#honestly i have a lot of possible contenders for favorite fic of all time but im gonna be honest man. I Will Be Honest i am fucking LIVING

[gaia-is-here-now]

I'm going to go fucking feral rn [positive] I love 275k word ongoing fic updated in the past week,,, I love you 25k word chapter......

I think I'm gonna start reading it from the beginning tomorrow so I can experience it will full context of everything and experience it in a new and wonderful way

[sensitiveheartless]

20 questions for fic writers!

Tagged by @feralrookie! :D Thank you for the tag!!

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

10! (technically, kinda)

2. What's your total ao3 word count?

379,547

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Just Bungou Stray Dogs! It's also the first fandom I've written for, actually. :D

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

This is how it feels to take a fall (Dazai goes feral, time shenanigans)

Plate :( (Dazai breaks a plate, experiences emotions)

Dazai and the Moving Detective Agency (Howl's Moving Castle AU)

Chuunyaa's Pawsitively Catastrophic Day (Chuuya is turned into a cat, it's short and pretty much just shenanigans)

Wish in one hand (First fic I wrote, and the first one I posted — Dazai has emotions about handholding)

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

I try to, but I've been absolutely terrible at it lately — whenever I'm particularly stressed I start worrying that the negative emotions are going to leak through into what I'm writing and make my tone sound weird, so then I end up turtling in on myself and not saying anything at all, no matter how much I want to engage with people. It's a bad habit, and I want to work on it, so I'm gonna try to catch up on comments! (I treasure every single one of the ones I receive, so for anyone who has left a comment and hasn't gotten a response from me yet, thank you and I am very sorry about my inability to form words in a timely manner skdjfksd)

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

Probably An Unsent Letter, since it's pretty much just a short snippet of Dazai being sad while he's leaving the mafia. And even with that one, I have in my head that skk still get together after the four years apart, I just didn't write it. I am dreadful with sad endings — although the ending to "This is how it feels to take a fall" is a little bittersweet, perhaps.

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

Hmm...I'm gonna say Dazai and the Moving Detective Agency, because it's the one with the longest buildup, so I think it has the most catharsis, at least for me! But I tend to give all of my fics happy endings because, as established, I am a wimp when it comes to hardcore angst. I will say that Zut Alors I Have Missed One is probably a contender for happiest as well, just because that fic had no angst whatsoever and was just Unhinged

8. Do you get hate on fic?

Nope! Everyone's been lovely! I have gotten some for my art, but honestly it was pretty toothless and I couldn't take it seriously lol

9. Do you write smut?

...Yeh. :0 There was an attempt, at least — one fic, and I made it anonymous (so on the extreme off-chance that anyone notices a discrepancy between my total ao3 wordcount listed here and the summed up wordcounts of the fics viewable on my profile, that's why!) It's also another fic I need to finish, I hit my writing roadblock with that one at the same time as all my others, and it's almost doneeee I just need my brain to cooperate >:|

10. Do you write crossovers?

Not any proper crossovers, only things like the Howl AU and the Little Mermaid AU, where I took the settings/plots and put in BSD characters.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

...Possibly? I'm not actually sure, I've given a couple people permission, but I'm not sure if anything came of that, I haven't heard one way or another :0 I do have a tendency to use puns, which I realize might make things difficult for translations

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

No, not so far — and given how tempestuous my schedule has been, it'll probably be a while before I attempt anything like that! Sounds fun, though

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

...I mean, it's gotta be soukoku, because for all that I've enjoyed a lot of fictional pairings before (for example, Howl and Sophie specifically from the HMC books, Beatrice and Benedick from Much Ado About Nothing — I like bickering duos, what do you know — Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane, currently falling down the Hualian rabbithole because I'm reading Heaven Official's Blessing with my friend, and there's lots of other ones), for as much as I like all those, I haven't really had much of an urge to write anything for them.

So, purely in terms of me wanting to mess around with two characters and write them over and over and over again, it's really only skk! They hit the exact right combination of braincells, I guess lololol

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but probably won't?

Hmmm...honestly, most of my WIPs I still intend to finish at some point or another — first priority being the ones I've already started posting, of course! Although...just due to time constraints, I might not get around to writing the thief!Chuuya/detective!Dazai one I was planning a while back. (and I mean a WHILE lol) I didn't write very much of it, and honestly most of the reason I wanted to write it was for comedy — so maybe I'll turn it into a short comic series instead, because I do think some of the bits were funny :0

16. What are your writing strengths?

That's a hard one; I tend to look more at the ways I want to improve my writing then at what I like about it, and I nitpick just about everything I create, art and writing alike. But if I had to pick something, I would probably say dialogue? That tends to be what I write easiest, at least. I still want to get better at that too, though.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Descriptions and action scenes. I've been making myself write them more, so I think I'm slowly improving (the Howl AU has been great for that! It pushed me to write all sorts of scenes I wouldn't have normally :D ), but those two things remain what I get bogged down by the most.

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

Depends on the circumstances, I think? I'd include translations if I did. I do tend to include Japanese honorifics when I'm writing in the canon universe, because there's not really english equivalents and it feels like I'm leaving something out when I just do their names straight — although I did take them out when I was doing the Howl AU and the Little Mermaid AU, just as a setting thing.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Bungou Stray Dogs — like I mentioned in the ship section, this is the first fandom where I've really felt the urge. Although I did write things when I was little that very blatantly yoinked in various creatures and concepts from the things I was reading and watching, which resulted in stories with pirates and weeping angels and Ringwraiths all running around in the same place. But I didn't usually bother with bringing in actual characters from those pieces of media, or even using the settings, I just made ocs and had them run around in my own made up world.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

I like all of them for different reasons, but I think my favorite overall has to be Dazai and the Moving Detective Agency. It's the longest thing I've ever written, and when I started out I wasn't sure I'd be able to do it — so the fact that it's most of the way done (currently chipping away at the epilogue, it is getting to be a LOT of words) makes me really happy. And it's just been so much fun! Writing characters I hadn't before, piecing the world together, working out the magic system, writing Dazai being a mess and Chuuya being cool, it's all been a blast. And I seriously need to finish the epilogue, because the followups are living in my brain and they demand to be freed aksdfjksdjfk

But yeah! I'm not sure how many writers I know on here have already been tagged, so I'll just go open tags on this one! :D If any of y'all write and feel like doing this, then go for it!

[glaivenoct]

( fanfic writer ask game ) ✏️ , 🎧 , 🔬 , ✍🏽 , 🌾 ?

Thank you so much for sending some in! ;u; (Fanfic Writer Asks Here)

✏️ The first fanfiction you ever wrote? (doesn’t have to be a posted fic)

Heh.. back in 2005, a show aired on Discovery Kids that became my favorite show in the history of ever. Wee 9 year old Brina did not understand or even know of the concept of Fandom or Fanfiction - but this show is what I consider my first Fandom ever.

Did any fellow millennials ever watch Flight 29 Down on Discovery Kids (2005-2007)? Man, I loved that show so fucking much. I wrote silly little fics for it in my spare spiral college ruled notebooks! AUs before I even know what an AU was lmao. My favorite was one I called "Agents in Action" where I pretended all the characters in the show were recruited as Secret Agents after being rescued lmao.

I also wrote fics for my favorite ship in the show. Again, I didn't really know what the word ship was, but I knew I liked two characters enough to write fics of them getting together and referring to them with a pairing name. I shipped Jackson/Taylor aka Jaylor! Jackson was the Tall-Quiet-Mysterious foster kid with a questionable past and a sense of being an outsider among his peers, and Taylor was the seemingly shallow rich Mean Girl, who turns out not to be as mean or shallow once you get to know her a little more and she learns some more empathy/self-awareness.

When I wrote these fics, I had no idea what fic even was. But man oh man was it such a happy place for me to write them at the time. I wish I still had them, but I don't know where they went. I used to draw pictures at the back of every page and everything. Good times, good times ;u;

🎧 A certain song you listened to while writing a fic?

MUSIC, YAASS. So! Rare is it for me to make a playlist for just a one-shot, but for my NyxNoct Masquerade Fic I really needed a decent chunk of songs that captured the right vibe to help me write it, if ya know what I mean!

Young and Beautiful is the star of that playlist. I not only imagined Nyx and Noct dancing to the song in the fic, but the playlist also features two different instrumental versions of it too! It was such a big help with that fic uwu.

🔬The fic you had to make the most research for?

Hmm.. there's honestly 3 contenders for this, and the Masquerade fic is definitely one of them - but that was research in the sense of looking up a lot of visuals for inspiration. Outfits/ballrooms/mask designs and things like that

The second has to be cagefighter AU because of the fight scenes. I looked up articles about boxing rings/MMA tournaments/different styles of martial arts and things like that. I think I put at some point in the fic that Nyx leans more towards a boxing style while Noct kinda knows a mix of things thanks to Cor. Come the next time I need to write a fight scene, I'll probably be looking up martial arts/self defense videos again. Which is usually fun for me!

The third would have to be my old and Very Incomplete NyxNoct Wings AU that only has one chapter and no proper plot to this day ;u; Researching wing anatomy and all that. Visual references for different wing designs too.

✍🏽 How much do you plan your fics beforehand?

If we're talking about outlines, never have I ever in my fic life done a proper outline ^^; I'm very "I have all the backstory in my head, the rest of the details of the actual plot will unfold as I go" :'D

🌾 A fic you really want to write but you haven’t (yet)?

So Many ;u; but right now, the main things on my radar after I finish the current WIP are: -An assassination attempt prompt that's been sitting in my inbox for too long -A new possibly probably definitely spicy NyxNoct fic ideally for Valentine's Day. Buuut there's a good chance I chicken out of that one and try writing the next chapter of Cagefighter AU instead.

If I add anything else, I'll be getting too ahead of myself and overwhelmed lol. To anyone who's sent me prompts in the last several months: bear with me please I swear. I either get them done sorta quick or... Not Quick.

Thank you again for indulging me with these! ;u; <3

[love-fireflysong]

Hi!! If isn't too much may I ask number 1,11,20,48,69 and 77 for the author ask? Thank you!=)

It is certainly NOT too much to ask! *rubs hands together* Let's do this.

Fanfic asks over here!

1.Do you daydream a lot before you write, or go for it as soon as the ideas strike? Oh I definitely daydream a LOT before I write like god. It's really only when I've been thinking about the idea nonstop for like a week straight that I think I should maybe start writing it soon lol. Even the occasional very rare couple that I get the need to write asap was still only done after half a day of daydreaming the plot and scenes sdkjfhkjdshf. (And for those that are rightfully thinking 'but Lisa, what about the stuff you wrote for past June's when you had to bang out as many ideas as possible?', even those ones I liked to think of an idea for at least a couple of days ahead of when it had to be posted so I could stew on it for a bit) 11. Do you write scenes in order, or do you jump around? Okay, now the correct answer to this is supposed to be the last one. It's the best way of writing hands down and helps you stick with the flow and helps to reduce writing blocks. But my actual answer is that I write everything in order lol. I literally cannot write a scene later in a fic without knowing what exactly the scene just before it was. I need to know what emotions are going into it. Obviously I daydream random scenes out of order in my head, but thats more so I can remember them for when the time comes that I can finally write it down. And yes, sometimes I do get an idea for a scene that would have been perfect earlier on so I inject it and edit the ones afterwards to match, but other than those times everything is written in order because I physically cannot make make myself do otherwise.

20. Do you prefer writing AUs or canon fics? I don't know if I have a preference honestly, I greatly enjoy both. Though I do suppose it depends on what fandom I'm writing for. Any of my Tales of Phantasia stuff I tend to keep canon because it's easiest for me (and being able to play in an actual fantasy world with magic and everything is just so fun), but most of my Until Dawn fics are more AU based now that I think about it. But I think that's mostly because writing canon ud fics means that it's gonna be very hard to write anything that doesn't rely on angst (for obvious reasons lol), so writing a fun fic about shmoopy pining and three nerds just being terrible dorks almost always means it's gonna have to be an AU unfortunately.

48. Who is your favorite character to write for? Has this changed since you’ve started writing for that fandom? Oooooh, this one's a tough one. Mostly because it's impossible for me to narrow it down furthur than Josh, Ashley, and Chris lol. Though I do find it a little harder to get in Josh's head then I do Chris and Ashley admittedly, which is why I have very few fics with him as the view point character. And as for if it's changed? Kind of, I guess? I always knew that Chris and Ashley were gonna be my main favs from the beginning, but for some reason I didn't realize how much fun it was going to be to write them AND Josh together until the first time I did it... which was the very second fic I wrote oops.

69. What are your favorite fics at the moment? ...And this question just got harder all of a sudden lmao. Unfortunately there's not much new going on in the Until Dawn fandom at this time, though as everyone here knows absolutely everything by @queenofbaws is always going to be top contender lol. Antagonish is probably my fav for newest things right now, if only because it's super clear that she is having the absolute time of her life finally being able to write about her favourite things: old men. (As for other fics, got back into the PJO fandom again just recently because of the casting news and I can never turn down some Vex/Percy ala critical role campaign one, but nothing that's jumped out and made me go 'oh my god this is AMAZING' :/)

77. Why do you enjoy writing fanfiction? I've always been aware that I'm not the most creative person out there, but thanks to ADHD I'm always daydreaming and lost in thought, so I gotta get all these ideas out somehow! And, even though I sometimes think that I can't do the ideas I have justice, I do think that the ideas themselves are good so I want to share them! The fact that other people may hopefully have as much fun reading it as I did writing is only a bonus baby!

[forlornmelody]

Writing Game

Tagged by @alyssalenko Thanks, fran!

Tagging: @ma-sulevin and @pigeontheoneandonly, if you want to play!

How many works do you have on AO3? 44. Though a couple of them are collections of Tumblr ficlets, so the number is higher if you count those seperately.

What’s your total AO3 word count? 183,424. I like to be brief, heh.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

About That Uniform

It's no secret that Artemis Shepard--Hero of the Alliance and Savior of the Citadel--hates Cerberus more than anything in the galaxy. The Illusive Man entrusts Miranda Lawson with the task of securing Shepard's loyalty by any means necessary. But who is seducing who?

2. The Fantabulous Vaction of One Harley Quinn and Her Girlfriend Poison Ivy

Harley's been burning the wick at both ends and Ivy knows just the thing to help. But it takes more than just a change of scenery to get Harley to let go.

3. Traitor Martyr Spy

Against all odds, Cerberus Spy Miranda Lawson and Alliance Marine Artemis Shepard have fallen in love. But Miranda is on the run and Artemis has turned herself in to Alliance custody--and the Reapers will arrive any second. Can these two defy all odds a second time?

4. Trust Exercise

Harley wants to try something new, but Ivy isn't sure her girlfriend is ready to see that part of her.

5. Three Robins Rose Has Kissed and the One Who Kissed Back.

Rose Wilson has a type and it is former protégés of Batman.

Do you respond to comments, why or why not? Of course! I know it takes a lot to leave a comment on someone else's work, so I always respond, even if it takes me a while to get to it. Plus, comments always make my day week month year life

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? 

Uuuuuh. There's a lot of contenders for that one. But I imagine it's gonna end up being Traitor, Martyr, Spy. Y'know, when I actually finish the thing. Honestly that's probably why I haven't finished it yet. The pandemic hit and suddenly I needed to cheer myself up, haha.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending? Probably The Fantabulous Vacation of One Harley Quinn and Her Girlfriend Poison Ivy, A Valentine for Esteban, and in general, @scifi-ginger and I's Kord Center Mall Fics are on the fluffier side.

Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the strangest one you’ve written? See aforementioned mall-verse fic. We basically threw our favorite fandoms together in a mall-based AU and it just spiraled from there.

Have you ever received hate on a fic? Kinda? I got a really weird, borderline biphobic comment on Not Your Hanar With Tits, which is basicaly an analogue for unicorn hunters.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I mostly write smut, haha. Non-smut is the exception to the rule. Um...mostly queer, often kinky, with lots of feelings included.

Have you ever had a fic translated? Not that I'm aware of.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I’m aware of.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Fics, no, series, yes.

What’s your all-time favorite ship? Oh come on, you know it's panphobic to make me choose! XD I'm currently a sucker for Jayrose, Poisonquinn (more commonly known as Harlivy), and Shenko, among others.

What are your writing strengths? Mmm...I would say angst, writing trauma in a grounded way, queer and queer coded romances. And possibly smut.

What are your writing weaknesses? Finishing a fucking fic, oh my God.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? I try to stick with idiomatic phrases, and the limited words I know (usually Spanish.) But other than that I try really hard to avoid relying on Google Translate, as I don't trust it one bit.

What was the first fandom you wrote for? Digimon. Yup. Those fics are still on FF.net, if that site still exists.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Spare Parts for Mass Effect, Three Robins for DC Comics, and of course, I have a soft spot for all my Tumblr ficlets.

[vermillioncrown]

Building the SS MianLin

Ok, bc of the existence of the Lan Wenhui au, I'm content to disembark from the jc/zyx ship. And, of course, forever happy to go where the story takes us. But Mianmian and Yunxun! This could be fun! And unlike lxc/zyx, doesn't require as much 'hasn't happened yet' to make the shop float. (My personal feelings on ot3 are already documented.)

- Comparable levels of snark. I mean, the two are basically trying to raise jzx into a normal human being, and they understand that this is an Undertaking and must be done w a certain level of humor/exasperated self-awareness wrt to difficulty of the task that no one asked them to do

- And they're part of Gucci Gang together! Established friends! Trauma bonding!

- Lqy would fit in beautifully w Shuangfeng, is my bet. Just enough gremlin, just enough political savvy, would be over the moon at ppl not taking her less seriously bc of her gender

- Least likely to take zyx's gender fuckery as deathly injury to their worldview/paradigms. Would honestly probs be amused and Understand thoroughly

- No need for any sort of widespread gender reveal!

- If they got married, she could be in on the gender fuckery. "Ah, yes, my....husband... 😏" "Oh no, this is my sister-in-law"

- (Congrats her on bagging one of the jianghu's top 5 lmao)

- Would not infect zyx w the Drama. Lqy isn't immune to Drama (see her canon quitting of the Jin Sect), but she's too sensible to suffer fools and knows when to peace out. Unlike the rest of the contenders on dbd's The Bachelor, she isn't a Drama Magnet

- Also, zyx wouldn't be tied to a sect leader/heir. Big sigh of relief

- Previously referenced sensibility means she'd also be able to bring the side eye of judgment down on zyx when they get too wrapped up in convoluted research and neglect bodily needs, but also knows when to let things be

- Lqy is the closest thing this franchise has to a normal, emotionally even-keeled character. A selling pt all on its own. Also the character probably least likely to make zyx feel like they have to tend to their partner's emotional needs and growth

- Would be A-OK w trolling the hell out of wwx for his longstanding crush on zyx/be unimpressed w his tryhard insinuating teasing

- And, most importantly, basically guaranteed that there would be no untoward biomechanics troubleshooting 😂😂

haaa.hahahahaa

idk if it's a good time to start considering mianlin with gucci gang turbulence - hmm perhaps it's the perfect time!

(we're only so far into the fic + allowable character interactions, so again, can't count anyone out yet)

i think you're the first to really bring this possibility up, too. addressing each point

- yes, there's already personality chemistry between the two of them, esp when lqy comes out of her shell

- friendship is a very important foundation, and they've started on their way to building it (even the current issues, of which lqy's part hasn't been fully addressed yet, is all part of sweet sweet development)

- true, but a lot of the misfits of the cultivation realm (ie. most of the canon characters) would do okay-to-well there, too

- true to an extent - i feel it still depends on when and where and other developments between them. while we all like joking that lqy is the best and most boss-ass, rational bitch in the house, she's still a teen that's growing and maturing, she's still a person that has human flaws and biases. when everything settles, amusement and understand will probably the general feeling, yes.

- also true - but depending how things play out for others and wherever gender reveals are dropped, can be the same for others (not saying i'm dropping these genders whenever i feel like being saucy - a lot of these moments and instigations have already been plotted)

- YES. 100% post-canon shenanigans, bonus points in really annoying the shit out of nosy canon-folk that want to know about zyx's family (eg. wwx only gets nosier and nosier w his favorite people)

- (damn bro, yes, you clocked the self-indulgence, zyx will absolutely go up in rank)

- Also yes to the lack of Drama(tm), just regular drama.

- Also very true, and it also makes [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] easier

- Another aspect of lqy and zyx getting along, having inherent balance in their respective personalities

- Equality is important in a relationship (even if not perfectly 'equal'). Helps that zyx would have to get to know lqy as a person more than what the media showed her as (sassy, rational, etc etc). it's more organic

- see the point on gender fuckery, this is an extension of it

- no one's gonna die via a giant skewer, but there's definitely a learning curve nonetheless

all of these are nice points made... but none of them take into account to how it takes two to tango

so while we're seeing dbd and the other characters through zyx...

how do you think lqy sees zyx???

[theringers]

V-card anon: hi sorry about that first ask i kinda went into a fugue state (spelling?) altered state of reality maybe when i wrote that and damn near outlined a fic in your inbox

The way we played hot seat was either part of a larger drinking game when a certain card was pulled from a deck, or just on it's own. You sit in a circle, everyone has a drink, usually a beer or cider. In the card pull version, the one who pulls the card gets asked a question by every person playing and if they refuse to answer they drink from their drink. In the standalone, you do that but everyone gets a turn being asked until people get bored and leave. Fun way to find out shit about people. Usually the unwritten rule is that you can't lie. I imagine everyone sitting on shitty chouches and chairs in a semi circle around a table full of cups and bottles playing it

Questions i have been asked: are you a top or bottom? Do you like anal? Wheres the weirdest place you've fucked? Body count? Favorite position (sexual)? Fuck marry kill/ignore people in this room (EVERY TIME I PLAYED I GOT THIS QUESTION)? Tits or ass or other? Favorite non sexual body part ex. Thigh? Ideal fuck buddy? Sex regrets? Etc

Also more weird details i have head cannoned out for some drivers and most likely does not fit with irl personalities, do with this what you will, use it or don't i just have feelings. Also everyone is like compressed in age to like 20-27ish except for some of the grid who i will just think of as younger alumns who come back:

Danny R: social chair, owns a jeep he takes the doors off of in the summer, walks girls home at night to make sure they're ok, tries to DJ house events and is rebuffed by literally everyone, has like 30 pairs of vans you trip over in his room, stolen roadsigns everywhere, masters in something arigcultural or physiological, cutoff frat shirts for days, fuckboy but nice, a bit cringe, will drive around with you at night so you can scream, met reader bc she had a band tee on and wanted to talk to her about it (no gatekeeping)

Charles: some kind of engineering or math degree but no one has any idea how the fuck he's gotten so far, 4.0 never studies, games with other house members, will show up at events randomly you will have no idea how he gets on your couch but he is there, the best and worst taste in clothes, is the only one allowed to play the piano in the house, sweet, cannot help you with studies but is always down for helping you out after, has to be reminded to clean stuff, disaster bi, reader met his gf first and they probably met through that

Pierre: good fashion and music taste, shirt is gone halfway through the night, also fuckboy but wholesome, actually studies, plays a sport for sure probably soccer in some way either club or Division he's too good for rec, will hold your hair back so you can throw up, will tell you your outfit sucks, good at math, also part of the squad that games, econ major, workout buddies with reader anday have taken a math class together

Max: is part of the hockey team he will go pro, also actually studies, got into gaming because of Charles, has the nicest car, is serious until he gets a couple drinks in him, he and Daniel are close and roomed together at some point, owns like 30 sets of the same outfit a white tee and jeans, knows reader through Dan and they get dragged by him to some of the same stuff

Lando: is a pledge or new member his big is Carlos, undeclared major, just happy to be here, gaming squad, used to play lacrosse or something equally obscure, king of knowing where the good snacks are, weirdly good at beer pong, growing into a fuckboy wholesomeness level tbd, probably sweet with reader as she helped him through a blackout or something, met her because she's basically house mom for some of the new boys (the kind of mom who will teach you to do laundry or iron ONCE)

Carlos: hockey flow but does not play hockey, actually studies and is smarter than what people give him credit for, came from a private high school and uni really opened his horizons, also good study buddy, gets along with most people, goes to office hours the most out of the actually studies gang, fun at parties, owns the frat dogs, he and reader met at Office hours (they were the only students) and found they had mutual friends too

Lewis: is/was president of frat, great grades greater bod, did full evolution from fuckboy to good man, has the back tests and the moral support, up for late noght talks about life, definitely was a D1 athlete, best fashion game, implemented no hazing policy, fits into notable alum or PhD category

Mick: undergrad like Lando, also plays soccer or something, too sweet, also walks girls home/holds your hair back etc, cleans parts of the house that aren't his responsibility, higher alcohol tolerance than you expect, everyone is bizarrely protective of him, legacy member (his dad was a legend), drives a motorbike around campus and can't decide between law and psychology, actually studies, met reader through the frat and she would die for him, brings her to class on the bike sometimes because the bike is faster

George: business major, frat treasurer, three ring binder business casual in class kind of guy, nice enough, shirt comes off when drunk, runs marathons and a podcast about investments, best notes in the game and great study partner, actually studies, is drinking monster at 6AM but not because he stayed up late, he and reader met through the frat and sometimes drink wine and bitch together

Lance: hockey player, legacy member, studies sometimes, sarcasm on point, great at stack cup, very chill, knows every good nap spot on campus, also has high alcohol tolerance, is the kind of person who does well in the cold but does not like it, wears headphones so people don't talk to him, great one on one but not in crowds, business major and minor in computer science, probably also met thru Lance's gf but vibe as more introverted people and will cover for each other if one does not want to go out

Nicky: a good boy, part of the walks people home squad, sets up designated drivers for parties, good snack game, future in medical field, good listener, pretty good study buddy, midnight snack enabler, met reader through frat and his gf he and reader are on babysitting duty together sometimes when others get too drunk/high

Yuki: also a pledge or new, majoring in games or computer science as they gave me the same energy as him, games squad, bit of a mad lad, has several stolen street signs, good, met reader through frat and Yuki is the only one patient enough to explain some games to reader, they cuss people out on mic

Esteban: good man, has a full ride scholarship, actually studies, also good study buddy, Dan's little, plays soccer but maybe on a rec team because he prioritizes school, very sweet guy as well, probably chose a really practical major/dual major, met reader through Dan and are also dragged similar places by him

Antonio: manbun, philosophy or classics major possibly business dual, generally good natured but can be seen supplying his own wine at parties, used to be really into metal but kept the hair, does not know that people find him attractive, soccer boi, met reader through frat and she's the only one who will (pretend) to listen to him rant about philosophy

Alex Albon: another full scholarship guy, somehow gets along with everyone, switched majors due to an asshole professor, electrical engineering or computer engineering, actually studies, helps with frat pets,will show you pictures of his cats at home, sweetie, another contender for will hold your hair or walk you home, probably met reader through a class or club and found they had mutual friends and that reader is friends with his gf

Notable alums:

Checo - dad, successful in finance somehow (he looks like an really successful accountant of CFO to me idk why)

Kimi - dad but people forget he is, holds the record for most drinks in 24 hours that will never be come close to by anyone else, shows up on random alum weekends with 2 kegs, legally cannot tell you what he does or he would actually have to murder you

Valterri - was good at a sport when he was there, now a very effective lead engineer at an architectural firm

Seb - environmental or mechanical engineering, all around good guy with someone the best grades in frat history

Alonso - legendary for sexual exploits (consensual)

Anyone I put as actually studies is probably the type reader would hang around for more serious stuff/schoolwork and would probably be closer to, with the exception of Dan bc I feel like he'd be like we're friends now :)) we shall hang or Charles bc he will just show up. I also imagine she has a pretty good friendship with any existing gf, however if a driver does have a gf and he is the love interest sorry bb girl u gotta go for the purposes of this fic

Sorry this is so long hahaaaaaaa glad you liked my Charles thoughts ilu

i honestly wasn’t going to share this like the rest of the anon asks i’ve gotten that i keep close to my heart but this was just too good to keep to myself.

LOOK! AT! THIS!

f1 drivers as frat bros/college students headcannon

i’m writing a series - each “chapter” will be a smut with a different frat bro and i’m hoping to post a sneak peek this week some time but here’s something to hold you over and give you some ideas

to my vcard anon - i appreciate this so much. my inbox is always open for ur thoughts bc they are SO GOOD !! can’t wait for you to read the first part of the series bby

PS if some of this doesn’t make sense to u feel free to send in asks (i know a lot of this is focused on american college culture so if u don’t get it i’m happy to explain)

[natashxromanovf]

I don't wanna go...

Pairing: Marauders × platonic!fem!potter! reader

Word count: 1.3K

Warnings: swearing, blood, death

Type: angst

Summary: No one knows what will the new year at Hogwarts bring. Well, this year was very much more different than the others.

A/N: Okay. I’ve probably hurt myself more when I wrote this than I will you. It’s my first angsty fic, so I don’t know if it’s good. I haven't mention Peter, but he is somewhere around. I just didn't know where to put him. Feedback would be really welcomed and appreciated. I’m sorry in advance. 

“I DON’T WANNA GO!” you yelled, trying to convince Euphemia not to go to the party.

“Well you’re going,” she said, “it’s Dorothy’s birthday and she invited us, so you’re going.”

“But-” you tried to contend

“No argues here young lady. You’re going.” she stated, that mother tone in her voice.

“Fine, but so that you know, James doesn’t want to go either.”

“Hey, don’t drag me into this! I honestly don’t care. Besides we’re gonna see Pads again, so it’s worth it.”

“Fine,” you finally stopped trying “There’s gonna be alcohol, right?” you whispered into James’s ear.

“You know it.” he whispered, a smirk appearing on his face. Well, that explains a lot of things, you thought.

It was a sunny, beautiful morning. The birds were singing, the sun was shining through the curtains and overall, it was lovely. You and James were enjoying the last weeks of summer, having to go back to Hogwarts soon. You almost forgot it was Dorothy’s birthday until mom reminded you. Dorothy was your mother's best friend since Hogwarts. She is a brunette woman with green eyes. She loves to talk and compliment the twins each time they get there. And it wasn’t any different this time.

“Oh, Euphemia, you have such beautiful and healthy kids.” she said cupping both of your and James’s cheeks.

“Thank you” your mother said.

“I see Pads,” you whispered

“Make an excuse” he whispered back.

“We would really much like to talk, but we gotta go to the bathroom.” you quickly made something up.

“Sure honey, go.” your mom replied.

“Bathroom, really?”

“Well did you have a better idea?” you whisper-yelled back.

“Whatever. PADS!”

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t my favorite twins. Hello, fancy seeing you here.”

“Oh, shut up” you said, wrapping your hands around his neck, pulling him into a hug

“I’ve missed you.” he says.

“Well, what am I? A potato?” James said, putting his hand on his chest.

“Oh, don’t be such a baby” Sirius said, giving him a bro hug. The rest of the evening was quite enjoyable, drinking champagne and catching up with one another, not hanging out since the end of the 6th year.

~

Holidays were over before you knew it. Now here you were, standing at the King’s Cross saying goodbye to your parents and greeting Remus. The train took off and soon enough you came to Hogwarts and the term started. 

The first few months went by ordinary; with the fact that NEWT’s were coming, of course. You couldn’t wait to finish Hogwarts and become an Auror, as you always wanted. It was your dream and soon they’ll come true. At least you hoped. But hey, with Remus tutoring you and you getting your shit together, anything is possible. 

Months went by and NEWT’s were getting closer and closer as were your nerves getting bigger and bigger. You really wanted it. To become an Auror. You and Sirius made a vow when you were younger to become Aurors, together. You weren’t worried for him, he’ll do all of his exams perfectly. He’s naturally talented. The person you were concerned about was you.

“Y/N, relax. You can do this! We’ve been practicing this for over a month now. Those hours spent in the library are gonna pay off.” said Remus, at breakfast before the potions test. It was the last one you had, the last step from committing to your dream career.

“I know Rem. It’s going to be alright. I’m gonna nail it!” you shouted. Maybe a little too loud, because half of the Great hall turned to you.

“Now, we’re talking.” he high-fived you.

“I know I can do it, I know I can do it.” you kept muttering to yourself.

“Miss Potter!” an unknown person shouted. Probably from the ministry, you thought. For the last time, you repeated your lessons with Remus from the library, before stepping into the classroom. The questions weren’t too hard and soon enough the lady said you passed. You couldn’t believe it. You did it! You are becoming an Auror. It was like a weight rolled from your shoulders and heart. For the first time, in a long while, you were extremely happy. And you couldn’t help yourself but play a little joke on your friends. As soon as you stepped into the common room a bunch of questions hit you.

“How did it go?” yelled Remus

“Did you pass?” asked James

“Are we fulfilling our dreams?” questioned Sirius. You hold your poker face on, trying not to grin as crazy and tell them the good news. They were getting kinda worried by now and you finally decided that enough is enough.

“I got an E!!!!” you yelled with pure happiness heard in your voice. They all let out a sigh of relief, pulling you into a group hug joyful words coming out of each of them.

“We’re so proud of you, darling!” Remus announced.

“More than you can imagine.” added James. Sirius just smiled, that grin telling you all of what he wanted to say. You’re making your dreams come true. 

~

The graduation took place about two weeks after. It was a little bit cloudy, but warm day. It was a perfect day. Not too hot, yet still enough to be in T-shirts. The students, including you, were all so excited. You’re finally leaving this school and going into the real world. Tho you were a little sad, giving the fact that you won’t see your friends so often. But all that matters is that you’ll stay a group. And that did not worry you. The happiness, radiating from your faces, could be seen from a mile away. It was all you ever wanted.

It’s over. You’re officially out of Hogwarts. Tho you still were in the yard where the graduation was, you were now drinking butterbeer and having a laugh with Marauders.

“Look who we have here.” said a voice. You could recognize it anywhere.

“Go away Bella!” you yelled without even turning around to look at her.

“Oh, rude are we today Y/N.” you had enough. No way this bitch is gonna ruin the day. It was too good.

“Look, Bellatrix,” you said “can you please leave us alone, it’s just such an amazing day.” you begged.

“Okay, but I have to do something first.” she pulled out her wand

“What are you doing Bella?” asked Sirius. You froze. You knew she was doing some nasty business for the Dark Lord, but you never expected you will be the target.

“I’m sorry Y/N. He said I have to prove myself to him.” she muttered an unknowing curse and it hit you in the stomach. First you thought nothing was happening. She did something wrong, you thought. But then you felt a sharp feeling in your stomach. It was like someone just stabbed you. The blood started pouring out of your belly and you collapsed to the floor. It was like everything was happening in slow motion. James ran up to you with the two boys right behind him. He put your head on his lap, Sirius and Remus both on your sides holding your hand.

“Y/N, you’ll be okay, stay awake for me!” yelled Sirius. All of them were crying, not knowing what to do. Many people said that when you’re about to die, the whole life repeats before your eyes. It wasn’t like that. All you could think of were your friends, crying over your body.

“Pl- please, don’t be too sad,” you whispered. “It’s okay. I made peace with death a long time ago.”

“No stay with me, please.” sobbed James. You knew you were about to die. It was true though, you were okay with it. But right before it happened, you felt a sudden wave of fear and it got the best of you.

“I don’t wanna go” you murmured as you bleed out in his arms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taglist: @voidmalfoy @cunningambitousdetermined @pregnant-piggy

If you want to be added, send me an ask or message me :)

[masterhandss]

(I know you have a lot of asks to get through, but thoughts on this prompt. It hasn’t left my mind since I read Vol.8) I have made a prompt/concept/theory whatnot called “Only the Fourth”. Alan is my favorite and I like throwing him into not so good things. So my main ask is your thoughts on the prompt and/or if it’s a logical one that ‘could’ happen and not that far from reality/canon.

I’m really sorry for taking such a long time to answer all your asks (and everyone’s asks/questions in general ;;-;;) but i’ll do my best to get through everyone as fast as I can!! qwq

So I finally read Only the Fourth and its honestly a really interesting concept that I can see as something that can happen in the books itself. The series itself doesn’t do anything with the idea of how Alan is perceived by there people since we usually just focus on how his self image affects himself. The idea that some foreign nobles consider him to insignificant that he’s basically free real estate it pretty darn sad but can kinda work. 

I’m no historian though, so I don’t know what happens to princes that don’t ascend to the throne. While a scenario where Alan gets kidnapped for his magic/lineage sounds exciting, I don’t really know where the scummier or lower nobles would get the confidence boost to consider kidnapping Alan.

Spoilers for Volume 9 btw, it says there that some nobles in Sorcier is working alongside the nobles of Lousabre in order to kidnap citizens (the ones in the book were commoner children) in order to improve their own country. It’s not just nobles with magic that they want, but the general populace because they are jealous that even commoners can read and write in Sorcier, but only a fraction of the nobility in Lousabre can do it. 

I’m only mentioning this here since a prompt like this is very interesting, but if we’re talking about whether it “could” happen in the story, it’ll only work if the kidnapping of the baroness in Volume 8 and 9 and the other children in Volume 9 are isolated cases that just happened to intersect (and both of these can happen at the same time though, its just that V9 didn’t imply it to be that way so I can only assume whether these kidnappers’ motives are both or not). I can’t really say for certain though since I mostly skimmed the volume out of curiosity and just plan on a full analysis read when the english version comes out. 

If the nobles in Lousabre just needs pretty much anyone from Sorcier, regardless of their social status, just because they need more literate people, then the chances of Alan being targeted would be very small. BUT! if Lousabre also wants to populate their country with magic users in order to imitate Sorcier(/become the new magic country of the continent) or to wage war against them then the chances of Alan being taken for such purposes would increase. 

“He’s only the fourth prince, I’m sure in due time people will forget about him.”

Alan might not be a contender to the throne, but he does have a good reputation among the nobility, which is much better than his Fortune Lover counterpart. He constantly performs music at gatherings which helps improve relations and opinions of the nobles to the royal family. He’s also smart (I don’t know if the light novels have clarified the roles of the Student Council beyond Geordo being the president and Maria being vice pres in their second year, but in the Modern AU Side Story, Alan is noted to be the Secretary, which works since he’s rank 3 overall) so it would be such a huge shame to lose him as a possible vassal to whichever brother of his ascends to the throne. He is the least important prince but that’s not to say that he’s completely ignored, I mean he’d important enough to be given work and training like what he says in Volume 6 and 8. 

Alan is also a prince, so regardless if its for the purpose of increasing literacy in the country or breeding magical blood into Lousabre, I’m not sure how likely they would pick Alan considering that getting caught (regardless of whether they find Alan or not, just that they link the event to any country/family) could cause an international crisis and ruin alliances between countries (unless that’s their goal somehow). 

Plus his big brother Geoffrey loves him so much that I doubt a search party (since you mentioned one occurring but that it probably wont last long) would conclude until he is found. Even if other nobles and knights try to convince Geoffrey that searching for his baby brother would be a lost cause, he’ll either ignore them or reduce the search party to a few of the most skillful people he can find. 

Regardless of the specific circumstance, again I think an arc or story like this would be really interesting. I’m not really disagreeing with the prompt at all, I’m agreeing that it’ll be very fun, and I'm already imagining the various reasons why the lower nobles would regret their decision to target Alan for the rest of their lives hahaha. 

In the past few paragraphs I was just thinking of reasons why they wont dare to choose Alan, but the fact that lower and foreign nobles don’t/might not know these things about Alan is enough to contradict me and reaffirm their decision to target him. Lower/foreign nobles can just be ignorant, self-centered and dumb, they don’t seem to need an elaborate reason to choose Alan, just like what you implied on your original post

It’ll be very cool to see lower/foreign nobles call Alan insignificant just because he isn’t a contender to throne, only to realize how important he is to a lot of people when the characters inevitably go on to rescue him :DD. It’s a very nice prompt that can open a lot of character developments for Alan and his brothers, reaffirm/question his self-worth and expand on the world-building of the series. I can see a few holes in it, but that doesn’t make it any less interesting/exciting to see in writing. 

It’s so nice to see so much Alan love in your account, even if it comes at the cost of you throwing dangerous situations at him XDD Reading your ideas and headcanons about him has been really fun and now I kinda feel like reading fics in AO3 again

Thank you for the ask! I’ll do my best and try to mow through all these questions ;;w;; Anyone is free to add their ideas on here if you guys want :DD

[jlf23tumble]

I’d love to know you’re very most favorite 1D/Harry fics! Like the ones you’ve read over and over. Or if you’re not a re-reader, the ones you think back to often! Your ride or die fics, as it were.

You’re so sweet!! I am definitely a re-reader, mainly because I’ll see a picture, and it just makes me want to at least skim a fave fic, but this one’s a tough one, mainly because some of my faves have been deleted and/or their authors have left the D terrordome, which is fine, I have the PDFs clutched tightly to my chest, it just skews my final tally. It’s also hard because if I loved a fic, odds are I loved at least three other fics the author wrote, too, and none of us have that kind of scrolling time (well, clearly some of us do, lmaoooo, amirite?). Back to your question, though! To keep it under control, I created my own “21 Club,” but I cheated a bit and made it represent authors who have a lot of other fic I love, too, so you can’t go wrong digging in deeper. Puttin’ it under the cut!

No Control, thegirlwthekittentattoo, 2.6k, harry/louis. Anytime I see Harry's latest Rolling Stone shoot, I think of this fic, it has THAT level of power over me, plus it really makes me want to name my bra and give it the respect it deserves.

nobody knows like me, enbyharry/ @non-binharry, 3.5k, harry/louis. The tenderness and angst and sunshine and vintage summer of this fic!! Asia has a gift of making any of their fics feel a certain ~way, all of them different, but the vibes in this one, the gender of it all, truly next level.

all my lies are safe beside you now, HappyPrincess, 3.6k, harry/zayn. If you want to ACHE over fic, Nin's your author, any pairing, but there's something about this one, this Zayn, the way it makes you want to weep, so much beautiful ouchhh (a motif across a lot of their fic, gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous).

sensitive to pressure, momentofclarity/ @gaycousinlarry, 4k, harry/louis. Whew, my god, do I want to read so much more of the sweat and pube kink in this fic, @pubefest2020 had so many GREATS, but this one stuck with me for days.

mon petit, little one, publunchesownmyass, 5.6k, harry/louis. Big win for fans of recreational drug use and that chicken sweater! This author *delivered* last summer, and a lot of their fics are disappearing, so run don’t walk!

Only Thing That Can Quench My Thirst, eyesofshinigami, 6.5k, harry/louis. This is THE pube fic of all pube fics, I think about it all the time, it actually inspired @pubefest2020, and I personally begged the author to write more for it, but she was tied up (and very lovely in general to chat with). God, I love it so much.

Desperate Measures, sulkingroom, 6.9k, jeff/harry/glenne. This one hits different after all those great pictures from the wedding in Santa Barbara. That bathrobe!! I've actually read another tremendous Jeff/Harry/Glenne, but I'm gonna give it up for my fellow Pisces because I just love anything Melissa writes.

Are You Gonna Be My Girl? LoadedGunn, 7.5k, harry/louis. Everyone seems to have a specific fave of this author’s, but this one’s my eternal fave, Harry role-playing as Louis's first girlfriend.

One day to believe in you, mediaville, 7.7k, harry/louis. The way the dynamics in this story are written feels so very 2016, but the entire concept of Louis being cursed to tell the truth is just god-tier.

call me anything you like, but my name is, wishforwishes, 9.9k, harry/chasm. I rec it all the time, but I stg, I stare at the wall about it all the time, too, so there's that! The way this begins and ends with Zayn really does it for me.

give you my fever, beautlouis, 10k, harry/louis. I want to say this was one of the first fics I read in this fandom, and on one hand, it's so wildly outlandish but on the other it's so incredibly GREAT. I really struggled about which beautlouis fic to pick, so let’s just go with some firsts on every front, lol.

it ain't trickin' if ya got it, sarcasticfluentry, 10.7k, harry/louis. God, i wish this fic still had the pictures/tweets embedded, but no matter, I will rec this for every remote reason I can ever possibly think of, it’s that high on my list.

Tuxedo Dress-Up, Blake, 11.9k, harry/louis I swear, THIS is the fic I'd save in a fire, just the way they're both characterized is spot on, plus all the houses Louis shows him are so specifically SoCal, it just feels like home. Louis's exasperation does it for me, too.

Take Our Bodies Higher, @littlelouishiccups, 21k, harry/louis. LISTEN, I love phone sex operator Louis with every fiber of my being, but phone sex operator Harry? The way the client becomes the talker? HOO BOY, the last chapter, too, incredible.

precious little thing, mercutionotromeo, 21k, harry/louis. There he is! Phone sex operator Louis, at your service, but honestly the number of kinks covered here, nicely done (and another author whose work made this a truly tough call, heh).

Nothing You Can Do..., Teumessian, 28k, harry/louis. aka, the Pinterest fic, an eternal fave and so far ahead of its time in so many ways.

hush., Wankerville, 41k, harry/louis. I always struggle to think about which fic would be THE fic at the top of my list, and let me just say, this one's an eternal contender.

Tied Down, @ham-palpert, 48k, harry/louis. I will never stop rec'ing this, I also loved the author's moodboard for it, everything about it is so incredibly cinematic! A movie I'd watch!

Harry Styles Cooks..., sunsetmog, 61k, harry/louis. Yes, it's still a wip that hasn't updated in a year, and yes, this author has written the lourry fic of my dreams, but I don't care, I love this story, it’s the best crack fic ever.

Time Passed, coffinofachimera/ @belialsmiracles, 66k, harry/louis. DEAR GOD, read this fic and see if you can listen to Fine Line or see photos of Tokyo Harry the same way again, a MASTERPIECE.

Turning Page, purpledaisy, 67k, harry/louis. Harry's filming Dunkirk, and Louis's a scarred football star, and this reads like a goddamned movie, it sounds like a song.

(I truly do have way too many other fics and authors I love, but I had to keep this down to something manageable, and these were top-of-my-head ready!)

[sagemoderocklee]

⭐the most recent chapter of taol with shadow!shikamaru⭐

ohhhhh thank you for asking about this chapter! this is definitely my favorite non-gaalee chapter! it was also the chapter that I was probably the most nervous about because of the direction I took Shikamaru in!

it’s been a while since i published that chapter, so i had to skim before i could really touch on the elements of it that I really wanted to talk about, so sorry this took so long to get to. again, not something i could really reply to in the midst of having my tits tattooed. and i was too tired last night after my appointment to reply to this cause i knew it was gonna be long.

anyways, director’s cut for chapter 11 of The Art of Love is below the cut:

so a quick breakdown of what happened in this chapter to refresh anyone’s memory:

This chapter was a Shikamaru PoV chapter, (and aside from Gaara and Lee, he’s actually one of my fave characters to write. It’s hard to rank who I love writing the most, tbh, but I really do love Shikamaru as a character and enjoying writing from his POV.)

With this chapter, things are really starting to progress in a very material way--we’ve got Shikamaru’s fake arrest, Chouji taking his place in Iron, Shikamaru’s team for a secret mission is formed, and his escape from Konoha takes place. He rendezvous with Team Eight and Sai, and they begin a long journey, posing as civilian travelers who’ve been impact by the outbreaks of violence throughout the last five years.

First they go to a town I made up for this fic, Kōten Outpost, where they uncover a small bit of information. Here, things take a drastic turn: Shikamaru makes a pact with Shadow Kami--a pact that hasn’t been made in hundreds of years, and the records of which are unclear and incomplete. This reveals something about the Nara clan otherwise unknown. They’re abilities to manipulate shadow comes not from chakra specifically, but from ancient pacts, magic that has since been forgotten by shinobi.

This pact poses a danger to Shikamaru, to his teammates, to the world, but he takes it on because he is more than determined to rescue Temari. He cannot possibly predict the consequences of the pact, but he knows it will give him unimaginable power. Power he definitely cannot control.

After this, they move northward, making their way out of Fire Country and into, first Steam Country (originally Hot Water Country), and then Crystal Country (originally Frost Country). Their goal is to make their way to Kumogakure in Lightning, but posing as civilians means traveling slowly. And Shikamaru is no longer in the best condition as he struggles against an unimaginable force that now lives within him.

The journey from town to town, and village to village takes months. They disguise themselves in numerous ways, and eventually they do make it into Lighting, a harrowing feat made possible by Shikamaru’s growing strength and understanding of the Shadow Kami.

The chapter ends here, after they’ve crossed the boarder into Lightning.

So, brief(ish) recap.

I think the main things I’d really love to talk about are Shikamaru’s pact with the Shadow Kami, the team he put together, Hinata’s role, some of the minor worldbuilding that went into this chapter, and his relationship to Temari. Which is obviously a lot to talk about lol but i really love this chapter.

So, to start with, I wanna talk about the less in depth stuff, which would be the team he put together and Hinata specifically.

I think it’s obvious that Team Eight and Sai were the best choices for this incredibly covert operation. Sai with his experience in ROOT and Team Eight as a team of trackers were the best candidates, even though Team Eight doesn’t necessarily specialize in undercover work. My thinking is that every shinobi has to have at least a basic grasp (cough except Lee) of undercover work and disguise. We obviously don’t get a lot of that in the series proper, but the series sort of takes the fact that these characters are ninja as more of a loose concept. ANBU and ROOT are really the closest to actual ninja, I’d say. Whereas Genin, Chuunin, and Jounin are more like your standard military personnel, I guess.

But that all being said, I don’t think you could really have someone be a successful Chuunin or Jounin without some experience and skill in these areas. I mean, as we saw in the first Chuunin exams, one of their tests was literally intelligence gathering without getting caught.

The team itself is large, but I didn’t want to skip out on using any of these characters, because each of them offered something vital to the team, and I don’t think Shikamaru would want to risk not using all the skills available to him that Team Eight and Sai offer. Sai’s obviously the best and most likely to fit into this role, and I think Shino is also well suited to this kind of work, but Kiba and Hinata are a little harder to place here. Kiba because he’s rather brash, and Hinata because she’s so... meek and bland. But Kiba is honestly easier to justify than Hinata from the off.

Hinata is always the character I struggle with the most because she doesn’t really offer us much in the canon. I’m sure someone will tell me I’m wrong or whatever, but Hinata exists specifically as a vehicle for male fantasy fulfillment. She’s fan service. Big tits, sweet, meek, totally devoted to the hero. Her arc revolves around Naruto, she exits to prop him up.

And that was a big reason why I wasn’t going to avoid writing her into TAoL. I couldn’t. I needed to address the issue of her relationship to Naruto, for starters, and I wanted to give her the chance to grow. I like her more when I separate her from Naruto--whether that’s presenting their obviously imbalanced relationship as detrimental to her and thus something she needs to finally let go of, or just not having her interact with him at all (like in Kado).

Shikamaru wondered if Naruto would even care that Hinata's acceptance of this mission was her way of breaking up with him.

I wanted to make it absolutely clear that this was the end of her relationship with Naruto and the start of her becoming her own person. We don’t get her PoV in this story because she’s not a central character in the grand scheme of things, but she has her own journey, and that revolves largely around her being a more competent shinobi and defining herself separate from Naruto. She’s faked an illness without telling him and he never went to see her--their relationship is over, and Hinata can finally move on.

And she starts to come into her own within this journey. She’s not in Konoha anymore. She doesn’t have her father to contend with or her sister or Neji’s death. And she doesn’t have constant reminders of Naruto (except when Kiba’s being an ass). Writing her as a more confident shinobi is... difficult to say the least. I personally don’t think she’s actually suited to shinobi work (politics, sure, but not actual combat), so even though I’m writing her as a more competent shinobi, it was very hard for me to suspend my belief for that. But that’s always been my problem with Hinata, and I kinda had to push myself past that hurdle of “is this recognizably Hinata?” because 1) she isn’t the central figure and 2) I need her to not be too much like Hinata because otherwise their cover is blown. So I can accept that she might come across as a lil OC. She’s undercover anyways, so she’s not gonna act like herself. And again, I want her to be more interesting and more dynamic than she is canonically.

But it definitely was a struggle.

Setting aside the issue of Hinata, I think the most fun I have when writing Naruto fics is really the worldbuilding aspects. For TAoL, I have like countless reference books and my kanji dictionary is always on hand. You can bet that any original towns and characters, I spent a lot of time scouring my kanji dictionary for a good name. Even if the name is fairly innocuous in meaning, I didn’t just pick it at random.

So for instance, Kōten Outpost uses kanji 995 in my kanji dictionary which mens ‘take a turn for the better’. Kōten is at a four way crossroad, and it’s specifically a place for travelers, merchants, etc.

Kōten Outpost was a quaint, sprawling town at a four-way cross-roads and the oldest settlement in Fire.

Long before Konoha or the rule of shinobi, before the daimyo, before the Warring States era, Kōten Outpost had sat like a picturesque painting. In the midst of wars and battles, in the midst of political upheaval and petty squabbles over boarders, Kōten Outpost had withstood the test of time for long centuries and would most likely continue on well after the age of shinobi.

Obviously, if you’re reading TAoL or just about any canon setting fic I write, you know I like worldbuilding. Kōten is a small piece of worldbuilding, whereas Gyokukakushin is a much larger piece, but Kōten still has it’s place within setting the stage and developing the world of Naruto. I really liked coming up with all the different towns in Fire that were affected by the skirmishes, and I really enjoyed imagining what the towns not run by shinobi would be like. What the people are like, what their culture is like, how they feel about shinobi. I think Kōten is a good example of a snapshot of worldbuilding--not a lot of depth per say, but enough that you get the sense of what it’s like.

With this chapter, however, the focus isn’t on the places and the culture of those places, so it really is just snapshots of places. Yugakure, Shimogakure, Kōten Outpost... This chapter is about the desperate hunt for information and doing whatever it takes.

That being said, the worldbuilding element comes into play again in a big way with Shikamaru and the Shadow Kami.

Admittedly, this was not in my original outline of this fic at all. It was something I came up with in the midst of writing this chapter, and it did make me kinda nervous to take this mystical route with Shikamaru given that nothing in the canon supports it. But then again, nothing in the canon supported aliens, and yet we have canonical aliens. \

Anyways, I felt that, despite my anxiety over the reception, Shikamaru was at least suited to this because I think it’s much easier to pull off mysticism with something like shadows. Plus, we don’t have a lot of canonical backstory for most of the clans, and I enjoyed bringing something new into the canon history, something wholly different.

Precautions had been noted in the scroll for this ritual, warnings from the first ones to perform it of the dangers it posed; his ancestors reaching from beyond the past to guide him through a long forgotten practice: Never look upon the Summoned, for they are more than mere shadow. Never show weakness to the Summoned, for they do not borrow hearts and souls, and will not show you any compassion. Never appear before the Summoned without an offering, for they are bottomless voids and will take you if you have nothing to give.

I really wanted to emphasize that the Shadow Kami do not follow human laws and are entities outside of human conception. There’s a lot more planned for Shikamaru and the consequences of what he does here are far reaching. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I can promise that what Shikamaru’s done doesn’t end at the end of this fic. This isn’t a one time deal, like “oh you can use our power for a little while and then we’ll slip away and you can be a normal shinobi again.”

Shikamaru has unleashed something that will live within him forever. And it will pass on to future generations (assuming he has children at any point.) He, of course, knew the risks, but Temari is everything to him, so what’s being a vessel for Shadow Kami if it means having the power to save the woman he loves?

I wasn’t entirely sure how successful I was in conveying these consequences and I really worried over how OP Shikamaru would be, but the questions I always ask myself are:

1. Is this errand? 2. Are there consequences?

And the answer to both of those questions are yes, in this case.

Shikamaru is a genius, and he’s in line to be the head of the Nara clan. He has access to the scrolls that contain these guarded secrets, and he absolutely doesn’t care about the consequences even though he knows there will be heavy ones.

While yes, at this point, Shikamaru has essentially achieved god-like powers, he cannot control them, and he is always going to run the risk of losing himself completely to the shadows. Shadows aren’t human. They don’t have human rules. They don’t have human wants. And the Shadow Kami, like I said, are bottomless voids. They take and take. Shikamaru has to rely on his own willpower to not be lost.

I imagine that the next Shikamaru chapter will explore more of the Shadow Kami history and the Nara clan history, but I think overall, the introduction to the Shadow Kami was good. It’s a hard balance though for sure because on the one hand, the Shadow Kami are a HUGE plot element that needs to be explored and talked about, but I also don’t want to take away from the immediacy of what’s happening in the overall story--the danger that Temari is in, which is always at the forefront of Shikamaru’s mind.

Which brings us to his relationship with Temari.

She’s his motivating factor in all of this. He does care deeply for Kankurou and Gaara as well, but Temari is the love of his life. That’s his everything. I personally am not a fan of maintaining Shikamaru as this like misogynistic person. He was twelve at the start of the series, and I think it’s safe to say he outgrows that, and also his desire not to get married. I think he genuinely values Temari--as a person and as a shinobi. She’s his equal and his partner.

And I think she’s sort of the great equalizer between him and the Shadow Kami:

Shikamaru's resolve hardened. He wasn't shadow, he wasn't just an empty void for them to fill. He might have given up his body and his humanity to them, but he would never give up his love. He sat back down, and forced the shadows to recede from his veins.

I personally feel like Shikamaru as this sort of embodiment of the lazy genius, this very blase and carefree “i wanna look at the clouds” character has a lot of potential to fail and become uninteresting. I think Temari makes him more interesting because she challenges him, and I think that the focus on their relationship really helps to highlight the pull of the shadows. Now he’s in this constant dance between giving himself over completely, and not forgetting Temari.

The antler that comes up repeatedly throughout this chapter is a symbolic link to Temari.

The antler ring tethered him; it was a blinding light to chase away the darkness; a necessary reminder of who he was and what mattered to him.

I think by the end of the chapter it’s fairly obvious what this is meant to be: an engagement ring.

I decided that it was a Nara tradition to make a ring out of antler, and Shikamaru carries this with him, making the ring when he has downtime on the mission. It’s not just a symbolic link to Temari to help him stay grounded, it’s also his assurance that he won’t let her die.

The repetition of the ring as an item on his person is inspired by a creative writing assignment I had back in college. There’s a story called The Things They Carried, and it kinda reminds me of being in theatre and having object work for a character you play. But the idea is that the things a character carries tells you a lot about them. It’s a window into someone’s soul, a way of communicating something about them without outright telling you about them.

So Shikamaru carries this piece of antler, that starts out as nothing more than a piece of antler and slowly turns into a ring, because he’s lost any and all reservations about marriage in the face of losing Temari. His love for her drives him onward, and his love for her is why he can’t fail. The ring is his refusal to fail.

I think that the ring is one of my favorite elements in this chapter. It’s obviously very subtle and small compared to like the Shadow Kami, but it’s such a desperate and beautiful element of romance. The image of Shikamaru awake late into the night, whittling down the antler until it becomes a ring, his promise to Temari whispered into the night. I think that’s powerful, and I think the ring really does highlight that in a way that not even the pact he made does.

And.... that’s I think the main stuff I wanted to talk about!

This particular chapter was actually supposed to cover their time in Kumo, but the chapter itself had gotten so long at that point that it didn’t make sense to keep going. Plus, the way this fic is planned out, it made sense to move everything that will happen in Kumo to a later Shikamaru chapter.

Thank you so much for this ask! It was fun to talk about this chapter! <3

[everlastingfable]

For the character ask: either Douxie (because why not, everyone has a different take on him and that's always interesting) or a character that you would like to talk about from any franchise and we probably won't ask :O (i don't know if this makes sense at all)

since I already did douxie, I’m gonna pick keith from vld

Why I like them

there’s so much to say tbh. He’s incredibly relatable. He has such beautiful eyes. He’s a wonderfully complicated character. He’s so dedicated and loyal when it comes to saving people and innocents, but at the same time he isn’t like douxie where he’ll save everyone regardless of the consequences of failure. He’s calculating and has the mindset where he’ll sacrifice one to save many, and tbh that’s rare in a protagonist. 

Why I don’t

what’s not to love

Favorite episode (scene if movie)

the blade of marmora episode is a strong contender, but also the flashback episode in s7 because baby keith!!!

Favorite season/movie

I know a lot of ppl hate it (honestly don’t understand why) but I love season 7

Favorite line

“Are we really even friends? Is there anything holding us together besides some messed up series of coincidences?” 

because that line was so brutal and raw and it hurt. What a painful insight to how keith views the relationship between himself and the others.

Favorite outfit

the blade outfit

OTP

I don’t really ship keith with anyone, but maybe hunk

Brotp

keith and shirooo but also hunk and keith they had so much potential to be such great friends

Headcanon

the leather jacket he wears during the show was a gift from shiro when he outgrew the hoodie, and also as a congratulations for being first in fighter class

Unpopular opinion

I completely disagree with fanon thing how keith would be in the training room whenever he has free time and how keith refuses to tell anyone he’s sick/injured until he straight up collapses. I mean I love the second one in fics because angstttt but also in the show it’s shiro who wouldn’t tell ppl that he’s hurting and stuff. 

keith is actually pretty adamant in making sure everyone is okay and he got upset when shiro was brushing off that injury from haggar at the end of s1. also also the only time keith said “I’m fine” when he obviously wasn’t was when he was freaking out about possibly being galra and it makes sense why he was afraid of letting anyone know

A wish

we got to see the version where keith and lotor foil each other and we see keith’s progress to becoming the black paladin instead of him just disappearing for a few seasons then coming back all confident and leader-like. 

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen

keith outliving everyone due to his galra genes would surely be a terrible thing

5 words to best describe them

hothead, loyal, dedicated, red, lonely

My nickname for them

I don’t have one

[yamadadzawa]

Okay so I love all of your stories SO MUCH, but which is YOUR favorite?

I opened this ask, and immediately went “How could I POSSIBLY answer that?!!”

And honestly, I don’t know! There are times when I think I have a favorite, but then I come up with a new idea for one of my stories and suddenly that’s my favorite. I tend to bounce around, getting more attached to one story over another, but never permanently. That may be a writer thing, maybe an ADHD thing, maybe both!

I think I have the most ambitious hopes for Rebel in the Gray and Try Different, Try Again. They’re what I consider my plot ambitious stories, the ones I’m the most proud of in terms of the fun plot ideas and twists.

I think Terminal Velocity and Anomalous Salvation are my more emotional based and experimental stories, the ones where I relax a little bit when it comes to worrying over whether they’re “good enough”.

Now, A Legacy Born of Shadow & Sun...

Hm. You know, I might actually be able to pick that as a contender for favorite, even though I’ve only written the single chapter so far. I think Legacy has the most potential for me to really just...be extremely self indulgent, with headcanons and creativity abound. There are so many things I’m excited to write with that one!

And none of this touches on the Haikyuu fics I’m working on, which are also clambering for that top favorite spot!

I did a lot of rambling here, and didn’t actually give a definite answer, but it was a lot of fun to think about. So thank you!!! And thank you for your kind words about my stories as well 💛💛💛

[kuroopaisen]

HEY it’s me the anon from a few days ago that told you they’d panhandle for the in between crumbs 👨🏻‍🦽 i read pt 1 again while i ate lunch after work and omgncnsms i forgot how much i loved them lowering their walls (and the hesitation that comes w sharing something personal,, tbh not me i just be sayin shit sometimes yk MFNSNSN) but i rlly wanted to ask how long the writing process took you (in general and for this fic), what order you wrote all the scenes in (1/2)

and your favorite scenes from the fic 🥺 or rlly anything you want i love hearing ppl talk abt their writing 🥺🥺 i might send more asks as i inevitably reread the series tho LMAO i woke up today and told my best friend (who’s been lobbying for me to watch more than half of season one,,,, My Bad) that i was rereading this fic for The Serotonin 🤝🤝 also to avoid confusion i’ll call myself pan anon for now!! (2/2)

PAN ANON that’s so cute!! real talk, thank you for showing so much interesting in this fic? it’s my lil baby, and honestly hearing that you’re literally re-reading it is so wild to me,,, i have trouble conceptualising it? but thank you so so much you’re so sweet :( i’m so glad i could provide you with that precious Serotonin, that’s all i want to do,,,

you’ve given me the space to ramble so ramble i did,,, and therefore it’s under a cut fklfds i’m so sorry but also thank you so much (if you do want to ask more questions, don’t be afraid to! although this is,,, v long so i completely understand flkjsklfj)

how long the writing process took

in general: depends on a lot of factors, to be honest! how inspired i am, how long it’s going to be, how developed the idea is,,, generally, I tend to work on fics when I’m inspired to do them, or i won’t touch them for a long period of time. so, it’s hard to give an exact timeframe.

for example, iwaizumi’s birthday fic (ataraxia) was banged out in about a day? concept, writing, everything – mainly because i was on a timeframe, but also because it’s a relatively simple fic. simple premise, gentle but simple emotions, simple outcome. and, because i was inspired (see: under pressure), it was easy to get it all out. albeit ataraxia wasn’t beta’d, which is a bit of a problem for it as a representative of my writing ssjfdklj

something like brat, a more thought-out piece, it might take a week depending on inspiration? brat particularly inspired me (and i wish i’d turned it into a multi-parter now, tbh), so it was easy to get into.

for something like this or little changes, it takes a bit longer? little changes took about three weeks from conception to end product! which leads to…

for this fic: this fic was a bit weird in that i had the idea in my head for a few months? sort of,,, little scenes, and the desire to write something about kuroo and nekoma’s manager, incorporating the theme of ‘an in-between kind of love.’ the actual writing process, however, probably took two weeks?

the first week was pretty lax, and then the second was a whirlwind. It’s honestly sort of a haze because I would write for hours straight? i don’t know what happened, and a lot of the first draft was not good by any means, but yeah. that was one wild week.

poor ren (@/w-yuren – if you haven’t checked her out, please do! she’s the auntie of the fic tbh) proofread all of it over the course of a week because i wanted to get it out by a certain date (i didn’t end up meeting this deadline but Oh Well).

what order you wrote all the scenes in

i didn’t have a particular order!! i would just go for the scenes that i felt most inspired to write. for this fic, it was the scenes that took place more around the middle that i tended to gravitate towards? i found it surprisingly difficult to write the beginning (probably because by the time i got there, i had their dynamic established in my head – meaning that them being strangers was difficult to parse), and i put off the ending because i didn’t quite know how i wanted it to end (the original plan had them going to university – the slowest of all burns).

favourite scenes

so one of my favourite scenes was the one where the reader is having a breakdown in the gym; i didn’t end up doing it as well as i would’ve liked, but it gave me a space to explore some emotions i haven’t really had the chance to in my fics yet. it’s a mini-example, for me, of how cathartic writing can be – before this i’d only written a short daichi fic featuring a reader who had anxiety.

being able to tease out those emotions, but having them received willingly by kuroo, was soothing? and i also enjoyed that it gave me some space to give kuroo his own development, too; we don’t know where his mother is canonically, so divorce is certainly possible. and, speaking as a child of divorced parents, that sort of thing really affects you – often more than you realise. getting to explore that concept without making it the main point of the fic was enjoyable, in some way? it feels like the wrong word, but i can’t think of a better one.

i also enjoyed the scene where kuroo’s feeling down, and both kenma and the reader notice. bc this is a fic and not a full-blown novel, the relationships both kuroo and the reader have with other characters inevitably fall to the wayside, so i enjoyed every opportunity i had to explore the dynamics with other members of the nekoma team. and because kuroo and kenma are so important to each other, it was a joy working out how that’d factor into moments like this (especially since we don’t tend to see kuroo be down, you know?).

I also enjoyed the “ethically sourced” scene just because they’re being such Dumb Teens and i thought the dialogue was naturalish?

i also like the scene at the end of part 2, because i like exploring how we conceptualise love versus how we experience it. kuroo’s very much trapped between the two in that scene, and i think it’s very much something a teenage boy would contend with. especially because the way he conceptualises romantic love makes it something scary, something that could threaten the relationship they currently have.

and finally, i really like the final scene for two main reasons. one, because they don’t need to say “i love you”; they both know. and they know, because they exchange the “i wouldn’t be who i am today without you,” which speaks to their friendship and how they’ve affected one another. it’s also the culmination of both of them realising that it’s okay for them to feel multiple kinds of love for one another, and one doesn’t transcend or smother the other.

two, because it’s a moment of genuine, comfortable vulnerability; something that they’ve always offered each other in one way or another, but it’s usually been one of them comforting and supporting the other. but in this scene, the vulnerability is shouldered by both of them (the reader betrays her vulnerability by giving him a thoughtful present, and kuroo betrays his vulnerability by tearing up and making his confession).  

honestly i had some lofty ideas that i don’t think i totally made good on, but i like these scenes because they gave me the opportunity to explore emotions that i find very interesting, or that relate to my own experiences with love; it’s always been a very strange grey area for me, and since i like to write for catharsis, the in-between was an opportunity to reflect on that! 

i love the friends-to-lovers trope because it focuses on that interplay between different ideas of love, but in a mundane context, what does that mean? how do you draw the line between the two? should you draw that line? 

so i’ve rambled a lot (looking at this wall of text,,, i’m so sorry) but thank for you for letting me indulge myself aslkjd my vocabulary is very limited and i hope i don’t seem like a Tool. 

[autumn-foxfire]

So like i think its important to acknowledge the context here for some of this. The context being that between chuuya being introduced and us getting chuuyas backstory its been A WHILE. Like for a good while i used to joke that they were really wasting chuuya cuz they had a fan favorite character who we had like no information and backstory on. Like i wanna say its been at least two years between chuuya introduction n backstory but honestly im terible with memory n even worse with time progression so all im gonna say for a very very long time the fandom didnt know shit about chuuyas backstory. The most we got in guild arc was the hint that kouyou was his mentor n of course that he n dazai formed the ace in mafias sleeve n for a long while that was pretty much it. Fans ran wild with that n everybody had their own headcanon n there were a lot of fics exploring his possible backstory. From him being a french (flashbacks to french chuuya era) immigrant/ child trafficked for his ability to him training to work in kouyous borthel (that was a popular headcanon for kouyou but i dont think it has any base in canon) until they discovered his ability and were like oooo this baby dangerous. My favorite was anything that included kouyou just picking up a half feral kid chuuya n being like ahhh im keeping this, mine now. Feral Chuuya gives me life n i still like to read about it. The point being when chuuyas backstory came out it was going to have to contend with A Lot of fan content some of which was really really good.

Anyway i dislike the whole oh there was a god shoved in him when he was a kid bit. I wont stick to this a lot cuz im honestly past the point 'ugh this is So stupid' n to the point 'i dislike it but i also dont really care' but ye, im not super big fan of throwing gods around so randomly cuz i feel bsd isnt really built with that in mind, n i considered that whole part a really boring explenation to corruption and eh, im not gonna pretend that the fanwork didnt influence me n that i might have liked it better if i didnt read so much speculative fanfiction cuz it really comes down to 'its not like in my headcanons so i hate it :/'n thats p much all there is to it n thats no fun to talk about.

I did like sheep parts tho loved dat.

No what im here to talk about is how KOUYOU GOT FUCKIN ROBBED. Like we barely get any chuuya kouyou interactions anyway despite her being shown as his mentor like how mori was to dazai n kouyou herself really only had time to shine with kyouka n like this was the perfect oportunity to explore her more. She was shown as chuuyas mentor from the start, she was included in every fanwork that included chuuyas backstory, if ur gonna do chuuyas backstory you need to have kouyou there she is his mentor after all

Nope nope what do we get instead

FUCKING RANDO SAN

LITERAL GUY NAMED RANDO

Like ok fine u needed a villain for the novel thats fine, make it the person who tried to grab chuuya out good good great BUT WHAT WAS ALL THAT SHIT ABOUT FUCKING RANDO SAN BEING THE ONE TO RECRUIT CHUUYA INTO MAFIA. WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT CHUUYAS FUCKING HAT BEING RANDOS, WHAT THE ABSOLUTE FUCK WAS THAT SCENE OF CHUUYA SITTING ON HIS GRAVE LIKE FUCKIN DAZAI WITH ODA

WHAT THE FUCK

I will not stop yelling

Like honestly it made me so upset. I dont mind fucking rando san as a villain or whatever but i do mind him kinda being pushed into the spot of chuuyas mentor (whos kouyou) or recuiter (whos dazai) n him being tied into his character so significantly like the tradition of a mentor giving their student something is obvs a big thing in mafia what with dazais coat n all n it just made me so upset that chuuyas hat was given to him by some fuckass named rando n not kouyou. Or that rando seemed to impact him so much to be considered some sort of great influence when he p much just busted him out n then dazai did all the work. Like it just made me so upset that this random one but villain named literally rando was shoved as an important figure in a story of a character whos backstory we've been clamoring for so long when kouyou was literally right there like 'hi im here ready to be relevant forever.'

Like we already got a nice view of her with kyouka what with her wanting to protect kyouka but being willing to let her go wgen she sees thats the best for kyouka n that she will be happy n protected with the agency. Like i doubt she would be as protective with chuuya since their age difference is a lot smaller (4-5 years i think) so shed probs view him more as a friend or a younger brother than a literal child she has to protect but like i wanna see that i want them to have a bond, why hint at her being his mentor n then do nothing with it when mori is of such significance for dazai.

Like i think all this comes down to is obe of primary problems i had with bsd n one of the reasons i ended up growing tired with it: bsd really likes introducing new characters n new groups while at the same time doing very little with ones it already introduced if they arent like atsushi akutagawa dazai n sometimes kunikida n chuuya. N like that just gets boring after a bit i dont care about new evil group no 65 i care about the characters i already know so BLS DO THINGS WITH THEM BLS

...I’ll be honest, I didn’t notice that Kouyou was supposed to be Chuuya’s mentor. Did I just miss that in the anime or something? I didn’t know they had a bond at all.

As for Chuuya’s backstory, I also... didn’t really mind it either. I know the god part was a bit random but I also thought it was kind of fitting that Chuuya’s ability, or a part of it?, was born from something out of this world. It really does fit the “corruption” theme too, in my opinion, in the sense that his body has been corrupted by a god and it would also explain why his body isn’t able to handle the body too.

I also thought that the point of Rando being the one who “gave” Chuuya his hat was symbolism of Chuuya finding a piece of his past because of him and that’s why he visited his grave (almost as a silent thanks in a way). Plus I think it was another one of Dazai’s manipulation to get Chuuya into the Port Mafia, he knew he would never accept a belonging given to him by Dazai (he even pulled a face when he heard that Dazai, as his recruiter should be the one to give it) but when he learned it was Rando, a person who while had attacked him but had also helped him learn a tiny bit more about the god inside him, made accepting the hat more easier for him.

At least, that was my take on it.

I am a little disappointed myself about the lack of attention some characters have recieved compared to others (cough Kenji cough) and I wished they were given a little more, but I also understand why new criminal groups are introduced as bsd wants to draw a stalemate between the Agency and the Port Mafia.

I guess this a matter of different opinions XD

[in-a-cave-with]

What are your favorite fanfictions based in any of the Marvel comics universes?

ok this is certainly a . question. lmao . so i..have bookmarked like Three 616 fic on my actual ao3 account and i honestly dont know why. i have read so much 616 fic but i never bothered to make it a habit to .. save them . so rip me. this will be an incomplete list! huge f in the chat lads

there’s also the issue of like. pretty much all of the comics fic i like being, uh, stevetony. im a loser.

anyway.

When The Lights Go On Again by elspethdixon, seanchaiSummary: Aliens have invaded earth, and the Avengers are scattered. While Steve leads the resistance, Tony once again finds himself playing captive scientist. In the midst of a violent alien regime, separated by seemingly insurmountable boundaries, Steve and Tony have nothing to keep themselves going but each other.rec note: i JUST read this fic and it ruined my life. go read it and ruin your life too

Resurrection, Reconstruction & Redemption by elspethdixon, seanchaiSummary: Doom brings Steve back from the dead. Hijinks ensue, some of which might vaugely be considered plot.rec note: a classic! i think this was the first stevetony fic posted to ao3? you should def go ahead and read the rest of the series (yes it is a series yes it is 300k+ words yes it is worth it)

The Roughest Day by elspethdixon, seanchaiSummary: Steve is in a motorcycle accident, Tony catches a cold, and someone is after the New Avengers.rec note: this gives me warm fuzzies because it’s the new avengers avenging and there isn’t enough of that

King of Infinite Space by elspethdixon, seanchaiSummary: A villain from Tony’s past comes back to cause trouble for the Avengers. Maybe it wouldn’t have been so easy, if things weren’t already so awkward over the events of Execute Program.rec note: it’s not a tony stan created reclist if there isn’t a tiberius stone fic somewhere on it

Winter Is All Over You by KiyaarSummary: Tony can’t remember why he’s running.rec note: *soft wheezing noises* oh,

My Mallory Heart [Add Violence Remix] by KiyaarSummary: He keeps seeing that bundle of metal set into Tony’s bare chest, the raw edges around it like Tony’s body was rejecting it. Keeps wondering: what have you done to yourself this time.rec note: *incoherent blubbering*

Sea Stars by MuccamukkSummary: Steve comes back to life somewhere entirely unexpected; Tony doesn’t remember being a hero; something is rotten in the province of British Columbia, and the 2010 Olympics are doomed.rec note: i LIVE for this fic it’s so good. the setting…the mystery…the characterization…top notch

Indelible by PenumbrenSummary: When an experiment goes awry, Tony thinks he may have found an answer to his problems and Steve faces something he’s been avoiding for a very long time.rec note: this turned out to be way sadder than i thought it was going to be

(Not So) Lonely At The Top by foldingcranesSummary: Riri has a bad day, and Tony tries to be An Emotionally Available Adult for her. It doesn’t go so bad.rec note: there isn’t enough riri fic out there…

if you leave by CapnShellheadSummary: After so many months passing each other in silence, Steve and Tony find a marriage counselor to try to work through their issues with communication.rec note: warning: fic is akin to a bat swung to the knees

Marvels: The Bloodstone Odyssey by teaberryblueSummary: The year is 1940. In the middle of the Blitz, Tony Stark and Pepper Potts set out to London to recover Howard Stark’s lost work. But it turns out that they’re not the only ones hunting for it. Tony finds himself contending with Nazis, crooks, and perhaps his most formidable adversary yet: a scrawny, asthmatic, bullheaded kid named Steve Rogers.rec note: this gives me huge indiana jones vibes and it’s GREAT

Emanata (The Comics Will Break Your Heart Remix) by teaberryblueSummary: Steve Rogers has the opportunity to fulfill his childhood dreams of becoming a comic artist when eccentric billionaire, superhero patron, and obsessive comic enthusiast Tony Stark offers him a job drawing Iron Man. But Tony Stark has no idea that Steve Rogers is really Captain America, the newest member of the Avengers. And Iron Man has no idea that Captain America is really Steve Rogers, up-and-coming comic book artist. And Steve doesn’t know what to do about the fact that he’s falling head over heels for them both.rec note: this one has a special place in my heart bc it’s the one that got me into 616 stevetony! the identity shenanigans make my head hurt and i love it

Genesis by teaberryblueSummary: Reluctant to make the truth about their secret weapon known, the American Government tells the world that Captain America is a man named Steve Rogers. According to public record, he died, tragically, in 1945, and he became legend. In 1998, the Avengers find a body trapped in ice. She’s alive. Her name is Eve. She has Captain America’s shield.rec note: i think this is the..only steve centric fic here lmao . and also technically this is a mix of 616/mcu/ults but i’m still putting it here bc it’s…very good

Highest fall you’ll ever grace by laireshiSummary: “You’ll probably want these back,” Tony says at last, and it hurts almost physically to pull the dog tags over his head and offer them to Steve. But they never really belonged to Tony, did they? Steve seems to hesitate for a second, but then he takes his dog tags with a weird expression. “Yeah,” he says. “They’re mine.”rec note: *clutches heart* hhhh

Transmission by laireshiSummary: The incursions are stopped. Steve hopes for things to go back to normal. Instead, he finds himself stranded in an alternate universe with Tony. Getting home won’t be easy. There are too many things they haven’t told each other, too many arguments they’ve never solved. Now, with just each other for company, they might have to face them all—especially as they seem to be telepathically bonded, and can’t keep anything unsaid anymore.rec note: oh boy am i a sucker for Stevetony Finding Out About The Confession

Chasing Shadows by laireshiSummary: Steve is still adjusting to the future. Tony hopes he is helping, but Steve’s and Iron Man’s morals might be too different for them to work together. Then Steve starts to act strangely, and all Tony can do is chase at shadows.rec note: this fic hurt me . that’s it that’s all i have to say

The Counselors Are In by cptxrogersSummary: Steve and Tony from Avengers Assemble open a counseling service for all the other Steves and Tonys from across the multiverse. God knows they need it.rec note: come on Other Universes GET IT TOGETHER

Think of This as Solving Problems (That Should Never Have Occurred) by SinealaSummary: No one knows Tony is Iron Man. Then Tony gets amnesia, and literally no one knows Tony is Iron Man.rec note: ok here comes the sineala spam in the reclist lmao

The Jar by SinealaSummary: The Avengers are ridiculously competitive people, and what starts out as a silly late-night team discussion quickly becomes a contest: their names. Not the code names – the nicknames. Who can go the longest without using them? They pledge to spend a week not nicknaming each other, and they’ll pay up every time they mess up. This hits Tony the hardest, and not just financially. Tony’s got a lot of nicknames for everyone, but most of all for Steve – and when Tony can’t use the names he’s already got, the names he uses reveal feelings he had no idea he had.rec note: super cute! lov those funky avenging dudes

Changeling by SinealaSummary: Instead of deleting his entire brain and reloading from a backup, Tony attempts to erase just the SHRA database from his mind. As Steve later finds out, this is unfortunately not what he actually did.rec note: *ugly sobbing* ttngngjfgnTONY ,.,,,,CAROLLLLL ,,FDF..,,KSDJBVSD ,,,S T E V E..,,,, FVKJD,,,,SFDJKDNFVNKDJFD

If You Want to Live (The Historical Present Remix) by SinealaSummary: The Civil War is over. The SHRA is gone. Steve has been brought back to life. He’s settling into his new duties as America’s top cop. His longtime friendship with Carol Danvers – Avenger, former director of SHIELD, and former leader of the pro-Registration forces – is now a tenuous one. But something is very wrong in the world. This isn’t how it was supposed to be. Someone is missing. Tony Stark was killed at the age of seventeen, and it’s up to Steve to travel into the past to save a man he doesn’t remember from a man he knows all too well: a mysterious assassin from another time and place, a man with a metal arm. And the truth is more complicated than anyone could ever have guessed.rec note: super interesting fic! the Plot is,,……. some güd shit

Straight on till Morning by SinealaSummary: Tony Stark resigned his commission in Starfleet five years ago, after a disastrous away mission, and he swore he’d never go back. He just wants to be left alone to build warp engines in peace. But the universe has more in store for him than that, as he discovers when Admiral Fury comes to him with an offer he could never have expected and cannot possibly refuse: first officer and chief engineer aboard the all-new USS Avenger, a starship of Tony’s own design. What’s more, the Avenger’s captain is Steve Rogers, hero of the Earth-Romulan War. Believed dead for over a century, Steve is miraculously alive… and very, very attractive. But nothing is ever easy for Tony. As he wrestles with his secret desire for his new captain and his not-so-dormant fears, another mission starts to go wrong, and Tony becomes aware that Steve has secrets of his own – and the truth could change everything.rec note: ok there is, like, really weird porn in this fic but it’s a STAR TREK CROSSOVER and that’s all that really matters. and also it’s very heartfelt and the action is  r e a l l y   i n t e n s e

Your Name on Every Wall by SinealaSummary: The Time Gem throws Steve into the past rather than the future, and in doing so, it gives him the opportunity to undo his past mistakes. But when it turns out that all of his mistakes involve Tony Stark, Steve begins to wonder if he’s ever going to be able to mend things between them.rec note: wow…….stevetony…….. am i right boys?

Get Some Now by SinealaSummary: Avengers Mansion has a mysterious feline infestation. Meanwhile, Steve just can’t figure out how to ask Tony out on a date. And the thirteen teleporting cats sure aren’t helping matters any.rec note: as you all may know. i am an active member of the “tony…..but give him a cat” movement and this fic brings me great joy

Sucker Punch by Sineala Summary: Steve never quite warms to Tony Stark, Avengers benefactor. The Molecule Man never strips Iron Man out of his armor. Life goes on for the Avengers, but as disagreements split the team – and Shellhead and Winghead – again and again, Steve wonders why Iron Man always picks Tony over him. And when Steve finds out, it happens in the worst way possible.rec note: and here is a fic that does NOT bring me great joy and instead goes out of its way to hurt me in every way it can

Tony Stark Advises The Avengers by copperbadgeSummary: Somehow, Tony Stark ended up Team Dad.rec note: ANAD AVENGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Zero Sum by CraitSummary: Did you do your best, Anthony? And did your best only make things worse?rec note: let ao3 user crait write marvel comics, they clearly understand tony’s character better than anyone who’s written him in the past 10 years