#it is SO hard to write and draw on a weekly pace like I am without being able to focus

[deoidesign]

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[kidnamedbird]

Hello all!

It's me, Kid Named Bird from Team Kid Named Bird. For clarification, I'm actually named after the team, not the other way around. I'm the lead translator and dialogue letterer for Beyblade X, or at least I was. I am heartbroken to announce our indefinite hiatus from the BeyX manga; if we do get back to it, we'd finish off all the year one content (up to the likely incoming subtitle/branding change) and all of the extras that go with it. This would leave us with a finite amount of work for us to do and a nice archival version of the beginnings of X.

To explain why we're ending our release, I'd like to say it's not because we don't want to. We'd love to continue on this project because we all really adore this manga. It's hard not to grow fond of something you've poured so much time into. I never really even planned on forming the team to translate the manga until the first chapter was about to come out. I had translated the prologue chapter as a fun side-project — I learned how to letter and translate because of it! So once some of my veteran scanlator friends and some brave newbies hopped on the project with me, I felt like we could actually take a bite out of this massive undertaking. A 36-72 page manga every month for a team of mostly employed/student volunteers is insane, especially when you consider the amount of redraws we had to do on this specific work. There were so many text overlays we had to draw over or speedlines (blech!!) we had to clean up, and usually tens of pages of them. Sometimes we had to do the work of a weekly manga series translation to get our stuff out depending on the amount of pages we did. After a while, that took a toll on our team. We can only do so many 50 pagers in a row before it completely consumes all of our free time outside of our full time work or education. I knew that as soon as we got behind by one chapter, we'd not be able to catch back up. It would just cause us too much grief and stress. I didn't want to do that to my team of unpaid volunteers, so I made the choice to throw in the towel. We were doing pretty professional work for free, and we got burnt out. We all had entire lives outside of BeyX, and I wanted my team to live them. It wasn't a decision I made lightly, or without reason. The official release is coming out soon, and if you don't mind the dub names, the previews looked pretty good! They seem to be Singapore/South East Asian exclusive for now, but I'm sure someone will snag the scans for them. Also, the anime, for the first time in Bey history, is almost exactly the same plot-wise! Previous series manga and anime have diverged wisely, but as the manga and anime have an overlapping writing staff this time, the stories hit almost all the same beats. If anything, I think the anime takes the manga's story and gives it far more breathing room and better pacing. The extra character-focus episodes have done wonders to help develop the cast further and make Bird's journey of perseverance all the more compelling. You will still get to experience the story of X in different ways, but maybe without us. If we had the time, energy, and ability to sustain our bodies, we'd still be working on this manga, I promise you that. The kind words we have gotten from our readers have meant the world to me (I tear up at them sometimes!). I hope that one day, we can return to finish off the first year of BeyX content. If we don't, then oops! Every member of our team has other projects we work on, so you can find us there. I can't tell you what those projects are for our privacy and safety, but we do them! For now, this is Team Kid Named Bird spinning out.

3! 2! 1! Let it rip with us next time, whenever that may be! Thank you so much for supporting us!

[bvannn]

Weekly update august 18, 2023

I’m writing this a bit earlier than I usually do because unfortunately the medical condition I mentioned last time is unbearably bad today. It hasn’t been too bad this past week but as of the last hour or so I’ve decided not to get up until tomorrow (save for food, bathing, and bathroom) to avoid worsening it. Luckily I got stuff done this morning before it really started to hit.

TRGA: I’m done with Jon’s animations for shot 1-1, and 33% through Emile’s. I’m planning to continue at the pace I have been, and luckily I got the work I assigned myself on it today done this morning, so I am free to wallow this evening. Assuming I’m better tomorrow I’ll try to get another keyframe done, and keep on pace. No sketchy line effects yet either but I’m not anticipating those being too hard as long as I’m careful where I apply them.

General drawing are going slow because I’ve been trying to push myself on music. I was going to screw with my guitar this evening but it’ll have to get pushed to Sunday evening most likely. I got spitfire labs working, as well as their little bbc orchestra set, and as of yesterday I think I got komolete start fixed. I still do not know how it works entirely, but a majority of the vsts are straightforward enough. I’ve been trying to go through and bookmark the ones that’ll be useful, there are a lot of wavy synth noises that don’t really have much use. Also appear to be missing some general instruments as well, anyone who can point me to a good accordion, harmonica, or zunpet vst, preferably free, please do. I think one of the programs with komplete start works like a guitar amp so I do want to try to relearn guitar enough for chords and rhythms. Shouldn’t take too long as long as I reapply note stickers, since guitar is a C instrument, which I was trained in.

Okay actual drawing stuff should hopefully be coming once I get my energy back as well. This next week should be my last week of work at my summer job (which kinda sucks because as tired as this job makes me I do really like it). I am holding my head high for a nice little internship in the fall, which could either be better or worse for me in terms of energy, and there is a good chance I’ll have more time to put into drawing/writing. Or I could just stuff it all into animation too, but I can animate during lecture as well to save time. Especially since I have an online hybrid course, so I can pause lecture, so I’m not even actually slacking off.

I apologize for rambling so much today my mood has been volatile and so has my medical condition. There even a good chance I change plans and do figure out a way to draw without getting up tonight after all. Maybe. Probably not. I hate my body and I want to die but it’s fine because I plan ahead. Maybe I’ll overdose on Tylenol again, I think I’ve been off it for long enough that it shouldn’t hurt my liver.

[herotome]

Devlog #66

Hi-ho, Wudge here! Welcome to the weekly update.

As I mentioned about five days ago, I finally wrapped up the final code testing for Jade’s RNG minigame. I wrote the code itself about 2 months ago, but this week is the first time I used it with actual writing. I think it’s working pretty great personally, but we’ll see what my eventual playtesters think about it!

On that note, I wanted to take the opportunity to update the list I made in a previous devlog.

JADE SCENE

✔ 1. MC’s impression of Jade (descriptive): 100% - 338 words

✔ 2. Interacting with Jade (four conversation menus): 100% - 1390 words

✔ 3. Deciding to catch the bird (descriptive): 100% - 415 words

✔ 4. Catch the bird (large menu): 100%

• ✔ [Coding the RNG] 100%

• ✔ 4a. Make Jade use her powers forcibly on the bird: 100% - 260 words

•✔ 4b. Look up how to catch the bird safely: 100% - 528 words

• ✔ 4c. Catch the bird yourself: 100% - 401 words

•✔ 4d. Lure it out with treats/Chicken out: 100% - 196 words

✔ 5. Jade gives MC a brief tour: 90%

• ✔ 5a. Briefly showing off different locations - 395 words

• ✔ 5b. Bantering with Griffin in the conference room - 516 words

6. The rooftop: in-progress (drafted in VSCode)

•6a. Location description

•6b. Releasing the bird (variable check: if the bird was caught)

•6c. Jade jumps off the building to grab food

7. (missable) Stay for dinner (planned: handwrote part of the scene)

8. Jade takes you home (planned: took some notes in scrivener)

... Viola, 5/8 scenes just about all clear. 

I also practiced drawing some birds in CSP to prepare for the eventual bird sprite, and... I think I really like drawing birds?? Such pleasantly simple shapes, look at these little guys.

I haven’t decided what kind of bird we’re gonna catch yet, but it’d be nice to have a colorful one!

And nowww that I’ve updated you guys on Herotome... I wanna admit that I made a bad call for my health recently. <_< Nothing serious, but uh. 

When I worked on Ballads at Midnight with the intention of submitting it to a game jam, I was writing basically nonstop Monday-Friday for the month of March. As some of you may know, there’s going to be a secret ending update that expands some more about the story.

So going into April, I knew I wanted to:

Finish BaM’s secret ending.

Work on my client project (to pay the bills, y’know).

and of course, return to Herotome.

Not too daunting! I enjoy having more than one project, and am very used to juggling 2-3 at a time. However. I grossly underestimated how much juggling all three would take out of me after a full month writing sprint. 

After inhaling tylenols to cope with eyestrain migraines last week, I started to realize that maaaaaybe I’m pushing myself too hard after all. I must contend that I paced myself extremely well in March, but completely failed to factor in rest and recovery to prevent burnout in April.

So now I’m vaguely aware that I need to schedule some rest at some point, but uhm... I don’t want to? I’m SO close to 100% wrapping up both BaM and the client project, so the idea of not finishing them this very minute is incredibly frustrating. And when I’m unwilling to rest because I’d prefer to work, it’s hard to feel remotely rested even if I schedule time off for myself. (Because I spend that rest-appointed session feeling mad and guilty and thinking about work the whole time.) 

... I think I’ve mentioned multiple times that I’m a recovering workaholic. Haha.

Sooo tldr; for my health and my sanity, I’m gonna try to slow down... I love working on games, I love project work, I love working hard; nothing in life makes me happier. But if I keep pushing myself in the short-term then I’m not gonna get as much done as I’d want in the long-term.

After I finish the client project and/or the secret ending, I’m gonna take a break for at least a week - because I think I have to, even if the very idea makes me deeply unhappy. Rsm frsm. (Gosh Wudge, it’s only a week off, not the end of the world. You’ll be okay!)

Anyway. Thanks for sticking around y’all, you rock and don’t you ever forget it.

I hope you’re all staying safe and keeping warm.

Much love,

Wudge.

[holycow99]

石田お寿司 12/9/21 stream translation Part 2

This is not the full translation of the stream. I only translated the parts I could understand & interpret or parts I found interesting/important. I’m still a beginner in Japanese, so the translations may not be accurate. If you want to repost, please repost at your own risk.

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*Someone asked about Choujin X.

I: I’ve given the manuscript for chp 8. It’ll be released in a few days. I don’t really have much to say about this. I wanna write this month’s goals for Osushi. The big plan is to fix(?) chp 8. Then, I wanna release another two chapters this month. Chp 8 has 20 something pages. I want to at least draw the chapters in a weekly pace. What I mean by that is I wanna draw 72 pages per month. If I could draw 72 pages a month, I drew 18 pages per week during Weekly Young Jump too. So, I wanna draw 18 pages per week, which is 72 pages per month. That’s the amount of pages for weekly publication. It’d be nice if I could draw at least this much by myself. If I drew 25 pages weekly for three weeks, It’d have a total of 75 pages. I can currently get it done. If I updated 3 chapters a month, I’d have a total of 70-something pages per month. Then, nobody will complain. It’s not like anyone is complaining. It’s so that I won’t complain to myself. This is directed towards me as a challenge. Of course, it’s okay if I couldn’t do it. It doesn’t matter if I can or can’t, I thought it’s better to have a goal.

C: And the fact that you’re streaming right now is amazing!

I: Right? I spent a lot of time at the end of August doing rectifications, plotting, etc. They’re all important things to do. Since I have a little bit of free time, I thought of streaming.

C: It’s okay to draw the chapters slowly. Do you concern about maintaining the quality?

I: The quality is as usual. I mean, that’s one of the reason. It’s also to match the quality of the work. The drawing style in Choujin X is different, so of course the drawing will be different too. There are things that have changed. I want to match the vibe of the work, and also, I wanna prioritise speed over the quality. By speed, I don’t mean I wanna write them in a hurry. I want them to have a quality that’s easy to balance. I’m still playing around with it.

C: Until what chapters do you plan to release the physical copy?

I: I can just release it. I do have a plan for it, like releasing 2 volumes altogether.

C: I’m okay with anything as long as you don’t collapse later on.

I: You’re exactly right. I’m doing it with ease. So that the serialisation will go well, I’m adjusting my pace. This is just my ideal, but I wanna serialise another manga. It doesn’t have to be serialised, I have another stuff I wanna release. I’m finding the time to make one. If I make it a rule to do other things after I’ve done 75 pages per month, I don’t have to draw more. I could use the time to do other stuffs.

C: Don’t push yourself.

I: I’m not.

C: Are you overworking?

I: Not at all. I have many hands.

C: Did you play JJ?

I: I played the game like hell.

C: Is it easier to not have assisstants?

I: That’s a good question. This is kinda weird, people say that your work will progress more if you have more assistants, but that’s not the case. I did TG without knowing that. People will ask you to check on their works. So, the more the people, the more the workload. There’s probably an appropriate number of people you should have. 4 people would probably be enough during TG. But there were more people, like the helpers, but they did regularly help. It was quite a lot. I won’t be able to do my own work when there’s a lot of staffs. I don’t have assistants for choujin X so that I can do it with ease, and umm… It’s the fastest way for me. Of course, I do think the quality of the work will increase if there are staffs. I’m trying to see if I can speed up my work to a certain extent without having to check on others’ works and consider about other people, while creating the quality contents I’m capable of.

C: Working alone or with assistants finish faster?

I: It depends on the stuffs you’re making. For choujin x, I think it’d be hard for me to draw them if I had assistants. It’ll be great if we can have divisions.

C: Are you gonna hire a care assistant? (t/n: The Japanese word is Meshistant, which means assistant who mainly takes care of the mangaka’s meal, chore, etc. So, I just put it as care assistant.)

I: Definitely no. I didn’t let my assistants do the chore. I even cleaned the toilet myself. I kinda hate it. I hate the label they give to such people. Meshistant. I don’t like people who call them that. I don’t mean you. I probably won’t be fond of mangakas who use that word. They’re your staffs, right?

C: Do you think of the story all by yourself?  

I: Yeah. Sometimes I do get ideas from my surrounding. But, most of it came from mine.

(t/n: I’m not sure if the last sentence is correct. I couldn’t really understand what he meant, but it’s something like that.)

C: I’m having a hard time to sleep. Recommend ways for me to sleep well.

I: Probably read books. It can make your eyes feel tired. Then, maybe by not sleeping? But you might think it’s better to sleep. I understand. I wanna keep trying to fall asleep, but then I’ll watch movies while lying down. I have trouble sleeping lately. I used to sleep a lot.

C: Meshistant is also an honourable job.

I: Then, why not just hire people who specialised in that. Like housekeepers. They have that, right? Something like a home helper. That is better, isn’t it? Using assistants who’re enthusiastic to draw manga to do stuffs like that is awkward for me.

*Someone commented about hiring maid.

I: Maid? Then, I’d like that. Hahaha. Should I hire a maid? I’m recruiting maids.

C: Even at the age of 250,000, you still have trouble falling asleep.

I: Yeah.

C: Are they hired to make meals?

I: Yeah. There’s various types of assistant in the manga industry. This one refers to an assistant in charge of meals.

I: What did I wanna talk about? Oh yeah, about Animal Rap. I’m thinking whether or not I should upload animal rap video during stream, but where is the file? I’ve decided to upload it after this stream ends. What was it that I wanna talk about? Can you tell me about my current status, such as about the Sui exhibition in Osaka and Nagoya, or about Ms. Towada’s illustrations?

C: How about a live rap?

I: Good idea.

C: About the plan for 30,000 subscribers.

I: That’s right 2x. We’re talking about what to do to celebrate 30,000 subscribers.

C: I can be your maid for free.

I: I’ll definitely pay you. If it’s for free, then you won’t feel your sense of duty. I’ll give a huge salary and pressure you so that you’ll work responsibly.

C: Ms. Towada can both write novels and draw. Amazing!

I: I also can. Hahaha. I also…ah, but I can’t write novels. I won’t lose to her.

C: Do you have double eyelids.

I: Mine is hidden one.

C: Appear in First Take.

I: I won’t.

C: Are your eyelashes long?

I: Yes. My eyelashes are long, I have hidden double eyelids, I am of medium build…but I’m already worn-out.

(t/n: He used the word ‘boroboro’. I couldn’t really find the proper word to translate it in this context. Worn-out is the only one I could think of that suits the context.)

C: Are you handsome?

I: Well…I’m pretty good looking.

C: Have you been going to the gym?

I: No, I haven’t, since I was busy with work. I wanna go though.

C: I wanted to go to Mr. Kunimitsu’s concert.

I: Me too.

C: Which one is more handsome? You or Kaneki?

I: Wouldn’t that be Kaneki?

C: How about another stream with Ms. Towada?

I: I re-listened to the stream with Ms.Towada. For some reason, she was laughing a lot in the stream. Though she always like that. It’s slightly embarrassing. She’s acting like she’s at home. It felt like she’s disclosing my family situation, so it’s a bit..., but I can do that again from time to time. When I wanna do something related to JJ, then I’ll call her. That’s the most suitable content.

*Someone asked him to invite his younger sister.

I: It’s impossible to invite my younger sister.

*People wanted Goubaru to be the guest.

C: Goubaru, huh?

C: Do you have someone you wanna invite?

I: No, I don’t. The corona is one thing, but I’m completely okay with not meeting people. I do talk to people I’m close with. I think that’s already enough. It’s not like I have someone I’m involved with. I do usually talk to Mr. Kunimitsu.

*People want Hanae Natsuki again.

I: Hanae? That’s definitely impossible.

*He’s talking about Japanese youtubers.

C: Can you beat boxing?

I: I’m practising at the moment.

*Currently taking about Japanese artists.

* Someone asked who he thinks could be the next popular artist.

I: Lately, I only listen to instrumentals. The one that I like recently is the girl band called Chai. The group’s vocalists are twins. The group is great. It’s not like I like the band because there’s someone who caught my intention. I listened to their songs first before I decided whether I liked them or not. I thought this kind of voice also exists.

C: Congrats for TG’s 10th anniversary.

I: Thank you. Thank you to Brazil as well. (t/n: Someone commented Brazil.)

*He pinned his Chai comment.

C: People who just came don’t understand what’s going on.

I: It’s okay if you don’t. Hehe.

C: Sensei, can you eat choco mint?

I: I can.

C: I thought the bgm was from Animal Crossing.

I: This is Yorushika’s Escape.

*Still talking about Japanese artists.

C: Have you seen Midsummer?

I: Yes, I have.

(t/n: He said something about the new evangelion movies. But I couldn’t really translate that part properly. He basically watched the Rebuild Evangelion movies from the start since he never watched it before. He planned to go to Yamaguchi prefecture, the birthtown of Evangelion’s author to watch the last movie.)

Y****: I’m reading Toro Hedoro! I recommend it!

I: I do read that. Don’t underestimate me! I do read One Piece as well, but half-way through.

C: You can watch the Evangelion movie on Amazon Prime.

I: I wanna watch the final movie at the cinema. Has the final movie come out? It has? But I’m still gonna watch at the cinema.

C: Have you read Tokyo Ghoul?

I: Nope.

C: I recommend Tokyo Ghoul!

I: Is that so? I have a story regarding TG, but it’s probably gonna be quite deep.

C: One Piece has reached 100 volumes!

I: That guy and Odacchi have reached 100 volumes, right? Hahaha. That guy is Luffy, while Odacchi is Oda sensei. Hahaha. I can’t call him that. Odacchi is Oda sensei and Kishikage is Kishimoto sensei. I see, that guy has reached 100 volumes? Way to go! Hahaha! No one is watching this anyway. I’ll properly lick his boots if he’s in front of me, since he’s the real deal. I’ll be very obedient and sucking up to him.

(t/n: Ishida was using the word ‘aitsu’ to refer Eichiro Oda. As far as I know, it’s an impolite way of calling someone older or in higher status than you in Japan.)

C: He’s scarier than Hikakin (a Japanese youtuber.)

I: Right. We are in the same industry after all. But I think Young Jump and Jump are different subsidiaries. Although, Hara sensei seems to have met with Odacchi, so maybe there’ll be an opportunity for me to meet him. But probably no. Someone like me won’t be able to meet Eichiro Oda sensei. I won’t meet him. He seems like a unique person.

*Ishida talking about an illustrator and youtuber called Saito Naoki.

(t/n: I couldn’t translate the first half of this part because they’re talking about something that had happened, and I don’t know the context of it.)

I: The name ‘Saito Naoki’ is very nice. Is it a pen name? It totally sounds like a real name though.

C: Are you close with Kishida Mel? (t/n: Kishida Mel is an illustrator and a character designer.)

I: I’ve never met him, but Kiyoppi, Kiyohara Hiro sensei and Melcchi are good friends. He’s like a friend of my friend. You have things like that, right? 

C: The name ‘Ishida Sui’ is cool!

I: I seriously wanna change my pen name. I wanna change to something like Gengoro. I wanna change to a manlier name. I didn’t give a thought about my name before. I used that name because I thought I was gonna be famous in the future, so I didn’t wanna use my real name. I seriously thought that I couldn’t become a mangaka if my real name was exposed. I was like “Since I’m gonna be famous, let’s avoid using my real name.” I was being vigilant about it, so I half-heartedly named my pen name.

I: The name Gengoro is nice. Tagami Gengoro. Tokyo Ghoul’s author, Tagami Gengoro. The Tokyo Ghoul’s author, Tagami Gengoro’s exhibition is now open. I’d definitely sounds like a bearded fatty. With round glasses to top it off. Isn’t Tagami Gengoro a character from a gay manga?

*Ishida searching for Tagami Gengoro.

I: Everyone, don’t search for it. I’m scared something dirty will appear. Is it not? Oh, it isn’t. what’s the name again? There is a character named something Gengoro, right? It’s Tagame Gengoroh! I got it now! Tagame Gengorohw as born in 1964 and a Japanese mangaka. He calimed himself to be a ‘Gay Erotic Artist’. This is the one! It’s Tagame Gengoroh sensei. 

*Ishida was looking at Tagame Gengoroh sensei’s illustrations.

I: This one. Wow, this is indeed gay! Hahaha.

C: I can’t believe it came out of your mouth.

I: Surprisingly, I do talk about these kind of stuffs. (t/n: I mean, he’s the man who wrote a whole R-18 chapter.)

I: So, I can’t use the name Gengoro, since there’s someone with this name.

C: Is the name ‘Ishida Sui’ an anagram of your Surname?

I: Yes, it is.

C: Are you gay?

I: Hahaha! Even if that’s true, you didn’t have to ask that kind of question! Let’s just say that I’m okay with both.

C: Kuso Miso. (t/n: Kusomiso is a gay manga.)

I: Of course, I’d be reading them (probably referring to gay manga). I mean, manga like Kuso Miso Technique are popular, right?

C: Ishida GayGoro.

I: Hahaha. That’s just gay.

C: You’ve been to a gay bar before, right?

I: Not at all. When I was hanging out with the staffs, Goubaru said he wanted to go to a Okama bar while crying.

(t/n: According to the internet, Okama is a term referring to guys who adapted female characteristics.)

C: I think it’s completely normal to be gay nowadays.

I: We’re talking about gay now. It’s not normal in the first place. It’s just a sexual orientation. If you pick on every little thing, everything will become a problem. Those who deliberately say they’re not prejudiced against gays are actually are. Even if you tell that to people, they’ll probably filter what they wanna say. They’d be conscious of every single thing they say. Things like that don’t matter.

C: Sensei, let’s talk about something else.

I: Why? I’m okay with it.

C: I’m bi.

I: Does it matter? It’s okay.

C: It’s difficult to say something regarding gender issues, right?

I: Well…It’s difficult, since it’s concerning your mindset. It doesn’t only apply to gender issues; you can hurt someone by making careless remarks.  It’s just that you sometimes accidentally let out your opinions. I also think I sometimes make unnecessary remarks, so I might do that.

C: I want to be embraced by Masataka Kubota. (t/n: Masataka Kubota is a Japanese actor who played as Kaneki in the live-action.)

I: That’s right. Must be nice. I want us to embrace each other.

Part 3

[piduai]

What's the appeal of golden kamuy? Like is it edgy? The wiki entry makes it sounds like a generic quest and I keep wandering away in the first ep but a lot of ppl I share similar taste with like it. Is there another anime you'd say it's similar to?

depends on what you think is edgy. for me edgy is stuff that tries really hard to impress by taking itself super seriously (a la ergo proxy, lain or even berserk) and ends up coming off as soulless and boring. golden kamuy is the opposite of that. it's dynamic, it's humorous, it's pushing boundaries, it's original, it's bizarre, it's quirky, and it doesn't take itself seriously. it just feels organic and a passion project, it's vibrant with love and care.

for me personally the strongest points in gk are:

- incredible writing, both for characters and for story. it's something that has high reread value because of the sheer attention to detail, the fact that the story and the characters are something that actually took effort to create, and that it's something genuinely satisfying to consume. it forces me to use my brain and actually engage with the story. it's also very daring and unpredictable, punches you in the gut when you least expect it. keeps you on your toes.

- peculiar humor. it's FUNNY. gk has a lot of black humor that somehow manages to NOT be edgy, it's something you can't find anywhere else. a lot of it can go into gross territory but i love it, gk's humor fits my personal taste to a t. when i said "boundary-pushing" i meant this aspect, the mangaka is gutsy enough to put out stuff that most of his peers wouldn't even think of. it's great.

- good cast. besides being generally likeable as a vibe, the cast in the manga is just so good. usually when i get into something i end up liking 2-3 characters maximum, in gk i am fond of most of the cast, even very episodic characters have something new to bring to the table.

- being fast paced and dynamic. it's a personal preference, but i hate stuff that drags on forever and keeps focusing on one thing for years, i don't have the patience for that. the mangaka shares this trait because he hates beating around the bush. it's a blunt and straightforward story that doesn't use cheap tricks for drama, which feels very refreshing.

things that are secondary for me but nevertheless a nice detail:

- dabbing into obscure cultural practices that you don't see much anywhere else. one of the main characters is a young ainu girl, and there's a lot and i mean a lot of trivia about ainu culture in the series. it touches upon the subject of ethnic minorities in japan and the russian east, and while in no way should it be read as a political, cultural or historical manifesto, it is quite educational.

- tied to the point above, it's classified as a historical manga and it lives up to the title

- in the first half of the manga there's quite a lot of focus on the food the characters eat, seeing that they hunt their food themselves. for some reason a lot of people go crazy about this.

- there's a lot of research that went into this series. the author routinely takes breaks in order to research this and that because he wants to bring the audience an accurate experience. he spent a lot of time with ainu people, he went hunting just to be able to draw about it, he spent a few months interviewing ethnic minorities in russia. as mentioned above, the attention to detail and the sheer effort poured into this series is incredible.

- gorgeous art. gk is visually stunning, the artwork is rich an complex, the character designs are not my cup of tea but nevertheless they're genuinely different from things you see everywhere else. it's a weekly manga, but it looks like a monthly one.

- lots of gore, murder, skinning people, and other gratuitous violence, especially in the beginning.

golden kamuy is hands down the best manga i've ever read, objectively speaking, though my favorite still remains fullmetal alchemist. i don't think it's a stretch to call it unique, there's nothing else like it on the market, which is why it ruined manga as a medium to me. it's incredibly creative, engaging, fun, genuinely enjoyable, interesting, and funny. if i were to compare it to something, i'd say it's a mix of fma and dorohedoro? it has a slight jojoesque touch to it too (mangaka is a jojo fan).

please read golden kamuy

[kasienda]

Fanfiction Year In Review - 2020

The rest of 2020 was rough, but I sure wrote A LOT! And that feels good. 

1 List of fics completed this year in the order they were finished:

Confessions to a Statue (Ladybug) - I’m lowkey shocked that this was finished in 2020. I feel like I wrote this one an eternity ago! It’s honestly not my favorite story, but I’m grateful to it for getting me writing in this fandom! 

Stutters (Ladybug Reveal - Marichat)

An Open Secret (Ladybug for Gift Exchange)

Instagram (Ladybug Reveal - Ladrien)

Anything to Protect You (Sailor Moon for Gift Exchange)

Locked in a Closet (Ladybug Reveal - Sequel to MissNoodle’s wonderful work.)

New York (Ladybug Reveal - Ladynoir)

A Craving For Chocolate Milkshakes (Sailor Moon)

Eight fics in total! Four of them multi-chapters! Crazy!

2 Number of words written: 

Written: 139k (as tracked by 750words.com)

Published: 105k (according to ff.net).

This is amazing! This is the first year (that I know of anyway - I’ve only been tracking for three years) that I broke 100k in one year!! I wrote every month, and I published at least one thing every month except August (I was moving in August).

I’m thrilled to see the written to published ratio as high as it is! It’s not something I’ve tracked before, but I always feel like I’m writing a ton and publishing very little, but it looks like that impression is fairly inaccurate. I’m publishing a lot more than I realized relative to how much I’m writing.

3 Your most popular fic:

My Miraculous Reveal Series has also gotten the most recognition of all my works this year, but it’s difficult to splice out which short is the most popular because I publish it as one series. Keeps my dashboard neater and gives the old ones a bit of attention whenever I post a new one. 

4 Your personal fav:

I think I’m insanely proud of both An Open Secret and Anything to Protect You. As I published each chapter, I often had the thought “This is the best thing I’ve written!” And that feels good. 

But right now, I am going to have to say an unfinished fic that I started this year - Restorative Justice - is my favorite. This is a fic that has pulled me out of my usual genre and gotten me closer to my life as a teacher. And it’s powerful and cathartic to turn these experiences into a story. I also really enjoyed exploring Chloé’s headspace. She’s just so angry, and like, this year that has been really easy to channel for some reason, and it all transferred to paper rather well. I’m kinda stuck in this fic at the moment though… 

5 Your fav scene:

I literally cannot decide. I could maybe pick a favorite scene in each fic I finished, but just one?! Nope! I can’t do it. So here’s my favorite scene in the three works I’ve spent the most time on this year: 

An Open Secret - the scene where Ladybug confesses to Chat Noir in the rain. The moment it all comes together for Adrien. I made myself cry. 

Anything to Protect You - Honestly, this one is HARD to pick. I really like the UsaMamo kiss in the first chapter, but I also love the dates. Especially the moment where she tells him she’s Sailor Moon and he thinks she’s joking. And the cattery date.

Restorative Justice - Chapter 3 - Where Chloe and Marinette are screaming at each other. I found it so satisfying. 

6 A fic or scene that challenged you:

Writing the festival scene in Anything to Protect you was an absolute slog! I was struggling so hard with trying to somewhat accurately capture a cultural event that I myself have never directly experienced (I did so much research - I read a lot, I listened to music, I watched videos), and at the same time not stall the pacing of the story or emotional anchor of the piece. It was so hard, but I was really happy with how it came out. 

7 A line of writing you’re proud of: 

From the most recent update of a Craving for Chocolate Milkshakes: 

So she dove back into old habits and started drawing chibi-tuxedo masks all over her worksheet.

Go ahead. Do your worst. 

He always had some playful or snide critique of her scribbles.

She waited a whole ten seconds before she realized the mental silence would not be filled. Because he wasn’t there. He couldn’t see her doodles.

She burst into tears.

8 A comment that touched you: 

Honestly, this year it wasn’t so much what was in a comment, so much as it was when a comment arrived. Like when I was ready to tear my hair out arguing with the bank or insurance company, and then a review would pop up out of nowhere! Or when I was sitting next to my son at the hospital. Sadly, I don’t remember which comments were the ones that did this. But I think LitaKino had especially good timing more than once this year. And jennagrins as well! But there were so many others! I’m tell you all - comments are love!!

9 Something that inspired your writing:

There’s lots of the usual suspects - life, husband, children, students, etc.

But a lot of it this year has actually been reading other people’s stories and wanting them to keep going, or wanting them to have taken a different turn in the story arc. And then I have to open a doc a start a whole new fic! It’s kinda a problem honestly. I have thirteen active stories and another ten that I’m like - I would like to work on that, but it’s not happening at the moment. 

10 Your proudest accomplishment (that one scene; finally finishing that one fic; posting your first fic; etc):

That I finished four multi-chapter fics! (Though two of them it was just the last chapter). I think I’m proving to myself that I can be somewhat disciplined about what I’m working on, so that the projects I want to finish, get finished! 

And I’m also learning that you can write a lot with just chewing away at it bit by bit. It’s not about the 3k word days. It’s about it being a habit. If you can write 100 words every day that’s 36k words in a year! I wrote an average of 378 words per day! My goal is only ever 200 words, but I try to have an unbroken chain. I did not succeed this year in that due to weekly work deadlines, but I came a lot closer than I ever have before.

11. Do you have any writing goals for the next year?

I read my goals from last year and laughed. (Apparently, I wanted to finish Chocolate Milkshakes by the end of January. Bwahahaha!) But that’s okay. I wrote a ton this year!! It just wasn’t where I expected it to be. So that’s what I want this year to be about. I want to focus on my own personal projects by not making commitments for exchanges or events.

I have three WIPs right now that are just far more personal than anything else I’m working on. And these three stories are the ones I want to focus on this year. 

Invisible Wounds - (Ami/Zoi - Sailor Moon)

Restorative Justice - (Chloé POV - Ladybug) 

Right Behind You (Unpublished Adrino story - Ladybug) 

I imagine though that there will be one-shots that demand to be written in between, or one shots that will work me out of ruts, too. Or one shots that will explode into seven chapter outlines like jerks! Haha! 

But overall, my main goal is to just try to write every day!

I tag the following people to tell us about your fic writing accomplishments this year because you’re amazing!! @tinacentury @floraone @starlingsinclair@mikauzoran @chronicallylatetotheparty @ladyofthenoodle @alexseanchai @galahadwilder And anyone else that wants to! And of course, if I tagged you and you don’t want to, there is NO pressure. I’ve just enjoyed doing this over the years, and wanted to share the joy! 

[puckyeahobx]

rafe cameron blurb #1

a/n: i love rafe cameron he did nothing wrong and i will continue writing about him until i die. this is very nsfw...you have been warned (NOT MY GIF)

summary: y/n and rafe end up at a party together and y/n notices something is off with our favorite coke whore rafe cameron <3

You didn’t really love the morals that came with the Kook lifestyle, but you knew it was pretty much as close to your college party habits that you were capable of getting to at your parent’s OBX house

If there was one thing that made coming home for vacations worth it, it was Rafe Cameron’s legendary parties

You weren’t from around OBX even before college, but your parents have always brought you down to the beach house for at least a month during summer vacations, for as long as you could remember. All of the Figure Eight adults were friendly in a weird passive aggressive way, which usually meant the kids were too. Rafe was your age so you guys naturally gravitated towards each other. You didn’t have much in common, but he thought you were funny and didn’t let any of his friends hit on you which you appreciated. You just thought he was plain sexy.

It was really hard watching him slowly descend into this empty version of Rafe that you saw at the first party of the summer because he was so different than the Rafe you grew up with

He was always a little intense, but it was always because of how he needed things to go right. From sand castles at age 9 to boat races at age 16 to shotgunning PBR after PBR at age 18, he always had to be the best. You had heard his dad probably had a lot to do with it, but he would never in a million years admit it. 

At age 20, though, his new thing was cocain, which you didn’t love

After only two weeks back in the outer banks, you were able to draw a direct correlation between how much coke Rafe had in his system and how intolerable he acted towards the pogues. The one thing you always hated about Rafe and his friends, and the whole island to be honest, was the unnecessary class war. It made you sick.

But when illicit drugs weren’t involved, you saw that Rafe was still just Rafe which made you even more sad. Why would he want to be anyone else?

You were currently pressed against the wall of the Cameron basement, convinced that the red led lights were going to damage your corneas permanently, as some music you only liked when you were under the influence blared from the speakers. But none of that mattered because you could not stop staring at Rafe.

He was doing his normal host rounds, making sure everyone was drinking and that all of the girls were personally greeted by him, but he seemed way further away. Something more than alcohol.

This went on for about three hours, you pretending to be interested in conversations and his other cronies trying to get a piece of you, and you saw him disappear into the bathroom two separate times. Each time he came out he was wiping his nose. It didn’t take a rocket scientist.

As you saw him make a beeline for round three, you swallowed down the rest of whatever fruity thing you had in your cup and followed him before anyone else could. You barely got through the bathroom door before he slammed it in your face. 

“Rafe, it’s just me” You say as you caught the door, sliding yourself through the gap in the door frame, closing it and locking it behind you.

“Shit, Y/N, you can’t sneak up on me like that…” he trailed off while he gave you a once over, “Damn you look good tonight.”

You exhale, looking down and laughing sarcastically, “Sure it’s not the coke talking?”

He looks back at you incredulously until he finally decide to scoff, “C’mon Y/N relax it’s nothing”

“No! I’m not going to relax! This is your third trip tonight-”

“Damn Y/N I didn’t realize you were keeping tabs on me. Does someone have a crush?”

“-Your third trip tonight,” you talk over him, rolling your eyes and ignoring what he said, “That’s not nothing.”

“It’s a fucking party what is your problem?” You could tell he was about to blow. Another side effect of this new habit of his was his shortened fuse on a circuit that was already pretty short.

He seemed to forget, however, that he wasn’t the only one with a temper. “Oh I’m sorry you’re right. It’s a party. I’m just being unreasonable. Tell me this though, if this is just a party, then what was that on the boat yesterday? Did you really think I wasn’t going to notice you snorting up a whole fucking line in broad daylight on a 12x12 speed boat?”

He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration and turned to face the mirror, his fists slamming on the kitchen sink, his eyes clenched shut. 

“What the fuck do you want me to say, Y/N? Want me to offer you some next time?” He looks back at you through the mirror, his lips pursed in a tight line against his face, jaw clenched. “Sorry I’m not the same little bitch you used to build sand castles with or whatever the fuck. People grow up and they change. This is who I am,” he paused, “No one is making you be around me so if that’s not good enough for you, you know where the fucking door is.” He looked back down at the sink before quickly moving his hand down to his pants pocket, fishing a tiny little ziploc bag out of his god awful khaki shorts.

Before he could get any further, you closed the gap between your bodies and smacked the bag out of his hand, making the contents spill all over the floor. 

Hardly believing what you had just done, you looked up at him with your mouth agape and your eyes wide. To be honest, you were a little afraid of what he was going to do or say. 

“WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT FUCKING FOR Y/N?” He didn’t get in your face like he does with everyone else, but he was definitely pissed. 

“I- I just… I just hate seeing you like this,” your voice was smaller than you had hoped for, and you were barely able to look up at him through your eyelashes.

He huffed and rolled his eyes, running his hands through his hair again, “Well, I can’t really think of a better alternative for you so maybe you should just stop hanging around me. I already told you, Y/N, this is me now! I’m the guy people call when they need something. Sure it’s blow but at least they’re fucking calling.”

“Is that who you really want to be though, Rafe? Like actually? Those people don’t care about you. They’re too busy being off their shits to care about you. You’re seriously unhinged if you think that this is the best that life can get.”

“If they don’t care about me then who the fuck does, Y/N?! Huh! You don’t get it. You-you you’re perfect. People fucking love you, no strings attached. They always have.”

He looked just like the boy you once knew in that moment. With his hands running through his hair and his breath uneven, you recognized this side of Rafe. The lost little boy trying to sneak into your bedroom window after the weekly fight with Ward. Your heart was practically ripping through your skeleton, your skin, your bikini top to get to him. 

“Rafe…” you reached for him but he just pulled his arm away, shaking his head.

“Save the pity party Y/N and get back to the party. I heard Kelce was planning on finally making his move on you tonight,” he laughed in spite of himself.

Now it was time to shake your head,“I don’t want to go back to the party. I want to be here, with you.” He looked at you with that same lost boy look and you rest your hand on one of his cheeks and if this wasn’t the big, bad Rafe you were talking about, you might have thought that you felt him lean into your touch.

“People do love you, by the way. People do care.” Your voice was barely above a whisper as you tested the waters of his temper, a thumb lightly tracing the laugh lines on his face. 

He put a hand on top of yours and held on tight, “You don’t count.”

“And why is that? I feel like I might be the only one that actually knows you. I think my opinion counts greatly.”

He scoffs and rolls his eyes, pushing your hand off his face again.

Annoyed at his stubborn attitude, you decided to be more direct in your approach.

You wrapped your arms around the back of your neck and stood up on your tiptoes to whisper in his ear, “And my opinion is that you were already pretty fucking amazing before.” You paused, letting your hot breath linger on his neck, loving the way his breath hitched. “Let me prove it to you.”

He immediately wrapped his arms and hands under your ass, lifting you onto the counter in front of him. Your arms were still wrapped around his neck, you both paused for a second once you were seated in front of him, legs spread so he could stand between them. Then he was kissing you and it was the most amazing feeling you had ever felt.

His hands fell to your thighs as he pressed into you. Both of you being stubborn, there was a power struggle between your mouths as he tried to claim you. You weren’t going to let him off that easy, however, and you started pulling at his hair and nipping your way down his neck as he kneaded your ass with this big hands. Amazing how strong they were considered he had never done a day of work in his life. 

Moving back to his lips he interrupted the hottest makeout session of your life and looked down at you, eyes dark with want. “Get on your fucking knees.”

Without a word you did what you were told, not breaking eye contact the whole way down to the ground. You waited for further instructions. 

“You wanted to prove it to me, huh?”

You nod sweetly.

“Go on then, baby. Show me what you’ve got.”

You unzip his shorts and tease him with your hand and mouth through his boxers, loving the sounds he made as you did so. He was trying so hard to keep it underwraps how undone he already was, but that just made him sound all the more desperate for you. 

His hand was in your hair from the get go, ready to show you exactly how he wanted it, so the rest came pretty easy. The grip on your hair never once lightened as he switched from guiding your head up and down at a leisurely pace to holding it in place as he took control with a much more punishing one. He made sure not to go too rough though, never once making you gag - a very impressive feat for someone of his size. 

The whole time he was muttering little praises that you weren’t even sure he was aware he was saying: “God, fuck, baby you take it so good”, “Look so pretty like that”, “Good girl”.

You never thought that being on your hands in knees on top of scattered cocaine residue with your childhood best friend’s cock in your mouth would be such a turn on, but you couldn’t take much more. Soon enough your resolve was crumbling as you fumbled with the button and zipper on your shorts, desperately trying to push them down enough so you could get a hand down there to release some of the pressure that had been building since you locked the bathroom door.

Just when you were about to start bringing yourself off, he stopped suddenly, pulling yourself off of him and up to your feet. “What do you think you’re doing?”

All you could do was stutter nervously, sure that you had never been redder in the face in your entire life.

Before you could come up with something to say, you were spun around with your stomach pressed against the counter top, Rafe still hot and hard against your back. He had put his hands back in your hair and he was looking at you through the mirror.

“Fuck that, Y/N. You said you wanted to prove how much you liked me. Cared about me,” his hand started travelling down the front of your body as he whispered in your ear, “I’m going to be the only one making you cum, do you understand me?”

Suddenly forgetting how to speak, you nod furiously. He chuckles deeply into your ear as he pushes your shorts and underwear down in one swoop, replacing the cotton material of your panties with his hand.

He had barely touched you and you were already reaching around you, threading your fingers in his hair as he held on tightly to yours. Your eyes screwed shut and your mouth flew open as he started with a harsh rhythm that wouldn’t have worked for anyone other than him. You were already so ready for anything he was going to throw at you. 

Between the way he was finger fucking you and the constant praises in your ear, it didn’t take long for you to release all over his hand, making him growl. 

He gave you almost no time to recover before he grabbed you around the neck, not choking, just holding you there, and forced you to make eye contact with him again.

“I’m going to fuck you now and you’re going to watch how I’m making you feel in that mirror. I want you to watch me make you cum again. I want you to remember that no one else is this good for you. Do you understand?”

You whimper, nod, and tug on his hair once more, not even caring how desperate you seemed.

Without another warning, he pushed himself as far inside as he could, bottoming out and making you both moan. Your eyes already were rolling back but then he tugged on your hair again, making sure you were looking directly towards the mirror. 

“That’s it, Y/N take that dick just like that. Look how pretty you look bent over this sink for me with all of our friends on the other side of the door. Are you going to scream for them? So they know exactly who makes you feel like this?”

You had no idea how he was able to form coherent sentences when he was a) probably still high as fuck and b) fucking you that good, because all you were able to do in response was let out the most pathetic whine as he created a whole new angle by moving one of your knees to rest on the counter. It was almost too much.

It was hands down the best sex of your life and you couldn’t tell it was because of how many years you had spent wanting him, the alcohol in your system, or if it was really because he was just that good, but you were willing to place some serious money on the latter. 

Just when you were about to start crying from how good it felt, he started going even harder, losing the rhythm he had set. His dirty talk got less and less coherent as he slowly descended into orgasmic bliss, making sure to take you with him. Just as you had promised, you looked into his eyes through the mirror as you fell over that edge. Your entire body was trembling by the time he finished, placing kisses on the back of your neck and shoulders.

He dropped the leg of yours that he had been holding up and you almost fell over without his strength holding you up. He had really done a number on you. 

You were trying to come back to your body still when you felt him nudge the side of your arm. Startled, you looked down and he had your shorts and underwear.

“Um..here, I’ll turn around if you want,” he said as he turned around after setting the clothes on the counter in front of you. You wondered how long you had been standing there post-orgasm because he was already re-dressed.

“Oh, uh, thanks.” You quickly got redressed and laughed at him facing the opposite wall, “I’m decent.”

He turned back around and looked at you brightly, the most sober he had looked all summer, actually. 

You both looked at each other nervously and laughed, not knowing where to go from here.

“That was, uh, that was really fucking fantastic,” he said through a laugh, a hand coming up to rub the back of his neck, “I’m not really sure what happened but I’m glad it did. I’ve been trying to make a move on you for years.”

“To be fair, I think I’m technically the one that made the move.”

He closed the gap between your bodies again and put his hands on either side of the counter behind you, “Details, details.”

You looked from his eyes to his lips and back again, remembering what had brought that on in the first place. “I really do care about you, you know.” It was barely a whisper.

He brought a hand up to brush some hair out of your face as he sighed, “I know you do.”

“Next time you want to do something reckless like that again just call me. We can get through this.”

“I mean between that and drugs I will pick that any day.” You could tell he was trying to make a joke but it just made you sad. 

You cup his face in your hands once more, “I’m serious. You don’t have to be that guy. I’ve liked the other one for a very long time and I don’t appreciate this new one barging in and scaring me.”

Smiling softly, he grabs one of our hands again and kisses the pads of your finger tips, “I think you might be the only one the other guy was good enough for, Y/N.”

“I thought I just proved that my opinion was the only one that counted.”

“Is that what that was all about? I thought it had more to do with my raw animal magnetism,” he laughed and shook his head at you.

“Hmmmm that was definitely a part of it.” You couldn’t help it, you started leaning towards him again. 

He was merely an inch away, a smile bright on his face and “I fucking knew it” falling off his tongue when there came a bang on the door.

A deep voice you didn’t recognize followed: “THERE’S A FUCKING LINE ASSHOLES.”

You looked at each other and laughed one more time, both of your necks and cheeks growing rosie with embarrassment. But embarrassment be damned, you had a happy Rafe back at last.

[todaydreambelieversfic]

Author Spotlight: Coffeegleek Day 3

Author : @coffeegleek​

How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

At least a few revisions. Then multiple editing passes, and even with my spouse as my proofreader for the past 25+ years, and doing more editing passes before posting to AO3, I still find annoying little typos, sometimes large ones.

If you were to revise one of your older fics from start to finish, which would it be and why?

There was a crack fic I stopped writing years ago. It was a self-challenge during one of those tumblr trope challenges. I was trying to combine all of the tropes into the same fic as they were announced. It got zero traction though so I gave up. I'd love to go back and complete it, make it better. I had the whole thing outlined too.

What do you look for in a beta?

My spouse. We've been together for decades. He's been proofreading my original science fiction work and various fandoms' fanfics since before we were married. He even proofreads my Klaine smut and doesn't blink an eye. (He's a Glee fan too and on tumblr.) He knows what I'm trying to say when I can't find the right words and supplies them. He catches things I don't. What I love the most is for my original work, he's written his own fanfic. It's BAD. It truly is, but it's so heartfelt and earnest. He even came up with a soundtrack should I ever publish my sci-fi novel and the movie or show rights be bought. You really can't get a better beta than that. <3

There’s a number of friends on tumblr that I bounce ideas off of and who give me advice for topics they know far more about than me and google. I try to thank them in my fics.

If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

I’m going to steal another author’s recent answer and say that I could never do someone else’s work justice. However, I would love to see the author’s ideas for their fics even if they couldn’t write a prequel or sequel.

I suck at remembering titles and author names. There were two political fics that I would love to read more of should their authors ever decide to write in those verses again. One was where Kurt and Blaine's dads were running for president and Kurt and Blaine were along for the ride, staying in the same hotels at time (where they first met,) having to do school remotely, having to be the perfect sons for the press and Blaine being fed up because his parents were conservative Republicans. Then there was another fic where Burt was president and Kurt was the First Son living in the White House, along with Finn, and it was hard to date when your every move is watched by the press.

Do you take liberties with canon or are you very strict about your fic being canon compliant?

I write AU, so canon is only a word often misspelled by me. :) Seriously though, I try to incorporate as many canon elements and characters into my AU fics as I can. It's the kind of AU I like to read as well. What draws me to read and write AUs is taking canon characters, putting them into a different setting, and seeing how they'll react. At their core, they still need to remain the same in principle and have many of the same traits. Like Kurt will always love fashion and be headstrong no matter what. Blaine is always going to have that spark within himself, no matter how depressed or oppressed he gets. Burt and Carole are always going to be loving and nurturing parents at heart. Even in fics where Burt isn't woke, there's a part of him that means well. (Not one of my own fics, but one I read a long time ago.) Different circumstances will change the canon characters and make them react in different ways though. Like, Kurt could end up more withdrawn and hide his love of fashion as a matter of survival and self preservation. He or Blaine could turn into "bad boys." Coach Beiste will always have a heart of gold. Miss Pillsbury will always have a problem with messes. Things like that. I know canon. Give me all the alternate universe versions of it and I will be a happy camper.

Talk about a review that made your day.

I haven't checked for reviews on my fics in ages (because I'm an insecure chicken) so I don't remember any specifically. I do remember there were many that made my day. There are those who take the time to review every chapter. Ones who write only a short note to thank me for writing the fic - both the angsty ones and the cracky fun ones. I love it when someone mentions something that no one else has that I was hoping someone would notice because I was proud of it. I'm not a popular author and don't get a lot of kudos or comments or reblogs compared to many. So each comment and kudos means a lot to me and I'd like to publicly thank every single person who wrote one or hit that kudos button.

Do you ever get rude reviews and how do you deal with them?

I once got a troll who decided it was his job to complain that I had misspelled hors d'oeuvres in one sentence out of an entire verse where the word was written multiple times correctly. It was a series of Klaine Advent one shots for the Empty Nest verse. At first I was shocked and replied with an apology. Then I was, "F this. The person is a troll who didn't read any other part of the fic or verse, just this one quickly written one shot entry, and if all they had to say was that I'd misspelled a commonly misspelled word, then they aren't worth my time." I deleted the comment. There's concrit and trolling. It wasn't concrit.

What advice do you have for people just starting to write?

Have fun writing, even the hard stuff. Know that it's okay to take breaks. Try your best and know you'll get better the more you write and the more you read. Pronouns are your friend and free. Don't put, "I know this is going to suck, so whatever," in your fic description. We all suck at times. It's a part of writing. But if you want folks to read it, using that as your fic's summary isn't the way to go. Just my opinions, which won't even buy you a cup of coffee.

Which fic do you most like to discuss with other people? Why?  

I think it’s pretty obvious from all of my rambling that I enjoy talking about both of my series - Empty Nest verse and A Very Hallmark Christmas verse.  I'm not a popular author and I know my fics, especially the Empty Nest verse ones, aren’t everyone’s thing, so I never get to really discuss them except with friends that I bug to death in private and via long replies to comments on AO3. (You all are saints blessed by all of the good and patient gods.) I have so much to say about them - the process of writing them, the world building, research, and character decisions that went into every single one. I know they’re not perfect. I know the Empty Nest verse grew miles beyond the ficlette about Burt and Carole that it was meant to be. I know my sense of humor in the Hallmark verse isn’t everyone’s thing either. I still worked really hard on them and am glad that I did. Empty Nest let me release a lot of the fear and anxiety I had for my Hispanic and gay son after the 2016 election. The Hallmark ones were a needed break to put some humor into my life. If others enjoyed them, great. If folks want to know more, my inbox is always open.

What's one aspect of writing fic that gets you really excited?

Writing humor even if I'm the only one that finds it funny. As I said above, writing the Hallmark Christmas movie dialogue and plot and the actors as they were filming it was a blast. Writing the commercials was fun and exciting. In my angsty fics, knowing I wrote a good scene, line, or moment that brought out all the feels. That's more of “satisfaction of a job well done” than excited.

***

Check out Coffeegleek’s Fics

Humorous Spooky Drabbles -  Humorous drabbles to spookish type prompts based on a tumblr post called October Drabble Prompts #1 by hallofceleano. The parts in bold and italic are from those prompts. Characters include Kurt, Blaine, Burt, Carole, and Finn. All fun; only #4 has some mild angst. #4 is for snarkyhag and regarding #5 - I know next to nothing about Twilight and had to look up Taylor Lautner on imdb. The liberties I took are my own.

A Very Sloppy Christmas - lucy8675309 posted to tumblr a series of gifs with Kurt dressed up as an elf. It inspired me to write the following prompt, which CoffeeAddict80 encouraged me to write as a fic:

I now want a fic where real Santa’s elf!Kurt gets drunk and vents to Blaine about all the woes of working for Santa. He’s over 100 years old and the outfits are terrible. Why couldn’t they wear clothes like the elves did in that one movie? Drunk elf Kurt has no idea he’s venting to Santa’s son.

Bonus if he wakes up and realizes he just had a drunken one night stand. He isn’t sure who it was with. Only that he’s naked, the guy in the bed beside him is naked and showing off a really great ass. Then said guy turns over and after Kurt’s done staring at his dick, he looks at the guy’s face and realizes who it is.

It’s a Twisted World -  I decided to challenge myself by combining the posted 5 weekly Klaine AU Friday themes and adding another one of my own. So that means: Farm, Fairytale, Vintage (1900’s,) Super Powers, Zombie Apocalypse, and Harry Potter World Klaine with a splash of a fic idea I thought of while in the produce section of the grocery store. Each week, the story will continue, though each part stands alone. This is not a brilliant work of perfectly composed fan fiction. What it is, is fast-paced, cracky fun, with a large dose of innuendo. At least it had my son laughing his ass off. I hope y'all enjoy it too. :)

[rq-s]

Title: Falling Down 

Pairing: Xu Minghao / NB!Reader

Genre: Light Angst & Platonic OR Romantic

Word Count: 2.9k+

Warnings: None. However, I do interpret the timeline and meaning of his lyrics loosely. I can’t and don’t claim that it’s the “correct” way to do so; he wrote it to be ambiguous for a wide audience to enjoy. Please watch the Falling Down Making Film for clarity.

Credits: ENG Translation of Falling Down 

Summary: You and Minghao have been consistent penpals since 2004, sharing each other’s cultures, languages, passions, and lives as you both grew up. 2014 came around and letter from him only came in 4 times, and only 1 in 2015. The last this you ever heard from him read he was a bird in a cage.

Notes: Italic = letter  ... = omitted letter content 

My Masterlist

Spring 2004

“How about this one, honey?” Mom handed me a postcard from a spot on the rack that I couldn’t reach. The large font caught my attention and told me it was a landscape picture of the closest national park. Though nothing in the picture was recognizable, it reminded me of camping, which made me smile despite having never been before.

“Sure.” Was all I said, and I followed her as she pushed our full shopping cart to the register and began chatting with the cashier.

Like usual, I quickly put the postcard on the conveyor belt along with the groceries. As soon as it was empty, I went to the bagging station and put the scanned and bagged items back into the cart. Making sure to the boxes and cartons together neatly like Tetris, careful not to squish the bread.

“What a diligent little kid you have!” The cashier spoke, her voice worn with age, but with a sense of joy that reminded me of a stereotypical grandmother.

“She always says I do it wrong.” Mom joked, smirking at me. She never did let go of my “If you want it done right, do it yourself.” attitude I had even as a kid.

 Mom finished paying, and we went put into the chilly morning air of the parking lot that was made even colder by the shadow of the supermarket. I once again moved the bags from the cart to the trunk and brought the cart to the nearest drop off spot while Mom started the car.

The ride home was mostly silent, save for the sound of the road beneath the wheels and the hum of the heater.

“Thanks for letting me do the penpal thing, Mom.”

“You’re welcome, but remember the deal; you get more chores to do. You’re 7 years old now, you can handle doing the dishes by yourself, right?” The tone of her voice was completely serious, but I couldn’t help but laugh.

“I’ve been helping with the dishes for years, and I’ve learned from the best. I’ve got this!”

 When we got home, I scoured the bags for that postcard, and luckily it was only bent on one corner. I wrote down bit of info about that park - whatever Google told me, and set it aside. I grabbed the template application from my school binder and filled in the blanks. 

Hello! My name is _____________, I’m __ years old, and I am from ________! I am learning Mandarin, but I’m still a beginner. I hope to learn more about your culture and language as we exchange letters!

For now, I will tell you a bit about myself. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Along with this letter is a postcard and other information about where I am from!

I hope to hear from you soon!

Signed,

_____________

It was a pretty basic template that we had to copy from, and in retrospect, it was cringy as all heck, but it had to be formatted juuust right and follow the guidelines exactly, or the penpal program admin’s wouldn’t accept it.

From what I was told, someone from China who’d also applied and been approved would be paired with me, based on age and interests. Only this first letter was prewritten. Once we were paired up, the letters themselves and the mailing of them was up to me and my family. 

I was lucky I got a match at all, most of the kids in my class didn’t. I learned pretty quickly why: I was the only one who put “dancing” as an interest.  

Summer 2007

...

This was a frog I found at the lake! Mom got mad that I touched it, and when it jumped out of my hands and back into the water, it got mud all over us!! 

Later we had a barbecue and some other campers came buy, but their kids were teenagers and didn’t wanna play with me, so here is a picture of me pouting in the tent instead of having fun. 

...

This is the last one, when we finally got home from the long car ride. we all were sunburned really bad, but it looks like you can see freckles on my face because of it! 

Whenever either of us would go on trips, even just to the water park or to a festival, we’d take Polaroid pictures to send. Most the earlier pictures Minghao sent were of him at tournaments, then they turned into selfies from after dance practice. It wasn’t until they were in their teens that he began to take more artsy pictures, with the occasional selfie thrown in. He’d always put at least one polaroid in each envelope, and photography quickly became one of the many things he excelled at. 

Winter 2010

…

And I still can’t believe you were on TV!! Twice!!! All these letters… I can use them as blackmail someday when you’re a superstar! Muahah!!

I’m not nearly as good as you still, but Miss Lilly says my footwork has gotten a lot better! I wish you could teach me, but words don’t have the same effect as seeing it. I doubt I’d get it even if you tried to explain… and don’t even think about trying to teach me any martial arts, my brain will melt!!

…

My letters were always a bit longer than Minghao’s, and were full of run on sentences and unorganized thoughts. He was always clear and concise, yet sensitive. He always gave strong and encouraging advice on my Mandarin, but my English tips barely seemed to help him. I always cared more about getting to know him and telling my own stories than about practicing. Though, I don’t know what stories I had worth telling as a 13 year old. We contrasted each other a lot, and Mom said it made us a better fit for each other.

It wasn’t a weekly thing, but we always wrote when we could and has a steady back and forth. Sometimes the envelopes were thick, with many pages, postcards, candies, cool leaves or rocks we’d found, songs we had been listening too; things we cared about and wanted to share. But sometimes they were thin, barely a page long, with hastily written characters and a sincere apology. Both made me smile the same just the same – both showed how much he cared.

 Spring 2012

Perhaps it was because we were the same age, and despite not meeting, had spent so much time together. He somehow always understood me, and never made jokes when I was opening up about the less fun sides of life. He went at his own pace, and it took quite some time, but he eventually felt comfortable doing the same.

…

I’ve worked so hard for this, I know I’m capable, but I’m genuinely terrified. But I’m excited, too. I feel so overwhelmed and I don’t feel like I can tell anyone, they’ll worry, or they’ll tell me I shouldn’t do it.

I want to try. I want to be on that stage and in that tournament and I want to come out having earned something.

…

 Fall 2012

 Congratulations!! Now I can brag that I know THE Xu Minghao who won 8th at a WORLD DANCE COMPETITION!!!! I knew you’d do great. Yeah, you were nervous, but your hard work showed through!

As soon as I read the news online, I was so happy. Eight is a good number, right? I think It suits you. Even when you're laying down, you have infinite potential! That’s you, Xu Minghao, Number 8, my best friend.

Come to think of it, it's been about 8 years since we met, hasn’t it? it must be some sort of prophecy!!! Haha I’m kidding, but seriously… That’s more than half our lives. We’ve spent knowing each other half of the time we’ve even been on this Earth!

I’m really glad I know you, Minghao. I’d be lonely without your letters, I think. I hope I make your days brighter, like you make mine. I hope we never forget about each other.

 It was rare for me to get so sentimental, but he needed someone to be his fan, and I wanted to be the best fan of Xu Minghao I could be. Not to say I was the first, like I would joke about doing, but because he deserves it. I knew it from the way he talked about training, that he’d make himself a star someday, no matter what.

Because of this, though, it was this letter and onward that we stopped doing the copies and corrections. I noticed myself missing his teasing marks on my papers, or the cheeky smiley faces he’d draw when I did well. We stopped sending trinkets and polaroids too, so each envelope felt a lot emptier.

 Spring 2013

I’m really going to Korea now… The flight is in a few days, I’ll send you another letter from the new address as soon as I get there, so please wait for it!

…

I had bad dreams back then, about how things would be different, slower and distant. His letters were a significant part of my life, and I was afraid to lose that. Yet I was surprised he was even allowed to keep sending me letters. Retrospectively thinking though, it wasn’t like he wasn’t allowed to write to his family.

Was I like family to him back then?

 Winter 2013

I’m sorry for not writing you back sooner. The company has been really busy with Seventeen TV starting. I’ve been practicing a lot, I barely have time to eat or sleep, let alone sit down and write. There’s barely anyone around who knows Mandarin, and I’m still just learning how to make sentences in Korean, and they call me Myungho… Those who I can talk to are all boys, but they’re my friends, and possible group members, so I shouldn’t mind.

I miss your handwriting. Sometimes I reread our old letters, and notice that we’ve changed so much. But I keep every memory, did you know that?

I always feel better quickly. When I think about being on a stage, having fans singing with us and cheering for me… It makes me so happy that I cry, sometimes. But then I can’t help but think, “Will it ever be me? Or will I just dream of being there, and someone else will get the chance?”

That’s usually when I find one of your letters. The one you sent on my birthday a couple months ago, that you sprayed with that citrus scent? It’s my favorite, I relax so much when I read it. It reminds me of home, somehow.

I’ll try to write more often, I’m sure you’ve been patiently waiting. Let’s exchange pictures again, it’s been a while, right? I just really miss you.

 Was he like family to me? No… I think, back then at least, it was something special for me.

Summer 2014

Hey! I haven't heard from you since April! I miss you a lot, but I know you must be really busy. I’ve been trying to watch the previous Seventeen TV episodes when I can, the other boys seem funny and nice. I hope they all take care of you, like you say Junhui has been.

I’m always wishing you sweet dreams, I worry about how you’ve been. I wish I’d have asked for your phone number or email or something before, but now that you’re so busy and under a big company… I just hope these letters and postcards reach you well.

…

Fall 2014

…

Also, they’ve been saying I’ll qualify to be on SeventeenTV soon. The others are hoping it’s a sign that we’ll get to debut soon. You’ll watch it, right?

Things are looking bright for me and my brothers here, but I can’t help but feel full of dread. I can’t pinpoint why. Junhui said it might be stage fright, but I don’t feel afraid.

I know they all support me, and I support them, but I feel like I might disappear, and not even you would remember me. I know its not true but it’s what I’m feeling.

…

Winter 2014

I SAW YOU!! I watched it as soon as it released, I didn’t understand what most of them were saying without English subtitles, but I could understand you, and I saw you! I’m so proud of you Minghao, you’re an official member of Seventeen!! You’ve been working so hard, I’m sure you’re exhausted. Please try and take time to rest and heal before debut, all of you need it!

…

Spring 2015

May 26th 2015. That is the day I debut. I know we haven't talked much, but I hope you’ll be there in spirit. Thinking about you cheering for me makes it easier to handle. I’ll fight for you, for me, for them, and for us. I’ll try, even though things feel like they’re ending.

I’m going to be busier than before. I’m not sure about the contract, but I’ll try to still get letters out. For now, have this. Thank you for everything.

A layer of grey I can't escape Walls built of fear are colored all over with red Who will listen to the sound from the bottom of my heart at the end of the world(/day) There's no one by my side Flee Flee

The world is collapsing, shattering, breaking I can't find love at all So why why why (Where will I ) fall, where Hidden by the dark clouds, helpless and pitiful Can't feel myself, light is lost Before the end of the world(/day), (I'm) yelling, sounds of pain But there's no one by my side Flee Flee

The world is collapsing, shattering, breaking After I disappear completely, (you) won't realize I once existed Why why why (Where will I ) fall, where Falling endlessly, falling in silence What did I ever do wrong

Missing someone you’ve never met is an entirely separate kind of heartbreak. I began to doubt every single thought and feeling I had, every single word I wrote, everything began to bleed between imagination, ideal, and reality. 

The Minghao I watched on the screen wasn’t the Minghao I knew, and I started to wonder if I ever truly knew him in the first place. I felt like a fool, and even then, I continued to be foolish. I wanted to believe I knew what he meant; that I understood him, but as the years went on, I got more and more lost.

They won awards, they went on variety shows, they released albums, they went on tours. They traveled, they worked, and they grew. I needed to believe I knew him, but Minghao and The8 are not the same. And as I grew to love The8, Minghao began to fade into the back of my mind. When I watched him try to express himself beyond his stage persona, each time I saw flashes of a beautiful bird locked in a rusted cage.

I always kept the letters.

They’re my private collection of memories between he and I. They were the only way I knew it was real. I could run my fingers over his handwriting, feel how he sometimes pressed too hard and left marks in the paper. I could see how the paper and ink warped when he accidentally got tears on it. I could look at his pictures from his childhood and know what he was thinking as he took it. 

I knew him.

Summer 2020

Hey, Minghao. It’s me, do you still remember my handwriting? Maybe it’s changed... No, I know it has, because I’ve changed as a person. It feels strange, I know what you’ve been up to, but you might’ve even forgotten my name. But I feel in my heart that you havn’t. Maybe thats wishful thinking.

Anyway, I’m so proud of you Minghao. You’re a superstar, just like you dream of being back when you first started dancing. You’ve become part of a family, and have so many fans cheering for you every single day. Congratulations!!

…

5 years. Does the smell of citrus still remind you of home? Of me? Maybe it just reminds you of the hard times you had back then. But I guess you’ve been reminiscing about that a lot lately?

I watched the video as soon as it came out, and I was shaking as soon as I heard your voice. That song isn’t a special piece of yourself that you shared with me anymore, but it’s part of your story for the whole world to see, and you told it so well.

...

I miss you.

It was finally time.

It was a fairly thick envelope, inside were many postcards of where I’ve been, quickly written notes as I reacted to songs and memorable moments, and full-length letters that never got sent.

It was so surreal to sit in front on him at this panel. He looks just like he did as a kid, but more refined, stronger inside and out. His aura intimidated me like I was seeing a skyscraper touch the clouds for the first time, and yet he maintained eye contact with me like I was a dandelion about to be blown away with the breeze.

“It’s me, Minghao.” The words barely drifted from my mouth, but they struck him like lightning as realization stealing his breath away. For a moment I saw his eyes twinkle, and the corners of this lips twitch.

A member of staff took the envelop away from him; he barely was able to read the label.

My time would be up soon.

His fingers intertwined with mine and he opens my photobook to his page with his free hand, looking down for only a moment to sign it.

The next Carat was nudging my shoulder already.

“Not yet.” I whispered both to them and to him with a squeeze of his hand. He did the same, like a beat of the heart, and then released. I watched his chest rise and fall with a deep breath as he gave the next fan the same focus and care he gave me. 

I forced a smile on my face as I scooted over.

Did he truly realize it was me? Why could I feel his heart beating faster from the tips of his fingers? Did he want to contact me all this time, or had he chosen to stop and was scared to tell me? Did he miss me too?  

My smile was only fake for a moment, though.

I was meeting his second family for the first time, after all, I needed to make a good impression. After years of keeping up with the group, it should have been easier to feel comfortable, and to be happy like the others.

Yet my hands continued to shake, their faces blurred and the sounds around me went quiet. My senses went in and out of focus like waves reaching and leaving the shore.

The warmth and the texture of his hand stained mine, and as i stared down at it after going back to my seat in the crowd, it felt alien. His hands are same hands that have been writing my name on every envelope for so many years...

I felt like I was falling.

[luckystarchild]

2020 Retrospective

Thanks to Tumblr’s archive function and my constant posting, it’s easy to recap how 2020 went for me. Let’s take a look below the cut.

In late December of 2019, I came off of an unplanned 7-month hiatus, bringing LC back into active posting status on its third birthday. Updates continued throughout 2020, no more unplanned hiatuses in sight.

In February I was apparently very stressed, I think from work. But I started updating Daughters of Destiny again after a long break, and I ended up finishing that story this year. I think it’s my favorite thing I’ve written as Star Charter.

In March, Lucky Child reached the climax of the Dark Tournament arc. We also celebrated Lucky Child’s 100th chapter, an enormous milestone I’m still shocked we reached! I also went into lockdown this month. I thought I’d be back to work in a few months, but here we are on New Year’s Eve and there is no word on when I (or anyone else) will be returning to normal life.

Also in March, I also took it upon myself to try to begin “Lucky’s Ask Marathon of 2020,” in which I answered answer DOZENS of asks in a short time in an attempt to clean out my askbox… but answering them is like rolling a boulder up a hill, and even though I answered nearly 80 asks, I still have 200+ in my inbox.

In April, I tortured all of you with cliffhangers (seriously, the number of all-caps Asks was hilarious) as NQK’s secret came out at long last. I also wrote more than 55k words that month, apparently! Additionally, I completed Daughters of Destiny and Scooby Doo, Where Are Yu-Yu?

May marked the introduction of Animal Crossing into my life! I also made a bunch of memes that characterized the YYH characters based on their quarantine habits, which was a ton of fun. On a somber note, this month was characterized by Black Lives Matter protests across the US. I volunteered driving protestor’s home from the county jail. I was angry that month. I still am.

June continued in the vein of May. I pissed off some readers by talking about BLM, but I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

In July, the reality of COVID really sank in, hard. I was quite depressed. Anti-maskers were flooding my social feeds with ignorance, and not being able to see my family for July 4 (an annual tradition) hurt.

In August, 2020!NQK was born as a result of the impact of COVID, civil unrest, and the other disasters that have made 2020 so infamous. RIOT CHILD is perhaps the most collaborative project I’ve ever worked on, and putting it together was a nice distraction (ironically) from 2020 itself.

September was an exciting month! NQK collapsed and visited her home world, prompting wild speculation from readers that I thoroughly enjoyed, and it was also my birthday! Tom had a moment in the spotlight; I answered many asks about him in the wake of his starring role in that month’s LC chapters… also my water main burst that month, and it was awful.

In October, I wrote Scribbled in Secret, which I think is my favorite prompt collection yet and something I’m quite proud of. NQK’s powers also debuted as of chapter 116, revealing the plan I’d been hiding for years now.

In November I went on hiatus so write for NaNoWriMo. It was nice to take a break and recharge.

December heralded another pipe explosion just like the one I had in December 2019. I hope to NOT make this an annual tradition. But speaking of traditions, we explored Christmas traditions in “A Very Keirama Christmas,” which debuted for the Christmas season. I also talked more about my gender and became more comfortable with my ID.

I wish I had some big conclusions to draw about this year, but… I don’t. I’m proud of myself for keeping to a schedule and finishing some projects, and I’m immensely proud of how much I’ve written. And yet, I still feel like I didn’t progress through LC as much as I wanted, biweekly instead of weekly updates slowing the release of the story’s many chapters.

Still, this wordcount is nice.

In 2021, I hope to continually peck away at LC. I’d like to get more work done on RIOT CHILD, as it’s rather time-sensitive, and I want to do another prompt collection. Basically so long as I keep on at this steady pace, I’ll be happy in 2021.

Happy New Year to all of you, and see you next year.

[bvannn]

Weekly Update April 12, 2024

This week was awful. I’ve been bogged down with homework, surgery sickness briefly returned, my congenial illness was flaring up the worst I’ve seen in since my 2022 surgery, and to top it all off I still have 3 lab reports and a paper and presentation to do this weekend. It’s fine but it does mean I am a bit limited with my art stuff. I’m still doing what I can though.

Comic progress: page 1 is completely done, page 2 needs some backgrounds and lettering and it’s good to go. I probably could do those tonight and maybe if my mood improves I will but for now I’m taking it slowly. The third page will probably also be pretty quick, as from what I remember it didn’t have a lot of panels. Progress is going as fast as I can handle with my situation. I’d like to think it’ll pick up once I graduate but I’m anticipating I’ll need a break. When I graduated high school I slept for 25 hours straight (unless my clocks were wrong or I misinterpreted, which is possible), I anticipate doing the same again for Uni. After that I’m hoping I’ll pick up the pace.

Animation: my limited time has put the animation in a weird spot because I don’t have enough time to draw storyboards, but I have had time in waiting rooms and waiting for things to cook in lab, and I’ve been writing out a plan for what shots I want where and when, so I’m still making progress. I just need there to be a span of time where I have the free time and my body is in a state where I can draw well enough for the storyboards. Admittedly I’m really bad at storyboards and everything gets cleaned up with animation after, but I haven’t decided yet if there’s enough shots with the type of movement to justify making a puppet rig. I anticipate one for a profile view but am unsure if it needs to be a complete rig or if I’ll need the other angles. Again I’m not as worried about it right now, since that’ll be dictated by the storyboards.

Other songs: In addition to the cover I’m sitting on right now I’m also close to done with another, plus almost done with that instrumental medley. Also got more lyric work done for the two originals I’ve been sitting on. Last night I tried some piano to try to relax, and to practice melody writing. On a good night I can write a single melody line in 20 minutes, which I think is pretty good, and now I have a couple more I’m sitting on, which I’ll likely turn into OC themes, but only after everything else is finished. I’ll try to time myself on the rest of the music making process so I can be more consistent, but again I’m waiting on free time.

The other thing I did this week was writing. A bit of OC story writing, and a bit of TTRPG writing. I’m still a little stuck with the third chapter but I got through the worst of it, just need to come up with some thematic encounters and on to chapters 4 and 5. I’ve been back on a low level of epithet erased Brainrot since I’m finally trying to read Prison of Plastic, so I’m hoping I can channel that into writing, but it’s mostly been theorycrafting about the future of the OG series. The more I think about it the more sure I am that Sylvie is going to join Bliss Ocean and be a villain. Anyway I’m writing that campaign, good chance it’s a ways off yet but it’ll presumably be done during a time where I have more free time anyway, so I’ll just write it up proper then. Other writing thing I’d want to put more effort into would be a pitch comic for my secondary OC story since people really seem to be interested in those characters, but outlining the overall story will come naturally and from there I’ll find the most natural starting point. I’m not thinking too hard, I’m very bad at thinking.

Next week my objective is going to be to survive. My body is having a lot of problems and schoolwork is piling up (two events that are probably related but it’s fine that means they’ll go away around the same time) and anything else I can do will be comic, finish second cover song, and storyboards, in that order of priority, while lower effort projects will be storyboard planning, lyric writing, and story/TTRPG writing, in that order of priority. I’ll still try to have enough small drawings to post but looks like you guys are getting tired of those so I’ll try to space them out a bit better. Thank you for being so patient, I promise it’ll be three more weeks most of this slump before I pick up and really get working again!

[clownbasedintrigue]

You and I // cryptalore

as part of @apex-legends-champion‘s writing collaboration, for @kamizaki-53,

bangalore/crypto, prompt word ‘singer’, sfw

more under the break

words: 2,713

note: this was meant to be out a lot earlier (think like, three or four months ago) but with everything going to absolute shit where i am, as well as personal happenings, this fell to the wayside. very to the wayside. sorry about that :/

the song used is ‘you and i’ by barns courtney, but i wouldn’t suggest listening to it as you read, the pacing i had in mind for the fic is not the same as the actual song. just keep that in mind. however, it’s a good song so i DO suggest listening to it beforehand.

this might eventually end up on ao3, if i get the chance. if so, i’ll link it. i also scrapped about another 2k words from this because they just didnt fit the way i wanted them to. if i find the energy, i plan to make that into a fic as well.

ft. gratuitous headcanons and dubious hacking

--------------------

“We’re sitting ducks up here, any rookie with a scope could pick us off.” she says, but judging by the way she leans back against the air conditioning unit, she’s not bothered by the idea.

Crypto hums in response, and tucks his legs underneath him. She’s not wrong, the wide expanse of desert does nothing to obscure their spot on the rooftop. As worrying as that would be anywhere else, his drone hovers above them, constantly scanning. If there’s anyone around, the drone will tell them.

Pulling the bag between them into his lap, which they filled with drinks and snacks before escaping to the quiet of the roof, he digs through it, hands closing around two glass bottles. He passes one off to Bangalore, and rests the other beside him as he rifles around for the bottle opener.

They rest out here sometimes. When the noise of social nights or tenseness of a newcomer makes the compound unwelcoming. The flat concrete and the surrounding sand offers peace and quiet, something the building below them often lacks. The quiet is a welcome relief.

Emerging triumphantly with the opener, he goes to pass that, too, to her, only to realize she already has the edge of her utility knife wedged underneath the cap. A bit of leverage, and it flies off with a pop, bouncing further across the rooftop and landing with the din of metal on concrete. They watch it in silence. The weight of the bottle opener-now obsolete-resting solidly in his palm.

Bangalore holds out her hand to him. He blinks, sets the bottle opener down, and softly places his atop her opened one, feeling the way hers have calloused from her work. The impressions left behind by years of artillery work and battle not having faded yet.

She turns to face him with raised eyebrows, “The bottle, TJ.”

Oh. He huffs a breath at her, stomach twisting at the abbreviated use of his real name, nervous butterflies and anxiety alike. It’s not something he hears often. Hasn’t, since Mila happened. He’s not sure how wise using it is, but he can’t say he doesn’t like it.

Before he can pull his hand back, she laces her fingers with his and drags it down to rest between them. His nerves turn to warmth as he gives her the bottle with his other hand, and relishes in the feeling of her palm on his.

What they have is quiet, on the down-low, moments stolen in the corner of the dropship when no one’s watching, or gentle nights like this, sitting away from the rest of the legends.

The clatter of the bottle cap draws his attention back to her, and taking the bottle from it’s spot wedged between her knees, Anita sneaks a swig before handing it to him. With the utility knife safely covered and slipped back into her boot, she leans into his side.

They sip at their drinks underneath the tranquil sky. Double moons, and stars bright enough to light up the area, the night was clear and the breeze was crisp.

Through their silence, the bass of the music in the common room reaches them, though barely. Three stories up, not a lot makes it up here, save for stray sand and the occasional legend looking for a quiet space. But tonight had been movie night, and those rarely stay quiet.

Movie night is a time where a few of them make a snack run at noon to the city, and the others pick a host of movies to watch. When the snack runners get back, usually a few hours later, they all have ‘dinner’, if junk food and sugar can count as dinner, and from ‘dinner’ to midnight, they feast, watch, and argue about the others’ lack of taste in movies. A weekly routine he’s gotten used to. Looks forward to, almost.

Even though neither of them are particularly shy about public affection, they never hesitate to take advantage of movie night, the dark of the room during which allows for the two to lean against each other, hold hands, and sneak quiet kisses without the others noticing.

Tonight, they had sat for the movie, as they usually did, and slipped into the hall before the last movie ended. Things could get loud afterwards. After a quick raid of the kitchen, and grabbing a few things from their room, including blankets, they made for the roof. Which had led to them sitting up here, with only the company of the moons, themselves, and TJ’s drone, perched up high, keeping a watchful eye from the sky.

Lowly, music drifts up from the commons room. it’s muffled by laughter and concrete, but not so much that they cannot hear the vague baritone of the singer.

“They must’ve opened the balcony,” Crypto murmurs in displeasure, resting his head on her shoulder, “The quiet was better,”

“Yeah, I’m with you,” Anita falls silent, leaning her head on top of his and drinking in the melody. She pulls back for a moment, her brows scrunch and her gaze drifts away as she focuses in on the music. He lifts his head, and as he’s about to ask what’s wrong, she speaks, softly.

“I think I know this song.”

Crypto shuts his mouth and strains to listen. He hears the beat, the tune, although the actual words elude him. The notes lead each other in a waltz, music twirling out off the balcony into the desert air, a lullaby, or maybe a love ballad. He doesn’t know where it’s from, and it’s different from his usual taste, but Anita must enjoy it, from the way she sways and nods along to it

She smiles at him and relaxes, taking a drink from her bottle and resting back on the metal, closing her eyes. Her mouth moves with the words of the song, reciting a long-engrained memory.

When the chorus peters out, she is left humming to the bridge. The double moons cast double lights onto her upturned face, silhouetting the slope of her nose, brows, and soft cheeks. The moonlight paints silver on her skin, every ridge and bone reflecting the glimmer of the night sky.

“Sounds like something we used to play at home. Could be wrong, though,” she says, setting the bottle at her side. Crypto sets his aside as well, turning his full attention to her.

”Back on Gridiron, we had this crate of discs,” Bangalore mimes a box with her hands, “Along with this vintage radio. An old hunk of a thing, big as the box itself, and just about as functional. They were our grandma’s, from her grandma, and hers before that. They’ve been in the family forever.”

Looking out over the desert, she continues, “You’d put in one of the discs, and it’d play music. Old stuff. Back from when they still made ‘em. Don’t see them around much anymore. I used to pick them up anytime I saw one, maybe in salvage or a second-hand store, and add it to the box. Then when Thanksgiving came around, or some other family dinner, we’d dig out the box and try out all the new ones. We all had a blast dancing around drunk on moonshine and full of cake.”

She tears her eyes away from the skyline, and turns to him, “I miss it, y’know. Them, mostly, but the little things too. Being able to annoy the hell out of my brothers. Grandma’s red velvet. The tacky oldies music, especially.”

Crypto nods, solemn, and reaches out to cup her cheek, fingertips brushing over her cheekbones. Losing family-it’s a pain he understands well, just not one he can fix. Or would even know how. Anita rests her hand atop his and tips her face against his palm. She knows this, knows their shared pain, knows how he wants to do something about it. Right now, what happened to their families is a wrong that can’t be righted. Though he wishes there was something he could do to ease the weight of it. For both of them.

Ideas strike him like lightning. He jerks up, nearly knocking his drink over, and pulls his hand away, already putting it to use digging through their backpack before Anita can so much as blink.

”Hold on,” Crypto says, and when she reaches out to him, he looks up at her, “Trust me.”

She watches with fond confusion as he pulls out what he was searching for. His laptop, which he flips open and boots up. It takes a minute, fingers tapping on its side in the meantime. As soon as the screen comes to life, he sets about finding the artist. He can, at the least, do this much.

Pulling up code, he types a bit, scrolls through the numbers some, and slips into the compound’s encrypted network like it’s butter and his weapon of choice is a hot knife. From there, it’s a matter of getting past the password-locked music app, and pulling up the corresponding artist’s page, which he slides over to her when he’s done.

“There, not hard to do,” he leans back into Anita as she adjusts the laptop to rest in her lap, “You said you recognized the music. Is that them?”

The real-time display totes the current song in the bottom corner, while a dark page lists the artist at the top, along with their songs below. Words scroll past as Anita takes control of the touchpad and flicks down the list. Eyebrows drawn together in focus, she scans page.

With a hum, and without taking her eyes off the screen, she says to Crypto, “The problem’s not that I don’t remember the songs, it’s that I don’t remember the titles. There’s a few that use the choruses as titles, I think. I’ll look for those.”

When she doesn’t seem to remember any right away, he presses a kiss to her cheek, and settles down onto her shoulder, content to stay snuggled into her side for the time being.

They stay like that for a while, nothing but the click of the keyboard and quiet music as one song ends and another begins. It’s peaceful, and if they weren’t out in the open like this, he’d have fallen asleep where he was.

Eventually, the arm underneath him jostles upward, and her warm voice calls him.

“TJ,” he lifts his head to see Anita gazing gently at him, “I found one.” He rubs his eyes and shifts upward off his place against her shoulder as she hits play.

The current song cuts off abruptly, causing a chorus of objections and confused cries to erupt from below. After a moment, the meandering music fades in and drifts above the stray noise, leaving them with only each other. Anita hums along, and Tae Joon feels his heart thrum.

“Used to dance to this one with my mom. It’s her favorite,” she pulls herself to her feet and holds out her hand to him, “C’mon. Can’t not dance to it.”

Crypto hesitates, arm half-risen at his side. He doesn’t dance. He doesn’t know how to, at least not the way she wants to. The closest he’s ever gotten to dancing is with Mila, bouncing around their shared room at a young age, or trying to learn choreographies with her, and badly, as Mystik watched from the doorway. But that was a long time ago, and they were young. This is different.

He’s about to say no, that he’d only make a fool out of himself, when she kneels down and takes his hands in hers.

She doesn’t pull him up, instead she brings them to her lips, humming still. Ever so lightly, she brushes the back of his hand with a kiss, and his stomach flips. Distantly, he realizes there’s someone singing, in the song, though it’s too quiet to make out the words. More presently, he realizes Anita is singing along, lowly, quietly, against his skin.

“Suitcase in your hand,” it comes out warmly, and his words catch in his throat as he feels her lips move, “Wave goodbye to mom and dad.”

That’s ironic, he’s pretty sure.

She turns it over, and presses a tender kiss to his palm, “Never thought I would see the back of you.”

Her voice is his favorite sound in the world, he decides. In a more poetic moment, he’d describe it as sugar and amber, like the sweet syrup she puts too much of on her pancakes, or the rising sun drifting through their window in the morning. For now, it takes his breath away and leaves his heart hammering.

She rises, and pulls him up. This time, he goes with her. He doesn’t need any more convincing.

“Mixtape’s wearing down,” she pulls him close and he takes a moment to reflect on how perfectly their hands fit together, “Crystal ships are sailing out.”

They’re close enough that he can feel her breath on his face when she sings, “Now the doors are opening for you.”

When she takes a step back away from their seat, and towards the flat expanse of the rest of the roof, he follows without question.

Hand in hand, she leads him out as she sings, “I wanna swim, swim out into the dark night,” each footstep in sync with the song.

“I wanna melt you down into the stars,” they take slow, deliberate steps. It’s in time with the steady flow of the music, low notes like a heartbeat.

“I wanna crumble, tumble, like a landslide.” as they reach the wide, open portion of the roof, she stops. One hand slips free of his, and finds its way to rest on his neck, fingers brushing over the shaved stubble of his undercut

She rests their foreheads together, and sings, “I wanna live, die, wherever you are.”

Crypto thrills at the touch, as he always does, and untangles his other hand to rest it tentatively at her waist. Yet again, he wonders how he got so lucky.

She dips down and brushes the corner of his mouth with a ghost of a kiss, “Just you and I.”

As the singer echoes the ending of the phrase, she presses her lips to his in a firm kiss that he doesn’t hesitate to return. With each ‘you and i’ that the song brings, she kisses him again. Peppers him with affection as they sway to the tune. A kiss to the cheek, the corner of his mouth, his nose, his lips again.

“Just you and I,” she hums against him before she pulls back, “Just you and I.”

Her thumb sweeps over his cheek as she cups his chin, her enamored gaze never leaving his. They sway in place to the music, and as the singing fades out, she hums to the tune.

In a way, he still can’t believe that he’s with her. He doesn’t know how a man like him ends up with someone like her.

She starts to sing again, voice sweet as honey, “Lovesick melody, carry my words across the sea.”

She looks at him like he’s the stars, eyes full of admiration and awe.

“Tell her I miss her,” her thumb drifts over his lips, “Tell her I’m torn in two.”

In the pit of his stomach, he has a feeling this is where he’s supposed to be.

��Salt burns in my eyes, none of these streets feel right tonight.”

Because being with her? It’s a tether in a storm, a lull in the chaos. It’s home.

“I’ll be your wild man, you’ll be my baby blue,” and when she kisses him again, he can feel her smile.

He loves it when she smiles, so he pulls her back in, and kisses her. Again, and again, and again, and he doesn’t stop. Not even as the song slips into the chorus again. The laugh she makes as he digs his fingers into her coat to keep her close, it’s enchanting, and he thinks, briefly, that hearing it again is worth any price.

He thinks that he’d do just about anything for her, anything to keep that smile on her face, anything to hear her sing again. Anything to remain by her side.

And then he stops thinking, because he’s back to kissing her, and that is far more important.

[loopy777]

I got an anonymous Ask that seems to be inquiring, in a roundabout fashion, about my methods for focusing on a single work and finishing it, but it mentions another author in a manner that I consider to be insulting, so I’m not going to directly reply to it. It also helps that I’ve only sampled that author’s works (liking what I tried) and haven’t had the time to read more, so I can’t even begin to analyze the author or guess at her methods.

What I will do is share my patented Loopy’s 8-Step Guide to Finishing Fanfic Projects! Follow these steps, and you can’t go wrong!

1. Don’t have any kind of social life. This step is critical. Don’t have friends you hang out with, don’t have romances, don’t have spouses, don’t have kids, don’t go to parties. You are allowed to attend geek conventions and celebrate holidays, and sometimes watch Youtube videos, but only about once a month. I am anti-social and the only family I have relying on me are all at least my age, so I can devote all my free time to planning and writing fanfic, if I desire. No, I’m not joking. I’m just wording this in a humorous fashion so that people don’t feel sorry for me. Yoink!

2. Plan it all out The writing phase is no time to be figuring out what happens next. Writing is hard enough. Do yourself a favor and figure out every major portion of the plot, and the vague connecting tissue, so that when you’re writing you can focus on word choice, scene staging, pacing, etc. I find it helps to outline the whole story first. Then I outline the smaller phases in more detail, focusing on the earlier portions because I’m inevitably going to change my mind about things as I write. I outline each chapter as I’m getting ready to write it, and for important conversations, I outline the points that each character needs to hit in between the banter. Having a plan means you have a guide into dangerous territory. It also means you have a plan that you can throw away in a dash of inspiration, and that’s always fun!

3. Stick to a ruthless update schedule I recommend weekly or biweekly updates, because anything longer and I think there’s a risk of readers forgetting what your story is about. But the best thing about making the schedule paramount is that it’s a great way to force yourself to settle for Good Enough. Sure, maybe the writing could be better, but it’s time to update. Maybe events don’t feel natural enough, but it’s time to update. Maybe you need to sit down and completely rework this part of the plot, but it’s time to update. This works out because the dirty secret of storytelling is that quality doesn’t actually matter- at least, not in the short term, as you should also...

4. Design your story to fail Even when things have been going well -- great, even -- you can stumble right into a scene or a plot point that just isn’t providing what you want from it. If you could get over this hill, the story would flow again, but this one stupid scene is critical and it’s holding everything else up. Gah! So, instead of not updating your story until you can make this part work, just leave whatever you have and make the next part awesome. Readers will forget the mediocre part as soon as they get something good. Just make sure there’s more Good in your story than Mediocre, and definitely don’t end a chapter on Mediocre. This is why the planning portion is critical, so that you can line up a whole bunch of great scenes or plot points, rather than trying to play catch-up during the writing phase when you produce flat results.

5. Hide your failures This isn’t the same kind of failure in the previous step. Even if you plan it all out properly (or more likely because you got impatient and just jumped into writing for the fun of it), sometimes your stories aren’t going to work and don’t feel like they merit more of your attention. Maybe the words just refuse to flow with this idea, no matter which scene or part you try to work on. Maybe the plans that seemed so cool in summary or outline become stupid when written out. I might very well have as many aborted stories as the author mentioned in the original Ask, but the difference is that I didn’t post mine. They’re sitting on my hard-drive. Never to be seen. Even though some of them are pretty cool, if I do say so myself. Thus, as far as you people know, I have a 100% completion rate. Because the key to overcoming the odds is always cooking the books.

6. For longer works, train and plan for a marathon A lot of people think writing a novel is basically the same as writing a bunch of unconnected short stories, aside from a novel requiring a little more planning. This is wrong. It is, emotionally and creatively, the difference between running a marathon and running a bunch of sprints. I had to train my way up to writing long works, starting with short stories for a long time, expanding into novellas, and then a novel, and then a Doorstopper With More Words Than The Lord Of The Rings. And, even after I trained up to that level, I still had to plan out breaks. I had to identify which months of the year would leave me less writing time, and work that into my update schedule. I had to figure out which parts of the story would emotionally exhaust me, so that I would have time to recharge afterwards. I had to figure out a balance with other projects, such as Shipping Weeks, that I wanted to take on. I had to decide if I had enough time to even play that 100-hour video game that would be coming out next year, if I also wanted to keep my story updating. (Spoiler alert: I didn’t. Too bad, as people seemed to really like that game.) Writing long works is an endurance test, even if you only write in short bursts. And the only way to find the motivation for it is to...

7. Love your ending more than the rest of the story put together A lot of people make the mistake of having the ending of their story only being a tying up of plot threads. That is wrong. Yes, endings need to do that, but if that’s all they’re doing, then both you and the reader don’t have any motivation to actually read them. An ending that provides a satisfying resolution to a plot thread is also an ending that can probably be guessed by someone who has thought about that plot thread. That doesn’t mean you should try to make the ending a surprise or twist (unless you also like to do that, which I do), it means you need to give the ending the punch, the impact, the meaning that makes reading the final product so much more than reading a summary of the same events. You definitely shouldn’t have the best part of the story, the part you’ve been most motivated to write, in the middle. What keeps me going through all my stories is the desire to get to that ending and reveal it in proper form to the world, because I make my endings the point of the entire story. A whole novella about stealing trains is just to properly set up the moment when Mai reaches out to touch Zuko’s face for the first time. A world-spanning epic is just to set up the moment when Aang finds the ultimate use for his connections to other people. If the ending is the best part of the story, the part you believe in the most, then that’s the best possible motivation to get through the rest of it. However, there’s one more critical component that ties into this, and that’s to...

8. Love your whole story Yes, love the ending most of all, but if you don’t love all of it, then you still won’t have enough motivation to write the whole thing. While I am always eager to reveal the ending of my stories to the audience for that final, wonderful impact, I’m also always eager to reveal the next plot twist, the next character introduction, the next joke, the next fight scene, the next clue in the mystery, and so on. Whatever you’re writing is always the hardest part, but knowing that if you finish this, you’ll get to that- well, that’s the track that will get your train to the station. Because the key to writing is not to love writing. No one does, except maybe poets, and who cares about poetry? Writing is awful. I love storytelling, but I’ll never be able to draw and can’t do public speaking and can only admire music from afar (or through ignorant imitation), so I write. If we live in an age where an Old Storyteller would hang out in the town tavern and tell tales to the kids and the young at heart, I’d be doing that instead.

Or, at least, that’s how it all works for me. But I might not be right in the head.

[buckeverlasting]

Since I started posting weekly fic recs, people started messaging me, asking me to check out their writing and give feedback. I love finding new fics to read, but I don’t give feedback by request unless I’ve agreed to beta.* So, I thought I’d give a general response right here to anyone who wants my advice. I’d probably tell you something along these lines:

1. Read your writing out loud. 2. Use sensory details. 3. Make sure what you write is logistically sound. 4. Be a dialogue tag minimalist.

I would be wary of any advice that tells you that you should stick to those particular rules hard and fast. But in a lifetime of getting writing advice, I found only 4 tips I would save from a burning building. These are those tips. They’re not the only tips that matter, but they’re damn good foundational advice if you’re just getting started.

I explain each tip under the cut.

1. Read your writing out loud.

Better yet, have someone else read your writing aloud. When you hear your writing, all the mistakes and awkward phrases seem to jump out at you. You’ll naturally stumble over them, and you’ll know what areas need smoothing out.

2. Use sensory details.

Readers want something to latch onto, especially details involving the five senses. How did the wind feel against his cheek? How did the garbage smell when she walked through the alley? What kinds of sounds whistled through his ears when he stood on the city sidewalk? What exactly did the sunset look like? That kind of stuff: sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste. Using sensory details engage and excite readers and really draw them into your stories.

3. Make sure what you write is logistically sound.

Ask yourself if you can picture exactly what is happening in the story in your head based on the words that you’ve written. Can you? Why is she suddenly brushing his cheek with her fingertips if she just sat down a paragraph ago? At some point, she actually gets up out of the chair, crosses the room, and steps right up to him. If you can’t picture a scene clearly, chances are that your reader can’t either.

4. Be a dialogue tag minimalist.

Use dialogue tags sparingly, and when you do use them, keep them trim and simple. Use the word “said” when appropriate. Avoid uttered, confessed, cooed, whined, and the like. It’s distracting to the reader when a story begins to look like a thesaurus entry for the word “said.” You know why “said” is so great? It blends in with the tapestry of the story. If someone is shouting, it should be clear from the content of the dialogue that they’re shouting. Readers will understand when something is confessed or whined. Trust them.

Also, there are times when dialogue tags are completely unnecessary and just slow your pace. For example, in a back-and-forth exchange between two characters, dialogue tags are no longer needed once you’ve establish who’s speaking first and second. They are also unnecessary if an action precedes or follows dialogue. For example:

“I almost tripped.” She bent down to tie her shoelace.

That would be preferable to:

“I almost tripped,” she said, bending down to tie her shoelace.

If I were to add an #5 to this list, I would tell you to really make your dialogue count. Don’t waste it on saying hello and goodbye unless they are being said in new, interesting ways. #6 would be to avoid adverbs. I could go more into that later...

Thank you for reading the my rantings and ravings! Let me know if you have follow up questions regarding any of this!

*Also, I am now tracking #hufflebucky, so if you’d like me to see anything, use that tag in the first 20 tags. I can’t promise I’ll get to it, though.

[gwylliondream]

I love Vikings so much! I am going to post my recs for Athelnar fics to my Tumblr, in case anyone else is interested. I started making a Top 10 list, but there are just too many awesome fics in this fandom. I’m going to post them weekly, in alphabetical order. Kicking this off with All Yields Its Place by azryal: 

This fic takes the reader back to the wildly innocent days at the end of season 1, before the dreadful event of 3:6. It is fascinating to look at Floki through this author's untarnished eyes. He is a friend to Athelstan and a confidant. This is as refreshing to read, six years later, as it was the day it was posted- maybe more so because it makes the brand new Vikings fan yearn for the days when the unknown could be anticipated with exquisite joy as much as trepidation.

Athelstan is written beautifully in this, although his inaction is maddening. This draws the reader closer to him. When things are not spelled out, we are not guided in how to react to his characterization, we are left to develop our own impression of him and this is what works so well in the fic. There is a quality of eerieness about his sitting on the freezing Kattegat dock night after night.

His grief over Gyda and Leif, when voiced, is heartbreaking and palpable.

The author resolves this grief with a stunningly physical sex session between Ragnar and Athelstan. The physicality of this coupling is among the best I have even encountered in any fandom:

"Ragnar rose up on his knees, taking the lower half of Athelstan with him. He was bruising, punishing in his pace, but Athelstan took it all. Elbows sore, he dropped back down, heedless of the angle on his neck. His hands sought and found Ragnar’s legs and he held on as the heat built into a blaze and the blaze swept through him like lightning.

Then he was wet all over, patched in hot stickiness and limp as a dolly. Ragnar’s hold switched to his hips and the final thrusts were so hard that his shoulders slid back and forth across the floor. The man’s eyes closed. His teeth bared in a grimace. When his head fell back and a deep growl of satisfaction passed his lips, Athelstan breathed his name."

You can actually feel the scrape of wooden floor digging into the back of your shoulders! Top notch writing.