#kind of want to go back and reread it but i feel like reading ur childhood books again sets you up for disappointment

[in-tua-deep]

man i have really been thinking about worldbuilding and exposition in books recently

when i was like, i don’t know, twelve-ish, I picked up this book about a teenage girl in a spy school. and i absolutely fell in love with it - I thought it was incredibly neat how the book just seemed to drop me into the middle of the story, even starting in the girl’s second year. in fact, the main character frequently referenced events from her first year (falling in love with a civilian, things ending badly, finding secret passageways, losing her mother’s trust etc.) 

and I actually really enjoyed the fact that the character had a rich and vibrant life outside of what i had read and that the book didn’t go out of its way to explain her past in flashbacks or anything. i understood the main takeaways and why she was reacting to things based on what i gleaned, and more than that i understood the growth of the character, why she was cautious in certain places but reckless in others, etc and i felt smarter for not being handed the answer on a silver platter

anyway it wasn’t until i finished the book and realized there was a sequel that i looked it up and found out that. in fact. i had started with the second book in the series.

oops.

[ventismacchiato]

42 behind the lens — curtain call !

epilogue

scaramouche x gender neutral reader

It’s at the times between recording scenes where you really get a glimpse at your lover.

His sweat stained hair and tear stained cheeks from a rather intense scene never get old. You were feeling rather fond as he made his way over to you, falling into your director’s chair and heaving a heavy breath. The only one other than you allowed to sit in it.

For a mere moment, you both simply look at each other. You guys were on break so a few conversation topics come to mind, it wasn’t often you guys got to speak as lovers rather than coworkers during work. And while they’re all things you’d like to talk to Scaramouche about, you realize you don’t need to force conversation with him.

There’s a hue of weariness that shows in Scara’s eyes, but you can tell that he’s happy. He’s doing what he’s been striving to do for all his years at university, so of course he is.

You search his dark eyes for his thoughts, too. When your eyes meet Scara’s he let’s out a tired smile.

“I missed you,” he easily says. The words come out easier than they would’ve years ago.

Your heart skips a beat, even years later.

“How? We’ve been working together all day,” you say.

“Do I need a reason to miss the person I love?” Scara scoffs, looking away from you to study the script he brought with him.

It isn’t the first time Scaramouche had told you that he loves you, but it’s never stopped holding the same weight it did the first time he’d ever said it.

It’s a rare type of love. The kind that exists so rarely for people in this industry and that lead lives similar to your guys’.

His loves makes you feel alive everyday. And Scara should know it, you should tell him more often—even if it’s rather dramatic for midday on set for their most recent project. It’s something you’d bring up at night that you two could laugh about in bed. Even if it catches Scara off guard.

But Scaramouche’s love caught you off guard, too, and every second you got the privilege to spend with him was a gift.

And as you stare at him, fiddling with the sleeves of his costume and eyebrows scrunched as he mouths his lines, you couldn’t help but feel your heart grow heavy.

“I suppose you don’t,” you reply, a minute too late, but Scara still chuckles at your response as he tosses the script aside.

“What? You’re not going to say it back?” he teases, “And I thought I was the emotionally constipated one.”

“Oh, fuck off,” you mutter, hitting him on the shoulder, “I love you, too. I guess.”

“Archons, you’re worse than me.”

“No, you were much worse when we were younger!”

“It was hot and mysterious when I did it.”

“Uh huh, just go back to set I’m sick of you.”

“Weird way to say you agree but okay.”

“Go!”

.

.

.

୨⎯ THE END ⎯୧

behind the lens !

masterlist — prev

author’s notes — and that’s a wrap folks! hope the ending wasn’t awkward i just wanted it to be short and sweet. anyway, thank u to everyone who read and kept up with this fic, means a lot to me that this blew up as it was smth i wrote for myself. if ur rereading this or are a reader in the future ty to you too! i appreciate the silent readers, anons, and ppl who left me sm cute comments and reblogs. u guys made writing it more fun and easier to ignore the not so nice ppl. i cant reply to everyone but just know i do read every ask and comment i get! i do hope to see u guys in my notifs in the future even if i don’t write for genshin anymore, but if not then i’m glad you gave my writing a chance <3 have a great day/night byebye

synopsis — you, better known as STARDUST, and BALLADEER have always been in competition for the top streamer spot on twitch, which is especially impressive since the two of you have never shown your faces. you’ve never been on good terms, constantly one-upping each other in matches and getting into petty arguments on twitter, causing your fans to also dislike each other. that’s until BALLADEER does a face reveal that breaks the internet with his good looks…which makes you realize it’s the same guy you went on a date with last night. the type of date that made you crave to see him again. the only problem was he didn’t know you were STARDUST and he was way different behind the lens than he portrayed himself online to you. should you keep your identity a secret to salvage the relationship or just let him go?

taglist — @captainzep @elysiumarchieve @plinkuro @sakkakuu-squared @eliqusgenma @vuvulia @kunikuzushiit @ins4nebish @stxrgxzxr @lilacponds @uma-umie @mitsukifilms @caesars-bubbles @wheneverthesunrise @its-like-twilight @kazuhalvrr @erosdevil @thenightsflower @p1utto @noodleshark420 @lxry-chxn @court-jester-stuff @lauragalliart @veyu002 @kaeyas-eyepatch-69 @leathernourishingshoepolish @courtneydefender @drunkwithfever @exhaustedcommunist @vincanzu @ainlaw @ovaliz @kitsuvil @whatamidoing89 @celestair @kunihaver @kazioli @xiaosoneandonly @cridtiins @cherrybeomgyu @asukahiriko @moon-320 @orionicchaos @cartierfiles [1/3]

[autisticlancemcclain]

fic rec friday 47

hello and welcome to fic rec friday! where, on friday, i rec five of my favourite fics.

Damnit, Pidge by spirkylurkey

Pidge has some top-secret-classified-don't-tell-Keith-info that she accidentally lets slip to, you guessed it, Keith. Lance is an embarrassed mess. Keith isn't faring much better, to be honest.

this one made me LAUGH the way that this all pidge's fault and she's literally like. well. you shouldn't be so gay then. and she's right!! they're so dumb i love them

2. Operation: Faking It by @writeonclara

“What the hell, guys?” Pidge squawked, wrestling away from Matt. “Why are you pretending to be a couple?” Or: Matt and Lance pretend to be a couple because Shiro and Keith are clueless as hell.

do you guys remember shatt?? i remember shatt. adashi will always have my heart but shatt will literally always be funny bc ofc thats ur fic name. anyways. this fic is mostly klance but the entire concept is just so ridiculously goofy that u have to laugh. do you like lance and matt? do you like fake relationship to real relationship? do you like inverted tropes? do you like pining? do you like comedic jealousy? then this fic is well and truly for you because it has all that and more

3. all's well that ends well to end up with you by @coruscatingcatastrophe

Keith's jacket gets ruined, so Lance decides to be a good Samaritan and give him his. This is the beginning of the end.

megan's fic literally make me want to eat cement i'm so serious. i've read and been obsessed with TONS of her stuff but this one???? this fucking one???? oh god the slowburn kills me. the blossoming realisation that oh god we've been dating this whole time huh. the CHIVALRY...............a romance novel in the truest of senses and i am going to fry

4. as long as it won't separate you from me (i'll be fine) by @coruscatingcatastrophe

A little intrigued—not that she’d ever admit it—Pidge begins to climb the stairs. But before she even reaches halfway, the door—slams shut. All on its own, or so it seems. Pidge pauses, brows creasing in confusion, as she turns to look down at her dog. “Did you see that?” she asks. Peculiarly, she notes that Bae Bae’s fur is bristled, and he growls at the door before barking twice. That’s weird. Bae Bae never growls. Turning back to the door, Pidge feels unsettled, but she tells herself not to jump to ridiculous conclusions. There’s a logical explanation for everything. Maybe there was a gust of wind from the air conditioner, or the doorframe isn’t level. Whatever it is, she’s going to figure it out. - Or, a Beetlejuice au (kind of). Pidge isn't a fan of her new house, Lance and Keith are the ghosts haunting her attic, and together they hatch a plot to convince Shiro and Adam to skedaddle out of the house. There may be demon summoning involved. But seriously, Adam. Getting your hair set on fire really isn't that bad.

HAPPY (late) HALLOWEEN!!! ive been thinking about this fic all october and finally let myself reread it. ive never loved beetlejuice more than when i read this. it's so fun!! so interesting!! pidge gets a chance to shine!! klance are so!!! the way it had the story of beetlejuice but adapted well!! im!!

5. never thought i'd see the day in my life by @coruscatingcatastrophe

But Keith has somehow gone even paler in the short amount of time he’s been at the table, and he shakes his head. “No, something is . . .” His gaze flickers back to Lance, and he’s startled to find that Keith’s eyes are purple. They’ve got to be contacts. Ridiculous. As if the mullet and gloves and personality weren’t enough. Keith pushes away from the table abruptly, looking incredibly put-off now. “I, uh—gotta go,” he mutters, before angrily gathering up the backpack he’d dropped into the chair next to him and storming out of the cafeteria. “Huh,” Hunk says. “Well, that introduction could have gone a bit better. Don’t take it personally though; sometimes Keith’s just like that.” - Or, a Twilight au starring Lance as Bella, Keith as Edward, and the rest of the Voltron gang as themselves. Lance is insufferable, Keith is awkwardly trying to figure out why Lance is the way he is, and along the way they fall in love, or something. It's probably, definitely the best love story since Twilight itself.

now ive never read twilight and i refuse to on principle. but i didn't find this one creepy and instead it was super fun and dweeby and lance is indeed a ray of sunshine, thank you megan for noticing, and it turns out when the story isn't a hetero mormon wet dream it's actually a good time!!

that’s it for today!! i’ll see y’all back next friday for the next fic rec post!!!

[leosxrealm]

OMG I LOVE LOVE LOVVEEE ur best friend’s brother fic w itoshi sae!! it randomly popped up in my head and i js had to go reread it !!!! i was wondering if you could do a part 2 or maybe a few more headcanons abt it ?? :)

-ʙᴇꜱᴛ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅ'ꜱ ʙʀᴏᴛʜᴇʀ- [ᴘᴀʀᴛ-02]

pairing(s): itoshi sae x gn! reader

warning(s): mentions of sex, nothing too explicit, mentions of alcohol, rin and sae have a better relationship, rin being a protective bestie (in his own way), everyone is 18+

a/n: i re-read that fic to get some of the details right and ngl lie it made me cringe a lil lmao. but thank you !! i decided on doing both. i made a separate post for boyfriend head cannons, so you can check that out! this one is a small drabble on what happened with rin. hope you like this and the hcs

!not proofread!

part 1 || headcannons

you squirmed under rin's intense gaze. he was pissed pissed. the safest thing for you right now was to keep your mouth shut.

rin was waiting for you at your apartment when you got home from your little nap with sae. you were kind of regretting giving him the spare key to your apartment. but you knew that this would have to be done one day or the other. you just didn't know that it would be this soon.

with the last bit of courage, you looked your best friend in the eyes, "rin-"

"don't" he cut you off before you could even explain yourself.

it's kinda stupid, he thinks. he has known that his older brother has harbored feelings for you for years, but never acted on it because sae believed that relationships are a waste of his time.

now, rin wasn't stupid, he very well knew that all that happened between you and his brother could have been the result of the alcohol in both your systems. he just couldn't accept it.

what annoyed rin the most is that he doesn't know if sae took advantage of your drunken state. deep down he knows that his brother is better than this. and no matter how much of an asshole he could be; he would never stoop to that level. but, he can't think straight right now. what if there's even a slightest of the slightest chance that this was all planned by sae. he would make sure to make his brother's life a living hell.

"whatever you're thinking, it's not that," your voice pulled him out of the spiral of thoughts in his head. he looked at the couch you were sitting on. what was this? some kind of intervention? in your own house?

you gulped, before continuing, "i don't remember much from last night. it's all a little blur, to be honest. but i was the one that initiated the kiss that led to all of this," you vaguely motioned with your hand, "i remember a few moments here and there. your brother didn't force himself on me."

"do you love him?"

you choked on your own saliva. where the hell did that come from? "well...." you paused, trying to find the right words, "'love' would be too strong of a word." he didn't say anything in return. an uncomfortable and tense silence settled over you two.

"i do like him!" you blurted out. you had to say something, you couldn't take the silence anymore. looking down, you fiddled with your fingers. "i like him," you reiterated, "a lot. and i would like to give him a chance."

rin sighed. he knew this was coming but seriously? his best friend and his brother? it would take him some time to accept it.

"we discussed it...before he dropped me off..." you trailed off, "he wants to court me. officially."

"okay."

"huh?"

"i said, okay" his irritated tone made you shut up real quick. right, he hates repeating himself. and if it were someone else, he would have ignored them a second time. they weren't worth his time. but you were his best friend, you weren't someone else. as much as he hates it, he would repeat himself for his best friend; and how do you pay him back? by sleeping with his damn brother? he scoffs at the thought.

honestly? he should've seen this coming. he knew your lingering gazes and exchanged glances would lead to something someday.

he sighed for what seemed like the millionth time. he can't do this right now. too much thinking. so the both of you spent the rest of the evening watching horror movies.

[peachesofteal]

i finally had the time to sit and read the new chapter of simple math AUUUUUGH

graves can eat shit and die, disrespectfully, i wish him the worst

"You want a life in the sun. He wants to become a shadow himself" against the descriptions of simon's expressions and all the references to shadows and sunlight?? "Inky dark shadow flickers across Simon’s face, but sunlight chases it away, happiness crinkling at the corners of his eyes." BRO??

and johnny, "The light is dim, casting short shadow across his face, his sweet eyes drenched in worry-"

bc simon and johnny aren't saints; they know graves from work for a reason, and the little itty bitty bits hinting at them being good but still being capable of underhandedness is just.... chefs kiss. no notes. perfection as usual.

also the shadow bit here, i feel like thats supposed to be for bunny when she feels as small as Graves has tried to make her feel- "You’re barely a shadow, a clip of a person on the other end of the hall and yet-" but when the boys see her they say she lights up every room she steps in, and at the very end she's thinking "A moment in the sun" when she says yes to staying with them

i love bunny, her walls are built so high and her cautiousness is tearing my heart apart but she's finally giving an inch for the boys to take a mile. theyre gonna rip graves to shreds

im really excited to see her finally be able to offload some of that burden onto the boys. moral greyness aside, it seems that it would be more of "the means justify the ends" kind of greyness than them wanting her to be theirs for bad reasons. there's a darker possessiveness sure, but it comes from a place of genuine infatuation.

i will say tho that i think the boys are the ones who reserved the block of hotel rooms. simon knows where she was staying and they seem a little too in-the-know otherwise (johnny knowing and being the first to mention that she'd otherwise be in an on-call room, simon gesturing to johnny to slow down etc)

simple math is so fun to read. so much to dissect and reread and it feels like every bit of it is important in the long run

also the valentines lights on piece was SUCH a delight and it KILLED me. he is dada..... finally dada.... they make me so soft.

also also i have more thoughts on ur hades/persephone piece too BUT i gotta sit back down with it again lol. u deserve proper citations.

but as always, such a treat, u are so good at what u do and thank u for sharing with us xoxo

YOU are such a treat, omg I love this analysis. This just made my cold little heart glow so warmly. I love this perspective on the shadow and light and I will say it is very in line with my own in regards to these characters and how their story will progress. You're also the first to mention that about the hotel block specifically which I find interesting, but of course, I'm just going say... wait and see.

As always it's a pleasure to read your breakdown and I have cherished this. Thank you so much, I am so happy you're enjoying it.

[imabitchforjemcarstairs]

I'm assuming (again pls correct me if i'm wrong! :D<3) that ur fav shadowhunter character is Jem!

Would you mind indulging me as to why u love him and his character arc throughout the series? 😊

I am finally attacking this question. I took some time answering it because I wanted to give it justice. Now, bear in mind, that it’s been a while since my last read of TID/GotSM, and I forgot a lot about the series. I will try to give my best answer (and probably come back to this when I will do my huge reread of the whole series before TWP). 

First, I want to clarify that Jem is one of my favourite characters in the series, but not the only one. I could write the same about Will and Tessa. Like, I’m a real herongraystairs trash and the main reason why I continue with the series. I don’t know why, but they stuck with me. I think it’s assumed that Jem is my only fav because of my username, but no, the username was a joke that stuck, and I don’t mind, because I am his bitch, and it made CC giggle when I told her, and according to her, aren’t we all😭

Now, before going to the essay, I would like to say contrary to a lot of the fandom (who like Jem or dislike him), I do not think we have a lot of him. I think he is the most present character, yet, we still know so little of him.

Hear me out, he is the only protagonist with zero POV, in his series, (we got Cecy’s POV in CP2, and she arrived in the epilogue of book 2). Even in GotSM, which is supposed to be a book about Zachariah, and his mission to find the lost Herondale, he still gets sidelined to follow the stories of other characters (Matthew, Anna, Tessa, Celine, Jace, Alec, Livvy and Janus). Zachariah is used as a vehicle to tell us about the other characters' stories, and sometimes we get a glimpse of what he thinks and feels. I would argue that the only real story where we dive into his head, and get to know him is Learn About Loss. Add to the fact that in TID we only see him through the eyes of Will and Tessa, yeah, he’s the character with the most cameos with Magnus, yet what do we know about Jem, other than he is the 3rd person in a love triangle, Will’s parabatai, and Tessa’s second love interest, AND that he is the kindest, selfless character in the series? Practically nothing. 

Like I said above, in TID, we only see him through the eyes of Will and Tessa, who literally see him as this perfect, angelic person. Tessa because she arrives at the institute after 6 weeks of torture, and is in need of kindness and friendship, and eventually falls in love with him. And then we have Will, who sees Jem as his opposite, everything that is pure and kind, and everything that he is not. And because of the inevitable death of Jem and his curse, this bond is what keeps him alive, and he will cherish it like hell (one day I will write an essay on the terms and conditions Will put on his “curse” when he was a kid). So yeah, we have a series written through two protagonists, who see the third as this precious thing, that needs the utmost protection against the world, but also against themselves; see Tessa once she arrived, she started talking about finding cures and defending him against Will, in CP1: 

-      “You should,” Tessa said softly, “think about the way the things you do affect Jem.”

Will rolled his head back against the leather of the chair and regarded her. He looked drowsy and tired and beautiful. He could have been some Pre-Raphaelite Apollo. “Is this a serious conversation now, Tess?” His voice still held humor but was edged, like a gold blade edged in razored steel.

Tessa came and sat down in the armchair across from his. “Aren’t you worried that he’s cross with you? He’s your parabatai. And he’s Jem. He’s never cross. 

“Perhaps it’s better that he’s cross with me,” said Will. “So much saintlike patience cannot be good for anyone.”

“Do not mock him.” Tessa’s tone was sharp.

“Nothing is beyond mockery, Tess.”

“Jem is. He has always been good to you. He is nothing but goodness. That he hit you last night, that only shows how capable you are of driving even saints to madness.”

“Jem hit me?” Will, fingering his cheek, looked amazed. “I must confess, I remember very little of last night. Only that the two of you woke me, though I very much wanted to stay asleep. I remember Jem shouting at me, and you holding me. I knew it was you. You always smell of lavender.”

Tessa ignored this. “Well, Jem hit you. And you deserved it.” […]

“No, you don’t,” Tessa cried in frustration. “Do you think he cares about the danger? Do you? His whole life has been destroyed by this drug, this yin fen, and there you go off to a warlock den and drug yourself up as if it doesn’t even matter, as if it’s just a game to you. He has to take this foul stuff every day just so he can live, but in the meantime, it’s killing him. He hates to be dependent on it. He can’t even bring himself to buy it; he has you do that.” Will made a sound of protest, but Tessa held up a hand. “And then you swan down to Whitechapel and throw your money at the people who make these drugs and addict other people to them, as if it were some sort of holiday on the Continent for you. What were you thinking?”

“But it had nothing to do with Jem at all—”

“You didn’t think about him,” said Tessa. “But perhaps you should have. Don’t you understand he thinks you made a mockery out of what’s killing him? And you’re supposed to be his brother.”

Will had whitened. “He can’t think that”

“ He does,” she said. “He understands you don’t care what other people think about you. But I believe he always expected you’d care what he thought. What he felt.”

That is just an example, but the whole series is like that when it comes to Jem. Them defending him to each other when they fuck up, or defending him against the world, because for them he is that almost angelic person. And that’s cool and all, but what about him as a person? As a whole entity, and not an addition to the other two. (but then I read TLH, and TDA, and I think CC does not know/or doesn’t want to write the three separated from each other, but that is for another discussion, because these three always come in a package deal, and can’t be separated, I guess)

Now, that this is out in the clear, let’s get to the question, why is he one of fav characters? Well, for everything we don’t see, and know about him. And from the little we can get of him in the books. The minimum info on him is so freaking interesting, it just pushes us to read between the lines and do a lot of character study, (academic style) to get to his head.  

Even though the surface-level reading of the character is that he is very kind, empathic, helpful and selfless. Now, that’s normal because Jem is a very discreet character, and in contrast, we have Will, who is very loud, very look at me (because of his curse). At some point, Tessa observes that Jem is like the owner of a very annoying dog. So, in a way, on a first read, he is kind of overshadowed by funny/clown Will. However, the man is funny as hell: 

-      “Jem gave her a wistful look. “Must you go? I was rather hoping you’d stay and be a ministering angel, but if you must go, you must.”

“I’ll stay,” Will said a bit crossly, and threw himself down in the armchair Tessa had just vacated. “I can minister angelically.”

“None too convincingly. And you’re not as pretty to look at as Tessa is,” Jem said, closing his eyes as he leaned back against the pillow.

“How rude. Many who have gazed upon me have compared the experience to gazing at the radiance of the sun.”

Jem still had his eyes closed. “If they mean it gives you a headache, they aren’t wrong.”

-      “A demonic worm,” said Jem, pausing to peer cautiously around a hedgerow. “A great serpent. Would that help your inappropriate humor?”

He is also very eloquent when he wants to be (see Lily in GotSM), in his proposal, his apology to Tessa in CP2, him comforting Charlotte in CP2, etc…

And we also see his flaws, in the series, but there is no emphasis on them. His selfishness. Now, I know, he is a teenage boy, who knows that he is dying, but in that scene in CP2 when he threw Yin Fen in the fire, with no regard for the other members of his family, and how they do not want to lose him. We can also read that he is a very scared person. One because of the trauma he went through, but also because he will not live for a long time. Ex: his rushed engagement to Tessa.

This leads to one flaw we rarely talk about when it comes to Jem, which is his insecurities. His insecurity over his body, hell, even in After the Bridge, which is 100 years later, he was still insecure about his scared body. His insecurity about not being enough to Tessa, and that she deserves the best like his crazy consumption of Yin Fen to be perfect for her in CP2. 

And all of this could have been explored if we had his POV. It would have added depth to his character. In TID, he is a teenage boy who is trying to survive in a country so far from his own. I would have loved to see his feelings over his trauma. I mean he saw his parents die, was tortured, and is still being tortured by what is keeping him alive. I would have loved to see his feelings about being in a way abandoned by his family (Elias) in a foreign country. Being alone at twelve, with no support system. Navigating his new life as a child, the mental and physical toll of having to take the Yin Fen in order to survive, but also how it will eventually kill him. The mental toll of believing and defending his only best friend who was fucking it big during that time, (same for Will, and how mentally draining it must have been to know your only best friend is dying as a child, especially after witnessing the death of his sister but that is for another post). I wanted to see his insecurities regarding his body, in contrast with the body of Will, especially because they are living in a very able-body culture, and how being a Shadowhunter is all they have, and their noble cause. I wanted to see his feelings of how limited he is physically compared to the other Shadowhunters of his age, and how he felt about the critics and remarks the other said about him. And when he was engaged, his feelings about not living for a long time with Tessa, and only giving her little. 

 And later in GotSM, I wanted to see how he felt about his life as a silent brother, and how he was cheated of his death. How he was present in the life of his loved ones, yet not very. I wanted to know how he felt when Elias said that he did not want him to be part of his family. 

Anyway, this is getting too long. But, yeah, my love for Jem is for all that is not written, and what we can deduct from the multiple rereads of the series. I will probably come back to this post when I reread everything, and add stuff to it. 

[play-rough]

honestly its really telling when a commenter doesnt do any writing of their own. i love your fics and i always lose my absolute mind when you update, but im also more than happy to content myself with obsessively rereading until you feel like updating, otherwise i would be the worlds largest hypocrite considering all my abandoned fics and wips that havent been updated in 2+ years, some of which are also still getting the occasional 'update this' comment lmao.

please dont feel the need to rush yourself! which i know is a lot easier said than done, but i know from experience that it only makes it harder in the end to find any remaining passion for what youre working on. if ppl are getting impatient, they can suck a toe, you already put out so much great work to read through FOR FREE, and i really appreciate it. i dont think ive ever reread any fics as much as i go back to yours.

Ughh so true, every time I click on a person asking for an update they’ve got nothing posted of their own it’s so telling (that or they’re a guest so same difference) 😭

I actually went to art school, and the GO GO GO pace of it just really put a bad taste in my mouth regarding art and I had a lot of feelings of resentment towards the craft. I was not able to draw for a really long time (i still don’t really find any joy in it anymore) and I don’t want that to happen with writing, especially since it’s been such a positive and encouraging experience before this. I can’t say enough about how posting fanfic has just boosted my overall confidence haha

Thank you for being so kind and encouraging 🩷🩷🩷🩷 youre the kind of person that I write for and you’re absolutely right everyone else can suck a toe (not even my toe, suck ur own toe ;P)

[rollercoasterwords]

Ok this may come off as ramble-y but i just wanted on come in here gush abt how much I love your fics!! I'm a big fan of atyd so intially that's how i found your work -- through Sirius' perspective -- and i loved that shit (dare i say more than the original,, they're both amazing ofc I'm just biased coz Sirius is my fav character). I come from a super religious/conservative background and I have never related so much to a character with internalised homophobia -- like the resemblance was a little uncanny ngl lol.

But yeah,, than i read 'thtf' becoz i was craving some lesbian fics (coz the marauders' fandom is in a lesbian drought let's be real). And it was so good and i absolutely bawled my eyes out. You're writing i think especially shined in this fic and i remember i would go back an reread pages because they we're so beautifully written lol.

And then i read ur cowboy and zombie au fics (even tho I don't really ship jegulus/marylily) but they were still amazing and so, so fun!!

My favourite fic of yours by far tho is ur most recent fic, 'As the Worm Moon Dies'. I'm a sucker for fics that expand on the world-building/magic of hp because i feel like there is so much missed potential in the og hp series due to jkr neoliberal centrist politics (gag). I loved how u depicted magic in series as more of a spectrum and how every human has the capability for it. I loved how u described the elves and their enslavement becoz holy shit is that a horrible plot point in the og series (dw!! they liked being enslaved!!). Sirius as a death eater is so weird becoz canon sirius would never -- but it also shows just how much of an influence James and subsequently the Potter's had on his life. Ooooh also don't even get me started on the werewolf fighting rings and the hypocrisy of pureblood societies its absolutely so fascinating to me!! Ahh i've reread it so many times already lol. (and obviously, the wolfstar is *chefs kiss*)

I love ur writing so much i actually started reading the captive prince series solely so ic ould read ur fanfics on it lmao. (up to book 2 -- so far very interesting -- and wondering what Laurent's perspective could possibly contain).

Honourable mentions to ur nobleflower and emmary fics because they were awesome and ur characterisation of emmaline as a butch aloof lesbian is now absolutely cannon to me!!

Anyways sorry for rambling so much i just needed to fangirl about ur works!! I just wanted to thank you for all the time you put into them and your services to the marauders fandom. Oh, and if you ever published a book one day i would read it no doubt.

aww thank u 🥹 this is so sweet it’s always crazy 2 remember that there r like…real live actual people out there who r resonating w the things im writing etc so i v much appreciate the kind words 💕 also reading captive prince just 4 the laurent pov fic is crazy lmao but i hope u enjoy the series…book 1 is rough but book 2 will start bringing u back and book 3?? bananas….

[leenfiend]

I thought the Two Slow Dancers comic would be a fun opportunity to break down my process a lil bit cause this was a lot of undoing and redoing and adding so for any ppl curious it will be under the cut!!

So to start off I actually only thumbnailed what is now page five and six, the original image in my mind was them reaching out to each other in different seasons clothing, I considered just making an animated version of that but then I connected it to the two slow dancers scene I had imagined in my head a month or so back and wanted to make it part of a small narrative:

(I actually did page six first - u can tell by the way my writing is nearly incomprehensible that this idea came to me like a vision in the night)

But then looking at that i said - well surely that doesn’t tell the story enough. I need more. And then I played two slow dancers on repeat for probably an hour while I thumbnailed a surrounding narrative for those two pages and ended up with this mess:

And from there I actually started working on the lineart two pages at a time - I like working on freakishly large two page spreads because to me it helps the flow feel more cohesive, I don’t look at them as isolated pages until I get to the shading part of the process.

But once I sent it to some ppl for feedback and reread it myself a million times I felt like the story still wasn’t reading the way I wanted it to - two out of six pages were “flashbacks/memories” pages and that ratio didn’t really allow for the other four pages to read as a cohesive story in my opinion so I kept trying to workshop two more pages for the front and I went through a few iterations:

I thought at first I would show the outside of the garrison, give the audience more of a setting, and then show the flyer so we know Keith is getting ready for this celebration. But it was too literal for me (even though what I ended up doing was still pretty literal lmao). So then I started with the phone/text messages as a story telling device:

Also this is an example of how I almost always draw the comic panels before I decide what goes in them haha, unless I’m really sure what images I plan on focusing in on the panels almost always end up informing what goes inside if that makes sense. But I finally ended up here when I decided “that’s good enough”

I even did most of the lineart for this composition before I decided the imagery of the jacket was just too repetitive, like we don’t need THREE PAGES of keith putting on a jacket.

So i kind of just moved the left page over to the right, and left the right page blank for most of the rest of the comic process. I finished most of the lineart on the rest of it before I finally circled back and decided to go with a tweak of what I originally thought was a lame idea (I had this image in my head of the lions silhouette against the glow of the Earth for the first page, but with the lyrics “the ground has been slowly pulling us back down” I thought it was just too cheesy, especially because that’s not what the lyrics mean either in the song or in the context of this comic and I didn’t want them to be perceived as so literal)

So this is the thumbnail I landed on for that which eventually turned into the actual final page.

Once I had all of the thumbnailing done the rest was pretty fun work! Just lots of going back in and detailing out the scribbles I had first put down. Now in terms of color, I actually have a secret. Most times I don’t color much at all? It depends on the piece but for most of my comics what I do is this -

I flat greyscale color everything and then use a color curve adjuster inside of procreate to pick a color pallet:

color adjusters are ur friend for picking color pallets i'm TELLING YOU!! I used to have a lot of trouble with cohesive color comps but it's a lot easier for me even without using this method now. Anyway I usually leave it here, in my other comics I don't have any shading or background elements outside of the panels but I figured since I was working so much on this comic anyway, I might as well light it a bit. So I basically just scribbled over the whole composition with a purple marker set on a multiply layer and then erased out the places I wanted light to hit, and then added a soft light layer with colored lights to give it more of a party look:

The only hang up I had during the coloring process of all this was how to color the "memory" pages. I originally just wanted them to be more pastel/blue, I thought that would make them look distinct enough. So I painted/shaded this whole page before looking at it within the rest of the composition and deciding it didn't read well at all and ended up sliding the saturation down to zero and calling it a day:

But I'm happy with that decision because it allowed for the "coming into color" moment with the other memory page and I think it connects better to the rest of the comic visually that way. And that was the whole process! There were tons of other little adjustments I made along the way and other composition things I tried out but I do tend to erase instead of iterate in layers so this is the process I have to show you! As a little bonus behind the scenes, here's the time lapse replay of that initial thumbnail for all eight pages! (it is sideways just because it's so large so if you're on a phone/tablet/laptop just turn ur screen sideways otherwise I'm so sorry lmao)

[gamerwoo]

idk if you’ve said / written smth abt this before but i was rereading josh’s tftp and jia’s comment abt lilly loving ari had me thinking abt an au where lilly was still alive and the three of them were together !! do u have any ideas what their dynamic would be like? if u feel like writing a drabble i’ll always read more tftp content but also i know ur work is tiring so i’d be interested in any headcanons too !!!! <3 hope ur doing well

i don't think i've ever mentioned anything about this tbh, and while i don't think joshua would've ever imprinted on ari or even found her had lilly still been alive (because if his powers did stop working he would've immediately went to a doctor because of lilly so he wouldn't have shown up at the same time that ari was brought in, and if lilly didn't die i don't think ari would've been fated to be with him. honestly i think if they had found ari by some chance, lilly and josh would probably treat her more like a little sister or something), i do think this idea is pretty cute so i wanted to write it even though i don't think this would be canon. it's just too cute to pass up hehe

»»————-　　————-««

All Lilly wanted to do was get the dishes done in a timely manner, which was why she had Chan on drying duty while she scrubbed at them. But of course, Joshua had to come up and wrap his arms around her waist, kissing her neck softly before whispering, "You need to go wrangle your mate."

She let out a sigh and put the sponge down by the faucet, looking straight ahead with annoyance on her features, "Why is she only our mate when it's convenient for you? Otherwise, she's only mine?"

"I think you answered your own question," he chuckled.

In the beginning, after Lilly and Soonyoung found her while following Eunjin one night when she was in a trance, Joshua didn't want Arinya being anyone's mate. He didn't want another mate and he was perfectly fine with sending her back wherever she came from despite his instincts wanting otherwise. But from the get go, Lilly wanted her to stay. Even if feeling another pull was a little confusing, she was willing to figure it out.

It was thanks to Lilly that Joshua even warmed up to the young werecoyote -- probably because it warmed his heart so much seeing the pair do almost everything together. Lilly was more than willing to teach Ari everything since she was so curious and naïve. She was also more willing to keep up with the younger girl's energy even if she got tired.

Even now, after Joshua finally accepted her, he would give up after a bit and hand her off to Lilly when Ari was too energetic or too curious.

"Is she chasing squirrels again?" Chan laughed.

Josh rolled his eyes, "How'd you know?"

Lilly let out another sigh and dried her hands off with a dish towel before turning around, her mate's arms sliding away from her, "You're annoying sometimes, Hong."

"No, that's kind of my only setting. You know that."

The two boys followed her out to the backyard just in time to hear a loud yelp, followed by a series of whimpers. Eyes scanned the area until the saw Arinya coming from the forest. Joshua took off running immediately getting to her right as she shifted back to her human form. Chan kept pace with Lilly as she followed right behind him.

"What happened?" Joshua demanded, cupping her face in his hands, her blue eyes filled with tears. He searched her body frantically for any signs of injury, hands moving over her body to turn her arms this way and that and to bend all of her joints to make sure nothing was broken as Chan shrugged off his button-up to hand off to Ari.

Instead, Lilly took it and went around behind her, helping her into it so she wasn't just naked in the backyard, because she knew the rest of the pack would probably come to see what she had whimpered at. But that was when she noticed welts on her back.

"Hey Shua?" she asked.

Ari cupped her left cheek and whined, "My face hurts."

Josh gently moved her hand out of the way to find a bee stinger in her cheek, and it was starting to swell. His hand was covering it before so he didn't notice it.

"There's a ton more back here," Lilly sighed, meeting Joshua's eyes over Ari's shoulder.

Josh held her upper arms and turned her around. Seeing her back covered in bee stings, he closed his eyes and sighed, "What did you do?"

"What happened?" Seungcheol called out, coming around from the front yard.

Arinya stayed facing Lilly as the older girl buttoned up her shirt.

"I followed a squirrel up a tree and there was a bees nest," Ari explained through sniffles. "I didn't mean to touch it, I promise!"

"We're not mad," Lilly promised.

Joshua, however, was chuckling at her, "Have we learned to stop chasing squirrels?"

Lilly frowned up at him, "Leave her alone."

"How bad is it?" Seungcheol wondered as more of the pack started coming from around the front or inside the house.

"She's got at least 20, probably," Josh shrugged.

"Are you allergic to bees?" Chan wondered.

Ari turned back toward him and shook her head before she looked up at Josh again, "My tongue feels funny..."

He noted she was talking with a little bit of a lisp and couldn't help but laugh, "Let me see your tongue, goofball."

She stuck out her tongue, and he immediately noticed the sting near the tip of it. He let out a loud laugh and asked, "What, did you eat one?"

"I don't know!" she whimpered, obviously distressed over her bee attack.

"Joshua, heal your mate!" Lilly scolded him. "Stop making fun of her!"

"Come on, kid," he sighed, obviously still amused. "Let's go to our room to heal you up."

Once upstairs, Joshua removed Chan's shirt from her body and Lilly started carefully pulling out the stingers that were still there, softly apologizing whenever Ari flinched or whimpered.

"Alright, open up. Let's fix your lisp," he chuckled.

She opened her mouth and Josh pulled the tiny stinger out. Instinctively, her eyes squeezed shut at the pain and she recoiled away from him, but he softly gripped her chin to keep her still before plucking the one out of her cheek. Despite her head turning away, he kissed the spot quickly and chuckled out a, "Sorry!"

"You should probably do her back first," Lilly told him.

"Am I supposed to heal her tongue?" he asked as Ari went to lay face-down on the bed. "How do I do that? I've never healed a tongue before."

"Just do her back, please," she sighed in annoyance. "I'm sure she's still in pain."

Josh just made a face at her before going onto the bed and kneeling beside the younger girl. He moved his hands across her back, healing the welts and removing the venom from her body to stop the pain and the swelling. After that, he had her sit up to do her cheek, and then he held her jaw and asked her to stick out her tongue again. All the while, Lilly sat behind her and kept her arms around Ari's waist.

Once Josh was done and Ari was back to normal, she slumped back into Lilly's body, "I think I need a nap."

"I think so, too," Lilly agreed, pressing a kiss to her temple. "Wanna lay down?"

"Yeah," she mumbled.

Joshua moved to get in bed with the two girls but Lilly quickly stopped him, "No way."

"What do you mean?" he protested.

"She's my mate, remember?" Lilly reminded him with a shit-eating smirk.

Joshua rolled his eyes and pounced on top of both of them, taking Lilly by surprise but getting Ari to giggle very loudly.

"Mates heal better when they're together. It's a medical fact," he stated. "So you can't fight me unless you want Ari to be uncomfortable for longer."

Ari's head tilted to one side, "But I thought you already heal--"

"See, she's delusional," he nodded. "She really needs both of us."

Lilly snorted and rolled her eyes, "Whatever, Hong."

"Yeah, whatever, Hong," Ari tried to imitate Lilly, but it just made both of them laugh.

"Y'know what, I think I'm gonna give both of you up," he decided.

"I think you're stuck with us," Lilly stated with a smile and a sure nod.

"Yup!" Arinya grinned.

Seeing his two mates smiling up at him, Lilly's head resting against Ari's, he couldn't help but just feel a wave of happiness and love. So he smiled even though he was rolling his eyes.

"If you're gonna twist my arm about it," he conceded.

[bylertruther]

The end of the year is near! Give a shoutout to your favorite blogs and tag them to spread positivity before the year ends! (from: a secret anon)

an opportunity to gush over people? why, don't mind if i do :^)

this is in no particular order at all & i'm especially thankful for everyone that's been kind to me this year! <3 i DO see you all and i DO appreciate you sm!!!! thank you, thank you, thank you to you all! 🫂

(btw, you may have to ctrl + f to find your url unless you don't mind scrolling for five years lmao.)

@heroesbyler, my dearest most beloved wife 🤎 not to be a homosexual on main, but you constantly grab my face in your hands and submit me to the mortifying ordeal of being known and while that does make me feel stripped down to nothing but my gory insides before u there is a level of um. real safety and security in that and in you because i know that i'll always be safe there. you're such a genuine, sweet, funny, intelligent, and kind person. beautiful inside AND out!!! you ALWAYS make me laugh and you ALWAYS make me smile and i just . if i could, i would squeeze you n lift you off your feet rn 🫂 you're simply the Best, hogging all of the brain cells and talents and good traits (and good looks, hehe). i adore you and i am so thankful to have met you and you have a very berry special place in my heart. you deserve every compliment that you've ever received and more!!! literally where would we be as a byler nation without you and your inimitable genius tbh? i don't even want to think abt it. </3 ily!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 💞🥰🫶 and i am so, so, soooooo happy to have met you. @ everyone else, you will NEVER be stav!!!!!!!!! 😤💘😘🫂

@mlchaelwheeler SARAHHHHHH! my sweet & the robin to my steve. 🥺 resting my head on ur shoulder rn. <3 you were one of my very first friends in this space and one of my absolute favorites. platonic soulmates fr!!!!!! you're so intelligent, so sweet, so talented, and so funny. your love and appreciation for this story and these characters is so contagious and i love to read all of the connections you make. your brain is a goldmine and we're all so lucky to have u here. in all ways except physical, i am hugging u and squishing n pinching ur cheeks hehe<333

@wiseatom thea thea THEAAAAAAAAA! biting you and whipping my head from side to side like a dog with its chew toy (affectionate). <3 did you know... that i am obsessed with u? completely and totally. waving my pom-poms and doing a little cheer routine for u always. you are SO unbelievably kind and merciful and sweet tht it blows me away. not to be um. Peculiar^tm on main but every time u grant me ur usual thea on-brand kindness it makes my brain short circuit and i um. don't know what to do with myself or what i could say to show my appreciation which leads to me not saying anything bc every time i go back to reread and reply it just happens all over again and idk what i could say to "top" that and it makes me emotional and and and—[sniper finally takes the shot n puts us out of our misery, etc]. ur just........ !!!!!!!!!!!!! 🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤍🤎💕💞💓💗💖!!!!!!!!!!!! u know what i mean? like. i just. Do Not Have The Words to describe how happy u make me. you're SO kind and SO funny and SOOOOOOO talented it's actually insane. i read your writing and i FEEL the immense love that you put into it, that you have for the source material, and that the characters, no matter the nature of their relationship, feel for each other. no offense sorry to be #real but i feel like you have THEEEEEEE best grip on will and mike's voices, and this includes the duffers btw. i read your work and i'm like "oh my god.... that's will and mike, my best friends and best sons william and michael of stranger things fame oh my god...." i read your work and it's like ohhhhhhh so This is what love is, This is what it means to be understood and seen by another soul, This is what true human connection is okay #understood i See i Feel i Understand!!! i just. puts head in hands. i adore u and i am so thankful to have met you and existed at the same time as u. ur a fucking superstar idc sorry to sound like an elementary school teacher but i just Do Not Understand how someone can be so many wonderful things like HELLOOOOOO WHERE ARE YOUR FLAWS THEA.... WHERE ARE THEY!!!!!!!!!!!! smh. hugging u n biting u n also following u around like a puppy bc duality of man n such. nods at u and superglues us together while ur not looking bc i would follow you anywhere so long as u let me so plsdonteverleavemebutalsoifyoudowanttoleavethatsokayily <3

@miwism MAL MIWISM THE THIRD!!!! oh my god... what could i say that i haven't already... funniest byIer of all time award goes to you every year every time first second AND third place all urs and only urs or i blow this entire website up idc. you're so creative and talented (funny, a writer, AND an artist? mal for the love of god can you please leave SOMETHING to us plebeians... smh. AND UR A JOCK TOO?! SOMEONE PUT THE MANAGER ON THE PHONE BC HELLOOOOOO) and kind. how do u do it? pls, tell us where you're getting ur juice bc this is jus too much!!!!!!! you make my dash such a lovely n lively place to be and i am so thankful for u n ur contributions to this fandom<3

@willblogger IMA WHEN I TELL YOU I LOVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF UR POSTS AND ALWAYS MAKE SURE TO READ UR TAGS NO MATTER WHAT BC I LOVE UR BRAIN SO MUCH...... I'M BEING 💯‼️ u just Get it!!! u Know, u Understand, and i am so thankful to be able to witness it hehe. ur another person whose contributions to this fandom are priceless & i selfishly hope that u have the byIer brainrot forever bc i can't imagine being here without you #rip </3 you're so, so, so effortlessly funny and real and i just. i'm obsessed with u and i am so so happy to have found you!! 🥺

@s2willbyers OMG ANOTHER BLOGGER WHOSE CONTRIBUTIONS ARE SO UNIQUE AND PRICELESS...... HI ADRIAN HIIIII OMG HEY HI HELLO 🥺🤲💙 you are sooooo so so full of Knowledge and Understanding and talent and humor and kindness and and and. i jsut. how do u do it. how are you so nice and so funny and so talented at drawing and so talented at writing and so able to share your thoughts in such an eloquent and moving way i just . your passion is contagious and so is your enthusiasm and i love it sm!!! i want to read every single idea you have and i want to hear about every single connection you draw between these characters we love and the other works of art that you appreciate and what you think about these characters and how you see them through your eyes and your worldview. ur!!! so!! talented!!! and not enough people!!! say that!!!! even if someone told u this everyday it would not be enough, i think. i Love your blog and i Love your content and ur presence in this space makes me so so happy, adrian, rly and truly 🫶

@willandmichael IZA!!! you make such beautiful gifs and i love how you've always been so honest and unafraid to say what you mean. you're a true ByIer Warrior fr hehe n i just find tht so refreshing. happy new year!! it's been so fun going through this with you hehe :)

@notebooknonbinary VEE! tbh you're so sweet and kind tht i picture u in my head as like. a gumdrop. but also human. don't ask me how it works rly jus kno tht it does <3 bhdjfbdhj. BUT !!!! i just. 🥺 you are so so sweet and so talented and i am so happy to have followed you. you always put that Scrumptious content on my dash and every fic snippet and idea that you share with us always has me on the edge of my seat wanting more!!! you're so creative and i just love hearing everything that you have to say and want to share with us. <3

@lilacline001 LILAC QUEEN OF MY HEART AND CREATOR OF WORLD RENOWN CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED WORKS OF ART NOCTURNE AND RIPPLE EFFECT... I WOULD DIE FOR U (said while getting down on one knee like a knight before the throne ofc). seriously, i start thinking about your fics and immediately i feel like i have to stand up and take my hat off out of respect. i have goosebumps right now as i write this actually. i just. Your Mind. YOUR MIND!!!!!! it's insane and i stand by everything i've ever said about it tbh. my chest clenches just thinking abt nocturne, your mike (which is the most mike to ever be mike btw, including canon mike), and all of the lines that have pierced me and sunk all the way down into the meat of my heart. you're such a wordsmith... i just have no words to describe how your writing makes me feel. no words for you and your sweetness and your grace and your unique and oh so special creative genius. you're just!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! beyond words. i am so thankful to have existed at the same time as you and so thankful that you were generous enough to share your talents with us all. and actually i may have lied because now that i'm at the end of this blurb my mind just keeps repeating "you have bewitched me body and soul" so maybe there Are words to describe how i feel hehe. i am forever and always waving my pom-poms, doing cartwheels, holding up my handmade sign in the stands, and cheering you on in all of your creative endeavors!!!!!!!!! thank you so much for Changing Me with your works!!!! thank you so much for sharing your beautiful brain with us all!!! just thank you!!! for everything!!! AHHH!!!!! ❤️🖤🦇🩸

@ki-flor pLEASEEEEE you are carrying the byIer nation on your back tbh and i think i speak for all of us when i say we could not be more grateful hehe <3 your posts are ALWAYS so unbelievably funny and i LOVE your reaction gifs so much lmaoooo you never fail to get a giggle out of me. :') i love your enthusiasm and how Cool you are and how levelheaded you are even when the fandom is blowing up over smth. never change & thank u for making me laugh so much even through all the craziness!!

@mikeandwillel SANDYYYYYYYY EVERYBODY MOOOOOVE AND MAKE WAY FOR BIG BRAIN THINKER SANDY MIKEANDWILLEL THE THIRD 📣 i love, love, loooooove reading all of your analyses. you've made me rethink what i thought i knew about so many things in this story sooooo many times and i'm so thankful for that. you have a very keen eye and i love how you stick to your guns and what you believe in, not letting other people sway you. you're a very strong figure and that's such a breath of fresh air here. :) you're very logical, very fair, and i'm always just so happy to read all that you have to share with us. thank you for making this a better place & i can't wait to see what this next year in wait will bring us!!!

@repression jamieeeeee omg i hope this is not weird and i'm sorry if it is, but i'd be lying if i didn't include u in my favorites!!! i seriously love all of your posts and reading your thoughts on fandom, the characters, and the stories. i especially love when you post your own art and make connections between these characters and other artworks. i just... your mind!!! your mind. i'm very happy to have followed you and i feel Compelled to say thank u for blessing my dash as often as u do!!! so, thank u !!! <3 :D

@padme-amidala OMGGGGGGG EVERYBODY MOOOOOOOOVE AND MAKE WAY FOR THE BYLER EDIT GOD!!! jeeeeeeeesus ur gif edits for them hit like no other. you're SO talented and creative and have such a deep and genuine understanding of these characters, their individual stories, and all that they represent. i am so thankful for all that you've shared with us and i can't wait to see what else you have in store!! following u is such a treat!! :)

@givehimthemedicine NATALIE OMGGGG ur such a big brained individual. i LOOOOOOVE your blog because you provide such an invaluable perspective that i feel is so needed. you're so observant and the fact that you can catch such tiny but Big details always blows me away and makes me feel like i need new glasses or smth dfbjhd. just so happy that you're here and that you're generous enough to share ur big brain with us all. i need to get better at replying to your reblogs to my posts but also i shan't because i can never think of anything funnier than ur addition so #rip me bhfbkdjb hehehe. <3

@blackdeathmamba MS MAMBA <3 you were my very first friend in the byIer fandom and for that you will forever hold a special place in my heart. this year was hard for us both, but i hope (and knock on wood) that this next one will be brighter and better. you're an insanely talented wordsmith and a true trailblazer in this community. your name and your works are popular on every site that this ship has a presence and it's so deserved! i've meant every single compliment i've given you and i'd repeat them to you every day if that's what it took to rid you of any doubt you may have about your abilities. i'm... admittedly extremely embarrassed and was too ashamed to pop in weeks later to reply to you, but... i just want you to know that i still thought of you and missed your presence here and hope that you're doing at least a little better. if you aren't, that's okay, too, because there's always tomorrow, you know? sending you all my love and light and warmth forever and always! you're irreplaceable & such a true gem. thank you for making this space so much better for us all. 💗🫂🫶

@estelinhabb hiii, friend!! thank you so much for always cheering me and my rambling tags on hehe. i associate you with light and love tbh with the way that you always amplify the words of others and call attention to their additions! you're always very sweet and very kind and very inclusive and that's just so lovely to see. you spread your positivity always and help to really make this space feel like a community. thank you for all that you do and all of the kindness that you've spread!! it's always a pleasure to see you on my dash. <3

@thranduel THEEEEEEEE BYLER WARRIOR OF ALL BYLER WARRIORS EVERYONE STEP ASIDE AND MAKE WAY FOR TUMBLR USER JASMINE THRANDUEL PLEASEEEE 📣📣📣 omg. seriously, your takes are smoking hot and 100% factual every time. i've never read any of your thoughts on this show and its characters and found myself disagreeing. you're never afraid to speak your mind and say what needs to be said and that's something that's so needed in this fandom. thank you for being so true to yourself and loving our boys as enthusiastically and passionately as you do!!! <3

@surferboypizzashirts CHRISTINA! omg. you've been here since before i even made a blog specifically for byIer!! if anyone deserves a veterans discount, it's you. <3 thank you so much for sticking with me through the hype, the wariness, the despair, the delusion, and the hopeless hopefulness lol. you've made me giggle countless times and offer a breath of fresh air to your followers whenever you're around. i hope that you're doing well & have a happy new year bc you certainly deserve it! :)

@stbyers SUZZIE!!! :D you're always soooooo sweet and make the cutest picrews and THE CUTEST ART EVER HELLO!! a true Artiste^tm. i love, love, loooooove your style and simply can't get enough of it. <3 thank you so much for sharing your talents with us & making my dash that much brighter with your presence here. <3

@finalgirlbyers sierra! we have been following each other for so long and i would have it no other way. <3 i love your jokes, i love hearing about your life, and i love whenever you share your thoughts with us. i think you're lovely just the way you are and i would change absolutely nothing about you or your content. we all follow you because of you, not solely because of whatever you may provide us, and what you do provide to your followers isn't lesser or "low-brow". you're really cool and really funny with good taste and i hope that you have a lovely new year!!

@crazycoven HAYDEN YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN SO NICE TO ME AND I HAVE NEVER ONCE KNOWN HOW TO ACCEPT THAT BUT I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I HAVE BEEN SO MOVED AND SO TOUCHED BY YOU AND YOUR KINDNESS EVEN AND PERHAPS ESPECIALLY WHEN I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO SHOW THAT! sorry for the caps lock i jus had to get that off my chest <3 you're a miwi trailblazer and tbh where would we be without your countless contributions, hm? i shan't even think of such a scary au. you helped make this year in byIer history (lol) so much fun and i can't think of byIer tumblr without thinking of you, too. thank you for all the laughs, all the kindness, and for all that you've been generous enough to share with us all! <3

@aemiron-main em, em, em, where do i even begin....!!! i am genuinely forever and always blown away by you and your vast intelligence. seriously, i don't know how you do it. i think you have more thoughts in an hour than i've had in my entire life LMAOOO. i feel like you're a modern day sherlock holmes tbh. i bet my life savings even that you could probably crack every cold case out there if we just gave you an hour and some red bull. and this gift of yours is made even mooooooooore astonishing when you consider that not only are you so insanely sharp, but you're overall just a great fucking person!! like!!! HELLO!!!! how is that allowed. HOW is that allowed?! you're a damn genius, you're an insanely talented artist with a super unique and inimitable style, you're so funny, you're so SOOOOOO kind that it makes my brain short circuit and i have to immediately close the tab bc i get so flustered (i have issues<3), you're so unapologetically yourself, you're so HONEST, you're so... you're just. ahhhhhh!!!!!!!! (<- me screamin bc the Fan Behavior overcame me) i am sooooo happy that i came across you and followed you way back when. you've opened my eyes to so much and helped me reconsider certain things that i thought i knew and helped me to uncover things that i didn't even know i didn't know lol. i hope you have a happy new year because you very much deserve it, friend!! <3

@magentamee BREANNE! omg hewo 🥺 we have been mutuals for i don't even know how long at this point and you've always, always, aaaaaalways been so nice to me. thank you so much for being such a bright and bubbly person in this fandom. i always see you cheering others on and cracking jokes and in general just being so lovely. it's a treat to see you on the dash and i thank you very much for all the smiles you've gotten out of me and others i'm sure!! your halloween costume was BALLER and so are you and so will be your 2023 hehe <3

@howtobecomeadragon DRAGON!!!!!!! 🐉💚 before i say anything, i want you to know that i am hugging you and squeezing you and twirling you around in spirit hehe. you are so SWEET and so FUNNY and SO TALENTED?! HELLO?! leave some crumbs for the rest of us like... 🙄 dfbdjhbfjdh. i'm kidding. if you hogging every good trait ever means that you'll continue to bless us with your presence and contributions to this fandom then tbh i think that's a more than fair trade!! but seriously, i consider you to be such an important part of this fandom. your memes, your analyses, the questions you pose, your writing, your headcanons, just everything that you post!!! it's all so good and so unique and soooooo scrumptious. truly you are an Understander and Knower hehe <3 i'm so happy that i found you and i can't wait to weather this pre-s5 wait with you!! i'm sure that you'll continue to spoil us as you always have. happy new year, friend!!! :) <3

@laozuspo IF NOBODY GOT ME WHEN IT COMES TO UNDERSTANDING WILLIAM BYERS, I KNOW JAMES LAOZUSPO GOT ME 😤🤝🫡💪‼️ NOW CAN I GET AN AMEN LADIESSSSS 📣📣📣 BFJHDKJHFDB. but fr fr... james... my dear tumblr mutual... you Get it. you just Get it. i would die for you i would fight for you i am getting on one knee rn to swear an oath to you like a knight rnnnnnn it's Real u are my brother in byler (real) (not clickbait). you're so funny, so witty, so sharp, so Cool, so talented, just . i enjoy your blog and your brain so much. thank you so so so much for sharing it with us and for always speaking your truth, even when people really do Not want to hear it. thank you for not apologizing for being who you are and thank you for just. well. being you, i guess. this fandom would not be the same without you and i for one feel super lucky to have you here (so pls never leave me xoxo dbfhjdbjhf). thank you for everything and happy new year, james!! <3

@ice-sculptures RAE! where to even begin omg... you give so much to this fandom and i am so thankful. your beautiful gifs, your Real and True and Factual posts, your glorious au concepts, your thoughts, your endless kindness, and your pleasant presence—thank you so much for all of it!!! i'm Shocked that you don't write fic (yet...? 👀 hehe) because omg. HELLO... you're such a good writer?! even when you're standing up to the masses and clearing the byers brothers name or waxing showstopping poetic about byIer, your words and your message is always so moving. i'm so happy that you're here and that you're generous enough to share with us all that you do. thank you, thank you, thank you!! wishing you the happiest of happy new years to you, too, of course! :D

@willelfanpage sara!! :D oh my god. actually idek why i started this out all cheery like you haven't kicked me in the face and ripped my beating heart straight out of my chest 83409830 times with your Real and Factual and Very Canon angst 😭💔 EVILLLLLL. but so good! which leads us to our next point: just how do you manage to be so kind and oh so talented, hm? what's your secret? how do you manage to Understand and Know sooooooo many characters and speak nothing but the cold hard facts time n time again? truly a marvel!!!! you share so much with this fandom and i hope you know that we appreciate everything that your beautiful brain comes up with even if it leaves us in shambles. crossing my fingers that this upcoming year serves you back as much happiness as you've so generously given us!!! <3

@strangersynth time, dear tumblr user time strangersynth omg hey hi hello 🥺🤲💙 you've always been so unbelievably kind to me in the tags and i just want you to know that i See you and appreciate you sm. it makes me smile every time! you have such an eye for design and it really shows in everything that you do. your video edits are GORGEOUS! seriously, they're soooo good. i love how you're able to find all of these parallels and similarities between characters and their journeys and present it in such an awesome fashion. your dedication and passion for your craft really shines through in everything that you do, from your edits to your words to your layout and all!! you're very cool and very kind and very talented and i am so happy to have crossed paths with you on these e-streets. happy new year, time!! :) <3

@elmaxed lumi! yet another person with an eye for all things beautiful. you're such a sweet, funny, talented, and cheery individual. you share so much with this fandom—your ideas, your fics, your art, your edits, your jokes, and your thoughts—and i love and am so thankful for each and every gift that you give us!! i used to see your posts all the time even before i started a byIer blog and tbh i feel like your popularity is soooo deserved. you're always such a sweetheart and it's always a pleasure to see you on my dash. :) <3

@themacklemorebrothers hello, friend! :D i hope you're well!! you're a familiar n welcome face around these parts and i always treasure every comment and addition you leave to my posts or my reblogs. i especially love your dedication to making this a more accessible place for us all. you've made me laugh and smile countless times and i can't thank you enough for that. i hope this new year grants you the same smiles n laughter that you've given me and more!! :D <3

@toystoryfan hi, toy!! :) i always love reading your comments on the posts you reblog from me. you've made me smile n laugh so many times and blown me away with your insights, too. i always make sure to read anything you write when i see you in my activity tab & i especially love when you add on to headcanons or ideas. i hope you have a lovely new year and continue to share your thoughts while we wait for s5! :D

@chaserofstarsandtheabyss hello, hello!! i see you in my activity tab often and it's always such a treat! i love reading your thoughts on things and when you add on to any ideas or offer a different perspective. it's always so fun and refreshing and you never have to apologize for rambling! if anything, i encourage it hehe. :) i'm happy that we crossed paths this year and i wish you a happy new year, friend!

@gmaybe666 omgggggggg ngl i do be giggling n twirling my hair n kicking my feet whenever you prev me hehe. your art style scratches an itch in my brain that i didn't even know i had! it's just so.... [clenches fist] GOOD, you know? like, it just feel so Real, so Genuine, so True. i can feel your love pouring through with every artwork that you share. i look at those two boys and i SEE mike and will as they really are! and that's so special! your art, your vision, and your talent is so special. your comic series is so powerfully evocative especially. gets me right in my achy breaky heart with how tender and true it is. </3 thank you so much for sharing your skills with us! i wish you a very happy new year! :)

@emblazons TUMBLR USER EMBLAZONS!!! did you know that you're so very smart and observant and also witty and that i cherish you and everything that you so graciously share with us very, very much? well, now you do! i love your gifs, i love your careful and powerful analyses, i love the way that you speak about these characters and their journeys both individually and together, i just... i love your passion for this art form! i love hearing your thoughts and i'm soooo happy that i came across your blog. i love seeing you on my dash and gobble up everything that you share with us. you've made me reconsider so many things and really expanded my understanding in ways that i appreciate so much. thank you for all that you do for this fandom and happy new year!! 🥳🍾

@light-lanterne hi, angel! :) this isn't the first time you've heard this and it certainly won't be the last, but it bears repeating anyway!! thank you sooooo so so much for what you've done for the byIer fandom!! seriously, no one is doing it like you!! you're a true artist with such a lovely heart. your fic rec blog is such an unbelievably kind and generous thing to do. i can't even begin to imagine the amount of happiness you've likely brought writers by not only giving their works attention but also so much love!! your edits are fantastic!! and the fact that you actually take the time to read them to get an idea before putting something together? you have such a good, good heart. please, never change! again, thank you so much. not even just for that, but even your own works!! which are so unique!! i've seriously never read anything like them. your love for your fellow fandom friends, for your fellow creatives, for this show, and for art and community themselves shows in everything that you do. i hope and pray that this new year brings you just as much happiness as you've so freely given to others and more!! thank you, thank you, thank you! for everything! <3

@chirpsythismorning we've never spoken before, but i just wanted to say thank you for my life lmao. when volume two dropped, the byIer nation was in SHAMBLES until you came along. seriously, you dragged us just like this out of the deepest darkest pits of hell kicking and screaming and sobbing and wailing on the brink of death and for that i am so thankful lol. when i was ready to give up the crumb of hope that i still had left you were there to refill my plate and get me back on my byIer feet hehe. every time i see one of your posts on my dash i always take the time to read because i know it'll be good. again, thank you so much for everything that you've done for this fandom!! i hope that this new year treats you well!! :)

@frodohaven HADLEY!! i have never spoken to you because i am so Shy but just know that i admire u from afar. in a non-creepy way ofc. your posts are always so #real and true and factual and your st x lotr posts are especially chef's kiss. i've never seen a post of yours cross my dash that DIDN'T slap and tbh i don't think such a post exists? it's just impossible. you're so funny, so smart, and i LOVE seeing you in these byIer streets. i hope you have a lovely new year!!

@wibble-wobbegong hi! :) i've already said what i'm about to say to you before hehe, but it bears repeating anyway!! thank you so much for all of your contributions to this fandom, really and truly. your analyses are top tier and i'm always so fascinated by your perspective on things. i always make sure to read your posts when they come across my dash and i've seriously never come away from one not learning something new. i love that you hold these takes and beliefs so close to your heart and how willing you are to engage in conversation. you're funny, you're intelligent, and you've always been so kind to me when we have interacted which i cherish very much. i hope you have a lovely new year and i can't wait to learn so much more from you! thank u sm for sharing your thoughts with us as much as you have! :)

[chihirolovebot]

okay okay prepare for my ranting but OHHHHHHHHHMYGOD i just love your writing so so much.

you just AHSHSTGGFF ARE SOOOOO GOOD AT GETTING THE READER HOOKED. I SWEAR . ITS UNREAL.

no joke . i’ve reread sleep awake probably about 4 times now. it has been on my mind for the past month. send help .

I LOVE LOVE LOVE physicist’s relationship dynamics with the rest of the cast. thank goodness we’re not isolated with kokichi the whole story. ohmygod. i think i’d die.

i feel like . phys could really do with a massive cry in rantaro’s arms. he became a brotherly figure so quickly for them and AUGHHHthey make me so upset. him preventing a meltdown too?? WAAAAAHHH … gotta love him for that. hopefully we’ll get to see more of him in here is where my body lies .

SPEAKING OF THAT. i’m looking forward to seeing the bad endings / alternate universes in it. like … if kirumi killed phys. or korekiyo succeeded in killing phys. or …if kokichi didn’t walk in when gonta attempted to kill phys . ohmygod. phys almost died a lot. i hope we get to see how everyone reacts. ANYWAY i can’t wait to see phys and the others be happy. what the hell. i need this in my life.

back to friendship dynamics….the trio recently formed by BELIEVING in phys??? is just AUGHHHHH SO SO CUTE. THEY HAVE MY HEART. I WANNA GIVE THEM ALL A HUG.

and…with the main man himself …. WOW. just. WOW. their dynamic is everything. they make me wanna cry. they are married. they are divorced. they are nerds. they are losers. they are. my everything. they are

“And yet—this deal he’d made you. That was trust, naked and unmistakable. That was far more than he’d offered anybody else. Everything else aside, Kokichi trusted you. Wasn’t that enough? 

If the small pit in your stomach was anything to go by—no, it wasn’t. And you didn’t know why”

WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH THEY JUST MAKE ME SICK. SO SICK. i’m really curious how phys will react to kokichi’s plan for *you know what* or that he’ll just keep them in the dark. again. because he knows they wouldn’t let him? I DONT KNOW. whatever it is. i’m not ready for it.

despite the tears that i’m gonna shed in the future ……..IM EXCITED TO SEE THE NEXT CHAPTERS PLAY OUT. im looking forward to the changes you’re gonna make in chapter 6. really curious what that’s gonna be .

you’ve captured kokichi’s character to a tee and i can’t get enough of it i swear .

i love that phys has autism too. like. if it isn’t completely obvious by now. so do i and it’s just. wow. THEY R JUST LIKE ME!!!!

also. i’m very excited to see where you take that persona 5 fic. wink wink.

ANYWAYS LOVE YOU FOR THIS. THIS IS THE BEST FIC I’VE READ EVER . I COULD GO ON AND ON ABOUT HOW MUCH I LOVE IT. GOODBYE .

HELLO FOR THE LOVE OF GOD HELLO .

ur so kind this is like. one of the sweetest asks ive ever received i was pacing all day and im just answering now because i wanted to have the time to write out a thoughtful response because ohhghgh my god u made my absolute week with this thank you SO much my angel !!!!!

starting this story it was so important to me that like . phys has Other Friends. i think i mentioned this before but i think a big part of the story is that Ouma's mindset is wrong and unhealthy which is definitely starting to be examined this late in the story and like. the way he goes about doing stuff is definitely (mostly) well-intentioned but his mindset and philosophies are so Off and Wrong that i think ONLY having his mindset to influence Phys would a) ensure that phys only develops in a way that makes them more like him, which is NOT good because his mindset is wrong and unhealthy, and b) would make them extremely lonely when that isnt what i want the story to be about. if i COULD i would go back and give them some more interaction with momota because he's ouma's foil character, but i like him giving phys advice and phys taking on bits of his philosphy, too. they basically take an amalgamation of their friends' perspectives and learn to have a healthier outlook that way. so yeah . its super important for phys to have friends, especially optimistic ones like momota, kiibo and chabashira .

MY BODY LIES!!!! i haven't forgotten about this, just planning on properly starting it after i finish sleep awake's main story because between that , my p5 fic, and my jojo fic its kind of A Lot. but amami will DEFINITELY be a prominent character in it because i love his and phys's relationship so much. i tried to stretch it as much as possible in the original story before i knew i had to kill him off :(( and YEAH so i think a bad ending will be the first chapter which will probably be if shinguuji succeeded in his murder attempt , mostly focusing on the aftermath and the effect it has on the rest of the characters which . was pretty heavy for a first chapter so i may make it the second instead lmao.

I CANT SAY MUCH ABT FUTURE STUFF but i CAN say that some of ch5 and a fair amount of ch6 will be different and im super excited to show you what i have in store for it !!! the tone i'm going for is bittersweet so . hopefully that tides you over for a bit :3

the new trio... the phys apostles as i'm calling them. they're so silly to me. something about each of them knowing phys in very unique ways . kiibo seeing phys as soon as they woke up and always being the first to believe in them , chabashira seeing phys after they killed shinguuji and being the only person to see that side of them, and saihara being a sort of mirror to phys's grief in the early chapters after they both lost the most important person to them ( at that time ). i thought it made sense that they would all be a little more reluctant to believe that phys had been totally brainwashed because they all have a lot more respect for them than that , and also just . know them better as a person than the others , who are definitely still well-intentioned , just ignorant.

ouma... my little freakweirdo bf . characterising him is such a challenge but im so so happy you enjoy how i've done it !!!! physouma's dynamic is my favourite i've ever written in anything, i think . it's exactly like you said !!! they're constantly on this weird emotional journey where phys is attempting to get closer and ouma is attempting to distance himself but its not working because they both care about each other so much and like. yeah . they make me a bit insane too . writing phys slowly discovering their feelings has been super fun too . i usually dislike the oblivious love interest trope because more often than not it feels like it's played for miscommunication problems BUT i feel like with ouma it only makes sense because like . its impossible to know where you stand with ouma even if he straight-up says 'im in love with you' you'd just be like ?? yeah ok buddy sure. good one . you got me.

autistic phys is so real to me as i obviously also have autism and . i was projecting super hard when i created them teehee. THE PERSONA FIC !!!! i know its been a while since i updated but i AM working on the next chapter its definitely not abandoned :3

THANK U AGAIN SO SOSOSOS MUCH FOR THIS . I HOPE UR HAVING THE BEST DAY EVER <333

[mostlymaudlin]

Top 5 vs Personal 5

List your top 5 fics ranked by kudos on AO3. are you surprised by what's most popular to your readers? then provide your ranking of your personal top 5 fics, and tag a few fellow writers!

ty for the tag @sillyunicorn :D this is cute and also interesting. i tag @starwarned @urban-sith @tea-brigade @fortheloveofexy @nanatsuyu @justadreamfox @jaydreams @halfpintpeach

im actually going to do my Personal 5 first because that's what i want above the read more cut 😂 no one is escaping looking at my babies.

Thorns (E), 18k, andreil // a post-canon fic where andrew and neil cope with doing a long distance relationship when u both have fatal levels of attachment issues lol. i spent a stupid long time on this fic for the word count, but there is love in every single word. i like this universe bc it's what i want for post-canon andreil. no one gave them the tools for this shit, but i love the idea that they will always figure out how to be together, even if its messy.

No Turning Back (E), 31k, andreil // this is perhaps recency bias, but i think this is the best thing ive ever written. i have a hard time summarizing it.. but it's an au where the conflict is almost entirely in andrew's head, which of course means he Causes Many Problems. i actually built this fic out from Andrew's fucked up internal journey, which was cool for me -- like, the main plot was developed to fit his character arc. i think that's probably not rocket science or unique but it was my first time doing it that way!

We Can Live Forever (T), 46k, andreil // i used to not like hs aus and then i wrote a huge one lol. its childhood best friends-lovers, and centered on this ridiculous lip sync serenade fundraiser ?? i made them all dance. a lot. sometimes its serious, but its mostly very silly. i wrote it w the intention of giving people that "read until 4am screaming into ur pillow bc cute aggression" feeling that so many fics have given me, and the feedback ive gotten implies ive succeeded, so im rly proud of that!!

Stoner AU (E), 21k, snowbaz // i'm cheating a bit because this is a series, but i almost consider this thing to be like a collection of sitcom episodes lol. it's a normal au, simon is a weed guy and baz buys from him and also falls in love w him. theres a lot of penny and shep and its all just very FUNNY imo. and they are all so fucking devoted to each other in kind of unhinged ways. i love rereading these fics.

I'll Come Back To You (T), 6.9k, andreil // ok, for 1: that's the exact word count. every time i fix typos on rereads i have to edit it to preserve the wc. but 2: this fic is Not Silly or Smutty LOL. it's probably my plottiest/most serious fic in some ways -- it deals w, like, multiple dimensions ?? and amnesia. and loneliness. i'm proud of the ambiguity, because i tend to be a writer that punches you in the face with The Theme. this one leaves a lot for the reader to figure out (to the dissatisfaction of some commenters lol), but i like that you have to think about it a bit.

ok, AO3 Top 5 under the cut!

all of these are andreil, because aftg fandom is a lot bigger than carry on </3.

boyfriend privileges (T), 4k // i should not have been surprised that this did the numbers, but i was kind of shook when my ao3 inbox blew up like never before. it's fanfic catnip -- a 5+1 post-canon with resolvable angst interspersed with soft moments. i wrote it in like 2 days and didn't edit, and aint that just the way of ao3 lol.

flashes of intimacy (T), 7k // this is a series of fifteen <500 word fics that i add to pretty often, so it also makes sense that it's got a lot of readers! ive always been proud of my ability to write short, so it makes me happy that it's up here. it wld probs be #6 on my personal rating.

Inside Thoughts (T), 1.5k // andrew gets his wisdom teeth out and is a goober about it. one of my first aftg fics -- i think it's up here bc it's almost a year old. i am not passionate abt it tbh, i wrote it kind of as a joke one night while i was high lmfao

Do Not Disturb (T), 2k // another of my first aftg fics that i kind of dont care much about hahaha. it's another catnip situation, a post-canon moment where neil panics & unconsciously calls andrew, similarly to how he does in canon. and then they r soft <3

Tequila Sunrise (M), 4k // i know people love this one -- it's also my most bookmarked. it's fun!! drunk neil!! but i almost can't read it anymore lol. there's some prose im proud of in there, but there's also some lazy characterization choices i made bc i had no idea it would get so many hits. its hard for me as the Characterization Guy to reconcile that hahaha.

ok as usual that was long-winded as hell. i love 2 talk abt writing :) also i feel bad 4 the lack of snowbaz representation here lol, but i think that i'm 1. better at writing andreil and 2. have gotten a lot better at writing while i was unemployed the last few months. i think a lot abt taking snowbaz for another whirl now, but consider: then i wouldn't get to write abt Andrew Minyard :(

[boymeetsweevil]

i think i sent an ask yearsss ago about how for science was my fav jungkook fic….i just reread it after years and years and wow seeing that line about it being 2018 hit me hard.. i don’t really read fanfic anymore but every time i scroll thru my following list now it all says active 5+ years ago…thanks for writing that fic again i miss nerdy kook sm missing the good old days

i would love a life update from u if ur comfortable sharing!

Thank you so much for this message! It makes me so happy that people want to return to stuff. And it makes my heart ache a little because yeah, same, I don’t really read fanfic anymore either. But I do still like writing/reading fiction (especially romance 😤 ) and I really do want to do it again but maybe without fandom. I feel like it can put a restrictive kind of pressure on you that can make it tough to do long term. Not to dismiss fandom—it’s an opportunity to connect to other people and get your work circulated way easier on here :/

In terms of a life update, I’ve been trying to work and save as much as I can because I’ve had to take care of my parents in the last few years. It was hard but I think it’s going to pay off soon. And maybe I’ll be able to turn back to writing for fun! If I can create a new writing account, I think I’ll post it here for any people that might be curious and probably move all my stuff to AO3. I don’t want to get rid of the stuff, but Idk when I would write for bts again tbh.

Hope youre doing well anon :) thanks again for the message

[callsign-rogueone]

Het beautiful! ♡ how have you been doing? I hope ur doing well.

I saw your working on liam and spark? I really liked chapter one. The grumpy girl and our lovely liam, I instantly loved them so I can't wait to see what you have in store for them. (Knowing that our beloved doesn't make through his first year. I feel like its gonna end sad🥺) but keep going, your making amazing stories.

School is gonna start again for me tomorrow so we're back on the stress train 😅 but that means that during my breaks at least I can read your story's. (Really, I swear, that's how I spend my breaks usually. Rereading your amazing story's ♡) so that's a plus!

I was wondering if you maybe (if you want to) give a sneak peak about something Bren fluff? (can be someone else if u want to) but then I have something fluff that I can kind of hold on to. It sounds lame, but it really helps.

Also I saw your post about a last game of hockey season? Do u play yourself? Cuz that's pretty cool ♡ I hope you have an amazing day and week. I'm proud of you. You're creating amazing stories! ♡♡♡

hihi!! I’m doing well 🥰 still sick (it’s been a whole month now lol)

Liam and his girl will only have a short time together, and it’s going to be very hard for after he passes, but they’ll love each other deeply while they can, and he’s going to help her work through some things before he has to go 🥺❤️‍🩹

my writing helps me a lot with the stress from work + being sick all the time, and I’m glad that reading it helps you with the stress of school 💕

here’s a little snip of something I’m working on for Bren and his wifey:

He wraps an arm around you, pulling you closer. “I’m so glad my dad made me learn Tyrrish as a kid.”

You laugh, your ribs shaking under his palm. “That’s really what you’re thinking about right now?”

And I don’t play hockey myself, I just follow my closest NHL/AHL teams and I like to make the drive to see them once a month or so. They’re not the best but I still love them and it’s always a good time 💗

I hope the week is kind to you. and good luck with school 🥰 📚 I believe in you!!

[allylikethecat]

Hey! Only just saw your response to the ask I sent yesterday (the one about thinking of rereading all ur fics). You mentioned wondering which was my favourite and it might have just been a throwaway comment but I am DYING to talk about it so I’m sending this ask anyway. It’s going to be a long one I apologise.

I feel like my favourite atm has to be All the Kings Horses just because it feels so REAL and I have formed an attachment to the characters already. I adore how they’re all portrayed. But also it’s so clear that you know the world so well it’s so easy to be drawn into it.

Also on that note- do you ever think you’d write something to like publish? Not like a fanfic just something you’ve created ig? I mean it’s clear you definitely could if you wanted. (Also I mean twilight wouldn’t exist without a Gerad Way fanfic writer haha)

But back to your fics I feel like I also have an attachment to a lot of the stories in the infection verse. The first story of yours that I read was the one where he scratches his eye so I guess that one always has to be partially my favourite, the ear infection one that followed too.

BUT I also really love ducklings and it’s sooo good at the moment so that might be my second favourite maybe ??

Who knows. Anyway that’s all I was going to say, I apologise for the long ask if you made it this far :)

Oh my gosh seeing this ask has absolutely made my entire day!! Thank you so much for sending this my way, it was 100% not a throw away comment, I love hearing which of my fics are resonating with people, it's a great way for me to see what's working and what's not working in my writing since I strive to improve with each project / chapter! I also LOVE talking about fic, whether it's my fic or someone else's fic, so the opportunity to do so is always welcome!! Also never apologize for sending a long ask! Literally makes my entire day!! I'm also about to write you one back that is just as long if not longer so buckle up I apologize in advance I got excited lol.

I'm SO HAPPY to hear that you're enjoying All the King's Horses!! Currently, that is my absolute favorite fic that I'm working on and I know it's a very specific, niche AU so the fact that people are giving it a chance (and enjoying it!!) makes me so happy and so extremely grateful. I love that version of the gang so much - because it is an AU where they are not a band, I feel like I've really gotten to play around with how everyone fits together and knows one another which has been so fun! I'm excited to introduce a few more figures from IRL into the All the King's Horses universe! I also just... love horses and equestrian sports so much that it's like combining my two majors obsessions / interests and it makes my heart SO HAPPY.

In terms of actually traditionally publishing some kind of original fiction some day... that would be an absolute dream. I do have a collection of original projects that I've been working on in addition to my fanfiction, but nothing that I feel is "good enough" or that I'm ready to try and share with the world in that way. I'm seriously so flattered that you think my writing is good enough to even consider pursing traditional publishing with original work 🩵 maybe one day! For now I will be continuing to make Fictional!Matty suffer in various ways 😂

AHHH I'm so happy to hear that the Eye Infection Fic is the one that pulled you in!! I also have a huge soft spot for the Infection verse (which is why we keep revisiting that version of Fictional!Matty and Fictional!George) and I have had so much fun piecing together their world and also trying to make sure there aren't any major continuity errors since it was just supposed to be a stand alone one shot when I started haha

I'm also glad you are enjoying Ducklings!! I know that's another niche trope that people either LOVE or actively avoid so thank you for giving that one a chance as well! It's kind snowballed into a monster but I think I have some direction with it now, and I'm excited for all of Fictional!Matty's secrets to be revealed!

Once again, never apologize for sending a long ask!! Thank YOU for taking the time to not only read my fics but to type up this commentary on them! I am truly going like this !!!! and am just so, so, so grateful for the support and kindness of readers like you!! I never thought that I would be engaging with anyone on Tumblr about my fic, and instead have found myself part of such a lovely little community here. Thank you so much again and I hope you had a lovely weekend and that you have a great upcoming week!

❤️Ally