#i had to log into my account to leave kudos and a comment then logged out to give double kudos

[nucarnivalsideblog]

i feel like i should start this blog off immediately with a specific fanfic rec, i dont usually recommend any fics but good GOD this shit just hit different. i cannot and will not elaborate on that. anyways here it is, i read it last night and *thoughts* plagued me throughout the whole day so enjoy that i guess !

[lyrebirdswrites]

JJK Fic Plagiarism

An itafushi fic on ao3 called And They Were Roommates by picassoscat is plagiarising my own fic The Long Con. With every new chapter they update, they steal more scenes from my work. Please read and share this to spread the word!

In August, multiple strangers messaged me out of the blue to tell me TLC was being copied. Initially I figured someone had simply been inspired by the tropes I used. But when I read ATWR for myself, it wasn’t just the same premise — it was straight up theft of my prose.

Picassoscat steals 2-3 of my scenes per chapter of their fic on average, interspersed with some alternating POVS and superficial aesthetic changes to my plot. They’ve even copied my authors notes to try and pass off my story decisions/headcanons as their original research.

When I first discovered ATWR, it had 4 chapters. A month later, it now has 7 chapters, and the vast majority of paragraphs in them are still lifted directly from my fic. I’ve left comments alerting readers to this fact — those comments were instantly deleted by the author.

I’ve since been blocked, and logged out accounts can no longer leave comments. So clearly they know what they’re doing and they’re trying to stop their readers from finding out.

Nobody should get support or praise for stealing from other writers.

I genuinely don’t have the words to describe the pain and heartache I’ve been through this month. It is extremely upsetting, and personally distressing, to watch someone claim my hard work and take credit for a fic that is so deeply meaningful to me.

Picassoscat has already bookmarked several other popular itfs works, and I don’t want them to repeat this with any other jjk writer. They didn’t stop when I spoke up alone, and I doubt they’d stop for other authors either if they get enough “success” from stealing mine.

I’ve already filed a report with ao3, so there’s no need to for other people to do the same. I also don’t want anyone to contact the author — moderators will take care of that in due time. But I’d be grateful if you could help me spread awareness about what’s going on. It can take months for an abuse report on ao3 to be processed. I can’t stay silent that long while picassoscat continues to upload my chapters every other week, and readers who don’t know better keep rewarding them with comments and kudos.

Please share this thread so that the jjk fic community is aware of what’s happening. Bookmark ATWR with a note that it isn’t original work, to inform anyone who checks its bookmarks/visits your ao3 (be civil about it though, harassing the author won’t help).

Furthermore, if you know anyone who is reading And They Were Roommates or you see anyone post about it, please link them back to this thread, or to my fic The Long Con.

For obvious reasons, I won’t update The long Con or any of my other fics again until this situation is resolved.

Thank you, sincerely, for supporting me if you‘re able to help.

[oonajaeadira]

20 questions for fic writers

Thank you for the tag, @insomniamamma. For the record, I think you write beautiful smut. I appreciate it for its realness and connection.

How many works do you have on ao3? Aw man, you made me log into my AO3 account? I haven't been around there recently because I feel bad about leaving some messages unanswered. Tumbletown is my main fic home and I haven't really had the time to post here, much less on AO3. (Answer the question Adira.) It says I have 19. I don't post there until they're here and sometimes don't crosspost. Mainly I've been posting over there only if I have a complete series, although sorry LMR readers both there AND here.

2. What's your total ao3 word count? 260,317. Seeing as how not even half of my fic is up over there, I cringe to think of what my actual wordcount is.

3. What fandoms do you write for? Pedro Pascal. Which is an umbrella for the actual fandoms contained therein.

4. Top 5 fics by kudos According to AO3? Losing My Religion, A Girl Walks Into a Bookshop, A Rare Treat, The Sweets Series, Eyes Closed, Comm Open. According to Tumblr: Good. Things. Take. Time. (this one's a Tumble exclusive, dunno if I'll ever AO3 that one), Losing My Religion, Dulces Suenos, The Sweets Series, A Girl Walks Into a Bookshop.

5. Do you respond to comments? I do. Every one. I know I'm behind on some and I'm sorry about that. I let that bother me enough that it's getting in the way of my writing and I shouldn't do that.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I don't like to leave angst hanging and only use it as a trampoline for a happy ending, but I guess the closest thing I have would be A Kiss Before Dying and in Death We Combine. Even if it ends in "death," at least they get to be together.

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? All of them? LOL. Of the multi-chapters I've actually finished, probably A Girl Walks Into a Bookshop.

8. Do you get hate on fics? Only in passing. There were the mean girls that were kind of being catty over on a few other blogs about GTTT when it blew up much to my surprise (yes, of course I saw all of that, mean girls gonna mean). I remember some comment about not trivializing massage therapists just because I have a shitty back.... and all I could think was, hey. First of all, I can tell you didn't even read it, you're just mad about it blowing up. Not my fault. Next. Don't talk about my back. You wouldn't like being injured and having people talk smack about a piece of your body that gives you pain beyond comprehension, y'bigot. Also not my fault. Once I realized they were just mean girls meaning, I let it roll off and got my own satisfaction by writing a pretty bomb series based on some of their prompt lists that I never would have seen if I hadn't been clued into the smack. Turn that hate into something great!

9. Do you write smut? I do. Not exclusively and it's never the main dish of the story. If it does show up, it's usually the result of a long period of longing and/or feelings exchange.

10. Craziest crossover? I'm not a crossover gal. Every once in a while I'll write an easter egg into another fic (there are several in GTTT), but nothing heavy duty. There was the time The Mandalorian got something of a cameo in a Sweet's fic tho....

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Oh gods, I hope not. That would suck. I hate blocking people.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? YES! But not in the way you might think! @katareyoudrilling did an amazing job translating the first chapter of Good. Things. Take. Time. into a sexytime roleplay script!!!! I'M STILL SQUEEING ABOUT IT.

13. Have you co-written a fic before? In a way. For a while when RP accounts were in full swing, I was falling very much in love with the adventure I was creating with @morally-gray-prospector. That account was so amazing, run by one of the smartest writers I've ever known here, but they were TOO good and poured themselves generously into their responses, which got them quite a following...and they burned themselves out! While my story with Ezra didn't have an ending, I never expected it to. I meant it when I said it to the writer: I'm just so happy to have an adventure with Ezra and every minute working on it was a joy that I will love forever. I'm glad they had fun too and didn't keep pushing themselves when it was no longer sustainable. <3

All time favorite ship? It's Din and Little Bird. Now that I know how that story is going to soft-end, they're my favorite couple of all time.

What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will Oh, I'll finish them all. Right now, Branded is in the most danger of lingering, since I have to figure some stuff out with them. But if I could solve the puzzle of Losing My Religion, then I have no doubt that I'm eventually going to get on with that one too.

What are your writing strengths? I don't know what my strengths are, but I like the magic of showing without showing. I like pacing. I enjoy trying to get the characters' voices right and make the dialog real.

What are your writing weaknesses? I am slow. And I make a show of "not following the rules" as if I'm some kind of rebel, but really, I'm just bad at following rules!!!!

Thoughts on dialogue in another language I try to avoid it for the most part because I usually mess it up pretty badly. I generally don't write Din in Mando'a because I haven't really heard him speak it in the series and he seems to always default to Basic even if he understands it spoken to him, so I can't shake the feeling that it's out of character. But Little Bird is a Mandalorophile, so she'd definitely know it and use it. I do sometimes pull in Spanish for Sweets, but it's usually because it's two characters who actually would speak it when Sunday's not around, and even then I try to make sure it's basic enough for folks to follow. The one time I tried to put Italian in I messed it up pretty good, but a beautiful reader helped correct it for me and I'm so so so grateful. <3

First fandom you wrote for I know I have a Doctor Who piece in a notebook somewhere hidden away. And I most likely have a slew of Ranma pieces from my college days. Were there any before that? Possibly.

Favorite fic you've written I have too many. I write really slow, so if it's actually made it to Tumbles, that means I loved it enough to manifest it. Some of them I love because of the fandom, some because of the relationship, some because of the world building, some because of the interaction, and most because of the good time I had writing it. Right now I'm seeing people reading Losing My Religion, and I've had reason to dip into some of those chapters and re-read a little and it's reminded me how much I love writing for the Star Wars universe, how much confidence I have in it. That was the first fic I really wrote, and I put so much of myself into it... so if I choose a favorite, I'll point there first even if it's not really finished yet.

.

tagging: @blueeyesatnight @ezrasbirdie @missredherring @leslie-lyman @prolix-yuy

[zeldadiarist]

Twenty Questions for Writers

I was tagged by @drsteggy , thank you dear!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

According to my dashboard, it's 25.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

384,727. Holy potatoes, that's good.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

99% of my writing is devoted to Legend of Zelda

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

#1Son of the Wild

#2 The Golden Chain

#3 Zelda's Log

#4 But I'll Warm Up With You

#5 Playgirl

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

Most of the time the comments I get are positive or constructive criticism, so I answer them nicely, acknowledging the feedback I get (which I'm always grateful for).

6. What is a fic you write with the angstiest ending?

I wrote a short named Salt, which I decided to include in Zelda's Log (it was a standalone piece), and that's the angstiest stuff you'll get from me (apart from some chapters of The Golden Chain)

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

Definitely Son of The Wild! Link and Zelda are happy with their gremlin kids, having fun.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

So far, it hasn't happened yet. I'm not a big name, so I'm sort of safe lol

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

I do! It's here and here. It's vanilla with a bit of spiciness.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Nope, I don't have the skills or fandoms for that

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know *shudders* but I know some writers whose fics have been stolen/plagiarized.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! Since one of my fields of work is translation, I partially translated The Young Queen's Diaries to Spanish. It was a available for a time in my now dead FF.net account.

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

No, I haven't had that luck.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Zelink owns my heart.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Probably the end of Zelda's Log. I'm just leaving it as a sort of compilation of short stories ( I just wanted to fill in the in between games gap and it derailed imo)

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think I have a knack for writing banter between characters. I also can evoke a good image with few words.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Consistency. I used to have a decent writing schedule, and made time to write (even if that meant writing at 3am - not healthy either). Freelancing has its disadvantages.

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

Definitely Spanish allows room for lots of metaphors and pretty sentences with its rich array of synonyms. In exchange, English can be more accurate to describe the world around.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Gundam Wing. I apologize to whoever read that nightmarish, horrid fic.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Playgirl. I'd love to invoke the same drive I had for it to complete The Golden Chain. Fingers crossed.

Tagging @inlemoons @spicychestnut @cooking-with-hailstones @silentprincess17 @zeldaelmo @liv-andletdie

[givereadersahug]

20 questions for fic writers!

Thanks for the tag @lumosatnight (x)!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

I currently have 258 works on my emeraldlove account. Give or take xxxx on another account and unrevealed works. I write a lot of drabbles. 😅

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

184k on my main account! Which woah. Given how many (*coughs* all *coughs*) of my works are really short.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling (166)

SK8 the Infinity (Anime) (55)

Thor (Movies) (13)

Marvel Cinematic Universe (12)

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies) (10)

佐々木と宮野 | Sasaki to Miyano (Manga) (5)

佐々木と宮野 | Sasaki to Miyano (Anime) (5)

Gilmore Girls (TV 2000) (2)

Call Me By Your Name (2017) (1)

蟲師 | Mushishi (Anime & Manga) (1)

ひだまりが聴こえる | Hidamari ga Kikoeru | I Hear the Sunspot (Manga) (1)

Spider-Man: Spider-Verse (Sony Animated Movies) (1)

きのう何食べた? | Kinou Nani Tabeta? | What Did You Eat Yesterday? (1)

8人の戦士 | 8-nin no Senshi | Dick Fight Island (Manga) (1)

Call Me by Your Name - André Aciman (1)

Call Me By Your Name - All Media Types (1)

ばらかもん | Barakamon (1)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

"I'm in. I'm all in." [Harry Potter, Snarry, 8.4k, Rated M]

The Pocket Watch [Fantastic Beasts, Gramander, 2.4k, Rated G]

Colours [Harry Potter, Snarry, 2.2k, Rated E]

Cups of Tea [Fantastic Beasts, Gramander, 1.7k, Rated G]

Sandalwood [Harry Potter, Snarry, 1.6k, Rated M]

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

You bet! I love getting comments, especially on older fics. Usually people don't comment on drabbles or don't comment in certain fandoms, and receiving comments on those fics make me feel like I made it. lol

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

I'm not sure! I guess I'll go with 'He waits.' [Harry Potter, Snarry, 300 words, Rated M]. It's an expansion on a microfic I wrote for Microfic May. Infidelity + First Person.

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

All of my fluff fics! I've written tons. But I guess I'll say my most recent fest fic -- Invisible String [Harry Potter, Snarry, 3.7k, Rated G].

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Once or twice. Then I turned off guest comments. If people want to leave hate, they need to be logged in so I can block them. 😈 YKINMKBYKIO, DLDR and SALS, people! I do occasionally get weird comments. They get deleted, too.

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

Not usually. I'm more of a G-T rated girl, cause apparently if I write smut, I'll go dark. [Link leads to my HP Kinktober works. Mind the tags!]

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Not yet! But I did write fusion fics/inspired/AU fics before.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I write drabbles. I don't think people will steal those. Right? 🥺 [Please, don't steal. 🙏]

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope!

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

I've written fics that has art, but I've never co-written a fic before. I feel like I'll be too controlling or I'll be MIA. There's no in-between. 🤣

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

Thorki, my love! I'm still waiting on the sun to shine on them again. BUT WHEN, MARVEL? WHEN? You might not think it's Thorki given how little I've written for the ship, but I'm Mr. Knightley. If I loved [them] less, I might be able to talk about [them] more.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Restoration [Harry Potter, Snarry, Rated M]! My only WIP fic. One day! And I guess my Interacting with Unusual Creatures series [Fantastic Beasts, Gramander, Rated G]. It's suppose to be a 5+1 Things fic. There are only two moments. 🤣

16. What are your writing strengths?

Packing a (emotional) punch in as little words as possible. Did I mention I write drabbles? lol

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Writing anything longer than 2k. It's always a *struggle*. Don't come to my AO3 account looking for a 100k plot-heavy fic. You'll be mighty disappointed.

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

You do you!

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Teen Titans (the Cartoon Network series) and the X Files. You will never see them. Ever. 🤣

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

I don't have an absolute fav. I have been thinking lately about a coffeeshop AU fic I written --- Warmth [Harry Potter, Snarry, 1k, Rated G]. I might write a sequel for that.

Tagging (no pressure): @danpuff-ao3 @liladiurne @trueliarose @ashariewrites @likelightinglass

[mavia-anon]

just finished reading your fic Philzas Guide to Adopting Supervillains and guest comments are disabled on AO3 rn (I'm on the list for an account but it's taking a bit) so I'm just gonna ramble here for a sec!

I love that no one dies and we got a happy ending! and the boys meeting Kristen at the end was so cute!! it was a really sweet and fluffy (if a bit dark) fic and it had me giggling into my pillow like a little girl. I loved how you characterlized Phil and his backstory. I'd love to read more about it (idk if you've written anything else in this verse I haven't looked yet lol) it was so good and I wish I could give it more kudos! :D

AHH this made me so happy to hear 🫶 thanks for taking the time to find my Tumblr and leave me this lovely comment because I rarely log into my Mavia ao3 account anymore.

I unfortunately don't have any other works posted that are set in the Adopting Supervillains verse, I toyed with the idea of writing a prequel about Philza's superhero days but I never ended up starting it because my interests had moved to other things by then. I do, however, have a couple of other superhero fics, some of which are more silly, others are a little bit darker and you can find them all on my ao3. ❤️

[crossroadsdimension]

20 questions for fic writers

snatches from @marypsue because why not

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Currently I'm sitting on 49! I fully expect that number to go up within the next year.

2. What’s your total word count?

According to AO3's statistics -- 3,934,249 words and counting. I fully expect to breach 4mil sometime next year.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently, Tales of Arise, and I've got a Trigun/FFVII crossover in the works. Also finally getting to some FFXIV projects because I've been playing that game for the last two years and I haven't written much for it yet. 12 of my fics are attached to Gravity Falls, making it my most-written fandom. Otherwise, my list of fandoms is...fairly long. 39 total as of this posting.

4. Top 5 fics by kudos

Arise Again (Tales of Arise, 425 kudos); Mental Link (FFVII AU, 368 kudos); Mental Bonds: Midgar (sequel to Mental Link, 276 kudos); No Longer Hollow (FFVIIR one-shot, 223 kudos); From One Support to Another (Log Horizon/Rising of Shield Hero one-shot, 170 kudos)

5. Do you respond to comments?

Usually! If I only get one or two-word comments I'm far less likely to put any thought into my responses, though.

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

...probably Puppet AU. That Gravity Falls fic pretty much got all of my college angst crammed into it. But I managed to turn it around in the sequel!

Or Multiverse Patrols, that was a pretty decent cliffhanger considering I was writing with less experience and with an OC as the protagonist. I didn't do a very good job with the tension or foreshadowing at the time, I don't think. Might be good to revisit that someday.

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

Hm, that is a question. Well, maybe Puppet AU: Recovery, considering how the previous one went.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Probably the only time I've gotten hate would be on Ghoulish Falls and Puppet AU, two of my Gravity Falls fics. I had a reader complain on both about Cipher not succeeding in his plots and being defeated by the protagonists. I deleted those comments on Puppet AU -- mostly because I didn't like the all-caps shrieking and the fact that they were demanding I let Cipher win (they went so far as to try and invoke the Axolotl for "revenge," which...okay. Sure). I did leave the one up on Ghoulish Falls, but only because another reader responded with a "what's your problem" sort of remark that made me laugh enough that I left it up.

9. Do you write smut?

Nope, absolutely not. Not that kind of writer. I have hinted at things of a sexual nature happening in Puppet AU, but I never want to put those words onto a page. It's a squick for me.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Crossovers were my bread and butter for years when I was in school. And they continue to be!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

If it has happened, I have not been made aware of it.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Once, yeah. It was years ago, but I got a request on my FF account for one of my stories. I forget which one, and into what language, though. I'd have to go digging through my emails again.

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

A few times! Only one's actually been published though. The Pokemon section of Multiverse Patrols was co-written with another writer on FF, named SabaraOne. I've also got a few projects that @howtotrainyournana and I have started to work on, but life and shifting inspirations have kept us from going back to them. I'm sure we'll cycle back to them eventually, but I'm in no rush.

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

I've got...a lot of favorites, honestly. I keep an armada of fairly canon-compliant ships because I happen to like them...except for one. I haven't written a lot for it yet, but I've got a soft spot for a ship between my OC Maria and the kitsune-transformed Ford Pines from my Puppet AU.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

I have...so many WIPs that would fit under this -- none of them published, so don't go wondering if any of my AO3 projects are technically "on hiatus" or not. My one-shot collections don't count, and while I could technically count my collabs with Nana under here as well, I'm not going to do that. We'll get to them. Eventually.

Otherwise, I've got..probably the Danny Phantom AU where all ghosts are djinn, instead of just the one wish-granter. I got the idea in college (I gushed to Nana about it on the way back to our dorms, I remember), but I haven't done much with it other than write some initial scenes and do a little world-building. Could be fun to work on if I ever get inspiration for it again.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Character, tension, plot, action scenes. I have been told I am a master at holding onto tension and releasing it before it stresses my readers too much.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Setting and character description have fallen to the wayside. I need to get back on that if I ever want to do well with something more original.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language?

It's happened once in a blue moon -- I've had Maria speak German a couple times early on (like, actual, I reached into my high school memories of language classes for Deutsch), but I think if I ever do that again in the future I'm just going to make it clear with formatting that someone speaking a language that isn't English. I don't want to lean on Google Translate too much for anything.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Pokemon! Khrista Chronicles: I Choose You! is actually a rewritten draft of that original idea. But Khrista isn't the OC I originally paired with the story. The character was much more self-insert based originally, and it ended up turning into a massive crossover where the OC turned into a shape-shifter who had access to all the abilities of whomever she changed into. Some of that plot was scrapped and used for Maria and Khrista respectively, but I'm not inclined to forget Shifter just yet. Just need to figure out where I can use her again.

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

It fluctuates depending on what my fandom focus is at the time. I'm fond of my whole series for Maria because that's what I've put the most work into, but watching Arise Again gain so much attention of late has sent it skyrocketing into a favored spot. And then there are the works that I'm currently working on and am planning on publishing!

Now, who to tag, who to tag.... @konfizry @ladyazzyscoffeecorner @howtotrainyournana and whoever else wants to take a crack at it!

[ourimpavidheroine]

is there a reason why comments are moderated on your fic? it's ok i was just wondering.

Ah. Well, very long story short, I had an extremely devoted troll who spent about three years of their life off and on harassing me through my Asks here as well as in the comments section of my fic on AO3 and I had to put some protections in place.

That being said! My feeling on it is that my blog and my fic are places for me to express myself. They are not soundboards for anyone else to spew hatred or ignorance across. I am under no obligation to provide people that service, and therefore I do not.

I have gotten a fair amount of shitty, mean and defamatory Asks over the years, and at first I published them and rebutted them but then I realized, why the fuck am I doing that? Why am I turning my blog into someone else's free shitting ground? I don't need to do that. They can post on their own blog if they want somewhere to shit out their opinions. After all, Tumblr allows me to close down Asks entirely or limit them to non-anon or just delete the ones I don't like when they come in. I am the person who controls what is on my blog, not some stranger who has a really extended (and some might say slightly alarming, mental health-wise) beef with me because I didn't agree with their fan interpretation of Lin Beifong. You know? Not that all of my shitty Asks are down to that one troll - I get others, and that includes spam/scams or anon people trying to convince me that so-and-so that I have reblogged is a terrible person for vague and personal reasons* and even my favorites, the ones where people take me to task for something I've posted, saying how disappointed they are that I believe that kind of thing and that they are no longer going to follow me when a)it's pretty obvious by what they've said that they don't actually follow me and b)my follower count stays the same.

My comments on AO3 are the same. AO3 grants writers the power to shut down comments entirely, or moderate them before posting, or limit them to people who are logged into their AO3 account. I don't need to include negative comments, whether they are derogatory or not. Some have been very derogatory, especially when it comes to the sexuality and/or gender of characters. I'm not allowing that shit on my fic. You don't get to use my fic in order to promote your homophobic and TERF bullshit, the end. Nor am I giving you free rein to tell me why my fic is wrong. Don't like it? Don't read it, I'm not changing it for anybody, but especially not for some anon telling me I should. I've had a whole range of comments, from people telling me they aren't reading any longer because of Qi (ah, nothing says passive-aggressive like leaving a pissy little comment telling me my writing was good until I introduced a character and/or plot line you did not personally like, like this was a story you paid me a commission for to write a particular way) to people telling me I am a you-know-what for writing a scene depicting a 21 year old post-canon Ikki having sex because she was a child in the canon show. (Newsflash! Every adult having sex was also an 11 year old in the past! Including your own parents!) Nah. I'm not keeping that stuff. Not for me, and not for anyone else reading it.

So rest assured, if you are civil and considerate in your comments on my fic, I will gladly post them. There was a time there when due to my health issues I wasn't answering every single comment, but I do try to do that now because I feel it's a nice thing to do and because I enjoy engaging with my readers. (Not because I feel obligated. I've already written the fic, which took a lot more time and effort than writing a comment, so I feel we're more than even on that.) And if you don't leave a comment, that's okay too! It's not everybody's thing. (But a kudos would be very much appreciated. Even if you bookmark it.)

*To be clear, I am not talking about someone who says yikes that was a TERF you reblogged from check their blog and I am like NOOOOOO DELETE DELETE but rather someone who is like this person is terrible because I say so but I can't tell you why but just trust me even though I am Anon and won't tell you what is going on, which has happened to me a surprising amount of times actually.

[pookha]

No tengo las llaves

Chapter 2

Vee keeps up appearances for Camila, makes empanadas and has their first meeting? date? with Masha. They compare notes and discuss where they're going.

Originally, I just meant for this to have the one chapter, but I'm enjoying it and it will have more, probably 4 or 5. It will be updated whenever I can, but I work full-time, it may be a while. I will aim for weekly or fortnightly, but if it takes longer sometimes, I apologize in advance.

Thank everyone who read, left kudos and especially those who commented. I love you all. Let's spread the Owl House love.

Vee slid out of the top bunk and onto the floor. They went to Camila’s room and got her laptop. They logged in as Camila and found her password manager. They tried a couple of times to log into it, but couldn’t get the password correct and stopped before they got locked out. They dug around in Camila’s dresser drawers and eventually found a piece of paper at the very bottom of Camila’s jewelry box. Vee laughed and went back to the laptop.

They logged into the password manager with “C0sM1C_Fr0nt13r” and got access to Camila’s bank account. They looked over Camila’s desk for bills and made sure to pay them, noticing that most of them had already been set up for autopay. They used Zelle to transfer some money to Luz’s account, which Vee had a debit card for. Vee saw the brochure for the camp sticking out from the bill pile and touched it fondly.

“I never would have known how to do this without you,” they said and then shivered at the empty house.

They looked at the clock, sighed and shifted to Luz’s shape. They got Camila’s spare keyring and then got on their bike and rode to where they had left the car the night before. They loaded the bike in the trunk, shifted to Camila and drove to the clinic. They drove carefully, obeying the speed limit, using turn signals and the mirrors. They were happy that they’d insisted Camila teach them how to drive and that they picked up skills quickly.

When they got to the clinic they got everything ready for Camila’s suposed unexpected trip back to the Dominican Republic to visit her abuela. Everyone took it well, with Vee getting lots of sympathetic hugs from Camila’s staff. They hoped it wouldn’t be too long; Dr Simonson could help out, but not forever and they could call in Dr Jensen, but she had her own concierge service.

Vee left as soon as they could, stopped at the grocery store to pick up some fresh apples. They also picked up some soda and chips.

When they got back home… home… they thought of Camila’s house as home now. They knew that they’d never go back to the Demon Realm unless they had to. Hopefully, Belos would lose and they could open the portal whenever they wanted so Vee could get magic to eat. They couldn’t think about the alternative.

They switched back to their natural form and started working in the kitchen. Cooking and especially baking had become stress relief and they loved learning all the recipes that Camila had learned from her mom and her abuela. They put their phone on the dock and turned Spotify onto shuffle. They’d combined Camila’s and Luz’s and Masha’s playlists and the mix was…eclectic to say the least.

Kpop blared from Luz’s playlist as they laid out their ingredients in the order they’d need them, a thing they’d learned recently was called mise en place. If they managed to stay in the human realm, they thought they’d love to open a bakery: fresh doughnuts, savory and sweet empanadas, cakes and pies, brownies and cupcakes. They’d recently learned how to shape fondant and it was art …art was the only word that they thought applied.

Their phone buzzed on the dock with a text and they paused to look at it.

I have detention today (talking back to a teacher…again), so I won’t be there until around 5. My mom’s going to pick me up around 8ish. Should I bring something for dinner or snax?

Vee texted back quickly, not wanting to leave them on read.

I’m making something. You’re not vegetarian, right?

They saw the ‘…’ of Masha typing and then;

Nope. see you around 5

Vee went back to their baking. They made their fillings first and sat them aside before making their dough the traditional way with masa rather than white flour. They made the apple ones first and while they were cooling, they baked the chorizo filled ones. The smell of the nutmeg, cinnamon and apples tempted them enough that they had to eat one. It was still warm and gooey from the oven and Vee blew on it to keep it cool. Now that the baking was done, their mind raced as they ate. Thoughts of Camila and Luz and Luz’s friends ran circles and then Masha’s face filled them. They sighed, finished their empanada and started cleaning.

They had just loaded the dishwasher to run when the savory empanadas were done. Their sensitive nose let them know that they were perfect; they were improving rapidly.

After they had cooled for a few minutes, Vee broke one open to look at it, just look at it, but then ate it. It hadn’t cooled enough and they gasped around a burnt roof of their mouth; a fitting punishment for lying to themself they thought.

They sat down with Luz’s laptop and went back to Duolingo. They were getting through the Spanish lessons much more quickly than Camila had thought they would. Being a basilisk and changing shape gave them a lot of knowledge and language skills, but still learning the slang and idioms was challenging.

They lost themselves on the internet for a while and only looked up when a knock came at the door. They shifted back to their human Vee shape and got up.

“Ah, shoot, it’s already five,” they said as they opened the door.

Masha stood on the other side, covered against the damp chill by a long black coat, not quite a trench, but not just a windbreaker either.

“Going to let me in or just stare at me,” Masha asked.

Vee blushed, hating that they would blush no matter their form.

“Sorry,” they said and stood aside to let Masha in.

Masha entered, opened their jacket to let the heat of the house in as Vee closed the door. They both stood awkwardly for a moment before Masha broke the silence.

“I trust you, but there are some things I’ve got to ask first, okay?”

Vee nodded.

“You’re not planning to kill me and eat my skin?”

Vee blinked in surprise and put their hands to their face.

“What? No, I’m not a fairy. I don’t eat skin. I won’t hurt you.”

“Wait, fairies eat skin?” Masha asked.

“In the Boiling Isles they do,” Vee said.

Masha laughed.

“All right. Are you super old? This isn’t a Twilight thing where you’re like a hundred and I’m a teenager, right?”

Vee’s blush deepened.

“No, no, I’m…”

They thought for a moment.

“I—I think I’m about fifteen in human terms?” It sounded like a question.

“You’re not sure?” Masha asked.

Vee shook their head.

“Not one hundred percent. I feel about that old and I know that we mature about the same as witches and humans. I don’t know exactly when I was made, but I’m no older than eighteen and no younger than fourteen.”

“Wait, you said ‘made.’ What do you mean?”

Vee lowered their head.

“Can we talk about it in the living room?” they asked in a very small voice.

Masha nodded and followed Vee to the couch. They looked around curiously as Vee sat on the couch and patted the cushion next to them for Masha. Masha took off their jacket and draped it on the arm of the couch before sitting next to Vee. Vee’s hands were knotted together in their lap. Masha reached over and put their hand over Vee’s. Vee looked up and smiled.

“Basilisks had been extinct in the Boiling Isles for a long time, hunted by the witches because we eat magic. Belos brought us back using magic and alchemy or whatever to study how we drain magic so he could kill all the witches.”

Vee’s voice, which had been small, was now tiny.

“It’s not your fault,” Masha said, picking up on Vee’s guilt right away. They squeezed Vee’s hands. Vee released their own hands and gripped Masha’s tightly.

“I just learned recently that Belos was a human who came through a portal a long time ago and he was some kind of witch hunter. He killed his brother; Luz said something about it before Belos escaped back to the Demon Realm.”

Masha went very still.

“Is—was his name Philip?”

“I think that’s what Luz called him,” Vee said.

“Okay, tell me everything,” Masha said.

Vee told the whole story of the previous night, with flashbacks to how they came to the Human Realm and took over Luz’s identity.

“I—wow, that’s a lot,” Masha said finally. They reached up to brush nascent tears from the corners of Vee’s eyes.

“You weren’t at the hayride, so you don’t know the story from the human side.”

Vee shook their head.

Masha told them the story of the Wittebane brothers and Vee nodded. It fit what they knew and what had happened the night before.

“And Mrs Noceda followed Luz and her friends to the Demon Realm?”

“Mom—Camila did,” Vee said.

“You already think of her as Mom; I love it. That alone speaks well of you,” Masha said.

Masha’s stomach rumbled and there was silence for a second before they both laughed, tension released.

“I made food. Sorry I forgot!” Vee stood up suddenly and bustled to the kitchen. Masha paused just a moment before following them. Vee turned around and saw them following.

“Aw, I was gonna bring it to you, but this is better.” They waved their hand for Masha to sit at the table.

Vee grabbed a plate with a cloche on it and put it on the table.

“Those are the apple ones; just a moment and I’ll get the savory ones warm.”

They pulled a plate, opened the fridge and put six empanadas on a plate. They put them in the microwave for about 40 seconds while they pre-heated the oven.

“If you just microwave them to reheat them, they get soggy and if you just use the oven, the outside gets too crispy before the filling is hot, so I microwave them for a little bit and then crisp them in the oven to reheat.”

Masha nodded like they knew what Vee was talking about.

The microwave beeped, Vee opened it, put the empanadas on a baking sheet and put them in the oven.

“It’s not fully pre-heated, so it’s going to take a few more minutes,” they said. They set a timer for ten minutes.

Vee sat at the table across from Masha.

“I—I have a question and I hope it’s not rude,” Masha said.

“It’s okay,” Vee said.

“You said yesterday that you wanted to change your pronouns to they/them from she/her. Are you female, do you identify as non-binary…or?” Masha trailed off, embarrassed to be asking such a pointed question.

Vee smiled.

“It’s complicated. In my natural form, I’m non-binary; basilisks don’t really have male/female sex. We can be one or the other, or both or neither. I prefer to be female when I shift to other shapes, but I don’t have to be. From the few of us I knew, most of us had a gender and sex preference. They/them just feels better to me right now. Maybe I’ll go back to she/her at some point or she/they, but I don’t know right now. So much is in flux. I might have to go back to the Demon Realm to live, assuming they can even re-open the portal. If not, I’ll probably starve to death.”

“Sorry if it was rude, I wasn’t sure how gender and sex worked with basilisks.”

“It’s all right,” Vee said.

“I can tell you about me,” Masha said, their voice now choking a bit.

“If you want, but you don’t have to. Remember that I was at camp and I know your deadname and how you presented then,” Vee said.

Now Masha was crying. Vee slid their chair closer to Masha’s and put their arm around them.

“You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to.”

Masha leaned their head on Vee’s shoulder, which got soaked with tears.

“Sorry, I don’t cry much,” Masha said, lifting their head and wiping their eyes with their sleeve.

The timer beeped, causing them both to jump and then laugh.

Vee got up and went to the oven and got out the pan. The scent of chorizo filled the kitchen.

“Damn, that smells amazing,” Masha said.

Vee dished them up and got plates.

They pointed at the empanadas.

“The ones with the two fork pricks are spicy and the ones with the four fork pricks are very spicy. The ones on the other plate are apple, for dessert.”

Masha grabbed one each of the spicy and very spicy. They took a bite of the very spicy first, chewed it thoughtfully, stood suddenly and went to a cabinet.

“Glasses are in the one on the left. Get milk, not water, it will cut the spice better,” Vee said.

Masha got two glasses and the carton of milk from the fridge. They sat them on the table, filled their glass with milk and drank a big gulp of it.

“You—you weren’t kidding when you said very spicy,” Masha said.

“Too much?” Vee asked.

Masha nodded.

Vee took the spicy one off their plate and switched it with Masha’s very spicy.

“You don’t mind it has a bite out of it?” Masha asked, taking a bite of the spicy one. Their eyes went wide, but they managed to swallow it.

“Nah, we’re gonna be making out at some point, you said, so what’s a bite?”

Masha choked a bit on their milk and Vee laughed.

“I know you were saying that to just make your mom laugh some, but were you serious?” Vee asked, lowering their eyes again.

“I was mostly tweaking my mom, but also serious. I do like you Vee and maybe it will happen when we get to know each other better or maybe we’ll just be friends, but I really do want to find out. When it happens, it’ll happen, you know?”

Vee nodded.

They ate mostly in silence; Masha had to refill their milk twice more.

“Sorry it’s too spicy,” Vee said and Masha waved them off.

“I’ll get used to it,” Masha said.

They finished their empanadas and Vee piled the dishes in the sink. Masha picked up one of the apple empanadas and looked at it.

“What’s the glaze?” they asked, taking a nibble.

“Just powdered sugar and milk,” Vee said.

“They’re really good, both the apple and the chorizo.” Masha smiled.

“I remember when we first met at camp, you were so shy and didn’t really seem to know what was going on. Do basilisks all learn this fast?”

Vee nodded.

“Taking a shape gives us some basic knowledge and language skills, but it can be a bit of ‘hello fellow youth’ like that meme if you get what I mean.”

Masha laughed again; Vee was beginning to like making Masha laugh.

“I get you,” they said.

Vee turned around from the sink.

“Would you like to see my real shape?” they asked suddenly.

Masha put the apple empanada down and nodded.

Vee changed back to their natural shape. Masha’s eyes widened, then they smiled.

“You’re super cute,” they said.

Vee blushed.

“You can blush!” Masha laughed. They stood and moved to stand next to Vee.

“May I touch you?” Masha asked.

Vee nodded, grabbed Masha’s hand and put it on their neck.

“You’re warm,” Masha said.

“Where can I touch you safely?” Masha asked.

“Anywhere above here,” Vee said, indicating approximately where their waist would be in human form.

Masha slid their hand.

“You’re smooth; I was expecting scales like an alligator, but you’re more like a garter snake.”

“We’re not reptiles, but I understand,” Vee said. They put their hand over Masha’s and held it.

Masha’s gaze saw the ring on Vee’s tail. Vee noticed.

“That’s where I was chained before I escaped.”

“Can—can you remove it?” Masha asked.

“Maybe with magic, but it reminds me of what I was and what I’m becoming here.”

Masha got a sly look on their face.

“When you shift forms, does it stay with you like a piercing?”

“Yes,” Vee said, and then, “maybe one day I’ll show you.”

“Wait! What happened to your clothes?”

Vee laughed.

“Everyone always asks that. They’re a part of me.”

“Wait, you were naked the whole time?” Masha asked, reddening.

“No, I was wearing clothes, they’re just me. It’s complicated and…” Vee waved their hand, “existential?”

“Can you change your clothes at will?” Masha asked.

Vee nodded.

“I don’t want to waste too much magic, though. What I took off Belos will last me a long time, but who knows how long everyone will be gone.”

“Is that what you meant about starving? Without magic, you’ll die?” Masha slid their hands back up to Vee’s neck and put them around the back of it, embracing them.

“Yeah, human food reduces the amount of magic I need to just live, but I do need magic to change shapes and without it, I’ll eventually wither away, even with human food.”

“Well then, I hope they hurry up even more and they’re all safe,” Masha said.

A horn honked from outside.

They both looked up at the clock. It was already eight. Neither knew where the time had gone.

“Text me when we can see each other again,” Vee said and started to pull away.

Masha leaned in suddenly and kissed Vee’s cheek.

“I’ll text later when I get home,” Masha said.

Vee shifted back to their human shape in Masha’s arms, which made Masha’s eyes go wide again and then kissed them on the cheek, too.

After Vee closed the door behind Masha, they raised their hand to their cheek, which was still burning with Masha’s kiss. On the other side of the door, Masha was doing the same.

[pikapeppa]

Hello, yes, it's me again, enjoying your work

I had a whole message typed up here about how Becoming Whole is the first long fanfic I've read in 6 years, but then I realized that it read as Super Unhinged. Like, your fic is so satisfying to read that I keep getting so many jolts of dopamine to my brain that I occasionally feel like yelling? Like when kotallo was so excited to thank alva for the sea shell that he forgot to put pants on? I wanted to holler, but it was literally midnight. Dont know why I'm feeling this way, but I do know that it's your fault.

So, on the one hand, I'm having a great time reading your work . But on the other hand, I appear to be going insane because of it.

But also....I'm not going to stop reading, and once I catch up to the current stuff, I'm going to work my way through your whole portfolio and also log into my actual ao3 account to leave additional kudos and bookmarks and comment, instead of lurking as a guest and leaving guest kudos

I'M SO SORRY FOR THIS LATE REPLY BUT I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE ENJOYING BECOMING WHOLE SO MUCH THAT IT'S MAKING YOU FEEL UNHINGED. Does my yelling help make you feel less unhinged/at least as though we are unhinged together??? 😂😂😂

"when kotallo was so excited to thank alva for the sea shell that he forgot to put pants on? I wanted to holler, but it was literally midnight." I FUCKING CACKLED. This summary of this moment in the fic MADE ME LOL, THANK YOU!!

If/when you do poring through my AO3 portfolio, I hope you'll find some other fics you enjoy!! It may be easier to find something to your liking if you have a poke through my writing masterlist on Tumblr, which is organized by fandom and ship!

In any case PLEASE CONTINUE TO ENJOY AND FEEL FREE TO HOLLER WHENEVER YOU FEEL THE NEED 😂❤

-- love from your friendly neighbourhood Pika! xoxo

[nedjemetsenen]

Giving Meaning to AO3 Kudos

So, you published a story on AO3 and you’re starting to collect kudos. What are these magical things and how do you know if you’re doing well? As someone who plays around with kudo statistics for fun, here’s what I’ve learned:

1. Most people don’t leave kudos.

Look at some of your favorite stories (the ones that are both fun AND well-written) and you’re going to see that the hit-to-kudo ratio is shockingly low. Like, 15% or less and 15% is RARE. You’re lucky if you get one-in-ten people to hit that kudo button. So don’t be discouraged if you get 50 hits and 5 kudos. Those are actually great numbers!

2. The more popular your story is, the worse that the hit-to-kudo ratio can be.

Look at the front page for any fandom (sorted by kudos) and you’ll find that many of the top stories don’t even have a 5% hit-to-kudo ratio. There are a few reasons for this. The first one is simply that people are going to give a popular story a chance even if it’s not something that they’d normally read, so you get hits from people outside of your intended readership. Those people give it a look, confirm that it’s not for them, and then click off. That’s a hit you wouldn’t have had in a less popular story and those add up. The same thing can happen for long fics where people see your story in their feed again and again, so they finally give it a look, only to confirm that they were right and it’s not for them. That’s not the only issue with long fic hit counts, though!

3. Longer fics have worse hit-to-kudo ratios than short fics

The other reason that you might see terrible hit-to-kudo ratios for front page fics is that a lot of the top fics are long fics and longer stories tend to have worse hit-to-kudo ratios. My theory on this is that it has a lot to do with how AO3 tracks hits. If you’re logged into an account, then you count as 1 hit. If you’re not logged in, then you get counted based on IP address, meaning that one person can get counted multiple times if they’re reading over multiple devices or on one device over multiple connections. I played around with my phone once and I was able to give 2 “kudos” to the same fic (as a guest) because I started reading at home and then finished reading while at work, meaning that my IP changed. I was also able to give another kudo from my personal computer. So that’s 1 me counting as 3 separate hits. I made up for it by giving kudos for each one, but most readers won’t know to do that.

This issue is not going to have a large impact on short stories where people read it in one go, but for a longer story? Yeah, you’re going to see artificial hit inflation. I’m going to give an example of this by looking at the homepage for the MCU fandom. (Which I’m using because it’s popular, meaning a large reader base to help normalize the data, and I used to be in it, so I know which stories are worth recommending)

Mistake on the Part of Nature by idiopathicsmile clocks in at a single chapter with just 1,274 words. It has 306,790 hits and 30,410 kudos, giving it a hit-to-kudo ratio of 9.9%

Hide A Heart Of War by RayShippouUchiha has two chapters and 13,617 words, which is still within the single sitting length for most readers. It has 245,554 hits and 20,298 kudos, giving it a hit-to-kudo ratio of 8.2%

This, You Protect by owlet has 33 chapters and 64,326 words. It has 575,980 and 23,340 kudos, giving it a hit-to-kudo ratio of just 4.1%!

All of these fics are awesome, all of the fics are rated T, and all of the fics of similar quality in writing, but as the chapter and word counts goes up, the hit-to-kudo ratio goes down.

This is true even if you control for author. Here’s the numbers for the three stories I’ve finished in the Yu-Gi-Oh fandom (the number in red is the hit-to-kudo ratio):

My long fic might be the most popular in total hits and kudos, but its ratio sucks compared to my short fics.

4. Know what good numbers are for your fandom

I found the lack of meaning behind kudos annoying, so I went into the Yu-Gi-Oh fandom (where I’m currently writing) and took a look at what counted for good kudo numbers to give myself a goal. It’s a smaller fandom, so the kudo numbers are NEVER going to rival the MCU fandom's. There’s just not that many readers. In the Yu-Gi-Oh fandom, anything over ~365 kudos means that you’re in the top 1% of stories (by kudos). Knowing that gave me something to aim for and a reason to get excited when I hit certain kudo milestones. I don’t recommend doing this with short stories because short stories easily fall off the radar, but it’s a fun thing to track with long fics! It certainly gave meaning to the kudos when I was writing Ma’at and that matters because comments are sparse! (More on that in a bit)

5. Explicit stories don’t follow the usual rules

I don’t personally enjoy smut for smuts sake, so I don’t read a lot of sex-heavy stories (I prefer it as a spice, not the main dish), but I have noticed that sex-heavy stories tend to have a much lower hit-to-kudo ratio than stories that are clean or even other E stories that only have a handful of explicit scenes. Not sure what to make of that, but I figured that I should call it out so that the smut writers of the world don’t look at this guide and assume that their awesome writing is bad because the ratios are off!

In Summary:

Don’t just look at how many kudos you have to see if people like your story. Keep in mind that your hits count, too. More hits, more kudos! If you’re working with short fics, a hit-to-kudo ratio of around 10% is great! For long fics, 4% is really good. When I was writing Ma’at, I had an initial hit-to-kudo ratio of about 12%, but it dropped WAY down as the word count grew higher. I’m expecting my current long fic to trend the same. It’s currently at a lovely 12.3%, but I don’t expect THAT to last.

A Note on Comments

No matter how popular your story is, you’re never going to see a lot of comments

My story, Ma’at, is currently in the top 50 stories for Yu-Gi-Oh (sorted by kudos). I have almost 700 kudos and I had over 180 subscribers while the story was in-progress. In spite of that, I never saw more than 25 comments on a given chapter and even that was pretty rare. I normally clocked in between 10 and 15 once the story got popular. This is why I started to look into kudo statistics. Those were my main source of feedback and I wanted to find meaning in them.

[jaime-brienne-fic-exchange]

Exchange Posting Guide

Hello, friends and frenemies! We are less than three days away from the collection opening, which means I have a tension headache every morning I wake up and remember that I have to finish my exchange fic. The no-fault defaulting deadline has passed, but if you realise you will not be able to finish on time please, please let us know ASAP anyway so we can get a knight writer to write your recipient a gift.

On the other hand, if you have completed your exchange fic draft, please remember to tell us before the 1st! About a third of the participants already confirmed they’ve finished their fic, and we say:

Okay, now with the collection opening soon, here’s some FAQ on posting!

First off, how dare you?

Honestly, I ask myself that all the time, and the answer is there is no answer. We knew what an exchange would be like. Chances are, you did too when you signed up because many of you were here last year. We have no one else to blame but ourselves.

How does posting work?

The exchange portal will open on August 1st at 12pm AEST. Once it opens, use AO3 to upload your fic as usual:

Most of the upload process will be exactly the same as usual, but you need to fill in the following two fields:

Fill in the first with “JaimeBrienneFicExchange2021” (It should autofill, but please be careful to select the right collection! This one is the one we're using. Alternatively, you can go straight to that collection and click the “Post to Collection” button on the top right under the banner once the collection is open.)

Type in your recipient’s AO3 name in the second field. Double check your original prompt to ensure you have the correct name. A few people have different tumblr/AO3 names and we don’t want any fics to go awry.

If you've already made an AO3 draft before the 1st, make sure you add it to the collection and put in your recipient's username in the fields we mentioned above, and make sure you change the date when posting (or your fic will be buried). Be aware it can cause some shenanigans where the fic may not appear at the top of the page.

After that, it’s as simple as clicking post! Your fic will be submitted to the exchange and automatically be made anonymous. As the author, when you open your own fic, it will say ‘YourUsername (Anonymous)’, but to other users it will simply say ‘Anonymous’. Author’s names will not be revealed until August 21st, when we click the button to reveal them.

Feel free to reply to comments during that week. As long as you are logged into the account that posted the fic, all of your comments will also be anonymised.

If any of this process is confusing to you, PLEASE reach out to one of the organisers (nire-the-mithridatist/slipsthrufingers/firesign23/samirant/im-auntie-social)! We’re happy to hold your hand through the process 🤗

What about Lil’ Oathkeepers?

I’m glad you asked, imaginary exchange participant that’s totally not me talking to myself! A Lil’ Oathkeeper is a gift that can be any size and shape. It can be art! A video edit! A moodboard! A fic shorter than 1000 words! Or… a fic longer than a 1000 words, but you probably know that. Anyone (you don’t even have to be signed up to the exchange) can make and gift a Lil’ Oathkeeper. We’ll be releasing the prompt spreadsheet and posting instructions on the 1st!

Why is the exchange opening a day earlier than you said?

Because Slips has set the time on the exchange to suit her own timezone. She has to stay up till after midnight to watch F1 cars go vroom vroom and had to deal with being spoiled for every single episode of Game of Thrones on Tumblr and Twitter because it aired in the US while she was at work. This is her own petty little vengeance and she will not apologise for that.

Also it’s easier for her to keep everything straight in her head this way. Mathematics is not her strength. We’re kindly moderators though, so here’s a handy timezone conversion for you.

Why do I need to let you know by the 1st that I’ve finished my fic if I can post it anytime during the following week?

So we can find a knight writer ASAP. The sooner we know that you won’t be able to complete your fic, the sooner we can find someone to fill in for you. We don’t want anyone to be disappointed.

Do I have to post ON the 1st of August? I’ll be AFK for the day because my cat has a piano recital!

No, you can post it anytime between the 1st and the 7th. If you can’t or don’t want to post it on Sunday, then you can absolutely wait until later. We anticipate that the bulk of fics will be posted over the weekend, but if you want to post it on the 6th, then that’s absolutely your choice. Just be mindful that your recipient may be worrying why they haven’t received one.

Also tell your cat we’re rooting for them!

I really overshot the 1k limit and need to post multiple chapters. Should I post them together and drop my 40k prompt fill in the tag all at once, or can I stagger it throughout the week?

You must have a complete posted story by the 7th of August, unless you have reached out to us to make alternate arrangements. If you want to post your story over the week, you can. If you want to post it all at once, you can. As long as your prompter gets a completed fic in the posting window, we don’t mind.

(Also, look at your life, look at your choices! It was a 1k minimum!!! Buncha overachievers in this fandom, I swear 😂😂😂)

Can I thank my beta in the notes of my story?

Absolutely you can! The betas of the fandom be working HARD this week, they definitely deserve recognition. Just be mindful of including anything in your notes that might reveal who you are. You could choose to name your beta, or just thank them generally and add their name after authors have been revealed.

What if I don’t receive a story?

It might be because your author hasn’t posted it yet - they have the full week from the 1st to the 7th to post their story. It also might be because your fic needed a knight writer to write it. If this is the case, know that your knight is probably working very diligently to complete it, but might not be able to complete it within the window. If it looks like your fic will be significantly delayed (like until after authors are revealed) we will contact you directly to let you know what’s up.

What’s the etiquette around thanking my author?

A kudos and a comment is pretty standard. It’s up to you how long your comment is; we don’t write comments with our heads, we write them with our hearts. Just keep in mind that a person out there spent time working on something just for you and make sure you show your appreciation, even if the story isn’t exactly what you expected!

Can I promote my story?

Please don’t do this until authors have been revealed through the collection.

Can I rec my gift story?

Absolutely! Share the love! You can choose to rec it while it’s still anonymous, or wait until the authors are revealed. It’s up to you.

I’m not participating in the exchange, but I want to get into the spirit of the week. What can I do?!

Well firstly, read any of the 102 fics we expect to be posted that week! Read them and enjoy them! Leave a kudos! Leave a comment! Leave ten comments! Write rec lists and share them on Tumblr or Discord or TikTok, wherever it is that the cool kids hang these days!

What’s for dinner, nire?

Chicken, seasoned with my own tears.

I have another question that hasn’t been answered in the FAQs

Either send us a message through tumblr, or get in touch with one of the organisers privately. We’ll get back to you ASAP!

[diyeoracha]

IwaOi Fanfiction Masterlist with 90+ Works

Hello! In celebration accumulating over 290 bookmarks on my AO3 account featuring IwaOi, Haikyuu S4 part 2, and @haikyuuweek2020​ (Day 7 - Free Choice), I decided to create a masterlist of all of my favorite Iwaoi fics in order to keep myself organized as well as contributing to more traffic for those works! Works are split up into genres such as alternate universe (either not childhood friends or set on Earth), angst, canon compliant (post timeskip with spoilers), canon divergent (childhood friends but divergent timeline post timeskip), high school, and university au

Formatting update: Jan 13, 2021 (spacing is wonky on the mobile app!).

Fic update: Jan 7, 2021

This is incomplete as I got distracted while re-reading a lot of these and have only gone through half of my bookmarks, but feel free to check my own page here for the rest of them! I really do hope you guys enjoy reading these and leave comments and kudos! Please reblog and like so more people can enjoy

Titles marked with (♡) are my absolute favorites and there’s a chance I cried while reading them but otherwise they’re in alphabetical order

Alternate Universe

an allegory of all the things we could’ve been

Word count: 16k

Summary: “I don’t know anything about some red string,” Iwaizumi murmurs into the cracks of Oikawa’s skin, “or even about lifetimes or fate. But no matter where you are, I’ll find you. Gods or otherwise.” Reincarnation AU

And All the Prince’s Men

Word count: 65k

Summary: “Father only loves that which he owns, and I am the one thing that can never truly be his.” Royalty AU

Built a Temple in Me

Word count: 55k

Summary: Up the mossy mountain steps, past the komainu guardians and the faded red gate, and beyond the boundaries of the green shrine—that’s where the forest and the spirit world within it lies. That’s were Hajime met him, and where their story began.But intertwining of destinies can be ugly business, Hajime finds, when their first meeting begins with blood and the too-human eyes of a beast. God Oikawa AU

Quote: It fills his heart anyway, heals the hole in his chest that had been bleeding since he cut Tooru so forcibly from him.

Cotton Breathing

Word count: 13k

Summary: Long-distance and summer only but childhood friends AU

Conquering the Great King

Word count: 105k

Summary: Oikawa's lips twitched into a smirk and he brought them hovering just over Iwaizumi's, "One time thing, Two time thing, what's it matter as long as it's not a Relationship thing?"

Quote: Oikawa's eyes twitched wide for less than a second, his knee pressed in hard against Iwaizumi's thigh, "I may be gorgeous, but I'm not a doll."

dear diary, i met a boy

Word count: 15k

Summary: Iwaizumi's first impression of his upstairs neighbor involves getting woken up at two in the morning to the sound of Oikawa singing along to trashy pop music. He'd thought it would get better, but it all just goes downhill from there. Modern AU

Desperado

Word count: 82k

Summary: Clearly Iwaizumi had a checkered past. Kyoutani has never asked about it, nor has Iwaizumi ever brought it up. He knows it’s a sore spot for his mentor, just like the gorgeous Monte Carlo he keeps hidden away is, so he leaves it alone. Out on the streets, you learn a little something about when to turn a blind eye in order to survive; Kyoutani knows better than most to leave the past of men like Iwaizumi well alone. Heist AU

Even Heroes (have the right to dream)

Word count: 20k

Summary: Oikawa Tooru, ace reporter of the superhero beat of Asahi Shimbun, hates superheroes. Or maybe he just hasn’t met the knight one yet. Superhero AU

♡Infinite Risks

Word count: 8k

Summary: “It’s my fate,” Oikawa responds slowly. He’s crying. “It’s too lonely,” Iwaizumi’s heart sounded broken. “And I’m not there with you. Not really.” Edge of Tomorrow AU

In Defense of Reptiles

Word count: 9k

Summary: In their seventh year, Oikawa is chosen to be the Hogwarts champion in the Triwizard Tournament, and Iwaizumi suffers. Harry Potter AU

Quote: “You are so spoiled,” Iwaizumi tells him, but lets him shuffle down until Iwaizumi’s hand is now running through Oikawa’s hair instead of rubbing his shoulder.

In the Telling

Word count: 6k

Summary: Muggleborn Iwaizumi could not be less impressed with pureblood Oikawa Tooru. Harry Potter AU

♡Lockdown

Word count: 72k

Summary: Within the first few months of his stay, Oikawa gets caught up in a war between cellblocks, becomes a prime target, and must decide just how far he's willing to go to protect Iwaizumi Hajime. Prison AU

♡long nights, no peace

Word count: 18k

Summary: It's the steady knowledge that Iwaizumi Hajime will always be someone that he can rely on, that no matter what the world throws at the two of them, they share in a piece of each other's soul. Pacific Rim AU

Quote: Quiet settles between them softly, like the warm pressure of the blanket, or Iwaizumi's fingers curling to lightly hold the fabric of Oikawa's shirt.

The Long Light

Word count: 36k

Summary: Iwaizumi Hajime's seventh year at Hogwarts begins, and begins, and begins, and begins. Somehow, Oikawa Tooru is always there. Harry Potter AU

Magic Man

Word count: 12k

Summary: Oikawa is named the most desirable wizard in France. Iwaizumi is not impressed. Harry Potter AU

Quote: You keep saying partner or them. Is it rude of me to ask you to clarify?

Meet me in the grey area

Word count: 24k

Summary: Set in a hero/villain AU with Iwa as our trusty hero and Oikawa as our charming villain

Saw You at the Fish Market

Word count: 14k

Summary: In other words, Oikawa befriends hot part-time worker Iwaizumi and tries to impress him both off and on the court, in hopes of more.

♡♡ (sing with me) A Song of Conquest and Fate

Word count: 26k

Summary: When Seijou receives a missive from Aobajousai to discuss a potential peace, its emperor Oikawa Tooru could not have foreseen the series of events that would follow. Historical fantasy AU

Similar Creatures

Word count: 53k

Summary: "What's your name?" "Whatever you want it to be."(Or, Oikawa gets directions from an attractive stranger on a street corner.). Escort AU

♡Something Like Us

Word count: 28k

Summary: Friends since childhood, Oikawa and Iwaizumi now live together, both playing for the National Team. It's no secret that athletes who are bonded perform better. So if the two of them happen to bond...It'd be for the good of the team, right? A/B/O AU

Space

Word count: 44k

Summary: Tries not to think of his rooftop garden, or the apartment he used to inhabit, or Hajime’s broken expression on the night they whispered their goodbyes before Tooru’s launch, attempting to push it all to the back of his mind behind visions of this alien world terraformed. Astronaut AU

Stop the Time

Word count: 10k

Summary: Iwaizumi Hajime, 27, E.R. nurse at University of Tokyo Hospital. Hospital AU

♡♡The Loyalty of A Traitor

Word count: 76k

Summary: Iwaizumi Hajime was an undercover officer with a single objective: Infiltrate the Seijoh Syndicate of the Yakuza and tear them down from the inside out. His primary target was the boss, Oikawa Tooru. The job itself was simple enough, until Iwaizumi got in too deep and absconded not only from the mission, but from the city itself. Yakuza AU

These Flowers I Stole For You

Word count: 3k

Summary: ANBU don't cry. They tear themselves apart, bit by bit, and then they stitch themselves whole again. Naruto AU

on shipwreck shore

Word count: 8k

Summary: “I’m going to murder you in cold blood and feed you to the basilisks,” Iwaizumi says conversationally. “You can’t do that, I’m your boss,” Oikawa sings, positively sparkling. “Also we’re partners, which means,” he points at Iwaizumi and leans in, “you’re stuck with me.” Detective AU

Page 305 of 304

Word count: 53k

Summary: “…she called you ‘papa’,” iwaizumi managed. oikawa just stared for a moment longer before relaxing in a smile. “yeah. cute, right? but you can call me ‘daddy’ if you want.”

Temporary fix

Word count: 12k

 Summary: “And you’ve shampooed his hair how many times now? Hmm. Yeah, that’s not technically a bromance.” A/B/O AU

Tokyo Boy

Word count: 16k

Summary: He has feelings for Iwaizumi Hajime, who probably has casual lovers just like him in every major city he visits on business. Oikawa is just his Tokyo Boy, just another pit-stop on Iwaizumi’s travels. Businessman AU

Trial by Fire

Word count: 78k

Summary: (lawyer!AU - in which Iwaizumi loves his objections, Oikawa is beautiful, and they have more chemistry than two opposing attorneys probably should.)

Watch Me

Word count: 32k

Summary: Oikawa's a cam model. It’s been a month since Iwaizumi first spoke in his chat. When they meet in person, things get complicated. Cam model AU

Angst

open when

Word count: 1k

Summary: Iwaizumi knew it was coming, but it still hurt. It still hurt when he opens one letter and drowns it in the tears he cannot keep at bay.

Chasing Paper Suns

Word count: 10k

Summary: Post-high school,     Oikawa makes it to the national volleyball team but Iwaizumi doesn't. The     next three years become an exercise in growing up without growing apart

Quote: “ ‘it’s just—I’m     just trying so hard—’‘What, and I’m not?’

Timeless (We Have 30 Days)

Word count: 12k

Summary: Or AU where you're branded 50 days before you die. But Oikawa doesn't tell anyone so now there's only 30 days left.

the weight of water

Word count: 6k

Summary: “Again,” he says, the smallest tremor in his voice, and Oikawa blinks at him a moment before smiling, soft and sweet. “Iwa-chan,” he replies, and Iwaizumi closes his eyes. “Again.” “Iwa-chan.”

Canon Compliant

Are You Listening?

Word count: 4k

Summary: 30 times oikawa said i love you and 1 time he didn't have to

Quote: “Iwa-chan, watch out for the log—!” Oikawa looked on in horror as his best friend tripped and fell flat on his face.

Edge of the balcony

Word count: 8k

Summary: Iwaizumi looks older, he realizes. Oikawa knew he had aged as well, and so did everyone around him, but the thing was when you see people often, you don't notice the subtle changes in appearance. And Oikawa hadn't seen Iwaizumi in four years.

How can this loser ever win

Word count: 2k

Summary: everyone is in stupid love with Iwaizumi Hajime and he has no idea

♡♡♡Lost in Translation

Word count: 9k

Summary: Because misfortune come in threes, Iwaizumi Hajime starts his Thursday having a screaming fight with Shittykawa, spends his lunch break listening to the UCI women's volleyball team gossiping about how Ushijima Wakatoshi had gone public about his longtime love affair with Oikawa Tooru, and closes out the day by drunkenly dropping his phone into a sewer grate.

maybe we could be enough

Word count: 9k

Summary: iwaizumi hums in reply as the car goes silent, frank ocean crooning from the speakers. they stop at a red light when iwaizumi feels eyes at the side of his face, and turns to look at oikawa.

Most people never even get a single high school rival

Word count: 5k

Summary: Team Argentina gets to know Iwaizumi Hajime (27) Athletic Trainer.

Primavera

Word count: 8k

Summary: They say it takes twenty-six years, for certain breeds to fully bloom.

Quote: Did you know that distance is only me, growing towards you?

♡♡♡rest on your laurels

Word count: 4k

Summary: In Iwaizumi’s heart of hearts, untouched by time, they are young and alive, burning with the hearth of home and bright as winter light. Unbreakable. Invincible.

♡♡♡Something Borrowed

Word count: 16k

Summary: In which Oikawa and Iwaizumi have always been a foregone conclusion to everyone else, but a massive, unanswered question to one another.

‘Til Infinity

Word count: 2k

Summary: “Hey,” he says, “that cloud looks kind of like a dick.”

Quote: “I got you ladybug”

♡♡♡ You Set Off a Dream In Me

Word count: 15k

Summary: In which Oikawa is 41 and ready to retire. He's at the top of his game and ready to find a new challenge. Turns out his new challenge is pretty familiar. It's high school, round 2.

Quote: A past with an Iwaizumi that wasn’t on the opposite side of the net, monsters on all sides, guiding a setter that had lived the dream left behind in the ruins of Tooru’s past self.

Canon Divergent

a world alone

Word count: 60k

Summary: Iwaizumi has his medical books on the musculoskeletal system. Oikawa has his research papers on parallel universes. It isn't until much, much later that they realize they have each other.

♡Almost a Stranger

Word count: 16k

Summary: Iwa-chan's leaving Kapan. Tooru's not sure he can forgive him, but he's not going to admit his long-held feelings, either. A trip to Miyajima complicates everything.

Quote: There are only two things that have ever broken Oikawa Tooru’s heart. Iwa-chan would say Tooru has no heart to break, but that’s simply untrue.

Count your blessings, it goes 1,2,3, me

Word count: 7k

Summary: He's unsettled by the undefined boundaries of their relationship so it's all his luck that he accidentally wins three wishes to be granted just for him, and all that comes to mind is Iwaizumi.

Quote: Now, as an adult, past convenience of circumstance and the haze of hormonal lust, exactly none of his feelings have worn off

♡♡♡the courtship ritual of the hercules beetle

Word count: 66k

Summary: Tooru is pretty sure he could manage the mating habits of a mosquito. It’s the mating habits of people he can’t seem to get right.

♡days fall away

Word count:17k

Summary: Except now he’s back home, so close to his old haunts and to Oikawa himself, and it's—weird.

Quote: “You and Tooru,” he begins, and then shrugs. “I was just thinking, you look at each other a lot.” And he walks away, leaving Hajime winded, and sort of aching, somewhere deep in his chest. Whatever that means.

♡here comes your man

Word count: 8k

Summary: Iwa-chan, it reads, Have a good day today! Good luck! <3 <3 <3 Suga chokes. It’s hard to imagine anyone calling the scowling and fierce Doctor Iwaizumi “Iwa-chan.” But marriage probably comes with all sorts of liberties. Doctor AU

♡♡In damp earth my body

Word count: 15k

Summary: Onscreen, the nation’s favorite setter has arranged himself so that he’s bowing, forehead pressed to the court, like he’s thanking everyone for their kindness thus far, like he’s asking for forgiveness. Hajime thinks: shit, it’s really happening

In the Business of Love

Word count: 22k

Summary: Meet Oikawa Tooru: He's a best-selling shoujo manga artist, a hardcore romantic and you won't believe where he's getting his lovey dovey fodder from...Enter Iwaizumi Hajime: He's Oikawa's best friend, a realist who also happens to be a wedding magazine writer despite not believing in romance...

Quote: A flare of pride lit in Oikawa as he watched Iwaizumi's eyes crinkle with mirth and in that yawning second, it bloomed into a warmth that bordered on a burn, forcing a bittersweet inhale.

it's been so long (nobody knows me the way you do)

Word count: 8k

Summary: Tooru hums, only half-listening. Somewhere along the way, Hajime’s palm has settled itself over the curve of Tooru’s cheek, thumb tracing over the line of his jaw.

Quote: Iwaizumi blushes even more. “That you’re here, I mean. I’m happy that you’re here. With me.”

♡♡♡Mint

Word count: 19k

Summary: It's the December after Iwaizumi’s last year in university when Tokyo welcomes him with a new ad campaign for Bright Days toothpaste, and Oikawa Tooru—fresh off a run at the 2016 Summer Olympics—has decided to grace the city with his signature grin, a flip of his wayfarer sunglasses, and the most irrepressible tag line for the signboard above.

Quote: "To be able to tell him, in the new year."  This comes under Oikawa's breath, so low that Matsukawa and Hanamaki can't hear, and the game continues.

Six-Month Lover

Word count: 89k

Summary: Iwaizumi barks out a laugh. “I’m still trying to get over the fact that you made a PowerPoint presentation about why we should date.” Oikawa doesn’t tell him the file has existed for the last twelve years, constantly receives updates, and that the original copy contained almost a hundred slides before he forced himself to get a grip.

Special Relativity

Word count: 22k

Summary: Time moves differently for people in different inertial reference frames. Oikawa goes on a two-year exploratory mission in space. Iwaizumi's been waiting for a lot longer than that.

♡♡sunset towns

Word count: 33k

Summary: In the summer of 2020, Oikawa Tooru returns home from his first successful stint as captain of Japan’s national volleyball team. In one hand, he holds the undisputed weight of an Olympic medal, and in the other, his unresolved feelings for a childhood best friend.

♡♡Thirty Years and Change (the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad)

Word count:     19k

Summary: It’s July 10th, 2024, and Oikawa Tooru is an Olympian. His smiling face airs on an NHK promo every 45 seconds. He’s captain of the national men’s volleyball team, reigning star of the professional leagues, and he hasn't spoken to Iwaizumi Hajime in two years.

Quote: Oikawa’s grin in  the last set of the morning’s game. Oikawa’s grin as they sat on their asses on a golf course. Oikawa’s grin when they were in college. When they were in high school. When they were twenty-two, seventeen, fifteen, twelve, six.

High School

Bet On It

Word count: 13k

Summary: Hajime knows exactly how shitty Oikawa's personality is, and has no scruples whatsover about betting Oikawa six thousand yen that he can't be nice for an entire week.

Quote: The whole instant-compliance thing was seriously creeping him out. Oikawa from a week ago would have made a crack about how if he'd wanted something cold, he could have just put his face on Hajime's shoulder.

Betweens

Word count: 2k

Summary: Iwaizumi is asleep in the club room. Oikawa is blindingly awake in the club room. The sun moves slowly across the sky, and Iwaizumi’s skin is gold underneath it. Oikawa watches the changing shadows on Iwaizumi’s face and thinks about nothing in particular.

Don’t think too much

Word count: 6k

Summary:  In which Oikawa and Iwaizumi have a confusing, drunken encounter and then deal with the (sticky) consequences.

Quote: As soon as that thought crossed his mind, though, Oikawa did what he always did:  exactly the opposite of what Hajime wanted

Gates

Word count: 12k

Summary: The day after their graduation ceremony, they drive to the beach at Shirahama. Iwaizumi drives, because it’s his car, and as he has told Oikawa on multiple occasions, he’d rather die than let him touch the wheel.

Quote: ‘Yeah,’ he says, because they’re on a beach, and they’re supposed to be on a metaphorical journey, and they’re supposed to be growing up, and completing rites of passage, so it’s honesty, today - just for today, at least.

♡♡i sing the body electric

Word count: 8k

Summary: It was never part of the plan, falling in love with his best friend, but then again, most things in Iwaizumi’s life that involve Oikawa rarely unfold the way he thinks they will.

Quote: But Iwaizumi thinks about Oikawa laughing with that girl in the low light of the gym, a particular kind of quiet intimacy that Iwaizumi’s only ever read about in books hovering in the air, and all it makes him feel is small and petty and spiteful.

it’s better than words

Word count: 3k

Summary: [ or : oikawa makes iwaizumi participate in three bonding activities for new friends, and iwaizumi just wants to know why oikawa's being so weird about this]

Make sure you cross the line

Word count: 4k

Summary: With graduation just around the corner, Iwaizumi knows he has to gather the courage to really ask Oikawa out.

Quote: He’s been asking Iwaizumi to go out with him every single day this past week, increasingly panicked about getting his time and attention now that they’re nearing the end of this season of their lives.

Only the jellyfish know

Word count: 6k

Summary: Their third and final year at Aoba Jousai has come to an end, and the guys decide to go to the beach the day after graduation. That day, the ocean water is salty, the watermelon is sweet, and the people are sweeter.

static

Word count: 6k

Summary: Being snowed in with all of Seijou volleyball in his childhood home brings back a lot of memories for Iwaizumi, because it's kinda Oikawa's childhood home too.

Quote: It's fate that brought them together and choice that keeps them that way. The closest description in Hajime’s vocabulary is partners, but only because Oikawa taught him what its true definition is.

Told before and told again

Word count: 3k

Summary: This is how Hajime and Tooru fall in love, through the accounts of those around them.

Quote: When Oikawa lets out a long, heavy breath, Iwaizumi looks up at him and frowns, and flings a towel over Oikawa’s head to cover his face. Then, he tugs, once, on Oikawa’s fingers, and leads him down the hallway, Oikawa walking quietly in tow.

♡we can do better than that

Word count: 16k

Summary: Oikawa and Iwaizumi go on a road trip during the summer after their high school graduation. It doesn't go as expected, but maybe that's not such a bad thing after all.

Quote: Because Iwaizumi’s known Oikawa nearly all his life and never felt anything more than vague affection usually followed by intense irritation for him. But then suddenly at eighteen years old and nearly two weeks into a very badly planned road trip, it’s like someone flipped a switch somewhere inside Iwaizumi

♡when it starts to rain, they go inside

Word count: 33k

Summary: “Where?” starts Iwaizumi.“ My parent’s old lakehouse, silly, didn’t you hear me the first time?” OR: Oikawa takes Iwaizumi to his lakehouse for two weeks, post-graduation.

reassemble it

Word count: 15k

Summary: When Tooru was six years old, he discovered—unbeknownst to him at the time—two of the most important things in his life: volleyball and Iwaizumi Hajime. It was ironic that he had stumbled upon them hand in hand—quite literally, too.

♡things that change, things that stay the same

Word count: 8k

Summary: Oikawa realizes he's in love with his best friend; it sucks for a while. (But only a while.)

Quote: Iwaizumi’s expression right now is less terrified than it used to get back then, but he’s tight-lipped with concern, and his broad body blocks out other passengers as if their stares might be a danger to Tooru too.

University AU

An Archaeology of Affection

Word count: 23k

Summary: For Hajime, it is a riddle and simultaneously so evident. It fills his chest, surging like water, paints heat up his neck. In retrospect, it eats up his days, makes them its own until it feels like his heart has always been in his throat at the smile thrown over Oikawa’s shoulder, the stilling of his fingers on Hajime’s sleeve.

closure

Word count: 22k

Summary: In his first year of university, Oikawa builds a new friendship and upgrades an old one. Or: Ushijima is not a great wingman, but he tries his best.

Quote: “On the first day of his university career, Oikawa Tooru walks into his dorm, spots his assigned roommate, and turns one hundred and eighty degrees and walks right back out. He dials a familiar phone number - the first one he ever memorized - and starts complaining before Iwaizumi even gets the chance to say hello. “Iwa-chan,” he says, “tell me why Ushiwaka is in my dorm room.”

♡♡♡galaxies, within you

Word count: 21k

Summary: Hajime and Tooru move in together at the start of university. Too bad they’re stuck with the two gremlins that haunt their apartment.

Quote: I AM A HEADASS

Hands to yourself

Word count: 11k

Summary: He missed his parents, and he missed Takeru, and Takeru's badly behaved puppy. He missed Aoba Jousai, and he missed the volleyball team. He even missed Karasuno and Shiratorizawa, just a little.

Home, and how we made ours

Word count: 3k

Summary: “No, I like it here.” There’s a rustling as Iwaizumi shifts, inching closer. “I like it here, as in this crappy apartment—with you.”

Quote: “Do your fights end up being like—you know, about actual things and then extending into toddler days and suddenly you’re accusing Iwaizumi of kissing the girl you used to like in preschool?”

in progress to you

Word count: 6k

Summary: The eventuality of Oikawa and Iwaizumi falling toward each other is dramatically lackluster. Still, it's a process to go through.

Quote: “But what if you didn’t eat my pudding all the time?” Iwaizumi asks flatly, ignoring the way Oikawa is slapping his thigh to get out of his chokehold. “Do you think I buy them for you, huh? I buy them for me, you turd.”

Like we’re made of starlight

Word count: 6k

Summary: (a look into iwaizumi hajime’s journey of falling in love with oikawa tooru, from when they’re babies meeting for the first time to young adults moving in together.)

Ninety nine percent

Word count: 14k

Summary: more than anything, oikawa tooru wants to be with iwaizumi hajime, but he's only ninety nine percent of the way there.

Quote: Their ace was lining up for the ball, knees bent and arm pulled back, just as Tooru tosses the ball……to Hajime.

no sleep in the city

Word count: 7k

Summary: Along their journey to find Tokyo's best ramen, Iwaizumi finds himself asked again and again why Oikawa is still single.

Quote: “I was only telling Hanamaki literally yesterday that your personality isn’t as vile as before,” Iwaizumi informs, slightly stiff from the way Oikawa’s got an arm looped through his own. “Why do you make me such a liar to people I care about?”

Out of nowhere

Word count: 8k

Summary: They move in together after graduation and it's doing weird things to Iwaizumi's heart. He's a little in denial about it.

Quote: Oikawa excitedly ran up to him when Iwaizumi came home with groceries the other day. Not about the food but just to say how boring everything is when Iwaizumi's not there, eyes shining, and he couldn't meet his gaze after from blushing down to his neck. He doesn't know how much more he can take.

♡♡shiver

Word count: 16k

Summary: Oikawa was always the brave one. Hajime just followed two paces behind.

Quote: “I’m in love with you,” Oikawa tells him three days after they graduate junior high, head in his lap and hands gently folded over his chest and completely and totally unconcerned that he’d just shattered Hajime’s world.

Terpischore

Word count: 38k

Summary: They’d ended up going to different universities, Tooru and he. The distance was good for them. The confession Hajime dropped in both their laps wasn’t. That’s how it’d ended – a lifetime of friendship crumbled to dust in the space of five minutes. (Or, a lesson in learning to move on from things you can't have, in finding old loves in new ways and in understanding that life is never truly simple... till it is.)

terrarium

Word count: 11k

Summary: At this point, is he really happy with just staying best friends forever? Will he be writing journals and collecting rocks forever (he will, he knows, but that is aside from the point)?

these foolish things (remind me of you)

Word count: 3k

Summary: Oikawa helps Iwaizumi move into his new college dorm.

Quote: He’s desperate for something to happen. It must show on his face because Iwaizumi blushes and looks away. The thing is, Oikawa always looks at him like this when Iwaizumi isn’t paying attention.

They say it rains diamonds on Jupiter

Word count: 35k

Summary: "You're in love with him. "Hajime considers denying it. "Yeah," he says instead.

Quote: “Share the weight of your feelings with me, Hajime wants to beg when he hears Tooru's first hitched breath. Let me carry some of your burdens”

to be first, to be best

Word count: 26k

Summary: Hajime is apparently something of a masochist, and as he stares down at the tie-dyed AREA51 T-shirt in his hands, he thinks “I’m totally in love with this asshole, aren't I?”

Undecipherable

Word count: 4k

Summary: "Koi no yokan," he says. "The sense one can have upon first meeting a person that the two of you are going to fall in love."

Quote: Because for all the bravado, for all the flaunting Oikawa does, he wants Hajime by his side, and no one else.

♡we shine like diamonds

Word count: 26k

Summary: "You know Abe-kun from class?" they snicker, hands cupped around their mouths like they're passing along a filthy secret. "I hear his older brother is... gay."

Where you are (I’ll be)

Word count: 6k

Summary: Theirs is a love that starts out like a seed and it takes two sets of hands tending it for a shoot to appear. There are no dramatic declarations of love, only a pair of hands that find each other again and again and again.

Quote: Oikawa broke off into giggles as Hajime slowed the descent of his hand from a slap to the back of Oikawa’s head to a gentle ruffle of the taller boy’s hair

♡♡with every second that you could give

Word count: 9k

Summary: The journey of Iwaizumi and Oikawa going for gold.

Quote: He knows they’re too close. Iwaizumi knows it too, and they both decided to move in together anyway.

Your love is sunlight

Word count: 6k

Summary: It's Iwaizumi's birthday, and they have a talk about the future.

Quote: But Hajime doesn’t think any present could top this: them, kissing in a sun-dappled bathroom, Oikawa’s skin warm under his hands, and the promise of a life together stretched out before them.

[poshbiscuit]

I’m not dead!

Ha, bet you thought you’d seen the last of me! Nope, I am in fact alive and well (ish) and I want to just do a quick little explanation of where I’ve been and why I just disappeared. In short, I wanted to take a break. Yep, it really is that simple. I knew that I would be taking a break at some point with The Prom Bet, as I have done with every other fic so far, and I thought that with having Chapter 14 already finished, I didn’t have anything looming over me, a little voice telling me I needed to write to the point where I hated the thought of it, and I could come back whenever I pleased and simply post it.

When I had finished Chapter 13, my first thought was not how proud I was, it was “oh God I need to get started on the next one now”. And that’s bad. That’s the same attitude I got with CRawloTT, and eventually I grew to despise that fic. So, I uploaded Chapter 13 and got the spontaneous decision to take a break. I wanted to let you all know, but I knew that if I did, I would then have more pressure to come back, if that makes sense? I just wanted to leave, not having to explain to anyone, not having to justify anything, just leave.

So, the idea of this break came suddenly and was completely unplanned, but I knew I had to or else I would just go on into a spiral of being burnt out, being stressed, and not liking what I was doing. This break meant that I could just chill, work on whatever I wanted or work on nothing at all, and focus on other priorities. I was (and still am) at a point in my life where I was quite busy again for the first time since before the pandemic, and it was all getting a little too much. I didn’t want to get to the point where writing was simply a burden rather than a love or passion, and I felt like a had to do it rather than wanted to do it. I have never been more proud of anything I’ve written than The Prom Bet, and that is partially due to how much more effort it requires compared to CRawloTT, for example. With this effort unfortunately comes stress and a lot of spent time, so that’s why I took the break. I’m sorry I couldn’t have come back sooner but I wanted to be fully ready, and that meant completely logging off from my account on ao3 and on Tumblr and waiting until I was sure. Despite this, I still got an email for every Kudos given and every comment written and I want to thank every single one of you, you guys are the reason why I can bring myself to keep writing and finish what I started. So, what does this mean for The Prom Bet? Will it be updated any time soon? Yes, it will continue on from here like normal and I will go back to updating as frequently as possible. The next chapter should be up within the next hour or two (and I mean it this time lmao). I can’t wait to get this done and get back to normal again.

So, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for just disappearing, leaving it hanging and not giving any sort of explanation until now. I hope you guys will continue to read The Prom Bet and enjoy it! Thank you all and have a wonderful day, I will be seeing you very soon (again, I promise this time!)

Also, I need to let you guys know that I’ve done a little bit of changing around with The Prom Bet (late, I know) and there’s actually 16 Chapters altogether. Sorry about that, just sort of changed what happens when and stuff like that. Although that does mean we are closer to the end... sorry ;)

[its-afucking-mess]

A little guide on ao3 (by an ao3 user and writer)

Friendly reminder for mobile users! Ao3 is a website. It doesn't have (as far as im concerned) an official app for mobile, so better get comfy with using crome on your phone.

Some video links ill leave for people who prefer video and audio:

- navigating the fanfiction sites

- popular fandom terminology part 1 and part 2

- shipping etiquette

i really reccomend coley's videos if you want to get to know more fandoms, or get an inside look to how some stuff works. There also might be more vids about fandom's and fan works, so don't hesitate to look through some of her stuff!

the explaining under the 'read more' ao mutuals wont kill me :)

(also tagging @ethanesimp since they asked for this advice )

So, what is Ao3 really?

Ao3 is a website made by fans for fans. There are no ads, and all content is free on Ao3. Anyone can post (with some age restrictions) and they can post anything.

How can I browse Ao3?

Ao3 does not require an account to view stories. You can easily browse as an anonymous user. You just are not able to view certain works, as creators have the ability to show their works to registered users only. Some cases, commenting is possible while anonymous, but again, it's up to the creator of the work.

If you want to be a creator and share works, you need an account.

An account also gives you the ability to bookmark works, so you can re-visit them, mark works for later, keeps a history of the works you've visited and allows you to favourite tags.

How do I get an Ao3 account?

When you first open the site, it gives you the option to "Get Invited". An invitation will be sent to your email anywhere from 24hrs later to a week later, depending on the amount of people in the automated queue.

After the invitation, you are able to set up your account like any other social media account. Pick a username, pseuds (name), description and bio. You can have a profile picture as well.

How do I navigate the site?

There are few ways to do so efficiently, but there's countless of ways you can experiment with to find which is more comfortable.

1st option: As the website loads, you can go to the 'Fandoms' tag.

Then, after clicking on it, this column appears. Through there, you can pick which media your fandom is from and from there, browse the huge list of different fandoms until you spot your own.

The list is in alphabetical order, so if your fandom begins with an "C", it shouldn't be too far down.

2nd option: At the top right, under your profile, and the options 'Post' and 'Log Out' should be a white oval search bar.

(im using my own account for demonstration)

When searching, there are many ways to work around it.

Personally, I press search as it is. It will lead you to a page where all the fanworks of the site are listed. (i believe its easiest, but always feel free to experiment)

From there, you press the 'Edit Your Search' button, located near the top right.

It will then lead you to a page with multiple fields.

Don't panic when you see all the fields. Only half those are of interest when you want to browse works for a fandom.

The most important ones are those under the Field name 'Work Tags'

Whatever you select under this field will be included in the works the site presents you with.

What are the work tags? What do they do?

Lets go through the options.

Fandom(s): when typing on this option, multiple fandom names will autofill in a list under the white space. If your fandom shows up, you can just click on it.

example:

From there, you can select the fandom you want to see works from. If your fandom doesn't show up, it can mean one of two things:

-there are no works for it

-it isn't popular enough to be picked up by the algorithm

After selecting one fandom, you can select another fandom, or more, to see works that are crossovers over universes.

Ratings: Ratings are selected by author. It defines the level of maturity it has in the work

- General audiences is the tag you want to use when nothing bad happens in the work. No swearing, no sexual activities, no violence or gore. It wont contain scenes that minors are not allowed to see.

- Teen and up audiences is the tag used for most works on the site. It is what would be used when you have mentions of/vague sexual content or violence. Normally, the most extreme stuff on there is excessive swearing, heavy angst and hurt/comfort with no excessive details

- Mature is the tag that is for 18+. It is mostly filled with one of following : Violence, Sexual Content, Ab*se, R@pe, Death and SH.

Reader descretion is advised by looking at the additional tags the author has provided, especially for those with triggers.

- Explicit is like Mature, but contains more graphic content. Works rated explicit mostly fall under the 'Graphic depictions of sexual content', 'Graphic depictions of Violence and Gore' or 'Graphic depictions of Ab*se, R@pe, or Self H*rm

Reader descretion is advised, stronger than mature, since it can be much more triggering. The works are scarily detailed sometimes.

- Not rated: the author has not given this work a rating because none of the other ratings fit the work. Pay special attention to the tags.

Warnings: Also known as Archive warnings by older users. The trigger warnings of Ao3. There are 6 archive warnings:

-Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings: The author didn't use the warnings, either because none of them fit the work's theme and warnings, or to avoid spoiling the story. Pay attention to the tags for any warnings.

-Graphic Depictions Of Violence: It is pretty self explanatory. Can contain any sort of violence, from wars, to simple fights, to ab*se of any kind. Can and often contain death. The type of violence is in the tags.

-Major Character Death: A main character in the story will die in this work. Pay attention to the tags always. The name of the character will be mentioned, as well as the way they die.

-No Archive Warnings Apply: None of the warnings apply. It is most times a perfectly safe work. Check the tags to make sure though!

-R@pe/Non-Con: The work contains non-consensual activities. Ranges from non-consensua sex to non-consensual use and ab*se of substances. Very close attention to the tags!

-Underage: The main character(s) in this work are underage/minors. This is normally tagged along sexual content so be aware and pay close attention to the tags!

Categories: This regards the relationships in the work:

- M/M, or better known as mlm or a relationship between two non-woment (men mostly, can include characters under the non-binary umbrella)

- M/F, a heterosexual relationship (is inclusive of trans characters too!)

- F/F, or wlw, or a relationship between two non-men (women mostly, can include characters under the non-binary umbrella)

- Gen, no sexual or romantic relationships are in this work, or if there are any, they arent of main focus.

- Multi: Polyamorous relationships, or multiple relationships are included in this work (this is also where threesomes+ are tagged in sometimes)

- Other relationships: One of the two people in the relationship is non-human (mostly), or the relationships are platonic/family.

Characters: The characters you want to be included in the story. This works just like the 'Fandom' filter, so the same things apply. You can tag as many characters as desirable.

Relationships: The relationships that you want present in the work. This includes both major and minor relationships. It can also include ended relationships (tagged Past x/y) and implied/referenced relationships. This works just like the Characters and Fandom filter.

Additional Tags: These are things the author has included to give potential readers an insight to the story. 'Angst', 'Fluff' and 'Smut' are additional tags. Works like the Relationships filter, so all same applies.

Is there anything I have to avoid/ I should avoid?

There is this very infamous tag, 'Dead Dove: Do not eat.' This tag is a warining to readers that the things in the work are really messed up, and can include anything illegal in it. PAY VERY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE REST OF THE TAGS IF YOU STILL ARE INTERESTED.

How else can I filter works?

You can choose how they are:

sorted (Titles, Authors, Hits, Kudos, Comments, Bookmarks, and Best Match)

the word count (from 1 word to millions)

the language (most are on there)

the amount of chapters

if the work is complete of not

when it last updated/when was posted

and if there are crossovers.

These are all options that author has to include, and therefore you can sort freely. Most are bulletin options you can click on.

What if I want to find a specific work?

If you happen to know one of these: Author, Title, Fandom or Rating, you will find it. If you were reccomended one, it's better to ask for the author or the title, to make looking for it easier.

Can I find a specific author/ user?

People search is for finding users on the site

Bookmark search helps you look through other people's public bookmarks. Not really used.

Tag search finds works that include this specific tag you searched. Also not used a lot.

People can see my bookmarks?

When bookmarking a work, you are able to do a lot.

if you do not want your bookmarks to be visible to the public, make sure to check off the Private bookmark box at the bottom left.

Common terms thrown around by Ao3 users:

-tags: the additional tags of the work

-kudos: liking a story

-bookmarks: saving/saved stories. makes it easy to revist. you can see your bookmarks from your profile

-hits: the amount of people that have clicked on a story. Isn't necessary they liked it, but they did click on it.

And those are the basics! If you had to take one thing only, its ALWAYS READ TAGS

I hope this helped the clueless souls even a bit :)

Im open to reply to any other questions, and you can send me them in my asks, messages or comments of this post

[minetteenfers]

Lucky Cat - Day 1: Bad Luck (Adrien AUG-reste 2021)

Here is Day 1: Bad Luck of @adrienaugust!

Read, kudo, comment, or bookmark the fic here! (RATED E)

Captain Chat Noir was merely nine years old when he was tossed overboard from his father’s galleon for disobeying orders. Some said that he was born from bad luck and so he was given the name, Chat Noir due to the superstition of black cats. Having a polydactyl black cat on board a vessel was good luck and so he hoped being named after such would bring him some. But no matter how hard he tried, nothing seemed to bring him it.

He sighed and fell back into his wooden chair, bringing his mug of grog to his lips as his good luck charm leaped onto his desk. The sliding of his black cat’s paws along the maps and parchment made him curse. He grabbed the brass candle stick before it could fall to the floor and start a fire on the ship.

“Bastard cat,” Chat Noir cursed and brought his cup to his lips, taking a long drink and cringing at the less than favorable flavor. “God, I cannot wait to get to port, hm?” He scratched beneath his cat’s chin with a smirk. “Ladies, food, drink… supplies and a nice bath. Fuck, what I wouldn’t give for a nice warm bath and a warm bed with a wench in it.”

“What would any of us give, Captain.” Nino, his quartermaster, walked into his quarters to talk to him.

“What say you?” Chat Noir brought his boots down from his desk onto the wood deck and leaned onto his desk, trying to ignore how the sea made their vessel shift and bob. The weighted golden hoops in his ears only did so much to help with his sea sickness.

“We’re arriving at port soon, Captain.” Nino brought his mug of grog to his lips and sat down on Chat Noir’s bed.

“How soon?” Chat Noir ran his fingers behind Plagg’s twitching ears and scratched before a mouse distracted the aloof cat and made him run off. Chat Noir peered up at Nino with interest, finishing his drink.

“Few hours.” Nino shrugged, unsure of how soon they would be there exactly. He could only guess, which Chat Noir had taken into account.

“Gather a log of supplies that need to be replenished until then for me.” Chat Noir gestured for his friend to go away to do his duties.

“Yes, Captain.” Nino nodded and left Chat Noir alone.

Chat Noir sighed and stood up, walking over to a wooden chest to get ready. He crouched down and opened it, taking in the items that filled the inside. From clothing to treasures that he had gathered along the way as a pirate. When he was nine years old Captain Fu had found him floating on a bit of wood in the middle of the ocean. He had saved him and given him the very name he was known by. Of course, tales had broken out as he had aged. None of them pretty.

He was known for pillaging, plundering, and more unpleasantries, but those that truly knew him… which were few… knew that he wasn’t as they said. Yes, he set vessels aflame but only those that had wronged him or those he cared most about, and he had never murdered anyone. He merely would place them on an island, plunder their vessel, and then set it ablaze. Sometimes, he would simply use the element of surprise and take what he needed before leaving. Occasionally, he would tell a simple fantastical story to get what he needed, using empty threats to accomplish it. But he never murdered a man, woman, or child.

He lived by the power of vote as most did within piracy, letting every man have a chance to speak and give their case. Nothing on board was done without putting it through vote and booty was split equally amongst his crew. Most captains would take a higher cut, but he never wanted it. He’d rather stay an equal to an extent, which many did not agree with.

Chat Noir quickly went to work getting ready to go ashore, throwing on an elaborate outfit made from fabulous emerald silks and black fabrics. He rarely dressed up due to the amount of water that sloshed across the deck and along his feet. Most of his men went barefoot and wore a mishmash of clothing depending on what they had scavenged from vessels.

He focused on getting ready, trying to not think about how many more knots they had to travel still to reach the treasure that lied beneath the waves. A treasure that everyone around him was after as well. He sighed and peered up as his quartermaster returned with a log of what they needed for the rest of their journey.

“We are at port, Captain.” Nino nodded and left Chat Noir alone again.

Chat Noir nodded and grabbed his pistol, putting it in place on his holster, and headed to the docks to get off his galleon. A few men stayed on board to keep watch, as they stepped off it. He made his way down the pier, making sure one of his men was tending to the sale of jerky in order to get them some coin.

He hadn’t been to port in so long and all he wanted was a nice bath. A tavern stood off to the right and he headed towards it. But right as he was about to step foot inside, a commotion brought his attention elsewhere.

“Wife for sale! Beautiful and a good lay, she is! A fine wench!”

Chat Noir gritted his teeth, turning around to find a woman with dark hair piled up on top of her head and a dress that had seen better days. She seemed nervous and upset with the way tears streamed down her cheeks and her hands trembled in front of her hips. A loose rope was placed around her neck and the end of it trailed over to her husband. Her eyes were a beautiful blue that reminded him of the sea and something deep inside him drew him towards the auction. He hated practices such as this and usually he kept out of it, but he couldn’t when her saddened gaze locked on his. Her eyes were full of desperation, and he could practically hear her cries for help.

Chat Noir sighed and raised a hand to bid. All around him, men whistled and hollered. They laughed and called her atrocious names. Chat Noir knew it was bad luck to bring a woman on board his vessel, but there was nothing else he could do. He had to save her, had to have her.

He raised his hand again to bid. It took a few more raises before he outbid everyone and secured her as his property. She looked worried and scared as her husband took the mysterious man’s coin and passed him the rope.

“You needn’t do that,” the woman sighed and peered down at her feet.

“Let’s get this off you, m’lady.” Chat Noir took the rope from around her neck, shocking her more.

“I promise to make you happy, sir,” she curtsied, and Chat Noir sighed.

“I don’t wish for your services. What’s your name?” Chat Noir rolled the rope around his elbow and hand before tossing the bundle aside.

“Marinette, sir.” She worried her bottom lip and didn’t meet his eyes.

“Captain Chat Noir,” Chat Noir held his hand out for her.

She placed her hand in his and he bowed to softly kiss along her knuckles. He stood up straight with a cunning smile. A blush fell on her cheeks, and she let her bottom lip go.

“Thank you, Captain Chat Noir.” Marinette bowed slightly and followed him to the tavern.

“Are you hungry?” Chat Noir didn’t peer back at her as he led her into the establishment that he had been headed towards to begin with.

“Famished,” Marinette swallowed hard, taking in the music and women being railed against various surfaces.

Men played cards and drank, while eyeing the wenches around them. She licked her lips and swallowed hard, wondering who exactly she had gotten saved by. If she could even call it that at this point. She was beginning to wonder if her good luck had worn out.

“Do you intend to lie with me?” Marinette swallowed hard as he pulled out a chair for her to sit down.

“No. Did you want for me to?” Chat Noir smirked and winked at her from across the table.

“No, no. I just- I assumed since you bought me as your property…” Marinette hid in her hair and Chat Noir burst out laughing.

“If I wanted a quick fuck, I would grab one of these cheap whores.” Chat Noir raised a hand and swirled it around to gesture to the room. “I actually felt sorry for you, m’lady, or should I call you wench.”

Marinette covered her mouth as she burst out in a sharp giggle. She brought her hand down and licked her lips with a blush, “You are quite crass, Captain Noir.”

“So, I’ve been told. How about some food and drink? Surely, you did say you were famished, did you not?” Chat Noir winked at her before standing up to go to the bar to order them sustenance.

Marinette sat at the table, playing with her skirt and taking in the dirty fabric. Her husband and her hadn’t had much money and he had been selling her in order to pay a debt that he owed. She hadn’t married him for love, but rather because she was expected to. What she didn’t expect was for her husband to sell her off, but it was the way it worked. Was it legal? No, but there was no way to divorce her, so the next best thing was to sell her at port like the rest of stock around her. But for some reason this Captain had chosen to save her, and she wasn’t sure if this was a good omen or not.

She swallowed hard, watching the man walk back to her with a certain way about him. He was stopped along the way by a wench, but as he spoke to her, he kept his eyes locked on Marinette instead. A few moments later and he was on his way back to their table and setting down plates of food and drink.

“Sure you weren’t a wench for a time, Captain?” Marinette teased and giggled, as he smirked and sat down.

“So, maybe I was.” Chat Noir winked at her and picked up a roll to take a bite from it. “And you? What’s your story?”

“I was forced into a loveless marriage and when he needed debts paid… he brought me here to be auctioned with the rest of the lot.” Marinette shrugged and swallowed hard. “You?”

“Doubt I need to share my story with you. I’m sure you’ve heard enough,” Chat Noir scoffed and brought his cup of ale to his lips.

“I actually have not.” Marinette brought a vegetable to her lips.

“Really?” Chat Noir was surprised to say the least that she hadn’t heard of him.

“Nope. Your name isn’t familiar to me, but that might be because my husband tried to keep me from piracy and privateering.” Marinette sighed and fell back against her chair. “So, enlighten me.”

Chat Noir chewed on his bottom lip, realizing that he could actually tell her who he truly was, and the rumors wouldn’t corrupt her like so many others. He stabbed a piece of meat and ate it before he began to tell his story.

“I was tossed off a ship at the age of nine by my father for being disobedient. I probably floated in the ocean for days on a piece of driftwood before an old Chinese man found me. His name was Captain Fu. He took me aboard and as I grew up and learned sailing along with traditional Chinese medicine, I commandeered my own vessel. Of course, I joined the great race to find the lost treasure that is spilled through the Caribbean because what else is a man to do, who has nothing else to live for. No family, no job, no nothing. All I know is sailing and traditional medicine.” Chat Noir poked at the food on his plate.

“So, naturally, all you can do is Captain a vessel,” Marinette nodded and put a piece of meat into her mouth.

“Exactly, m’lady, all I know to do is such. Of course, that means that I also must pillage vessels. I started with a sloop and moved up to a galleon, taking in men who felt useless and giving them something to do with their idle hands besides pleasuring themselves for sport.” Marinette choked on her ale at the last words that fell from his mouth.

“I beg your pardon.” Marinette set her mug down.

“You understood,” Chat Noir winked at her and took a sip from his mug. “Men get lonely at sea. Either you pick a mate to have your way with or you got your hand. Pick wisely. One knows when to shut up and just take it.”

“Again, I hope you’ve gathered that I am not always one to just ‘shut up and take it’, Captain Noir.” Marinette gave him an insulted expression.

“I gathered you weren’t, m’lady. I wasn’t meaning you or any lady that is.” Chat Noir smiled and went back to eating.

“Even a wench?” She stressed the last word with a blush.

“Even a wench,” Chat Noir smiled and froze when he felt fingertips run along his shoulders.

They leaned closer and whispered against his ear, “Would you like to have a go, Captain?”

Chat Noir set down his utensil and peered over his shoulder to smile at the woman, “Not tonight, love, but I see a gentleman over there that is looking for a flower like you.”

She nodded and took off towards a man, who was watching from far away. Chat Noir gave his attention back to Marinette with a warm smile. She was beyond shocked that he hadn’t taken the offer.

“Call me surprised,” Marinette finished her meal.

“What?” Chat Noir raised an eyebrow at her.

“You didn’t take her up on her offer.” Marinette shrugged and picked up her mug.

“I believe I told you if I was looking for a quick fuck I-” Chat Noir was interrupted by the woman across from him.

“Then you would grab one of these cheap whores. I understood quite well, Captain.” Marinette brought her mug to her lips and finished her drink. “But am I not one?”

“No,” Chat Noir shook his head and finished his meal.

“How do you gather?” Marinette crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him. “I already said I wouldn’t put up a fight.”

“That doesn’t make you a whore, m’lady.” Chat Noir stood up and grabbed his plate, taking hers as well.

Marinette watched him take the dishes back to the bar, tapping on the side of her mug. He was an odd man with how he could be so crass and unapologetic yet nice at the same time. It confused her. She didn’t know which side was him.

He walked back and held out his arm for her. She stood up and took it, following him out of the tavern. “Now, surely you know the rules of the sea.”

“I’m afraid I do not, Captain.” Marinette sighed, letting him stroll her around the port.

“If I let you on my ship… it’s bad luck and a capital offense to have a woman on board.” Chat Noir cleared his throat and stopped, turning her around to face him.

“So, you’ll have to leave me.” Marinette peered down, realizing what he was saying.

“No, but you’ll need a disguise to board my ship, love.” Chat Noir touched beneath her chin and raised her saddened gaze to his. “We’ll be needing clothes for ya.” He winked at her and watched a smile appear on her lips.