fic, I ended up deciding to make this list gen-only. This means that all fic included can be read as platonic regardless of tags.

That's not to say shippers won't get anything out of these though. Think of it as canon-typical levels of ship and that's about what to expect here.

Notes: These are listed in largely chronological order as to when they were posted. I've limited it to one fic per author in instances where multiple fic would otherwise appear on the list.

Overtime by machasw

The job for Chen Xiao has been a nightmare from start to finish. Cheng Xiaoshi changes almost every event, breaks almost every rule, and the night ends with a roof crashing down on his head. There's one more nightmare in store though. When the twelve-hour limit arrives, Cheng Xiaoshi doesn't return home.

without you (i don't know if i could take this road) by DandyDonut

Roleswap AU where Lu Guang enters photos and Xiaoshi guides him through the process using precognition.

Depth of Focus by Shadaras

Cheng Xiaoshi’s earliest memories were of the click and flash of a camera.

synesthesia by silverinerivers

“First, you only get 12 hours.” “Wait, why?” Cheng Xiaoshi interrupts, wrinkling his brows. (Or: the moments which bring them to the start of it all.)

power of possessions by macrauchenia

A group of violent thieves starts targeting businesses around their neighborhood. When the photo shop becomes the next victim and Lu Guang ends up bruised and bloody, he tells the others not to get involved. Leave the past in the past. Too bad Cheng Xiaoshi is allergic to listening. [Link Click Case-Fic]

wine glass on the cusp of falling by sunslants

Cheng Xiaoshi wakes up the morning after Liu Min is arrested feeling an intense, nauseating deja vu.

Fics with spoilers for season two below the cut:

the first time by choucobos

Lu Guang (stupid, foolish, and naïve, but not for much longer) looks at the photo. He listens to his heartbeat, the reliable ticking of the clock that can save Cheng Xiaoshi. Bringing his hands up in front of him, he takes a deep breath. He dives back in time.

clasp my contradiction-filled hand by jan (note: jan has a lot of other fic playing with underutilised dynamics in canon so if that's your fare I'd check them out)

What the twins don't tell each other.

like once you did for me by Syncogon

"If this is a loop, then... how many times has it been?" "I don't know." Cheng Xiaoshi laughs, somehow. "You wouldn't tell me."

did you know bunnies can die of loneliness by lesbievie

Lu Guang abandons countless timelines to save Cheng Xiaoshi — and in every one, he leaves Qiao Ling alone.

[fencecollapsed]

Hi from the Severance fandom! Read your fic, and now I'm hella curious about getting into the Hatchetfield 'verse— Where do I start? Can I possibly get a short "what to expect" primer for a complete noob? Thank you for your time if you answer this, but please don't feel obligated <3

— @enbygesserit (I'm a sideblog and don't like having my main visible in asks)

hi!! I saw your comment and meant to reply but I wasn't quite sure what to say so this is perfect actually!

so! Hatchetfield is a horror-comedy anthology theater series following the people of the titular town of Hatchetfield as they face various threats and horrors and eldritch gods. there's no one lead, lots of characters show up multiple times, and they dip their toes into a lot of genres with each story - one set of stories gets pretty sci-fi with the company a few of the lead characters work at experimenting on them without them knowing (which is part of why I drew a connection to Severance). tones between stories also range from fully absurd to more serious

most everything they've done so far is available on YouTube! there are three professionally-filmed stage musicals, and two seasons of short story script readings they did during the heights of Covid

since it's an anthology and there's no strict timeline of events, you don't necessarily have to watch it all in chronological release order, but that is my personal recommendation anyway

you'll want to start with The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals, which is a body-snatcher type alien invasion story (and features the characters in my fic)

then Black Friday, a national disaster story about mall riots influenced by a cosmically powerful doll that everyone wants

then there are twelve Nightmare Time stories, narrated and performed by the director and cast over zoom. the format's a little tough to get into at the start but it improves overtime, season two is much higher quality than season one

and just last month they released the third musical, Nerdy Prudes Must Die, about the vengeful ghost of a dead bully coming back to kill nerds

[debbiechanclub]

Hit Me Like Bang (and Now I'm Never Looking Back), Part 2

A "Take My Hands, Wreck My Plans" fic

Pairings: David Finlay x OFC / past!Jay White x OFC Word Count: 11k Warnings: Language; alcohol use; radioactive levels of angst but also fluff; and a little smidge of smut so 18+

On the road to Dominion, Nellie's past and present converge to solidify the truth of what's been in front of her all along.

TMHWMP Timeline | Masterlist

Read it on AO3

A/N: Herein is the end of Nellie's story, and I am emotional :') Don't worry―there are more prequels forthcoming that will go more into her previous relationships and how she got here, but this is her happy ending.

One small note: there's quite a bit of flashback scenes in this chapter, and they're not in chronological order to each other, so pay attention to the dates. That said, this fic and Nellie truly are my baby, and thank you for coming on this two-plus-year journey with me. I hope you enjoy reading her story just as much as I've enjoyed creating it for you <3

tags: @aussiearrow @cowboyslariat @knifepervert @sldghmmr @cardblade @missbrownstone @meteora-fc @bec0m @thatgirlforever5 @rocca09 @aussiespam

Friday, April 14, 2023 Tokyo, Japan

It took about seven minutes bell-to-bell for Nellie to dispose of Mariah May in their title match at Korakuen Hall. She hadn’t even broken a sweat. But she’d anticipated short work. She’d already planned to make up for it in her backstage comments.

“Alright, I’ll make sure this is short and sweet just like that match,” she started as she stepped in front of the camera. “Do you see this title?” She held up the championship in her hand. “I have been the SWA World Champion since May fifth of last year. Twenty-twenty-two. That is three hundred and forty-five days, just twenty days short of an entire year. And no one here at World Wonder Ring Stardom seems to give a shit about it, or the verifiable fact that I am the only person in history to hold this title more than once!

“But here’s the thing: I know exactly why they don’t care. Because I’m a gaijin. Never mind that I’ve been dedicated to this company since twenty-eighteen; that I’ve lived in Japan for over three years, through a fucking pandemic; that I’ve learned the language. Apparently, none of that matters, because I’m still not from here. I’m still an outsider. And God forbid a gaijin become the face of Stardom, so what do they do? They hold me in place with this title that they clearly don’t give a shit about and allow me to defend it once a quarter. And Mariah May?” She scoffed. “Do you know how many times I’ve already beaten Mariah in title matches? Tonight makes three, and the other two were in her home country for the RevPro Undisputed British Women’s Championship. So please, someone enlighten me: if Mariah May couldn’t get it done against me in her home country, why the fuck did anyone think she stood a chance against me here, in Korakuen of all places? I might be from Philly, but Tokyo is my home. Stardom is my home. The Stardom dojo beat me down, built me back up, and turned me into the joshi I am today, and in return I made history. And I refuse to be held in place any longer.

“Saya Kamitani. You’ve made history, too. We have history. Because see, everyone associates you with Hayashishita-san and me with Torrance—but you and I were partners first. We were Goddess of Stardom champions together. We’re both champions now. And at All Star Grand Queendom, I want you in a winner takes all match for my SWA World Championship, and your Wonder of Stardom Championship. And it’ll be a gaijin from Philadelphia who puts an end to your history-making reign.”

And with that she walked off camera, the gauntlet thrown.

* * * *

Sunday, October 30, 2022 Tokyo, Japan

Nellie was in good spirits. She was fresh off defending her SWA World Championship against Mayu Iwatani in New York City. Halloween was tomorrow, and David had come over for a horror movie marathon. He’d brought takeout from her favorite sushi place and a six-pack of Sapporo. She intended to tell him how she felt. And she couldn’t have been more nervous.

“Is everything alright?” he casually asked. “It seems like something’s on your mind.”

She brought her feet up to sit cross-legged on the couch and pulled her soft checkered fleece blanket over her lap. Of course he could tell something was on her mind—it was David. He paid attention. He was perceptive; emotionally mature. It was one of the many, many things that drew her to him, something that set him apart from most guys she’d been involved with in the past. And now, after her few days away, she knew for certain.

“Yeah… I, um,” she started. “I just guess I realized something when I was in New York.”

“Yeah? What’s that?”

“Well,” she stalled, nervous. But there was no turning back now—and she didn’t want to. “I went out with a few people after the show, and… Kyle Fletcher kissed me. But all it did was make me realize that I have feelings for someone else.”

David wasn’t looking at her as she said it, queuing up the first movie on her TV. And Nellie quickly started to overthink, worried that maybe he’d focus on the fact that Kyle had kissed her and not what she was trying to tell him—

 But then the corner of his mouth quirked up. “Oh, yeah? Who’s the lucky guy?”

He glanced at her as he set down the remote. She pursed her lips at him. “Are you seriously gonna make me say it?”

“I kind of want you to, yeah.”

She bit back a grin. Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest that she worried he could hear it. “Well… I don’t know how he feels, so I’m kind of nervous to.”

“Well, let me clear things up for you, then…” David said, and he pulled her in and kissed her. Nellie melted into him. His lips were soft, his kiss slow and sweet, and the way he cradled her head in his hands felt natural, as if they’d done this a thousand times before. And she already knew she wanted to do it a thousand times more.

He pulled back from her lips but still held her close. “I’ve been wanting to do that for the last three months,” he said.

 She grinned. “You have?”

“Yeah. And since we’re talking about it… I wasn’t sure how you felt. Sometimes it seemed like you were still hung up on Jay.”

Nellie sighed and leaned back into the couch. Admittedly, he wasn’t entirely wrong.

“Honestly, at the start of the summer, I was still hung up on him. And I think it was because I never got any definite closure when we broke up, and so when he showed up out of nowhere at Dontaku it did feel like there was still something there between us. And he made it seem like there was, too, which didn’t help at all. But then you came back for the G1, and we reconnected, and genuinely—you’ve put in more effort over the last three months than Jay ever put into our entire relationship. And that really put things into perspective for me. But then it was complicated, too, because I know how close you and Jay used to be, and sometimes I worried that getting involved with you after him would look… I don’t know… messy? As stupid as that sounds.”

“No, I get it,” David nodded. “No matter how you and Jay left things, there was a point in time when you cared about him, so of course you wouldn’t want to throw salt in a wound. I mean, there was a point in time when I cared about him, too; he was my best friend. But it’s not like you and Jay just broke up, and he and I aren’t as close as we used to be, either.” He reached up and pushed her hair behind her ear; Nellie’s skin tingled at his touch. “Besides… technically I went out with you first, anyway.”

She mirrored his grin. He wasn’t wrong about that, either. David had gone out with her first, on an awkward date back in 2017, the first time Nellie had ever set foot in Japan. Back before she’d met Zack, or Riley, or Kyle, or ever gotten involved with Jay—David had been first. But she hadn’t seen it then.

“Not technically—you did,” she confirmed. “And lately I’ve wondered how different things would be if I’d given you a chance back then.”

“Nah,” he returned with a shake of his head. “I was a clown back then; I don’t blame you for not giving me a chance. Plus, I’ve come to believe that everything meaningful happens when it’s supposed to.” He smiled to himself. “I was actually planning on telling you how I felt tonight. But you beat me to it.”

Nellie’s smile widened. “Oh yeah?”

He nodded. “Yeah. So, I guess I owe Kyle Fletcher a beer for kissing you and helping you figure shit out.”

“Ha!” she laughed, and he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close, and she snuggled into him, moving the blanket so that he was underneath it, too. It felt right—a perfect fit. And as David pressed play on the first movie, Nellie knew in her heart that this was when it was all supposed to fall into place, and not a moment sooner.

* * * *

“God, you are a sight for sore eyes.”

Nellie smiled at David through her phone screen. It was only a few days ago that he’d left, and he’d only be gone a few days more, working Capital Collision in Washington, D.C., and then Collision in Philadelphia before flying right back to Tokyo—to her. But Nellie already felt the ache of his absence.

“You have no idea how bad I wish you were here right now.” She settled back into her bed pillows, getting comfortable. “I have some pent-up energy that could really use working out.”

David grinned, crooked and handsome. It didn’t help her situation. “I know you do. I just watched your backstage comments.”

She waited, expecting him to say something more, wanting him to. After all, his opinion was the one that mattered most to her. “And?” she impatiently pressed.

“And it took everything in me not to share the video wherever I could,” he said. “I’m proud of you, babe. You already deserved that match; I don’t see how they can’t give it to you now.”

The ache in Nellie’s core deepened. But so did the warmth in her heart. “Thanks, babe. I’m hoping it’ll be official by tomorrow, but… we’ll see.”

“Do you have a match tomorrow?”

She laughed shortly to herself; the expression on her face said it all. “Yeah… a best two out of three falls eight-woman tag match. Me, Tam, Poi, and Mina against Donna del Mondo. It’s the main event.”

“Shit,” David commented before she’d even finished. “That’s gonna be charged.”

“Tell me about it,” she lowly returned. And then, “Thekla thinks I should take the opportunity to leave Cosmic Angels.”

“I was just about to say. It’s the perfect opportunity, isn’t it?”

She drew in a hesitant breath. “Potentially? Actually, if the Cosmic Angels-Club Venus shit finally hits the fan like I expect it to, it probably will be the perfect opportunity. I could just say they’re too dysfunctional and walk out. That’s exactly how I left Queen’s Quest.”

“Then I say do it,” David returned. “You’d be better served somewhere other than Cosmic Angels, I know you would. You know you would.”

“I do know I would,” she agreed. “I’m just… I don’t know. Worried about hurting people’s feelings even though I know I shouldn’t be.”

“Torrance will be fine,” David dismissed; it went without saying that she meant her. “She has Mariah and Mina.”

“No shit,” Nellie breathed. “They’re three peas in a pod these days. Which doesn’t really surprise me… Torr and Mariah are basically the same person in slightly different fonts.” David laughed at that. “Well, it’s true!” she doubled down.

“No, it is,” he nodded. “But I could always just say you’re Bullet Club, too. I’m sure that would get the point across to Tam.”

A grin spread over Nellie’s face. It felt inevitable that she would be Bullet Club, and sooner rather than later. But he’d reminded her. “Speaking of Bullet Club, are you gonna tell me who Riley’s replacement is yet?”

He smirked and shook his head. “No. That’s privileged information.”

Her eyebrows arched. “And I’m not privileged to it? I’m your girlfriend!”

“You’ll find out tomorrow,” he assured her. “Don’t worry—it’s someone you like. I can’t have anyone in Bullet Club who doesn’t get along with my girl.”

“Well, there’s some people you need to kick out, then,” she returned—just as she heard a knock-knock-knock on the front door of her apartment. She glanced toward the sound in confusion. David noticed.

“What?”

“Someone just knocked on my door.”

He looked confused then. “Isn’t it almost 10 p.m. there?” he asked. But Nellie was already pulling up the live feed from her video doorbell—and she saw a familiar figure.

“It’s Torr.” She sighed. Something told her she wasn’t just dropping by.

“I guess you should go, then,” David figured. Nellie’s brow furrowed.

“Probably. I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t apologize,” he gently said. “I should probably get going myself, and you two are overdue for a talk.”

“Yeah… because I don’t want to have it,” she muttered.

David smirked. “Go, babe. I’ll talk to you later.”

She pouted. “Okay. See you soon,” she returned—and before they disconnected, she almost said it. I love you. She knew she did. But she wanted the first time she told him to be in person.

She left her phone in her bedroom and padded down the hall to the front door. She unlocked and opened it just as Torrance was getting ready to knock again. She quickly put her hand down, almost as if she was surprised Nellie had answered.

“Hey.” Torrance took in her appearance—pajamas on, makeup off. Her brow furrowed. “You weren’t in bed, were you?”

“Well, technically,” Nellie returned. “But I was talking with David.”

Torrance’s frown deepened. “Oh. I’m sorry, I should have texted—”

“No, it’s fine,” Nellie dismissed, and she opened the door wider so she could come inside. Torrance hesitated for a beat before she crossed the threshold. It was odd. They both had keys to each other’s apartments; it used to be that Torrance would just let herself in without so much as a knock. But a lot had changed over the last three months.

“What’s up?” Nellie asked as she shut the door. She noticed that Torrance was dressed for a night out in a shiny pink miniskirt and white bustier tank top, her hair and makeup done to perfection. And again, Torrance hesitated.

“Um, well,” she started with a bit of a nervous laugh. “I actually came over here to ask if you wanted to come out with us, but—”

“Who’s ‘us’?”

Torrance bit her lip. “Me, Mariah, and Mina.”

Nellie couldn’t help her laugh. “You’re joking, right?”

Torrance’s expression turned stony. “No, actually, I’m not.”

“Torr,” Nellie breathed out. “Come on. I literally just beat Mariah in a title match and then talked shit about her, you really think either of us want to hang out with each other?”

“Well, Mariah’s willing to put that aside because she knows you’re my best friend,” Torrance returned. She looked down at her hands. “And I feel like we’ve barely seen each other since… well, since the Triangle Derby started.”

So, since Club Venus became a thing, Nellie wanted to say. But she figured it wouldn’t help. “Because we haven’t,” she regretfully returned. “But it’s not intentional. You’ve just been doing your thing with Mariah and Mina, and I’ve been doing mine with Tam and Poi. Or I was. And I know I sort of went off into my own little world when David came back, so…”

Torrance looked back up at her. “Yeah, so are you and him…?”

“Together? Officially?” Nellie finished. “Yeah, we are,” she confirmed, and the mood lightened a bit. Torrance smiled.

“Took long enough.”

Nellie breathed a laugh. “I know. But I think it happened right when it was supposed to.”

“No, I think so, too,” Torrance agreed. “He’s good for you, I can tell. You’ve carried yourself differently ever since he came back; more confident.”

“Thanks,” Nellie genuinely returned. She’d noticed that change in herself, too. David was good for her. He was good to her. And she wasn’t the only one who’d changed. “You’ve been more confident with Club Venus, too.”

Torrance looked down again, the corners of her mouth turned up, almost as if she was bashful to hear that Nellie had noticed. “Yeah, they’ve really helped me come into my own. Mina really pushes me. And I don’t know… it just feels like we’re all on equal footing.”

Nellie nodded in understanding. “Unlike when we were a tag team?”

Torrance frowned again. “I wasn’t trying to imply—”

“No, I get it,” Nellie assured her. And she did get it. After she and Torrance had won the 2021 Goddesses of Stardom Tag League, throughout their entire reign as Goddess of Stardom Champions, people had said that Nellie carried Torrance. That Nellie was the better wrestler, that Torrance would never be champion without her. So, it was no wonder Torrance felt more confident with Mariah and Mina. People weren’t comparing her to them; instead, they were acknowledging how much she’d improved. And as much as Nellie didn’t care for Club Venus, she still wanted the best for Torrance.

“And for what it’s worth, I never felt like I was carrying our team,” she told her. “I should have told you that back then. I’m sorry I didn’t.”

“No, I know you never felt that way,” Torrance returned, and nothing else needed to be said. She and Nellie understood each other. They always had.

“But… I guess I can’t persuade you to get dressed and come out with us?” she added.

Nellie shook her head. “Not a chance.”

Torrance nodded. “It was worth a shot.” She started for the door. “Well, sorry for interrupting your call with your man.” She stopped. “I didn’t interrupt… something, did I?”

Nellie let out a laugh. “No, it wasn’t one of those calls. He’ll be back Tuesday; I think I can manage ‘til then.”

“Tuesday?” Torrance noted. “Okay, I’ll be sure to steer clear of here that whole day.”

She let herself out, and Nellie told her to have a glass of water for every drink—she had to work tomorrow. And as Torrance waved goodbye and Nellie shut the door, she knew that neither of them were the same people anymore. They’d grown. Professionally, apart. But not in their hearts.

* * * *

Sunday, November 20, 2022 NJPW/Stardom Historic X-Over – Tokyo, Japan

If anyone was surprised at how well Cosmic Queendom and Aussie Open worked together in the ring, it wasn’t Nellie, Torrance, Kyle, or Mark. It felt like they’d been teaming together for years, and the deeper they got into the match against Los Ingobernables de Japon and Fukuoka Double Crazy, the more Nellie knew they were creating something special for fans of NJPW and Stardom alike. But it wasn’t all serious. Nellie couldn’t help but mess with Sanada and Naito a bit—a callback to her days in Suzuki-gun with Zack. In the end, it was Torrance who got the pin over Koguma after she and Nellie surprised Mark and Kyle by doing Coriolis. And when their arms were raised in victory, Nellie almost wished that she and Torrance had joined United Empire like they’d half-joked about a year ago.

Almost.

More members of United Empire greeted them as they returned backstage; Jeff Cobb, Great O-Khan, and Aaron Henare’s match against Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano, and Great Muta was next. Mark and Kyle exchanged “Crowns Up” with all their teammates—and then Jeff looked expectantly at Nellie.

“Come on, you know you want to,” he tempted, wiggling his hands at her.

“Fine; but only for you,” she reluctantly gave in, and she made a crown with her hands and touched her fingers to his.

“I don’t know,” Jeff teased, his voice raising leadingly. “After seeing that Coriolis, I think there’s definitely a spot for Cosmic Queendom in the Empire.”

“Ha!” Torrance bluntly dismissed. Jeff pressed his mouth into a line.

“Okay, maybe just a spot for Nellie, then.”

“Yeah, how long have you two been planning that?” Mark asked, tactfully shifting the focus away from the ghost of Torrance and Will’s relationship. Thank God Will was elsewhere.

“Not long; we only just thought of trying it a few days ago,” Nellie said. “You’re not upset we did it?”

She looked hesitantly between Mark and Kyle, but they both quickly shook their heads. “Hell no, it was perfect,” Kyle assured, and Nellie smiled. They’d talked everything out that night he’d kissed her three weeks ago in New York City, and there wasn’t any awkwardness at all between them. They’d had a fling a year ago that just hadn’t panned out, and that was that. They were just friends. Easy.

“Well, thanks,” she said. “But Torr and I are kind of a package deal, so if she’s not in, I’m not, either. Sorry, Jeff.”

“A package deal?” O-Khan slyly asked. Torrance’s eyes widened.

“Not that kind of package deal!” she proclaimed. And then, more under her breath, “Not that anyone hasn’t asked me that before, but.”

Nellie whipped her head around at her. “Wait, what?”

“Yes, please share with the class,” Jeff eagerly added, propping his chin on his fist. But O-Khan’s entrance music started to play and inadvertently gave Torrance the perfect out from answering.

“Good luck!” she said, and the guys all groaned and booed after them as she and Nellie left. Nellie could tell by Torrance’s clipping pace that she was keyed up.

“You alright?”

“I need to get out of here and get a drink,” she returned. “How many more matches are there?”

“Um,” Nellie thought about it for a second. “Three, I think? But that reminds me—Gabe invited us out with the LA Dojo guys. I told him I wasn’t sure if you had anything in mind already and would let him know.” She shrugged. “I don’t know, it could be fun. Although that Clark guy seems like he might be trouble.”

“I don’t have anything in mind,” Torrance returned. “And honestly, I’m up for a bit of trouble.”

And that was how, later that night, they found themselves at a dive bar in Roppongi with Gabriel Kidd, Clark Connors, and Alex Coughlin. There had been more people with them at the outset, but one by one they’d dropped off bar after bar and called it a night. But not Nellie and Torrance. They were both familiar with Gabe from his time as a Young Lion, although they hadn’t seen him in a year-and-a-half. As for Clark and Alex, the girls barely knew either of them—but the guys seemed very keen on changing that.

“How the hell is it we haven’t hung out before tonight?” Clark asked Nellie, turning toward her as they sat together at the bar. “I know you were around when I was here in twenty-nineteen.”

“Probably because I was around, but I wasn’t living here yet,” she explained. “I moved here in twenty-twenty, right before everything shut down.”

“Yeah, Nell and I were in that same shitty boat,” Gabe said. “At least you weren’t stuck quarantined in fucking dojo housing.”

She snorted through her nose. “No, I was just stuck quarantined with my ex.”

“No shit!” Clark exclaimed. “Who’s that?”

“Jesus, Clark, mind your business!” Alex shot, his New York accent becoming even more pronounced. Torrance chuckled beside him.

“It’s fine,” Nellie dismissed with a wave of her hand. “It was Zack. Sabre Jr.,” she added, as if there was another pro wrestler named Zack living in Japan.

“Oh shit, you were with ZSJ, weren’t you?” Clark realized. “Actually, now that you mention it, I remember working a RevPro show with you, him, and Suzuki a few years back. Both of y’all were there too,” he said to Alex and Gabe.

They both nodded. “Yeah, bruv, I know exactly what show you’re talking about,” Gabe confirmed. “And clearly Nellie has a thing for Brits, so we should switch spots.”

Clark flipped him off. “You want another drink?” he asked Nellie.

“Nah, I’ll get it,” Gabe said, already flagging down the bartender.

“How about I get us all the next round?” Alex interjected. “You two are embarrassing yourselves.”

Clark and Gabe both let Alex know exactly what they thought of that, and Nellie took the opportunity to slide off her barstool. “Well, while you guys figure it out, I’m gonna run to the bathroom.”

“I’ll go with you,” Torrance said.

“It’s a one-stall bathroom,” Clark pointed out.

“Well, good thing I’m going just so we can talk about the three of you, then,” she sweetly returned, and Nellie laughed at the look on Clark’s face as they both walked away.

“Looks like you have your pick of Clark and Gabe tonight,” Torrance smirked once they were out of earshot. Nellie genially rolled her eyes.

“Come on… you know I’m not available.”

“Yeah, I know,” Torrance started—and Nellie could sense it coming.

“But?”

“But,” she went on. “As much as I want things to work out with you and David, you’ve already spent enough time waiting on guys, Nell. More than enough, more than you ever should have. I mean, speaking of Zack—he’s literally the only guy since I’ve known you who didn’t leave you in some sort of limbo.”

Nellie’s eyebrows arched. “Jesus, when you put it like that.” She tried the restroom door handle as they arrived, but it was occupied, and so they both leaned back against the wall on either side of the hall to wait.

“I’m just being honest,” Torrance returned.

“No, I know,” Nellie breathed; and, admittedly, Torrance did have a point.

David had left Japan less than a week after he and Nellie had finally told each other how they felt; and with no timetable for when he’d be back, they’d made the mutual decision not to put a label on anything. “That would make me no better than Jay, and I refuse to do that to you,” David had said. But it didn’t dishearten Nellie. Instead, it emboldened her. Because, to her, it confirmed that what she and David had wasn’t conditional. It was real.

“And I get what you’re saying, I do,” she told Torrance. “But it doesn’t feel like I’m in a limbo this time, Torr, and I can’t explain it other than to say I just have this deep-seated feeling in my soul that David and I have something real that’s worth waiting for. I mean, we’ve talked every single day since he left, and I sure as shit couldn’t say that about Jay when he was stuck in the States, and we were actually in a relationship.”

“I know,” Torrance nodded. “David’s a good guy, and I have a lot more faith in him than most, I do. But I’m just saying… I’ll still kick his ass if I have to.”

Nellie grinned. “I know you will. But I’m telling you you won’t.” The restroom door opened, and a woman smiled and bowed her head at them as she exited. “You go ahead,” Nellie offered Torrance.

“Okay, cool; turns out I do have to go,” she said, and she ducked inside and locked the door behind her as Nellie fished her phone out of her small crossbody bag. The clock widget on her home screen informed her it was after 10 a.m. on the East Coast of the U.S., but David was in Los Angeles filming an episode of NJPW Strong; ironically, he had an eight-man tag match against a team that included Jay and Riley. But she decided to text him, anyway. Even if he wasn’t up, he’d get back to her when he was.

She pulled up their text chain and smiled seeing their messages from just a few hours ago; he’d gotten up in the middle of the night to watch her and Torrance’s Historic X-Over match live. Torr and I are out with the LA Dojo guys, she wrote. I’m having fun, but it’s also just making me miss you.

She sent it off and switched over to Instagram, not expecting a reply. But then David’s name popped up on her screen.

Are you? They’re good guys, don’t let their antics fool you. And I miss you too, every day.

Butterflies. Meaningful ones.

They exchanged a few more texts before Torrance emerged from the bathroom, and Nellie told him she’d let him go to start his day. Okay, let me know when you make it back home, he wrote back. You know I’ll start to worry if I don’t hear from you.

I know, she returned, and she sent it off with a kissy face emoji. Because even though there wasn’t a label on her and David’s relationship, in every other way, every way that mattered, they were together.

* * * *

Sunday, April 23, 2023 Stardom All Star Grand Queendom – Yokohama, Japan

Doggedness and determination. That’s what Nellie was running on by the end of the winner takes all match against Saya Kamitani.

She’d been prepared, thoroughly. But as well as Nellie knew Saya, she wasn’t used to being opposite her, at least not one-on-one, and she realized early on that she couldn’t afford a single misstep. But the reverse was also true—and unlike Nellie, Saya had nothing to gain or prove. She’d surpassed the record set by Momo Watanabe for defenses of the Wonder of Stardom Championship, eclipsed Kairi by more than one hundred days to become the white belt’s second-longest reigning champion, her position as one of Stardom’s best and brightest secure. She had nothing to fight for outside maintaining the status quo.

But Nellie had everything to gain, everything to prove, everything to fight for. Despite being a long-tenured champion herself, despite being the older and more experienced wrestler of the two, she was decidedly the underdog. That was her motivation, her drive, her fire. And by the halfway point, there were more people cheering for Nellie in Saya’s hometown crowd than there had been at the opening bell. If she lost, at least she would have that.

But she won.

She knew she’d done it as soon as she hit her new finisher, a variation on a lifting reverse STO that she’d worked out with David and dubbed the Wit Hit. (“As in a cheesesteak wit onion, not as in like, a quick wit,” she’d explained. “Honestly, it works either way,” he’d smirked.) And when she hooked Saya’s leg and felt the referee count one, two, three, she knew she’d earned the crowd’s respect.

And she had Saya’s, too. All along.

As Nellie stood with tears in her eyes and the winner’s trophy in her hands, Saya fastened the Wonder of Stardom Championship around her waist. And after she raised her arm in victory, she pulled her into a hug and told her in Japanese, “You are always welcome in Queen’s Quest, Nellie-san.”

Nellie hadn’t expected it. It gave her even more to think about.

But she’d worry about that later. Right now, her priority was setting her intention as the new Wonder of Stardom Champion.

“What did I say?” she started as she stepped in front of the backstage camera; sweaty and worn, laden with gold. “I said I would end Saya Kamitani’s history-making reign, and that’s exactly what I did. And now a gaijin from Philadelphia is the 9th SWA World Champion and the 17th Wonder of Stardom Champion—and I intend to be a fighting champion.” She shook her head. “No more going five months without a defense. No more being placated and overlooked. Whoever wants a shot at either of my titles, just say the word. Kamitani-san had fifteen defenses of this championship? I want sixteen. Seventeen, eighteen, more. So whoever wants to try to take it from me, let Rossy know. He can’t ignore me now.”

She stopped to draw in a breath, collecting herself before she went on. “And now that I have proven just how un-ignorable I am, how much of an asset I am to this company, there’s another piece of business I need to address. For an entire week now people have been asking me nonstop backstage, online, stopping me out in the street—Who are you with, Nellie? Are you with Cosmic Angels or Club Venus? And frankly? The answer is neither.

“Tam and Poi, you welcomed me into Cosmic Angels without question. You gave me a place when I was suddenly without one, and I’ll never take that for granted. Torr and I won the Goddess titles with your backing, I won this SWA title for a history-making second time with your backing, the three of us nearly went the distance in the Triangle Derby. But despite all that success, we all knew I was something of a black sheep in your colorful, kawaii flock. It was like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole, and what happened? I wore myself down to try to fit.” She shook her head again. “Not anymore. My edge is back—and with all due respect, I’ve outgrown Cosmic Angels. And with no due respect, I’m sure as shit not joining Club Venus.”

She adjusted the SWA title on her shoulder. She was exhausted, and it was getting heavier by the minute. “But even though I know at the end of the day I can only really rely on me, myself, and I, I’m not really into the whole lone wolf thing, either. I recognize that there’s strength in numbers, and I’ll be taking my time to consider my next move. But for now, I’m gonna go put all this down because it’s fucking heavy, and then I’m gonna crack open a Sapporo and celebrate the sweet, sweet return of Two-Belt Nell.”

* * * *

Wednesday, May 3, 2023 Wrestling Dontaku – Fukuoka, Japan

The Stardom bus arrived at the Fukuoka International Center fifteen minutes before bell time. They’d had a show earlier that afternoon in Shimonoseki, and with Stardom running a pay-per-view in Fukuoka tomorrow, they’d loaded up and made the hour-and-a-half trip down for the NJPW show there that evening. And as soon as she could, Nellie shot off the bus like a bullet.

David had been back in Japan for two weeks, but Nellie had only gotten to spend a handful of hours with him. He’d arrived in Tokyo only to turn around and leave for the Road to Dontaku tour, and their schedules had kept them apart in separate corners of the country. And because of that, Nellie still hadn’t said those three little-big words.

They’d been on the tip of her tongue the day he’d come back. She’d felt them in the way he’d touched her, looked at her, in every breath during that abbreviated time they’d spent together before he had to leave to get on the bus. But she hadn’t wanted to say it only for him to be physically absent again. If she was going to tell him she loved him, she needed to feel it, live in it for longer than just a few hours.

And tonight, the timing was finally right.

She made a beeline for his dressing room, pausing impatiently when she ran into Aussie Open, and they both hugged her and congratulated her on winning the Wonder of Stardom Championship before she took off again. She knocked on the door when she arrived, and David called for her to come in. Her heart melted at the sight of his smile.

“Finally,” he breathed, and then his lips were on hers. Hungry, eager, heated, as if it had been two months instead of just two weeks.

But then Nellie had a thought. “Are you sharing this room with Kenta?” she quickly asked. She hadn’t noticed any other luggage around, but she hadn’t really looked, either.

David shook his head, a smirk on his lips. “Not tonight. We have this all to ourselves.”

That was all the information she needed. She pushed him down onto a seat and straddled his lap, and then they were the only two people in the entire arena again. David ignited her entire being in a way that no one ever had, mind, body, soul—heart. And before they lost themselves in each other, she needed to tell him.

She pulled back and looked down at him. His eyes were dark and hooded, full of desire. “What?” he softly asked.

“I love you.”

Nellie knew he felt the same, she knew he did—but there was still that anxious knot in her gut. Until a smile spread over David’s face.

“I was wondering when you’d finally say it.”

She let go of the breath she’d been holding. “Are you serious right—”

He silenced her with a kiss, and she melted into him like she always did. She loved him; he loved her. It was undeniable.

He pulled back, their lips still close, noses brushing. “I love you, too. I have since the fall.”

Butterflies exploded in Nellie’s stomach. “You have?”

“Mhm,” he nodded. “I spent that entire tour last year falling in love with you, and when I left Japan, it felt like I’d left part of myself behind. And then the night of Historic X-Over, when you called me after you got home from being out with the LA Dojo guys… I knew.”

Nellie’s smile lit up her entire face, her entire being. “I was drunk when I called you that night,” she remembered.

“Yeah, I know you were,” David grinned. “Which reminds me, I have to tell Clark he can’t take my girlfriend out and ply her with alcohol anymore.”

She laughed. “But it would just be a little Bullet Club bonding,” she innocently returned. It made him arch a brow.

“You saying you’re Bullet Club? Is that what I’m hearing?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know… that’s kind of up to you.”

He drew her closer on his lap. “It would be nice to have you out there with me when I win the title tonight…”

He trailed off and kissed her neck. She bit back a grin. “I don’t want to stir the pot just yet. I just won the Wonder of Stardom title; it probably wouldn’t be the best idea to ruffle any company feathers.”

David hummed against her skin. “Mm… yeah, you’re not ready. That’s not something someone in Bullet Club would say.”

Nellie playfully rolled her eyes. But he pulled her mouth against his again, and they let their bodies finish the conversation.

* * * *

Sunday, June 12, 2022 Osaka, Japan

For the longest time, this was all Nellie had wanted. To feel Jay again. To feel wanted by him again. And now that she’d finally gotten it, all she felt was uncertainty. Still.

She lay next to him in his hotel room, facing the other way, listening to him breathe. In and out, steady. Last night had been an intoxicating blur of adrenaline and emotion. She blamed Osaka, the romance of a different setting, the context of why they were there. Stardom and NJPW both had shows in the city; Jay had a match against Okada for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Dominion that night. And last night, Nellie had felt like her body was a prize for Jay just as much as that title. Something for him to win, to take. Part of her regretted letting him have it. But another part of her still yearned to belong to him.

She felt him stir beside her, and then he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her back against his chest. She closed her eyes and folded into him.

“Mm,” he hummed. “I missed this.”

He pressed his lips against her neck, and Nellie let him. But she couldn’t keep from asking.

“Did you?”

“Of course,” he easily returned. Almost as if he’d expected her to question him, as if he’d had the answer at the ready that he knew she wanted to hear. But then his mouth was working down her body, his lips leaving a trail of goosebumps over her skin, until his head was between her legs and his tongue inside her. And she gave into him, writhing and arching her back, curling her fingers in his hair until she came undone. And all the while, she didn’t stop questioning.

He kissed his way back up to her lips, his naked body hovering over her. His cock pressed hard against her inner thigh. She wanted it. She hated that she did. But she wanted him.

“Let’s get in the shower,” he breathed. And she let him pull her from the bed and lead her into the shower where he had her again, her back pressed up against the wet tile, legs wrapped tight around his waist as her nails left tiny moon-shaped marks on his shoulders. Because even though Nellie knew it wouldn’t last, that Jay would just be gone again come tomorrow, she wanted to pretend he was hers for just a little while longer.

* * * *

Saturday, May 27, 2023 Stardom Flashing Champions – Tokyo, Japan

Two defenses in just over a month. Nellie had said she’d wanted to be a fighting champion, and her challengers had quickly formed a line.

Natsupoi had been first, eager and determined. Nellie bested her in a main event twenty-minute battle in Fukuoka the night after David won the NEVER Openweight Championship. Tonight, it was Unagi Sayaka, defeated in just over fifteen minutes. Nellie wasn’t surprised that her former teammates had been the first to step up. They wanted to defend the honor of Cosmic Angels in the wake of her departure, even if there wasn’t any bad blood. But their efforts had fallen short—and Nellie was still an island unto herself. She was biding her time, weighing her options between Donna del Mondo and Queen’s Quest. This time around, the ball was in her court; she wasn’t going to fumble it.

She returned to the locker room after making her backstage comments and automatically checked her phone. David was flying in tomorrow after being back in the States for the last three weeks and change, returning early to spend time with her before Dominion and the next Stardom tour. She smiled when she saw she had a text from him.

Two down, fourteen to go. Proud of you, babe. I can’t wait to see you tomorrow.

Tomorrow isn’t soon enough, she returned with a kissy face emoji.

But David wasn’t the only one who’d texted her. So had Clark.

Congrats, champ. We’re going out to celebrate, right?

Her brow furrowed. Who’s we? she sent back. She and Clark were friends, but he could get too friendly sometimes.

His response came quick. You, me, and your Stardom friends. The hot single ones.

She rolled her eyes, but her phone pinged again. He’d sent her the name of a bar in Roppongi; of course that was where he wanted to go. She pursed her lips as she wrote back.

My hot single friends might already have plans, she told him.

Alright but if Dave asks it was your idea for just the two of us to hang out, not mine, he returned.

Nellie breathed out. As irritated as she wanted to be, she had to give him that one. But she sent him an eye roll emoji and said, I’ll ask Torr and Thekla and let you know, and threw her phone in her bag to head to the shower.

* * * *

As it turned out, Nellie’s hot single friends did already have plans—to go to a different bar in Roppongi. But that worked just fine for Clark, and he told Nellie he’d meet them there. And honestly, she hoped he’d get there sooner rather than later, because the current company was a mixed bag, to say the least.

Thekla had come, along with Giulia and Mai Sakurai, the three of which were in a celebratory mood—they’d won the Artist of Stardom Championship from REStart that night. Torrance had also come; it was the first time she and Nellie had gone out together in months.

But she’d brought Club Venus with her.

“They’re really not that bad if you get to know them,” Thekla told Nellie over the music as they sat together in the booth; all the others were off dancing or getting drinks. It earned her a skeptical stare. “I know, I know,” she returned. “You’re Team Tam even if you’re not in Cosmic Angels anymore. But Torrance is your best friend, and Mariah is practically her clone. Her much taller British clone, but still.”

Nellie laughed, remembering how she’d told David almost the exact same thing. But then Thekla changed the subject.

“And speaking of you not being in Cosmic Angels anymore… when’re you gonna bite the bullet and join DDM?”

Nellie breathed out. She’d expected this to come up.

“It’s been over a month, Nell.”

“I’m aware,” she replied. “But Giulia doesn’t seem nearly as eager to have me in DDM as Utami does to have me back in Queen’s Quest.”

She sent Thekla a pointed look over her drink. Thekla’s eyebrows arched in understanding.

“Giulia is hard to read, I’ll give you that,” she admitted. “And I’ll be honest with you—you’d have to earn her trust because of how close you are with Tam. Which I mean, can you blame her? Tam shaved her head.”

“Okay, but she rocked that look, though,” Nellie pointed out.

Thekla grinned. “She did, but still. The good news is you’re already halfway there.”

“Am I?” she curiously asked.

“Yeah. Because Giulia trusts me and my judgment—and I want you in DDM, dammit.”

Nellie grinned. “And I appreciate that. And as soon as I make my decision, I’ll let you know.”

“Look who we found at the bar.”

They both looked up. Giulia and Mai had returned, and they had Clark with them.

“I wouldn’t expect you to find him anywhere else,” Nellie quipped.

He set a shot glass in front of her and Thekla each. “Here, I bought us all a round,” he said, and then, in a higher-pitched voice, “‘Oh, thank you, Clark, you’re so sweet and thoughtful and also incredibly handsome.’”

Thekla snorted. Nellie's expression was deadpan. “I already regret telling you where to meet us.”

“Scoot over,” he said with a nudge of her shoulder, and she and Thekla made room so he could sit down while Giulia and Mai did the same on the other side of the booth.

“What is this?” Nellie asked as she picked up the shot.

“Tequila,” Clark said. “I remember what you like.”

She ignored the comment and brought the liquor to her lips.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” he quickly stopped her. “We gotta toast!” He raised his glass and looked expectantly around the table. The girls all obliged. “To the success of Donna del Mondo,” he started, “and the restoration of fucking Bullet Club.”

A smirk pulled at Nellie’s lips, and they all toasted and kicked back the tequila, some grimacing more than others as it went down. “Okay, that one was for you, but we're getting whiskey next round,” Clark winced.

“What, can’t handle it?” Nellie teased. “I remember Gabe shooting tequila just fine.”

“A-heh-heh-heh,” he screwed up his face and mock-laughed in return. “But speaking of Gabe—I heard you’re gonna be at Dominion?”

Her brow furrowed in confusion; that segue didn’t make any sense. What did Gabe have to do with Dominion?

But before she could ask, Thekla interjected, “Wait, what? Isn’t Dominion the same day as our Korakuen show?”

Nellie nodded. “It is. But I told Rossy I want to be in Osaka to support David at ringside and that if he really wants to elevate Stardom’s global profile, he needs to start putting me and my two titles on NJPW TV.”

Thekla’s eyebrows arched. “And he agreed to that?”

“Mhm,” Nellie proudly returned. “I think he admired my nerve.”

“Hell yeah,” Clark grinned. “I cannot wait to see the look on ELP’s face when you walk out there with us.”

She gave him another curious look. Us? As far as she knew, Clark wasn’t booked to be at Dominion. “Okay, is there something—”

“What the fuck is this twat doing here?”

Nellie whipped her head around. She saw Torrance first, her face flushed from dancing. And then she saw Dan Moloney.

“I know you’re not talking about me,” Clark returned.

“Well, I don’t see any other twats sat at this table.”

Nellie shot a tense look at Torrance, asking with her face what the hell Dan was doing there. He and Clark had just tried to murder each other in their Best of the Super Juniors tournament match three days ago; the last thing she wanted to do tonight was pull apart another United Empire-Bullet Club fight.

Clark stood from the booth, and Nellie almost grabbed the back of his shirt—but then he greeted Dan like they were best mates.

“I didn’t know you’d be here tonight, man. You should’ve said something.”

“Yeah, well, kind of a last-minute thing. This one invited me,” Dan said with a thumb at Torrance.

Nellie, meanwhile, was at a complete loss. “I’m sorry—what?”

“I don’t know—men,” Thekla shrugged. “They beat the shit out of each other once and suddenly they’re best friends.”

Clark sat back down next to Nellie while Mai made room for Torrance and Dan on the other side of the booth, and Torrance and Nellie’s gaze connected again. Torrance tapped her phone; and no sooner had she than Nellie felt hers vibrate in the back pocket of her jeans. She pulled it out and read the text.

We may have hooked up. Surprise?

Nellie widened her eyes at her friend. She just shrugged.

Surprised and not surprised, she wrote back. I guess bro code doesn’t count for shit in UE.

She waited for Torrance to see the response. Her phone lit up—and she scoffed before quickly typing back.

Whatever, I don’t care. Will had already moved on to another warm body before my side of the bed was even cold.

Nellie read the text and gave her a look that said, “You’re not wrong,” before sending a written reply.

Maybe Dan isn’t even in UE anymore. Him and Clark acting all buddy-buddy right now is suspicious AF.

Torrance’s eyes went wide, and she typed quickly back. Don’t even joke. I’m so done fucking with Bullet Club boys.

Nellie just laughed; she’d thought the same after she and Jay had broken up. And yet, here she was, just days away from declaring herself Bullet Club, too—something that only she, David, and Clark knew.

As far as she knew, anyway.

* * * *

Friday, November 4, 2022 Osaka, Japan

Tomorrow would be David’s last show in Japan until he didn’t know when. It sucked—it really sucked. He and Nellie had only realized their mutual desire for something more than just friendship five days ago. But Nellie didn’t want to focus on their painfully poor timing. As it worked out, their schedules had synced up to give them a full day off together in Osaka, and they’d taken full advantage.

They started off with getting breakfast at an American-style diner, splitting chocolate banana pancakes and a bacon and cheese omelet because neither of them could decide which sounded better. Then they’d gone on the famous Osaka costumed go-kart sightseeing tour that Nellie had always wanted to try but never had the chance; she’d dressed up as Yoshi, David as Pikachu. Afterward, they’d stopped at one of the city’s numerous food stalls for deep-fried chicken and sticky-sweet rice balls before heading back to David’s hotel room, where they’d fallen asleep watching TV together on the bed. It felt so natural, so comfortable, so uncomplicated sleeping in David’s arms.

But when they awoke, it only made it that much more difficult not to think about how their time together was dwindling all too quickly.

“I don’t want to leave you at all,” David said as they still lay together, his arm around her, her head on his chest. “But I also feel like I need the time away for myself to reset; go back to the fucking drawing board. My G1 was shit; I really wanted that TV Title… I don’t know. I need to figure out what I need to do to stop just spinning my wheels.”

“Your G1 wasn’t shit,” Nellie gently returned. “Will won your block with what? Eight points? And you and everyone else but Juice finished with six. Most people finished with six this year. And if it helps at all, that TV Title is ugly as shit.”

David let out a laugh. “You’re right about that. And yeah, at least I did beat Juice. But it’s just one disappointment after another, you know?”

“I do know. You know I do. And I think you’re right. I don’t want you to leave, either. But even more than that, I don’t want you to get burned out from frustration.” She lifted her head to look at him. “So, take some time to do what you need to do, and then come back to me.”

He gave her a soft smile. “I know this probably feels like an uncomfortably familiar situation. But I promise, Nell—I’m not Jay.”

She shook her head. “I know you’re not,” she said, and she kissed him. She’d meant it to be just one, short and sweet, assuring; but neither of them wanted to stop at just one. David rolled her underneath him, and her hand unintentionally slipped under his shirt. Nellie wanted him; she wanted to cross that line. But she knew all too well that sleeping with him now would only make his absence hurt that much more—

And then her phone started ringing.

He pulled back. “Is someone calling you?”

She sighed. “Guarantee it’s Torrance.” Sure enough, when she retrieved her phone from the nightstand, Torrance’s name was displayed on the screen. David just laughed.

Nellie answered the call, and she and Torrance talked for a few minutes, figuring out what the plans were for the evening (“The Aussies and Jeff and Francesco want to get dinner with us, but I don’t want to be around Will,” Torrance explained). When she hung up, she looked back at David. The previous tension still hung in the air between them.

“It’s probably for the best she interrupted,” he softly said. “I don’t want to do that just to turn around and leave for I don’t know how long.”

Nellie sighed again. “I know. But you know you saying that only makes me want it more, right?”

He grinned. “Maybe that’s the point,” he teased, and he kissed her again. Once, tender and meaningful.

They got up from the bed, and David walked her to the door and told her to let him know when she made it back to her hotel—she wanted to shower and change before dinner—and Nellie made her way to the elevators. She looked down at her phone as one arrived with a ding; but when the doors slid open, a stone dropped into her stomach.

Jay.

He looked like he’d just arrived, luggage in tow, sunglasses on. He pushed them on top of his head and grinned. The cat who caught the canary.

“Well, fancy meeting you here.”  

He stepped out of the elevator, but his suitcase blocked her way and the doors slid closed. Not that Nellie could move, anyway. It felt like her legs had suddenly turned to lead.

“Is Stardom in this hotel?” he asked. “I thought your show was in Nara tomorrow?”

She tried not to think about why he knew that as she answered. “It is, and we’re not. I’m here with David.”

It was more gratifying than she expected to say that to Jay’s face. And even though his face didn’t give much away, she could see it in his eyes. Resentment. But then he turned them down and nodded.

“Are you? That’s kind of surprising.”

Nellie’s brow hardened. “What’s so surprising about it?”

He shook his head. “Nothing—well. It’s just that when you started hanging out with him during the G1… I thought you were doing it just to get back at me.”

Anger bubbled up in Nellie’s chest. Shock, disbelief, to the point that she felt ill. She looked him dead in the eye. “If you think I would use someone like that, then you really don’t know me at all.”

She hit the down button again.

“Nell, come on,” Jay breathed. “What else was I supposed to think? When I got back to Japan it seemed like you wanted to fix things between us, and then next thing I knew, you were out getting drinks with my old best friend.”

“I did want to fix things!” she burst. “Against my own better judgment, I did! And what happened? You fucked me one last time—here, in Osaka, to pump yourself up for your World Title match—and then you disappeared again.”

His eyebrows arched. “Are you joking? I had other bookings; that was two weeks before Forbidden Door.”

The elevator arrived, but Nellie didn’t get on. “Okay, but you didn’t talk to me! You didn’t show me anything, Jay—nothing changed! And you know what David did? He showed me that he gave a shit about me.”

The elevator doors started to close, and Nellie caught them with her arm and stepped inside. She looked back at Jay. The resentment in his eyes had given way to something else. Guilt.

“Nell… I don’t want to leave it like this.”

She shook her head. “Now’s not the time,” she told him, and the elevator doors slid closed, putting a pause on the one conversation that she knew, eventually, she’d no longer be able to avoid.

* * * *

Friday, June 2, 2023 Tokyo, Japan

“You remember the last time we were in Osaka together?”

David asked the question as they finished packing. The big weekend had finally arrived. They were taking the bullet train down to Osaka tomorrow for Dominion on Sunday, and Nellie was buzzing with excitement.

“Yeah, I was just thinking about that,” she said as she zipped up her suitcase and moved it with some effort from her bed to the floor. “It’s crazy to think how much has changed since then.”

Everything had changed. Seven months ago, she and David had been reluctantly pulled apart from one another, both frustrated and floundering in their careers, nothing but uncertainty on the horizon. And now, they were both champions; David the leader of Bullet Club, Nellie on the verge of making her membership known to the world. It felt like they had the whole world ahead of them. And they were doing it together.

“I know,” David returned. “I’d never wanted to board a plane less in my life than I did after that show.”

“Even more than this last time you left?”

“Oh, for sure,” he answered, no hesitation. “Because when I leave now, I know exactly when I’m coming back. It was the not knowing back then that really made it hard.”

Nellie didn’t reply as she climbed onto her bed and settled against the pillows, her thoughts turning inward. After Dominion, David didn’t have any bookings until the G1, over a month away. And they hadn’t really discussed that—if he would extend his stay to spend some extra time with her before heading back home to Florida, if he would come back early before the tournament, if he’d even given it any thought at all. It didn’t worry her, per se; they’d both been busy. But now it was right there in front of her.

“Which, actually, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

She looked back at him, pulled from her thoughts. “What is it?” she asked.

He settled next to her on the bed, and the atmosphere suddenly felt different. Not tense. But important. Nellie felt her heart pick up a beat.

“I know we’ve been moving kind of fast since I came back in March,” David began. “But truthfully—and I think you feel the same—I don’t see the point in waiting if we both know what we want. And so… I’ve decided that I want to move here, to Tokyo. And if you want, I’d like us to get a new place together.”

If Nellie had been buzzing before, she was positively vibrating now. “Are you being serious?”

He nodded. “Of course. I fucking hate every time I have to get on a plane and leave you again. I hate it. And this last time I was gone, I realized… it’s not just my career that’s here now. My life is, too.”

He looked her in the eyes, full of love and trust, and her heart grew wings. “I would love to get a new place together.”

David smiled. “Yeah?”

“Yes, of course,” she said, and she kissed him. She couldn’t contain her excitement. “Babe! This is a big deal!”

“I know, but it’s what I want,” he reiterated. “And plus, this timing works out because I have a month-and-a-half off after Sunday, so that’ll give me a good amount of time to sort everything out and get my place in Florida packed up and shipped over here.”

“That’s a process,” she told him. “Trust me, I know from experience.”

“I know. But to be honest with you, I already started.”

Nellie smiled at him. “You did?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I had a feeling you’d say yes, so I figured I’d get a head start when I was home.”

“Oh, you had a feeling?”

“I did,” he grinned. “Come here.”

He pulled her into another kiss, and Nellie had never felt so much love, so much trust, so much understanding, so much faith that this was right. That everything she’d been through, that they’d been through, had purposefully brought them exactly to where they were now. And she couldn’t wait to find out what else they would build—together.

“I love you,” David said against her lips, and Nellie smiled.

“I love you, too.”

* * * *

Sunday, June 4, 2023 Dominion 6.4 in Osaka-jo Hall – Osaka, Japan

Nellie had thought she was the only surprise David had in store that night. Boy, had she thought wrong.

The first surprise came after the IWGP Junior Tag Title match. Catch 2/2 had staved off Intergalactic Jetsetters only for Clark to come strutting down to the ring—with a gold cap on one of his teeth and a too-orange spray tan, God bless him—and at first, Nellie hadn’t understood. No one had; he was outnumbered, what was he going to do? But everyone got their answer when Dan Moloney, who had been at ringside for the match, unexpectedly attacked Francesco and TJP, officially turning on United Empire and joining Bullet Club. And Torrance had texted Nellie almost as soon as it had happened.

Nellie I swear to God if you knew about this and didn’t tell me.

Dude I had NO idea I swear, I’m just as shocked as you are, she’d quickly sent back. But as Dan and Clark had walked back up the ramp, the sight of them together made a little too much sense.

“They’re gonna bring out the absolute worst in each other,” she’d noted. David had just laughed.

And then, the match after the next, there was another surprise.

After Bishamon had defeated House of Torture and United Empire to win both the IWGP Tag Team and Strong Openweight Tag Team championships, Alex Coughlin and Gabe Kidd had shown up in Bullet Club shirts and put the boots to them, declaring their intent and establishing their allegiance in one fell swoop. It explained why Clark had brought up Dominion after Nellie had mentioned Gabe last week. She had to admit—she was impressed.

But now it was her turn to be the surprise.

She’d never felt more confident than she did now in her BC Decade t-shirt, cropped to show off her figure; although, she wore her Wonder of Stardom Championship around her waist and her SWA World Championship diagonally across her chest, so she was mostly gold. David had explicitly told her to show off. “You’ve earned that,” he’d told her. “We run this fucking place.”

Excited butterflies teemed in her stomach as they all stood at the ready at the Gorilla curtain. David smirked down at her.

“Last chance to back out.”

She grinned and shook her head. “Not a chance,” she told him, and sealed it with a kiss.

His entrance music started. Clark and Dan went out first, followed by Gabe and Alex. They stood on either side of the stage, and then David went up the steps, followed closely by Nellie, Gedo behind her. She could hear the surprise of the crowd when they saw her, feel it course through her body, energizing her. It was a familiar feeling, but renewed. Different. Deeper.

They walked down to the ring, and while David’s focus was zeroed in on El Phantasmo, ELP was looking at Nellie. Except it wasn’t ELP; not right then. Right then, it was Riley.

“Seriously?” he said down to her. “You never once came out here with Jay.”

Nellie didn’t hesitate. “Jay never asked,” she returned, and David slid into the ring and attacked him.

Twenty-six minutes later, he was victorious. And Nellie hadn’t gotten involved; none of the other members of Bullet Club had. David didn’t need their help; he didn’t need them to interfere. This was a different Bullet Club than what it had been under Jay, a return to the original. And when they all joined David in the ring and raised up the Too Sweet above ELP, Nellie had never felt more like she belonged. Not in Cosmic Angels, not in Queen’s Quest, not even in Suzuki-gun. This was her home, beside David—and it just so happened to be in Bullet Club.

[agent-troi]

Borrowed Time (WIP Ask game)

ohhh boy this behemoth will never see the light of day but I'm so happy you asked about this one bc as complicated as it is I love thinking and talking about it lol

so this was meant to be a fix-it for the ending of the star trek novelverse. some important background info: the coda trilogy wrapped up the novelverse basically by retroactively wiping that timeline from existence to avert a threat to the entire multiverse, because apparently with all the new shows and tie-in novels people thought it would be too confusing to also keep the novelverse books going. well that made me pissed as hell so I wrote this short fic, The Forgotten Splinter, bringing back one of my favorite and criminally underused characters, Riker and Troi's daughter Tasha, and Borrowed Time was meant to be a follow up to that.

I have a partial outline complete with chapter titles and extensive notes on what I wanted to happen, but at some point the idea just got too complicated and overwhelming for me to contemplate lol. the short of it is that Tasha gets her memories back from the First Splinter Timeline as well as the other timeline branches that were erased, and she and the gang work together to restore that timeline while also eliminating the threat from the Devidians.

I ended up not writing very much of it except for a list of chapter titles (in rough chronological order) and one passage:

Weddings and Funerals

Sole Survivor

The Reflecting Game

Unsung Heroes

After the Silence

Out of the Silent Wormhole

We Seek the Paradox

What's Good for the Goose

Sound and Fury

More than Memory

There but for the Grace of God

Hail Mary Ex-Machina

Roll for Initiative

The Thousandth Knife

When the Dealing's Done

“The First Splinter Timeline.” Tasha laughed bitterly. “You have no idea what we did for you. What we sacrificed… and this timeline? This timeline is shit! Your version of the Federation literally banned an entire class of life-forms, and didn’t even bother to make an exception when the child of two Starfleet heroes’ life was at stake!” The Troi-Rikers visibly blanched. “And you!” Tasha exclaimed, swiveling toward Picard. “You’re a bloody admiral! Whatever happened to ‘don’t let them promote you, don’t let them transfer you, don’t let them do anything that takes you off the bridge of that ship, because while you’re there, you can make a difference’?” She paused to take a deep breath. “And why didn’t you tell Beverly you love her? She wanted you to go after her, fight for her, not let her go!” Picard was stunned speechless. Tasha continued her rant unabated. “Our timeline wasn’t perfect, but it was better than this! What kind of multiverse is this, where the timeline in which things go mostly right has to be erased from causation, while this shit timeline with all the unnecessary angst and dramatic tension gets to live on? It’s not fair, dammit!” By this point Tasha was nearly hysterical, and the tears poured in a seemingly endless flood down her cheeks. The multiple timelines’ worth of trauma she had been suppressing for six years had finally burst forth from the dam of her subconscious. Deanna’s soul cried out in pure and complete empathy. She had entertained similar thoughts ever since Thad’s diagnosis. Why did their timeline have to be the one where he died? The whole thing had made absolutely no sense, as if whoever was writing the story of their lives got a kick out of torturing their characters.

I came up with this after Picard season one aired but before two and three, so I didn't incorporate any of that into this idea lol, anyway I had some vague notion that this would be the first installment of an epic trilogy, but almost no one read my novelverse fic when I was actively writing and posting about it so I don't really have much motivation to make it happen

[khaleesiofalicante]

So, as you know I love tlnd and I especially love rereading specific chapters and timelines.

And that's why I've decided to create a fanlore page for TLND!

I've decided to create an overview over all the timelines and chapters: it includes a very brief summary of each timetime of every chapter, and a link to every single chapter (+ the POV, its word count and the song rec you gave). This makes finding and rereading specific scenes so much easier!

Additionally, @booksandwhatmore has allowed me to include the list ordering the chapters and timelines chronologically.

-> Link to TLND fanlore page

As a THANK YOU, I wanted to share this with you :)

P.S.: Maybe there are other tlnd readers who can benefit from this overview :)

P.P.S.: This fanfic is so good, it has earned its own wiki page -with or without the overview!

I am, for once, speechless.

This was so kind of you and what an absolute honor. I'm so grateful for readers such as yourself and I'm grateful that my stories found you, just as they found me.

I still don't know what to say. I suppose I'll say thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

PS - I showed this to my mom and she was so shocked by the amount of work you've put it into this and asked me to thank you too.

So, once more.

Thank you 💙

PPS - All the TLND girlies, you now have a TLND guide that will help you better navigate this fic.

Thanks again.

Wow. Just wow.

[amazingdeadfish]

Hey there! Noticed ur series on ao3, is it all one story or are they different? Cus I noticed some have "shadowpuppets endgame" and some don't. Is there a particular order to reading them?

Ahhh Hello!!! If you are talking about Blue and Violet, then yes, it is all one story!!! An entire narrative that has currently been split into 5 parts. I'm sorry if the tagging confused you.

The order to read it in is,

The Quest for the Skeleton Key

Interlude

Co-workers with no Benifits

Colours

Winter Mornings and Summer Nights

This is the chronological timeline! However, I do have a 'prequel' in the works in which it is technically set before TQFTSK, but it is meant to be read after Colours (yeah... I know, confusing huh?). And soon after I post this, I will be adding a sneaky little addition to the series to celebrate the 1 year anniversary since I started this trainwreck of a fic :')))).

The reason some have tagged 'Shadowpuppet endgame' or 'no Shadowpuppet endgame' or just no tag like that at all is because... Hm, how do I explain it? For TQFTSK, I specifically said that Shadowpuppet endgame would not happen because while there were Shadowpuppet moments inside it, they do not end up together in that SPESIFIC part of the fic. For Interlude, I mentioned nothing of shadowpuppet endgame because well, they guys don't even talk to each other in that one??? That's why I didn't use the relationship tag either because the relationship isn't really developed between them. For CWNB, it's the same as TQFTSK. Shadowpuppet moments, but no conclusion for the relationship, so I just said no endgame lol. For Colours on the other hand, I had been really unsure on how I was going to end it. But I will tell you now that there was SERIOUS DEVELOPMENT between Macaque and Mayor. But, again, not exactly end game. In WMSN, I do plan for it all to finally come crashing down (in a brilliant, spectacular fashion). So yeah! That's uh, that's why ⊙⁠﹏⁠⊙. Sorry if it was all too confusing.

Anyways, thank you for sending in your ask! I hope I managed to clear up some things for you and anyone else who is confused :))).

[whosbex]

*drops my pile of questions like a stack of heavy books* I decided to ask a little of everything:

3. Describe the creative process of writing a chapter/fic

4. Where do you find inspiration for new ideas?

7. How do you choose which POV to write from?

12. How does receiving or not receiving feedback/support impact you?

13. What’s a common writing tip that you almost always follow?

17. What do you do when writing becomes difficult? (maybe a lack of inspiration or writers block)

18. Do you title your fics before, during, or after the writing process? How do you come up with titles?

19. What is the most-used tag on your ao3?

20. Have you noticed any patterns in your fics? Words/expressions that appear a lot, themes, common settings, etc?

22. Are there certain types of writing you won’t do? (style, pov, genre, tropes, etc)

23. Best writing advice for other writers?

24. Worst writing advice anyone ever gave you?

27. What is your most and least favorite part of writing?

29. What’s your revision or editing process like?

31. Do you start with the characters or the plot when writing?

33. Do you want to be published some day?

34. Five years from now, where do you see yourself as a writer?

38. Would you ever write commissions?

39. Share a snippet from a WIP.

40. If someone were to make fanart of your work, what fic or scene would you hope to see?

41. Do you tend to reread fics or are you a one-and-done kind of person?

46. How would you describe your style? (Character/emotion/action-driven, etc)

47. How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

48. What do you look for in a beta?

52. Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

54. What’s your favorite part about the fanfiction writing process?

55. Of the characters you write for, which is your favorite? Has that choice been swayed at all by your followers/readers’ reactions to certain ones?

56. What’s something about your writing that you pride yourself on?

57. Do you prefer editing as you write, or waiting until it’s finished? 

58. What part of the writing process do you enjoy the most? (Brainstorming, outlining, writing, editing, etc) 

60. Have you had a writer you admire comment on your fic? What was that like?

62. Thoughts on cliffhangers?

65. Tell us about what you’re most looking forward to writing – in your current project, or a future project

67. Do you prefer prompts and challenges, or completely independent ideas?

68. What, if anything, do you do for inspiration?

70. When asked, are you embarrassed or enthusiastic to tell people that you write?

71. When it comes to more complicated narratives, how do you keep track of outlines, characters, development, timeline, ect.?

72. What order do you write in? front of book to back? chronological? favorite scenes first? something else?

73. What do you think makes your writing stand out from other works?

Okay so I’m not even gonna number these cuz this is a lot 😭.

My creative process is like an on and off switch. Due to ADHD I’ll have an idea for a long time decide to map the story out then procrastinate…for a very long time

TBH I get inspired by other people’s fanart and fanfics.

Now pls don't copy your Auntie Caspian over here but I really just do what ever POV I want to do and feel in the moment if I want to change it I just go back and write it all over again if it's not too late.

If I do receive feed back I feel great! I really enjoy seeing comments and stuff and when I don't I feel fine but kinda overlooked if I'm being honest.

Prep the storyline and lore before anything. If you have all that sorted out you'll be given the liberty to choose what you want in the story or not.

When I have block I just make fanart or make the chapters in my head until I make myself so excited that I want to write again.

Really depends right now I'm doing a DK Fam AU/what if series but IDK what to call it except that (if ya'll have any suggestions pls DM me)

I only have one fic on AO3 so it would be tangled and tts characters lol

One thing that I have noticed( other than always finding a way to add Hispanic/Filipino culture in my fics) is that I tend to be very descriptive about surroundings and how the character feels.

Um I'm fairly new so idk about a lot of genres but all I know right now is that I will never make a story where the main character or any characters that have made it to the end to have a bad ending,if that makes sense. Like I want them to be happy after all the trauma I put them through.

Best advice: to plan things out and to have a draft

Worst advice: that I can't wing it. I do think planning is important but sometimes the best ideas come last minute.

Favorite part of writing: that I can put myself in the characters and what they go through and that I can use it as therapy for myself.

Least favorite: actually writing XD jk but kind of not lol. I also don't like how long editing can be but it's more fun when you can do it with a friend/beta reader yk?

It's long I can tell you that. If I don't have block editing is probably whats taking the longest.

I start with the characters and as I find out who the characters are then I make the plot as I see fit for them and how it can make them stronger and better.

YES ABSOLUTELY!!! I hav this OG story I'm working on and I really want it to be published some day and hopefully that day will be reality!

That I have improved and that I have put a few chapters out.

Depends on what they ask for.

Okay so a small thing I'm doing for my 'What if series' for tts is that I'm making Andrew a good guy and prince of Saporia. and I am also doing a lot of lore for that and giving him an angsty back story.

I'd like to see some Cass and Andrew fanart or some art of the DK cousins which would be Eugene,Cass,Varian and my two OCs Elana and Caspian.

Yah I would re-read fics I haven't because I have a lot to read but I would.

Angsty and wholesome. I wanna try to add a smidge of dark romance but I'm not that good at it so I might practice on that before I publish anything lol.

It's not too long but it can be painful. (if yk yk)

I like them to be honest but not mean when it comes to constructive criticism. and if you have any ideas for the plot or story I honestly would like to hear them out!

YES!!!! I like to respond and see what y'all think. I haven't gotten many but I do like to respond.

How I put a piece of myself in my characters.

It goes back and forth between my OCs and Cass from tts.

How detailed I can be.

I wait until I finish the chapter then I edit.

The lore planning.

She haven't commented ( at least i don't think she has) on a fic but they've helped me brain storm. And it felt nice and cool that I can call her a friend.

If I'm making a second book then yah I like cliffhangers,BUT THEY ARE SO PAINFUL AT THE SAME ASS TIME!!!!

Cass and Andrew scenes,Saporian lore,and Andrew's background. And ofc Erin and Hector moments.

I don't mind prompts.

Look at other people's work.

I'm very enthusiastic,and most of the time others say they can tell lol.

Honestly I don't think I've come across this problem the only thing I have trouble is finding the right words to put the scenes is play.

I write the scenes I'm excited for on paper and then write start to finish on my lap top.

What I think makes me stand out are the characters I create. All of them have either a part of me or have gone through the things I have or are modeled after people in my life.

[plothooksinc]

55, 59, and 72? :3

Of the characters you write for, which is your favorite? Has that choice been swayed at all by your followers/readers’ reactions to certain ones?

Definitely Leo-- specifically Rise Leo because he's a little shit and it's fun crafting him terrible irreverent texts. Rise Donnie is an extremely close second, which fits because Rise is the closest time Donnie has ever come to knocking Leo off the favourite character perch. But yes, I have friends who love Donnie a lot and I really sunk into his character during NRFTW as a result because I wanted them to really enjoy him, and wow he's fun. There's a reason why, when it comes to my original outline for this fic, Donnie is the one who went "fuck you I do what I want' and went off the grid and did his own thing. The chapter of spaghettification was nowhere in my outline, let me tell you. |D Anyway, while I still love writing Leo the most (and tormenting him obv) Donnie has all the best lines. Drama queen.

59. Does anyone in your personal life know you write fic? if not, would you tell anyone?

Oh yeah, they all know. Or rather, I don't hide it and I've certainly mentioned it casually on Facebook and my Plurk timeline, and my friends all know and my family probably never paid enough attention to realise but I don't care about them. My housemate tells me I cackle too evilly at night and should really tone it down. (I mean fair, he's trying to sleep while I'm trying to write, it's a struggle.) He has yet to read my latest fic, but he gets a kick out of reading the reviews for some reason 8|a He's also very very encouraging and relieved I've picked up writing again, so there you go.

72. What order do you write in? front of book to back? chronological? favorite scenes first? something else?

Front to back in fanfic! I do better with plot lines that grow a mind of their own that way. With my original novel, I've definitely jumped ahead a few times and written things largely so I can have a feel for where I am going, but with fanfic it's "write chapter one, publish, now write chapter two--" Etc etc.

Thank you! ♥

Get to know your fic writer here.

[evelhak]

22, 44, 71, 72 ;)

22. Are there certain types of writing you won’t do? (style, pov, genre, tropes, etc)

Yes, I won't do gore, or straight up porn. I will write violence and sex just like any other part of a story, but not as the point, it makes me feel too gross. Especially gore. I could do almost anything as a short joke piece or a parody, but there are things I don't want to write seriously because I just don't vibe with them at all. Omegaverse and a bunch of other AUs can feel like that to me. I also won't do self-insert or reader-insert because I just don't see the point, they take away everything that is interesting to me about a story: the character. Also I won't write fics that contradict my main story (except for a joke or possibly for my "torture me" - event... which I probably will fail to complete this year because life happened. 🥲)

44. What mistakes do you keep making no matter how many times your beta corrects you?

I will apparently never learn whether it's t-shirt or T-shirt, and when to use practise or practice. I think I do but new situations seem to keep coming up.

71. When it comes to more complicated narratives, how do you keep track of outlines, characters, development, timeline, ect.?

1. I trust my memory. 😂 Sometimes stupidly. But I have an idea of the major plot twists, and then I just intuitively navigate everything in between.

2. I use playlists for a vague thematic outline. I can't outline concrete events in detail because I don't actually know what will happen until I'm there with the character, in the moment and can clearly see what their next and next step will be based on exactly what has happened before and what big twist they are going towards. But I have a lot of inspiration music and putting it in the order I think those themes and feelings should be relevant in aids my memory. (They are also easy to actively switch around as the picture gets clearer.)

3. Notepad. Whenever a good piece of conversation or a joke or something, or a new metaphor to extend pops up in my head, I write it down as raw material for later use.

72. What order do you write in? front of book to back? chronological? favorite scenes first? something else?

Always chronologically. (With the exception of flashbacks). Kind of explained why, above. If I attempt to write out of order it most likely won't work, because I would then have to force the character to act in a way that leads to the future outcome if I have written it first. That's not my style. So then, I would end up deleting a lot of what I wrote about the future because I just can't see it in detail unless the detail actually leads there. Characters have free will unless they're really about to screw the story's thematic integrity up. Well, they still have free will but I'm going to sometimes throw in obstacles that change their course or give them a detour.

I'm actually a bit stressed about my Akashi fic because I'm going to cover the same timeline in it as I have with KagaKuro until now. That's why I had to restrict how much their stories would intersect, because I couldn't work on two stories at once and if I had had Akashi appear in their story too often, that would have restricted his choices once I was finally looking at everything from his POV in detail. I already think the amount of times he appeared, is going to lead me to some compromises I won't like. Oh well. It's a good challenge of my creativity.

[miramilocamimira]

do you have a timeline for your zeus fics?

I… do not have a timeline but I guess I could make one?

Lets see….

Right now the chronological order is: (I am linking my ao3 fics so I don't have to go find all the tumblr links)

Weird (x)

Come with me (x)

But it was (x)

You're important (x)

Then we separate into the different Aus and stuff I guess which are as canon compliant as possible, The Kings Family au, and my prompt turned ficlet.

Zeus, you have a problem (x) & May I kiss you (x)

My Heir (x)

Why now (x)

Then we have my other fics which are more on the side of crackfics and I write on whims. I am not linking them here but they vary depending on the situation. I hope this helped!!!

[bat-kidsarebi-kids]

22, 24, & 28 for the ask game please? <3

tauria hi!!! first of all let me say i did a flappy hands happy lil dance seeing this because i genuinely did not expect anyone to respond to the ask game. i am Thrilled. thank you <3

22. How organized are you with your writing? Describe to me your organization method, if it exists. What tools do you use? Notebooks? Binders? Apps? The Cloud?

unfortunately, as much as i hate google ideologically, i am a google docs lad through and through. i just have like 1.5 mil words between all my writing & can't bring myself to spend days moving it all somewhere else when i genuinely (evil) like (evil) the (evil) gdocs (evil) interface (evil). i organize my works by fandom and have folders for each of my WIPs & another folder for various drabbles. both of my big WIPs have like. at least 30 documents each so i also have one document that puts them all in chronological order and links each fic so i don't have to sort through all those folders.

24. How much prep work do you put into your stories? What does that look like for you? Do you enjoy this part or do you just want to get on with it?

hm. prep implies that i do this ahead of time and i Do Not. every in-depth long-ass WIP i have started out as like a 2k drabble and took on a life of its own. so i end up doing the organization and planning as i go. this also suggests i have Control over my stories and that is also not true. i am beholden to the Whims of my brain. all of this to say i rough out the plot & i have docs that organize timelines in a weird bastardized bullet point list sort of way. i tend to write my fics very out of order because the 'connecting' pieces in between are very hard for me and if i try to write everything chronologically nothing will ever be finished. i love following the joy. i hate writing the in between parts. i also hate making those plot diagrams and timelines, i find it tedious and my little brain goes humph. why am i doing this. i already know this why am i writing it down. but the thing is if i don't then when i inevitably accidentally take a 6-month hiatus from writing i won't remember anything.

28. Who is the most delightful character you’ve ever written? Why?

jason todd is my favorite character and roy harper is close behind. when i wrote Can I Help You Not To Hurt Anymore? and The Null HypotheCis back-to-back before returning to Jason and Roy's relationship in A City of Phantoms and Fistfights it felt like seeing an old friend for the first time in years. i feel like their chemistry writes itself and writing never feels more effortless than when i'm writing those idiots pining for each other. all of that being said the most delight i've ever felt while writing a character is the slade wilson i created for my Local Man Stans Bloodsoaked Stranger series. this is because he is a ginormous prick with a heart of gold silver bronze, maybe? LMSBS let me play with finding justifications for characters to behave very differently than they do in canon while challenging myself to still write them as in-character as possible (a Batman that kills, a roy that has his shit together, etc) which made space for a slade who has friends (but would never admit it). i am a goody-two-shoes in real life and i can't stand making anyone feel bad or being mean or rude, so writing him was definitely wish fulfillment for the snarky mean thing in me that wants to be let out of its cage every once in a while. i also love finding ways to say i love you, i trust you, i don't want a life without you in it without using those words because Slade Would Never, but exploring how he would go about making connections after losing his wife and kids was so fucking delightful.

thank you so much for sending me this ask!! please feel free to ask for any more if you'd like :)