#what's fun about this series is that since it's published in universe you can say anything is just an unreliable narrator that you don't li

[lynxgriffin]

I have a couple questions regarding "Mightier Than the Sword", which was incredibly well made and a wonderful little 'what if' origin tale (and very sad oneshot of grief and loss). I hope you don't mind that they're all in one ask because they just kept bubbling up.

Were the flowers behind Gerson's bed chosen for any specific reason? It looks like a particularly designed bouquet but I don't know flower language.

2. Does this mean that the Lightners of Hometown were in a war? I mean, Gerson has his hammer here... but he's also old as balls considering he's a turtle monster who equals UT Asgore in age. If timeline diverged between UT and DR based on the War itself...

3. Now I'm picturing Gerson as DR's version of Tolkien and I mean that in the best way possible. (Not a question, just a fun note.) Also he feels perfectly IC. He had a life well lived and is trying to help his son see that, but you can know things but heartache doesn't matter especially not when its still so raw (poor Alvin).

4. Does Ink Knight have any of Gerson's memories (Flowey Situation due to Souldust) or is he his own entity since there was no "Determination" soulgoop? Also I think its not on purpose but Knight having thick blond hair (and possible beard) reminds me of Asgore.

5. Alvin flashed back to the panel with the Souldust on the Pen. Does he know...? That the funeral wasn't fully completed as the pen wasn't buried with the hammer? Or is he in denial?

6. Speaking of Alvin, the panel behind him as he begs the Angel to let his dad live longer? The light behind him resembles Judgement Hall. Is that a coincidence because of golden light and dark shadows?

Thank you for sharing the comic and I hope you have a pleasant day.

Oh wow, thank you so much for the very long and detailed ask! I'll see if I can answer everything here!

Sadly, I don't know flower language either, so I can't say that the flowers mean anything in particular! They're mostly there because I wanted to make sure the backgrounds felt full and lived in. A bouquet seemed appropriate there!

I don't think in this universe there was a war between humans and monsters...at least if there was, there's not really indication of that thusfar in the monsters' regular lives. I think the hammer was more in reference to Gerson's book series, or was an actual hammer that he used for smithing, since it's mentioned that he started work as a metalsmith before going into writing.

Honestly, I think the game itself is absolutely supposed to be getting that idea across, too! Alvin mentions that Gerson wrote stories for his children before they were published and beloved by people the world over, which is a pretty clear callout to what Tolkien actually did. The title 'Lord of the Hammer' is also a pretty obvious parallel to Lord of the Rings, and Susie talks about it like it's a nerdy epic fantasy series. I think we're supposed to read Gerson as this universe's Tolkien! (And thank you!)

He's probably got some memories of his previous self, yeah, and probably some more awareness of the relationship between the Light and Dark worlds. Mostly the idea is that it's his soul filtered through a personal object that signifies something very specific: namely, the drive to keep writing. His look is also supposed to invoke Gerson, but a younger, much more idealized version of him than we know!

Let's say Alvin is about 90% certain that yes, his father's soul ended up in the pen. There's some denial in there, and some confusion, and some genuine fear, that's taking up the other 10%. But yeah, for the most part he realizes that his father was not properly buried, and it's weighing horribly on him. Hence the "does this hammer really deserve to..." line that we hear in canon. (Or at least, that's my interpretation of that line!)

The light and shadows there are meant to invoke the silhouette of the delta rune, so yeah, a bit of a parallel to the judgment hall. It's basically supposed to indicate that the Angel did hear his prayer, and is answering it!

Thank you again for reading and for all the comments and questions!!

[red-riot-unbreakable-heart]

Shoto's First Kiss Timeline? Idk let's plot it out together

Gif Caption: Me and Shoto sitting together on the train, vibing. 💕

Hi All!!

If you're a fan of the Shoto's First Kiss series, Chapter 5 dropped at like 3:30 am EST this morning because I am an absolute HEATHEN and decided to have a late night/early morning editing session for 3 hours before posting. This was fun because I decided to add the whole Lisa Frank phone background scene for kicks and add a little more build up to the smut scene (I love a slowish burn...what can I say!?).

@brie-is-cheesy had some great questions in the comments of Chapter 5, I'm going to post it below and answer the best I can! I don't have a full answer to everything and I'm taking some ✨creative liberties ✨ here and there but lets see if I can clear some things up for my lovely readers!

Hiiiii, totally loved it; I was wondering when this is set? Like the timeline, I just got confused I'll leave the list of confusing things about the timeline,, I wrote about how much I love this in my reblog cuz this is awesome!! -since bnha is set in the mid to late 2100s I was wondering if the older songs they're listening to will include songs that are relatively new for us as of now? -when does this occur? Like you mentioned they're in their first year, and its after they've moved into the dorms but it's nearing the summer of next year, so is it after the war arc, or after the events of bnha entirely? Just wanted to ask! Thank you for the update!!<3 - brie-is-cheesy

Okay these are FAB questions and honestly I can't give you a straight answer to all of them!

Here's the background: So this story started out as a one shot - this past year, Shoto hasn't been one of my main MHA favorites. When I started the Red Riot Unbreakable Heart blog, my goal was to focus on what I've been calling "My Big Three." This includes Kirishima (lol thus my username), Hakws, and Hitoshi Shinsou (I love me an emo man). I was sprinkling in smutty one shots here and there involving other characters (ex. BakuDeku Smut: Hooking Up At A Pro Hero Gala and Beneath the Bookshelves | BakuDeku ). Shoto was one of those random one offs that I was like, huh why not!? But then I published Shoto's First Kiss (Part One) this one shot about Reader x Shoto totally took off in a way I wasn't expecting. Shoto resonates a lot with you all and the more I started writing for him, the more I grew to love him. He's so complex and in need of love and care. He has so much capacity for love!! I wanted to explore that more and figure out how he would act in his first encounters with intimacy and relationships. So I kept posting chapters, and started plotting out this wild story!

Timeline: When I started writing the one shot, I wanted the story to ambiguously take place in the 2nd or 3rd year when the characters were a little older. I was kind of working it in an AU where the war had vaguely happened and was over but everyone is okay and no one was injured/died/had their quirk impacted by AFO. In the context of Shoto's First Kiss chapter one - the war doesn't matter (at least if you re-read it I hope you don't find any plot holes mentioning the war!?). Also I have tried to say "Class A" instead of "Class 1A" because as I wrote more chapters, I still hadn't figured out what year we are in here.

Now that we're world building and have a more fleshed out story, here's what I'm thinking. Bare with me, we are going to need to suspend some disbelief here and I might need to go back and make some tweaks to previous chapters to keep everything in line with this line of thinking. But let's say this:

Timeline: The timeline takes place in the character's 1st year. I just combed through this timeline of MHA that someone put together on Reddit. I'm thinking this likely takes place at the end of Term 1. Final exams are coming up, and the students have heard a little about the training camp. Most of the MHA events so far are probably cannon in my fic universe, unless otherwise mentioned. The great thing for me is - most of MHA is in the context of Izuku's experiences, so there's a lot of wiggle room in the timeline for what could be happening between Shoto x The Reader. I haven't decided if the current chapters take place before or after Shoto/Izuku/Ida's encounter with Stain, because I can see some interesting plot points coming from that. I'll think about it!! This may change, but for purposes of continuity I think this could work as I move forward with my plotting!

Age: All the characters are at least 16. Let's just roll with that and take some creative liberties here. I'm aging everyone up.

The Dorms: In this fic universe, I pictured the students moving into the dorms at the start of the year. Like the dorms are just part of the normal UA experience - for all intents and purposes it's a boarding school.

The Songs: Okay this is a really interesting idea! I am literally just putting in playlists of music I like right now, I didn't think much about modern music flowing into the story. Lol would Honenuki listen to BRAT!? Maybe. I love him and think of him as a sweet chill cinnamon roll of a dude, though. I think he would be scandalized by Guess Featuring Billie Eilish. Or maybe he'd love it. He'd def love Chappell Roan, though. Dude is a sloot for Red Wine Super Nova and I just know it!

The Vibe: @ all of my beloved readers - I realize that this story means a lot to people, and I love that!! Even though we explore complex and serious subject matter at times, this is still a goofy silly story that I write for fun! Please don't hold me to these ideas that I'm throwing out in a semi-public brainstorm. I am but a simple fanfic writer who churns out most of the Shoto pages at midnight after I work two jobs. Shoto's First Kiss is a project that I write purely for fun and to build community with other adult MHA fans. I'm not like going to publish this as a book or put it on Patr*on behind a paywall or something. So let's keep it light! That being said, I love interacting with everyone so if there are fun questions that you think would be interesting for me to answer in this story, let me know! I'm very open to hearing thoughts and considering new ideas here :)

Okay okay SORRY FOR SO MUCH INFO! Thanks again @brie-is-cheesy for being so thoughtful in your reading and for asking these great questions! This is def going to help me guide the next few chapters of the story as I plot things out and as we get a satisfying next chapter in The Party arc. I'm going to post this reply on my Master List so we can all keep track of it and come back to it easily if needed.

As always, thanks for reading!! Sending good vibes to all ☺️

XOXO,

Red Riot Unbreakable Heart ❤️

Shoto's First Kiss Series:

Part 1: Shoto Todoroki x Reader | First Kiss ❄️🔥💋

Part 2: Shoto Todoroki x Reader | First Kiss ❄️🔥💋 PART 2

Part 3: Shoto Todoroki x Reader | First Kiss ❄️🔥💋 PART 3

Part 4: Shoto Todoroki x Reader | First Kiss ❄️🔥💋 PART 4

Part 5: Shoto Todoroki x Reader | First Kiss ❄️🔥💋 PART 5

My Master List

Red's Recos: If you're looking for more fun smutty stories from my writing desk, I'll share 3 of my all time favorites from my Master List. These are all fairly long and have a lot of sexual tension/build up with some satisfying smut scenes:

How to Suck Your Best Friend’s D*ck 🍆💋

BakuDeku Smut: Hooking Up At A Pro Hero Gala

A Long, *Hard* Night with Eijiro Kirishima

[konigbabe]

'plagiarism' issue

Not one for drama, yet I want to bring attention to this. I won’t elaborate on this issue more.

So it happened.

A while ago but it remains slowly nipping at my brain. For that case, I have decided to write it all down and collect my thoughts using this post.

My work like real people do (and the whole thought/idea behind it) has been taken, rewritten, tweaked and published as someone else's idea (that they apparently had since spring). I asked them to take it down privately. They did add my @ and for some time, I was content until they started creating the whole "universe" around it and taking praise for it even tho it's not their original idea.

The dark side of fanfiction is that there is not much I can do but at least I can make awareness about the issue.

Starting this with some definitions and clearance:

plagiarism: "Presenting work or ideas from another source as your own...by incorporating it into your work without full acknowledgment.[1]"

I love this by Wattpad themself:

What if they give credit?

"It is still plagiarism even if you give credit. Even when someone uses an artist's base or picture they are expected to change it up to become something new, rather than just running it through a filter, or tweaking it with a few minor edits. There is a major difference between copying another person's storyline and making edits and actually writing a story.[2]"

Now to the point:

For LRPD, I have created a very specific premise that I haven't read/seen before:

Leon is a single dad of a young girl (didn't specify age but definitely a preteen, around fourth grade).

He is absent from his daughter's life, especially from her school activities. He becomes this "enigma" for the teachers.

The daughter doesn't have a mother. 

Teacher!reader is concerned for the daughter's wellbeing so one day, when Leon picks her up, she requires to have a talk with him.

During the talk, he offers her a dinner instead of having to participate in school activities.

Teacher!reader and Leon sleep together during the first off-school meeting. 

Teacher!reader wakes up before Leon and looks at his exposed [muscular] back.

Teacher!reader searches for the bathroom, notices Leon’s poorly decorated apartment except for his daughter’s stuff. 

Teacher!reader is reffered to as "Miss teacher" in this universe.

They copied almost THE WHOLE premise. It'd be okay to write your own version of single dad Leon and his kid's teacher - I don't own the trope - but following the SAME ORIGINAL STORYLINE is not okay [with me]...

The parts after "Keep reading" consists of photo 'evidence' of the similarities (some are less obvious but I'll mention them regardless). It is LONG because I have a lot to say.

LRPD was published May 2, 2023, their story was published August 14, 2023.

Fun fact: Few days ago, I created a separate masterlist for the series and few days later, they did the same thing.

: ̗̀➛ Example 1 - Leon sits on the chair

My story (LRPD):

Theirs:

: ̗̀➛ Example 2 - Could've been a...

My story (LRPD):

Theirs:

: ̗̀➛ Example 3 - Leon's absent from his daughter's life, especially from her school activities, and teacher!reader saying that he should be more present...

My story (LRPD):

Theirs:

: ̗̀➛ Example 4 - Leon snaps because the kid's mother is mentioned (also mention of him having his arms folded during the meeting which the other person mentioned earlier in their work)...

My story (LRPD):

Theirs:

: ̗̀➛ Example 5 - Leon invites you to dinner instead of attenting the school event…

My story (LRPD):

Theirs:

: ̗̀➛ Example 6 - Aunt Claire makes an appereance (mentioned only)

My story (LRPD):

Theirs:

: ̗̀➛ Example 7 (NSFW) - Teacher!reader worried where is Leon's kid during heavy make-out session that leads to s*x (they did wrote a full original smut scene, which I skipped so idk if there are any familiarities; I have decided that a full smut scene doesn't do it for me in this story)

My story (LRPD):

Theirs:

: ̗̀➛ Example 8 - Morning after

My story (LRPD):

Theirs:

: ̗̀➛ Example 9 - Leon's apartment description (they basically just simplified my abstact, "show, don't tell" description)

My story (LRPD):

Theirs:

: ̗̀➛ Example 10 - Aunt Claire calls to tell Leon to pick his daughter in the morning after

My story (LRPD):

Theirs:

: ̗̀➛ Example 11 - AND Miss Teacher's significant petname has an alternative but also makes an appereance (in the same formating on top of that)

My story (LRPD):

Theirs - NSFW (alternative + miss teacher):

They were smart by rewritting it in their own words but it still lays heavy on my chest that a story I have crafted for WEEKS has been taken from me like that. It's more glaring if you read both stories instead of me splitting it into excerpts (and I didn't insert all of them as there is a limit to pictures per post).

Taking inspiration or straight-up rewritting someone's detailed idea is a difference.

Sources:

[1] https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/guidance/skills/plagiarism

[2] https://www.wattpad.com/128409012-how-to-write-fanfiction-plagiarism-vs-inspiration

[eemcintyre]

Masterlist alert

Something to Talk About universe

Something to Talk About - you and 90s!Tom are secretly married, and while on vacation, you realize that the press has finally caught you together and published the photos.

One More Night - It’s the last night of you and Tom’s vacation where your relationship was uncovered by the media. He surprises you with a motorcycle ride, a beautiful view, and a special gift to close the day out.

All Eyes on Us - Oscars night finally arrives and you and Tom make your official debut as a couple. You are overwhelmed by the attention and some invasive interview questions, but Tom supports you through it.

Production assistant reader x TC

The Door is Open - you are a production assistant on the set of a 90s Tom Cruise movie, and he steps in when one of his costars threatens you.

Behind Closed Doors - Over the last several weeks since you met Tom on the movie set where you work, you have discovered an undeniable attraction to each other. Although neither one of you is sure where it will lead, you’ve been getting the tension out with secretive meetings in his trailer.

Parental fics

Good Morning - Trying to make up for how busy he's been lately, Tom takes your daughter off your hands for the morning and obv cuteness ensues.

Flipped - Tom's daughter keeps him company from her playpen while he cooks dinner.

Miscellaneous fics

Surprise Me - One of your friends, after a poor track record of setting you up on dates, gets one more chance and makes the most of it. You meet the date for dinner at an elegant NYC restaurant to discover that your friend has set you up with Tom Cruise.

Repaying the Favor - Tom comes home to find you in a great deal of pain because ~it’s that time of the month amirite ladies~, and he does what he can to try and make things better, despite you insisting that you can handle it.

All or Nothing at All - Attending a friend's wedding compels Tom to ask you an important ~question~, and it invites a conversation about the direction of your relationship and your anxieties about it.

It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over - (Sequel to "All or Nothing at All") After a long time of being apart, you and Tom reunite, but what should have been a pleasant evening turns into a fight when Tom's exhaustion and frustration causes his personal issues to make an appearance.

Thirty Minutes - You're making last-minute preparations for the Halloween gathering that you and Tom are hosting. Since you have a tendency to go overboard with these kinds of events, Tom has to remind you to have some fun.

Cruel to be Kind universe

Cruel to be Kind - Terry finds out that a coworker has been bothering you and you insist he stays out of it, but he takes matters into his own hands. Literally.

Tainted Love - You are in extreme turmoil after the... incident... at the house. While doing everything in your power to avoid Terry, you're trying to figure out what you should do and how you feel about who he's revealed himself to be.

Both Sides Now - You have an intense nightmare and Terry comforts you. The next morning, after a great deal of thought, you finally decide the future of your relationship.

Enemies-to-lovers/fake dating series

Let the Games Begin - Terry Silver (80s edition™️) is determined to claim the one woman at Dynatox who doesn't appear to be interested in him, and he concocts an elaborate scheme by which to do so.

Looking the Part - Valerie visits the luxury shops of Rodeo Drive to prepare for her role as Terry's girlfriend. Afterward, she and Terry meet for lunch, and then they practice how to kiss each other for the first time.

Playing the Part - The vibes between Valerie and Terry are now noticeably different. Terry arranges for the media to discover them when they soft-launch their relationship to the public at a cafe.

People Will Say We're in Love - The first news story about Valerie and Terry is released, and Valerie must cope with heightened scrutiny from her family, friends, and strangers. She also learns that Terry will be hosting a cocktail party to welcome the investment group and that she needs to be there.

Miscellaneous fics

Wicked Game - Terry Silver takes an interest in one of his adult students; an innocent and inexperienced girl with an obvious crush on him.

Who Am I To You? - Reader is embarrassed to ask Terry (CK era) if she can call him by a certain title.

Reunion - You and Terry spend a night together in the bath after a long time apart.

"The Firm" (1993)

"Cocktail" (1988)

"Ulterior Motives" (1992)

"Crackerjack" (1994)

"Excessive Force" (1993)

"Hollow Point" (1996)

"Timecop 2: The Berlin Decision" (2003)

"Seawolf: The Pirate's Curse" (2005)

"Stretch" (2014)

"Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning (Part One)" (2023)

"Longlegs" (2024)

"The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1994)

[klcthebookworm]

2024 My Year in Fic

2024 Fiction Word Count:

615,535 / 219,600 words. 280% done!

2024 ended so badly on a personal level for me, this is the gif that spoke to me to best sum up the change of the year.

Insights To Not Forget:

I had to create a new spreadsheet to track the amount of words written for the year since I couldn't trust the formulas on the one I had been using for years. According to it, I reached my goal of writing 600 words a day 100 days.

Focusing on a Single Project in a Month: This continues to be the best thing to actually completely finishing lingering WIPs. I will be putting the months with the same fandom much closer together in 2025, because I struggled to remember what I was doing with Strix: Forget the Sun.

Stories I Posted:

Star Wars: Rescue the Farmboy: Mission on Mimban: Word count = 61,218. Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade's exploration of Mimban is derailed by the unexpected Imperial presence on the planet and their way off-planet depends on finding the Kaiburr crystal before the Imperial do.

Star Wars: Sororal Lineality: Plans and High Command Word Count = 7408. Luke wakes up and plans must be made and High Command must be briefed about what happened on Bespin and what Luke and Leia are planning to do next.

Stories I Posted at Ao3 Finally: This got paused as I try to figure out what still needs to go up besides the fanmixes, and then I forgot about it.

Stories I Finished: I don't have any stories that I completed the editing on to say it is ready for publication but haven't published yet.

Stories Caught Up in Editing:

Trigun: Three of a Kind: Word count = 236,237 (20,838 written in 2022 + 182,470 written in 2023 + 32,929 written in 2024). I have finally gotten this novel to creating on the third draft. Crossing fingers that you can read it in 2025.

Evil Jack: Till Death Do We Part: Word count = 14,150. And here's a great example of the focus on one thing for a month works, I have returned to Biker Mice From Mars. I didn't get edits finished this year but I tried.

Stories I Didn't Finish:

Strix: Forget the Sun: Word count = 91,269 (26,588 written previously + 4279 written in 2019 + 279 written in 2020 + 15,328 written in 2021 + 5416 written in 2022 + 23,714 written in 2023 + 15,665 written in 2024). I finally got out of the last battle and into cleaning up and hiding the paranormal from the rest of the world. Can I finish it next year and start figuring out what I have written?

Wars Are Won: Sacrifice of Happiness: Word count = 5180. I thought I had finished the first draft of this story, but realized after reviewing it for the second draft that I had neglected adding any complications so I had to start over and add some.

Sororal Lineality: Kyber: Word count = 1491. So my last month focusing on Star Wars got spent on rereading Shadows of the Empire since I plan on using some of it in this series. So, the month finished before I finished a draft of this story.

What I Think About My Stories:

My favorite story this year: Evil Jack: Till Death Do We Part. Fourteen years since I worked on any of my Biker Mice fanfics, but this story and details canon to the show flew out of me. Too bad all my writing projects don't move that fast.

Story most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: Sororal Lineality: Plans and High Command will probably get some more attention after I post it on Ao3 for May the Fourth in 2025.

Most fun story: Getting back into Biker Mice From Mars through Trigun and my own memories has been a trip, even if I had a hang-up in Sacrifice of Happiness.

Stories I wrote that I never thought I'd write: Wars Are Won: Sacrifice of Happiness. A whole story from a bad guy's POV, which I got into Karbunkle's head pretty well.

Hardest story to write: Wars Are Won: Sacrifice of Happiness. And then I proceeded to not give him any complications because it serves the whole series development, so that also makes this the hardest story to write since I have to not make it so darn easy for him.

Biggest disappointment: Strix: Forget the Sun. Why are you not done yet? If I had managed the same amount of words that I had last year, it might have a finished draft.

Biggest surprise: Did I mention remembering things after fourteen years away? Because wow, that blew my mind.

What's your favorite piece of dialogue you wrote this year? From Strix: Forget the Sun:

Sagara was gone. He ran his tongue over his teeth and scraped it against his fangs. He groaned in disappointment.

Raven lifted herself partial off him. “Ferris? Did the light get you?”

“No, not that. Lost Boys was wrong.”

She raised herself up on her hands and knees and stared down at his face. “You pinche idiota bitched about me wanting holy water Super Soakers and you’re taking how to be a vampire from movies?”

“He got to be human after they staked the sire vampire. I didn’t think it would work that for me, not really. Let me up.”

Raven got up to her feet gracefully, and Ferris accepted the hand up she extended. They were in a library, that explained the books. “What did you think you would get?” she asked.

“My head torn off by Sagara or one of his loyal idiots.” He shrugged helplessly at her dismayed expression of disbelief. “You asked, and I swore to be honest with you.”

“As long as we’re being honest, you’re not as cute as Keifer Sutherland either.”

What's your favorite piece of description or narration you wrote this year? From Sororal Lineality: Kyber:

Light expanded out of the box and scattered different flashes of color over Luke’s face. Green, blue, yellow, orange, purple, and white tiny rectangles of light danced over his closed eyes and calm expression.

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would, less, or about what you predicted? I ended up with 77 tracked projects, which honestly was far too many for focused attention. 63 were non-fiction and most of those were Six Sentence Sunday posts I started to advertise every story I have written. So I should have way fewer of those moving forward. Of the 14 fiction projects, seven are the versions for the BookWorm's Library and Ao3. It might be double dipping to count them in the same fiction word count, but novels not going on those sites will only be counted once.

Regardless, the new spreadsheet did handle that many projects but I don't want that many next year.

Number of Days I Wrote or Edited: 332 days. The count I thought I had set up in the spreadsheet doesn't work when I put a zero in because I did work on something like updating the BookWorm's Library but wasn't measuring the words. So next year, I need to measure the words even on those so it works without my having to count.

Number of Days Meeting or Exceeding the daily 600 word count: 100 days.

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them? I think it was less risk taking and more getting down to basics of writing. Do it every day and try to hit the 600 daily word count every day. I did notice that without outside accountability eyes (even if the group ultimately didn't care what my results are) my results on Strix: Forget the Sun decreased. So I think I need to be more public with that novel's progress next year.

Did you meet last year's goals? Let's find out. The goals from my 2024 one-page business plan are:

Writing Strix series:

April, September: Finish Strix: Forget the Sun first draft

April, September: Edit Strix: Forget the Sun

April, September: Send Strix: Forget the Sun to a developmental editor

Writing Star Wars stories:

May, October: Conlanging Honoghran = Finished enough to finish the scene I wanted in Mission on Mimban

May, October: Edit Mission on Mimban to second draft = Finished

May, October: Send Mission on Mimban to beta = Finished

May, October: Edit Mission on Mimban to third draft = Finished

May, October: Edit Sororal Lineality: Plans and High Command to second draft = Finished

May, October: Send SL: Plans and High Command to beta = Finished

May, October: Edit SL: Plans and High Command to third draft = Finished

May, October: Finish Rescue the Farmboy: Extrication first draft

May, October: Finish SL: Kyber first draft

May, October: Outline Everybody Lives But Maul story = Finished

Writing Biker Mice From Mars stories

March, August: Finish Wars Are Won: Sacrifice of Happiness first draft

March, August: Finish Evil Jack: 'Til Death Do We Part first draft = Finished

Writing Trigun fanfics

January, June, November: Finish Trigun: Three of a Kind first draft = Finished

January, June, November: Edit Trigun: Three of a Kind to second draft = Finished

January, June, November: Send Trigun: Three of a Kind to beta = Finished

January, June, November: Edit Trigun: Three of a Kind to third draft

BookWorm's Library maintenance

July, December: Make sure software is up-to-date

July, December: Add Sororal Lineality: Miha = Finished

July, December: Add any other files that need adding

July, December: Add recipes to Cookbook

Ao3

February: Upload already published stories

February: Upload Mission on Mimban third draft = Finished

February: Upload SL: Plans and High Command after Mission on Mimban = Holding this until May 4, 2025

February: Upload thirteen fanmixes

Do you have any goals for the coming year? The goals from my 2025 one-page business plan are:

Writing Strix series:

August, September: Finish Strix: Forget the Sun first draft

August, September: Edit Strix: Forget the Sun

August, September: Send Strix: Forget the Sun to a developmental editor

Writing Star Wars stories:

April, May, July: Finish Rescue the Farmboy: Extrication first draft

April, May, July: Edit Rescue the Farmboy: Extrication to second draft

April, May, July: Send second draft of Rescue the Farmboy: Extrication to beta

April, May, July: Edit Rescue the Farmboy: Extrication to third draft

April, May, July: Finish SL: Kyber first draft

April, May, July: Edit SL: Kyber to second draft

April, May, July: Send second draft of SL: Kyber to beta

April, May, July: Edit SL: Kyber to third draft

April, May, July: Finish Rescue the Farmboy: Homecoming first draft

April, May, July: Finish SL: Ord Mantell first draft

Writing Biker Mice From Mars stories

February, June: Finish Wars Are Won: Sacrifice of Happiness first draft

February, June: Edit Evil Jack: Till Death Do We Part to third draft

February, June: Edit Wars Are Won: Sacrifice of Happiness to second draft

February, June: Send second draft of Wars Are Won: Sacrifice of Happiness to beta

February, June: Edit Wars Are Won: Sacrifice of Happiness to third draft

February, June: Finish Evil Jack: last story first draft

February, June: Edit Evil Jack: last story to second draft

February, June: Send second draft of Evil Jack: last story to beta

February, June: Edit Evil Jack: last story to third draft

Writing Trigun fanfics

January: Edit Trigun: Three of a Kind to third draft

Writing Zackverse stories

March, October, November, December: Finish Hyrueliana first draft

March, October, November, December: Edit Hyrueliana to second draft

March, October, November, December: Send second draft of Hyrueliana to beta

March, October, November, December: Edit Hyrueliana to third draft

March, October, November, December: Finish Gargoyles: Caught in a Web first draft

March, October, November, December: Edit Gargoyles: Caught in a Web to second draft

March, October, November, December: Send second draft of Gargoyles: Caught in a Web to beta

March, October, November, December: Edit Gargoyles: Caught in a Web to third draft

March, October, November, December: Finish Gargoyles: Wild as a Swallow's Song first draft

March, October, November, December: Edit Gargoyles: Wild as a Swallow's Song to second draft

March, October, November, December: Send Gargoyles: Wild as a Swallow's Song to beta

March, October, November, December: Edit Gargoyles: Wild as a Swallow's Song to third draft

BookWorm's Library maintenance

July, December: Make sure software is up-to-date

July, December: Add any other files that need adding

July, December: Add FanFiction Garret section to the site

July, December: Add recipes to Cookbook

Ao3

June: Upload already published stories

June: Upload SL: Plans and High Command on May 4, 2025

June: Upload thirteen fanmixes

June: Upload Trigun: Three of a Kind

June: Upload Rescue the Farmboy: Extricition

June: Upload Wars Are Won: Sacrifice of Happiness

June: Upload Evil Jack: Till Death Do We Part

June: Upload Evil Jack: last story

June: Upload Zackverse: The Hyrueliana

June: Upload Gargoyles: Caught in a Web

Here's to 2025.

[helenrourke]

January Writing Progress Wrap-up

Hey, it’s the last Saturday of the month and I have a lot to talk about. So I may have accidently posted this early while editing it at work and found out hours later...opps (i'm just gonna leave it up). I got a lot of writing done and hit my goal of writing the first drafts of The Imperial House up to Act Six.  That means that we will have at least one post a month until May.  I don’t know how busy I’ll be with grad school, but I’m glad I have some sort of backlog prepared.  I also got to explore some other fic ideas since I had all this free time since I was on break.  It was a productive month and I’m glad that I was able to write as much as I did.

What I published

A Quarter to Three – aka the AU – Alternate First meeting/College Tsukushi x Tsukasa fic I wrote as a last-minute replacement for toxic to the end, which ended up being much more popular than I thought it would be. What a way to start off the year.  I’ve heard you requests to turn this into a series and I plan to release several one chapter works involving other Hana Yori Dango characters in that universe.  I almost didn’t publish this fic, but thanks to everyone who encouraged me too.  Also, a quick shoutout to @purplesoil whose fic Red Butts inspired my fic in the first place.

The Imperial House – I was able to release Act Two and I’m glad that we finally moved on from that evil cliffhanger I left everyone on last month.  Act Two also introduced Kaede and I’m having so much fun writing her character.  Also, because I was able to surpass my writing goal, I will be releasing Act Three on January 31st.  Act Three is exciting because I finally get to start the Soujirou x Yuuki ship subplot I promised in the tags.  I hope you all enjoy it when it finally comes out.

Currently Writing

The Imperial House – I am currently up to writing the first draft of Act Eight as of writing this.  What can I say, except Act Eight wasn’t even in my original outline, however Rui has told me he didn’t feel like he was getting enough screen time in my fic, so I am writing a more Rui focused chapter.  Hopefully I’ll be back on track for Act Nine which is a chapter I’ve wanted to write for a while now.

Mene – is a Hana Yori Dango Au - Canon Divergence Tsukushi x Akira one-shot that I’m working on as a side project.  I expected it to be 3000 words at the most and it’s become much longer now.  When I finished the first draft earlier this month, I looked at the word count, and it was over 10K. I was debating splitting it to two chapters, but I decided not to.   Honestly, I’m loving writing this AU and I really would like to have the final version out by Akira’s birthday (February 28).

Lucky Me! – All I’m willing to say is that this project is finished, and I’ll be dropping it on ao3 when you least expect it.

What I Dropped

toxic till the end – this was a hard decision to make, but I decided to not publish this Seiya x Usagi one-shot.  It’s not that I hated the story, it was just that I have trouble coming up with an alternative ending for the story, since I was not happy with the original result.  Sometimes you have works that are better left in your draft folder.  I promise I’ll try to write another Sailor Moon one-shot one day to make up for it.

Baby Blue – I’ve mentioned this before, but this was the Tsukasa x Tsukushi one-shot I was writing based on the world of Nina the Starry Bride.  This project started to deal with grief, and I was planning on writing a story where Tsukasa and Tsukushi don’t get their happy ending.  However, the story felt too close to the original source material it felt too close to plagiarism for my comfort.  I may try to retool this story in the future, to make it into something more original.  But this version of this one shot has been dropped.

I Hope You Dance – is another story I started during my illness after watching Dirty Dancing while sick in bed.  What I can tell you is that it’s a Hana Yori Dango fic based on the movie, however with a twist.  The original movie takes place in the 1960’s and I was not alive then, so it’s been moved up to the 2000’s.  I also want to try to deviate from the original plotline to make it more authentic to the 2000s since abortion has been legal in the state of New York since 1970.  However, I have too many planned projects as it is, and I don’t have the time to work on this idea just yet.  So, it’s simply shelved for now until I can focus on it.  I do think it has potential.

Future Goals for February

The Imperial House – After posting Act Three. The goal is to finish editing and finalizing Act Four and post it in mid-February.

Mene – if everything goes well it will be published at the end of the month as planned.

3AM – is the sequel to A Quarter to Three focusing on Shigeru and Akira.  I would like to start drafting an outline if possible.

Final Thoughts

January was crazy, with the loss of my pet and an illness to start off the month.  I was able to recover and write a lot.  I really think that being able to write helped me deal with all the stuff that happened to me to be honest.  I’m still looking forward to continuing to write and grow as an author in 2025

[circuitspinner]

got any spiderverse fic recs?

actually, i do! it's pretty much all ghostflower though (and entirely gwen-focused due to my personal biases; i do intend to branch out more at some point) so sorry if you wanted something a little different!

(also, this isn't every fic i've read and liked, just some of my absolute favorites!)

look at me, falling fast is a fic that i have thought about literally daily since i first read it, which means a little over two weeks now. it goes over gwen's perspective of the scenes we get with her and miles on earth-1610 in atsv, and its take on these characters (and gwen in particular) just clicked with me in a way not a lot of fics i've read in this fandom have so far

threading the needle is the only incomplete fic on this list, because i generally avoid things that are unfinished- it was published as a one-shot initially, and the first chapter can be taken as a standalone. the premise is pretty simple: how would atsv be different if gwen had known about the existence of earth-8? once again, i just love the way she's characterized here, especially in that first standalone chapter.

watercolor skies is set sometime after the hypothetical end of btsv, where gwen still hasn't returned home to earth-65. for lack of a better way to phrase it, there's something that feels very relatable about her complicated relationship with her father.

salad days takes place during the timeskip between gwen joining up with the spider society and finally going to earth-1610. i don't have a lot to say about it, other than (like everything on this list) i really like the way it handles the characters.

waiting is a little alternate-universe fake dating au (that spirals into a full-on series that ends up hitting some of the same beats as atsv does, interestingly enough) that i think is really fun to see with these characters! gwen actually makes a decent first impression on miles' parents in this universe

watercolour girl is, in some sense, about gwen's relationship to her hair- and how it relates to the people she loves.

a litany for survival is about the canon events in gwen's life. it's something that just really resonated with me the first time i read it. something about the way it's written just really clicks for me, i think?

to slip from your tongue like words is actually from hobie's perspective; his observations on gwen's obvious affection for miles and his subtle (for him, anyway) attempts at encouraging her to go against the society.

ghost of me is about gwen struggling to cope with the guilt and grief over what happened with her world's peter parker, and being blindsided by the anniversary of his death.

[welcome-to-hyrulepark]

[HYRULE PARK: 5TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL]

July 30th marked 5 years since I published the first drawing of Link meeting the boys from South Park. You have no idea what has happened over the years. First of all, Hyrule Park has outlived most of the other South Park AU comics such as Mirai Park, Hell Park, Revenge Park, SP Fleur Blue, SP Left 4 Dead, my pals South Park High and others. While they were actively developing and then abruptly canceled, Hyrule Park was just drawing its second chapter😆. During this time, my AU acquired a couple of fans but the comic took so long to develop that most of those fans lost interest in it (and some even lost interest in Zelda and/or South Park in general). But despite all this, I do not lose hope of acquiring my own fan base who would draw me fanarts, made memes, or just asking me, "When is the next part?"

Guys, I hope that your interest in Hyrule Park will be renewed, because I actually waited all these years for the release of Tears of the Kingdom so that I could immediately build the entire chronology of events, and at the same time honed my writing skills. Someone will say: “Hey, why do you need to hone something? Your pursuit of ideals will only destroy you! Do whatever you want.” And I really did. And here is the result: the comic version is being reworked, because I started making it back when I knew very little about the lore of both the Breath of the Wild saga and the Zelda universe in general.

Fun fact: I did not plan this story as a multimedia saga. It was supposed to be a short banter comic about Stan, Craig, and their homies ending up the world of Breath of the Wild, meeting Link, going on an adventure, saving Zelda and going home. But then I found out that the BotW sequel is in development, then I found out how fan comics work and what is interesting to fandoms. Then Age of Calamity was released, and I came up with a prequel fanfic called Hyrule Warriors: Backstories, after which I learned about new needs in the fandom. By the time I adapted this story for Ficbook.me, its canon had changed to such an extent that I had to rewrite everything from the beginning. Fortunately, I only wrote the first two chapters. Then I got other projects (FNAF MA, The EDM Gang and even the lore of my cybersona grew into a plot worthy of a manga), I had a need for promotion, so I started doing all these marathons of my favorite animated series and AU, taking part in Linktober and Art Fight... In the end, I have ADHD, a mental disorder that makes it hard to concentrate on anything, so my brain needed a change of activity all the time, which distracted me from Hyrule Park.

So, yeah. There are a crap ton of reasons for delays. But there is good news: I am already prepared enough to continue this story. I changed its format, and now I don’t have to draw every scene of the comic. Instead, I can describe some of them with text. I also formulated a more or less clear picture of further events. All I need are those for whom I will try, and I need to know about such people through feedback.

Hyrule Park - 5 years later, everything is just beginning!

[OG DRAWING] [BETTER QUALITY]

[wakfu-weekly]

Devblog: Necroworld interview

A devblog was published talking about the newly added Necroworld dungeon to the mmo.

You should read it for yourself if you are curious, but here are the bits I found interesting (and my thoughts on it):

(Text taken from the article colored in purple)

"Why did you specifically choose to create a 3-person dungeon for Toross Mordal?

In the 3-person dungeons, we try as much as possible to go with bosses that have a transmedia presence. Basically, these are bosses that players who've had experience with the Krosmoz universe will be eager to fight. So we want to make them more accessible to players who are playing with one character or one account. (…)”

I didn’t know they had this approach. This explains a lot of the other design choices like it being a single room that just goes straight to the boss and the more straightforward wakfu drain mechanic. Making the mmo more accessible to other Krosmoz fans is often a tricky task, which is especially highlighted here since you have to be at least level 215 to even be allowed inside of the Necroworld. At this level bracket you are already deep into the mmo trenches, which could be why I’ve seen the sentiment of the Toross fight being too easy echoed from some players. This is meant to be a fun, simpler fight that was placed at the highest level bracket of the game where the most dedicated players reside.

Was it hard to maintain story consistency with WAKFU S4 with the addition of the Necroworld?

I wouldn't say it was hard, but it was definitely an important issue as we were developing the quest. We had to implement the player's discovery of the Necroworld in the timeline of WAKFU MMO while also justifying the shared discovery of the Necroworld by all Twelvians in Season 4 of the WAKFU animated series.

I worked with [Sly] and [Siu] to write the quest. The narrative goal was to get the player into the Necroworld while involving as few characters as possible. Ultimately, we had the idea to use a little trick with Otomai and his links to the Eliatropes' story. But I won't reveal any more here, so that people can discover the quest for themselves.

Okay, so there is a quest! I was left under the erroneous impression that there wasn’t (since I’m not the right level yet, I’ve only gotten footage and glimpses from watching another friend play it on release day. They didn’t get a quest related to it. A bug maybe?)

I was particularly wondering about the story here. Hearing that they wrote it with “as few characters as possible” makes sense to avoid the continuity nightmares but also. Uh oh. That sounds… Pretty telling? Alas since I haven’t actually played through the quest, I cannot comment on it.

I’ve been enjoying the quests and story from the newest updates so far, so I’m willing to trust them on this one.

Where'd you get your inspiration for this new boss's equipment?

The first source of inspiration was, of course, Toross and his army, the iconic characters from season 4 of WAKFU. What I like about these new monsters is the striking contrast between their desaturated colors and the pink Stasis, which allows us to establish a strong visual identity for the equipment.

they are right. The greys with the super saturated colors do go pretty hard.

[edwin-paynes-bowtie]

What is ur personal favourite, hands down recommended reading order? The way you like most, the way that's the most optimal way of reading it? According to you of course (and maybe including extra chapters) ? :))

Key:

Cassie Clare Canon -> If a short story is listed by name, it means I recommend you read it there rather than where I list the rest of the story collection. Or, you know, you could reread the story and have fun ;)

My fanfic

NOT PUBLISHED YET. Indicates a WIP that I am actively working on. I did not list WIPs that I am not actively working on.

My fanfic, but NSFW

@vwritesaus fanfic because I accept all her works as canon and also we share almost every headcanon so they fit in with all the other stuff on this list.

W/T -> Wessa

M -> Matthew

EIR -> Expert in Romantics Series

T/A -> Thomastair

TWLTB -> Together We'll Learn to Breathe Series

J/C -> Herondaisy

Note: I have only included fanfics that are fully canon compliant. I have others as does V, and you should read those too :P But these are just canon and bonus chapters.

TID

When Our Eyes Meet, Darling, I Fancy You

Have I Known You Twenty Seconds or Twenty Years? W/T

Leaves, Cider Donuts, and William Herondale W/T

Happy Birthday, My Tess W/T

Tale as Old as Time W/T

The Howling Wind W/T

My Hips and Thighs and Whispered Sighs (Oh Lord) W/T

The Whitechapel Fiend

A Tale of a Great Behemoth W/T

Nothing But Shadows

Cast Long Shadows

Come Feel This Magic I've Been Feeling Since I Met You T/A

Every Exquisite Thing

A Combination of Shock and Awe M

The Midnight Heir

The Penultimate Hours

Chain of Gold

Empty Bottles, Heavy Hearts, the Memories of Broken Dreams T & Lily

The Letter Game

Part-Time Soulmate, Full-Time Problem T/A

Chain of Iron

Chain of Thorns

Daisy, My Daisy... J/C

breathe T/A

Enouement J/C

Chrysalism T/A

Can We Dance Through an Avalanche? T/A

Serindipity Ari/Anna NOT PUBLISHED YET.

Adronitis NOT PUBLISHED YET.

A Therapeutic Chain of Events T/A TWLTB

The Closet Game A & C

The Golden Age of Something Good and Right and Real T/A

Butterflies J/C

Prices & Vices (I End Up in Crisis) M & A

Your Flower's Filled With Vitriol M & A

In the Gutter, Looking at the Stars M & A

The Name We Give Our Mistakes M

Summer Went Away (Still the Yearning Stays) M

Love Thorns All Over This Rose J/C

You Drew Scars Around My Stars T/A TWLTB

Passed Down Like Folk Songs (The Love Lasts So Long) T/A

Taffy Stuck and Tongue Tied A & Grace

It's a Love Story (Baby Just Say Yes) J/C

Soul to the Universe (Wings to the Mind) J/C, T/A, M

I Can See You (Up Against a Wall With Me) J/C

Across our Great Divide There Is a Glorious Sunrise M

Fourty-Eight M

Dreamscapes on the Wall T/A

I'm a Fire and I'll Keep Your Brittle Heart Warm T/A

The Diaries of Sir Thomas Lightwood, Age 14 T/A

what's in a kiss (by any other touch would feel just as sweet) T/A

A Troublesome Tale of Truffles & Trifles T/A

Religion in Your Lips (the Altar Is My Hips) T/A

A Dazzling Haze, A Mysterious Way About You T/A

Seeking Lapsang Souchang J/C

The Crown You Never Take Off T/A

Closets of Backlogged Dreams T/A

dear christopher T/A

Life Is Not Complex (We Are Complex) M EIR Eugenia/OC

The Cheap Severity of Abstract Ethics M & T/A

Walk, Walk, Fashion Baby M & T

Got Me Right Where You Want Me, Baby (Could I Be More Obvious?) T/A

More Than Anything: A Thomas and Alastair Drabble Collection T/A

The Besotted Couple's Guide to Half-Baked Mistakes J/C

Privacy Sign on the Whole World J/C

Until the Stars Burn Out: A James and Cordelia Drabble Collection J/C

Flying in a Dream, Stars By the Pocketful T/A

Twenty Minutes T/A

hygge T/A

Like a Candle You Burnt Out T/A

Christmas on the Balcony W/T

The Surprise T/A & C

i'm only me when i'm with you J/C

Every Tear's a Rain Parade From Hell T/A TWLTB

A Dwindling Mercurial High T/A TWLTB

Bloodsucker, Famefucker T/A TWLTB

Baby You Got Lucky Cause You're Rockin With the Best T/A

Is This the End of All the Endings? (My Broken Bones Are Mending) T/A

Dinner in the Dark T/A

For One Moment, Our Lives Met (Our Souls Touched) M EIR Ragnor/Catarina

Fashion Is Ephemeral (Art Is Eternal) Matthew EIR T/A

A Little Sincerity (A Dangerous Thing) M EIR Risa/OC

The Moon in Her Chariot of Pearl M EIR T/A

Days Future: Paris 1912 T/A

A Ribbon of Dream T/A

Kaleidoscope of Loud Heartbeats Under Coats T/A

Moonlight Sonata and I T/A

Connecting the Tide to the Sand That Was Dry T/A

Love on Ice T/A

portrait of a dissipated parisian T/A

Time, Mystical Time M

TMI 1-4

The Red Scrolls of Magic

TMI 5-6

Tales From the Shadowhunter Academy

The Bane Chronicles

TDA, if you absolutely must, but I usually recommend people don't waste their time.

Ghosts of the Shadow Market

The Lost Book of the White

Sentimental Boy Is My Nom de Plume W/T

This Beautiful Beast M T/A and Kit H

TWP

[lord-squiggletits]

I wish to love and appreciate idw optimus more too. But I also don’t want to read through the entirety of IDW 1.0. Can you please recommend me any specific issues/parts?

My best friend and fellow IDW Optimus lover made a post compiling all the comics with major story beats involving Optimus. Her list has a lot of the same things mine does, but also a lot more specific issues because she actually knows which specific issues of which series you can read specifically for ones focused on IDW Optimus. We don't agree on everything (I love some comics she dislikes and vice versa), but I would recommend her list simply because it's the most well-documented and thorough. Link I also have a lot of far less coherent but still genuine posts about IDW OP on my #idw op love tag.

As for specific parts I would recommend... since you don't want to read through all of IDW1, I'll go ahead and recommend you things based on in-universe chronological order rather than story release order, but if anything here interests you then I would recommend reading IDW1 in release order so that you get a better grasp of the story's context and how new lore was given out over time:

Chaos Theory and Police Action by James Roberts (The Transformers 2009 issues 22-23): I love love LOVE the way JRO writes Optimus talking to Megatron during the present day, it's very IDW-Optimus flavored because of how blunt, abrasive, and snappy Optimus is. There's a part in the comic where Megatron claims that he "knows [Optimus] better than anyone else," and he's right, but it's also true that Optimus knows Megatron well enough to see that he's bullshitting and it's very entertaining watching Optimus slowly lose his patience with him. I love the dialogue especially, no one (canon or fandom) has ever quite written the same IDW OP who's in this set of comics. It's also the most MegOP comic of all time because the sexual tension and the subliminal imagery of them doing BDSM together is unreal, plus it really captures their dynamic of two old soldiers who snap together with chemistry despite (or perhaps because of) being such long-time enemies. They just UNDERSTAND each other so well. Also, as a bonus point, Chaos Theory is where the pre-war lore for IDW1 began being published, so if you read Chaos Theory then the context for future pre-war lore makes a little more sense.

Shadowplay by James Roberts (More Than Meets the Eye issues 10-11): More pre-war lore that picks up where Chaos Theory/Police action left off. Important because it establishes a lot of IDW OP's character relationships, especially with "the Senator," Roller, and to a degree Ratchet and some minor side characters. I don't really know what to say about this besides it's just really fucking fun to read and features IDW OP getting to do cool shit like fight bad guys, investigate conspiracies, and do heists while also establishing one of his key character traits: being disastrously gay for suspicious men that he places entirely too much trust in to tell him what the right thing to do is.

Spotlight: Orion Pax by James Roberts: Okay, I'm really sorry for recommending JRO's stuff because it feels like favoritism and I don't even think JRO does the best version of IDW OP, it's just going in in-universe chronological order means that a lot of JRO stuff ends up first on the list. This one doesn't really have much of consequence in it and is honestly one of the weaker Spotlight issues, but like Shadowplay, it involves Orion Pax doing fun action shit and having way too much trust in a suspicious man (a new one from the suspicious man in Shadowplay).

The Autocracy Trilogy (Autocracy, Monstrosity, Primacy) by Chris Metzen: Oh my fucking god this is THE IDW Optimus to me, this trilogy is literally what made my ears perk up to even start liking IDW OP because it's what took me from "Optimus Prime, that's the guy who's the super awesome leader that everyone likes and is a paragron to everyone, yeah I know him" to "Oh.... holy shit this is such a good plot/worldbuilding, Optimus has so much CONFLICT and DRAMA with other people." It covers one of my favorite periods of the general Transformers formula, namely pre-war and early war plot events as conflicts come to a boiling point, there's political conflicts and personal conflicts, the planet is falling to shit and everyone is trying to escape and things are as depressing and scary as you would expect for a war that's literally about to consume a whole planet. I found the general plotlines to be gripping and intense (Autocracy is the weakest in this regard, but the writing gets better with each book) and I really like seeing how Optimus grapples with leadership. Especially the negative parts where people hate/fear him because of his association with Zeta's regime (the previous Prime, who Orion worked for), call his judgment into question, refuse his calls to action or waver in their faith in him, and so forth. I found it to be a really nuanced yet sympathetic view of IDW Optimus that made me fall in love with him. Because really, the thing that humanizes a character the most is making them flawed, and Autocracy trilogy Optimus is so incredibly flawed and conflicted. And also it shows him being shit on by other characters in a way that's well written in a plot that makes sense and doesn't feel like the entire plot is conspiring to shit all over him.

The Death of Optimus Prime by James Roberts and John Barber: This comic is basically the transition from phase 1 to phase 2, it establishes the branching plotlines of MTMTE and exRID, so this is another one of those comics that will help you understand IDW1 better if you want to read for more than just Optimus. Anyways, DoOP is great because it has a similar vibe to the Autocracy trilogy in that society is chaos and full of people who fucking hate Optimus' guts for the role he played in the war. You can also compare/contrast the way OP was before the war and early in the war versus the way he is after the war and see how much the war changed him (Chaos Theory also kind of is like this but it more shows bitchy Optimus specifically in his dynamic with Megatron). It also features a fair amount of Optimus Heroic Moments, Optimus Brooding, and Optimus being so fucking depressed he's literally sad when he wakes up and realizes he's not dead dude get some fucking therapy please I'm begging you--

Punishment by John Barber: This skips ahead quite a bit in the story but I think stands decently well on its own without having to understand the wider context. It's one of Barber's best-written stories and one of the only ones I've come back to reread for its own sake. It features Optimus trying to solve the murder-mystery of a bunch of Decepticons, featuring really cool plot conflicts like Optimus trying to navigate post-war society and the tensions that still linger from the Autobot-Decepticon war. I really like this one because it has that whole "not everyone loves OP and a lot of people hate him for justified reasons" thing that makes IDW OP a much more 3D character, PLUS it has some politics with the way Decepticons are treated post war. And I think it does really interesting things with Optimus in terms of showing how he DOES have this idealistic, merciful side that wants people to choose peace and letting go of vengeance, but of course it's not so easy to expect that of people after a 4 million year war. So when people inevitably choose violence, Optimus gets frustrated and angry and lashes out in a way that feels very real and understandable. It's a really good example of a comic that shows IDW OP in a nuanced way, showcasing both his virtues and flaws in a complicated situation that shows that there's no easy solution to these problems and no way for Optimus to escape without getting his hands dirty. Unlike future comics which involve OP being in complicated situations but instead the plot is super contrived and seems to overwhelmingly shit on OP without ever mentioning the very obvious ways that he could be defended, creating a story that's conceptually fascinating but incredibly mediocre in execution.

If I had to recommend any single one of these to read, I would recommend the Autocracy trilogy the most because it's literally the story that made me love IDW Optimus and made me realize "whoa, this guy is super nuanced and not what I expected of him." That's not to say that no other Optimi have depth and nuance, but I think the Autocracy trilogy was great for me personally as one of the first IDW1 comics I read. It struck a really good balance between "uh Optimus was part of some bad things that warrant being shit on" and "Optimus is struggling to overcome those bad associations he did, succeeding with some people and failing with others" and "Optimus is an optimist who has faith in others even when they don't have faith in themselves." Also, as a bonus, the Autocracy trilogy also features cunty murder-husband Megatron, an interesting character arc for Hot Rod, and the Dinobots as really interesting supporting characters (including their leader, Grimlock, having a cute veteran-rookie dynamic with Hot Rod that I wish we got more of).

[animehouse-moe]

Don't Call It Mystery Omnibus Volume 1: The Mystery That Isn't Mysterious

I'll cut to the chase (and completely ignore my terribly bad subtitle for this post), I think this is definitely a story that a lot of people will be interested in. Of course, there's reasons for that, but if you find the concept of a mystery series intriguing, you're bound to enjoy this unique rendition of it from the expert mangaka Yumi Tamura. So, allow me to walk you why, in a spoiler free fashion (spoilers: it's because it's so good you shouldn't read spoilers until you've read it).

So, Yumi Tamura isn't exactly a household name in English, especially in this day and age. But I can pretty comfortably say, within the Shoujosei community, they're very high up there as an accomplished and successful mangaka. They've several highly regarded series underneath their belt that includes the focus of this post, alongside Basara and 7 Seeds. Basara was published in English a long time ago, but has long since been out of print, so in this current day and age this is the only accessible Yumi Tamura manga, so people should absolutely be getting on it while they can.

Anyways, why is Don't Call It Mystery good? Well, I'll start with the art. I'll say it flat out, the paneling isn't something out of this world. It's not, and hoping for a dialogue heavy mystery manga like this to have some creative flow or anything is probably asking a little much. The art on the other hand? It's got that classic styling to it. The very old school and sort of wispy and sketchy approach that has characters with very unique and intriguing proportions. It's a style that's undoubtedly aged, but has done so like fine wine.

So what about the story then? In short, nothing less than incredibly interesting and highly engaging. Being so dialogue heavy and rather slow paced, it's very easy to find a story boring or disinteresting, but the format of Don't Call It Mystery keeps those feelings at bay. The whole idea is to follow our lead character, Totonou Kunou, as he gets roped into mystery after mystery, and how those cases come to a head. You could say it's like Sherlock Holmes, if he was arrested on suspect of murder, or was directly involved/subject to the crimes he was attempting to solve. And I think that's what makes it so interesting.

It flips mystery on its head

Rather than from the outside looking in, trying to put the pieces together to form the how, Don't Call It Mystery places the readers and Totonou in the hot seat, as we break apart the mystery from the inside out. If you want, you have the answers to each of the crimes and curiosities very early on, but that's not the focus. Rather than the how of the mystery, we look at the why alongside Totonou. And I think that's such a fun spin on the concept. You get placed in front of the murderers and sociopaths and social rejects, and are encouraged to piece together their worlds alongside Totonou.

And because of that, the focus shifts from the world to the characters. It's quite literally a world of difference, and I find it to be a really great idea. It turns solving a mystery into exploring one. You probe the minds of each characters as Totonou slips into guidance counselor mode (even though he's just a university student), and the conversations that arise from it speak to a desire to dig deeper into the existence of the person behind the conversation. Why is a serial killer doing what they're doing, what does a person think of death or killing, how do they view themselves and the world around them. It's a host of questions an curiosities that strikes at the core of each person and their insecurities.

Now, speaking about characters, you can't have a good character-centric story without good characters. And there's plenty of them through this first omnibus. More than anything, a lot of them come off playful, which I found interesting. You wouldn't think a tense murder plot would have room for flippant behavior, but it's there, and it works. It cuts the tension of the interactions very comfortably, and makes for a more relaxing read than you might expect. The levity really helps shift readers away from the gravity of violence and killing, and towards the curiosity and interest in exploring another person.

But let's talk specifics, specifically Totonou-kun. I really enjoy their character, for a lot of reasons. Namely, their perceived passivity of the world. It's as a way to pass time, or out of boredom, hardly ever is the mystery something that Totonou has express interest in. It's a bold strategy, but nonetheless one that certainly pays off. When faced with his interest in curry, or making it to an art exhibit on time, Totonou's disinterest in the dire situations and challenges he's faced with makes for an exciting approach. More than that though, it's the perfect personality to use as your vehicle for the exploration of the people around them. Without much a reason to, the unbiased prodding of those unfortunate enough to end up around him produces incredibly interesting results.

But I think I've rambled on long enough at this point. You want a mystery? This has got it. You want interesting theories and ideas? This has it. You want a refreshing take on the genre? It's right in front of you. Don't Call It Mystery checks so many boxes in regards to its experience that there's certainly far more people out there that would enjoy it than there is people that wouldn't. So, what's the hold up on it then? Grab a volume and get started on reading this oddly obvious mystery manga.

[epersonae]

20 questions for fic writers

Tagged by @yerbamansa, thanks!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

169 😅 150 of which are for The Adventure Zone (I wrote a LOT of small fic for TAZ, and just a lot of TAZ fic in general)

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

604,338, which remains absolutely wild to me. I hit the half-million mark this year.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently Our Flag Means Death, but previously The Adventure Zone, and I have one Star Trek (TOS movies) fic.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Sea of Love (Our Flag Means Death (TV)) (6,697 words)

Phoenix Fire (The Adventure Zone (Podcast)) (2,031 words)

Commit to the Bit (Our Flag Means Death (TV)) (2,471 words)

Dinner & Conversation (The Adventure Zone (Podcast)) (826 words)

I have begun to long for you (Our Flag Means Death (TV)) (4,185 words)

Yeah, ok, some fun reunion porn for the big fandom and a collab with two pretty popular writers for the small fandom make sense for that top two in particular.

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

I try to, especially since I don't get that many, and I love getting comments so much that I just want to share my appreciation. Sometimes the spoons are low, sometimes I don't know what to say except "thanks!" and if someone just commented on several chapters I might not do that for all of them.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Well, Phoenix Fire is the Worst Ending, aka the destruction of the entire universe, plus unbearably sad between the main characters, so yeah.

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

I do have quite a bit of fluffy fic (Commit to the Bit comes to mind, there's also a Fantasy Costco Kravitz/Taako that's very sweet), but I immediately thought of for the benefit of all the broken hearts, just because it takes an incredibly bittersweet ending of the fic it's fixing and says FUCK THAT, how can everyone get a happy ending instead?

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I've never gotten any, even managed to avoid the twitter wank that WFU got when I wrote fics of it! (long ago, I did get some vagueblogging about some stuff in my TAZ fic, but nothing ever addressed directly at me)

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

That is where I started and why I started (my first smutty fic is pretty bad imho but it was popular, relatively speaking, because for a bit there it was the only unlocked smut for that pairing); my original rarepair was M/F bi4bi in a complicated polycule, and so there's some them+others works in there. (readers of for the benefit of all the broken hearts are nodding along like "ok this tracks") beyond that, I'm just going to say go look at my work.

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

Is for the benefit of all the broken hearts (and the rest of that series) a crossover??????? Like I'm legitimately staring into space thinking about the boundary line between modern AU and RPF and........ HUH.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

DO PEOPLE DO THAT

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope!

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

183 thousand words in a series: the only life you could save, with my beloved Ryn, when we were "just friends" - started as our attempt to co-write a reconciliation between Taako and Lucretia, and spun out into an entire timeline with themes spanning before the Stolen Century all the way into post-canon. Some pieces we wrote separately, much of it we wrote together. Even the last piece, which I published after Ryn died, includes a section that they wrote, about Taako trying to cope with Lucretia's death.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Probably Mulder/Scully lol, tho I don't know if I've ever read any fic of them????

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

One of my very first TAZ fics was a Hurley/Sloane backstory fic that was going to be basically a beat-for-beat retelling of The Fast and the Furious (oh, I guess that's also sort of a crossover?), but I only ever wrote the first chapter. I would love to write it at some point, because I think it would be fun as hell.

I'd also love to finish my TAZ Amnesty fic, sweetness follows, which is friends-to-lovers post-canon Minerva/Duck.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Character voice, I think. Possibly a stupid depth of canon knowledge for whatever the canon is, and I think I have a knack for figuring out how to reincorporate those details. Honestly, it's hard for me to say "oh these are my strengths and weaknesses", or at least today I'm having trouble pinning that down.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Punctuation Pokemon, or rather, my sentences do get very tangly. I find endings really tricky, I've done a lot of work thinking through how to stick the landing. (This is one of the ways in which Ryn continues to live in my head, because they could always spot when I hadn't quite made it.)

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

Alas my Spanish (high school and college) is too rusty to even try, and I don't know any other languages.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

The Adventure Zone, although I wrote quite a bit of Agatha Christie pastiche in junior high, and a lot of Anne Rice influenced original fiction in high school and college.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I love a lot of my fic, it's fun to go back and look and say "oh that!", and The Reckoning Arrives is up there, of course, because I loved writing it, and it saved my life. ("she's survived the impossible before" got me out of my marriage and 2 years later got me through the hospital. "you're here, so be here" got me through what came after that.)

But it does have to be for the benefit of all the broken hearts - she lives in my head, still, and I feel incredibly proud of all the work I put into it, the technical work, the emotional work.

---

Not tagging anybody, but PLEASE! if you feel like talking about your writing, do it!

[ariadne-mouse]

🌀🌧☔️ for the ask game?

Hi there! :) The first two are for The Unhinged AU, since that's what I'm trying to work on at the moment.

🌀Post the fic summary for a fic you haven't written/published yet. It can be hypothetical or something you really plan on releasing...

Supermodel and fashion entrepreneur Essek Thelyss doesn't believe in fate - only probability. But it seems probability has it out for him too, because his life is getting turned upside down by a series of ridiculous situations, each more improbable than the last. Why does he keep running into the same man? And more importantly... does he want it to stop?

🌧️Share something angsty from your WIP.

“You weren’t focused in your shoot.” Essek continued to seek the meaning of the universe in his ghostly reflection in the hotel room window.  Uraya was a faint blob of color in the background. He sighed.  “I know.  I just haven’t been feeling… motivated.” The blob drew closer.  “Burnout?” “Language,” Essek tutted. “Do not speak such evil here.  …And no, not exactly.” “You had a nice time at the museum, didn’t you?  You certainly stayed late enough.” “Yes, it was fine.”  Essek flicked his wrist, fanning away further inquisitiveness.  “It is only just… I feel like I go to these shoots and everyone knows me already and they have all these expectations and presumptions.  It’s like a trap.  I’m obligated to be the popular version of myself.”

“That’s being famous.”  The couch cushion dipped next to him, and Uraya’s face became more clear in the reflection overlaying the far-below topography of Zadash.  “Or so I’m told.  I’m only the PA.” “The best PA,” Essek corrected. “Yes, yes, that’s understood every time I say it.”  A pause.  “You could call Verin.” “No.” “Deirta?” “Not looking for a lecture about the family legacy, thank you.” “Hm.” Essek laughed. “The list does run out rather quickly, doesn’t it?”

☔Is there a fic concept you have that you'd like to just explain and share because you're not sure you'll ever write it? If so, what is it?

Oh good question. Hmmmm I don't have a nice meaty fic concept to explain because I store those in my cheeks like a chipmunk does chestnuts for winter & the optimism of actually writing them someday. But! Sometimes my brain likes to process other media I watch by suggesting very niche crossover ideas. They don't have many legs to stand on other than the novelty of mashing worlds together, so they have the least momentum to mature into actual writing. For example:

Witcher crossover where Essek, Jester, and Caleb land in Witcher!verse? Excellent, inflict Essek and Yennefer on each other. The townsfolk probably would be alarmed by drow and tiefling looks, too, not being present in that world.

Riddick crossover purely for the fun of Essek with Darkvision looking at Riddick's silvered eyes and going "lol you're not special"? Great, put some of the M9 on a spaceship and have the fish-out-of-water experience. I like Essek and Fjord for that team-up, and maybe a hypothetical Fjorjester kid to activate Riddick's moral code about not endangering children.

Shadowgast wash up on a deserted island, their magic isn't working, and something is hunting them? Why yes I did rewatch some of the first season of Lost.

Anyway these are all in the "very indulgent snippet" kind of category, or maybe "brain movie to pass the time while you're in a boring meeting" stuff.

[juurensha]

2023 Fic Recap

It's close to the end of the year again, and while I do have a little piece ready to post for the New Year, all my fic for this year has been posted, so let's do a recap post now! According to Ao3, I've written 124,187 words this year. It's obviously not counting the many WIPs I have socked away that aren't done yet, but good enough considering this was a pretty difficult year for me this time!

Most popular fics by kudos this year: my love language is fighting, bickering, and caring, Marriage isn’t a Game (it’s a fight that we’re both going to win), Thirst Traps Not Feelings: The Grindr Fic, crocodiles are not nurturing (but they certainly protect their young), and kissing in the rain (while locked up in the zoo’s bird enclosure)

New fandoms written for this year: One Piece (both the manga/anime and live action), Glory (the Long Qi webnovel), Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order series, Eyeshield 21, and Barbie (2023 film)

(no fandom tags created this year)

Total new fics written: 17

Favorite fic written this year: I think this year, just based on how many times I've reread it myself, it's going to have to be my Eyeshield 21 fic, dissonant notes can combine into a beautiful song (and other stuff my weirdo boyfriend says). I just had so much fun cramming all my favorite E21 pairings into it, and it's such a fun whacky cast to play with. Sadly, the fandom is pretty dead, but supposedly the manga-ka is going to release a new chapter in the new year, so who knows!

Hardest fic to write: I think this year that's going to have to be Nightsister: Dawn, not really because of the fic itself but because around the same time I was trying to finish it before Jedi: Survivor released, a lot of things happened in my life, and afterwards, I really wasn't in the headspace to write. I actually had more planned out for this fic (there was originally going to be some smut), but afterwards, when Jedi: Survivor also released and kind of turned my fic into an AU, I just wasn't feeling it anymore. However, I did already have 10k written, and I didn't think what I already had was too bad, so I decided to just wrap it up and post it. I still really love Cal/Merrin, so maybe I'll write more for them in the future, it was just bad timing around this one.

Most self-indulgent fic written this year: So, both My family’s purple water yao has dragged off a silver cabbage and Scum Man Gege Knows Best are fierce contenders for the title, since one is a happy WTA AU fic where everything is fine and dandy, while the other is a cultivation AU for Glory, featuring all my headcanons of my favorite scummy gege, but in the end, I think the title has to go to See you in the stars (and recite some love poetry together). I know not many Tianbao fans have watched Dimension 20's Starstruck Odyssey or know what the Starstruck universe is, but I had so much fun sticking Tianbao into the zany retro scifi world of Starstruck and including all my favorite tropes in the quest to get both Longjun and Langlu together.

Most underrated fic this year: Even though I just posted it, I think that's going to have to be A Violet By Any Other Name. I knew it wouldn't get much attention considering it's mainly about a minor female side character, and that the basis of the fic comes from an offhand Q&A session by Oda (and that the main character doesn't even have a tag with her real name in Ao3, my god), but I really wanted to explore her feelings about romancing and working for the enemy for more than a decade. Personally, I think I did a good job with it!

Original Work published this year: I managed to get my "A Haunted Person" short story published in a Gothic Romance anthology, which was very exciting for me. Also had my horror story "What Comes Up From the World Below" get published by Haunted Word Press in their Ghoulish Grimoires Issue 6.

Fic Plans for Next Year: Hahaha, reading my plans from 2022 for this year, I realize that I....basically didn't follow any of them, but to be fair, WIP's pop up, and you just never know! I actually still am working on that Yugi/Kaiba piece; it's currently sitting at 20k with just a love confession, so it's....long going. I really would like to finish that at the start of next year and then figure out how to split it out and post it! Besides that, there's an AU Choso/Junpei fic I'm working on that I hope will be fun, and a Jason Todd/Dick Grayson fic that's an ongoing project that I pick up occasionally. I really do want to do that Gaara/Naruto I Ship My Adversary x Me AU piece eventually as well, but I know that one would be multi-chaptered, so we'll see what my schedule is like next year. I would also like to eventually write a post-canon LawLu piece, but I kind of want to see where the manga is going to end up first. And yes, yes, there's the 79 actor AU that still needs to be done, and I'd like to pick up the Schoolmance AU 2ha Xue Meng/Mei HanXue eventually again. But in the meanwhile, there's a lot of DabiHawks zine fics that I will hopefully be able to post next year, along with a JJK piece!

[aerialworms]

Thanks for the WIP meme tag! Can I ask for more details about Boldly Go, please? 👀

Absolutely, thank you for asking!!!

Boldy Go is the first fic I wrote in my Destiel Star Trek fusion AU, Tales From the USS Impala. It's a PWP where Dean (First Officer) notices Cas (half-Vulcan Captain) has been getting real stressed and is taking it out on the crew, so he suggests they sleep together as stress relief (and totally not cause he has a crush on his captain or anything, no, he just respects his uh. professionalism.) Cas sees this as a logical arrangement to meet both of their needs, and doesn't read any emotion into it, leaving Dean confused and a little hurt at the end when he treats it like a one-night stand.

What was difficult to write about it is that I wrote it from Cas' POV (in third person, but following Cas), and trying to write smut while using the voice of someone who a) is unfamiliar with human expressions and emotions, and b) would not know 'sexy-sounding' words for genitals etc was incredibly hard (pun intended). Mad respect to K/S shippers who write from Spock's POV! I think I pulled it off, though. I did try writing it from Dean's POV, but I found getting into Cas' head and observing Dean's behaviour from his alien point of view was way more interesting to me, if more difficult to get right. Plus, from Dean's POV Cas came off as detached and cold, but I wanted to show that despite his mask of emotionlessness he feels deeply, just like Spock.

That said, I might rewrite it once I've written the first (chronologically) fic in the series. I'm wary of changing their characters in the prequel to this, so I want to have that drafted before I edit this one and the third in the series, since how they meet/interact in the prequel will inform their characterization later on. We'll see!

Also, fun fact: Boldly Go is a working title, shorthand in my WIP folder for To Boldly Come (Where No Man Has Come Before). There's a good chance I'll just publish it under that name, since I can't think of a better one 😁

Some behind the scenes stuff: I wrote this fic at the start of NaNoWriMo last year, after saying I was going to spend November finishing my other WIPs. I'd just started watching Star Trek and absolutely loved the Kirk/Spock dynamic and thought it mapped well onto Dean/Cas. So naturally, instead of working on any of my other fics, my brain latched onto the AU and made me write it. It was just supposed to be a oneshot (And then I was totally gonna go work on my WIPs!), but then I kept thinking of more and more fic ideas for this fusion AU, and I wanted to tell the story of how they met (A Rose By Any Other Name Would Be Just As Annoying), then have some angsty getting together (The Law of Possession), because after Boldly Go, they become friends with benefits and they both catch feelings, although neither of them talk about it properly cause they're repressed idiots (affectionate), and, and, and ---

I ended up with 13 fic ideas for this universe.

None of my other WIPs got finished.

So!

I hope to actually start posting this series soon, since I fixed a plot problem in A Rose and can now bash out a first draft. There's plenty of stuff in my head and on paper, I just gotta keep at it!