#FINALLY! after all these years i actually finished drawing a oneshot fanart

[birdcatt]

i wonder how niko's doing, 7 years later

[chibinoyume]

Creator meme

Thank you @indelibleevidence for the tag!

RULES: it’s time to love yourselves! choose your 5 favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works <3

--

This made me realize once again how much Fandom helped me through the pandemic for a few months - browsing through my own tags there’s so much stuff I’d completely forgotten about!

1) “Jane Doe” - a 3 part comic series (especially the first one)

Post 5x10, where Jane has lost her memories because of the ZIP, and slowly bonds again with Kurt and the team. Originally it was meant to be a 4 to 5 part comic series, but I needed to get it done before the finale aired, and I ran out of time. Since I have the lines written down somewhere, I may write it as a fic at some point, albeit a very minimalist one (and it would count as canon divergent post 5x10), because it was meant to be a comic script.

Still, the first part of this comic took SO LONG and while I can still pick at things I could have done better, I’m proud of it anyway, especially because my specialty are chibi-like drawings. Cute is my cup of tea, serious is haaaard. 

2) “Ever After” - a bittersweet Jeller oneshot.

Technically there is a second chapter to this, but reads more as an epilogue, so this could be read as a standalone (and I don’t know if I’ll ever get to finishing that 2nd chapter! I’ll try, though).

I mostly wrote it for myself as a fix-it fic (sort of) after the series finale. While I stubbornly will stay in happy-ending camp, sometimes when I saw images of the sad-ending, that feeling of dread filled my gut. I had some ideas in my head to narratively justify what happened, including the odd dinner scene, so I rushed to write it out while the Muse kicked and screamed at me to do so.

So in the fic, it starts as Jane collapses to the ground, but not everything is rosy and magically fixed. Both Jane and Kurt have to deal with the aftermath of what happened, and be there for each other as they learn their new normal and start healing from it, in the way supportive partners do ♥

3) Nightmares - a hurt/comfort Jeller fanart.

Post 4x12, this is how I’d imagine things may go, at least sometimes. Jane almost died (again), and even though she is now fine, has her memories and is no longer poisoned, losing her is still Kurt’s biggest fear, and he has nightmares about it in the following days or weeks. Not all the time, but when they show, it hits hard. She’d always try to reassure him as best she can, whispering words of comfort as he mumbles incoherently and apologizes for what could have been.

While some details about it still bug me (why am I like this) I still like this drawing a lot. One of the many scenes of Jeller in bed that are in my headcanon, if only finding good references for Jane’s tattoos (other than her arms) wasn’t such a hassle, I swear I’d have done so many more.

4) Honest screencaps: one & two (I couldn’t choose) 

I just had to lol when I was rewatching season 1 earlier in the year and screencapping things for drawing reference and because of reasons, some facial expressions where just too good not to caption. The ridiculous lines worked even better as a screencap-comic rather than an actual comic, imo.

It’s so much fun.

5) Too tired for subtlety - a silly Jeller comic.

Early season 5, Kurt is still very much a workaholic, even in the bunker. But this time, Jane is not having it. Mwahaha. 

It took a while to find photos of the relevant tattoos, and even then I had to BS a good bunch of them because the images were too blurry to tell xD. I swear if they released an artbook I’d buy it in a second. They could use the same pictures they had in SIOC where Jane was standing up with all her tats, they blur out the necessary bits and have a map of ALL the tattoos, dammit! 

How am I supposed to draw Summer Jeller when drawing Jane in a bathing suit is gonna take 5 hours just to find references D:?

Bonus) :D this ridiculous video (feat Rich’s rescue)

Basically, expectations vs reality.

This tiny video took way more than I’d like to admit lol and it still looks so choppy. But it’s part of the charm, right? lol Even so, the idea wouldn’t leave me alone and I had to do it. And I feel honored and proud that Ennis saw it on instagram xD

***

Hmmm, trying to tag people Amy hasn’t tagged yet! @marv-el-spot @birdsaesthetic @mchellesvanity @whatshouldjustbeours @singinprincess 

Anyone else, feel free to do it! So much fun.

[hardnoctlife]

About Me

Me: Oh, sweet, I have time to write on my WIP!

My brain: Let’s answer these author-asks instead that NOBODY asked for:

Fandom Questions

1.       What was the first fandom you got involved in?

FIRST, first? InuYasha! First one I wrote actual fanfiction for? I think that was Yu Yu Hakusho.

2.       What is your latest fandom?

Final Fantasy XV (if you couldn’t already tell.)

3.       What is the best fandom you’ve been involved in?

Final Fantasy XV. I haven’t met a person I don’t like! Generally everyone is super nice and supportive.

4.       Do you regret getting involved in any fandoms?

Supernatural, maybe?? Only because they killed it with too many seasons…and there are some pretty weird fans.

5.       Which fandoms have you written fanfiction for?

Final Fantasy XV, Final Fantasy VII, Legend of Zelda, Yu Yu Hakusho, Rurouni Kenshin, InuYasha…maybe some others when I was younger?

6.       What are your OTPs from your current fandom?

Promptis and Gladnis

7.       List your NoTPs from your current fandom

ArdNoct is my least favorite, but everyone is SO shippable…

8.       How did you get involved in your latest fandom?

One of my good friends, Claudia, was obsessed with the game so when I finally got a PS4 I started playing and got hooked! I’ve played final fantasy games since I was young so I was already a fan of the others.

9.       What are the best things about your current fandom?

I know there are dark sides to every fandom, but seriously, FFXV is the most kind and receptive fandom I’ve ever been a part of. I have a discord group chat with several people and we talk all day, everyday about anything and everything and I’ve made some really good friends from it. I wouldn’t trade it for the world!

10.   Is there a fandom you read fic from but don’t write in?

I’m actually not a huge reader of fanfiction (I know, it’s awful), but that’s because I’m too busy writing my own! I do read FFXV fanfiction that gets recommended to me though.

Author Questions

11.   What’s the first fanfic you ever wrote?

It was waaaaay back in high school. I can’t remember much, but I know it was a YYH high school AU.

12.   Is there anything you regret writing?

Eh. Not really. I had fun with everything I’ve done so that’s what’s important, even if my skill was cringy back in the day.

13.   Name a fic you’ve written that you’re especially fond of and explain why you like it. 

Insomnia High School! (Really, my whole FFXV high school series). It’s the first set of long-fics I’ve written in probably over a decade, and I wrote them while recovering from knee surgery, which kept me sane because I’m a super active person and not being able to do anything had me depressed. IHS I’m particularly fond of because it’s a little edgier and I got to feature Zidane from FFIX who is probably one of my favorite video game characters of all time! Also, it’s my longest fic I’ve written, but it was maybe the easiest for me to get through. It really just flowed for me, and even though it’s not my most popular, I put a lot of heart into it. 

14.   What fic do you desperately need to rewrite or edit?

Probably Dawn of the Godslinger, simply because it was the first fic I wrote after a ten-year hiatus from writing!

15.   What’s your most popular fanfic?

Rain or Shine and Everything In-Between. It’s probably my second favorite thing that I have written, and it was definitely the most fun to write out of all my current works.

16.   How do you come up with your fanfic titles?

Uh… they just come to me? Some are pretty straightforward (like Insomnian Academy for the Elite), and then for others I try to pick the main theme and come up with something witty, like Rain or Shine and Everything In-Between, which is meant to reference all the different domestic life scenarios and the ‘slice of life’ vibe. 

17.   What do you hate more: coming up with titles or writing summaries?

SUMMARIES. God, they suck. I’m really not sure why they are so hard, but I struggle with them at times.

18.   If someone were to draw a piece of fanart for your story/stories, which story would it be and what would it be a picture of?

I have been blessed with talented artist friends who have done fanart for several of my works! If I’m being selfish though, I really want some from Rain or Shine or The Long and Short of It All with all the bros being cute and silly.

19.   Do you have a beta reader? Why/why not?

My wife is an editor with an MFA so she is my beta reader/editor (I’m very lucky). Overall, I think it’s important to have someone check your work and give you objective feedback. No one is perfect and there is always room for improvement.

20.   What inspires you to write?

There are endless possibilities in my fandom…it’s pretty easy to stay inspired. But really, I just enjoy it.

21.   What’s the nicest thing someone has ever said about your writing?

I have received a lot of super nice comments… I think I enjoy when people are inspired to write or draw their own stuff because of something I wrote! Also, when people told me they cried or FELT some sort of strong emotion, that’s the greatest compliment.

22.   Do you listen to music when you write or does music inspire you?

Omg YES. Music inspires me more than anything else. I have playlists for just about every fanfic I write! I’ll often listen to a playlist on repeat while I’m writing or throughout the day when I’m brainstorming ideas.

23.   Do you write oneshots, multi-chapter fics, or HUUUUUGE epics?

A little bit of everything! Depends on how I’m feeling and how much an idea takes off.

24.   What’s the word count on your longest fic?

I think it’s around 88,000

25.   Do you write drabbles? If so, what do you normally write them about?

I walk the line between drabbles/one shots, but usually they’re just a single scene I wanted to get out but was too lazy to put into a larger story.

26.   What’s your favorite genre to write?

Probably angst, with fluff/romance being a close second.

27.   First person or third person- what do you write and why?

Both! It just depends on how I want the fic to be interpreted/felt by the reader.

28.   Do you use established canon characters or do you create OCs?

I try to use canon characters as much as possible, but I don’t have an issues creating OCs if the need arises.

29.   What is your greatest strength as a writer?

People have told me they like my dialogue and also the little subtle details/body language I include.

30.   What do you struggle with most in your writing?

Probably pacing, especially towards the end of a fic when I get excited about finishing it. Also, I don’t usually write outlines so sometimes I can dig myself into a hole plot-wise and my wife (editor) has to help get me out. (thanks babe!)

31.   What is your all time favorite fanfic?

Probably “Such Is Us” by surveycorpsjean. It’s what inspired me to write my own OT4 fic for FFXV.

32.   If someone wants to read one of your fanfics, which would you recommend to them and why?

Honestly, all of my stuff is so different it would really depend on the person! But my favorites that I’ve written (in order) are: You’re My Cup of Coffee, Rain or Shine and Everything In-Between, and The Insomnian Academy for the Elite.

33.   Do you leave reviews when you read fanfiction? Why or why not?

Of course!! As a writer, I love when people comment on my stuff so I feel it’s important to do the same for others.

34.   Do you care if people comment/reblog your writing? Why/why not?

If they do, it’s AWESOME and I really appreciate. If they don’t, that’s their choice! I believe in writing for myself, so I’m not going to base my worth as a writer on kudos/like/reblogs, etc. It does give me the warm fuzzies when people leave sweet comments though <3

35.   Rant or gush about one thing you love or hate in the world of fanfiction.

Okay, so, smut. I like it! IF I’m in the mood for it. If I read a smutty fic and I knew what I was getting into, it’s great. However, I tend to not like s*x just for the sake of s*x in my fics. I try to focus on emotion and WHY two characters might be getting physical rather than just throwing something in there because I think it will get my fic attention. When people put in a s*x scene that doesn’t further the plot it’s a major turn off for me. 

[aj-draws]

Future Sanders Sides Teacher AU Fic Ideas (Pt 1)

Just a little something I’ve been thinking about writing for a long time now??

 These are just ideas!! I might make oneshots here and there, but I want to try and make this into an actual story on Wattpad or something during summer vacation.

[[Thank you so very much for getting me to post this @royallyanxious you’re amazing :) Oh and btw I was that anon that said they liked your Logicality FBI agent AU fanfic. I’m super anxious but I hope you like this anyway!]]

[[Tag list: @izzynuggets, @diadrip]] 

Summary: The sides are teachers in a highschool that Thomas and his friends go to. 

-It’s also sort of a human AU as well. The sides will naturally have different last names, which I have not entirely decided yet. (+Afterschool they all have part time jobs across the street from each other but there’ll be more about that in a part two or three I’ll try getting to in the future)

[[Characters]]

Logan:

-Science teacher (Living Environment honors and/or Chemistry)  

-Part time job as a librarian

-Wants to keep being a teacher

-Speaks fluently in salty

-His choice of wear is a mix between casual and formal. Slicked back hair (with hair gel), tightly fitted polo shirts, leather belts, jeans and his signature blue and black tie 

-Definitely wears different ties with a theme fitted for each and every holiday 

-Can accurately quote books off the top of his head

-When he's too tired to do anything, he just binges Doctor Who and Sherlock with his classes

-(Based on this one Logan skit on Thomas’ insta I think y’all know what I’m talking about) He brought an entire toaster that he keeps in his classroom just so he could eat toast with Crofter’s 24/7.

-He eats Crofter’s with everything he eats and it scares everyone sometimes. Like he’ll just be casually teaching as he spreads the jam onto a slice of pizza and everyone’s a little concerned 

-Once during a test he sees one of his students struggling and suddenly their stomach rumbles loudly and as everyone laughs he just makes them a sandwich and tells them that they could take the test tomorrow

-Whenever a student doodles on one of their assignments, he finishes the picture with a crayon and he loves it when they see it and smile it makes his day

-He’s that teacher that you’re terrified of at first but then you realize they’re awesome (He has a resting bitchface that scares the heck out of everyone on the first day of school)

-Him being a sort of psychologist toward his students and they come to him (and Patton) with problems and mental breakdowns. He’s terrible at the comforting part of what to do when a person’s crying, but he’s excellent at figuring out the students’ problem or problems at helping them change their schedule/bad habits to fix it

-Him reassuring his students that-no matter what society says-just because they aren't good at math or science doesn't mean that they're useless and stupid+grades are not everything

-His students adoring him for being so realistic and understanding that school can be stressful sometimes

-His students calling him mom

-Him being so sleep deprived one day that as he was writing something on the board, he used incorrect grammar and once he got corrected, he just slowly walks over to his desk and sits under it for a solid minute 

-He hardly ever loses his cool. Ever. He handles those few immature kids in his class with ease, threatening them firmly or just completely roasting them so that they’re too busy laughing/being stunned to disrupt class. 

-But once he just gave up. He silently turns around and s n a p s. 

-He lets out this unholy screech that echoes throughout the school and shakes the nearby classrooms and scares away the birds perched on a tree outside and the chalk in his hand breaks in half the students are terrified they’ve never heard a sound of that volume from Logan’s mouth and they’re wondering if this is is what they’ll hear when the pits of hell breaks open at their feet-

-And then Logan just pauses. He takes a long drink from the water bottle on his desk, sets it down, adjusts his tie, clears his throat, then continues on with the lesson like nothing happened. Everyone agrees that that’s the scariest thing they’ve ever seen and heard in their lives. 

Patton:

-Art and home economics teacher (He has one homeroom art class in the morning, then a home ec class after lunch where he teaches stuff like cooking/baking, time management, money management, food, etc...)

-Part time job as a barista

-Wants to own his own bakery (or just be a stay at home dad)

-Speaks fluently in puns

-Whenever he has a student that he thinks is in a bad mood, he personally tapes some sort of dessert he baked to their locker on a plate with a nice post-it note taped to it

-His students call him dad

-During a rainy day, he sees some kid waiting for their late parent to pick them up outside at dismissal and he walks up to them and covers their head with his cardigan and invites them inside his classroom instead of waiting in the rain

-He frequently gets into pun/prank wars with his students

-Depending on how he’s feeling, when he sees a student sleeping in class, he’ll either blast an airhorn into their ear or lay a blanket on their back there’s no in between

-Once his class was so loud and rambunctious and he got so stressed out because he didn’t know how to deal with it that he just started crying and his students had to comfort him and no one dared to make him cry ever again

-He once forgot where he lost his glasses while he was cooking something and he asked his students to help him find them and they looked for them the entire period and no one could find it

-No one told him his glasses were right atop his head.

Roman:

-Drama teacher (Sometimes subs for the Chorus teacher, who is always absent because she's very sickly)  

-Part time job as a florist/works at a flower shop

-Wants to be a future actor on broadway

-Speaks fluently in Disney songs/musical references

-The most fashionable out of the four. He has a bunch of different outfits depending on the season. For winter and fall, he wears lots of sweaters, leather jackets, dress pants, scarves and sometimes flannel around the waist. For summer and spring, he’ll be wearing button downs, sunglasses, loose t-shirts, and jeans/shorts. 

-During play rehearsal, he puts on a red sash (and his Princey clothing basically) because he claims he needs to get ‘in the play spirit’ (when in reality he just likes wearing his old prince costume from a play he was in in the past)

-Not all of his students like him (he can be vv loud and extravagant), but his theater kids honestly adore him. They love his passion for singing, acting and musicals.

-They cheer Roman on and completely support his dream of performing on broadway one day. They secretly (and shamelessly) support him every chance they can get on social media.

-That teacher that, when he sees an artsy student, will catch them drawing during class and instead of telling them to pay attention will fanboy over their art and tell them how amazing it looks so usually art students also love him

-Knows the latest gossip about a lot of the students in the school

-Purposely casts the two students he knows has a crush on each other as the two main characters that have to stage kiss 

-One of his students gave him a Burger King crown and he cried and wore it for the rest of the week and attacked any other teacher that tried to take it off his head (*cough cough* Virgil *cough*)

Virgil:

-English teacher

-Part time job as a tattoo artist/works at a tattoo shop

-Wants to be a YouTuber/blogger (and write stories online)

-Speaks fluently in sarcasm/memes

-On the first day of school he wears normal teacher like clothing, but then the rest of the year he wears hoodies and casual t-shirts and sweatpants that he hides under a long jacket (he’s technically supposed to be all formal and whatever, but he ain’t got time for that)

-He dreams to get this original story he's been working on for years published one day. This story is basically a fantasy AU involving characters based off him, Logan, Patton and Roman.

-When he reads excerpts from books, his kids go wild because he can do Thomas' narrator/storyteller voice (the one where his voice drops a million octaves) 

-Whenever a woman/girl speaks, his voice jumps up a million octaves and he purposely squeaks/sounds like someone on helium and it gets his classes cracking up

-The kind of guy that uses the dankest of memes on worksheets/in presentations

-A lot of students really love him. The ones who like ELA are in love with his writing and storytelling. The one who don't even like ELA still like his class because he's good at keeping them engaged.

-Just like Logan, he has a natural talent for mercilessly roasting those immature kids that fool around in his class

-He'll randomly ramble away and sink into a hole of existential crisis but his students still like that side of him because it's just relatable.

-He's incredibly flexible and he can be found sitting/lying on places that probably shouldn't be sat/laid on. Once he was just casually reading a book sitting in one of those pretzels on his desk and a student screeched.

-He constantly gets compared to a cat. He hisses at Roman when he's frustrated with him, the students find him on top of furniture that isn't meant to be sat on, he says perfect as 'purrfect' and his noise twitches a lot. He used to be like nahh whatcha talking about until Roman gifted him with a cat plushie one day and he finally admitted that cats were his favorite animal (Bonus-His students joke about him being a furry a lot)

-His artsy students draw him fanart all the time and he loves it sooo much. (Bonus-Someone drew him, Pat, Roman and Lo as cats and he almost cried)

((There’s part one! Part two will either be about their part time jobs, or their interactions with each other as teachers. Feedback is greatly appreciated, thank you!!))

[thedarkenedkeeper]

Alright, it's 6:40 P.M., I'm stuck in 2017 for the next 5 hours and 20 minutes, but whatever, I figured I'd take the time to actually make a list of the highlights of this year (which I will admit, is a tad hard to do given how my brain usually finds it easier to pinpoint the negative stuff first). I was originally thinking of making a bit of a video of me actually talking about it all - you know, so I feel like I'm actually pouring my heart out to you guys and like I'm talking to some close friends - but alas, I'm a socially anxious bean who just doesn't have that sort of bravery just yet, so I'm sticking with typing this all out! I'm sorry! XD

This may be a bit of a long post, so if no one reads this, I don't care. I just felt the need to do this - it's good to pinpoint the good memorable things versus the negative. So here I go!

1) Getting myself into watching not just Jack and Mark but other YouTubers as well. I started watching Jack and Mark around the end of November/earlier December of last year, but I never actually started watching one video a day until some time in January, and it was around that time when I also decided to give other YouTubers a chance as well (Pewdiepie, Crankgameplays, NateWantsToBattle, danisnotonfire, AmazingPhil, and Thomas Sanders). Now it may seem weird that I've added this to my list, but if anyone has seen any of my past posts, then you know that the last three years for me were an emotional hell, and admittedly, I still have unexpected depressing episodes every now and again. Discovering these guys and watching them, while they don't take away all of my pain permanently, they do manage to give me a distraction whenever I'm being WAY too hard on myself. They manage to calm me down and remind me that it's okay, that I'm not alone, and I can get through whatever it is I'm going through. Honestly, I don't even want to think about where I'd be right now if I hadn't decided to start watching any of them. Each year seemed to get worse in terms of how I was treating myself mentally - I REALLY do not want to imagine what I'd be going through right now if I didn't start watching their videos.

 2) On the topic of introducing myself to YouTubers' videos, this all gave me motivation to start drawing again! I absolutely LOVE the whole "dark side of YouTube" idea, and as such, I got overcome with a bunch of creativity to go and create drawings of each YouTuber I watch with their evil counterpart. It was a lot of fun, especially since it was a challenge - testing my ability of drawing real people in different poses with different facial expressions. (I still have to finish Mark/Dark's drawing - it will eventually get done).

 3) My tattoo. My first ever tattoo, one of which I designed...This...Honestly, I NEVER would've thought I'd ever get a tattoo, especially at this age no less. I was always afraid of how much pain I'd be in, plus having to choose something that would be PERMENTANTLY put on your body seemed like such an incredibly hard decision to make. But earlier in the year, given how Jack and Mark had actually managed to help me out quite a bit, I began contemplating about getting a tattoo - one that would look both cool and artistically pleasing, as well as have a lot of meaning put into it. I tossed the idea back and forth in my mind for about 4 months, until one night I had a full-blown mental breakdown. And during that time, I looked at my bare left arm and immediately knew then and there that I NEEDED to get the tattoo done. I wanted it on my arm so if and when I'd ever have another meltdown and be too hard on myself, I could look at it and remind myself that I'm stronger than I know and that I'm not alone. I've had this thing since July 8th, and I'm still so VERY HAPPY with it. I absolutely adore it with all my heart, and I couldn't be any happier with how it came out :)

 4) THE ANTIPOCALYPSE. Holy shit, I swear, of everything that happened this year, the Antipocalypse was the highlight of my year. That was the most fun I had in a long time. I mean, yeah, we all completely lost our minds. We lost sleep and went insane with paranoia for a month and a half, getting increasingly more on edge as it neared August 3rd, but man, it was so much fun having the whole community come together to theorize, create fanart, fanfictions, edits, you name it! And that's not all - there was also the first SepticArt event, which I ACTUALLY participated in. That's another thing why the Antipocalypse means so much to me - it's what got me out of my shell, it's what ACTUALLY got me involved in the community. It got me into making a few theories, some fanart, my first ever fanfic, and I met so many amazing people, many of which I now call close friends :) It's funny, there's some irony there - Anti's evil and chaotic and drove us insane, but at the same time, in some way, he "saved" me. If it hadn't been for him, I'd probably still be a "nobody" in the community, someone just watching from the sidelines.

 5) My Antisepticeye horror fanfiction, "Glitched". This...Just like with my drawing, for the last three years, I had pretty much lost any and all motivation to write, and it was HORRIBLE. Drawing and writing are my passions, and without them, I'm pretty much dead inside. But then the Antipocalypse happened, and inspiration hit me like a truck! I came up with a theory - the idea of us, the community, being the REAL villain, not Anti - and I loved it so much that I was overcome with the need to write a story about it. I was VERY hesitant to do it, given how I'd never written fanfiction before, let alone share my writing with anyone, but the idea was eating away at me so I caved. I ended up writing a oneshot titled "Broken", which ended up becoming the first chapter to "Glitched". I was floored when I woke up the next morning to see so many people loving it, so I wrote another chapter, and then another, and then another, until I was finally like "Fuck it! Let's see how far I can take this". I had absolutely NO intentions of taking that oneshot and making it into a full-fledged story, but everyone gave me the motivation I needed. Jack gave me the inspiration I needed to write the oneshot, and the community gave me the motivation and encouragement to take that idea and expand on it. Also, whenever I say "Glitched is my baby", I mean it. "Glitched" is my first attempt at quite a lot of things - my first attempt at fanfiction, my first attempt at angst, my first attempt at horror, my first attempt at really graphic gory scenes, my first attempt at surgical operations, my first attempt at realism, and when I end up writing Part 18, my first attempt at a battle/fight sequence. I REALLY want to be a horror author some day, and from the responses "Glitched" has gotten, I know I'm doing something right :)

 6) Okay, excluding all of the pornbots and any other bot really, I have a total of 333 followers, and I honestly have no IDEA how that happened or why any of you are following me! I did the math - before the Antipocalypse, before I began writing "Glitched", I had about 48 followers. I was a nobody in the community - I would just stay off to the sidelines, watching and reblogging, but never actually participating and contributing anything. But ever since I started writing "Glitched" in earlier August, from August 2nd up until now, I have gained 285 followers! 285! HOW the actual fuck and WHY the actual fuck?! I'm baffled! In comparison to some of the people I follow, 333 is not really a big number, but to me, it's huge! I feel like a celebrity, and I don't know how to correctly react to this! I've met so many incredible people ever since the Antipocalypse started, so many of which I call close friends, and I love you all so much :)

 7) All of October. I'm talking the Inktober/Egotober/Anti-Awareness Month stuff. Even though Anti didn't really show up (except for in the Silent Movie video), I absolutely LOVED how a majority of the community decided to dedicate the entire month of October to him and came together to make a bunch of fanart for him. And if you couldn't draw, then you wrote fanfiction, and if you couldn't write, then you did edits. Either way, there was a flood of Anti posts, and not just Anti but the other egos as well and it was INCREDIBLE. I had never participated in Inktober before so I decided to take part in it this year, and even though I only managed to get 13 drawings done, it was A LOT of fun. Taking prompts and making a challenge out of it, using pens instead of lead pencil (something I'm not used to) was such a blast! Oh man, I can't WAIT until next October to do it again! :D

 8) The fact that Jack ACTUALLY saw and liked the first drawing I did for Inktober! Okay, I know if may seem a bit like I'm coming off having wanted his attention or something, but I swear, that's not it. I have never once made any of my fanart with the pure intent of wanting to get Jack's or anyone else's attention; it's always been out of fun, always out of just wanting to draw for the sake of drawing. So when it came to the first day of Inktober and I posted my drawing, I tagged Jack just because I felt like dedicating the drawing to him. He gets tagged in SO many things, I didn't think there was a chance in hell he would EVER see any of my work, so honestly, my expectations were BEYOND low. I didn't expect him to actually SEE and LIKE my drawing 10 minutes after I had posted it! Man, I got so damn happy when I saw that he liked it, I actually teared up a bit. I didn't know how to react properly to seeing that notification.

 9) The entire Save The Children Christmas charity stream. Granted, I didn't get to watch the actual stream until Jack uploaded it to the channel (I still have to watch the second part!), but after watching it, I regret having not been able to watch it live. I could NOT stop smiling throughout the entire thing. I absolutely loved seeing just how happy everyone was and just how much fun they were having. And in some weird way, I almost felt like I was there(?). Like, I felt like I was hanging out with close friends - like I was off to the sides, watching and laughing at them being the pure goofballs they are. It was such a pure heartwarming, fun time, and seeing the community come together and raise SO much money for the charity and also create a bunch of fanart for it as well was amazing to see. And of course, I can't forget the Overnight Watch. THAT I actually took part in; for 9 hours and 45 minutes - from 8:15 P.M. to 6 A.M. - I sacrificed sleep and sanity to watch the security cameras. And though I lost my mind - though I was INCREDIBLY tired the next day and though I actually got so scared to the point I cried and had to stop watching - the entire thing was surprisingly about as much fun as the Antipocalypse. It's like what a lot of posts I saw said - it was like one big sleepover for the community! Everyone came together to talk to one another and theorize about everything happening. If anyone was getting tired and about to go to bed, someone else would step in and be sure to update everyone with what was going on. It was incredible!

 Those are all the main things that stand out for me this year. I could go on and list a BUNCH of other things that were amazing and made my year, but then I'd truly be making a book out of all of it, so I'm just going to keep it as this.

For anyone who actually read this all, I apologize for just how long this was! What were you thinking? The pain you must've went through reading this entire thing! XD

Tagging the people who welcomed me into this loving community with open arms and who I truly call "close friends" :)

@vity-dream @golden-eyed-guardians @septic-obsessed @fear-is-nameless @haveaverynicetime @septicfallen @maybekatie @steffid101 @adreamoverlife

It's been one hell of a year and I hope everyone of you guys has a Happy New Year. Here's hoping 2018 will be just as amazing :)

Love all of you guys!

[zoetekohana]

Asking this because of that top notch Michi rec post you made: Top 5 Michi Fics.

Oh, thank you so much! I’m really pleased to hear youliked my Michi rec post. ♡ (*Here* it is for those who want to check it out.)

To be honest, it’s really not easy to make a top fiveof Michi fics for two reasons: 1. I love way more than five Michi fics and it’dbe difficult to rank them. 2. I’ve been reading Michi fics ever since 2004.Granted I haven’t read every single one of them. And there are so many stories that I really, really loved but have been deleted in that twelve year time span. (I’m going to include those anyways, though.)

Let’s give it a try…

I’d first like to discuss a few Michi stories I reallylike that just didn’t make the cut to my top five, but still deserve a special mention:

⚘Thin Lines byHemsee Apparently this got deleted? I only found out about this yesterday, because I started checking the links on my Michi masterpost, but evidently it’s been deleted instead. Which is unfortunate because I was really eager to know how the relationship between Taichi and Mimi would further develop. Plus, Hemsee really has a clean, beautiful writing style that is so wonderful to read. I hope she creates a new multi-chaptered Michi story, though. 

⚘ All Good Things by Hemsee Luckily, her Michi oneshot is still there. It tells the story of how Mimi and Taichi’s relationship developed throughout the years since their childhood and how they gradually fell in love and got together. 

⚘ anchor me back down by dianaagronSimilarly to “All Good Things”, this story follows their relationship from the very beginning, since kindergarten, in a wonderful will they/won’t they-kind of way, to their mid-twenties. While I do love both stories (what can I say, I’m a major sucker for slow-burns), I do prefer ambd over agt. Plus how can anyone dislike a story inspired by that beautiful song by Mindy Gledhill?

⚘ Snow by hello heartbreak I recently re-read this story and loved it just as much as I did ten years ago. Ngl it hurts seeing my beloved Chosen in such pain, but this story is so touching. I also believe this is the fic that generated my headcanon that Mimi would have trouble transferring back to Japan and have trouble speaking/studying the language. Lo and behold, ten years later that headcanon actually came true in tri! 

⚘ Buttons by BenignUser This story is just so adorable! It makes me melt every time I read it. (I believe I’ve read this oneshot five times. What is my life, haha?) But really, it’s so fun, so cute and definitely worth your while. 

⚘ keep it classy by hellyeahayumichan This is a collection of four (slightly nsfw) drabbles for Michi, Sorato, Takari and Kenyako. It’s just such a great read! I really admire the subtle descriptions. Hellyeahayumichan has such a way with words. (And even though it’s not fic, I highly, highly recommend checking out her Michi art! Each and every one of her drawings are amazing. I envy her colouring skills in particular.)

⚘ Parallels by Scripturiens There are no words to describe how amazing this artwork is. And I stress the word art, because it’s really an interesting exercise in writing by putting the different pieces out of order so that all the nuances of the thoughts and the actions of the characters come together with such care. Amazing structure aside, it’s a nice piece that so wonderfully conveys emotion, especially heartbreak. I love it so much, and now I want to go re-read it….

⚘ Whispers at night by ribbonedcuriosa To this day I’m still so happy I requested a Digimon story set in the Star Wars universe from ribbonedcuriosa, because she took it and fabricated this lovely ficlet. She merged both franchises so fluently, it’s inspiring. The Michi is subtle here, but I love subtle implied pairings when it comes to the adventure genre. I honestly crave more of this story. Forever crossing my fingers for a continuation.

After contemplating long and hard over it, I now present you my TOP FIVE MICHI STORIES:

05 ⚘What Women Want by StarlillyWe start of with one of the most popular Michi fics on FF.net. And that’s understandable, because this story is so much fun! I believe I started reading it not long, just a couple of months, after it was completed. I’m even planning on re-reading after finals, so my little review here is based on my memory of when I read it late 2005. 

First there is something I have to confess (again, I’m sure I’ve stated this before, but just to be clear I’ll state it once more) that I don’t really like it when authors use the dubbed names in fics. I prefer reading Taichi Yagami over Tai Kamiya, very much so. I didn’t like it back when I started reading Michi fics in 2004/2005 and I still don’t now. That said, I won’t turn a fic down because the author chose to use the dubbed names. I do like to give it at least a try. (I sound so picky now…) And in this case: I loved the “What Women Want” film back then (still do, I rewatched it this year), so there was no way I wouldn’t read a Michi fic based on that film. And honestly, Starlilly took the premise and really made it her own while developing the relationship between Taichi and Mimi so well. 

04 ⚘ Falling’s not the problem by ribbonedcuriosaAhhhh, this story is so good! I was eagerly awaiting the next part to beta each time because it’s just so good. I absolutely love how curiosa jumped back and forth from past to present to showcase how Mimi and Taichi got to the point where they were in the beginning and how their lives further developed since then. And she did it so fluidly. Also her characterizations of both Taichi and Mimi are so well-done. 

03 ⚘Come to Me by Pied Piper + Only Alive by Pied PiperI’m sure you all knew beforehand that at least one Pied Piper story would make my top five, and here’s the first one… Sorry, first two. Okay, I know I’m cheating here by putting both these stories on the number three slot and therefore haven’t whittled my list down to five fics but six. But for the life of me, I can not chose between these two! 

I’ll talk about Come to Me first. I really love this story so much because it’s so real, so relatable. There were so many moments where I just nodded understandingly, because it was so realistic. And I talked before how I love slow-burns, well, this fic is one of the ultimate slow-burns I’ve ever read. I really enjoyed reading about their journey from how they became friends first to actually falling for each other, but being apprehensive first considering they were still dealing with their heartbreak from a previous relationship, to finally arriving at their destination together which felt so earned. It was so beautiful beyond comprehension. (PS: I still have a half-finished fanart of it lying around.)

Moving onto Only Alive now… I’m confident my good friend Sunny is going to love the fact that I included this fic into my top three. Back in the beginning of 2009 when we discovered our mutual passion for digimon as well for Michi through a meme on my livejournal (we befriended over Avatar first), she told me that this was her most favourite Michi story. Somehow I hadn’t read it then yet. (Seriously, what was wrong with me?) So, at her recommendation, I read the first chapter and I immediately wrote back to her that I was in love with this story already. There was a certain passage in the first chapter that stood out to me, because it was the perfect Michi interaction:

So he asked her to dinner, sending a written apology note down to her small cubicle several stories below his feet.

She replied almost instantly: Jackass. 

He responded: Pick you up at eight? 

She agreed: Buy me flowers, too. 

Ah, Mimi, Mimi. How he missed someone who could talk back without fear. Welcome home, he grinned to himself.

To me, Michi is so compatible, because their personalities just go well together. They’re both headstrong but they’re both also very passionate and kind. I love seeing them portrayed with the whole “love to tease you” dynamic. And that passage in OA is an excellent example of that. Honestly, Pied Piper has such an exquisite grasp on these characters. I knew then that this fic was going to be splendid, and boy, did it deliver! I read it in the course of three evenings.

I will forever love both these stories. Then again I will forever love all the stories Pied Piper wrote. Just thinking about them makes me want to re-read every single one of them (except that I sadly lost a couple over the years…) 

02 ⚘ Creative License by R.vdPI’m kind of cheating again, haha, because technically this wasn’t really Michi. Daikeru, a ship I love so much next to Michi (thanks to this fic actually), was the main pairing of this story, but Michi was definitely heavily featured. But I just loved this story so much! Unfortunately it was deleted several years ago. (Around 2007, iirc.) 

That being said, I still feel lucky to have read this story. I can’t begin to explain how amazing it was! It was so cleverly constructed. Each chapter focused on a certain aspect of the story, and with each chapter we learned more and more what happened to these characters in the past and how they’re ultimately connected to other characters. It was all intricately interwoven. The writing style was also so crisp, so poetic, so inspiring. Plus, while the Michi was very angsty, it was very hot. I still haven’t read a nsfw Michi that came close to their scenes in this story. 

01 ⚘ My Captain’s Lady by Pied PiperIs there any surprise that MCL is my ultimate favourite? 

The truth is: This isn’t just my favourite Michi fic. This isn’t even just my favourite Digimon fic. This is my ultimate favourite fic ever.

It was the very first fic that got me so hooked. I started reading MCL after chapter fifteen or so (don’t remember the exact chapter anymore, since y’know, it was eleven years ago) and kept checking for the next update. It was really bad with the final chapter, because it was New Year’s Eve and I continuously pressed refresh so eagerly awaiting the update and then when it was finally there I read it between the different courses of dinner. 

I loved it so much that I was raving about it non-stop to my best friend that she, who hadn’t watched a single episode of digimon, even wanted to read it. So I lend her my binder of MCL and I like that she texted me her thoughts a few times. I kept those texts, even after ten years, until I had to buy a new phone last summer. 

Sentimental experiences aside, the story itself is just so epic. It had everything: an intriguing plot, an amazing build-up, lots of suspense and action, and of course a compelling romance between Taichi and Mimi. Once again, the journey of the characters and their relationship was so moving and so captivating. And I loved every step of the way.