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idyllic-affections · 11 months

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HIII!

What are your thoughts on Kaveh's childe being a dancer??

I'm kinda self projecting on this one bcs I like to dance myself (mainly kpop) but I wanted to know what you thought of that ☆(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*

(Sorry if it's not clear/understandable english is not my first language (ʘᴗʘ))

what if kaveh's child wanted to be a dancer?

summary. how would kaveh react if his child wanted to become a dancer?

trigger & content warnings. no applicable warnings.

tropes, pairings, fic length, & other notes. fluff. adoptive dad!kaveh & reader, nilou & reader, cyno & reader. 0.6k words. they/them pronouns for reader. this post is an expansion of what if kaveh adopted a child?

author's thoughts. don't worry, dear!! your english is great, no need to apologize <3 this idea is so cute tbh. i love the idea of kaveh's kid being artistic. every time i get an ask like this one, it makes me so happy. it's so cute to me! artistic kaveh and his artistic child <33

in short, kaveh would wholeheartedly support his kid.

that is a given, of course—he's probably sumeru's most supportive father, really. he only wants his child to be happy and healthy. anything his kid wants to pursue, he's right there cheering them on, doing whatever he can to help them research it or gather materials for it. whatever it is that their interest demands, he will do his best to attain it. thankfully, while kaveh is broke, alhaitham has the mora to fund their interests and does happen to have a little soft spot for them, so he gladly does so when kaveh cannot afford to. he doesn't make kaveh pay him back, because really...

alhaitham has long since accepted that he is, in part, responsible for [name]. he is one of their caretakers. it is his responsibility to help enrich their life.

cyno also has the mora to help out. like haitham, he has a soft spot for them, so their hobbies are usually funded by either the scribe or the general mahamatra.

(cyno isn't supposed to fund their artistic hobbies, but we'll explore that idea later on in this post.)

kaveh does worry, however.

i've always imagined that kaveh adopts his child a good while before the sumeru archon quests—several years, at least. if his child wanted to be a dancer... well, he'd do all he could to protect them from the akademiya, sneaking them into zubayr theater so they can watch all the performances that their heart desires (and he also loves watching the theater, so it's something he's glad to share with his child). i imagine that cyno would find out about this eventually. as a matra, it's his job to... stop it, or discourage it at the very least. he has to uphold the akadmeiya's rules. he has to.

...he just cannot bring himself to do it, however. the way their eyes sparkle when they watch the dancers preform... archons, the thought of betraying the trust they have put in him, betraying the trust he's built with them by caring for them in their younger years, it greatly unsettles him.

he can't crush their soul like that. he's very relieved when the sages get overthrown. he would never want to do anything to hurt them, especially when he knows that his actions will undoubtedly be harmful. trust is a fragile thing. it can only be built up after months or years of hard work, yet can shatter in a fraction of the time.

the general mahamatra is just... so, so relieved that he doesn't have to hide them from the sages anymore.

his nibling's (gn alternative to niece/nephew) passion is not something meant to be hidden.

can you imagine nilou teaching them to dance, though? i think it'd be very cute! she'd totally do it if kaveh ever approached her and asked.

she would love them, gently correcting any missteps they make and excitedly praising them when they master a difficult choreography. nilou would think of them fondly, like a little dance apprentice! she's not quite mature enough to be seen as a mother figure, however. she's more akin to another big sister to them, like collei.

(i also like to think that, in a cruel twist of fate, [name] eventually gets a hydro vision, as if the hydro archon's gaze was always cast upon them even after they left fontaine. nilou would be the one to teach them how to use it, teach them how to associate it with better feelings and memories. <3)

when sumeru comes out of its oppresive state and the arts are welcomed as they always should have been, [name]'s lil found family will all attend their first official performance with nilou. nilou wouldn't let them perform prior to that out of concern for their safety.

kaveh, alhaitham, cyno, tighnari, and collei really are their greatest cheerleaders in life.

adoptive dad!kaveh taglist: @kaoyamamegami, @zeldadou, @bebobeboben. send a non-anonymous ask to be added. please consider reblogging, it helps me out quite a lot!

#aphelion brainrots 🌸#: [ adoptive dad kaveh! 🌸 ]#favoniuslibrary #astronetwrk #platonic genshin #platonic genshin impact #platonic genshin impact x reader #platonic genshin x reader #kaveh x reader #platonic kaveh x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin platonic #genshin x reader

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avelera · 1 year

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First off, may I begin with screaming loudly about the new chapter of GS because my god, it was lovely! Will leave a comment on ao3 later once I’ve found some words beyond mere key bashing

Second, if at all possible and not inconvenient, could you perhaps share some tips about your process and staying motivated while writing? Especially for such a long fic? Sincerely, a fic writer who can’t manage to get anything finished, let alone posted

Aah, thank you so much!

*Cracks knuckles* OK, to answer your question!

Build endurance. Writing long fic is a marathon in a very REAL sense. Runners who sprint and runners who run marathons are totally different (if perhaps complimentary) skillsets. Writing a really dense, well crafted short story is a unique skill. It is NOT the same thing, in my opinion, as being able to write a long-form novel. (That's why, IMO, a lot of people who get their start in short stories because of the way creative writing education & publishing work in the mainstream these days often struggle to jump to novels and their first novel (*cough* American Gods *cough*) are often densely beautiful but weirdly episodic and not always well connected internally.) Sorry, random soap box moment. TL;DR: Short vs. long fic writing are different skills. Be patient with yourself. Build endurance the same way a marathoner does: with practice.

Do not post before the fic is finished. This is a tip that is largely unique to me and one I've broken recently BUT absolutely nothing motivates me to push through the hard parts at the middle of the story like the realization that if I don't, no one will ever read the story. It'll all be wasted effort (except insofar as I got to practice writing). This doesn't work for everyone, but it is worth a shot!

Do not talk about your fic before it's written. Storytelling is sometimes the same centers in the brain, at least for me, as story writing. IE, by telling someone what I'm going to write, I've drained the enjoyment from writing it. That juicy pleasure is already sucked dry, leaving only the husk of the actual work. Now, this doesn't mean you can't talk at all about your work but one tip is to only talk about parts you've already written. You can say you just wrote a cool passage about XYZ! But stop at the moment where you're about to say what happens next. Talking about your work is a reward for writers who have already written. Set a rule that you don't get to talk about what isn't there yet. You don't get to have the dessert before you've done the actual work.

Bring in a small group of trusted alpha readers. An alpha reader is not a beta reader. Their job is to cheerlead, not to edit. I only bring in alpha readers for very long works (like, over 50k) where true endurance is needed. This is not sharing a rough draft with the world! This is not avoiding the rigors of having a beta reader, thou shalt still use a beta reader when the chapter is ready (if possible) and before it is released to a wider audience! (Because beta readers are about respecting the time of your audience and putting in as much effort for them as you expect them to put in for you at minimum, ie, reading over your own work and asking for a friendly second pair of eyes for anything you missed). Point is, when a long fic is shaping up to be a huge slog, it can indeed be hard to keep the momentum going. Inviting an alpha reader is asking, politely, for someone to give you a small taste of the rewards of sharing your story so you don't give in before it's done. However, it needs to remain a small circle so you don't give in to the temptation of never finishing or publishing the polished work. This is micro-dosing feedback to keep you going, not a replacement for doing the work!

Ok, I think that covers it!

#maggie rambles #writing advice #fanfiction #longfic

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crystallinestars · 3 days

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Hello! I'm back for another rant :)

I was still thinking about Mihoyo's tendency to pair characters and play the ambiguity game to make more money and something I've noticed is that people will jump through sooo many hoops to defend the company. ''oh they can't be explicit because of censorship'', ''oh it's China, their culture is different!'' or even ''stupid entitled westerners always complaining about things they don't even try to understand smh 🙄''

Now, while I can agree that censorship and culture should be taken into account when talking about these games, I also feel like it's a bit disingenuous and lowkey patronising to chalk it all up to ''the Chinese are just all like that lol''

Like, why are we so vehemently defending a company that makes millions (if not billions) through ship teasing, as you've put before? Censorship does not change the fact that the development that characters get in these games (especially Genshin) goes out the window every other event or as soon as the main story is finished. And whenever I hear someone talk about censorship, I always think about Mo Dao Zu Shi (granted, the situation was different in its case so we should take it with a grain of salt) where its donghua and drama adaptations where indeed censored (but they were much more explicit than whatever's going on in Hoyoverse), yet the novel (the source material) had many MANY chapters with its two male leads going at it

I admit that I've been feeling a bit salty recently (because I feel like people only care about coding when it comes to the 'great' questions of ''OK but do these two men FUCK? How many times a day do they go at it and who's the woman in this ship??'' Meanwhile nobody ever talks about different dynamics, asexuality and aromanticism are seen as boring, and oh lord does bisexuality seem to be often treated as a trump card to say ''ok but this character is at least 50% gay'') and I also don't know that much about how everything works in China, but idk, I guess my point is that if they wanted to make ships canon, they WOULD (or could) find a way to do so

Anyway, your recent posts and asks also got me thinking and I guess I wanted to show you some support! I've seen your bio and I think it's a really smart move on your part to be clear on what you don't feel comfortable with from the get go. It can definitely be awkward when you have to tell someone that's just really excited to share their thoughts on something they enjoy that you're not interested and you'd rather not talk about this AT ALL. And it really does not help that popular ships tend to attract a lot of unhinged behaviour 😑 It's really refreshing to come across content creators like you, who are very clear in their boundaries and write such thoughtful fics

Once again, I hope you will be left to do your own thing in peace and that you'll keep finding ways and solutions for you to enjoy your favourite works without feeling alienated 💜

(And hopefully one day I will learn how to type short rants 😅)

Haha, short rants don't exist, Anon! It's perfectly okay to type long rants to me, I don't mind. If anything, I relish in them. As someone who rants and complains a lot myself, I welcome it when someone else does it. 😊 (I mean, just look at the length of my reply. I am not any better than you, dear Anon)

Lord, the "Mihoyo can't show explicit gay ships because of the CCP censorship" excuse grates on my nerves, as well. Censorship of homosexuality is definitely a thing in China, and it can sometimes be very horrible, but that's not what's stopping Mihoyo from making certain ships canon. They got way with a lot of lesbian ships in Honkai 3rd (though admittedly they had to tone it down once new laws were implemented, but the fact remains that at some point they were able to be blatant about their ships), and if we're talking actual coding, then Jeht being lesbian-coded is a thing that exists! If it was such a huge deal, I feel like Mihoyo would have either been way more subtle about it or not included these things at all.

It's just my personal opinion, but I'm certain that the reason Mihoyo doesn't make any ship canon is for the sake of making money. They need to sell characters, and the best way to do that is to allow players to enjoy characters the way they want. Assigning a specific sexuality or canon ship will crush the interpretations some players have about a character, and make that character unappealing. It would negatively impact their sales. Keeping things vague and only giving teases of the most popular ships seems to be the ideal marketing tactic for them. It panders to a lot more people this way and keeps most of them happy (however, the fact remains that they ignore a particular demographic of women, though that's a story for another time).

Regarding your reasons why people whip out the "coding" card... YOU ARE SO RIGHT! People only use sexuality coding as a way to "prove" their gay ship is canon and discredit any BG pairing. And they focus on things like one guy being muscular and the other more slender, and then assigning traditionally masculine and feminine traits to them, respectively. I could go on a whole separate rant about this topic, but I'll spare you the wall of text. Feminizing one of the guys in a gay ship is one of my biggest pet peeves, especially when it's OOC for the character.

One thing I noticed is that sexuality often gets used as a convenient tool to suit the needs of certain shippers instead of being used for actual diversity.

I can't tell you the amount of times I saw a sexuality tier list where the aromantic and asexual rows were treated as trash bins where people tossed the characters they didn't care about. There's no actual thought put into the sorting, and that's very unfair to actual aro and ace persons.

As for bisexuality... it's such a polarizing topic in fandoms. It's seen as a good thing when you have a canonical BG pairing, because then you can claim one or both are bi and therefore are also attracted to the same sex (as you said, they're "at last 50% gay" and can be shipped in gay pairings). However, if you have a non-canon BL or GL ship, saying one or both characters are bi is tantamount to treason. How dare you suggest they can be attracted to the opposite sex? That's erasing the gay representation!

Basically, bisexuality, much like the term "coding", gets treated like a tool that's allowed to exist only when it's convenient to a person, instead of as an actual sexuality real people have. I feel like bi, aroace, and pansexual people get shafted hard in fandoms in general.

Anyways, thank you for your support, Anon! I mentioned it in another post, but putting your likes and dislikes in the bio is a common practice in the Eastern part of the world, and I chose to copy that. I think it's a good way to meet people with similar interests while also letting those who have opposite interests avoid you. If the BL Anon had checked my bio first before following me, he could have spared himself some trouble haha. Sadly, it seems that many don't look at bios 😢

Thank you for your nice sentiments! I'm fairly confident that I won't be harassed, especially not in the reader-insert community, but I appreciate the thought! And hopefully I can find a way to combat the alienation... If not, then I'll simply uninstall both HSR and Genshin and find games that actually pander to me 😅

May you stay happy and free of harassment as well, dear Anon! 💚

#Lunaria answers #Hopefully the read more bar works properly this time

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naranjapetrificada · 3 months

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Fanfic Friday!

I still don't completely understand it, so this week I'm just gonna reflect on things that happened while writing this arranged marriage longfic, some of which I posted about on here and some of which I didn't.

I gave up on the Soup Paragraphs that were haunting me and realized I can introduce them later if I must.

I got in some "let go and let god" practice when I realized I don't have to get every little throwaway detail right, especially when it slows down my progress/makes writing miserable.

My therapist wants me to see about applying this Free Yourself skill in my non-writing life, to which I say I know you are but what am I

Characters put themselves in situations without my input and it was great!

Ceremonies are hard to write but at least I now know what Ed and Stede would be like if they were kids in a school play.

I started watching Rome again after thinking about it last week in the wake of the cancelation (I've had it on DVD for years). Still problematic in the way something made in 2005 will be, but otherwise it holds up incredibly well.

I've also stopped caring as much about all the people using the world's problems as a bludgeon against OFMD fans and the campaign to to save the show. For all the reasons other people have already articulated well but also, on a personal note, because of what this show has done for my relationship with writing.

I won't get into too much detail but suffice it to say I have a lot of baggage around writing, because of all the "gifted" nonsense of my childhood and my MFA experience as an adult. I don't blame anyone per se, but unhelpful social frameworks were unhelpful. Let's just say that when Pop-Pop said "if you were ever good at anything go do that" to Ed, it didn't not remind me of feeling obligated to do something that used to be rewarding but isn't anymore because it's what you're "supposed" to do. Anyway.

I wrote three short (<2000 word) fics between seasons 1&2, the first fic I've felt like writing in over a decade. It was liberating as hell to write again in a low-stakes environment, and with blorbo motivation to power me through the difficult parts. I never, ever thought I would write anything longer than 2000 words, but for the past (several?) weeks now I've been alternating between two drafts in tropes I can't get enough of, the shortest of which is around 10,000 (admittedly unedited) words.

The other is longer, and every time I work on it I keep having to break shit up so the chapters stay under 5000 words. This is unprecedented for me, and I've wanted to share it so much that I'm running out of shit to post on WIP Wednesday that won't reveal the plot or require too much context. I've never been in a fandom as creative (and creatively inspiring) as this one, nor have I every written so much in a single fandom before.

My relationship with writing wouldn't be healing like this at all if it weren't for this show and this fandom, and in particular I want to highlight the freedom in embracing the "David Jenkins School of Historical Inaccuracy." In fact, I've been keeping a running list of AO3 tags for the fic I've made the most progress on, and there are several "David Jenkins School of ________" tags, including Archaeology, Theology, and Comparative Politics. Thanks to seeing DJ's philosophy at work it's now possible for me to move on from certain details when I get stuck because they're "inaccurate" for the setting or whatever in a way I never could before. Now I feel empowered to move on from tricky details by asking myself:

Is it funny?

Is it related to the plot?

Is it character-building?

And if the answer to all of those is no, then so is the answer to question 4: "does it matter?"

Assuming I finish these longfics they'll be the longest creative pieces I've ever written and beyond the longest works of fiction I ever thought I would write, and for that I'm eternally grateful. Even if the world we live in is a crumbling disaster. Especially if the world we live in is a crumbling disaster.

#ofmd #our flag means death #renew as a crew #save ofmd #fanfic friday #WIP it good #edward teach #ofmd meta #fandom meta #writing process #writing woes #fic writing #arranged marriage AU #ancient rome AU (sorta)

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dungeonpuppykai · 1 month

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Small World anon here again,sorry. I can't believe I left out one thing in that long ass ask of mine,where Bucky wouldn't ate without Reader. Like- That is so- 🥺 *sniffs* I know that you wrote that she's the homerunner so that means she's the one who cooks & do all the other houseworks,I understood it but it's still so cute and all the more heartbreaking,you know? 🥲 I also understood it as he wouldn't eat WITHOUT her. He wouldn't eat if she's not eating with him,like a proper family (married couple/old married couple) type of thing. Like even if the food's ready,he's not eating and refuses to eat if she doesn't too,WITH HIM 🥺😭 Does that mean Bucky refuses food when he's in jail the first time they served him after he got caught? Cause he was in bliss & on cloud nine for months living a normal domestic life with her that it's hard to let go even though he's mad at her for thinking she reported him so he refused eating the first time they gave him food in jail right after he got caught? Back to their domestic phase! That is so cute tho! He wouldn't eat without her,awww! 😭 He's tired and beat coming home from work and he's starving after a long shift and he's about to eat but he sees that Reader's not eating and now he's not eating either. They both need to be at the table EATING together for him able to eat AWWWWW 😭💕

Okay,okay,I'm done gushing about Small World. I'll stop being annoying now,seriously 😭 Btw,I wrote that very long review/feedback ahead so I can truly express every single thing on how I feel on each plot/scenes in Small World so I didn't notice that you've changed the picture you photoshopped to the one of a gif of Bucky from CA : TWS. In fact,it's still showing the photoshopped picture in my reblog lol. But my point still stands,I felt bad that you had to so much work for my request,including photoshopping. Just know that I really appreciate every single thing you do to perfect my fic request in such a short time,thank you so much again 🙏🏼❤❤❤ A million times thank you 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🫂🫂🫂🫂

I also saw your posts and #kai rambles that I've missed. I'm so sorry for everything. I still felt bad about my late feedback but I understood you meant in general. Yeah,it sucked that people couldn't take the time to leave a feedback,a short comment,a reaction anything to a work that an author/writer put so much work and effort into in such a short time for our reading enjoyment. It's especially even more of a shitty move if it's a request a writer decided to take up and then there's just silence afterwards once the request is written...... Forever. Crickets,nothing. The writer doesn't even get paid for writing these requests. The least they could do is simply give a feedback,a short simple straight to the point feedback accompanied with a thank you. It's not that hard. I don't know. People need to be more appreciative. It's not easy at all to write,I tried and it's hard asf. Don't just go complete silence after a completed request,it's not too much to ask at all. It's the bare minimum. I know that a fic you've written have gotten 1k notes,prob reaching 2k now as we speak. I'd love nothing more than to see that kind of interactions happen again with every single one of your work because a talented,kind & humble writer like you is more than deserving of it ❤ I can try to be interactive but I'm one person. But try,I will. Cause it feels like the only way I can give back the same way writers like you put your heart & love into all of your works for our sake. So we would surreal reading experience. And it's really not asking much at all when the writers's the ones doing all the work between writers & readers.

Are you okay btw? I saw your #kai rambles,what's going on? If you need someone to talk to,you can vent to me,I'll dm you. If that's crossing the line,then you can just vent to me through these anon asks instead. You wrote that you felt insecure about your writings,that this app made you feel that way and that you might chuck it all one day. I want to plead to you please don't but this is YOUR blog and all the fics you wrote are YOUR works,YOUR properties so I have no say to say what you can or can't do with your own work. Your own blood,sweat & tears. But I will still have hope that you'll stay 🫂❤ I've found works from deactivated writers (and they're really good too) where I try to find that maybe they left their work up on AO3 but nothing. Can't find their full works anywhere,it's like they disappeared off the radar completely. And I've seen some talented writers deactivated and deleted all of their works from all the sites they posted them on. It truly felt like you just lost something important in your life,especially when you've been following their works for years and suddenly one day,they just disappeared. It's an empty feeling of loss that can be filled or replaced. Every writer is unique and has their own style. No 2 of them will ever truly be the same. It breaks my heart to know that such a creative and talented writer like you feels insecure about your own work and view them in a different light than your readers do? I'll convince you that your writings are perfect a million times if I have to. I'm so sorry that you still felt this way. Idk what to do to make you change your mind. The least I can do is offer support and tells you how much your writings meant to me. How happy it makes me. How it stayed in my mind for a long time afterwards 💜 Your writings are beautiful ❤ They're perfect 💕 And I'm not telling you what to do but I hope you'll stay here for a long time 🫂 Your writings are not how you see them at all. They're freaking amazing 🙏🏼 Also,I saw that you're taking a break from writing for a while,is that correct? If that's so then take care of yourself,honey ❤ Hope you'll feel a lot better once you return 🫂 I'll miss you but I understand 💜 Take care of yourself first 💜🫂 Lack of interactions can really be grating. Take care of yourself properly,I'll still be here if you ever want to talk 🫂❤ Sorry again for writing so long.

First off, I love the chokehold that Small World Bucky has us in 😂🩷

YESSS! Lord knows how I sobbed writing it because fuck if someone cared for me and my presence like that 🥺 (and I literally enjoy eating alone lmfao). No, you're right. It doesn't matter whether she has cooked or not because some days she can be sick and surely hubby isn't so heartless. It is totally that he DOES NOT eat without her regardless of whether it's take out or home cooked. After all, what kind of a couple doesn't eat together? 🥺❤️

I see Small World Bucky as a rather chill and laid-back kinda guy (I mean that isn't much different from canon Bucky I think) but you best believe the first few days of his prison food (if he even went there, that is 👀) was eaten by the walls and the floor. He just got betrayed by his future wife who he cannot eat without. Of course he's not just gonna say grace and enjoy the shitty slammer food 🙄

Thank you for your kind words, they are really heart warming and definitely uplifting. I do have to agree with you about what you said about response and feedback. But I also kinda dislike my writing and don't understand why people like it 💀 I've tried to stop many times but I can't. It's probably because I am a literature major and I compare these to the stuff I study and of course fanfic can never compare to those and English isn't even my first language but I can't help it still.

I am not sure about a 'break' because sometimes I feel like taking one but then I come back because I enjoy writing stories and being delulu hehe. Your words really do mean a lot to me and thank you again for taking the time to write such a sweet ask to me ilysm 🩷🩷🩷

You can interact with me however you feel comfy, I don't mind. Although I am not someone who likes to vent or talk about things because I feel like it doesn't actually solve anything 💀😂 yeah I am a pessimist like that. That's one of the reasons exactly why I stress rant in a cryptic way so it's not so out there but I can still get it out of me. Though the fact that you said you'll miss me is making me so 🥺🥺🩷🩷

Also please never apologize again for writing a lengthy ask to me. I am the same way and I do not mind it at all 🩷

#ask kai #anon love 🩷#kais babes 🩷#bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes smut #dark bucky barnes #dark bucky x you

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lord-squiggletits · 8 months

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For the fanfic writer emoji ask: uuuuh I'm super curious about everything!!! But mainly

💖 What made you start writing?

❌ What's a trope you will never write?

👀 Tell me about an up and coming wip please!

🤗 What advice would you give to new fanfic writers that are just getting started?

💖 What made you start writing?

I read a book called Julie of the Wolves by Jean C. George for an assignment in elementary school and basically became a wolfgirl when I was like 7 years old. But, basically I became really obsessed with wolves and nature-like stuff and I decided I wanted to try writing my own stuff like that, especially since I was further influenced by stuff like the Redwall series and Tamora Pierce's The Immortals quartet and I really wanted to write my own "magical archer girl with animals as companions" stories ahahaha. You wouldn't guess it from the fact I write Transformers (science fiction) but I'm actually a fantasy writer through and through.

❌ What's a trope you will never write?

Already answered this in the ask right before this one, but a trope that I actually can't stand in romance fics and would never ever write is "I'm mad that the person I like is dating someone else, so I'm gonna date/have sex with this other person to try and make them jealous and want me." It's just so immature and I can't see any of my favorite characters doing that, much less it actually working.

I was thinking of saying "infidelity" but honestly, I could see myself writing an infidelity fic if it was something like "one character is in an arranged marriage with another, but they meet their true lover in secret" because I like the vibes of tragedy involved in that. But like, I would never find it appealing to write a monogamous pairing where one of them cheats on the other even if they end up working through the drama and going to therapy or whatever and staying with each other. That's just not the kind of thing I come for in my romantic fantasy fanfic :( not to mention that for the ships I write, it would be out-of-character/I'm not interested in writing for scenarios where it might be in character.

👀 Tell me about an up and coming wip please!

Mmmmmmm I'll give you a freebie about a fic that I haven't posted yet: I'm planning to write a silly, stupid Pharma-centric fic in which he teaches sexual education to a class of MTOs. It'll feature a lot of valveplug worldbuilding, Autobot high command being very concerned about soldiers having safe/sane sex, and the MTOs behaving similarly to teenagers giggling about their teacher saying "spike" and other similarly immature antics.

Also, Pharma accidentally awakening a sexy doctor fetish in more than a few students.

🤗 What advice would you give to new fanfic writers that are just getting started?

Uploading prolifically is a good way to get more subscribers/kudos/comments if you feel that getting more attention is important to you, which I won't lie, is a validating part of starting out on AO3. People will be more likely to become a "fan" of yours if they notice that you're always uploading new fics/updating multichapters. It'll make it seem as if you're an active author who can be talked to, as opposed to posting one fic and then disappearing and people wonder if maybe you already left the fandom and aren't interested in writing more or talking about it.

I wouldn't worry about posting one-shots versus multichapters, or worrying about whether it's too short or too long. Frankly, I admire people who can regularly write things <1,000 words long because I always end up making stories really long even when I intend to be short lol. Just make sure that if it's a really, really long oneshot (like... there's not really a specific rule for this, but maybe 10k words? or if your oneshot has a lot of different scenes and a convoluted plot), split the oneshot into at least two chapters. Some people's browsers don't save which part of the page they stopped reading on if the tab reloads, and I've heard many people complain about fics that didn't have chapter breaks to make it easier to save their location or take a break while reading.

If you want to get popular, it's better to post things that make you happy/entertained and create a niche for yourself than it is for you to try and write the most popular pairings/tropes/etc. Or rather, I would say that having a unique niche with a small but dedicated audience is far more rewarding than trying to pander to popularity. I kind of feel like my more niche stuff may not have as LARGE numbers as the more popular stuff, but it seems to get more comments and detailed feedback than stuff like PWPs. And the more I post niche or very specific fics that are tailored specifically to my interests, the more people who ALSO have niche tastes come out of the woodwork and go "holy shit I didn't think anyone else liked this" and we end up becoming good friends! And maybe one day your niche takes will make people notice how passionate and well thought out they are, and you can start new trends in fanon and headcanoning!

#squiggle answers

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touyyes · 2 years

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alright baks (can i call you baks? like baki with an 's' ANYWAY), it was time i officially slide in your inbox because it is a requirement by law (my personal law) to gush over all my moots and their blogs. So without further ado:

firstly, i am obsessed with the edit you have in your pinned post, i've been listening to it on repeat for like 5 minutes now and the song is stuck in my head so thank you for that

secondly, the theme is a whole vibe and i'm so here for it

thirdly, you are so kind and helpful in responding to my question about ao3, i appreciate you more than you know

fourthly, how have we gone this long without crossing each other at least once like hello?

fifthly, i'm excited to read your works when they come out, be prepared for a customary short essay about the emotional turmoil i will likely experience reading your neighbour!toji fic

sixthly, lemme turn that edit in your pinned post back on cause i'm getting withdrawals from that song

seventhly, i'm so happy to have you as moot, i hope we can chat a lot more as time progresses

eighthly, CONGRATS ON 600!!! in one week too holy shit hahaha lend me your magic oh wise and great baki-sensei *bows respectfully*

ninthly, i'm sorry for the stupidly long ask hahaha, lemme stop, but again can't wait to get to know you better <3

yes poohbear (can i call u that? hehe) u can call me baks 😋 honestly u can call me whatever u please! so lemme get into it 🕵️‍♂️ im reading this rn and i feel like its my birthday OMGNDODJ

first of all. a ring 💍🧎🏻‍♀️ for u cause my face is heating up like a stovetop burner rn #y/ncore. im so glad u like the edit 😫 im addicted to it too :<< and hello?? UR THEME?? its giving blood moon, i feel like im victim walking through the dark streets on october 31st n baji pops up and bites me n we're suddenly both vampires 🩸🌔🧛‍♀️

and please dw abt it!! i love helping my mootie patooties out. id wish u the best on ao3 n wattpad but u wont need it cause u already got it in the bag ‼️and honestly, ive seen you around (obviously) but was too shy to interact 😭 especially since i hadnt posted anything yet. im so glad we're moots now tho mwah super excited to continue interacting with u 💋

#✩ — mooties!#💌⭒inbox #ILY OH EM GEE #i can't wait to see ur written essay once the fic is out hihihi #i myself have no idea how i got 600 so damn quick LMFAO #id lend u my powers but i dont think i have any 🚫🧙‍♂️🚫#AND NOO NEVER APOLOGIZE FOR COMING INTO MY INBOX #EVERRRR #youre almost welcome here #also one more thing #when i saw u followed me i short circuited KWBFISBWO

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heich0e · 2 years

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liv… any advice for writing a fanfic? See I have so many ideas but when they’re actually typed out, there’s a voice saying “what the actual fuck are you saying.” 😭

oh wow bold of you to come to me for advice!! of all possible people!!

here are 3 things that help me personally, but idk if they're actually sound advice (so user discretion is advised!)

1. Outline

If you have a plot idea, it helps to just get all of your thoughts out in one place. As you shape it out, you can elaborate on the details you're sure about, and highlight the places you know you still need to work on/develop.

This also helps to get a rough idea of pacing/plot structure that you can work from. Outlines are great for me because if I'm struggling with a particular scene, but know what I want to come next, I can just move ahead and come back to the part I was struggling with after the fact!

Having the outline as your guide (but not your bible! nothing is set in stone and you can always go back and make changes to it later!) makes the entire process easier, especially with long, multi-chaptered writing.

2. Don't get bogged down by it!

Listen, not enough people say this, but life is too short to let fiction that you're posting on the internet for free ruin your life (or at the very least make it worse.) I see this happen to content creators all the time and it kind of boggles my mind.

This can look like a lot of different things but some big ones that stick out to me are to try not to pay too much attention to engagement. Don't get me wrong, it is amazing to feel that your work (that you have put a part of yourself into) is being seen and APPRECIATED by people. But if you start measuring the success of your writing (and this goes for EVERYTHING else too - Art! Playlists! Other things I can't think of right now!) by the number of clicks/likes/whatever it receives after you post it, then you will ultimately stop finding enjoyment from the process of creating it. I have seen people get so wrapped up in their engagement that it's like they hate the actual process of creating, and see no value in it beyond the way it's received. I just think that's so sad.

Don't feel that you owe your work to anyone but yourself!

Get halfway through writing a fic and find your inspiration/enthusiasm for it gone? That's sad, but it's ok! It happens! Put it on the backburner and work on something that you're feeling passionate about until you feel ready to come back to it. It's not a crime.

which brings me to 3. Write what you want, when you want to, primarily for yourself

If you've read anything I've written/follow me, you know I constantly have like 80 wips on the go - and there's nothing wrong with that. Some of them may never even see the light of day! But I write them because I enjoy the process of taking a little seed of an idea and tending and caring for it and turning it into something bigger, even if it never gets to its fullest form.

If you have a fic idea, and you enjoy writing, then write it!!!! There is absolutely nothing to lose, and writing, like anything else, is a skill that you develop with practice. If you're not confident in your writing abilities, the only way to improve them is to do it. You can always go back and edit later - editing is a seriously undervalued part of the writing process imo.

I don't know if any of this was useful or if I was just waxing poetic. I hope I didn't come across as self-righteous at any points, I just really and truly think that writing is something that everyone who is interested in should try. I am by no means a great writer, I just write a lot. Hope this helped even a little bit, and I hope you write something soon!!

#liv got mail

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helly-watermelonsmellinfellon · 2 years

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Hi, I just want to tell you that I've been following your tumblr for a short time since I love your fanfiction, and let me tell you that if I could help you in any way, I would do that in a second. But, & I hope you don't take this the wrong way, since you started posting about not having enough money & your stepdad not being able to work because of his injury & everything else, I wanted to ask you If you have a job? Or if you are looking for one? (Unless there is a reason why you can't work).

Mom is disabled. I'm the one who had to clean the house and cook while step-dad and step-bro's wife went to work. The problem, is that step bro lived with us but refused to help with the rent or bills and he wasn't kicked out because of his baby. He's done the whole moving out and then moving back in thing 6 times already since he was 17. That's 8 years of this behavior, but this time he didn't have a job and had a newborn. His wife was the one working, but they weren't saving money or trying to plan. They just lived with us for free and spent everything on name brand candy.

(That tilts me btw because at least they could have saved cash by getting off brand candy at cheaper prices.)

Finally, the one time he was told he had to start helping out and stop wasting his wife's paycheck on candy, he threw a fit and hauled his family back to PA to live with her parents. BUT they made him get a job and he caved within a month and moved them somewhere else. He still has to have a job cuz they're expecting another kid now and his wife can't work as a result. Boo hoo for him.

When we got told the landlady was evicting us(illegally) I started the Ko-Fi account. Mom started the gofundme. I've been writing for people(fics and homework) on top of doing what I was already doing because, now that step-dad is unable to work, we have no real ways of making money but he can't help much around the house because he can barely move. Getting stuff in the storage unit was hell enough and he fell several times, lost his grip on things because he can't feel sensations anymore, and nearly passed out from the pain in his knee.

Living in the middle of nowhere and the nearest place you could apply for a job being 25 miles away, isn't good on a beat up van that doesn't work. My sister wanted a job for months and it took her that long to finally find a small pizza place that would hire her. Everywhere else had stiff requirement that no one could fulfill, especially when we didn't have guaranteed transportation. My sister had to shell out half her weekly paycheck just because step-dad had to drive 27 miles 4 times a day, and then more sometimes for anti-freeze.

Mom and I settled my position in the house years ago. I was like 18 or around there. I was being ragged on for having no job but also not being in college. 'Just being lazy'. And I pointed out that I was the one taking care of the house and if I didn't do anything they'd all die in filth without me.

We put it to a test. I did no housework for a week and nothing was clean. People were changing in the living room and leaving their dirty clothes everywhere. No clean clothes to wear. All garbage was left around the house instead of taken into the kitchen, so there were cans, bottles, wrappers, boxes, etc... lying everywhere. We got ants. The floors were covered in sticky red shit, the dishes were never clean and just piled up beside the sink, and finally, there was a gross black ring in the tub.

People had spent that whole time complaining about me having no job and being useless to the family. The amount of complaints about my lack of effort during that week quintupled and I was very pleased with myself at the end with all this proof around me. People more willing to wash a pot that's been in the cupboard for 3 years over washing a pot in the sink, and then adding that dirty pot to the sink/washer/dryer stack of dishes.

So mom took my side and told me that so long as I continue doing what I'm doing, since no one else will have the time or will to do it, then I can stay just fine. I get her food. I clean her room. I'm her legs because hers don't work anymore.

Maybe having a stable job would help us right now, if we factor out costs of gas in a place where it's almost $4, but with both of them incapable of functioning without me here to fetch shit for them and clean up after them, what's gonna happen? Bethy isn't here. Step-bro fucked us over. I'm it right now.

#tbh i'm unsure about the whole job thing too #i've only ever had 1 job and it was a church pianist and i was never paid #but i was expected to be at every service regardless of my health or familial concerns

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jimmygibbsjrrr · 3 years

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I have a lot of thoughts about the Slaters

namely, I've been wonderin why the Fairfield Survivors got thrown off the boat in Death Toll

in this panel of The Sacrifice comic, Francis confirms the fates of three of the rescue vehicles:

Image ID:

A panel from The Sacrifice: Part 1. Francis is sat in the rescue vehicle from Blood Harvest, speaking to Louis. His dialogue is as follows:

"Louis, I hate to be the one to break this to ya, but we been heading to the safe zone four times now. Helicopter: crashed. Plane: crashed. Boat: kicked us out and left us to die."

/end ID

the chopper from No Mercy was confirmed crashed in Crash Course, and as for the plane from Dead Air, it was pretty easy to guess (and would have been confirmed in the cut campaign Dam It).

but the part about the boat? that's the Slaters' boat from Death Toll. this is the first time we learn this information.

so...why? what happened?

(more under the cut, ended up writing wayyyy more than I expected over these past few days and don't wanna clog people's dashes lol)

so. let's take a quick dive into the last chapter of Death Toll, to see what we can discern about the Slaters from their dialogue.

the rescue vehicle in Death Toll is a civilian boat, Saint Lidia II, owned by John and Amanda Slater, a married couple. Amanda is never heard in-game, but John's reactions to her can be heard over the radio.

the Slaters are explicitly looking for "anyone out there with firearms". John later adds that "once you get on this boat? Your job is keeping our asses alive". it appears that their motivation for saving the Survivors is selfish from the get-go.

this is undoubtedly true in Amanda's case, however, some of John's lines betray a more selfless attitude. he will berate Amanda for not "think[ing] about the little guy". he will ask, "So what, then? We leave 'em to die? I can't do that, Amanda." whilst Amanda is thinking purely of their own survival, John still feels compassionate towards his fellow survivors. despite this, he says that "I don't want our first act of kindness to be our last", acknowledging the conflict between his compassion and his self-preservation.

so. these are the Survivor's saviours in Death Toll. a conflicted married couple looking for bodyguards, offering to take the Survivors upriver to a military safe zone in exchange for protection.

as for why they get thrown off the boat...well, the easiest explanation would be Amanda.

but, stay with me here, because I think it's a little more complicated than that.

this boat? fulla tension. there's the obvious tension between the Slaters, who we've established seem to fight and disagree regularly. then there's the inevitable tension between them and the Survivors. I reckon Louis, with his generally positive and friendly attitude, wouldn't have much of a problem with them, might even attempt some friendly conversation or something. however, he's about the only one.

the comic fully establishes Bill as caring about nobody except the Fairfield Survivors - the most obvious evidence of this being the words he lives and dies by, "we look after our own". he isn't particularly interested in other people, unless they can help the group out. and he'd likely recognise the unstable and conditional nature of their rescue. while I'm sure he'd try and keep the peace, in any reasonable disagreement or fight Bill's likely to take his friends' side, and if anyone's getting thrown off the boat Bill is going with them. this goes for the whole group, to be honest; I don't think they'd want to split up at this point.

Francis hates boats, hates water, and can't swim, so (and I'm getting a little speculate-y here) would probably be in an even sourer mood than usual on the journey. being as abrasive as he is, plus this additional stress, it's fully possible he could piss off the Slaters enough to get himself (or all of them) thrown off the boat.

as for Zoey? well, I don't imagine a married couple who constantly argues is gonna sit well with her, considering her backstory. similarly to Francis, the situation they're in would make her far more stressed, making it more likely for her to lash out.

Amanda didn't want to save the Survivors in the first place, so while I think that John wouldn't throw them off the boat without reason, I reckon she could persuade him to throw them off if they 'caused trouble' - and they would get into an argument with her far easier than they would with John.

in short: yeah, I can see them getting thrown off the boat by the Slaters after some huge fight or disagreement. I think that's a reasonable interpretation of canon, and definitely an interesting concept.

...however, I do wonder if this tension would really be enough to destabilise their mutual need, after everything they went through to come together.

which is why I'm going to bring up The Last Stand!

I gotta quickly address something before this segment: yeah, I'm totally aware this campaign isn't canon. this evidence works with the fact that it exists in an 'alternate timeline'. also, I am missing a few citations for this section - if anyone can provide them I'd really appreciate it, but just a disclaimer that I currently can't prove some of the things the wiki claims members of the Last Stand Community Update Team have said. here and here are the wiki pages where I got this information. in short - the above explanation is simpler and more canon compliant, the conclusion I draw at the end of this post is backed by shakier evidence but I believe is more interesting, and you can make of all that what you will.

allegedly, members of the Last Stand Community Update Team confirmed a strongly-suspected fan theory about The Last Stand: that it branches off from Death Toll in some way, in a non-canon alternative timeline. as well as this, they allegedly confirmed that in this alternative timeline, the Survivors still end up in Newburg for Dead Air. even without the confirmation, this remains a solid fan theory, due to the constant references to Riverside and re-use of many of Death Toll's assets.

who rescues the Survivors in The Last Stand? John Slater. no Amanda - just John. despite her lack of voice actress, if she was still present John would give some indication of this at some point. it can be speculated that whatever happened to her contributed to the lack of rescue at the boathouse that forced the Survivors to take an alternative route. either way, he ends up at the lighthouse when the Survivors call for rescue, alone, and picks them up.

and then later...throws them off the boat. into Newburg.

what reason would John have to do that? without Amanda, surely he wouldn't have that push, as he wanted to rescue the Survivors for multiple reasons in the first place. without his constant arguments with Amanda, Zoey wouldn't be nearly as stressed. and between the three of them I'm sure the other Fairfield Survivors would stop Francis from pissing John off enough to get them thrown off the boat. in short, less Amanda = less tension, and no reason for the Survivors getting chucked off the boat.

...right?

I'd like to remind you that a symptom of the Infection is paranoia.

what if, in both The Last Stand and Death Toll, John and Amanda are infected by the Survivors on the way to the military safe zone? after all, the virus is confirmed to occasionally be airborne, and I doubt two civilians have completely effective, sustained protection against that. likely the only reason they hadn't already been Infected is because they got out on the water early on in the pandemic, and hadn't come into contact with anyone else since. it's unlikely that one of them is immune, and even more unlikely that they're both immune (especially considering those with XX chromosomes may be genetically less likely to be carriers). wouldn't Francis have mentioned it if their rescuers turned or were obviously Infected? yes, but it's possible that the airborne strain works slower as well, meaning that the Survivors are thrown off of the boat after the symptoms kick in but before the Slaters fully turn. even Church Guy had at least an hour from being Infected to turning, and he was bitten. Newburg isn't too far from where the Survivors are rescued in Death Toll anyway (the burning city in the background of the finale is Newburg), so the Survivors clearly didn't last long on the boat anyway. as a result, the Survivors wouldn't realise it was the Infection intensifying the Slaters' paranoia - they'd just think the Slaters were being dicks. Francis also explicitly mentions that they were "left to die", implying negativity or even hostility from the Slaters as the Survivors were being thrown off.

so yeah. that's why I think they got thrown off of the boat in Death Toll - a combination of the intense tension between the two parties, and the Slaters falling victim to Infection-induced paranoia. but an explanation minus the Infection is equally as plausible. it all depends on what you find most interesting, I suppose, and both feel like they fit pretty well into the world.

lord this is a long chunk o text. I know most fandoms prefer art and fanfic over this sorta thing, so please let me know in replies or something if you're interested in more stuff like this. also if any of this makes sense because I like to ramble.

oh and if you'd like to use any of my interpretations in fanworks like art or fic, I'd love to see it :)

#l4d #l4d2 #left 4 dead #left 4 dead 2 #jrrrambles #not gonna tag any characters #because I mention a ton #and I don't think the Slaters have tags #i spent way too much time on this </3

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moonlight-mellohi · 4 years

Text

Familiar Faces, Connected Stories

4 months later, @sugarglider9603 I finally finished the second half!! :D Ohmygosh I'm so sorry for the wait, but thank you all for being so patient, alot has happened including the absolutely dreaded writers block. All of your comments, likes/kudos, reblogs (on Tumblr) have been helping me finish this chapter, so I really want to thank you guys for enjoying this💙💙💙💙

Another important note, but there is a reason I'm posting this today. That's because today (April 2nd) is my 16th birthday! I actually finished this on Monday (March 30th) but I decided to wait the few days so it would be a bit more special (also yes I know it's late I'm posting this, imma be busy all day so night posting it is!)

Also dont worry, if your new here (go check out the previous stories in the Master Post link!) do note I'm going to be writing my interpretation of the pokebois evolutions :D that and more short side stories are coming asap

Alright I've held you long enough, do enjoy!

Bonus note: this fic (Runaway Eevees) is what Sugar has said cannonly happened of how Remus and Deceit met the group, so if you wanna read that go ahead (it's a good read) :D

Ao3 link

Ao3 series link

Part 5 (chapter 1) Part 6

Master Post

Words: 2,931

Summery: ' Virgil's eyes widened "you've all met before" he looked at all five Eevee's faces, finding guilt in three and confusion in the other two "when, how? Was it before I met all of you?" He scratched at the ground.

His brother-father figure perked up behind him "you.. never told him?" He questioned the three trained Eevees, who all shuffled their feet. "We didn't want to worry him?" Roman tried, only for his trash brother to growl. '

The group will finally tell their stories, revealing past connections, and making new ones for the journey ahead

Chapter 2

Virgil watched as Thomas set his hands on Roman and Logan's backs, putting a halt on the growling. Well, for now at least.

He inwardly sighed, he knew the others where protective, heck he himself was being protective of his brothers at the moment. But this much hostility to other pokemon he obviously knew? He even saw Patton's tail twitching, as though the father figure wanted to pull Virgil away but was resisting.

He remembered when he first met this group of misfits, that field of flowers where Patton taught him how to make flower crowns. Yes Logan was sitting out, but Roman pounced at any opportunity to play with any wild pokemon, and Patton came right over to join the dark furred Eevee the second he showed himself. Them acting this way around pokemon they never met..

Virgil's eyes widened "you've all met before" he looked at all five Eevee's faces, finding guilt in three and confusion in the other two "when, how? Was it before I met all of you?" He scratched at the ground.

"Well!" Thomas clapped, startling them all "I'm guessing you guys need to talk about something, and since language barriers exist and food still needs to be cooked, I'm going to go burn that. Don't faint each other!" The trainer stood up from his chair making his way to the pile of berries, leaving several Eevees that probably would faint each other before speaking a word.

Virgil huffed, suspicious and annoyed "alright, first things first!" He chirped in a light tone, though it was clear the growl that accompanied it reached all the others ears "would anyone mind telling me how you've all met?"

______________________________

"-and then you woke up with no knowledge of what went down, so we just didn't tell you" Roman finished lamely. All five Eevees had taken their own bits and pieces of the story to tell, mainly because when two started arguing Virgil would hiss them down. Other than that, the dark furred Eevee didn't speak a word and kept his face neutral throughout.

Virgil sighed, flicking his tail "so you never thought once why two random Eevees took me? Logan, I thought you were the smart one. Well" he added and Logan's ears started to lower in shame "you are the smartest one here, just not about this.

"And you two" the youngest turned his head "did it occur to you that you could have just gone up and asked?" He paused, realizing the answer before the marked Eevee spoke.

"Well," he mumbled, "for one we thought they were the ones that took you in the first place. You just disappeared that day" Virgil shuddered, remembering that was true, though the truck story could be told another day "plus they're.. caught pokemon" he finished. "Ya" Virgil continued "just like me."

"But-" the stink covered Eevee tried, but Virgil shook his head.

"Thomas met me several times before I joined the team, in fact from the story Logan and Patton have told me" he flicked his tail to the shiny pair of parents "Thomas wouldn't let himself catch them until both of them made it clear they wanted to join his journey."

Patton nodded "before Thomas saved us, twice if you count the Team Rocket members in the marketplace, we never trusted humans. Most of the time humans tried to steal us for our fur color, Thomas was different" the father figure hesitated, "it.. kind of felt like a puzzle piece clicking into place when we met."

All the Eevees blinked as Thomas hummed in the background. None of the Eevees had ever mentioned to another about a feeling of a puzzle piece, Thomas had once made a comment of it, but the three there to witness that were more focused on Virgil's tail slipping into the bushes. The two unnamed Eevees even remembered when they first met Virgil hidden in the dumpster, they had felt some kind of connection.

"That.. wasn't just me who's been feeling that when we all meet?" Roman voice stumbled, eyes widening even more as the other 5 shook their heads.

"Well, you all seem to be in a better mood" Thomas chuckled, causing them all to jump. "Woah" he calmed, laughing.

"Well, food is all ready and prepared, there's enough for you guys as well" he grinned at the newbies.

The two hesitated at the idea of food, but with a comforting chirp from their brother, they followed.

______________________________

With dinner cleaned away (Thomas somehow managing not to burn anything, Logan praised happily) the group curled before a campfire as the trainer roasted marshmallows (these, he did manage to burn more often than not).

Virgil spent this time explaining to both groups how he knew both sides, of how trash and marked Eevees saved him (he didn't explain what he was escaping from), how he really was taken from them, how he met the group in the field of flowers, and how he finally stayed with Thomas for good. By the end of the story his head was laid on the ground as he cuddled Roman (a late addition during the story time, since when he explained they were boyfriends the trash covered Eevee full on tackled Roman) listening to the fire crackle. Wispy clouds drifted lazily across the sky as the night crawling forest pokemon howled and chirped and hooted.

He looked at his family, most of his past was back in his life; but for how long? He shuddered and curled more into Roman's warm fur, hating the realization he might lose them again after looking for so long. They wouldn't want to be with a trainer, especially even if it meant having Virgil being back in their lives.

Virgil. He nearly spat the name at the ground. He wanted one again for so long, from the day he hatched he had one before it and everything was taken away by.. her. He vowed never to take a name again, especially from a human. If he did, would he be betraying his oldest family connection? What would Sleep and Pecha think of his now, their little Star taking a new name, only for this one to probably drive these brothers away.

Virgil lifted his head up, staring at the two nameless pokemon maybe four tail lengths away. Why did they keep searching for him anyways?

He startled as Roman nudged his cheek. "Sorry" the starter apologized "you just dazed off staring at those two, I was wondering if you were ok."

Virgil sighed "I.. I was just wondering, why did they follow me" he mumbled, unable to look at anyone he opted to stare up at the sky. Unfortunately the world decided to push the clouds out of the clearings sky view, only piling on more of his original family's guilt. He never went searching for that farm ever again after his.. escape, and knowing Thomas they wouldn't go 100 feet anywhere near there with Patton, Logan, and Virgil. Sure, Sleep was reckless, but Pecha would be sensible enough to know not to go out into the world, an unknown area only Eevees who were taken by trainers ever saw. Those puzzle pieces were probably lost to time.

But these two.. he looked back down, Star's eyes trailing at all of his family's faces, stopping at the two. They were here, close enough in one bound he could tackle them. Why did they come, why did they care enough to try and steal him back from (what they knew at the time) hostile people and pokemon? Why did they keep looking, why did he keep looking?

Why.. did he keep looking? Virgil stood up, eyes widening. Because they were, they are family. Family he didn't want to lose, he couldn't lose any more of them. With a push from his hind legs and a squeak of surprise from Roman as he momentarily turned into a launch pad, Virgil crashed into his brothers.

"Shit, wha-" one of them cried, getting cut off as Virgil curled close.

"Please don't leave me again" Virgil chirped quietly, to the point only the two he was curled against him could hear. Virgil burrowed closer "please" he whispered "I can't lose anyone again."

The two looked at each other in surprise. They thought, well Virgil wouldn't want them to stick around. From how he told the story they would never (and probably want never) to take the smallest away from this team, and from the looks of it the three Eevees didn't trust them much right now. They didn't, right?

They usually would never hang around a human more than a few moments, never used to having a family bigger than just the three of them. It seemed logically from their past for it to be near impossible for this human and three of his pokemon to ever trust them.

..But

But it was like the light silver shiny had said earlier, they could feel the puzzle pieces there, already connected to Virgil and ready to connect with them all. A human, who was like none other. He had witnessed them take one of his own, but when that one showed he still trusted the two misfits, the trainer opened his arms, gave them food for no other reason than one he trusted showed they trusted the two strangers.

And the three Eevees, Virgil seemed to trust them to the ends of the Earth. Patton had offered them to join their meal right away. Roman had laughed off the trash Eevees tackle and just said Logan's reaction had been similar. Logan, while seeming to be the least likely one to want them here, listened to their half of the story without interrupting unless to give more detail, and was showing trust even now by watching from the fire's other side, not moving an inch. They trusted them in a way.

No, they didn't think of these four as family yet, but for the first time since they met Virgil, since they met each other, there seemed to be a chance to make that come true.

"Ok", the marked Eevee nudged Virgil "we'll think about it overnight."

For some reason, they realized they wouldn't even need that time.

Because the best part of staying was not only they would gain a whole family, one they would perhaps one day learn they could always trust, but they would regain their brother. Their brother they would have searched for eternity to find, and given anything to stay with.

______________________________

Thomas yawned as he sat up, Patton rolling off the trainer's shoulder still fast asleep and swapped to flopping over a passed out Logan, who was moments ago tucked between Thomas's ear and shoulder. The human glanced around, finding Roman (who always moved in his sleep) laying across the sleeping bag where his left ankle was. Last but not least Virgil was curled under a cuddle puddle with the two new Eevees from last night off next to his sleeping bag, the only contact being Virgil's tail brushing Roman's.

The trainer chuckled and slid his foot away from it's prison, quietly hissing as he tested the tingling foot. Of course it was asleep. Well, the best way to wake it up was to get active so..

The dirty Eevee stretched, rolling off from the top of the cuddle puddle. He let out a small oof when he came in contact with the floor a moment later than he expected. The strange, definitely not earth floor….

Eevee blinked, watching not one but two of his brothers curl together sleeping. Yesterday wasn't a dream he realized happily, watching the three other Eevees scattered throughout the tent sleep. A pleasant smell carried his paws out of the durable plastic flap, emerging to a bright, just after dawn day. The human (Thomas his always chaotic mind somehow supplied) was back making more hot food. Well, at least he seemed to be attempting with varying success, a stack of nice enoughly done pancakes sat on a plate to his left, with a smaller (but not by much) pile of black crispy pancakes to his right. Now the left crispy brown ones looked appealing, the Eevee thought the crispy, burnt pancakes smelled like a gift from Arceus himself.

Thomas stumbled in surprise when the stack of miserable pancakes clattered to the ground, only to laugh as he watched the dirtier of the Eevee pair dive at them hungrily.

"Well breakfast won't be ready for a bit more, but I wouldn't mind the early clean up crew" he giggled as the Eevee glanced up only for a moment, only to turn to back and attack the pancakes again.

"Just make sure not to scatter them too far" Thomas warned kindly, turning back to the camping stove " we'll have to clean up afterwards." The trainer smiled as the Eevee chirped in agreement.

Soon the others crawled out, and the burnt pancake (and other foods Thomas just didn't get right) devourer went to chirp and chat with the others. Food was served, equipment packed, and about two hours later Thomas was adjusting everything onto his back. If it hasn't been for Logan, Thomas knew he would never have had his stuff packed so neatly.

"Welp" Thomas said out loud "it's time to get going, we have a gym challenge next town" his four cheered different levels of excitement. He turned to the two wild runners "I guess this is goodbye for now" he smiled

After so many run-ins with Virgil, Thomas had skillfully learned how to hide his heart ripping out everytime he had to leave puzzle pieces behind.

This skill came into play hard when Virgil looked up at the trainer with such sorrow, Thomas nearly burst to tears right then and there. Instead he smiled, offering a hand for comforting pets. Virgil did not walk near the hand, instead letting out and angry hiss.

Thomas shook his head, wishing he could fully understand what Virgil was saying, but got the message "I can't force them, you know better than anyone here that I only bring members on my team if they want to join. Never by force, I always give an option."

Virgil wine was cut off though as the dirty Eevee snapped from his frozen trance and bounded forwards, stepping up to Thomas and putting his paw onto the human's hand. Somewhere in him remembered a similar interaction with Roman when they first met, but that was washed away when the other Eevee came up and chirped something, only to get tackled by Virgil right after.

"Oh" Thomas realized, smiling "I'm guessing that's a good thing?" He asked his team beside him. Patton nodded excitedly, Roman purred, and Logan merely flicked his tail positively.

"I guess I can do this then" he slid out two pokeballs, setting them on the ground. The wild pair looked at eachother one last time before the smaller marked one nodded, and both touched the white button.

"So" Thomas asked as the group wandered down the trail, focusing on the pair walking (or in the dirtier ones case bouncing) by his feet "I was wondering if I could offer giving you names? You don't have to, but-" Virgil rubbed the trainer's cheek from his spot in the hood, stopping the human's splutter of words before chirping some of his own down. The two below responded after a moment and Virgil gave off a purr as a signal: both had agreed it would be ok.

"Alright.." he mumbled. Earlier events of when the dirt covered Eevee had offered his paw in the same way Roman had came rushing back, turning and twisting until a name suddenly formed "how about Remus for you?" He wondered. Said Eevee stumbled as though surprised, but after a moment Remus gave a happy chirp, Thomas smiled in return.

Finally there was the Eevee with the special marks on his face. There was something in his mind that he felt for some reason, it just felt right for him to call the other

"Janus" he mumbled by accident out loud, the trainer's eyes widened as he glanced curiously at the pokemon "what about Janus?" The Eevee seemed to think hard although weighing the name vs. something only he saw, he knew. Before Thomas could speak the little Eevee glaced up and nodded, the most determined nod he had gotten out of the six of them for figuring out their name.

Six of them.

Thomas grinned widely as all six of his Eevees walked or rode on him. It had all started with Roman, the first time Thomas had found a puzzle piece. Then Patton and Logan, Virgil, and finally Remus and Janus. It felt right, like he was home. Like he was with family.

"It's interesting," he voiced quietly to his team "how many of us have seen each other before really meeting each other. There's even more to explore in the future, so many possibilities, so many mysteries. But I'm glad" he sighed gleefully as the distant sound of cars passed. The town was close by.

"I'm glad I get to do it with so many familiar faces. I'm glad that we all have connected stories. I.. honestly couldn't imagine walking our next journey without you guys, my completed puzzle

My family."

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joiedecombat · 3 years

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100 Days of Writing: the List

Since it seems there is some interest, why not? List of works (nominally) in progress, old unfinished fics, and Stuff I Want To Write below the cut. Feel free to ask about any of these.

Works (nominally) In Progress

Fanfic

"Reason or Rhyme" (Time Princess - Gotham Memoirs). The Vittorio expansion/fix-fic, because I will be forever disgruntled at how little romance content was actually included in the Mafia romance route.

Galactic Date Night Shenanigans aka "The one where everything is Balkar's fault." (SWTOR - Theron Shan/Jedi Knight). Theron "disaster spy" Shan is goaded into trying to take his wife out for a nice date for once, and it goes like every other plan these two have ever had anything to do with.

#3: [I] trusted [you] (SWTOR - Theron Shan / Jedi Knight). A post-Nathema prompt fic I swear I will finish one of these days.

Original

super secret short story/novella project - Okay it's not that super secret, but it is something I'm mostly keeping under my hat for now as I work on it because of reasons, and is actually (inconveniently, for 100 Days of Writing purposes) the main thing I've been working on lately. I expect to be able to say more about it later. Maybe even within the 100 days! We'll see.

southern gothic urban fantasy procedural romance - Faerie Animal Control Warden meets FBI Elf during investigation of a suspicious death out in the kudzu. A little bit of Bright, a bit Mushi-Shi, a drop of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

Stuff I Want to Write

Distinct from works in progress in that I have not actually gotten past the planning stage on any of these - if that. A few of these have been rattling around in concept for long enough to have gone through several distinct evolutions without ever getting any writing done on them. Still, hope springs eternal and ideas are never wasted.

Fanfic

the rival bands AU / the rock opera playlist fic (Sailor Moon - Makoto Kino/Nephrite). Currently exists entirely as an incomplete playlist.

space opera Pride and Prejudice retelling - exactly what it sounds like on the tin. Do y'all know I have yet to encounter a futuristic/space AU? Surely there's one out there somewhere, but I have yet to see it. If you know of one, for the love of God don't tell me.

"Ten of Swords" - (Archer EMIYA/Minako Arisato). fate/stay night + Persona 3 Portable crossover what's even wrong with my brain.

Original

the Regency fae story - a Regency-era fantasy in which a lot of the needlessly complicated and restrictive social rules followed by the upper classes are actually an attempt at defending against the Fair Folk. Sort of Pride and Prejudice vs Changeling: the Lost vs Labyrinth. Could turn into a whole Pride and Prejudice retelling, I guess?

drinking games - fantasy imperial court intrigues involving a romance between a court poison taster and a master spy/assassin.

untitled - East/southeast Asian-inspired Beauty and the Beast retelling in which the Beast is a mountain god whose appearance is based on a tiger. I'm probably too white to write this.

untitled - Private investigator hired to investigate local bad-boy-made-good for insurance fraud, turns out it was actually an ill-advised teenage deal with the devil coming due. Might fit in with that other southern gothic urban fantasy idea, I am not sure.

the ciphered letter - This one started off as a combination of a Mage: the Awakening campaign and a really, really weird spam email I got one time. Orphan gets mysterious ciphered letter, meets snarky Welsh mage, awakens to magic and maybe almost gets made a human sacrifice to an eldritch abomination.

Forfeit - Regency/Victorian-esque fantasy involving reincarnation, a race of immortals, and a half-immortal teaming up with a mortal who sacrificed his future reincarnations for pseudo-immortality to uncover and stop the sinister secrets that power a colonizing empire. It makes more sense in my head... probably?

untitled - Slow burn enemies to lovers between the world-conquering emperor and the rebel leader who's opposing him, over the course of a time loop. AKA Lord of Heroes Kartis/Monarch with the serials filed off. Or I guess I could just write Lord of Heroes fanfic?

low fantasy Magnificent Seven Samurai - Farming village scrapes together a group of starving mercs to protect them from marauders, drama ensues. That's it, that's the whole idea.

Unfinished Fics

Distinct from works in progress in that these are all old enough I can no longer claim I intend to finish them. Some of them I may come back to, especially the few that had substantial progress made before they fell by the wayside. Most will probably be left abandoned, either because I have lost interest in continuing to work on them or I have just plain forgotten what I was planning to do with them.

dreameater - A very old, loosely Forgotten Realms-inspired concept involving an aging half-elf, his fully elven partner, and a mysterious magical threat that's devouring people's dreams.

"Fortune Favors the Brave" (Baccano! - Luck Gandor/Eve Genoard). The Luck/Eve shipping fic.

"Intermezzo" (Blood+ City of Nightwalkers). Follow-up fic to an obscure manga prequel/side story for the vampire anime Blood+, involving Hagi and the Hong Kong cop who semi-adopted him that one time.

"The Art of Losing Everything" (Dragon Age: Origins - Alistair Theirin/f!Cousland). An Alistair/f!Warden fic with themes of loss, duty, and sacrifice.

"In Pieces" (Dragon Age II - Fenris/f!Hawke). A terrible horrible no good very bad AU where Hawke actually turned Fenris over to Danarius and then came back to try to fix her mistake, which I can never finish because I can't make that initial decision make internal sense no matter how hard I try.

"Pas de Deux" (Final Fantasy VIII - Squall Leonhart/Rinoa Heartilly). Exploration of how Squall and Rinoa's relationship could develop after the events of the game.

"With Good Intentions" (Final Fantasy VIII - Squall Leonhart/Rinoa Heartilly). An AU in which Rinoa discovers that technically you can change the past, it's just that if Squall has an actual decent childhood the world ends. Way too ambitious for me to ever actually finish, probably, but I can't quite give up on the idea.

"I've Loved These Days" (Gundam SEED - Mu la Flaga/Murrue Ramius). One of several partly-written Gundam SEED fics kicking around in my files.

"The Last Night of the World" (Gundam SEED - Mu la Flaga/Murrue Ramius). Another Gundam SEED fic, one that began as a prompt in ye olde LiveJournal days. "I've Loved These Days" might have been a prototype, though they don't appear to have any text in common. Could in theory still get finished, maybe.

Valentine's ghosts (Gundam SEED Destiny - Andrew Waltfeld/Murrue Ramius). I'm just saying, Andy/Murrue would have been so much more interesting than the whole Neo thing in Destiny.

"Lion Passant" (Kingdom Hearts). Something something Leon as a failed Keyblade Bearer. The Kingdom Hearts franchise has rewritten its own lore at least three times since I originally had the idea, I can't imagine I'll ever continue it now.

"Vigil" (KotOR - Carth Onasi/f!Revan). Carth/Revan retrospective somewhere around the tomb of Naga Sadow on Korriban.

"Semper Fidelis" (KotOR/KotOR II - Carth Onasi/f!Revan). Post-Sith Lords Carth/Revan resolution fic.

"Clarity" (KotOR II). Atton Rand backstory study from the POV of that one nameless Jedi.

"A Simple Game of Cards" (KotOR II - Atton Rand/Jedi Exile). Spoilers: it is never a simple game of cards. Turns out someone already did it with more or less the same twist I had in mind.

the besieged base fic (Mass Effect - f!Shepard/Kaidan Alenko). A fic rendition of the "Besieged Base" mission from the first Mass Effect.

"Get Up, Jonah" (Mass Effect). I woke up thinking about Turkish drummers. Didn't take long; I don't know much about Turkish drummers. Virmire, before the other shoe drops.

"Long Night" (Mass Effect). Ashley on Virmire.

"My Heart Dances" (Mass Effect - f!Shepard/Kaidan Alenko). Liara POV of Shepard/Kaidan.

"No Way Out" (Mass Effect - f!Shepard/Kaidan Alenko). Heading up the Citadel during the ME1 endgame.

"Right Here, Right Now" (Mass Effect - f!Shepard/Kaidan Alenko). An ME1 epilogue / pre-ME2 sort of fic.

"While the Night is Still Young" (Mass Effect - f!Shepard/Kaidan Alenko). Shepard/Kaidan en route to Ilos.

Apparently I had approximately a million little Mass Effect shortfic ideas I never finished and in some cases never started. Apparently they're all for the first game. (I think there was a Thane idea or two for ME2 that I just never started on at all. RIP.)

"To Absent Friends" (Tiger and Bunny). Sad, sad futurefic of an elderly Pao-Lin reflecting on the deaths of all the other heroes over the years.

#100daysofwriting #works in progress #stuff I want to write #writing #fanfic #southern gothic urban fantasy procedural romance

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