#unfortunately my first fanfiction was a self insert

[angst-is-love-angst-is-life]

Do you have OCs? If so, tell me about one of them in the WORST way possible.

Oh no

I did have one OC

She started as a self insert

I don’t want to talk about it😀 but I will anyways cause why not (this got a little long so I put a cut)

She was probably a mary sue even though I desperately tried to make her not one

Romantically involved with the MC of a fandom that will remain nameless

Went from no powers to six (and OP af)

When she was still technically a self insert I made her ace unintentionally💀 (didn’t know asexual was a thing at the time)

Both her parents died (but not before or at the beginning of the story— later on)

The story she was in was based off an extremely vivid daydream that spiraled out of control (I had to try and retain all the information from that day dream for over two days before I put it in the notes app. A miracle it all stayed)

I think her planned story arcs were ok

But she was going to lose her powers at the end (ok it was a 50/50 but that was the current plan when I dropped the story)

It’s all very cringe in hindsight but that story’s what got me back into fanfiction writing after a long time of not doing it. So I’m thankful— but it will never see the light of day

[streets-in-paradise]

I googled the book in the post I just reblogged because I was super curious.

Currently outranged to find out there is a Rick x Evelyn knockoff YA fantasy romance written where the Evy replacement character is argentinian, but it's actually crap cause they are written so badly.

[save-the-villainous-cat]

You guys...

So, the time has (unfortunately) come and I have decided to create a Ko-fi account. So, uh yeah. That obviously doesn't mean that I will be neglecting this blog!

But you have the option to request writing from me - that includes snippets of your OCs or self-inserts, whatever you like! I would also post some more personal writing, that's not just hero x villain, but you can also request hero x villain / other pairings from me that I will definitely write. (Sorry to the 632 asks in my inbox, I will still write your stuff on here, I promise. It will just take a lot of time.)

I'd also offer writing fanfiction for you, but unfortunately, I could get into legal trouble for that so ehhh, sorry, I cannot offer that.

Please don't feel obligated to tip or spend money on my writing! I just wanted to try this out as first step towards making some money with what I love.

I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend!

[heart-of-ep]

Elvis: Through Her Lens (Chapter One)

(Elvis Presley × OC Reader)

Character/Fandom: Elvis Presley

Read More Here: Elvis: Through Her Lens - Click here!

Prompt: You are Minnie Jones, an aspiring photographer working for the LA Sentinel. Your chief editor is looking for a story that will help boost the popularity of the paper, so an opportunity comes knocking when Colonel Tom Parker approaches him with a new 'snowjob.' After a tentative first meeting with the Colonel, and his star Elvis Presley, you are hired on to follow Elvis around as his personal photographer in an attempt to catch lightening in a bottle twice with the earlier success of the Alfred Wertheimer photos. Along the way, you develop a close bond with Elvis, leading to complications in your relationship when the issues of his marriage and eventual drug usage start to put a strain on your relationship. Constantly fighting your ever-growing feelings for him, you are swept up into the whirlwind of Elvis' world, which forces you to see the King of Rock 'n' Roll through a new lens.

Tags: Slow burn. Angst. Drama. Friends to lovers (sort of).

Rating: PG-13 (ish) (may get spicy but won't be explicit as I don't enjoy writing smut lol but cursing, possible violence, prescription drug use, and infidelity will appear throughout the story.)

Word Count: 3.6k

Author's Note: Hey everyone! My name is Mari (aka heart.of.ep on here and Instagram!) and I'm so excited to finally be diving into the world of Elvis fanfiction after being a hard-core fan for almost three years now. This is my first time writing in a long while, and it's only my second time writing a fanfiction, so I hope I'm able to entertain you with this story and I hope everyone has a fun time reading it!

I did create an OC for this story as I have an easier time writing with a specific character in mind, but I kept it in second person as to give readers the opportunity to self insert in a way. Wasn't a fan of this POV at first but its really grown on me so hopefully I've done it well haha.

This story will begin by following Elvis in 1970 (my favorite year 🤭) but will continue on throughout the early 1970s! There may be some historical inaccuracies along the way to accommodate the presence of Minnie Jones, but of course I'm always striving to keep things as accurate as I possibly can.

I don't think I will have a specific upload schedule or regular time for posting, but I'll try my best to be as frequent as I can with uploading chapters. Any comments, thoughts, reblogs, etc are very much appreciated and I genuinely hope everyone loves this story as much as I do. 🙏

If you'd like to be tagged in any chapters going forward, just comment and let me know!

Thank you once again and I hope everyone enjoys!

February, 1970

Los Angeles, CA

~*~*~*~*~*~

Elvis Presley.

The most photographed man in the world, and for good reason it seemed. Impossibly blue eyes that swirled like the depth of an ocean, statuesque like features that even a Greek god would most likely be jealous of, and a brilliant smile that sent millions of girls and women all around the world into a complete frenzy whenever he flashed it their way.

It made perfect sense then why his face was pretty much plastered on every magazine you ever came in contact with. Not to mention the various movie posters you would often see at the theater throughout the years. You could even recall being just about twelve years old when Love Me Tender first hit theaters. Even at such a young age, you could see why everyone sitting around you in that dark theater were either crying or screaming. His beauty seemed to transcend the realm of normal.

As hyperbolic as it may seem, no one in the world looked like Elvis Presley, that much was certain.

Unfortunately, while many photos exist, most are heavily curated, either on a movie set or in a studio with lighting and makeup. It didn't make him any less beautiful, but it did give the fans and the public a very specific view of the King, one controlled by Hollywood and his manager, Colonel Tom Parker.

In the early days, there were hundreds of photos of Elvis that appeared in newspapers from fans and those photographers who were lucky enough to capture a picture of lightning in a bottle. But those days were far gone, and nothing like it has surfaced since.

And that's exactly why you had been brought to your editor's office early one morning in February of 1970. You had been busy working on gathering photos for a local political campaign, which was a real bore, but someone had to do it and you didn't exactly have the seniority to say no. But when your manager called you about a new project, you were practically chomping at the bit to accept. Of course, you wanted to hear him out first.

“You've been doing great work, Minnie. These shots are truly some of the best this paper has seen in a while.” Your editor, Mr Pierce, said as he looked over the pictures you had submitted this morning.

“Thank you, sir. Though, I think there's only so much I can do to make a rally look interesting.” You said jokingly.

Your boss snorted. “You're right about that.” He sighed before sitting the folder down on his desk. “Which is exactly why I called you here. I think your talents are being wasted on shit like this.” He said bluntly. Your boss never did sugarcoat. “I was recently brought an opportunity from a rather…private sort of individual, and I think you would be the perfect fit.”

You raised an eyebrow, now rather curious. Usually your paper only covered public events or individuals. “Who exactly is it?”

Pierce seemed hesitant at first to tell you, but eventually he decided to just come right out and say it. “Elvis Presley.”

Your eyes widened in disbelief. "Elvis Presley?” You weren’t sure if you had cotton in your ears or if maybe you were imagining it, but Pierce noticed your surprise and quickly added some context to explain.

“Yes, Elvis Presley. I can’t say I had a very different reaction when his manager called me a couple days ago.” He said as he sat down in the chair behind his desk. “I’m sure you know that Mr Presley has been taking a step back into live performances this past year, which means every photographer worth a damn is chomping at the bit to capture the ‘best’ photo of him possible for their respective news outlet. So far they’ve been doing a damn good job. Meanwhile, we’ve got nothing.” He grumbled in frustration. “Needless to say, Presley is the hottest talk in town, and we’re failing to keep up.”

You furrowed your brow a bit. “I don’t understand…why did his manager contact us?” If there were already dozens of papers covering Elvis’s shows from all across the world, then why contact a somewhat small paper in Los Angeles?

Pierce seemed to light up at your question. “I had the same question, my dear.” He stood up again, unable to sit still. “Are you familiar with Alfred Wertheimer?”

The name was instantly recognizable. Any real photographer knew of Wertheimer’s work, especially if you knew anything about Elvis Presley. “Of course I know about him. His work with Presley is still amazing even now.” You said, trying your best to keep your adulation in check.

“Well, no photo of Elvis Presley has been taken like that since Wertheimer almost fifteen years ago.” He frowned a bit. “Seems as though his manager,” and apparent publicist, “wants to change that. With all this new buzz surrounding Presley, he wants to see if he can capture lightning in a bottle twice.”

It quickly began to dawn on you what this all meant exactly. “Shit.” You muttered under your breath.

Perhaps Alfred Wertheimer didn’t mean much to the uninitiated, but the photographs of Elvis were completely unprecedented. Just at the cusp of fame and without the glitz and glamor that would soon overtake him in Hollywood, Wertheimer was able to capture a view of Elvis that was both intimate, but also honest and revealing in a way that didn’t feel voyeuristic in the slightest. It was the picture and story of an Elvis Presley that still felt entirely obtainable and human. It was truly a special form of artistic expression that only a photographer with a great deal of talent could accomplish.

Which is precisely why you were sitting there staring at your boss like he had completely lost his mind. “S-sir...you’re not suggesting that I…?”

Pierce smiled at you and nodded. “I knew immediately that you’d be the perfect candidate, my dear. After all, it was your photos covering the Nixon inauguration that sparked Mr Parker’s curiosity to begin with.”

You practically felt your heart leap in your chest, leaving you utterly speechless for a long moment. This was definitely a step up from a local mayoral campaign.

The prospect of photographing someone as famous as Elvis Presley was exciting on its own, but from how your boss explained it, this wouldn’t be a simple snap and go for a quick column on page four of the paper. To compare it to Wertheimer’s work made you realize just how important this opportunity was. This side of Elvis hadn’t been captured in over a decade, and no doubt it would catapult your career towards opportunities you’ve only ever dreamed of covering.

“Well?” Pierce’s voice snaps you from your thoughts. “Of course, we would still have to meet with Mr Parker and Mr Presley.” He said as he sat back down in his chair.

You parted your lips, not sure what to say at first before you finally pushed your excitement down and immediately stood up. “Well? Of course I want to!” You said, practically grinning from ear to ear. “Jesus, Pierce, this is amazing!”

He smirked a bit. “I take it you’re an Elvis fan?”

You rolled your eyes. “Everyone likes Elvis, but that’s not what matters. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.” You had to stop yourself from jumping with joy.

He laughed a little before standing up again as he dialed a number on his phone. “Presley just finished up his current residency in Las Vegas. According to Parker he’ll be back here in Los Angeles before leaving for a string of concerts in Houston.” He held the phone up to his ear. “We can plan a meeting between you two beforehand. After all, this whole thing is dependent on Elvis Presley liking you enough to let you follow him around.”

You felt your smile dissipate a little at that realization. You hadn’t exactly considered that part in the few minutes you had to think about everything. You were charming enough, but this was Elvis Presley. Enough wouldn’t cut it. You swallowed a bit, but nodded, ignoring the sudden flurry of nerves that swarmed in your stomach.

This is your one shot, Minn. Don’t screw this up.

The next few hours felt like a whirlwind. You spent the majority of that time researching anything and everything about Elvis Presley. As it turns out, a lot had happened since his pictorial debut in Love Me Tender. You hadn’t exactly been keeping up with his career, and now all of it seemed a bit overwhelming. You weren’t sure what to expect from a man like him, especially since any other celebrity you had the opportunity to meet usually turned out to be a total asshole. You didn’t think he would be any different. After all, the humble southerner with perfect manners and an award winning smile just felt too good to be true.

You flipped through a magazine from the stack on your desk, biting your lip in concentration as you read over the raving reviews from Elvis’ previous engagement at the International Hotel in Vegas last summer. You vaguely remember one of your girlfriends at the time mentioning it in passing, but you hadn’t thought much of it. Now you wondered if you were completely insane for having overlooked the entire thing.

The photos of him were truly magnificent, picturing him in a slim fitting two piece jumpsuit that seemed inspired by the style of a karate gi. It alternated between black and white depending on the night of the show, and you couldn’t help but think about how well the black complemented his dark chiseled features. It was a much different look than his earlier appearances throughout the sixties. The greased back hair was now loose and untamed, a reflection of the evolving style in the entertainment world, and the button ups and blazers now seemed to be replaced by a bare chested look accompanied by a stylish scarf around the neck.

Quite frankly, it was hard not to get caught up in the image of him, but you quickly reminded yourself that even though he was Elvis Presley, world famous superstar, he was also just a subject for you to photograph at the end of the day.

A very beautiful subject, indeed.

You practically chewed off all of your fingernails by the time Pierce came out of his office in the early afternoon, approaching your desk with an optimistic look in his eyes. “Good news, Minn, it looks like you’ll be meeting Elvis Presley tonight.”

Your heart leaped in your chest as you stood up from your desk, prying your eyes away from the papers on your desk. “Really? He agreed to the meeting?”

“He sure did, though I doubt that manager gave him much of a choice.” He snorted. “A real carny, that one, but it’ll all be worth it if we can secure this job. Our paper will practically fly off the stands if you can snap those photos.” He grinned.

“Right, no pressure.” You mumbled, trying to ease your growing anxiety as you imagined all the ways this could possibly go wrong.

“Don’t worry, Minn. You’re charming and pretty. Knowing Presley’s reputation, that’ll surely be enough.” He smirked, nudging you a bit before turning on his heel toward his office.

You shot him a glare before letting out a deep breath as you quickly gathered up your portfolio, shoving the photographs inside the binder before standing up and pulling your coat on. You refused to let your nerves get the best of you, after all, this is your job. And as such, you weren’t going to let this opportunity slip through your fingers.

The ride over to Beverly Hills felt long and seemingly endless. You kept staring out the window, focusing your gaze on the large mansions that you drove past, frowning as you realized just how out of your league you really felt. After all, you hadn’t exactly been to this side of LA. The few times you had gotten the chance to photograph a celebrity, it had always been at some sort of public event like an awards show or some kind of charity fundraiser. This, however, felt like a strange new world that you were entering.

You briefly wondered why Elvis and his manager didn’t just come down to the office to conduct this whole ‘interview’ or set up a meeting somewhere on Sunset Blvd, but when you asked Pierce about it, he simply explained the logistics of having Elvis Presley go somewhere so public. You didn’t think much of it, assuming that since it’s Los Angeles nobody would care very much about a celebrity walking around, but then you recalled the different articles you had read and figured maybe Elvis didn’t quite fit into that category.

You chewed on your fingernails, watching as the mansions grew larger before you finally descended upon a set of cast iron gates blocking a long driveway that kept a house just out of view. Much to your surprise, there was a fairly large group of fans already stationed outside, giggling amongst themselves as they took photos with their polaroid cameras. You glanced at Pierce, giving him a skeptical look to which he simply shrugged. He pulled up to the gates, and without having to push a doorbell of any kind, the gates buzzed and suddenly opened up, the crowd of fans quickly dispersing out of the way.

It surprised you to see that they didn’t try following the car inside, but they stayed respectful and stuck to the exterior as the gates closed shut behind you and Pierce pulled forward, parking his car next to a small, but impressive, collection of Cadillacs. You figured if everything fell through with Elvis, maybe he’d be okay with you snapping a few photos of his cars as a consolation gift.

Once again, you pushed down the flurry of nerves that settled in your stomach, realizing it was stupid to feel so nervous over a simple meeting. After all, it’s not like you were the one who set the whole thing up, if they weren’t really interested, they wouldn’t have gone through all of this trouble. That thought helped qualm the uneasiness you felt as you stepped out of the car, looking up at the gorgeous home that overlooked the rolling hills below.

It really did feel like the perfect place for a superstar like Elvis to live.

“Come on, Miss Jones, we’re about to make history.” Pierce grinned as he took the lead, following the brick pathway up to the front door of the mansion.

You self consciously kept messing with your hair, tucking the loose strands behind your ear and pushing your glasses up the bridge of your nose as you anxiously awaited for the door to open. When the door opened, you and Pierce were met by a rather short fellow with a goofy smile.

“Mr Pierce?” The man in front of you inquired.

Your boss nodded and smiled. “Yes, and this is my associate Miss Jones.” He said as he gestured toward you. “I believe Mr Parker is expecting us?”

The fellow nodded and smiled again as he quickly stepped aside to let the two of you in. “Right this way.” He closed the door behind him and then led you down the long hallway that acted as the entranceway before spilling out into a rather lavishly decorated and open floor plan. You briefly considered how many rooms the house had before realizing it was probably too many to count from this juncture.

“The Colonel is waiting in the office.” The man said, interrupting your thoughts as he led you and Pierce down another hall towards a beautiful sculpted oak door.

“What about Mr Presley?” You asked without thinking.

“Elvis will be down shortly.” He replied, once again with a lopsided grin before he knocked on the door to the office and pushed it open. “Colonel? Those two journalists from the Los Angeles Sentinel are here.”

“Send them in.” You heard a strange sounding voice say from inside the office.

The man stepped aside, letting Pierce and you step into the room. Your gaze immediately fell upon the robust man sitting at the desk, a large almost comical sized cigar sticking out of his mouth, and a stylish looking barét that clashed with the rest of his ensemble. His steely gaze landed on both you and Pierce the moment you stepped into the room, regarding the two of you with a frown before he removed his cigar and put it out in the ash tray.

Pierce glanced at you, giving a look that said more than enough, before looking at the somewhat unsettling man. “Uh, you must be Mr Parker–”

“Colonel.” The man huffed, his accent a strange mix of southern and something else you couldn't quite identify.

“Excuse me?” Pierce asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Colonel Tom Parker.” The man repeated himself before smiling, though it seemed off and not at all genuine.

Pierce cleared his throat. “Right. Colonel Parker. My name is Steven Pierce, I'm the editor of the LA Sentinel. We spoke over the phone a few times.” He said before gesturing to you. “This is my associate, Minnie Jones. She's one of my best photographers and the one responsible for the portfolio I sent you.” He explained.

The Colonel glanced your way, regarding you for a long moment. If you weren't self conscious already, you certainly were now, but you refused to let yourself show how nervous you were.

“Hi, it's a pleasure to meet you.” You said, stepping forward and extending your hand for him to shake.

The Colonel snorted, which struck you immediately as rude, but he shook your hand regardless. You did your best to hide your frown, making sure this man didn't pick up on your displeasure at his general demeanor. “I have to say, Miss Jones, I'm quite impressed with your photos here.” He said as he sat back in his seat, opening up a binder in front of him. “I can't say I was super eager at the idea of someone following my boy around, least of all someone working for a lousy tabloid. But it seems like any publicity is good publicity, my dear.”

You glanced at Pierce for a moment, quickly registering the anger that flashed across his face, before cutting in. “Yes, well…I think this could be very beneficial for Mr Presley. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words. And with all due respect, the LA Sentinel is a newspaper, not a tabloid. We just want to publish the truth, not lies.” You said calmly.

"Truth is subjective.” The Colonel shot back. “But it's true that my boy needs some good publicity. After all, a good thing can't last forever.” He said before standing up. “I'll make it simple for you, Miss Jones. All photos taken must be submitted and approved by me before printing. If I find out they're not, you won't have a story to tell anymore.” He said bluntly.

You swallowed a bit before nodding.

“Secondly, Elvis appreciates his privacy as you might imagine, so you will be working according to his schedule and his requests. Simply put, if he doesn't want you there, you won't be there.” He said as he picked up his cigar and stuck it back between his lips.

That's when Pierce cut in. “With all due respect, Colonel, my employee isn’t going to work at the whim of your client. This is still a job at the end of the day.” You shoot him a glare, not wanting him to ruin the opportunity for you, even if you knew he was right.

“Don't worry, Mr Peers,” The Colonel said, purposely mispronouncing his name, “Miss Jones will be accommodated, but if you two want the story you're looking for, you'll have to work with my boy’s fluctuating schedule.” He explained. “That won't be a problem, will it?”

Before Pierce could say anything, you stepped forward. “Of course not. I'm sure we can work with whatever his schedule may be.” You said firmly.

“Good.” The Colonel smiled, much to Pierce's chagrin. “We’ll write up a proper contract with all the logistics before you leave, but I think now is a great time for you to meet Elvis.”

Suddenly all your nerves instantly returned, but before you had much time to even think about what was happening, the Colonel was walking out the door and down the hall. Both you and Pierce quickly followed, keeping with his surprisngly fast pace as he limped with his cane towards the living room area you had passed by earlier.

“Minn, are you sure about this?” Pierce hissed by your ear as he leaned over to you. “This isn't exactly what I thought you were signing up for.”

You looked up at him, biting your lip for a second before nodding, standing firm with your decision. “C’mon, Pierce. We both know this is too good to pass up.” You whispered before the three of you entered the room.

The man who had let you into the house earlier was there with a couple of other guys you hadn't seen. You saw that Elvis wasn't there, frowning a bit as you folded your arms and looked at the Colonel. “Where's Mr Presley?” You asked, feeling a little impatient and maybe a little excited.

“Right here, honey.”

You froze, goosebumps rolling over your skin for some inexplicable reason, as if some kind of force you didn't recognize had suddenly entered the room. You slowly turned around, coming face to face with the most famous man in the world.

Shit.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Likes, comments, and reblogs are much appreciated! Let me know if you'd like to be added to the tag list ~

Taglist: @60svintage @moonchild-daniella @ken-kenzie-zie

[chaifootsteps]

its really hard to take any comparisons of stolas to other abusive characters seriously because i genuinely dont think viv comprehends shes written an abuser, the same way other authors can comprehend theyve written abusers. she self projects so heavily onto him and acts like his sass is justified to the point pretty much everyone, even fans and critics, knows that s3 will just end up with him living with blitz and working for IMP (which was foreshadowed just oh so subtly in the helluvababies season 2 premiere,) after losing everything (oh no, the consequences of my actions!) because of the full moon deal HE decided to start. he started out doing something bad, acknowledged it once (didnt even apologize to blitz for the deal btw,) and got go back to his life of luxury after his former sex slave said no to his love. he took advantage of the main character in the very first episode and will still be rewarded with him presented as stolas's knight in shining armor, a family who will unconditionally love him because of fucking course they will even though they know their boss had to fuck him or else they wouldnt have their "meal ticket", and eventually, most probably, his daughters forgiveness after she cut him out of his life for.. taking antidepressants. not for neglecting her, not for not teaching her anything about the book she was solely created for, for 17 years, before letting someone else have it without a single worry of what could happen to it, and certainly not because she cheated on his mom with some "weird red dickhead" i can watch other shows with the understanding (most of the time) that that character probably will receive some kind of growth, karma, acknowledgement, or change of their terrible behavior if theyre intentionally written as toxic. or, if their toxicity is supposed to be the point, for them to go full ham with it. helluva boss is neither to me; its abuse tactics and toxic patterns presented as good, like gaslighting, triangulation, and codependency. and an audience like vivs will digest these ideas subconsciously as good if they have no critical thinking skills of their own, which most of them dont. and all while being too afraid to actually hold abusers accountable in a setting like hell of all places. thats why none of the characters even acknowledge the actually shitty things stolas does and arent allowed to not forgive him- because the creator herself is an abuser who doesnt understand, or doesnt want to understand, that being held accountable is about ALWAYS acknowledging the mistakes you made and STILL trying to be better, even if the people you hurt still hate you. not apologizing once, and then getting pissed someone didnt automatically forgive you, as if your remorse means you're entitled to forgiveness. thats how stolas thinks, because thats how she thinks, and thats terrible. i cant even watch these shows in a "im a messy bitch who lives 4 drama" way as much as i want to because watching an abuser get everything he wants after a season of straight up cloaca sucking is NOT drama. its just incredibly depressing and makes me think about the piles of money that couldve been used to make anything other then this, instead of the creators self insert fanfiction of "no one is allowed to judge my character based on my past selfish actions: the overpriced, overstuffed with expensive celebs while i claim i cant fairly pay my animators i force to work exclusively on my shows the musical!"

I think you're spot on, unfortunately. If it weren't for the fanbase slavishly, cultishly lapping up everything Viv gives them and making it a point to incorporate it into their own lives, it would be a fascinating look at how an abusive person sees themselves. Stolas's justifications really are Viv's justifications, and she'll never see him as an abuser for the same reason she'll never see herself as one.

[wintergrew]

It's wild that The Thief is turning seven this year and the sp fandom is dead as hell and yet I still see people talk about it. Anyway i want to address some FAQs i guess which also means SPOILERS

Will you ever traditionally publish The Thief Trilogy?

Very unlikely because rewriting it all over again only to then be rejected by every literary agent ever would be such an annoying colossal waste of time.

Will you finish The Princess?

I want to, but it's a big pain to write for a lot of reasons. Most of them being figuring out the timeline. But I do want to.

Insert some iteration of "will you publish professionally?" or comment expressing that sentiment

It's a very sweet sentiment that used to mean the world to me but basically: I've tried. I've spent years writing original novel manuscripts and then spent tons of money I don't have trying to perfect them (which is unfortunately all but required nowadays) but the publishing industry has zero interest in anything I write. So while it is a very kind sentiment to comment this on my stuff, seeing it after getting hundreds of form rejections from literary agents/publishers kind of just feels like salt on the wound these day. 😔✊

(also I'm too poor for self publishing)

Can I translate/draw fanart/etc?

OF COURSE IT MEANS THE WORLD TO ME.

Translations are always fine, but please link me! If you want to repost it in English somewhere, you must ask though. If it's a region blocked website in China or something it's probably fine, but Wattpad is not.

Can I publish something inspired by your work?

If you mean fanfiction of my fanfiction then technically idc as long as you credit and aren't rude. But i mean i don't own SOT so nothing stops you from doing your own thing.

Plagiarism is an obvious no.

Trying to rewrite and profit off of my idea is never allowed. I never thought I'd have to say this but since it has in fact happened no, you cannot change my story into an original version and try to publish it for a profit. That would be very, very illegal (even if you do change minor details!)

What is The Thief inspired by?

Star Wars, a lot of nonfiction books on the middle ages i read in 2017-18 for some reason, and getting a degree in political science. And some Dragon Age Origins in terms of high fantasy because (as someone who could never get into LOTR or GOT) that's my biggest point of reference.

The twist is very KOTOR (an older Star Wars game) inspired and the magic system blatantly streals a lot from The Force. I'm a huge Star Wars fan.

I often get asked if I'm inspired by things I've never heard of and tbh if it's not the above then probably not. I also get SNK but i only watched the first season forever ago and the similarities in city set up are there, but largely because both are based on historical Europe's walled cities of that era.

(i love middle ages European history, but do not actually think of my South Park fanfiction as historically accurate because it's not)

Will you write a sequel/epilogue?

The last chapter of the assassin was originally titled "epilogue" because i view it as that.

I do picture what happened after however, to me it's more visual still pictures than narrative writing. But I'm not good at drawing and I'm too poor to commission someone to draw it. But it looks cool in my head, so there's that.

I do have an idea set in the same universe literally centuries or millennia later that i have quite a few chapters written for, but it would be original characters. Craig's role would be mentioned and important for obvious reasons but mainly just mentioned or as that religious figure. But I would go for traditional publishing for that, so i couldn't call him Craig or anything and legally speaking "what do you mean, of course it's not a sequel to my fanfiction" but iykyk

That said, it will probably never be published and therefore unlikely to see the light of day so //shrug emoji.

Why is Thomas like that?

Idgaf anymore so I'll just say that it was because i was really annoyed by very specific circa 2020 fanon Thomas portrayals and a bunch of *draws Creek* *calls it Cromas* and then turning around and acting superior because they don't ship Creek, they ship Creek with slightly darker blond hair.

I feel like that's not even really a thing in fandom anymore, I was just really annoyed at the time and I'm very easily fueled by spite.

Is Style canon?

Whatever you want.

I have a vague idea of what their whole thing is but since I never wrote it there's DOTA.

Though i do think if I'm ever rich and can commission artists to draw the not-epilogue thing it would somewhat answer this question maybe

Can I fic bind?

As of now: Yes! Please let me know ahead of time and show me after! (I love seeing it!!!)

That is with the caveat that it is 1) just for you or a friend 2) not done professionally through a third party 3) not for a profit

Will you ever release physical copies?

No for various reasons, both legal and professional

That's all I can think of off of the top of my head.

[sexybritishllama]

after many, many, MANY hours, i have finally completed persona 5 royal and am now presenting my thoughts. overall i think i have to rate it a 4.5/10, with a note that rather than being generally mid, it swings so wildly between the good and the bad that it evens out just below average for me

spoilers for ALL of the game under the cut including 3rd semester

the good:

this game is STYLISH. that is probably the first thing everyone says about this game but it's true and it has to be said. everything from the hud to the settings menu is themed, it's slick and fun and just really well done

the music slaps. again, gets said a lot, but has to be acknowledged. so good

in theory the gameplay loop is fun. the swapping between dungeon crawling in the palaces and the daily social links is interesting, and for the first good 40 hours of the game or so i found it really addictive and well balanced (yes in spite of the tutorial)

the characters were (mostly) likeable and there were some good social link stories- notable mentions include futaba, sojiro and yoshida

i loved walking around tokyo, it felt very immersive. i used to travel to shibuya all the time for work and it was a lot of fun recognising the spots and even the way you walk out of the train station!

the bad:

IT'S TOO LONG. it's just too long. my save file is at 119 hours after completing the game. i spread this out over an irl year of playing the game. i was still so burnt out when i got to the end my main emotion was RELIEF. you could cut this game down to like half of this run time and it would only benefit it. there is so dialogue spent just repeating points you already know, or scenes that you have to play on a regular basis (eg me spamming through doing affinity readings or kawakami making coffee or WHATEVER), and it is not to the benefit of the game at all

the excessive length also makes other parts of the game that would otherwise be forgivable into absolute slogs. stuff like the combat being mostly way too easy (with the exception of random frustration spikes like okumura), or the fact that so many of the confidants follow the exact same pattern down to which rank you’re going to be asked to arbitrarily go to mementos to solve their problem- these would be much less annoying if i didnt have to do it SO MUCH AGAIN AND AGAIN

on that note oh my god mementos. i fucking hate mementos. most boring content in existence and when i found out they made more of it in the third semester i screamed out loud

ren/akira/joker as a self-insert main character did not work for me and that negatively impacted just about every character relationship with him for me (especially the romances) because it just felt like there was nothing for people to connect to. he’s just so… nothing, but at the same time wasn't enough of a blank slate for me to feel like i could fully project onto him as a self-insert

i think joker could have worked better for me if they either a) made him a more defined character (my preference), OR if they insist on sticking with a self-insert, make the dialogue options were varied. i don’t expect branching options but i do appreciate it when you at least pretend to give me some agency about the replies my character gives, it can mean a lot in a roleplaying game to actually feel like you're, yknow, roleplaying

i generally like the bombastic wild designs persona has for enemies and stuff but i really struggle to take some of the characters seriously when their masks look like this

IN PARTICULAR why is futaba's whole metaverse outfit so ugly. do my girl justice

akechi is a character who i feel will make for very compelling fanfiction but unfortunately i found his actual canon depiction underwhelming

the entire way they handled kawakami as a confidant and the fact you can choose her as a romance option. INSANELY uncomfortable and negates the point of her entire story arc about deciding to care about her students again and not get extorted anymore, but then you as the player character can date her, can continue to get her to do your manual labour for you and give you massages, which you're heavily incentivised to do because it's so useful as a gameplay mechanic. it is SO UNCOMFORTABLE

maybe i'll make a separate post breaking down my thoughts about each confidant because i have other issues with other peoples arcs but kawakami was the most egregious. as if people havent heard me rant enough already

in general that thing of the game undermining its own messages for the sake of either very bad comedy or fanservice is a reoccuring issue. unfortunately very anime in that sense. as well as kawakami: - you spend the entire first dungeon of the game talking about how shitty this perverted teacher is for his treatment of ann and trying to assault her and then i have to spend the rest of the game sitting through MULTIPLE fanservice jokes about ann (this underage girl btw) being really Hot and Sexy and forcing her to strip for yusuke - ryuji risked his life to save the others and then the girls... beat him up for it? it was clearly meant for comedy, but god did it land flat - the game proves over and over again that the police and justice system is corrupt and ineffective but they never actually seem to... want to do anything about it? makoto literally says she's going to become a cop at the end of her confidant arc!!! girl!!!

their solution to the justice system being shit is to get people to confess to their crimes and Feel Bad, where the villains then proceed to.... be handled under the same justice system we have i guess? as though the issue here was just the fact that bad guys wouldn't confess, and we don't need to look at, hey, why do these people commit the crimes they do, how do we handle punishment vs rehabilitation, etc.

it's weird because they do sort of dance around this topic sometimes (like with akechi's fucked up upbringing) but it always feels like they're scared of diving too deep into it. i don't expect a full marxist re-examining of society from highschoolers but idk man, for SUCH a long game i feel like it was a weirdly shallow reading of the societal issues around authority and crime

also: why does the 'rebel against social norms!' game still not let me romance same-gender confidants. let me date ryuji you cowards

[kafus]

kinda crazy how writing is far from my main hobby but it was also my first hobby? not by much, but i really started taking my stride with doodling and art at age 7, yet before that at age 5 i was writing self insert pokemon fanfiction (i didn't even know the term "fanfiction") on my mom's windows xp computer in microsoft word, and she still has all her files from back then so i can still access those stories today lol

a friend of mine asked me recently how to start writing and it occurred to me i had no idea how to answer because i've been writing basically as soon as i was able to. i wrote stories on looseleaf in school, stories on my mom's PC, i poured way too much effort into my english school assignments as a child, i've always been writing. as a kid i even said i wanted to be a writer/novelist when i got older

it's kind of unfortunate how far i've strayed from writing. there's a lot of reasons i didn't write a ton as a teenager and why i write so sparingly now, but the main two are a whole lot of bullying and disparaging comments from people i considered my friends about my writing around age 13/14, and also... my DID? i was so frustrated with being unable to write anything longform or stay attached to characters or ideas for such a long time but it turns out it's because i was switching all the time, having host changes, the works. i don't really lose attachment to characters or ideas all of a sudden anymore now that i have more of a grip on that than i used to

but even still, i never really gained back the level of motivation for it that i had as a kid. as a kid i wrote a 21k word pokemon fanfiction as a freaking 7 year old and it's still the longest thing i've ever written. i literally peaked age 7. now i'm struggling with like, ohhh i want to write a multichapter fic about this likodot boarding school AU i came up with, but i'm terrified to even try because surely i'm going to give up before i get far, surely i am still the teenager with no consistent grasp on identity who's also insecure about her writing and will never finish it... but like man. that's just not true. i want to take baby steps to being comfortable with trying larger writing projects again

i don't think writing will ever be my main hobby again and i love art dearly but at the very least when i do have something i want to write i hope i can form the right mindsets to do it. when i manage, i love writing. (i've also found that compliments on my writing stick with me for literal weeks and mean so much to me in a way that art doesn't? i think because someone took time and energy to really engage with the work, in a way that most people can't or don't with art which they just scroll by on their twitter feed. i still super appreciate it of course but writing is so vulnerable and special and the act of talking to readers is so social... idk!)

[basu-shokikita]

Kloktober 2023 Day 20

Original character or self-insert

I'm not much for OC content but I do have an OC called Molly Rttengerlrtn that I created at the beginning of the year. And today's prompt is a great opportunity to introduce more people to her :) She's a silly little girl. <3

Below is an illustration of Molly, drawn by my friend! This entry also features his OC, Klokateer N°479 :D

It had started so long ago. Four years ago and 6 months with 2 weeks and 1 day to be exact. Molly had been dragged by her friends to this metal band, Dethklok or something. Apparently they were big but Molly wasn’t really into metal. She liked vaporwave music and 8-bit music, so when Dethklok started playing, she was convinced it wasn’t for her.

In her boredom, she tried to hunt for any signs of homoeroticism within the band. If she wasn’t going to enjoy the music, at least she could try to entertain herself with some good old fanservice. 

Unfortunately, these Dethklok guys were really devoted to their instruments, barely paying attention to each other. Vocalist and guitarist were such a classic duo with lots of tension in between them, however neither the huge black-haired guy or the tall blonde seemed to care about anything besides looking hardcore as hell.

She did notice, however, that there were two guitarists in the band, which piqued her interest just a little bit. Wasn’t sharing instruments totally gay? It also, sort of seemed like the brunet guy was copying the poses of the tall blonde, though she wasn’t sure. From then on, she zoomed in on the guitarists and stopped paying attention to fuck-else. 

And then, the blonde one started playing a solo and she could not help but gasp. No, she didn’t care about the solo, that wasn’t the point. It was the fact that the brunet was looking at the blond with almost bitterness in his eyes. Bitterness and…jealousy? The brunet looked away and Molly could not be entirely sure because of the distance but she could’ve sworn he had rolled his eyes. And she felt it.

Like the second coming of Jesus.

Like the ascension to Nirvana. 

She had found her new life’s purpose. 

And it was…to ship these two guys!

From then on, it had all happened so fast. She urged her friend to tell her more about them and learned that their names were Skwisgaar and Toki, and that they were Scandinavians. She also learnt that Skwisgaar was the band’s womanizer and also the most popular amongst women. On the other hand, Toki was the youngest band member and also regarded as ‘the cute one’. All this information was incredibly fascinating and only fed her growing obsession.

When she got home, she started watching band interviews and found out that Skwisgaar and Toki’s English was pretty poor and that Skwisgaar was quite arrogant vs Toki’s more friendly manner. She took notes, she studied it all. 8 hours of footage and no sleep later, Molly felt like she was starting to get a grasp of these guys. However, the music was a fundamental part of their relationship so she started listening to her albums. Turns out, it was a lot more bearable now that she was doing it with a specific goal in mind. And, man, was the way their guitars complemented each other absolutely gay. 

She kept researching for the rest of the weekend: theories, fanforums, articles, random comments under their performance videos, anything she could find. She even found out there was an already shipping fanbase and that the name of the pairing was Skwistok. 

On Monday morning she faked having a fever so she didn’t have to go to school. As soon as her mother left the room, she grabbed her laptop and started typing furiously. A few hours later, Molly posted her first Skwistok fanfiction online. It was a short little story about Toki having a secret crush on Skwisgaar. It was a massive success, with commenters asking for more and linking to their own stories and drawings.

She had found her people.

From then on, Molly kept writing more and more and befriending fellow Skwistoks, with whom she shared her own theories and ideas about the nordic guitarists. SSoon enough, she realized the Skwistok community was not only pretty big, but also that a lot of them lived in California. And so, Molly decided to found the first Skwistok club ever, based in LA. They met every second Sunday of the month to discuss their findings and artworks. 

Life continued, some of them grew apart, some of them died (Dethklok fans died a LOT during concerts), but new people joined too. Molly finished high school and got a part job at a smoke shop while taking Scandinavian studies during the day. Even when life was busy, she always had time for Skwistok. 

One day, while looking at her commenter’s section on her latest fic, she noticed someone under the name of ‘anon479’ had written the following: 

Hey skwistokfujo420

Your works are great. 

I have something you might like.

Message me.

Curiosity getting the better of her, Molly immediately opened the commenter’s profile and wrote him a ‘hi :3’. Less than 10 minutes later, 479 replied to her, claiming to be Klokateer for Dethklok and that he could give him inside information on Skwisgaar and Toki if she agreed to write really specific stories about Murderface. 

Understandably skeptical, Molly asked for proof that he indeed worked for the most famous band in the world. 479 shortly after sent her a picture of Toki’s underwear drawer and Skwisgaar sleeping in the infamous Mordhaus hot tub, guitar on his lap. He claimed that he was putting his life at risk with this, but he was truly desperate.

It was a no-brainer, Molly accepted and 479 sent a long detailed list of kinks that he wanted to see Murderface subjected to. In exchange, he would report any interaction between Skwisgaar and Toki he had witnessed, as well as send any pictures she wanted. Molly asked why he had chosen her out of the hundreds of Dethklok shippers out there and 479 said that he had been scurrying the fandom for a long time but didn’t like any of the Murderface content she saw. In his desperation, he had started reading stories of other ships. When he stumbled with one of Molly’s fics, he grew enamored with how perfectly in-character he was, and thus decided to deposit all his dreams and hopes in her. Molly was flattered, but mostly she felt very lucky.

And like that, started the most productive business relationship of Molly’s entire life. They talked every two weeks, in which Molly would deliver her latest story featuring Murderface and a brand new kink, while 479 would dump all the footage he had been able to collect, as well as gossip on Skwisgaar and Toki’s lives. It was fascinating really, she was now able to see facets of the men that she would’ve never gotten to otherwise. Evidently, it affected her writing as her characterization now had to take in account Skwisgaar and Toki’s behavior behind the public lens. She didn’t tell anyone where she was getting it, though, both because she knew they wouldn’t believe her and also because she didn’t want to share. 

Eventually, 479 and Molly became friends too, casually chatting about their everyday lives.

skwistokfujo420: yoooo

anon479: Hello.

skwistokfujo420: whatcha up 2

anon479: Just cleaning some coworker’s blood. He got accidentally impaled by Sir Toki last night.

skwistokfujo420: oh noo :((

skwistokfujo420: was he cute while doing it at least? :3

anon479: He panicked for about 30 seconds until Murderface tripped with the blood. And then they all started making fun of him.

skwistokfujo420: LOL

anon479: It gave me a new idea for a story.

skwistokfujo420: oh??

anon479: I’ll send the concept later.

skwistokfujo420: oki

skwistokfujo420: a costumer just said my skwistok shirt is rlly cool :3 

anon479: Is it the purple one?

skwistokfujo420: nop, the pink one

anon479: Oh…the purple one is my favorite.

anon479: I gotta go, Sir Nathan is screaming that his chips are too salty.

skwistokfujo420: bye bye!

anon479: Talk to you later.

Molly put her phone back in her pocket and glanced at the time. With delight, she realized her shift was almost over, so she packed her things and waved his coworkers goodbye.

The customer that had praised her shirt earlier was sitting at a bench right by the entrance. She waved at Molly, walking up to her in a hurry. “Hi, I wanted to ask you about something, if that’s ok.”

Molly raised her eyebrows and then readjusted her glasses. “Sure.”

The girl glanced to the sides and then leaned in to say. “I’m a Skwistok shipper too…” She pulled back hesitating before talking again. “I heard there’s a group in LA…do you know anything about it?”

Molly’s face turned solemn. “I might. But I need to make sure you’re not a spy.” Over the years, Skwistok antis had tried to get in the club for their own wicked purposes so Molly had developed a security test before letting anyone new in.

Nervously, the girl stood straight. “I’m ready.”

Inhaling, Molly took a long look at the girl. She had long brown hair, wore oval-shaped glasses and was dressed all-in-black. “Favorite Skwistok fact?”

“That Skwisgaar accepted Toki into the band!”

“Top or bottom Toki?”

“Both is good, but I prefer top!”

“Dom or sub Skwisgaar?”

“Dom all the way!”

“Is Skwistok mutual or unreciprocated?”

“It’s complicated but it’s mutual! They’re meant to be!”

“Name your favorite Skwistok fic!”

“Skwisgaar’s Not Good, Very Bad Time with Tentacles and Other Kinks by jizzgaar!”

Molly smirked. That was her friend’s epic Skwistok erotica. “Any Skwistok merch?”

The girl searched in her backpack and pulled out a Skwistok pin.

“Stand down!” Molly said and the girl stood straight again. “What’s your name, soldier?”

“C-Clara!” The girl stammered, her eyes on the front.

“Well, Clara…” Molly shoved a card inside her hand. “Hope to see you this Saturday.”

Clara looked down at the card, where the exact address and time for the bi-monthly Skwistok club meeting would take place. She gasped with excitement, her free hand covering her mouth, eyes welling up with tears. “Thank you…”

Smiling, Molly patted her shoulder and turned around. “Skwistok canon!” She shouted as she walked away.

“Skwistok canon!” Clara repeated behind her.

Molly rubbed her hands, an impish grin on her face. The Skwistok family had gained a new member. 

[haveyouseenthisskeleton]

Can I ask how did you get into writing fanfiction? Can I add in which fandoms you wrote before too?

My first fanfiction I wrote was in 2011. Yep, that's quite a while now, jeez. I was part of an online community on CSI:NY and I wanted to write stories like the other people that wrote stories because their stories were so exciting to read. The first things I wrote were so bad omg. These stories are still available to read online by the way if you know where to look.

After CSI:NY, I had a short period where I wrote for Monk (the TV show with the autistic detective - that should have probably alerted me on my own neurodivergence lmao), then, obviously like everyone at that time (don't lie, if you were there, you know) on Vampire Diaries because yes, I was a vampire fan what are you going to do.

The first "real" stories I wrote, like with a beginning and an end, are in the Doctor Who fandom. I'm still a part of it, even if I don't write much about it anymore. I wrote a hell lot of self-insert stories the first few years, then I slowly learned how to write all by myself and started playing with the characters more easily.

I was very productive until 2014, then my best friend introduced me to Sherlock BBC. Well, that didn't go that well in that fandom. At first it was all fun and everything, but I unfortunately arrived during "the Johnlock War", where basically all Johnlock fans lost their mind and randomly started to harass everyone, actors and scenarists, and fanfiction writers that didn't write Johnlock. I didn't write Johnlock lol. That started with insults in my reviews on FFN, then I received a death threat in my real life mail. I was still a teenager at that time, and the charming lady who did that was 35 years old. Yeah, because, uh, I reported it obviously. We dealt with this by ourselves in the end, but still, what the hell.

Anyway, after the incident, I completely stopped writing for the fandom, abandoned all of my fics and never went there ever again :D But that's fine because in 2015, I became cringe again and decided to write for YouTubers lmao. That's an embarrassing period of my life, fortunately, that only lasted a few months. After that, I created a fandom all by myself for Aventures, a French roleplay series with YouTubers I really liked at the time. I wrote 200 stories for Aventures. In a year. Yes. I assembled my own community like the Avengers and recruited people on Twitter by asking them if they liked our lord and savior Balthazar, basically. That turned well, we were around 700 authors in the golden age of the fandom. We're only a dozen still writing on it today, but it's still active.

That's after Aventures stopped on YouTube that I started to gain an interest in Five Nights at Freddy's and it's lore. I'm still actively writing on it, even though what happened with Scott Cawthon cold me a hell lot, but fuck Scott Cawthon, his licence never made any sense anyway and I wrote my own version of the series lol.

A year later, I finally discovered Undertale, 1000 years after everyone else. And, uh, basically, that's five years now, and I'm not ready to stop. It's my longest hyperfixation yet :') You know the story then. I wrote a first long story in French, which is What is best for Humankind, and since the fandom is almost dead in France, overnight I decided I would write in English. The night after that, I opened this blog. Yep, I had literally no plan whatsoever, it was all improvisation lmao. But that's four years we're here now, and that was definitely a good idea.

There's a few other fandoms I wrote for once or twice too, like for Marvel (weeeeeell, a parody actually, it's Thanos erasing half of Wattpad because it was funny), Merlin (BBC), Torchwood obviously, since it goes with Doctor Who, and things that I prefer not to recall like The Lion King, The Smurfs or Minecraft lol.

[knewknow]

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

"This reads like it was found on Ao3 with the tags witch au, hurt/comfort… and I don’t mean that in a nice way"

I was hopeful for this novel, I really was. The premise is right up my alley; witchy, a little romance, low-stakes. Unfortunately, my biggest takeaway from this novel was the author's horrid writing style. I knew from the first parenthesis on page one that Sangu Mandanna was most likely a millennial, and this was a self-insert fanfiction that somehow made its way to a published novel. I bought this with my own money, and it reads like a mediocre Ao3 fic.

For starters, Mandanna loves to use parentheses in this book, so much so that I started tallying every time she did (77 times to be exact). The asides were obnoxious and could have been easily been conveyed in the prose or dialogue since the novel is written in the 3rd person.

Next, the author is a fan of tell not show. Every socio-political statement about race or the queer community felt like it was shoved down my throat. Not elegant or nuanced; just here's an issue moving on.

Also, I felt like the children's dialogue was some of the worst. They didn't feel like children or separate characters. For example, Ian the guardian of said children, talks to the main character about her sex life in front of the young girls... all under 10 by the way. Then Rosetta pipes in and says "he's asking you when was the last time you had sex". It felt weird and out of place for a ten-year-old with a sheltered home life who's written as the shy one to want to partake in a conversation like this with her guardians. This isn't the only time, all of the girls speak like teens or one of the adults when they're supposed to be no older than 4th grade.

Here are some quotes so you can understand the horrid writing vibes.

"Oh. Oh, no. He'd pushed the sleeves of his white button-down shirt up past his elbows. She could see his forearms. Forarms were invariably her ruin."

"'What you put in your body is your business, and that,' she added, raising her teacup to her lips, 'includes penises.'"

"'What are you?' Mika smiled. "The monster under your bed'"

Trust me with context these quotes get worse, not better.

Not to mention since this book felt so childish, the one and only sex scene felt completely out of place.

In the end, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches was a massive disappointment. What should have been a cozy, low-stakes fantasy with heartwarming found family elements instead felt like poorly written fanfiction, bogged down by clunky prose, unnatural dialogue, and heavy-handed messaging. While the premise had potential, the execution left much to be desired, from the author's excessive use of parentheses to the cringe-worthy attempts at humor and romance. If you're looking for a well-crafted witchy read, you’d be better off searching elsewhere—perhaps even on Ao3, where you might find a version of this story done better with characters you actually enjoy.

[hidelias]

A bend in space-time S1 || a TUA fanfiction

The last thing I expected tonight was a telegram from Klaus. The message begins 'My father is dead, please come and stay for a while', then gets lost in words I don't understand. I sigh. Great. I sigh again. Shit. Crack! In a flash of bluish light, I split space-time and disappear in the direction of the bus stop.

In this fic, I use an OC appearing almost only in deleted scenes - Rin - to revisit and analyze The Umbrella Academy: to clarify certain points and try to fill in the plot-holes. This fic is not a self-insert nor a OC-centric fic : Rin exists to flesh out the canon characters, and the fic is mostly focused on Klaus Hargreeves.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

🎧 Music is a major part of The Umbrella Academy, and so it is in this fic. You can find the full playlist of this season here : AO3 - Wattpad - Spotify

Chapter 1: Caught in a spiral Tumblr - AO3 - Wattpad - FFN

On her way home from work, Rin finds a telegram from Klaus. The message begins with ''My father is dead, please come and stay for a while', then gets lost in incomprehensible words. Little does she know that she's about to get caught in a spiral that will shape her whole life.

Chapter 2: Feels like deja-vu Tumblr - AO3 - Wattpad - FFN

Rin has agreed to spend a few days at Hargreeves Mansion after the death of Reginald Hargreeves, and is beginning to realize the implications. During a diner, Allison and Diego understand what she can do.

Chapter 3: Out of the brambles Tumblr - AO3 - Wattpad - FFN

Rin spends her first night at Hargreeves Mansion, in the room Diego has lent her. But as she had feared, Klaus - in the room next door - is not sleeping peacefully.

Chapter 4: Not another me Tumblr - AO3 - Wattpad - FFN

The eulogy for Reginald Hargreeves took place, and nothing went according to plan, which was - in itself - to be expected. Before leaving for work, Rin bumps into the Hargreeves she was expecting least: Five.

Chapter 5: The stolen box Tumblr - AO3 - Wattpad - FFN

Of course, Klaus didn't stay sober for the day of Reginald Hargreeves' eulogy. And what's worse, he seems to have pilfered and resold a valuable object…

Chapter 6: A pain in the ass Tumblr - AO3 - Wattpad - FFN

A little shaken by her discussion with Klaus, Rin escapes to the “ kids' lounge ” for a coffee. There she meets a new face: Viktor, looking for his music case.

Chapter 7: The glass eye Tumblr - AO3 - Wattpad - FFN

At lunchtime, Klaus appears behind the window of the hardware store where Rin works, as much to apologize as to be invited for lunch. He informs her… of Five's intriguing investigations.

Chapter 8: Algorithmically caring Tumblr - AO3 - Wattpad - FFN

At breakfast, Rin finally meets Luther, who seems disturbed. While eating the eggs and bacon, he shares with her his concerns about Grace's dysfunction.

Chapter 9: Into the dumpster Tumblr - AO3 - Wattpad - FFN

Finally, Klaus goes looking for Reginald Hargreeves' book in the dumpster. Unfortunately, it appears to be already gone.

Chapter 10: The fall of a sparrow Tumblr - AO3 - Wattpad - FFN

Rin accepted to talk to Pogo about the notebook Klaus had lost. An encounter that won't go as she had imagined.

Chapter 11: The Hollies Tumblr - AO3 - Wattpad - FFN

The aftermath of the encounter with Pogo is hard on Rin, but Klaus gives her his support. Unaware that events are about to take a turn, she leaves Hargreeves Mansion for the evening with a lighter heart.

Chapter 12: Smells like cold ashes Tumblr - AO3 - Wattpad - FFN

Klaus has disappeared, and Rin seems to be the only one who cares. In his empty room, she runs into Luther, who tries to reassure her.

Chapter 13: Safe and home Tumblr - AO3 - Wattpad - FFN

To take Rin's mind off things, Luther has got her to spend the evening with Viktor and Allison. A 'sleepover' that - in the end - will do her good and provide the opportunity for some confidences.

Chapter 14: The ache for what never will Tumblr - AO3 - Wattpad - FFN

Klaus is back, after hours that felt like months. Unfortunately, Rin soon realizes that something is wrong…

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>> SEASON 1 : content PART 2:

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<< Prequel || Season 2 || Season 3 || Season 4 >>

[bird-girth]

the unfortunate thing about birthdays is that I will associate major events with specific thoughts and experiences adjacent to that day, week, or month. and in this instance, it is nasal congestion, insane deranged kinks, insane deranged consumption of fandom, and crying over a synziphosuran research paper posted in 2015 (though formally written in 2007 I’m guessing) posted on cambridge.org that I can’t access because I need an institutional login or $36 to purchase for an individual. I am upset over this because I want to get one supplementary piece of information before my birthday passes instead of feeling like shit because all I did was read self-insert fanfiction for the first time involving Navia.

[weird-obsessed-girl]

Modern Character in Thedas!! Fic Rec

I actually love that there’s a part of the Dragon Age Fandom where basically self-inserts have such good fics. I’ll admit that a lot of what I read in this tag is self-indulgent (but that’s really what fanfiction is for) and I thought I might catalog some of my fav fics so far.

I think also what’s great about this tag is that it actually exists! I try to occasionally find similar concepts in other fandoms but this kind of tag doesn’t seem to translate into many other fandoms, or at least the fics that do exist aren’t exactly to my taste. So hopefully this is helpful to everyone like me!

Mostly only Inquisition. IF ANYONE HAS ANY RECS PLEASE SHARE

Also can more authors pls write different ships other than Cullen and Solas?

I’m more partial to completed fics but unfortunately many of the fics in this tag are WIPs. I’ll be posting more lists like this in the future so be on the lookout.

With Horns - The_Ravenous

Not rated ı 97/? ı 362,357 words ı updated 2021

Modern Boy in Thedas who gets turned into a Vashoth, he basically replaces Adaar. Male Inquisitor/Cassandra, yay a ship that isn’t common within this tag!!

I’ve only read the first few chapters but the main character seems funny and I’m partial to the MC becoming a mage and learning the ins and outs of magic.

Identity - AMCanderly

T ı 6/6 ı 26,172

This is part of a series where a woman from earth get transported into Thedas in DA 2 but she gets made tranquil, this fic specifically is her struggle in having the mark which causes her to be cured and her struggle with regaining consciousness/autonomy.

Sugar and Spice - Cracking Lamb

E ı 15/15 ı 25,894

This is a fic that spans across all 3 games so therefore is not a very detailed fic however I love the stable relationship between Bull and the MGiT.

What a Wicked Game - Cracking Lamb

E ı 148/? ı 400,570

CrackingLamb yet again! I admit I have not even read this one half way through but from what I have read I really enjoy Imogen/Solas even if it’s slightly toxic, also good smut…

No Longer A Game - Here_To_Be

E ı 63/63 ı 347,357

I haven’t read this one but it seems to be promising, you might be noticing that I prefer to read about an MCiT that knows the events of the game so any summary mentioning that the character loves Inquisition is immediately put on my TBR.

MARKED - ThroughtheMirrorDarkly

M ı 10/10 ı 109,948

I read this a while ago so I don’t remember much but I remembered the name out of all the hundreds of fics I read in a year! The MC has spent a few years in Thedas but wasn’t involved in the story until Inquisition. Solas/OFC

Running On Empty - PickleDillo

T ı 27/27 ı 163,762

This is the first in a completed series, MC/Iron Bull so obviously it has to be included, I can’t wait until I finish this series. This includes an MC inquisitor who isn’t immediately skilled in combat or over powered.

Coalesce - Beckily

E ı 36/36 ı 83,437

This does have a r8pe warning so I’m not sure if this is explicitly in the story, but it has such an interesting concept of a Modern Girl who gets transported into Male Adaar’s body and they have to figure out how to live together.

Virtually Faded - AntlersandFangs, Celtic_Lass

M ı 101/101 ı 519,973

This is probably a fic that i am not going to read anytime soon as I’m intimidated by the word count. (Don’t make fun of me I’m not patient enough to read really long fics, i need to CONSUME as many fics as quickly as possible) This fic is centred around a pair of friends who get transported to Thedas so this is slightly different from the other fics in this list.

Ad Infinitum - Stormontheocean

E ı 78/78 ı 252,544

MC discovers that Thedas’ Common language is definitely not English so she pretends to be deaf and mute, slightly Mary-Sue but I’m not opposed to it in doses. MC/Cullen

Commiseration - cleighc

M ı 1/1 ı 12,867

A small one but with a focus on relationship between Cole and MC, def not a happy one but interesting nonetheless.

Swedish Firesteel - Escapist_Velocity

T ı 100/100 ı 142,503

I haven’t read this one but it could be interesting. MC/Cullen

{1. Defiance} Everything’s Just Fine - EmpressTod

T ı 73/73 ı 181,562

MC/SERA!!!!!!! Sera is never bloody apart of the main pairing so this is exciting for me.

honeyeater - foetend

E ı 21/21 ı 58,529

Reasonably short one that I haven’t read all the way through so hopefully this is worth it. The concept of Flemeth being involved and tasking MC to get close to Solas is heaps unique so it has to be mentioned. I feel like people really don’t utilise the Elvhen Gods/lore enough or perhaps tend to lean towards paragraphs of lore dumping.

Suddenly, Qunari - Jiwa

E ı 20/40 ı 168,203

Once again MBiT gets transported into Adaar’s body and becomes the Herald! Eventual polyamory with Bull and Dorian, I like how cute and funny MC is.

Ithelan - DyeingRoses

M ı 35/? ı 80,925

Inquisitor/OC which is not common, however I’m not sure how frequently this fic will be updated, this is def on top of my TBR list. MC becomes a tatted elf.

Sugar Honey Iced tea - AntlersandFangs, Beckily, Celtic_Lass

M ı 48/48 ı 412,762

Multiple modern characters dropped into Thedas, haven’t read this one but it seems interesting most especially because of the pairings. Varric/ OFC, Krem/ OFC, Solas/ OC, Inquisitor/ OC.

The Guardian - yayenchan

M ı 13/? ı 56,602

Female Trevelyan/ OMC, Mary Sue elements here but the first chapter seemed promising.

[dearcat1]

(Comfort)

Part 13 of Unfortunate Surprises

🔞🔞🔞CW: Smut🔞🔞🔞

Xanxus wakes up with his hips held up by a pillow and his arms cushioning his head. The burn on his bottom makes him hide his face a little self-consciously, ears turning red when the alpha chuckles. Xanxus's ass must be one big bruise and he's aware his asshole is gaping. There's no way it isn't, Tsunayoshi bounced Xanxus on his cock like the omega was his personal fucktoy. Xanxus had loved it, despite how much he whined and begged and cried until he passed out. But he has the feeling that the alpha kept using him even after. The hand on his nape makes Xanxus sigh, stretching a little and noting just how sore he feels. "Ow."

Tsunayoshi hums, squeezing Xanxus's ass and ignoring the omega's wince. "So are you planning any more family visits behind my back?"

"No, sir." Xanxus can't even find it in himself to be mad at Takeshi for not warning him. Damn Rain must have known what Xanxus was walking into. But Xanxus is a submissive pile of goo right now, his brain is too melted to think of much. "I'll be good."

"That you will." Tsunayoshi lets go of his nape. "I'm plugging you, but first…"

It takes Xanxus a moment to find out what his alpha is doing but soon enough he's staring at the picture of his stretched out, well used, red hole. Xanxus whimpers but doesn't look away. "Ow."

"I think you mean thank you." Tsunayoshi spanks him once. "You asked for that knot, after all."

"Thank you, sir." Xanxus arches into Tsunayoshi's hold, humming smugly at the rewarding purr his words earn him.

"Can you handle your plug right now?"

Xanxus nods, hissing softly when the plug is inserted inside him. "Food?"

"Of course." Tsunayoshi kisses his shoulder. "I didn't want you to wake up alone. Will you be ok here or would you rather come to the kitchen with me?"

Smug with the knowledge that his alpha had been looking after him, Xanxus cuddles closer to Tsunayoshi. "Do I have to sit?"

Tsunayoshi chuckles. "No." He kisses Xanxus's cheek. "You can lay down on the couch, you can see the kitchen from there."

"Steak?" Xanxus leans on his alpha, relieved that Tsunayoshi is helping him get to the couch.

"For breakfast? No." The man chuckles, rubbing Xanxus's back when the omega lies down. "You're cute, you know that, right? Such a perfect omega."

It's meant as a reward, Xanxus knows it is. Aftercare, after Tsunayoshi spent the night breaking Xanxus apart and letting him float. Maybe because of that, Xanxus shakes his head. "I'm not."

The alpha looks at him for a long moment before kneeling beside him. He guides Xanxus to curl up into his arms, chuffing in the omega's ear. "You are," Tsunayoshi massages Xanxus's back, fingers digging into sore muscles and letting the omega melt into him. "Your submission wasn't trained into you, it needs to be earned and it's all the sweeter for it."

Xanxus shudders, pressing back into the touch. He wants to be held like this, he wants sweet words murmured into his ears as he milks his alpha's knot. He wants Tsunayoshi's hands rubbing the hurt away from sore muscles. But he doesn't know how to express any of that so he mewls, tucking himself under Tsunayoshi's chin.

[corvidcrybaby]

20 Author Questions

Shout-out to @the-frankenman-writes for the tag!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

4 - I actually only started publishing fics a little over a year ago and my main project has been a still-running longfic so I haven't been able to build up much of an archive thus far LOL.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

408,653. The longfic is a fucking TOME.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

At the moment, just Hellsing. I do intend to publish some Castlevania fanfiction soon, and I've got a couple of larger OC fics planned for Demon Slayer and My Hero Academia.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Guess I'm listing all my fics in order with an empty bottom slot, oopsie!

formulas fatal to the flesh - Alucard (Hellsing)/Transfemme Jewish Reader fic that also serves as the "pilot" for my OC longfic. I originally started writing this as a means of exploring my sexuality in the wake of HRT changing a lot of things about my desires whilst also issuing a love letter to my favorite series. Then everything got intense.

2. Interview With the Impaler - Alucard (Hellsing)/Transfemme Reader. This was me trying out some new ideas with how I write Alucard as well as just trying to contribute to the transfemme reader insert pool. It's really nice when you don't have to mentally change the genitals of the reader insert you're reading about to put yourself in their shoes and enjoy the fantasy, so I like providing more of it.

3. lesions of a different kind - Alucard Hellsing/Transfemme Jewish OC. My longfic, my baby, my first foray into long-form storytelling. She's choppy, she's unhinged, she's full of bigger ideas than I know what to do with, but damn it all, I'm having fun with her. This is the main story of Zemira Shani Makhabi, my homebrewed blorbo and shameless self-critique. She started out as a reader insert before I decided to turn her into a golem allegory full of meta commentary on what it means to relate to a fictional character. That, and so much BDSM shit like oh man so FUCKING much.

4. Operation: GREENHOUSE - Pip Bernadotte (Hellsing)/Zemira Shani Makhabi. In dead last, a fic involving a character who is unfortunately not very popular to write about, but I happen to find incredibly hot in his own right. Technically AU of an AU fic too? IDK man I just wanted to write steamy smut about these two because I thought their dynamic was fun bwahahaha

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

Absolutely I do! They really motivate me to continue and I love connecting with people based on how they perceive my work.

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

MWEHEHEHEHE that'd be Interview With the Impaler. I used the Mean Alucard tag for a reason. I may continue this story yet tbh, because I could make it ever angstier.

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

Operation: GREENHOUSE. Just ends with those two snuggling and teasing each other. Easy shit.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I'm extremely lucky to have never gotten a mean comment and hope it never happens.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

LITERALLY EVERYTHING I WRITE IS SMUT BWAHAHAHAHA I lean heavy on a few tropes - maledom/femsub shit, mind break/hypnosis/heat/etc, and a constant obsession with men's hands. Hands in general, tbh, I get really horny about hands.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I've never published a crossover but I like the idea of one. I would need to find two series which I REALLY wanted to compare and contrast.

11. Have you ever had a fiction stolen?

None that I know of

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

See above

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

Nothing that's published, but a pal of mine and I are cooking something cool up rn... You know who you are.

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

ALUTEGRA BAYBEEEEEEEEEEE my beloved genderfuck angst-fest full of questions about monstrosity vs. humanity and forbidden desires and old souls and and and and look do you know how hard it is to have an OTP that literally never touch in the original series

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

I don't have any right now but I live in constant fear I'll wake up one day without the drive to finish Lesions. That would make me so sad.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I can write really visceral gore and snappy action scenes, I can construct a layered character like a motherfucker, and I'm pretty damn good at dialogue, I think.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

OOF. Plot. Fucking PACING. I feel like my stories can sometimes feel like super compelling personalities flopping about in a sandbox. Which can work, for some cases, but I try to deliver on the promise of a compelling plot.

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

It really depends. I've seen writers do it with tags for the translated words? It seems to work best for small, potent exchanges.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I think this honor actually goes to Pokemon. I was doing a Nuzlocke comic once upon a time!

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

Probably Lesions, thus far, lol

Tags: @neet0 @rotten-hearts-sharp-teeth @brunette-barbie42