#karo ask

[sioster]

your number 1 top song + cwilbur? :3

C!Wilbur and It's Golden Hour Somewhere

[supernovaa-remnant]

christmas eve with you

dream & wilbur | gen | fluff & mild hurt/comfort | 3.6k words

@sioster hi karo!! I'm very pleased to announce that I had the privilege to be your secret santa for @dreblrsecretsanta :3

I was thrilled to be able to write this short little madduo one-shot for you, and I hope you enjoy it <3 merry christmas karo ily 💕💕

[prince-liest]

🦋🎉🤲 for the writing ask meme!!

🦋what are you most insecure about when you post a fic?

Usually it's less of an overt insecurity and more of a weird "I've been writing this too long and lost the ability to see it objectively and can no longer stand to look at it" adrenaline crash, so it's mostly a very general "Will people even like it?!" (sounds insane for me to question, all-considered) with a side of "Will it communicate what I wanted it to?" (less insane but also so far the answer's p much always been "yes, obviously").

🎉how often do you celebrate completing & posting a work? how often do you give yourself the credit/validation that you seek from others when you post? (if you don't, you should!)

Another confession that hopefully doesn't make me sound like a total asshole: I fully think that I am hot shit, HAHA, so despite what I just wrote above I generally spend most of my time like, "Yes, it's good because I made it good on purpose because I like and care about it!" hahaha. The ego contains multitudes, I guess, and I've gotten pretty alright at validating myself rather than looking for validation from others in this respect! Getting older helps.

I used to celebrate completing and posting a work more often, but less so over time, which is less because I think they're celebration-worthy and more because I write and post too fucking much at the moment for that to be reasonable. But finishing a multi-chapter fic or a series is always really fun!

From this ask meme!

[khudkifavourite]

oh tussi Punjabi ni ho? te main vi ni hu

mainu vi Punjabi gaane change lagde

te gurnaam bhullar mera favourite hero si

main oh di movie dekhda bss

tainu kon se gaane pasand hai... naam dass do mainu vi

vdia ji vdia!!! Gurnaam de gaane vi bo vdia hunde ne!!!!! Mainu te Ammy, Sargun te Tania di jodi bo sohni lgdi aa te audi movies vi, baki mainu Amrinder, Pav dharia, B Praak, Jaani (ik vo lyricist haiga par oda Apsara song) Hardy, Diljit, Karan, vi bo pasand aa. Aur vi kai saare haige ne.

Jis vi gaane ya movie ch' Jaani, Ammy, B Praak te Hardy hunde ae, aye mainu bo pasand aunde aa😭💗

(I have hit the audio limit, so If you wanna know more songs, ask again)

IF YOU HAVE HEARD THESE SONGS, YOU CAN CLEARLY TELL MY DEPRESSION LEVEL!!!!

[karoiseka]

Kiss Prompts Masterlist

Since I had a whole bunch of them, I figured I'd do a little post of all the prompts from the one ask list from a couple of weeks ago!

First being Kar'a and Hyth, First Kiss

Karo a bit drunk during Shadowbringers with Ardbert Here

Karo early on with Thancred is Here

Karo finding that her loves accepting of her overflowing heart

A Trio of tales, Karo & Hien, Bardic Trio, and Kar'a/Hyth (starting Hades) Here!

Thancred suprising G'raha for a Surprise Kiss!

and Karo with G'raha during Shadowbringers!

There's actually about 5k words between all 9 prompts, and I had fun with these!! A great warm-up for next month, so thank you all for the prompts!! (now to work on those friendship ones that I got after these! lol)

[blackestnight]

Trick or Treat! ^_^ <3

send an ask with "trick or treat!" for a fic-related surprise.

spoilers for the omicron beast tribe! you know i love the wobots.

It had been a gamble to try it in the first place—and Y’shtola had called it suicidally stupid, after, which was awfully hypocritical from her of all people—but the lingering aether trail from the Ragnarok’s flight to Ultima Thule was a strong enough thread that Hanami could follow it with a teleport spell. It was exhausting even for her, and she could only set out from or return to Sharlayan, but it was possible.

The Sharlayan part was probably a blessing in disguise, she decided, as she landed on the stones surrounding Foundation’s aetheryte. Going from the unnatural stillness of Ultima Thule’s climate to the chill of Sharlayan was irritating, but going straight from that to the skin-searing highland winds of Ishgard would be awful. Not to mention the Sharlayans were less likely to gossip when she appeared with a talking rabbit on her heels, or a—

This unit finds this method of transport foolish, N-7000's little drone beeped from inside her bag. This drone's sensors are obstructed, and allied unit Hanami Hagane's personal effects storage is filthy.

"Can you shut up for two minutes," Hanami muttered, and clutched a hand over the flap of her bag for good measure. "If I let you out here your joints will freeze and I am not dealing with your complaining." Besides, it was Stigma-4's fault that her entire bag still reeked of puantplant—at this rate she was going to find a way to make it pay for a replacement, although she was pretty sure the only real gil in circulation at the Last Dregs was hers anyway.

[cdreambur]

I had to get out of my comfy bed, dragged away to my responsibilities, so now thinking about cottage core madduo cuddle pile): at least they can nap

they have fluffy pillows, thick blankets, fairy lights, and at least two cats on the bed

[sioster]

GET BOOPED!!!!!!!!!!!! >:3c

hhgnbghmnn.....

[icarianiscariot]

FOR THE CHARACTER ASK GAME

sae + 1, 17, 20, 24, 30

(i am actively restraining myself from just asking for the entire list sldfkjlksfd)

my husband my girlfriend my love and life. the things i would do in the name of sae itoshi.

1) My first impression of them

"who is THAT BEAUTIFUL MAN" immediate obsession in love at first sight i desperately needed to know everything about him immediately

17) What do you think their first word was?

everything he lives and breaths is soccer so maybe "ball" OR otherwise i think it was "bird" while looking at seagulls at the ocean <3

20) A weird headcanon

he does not like tomatoes but he does like mushrooms. (as someone who does not like either of these textures: do not ask me to explain why he hates one but not the other.)

also he's very meticulous with trimming his nails

24) What do you think is a secret they have that they never told anyone?

he's got a burner account on stan twitter and watches BLTV fancams when he's lying in bed bored/trying to sleep. he has gotten in keyboard screaming matches w ppl who are mean to rin. no one can Ever Know it's him

30) The funniest scene they had?

absolutely YEETING shidou onto the ground when shidou hugged him:

[supernovaa-remnant]

@sioster

karo, I'm gonna put the responses to your ad aeternum asks under a cut just bc I posted the fic not that long ago and don't wanna, like, majorly spoil it for anyone who hasn't had the time to read it yet but wants to (also bc it's finals season and so many people are busy)

(also putting under the cut because wow these got really long actually 😭)

wilbur never calls the dream from his timeline marzenie. it would feel unfair, I think. unfair to both of them. because as he does get to know the dream of his timeline, he really does come to care about the other, but he's kinda swamped with this guilt of worrying he's just using dream as a replacement? at least for a while, he is. (swamped with guilt) so, he finds ways to keep them separate in his mind.

marzenie is the nickname he gave to the alternate timeline dream. marzenie loved the nickname. wilbur's not going to take that away by giving it to someone else. besides, it was always meant to be a way to differentiate the dreams, anyway.

he has all sorts of loving nicknames for the other dream—he has more time to find these nicknames. darling, sunshine, starlight, love, etc. but never marzenie. marzenie will always belong to the dream who was enthralled by the beauty of the earth, who was the first in a very long time to hold wilbur, who bantered with him and danced with him and *sobs* yeah </3

it would be a bit complicated, a bit messy, but ultimately good, I think. there's bureaucratic issues in starfleet wondering if wilbur bringing marzenie to their timeline breaks the prime directive. some (who don't like wilbur being in starfleet due to his ancestry) would fight extra hard to dismiss him from starfleet. wilbur's crew would fight hard for him, though. so would the manhunt. so would others. and, in the end, considering the literal time agency hasn't come to say wilbur messed up the timeline by doing so, they can only assume it's okay.

there's a lot of grief, too. from marzenie. they didn't really have a lot of time to discuss it in the 21st century, but marzenie has lost pretty much anyone he's ever known and loved. there's joys with getting to know versions of sapnap and george and others who are alive, but they're still different versions. and the versions of the people he loved who are dead are still gone. and the versions of people he loved who are alive are still gone. and maybe he felt that those alive only saw him as something broken, but he still cared about them.

so, there's a lot of grief. but wilbur is there. and wilbur loves him. and it was either live with wilbur and the grief or be erased with his timeline and leave wilbur alone, and marzenie would always choose to stay.

there's other complications (marzenie was a captain in his timeline but has no starfleet training—he ends up on the syndicate as essentially non-starfleet personnel). there's also complications with this timeline's dream. and this timeline's dream team. and this timeline's manhunt. and where marzenie fits with them. complications with wilbur's relationship with this timeline's dream, too.

but, ultimately, it's good. marzenie bonds with the crew of the syndicate when he's figuring out what to do when he's not a captain in a war. he learns to bake with niki. he also spars with her. he gets close to techno. they also spar. he loses a fair amount. he continuously pushes wilbur to discuss the complicated relationship wilbur has with techno. the human members of the crews are people familiar to marzenie. he likes to get to know these versions. he convinces wilbur to sign up for therapy. he signs up for therapy himself.

it turns out he gets along really well with dream. they reach a point where they just start introducing themselves as twins. dream's parents include him in family dinners. dream's siblings just say they have another brother. george eventually transfers to the manhunt. the entire dream team complains about marzenie staying on the syndicate but in a light hearted way. the crews of the two ships get really close, actually, and they find lots of excuses to rendezvous. congrats they've unlocked a new level of friendship

things with wilbur and marzenie are really good. they explore the earth together. they take shore leave together and travel. they cuddle and write songs. when marzenie decides to write a book, wilbur reads it and gives advice. they adopt a cat together. they peel oranges for each other. it's all really soft and domestic. and they love each other and they love their friends and they heal together. and everyone's really happy.

(anyway, I think some days wilbur would wake up after extremely vivid dreams (pun not intended) of the above scenario. he'll have incredibly vivid dreams of a universe where marzenie was never shot. and a lot of the dreams take inspiration where he's found himself in life—the crews of the syndicate and manhunt get close. they hang out a lot, actually. wilbur writes more music. wilbur goes to therapy. wilbur gets a cat. when the ships meet up, wilbur & dream often cuddle together at night. etc etc.

but I think the dreams with marzenie would be so vivid, that for a moment he'd wake up and wonder where marzenie was. on especially bad days, he wakes up with bleary eyes and, for a moment, thinks this timeline's dream is marzenie.

and he feels incredibly guilty afterwards. and in particularly bad days, he holds dream close and says "I love you" over and over again with emphasis on the "you" just so dream knows. and dream doesn't fully understand, but dream knows wilbur's been through a lot, and he knows healing isn't linear, so he just holds wilbur close and repeats the same words to him)

[prince-liest]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love ❤

Aw, thank you so much for sending me this! <3 I've written a lot of fics, but my favorites have definitely changed over time... some I still adore, some I have a hard time looking at for a variety of reasons. These are in no particular order, but I'm especially fond of:

Calcium Carbonate, and Other Things That Run Bone Deep - Genshin Impact, Kaeya/Albedo, Rated M for Gore

Fondly nicknamed "vivisection makeouts fic" while I was writing it, this one was a very gratuitous "Albedo's (in)humanity clashes with Kaeya's desire to save Mondstadt" meet-ugly fic that I still really enjoy as a way that I got to wring both of their brains out like sponges. I was a little nervous when posting it due to the, y'know, vivisection makeouts, but it was received with overwhelming positivity that still makes me happy to think about.

How To Lose 800 Years of Cultivation - Heaven Official's Blessing, Feng Xin/Mu Qing, Rated E for Sexual Content

At one point I discovered how good of a method intimacy is for digging around in characters' brains, and this is the fic where I truly went ham with that. Like, there's a lot of sex in this fic, but there's also a lot of picking apart Mu Qing's issues with intimacy and sexuality, class inequality, and his perception of Feng Xin, who has his own shit to deal with but still fields it all like a champ. I've reread this like five times after publishing it and will definitely reread it again.

Dish Duty - Avatar: the Last Airbender, Zuko & Katara, Rated G

This is constantly threatening The Sword of Damocles is Swinging for being my most popular SFW fic (it has fewer hits but more kudos), and I like it because I think I did a really good job with capturing the canon tone of ATLA, as well as digging into the parts of Zuko's character that I was interested in excavating in it. Plus it had a fun little plot and adventure! It just turned into a really nice, self-contained fic that did everything I wanted it to.

Meng Yao's Guide to Sex and Love - MDZS, Lan Xichen/Meng Yao, Rated E for Sexual Content

I literally just finished writing this so obviously it's fresh in my mind, and I do actually have some things I find unsatisfying about it (the chapter arrangement, mostly), but I REALLY loved writing Meng Yao's modern AU version bag of cats brain and using this fic to learn more about both his and LXC's characterizations. Also, I just really like packing in canon-parallel worldbuilding into modern AUs for xianxia danmei series, and writing JGY & WWX friendship in general. Plainly, this was fun to write. My only #ragret is that now I'm really sick of writing cis smut and want to write trans!Meng Yao.

Smolder - Genshin Impact, Zhongli/Xiao, rated E for Sexual Content

I loved this when I wrote it, but now it's been forever since I've reread it and it's one of my favorites not so much for the fic itself but for how ridiculously popular it got. Very legitimately, I was wary of writing this ship at all in a way that was explicitly Not The Healthiest, and furthermore did not expect fandom to be so positive about trans characters (especially in smut). So it's just pleasing and also hilarious to me that my self-indulgent power imbalance smut ended up

And, as an aside: I think that a lot of my favorite fics have ended up comfortably in that 20-30k word range, which is interesting. I don't really write novel-length fics anymore (and only really did so one time, though it got very popular), and I think it's partly because I really just like to concentrate on the bits I'm interested in and write around everything else, letting people fill in the blanks based on what characters think and say.

Honorable mentions:

Both of the Xue Yang fics for having pretty few hits but extremely enthusiastic comments because the SXX community is baller like that.

The Beast of Pont Vanis, the only Witcher fic I've ever written, based on a song I've enjoyed and wanted to make a story out of since literally high school.

The Shinsou's Bad Days series, may I one day have the motivation to finish you.

The fic where I buried Albedo in an avalanche and let people do the math for how many days he was stuck there based on how many heartbeats he counted and how panic-tachycardic he was.

[the-final-sif]

for the fic writer ask game! 26 and 49?

26. Would you rather write a fic that had no dialogue or one that was only dialogue?

I think that I'd rather write a fic that has only dialogue if only because I think it'd be the more interesting challenge, particularly if it was longer.

49. What are you currently working on? Share a few lines if you’re up for it!

The next letter came while Dream was out taking care of the sheep. A week and a half later. Michael was pouting by the side of the pen, making faces at the sheep whenever Tubbo wasn't looking. Dream was just finishing up filling up the last water bin, and he'd meant to go check on one of the older sheep with a leg that'd been giving them trouble. But he was quickly diverted by sounds from the nether portal. Both Dream and Tubbo tensed, ready to move- And then a familiar blonde head poked out of the portal. Dream hadn't been expecting Punz, but a surprise visit was always welcome. The sight of his friend brought a bright grin to Dream's face, a grin that dropped just a moment later as the loud squeal of a sheep next to him reminded him that his tail was currently out and a safety hazard when he wagged it unchecked. Oops.

cc au ficlet I owe in exchange for voter fraud that got Long when I wasn't looking.

[mebiselfandi]

HELLO 👋🏼

It is high time I bother my writer friends so pls tell me, what are your top 3 favourite books that you've read?

Ah top 3? I feel so called out rn😔 ya girl lost the passion to read a while ago so I feel I may not have the best answers to this question but I’ll try. In no particular order:

1. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Okay technically I’ve only read a lil bit of this one but it’s already undeniably solidifying itself among my favourite books I’ve read so far. My friend recommended it to me and it’s just so so wow. You won’t regret reading it at all. No spoilers though. I’m still very early in. But I heard there’s a big twist at the end.

2. Treasures by Johanna Kingsley

Top book not necessarily because of literary prowess or smth like that but because of sentimentality. The book is still incredibly well written with an amazing plot but it’s not like one of those deeply profound books that change your outlook on life or anything. But I read it all throughout high school till I wrote my GCSEs and it belonged to my mum so I always joke it’s an ‘heirloom’. But really I love it and the knowledge my mum read it then me makes me so so happy.

3. Persuasion by Jane Austen

Jane Austen is a literary genius. Her understanding of writing and balancing different elements is incredible. Even centuries later, her writing still holds up and I love this novel so so much. Perhaps more so than Pride & Prejudice🫣 (yeah yeah stone me go ahead). I love reading her writing cause it’s so unique and the way all the characters evolve in this story is interesting to see. I love it so much. Trying to keep this short before I write a literary appreciation for this book

**Honorary mention for Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. I accidentally left the book in another country but it’s a short read that you definitely will not regret. Amazing book, amazing author. Insane that it was his debut novel!

[karoiseka]

☁️ (I guess more where did the inspo for the name karoiseka come from since I know it's one you have used for a long time) :)c

Fairly easy one here! And... very mundane. lol

This will take us back to the early 2000s. I was on vacation to visit my family in Oregon, and my young niece wanted to play Neopets. I already had an account that I played around with very minimally, so I knew the site at least, and vouched to my aunt and uncle about it, and they agreed to supply an email for her if I created the account with her, and she had someone more adult to play with when she was on. (she was... under 10? at this time? or around that age?) Now, if you know anything about that game, you know that just about any halfway decent name was taken unless you wanted a bunch of numbers. We tried all sorts of things, and *nothing*. Finally, I decided to mash our names together.

"Ka-" (Kat, my IRL nickname) "-roise-" (for Rosie, her nickname), and back to "-ka" for me. It worked! (I mixed around the letters in her name to make it more of a name on it's own.) The day was saved and she had an account!

Skip forward a couple more years, and I was finally giving City of Heroes (the MMO) a try since I had been gifted a copy of the main game which came with a free 30 days. The game had/has you make a "main" account name, and then you create your characters after that. (What usually ends up happening is your main account name and first character name are the same, as is what happened to me.)

I needed/wanted something unique, and "Katrie" my at the time normal handle was *already taken* (*gasp!*). So I wracked my brain and wracked my brain, because i"m a disaster when it comes to names, and remembered the little Neopets account I had created, and decided to steal the name since it was unique and creative.

Then I played CoH for 7 years with that being my main online handle. And had people call me Karo IRL at the CoH Herocons in real life, and... that was that. That was my name online.

Sooooo, when I decided to finally give that free 30 days I got of FFXIV free with a Humble bundle... it wasn't too hard to create my first character after my recently lost CoH main, and make her look as close as I could. And my current Karo was born. ^_^

((.... that ended up much longer than I thought it would be. lol))

Thank you!!! <3

[blackestnight]

🪐 ⇢ name three good things going on in your life right now

-i'm running a pathfinder 2e campaign that i'm really excited about, and it seems like my players are excited too! they gave me such phenomenal backstories to play with, each with their own built-in mystery, which is perfect for the batman-themed/investigation-heavy story i already had planned out. they're all doing an amazing job of roleplaying too, and i love listening to "well i'd do this, but my character would [something completely unhinged]." it's so much fun for me to step back and let them bounce off each other.

-my job sucks eggs, but i'm working as a meeting coordinator for a project with another department and i love the topic, so i'm having a blast. public speaking and discussion facilitation are actually fun for me snfjskldg

-a family friend i haven't seen in years is coming to stay with us in a couple weeks while she's in town for a work conference and i'm excited to catch up with her

[cdreambur]

N00000000!!!!! not the morality vs money to live struggle ggggghhhghgjgghfyjszckkgg

Also 🌚 not the cliffhanger with The Convo

"why are you avoiding me?"

the way wilbur visibly flinches when he hears dream's voice almost makes him feel a little bad about sneaking up on him in the empty office kitchen.

he didn't really want to resort to this, but wilbur hasn't given him much of a choice with how he's been staying away from dream the last few days.

when wilbur finally turns to face him, his eyes are wide, and he reaches up to run a hand through his disheveled curls.

"i- i'm not." he eventually replies, words quiet and sounding more like a question than an actual statement.

dream steps closer, stomach twisting when wilbur backs away.

he just doesn't get what happened.

only a week ago, they were sitting in this very room, drinking tea and giggling about the guy in the street below getting his hot dog stolen by a bird.

he wants that back, wants to laugh with wilbur again, wants to listen to him sing, wants to finally ask him on a date the way he planned to since his first day here.

but he can't do that if wilbur won't talk to him.

which brings them back to now, wilbur pressed against the counter of their little office kitchen, lying straight to dream's face.

he takes a small breath, smiling softly and sadly at wilbur.

"please be honest. i know you are. i just... i just want to understand why. and if it's something i did, let me apologize."

he's not ashamed of how distraught his voice sounds, trying hard to meet wilbur's eyes.

the other just averts his gaze, plucking at the sleeves of his white button-up.

"it's not- i don't-"

he interrupts himself with a frustrated sigh before he shrinks even further into himself, uncertainty and fear practically radiating off of him.

dream suddenly wishes his superpower was mind reading.

risking a tiny step closer, he quietly says, "i want to understand, wil. please. i have no idea what happened for you to not like me anymore, but i'm sor-"

"i know!"

wilbur's sudden exclamation brings dream's apology to a halt as his eyebrows furrow in confusion.

"what?" he asks, attention fixed on wilbur's dark eyes and the countless emotions in them. dream can recognize fear, worry, desperation, hope, guilt, all mixed together in the warm brown of wilbur's gaze.

he doesn't get where they're coming from.

"i know." wilbur repeats, much softer now.

his eyes wander down to dream's chest before they drop to the floor, and wilbur swallows, explains, "i know what's under that shirt."

in many other situations, dream probably would've used that as the base of a very bad joke.

but with the distress written all over wilbur's features and the actual implications his sentence brings, dream can't really get himself to gloss over it.

"you do?" he asks instead, unsure and concerned.

wilbur looks close to tears when he nods, voice trembling when he whispers, "i have a photo."

dream barely has time to register the words, his heart skipping a beat, before wilbur continues, "and i don't- i don't know what to do! i- i could finally write something important and just not be- be the person everyone overlooks all the time. and i could pay my dad's bills and not feel so fucking useless anymore and-"

he really is crying now, tears rolling down his cheeks, words fast and panicked.

dream's heart hurts, and he has no idea if it's for himself or wilbur.

"but i don't- don't want to hurt you. you deserve better than having your life exposed like that. because you do good and you are good and i like you so much-"

his voice breaks as his eyes meet dream's, looking unbelievable afraid. it makes something in dream's chest twist painfully, the thought that wilbur could ever be scared of him or the things he could say almost unbearable.

but when he tries to reach out, wilbur runs.

and, still reeling from all the new knowledge, dream doesn't follow.

it's only after what feels like hours that he comes back to himself and collapses into a chair, the weight of all the sudden revelations heavy on his shoulders.

he doesn't get back up for a long time.