#writing good fics while saying it's mid-quality

[befallenstars-archive]

*rubs hands together*

Here we are again, folks! Nyla writing and I am ready to yap about this~

Spoilers and lots of yapping under the cut!

...the way I can actually here him say this though? Word for word it feels like the dialogue is coming from childe himself. Which is genuinely amazing in my eyes bc I'm surprisingly nitpicky about dialogues in fics.

Childe, keep it in your pants. Goddamnit.

Okay, but I do think a small Kaeya hiding behind the reader and clutching on to the hem if their shirt is adorable.

"You find it absurd your mother could travel the whole of Teyvat with nothing but a knapsack slung over her shoulders and a pack of cigarettes but Celestia forbid you decide to do the same."

Mothers...this feels a little too accurate *sighs*

The pack of cigerettes is WILD tho—

Reader, trust Childe. The man has money. I promise you that. If you don't like people spending money on you, it's alright. But the man genuinely has enough money to spoil you a little.

Aweee, at least he's being considerate.

"Staring at your beloved so shamelessly?"

Listen here...

I was genuinely lost in reading as I do when it comes to good fics. Getting invested and all that. Then this guys cuts in with this? Had to suck in a sharp breath and stare at the ceiling before letting out a curse.

HOLD YOUR HORSES—

Okay, snookums did make me giggle. But the following words that left this man's lips had me going "sir??? Calm down???" Starting to feel the reader sleeps with one eye open around this man/lh

"We're not even dating" "Yet"

His insistence and arrogance is oddly charming at this point actually. Wait, we must stay focused.

"Now, there are no more stories."

...damn, I got sobered up real quick.

"They're going to make me a Harbinger."

And we get another bomb dropped mid-way. Yes, I know that he has always been a Harbringer but to bring it up...like right now???

"A Harbinger," you repeat incredulously. "A Harbinger?"

Valid reaction honestly.

Listen, I knew there was going to be slight angst. But when Character A changes in a blink of an eye while Character B is left grasping at straws for what happened and why something so significant has changed— my heart cracks a litlle as I curl up in bed while hugging a plushie.

The ending leaves a bittersweet taste on my mouth. In short, if this were a series I would genuinely be binging it and maybe even have it on my calendar when the author might update.

Actually, the shorter version is that this was so good that I just wanted to read more.

one step closer

cw. f!reader (no pronouns or specified anatomy), pre-canon, pre-relationship, childhood friends, slightly(?) obsessive behaviors, slight angst

pairing. tartaglia x reader

synopsis. your mothers always swore one of their children would marry one day, making them both officially sisters. but for now, they'll take ajax escorting you from mondstadt to sumeru to pursue your education

notes. a christmas present for my good buddy @hash-slinging-slasher-trash. an unexpected comradery was built up between us both this year, so let's have fun in the new year! they recently got into genshin this year and, unsurprisingly, they've been bagged by mr. 11th fatui harbinger himself hehehe

"You didn't have to come all the way here for this."

"And break my promise to my beloved aunt? Perish the thought!" Ajax gasps aghast, clutching his invisible pearls. "Besides, why would I miss a road trip with my future wife? The two of us. Alone." Playful blue eyes glance your way accompanied by an equally playful smile. You give him a pointed look and Ajax raises a hand defensively. The red insignia pinned to his shirt glints in the sunlight at the movement. "I kid, I kid. Just a joke. We can save that stuff later."

"Or never," you reply without missing a beat.

"I draw the line at waiting until after our wedding night."

"You're incorrigible," you groan.

Ajax can only laugh, eyes closed and grin wide. When he's like this, he's like the Ajax you remember from when you were children. The boy who unabashedly declared he'd marry you in one of your earliest memories. Your mothers were only too happy to indulge him, long since having their own jokes about how one day their children would marry and make them officially sisters.

That had been how many years ago now?

Too long ago to recall. You simply know it had been the first time Ajax's family had come to visit your own in Mondstadt. It became a yearly tradition from before either of you were born for your families to visit one another.

According to your mothers, they became friends your mother's first trip to Snezhnaya. You'd been raised on a healthy diet of your mother's travels, your mother telling them to you much like they were old folktales. She told you about the various shades of the thunder sakura of Inazuma. How she spelunked in Natlan with a few friends you can't remember the name of. Even regaled you with dramatic stories of Fontaine's Opera Epiclese where she witnessed trial and opera alike and what she swears was a love story bubbling under the surface between the Hydro Archon and her Iudex.

All of those stories paled in comparison to her most harrowing tale of surviving a month long blizzard that ended with less importantly, your father, and more importantly, your mother's now lifelong friend.

That was all took for their future families to be intertwined and for Ajax to be a present as constant in your as the bards of your homeland.

A summer in Mondstadt here, a winter in Snezhnaya there.

A Ludi Harpastum there, a Krsnik Noc here.

You distinctly remember Kaeya's first Windblume Festival after the Radnvindr's took him in. He was more quiet and would cling to the figures he found most familiar, you included. Ajax hated it. Unfortunately his complaints and intense nature only led to your coddling Kaeya more, scolding the ginger for being insensitive. Presently, Kaeya and Ajax's relationship has improved little.

Ajax has been there for many a life event.

Now here Ajax is, your official escort on the first day of your own journey. It was the only way your mother would relax about your finally leaving the nest. You find it absurd your mother could travel the whole of Teyvat with nothing but a knapsack slung over her shoulders and a pack of cigarettes but Celestia forbid you decide to do the same. It isn't even exactly the same!

At Ajax's insistence, your things were already waiting for you in Sumeru. "My men can take it ahead," he boasted proudly, reminding you of his recent promotion. "It's no problem at all, honest. Save your money!" Your protests were promptly ignored, your mother more than happy to save on the mora she would have had to spend mailing it otherwise.

"Ajax, I'm serious," you remind him for the millionth time as the Dawn Winery slowly but surely grows more and more distant. Even with Diluc and Kaeya's strained relationship, they both insisted on having a celebratory before early in the morning before you left for Liyue. You wanted your quest to be on foot as much as possible before boarding a boat that would take you from Liyue Harbor to Port Ormos. "I don't want you guys in uniform when you move my things in. I don't want to be known as the Fatui girl at the dorms."

"Relax, relax," his words due to little to soothe you. "Seriously," his tone shifts from impish to straight-laced. "I know better than anyone how the Fatui is viewed abroad. I know you worked hard to get into the Akademiya, so I don't want to ruin that for you."

You hold each other's gaze for a moment longer before you sigh in relief. "Thank you." Another beat passes before you say it again, "seriously, thank you. You didn't have to take time off to come all the way to Mondstadt. And it means a lot to Mom too. You being here helped her calm down a lot."

His lips relax into a smile that's small, "of course I'd be here for something like this. It's a big deal! You've wanted to go to the Akademiya since we were kids. Is Erna going to be there or is she still in Fontaine researching water vein flowers or whatever?"

You nod excitedly, "yeah, she said she wants to show me around when I get there. She's gonna meet us at Port Ormos." Another piece of the puzzle in helping your mother acclimate to your studying in another country. "She's only staying for the week though."

Erna, a cousin of yours had gotten in years ago leaving little Springvale behind to see the world beyond the wind-caressed hills you grew up. Busy as she'd become after getting into the Amurta Darshan, when she was able to come home it was her turn to tell you stories about a world you couldn't imagine for yourself.

The fanciful cafes with their majestic fountains, the smell of spices of a place called Treasures street. It's hard to believe you'll finally be seeing it for yourself after so long.

"Think she'll be happy to see me?" Ajax asks suddenly, observing you carefully as you

Your cheeks hurt as your smile becomes something forced. "Well," begin.

Ajax barks out a laugh immediately, "you don't have to lie, I know she's not happy I'm in the Fatui." He sighs as the last of his laughter leaves him, nonchalant and unsurprised. You wonder, not for the first time, what would be enough to make Ajax the young man shocked or hurt. Considering how you heard his enlisting in the Fatui at the young age of 14 had gone, you doubt anyone's reaction to his being an agent can get under his skin. "Not that Auntie is thrilled either. I suppose these are the struggles of those in the pursuit of strength."

You refrain from affirming his suspicions. Your mother isn't thrilled but she refrained from expressing the opinion knowing she had little to stand on when her former husband had been a Fatui agent once upon a time. "If that boy's own father couldn't keep him from enlisting, I doubt anything I say will make him change his mind." The next time you saw your old friend after his enlisting, he surprised you for a visit when work led him to the land of freedom.

For the second time in the past ten minutes, your eyes look at his the red insignia pinned on his shirt. He's a lieutenant now.

He's moved up the ranks faster than you can blink. It's expected, you believe, with how many of his letters recounting his many assignments and achievements he'd sent.

"Staring at your beloved so shamelessly?" Cheeks warm, you push him aside. The movement does little to make him budge and he laughs when you try again. "Sorry, snookums, that's not going to work on me anymore. Don't let my acknowledgment stop you. Stare away! I'm pretty popular, y'know. Someone'll steal me off the market if you're not careful! We should have the wedding the moment we get to Sumeru! Why wait actually, we should turn back now and head to the Church!"

Your eyes roll into the depths of the Abyss, "we're not going back to the City for a wedding. We're not even dating."

"Yet."

"And I wasn't staring at you," you ignore his jest. "I was just looking at your badge. You have a new one every time I see you." A new insignia with a new scar or two or dozen to match. He has a story for each one, remembering every occasion he's earned a battle scar with crystal clear memory.

You remember how he's the same boy whose father would take the both of you ice fishing, telling you stories of heroes. Stories of his own adventures before he settled down to have a family. You never had the patience for fishing but you loved that man's tales.

The hobby has lost its magic since your friend became a soldier for the Cryo Archon. Ice fishing is simply another form in which he trains, reflecting on battles past as he endures the bitter cold. Now there are no more stories.

Ajax gestures at your the chain around your neck where your Anemo vision hangs with pride. "It's a badge of honor, much like the one you have yourself."

It's not quite the same, you want to say. "We're already almost to Liyue," you announce instead, pointing at the small bridge in the distance. "It's hard to believe it's always been so close to the Winery." You remember how it was a test of courage when you were younger. Diluc leading the charge, he dared the rest of you to see who could walk the furthest into Liyue. He'd always been the winner, you, Jean, Kaeya and Barbara unable to match Diluc's bravery.

He's a far cry from the rambunctious troublemaker he used to be.

"One step closer," Ajax notes warmly, accepting your change in topics with ease. "There's a tea shop at the Stone Gate you'll like called Pop's Teas. We should sit there a while, you can see the whole of the Dihua Marsh and the inn we'll be staying at."

That brings a genuine smile to your face, "I look forward to seeing it."

A thinly veiled comfort of silence falls over you both grass and gravel crunch underfoot. Your hands swing between you both and from the corner of your eye, you see blue peering at you. The back of your hand burns and you ignore the feeling swiftly.

It's Ajax, simply Ajax.

Soon enough after you arrive in Sumeru, you'd be going your separate paths again. You studying the stars, him on whatever harrowing assignment he is given. A far, far cry from the children you once were.

"They're going to make me a Harbinger."

The silence shatters much like ice and you blink, blood suddenly as cold as the waters of your friend's home country. "What?"

He says it as casually as one addressing the state of the weather. You halt your steps right at the edge of the bridge that connects the land between Mondstadt and Liyue, staring at Ajax's back. "This isn't ambition talking either," he halts, chuckling as he turns to face you. "It's official. Once I go back to the motherland, there'll be a ceremony and everything. You're the first I've told."

"A Harbinger," you repeat incredulously. "A Harbinger?"

The young man nods, "the youngest in the history of the Fatui." It's said with subdued pride, only a dash of satisfaction. "Of course, this was all part of the plan to conquering this world so it's not that big a deal. I'm just one step closer."

You open your mouth only to close and open it again. Your hands clasp together, fingers fidgeting as you search for the correct words to say. Congratulations? Wow, you really will be wearing another badge the next time I see you. You're really moving up the ranks!

"Not happy for me," it isn't a question as Ajax observes your furrowed brows and hunched shoulders. You lower your head, finding a nearby cryo slime bouncing on the water's edge grounding. "It's alright, you don't have to be. It doesn't change anything between us."

"When is it going to be enough, Ajax?" Your question is quiet. "What happened to you?"

'Ajax went missing for three days this month. He had the entire household in a tizzy, that boy of mine!'

You remember receiving that letter after you recently turned 15 from Ajax's mother.

Ajax has wrote you religiously since he could hold a pen. That was the one month he didn't.

The letters that followed have never quite been the same. He's never been quite the same. His eyes are duller than you remember. His lust for adventure had turned bloodthirsty.

How could someone change so much in three days?

"This has always been me," Ajax tells you without much else of a reaction. "You know me, I've always wanted to go on an adventure."

"An adventure, yes, but never this," you shoot back, fervently. Back then, Ajax happily brandished a wooden sword and would declare he'd be the world's greatest adventurer. He'd join the Adventurer's Guild and make a name for himself, fight a dragon and give you all the mora he gained. "I just," you pinch your sinuses.

The only sounds between you are ones from nature.

The croak of a frog, the gushing of a waterfall.

Ajax breaks the silence, head on as he always has been. "We're still friends, aren't we?"

You look up at the man, looking at you with eyes a mixture of familiar and unknown. You used to be able to read them as easily as breathing. Sometimes you feel as if you still can. That he's still your Ajax, face round with innocence and wonder. Now he is as mysterious as the heavens themselves.

Still you release a breath and nod, "of course we are. You're still Ajax."

A smile spreads across his face again and he looks familiar again. "Yeah," with that sorted holds his hand out for you much like a knight. He always said he'd be yours, you recall as you accept his offer like you're children again. "I'm still me."

[thrawns-babygirl]

Stake Out (Thrawn x GN!Reader 18+)

YALL! This idea was floating around my head for so long because there is a severe lack of Ascendancy Era!Thrawn x reader content but while I was writing this fic I seem to have forgotten how to write? IDK I think this is self indulgent as fuck lmao hope u enjoy this garbage <3

Synopsis: Mid Captain Thrawn has been making eyes at the human pathfinder that navigates the Parala from time to time, totally sick of them on her bridge, Senior Captain Ziara sends them off on a mission to work out their tension.

Rating: E (18+) Warnings: Unprotected sex, creampie, alien dicks, virgin!Thrawn Word Count: 2800+

Masterlist

You had no idea what you were doing out here. Then again, a pathfinder isn’t really supposed to ask about the specifics of their commissions. You go where the clients tell you, don’t speak unless spoken to, collect your pay and head back to the station. That’s it.

That doesn’t stop you from being the tiniest bit curious about why you were ordered to accompany a single officer out into, what appears to be, the middle of nowhere.

You’ve worked with the Chiss before, more times than most of your compatriots, given that you tend to actually enjoy working with a species that most other pathfinders consider to be stuck up and unbearable. You enjoy how efficiently they seem to work; you enjoy listening to them speaking Cheunh around you, the language seemingly incredibly complex but it has an almost melodic quality that enraptures you every time you hear it.

And on some level, you will admit to yourself, you find them dangerously attractive.

You’re lost in thought as you stare out the viewport, thinking about the number of times senior captain Ziara has requested specifically you for whatever voyage the Parala needs to take, she’s always been nice to you, accommodating even. A far cry from how your other pathfinders often describe the Chiss.

You’re shaken from your musings as you hear Cheunh spoken behind you, the pleasant-sounding language bringing a smile to your face as you turn to look at the other occupant of the small shuttle.

Mid captain Thrawn is sitting against the hull, questis in hand as he makes what you assume to be a routine check in to his ship and his commander. You hear who you think is senior captain Ziara on the other end before he finishes what he’s saying and looks over to you, fixing you with that enchanting glowing red gaze. You feel your cheeks warm as you turn back around in your seat and return to staring out into space, quite literally.

“I apologise if you are bored” accented Minnisiat forces your gaze over towards the mid captain again as he rests on the floor of the ship, back against the hull, looking relaxed. You give him a warm smile and reply “Oh no, don’t worry about me, it’s not the first time I’ve been in one place for a while”.

His lips quirk in a small smile as he looks back down at his questis, seemingly done with the conversation. Inwardly, you groan in frustration. You’d been admiring the mid captain from afar for a while now, every time the Chiss request a pathfinder from your station you jump at the opportunity. Hoping that you would be able to work with him again, hoping to see his sharp cheekbones and hear his gorgeous voice and watch his lips as they wrap themselves around those Cheunh words you so desperately want to understand. And now you’re here with him, totally alone for the foreseeable future and you have no idea how to interact with him.

You look behind you again, craning your neck around the large, tall backed navigators chair to look at him again. He looks so invested in whatever he’s doing on his questis it almost feels rude to interrupt him.

“What are you looking at?” you ask before you can talk yourself out of it and he turns to face you. He doesn’t seem annoyed or offended you interrupted him so that’s a good start.

“Vagaari art” He replies simply, his focus returning to his questis “You are welcome to join me if you are bored”.

Trying not to seem too eager, you get to your feet and walk towards where Thrawn is sitting. As you approach you notice he’s spread out what appears to be a bedroll and some blankets beneath him to cushion the hard metal of the hull. Taking a seat next to him on the bedroll you lean towards him to gaze at his questis.

He seems to stiffen slightly as your shoulders touch and in the dim light of the shuttle you aren’t sure if you see a dusting of purple over his high cheekbones or if you’re just imagining things. Shifting slightly closer so that your sides are pressed together you begin asking him about each piece of art he flicks through.

He’s actually incredibly open to talking to you about it, more open than you thought he would be. He enthusiastically explains each piece he shows you, you don’t fully understand everything, but his eagerness is contagious and you find yourself smiling and becoming wrapped up in each painting and tapestry he has saved to his device.

You lean further into him, the warmth of his body radiating even through the course material of his CEDF uniform. Your hand brushes his thigh and you hear his voice catch as he explains the nuance of the composition of a specific piece. You think he’s going to ask you to move away, give him back his personal space, so it surprises you when he moves closer to you, his body pressing slightly tighter against yours.

Now it’s your turn for your breath to hitch. Testing the waters, you decide to be a bit bold and place your hand on his thigh. The usually entirely composed Chiss stumbles over his words for a moment before clearing his throat and continuing with what he was saying, his hand coming to rest on your thigh as he speaks.

He seems to be following your lead, what you do, he mimics. Testing this theory, you begin rubbing small circles on his thigh with your thumb and sure enough Thrawn begins to do the same.

Interesting… very interesting…

You rest your head on his shoulder, and he leans to rest his head on top of yours, you squeeze his thigh softly and he does the same, you move your hand slightly towards the inside of his thigh and he follows your lead, doing the same to you.

You’ve been so invested in your little experiment you didn’t even notice that Thrawn’s stopped talking about the art, he’s breathing heavily next to you as you move your hand slightly higher on his thigh, towards where you hope his cock is, unless Chiss have a vastly different anatomy than what the rest of them alludes to.

Your hand moves beneath the bottom of his uniform tunic, and you feel him, already as hard and throbbing. He chokes out what you assume to be a curse as you begin stroking him over his pants.

Looking up towards his face you notice his eyes half lidded and a very definite purple hue to his cheeks and the tips of his ears as he breathes heavily. He drags his gaze over to you and you have the overwhelming urge to kiss his slightly parted lips. Do Chiss even kiss? Is something as simple as a kiss taboo in their culture? You curse silently for not knowing his customs, but then again how could you?

Thrawn must see your eyes flicking down towards his lips because he cautiously leans forward towards you, and with a hesitance you feel is vastly uncharacteristic of the stoic Chiss, gently places his lips over yours. The kiss is clumsy, unfocused, unsure, but ever the mastermind, he quickly catches on, becoming more confident as his lips move against yours with more passion, more hunger.

You continue stroking him over his pants, and you hear the clatter of his questis being placed down somewhere off to the side as he moves a hand to the apex of your thighs, rubbing his long fingers over the fabric.

Breaking the kiss, you stare into each other’s eyes for a moment before Thrawn brings his other hand over to rest on your hip. His touch is tentative, unsure, but surely you can’t be the first person the mid captain has been with… right?

It’s like he can read your mind because the moment the thought occurs to you, he clears his throat. “I apologise I have never… with someone…” he sounds almost embarrassed over that fact, and you try to give him what you hope is a reassuring smile “That’s fine, I can… teach you if you like?” you bite your lip as he pauses for moment before nodding.

“Yes please… I would appreciate it if you… took the lead in this encounter” you don’t know if its his lack of familiarity with Minnisiat causing him to speak so formally or if this is just how Thrawn speaks, but either way you nod before leaning in to kiss him again.

You manoeuvre yourself so that you are sitting in his lap, his hard length pressing up against your core as you deepen the kiss. His hands on your hips begin to feel more sure and more confident as you run your fingers through his silky blue-black hair and begin to slowly grind down against him. He groans into your mouth as you move your hips harder and faster and you feel white hot arousal pool in your belly at the sound.

You reluctantly remove your hands from his hair to begin fumbling with the fastenings of his uniform tunic, breaking the kiss as you fumble with it. He chuckles and replaces your hands with his as he helps you open his tunic revealing a form fitting undershirt that hugs his chest highlighting the definition of his muscles.

He quickly shucks off his jacket as you untuck his undershirt pulling it over his head, uncovering his sculpted chest and you swear your mouth waters at the sight. He’s always cut an imposing figure in his uniform, but seeing the broadness of his chest unobscured, is a sight that you swear you will remember for the rest of your days.

Returning to kissing you, Thrawn’s hands move to the hem of your shirt, only breaking the kiss to pull it over your head. “Bat…” he breathes as he looks at your body, his voice husky as he runs his hands up and down your sides. You begin kissing along his jaw down to his neck, further down until you reach one of his nipples, sucking it into your mouth causing him to let out a curse in Cheunh as his head lolls back against the hull of the shuttle.

“S-sensitive… Very sensitive” he grunts out and you smile as your mouth continues teasing his nipples, moving from one to the other as he moans and begins bucking his hips up, grinding against you. His hands move to your chest, his fingers pinching and playing with you as you continue teasing him, angling yourself so that you can begin to unfasten his pants when he reaches a hand down to stop you.

“I do not know… what my stamina will be like I am already very-” he pauses as if Minnisiat is eluding him “worked up” his voice is strained, and his eyes are hooded as you look up at him.

“Don’t worry… let me make you feel good” you whisper to him before kissing along his neck again. He removes his hand and allows you to unfasten his pants, bringing them and his briefs down his thighs far enough for you to retrieve his large swollen length. He follows suit, his hands moving to quickly remove your pants as you awkwardly shift so that you can fully remove them.

You take a moment to admire him, he looks similar to a human cock, you think to yourself, besides the colour some ridges that look like they will feel absolutely divine when he’s finally buried inside of you. He fidgets slightly under your scrutiny “am I… to your liking?” uncertainty lacing his tone as you wrap your hand around him.

“Yes… yes very much so. You are… perfect” you reply breathlessly, his cock twitching as you speak, the tip leaking more slick fluid. You use your free hand to grab one of his, bringing his fingers towards your lips, sucking on them, coating them in your saliva before moving them between your legs.

He looks at you curiously as he begins prodding your entrance with his long fingers. “You are very… large… you will need to prepare your partners for your size” his expression turns to one of understanding at your explanation as he slowly works a finger into you causing you to gasp as he moves it in and out of you. As he adds a second finger you rest your head on his shoulder, moaning into his neck when he begins scissoring you open.

He continues fucking you open with his hand, his fingers occasionally brushing your sweet spot making you whine into his neck. He mutters something in his native language as you continue stroking him in time with his fingers moving inside of you, for a man with no experience he is a very quick study, his fingers hitting that spot with more consistency as he drags you agonizingly close to your peak.

Not wanting to finish without him buried inside you, you place a hand over his wrist to stop him. “I’m ready” your voice is breathy and strained and you know you look just as debauched as he does. You reposition yourself so that his tip nudges your entrance, and he gulps in anticipation as you begin to slowly lower yourself down onto him, each ridge sending pleasure shooting through your body.

He moans unabashedly as he enters you, screwing his eyes shut as he mutters to himself in Cheunh. Chest rising and falling with ragged breaths, hissing through clenched teeth as he fully sheaths himself inside you. You begin to move before he places his hands firmly onto your hips.

“N-no… if you move I will…” he takes a deep breath “a moment to control myself please…” his accent coming through stronger as he struggles with the sensations combined with speaking in a language both of you will understand. Not trusting your own voice, you nod as you pause your movements, content to just feel him throb and twitch inside you.

After a while he gives you a small nod to proceed. You move slowly, not wanting to overwhelm him as you begin to ride him, resting your head in the crook of his neck, your hands once again tangled in his soft hair. As your movements speed up, he becomes more vocal, his fingers digging into your hips hard enough to bruise as you bounce up and down on his cock, his hips thrusting upwards to meet yours. You feel each delicious ridge of his cock as the both of you move together, the coil in your belly tightening, your moans mingling in the confined space of the shuttle.

His moans become more uneven, pitching higher and you know he’s close. You bring one of his hands between the two of you, getting the hint he begins moving his hand quickly and its exactly what you need for the coil to break as your climax engulfs you.

The tightening and clenching of your muscles cause Thrawn to let out a loud broken moan of your name as he thrusts his hips up into you once more, burying himself as deep as he can, filling you to the brim with his cum as he pants and moans, his cock twitching as he releases.

You remain in his lap, both of you slick with sweat and other various fluids as you come down from your respective highs, catching your breath. You rest your head against his chest, feeling the rumbling of his voice as he speaks “this has been a very enlightening experience… thank you” he gives you a small half smile as he looks down at you and you smile up at him in return.

“I’m glad you enjoyed the lesson” you chuckle before you remove yourself from him, his seed flowing freely down your thighs “but we should clean up before we have to get back no?” you say as you head towards the refresher on shaky legs.

~~~~~

“We did not locate the alleged pirate base senior captain” Thrawn says as he stands before Senior Captain Ziara in her office on the Parala hands clasped behind his back. She gives him a small smile and looks down at his report “That’s not a problem mid captain, I’m sure you and the pathfinder managed to find ways to keep yourselves entertained” Ziara’s smile widens as she watches Thrawn blush and shift on his feet.

“I’m not blind Thrawn, I see how the two of you look at each other” she stands up from her desk “I’m glad, I was sick to death of the two of you making eyes at each other on my bridge” Ziara chuckles as she walks past her blushing mid captain “come on, lets go to the mess, I’m sure you’re hungry after your… mission”

@ilovestarwarsmen725@ele-millennial-weirdo@al-astakbar@69fandom-fanatic69@blackmonitor@khapikat222@novemberblueskyink

[kaihuntrr]

Baby, you'll never find a love like mine. <3 (The Sea Prince; art and updates as of August)

what's this? pearleo content? for the majorwood fanfic? yep! just had the motivation to do this piece, and it's been a while since I updated y'all with art and the goings on, especially as act one wraps up soon!

anyway, to new peeps i'll leave the link to the fic below the pic, and i'll have some updates down below if interested! thank you for your time, have the slow slowburn that is pearleo <3

hooo boy, its been a while! i'll keep this update short and sweet since, if i say anything more, it might be a spoiler? i still want to keep things all nice and quiet for a few things coming up ;>

first and foremost, act one is coming to a close this october 18th! i know this since i plotted it out + i do want it to end on my birthday, ehe! act two is steadily working away (currently writing up chapter 6, hoping to get into gear for writing when nanowrimo hits + during my break from college, which is right now!) with current plans of it being either mid-november to early january for its scheduled release. its exciting!

and as act two is making its progress, i do want to have another call for beta readers! the ones that served me for act one have been great, but i do ask for more consistent and easy to communicate ones- i don't want to name anyone, but i don't like getting ghosted for months on end, aha-!

my good co-writer/editor @mewhoismyself and i are doing our best to give y'all the quality <3 its been really fun, and i hope to continue improving my craft as act one reaches its high point, and for act two to set the scene for another year-long journey <3

thank you all so much for all the wonderful reception act one has been, and here's to its ending and for act two prepares its arrival!

[uselessbard1031]

Orphaning My Old Work???

Howdy everyone!

I'll keep this short, but I just wanted to hop on and let you all know that today I orphaned some of my old works on Ao3. I've been wanting to do so for over a year now and finally bit the bullet. Yes, this includes my most popular fic "Legend of Korra X Reader Oneshots" (for anyone whose request I didn't get to, I apologize. I bit off way way more than I could chew with that and have over thirty requests and a dozen half finished fics).

Why?

Well, when I started writing fanfiction for Ao3 I was 17/18 years old. I started publishing said fanfiction at 18/19/20 (19? I think?) and I am now in my mid-twenties so...I've changed. Lol. I've grown up.

When I first started writing I was immature and unexperienced with the world. I wrote for characters I never had attraction to myself (Ex. Adult! Toph, Suyin, Korra, Asami) because people asked me to, I saw those characters got hits, and I wanted to be liked online. It was hard because I didn't see them as romantic interests and I feel the writing suffered for that. Even 'I Bought A War Criminal' (another popular fic I wrote) I fell out of love with Kuvira while writing and it had a rushed ending due to that fact.

The X readers in particular had some smut chapters that explored kinks I don't have and truthfully had never even heard of until reading some other fanfictions. I won't get too personal, but, like many of us on here, I was exposed to way too much shit way too soon in my life so I found new edgy smut topics to keep me engaged. I've since dealt with some of that trauma and also experienced more IRL trauma around relationships and sexuality that make me read some stuff I wrote -- and stuff I READ while underage -- (ex. knife play, non-con, etc) and go woah hey who let me have Wattpad at 12 and what kind of effect did that shit have because--??? (I would like to say that being into certain kinks is not bad and I'm not trying to kink shame but to me I was desensitized due to exposure too young to NSFW material and due to some IRL trauma -- reading and writing that was my way to cope without actually working through any issues. An unhealthy way to cope. I didn't know healthy relationships because everyone in my life up to that point had abused me or hurt me in some way or another either intentionally or unintentionally so I figured Ao3 / Wattpad / Fanfic.net smut wasn't 'that bad'. Now, I deal with my trauma in healthier ways and realize it's just not what I'm into. A lot of it I wasn't even into when I wrote it. But I read it, so I wrote it. Even recently with Outlander I wrote wildshape smut not because I was into it but because all the other Jaheira fics had it and I figured hey it will get views. Because yes, smut gets views).

I'm just not proud of the writing quality. The first chapter of that X Reader Oneshots collection switches tenses like a million times. Who let me do that? Lol. I have a published book IRL that I'm taking down too because omg don't let 17 year olds self-publish XD

The point is, I never really wrote much of that stuff for me. I wrote it to get views. To get comments. To explore things I thought I was suppose to explore. Because no one in my real life was telling me I was good or capable. I wanted reassurance that I was writing the 'edgiest' stuff or the 'fluffiest' or the 'right characters' and the 'right stories'.

Going forward, I want to write for me. It's why I've moved fandoms because yes, I love Legend of Korra and Lin Beifong, but I'm not obsessed with it like I was. I found community in LOK and in AO3 and online in general but, after getting offline -- deleting social media -- reading things other than fanfiction -- basically, as I became less chronically online for the first time since Middle School, I realized that there's so much more out there that I enjoy. And much healthier ways to enjoy it.

I love all of the support you guys have given me and I stand by the amazing love and community I've gotten from all of my commenters and kudos-ers. But those fics just don't represent me anymore. Few of them ever represented me at all. Many were just what I thought would 'sell'.

I want to keep writing, so I will. But for the stories and characters I want to write about in ways that I actually enjoy. I want cute romances and metaphores for life. Writing smut feels like a chore most of the time so I'll probably just fade to black most of the time with a chapter or two exception. I still love fanficton -- it's an artform all its own. But yeah. Anyways, I hope my little ramble here makes sense and I hope you all get what I'm trying to say.

And if you are like past me -- having interacted with the internet and NSFW and smut since a young age and now feeling like every boundary isn't enough in fiction (*clears throat* I see you BookTok wth r those abusive ass relationships you're reading?) just know that maybe that kind of content isn't good for you and know that vanilla isn't lame. Know that you can write the stories and characters you want and that you don't have to write characters you don't want to write or situations that scare you. And you don't have to pretend not to be scared just for the sake of not kink-shaming.

Yeah. Anyway, if ya'll have any questions fell free to reach out to me! I hope you continue to like my work and if you don't, that's fine too. I hope you don't feel like I'm abandoning you. I think I'm just growing up and getting better mentally. <3

~UselessBard1031

[cellythefloshie]

Since I got my new job almost 1 year ago, I've noticed a drop of engagement on my block. For this, I am responsible as my new job takes a lot of my energy away from writing and, therefore, the frequency of which I post has suffered.

While this is true, I feel like the quality of my work has continued to improve, but I am not meeting the same reception. Less likes and reblogs continue to be next to inexistent.

I have always been someone who wants to be better to improve. And while I'm someone who almost always writes for myself, this is a community I love and actively want to be a part of.

SO consider this an open invitation to my inbox. On anon or not, tell me why you didn't read something I posted this year. Tell me why you didn't like or share it. Tell me something you wished I had written, something you wished I hadn't. Tell me what I'm good at. Tell me what I suck at - the things thay have you walking away mid fic with nothing nice to say. Are my fics too long? Too short? Too repetitive? Are my masterlists hard to navigate? Is it too hard to find fjcs ive posted because they are lost under piles of pictures of hot hockey men? Whatever you have to say, I want to hear it so I can give it my all in 2025.

[ratcandy]

hi hello hi!! i just finished bingereading cogr and i hope you don't mind if i yell into your inbox about your fic lol

SO FIRST OF ALL. i never expected i would get so attached to zote. but now i am! i will never get the neglect achievement after reading this. but i can't even be mad it's so good

i have to say that it's a really, REALLY good example of how to add depth to a normally unlikable character! like by the end zote is still at least a bit of a bastard, but after knowing how horribly literally everything in his life has gone you can't help but feel bad for him and hope things start looking up.

plus, it provides an explanation for why he's Like That. genuinely if he got therapy to work through his multitude of issues he'd probably be, like, 10x nicer about everything.

also while i did read the tags, i can't say i expected it to be THAT dark, mostly because i was thinking "it's a fic about zote being a nosk it can't be THAT bad." but nope! this man is suicidally depressed and by the end he's barely even trying to hide it. i don't mind though, it's DELICIOUS angst

OH and the format of the fic, where it's presented as zote talking to Someone Else, is absolutely GENIUS for this fic. genuinely this choice makes the fic so much better. i mean ok to start off i normally hate first-person pov in fanfiction but this sort of format i like. HOWEVER that's not my main point here

this structure lets zote's personality really shine through. if it wasn't filtered like this, first of all everything would be revealed way too quickly but also the writing would lose all of its character and emotion. plus the tangents and mid-sentences corrections, the way he corrects and interrupts himself...it's all BECAUSE of how this fic is framed. i just...aaah!! i don't know how to FULLY express how much i love the way cogr is framed. just know that i think it was a perfect choice on every possible level

OH I JUST REMEMBERED!! it makes the ending possible, and holy shit the ending. it's SUCH a gutpunch to realize he's all alone, talking to nobody, and then he just...keeps on talking. i am still reeling from it as i type this ask. bravo i think this is one of the best endings to a fic i've seen, especially for a sad ending

other things i've noticed!! first of all, there is excellent use of zote's unreliable narrating for foreshadowing, as well as wonderful callbacks and parallels!! i don't remember everything 100% since i was admittedly reading pretty quickly but from what i DO remember, i'm pretty sure i could go through cogr and find a TON of good stuff like this.

one thing i noticed in particular, the way he based himself off of vessels...DELICIOUS parallels there. i don't remember everything like i said but i'm pretty sure zote says some stuff about how it was dangerous to express emotions in the nosk den? stuff like that makes the way zote chose to disguise himself as a vessel just...augh. perfection 10/10

i also LIVE for your nosk lore and worldbuilding. i don't have much to say about this i just really like worldbuilding and this is quality

i also decided to read the trivia doc and first of all. the yikes ending would have been...i want to say cruel but honestly i'm more inclined to say tragic? although cogr is already a tragedy...ooh that would be interesting analysis, although i don't really have fully formed thoughts on it yet

ON A LIGHTER NOTE, the au in the trivia doc with zote AND two siblings?? it's one of the only ways that this whole mess could go happily (although that's to be expected of a hollow knight thing tbh), and i am rotating it in my mind.

ANYWAY that's all i have to say!! or well it isn't but it's all i can think of and actually communicate understandably lol. anyway cogr is a 10/10 fic and i will be thinking about it for the rest of my life

I'M SO NORMAL ABOUT THIS ASK <-- SHE'S LYING SHE MIMED PUNCHING A WALL AND YELLED OUT LOUD "YEEEAAAAHHHH!!!!" WHILE SHE READ

I am deVOURING this I . HOUGH. Big long ask about my big long fic I must consume it so vigorously. my TTEEETH are ripping INTO THIS

OK !! 1: GOOD That you're attached to Zote now!!!!! I love hearing that I've dragged people into Hell unimaginable!!!! Fuck yeaH!!!

AND 2: hhoughHHHhhgouh ;s;;;;; hhhhg;sh. This ask is so nice I am smiling so much and giggling and kicking my feet. also the hdgKJH "It can't be THAT dark!" hdgkJH YEAH. IT. Tends to blindside people from what I've heard!!!!!!

Hhoguhhh ;;; I wish I could respond in a more cohesive manner but I am jus. Gushing . Thank youuu thank you so much I'm so normal about getting complimented

ALSO YOU DRAWING THE PARALLEL BETWEEN HIS DIGUISE BEING A VESSEL .... I kid you not I Out Loud just went YES!!! and started clapping and hooting and hollering because i"m so normal especially when my Funny Symbolism gets noticed dhKSHDGKLHG

AS for whether CoGR counts as an honest Tragedy ... obviously I would DEVOUR any analysis on it BUT From My perspective. I go with a Maaaybe ? Since tragedies are like. The downfall is brought about by the protagonist's own actions. And like. Yes! But also ? but also Sort of! I'm not sure!!!!!!

AND SIBLINGS AU YES!!!!!! That one has been developed a bit more since that trivia doc thing!!!!! I'll tag the siblings au tag in the. Tags, an u can go through what we had for it!!!!! It is indeed the only happy version of the story (with some inevitable angst still sprinkled in of course) but!! YEA!! Bronze (Zote's brother) and Silva (Zote's sister) are my beloveds for all time

OK I'm normal now. I'm so normal.Yep. Thumbsup emoji THANK YOU SO much for this ask I .will be returning to it frequently I'm sure. just so I can go EEE and flail my arms around and rip my teeth into it <33333333

[xpao-bearx]

Guess who started being consumed by playing BG3??? 👁👄👁

In honour of this INCREDIBLE game, here's my Tav!

(Sorry that the photo quality isn't the best, these are not in-game screenshots! I just took pics with my phone, but I do wanna say that my Tav has a LOT of freckles on her body that the pics didn't do justice)

Her name is Mon'sun and SHE IS MAH FUCKING BABYYY 😭❤️❤️❤️

I plan on writing a fic with her and the star himself (AKA MY DARLING 🥰): ✨️Astarion✨️ I already have a SHITLOAD of ideas, I just wanna play some more first and see how Astarion's romance pans out before I begin! So if that's something you'd be interested in reading, thanks sooo much and deffo keep a lookout for any updates~ Also, their ship name is SunStar which is JUST THE CUTEST FUCKING THING ALSKDJSKLJ

And I just wanna give my deepest love and gratitude to my two queens @kuroosexuall and @matchamocchi 💕 They have been nothing but patient and supportive of all my SERIOUSLY unhealthy fangirling over the sassy vampy elfy as well as my OC 🥲

But for the meantime, while I still haven't written my fic, below are some (*cough* a LOT so buckle up *cough*) stuff I've thought up for Mon'sun! Just to give y'all a fun lil taste of how I imagine her as a character, though I'm sure as I continue to play I'll get even more ideas and I'll probably have to edit this or post more about her, in which all posts connected to her will be tagged as #Mon'sun and Mon'sun x Astarion being tagged as #SunStar so y'all can easily search for them if you're interested. BTW I purposely left out extra details regarding her childhood as well as her thoughts about the tadpole cuz those are stoofs I'd like to reveal and explore in my fic!

And sadly, I'm not an artist, but I'm planning on and SO excited to commission various artworks of Mon'sun and SunStar from some truly extraordinary artists when the time comes so just wait for thy eyes to be blessed! \(^o^)/ Speaking of, if y'all are ever curious about Mon'sun, please don't hesitate to send me asks and such cuz your interest in my baby would be the BIGGEST honour 🥹

Now, without further ado...

Get to know "The Scarred Bard" under the cut!

In the game, I chose Voice 8 for Mon'sun but I headcanon that her voiceclaim is annapantsu (YouTuber who does a lot of amazing song covers!! 🙌)

Her theme song is Love Runs Out by OneRepublic

She does have a last name that she took on in honour from the woman who adopted her in Baldur's Gate but she hasn't found the need to tell anyone what it is

A drow half-elf and a College of Lore bard 🎵

Tends to face a lot of discrimination due to being a "filthy half-breed" and possessing drow ancestry, not to mention her drow parent being Lolth-sworn; her blood red right eye a telltale sign and a deep, angry scar permanently carved across it a merciless reminder of what she resents about herself

Occasionally has dreams and thoughts of the goddess Lolth speaking to her, tempting her with sweet whispers of cruelty and darkness. Mon'sun tries her damndest to resist--to stay on the path of good--but violent impulses erupt when the thin string of her patience (and sanity) snaps and it feels so fucking good

Mon'sun aligns as a chaotic neutral character. While she does try to be good, she is quite an unorthodox heroine in her personal little tale and can be pushed to make extreme decisions should she feel that they are for the better...or just whichever's a more fun option 🤭

Survived a poor and bleak childhood, but full of love in her early years; certain circumstances impacted this happiness which drastically changed everything

One of the youngest in the party, only in her early to mid 20s. And though she's not sure when her actual birth date is, she does consider the day she was adopted--saved--as such

Very resilient and versatile even through the worst scenarios (likely due to her past), but would much rather avoid problems whenever possible. She may be seen as a bit of a coward because of this though she certainly doesn't mind (she'd like to keep her gorgeous head, thank you very much!). However, there are times where she exhibits great bravery, such as standing up for the weak and defending innocents regardless of the consequences. She can also be quite mischievous and defiant with her enemies, truly a bard through and through with her vicious mockery 😈

She tries to see the good in everyone, to be patient and understanding, giving them the same chance she hopes to receive if she ever finds herself in a similar situation. However, some fuckers don't deserve that kindness and a sick, exhilarating part of her deep down yearns for the bloodshed sure to stain her hands. After all... She would only be granting them a mercy by ending their repulsive, pathetic lives...right?

She is proficient with weapons though she prefers casting spells especially ones that can be utilized from a good distance (Fireball being one of her all-time favourites--efficient and hot, both in a sexy way and an "I will feed your barbecued corpses to my widdle baby owlbear" way). She's also a fantastic cheerleader; she will happily let the stronger people on the team handle the grittier scraps of battle while she does a jaw-dropping performance of ✨️Bardic Inspiration✨️ on the sidelines (Lae'zel STRONGLY disapproves)

Skilled in stealth and sleight of hand accompanied by a biting wit (seriously, she has the potential to have been a rogue instead). Tries her best to make an honest living as a wandering bard, but whenever money and options are tight then she's driven to petty thievery. Although, as much as she hates to admit it, there is something in her that utterly relishes in the intoxicating rush of crime

Lockpicking is more so a hobby rather than a necessity for her. Funnily enough, with how much she likes to explore, she probably came across and "collected" the key that opens that mysterious door advancing the party's adventure. However, the key seems to be merely decorative because Mon'sun already opened the door since the shiny lock caught her eye as soon as the party stepped into the room! She'll even lockpick a shabby chest filled with absolutely nothing simply because she finds it to be a fun game to pass the time while everyone else debates on the next course of action (like a child being given a toy to amuse themselves with while the adults discuss boring adult shit). Astarion will even join her sometimes, and they also constantly challenge each other on who gets to disarm a trap first while the rest of the party make bets on who will win

What she lacks in strength, she makes up for with her incredible dexterity

While she is a survivor in her own right, she can't deny that pure dumb luck has saved her more times than a bard has bedded a dragon...which is definitely saying a lot

After travelling around for so long, the vast world of Faerûn has fuelled her curious mind with quite an impressive amount of knowledge along with fascinating stories to tell. But while she basks in the freedom of it all, her heart aches for a true sense of belonging; a home

She loves--and I mean LOVES--looting dead bodies. While their demise is certainly unfortunate, their loss is her grateful gain as well as a much less criminal way to obtain some quick valuables (hey, she can sympathize and get rich. It's a win-win!)

A biiit of a hoarder (perhaps she was a dragon in a past life, she jokes). Her pack is nearly always full of various junk, good and bad. She gets attached easily to these items and keeps making the excuse that "they could be handy or fetch for a pretty penny one day" all while almost never actually trying to get rid of them (DEFINITELY not me projecting myself here 👀)

She is VERY charismatic, successfully deceiving or talking her way out of many toils and even persuading powerful creatures to side with her which makes her pretty powerful, too, in her own right. On the other (much darker) hand... This sweet, cheerful bard has convinced some enemies to literally kill themselves, saving her from aaall the tough work she really can't be bothered with of ridding them herself--and she'll gladly do it again in a heartbeat. Work smarter, not harder as they say! 👏

Confident, outgoing, and playful with a flair for the theatrical; also rather perceptive to the people and things around her, but can be serious and empathetic when needed. Often tries to keep a positive (if not naive) outlook on life and continues to hold hope for a better future against all odds, yet is actually burying a devastating loneliness and pain within the depths of her soul

Can be a flirt and almost never hesitates to sleep with any man interested in her. For her, however, it's not about physical pleasure--it's about intimacy. Chasing after the high of being in someone's strong embrace, their warmth melting the icy melancholy her heart is trapped in; even if only for one, meaningless night

Despite everything, she has a big heart. She has a hard time saying no to anyone in need, her selflessness (or too much of it for that matter) sometimes leading to be a weakness. She particularly has a soft spot for children and animals, as well as being able to understand and communicate with the latter thanks to the "Speak with Animals" spell. And while she is a chaotic neutral, she instantly becomes chaotic good (emphasis on chaotic) when it comes down to animals, literally slaying everything in her path if it ensures the animal is safe from those that hurt it as well as adopting any stray back in camp if it's possible (Astarion hated it at first, until an ungodly swarm of adorable cats eventually started to appear 😹)

Besides her affinity for dramatics and the spotlight, she is usually a pretty relaxed person. That all changes, however, when a party is involved. Bring her to a lively tavern and pump some drinks into her system and she's more than ready to live it up the entire night! Good luck trying (and failing) to rein her back in... She's toootally not banned from a few taverns because of this 🙃

Talented in singing and playing many different instruments, but her main instrument of choice is the lyre. The lyre that she ventures everywhere with is from her childhood, a gift from someone near and dear to her heart. The "Spider's Lyre" as it's curiously called, in which her nimble fingers have nearly been sliced off countless times in her youth while practicing due to its dagger sharp strings, but she cherishes it like her own life

Although music is her passion--her blood--she indulges in other forms of creative art like writing and drawing when she has the time. She proudly showed off her skills this one instance when she doodled on Vlaakith's portrait in Crèche Y'llek. She believes she made it look so much better, but you could say that she and Lae'zel had...creative differences. But was it worth it even though she got chased around by Lae'zel afterwards as the gith maniacally swung her sword, Astarion giggling in the background while everyone else tried to stop Lae'zel? Oh, absolutely!

While she doesn't have much and has learned to make the most out of very little, she's quite vain and puts in the time and effort to take care of her appearance. As a bard, she lives to perform, but stands by the firm belief that her beauty needs to shine as brightly as her stage presence does lest she's hardly a bard at all

Easily makes friends almost everywhere she goes (even with more, um, questionable folks), but difficult for her to open up more and feel that she is genuinely close to someone (until she met the companions, that is)

Has a little habit where she fiddles with her eyebrow piercings whenever she's anxious or deep in thought

She's not a fan of dark spaces. She's not afraid of the dark, but being in any gloomy place for too long makes her feel uneasy and prone to panic attacks, desperate to feel the sun on her face again. One of the reasons why she's never visited the Underdark before, opting instead to learn about such dangerous beauty through books and other adventurers' experiences

When she's being idle...well, she's not very idle at all. She's always softly humming something to herself or slightly bouncing/dancing in place

Keeps the party entertained on their journey through singing and sharing tall tales. Well, "entertained" is a bit of a stretch, considering Lae'zel's always screaming at Mon'sun to shut up (spoiler alert: she won't) 🤐

Has nicknames for everyone in the party: Astarion is Astie (later on "my star" when romanced and Astarion calls her "my sun"), Gale is Big G, Lae'zel is Lae-Lae (*cough* more like Lae-Me-To-DEATH *cough*), Karlach is Spicy Mama, Shadowheart is Shady Girl, and Wyll is Bof (short for Blade of Frontiers). Can't say that everyone's too pleased with what they're so lovingly (and weirdly) bestowed with, but they just got used to it and allows only Mon'sun to refer to them as such

Can be deemed as the therapist of the group. While she absolutely has issues of her own (and plenty, might I add), she chooses instead to focus on everyone else and help them. She is super protective over them (although, one pale elf in particular has caught her favour out of all)

While she cares a lot about everyone in the party, she does consider Gale to be her bestfriend. They just get along really well together; Mon'sun proves to be an eager and like-minded listener/conversationalist to the wizard prodigy's ramblings while Gale is just thrilled that someone (and so pretty, too) is actually so kind and attentive to him as an individual, even helping him with his little--well, BIG--situation. Astarion, on the other hand... Well, let's just say that he's not as thrilled for Mon'sun to be so close to someone else, especially Gale of all weirdos 🙄

She's a pretty colourful person so it fits that her apparel is the same. She'll never be caught dead wearing something so woeful as plain ol' black or white. In fact, being so unbearably boring may just be the cause of her death!

Has complicated feelings about gods. They're interesting, for sure, and she respects anyone's beliefs in them though she wouldn't exactly put her faith in any of them let alone kneel (looking at you Vlaakith). She'd rather put her faith in herself--just like she always has--but that doesn't mean she won't take advantage of any "divine" blessings that may come her way. Such is the case when she obtained the Phalar Aluve sword from the Underdark, offering a tiny bit of her blood in exchange which pleased Eilistraee yet greatly pissed off Lolth (Mon'sun the chaos gremlin definitely got a kick out of that especially since she knows the big scary spider lady can't do anything to her...she thinks. She hopes)

While she certainly revels in having the upper hand in troublesome situations, she's not really a power-hungry person. Although, having power does have its perks. She won't lie, she has played around in her tadpole-infested mind the far-fetched but very possible idea of seizing the Absolute's followers under her own control (I mean, hey, if there's one thing she's learned during this unique little trip is that anything is possible). Not all cultists are actually evil; she likes to think that she could give them a fair shot at redemption, and it doesn't hurt that some of these cultists are powerful people that could potentially be used to "liberate the world of evil"... Blame (or rather thank) Astarion for unlocking (hehe subtle pun) this ambition of hers, though she doesn't think she could ever do this without Astarion ruling by her side--together

[foxwitchaine]

For the fic ask game: 3, 6, and 10 ✒️

Oooooh, good ones. Let's see what I've got ^^

3. What’s your favorite fic that you’ve written?

Ohohoho, good one. Good one. I can't really say I have any favorites. But if I were to name one, it would have to be the old fics that paved the way for my partner Rafe and I to succeed. My old Ib fic Please Remember Me is one catalyst that started me on the path to writing online fanfiction and got me out of my shell. Later, Rafe and I tried to do a Noblesse x RWBY crossover... that ultimately ended up flopping. We started to hit our stride with our current ongoing fic The Wolves in the Woods, which is an OC-centric MLB salt fic. I'm hesitant to say it's fully salt since we're just applying the reality hammer to the world of Miraculous Ladybug.

6. Are there any fics from others you reread all the time?

All the goshdang time.

I mean, I read just about everything I can get my hands on if it catches my interest. OC x Canon and reader insert romances are among my favorites when they can nail the personality of the canon character. One such fic I utterly adore is LocalPlagueNurse's As Gold as the Ginkgo Trees, which does Zhongli's character justice in a reader insert. Another one I absolutely love is the ongoing (as of this writing) fic The Winding Path of Fate, a Neuvillette-centric reader insert that actually portrays Neuvillette as he is. And he's a challenging one to nail down, I won't lie.

10. Is there a fic that got a different response than you were expecting?

😅 ...

Somehow, this felt unavoidable.

But to answer that, there are two fics that got a different response than I was expecting.

Recently, my partner Rafe (he doesn't have a Tumblr) and I tried to dip our toes into Genshin fanfiction while our Miraculous fic is on hiatus due to real life. I'm gonna say it outright that it's entirely on us that it got the tumbleweed response. I suppose I was expecting an onslaught of "wow!" and such after chapter one, but that ended up not happening. In short, we attempted to do another longfic with an OC-centric cast in Fontaine titled Rains Come and Go, but My Love Holds Strong. We were so excited to publish this story that we forgot to do our usual quality checks and that's why it flopped harder than a fish on land.

We've since taken it down after discussing the lackluster reception.

Another fic was a solo project I did when I first got into Twisted Wonderland in mid 2021. It was yet another "OC in Night Raven" fic that ended up getting a lot of traction after Chapter 2.

The very same chapter where my OC Suravi beat the stuffing out of Grim with a broom. It also had the twist of "Yuu" being a pair of siblings who got isekai'd to the world of Twisted Wonderland. I'll stop there to avoid spoiling the whole thing.

I did have to stop that one after real life decided to be a witch. It's currently undergoing a rewrite now that I see all the flaws and plot holes in Round 1. I haven't forgotten about it, I've just had a lot to deal with in real life. But I'm very much looking forward to finishing it after the Diasomnia arc concludes.

Thanks a bunch for the ask. It was hecka fun ^^

[dephirium]

So. I am leaving my fic's big ass infodump here because A) having it in the comments is ugly and B) I am too busy and tired to try to make it hmtl pretty on the author notes or whatever. Plus, AO3’s character limit is ass.

Here's the fic: Tha koimithó ótan petháno.

Funnies

Akire: I trust that mister Delamer and mister Maitsu are doing well together :)

Damon: *screaming, traumatized*

Jean: *screaming, also traumatized*

Damon: Why tf are you calling me a kid I am 18

Jean:

Jean: I thought you were like 16

Jean: I am worried about you.

Damon: Hahaha.

Damon: Oh you're not joking?

Damon: HAHAHahaHAhA—

Scrapped content

In chapter 2 I forgot to add that Jean notices signs of Petechiae (Red dots on the skin/cheeks, usually present after crying) on Damon's face, which he points out in the narration and mentally ponders "maybe he is not holding on as well as we thought." I don't fucking KNOW how I did not add it because I remember writing it into the doc but I guess I accidentally deleted it???? What-fucking-ever man I am too tired to rewrite that scene. Also, this chapter would not work as well if Jean was a lot more aware about how badly Damon was holding on. Sooo, yeah. Good forethought past me question mark.

(Jean knows general medical stuff because of his job / he binge read about it after the Edward thing to avoid any other crewmates being ill / hurt. Kind of comes out of left field in this chapter sorry lol I kind of gave up mid-fic so the quality is kind of bad)

In the titanic argument I was planning for Damon to respond “The debate was so bad I regret doing it sober,” or something of the sort. To which Jean asks Holy Shit You Drink ? Ended up scrapped because Damon, even while sleep deprived, is way too secretive about his abuse personal life for his own good. Besides, the scene was getting too long.

Also, yes, he does drink (/hc). Not by own volition most of the time, but he does. Legal drinking age? What is that? The Maitsu family never heard of it. (Wolfgang would have a stroke if he knew nobody tell him)

I actually planned a bit where, when Damon bandages Jean's wound (it was planned to happen on the bed and not the floor btw), Jean explains the items™ to Damon after he points out the first aid kit being the debater's and Damon looks at the ship captain like he grew a third head. Hence, explanation.

It felt too forced and I ended up removing it. You probably can figure it out with the context I left (I HOPE), but here is the explanation just in case:

(This idea was based on a fic by the lovely Insqmniac. I don't remember the name rn, sorry ;; EDIT: Acting and Pretending!!! They deleted the work but it was very good!) Tozu left an item for all the killing game participants with deep emotional and / or medical significance in their room’s nightstands. Be it a family memento, a candy brand you liked as a kid, a perfume that isn't sold anymore, prescription pills or eye contacts: That kind of stuff. It is like an intimidation tactic or something??? Something to scare the participants with bcs of the amount of information they have about their personal lives. Or something. I don't know man, it is 4 pm I have not slept in like 30 hours I have reached a new plane of existence. It just sounds so creepy and it is definitely something Tozu would do. Maybe. I already had the canon divergence tag so might as well utilize it in a angst way while at it /shrug

Jean received Edward’s marine dog tag, Damon received a first aid kit (and he's the only person in the killing game that has first aid equipment, fun). You can probably imagine why Jean reacted like that to seeing Damon’s item and his subsequent realization. Let's just say that Maitsudad was not kind.

I had a very lovely idea very late into this fic of playing on the concept of Dragons and snakes being very similar (in mythology/religion, anyways) but I couldn't figure out a way to include it organically in this fic (considering that the themes/metaphors of the fic were already too wonk as is) so I MIGHT get another Jean & Damon fic just to get that symbolism out of my head???

Not likely. I feel horrible about my poor characterization of the dude in this fic already.

I butchered Jean's characterization so bad I made salami with it,,,

In the Damon panic attack from Jean’s POV, I had to scrap a small line where Jean notes that some of the nonsense Damon is spewing in his panic is actually Spanish. Another hc of mine, personally Damon looks like the kind of guy to throw Hispanic slang and insult all your family lineage in one breath (and yes I am biased because I am Hispanic how could you tell. But no, he is not Hispanic, it is actually kind of complicated to explain). I will probably delve into that hc and my general mental illness about the backstory I made up for the guy (yes I am very normal about Damon shut up) in another fic I have planned.

I had to scrap so many Damon lines y'all. He is just. So easy to write. This dude is like depressed 14 year old me trying to seem edgy and pretentious istg.

Info dumping

I don't think I am doing a fic of Jean alone to actually write this down so, here, have the whole Edward situation and my delusions about it: basically, back when Jean was just becoming a ship captain by himself (he probably started as a cadet/assistant of one of his relatives, who was the ship captain themselves. Jean then took the job from them later down the line, idk) at age 18ish, there was this regular crew he had. One of the people in said crew was Edward, an asshole with self-worth issues who made it everyone else's problem.

On one departure, they get news of a big-ass storm happening, and they are very much stuck in the middle of the sea trying to just survive it(tm). Luckily it was a cargo ship so the only people they had to look for were themselves, but still.

Edward decides to be the main man on everything to prove his worth, that he means something to the crew, that his life has meaning. Everyone was kind of ignoring Edward's self destructive behavior (not their issue, they said). Jean in turn decided to try to do something about it, so new into the position and wanting the best for his crew, so he went to talk to Edward so he hopefully realizes he is being a moron and stops playing the martyr.

Edward, as you can tell by this fic, does not heed Jean’s pleas to take care of himself and decides to spitefully double down on his self-destructiveness so hard he fell ass backwards and killed himself due to sleep deprivation and starvation the fucking idiot.

(His crew, who were in their late 20s to mid 50s and had already seen some shit™, took care of the corpse themselves. They didn't want Jean, as young as he was, to see the body. He saw it anyways, if only on passing. Which is also the reason why he was more inclined to believe Eva when seeing the dummy, but details)

Jean blames himself over pushing Edward “too hard” and causing his death. (While at the same time he feels like he could have done MORE to avoid his death back then, ain't guilt fun?) That's why he fears pushing Damon too much until there's nothing he can do but twist the debater's arm into actually resting after days of watching the younger consistently get worse. And, welp, we know how that ends.

At least he tried tho. 乁( •_• )ㄏ

Another thing. Was the buddy system actually chosen at random or was Damon right about it being rigged?

... Who knows! Lol

Logically speaking I think it would make more sense for it to either be rigged in the random pairings to get the most optimal-ish outcome (List of pairings in chapter 1 AAA), or like Akire actually bullshitted the random bit to try to get Damon to cooperate. But in the other hand it would be too fucking funny if it was actually made at random and Damon is just being unnecessarily hostile and antagonizing for no reason. So, I wrote it to be ambiguous! probably!! Go have your own interpretation idk!!

Other miscellaneous notes

Eva had the exact same "You are doing this to keep tabs on us" train of thought as Damon, but unlike the debater she decided to cooperate on the plan without whining about it. She and Ingrid have an amazing time playing Dos in their dorm.

Desmond is having a shit time because he wants to help Ulysses have a, at least, decent sleep schedule since they are partners. They have a similar ish arc to Damon and Jean funnily enough, except all the trauma and accidental PTSD triggering.

The Titanic bit is actually a thing that happened. A dude legit predicted the Titanic it is bonkers (I learned this thanks to 999 and thought it would be funny to add it because sleep deprived Damon likes to info dump (yes I am neurodivergent how could you tell) and Jean is the fucking Ultimate Ship Captain what better chance can you get?). Also yes ships back then were bonkers it is hilarious.

When Jean returns with food after this fic him and Damon sit down to explain to the latter all the things he missed in the class meetings so Damon is not running with fake facts again (and hopefully avoid other panic attacks about it in the future). They are forced to communicate about being partners and while they are both still very emotionally stunted because of their respective traumas they at least have a semi-honest conversation for once. Mostly because Damon is too tired and worn-down to be antagonistic.

The roommate system prooobably gets ruled out at the week two and a half(?) by a very frustrated Tozu, but by then he will need a very strong/kill or die motive to actually get a crack on the partner system itself (which is too broad a concept for him to actually rule out the game entirely).

(Realistically speaking he probably would deny the system from happening as quickly as it was brought up because he would notice it as a liability to his killing game plan, but then again. This is fic. I like my Tozu very stupid in fic)

Damon slowly starts reintegrating back into the group when he feels less like "Hi I just had 4 panic attacks in a week what is life at this point." Jean personally helps him in it.

Damon doesn't exactly remember what happened when he was triggered (bcs I hc him to forget trauma to cope, only vaguely remembering things when triggered / having intrusive thoughts). He remembers stabbing Jean because of a "overreaction" on his part and that's pretty much it. He feels like garbage about it but doesn't know how to apologize.

Thankfully, the wound was very minimal so nobody really noticed it after the bleeding stopped and Jean removed the bandages. It is their shared secret that nobody shall know about.

After chapter 1 Damon has a 10 minute panic attack, call himself cringe for it, and forces himself to go for the futon. You could hear him cursing out to all the gods throughout the living quarters. Like La Llorona but it is a dude swearing instead.

Jean brings Damon food. From things like granola bars to small portions of meals (to avoid any accidental refeeding syndrome), every time Jean goes out, he brings Damon something to eat. The others question it at first but Jean only gives vague explanations so they give up (they know, somewhat. But it is not their business so they don't push about it).

Damon has never had anyone offer comfort or food without a catch to it so he is very confused to the whole ordeal but too tired to actually complain (he still compulsively checks everything, afraid of poison, despite never being any).

after a bit he actually somewhat warms up to the ship captain !! Yaaay Damon getting comfort !!!! Finally !!!!!

Writing this my entire thought process of Damon's characterization was "abused stray cat that hisses / scratches you but all it wants is love and a stable living environment and once it has it and gets used to it, it is actually very cuddly." That's just him in a nutshell. Just add some asshole pretentious vibes into the mix & you're done

I made Edward up very late (writing session 8 out of 10) into chapter 2 because I needed a reason as to why Jean would physically force Damon to sleep. When I said the man is a plot device I meant it lol

Tozu had a Live Tozu Reaction to Jean's and Damon's fight thinking that fINAlLY SOMEONE IS DYING.. And then nobody did. Oop.

AND THEN Jean gets killed and Damon suffers horribly /jkjk

[regenderate-fic]

Quid Pro Quo

Fandom: Doctor Who Ships: Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler Characters: Tenth Doctor, Rose Tyler Rating: General Word Count: 2,653 Other Tags: Egg Tenth Doctor, Transfem Tenth Doctor, Sharing Clothes, Making Out, Intimacy, Drag, Pre-Episode: Fear Her

Read on AO3

Summary: Rose and the Doctor have an exchange.

NOTES: inspired by this art by nipuni! original concept was that art -> this image pipeline

the intention here is 100% very much to be writing the tenth doctor as an egg ie. as a trans girl who doesn't know she's a girl yet. i've used he/him pronouns because it's from ten's pov and at this point in time ten's internal monologue is using he/him pronouns but i would like everyone to know where this fic stands on the subject. happy tomorrow is transfem ten(too) tuesday. (and the drag tag is entirely for rose in the doctor's clothes. it is drag To Me.)

also this takes place right before fear her in my mind <3

“What do you think?” Rose was standing at the foot of her bed, her arms spread wide. She also, as it happened, was wearing the Doctor’s blue button-up, his tie loosely tied around her neck. “Can I pull it off?”

The Doctor raised his eyebrows. He’d been lying on her bed in his undershirt, idly flicking through one of the Earth gossip magazines Rose brought back from her visits home as he waited for her to be out of the shower. He’d learned a lot about early 21st century celebrity culture, but he had been so absorbed in that that he hadn't noticed Rose, freshly showered, coming out of the bathroom and putting on his shirt. 

“Er—” He floundered. The truth was, she could pull it off. The shirt was endearingly too big for her: just the tips of her fingers were poking out of the sleeves, and the hem came down to her mid thigh. There was a rakish quality to the tie, too. The Doctor had to admit—it was cute. But before he could say that, Rose held up a hand. 

“Wait—don't answer that.” She picked up his jacket from the chair where he'd left it and pulled it on. “Now?”

“D’you want my trousers, too, while you're at it?” The Doctor was trying to give off an air of annoyance, but truthfully it was hard to be annoyed with Rose. Especially not when she was grinning at him like that. 

“Only if you can spare them,” she said. 

As she focused on buttoning the jacket, he unzipped his trousers and peeled them off his legs. He balled them up and tossed them at her. 

It struck him, as he watched Rose’s attempts at getting his trousers to stay up around her waist, that this was somehow the most exposed he'd been around her. They’d spent nearly every waking moment together for—well, it was nearly impossible to tell how long, what with the time travel and all, but it had been a good while—and Rose had never seen the Doctor’s legs. He wondered whether he ought to be self-conscious. And then he realized if he was wondering, he probably was self-conscious. Why was he self-conscious? All right, yes, he preferred to be covered up, but there was no real reason for it. And anyway, he knew Rose wouldn't mind. She'd seen him in far more compromising circumstances, all things considered, and she still liked him well enough to let him sit in her bedroom while she showered. Still, he found himself pulling his legs closer to his body, and by the time Rose had found a belt and used it to cinch his trousers at her waist, he was sitting cross-legged at the head of the bed.

“Hang on,” she said, looking down at herself. “Where's the coat? If I'm doing this right, I need the coat.”

“It's in the console room, I'm afraid.”

Rose grinned. “Wait here, then.” She was out the door in a second, a blur of brown and blue and blonde. Obedient, the Doctor leaned back against the pillows to wait. 

It was only a few minutes before Rose was back, the Doctor’s coat flapping around her heels. She struck a pose. “Now do I pull it off?”

The Doctor looked. “Hang on, are you wearing my shoes?” They were barely visible under the trousers, but still, he would've remembered if Rose had owned Converse. 

She rolled her eyes. “Had to get the full ensemble, didn't I?”

“Hm.” The Doctor looked at her properly. Yes, his clothes were too big for her—but he had a feeling they wouldn't have fit her half as well if they’d been tailored. “Yes, well, I suppose you look all right.”

Rose raised her eyebrows. “Just all right?” 

“Fine, fine, you wear it well.” 

Rose beamed. She plunged a hand into the pockets—bigger on the inside, those pockets were, and nigh impossible to navigate, except Rose had figured out where the important things were kept—and pulled out his sonic screwdriver. “Now I’m really the Doctor,” she said. “Suppose I’d better start acting like it, too.” Her back straightened, and she put on what he quickly recognized was a caricature of his tone. “Now, I think you'll find, if you just overload the—flux capacitor—”

“That's from Back to the Future,” the Doctor interrupted. “Won't find it on the TARDIS.”

“Ah, but that's a common misconception,” Rose replied, still in character. “The flux capacitor is actually the most important part of the TARDIS—”

“Not how that works—”

“—and any relationship between that name and any films from the 1980’s probably has something to do with a very wet day I spent with—whoever wrote that screenplay—”

“Ah, yes, well, you're not too far off the mark there—”

He could swear he saw a smirk. But Rose didn't break character. “And, besides, they got everything else about the time travel wrong, despite my—my best efforts—so there's not much point discussing it further.” She stepped towards the Doctor. “Anyway, what have we here?” She waved the sonic at him and, with a flourish, pretended she was reading it. “Hold on…” She fished in his pocket again and came back with his glasses, which she perched on the bridge of her nose. “Ah, yes.” She picked up the Doctor’s hand and angled it this way and that. “If I'm right…” Her eyes met his, and a second later the tip of her tongue flicked across his skin. He fought the urge to yank his hand away, and meanwhile she pulled back, saying, “Ah, yes. Just as I suspected. Time Lord through and through.”

The Doctor shook his head. His hand still tingled from where she'd been holding it. That, and the spot where she'd licked him was uncomfortably colder than the rest of his skin. “Too clever for your own good, you are.” He tilted his head to the side. “Anyway, if you're the Doctor, who am I supposed to be?”

Rose hummed. “Too bad my clothes won't fit, or you could be Rose.” She looked around. “Except… there's always my makeup.”

The Doctor started. “There's—what?”

Rose was already grabbing things off her vanity. Before the Doctor could protest, she'd shed the long coat and tucked his glasses back into their pocket so she could clamber onto the bed and swing one leg over his lap to straddle him. 

“Right, now, hold still.” All of a sudden, Rose’s face was very close to his. Not that he was complaining—quite the opposite—but it still took him a moment to adjust to the proximity, the warm weight of her legs around his waist, her big eyes centimeters from his. “Don't think you’d enjoy loads of foundation—hang on, close your eyes.”

Without thinking, the Doctor obliged. He did his best not to flinch when he felt a soft pad on his eyelid—eyeshadow, he was reasonably sure. 

The Doctor couldn't really say how it had happened, but at some point, while Rose was applying the eyeshadow, he'd wound up lying on his back against the pillows, and Rose was hovering over him, tilting her head this way and that as she evaluated her work. 

“Hold still,” she said, this time weilding an eyeliner pencil, and the Doctor was quick to oblige, lest he lose an eye to what was essentially a whim. Rose was gentle, though, pulling the pencil carefully along his eyelid. “Keep your eyes closed,” she said, and the Doctor felt something—a mascara wand?—brushing against his eyelashes. 

When Rose finally pulled away and the Doctor finally opened his eyes, she smiled with satisfaction. “Right, now blush—” She picked up another little plastic case and popped it open. The Doctor watched, this time, as she dipped a brush into the case and swept it over his cheeks. “You've got good bone structure,” she commented, half-distracted still. 

“Er—thanks?” What made bone structure ‘good’? Still, it didn't matter, he could take a compliment. 

Rose snapped the blush closed. “How do you feel about lipstick?” she asked. “I don't wear it all the time—but this is a special occasion—”

“How do you figure that?”

He felt her shrug in the way her body shifted over him. “Don't know. Not every day you let me do your makeup.”

The Doctor frowned. “You've never asked.”

“Didn't think of it ‘til now.”

“So, it's not that I don't let you do this,” he said. “You didn't think of it.”

“Oh, yeah? You’d let all this happen again?”

The Doctor considered for a moment. Frankly, there was a lot he'd do if it meant Rose would straddle him like this, but he wasn't going to say that. “I don't mind it,” he finally said. “‘Course, I have yet to see a final product—”

“All in good time,” Rose promised. “Now stop talking so I can do the lipstick.”

“All right, all right.” The Doctor held still as Rose came in again with a tube of bright red lipstick. 

“Okay, now do this—” She pressed her lips together. 

The Doctor mimicked her, and she smiled. 

“Brilliant.” She leaned in to inspect her work. “You're hot, as a woman.”

The Doctor’s mouth had gone very dry. “What, I wasn't hot before?”

Rose smiled. She was still leaning over him, now, propped up on her elbows with her face hovering above his. “Didn't say that, did I?”

This all felt surreal. They flirted all the time, of course, but this was different. More direct, more intimate, with the added layer of vulnerability that came with sitting in his underwear and letting someone else get close to his eyes with something stick-shaped and vaguely pointy. If he tried, the Doctor could map out all the steps that had gotten them to this point, but he still couldn't quite figure out why they’d all happened, nor was he quite sure why their natural conclusion had been this, Rose Tyler leaning over him and telling him he made for a hot woman. 

He struggled to find a response. “Er—”

But before he could say anything, Rose’s head tilted forward, her eyes suddenly impossibly close to his, and he found himself completely incapable of speech. She smiled like she knew, and then before he could recover his facilities her lips were on his, and he knew he was done for. All the time he'd spent trying to avoid this—telling himself he couldn't cross that line—and he'd been fooling himself. All it had taken was the barest nudge, and the line had dissolved. There wasn’t a thought in his mind of pushing her away, not now Rose’s knees were pressing into his waist, not now her tongue was running along his bottom lip, not now his whole body was on fire with the thrill of it all. He didn't want to think what was happening to the lipstick she had so carefully applied—but, then again, she didn't seem offended, and after all it wasn't like he couldn't reapply if he felt like it later. 

His hands had found their way to her back, and he pressed her warm weight close against him, the knot of his—or, he supposed it was her—tie pressing into his chest. He scrambled to undo it, all while Rose did her absolute best to keep him distracted. Her tongue had made its way into his mouth, and now it was running along the back of his teeth, which was an altogether pleasant sensation, as it turned out. 

He finally got the tie undone, and his hands rested on Rose’s waist. He cursed himself for wearing so many layers—sure, he liked the suit, but he’d never considered how it would perform in this situation. Although, really, how could he have predicted this situation? He’d give himself a pass on the grounds that he never, not in a million years, would have expected any of this. Even if he wished he could be feeling the soft give of Rose’s waist through one of her T-shirts instead of layers of stiff fabric. 

As if she could read his mind, one of Rose’s hands went to the buttons of the jacket. Clumsily, she managed to undo them, and the Doctor slid the jacket off her shoulders and tossed it to the side. It still wasn’t enough—she wasn’t close enough—and in the strange, surreal bubble of the evening, he had just enough confidence to tug at the hem of the shirt and slip his hands under, skimming them along the skin of Rose’s back—and yes, this was much better. Rose, for her part, had started kissing down his jaw to his neck, and when her teeth scraped at his pulse point, he gasped. He felt her smile against his skin, and he couldn’t help but smile too. He’d wanted this for so long—but he’d never dreamed it would feel like this.

Rose moved back up to his mouth, and he kissed her with everything he had. One of her hands was brushing through his hair now, tugging gently at the roots. His breaths were coming hard and fast—no thanks to his respiratory bypass, which seemed to have gone offline—his skin seemed to sing with the joy of being touched—and then something shifted, and he and Rose both were moving more slowly, her hand tracing the back of his ear, his breaths slowing, until finally Rose pulled back and grinned. She brushed her thumb across the Doctor’s lower lip.

“Sorry,” she said. “I’ve made a bit of a mess of your lipstick.”

The Doctor breathed out a laugh. “No need to apologize,” he said.

Rose’s grin grew. 

--

The Doctor woke up the next morning in Rose’s bed, still in his undershirt and not much else. Rose was fast asleep next to him, still in his button-up, although she seemed to have kicked off his trousers. She seemed to stir when he brushed a hand through her hair, but it didn’t last—she burrowed her head further into her pillow, and he chuckled to himself as he stretched. 

He gathered up his trousers and jacket and retreated to the wardrobe. It wasn’t until he caught sight of his face in the mirror that he remembered he hadn’t done anything to wash off the makeup from the night before. He leaned in. Even after sleeping in it, he had to admit he didn’t look half bad—maybe Rose had had a point when she’d said he was hot this way. Not that the Doctor typically spent a lot of time thinking about whether or not he was hot in really any capacity, but, well, even he noticed that the now-smudged eyeliner gave his eyes a bit of definition, and even though half the blush must’ve rubbed off, he sort of liked the way it framed his face. 

Still. His eyes were a bit irritated, and his lips felt dry and chapped. He found a pack of makeup wipes in a drawer next to the mirror, and before long his face was bare again. He glanced in the mirror—yes, that was what he expected, just the same as always—and then busied himself about finding a shirt. Perhaps he wouldn’t bother with all the layers today. He didn’t quite feel like dealing with all those buttons. He shed his undershirt and replaced it with a blue henley, and then he shrugged his jacket on over his shoulders. It managed to not be too wrinkled. His trousers had lost some of their crease, but they were presentable enough. He spent a couple minutes on his hair, and then he went out to the console room to wait for Rose.

She appeared about ten minutes later, freshly dressed in her own clothes and with a shy smile on her face. He returned it with a grin.

“All right, Rose Tyler, where are we going today?”

Rose practically skipped to stand next to him. “Dealer’s choice?” 

He took her hand. “Right. I know just the place.” 

[typinggently]

Ahhh I DO know what you mean but please don’t move on!! (Esp if you’re referring to role chat) I’m still on there here and there bc whether I like it or not rping is my little comfort hobby (and really, I feel like there’s way worse things to be doing… I do have other hobbies as well anyway and like, it’s creative, I don’t dedicate LOADS of time to it or anything, it’s relaxing etc plus I genuinely feel it helps keep my writing skills polished when I’m not up to ~writing~ writing) and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the amount of mid 20’s and up chill people I run into on a regular basis… most of whom I have kind of a neighborly vibe with, I’ve noticed older fandom people aren’t as interested in continuing long term (which tbh is kind of better for me at this point anyway) so we just have a good time together when we do connect and then it’s see ya till next time :’) I really appreciate that vibe + the (generally) better/more natural writing style that people like 24/25+ tend to have. Just like a week ago I had a frank/billy one that I swear with some editing could’ve been fic quality.. it’s those little gems that keep me coming back

That's a really sweet view on it, thank you so much for sharing! It really does depend who you run into and how you personally interact with fandom as a whole, doesn't it? :')

I think I personally got too addicted to the instant gratification, the interaction and connection of rp, which really isn't good because while it might be fun, writing would be more rewarding in the end - as you said, rps are very non-permanent, both in the interactions with other rpers and the nature of the written text. Which isn't bad! To put that core issue into words: I've felt disconnected from the fandom blogging sphere for a while now, then the fic writing sphere, so I've been looking for connection elsewhere, and now I think I have to admit to myself that rping isn't the place to find that, either. Apart from the fact that you do risk stepping into spaces you really have no reason to be in (playground for 17-23 yos).

So you're right, it can be a fun past time, but it's not really a replacement for the connection you could find in other spheres (which comes with the nature of the medium, it's not bad!). I've had very little sleep, so maybe it's just that lack-of-rest bleakness, but at this point there's a certain peace to admitting that maybe, that sphere I've been looking/longing for just isn't there (anymore). Which, again, not a bad thing - we just have to adjust to those realities and/or adjust our expectations/hopes.

I don't know if this makes much sense, but what I'm saying is: You're right about rping, of course. If used correctly, it can be really fun!

[the-one-who-lambs]

🐑🐑🐑 (3) (for the fic ask thingy in case this confuses u lmao)

3. What’s something you learned about yourself as a writer?

This is... a long one. TL;DR: It took me a while but I finally, actually internalized that I don't need to set goalposts for myself and consistently move them.

Story's gonna get vulnerable and involve a few other people too. Many of y'all probably saw me go through a whole character arc but I've never really talked about how I felt about this (aside from a couple close friends).

Around July/August, I noticed my readership going down because I had just finished a big writing project and I was moving on to other stuff/trying to figure out what my next big thing was gonna be. I have always always written for myself but ngl, getting lots of consistent engagement and then suddenly not as much anymore made me wonder if I was doing something wrong, if the quality of my works were going down. I vented to a group of friends (including you lmao sorry Juliet) about it and they were like "chill it's the beginning of the semester and people are getting rly busy it's ok" and I was like "yeah makes sense" but nope, I had just plateaued and was dropping off a little for a couple months.

Around the same time, I posted about reaching some sort of milestone and got an anon (maybe well intentioned but it seemed kinda backhanded) that basically said "oh if you ACTUALLY have that many reads that makes you the most popular writer in the cotl fandom. I'm gonna place u above everyone else due to this metric I just kinda invented." And once I noticed my readership had stopped growing and just kinda leveled off/dropped a little bit it made me anxious. Sadly, "keeping others interested" with my writing wasn't really a concern of mine until this started bothering me

I did know that recognition was not the same thing as talent but silly perfectionist brain thought "oough you're the exception btw. you're just not interesting anymore and therefore you're probably not as good anymore lol"

Anyway. October rolls around. I start getting some asks comparing my writing to bamsara's, starting with them mentioning little details that sound very similar but realistically are coincidences because sometimes multiple writers see a theme/motif and we all start chewing it. Anyway, it's obvious that anon is just trying to start shit. Maybe they saw how I'd been kinda beating myself up abt my writing for a little while and tried to make me jealous of them. I don't know. It's probably not worth trying to understand tbh. I just delete the asks. I keep anons on just in case there's a genuine concern.

at this point I'm gonna interrupt to say EVERYTHING TURNS OUT OK I PROMISE and I'm not tagging you in case it's a sore spot but Sara if you're reading this I'm literally so sorry that me learning the lesson I got out of this involved you getting these nasty messages too.

Bam posts something kinda vague about how they get compared to some writers they've never read before. I hope this is a coincidence but alarm bells are going off and I keep this to myself.

Anon keeps doing this every once in a while for a few weeks; at first it looks like anon is accusing bamsara of copying me (???? like i said, we're just exploiting similar themes) and then it starts turning into basically "they're doing everything you're doing but better." Bam obviously hadn't done anything wrong, so I keep supporting them as I do the other writers in the fandom. Eventually the anon gets kinda pissy that I'm not envious or trying to tear someone else down or whatever. I've kept this mostly to myself and they don't like that.

So when they send an ask in mid-November and this had been going on for a few weeks I finally answer an ask to tell them to shut the hell up (gracefully) and then I forget about it and go to sleep. Wake up the next morning and uhhh. See Bam feels like shit because they got a really scathing message. Comments say it happened during a stream and I check it to see if it's the same anon and it is. Fuck on a stick. I literally burn myself out with anger over the next two days until I donate to their kofi as a peace agreement. They reach out and apologize for something they didn't do and it takes me until now to realize that literally nothing I have worried about over the past few months matters at all.

Anyway. It all turns out fine because we become mutuals and hype each other up. Kicker is, whoever it was forgot to turn off anon in Bam's askbox so we got to block them and I'm pretty sure they deactivated too lmao. I reached out to a bunch of writer friends and checked in with them to violently spread positivity and I've been trying to violently spread positivity as much ever since. Yay. Happy ending but sucks that this had to happen for me to crush my anxiety. Bam and I are buddies now and I've also befriended many more writers since, too. cotl writers we are unionizing.

[draconic-ichor]

How do you make such well thought out characters/oc and stories? I've been thinking of writing an elden ring fanfic for a while now but I have a hard time finding the right words to use,have any advice you could offer?

First off, thank you! It makes me happy you enjoy my content enough to ask for advice

This will be a long answer so I’ll post it under the cut:

I want to apologize in advance for how shit or unhelpful this advice will probably end up being….

BUT

Some advice I would give is to read often, reading can help you see the flow of conversations and give you insight into experiences you may not have in real life.

For my own writing I mostly daydream for most of my waking hours, going over ideas over and over again in my head long before they go to words. This happens whether I like it or not :(

I also try to make conversations sound real. People don’t have to say profound things every sentence, and sex doesn’t have to be serious. People can be boring/have mundane things to say to each-other, and don’t be afraid to have a couple joke with one another. The longer people are together happily the more comfortable they will be. They could laugh mid sex without it killing the mood.

I honestly use the relationship with my husband as a big inspiration.

It’s important to give characters chemistry if you wish to write multi chapter fics with the same people interacting. Give them reasons to want to spend time with one another, let them laugh or discuss important topics.

Let yourself have fun with it; if you have a good idea but it doesn’t quite fit in with your story, make a little spin off au!

On the topic of ocs…

Iv been working with some stories/characters for years in the background. Some day I hope to publish an erotic novel :)

But my advice for ocs is close to my writing advice. Make them realistic! People are many things, some good some bad. With every good thing you give an oc give them a quality that may be seen as “unsavory”. I find it easier to make their good qualities echo into unsavory places: like if a character is fun loving/indulgent it could reflect as immature or even greedy in situations. Things like that, every good thing can be warped/intensified depending on moods.

Give them hobbies!

Hobbies can really help mold the character: How did they get into the hobby, how does it impact their life, and did they have to learn other skills to do the hobby well. Not every hobby has to be their whole personality and they can have multiple. Think of hobbies that would fit in with the type of character. Like a very active or energetic character probably wouldn’t enjoy reading often, although people can enjoy things that contradicts their natures it’s the outlier and not the norm.

The biggest thing to keep in mind is…you are the god of your own content. The designs, the details, the story…it is all yours to create and change. If you are unhappy redesign, or tweak things. Nothing in fanfiction is set in stone.

Have fun and make things that you enjoy or find interesting, if you love it others will come.

Good luck!

[shiroselia]

A short (by Manda measurements, which is to say not very) summary of The Agonies regarding my QuintSum editing because I find it funny to talk about

Arc 1-4 minus one chapter (The ones already up): Not a huge problem, all things considered they're a lot more Recent quality than a lot of other chapters. And the worst ones are short enough where it's fine. I don't mind any of these chapters they're generally fine and the worst offenders have already been worked out by Manda who published them originally

Chapter 29: A bitch and a half because I stopped editing it halfway through because it's a Bitch of a chapter and I already know that I'm going to rewrite it really heavily both because it has a Big cause of me trying to make up for not having narration which means that now that I have a style with narration this mfer is being put through one Hell of an overhaul

Arc 5: (Chapters 30-34) I am dreading this arc. But Manda you say It's just five chapters you say. I HAVEN'T TOUCHED *ANY* OF THESE SINCE SEPTEMBER 2023. DO YOU PEOPLE UNDERSTAND. HOW MID THE QUALITY OF THESE ARE. Also I've skimmed chapter 30, which I've dubbed "the biggest problem to deal with currently" because you guys do not understand. How bad chapter 30 is right now. Especially because it's a Very Important chapter that lays the foundation for The Entire Rest of The Fic. And it Sucks. Badly. So yeah it will be necessary and it will benefit heavily from narration and me actually having Any semblance of what I'm doing and where this fic is going in detail, but it won't be fun.

Arc 6: (Chapters 35-51) A mixed bag. I have a few chapters of these Somewhat edited from. Ehm. January this year? February maybe? I did manage to partly get through up to chapters 42-ish before I officially put a halt to my editing to focus on finishing before I even thought about editing and revising. There's a few problems with these chapters currently. One being that it has some MAD offenders of "You guys needed narration on arrival and I'm going to fix you but it's going to take a while" and a LOT of lore inconsistencies and just. literally incorrect information by now because guess what when you write a lore-heavy fic, sometimes you change things, and now some of your most important lore chapters are Literally Completely Wrong. So yeah this one's going to be a fucking chore. Especially because I'm pretty sure some of the last chapters in here are Completely untouched since I first wrote them. So this will be fun. Terrible, but necessary.

Arc 7: (Chapters 52-61) This. Is a problem child of an arc. I wrote this spread out throughout November 2023 to January 2024. It is Probably the most inconsistent arc in terms of quality. It is also the entire reason why I overhauled my writing process to be more thought out and streamlined, and the entire reason I invented storyboards for my chapters. Because this might be 10 chapters, but it should probably have been a solid 14-16. There's work to be done here. A lot. Of work. But all things considered, it's one of my favourite arcs purely based on the things I do in it and what it is about, so at least it will be fun to do some of my Best plot points justice.

Arc 8: (Chapters 62-84) See this is when we start having a good life. I wrote the first 6 chapters of this in February I think, and then I took one HELL of a fucking break. This is all the same time when I gave up with posting as I went along on Ao3 and MAN was that a good idea. This is when I started to storyboard my chapters And when The Everlooming Threat of Going Back and Editing disappeared since I stopped posting on Ao3. Thank fuck for that because THIS is when I started to really scare my friends with my sheer writing speed. Anyways I look forward to going back to this arc because it has SOME if not THE worst offenders after chapter 49 of "You guys needed narration I am so sorry that I robbed you of it from the start". The BIGGEST offenders Obviously being chapter 66. Point being, I can't wait to hit this arc with narration it's Honestly one of the coolest things I pull off in this entire fic and I personally think that it shows Just how diverse of a writer I can be if I want to. (Can you tell I feel a Lot of things about this arc?)

Arc 9: (Chapters 85-103) Quite frankly. I have VERY little to worry about in this arc. I would honestly think that it has the current most solid and consistency quality out of All the arcs. It's also an arc which I believe will Severely benefit from narration, but that doesn't Wholly suffer without it. Point being, I look forward to going back to Mistfall it's going to be a good time I think.

Arc 10 + 11: (Chapters 103-109 + 110-116) Lmao. These mfers are going to like narration. Other than that? They're short as shit they won't be any problems. If nothing else it will be fun to be able to actually describe some of the stuff that happens in these arcs properly because Especially two chapters, 108 and 114, will *really* appreciate some fucking narration. I wrote these fuckers in a combined 4 days they won't be a chore to edit either.

Arc 12: (Chapters 117-135) I am. So glad. That I will get narration to this fucking arc. It doesn't need it, but it will appreciate it. If nothing else I haven't looked at Any of the shit I've written from chapter 70 and forwards due to my no editing until you're done rules starting around there, so I'm genuinely really excited to go back and read these chapters. A few of them are DEFINITELY going to adore having narration (see chapters 118 and 120 especially).

The point is, a lot of the later arcs have one thing in common. Consistency. I was able to write them in a short span of time and without anything interrupting me. OBVIOUSLY they're going to be easier to edit, because my writing was simply Better when I wrote them. And in terms of Arc 8, which is the second lore heaviest arc after Arc 6, I actually had the lore figured out by then because it Forced me to figure everything out. So really, once I've gotten myself through the first act (which is Arc 1 through 7) I'll be golden. (Act 2 is obviously arc 8 through 12.) And if you wonder what Act 3 is. Well. Come back once I've started to write the sequel.

[zawazawanightmares]

Fanfic Writer Questions

Was tagged by @jasminethetransvampire so I'll do this because I'm always passive-aggressively trying to get people to ask me about my fics on other sites.

Oh and what she said goes double for @kikicandoit and @vmunroe and @cubistemoji: you three can participate or not, I don't want to pressure you.

How many works do you have on AO3?

841, not counting individual chapters.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

1,046,451

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Anything...though, according to my dashboard, I specialize in Homestuck, Chainsaw Man, Marvel Comics, Attack On Titan and Bleach. The most recent one I did outside of those categories was for an anime called Dai-Guard so...there you go.

4. What are your top 5 fics by Kudos?

Be patient with me, I don't know how to hyperlink:

For a while, the one-shot I was most proud of. With all its anachronisms and unapologetic crassness, I love this fic for being the first Kobeni/Quanxi fic I ever wrote and for fitting Chainsaw Man's aesthetic the most. I still maintain that this ship is the most likely to work in canon and their dynamic would work exactly like I showed it here. If there's one disappointment I have, it's that this isn't my most famous fic.

My longest chapter fic, the longest thing I actually wrote (counting my own goddamn novel) and probably the longest labor of love in the entire catalogue...and it's about a ship between a dead auxillary character and a supporting character. There goes my moral high ground to Ships That Pass In The Night...I worked on this fic every day, missing one for my birthday, and used a site called Mythica as a template for what to put in there. The concept is stupid, the plot is uneven, it doesn't really conclude so much as stop...and I love it more than anything. If I'm remembered for any piece of work, I want to be this. It's all my love for these interpretations of the characters put into one story. I will never regret uploading this.

Number 3 in the rankings. She's not my favorite but I'll give her this: she's earned it. Probably one of the darkest things I've written (counting Mamba Ugly) and one of my meaner depictions of Makima but either standalone or in my bizarro Chainsaw Man canon, this story shows exactly why everyone should fear the Control Devil. Talking myself up is weird; just read the fic if you haven't and tell me if you're creeped out or not.

...You know, I'm the one who wrote a mid M/M pairing for the yucks one day. I got what I deserved.

I don't really hate this fic so much I despise how it's my second most popular one. I pour sweat and tears into hundreds of F/F fics and this takes off? Really? Not Duty To The Party? I got literal death threats over that one!

Before anyone feels too sorry for me, my line of logic for this one was: "Pieck's pretty hot. It's a shame that there's not more yuri of her...how about I ship her with every named female character in the series?"

Yeah, all of them. The little girls crush on her or grow up to pursue her and everybody else...the tone shifts so I don't want to make anyone vomit but it gets pretty intense. This is kind of me at my worst, even compared to the above examples, so proceed with caution. I'm pretty sure this fic is only doing well because of all of the tags. It's definitely not the quality.

5. Do you respond to comments?

Constantly. Unless it's just "nice" or "emojis", I'll take the time to answer questions, say thank you or even just participate in good-natured dunking on me. I like questions about my headcanons and clarifying what happened in fics because I like to leave things ambiguous. If you're not just being an ass and or trying to get people riled up, leave me a note and I'll get back to you!

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

If not Bonus With No Pay Raise, it's probably Starved. The meanest I got to Kobeni and the most twisted I wrote Fami. Par for the course in how I write Makima though...pretty sure I killed Kobeni at the end but at that point, it was a mercy.

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

The last part of Kobeni Has A Good Life, a collection of my Chainsaw Man Divergence series, has the one below called:

This gives me the fuzzies whenever I read it because I gay and it's a happy ending for Kobeni. Whatever happens next for her in this universe, I want to make sure she's content while doing it. And if you don't want to comb through THE ENDLESS DESERT that is KTQ, you're perfectly justified in stopping here.

8. Do you hate on fics?

I don't like the tags in a fic, I don't read it. Simple. I don't leave angry comments and I don't go and hate-read for the sake of it. When I see a fic that has a pairing or a situation that ticks me off, I just get inspired to write several more with my own tastes. That's my version of pettiness.

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

Yeah.

I like intense stuff or, sparring that, weird stuff. Stuff that's fun to write and imagine, anything that gets me motor running or is entertaining to show through text. Smut is much easier for me to write so I write a lot of it, although I kind of want to more G rated stuff.

10. Do you write crossovers? If so, what's the craziest one you've written?

Yeah.

Probably not the wildest crossover I wrote but this should fill you in on the fact that 1.) if I write a crossover, I probably put Homestuck in it and 2.) I like putting them in anime and Marvel. Speaking of:

Did you guys know there's a grown up version of Molly Hayes?

This is the version I put with Homestuck characters in this non-continuity series. It's weird! Super weird!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I don't think I have...but I get Spanish and Chinese comments on my fics sometimes so...maybe?

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

Nah but if I know the person, I'd be happy to.

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

For Chainsaw Man, I love my stupid made-up crack ship of Kobeni Higashiyama/Quanxi/Michiko Tendo. I'm also very partial to Powerbeni and AsaYuko. For Homestuck, I'm a basic Rosemary bitch who also loves the crossover ship (that only I am powerful enough to be privy to) of Feferi Peixes/Molly Hayes. I enjoy writing Mikasa/Historia more than I should and for Bleach...Sui-Feng/Happiness (re: any woman in the Soul Society...and Kanaya (see Crossover above...or just search for the fic. It's not hard to find.))

15. What's a WIP that you want to finish but probably never will?

Either the above mentioned Spice Rack or this one story about Terezi Pyrope and Molly Hayes traveling around and going on martial arts adventures. I had fun writing it but it wasn't getting attention and there was other stuff I wanted to do so I've just left it behind.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue, being "normal" about queers and portraying happy couples. I like F/F and M/M and while I get weird with it, I also want to show that weird can be happy. KTQ is mainly written for that purpose alone.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I rely on beige prose and can be too clinical when I'm trying to get through a scene. My smut scenes, ironically, tend to go by quickly because I rush through the actions to focus on the feelings. I honestly just like to show the characters hanging out through sex instead of putting it to paper, if that makes sense.

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

I use Google Translate and try to keep it simple. I dread the day someone in the comments tell me that I wrote complete gibberish...it's coming soon, I can feel it.

19. First Fandom you wrote for?

No More Heroes!

I wrote a couple of fics for No More Heroes, actually. It was my Chainsaw Man back in the day. I still love it now, especially for its music.

20. Favorite Fic you've ever written?

Three way tie between Alphabet, Closet Space and:

My first Homestuck/Runaways crossover, written when I was saner. It has typos, it's cringy, it's rushed at the end and YOU WILL LOVE IT OR I'LL DESTROY YOU.

[badgod01]

Vince's Imperfects

My only AO3 collection is one titled "Vince's Imperfects". It's a collection of works that I personally believe do not fit my standard quality for fanfictions anymore. My writing has improved since many of these fics were released, so I decided I would private them. As of writing, nine works have been lost to the sands of time... until I release them back into the wild public, that is.

That being said; one delightfully fascinating thing I discovered due to this feature is tag popularity. If you put works into a collection, there's a little category in the side bar called "Tags" and when you click on it, it'll show you the most popular tags. The more popular, the bigger it is.

So, here's the most popular tags for my fics:

The most popular tags are Angst, Hybrids, Mob Hybrids, Non-Human Technoblade, Sexual Content, and (hilariously) Sex.

The Hybrids/Mob Hybrids and Non-Human Technoblade tags were because I wrote three fanfictions, all including him. They were G-rated angst stories:

Ranboo falling into water, and Technoblade subsequently rushing to save him from freezing to death,

Technoblade entering hibernation, and Phil taking care of him,

and Phil dying in war, with The Syndicate (especially Technoblade) struggling to cope with his death.

While I did and still remain to write angst, I find that the stories I wrote around this time to be very personal for one reason or another. Mainly because it focused on how I personally felt at the time. Nowadays, my fanfiction is more character-driven and are, more or less, just character studies or observations, and creating/playing out an inspired scenario with said observations. See: Skeppy/Bad in Good For You and Roier in Sorry For The Bother, Stranger. Because of this, I decided to private these works. No hate to the people who write angst personal to them, I just don't like being profiled by my audience—or even worse, people who harass writers for just writing. (Filters exist for a reason, people!)

Another reason I decided to hide some works is because, exactly as the description says, my writing got better. I know there's no reason to be, but I feel slightly ashamed of the works that don't reach my quality standard anymore. As my writing improves, works I once thought I was proud of have now become... not that.

Back then, I barely wrote above 1k words; the most words I wrote in a chapter by mid-2022 was 4k. My angst was all around 500-1000 words. For a comparison, here's the word count for all of my recent fics:

WORSHIP has 2k words. Although it's one of my earliest fanfictions, I still hold some light appreciation for it. (Don't tell anyone—I was thinking of rewriting it for Christmas of 2022, but I couldn't do it without sacrificing my wellbeing.)

PRAYER has 7k words.

slice of heaven has 4k words. This one stays up because I continue to be proud of it, as I found that writing a threesome was especially daunting.

Good For You has, at the bare minimum, 10k words per chapter.

Sorry For The Bother, Stranger has 6k, nearly 7k words.

Anyways, I'm not quite sure if I'll be putting more fanfictions in there or releasing any of them anytime soon. Either way, I hope you found something insightful about my thought processes.