#when I first added her I had no idea how divergent or canon compliant she was going to be

[infernal-feminae]

I feel like my Stella very much toes the line of

You can make her better

or you can make her WORSE

[dayseternal-blog]

My NH Fair Wrapped!

I messed up my first draft and had to start over 😭

My favorite, favorite post has to be @nh2022's Creator Spotlight on Katarinahime

I loved how Des put together all of the tributes from Tumblr and Twitter. I don't regularly go on Twitter, so I loved seeing what others had created.

In no particular order, I loved

🧡 Day 10: Cultural - I love seeing everyone put NaruHina into different cultures!!! This will always be a favorite prompt for me.

🧡 Day 14: AU from fanmade contents - Sessakag wrote a story for shamy's art!! And lavdiiaa made an art for magmawrites's story!!!! I just live for this reciprocal inspiration in this fandom!!

🧡 Day 25: Hokage & First Lady / Office AU - just fun. So fun.

🧡 Day 28: Video game - so I've never interrupted my husband when he was playing games, but ngl the fics make it sound like a good idea.

🧡 Day 30: Bookstore - I didn't know how much I needed this AU, I loved all the fanarts so much. I need to write a bookstore au!!

@golubhat's art is so cool. Something about the lines and details is really pleasing? Also @lavdiiaa's art makes me want to write something spicy 🙈

In no particular order, I loved

💝 "Casualties of War" and "Make Love Not War" from "NαɾυHιɳα Mσɳƚԋ DҽƈҽɱႦҽɾ 2022" by @sessakag - Rated E, Canon-Divergent AU, Two-shot. It’s set in an alternate universe in which the attack that destroyed Uzushio failed, and in retaliation, Uzu waged war on several of the Elemental Nations. Naruto was born in Uzushiogakure and Hinata in Konoha. Prompts: Forbidden & Enemies-to-lovers.

The point of canon-divergence is such an original idea. Also I just love secret relationships, and the added dose of enemies-to-lovers makes this perfect!

💝 "The Moon Sure is Beautiful Tonight" by @happyocelot - Rated T, Canon-Compliant, One-shot. Technically, Hinata was a chuunin. Technically, Naruto was still a genin. Technically, genin were supposed to be led by jounin, forming groups of three, barring special occasions. Technically, Hinata wasn’t supposed to be Naruto’s squad captain at all for this mission. But technically, Kakashi was Hokage, and technically he could play Cupid for them. Prompt: Blank Period.

Happyocelot is a genius at writing ridiculous situations! This fic is full of humor, I smiled the whole way through!

💝 "i don't know who loves us more, me or the stars" by @secrettastemakerland - Rated T, RTN! Modern AU, One-shot. person a who wants to stargaze and person b who wants to makeout trope ft menmahina. Prompt: Stargazing.

RTN!Hinata is perfect in this. I love how sassy and in-love she is in this cute fic.

💝 "Wake up next to you" from "Some Type of Love" by @croissantsandmacarons - Rated T, Modern AU, One-shot. During their Christmas party at Kiba's place, Hinata has to confess to the man of her dreams. Unfortunately, nothing goes has planned, but isn't it for the better? Prompt: Waking up next to you.

I'm still thinking about how adorable this fic is. I love so many things about it, the pining, the flirting, the cuddling! It's probably the fluffiest fic I've read all year.

💝 Prompt: Sunshine Family - tanka by @bornonthebreakofdawn

This tanka encapsulates what we love about NaruHina. It's short and sweet. Also I love the extra effort of having the appropriate picture and border. The whole thing is so pretty and lovely.

First off, obviously

💖 Day 23 unrequited by @shamylicious-blog - I'm just 😭. I'm so, so lucky that you decided to read my fic!!!!! You encouraged me so much to finish my fic, and even now, I'm so glad that I finished it. Thank you, shamy, you fill my heart with love!! (Naruto, you heartbreaker!!! AHHHH)

The rest is really hard to choose because I loved so many, but 4 more that I loved in no particular order:

💗 What about this book? by @golubhat - My goodness, isn't the background just to die for? Also the intimacy of Naruto doing almost like a kabe-don 🙈 The details of the books, flowers, clothing, everything in this piece are eye-catching.

💗 Taking a break from exercises routine by @alexis513 - This art reminded me of that Tumblr thread that was going around for awhile where artists were adding on different ways NaruHina kiss to account for their height difference. I think one person put Hinata on a stool, but no one drew them like this! I love to think that they give each other kisses as often as possible x) My other fave of yours was your masquerade one!

💗 Hogwarts by @iamdslr - This art gave me so, so much joy. Getting-caught-staring-by-your-crush is one of my favorite things in the world (i've probs written this trope at least 3 times). Naruto's such a dork lolll and Hinata loves it!!!

💗 December 14th: Yin-Yang by @achinghcarts - This has got to be one of the coolest aes boards I have ever seen. Super creative and beautiful, I love it!

💓 @sessakag - I'm pretty sure everyone, all of us, thinks it's crazy that you actually submitted a fic for every prompt. How did you find the time to write. You're simply superhuman.

💓 @powerful-niya - I'm impressed with how much you develop your visualizations of your fics. From the details of the characters' clothing to your matching moodboards. I can really sense the passion you have for your fics!

💓 @croissantsandmacarons - You guys already know that you're both forever faves. Thank you, Chloe, for adding onto your French!Naruto and Hmong!Hinata AU, that story is so, so precious.

💓 @secrettastemakerland - Your one-shots this month were short-and-sweet, which is exactly what I need, I feel like I never have time to read these days. But your angsty ones could definitely use a sequel, please consider 👀🙏🏼

💓 @bornonthebreakofdawn - I know you might be like, wondering why you're in this list, but honest, I really look forward to your poetry during these events. I love how pretty you make your posts, too.

THIS IS REALLY HARD TO CHOOSE. in no particular order:

💕 @xx---locketdragon---xx - I love the vibrancy of your colors. Also, each one was so cute, but my favorite was your Forbidden prompt one, in which Hinata felt embarrassed for wanting to hold hands with Naruto!! Like, yes!!!! That's my favorite shy girl!!!

💕 @lavdiiaa - All your submissions were so delicious, but especially the nsfw ones 🙈. My fave is definitely your High School prompt, in which Naruto is feeling Hinata up under the school uniform. Something about this one really makes me, like happy???? Your style is somehow, like a visual manifestation of Sessakag's writing.

💕 @shamylicious-blog - I absolutely loved all of your tributes to Katarinahime's fics. Also, I loved the pinky promise one, the bookstore one, the masquerade one, and can we talk more about the arranged marriage one? like what is the backstory for this??? I must know.

💕 @saradesuchiha - You have to be on everyone's favorites list. Your art graced our dashboards everyday, from these adorable NH fair headers to the profile picture border!!!! just, thank you. Thank you for being our NaruHina champion!!!!! You brought so much joy into our lives this past month!!!!!!! 💯👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

💕 @jengmart - Your NaruHina is so, so soft, glowy, and cute, and I just want to squeeze them like stuffed animals. My favorites were your bookstore one, your gender swap one, and The Last Anniversary one!

I guess....just taking this event to heal a little. Setting aside more time to mourn, to remember, to reread Katarina's work. I'm still in shock, the grief doesn't go away, but this event was an impetus to contribute again to the fandom that allowed me to "meet" her. I was able to have fun again!! which is nice. I wrote less fics than I wanted to but more than I expected to, which is nice. I also love impromptu inspiration, so thank you again Des U for the wonderful Christmas cards.

I really hope people who may not have heard of Katarinahime before this event take the time to read her works. She was a beautiful, funny, intelligent person, and her stories are intimate insight into her voice and the values that were important to her. I cannot stress enough how absolutely high-tier her talent and skill was. Please, please, please read Katarina's stories.

[bakubabes-and-ramble]

Headcanon: The Gundalian culture is based on individualism, the Neathian culture is based on collectivism

Race interpretation part one: Neathia

Summary: The Neathian culture is built on the core values of communities and collective thinking. While conformity within the society is of a high level, they pursue a 'closed gate' diplomacy towards other races - resulting in a 'bubble' phenomenon and becoming vulnerable to losing their sense of belonging. Centralised urban system, with regional reciprocity and redistribution, whereby the Queen plays a coordinator role, and exists as a unifying symbol along with the military.

(Wall-of-text warning ; with block-breaker illustrations, but a huge amount of information ahead.)

Okay, this topic is something I was thinking about for a long time, and I finally hit the point to collect my thoughts and write them down. I've seen a lot of people trying to build up/further and enrich the cultural and social-political features of the alien races we've seen in the series (namely Vestals, Neathians and Gundalians), and I felt some inspiration to put my take on these things into words.

It's not only intriguing to try one's hand on the world-further-building, but I felt, I have to explain how I imagine the build-up of the Neathian and Gundalian culture and society to make the story of the 'Neathian Special Squad' ('NSS') more understandable 'symbolically' and from the aspect of a 'cultural clash'. /For those, who follow the NSS: This is something that definitely happens later on, you just don't know about it yet./

I have to put a small disclaimer here: This entire piece of writing was conspired out of fun and passion towards the series. It was not meant to be a 100% professor approved scientific research, but a seemingly logical untangling of my personal train of thoughts concerning the fantasy creatures of the third season. And this means, there is going to be some personal opinion mixed in as well (especially at the rewriting parts).

I wish the readers to enjoy reading it regardless. You are always free to disagree or not to take it seriously. :) To me, headcanonizing and imagining things always meant to be fun.

Side note: I'll add canon elements as examples or refer to the events of Gundalian Invaders, although I have to admit, I'll do this mostly from memory. So If I get anything wrong, or just remember incorrectly, you are welcome to add-in or correct me! :)

Season: Bakugan: Gundalian Invaders (and Mechtanium Surge)

Language: English dub

Okay, let's go!

Gundalian Invaders - Slightly rewritten

The first and foremost reason I actually started writing this post, is because I had some issues with the characterisation of the Gundalians and Neathians in the third season. One side is depicted blatantly, purposelessly and one-dimensionally evil, while the other is portrayed to be the goodie-two-shoes victims with no backlashes. I wanted to swing over this simplicity and make an attempt at explaining, how I imagined these races to function. These interpretations were explored with the intention of both keeping the main features of the races, staying canon-compliant where possible, but change canon elements/propose ideas to turn the races into interesting (and on a theoretical level functioning) societies.

For these added or assumed ideas to work, some lore elements have to be changed or removed: For example the way Bakugan got to be on the planets. For this explanation see: a further point below.

This post discusses only Neathia for now. (Gundalia will probably get it's own post, as there is much more canon-divergence to be talked about.)

Neathians

1. The beginnings and core values

Due to the power of the Sacred Orb, almost the entire planet have relished in a lush fertility since the beginnings. (And this is why there are huge plants in their jungles. The wildlife also experienced a great upsurge by the life-force of the Orb.) This prosperity quickly enabled the Neathian race to organize into a peaceful and sharing society, because the wars over resources became redundant and unnecessary. The established racial mindset reallocated the focus from the individual needs to the communal efforts, and gives a ground for the Neathian values and collective thinking up to even the days of the season.

Neathians think mainly in groups: Let those be pairs (e.g. Fabia and Jin as fiancés; Linus and Neo Zipperator as brawling partners), teams (Neathian Special Squad; Friendship circles), communities (Castle Knights), and the biggest of them all, their entire race. These are all bigger or smaller communities within communities, and they play a major role in how Neathians perceive the world and themselves. Being in these relationship structures defines their place, grants them their basic mental frame, which they are able to think in, and not only their resources, but also their goals are shared with each other. This kind of goal assimilation is what makes them really efficient team players, and also provides them a strong social support from a mentalhygiene perspective. This important role of the sense of belonging makes Neathians both empowered while being in close social constructs , and extremely susceptible to losing these connections.

Thinking like this, when Fabia lost her fiancè or Linus lost Neo, their grief extended further than their deaths or the traumatic events. Losing strong bonds like these put Neathians in a technical identity crisis, as it is a part of their personal perception and mental frame which were dismantled through these events. We have seen Fabia going to extremes to retrieve Aranaut - and to retrieve that part of her, which was lost with Jin. Just as when Rubanoid was handed to Linus, a new connection was formed to either replace or continue the old one in a different form. Fabia's communal bonds were successfully restored, when she also became a member of the brawlers.

The Neathian society is based on caring and cooperation to achieve a collective well-being. This is why communities play such a major role in their self-perception and world-perception.

2. Open-sources, but enclosed diplomacy

For most part, I've always imagined the Neathian race as an although proud and generous, but closed society. They share commodities with each other - within their society -, but it is very important, that only within it. The outside world (meaning outside of their habited planet) is fundamentally shut out of these transactions.

I often refer to this phenomenon of enclosedeness as the 'Neathian bubble':

Not only their mindset operates in closed communities, but their diplomacy too. They are generally passive towards other races, missing trust and a reason to pick up the communication /Up until the Gundalians came and the war started/. This perspective could be applied to understand, why could they be more insistent on and better at operating defensive mechanisms (layered shield generator), than initiating communication with the rest of the universe (Unlike Gundalians, Neathians have no ships or bigger means of transportation. Yes, teleportation is accessible for them, but I don't think they use it that often outside of Neathia.)

I treat this as an explanation for why Neathia had only asked for outside help after the second shield generator went down - the situation became desperate and already being involved in the conflict, it was time to try and reach out for aid. According to these headcanons, I also think, Serena wasn't putting - or at least shouldn't have put - faith in the Brawlers so easily. The reason they weren't tested to prove their trustworthiness further than one question, is because she trusted Fabia's judgement. Without the support of a Neathian, outlanders are almost automatically dismissed. Their (or their Queen's) empathy and compassion may overwrite this code, but even by then they have to be made certain by proving the cause.

Just as when Fabia accepted Ren, because she had seen how much he tried to prove himself. Winning Neathians’ trust is supposed to be a big and determining moment, because they ‘internalise’ you into their scoiety.

Neathians are capable of empathy and kindness (this is something they actively practice among each other), even towards outsiders, they just need time and proof to accept them. Trust is just not automatic towards them, and even so they keep their distance until they get used to it.

3. Personal paralel counterparts - Night elves and the Highborne of WoW

When I think about Neathians, I often put them into paralel with the Night elves and the Highborne from World of Warcraft. For most part, I use their artistic motives, architecture, fashion and cultural approach as an inspiration for Neathians, as they are recognised as 'The pretty space elves' in my book too.

Beside the above mentioned, what could be imported from their WoW counterparts is a rather matriarchal social apparat. For example, Neathians traditionally having a Queen, and women being present in the military or in higher positions, playing important roles. //Just as by the Night elves leadership, religious and military roles being traditionally occupied by women (priestesses, wardens, sentinels).//

Another elven impression, which is more or less universal, is their sense of pride (I like to say it as the expression of 'Neathian pride '). Highborne in World of Warcraft are a quite prestigious race and are usually said to be a little 'aristocratic'. I can imagine the Neathians being lightly less, but somewhat similar on these terms, when it comes down to interacting with their own or other races: For example being proud of their appearance (Emphasizing their unique V-shaped forehead with adequate clothing and accessories), structuring buildings and constructs based on aesthetic instead of real functionality (using diamond as the main material of construction, structuring buildings with elegant but futuristic shapes), or being confident and showing immovable standing and opinion on things (towards outsiders).

As far as I know, the Warcraft elves used to be similarly passive and uninitiative - even mistrusting - towards other races too. And in this, it played part, that they also had exclusive access to a powerful source of power and prosperity, the Well of Eternity (an almost one-on-one counterpart to the Sacred Orb).

While the half-tribal connections of the Night elves derive from their ancient bonds with nature and druidism, the Neathian society feels more likely being based on a futuristic envisionment of these social relations. A civilisation that perfectly blends technology (teleportation technology, communication devices) with classic fantasy elements (knights), while still remaining tribal in the core (shared communality is just put into a modern environment). /Although I like to lean more into the fantasy setting, the technical advancement is undeniable there./

4. Overall economy

If we wanted to negotiate about their economy, I would say reciprocity and localised redistribution are the dominant mechanisms of it. The basic definition of economy builds on the premise of distribution of scarce resources. In this case, resources are not scarce, in fact, due to the Orb they are very much prosperous and renewing. This accessibility discounts the value of the traditional market trading, and supports the establishment of semi-centralised recollection and redistribution. The semi-centralisation here means regional production and consumption, whereby the accomodation of the population happens mainly territorialy, but these regional centres still have a connection to each other and the capitol. This economy is based on caring and well-being, and the high level of conformity and trust within the collective society results in a lack of currency usage (so, my headcanon is basically, that they don't use money).

5. Urbanisation and territorial layout

The reason we talk about a more physical apsect of the planets, is because the core values of the races both play a role, and mutually affect how I imagine their civilised hubs being developed. Communities form hubs and cities with strong connections - just like their society!

When I mentioned localised redistribution, I was also refering to the urban structure of the Neathian planet. Important to note, that Neathia is not just a city, or a country - just like Gundalia, it's the entire planet. What we've seen in the show is the capital of their urban system - which makes sense to be technically built around / in the immediate enclosure of the Sacred Orb, for it's the source of the relishing power. Assuming this, along the capital there could be a centralised territorial layout with rural areas (cities, villages), and untouched wilderness (due to the overflourishing flora and fauna; the urbanisation doesn't affect the entirety of the planet, there are a lot of uninhabited/uncharted areas).

Here is a simple schematic illustration of the above.

The rural hubs not having physical connection with other centres due to the dangerous and untamable wilderness (see: Giant plants in the show) could have lead to the advancement of the teleportation technology. The cities are connected through this port-system, and also with the capital, which serves as the centre of the network.

6. The role of the queen and the military

The main purpose of the current Queen is an overall governance with the direct help of a council consisting of the local leaders of the hubs. The queen bears not only a political, but a symbolical importance to the people. The concept of the Queen is a unifying symbol, someone who watches over the nation. The Neathians can stand behind her and being represented by her. But it's important to note, that her status is not as glorified as to be a despotic being, and her power is not extending much further than overall policies, diplomatic representation and helping the transactions of the local leaderships. There is much more power and independence shifted into the regional governance, rendering the Queen's position to be an effective coordinator between them and unifier, who keeps the nation together. /Still thinking about the way the queen is chosen/comes to the throne, but I had the idea of the next Queen being elected by the current Queen, so the order of succession is not based on the Queen’s family, nor being a community vote of the people./

The peace-oriented existence in itself doesn't require a military to exists, therefore I treat the Castle Knights as a mainly defensive organisation. This military serves as Neathia's defenders, bearing symbolic and community building purposes. Among the Castle Knights - just as the name itself suggests - the traditional medieval knight values show up primarily, such as loyality, humility, courage, faithfulness and the act of mercy. In their comprehension, being a Castle Knight is an act of service towards their country and the Queen, and is not mainly for warfare reasons. (To some extent, I assume martial arts and other forms of fighting - even brawling - is essentially a spiritual activity, which they pursue in order to keep their inner- and physical balance.)

As we've seen it the show, I assume the Palace also functions as the military's operation base. The head of the military is the current commander (formerly Jin, recently Elright), and under them operate several divisions with captains as division leaders. The separate divisions are Physical Fighting (both with weapon, like those defensive shock-sticks the guards are using - formerly offensive melee weapons until the fall of NSS - and hand-to-hand combat, e.g. used by Fabia), Technical staff (operating the shield generators and overseeing their areas) and Bakugan Brawling (this headcanon part is still under construction, but Elright used to be the former leader of this, and the reason he was promoted to commander after Jin’s death, is because the Neathians' realisation of the war swinging in favor of the Bakugan fights, so it was logical to put him as the next 'general leader'). /There may be other divisions outside of these, I just put out some ideas here./  Every guard receives education to some extent in all of these fields, but they end up specialising in something.

//The Neathian Special Squad (NSS) had it’s own divison under Captain Pyrehart, they were a special strike team with a unusual task: Staggering, forcing back or just divide the Gundalian leadership’s attention from focusing on their assault. Basically poking them with melee weapons until they either go away, or can’t concentrate on helping their Bakugan on the field and their monsters get defeated. According to the story - made up by me of course - after a tragedic mission this unit wasn’t restored, and the war effort shifted onto long-range fighting with Bakugan, Gear and Bakugan Assaults.//

7. So...where are the Bakugan?

They have been mentioned here and there, but I'm sure, whoever made it this far into this theorising information dump, may wonder at this point: 'But what about the Bakugan?'

My simplest answer is, that I firmly want to believe, both Gundalia and Neathia had a civilised and established culture before the Bakugan appeared there.

According to the original lore, Bakugan existed on the planets since almost the beginnings. Now, this is part of those lore bits I would definitively change during a rewrite: I want to believe, Bakugan only appeared in their very recent history, almost as recently, as on Earth and Vestal itself.

Perhaps a Bakugan lore- and GI rewrite explanation deserved it's own post, but for the further understanding allow me to explain here a little: A similar event of raining cards - what the first season started with - occured on Neathia and Gundalia too, caused by the dimensional boom of Michael Gehabich and his transporter. The twist on this - and the effective solution to the problem of possible timeline inconsistencies - is that although the explosion caused this interference at one point in time, across cosmos and universes time flows differently. So technicaly the result of it - the raining cards and Bakugan being transported into the particular worlds - could happen at different point of their relative times - even years earlier or later! On Neathia and Gundalia it could happened a few years before on Earth, which covers most of the questions of the timeline-consistency /such as Ren being assigned to watch over Linehalt as a child etc./

Bakugan coming to these places has only an added effect: Just as on Earth, they are not (yet?) integrated into the society and culture of the planets so deeply to be any kind of pillar of their existence or basic civilisation. There could be a start (as having specialised researches, technology revolving around Bakugan, taking part in the war,..) regarding this internalisation process, but it still runs on the surface, and not in the 'veins' of the culture.

I hope this breakdown made sense in some form or another. I just felt an urge to pour out the content of my head. Looking back,this became longer and more detailed, than I originally intended, while also surely missing things because there is no worldbuilding without holes or further questions. The attempt to lay down the basics was made regardless haha!

As always, feel free to disagree and follow your own visions concerning the races and worldbuilding. :) This post was made to reflect back my personal interpretation of Neathians - just for fun and thinking out loud.

For the very end, I leave a disclamer here, which was supposed to go at the beginning, but it felt redundant to put there, so here it is:

I tried to approach it from a more sociological side, as focusing on a bigger, overall picture, common features, than create exact statements. (I would rather call this a speculation regarding the features of the races themselves, their core values, common attitudes, mindset - and this doesn't mean other questions are fully out of the picture. We are just discussing things, which can be derived from the features of the society itself, and make up a more or less coherent chain of thought for now. Other 'for fun' or miscellaneous headcanons, like fashion or physical traits will be covered another time.)

Thank you for coming to this TED mambling!

[rueitae]

Writing Roundup 2020

This is a writing reflection I’ve been doing for myself every year for the last four years. Its a positive boost to myself see how far I’ve come and look back on my progress for the past year and look forward to the new year. 

Everyone is welcome to use this same format if they’d like to do the same! 

~~~~~~~

Stats:

Words written:

330,000, which is nearly half of all the words I’ve written on Ao3 in the last three years. 

One Shots Posted (all fics plance unless otherwise stated):

In the Arms of the Ever(pink?) Tree (4463 words)

For the Plance Secret Santa exchange. Post s8 date/not date on a snowy moon. Love confession. 

Birthday Treats (2129 words)

For Pidge’s birthday this year! Domestic family fluff, breakfast in bed, plance kids.

Begin Again (Together) (4805 words)

Canon divergence from before episode one! Pidge and Lance are established dating when alien intervention brings them to where they are supposed to be: with the Blue Lion. Just a brief look into what the AU would look like. 

Common Ground (4521 words)

A treat for my friends who introduced me to Magic Knight Rayearth and pointed out some fun character parallels. There is this beautiful art Arya made to go with it because we’re all trash for both series. Plance meet up with Fuu and Ferio post series for both couples. 

Bonded To You (1808 words)

For the Langstron Halloween Exchange! Established plance with a baby Lance is trying to keep safe from a witch who would take advantage of the child’s heritage. 

It Tasted Good (6785 words)

Pikelavar for Pikelavar Month! The premise is crack, but it's mostly treated seriously. Pike ate the Jewel of Jitan by accident and doesn’t realize it until Haggar finds them. Meklavar gets Protective.

The Remainder of Days (3188 words)

Part of my Bad Things Happen Bingo. Fantasy AU where Pidge is a minor forest goddess and Lance is her neighbor mortal farmer. 

I Love You a Lily More Each Day (3232 words)

Another of the Bad Things Happen Bingo. Canon compliant where Lance is undercover at a flower shop and knee deep in an illegal smuggling operation. 

Lease on Life (4978 words)

This one was also part of Bad Things Happen Bingo and was an experiment. It’s POV of an oldest plance kid, canon verse. Her parents’ Paladin days come back to haunt them one night. Some cute family stuff too in there. 

Ready to Dance (4135 words)

For the Valentine’s Day exchange! Post series. Lance tries to get back into the party scene and Pidge rescues him from a disastrous night. 

Loopholes (5476 words)

Technically I didn’t write this fic this year, but a very kind reader asked if I would post this to Ao3, so it was my first fic of the year on Ao3. It’s Lotura! Originally a gift for a dear friend I’ve had since elementary school. It’s a fantasy AU where Lotor stumbles into Allura’s kingdom needing help. 

Next to Me (7311 words)

Also for Bad Things Happen Bingo, this is probably one of my favorite fics of the year. This is the canon verse AU that went all wrong in s7, and Sendak succeeds in destroying Earth. Lance and Pidge end up not only his prisoners, but also two of the last humans in the universe. Ends open ended, but it became a series in the end!

Into Me (14248 words)

The sequel to the above fic. There are two versions, this and the one below. The title tells all. Lance and Pidge come to terms with their new life aboard Sendak’s flagship and do their best to keep the other comforted.

Into Me (non-explicit version) (7228 words)

Exactly the same as the fic above, only this one is SFW

Sunshine (3831 words)

A Bad Things Happen Bingo! One of my favorite concepts. Canon verse. Pidge gets sick while she and Lance are on a scientific mission. 

Showoff (635 words)

A really short fic for a friend on their birthday, featuring their plance kids!

Respite of the Heart (4181 words)

A fic I have been wanting to write for a very long time. I love the concept of Pidge as a Disney Princess in the sense she has the forest guardian theme and all these animals love her. So there’s some play on that as the Paladins stop for lunch on their journey back to Earth in early s7. Lance comes to a realization and they have a chat surrounded by the animal friends. @anchoredtetherart did a phenomenal piece to accompany it. Please look at it in awe here.

The Hardest Part (3960 words)

For Bad Things Happen Bingo! An AU of the episode The Reunion where Pidge doesn’t return when she’s supposed to. 

A Planned Sacrifice (4988 words)

Another Bad Things Happen Bingo. Canon verse. Pidge assumes that being a sacrifice for the ‘forest god’ is strictly ceremonial and at worst a wild animal. It’s actually Sendak, who no one has seen since Shiro shot him out of the Castle. He remembers Pidge and is far too pleased to see her again, tied up on a silver platter. 

Almost Forgotten, but Not Gone (3946 words)

Bad Things Happen Bingo. AU sometime in s1 where Haxus isn’t as dead as Pidge thought. 

Touch (7519 words)

Written for the Lance Goes Boom bang! It was inspired by @fenixseraph ‘s amazing art here! It’s a different take on The Way Forward, where Pidge and Lance are separated from the rest of the team and placed in their own cell. And the Red Lion causes issues. 

Chaptered Fics started/added to:

Wolf In Thieves’ Clothing (4516 words)

An AU of The Castle of Cagliostro from Lupin the Third series. Lee, you have my thanks forever for making me watch this finally. Pidge is a literal princess whose kingdom is in the middle of an internal coup. Lance is a gentleman thief who rides with his best buds Hunk and Matt. Their paths are destined to cross again when Lance goes back to the castle he used to call home. 

Game of Love (4593 words)

The most crack of the bunch. AU of Fall the of the Castle of Lions where Sendak and Haxus get away with it all. Pidge and Lance are prisoners on Haxus’ new ship, and Lance finds an opportunity for eventual escape when he learns that Haxus has a crush on his second in command. Operation matchmaker begins. (happy ending planned for all)

What Tides May Bring (20704 words)

Collab with the fantastic @anchoredtetherart for MerMay! Established plance as mermaids and guardians of their elements with adorable mer child. Then angst because they are all captured by a ‘research’ institute. 

Seasons of Magic (16546 words)

I actually added a chapter this year! Ongoing collection of one-shots with mage Pidge who lives in the country and cultivates her plant magic and makes potions with the assistance of her dragon familiar, Lance. Mostly domestic fluff. 

Too Soon and Not Soon Enough (11438 words)

Added another chapter this year to my Keith-centric AU. It’s basically VLD but five years early and they’re all literally child Paladins. Keith gets to meet Krolia earlier and its fun to go into tween friendships as they try and navigate the reality of their situation. 

Seeds (48833 words)

Added a ton earlier this year. A collection of plance fics all or mostly under 500 words. All meant to be adopted by others if interest strikes. Covers many genres.

Chaptered Fics Finished:

Resolve to Fly (75799 words)

Written for the Pidge Angst Bang. My artist @alchemie0 did an outstanding job capturing the feel of the fic. Look at the art here! Canon verse AU where Pidge encounters Haxus, who has crashed on Earth. She helps him repair his ship in excitement and good faith, which he pays back by kidnapping her. For two years she survives as little more than a housepet on Sendak’s ship. Gen.

Who's Protecting Who? (28989 words)

Also technically not written this yeah, but posted. A collab with Hush waaaay back in 2018. It's a plance Altean AU with Pidge as distant royalty and Lance as a bodyguard.

A Dish Served Cold (21533 words)

Finally finished this one! Canon verse in which Pidge accidentally runs into Sendak on an isolated planet. Sendak takes advantage of this encounter and tries to return to the Empire with her in tow. Much Pidge whump. Gen

Reflections: 

Best title 

I still really really love Too Soon and Not Soon Enough (11438 words). Because it's too soon for the Paladins to be Paladins, and for Keith it's not nearly soon enough for Krolia to return. It just feels like it has a lot of heart to it. I hope I can keep it going, but my ideas are incredibly scattered for it. 

Worst title 

Touch (7519 words). Yeah it’s a play on ‘Don’t you touch her’ but it feels soooo dry. 

Best/worst last line

Best: This was really, really hard choice this year, but ultimately, making up for the terrible title, its Touch (7519 words) 

“It feels good to escape the ship with all of his teammates, secure in the knowledge that he has a way forward not just as a Paladin, but also with Pidge.” 

- Not only did I manage to fit the title of the episode in there, it's got that hopeful tinge to it and reflects on personal growth both internally and with Pidge. 

Worst: This one isn’t necessarily bad from Begin Again (Together) (4805 words), but it could be better. It didn’t get quite the epic sense I was hoping to pull from it.

“Okay,” he smirks, hand firmly on the throttle. “Operation save Earth starts now.”

Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?

Definitely wrote way more. Even with posting two fic that are essentially the exact same, I still ended up writing nearly half of my total Ao3 word count this year. (330,000/670,000). Doing Bad Things Happen Bingo was a bit part of that - I was very inspired at the beginning of this year - but also there were many events I participated in (8 total!!) on top of my personal projects. 

What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.

A really hard decision this year, because there are several that make me really happy. I think oddly enough though, it’s Game of Love (4593 words) because of its potential and how much crack it is. It has such whacky rom-com energy to it but also that underlying angst of the situation I can fall back on. My favorite trope to explore is what happens to the characters when they’re captured. I just really enjoy the concept and the challenge to make such a concept believable with minimal suspension of belief. 

Okay, NOW your most popular story.

Using kudos as my gauge (and not counting the chapter fics), the winner is: 

Respite of the Heart (4181 words)

Not surprising because Ivy’s art is STUNNING.

Story most underappreciated by the universe?

I think that’s It Tasted Good (6785 words), the pikelavar fic. Pikelavar is underappreciated in general

Story that could have been better?

For all I was excited to write Sunshine (3831 words), it didn’t quite fall the way I had imagined in my mind. I don’t know if it was the structure or I was running out of steam or what. All i know is that I wanted more but all I could concentrate on was that scene where he’s caring for her in bed. Maybe I was just too ambitious.

Sexiest story?

No brainer it's Into Me (14248 words). Literally. Which really shocked me that it happened. Didn’t think I’d write any smut at all, let alone this year. This particular fic just kinda called out for it 

Saddest story?

The prequel to the above fic: Next to Me (7311 words). How much more sad can you get than Earth being destroyed, being Sendak’s prisoners all while trying to tell each other ‘i love you’ without seeming weird because you’re the last humans in the universe. 

Most fun?

I think it's Ready to Dance (4135 words). Just Valentine’s fluff and impromptu slow dancing in the park at night. 

Story with single sweetest moment?

I’m picking What Tides May Bring (20704 words). Listen, mer Lance and mer Pidge playing with their mer baby in their domestic paradise is probably one of my favorite things I’ve ever written. Dad Lance has my heart. 

Hardest story to write?

The last chapter of A Dish Served Cold (21533 words) was like pulling teeth. I’m pretty happy with it in the end but at the time man it was so hard. 

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

I wrote smut. It was...weird? But also strangely calming. I wrote more for another fic but it's still a WIP. I definitely need to be in the mood to write it. 

Proudest Achievement:

The Pidge Angst Bang. Resolve to Fly (75799 words). Look at that word count. I only wanted something under 3k at first, so it was just going to be Pidge meeting Haxus. But by the time I finished that part it was already 10k. So even though I was going through a rough part of my life, I just kept going and it ended up being my therapy. I’m really proud of the fic and I love my artists’ pieces. It really lifted my spirits. (You should all really go check out the Ao3 collection of all the bang stories and art they are AMAZING you won’t regret. If you love Pidge angst they are all must reads.)

What are your fic writing goals for next year?

I’d like to finish my Bad Things Happen Bingo card and then focus on my current WIP, that includes the Seeds collection. There are days I still feel a bit overwhelmed, and I’m still trying to find a routine after moving. I’d like to do more events too, but I think I need to be more selective about which ones I do. I don’t want to burn myself out. 

Apart from that, I’d really like to try and give back to the community more. I’d like to start consciously writing fics for others without an event to go by. 

Past Years:

2017

2018

2019

[celtics534]

Behind the Scenes of Fic Writing: 30 Questions for Authors

This is such a cool tag! Thanks @breaniebree

What was the first fandom and/or pairing that you wrote fic for?

Hinny, all the way! It wasn’t good, but it was Hinny.

Do you participate in any writing events or challenges throughout the year? If so, what do you like about them?

I tend to participate in them semi-often on SIYE. I find them a good way to get some creative juices flowing with a topic or subject I wouldn’t have thought about on my own. 

Do you write fics from start or finish, or jump around?

I go chapter by chapter. I would confuse myself too much if I started writing chapter 5 but then headed over to chapter 12. Also, I kinda don’t plan everything that far ahead. Which I’ll explain more in the next question lol

Do you outline before you start writing? If so, how far do you stray from that outline?

I do a quick overall base of what I want to do, who the enemies are, important moments I really want to happen, but I never do a full outline. A lot of the time I will have something planned for 5 chapters in the future, but no idea how to get there. I let inspiration strike me and go from there. 

What is the perfect environment for you to write in?

A hot cup of tea, music playing softly in the background, and an empty house. It’s perfect when everything is quiet except for my music and my mechanical keyboard.  

If you’re really concentrating, how many words can you write in a day?

Hmmm. I’ve never tested myself but I think the most I’ve ever done is 10,000 in one day. I wrote two chapters of “Only the Best” in one day and I aimed to make every chapter in that story at least 5,000 words. So I’d guess around 10,000. 

Which part of writing do you struggle with most?

Editing. I hate re-reading my work only looking for flaws. If I were to re-read my work I’d want it to be for enjoyment and nostalgia, but alas in order to find enjoyment in the writing it needs to be edited well lol. 

Do you listen to music while you write? If so, share a song that’s been inspiring you lately.

There is this live version of Can’t Go on Without You by KALEO that I love. Actually I’m listening to it right now. I listen to it at least once when I’m writing. 

Do you prefer to write AUs, canon divergence, or canon-compliant fic?

AU”s all the way! I love taking a different world than the original and trying to fit everything into this different situation. I love Muggle AU’s the best for some reason.  

Do you enjoy writing dialogue, exposition, or plot the most?

Dialogue is so much fun. Trying to come up with a witty comeback or heartwrenching final line is so intense and interesting. 

If you could only write angst, fluff, or smut for the rest of your life, which would it be?

I love me some fluff. Like sometimes I go out with every intention on making things angst, and then they turn int fluff lol.

Is there a trope you haven’t written yet but really want to?

I don’t think I’ve done a “forced to share a bed” fic and that could be fun

Is there a trope you wouldn’t write if it was the last trope on earth?

Does slow burn count as a trope? I just can’t handle waiting so long for my ship together lol

If you were stuck on a desert island with only two characters, which would you pick?

Ginny Weasley and Hermione. Hermione because she could get us off the island somehow, and Ginny because she and I would have a great time cracking jokes while we helped Hermione. 

A Hollywood producer tells you that they want to film just one of your fics. Which fic would you want it to be?

Hmmm. I think I would dig a film of Doom Days or Covert Love. Both have everything needed for a movie. Action, romance, and twists you don’t see coming lol.

What is your most underrated fic?

I wouldn’t say I have any underrated fics because they always are so much better received than I ever intend… that being said, I would love if more people read Doom Days

What fic are you most proud of?

This goes back to the last question. I spent so long planning and plotting Doom Days and I am extremely happy with the way it’s come out. 

What is a line/scene you’re really proud of? Give us the DVD commentary for that scene.

Well because I don’t want to give to much away I’ll show off this once part. 

His lips curled with forced levity. 

I love the word levity and I really wanted to use it and then I thought about how when I’m making a bad joke in a bad moment I always smile to make people understand how I truly feel. Such a simple sentence brought me so much pride.

Who is the easiest/hardest character for you to write about? Why?

I find that I struggle with Hermione. She’s so much more… straight edge than I tend to focus on, so I have a hard time adding her into stories because I’m afraid I won’t do her justice. 

What’s your favorite minor character you’ve written?

Right now it’s Prue from Covert Love. She is my own created character and I’ve had so much fun crafting this backstory that revolves around.... Things I wouldn’t talk about here ;)

What is the one fic that got away?

It hasn’t gotten away yet! I can still write it…. But when I was on a volcano in Spain I saw an adorable meet-cute and I really wanna make it a Hinny meet-cute. I just need to dedicate time… which I never seem to have lol  

Have you cried while writing a fic?

Ummm…. I don’t think there have ever been tears but I was hit hard while writing the argument between Harry and Ginny in Covert Love. 

If you had to remix one of your own fics, which would it be and how would you remix it?

Hmmm. I think I would have to say Only the Best because I would have liked to add more hints towards who was the culprit. I don’t think I put out enough clues so the reader could have had a chance to figure it out on their own. 

How did you come up with title for Covert Love?

I knew I was going to be focusing a lot on the undercover element in this story but the love aspect was also going to be huge so I looked up words that meant undercover and really liked Covert. And it’s also a play on words because Harry and Ginny need to keep their love covert from everyone so Harry doesn’t get in trouble ;)

Which idea came to you first in Covert Love?

It was literally just the general idea of Harry being undercover and falling in love with Ginny. The idea to have her be under his protection started to form as I explored ways for them to meet. And when I decided to have him be unable to tell her about his job… I knew I had something I would love creating and working on. I knew I would have drama and so many intense moments I would be so proud of the story, which is always my goal. 

Which part of Covert Love was the hardest to write?

The moment where Harry and Ginny fight because he didn’t tell her about his job. I knew the discovery scene was going to be vital and it always hurts to write Ginny and Harry fighting. So it felt like a lot of pressure and I think overall it came out really well!

If you were ever to do a sequel to Covert Love, what do you think might happen in it?

Hmmm… well I don’t have any plans on doing a sequel at this time, but that’s because I haven’t finished writing the first one yet :P

In Covert Love, what is a happy, post-fic headcanon you have about Hinny?

Harry and Ginny getting to stay together when everything is said and done… maybe a kid or two that love quidditch as much as their mom 

A word that describes my WIP

Strive. Everyone is striving for something, even the bad guy. It all comes back to the person and their goals and how much effort they are willing to put into getting what they want/need. 

Tell us an idea for a long fic you want to write in the future.

Well… I haven’t started it at all and the research will take a while, but I wanna do a Muggle AU treasure hunter fic. Harry is a treasure hunter who is out searching for a famous lost treasure. While out on an adventure, he runs into a wild red head who is somehow roped into helping Harry. They hate each other at first but fall in love with each other as the adventure goes on. Also, there is another hunter out for the glory of finding this treasure and they have to deal with that crazy bloke and his men. If you’ve played the Uncharted games you’ve seen the format and I’d love to do something with it! Let me know what you guys think!

[argylemnwrites]

We Need to Talk

Relationships: Drake Walker & King Liam (friendship); Drake Walker x MC (Riley Liu)

Book: The Royal Romance (Book 2, Chapter 17)

Word Count: ~2200

Rating: PG (brief adult language)

Summary: After Riley rejected Liam’s proposal in NYC, Drake and Liam have some things to discuss upon their return to Cordonia.

Author’s Note: Hey, I wrote something that isn’t canon divergent! I can only fathom that Drake and MC didn’t sleep together in the hotel in New York if Drake was planning to talk to Liam first to clear the air before he took that step with her.

I’ve included tags for people who are on my tag list not just for Drake, but also who are tagged for It Couldn’t Wait Another Moment. If you would prefer to only be tagged for that series and not Drake fics that are TRR canon compliant, let me know, and I will happily adjust my tag lists!

Drake nearly dropped his phone as he checked the time. 15:27. Letting out a shaky sigh, he shoved the phone in his back pocket. He needed to calm himself down. His mouth was dry, his palms were clammy, and he was sure if anyone were to pass by, they would hear his heart pounding. Luckily, no one really came to this part of the palace unintentionally. As he paced the hallway in front of the closed door, he checked his phone for the time again. 15:28. He let out a loud sigh as he ran his hand through his hair. He needed to get a grip.

This had to happen today. Hell, he should have done this weeks, maybe even months ago. Trying some deep breaths, he dropped to the bench next to the door, but couldn’t suppress the fidget in his leg. He couldn’t have been seated for more than ten seconds when the door opened. Drake sprung to his feet, but only Bastien walked out of the office. He raised his eyebrows and nodded in greeting, but stopped himself as he took in Drake’s appearance. “God, Drake. You look like hell.”

“Yeah, well…”

“Are you sure you’re okay? You know I’m here if you need something.”

“I just gotta talk to Liam. Thanks for getting me this meeting.”

Bastien nodded. “What the hell is this about, Drake?”

Drake just shook his head and resumed his repetitive path, pacing across from the door, but Bastien stepped in front of him, interrupting his rhythm. “Is this about Lady Riley?” he asked, dropping his voice to a whisper.

Drake’s head shot up, and his eyes locked on Bastien’s. “What do you know?”

Before Bastien could respond, the office door opened once again. Both men turned toward the sound, taking in Liam standing in the doorway. “Come on in, Drake.”

Bastien clasped Drake’s shoulder as Drake swallowed and turned toward the office. Once inside, Liam closed the door and turned to Drake expectantly. However, Drake couldn’t seem to form any words and just stared back at Liam with wide eyes. After a moment, Liam spoke, “You’re the one who wanted this meeting. I think I know what this is about, but I don’t want to presume.”

“You do know… what this is about, I mean. I didn’t really think this through past knowing I needed to talk to you.”

Liam chuckled, “Sit down; I’ll get us some drinks. I think we both might need one.”

Liam turned and opened the bottom drawer of his desk pulling out his bottle of Highland Park whiskey and two glasses. As he added ice to one of them, Drake sat in one of the leather arm chairs across from the desk. He would usually sit on one of the couches, but having a barrier between them felt appropriate today. Not that Liam would punch him or anything. If he did, maybe Drake wouldn’t feel like such a colossal piece of shit. But the couches felt like they were meant for better times than whatever this was about to be.

Liam sat in his chair and passed Drake the whiskey on the rocks, locking eyes with Drake as he did so. It was time. “So, I know that you, er… spoke to Liu.”

“If by spoke to, you mean proposed to and was rejected, then yes.”

“Liam, I’m sorry.”

“Why didn’t you two tell me?”

“We should have, I know. I don’t know when, but obviously a while ago. I’m sorry. I never thought you would get hurt, though.”

“How could I have been anything but hurt, Drake? I’m sure you know that she was my pick at the Coronation Ball. And not to make things too uncomfortable here, but I believe my… actions made my intentions fairly clear to Lady Riley.”

Drake sighed, “I never thought she would… I mean, look at you and…I’m just.” Taking a deep breath, he started again, “I assumed the only one who would be hurt was me. Obviously, she was going to choose to be with you once you were free.”

Liam frowned and took a sip of his drink. “I’m not sure I follow.”

“Don’t make me spell it out for you.” Liam just continued to stare at Drake. “Fine, over the years, how many women do you think have flirted with me in an attempt to get close to royalty? Because I’m guessing not many women have used you to find an in with me.”

“Riley’s not some crown chaser, Drake. If she was, I don’t think either of us would be here.”

“I know, I know, but it just felt too familiar. I mean, one moment she was kissing me goodbye at the Coronation Ball, and then next thing I knew she was talking about us dating and actually being together after you got engaged to Madeleine. It just seemed like I was some sort of consolation prize.”

Liam’s eyes had widened significantly during Drake’s fumbling speech. “Wait, this has been going on since my Coronation?”

“Er, I’m not sure exactly when this started.”

Liam shook his head with a slight chuckle, “Heh, why doesn’t that surprise me?”

“Look, I’m not trying to be sneaky or... coy or anything. You deserve honesty, I get that. It’s just kinda hard to pinpoint when things changed. I was attracted to her right away, but I did everything I could to keep my distance at first. I was downright cruel to her, actually. But somewhere along the way, I don’t know, she just cut through all my bullshit. Maybe it was in Lythikos when we got tipsy in the wine cellar after days of Olivia being a complete bitch to both of us. Maybe it was my birthday when she actually seemed to understand me. Maybe it was when she insisted on making sure I was okay after Tariq and I got into it, but suddenly we were friends who were attracted to each other, and then…”

Liam’s eyebrows shot up as Drake trailed off. He opened his mouth as if to say something, then stopped and let out a sigh, “It’s probably best if I don’t know, isn’t it?”

“Oh no! Not that, I mean, we haven’t…”

“Okay, okay, I believe you.”

“Man, this is awkward.”

Liam laughed, “Well, it was bound to be. Hence the whiskey in the middle of the afternoon.” The two shared a genuine smile as they each took a sip.

“In the spirit of full disclosure, I kind of embraced our, I guess you would call, er, flirtation? after the whole Tariq scandal and Madeleine engagement. I guess I figured if I could be a distraction or a comfort or whatever, I dunno, it might’ve made things easier for her. Once it all blew over, I just assumed she would go back to you. It seemed like the best solution for everyone.”

“Drake…”

“Okay fine, I was tired of fighting it, okay? She was alone and hurting and I couldn’t be another person who rejected her, particularly since I didn’t even want to stop things. I figured it would hurt when she got back together with you anyway, so I might as well enjoy the ride. It wasn’t until New York that I had any idea she might want, well me, as anything serious.”  

Drake paused, looking at his friend, trying to gauge where he stood, but Liam maintained his stoic mask. Drake wasn’t used to seeing that face when it was just the two of them. A casualty of his actions, he supposed. After a moment, Liam spoke slowly, clearly choosing his words carefully, “Obviously, her rejection was painful. However, the fact that the two of you, particularly you, didn’t feel you could trust me with your feelings, well that hurts more.” Drake dropped his eyes to his glass, unsure of how to respond, but Liam wasn’t finished. “I valued how honest you always were with me, Drake, and now that is called into question. Did you keep this from me to protect me or to protect yourself?”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“You told me that you were sure that whatever you and Lady Riley had was temporary. Did you mean to keep your relationship a secret so that I could live in a naïve bubble were Riley was always 100% invested in our relationship, or was it because vocalizing your love would make it real and you would have to face that fact, even if she left you?”

Drake swallowed, taking a moment to collect himself. “A little bit of the first, a whole lot of the second. I tried to tell myself it was better for you to not know, but mostly, I was trying to keep some semblance of distance. I failed, obviously.”

“Rather spectacularly, in fact. I noticed that you didn’t object to my use of the word ‘love’ in my question.”

Though Liam’s words were heavy, Drake heard no judgement in them. He looked back at Liam, staring straight at him as he responded, “And?”

“Fair enough. Obviously, I wish you two nothing but happiness. How could I begrudge you that? You are two of the people I care most about in this world.”  

“Liam, I swear I tried to shut it down over and over again. But she just saw through my excuses and called me out on them time after time. I just couldn’t-”

Liam raised his hand, cutting off Drake’s continued ramblings. “As much as I appreciate the sentiment, believe it or not, hearing how, shall we say actively Lady Riley pursued you is not incredibly soothing.”

Drake grimaced at that. His goal wasn’t to cause Liam more pain, but he felt that he couldn’t let that assumption stand. He wasn’t going to let the fault fall to her. “It’s not that she pursued me. She befriended me. I think it was just nice for her to have someone to talk to that wasn’t a stuck-up noble at first. Everything after that just kind of happened.”

Processing Drake’s statement, Liam took another sip of his whiskey. “I never thought I’d live to see the day Drake Walker essentially told me that he was fated to be with a woman.”

“What? That’s not what I’m saying at all!”

“Isn’t it? Everything you’ve described about how you feel for each other implies this element of destiny, that it was somehow out of both of your control.”

“Come on, Liam. You know I don’t believe in soulmates or any of that crap.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Drake opened his mouth to argue, but he realized that Liam sort of had a point. His feelings for Riley had felt largely out of his control. Like some overwhelming force that he was powerless to stop. Like he was addicted to her. He wasn’t sure if he would call it fate or destiny or anything like that, but it sure felt more inevitable than anything he’d ever experienced before.

“I will take your silence as confirmation of my wisdom,” Liam teased, drawing Drake out of his own thoughts.

“Come on, Liam. I-”

“Don’t worry; your sentimentality need not leave this room. But I would hope, given the circumstances, you wouldn’t begrudge me some teasing?”

It was a peace offering. A truce. A clear message that Liam was going to work to put this behind them. Drake knew it was more than he deserved, so he responded the only way he could, ��Like anything would have stopped you from teasing me. Come on, let’s hear it. Get it out of your system.”

Liam laughed, “Oh no, I’m saving my teasing for the right moment. It’s just not satisfying when you’re expecting it.”

The two men shared a genuine smile, finishing off their whiskeys. And while the silence still carried some tension, the air certainly felt clearer than it had 30 minutes earlier.

“Are we okay?” asked Drake, finally voicing his biggest concern.

Liam nodded, “We will be. It might take me some time to adjust, but you’re a brother to me. After everything, it would take more than this to damage us.”

“Thank you, Liam. For what it’s worth, I am sorry for how this all went down.”

“But not that it happened?”

Drake bit his lip, slowly shaking his head. He couldn’t lie. “I could never regret her.”

Liam nodded sadly, “I understand. I’ll see you tonight at the beer garden, I’m assuming?”

“Of course.”

And with that, both men rose. Liam walked Drake to the door, clapping him on the shoulder as he exited the office.

“I am happy for you. I may feel a lot of things right now, but that’s the most important one.”

Drake felt his words get caught in his throat at that, but before he could even attempt to give an appropriate response, his phone started vibrating. He was pleasantly surprised when he saw the name.

“It’s Savannah.”

“Go ahead. I have another meeting soon, anyway.”

As cheesy as it sounded, Drake really did feel as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders as he swiped his phone to answer the call. He wasn’t sure what the future held for him and Riley, but knowing that Liam would still be in his life was plenty for today.

Tags: @wickedgypsymoon @thesumofmychoices @cosigottahavefaith @thequeenofcronuts @thequeenchoices @katedrakeohd @carabeth @feartheendlesssummer @jovialyouthmusic

[khantipode]

Frequently Asked Questions

 Now that I’m getting Antipode back in gear, I figured it’s high time for an FAQ. This post will be where I handle frequently asked questions from this point on. I’ll make sure to link it in the sidebar as well. So, without further delay... Q: What is Antipode? Antipode is an ongoing Kingdom Hearts AU series that asks the ever common question: What would happen if Riku became the Keybearer as fate intended? How would such a cocky, arrogant, teen with his own inner demons fare as the hero of the worlds, and where would that put Sora? While it’s a tried and true what-if scenario, my goal with Antipode was to explore the gradual snowball effect of Sora and Riku’s choices while keeping them true to their canon personalities. Notably, Sora still ends up with Kairi’s heart, while Riku still opens the door to Destiny Islands and dooms his home. While Riku ends up with Donald and Goofy, at first he sees them as little more than a convenient means to see other worlds, while Sora ends up tricked by Maleficent and her cohorts into believing they are outcasts shunned by their worlds who merely wish to save the princesses and the worlds at large. And, as time goes on, the series moves further and further away from the original KH game plots into its own direction.   If you want to know more, you can find the entire series here on AO3 or here on Fanfiction.net!

Q: When does this AU diverge from canon? That... is a good question. Technically speaking, there are two main divergence points. The first is during the downfall of Radiant Garden in order to explain why Xemnas is who he is in this AU. The second is at the start of Kingdom Hearts, where Sora reaches Riku on the island much earlier, thus Riku obtains the Keyblade before he can give into the darkness. Naturally, everything from that point on starts to diverge as well. :P Birth by Sleep is more or less the same as canon, though.

Q: What Disney worlds are included in the AU? Oh, lots! The first story features all the worlds from KH1 except for Deep Jungle and Monstro- in exchange, it includes Prankster’s Paradise- called Pleasure Island in the fic, in a much darker take that is faithful to Pinocchio, donkeys and all. As the series goes on, I move toward more and more unique Disney Worlds in addition to familiar locations. Fragmented Truths includes worlds based on The Jungle Book, Sword in the Stone, and The Great Mouse Detective in addition to returning worlds like Agrabah and Halloween Town. Monstro also makes its appearance here. The Year Between features Pocahontas, Monsters Inc., Gargoyles, and Mary Poppins, as well as many, many references to the Disney Afternoon shows and other Disney material. All That’s Left is the current story and includes worlds based on Robin Hood, The Emperor’s New Groove, Wreck-it Ralph, The Incredibles, Treasure Planet, and Frozen with a few other Disney worlds planned in smaller appearances. Olympus Coliseum also has an appearance here, as will Space Paranoids. In general, Antipode is a HUGE love letter to Disney. Even in familiar worlds, like Agrabah, I try to incorporate elements from the films that were cut from the KH games like the Sultan and Rajah. But other worlds like Arendelle will also see similar treatment. Hans, for example, will actually exist in the AU outside of a five second cameo. ;) Q: What about Final Fantasy characters? Other Square Enix properties? While the Restoration Committee and Twilight Town residents return from the original games alongside Cloud, I’ve also added some more Final Fantasy cameos from time to time. Quina, Freya, Steiner, and Beatrix from FFIX make appearances, alongside Cait Sith and Barret from FF7. But perhaps the most significant new Square character is Ringabel from Bravely Default. Though he first debuts in Side Stories (Love’s Vagrant and The Burden of Failure), he has since become a recurring character, along with Grandship serving as a sort of mobile Traverse Town. In the future, I’d like to maybe include characters from The World Ends With You and Chrono Trigger, but that’ll probably have to wait ‘til the next fic.

Q: If Riku’s the Keybearer, does that mean he has a Nobody? Is there a Sora Replica? Does Xion even exist? Since Sora still had Kairi’s heart, ultimately, he still ends up with a Nobody. However, this universe’s Roxas does not wield a Keyblade, initially still keeps the name Sora, and has a set of fake memories shared with Riku’s Replica. He, Riku Replica, and Namine form what I like to call the mirror trio. Riku Replica does later go by the name Xiruk, but that’s mostly so he can match Roxas and stick it to the Organization. As for Xion, she exists with drastically different origins, as she was created by DiZ rather than the Organization. You can learn more about her in The Year Between!

Q: What’s the deal with Kairi? Kairi, while starting off in a similar postion as canon, has a much larger role in this AU! Instead of staying behind, she joins Riku, Donald, and Goofy on their journey and becomes a competent fighter in her own right. A damsel she is not, so if you’re looking for a story that gives Kairi time to shine, you’ve come to the right place. :)

Q: How come Heartless Sora looks like Anti-Form? And why is Ven with him? The key difference with Sora’s Heartless form in this story is that Ansem had told him ahead of time what would happen if he released Kairi’s heart and urged him to embrace the darkness... purely out of curiosity for what would happen if someone so kind dove right in. Sora taking that plunge while clinging to his sense of self, coupled with Ven’s heart sticking with him allowed him to maintain a stronger Heartless form. In this form, he looks similar to Anti-Form but with a more expressive face and sharp teeth. Only those with connections to darkness can hear him speak.

Q: If Ven’s heart is with Sora, why does Roxas still look like him? Due to the shared connection between Sora and Ven, he still looks similar as a side effect.

Q: How come Zexion has so much authority? According to the Days Ultimania, Zexion was slated to be second in command until Axel killed him in Chain of Memories to cut a path to the top for Saix. This did not happen here, so Zexion has a lot more power and authority in the Organization. Saix is still near the top, though, as is Xigbar.

Q: How do you handle Chain of Memories? What about 358/2 Days? Kingdom Hearts II? Simply put, I don’t. While the first story is very close to the original Kingdom Hearts in structure, all the subsequent fics are more of their own stories, borrowing elements from the other games where appropriate. For example, Fragmented Truths takes the Riku Replica and Namine from Chain of Memories as well as elements of the memory plot, but it still features adventures across different worlds as well as the start of the Organization’s meddling in the worlds. The Year Between features elements of 358/2 Days and Coded as well as KH2′s prologue, but spun in a brand new way to suit the story. All That’s Left is thematically the KH2 of the story, but like the other sequels, it’s not a direct adaptation. After all, I’m pretty sure Kingdom Hearts 2 doesn’t have Aqua running around with the heroes. :P

Q: Does your AU include anything from Dream Drop Distance? Sort of. Ultimately, Antipode does acknowledge that Xehanort did want to gather thirteen Seekers of Darkness to battle seven Guardians of Light to do battle and form the χ-blade. However! Antipode’s Xemnas has zero interest in fulfilling this plan, and as a result, the only characters to have been implanted with seeds of Xehanort’s heart are Xigbar and Saix. Young Xehanort is lurking around, and I have plans for him eventually, but suffice it to say, the Xehanort plan introduced in KH3D has been significantly derailed. Thanks, Xemnas.

Q: Hey! How come Xemnas is [SPOILER]? Because Antipode started developing well before Kingdom Hearts 3D came out, and I had Xemnas’ whole schtick carefully planned out. I didn’t want to retcon the entire arc I had planned for him, so I stuck to my guns and decided to simply include an in-universe explanation for why he isn’t out trying to make more Xehanorts. You’ll just have to stay tuned for the full story on that detail. ;)

Q: Will you incorporate the new canon from Kingdom Hearts 3? What about the mobile game? There are many things in Kingdom Hearts 3 that I legit can’t incorporate. For example, the Guardian’s identity goes against some plans I’ve had in place for years, and my backstory with Isa and Lea differs. Keep in mind, this series has been going on since 2012, so I can’t be canon compliant with every new bit of information. I do have some... ideas involving certain reveals from KH-UX, though. We’ll see if I get to ‘em. Q: Will this AU have any ships? Antipode is a story much more focused on friendships and adventure than romance. That being said, there is some extremely slow burn Kairi/Riku and Riku Replica/Namine that’s been developing over the course of several stories. I realize these ain’t the most popular pairings, but I really want to stress that Antipode ain’t about the ships, so even if they aren’t to your liking, I hope that you’ll give these stories a chance! Sora remains extremely important to his friends as well, so no worries about the spiky-haired dork being left out. :) He may not be having a romance with Kairi in this fic, but their friendship remains ever strong. Addendum: ...I guess this is also the part where I admit that years of denial have finally made me crack. Ringabel and Aqua’s chemistry is just too good in this AU. Like the other ships, though, it ain’t a focal point. VenSo is kinda implied, too, if you squint. Both of these were purely by accident.

Q: What’s with the rewrites? To make a long story short, a lot of the earlier works in Antipode were... fairly rushed. While I had a beta or two, I didn’t have a super thorough editor to point out all the plot inconsistencies and issues like I do now. Because my editor pointed out all these faults with the fics, I saw fit to go back and fix them for the sake of my own satisfaction and out of a desire to make the series overall stronger. I have provided changelogs for those who read as the stories originally released, which you can find here.

Q: When do you update? Whenever I have the time and inspiration. I do want to try to get updates out at a more regular basis- at least once a month, but we’ll see what the future holds. I do work a job, and I have my Undertale comic @invertedfate, but Antipode is my baby and I want to see it through to the end. Got another question? Please feel free to send an ask!

[sneegsnitties]

Creatures of the Light, Run From the Night: Chapter 2

[AO3 LINK] @tazbang​

Rating: T

Characters/Ships: blupcretia, taagnus, davenchurch, the light, the voidfish

tags: The Adventure Bang 2019, blood, transformation, alternate universe - canon divergence, character death, canon compliant, canonical character death, temporary character death, body horror, stolen century era, established relationship, we know nothing abt the light yall, angst, the light fucks everyone up? kinda, touch starved, alternate universe - creatures and monsters, other additional tags to be added, crying 

Summary:The Light Of Creation has always been one of a mystery. It has the power to create, that obvious. But what else does it do? No one knows. This is what the seven birds are trying to figure out, why it’s so important to the hunger? what is the extent of its abilities? What else can it do? These questions will be answered, but not in the way that either of them were expecting. The light of creation has its reasons for doing what it did. A reason that is not quite understood. But whatever it did? It was definitely not what they signed up for. Not even close.

Chapter summary:Lucretia discovers, the crystal grows, davenport has concerns, questions go unanswered.

~

Magnus doesn’t know what to expect when he gets there. All he knows is that his boyfriend is hurt in some magical way and he can’t do anything to fix it. Well, for now anyway. He hopes that there will be a way to do so.

Merle looks up at him with a soft expression, “Hey kid,” he smiles.

“I brought breakfast.”

“Thank Pan, I’m starving.” Merle follows his gaze to the passed out Taako on the bed, or more directly at the crystal growing on him. “I had to use a sleep spell on him because he wouldn’t stop flipping his shit,” he explains.

“Oh,” he hands Merle the plate. Guess he didn’t need to bring Taako a plate after all? He sets it down on the stand next to the bed though, just in case if he’s hungry when he wakes up.

“There’s nothing wrong with his vitals, everything seems to be fine. Well, except the blood part, but uh... don’t know what’s up with that.”

“Blood? What do you mean?” Magnus felt a pang of panic rise in his chest.

“It looks fine looking at it normally, but under the microscope, there’s like a bunch of little sparkly bits that really aren’t supposed to be there.” Merle explains, “I don’t know what it is yet, but I do know that it’s not good.”

Magnus doesn’t really know how to react to that, “do we even know what kind of magic is in this plane?”

“Just like the basic cantrips and shit, which really don’t have the power to do that.” the dwarf says and pats the fighter’s leg. “We can still cast higher than a cantrip, of course. But this plane has not developed enough to get anything more powerful for the people who live here.”

He nods, pretending to know what the fuck Merle is saying. He knows about magic but now how it works. He just hits stuff. “Do you know what we can do?”

“Besides wait? Not really?”

“Don’t you think we can ask around? See if they know anything about suddenly turning into crystal?”

“We could. That’d be a good place to start.” ~ Lucretia watches as Taako stirs awake, he had been out for the last hour or two. She was tasked with watching and waiting for him to wake up as the other five went out and asked around the local villages about the chances of someone suddenly turning into crystal.

The human had looked at the blood sample that Merle had taken. The sparkly bits? Some of them suspiciously look like the Light. The rest? She doesn’t exactly know.

The crystal growing on Taako has spread. It’s now halfway up his left ear, down his neck and across most of his cheek. Seeing the rate it’s spreading at, Lucretia has a bad feeling that it will only be a week or two until he’s fully covered.

Taako makes a small noise as he finally wakes up, he puts a hand up to his face and looks up to Lucretia in fear. “It wasn’t a dream was it?”

“Fraid not,” she says and taps her pen on the paper of her journal.

“Do you know why this is happening? Or how?”

“Not exactly, but I have a theory.” she stands up, sets her journal down onto the chair she was sitting on, “Merle had taken a sample of your blood, he had said there were sparkly bits in it. I looked at it too, just to confirm. Would you like to know what I found? Not trying to scare you or anything.”

Taako stares at her for a moment, then nods. Not saying a word

“I saw the light. Small pieces of course.” the woman explains, “were you, by any chance, bleeding around the light when you retrieved it?”

“I- no? Not that I know of?” He says bewildered. “Are- are you telling me that the light did this to me?”

“I didn’t say that. But potentially, I haven’t had the chance to share my theory with the others since they’re asking around about the spontaneous happenings of someone turning into crystal for no reason. But anyway, sorry if that isn’t something you wanted to wake up to. I just really wanted to finally tell someone about it.”

“It’s cool, better than just sitting here in awkward silence.” he winces as the crystal continues to grow, “or alone really. Y’know, I think you’ve grown a lot since the start of this shitty ass journey.”

Lucretia sits back down and writes something down into her journal with a smile. “Well, you can thank your sister for that. But watching her pine after Barry was literal hell. So glad I convinced her to duet with him.”

“Oh gods yeah, so glad you did. I also may have pushed it a little. How’s it going with you three by the way?” he asks and tries to sit up, but it only made the area around the crystal ache a lot more so he just stays where he is

“Oh, we’re good! Still trying to figure everything out. Only been a thing for a year, so y’know.”

Lup then comes into the room, not really looking the happiest herself.

“Hey, how’d it go?” Lucretia asks with a small smile.

“Not that great,” she comes over and takes Lucretia’s hand, “they don’t know anything.” Lup smiles down at her twin, “how’re you doing Koko?”

“Doing as good as someone who’s turning into crystal can be,” he responds with a thumbs up.

“Oh! Now that you guys are back, I can tell you what I found?” the human woman says and looks up at her girlfriend. “Could you call the others in with the intercom?”

Lup raises an eyebrow, “you… actually found something?” she asks, a hint of anxiety in her voice.

“Yeah, I’m assuming.”

She gets up and goes to the intercom, “hey could you come to the infirmary, Lucretia had said she found something?”

Not long later, the rest of the crew had filtered into the infirmary. Davenport motions for Lucretia to explain.

“So Merle let me look at the sample he’d taken of Taako’s blood because he mentioned there were sparkly bits in it right? I looked at it through a higher resolution because it didn’t look like it was only just the crystals in his blood.“Lucretia double-checks the microscope again to see if her findings were right, “I saw the light. I don’t know how or why, but it looks like there’s a shit-ton of microscopic specs of The Light floating around in his bloodstream. So I have a theory that the light is involved in a way somehow.”

Davenport comes over and looks through the microscope himself, Lucretia fidgets slightly as he does so, he makes a noise of interest as he looks away. “Well clearly, we don’t know as much as we thought we did about The Light. Is there even anything else to learn about it?” he asks

“We did as much as we could when we were first observing it, Cap. We know that it is incredibly influential. It allowed the animals in the first plane to become much more advanced. It’s what makes The Hunger come after us time and time again at the end of every cycle.” Barry pauses, “what would it possibly gain from turning Taako into crystal?”

“We have no idea, that’s the problem,” Lup says glancing at her brother.

“I think we should do more research. Look through all the previous discoveries before we jump to a conclusion.” Barry says as he looks through the microscope as well, “maybe there’s something we haven’t found out about it yet.”

“Aside from that, it’s extremely cravable?” Magnus speaks up, “every time we try to get it when it’s protected by someone or something, it’s influenced by it.”

“It’s talking to me.” Taako interrupts, “it’s telling me things that I can’t understand.”

“Are you sure? You might be dehydrated.” Merle grabs a plastic cup and fills it with water, “drink.”

“I might. But it’s telling me I’ll be fine, I’ll be protected.” He takes a sip of water and winces as the crystal grows down towards his chin. “It says it can’t explain why. It needs to protect us.”

“Protect us from what?”

“I don’t know. It won’t say.” ~ Days later, there is no answer. The Light isn’t giving them any answers. Taako is starting to resign to his fate of turning into crystal and the high possibility of him dying.

It’s night now, though, and Taako had managed to sneak out of the infirmary. It was slightly challenging and painful, but he managed.

The crystal was now covering half of his face, down some of his left arm, his chest and to his hip. Making it incredibly hard to move.

But all he wanted a breath of fresh air. The sterile air and the unwelcoming environment of the infirmary combined with memories of some pretty shitty deaths was really starting to get to him.

“Taako,” Davenport says sternly, interrupting his peace. “What’re you doing out here?”

“I needed fresh air, get off my dick. Couldn’t sleep either.”

You shouldn’t talk to your captain like that. The Light says in the very back of his mind.

He ignores it and turns to look down at the ground passing by far below. “Getting tired of being in the infirmary. It was driving me crazy, can I just spend the rest of my days in my room?”

Davenport sighs, “yeah, you can.” the gnome joins him at the railing.

“I’m scared.” Taako admits, “of what’s going to happen to me.”

His Captain looks up at him, “I would be too if I were in your position.”

“I’m surprised you’re not scolding me for being out here. Or questioning how I even managed to do it. It was very painful by the way.”

Davenport smiles, “do you want me to scold you? I’d be very happy to do so.” He jokes

“Oh, gods please don’t.” Taako returns the smile, “I’m starting to accept that this is my fate for the cycle. Turning into crystal.” He turns away from the railing.

“We’re heading towards another village, they might know-“ Davenport starts to say before Taako interrupts him.

“But what if they don’t. As far as we know, the light is in my blood, it’s the cause of what’s happening to me.” He says

“Yes, but we want to make sure.”

They won’t. The Light whispers again

“They won’t.” Taako repeats what the light said, “no one will know. It’s the light, Davenport. It talks to me, it told me they won’t know. There’s nothing else you can do, the magic in this cycle is nowhere near the level we are.”

“Taako.” He scolds, but sighs, “we know that the light is in your blood. But we- I just want to make sure you aren’t cursed.”

You aren’t. This is for your own protection. You will be fine. It whispers again.

He decides not to repeat what the light had just told him. The elf winces as the crystal on his body spreads more. His whole body aches and he feels like he’s going to collapse.

“Taako? Do you need to lie down?”

“I want to go to my room.” He grits his teeth as it grows more. Moving apparently makes it spread more.

“Okay.” Davenport nods as he takes his uncrystallized hand and ghosts the other one against the small of his back. “Careful.”

“Do you have a sleep spell?” He asks, his head pounding with every movement he makes. It doesn’t help that the crystal has now covered his left eye.

“Yes, I’m pretty sure I do,” Davenport says with worry in his voice.

He feels like his brain is going to explode. Maybe getting up and moving around was not the best idea after all. But he needed fresh air, could you blame him?

As soon as he reaches his bed, he finally collapses. It’s like a huge relief. The pain fades slightly, but it’s still there. He can barely hear his captain say the incantation for sleep as his head pounds and the crystal spreads.

Davenport watches Taako fall into a deep sleep after the spell is complete and cringes as the crystal grows rapidly on his body. All the way across his chest and down his left leg. The crystal is beautiful, but it's… horrifying to say the least.

Watching it grow on someone you consider a friend, family - perhaps even a son - is horrible.

The gnome doesn’t know what to do. Clearly, moving around makes it worse. So Taako will be restricted to his bed which he doesn’t think will be much of an issue.

He and the others have been working so hard into finding answers as to why, but no luck. The light is a mysterious thing after all.

He takes one last look at the sleeping form of the elf and heads back out onto the deck and falls to his knees. Letting the tears that he’s been holding in fall.

Then for the first time in years, and not exactly being the most religious type of person he prays, to pan mostly. He can blame Merle for that, or to any god in this damn cycle that will listen to him. For Taako, for him to be fine, for the crystal to stop growing and for his life to be spared. Just anything.

He wipes his face and looks up at the stars; he hopes that someone is watching. Anyone, so that his prayers are answered. So he can get answers.

But he won’t. The prayers won’t. There are no answers. Not even the gods know what’s happening.

[muggle-writes]

WIP Masterpost

(last updated March 30, 2019)

The formatting got all screwed up on mobile, so here’s a template of the summaries below, so you can tell what should go together. Title (link if published) Premise approximate length and other publishing notes

Partially published

Fandom: 17776

Patience Ten isn’t as patient as she hopes Nine can be. It all works out in the end Short, multi-chapter

Fandom: Harry Potter

The One I’ve Been Looking For (formerly Colors) Soulmate au: You see in black and white until you first see your soulmate, then you can see in color. Harry/Ginny with other canon pairings (but not all couples are soulmates and not all soulmates get romantically involved for a variety of reasons) Meant as a one-shot, became definitively multi-chapter, will probably wind up fairly long. Even if it’s short, it’ll contain vignettes of scenes over at least the first four years Harry attends Hogwarts

(Series) The Star’s Journey An Astoria Greengrass-centric series featuring a friendship and later relationship with Ginny Weasley. Canon compliant (so far) Originally written for PurimGifts 2019 (which is why it’s a series of one-chapter fics, rather than a single ongoing fic). Currently has three installments, at least two more are planned

Fandom: Detective Conan

Eavesdropping Hakuba Saguru is sure Tokyo’s littlest detective is too close to a certain irritating classmate phantom thief. His investigations uncover secrets that are deeper than he could have imagined. Long, multi-chapter (was once regularly updated, hoping to get back to at least bimonthly updates)

Begin Again Trans!Shinichi, begins nearly-canon and explores how the plot would be different if Shinichi were a trans guy Long, multi-chapter, no defined ending (irregular update schedule, which is not helped by being written out of order)

Sphygmoid Soulmate AU (mainly platonic, multiple connections per person) reimagining of the early series. Stripes on your arms, in different colors, represent different people that love you. They turn black if that person has died, so what does this half-and-half stripe mean? Multi-chapter, probably 4-6 chapters total when it’s done. Character-driven

Crossover with Kri – The Unseen Essence Awakening Begins basically canon, but is also set in the Kri universe, so upon a traumatic event people begin to see their Kri – the external half of their souls. (mildly self-indulgent, likely to wildly diverge from canon because the Sleeping Kogoro gag is much harder to pull off when Kogoro’s Kri is not sleeping) Short, multi-chapter. Open/ambiguous ending Marked complete on AO3, because the three chapters I initially drafted are all published, but I keep writing more so they may eventually be added ...Someone remind me to update the link in the fic header from the Kri website (which is no more) to the google drive folder containing all the official content

Fandom: Magic Kaito (Despite the frequent overlap, I do tend to write these separately)

Reunion Kaito comes home to find his father in the Kid Room Originally done as a writing exercise in the KaiShin discord, experimental (writing bot) style 1-2 more chapters before it’s complete Might be “completed” in a “choose-your-own-adventure” style with an angst ending and a happy ending

Stripes of Fate Soulmate AU: everyone has a stripe of color on their wrist that matches their soulmate’s hair color. It changes when the soulmate changes their hair color by any mechanism so it continues to match. HakuKai, starting a few years before they meet each other Published for DCMK Secret Santa 2017 but has placeholder chapters that I intend to eventually fill in because I wanted to post a “complete” story (or at least get to the happy ending) in time for the gift exchange (lol the previous version of this WIP list predicted this to end up as 2-3 chapters) Currently 7 chapters including placeholders, perhaps as many as 10 or 12 when it’s truly complete

Not at all published

Fandom: Detective Conan/Magic Kaito

(no title yet - affectionately known as Angst 1) Angst: the wrong person gets their hands on the Apotoxin, and things get worse before they get better (no character death, mostly light-hearted ending?) Long, multi-chapter (will be posted all at once because I’m not cruel enough to publish it partially and leave readers hanging… or worried about my state of mind. Also it’s harder to write now that I’m in a better headspace, but writing it was therapeutic for a while)

(no title yet - affectionately known as Angst 2) Angst: the aftermath of DC Movie 17 if any of a few things had gone a little differently at the climax of the movie. (major character death). In later chapters, canon-typical gambit pileup (which is basically crackfic in comparison to my usual style). Mostly outside perspective of the events. Short, multi-chapter (as with Angst 1, will be published all at once so I don’t leave readers with angst-cliffhangers with my irregular posting schedule. This one is mostly written except I’m several scenes beyond the original intended ending and the story keeps coming so who knows when it’ll be done and ready to publish). On the other hand, I might publish the first part as serious angst, and the later part as a separate piece due to the difference in tone. Still probably all at once

(no title yet) Heiji and Shinichi come out (from prompt) One-shot (delayed because of a mild twist, of the sort that I want to make sure I’m writing it well and that takes a lot of thought and proofreading)

Crossovers:

Crossover with A Girl and Her Fed (no title yet) Rachel and Hope meet Conan and Jodie at a coffeeshop. Hope confuses Conan. Jodie asks Rachel to contact Josh about a case they once worked together (a case that she’s still on). Rachel watches Conan solve a case. Short, 2-4 chapter (delayed until I finally read Greek Key, in case something Hope does or experiences affects how I want to write Rachel here)

Crossover with Natsume Yuujinchou (no title yet) Heiji and Conan find Natsume early in the events of (Natsume) season 6 episode 1 and assume that Natsume has the same problem Conan does Short, 1-3 chapter

Crossover with Harry Potter (no title yet) Hakuba Saguru is actually Harry Potter in disguise (from prompt, expanded to: Harry, being The Harry Potter, has been given special permission to chase criminals across country lines. Harry is investigating a notorious criminal, known to Muggles as “the last wizard of the century”, and who wears white robes as though he once went to Mahoutokoro but got caught doing illegal magic) Short, 1-3 chapter

Fandom: Undertale

An Arm and a Leg Sans begs Papyrus to take Frisk for the evening, so he can take Toriel out on a date at the last minute, and Papyrus agrees despite having already arranged to go on his first date with Mettaton the same evening One-shot (originally from prompt with the premise above, delayed embarrassingly long because I mis-remembered while planning and wrote half of another story and then having to start over (plus college life) was hell on my motivation)

Fandom: Harry Potter

(no title yet) Dudley is the Chosen One (slightly modified prophecy, fairly divergent events once they get to Hogwarts) Long, multi-chapter (being written out of order and the first chapter isn’t ready yet - I do have a good beta on standby though)

Crossover with DCMK (see DCMK section)

Crossover with the specific already-a-crossover universe of Love Is All You Need To Destroy Your Enemies (no title yet) Hermione and Julie become friends. Wonderful chaos ensues. Short, multi-chapter (the background is established but the actual fic is pending a real plot. Tentatively approved by @davetheshady despite not yet having a plot)

Crossover with MCU (no title yet) Tony Stark turns out to be Harry’s biological father, and finds out near the end of Harry’s fourth year. Character driven Longer by wordcount than Eavesdropping despite nothing being posted yet. I’m waiting on posting it until I have a clearer idea of whether this is going to have a plot arc or be solely character driven. Currently in the form of a lot of disconnected scenes

Fandom: Natsume Yuujinchou

(no title yet) Touko-centric, the truth comes out (fluff, mostly) Short, 1-2 chapter

Crossover with Detective Conan (see DCMK section)

Not WIPs (published and complete)

Fandom: DCMK

The Truth Ran confronts Conan about being Shinichi one more time, and Shinichi, after some hesitation, decides it’s time for the truth (from prompt) One-shot

Movie Night Sato/Takagi fluff: enough said. (inspired by a screenshot of a pair of YikYak posts actually), 100% canon-compliant One-shot

Memory Conan is injured and Kaito has never been less interested in keeping a promise (gen, not angst) One-shot

Stripes of Fate arguably complete - see above 7+ chapters

Crossover with Kri – The Unseen Essence Awakening arguably complete - see above 3+ chapters

Fandom: Harry Potter

Distant As a Memory A glimpse into Hermione’s mind as she prepares to erase her parents’ memories Originally written for PurimGifts 2019. One-shot. Arguably complete, may add a follow-up chapter or two because I had to cut several ideas to stay within close to the event’s maximum wordcount

Dayenu Pesach is hard, the year Luna is 10. Jewish Lovegood family. Grief/mourning and a path to recovery Originally written for PurimGifts 2019 One-shot

Fandom: Dragonriders of Pern

Flights and Fights (and Happy Endings) (title subject to change) Rearranging characters’ Weyr assignments before the double mating flight in Dragonquest, leads to averted tragedy Minor character-centric (Varena, rider of gold Ralenth, yes her name shows up in the text at least once outside of the DragonDex at the end of the book) and throws out some of the more problematic word-of-god “truths” about mating flights. One-shot. Originally written for PurimGifts 2019. Lol what’s a maximum wordcount

Other/No Fandom

The Twins The Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Mission through the eyes of Opportunity, written shortly after the news that JPL was sending their last commands to Oppy. Vaguely poetic One-shot. AO3 “corrected” the “Mars Rovers (Fandom)” tag to “Space Exploration RPF” so this is probably the only “RPF” I’ll ever write.

Related: I posted a timeline of real events, for comparison so people could easily check which events Oppy mentioned in The Twins, since the history of Curiosity and Opportunity aren’t as neatly condensed into a “canon”