#one of my biggest fanfic projects yet!

[sorrinslays]

Gepard's role in the story

(crack theory territory)

So, I'm sure I'm not the only one that noticed, but Gepard is extremely underused in the story, which is such a shame?

Like, I counted the times we see him in the main story and it's disappointing. We (Astrall Express Crew) see him at the start after Sampo ditches us, where he takes us to Cocolia and all, then we see him again at the end of the story when he's trying to stop us because he believes we are trying to harm the Supreme guardian and he fights us and his Sister and that's it. We don't see him again.

Then, when Topaz comes to Jarillo VI he is there for two scenes again. One where he tries to stop Topaz and gets ambushed and one at the end where he stops a woman from getting crushed to death.

Even in 'his' (Serval's) companion quest, he takes the backseat. Sure, the story was about Serval and her getting over Cocolia and Gepard's role was him just trying to show Serval that she is still needed in Belobog, but honestly they could've done more with him.

I think people forget that he doesn't know the truth of what really happened to Cocolia? (as far as I'm aware at least). Can you imagine if he learned the truth? The mental breakdown that he'll experience?

This man has been serving her for the better part of a decade. He was spoon-fed propaganda like that Underworlders are 'wild' (an item description mentions that he had to fight 'wild Underworlders' I'm pretty sure) and blindly following the Supreme Guardian's orders for years. How is he supposed to react when he learns that those 'necessary sacrifices' of his fellow guards was just an excuse to get rid of more Belobogians for the 'dream' the Stellaron promised Cocolia.

Don't forget, he knew those people. They were friends, comrades, people he saw everyday. And all of them were dying on the daily and he was powerless to do anything.

And when he learns the truth, how is he gonna react to Bronya's decision to cover it up? Were the deaths of his friends in vain? Do their families not deserve to know the truth as to why their loved ones died? How much blood does the late Supreme Guardian have on her hands? How much of it has transferred to Bronya? How much blood does Gepard have on his hands because he never questioned his orders?

Point is, he is so important to Belobog, he's the Goddamn Captain of the only military service they have there, obviously he is needed! So why underuse him so much?

Well, this is where we move more into theory territory. I think it ties in with a future Belobog quest that Black Swan's companion quest hinted at (at the end during Sampo's and Sparkle's conversation).

Since Gepard has been on the backburner, we have yet to see Sampo and Gepard interacting and the fact Sampo still doesn't have a companion quest even though he is an important lore character I think all of that will happen in the future.

I think it would work best as a quest without the Astral Express Crew, like the new POV mechanic or the cut aways used in the Loufu for Dan Heng. We could play as Gepard or Sampo as they are forced to work together for whatever reason.

We could play as Gepard as something big happens in the restricted zone (AKA the catastrophe Sparkle teased Sampo about). Maybe he gets informed about it (maybe we get a new 4* character that's a guard that informs Gepard) and when he makes it there, Sampo is already here, as if expecting it.

Maybe Bronya calls Gepard to her office after an anonymous tip was sent to her warning the Silvermane Guards of a catastrophe coming to Belobog. Maybe he is tasked with finding who sent the note as well as prepering for said catastrophe, which is how he runs into Sampo, having the two working together.

Maybe we play as Sampo, leaving clues for the Silvermane guards until we reveal ourselves, getting that 5* version. Maybe we are the one pushing the puzzle pieces so they fit on their own or maybe all through the quest we keep cutting back to a game of chess between Aha and Sampo, showing the unpredictable nature of the catastrophe as it was orchestrated by Aha just for shits and giggles.

Either way, this works great as a pathway to seeing:

a) the dynamic between Sampo (arguably the most mysterious character to come from Belobog) and Gepard (resident bbg)

b) 5* Sampo

c) (and this is mostly me playing around with concepts) Gepard becoming an emanator, becoming the first on screen character to be turned into an emanator

d) a great end to Sampo's character arc by becoming a part of Belobog (maybe he even becomes part of the Silvermanes as a detective)

e) more Geppie screen time and exploration of his character

(a few extra ramblings from my demented as a treat)

I think it's criminal that Gepard doesn't have his own companion quest and he's practically shoved in his sister's, and considering that Sampo doesn't have his own......................

I think it would be fair to have these two in a companion quest of their own.

I'm thinking of a quest where Sampo becomes a Silvermane guard (a detective to be more precise) and Gepard learns the truth about Cocolia.

I can imagine that during some investigation that Gepard is having a hard time with due to the Underworlders not trusting the Silvermane guards, he is forced to seek Sampo's help. So through Natasha, he gets ahold of Sampo and the two work together where Gepard, through investing a shady group learns what actually happened to Cocolia as well as all the lies he's been getting spooned-fed for years.

One mental breakdown and emotional conversation between the two later, they catch the criminals and Gepard takes it upon himself to make Sampo part of the Silvermane guards because of how helpful he's actually been recently (main story + new quest with the catastrophe + the companion quest + helping the Underworld in general).

The companion quest ends with Sampo becoming a detective (Heizou from Genshin Impact style) where he wants to prevent crimes from happening before they even committed. His reason being 'criminal to detective is pretty stereotypical and Aha might blow up the planet' so he challenges himself to stop crime before it's committed to keep Aha entertained enough that they don't blow up the planet but uninterested enough that they don't actively observe.

I think it would be a great end to both character arcs.

Gepard gets more screentime and learns to question orders (it'd be nice to see his friendship with Bronya damaged, cause technically he is her uncle (Cocolia adopted Bronya while she was still in a relationship with Serval, making him an uncle)). Maybe he also reaches the conclusion of still being a Silvermane Guard for the sake of protecting the people but not actively following the Supreme Guardian because he lost faith in her.

Sampo gains a home and (gasp) love (platonic, romantic, doesn't matter). He'll feel like he belongs somewhere, a permanent home. Not matter if he leaves the planet for a day or a year, he'll still be welcome. His reputation improves and his skill is used for the betterment of Belobog. His mask is allowed to slip, even just a little.

[you-were-alone-too]

for those of you that wish we could have gotten a regular byler road trip full of mike and will shenanigans and gay pining, look no further! below is a fic i've been working on for a long time (with art by @oceanic-sunsets and @hei-jessi-draws !!) and i'd love if you'd be willing to check it out and leave a kudos, bookmark, or comment :)

summary: “I’m serious, though,” he says, and when he glances up, Mike’s already staring back at him, brown eyes imploring into hazel. Insistent. “We should do it. For real.”

Will’s breath catches at the way it feels like he can see right through him, and he swallows hard at how sincere he sounds, even if he doubts the idea will ever get off the ground, if he figures that Mike will forget about it in a day or two. “Where would we even go?” Will says, humoring him.

“California,” Mike answers, like it’s obvious.

OR: Mike and Will recreate their perfect spring break by taking a road trip to California.

[revenantghost]

Oh I have another chapter of my beauty and the beast au I should... post it... huh

[azalawa-scroggs]

The struggle when you finish a chapter (especially for a new fic) between wanting to share it RIGHT NOW

vs.

knowing it still needs a bit of editing & wanting to have the whole thing written before posting

[kitkatt0430]

So big shout out to SquidgeWorld for the news update acknowledging and encouraging the use of the tilde relationship identifier for queerplatonic ships!!!

I actually had a bit of a hand in how this one came about, which is pretty fun. (Story time!)

So a few years ago the Character A ~ Character B format was introduced over here on tumblr to represent QPRs. There is a post I know I rebloged a few times buried on my main somewhere about this and I'll have to try to remember to dig that up later. And there was bit of a push to try and get Ao3 to officially acknowledge the tilde or at least for those of us who write fic there start using it in tagging regardless of official acknowledgement and see what happened. And, well, what largely seems to have happened is that the tag wranglers have let us use the tilde, but there's been no official acknowledgement as the Tag Wrangling page for relationships on Ao3 still only discusses the '&' and '/' identifiers. (If there was anything official said about it elsewhere, sadly I must have missed it.)

I started using the tilde... two years ago? I think? And went back to update some of my existing fics to add in ship tags with the tilde. I still made sure to keep the Queerplatonic Relationship tags because those are still the best way to find fics that have QPRs included in them. And I've seen a few others using the '~' out in the wild, but discussion about it kind of faded again. If you knew, you knew. And if you didn't... there was always that Queerplatonic Relationship tag.

Then, about a year ago, I signed up for SquidgeWorld. I'd never heard of it before (which is likely because I'm just not super active in fandom outside the niche I've carved for myself; I admit, I am a bit under a rock at times...) but Squidge been around in one form or another since 1994. One of the fanfic authors I followed was moving their works there and so I followed and did what I always do on new sites I'm curious about - I lurked.

Fast forward to more recently. Fanfiction.net that I've been loyally using as my backup fic location for years after leaving it as my main fanfic archive... it's getting buggier and more unstable by the year. I don't intend to pull my fanfiction off it - I will leave what's on there up until the site collapses in on itself - but the day is coming ever nearer that the bugs and lack of tagging updates will finally make cross-posting there entirely too much of a hassle. And much as I love Ao3, I don't like the idea of only having all my fanfic in one place. I've seen enough archives big and small get destroyed over the years that no matter how stable or permanent Ao3 feels... I'm more comfortable knowing my fic can be found in multiple places. (Of course, the biggest hurdle for getting my fics cross-posted in multiple places is... executive dysfunction.)

I started finally cross-posting to SquidgeWorld recently and honestly just didn't really think too much about it when bringing over fics tagged with the QPR identifier. I just copied over the Character A ~ Character B tags and hit post. :D

But admin-squidgie over there - who I believe is found here on tumblr using @squidgiepdx (hi! Thanks a bunch for the news post!) - asked me about the tilde usage and what that was being used to represent. So I responded with an explanation about how it was a relatively new identifier used because queerplatonic relationships aren't really well represented by romantic or platonic identifiers. And then admin-squidgie got back to me to let me know there'd be a news post soon about this new identifier type. Which was so awesome.

While the wrangling guidelines haven't been updated on SquidgeWorld to note the use of the tilde yet (and could take a while, I know official docs always wind up being the last thing updated), the news post really is a very big deal for those of us who like to write and read queerplatonic ships.

For those of you interested in cross-posting or moving your fanfic to SquidgeWorld, I do recommend the archive. I've lurked long enough to see that the community there is pretty friendly, the interface is a clone of Ao3's so it should be familiar to a lot of you and is easily customized to make it more accessible (or covered in rainbows if you prefer ^_^ ), and (as seen here) the admin over there is open to helping make the archive an inclusive place for all of us.

And with at least one fanfic archive both acknowledging and encouraging the use of the queerplatonic relationship identifier, it'd be nice to see information on that making the rounds here on tumblr again. I bet there are a lot of aspecs who don't know about the identifier but who would be glad to know it exists and start using it themselves.

[rhoorl]

Working Title | Chapter 20

Pairing: Dieter Bravo/OFC Series Rating: Mature, 18+ Word Count: 5.4k Series Masterlist | AO3 Chapter 20 Chapter Summary: The girls head to LA for the audition. Chapter Warnings: Brief alcohol mention. Swearing. Alternating POVs. Some angst, Body image issues. People being mean online. Allusions to Dieter's past. A/N: I can’t believe we’ve made it to the penultimate chapter of this series. This has been my first foray into fanfic writing and these two mean so much to me. I hope you enjoy this chapter and thank you for reading and spending some time in this little world!

“Cheers,” Sam smiled clinking the neck of his beer with Dieter’s glass. 

The two made some small talk, mostly about the show and whether or not they thought it was actually going to be picked up or not.

“Do you have anything lined up after this is done?” He studied Dieter, who sat absentmindedly swirling his Old Fashioned in one hand.

“Nah, I haven’t come across anything that interests me. Might take some time off.”

“Must be nice,” Sam scoffed, wincing as he ran his hand through his hair. He hated it when his mouth worked faster than his brain. “Sorry, that probably sounded worse than I meant it. I just…I’m not in a position to take a lot of time off you know?”

Although he had been working for a while, Sam still hadn’t gotten his “big break” so every project felt really important to him.

“No man, it’s all good. I get it, I’ve been there. Hell…five years ago no one wanted to hire me. I’m just now starting to get people to somewhat take me seriously, again,” he chuckled to himself as his mind wandered to a dark place before quickly returning to the present. 

“Well, they can’t take your Oscar away huh?” Sam offered a small smile and cleared his throat to change the subject. “You thinking of going out to see the girls sometime in Toronto? I’m trying to plan a trip.”

“Yeah, I was …ah…actually thinking of maybe renting a house out there. You know, since I’ll have the time,” Dieter scratched the back of his head.

“No way! That’s an awesome idea! Belle must be so excited about it…” he scrunched his face and Dieter took a sip of his drink. “She knows right?”

“I haven’t told her yet, I kinda wanted it to be a surprise,” Dieter smiled softly.

“Oh well, I’m sure she’ll feel a whole lot better taking the job knowing you’ll be there,” Sam offered, taking a swig of his beer.

“She say anything to you?” 

“Not in so many words. But based on what Indy and I were talking about…you know…with she and I…I can only imagine the same applies to the two of you,” he set his beer down and looked Dieter in the eyes. “She’s fallen really hard, you know that right?”

Dieter chuckled, “Well however hard she’s fallen I’m like 10 times worse.”

Both of their phones buzzed at the same time as they both quickly lunged for their respective devices.

“Ah, well looks like they made it on the plane,” Sam smiled, tapping away.

Belle: Made it on the plane!

Dieter: I hope you have a safe flight. Try and sleep. You’ll be there when you wake up.

Belle: I wish I could sleep on planes. I’m checking what movies they have

Dieter: Do they have any of my stuff? That will make you fall asleep. 😜

Belle: No silly watching it would make me miss you too much.

Dieter: 💗

Belle: gotta go - they’re telling us to turn off the phones. I love you 😘

Dieter: Wait! Since I can’t hear you say goodnight, can I get a picture?

Belle smirked, feeling the warmth in her cheeks as she snapped a quick selfie.

Dieter: Good night beautiful. Tell me when you land. xo

Indy sported the biggest smile as she switched her phone to airplane mode. Glancing over she caught you staring at your lock screen — a selfie of you and Dieter from your hike around Waimea Canyon.

“Thanks for coming with me B,” she nudged your arm with her elbow, pulling you out of your daydream. 

“Of course, this is exciting. Are you getting nervous?”

“Nah, I got this,” she winked. 

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Yeah babe, of course,” she turned her body towards you. “What’s up?”

“Have you and Sam talked about things? Like what’s going to happen next?”

Indy looked down, playing with the hem of her shirt with a small smile. “Yeah…we’ve talked about it. Truthfully it makes me a little scared. I really like him B and I…I don’t know what’s next for us. Sure he can come out and visit, but he needs to work too.”

“For what it’s worth, he really likes you too,” you covered her hand with yours, rubbing circles with your thumb. “And I think he’s a great guy so I’m rooting for you.”

She rested her head on your shoulder, “Thanks B. At first I thought this was going to be just some on-set fling or whatever but I can see this going somewhere,” she smirked as you looked at her with a silent squeal. 

“I knew it,” you winked.

“Try and get some sleep, ok? I know how you get,” she smirked as she rummaged through her bag to find the novelty sleeping mask you got her years ago. The “Sleeping Beauty” stitching, a nod to her Disney Princess past, was starting to fade. She put on her noise-canceling headphones and was asleep before the wheels left the tarmac, leaving you to sort out how to entertain yourself for the next five and a half hours. 

You aimlessly scrolled through the various television shows and documentaries given as in-flight entertainment options, unable to find something that grabbed your interest. Once the flight attendant delivered your ginger ale and pretzels, you decided to get serious about finding a movie. Doing some quick math, you figured you could probably watch at least two.

When you reached the “C’s” in the menu, your stomach did a little flip seeing the thumbnail for Cliff Beasts 6. You remember when the movie came out and how you had to drag Indy to go see it, tolerating all of the teasing because you just had to see the latest Dieter flick. You’ve endured so many different films and TV shows just to get a chance to watch him; Cliff Beasts 6 was no exception. His over-the-top, cartoonish accent made you laugh despite the absolute trainwreck of a plot. 

Seeing Dieter on the little screen mounted in the seatback in front of you gave you butterflies. The last couple of weeks were such a whirlwind. Never in your wildest dreams did you think you’d ever meet him in person let alone everything else that’s transpired. You felt like you were living in an alternate reality. 

With a smile now permanently affixed to your face, you watched and focused less on the movie and more on how quickly you’ve grown to love this man. His nervous energy, his smile, his laugh, his hair, of course. The way he knew how to strike that balance of gentle and comforting with a little edge that made you want to give him anything and everything. By this point, you were about halfway through the movie and your eyelids were starting to feel heavy.

The guys decided to call it a night after a couple of drinks due to Sam’s early call time (and the fact that he hadn’t read through his scenes yet). Dieter’s call time got pushed back, but he was desperate to return to his room to wallow and track Belle’s flight. 

Once in his suite, he made a beeline for the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of water along with a box of cookies, and went to his room. Instead of sitting on his side, he settled into Belle’s side of the bed, traces of her perfume and shampoo still on the pillow. He searched for her flight on his phone and studied the route while eating a cookie, the crumbs falling on his shirt and onto the bed. 

The girls had a few couple hours until they were to land in Los Angeles and his mind was abuzz, flipping through various thoughts like a Rolodex. He hoped it was a smooth flight and wondered what Belle was doing, wishing she was able to get some sleep. He was curious about how the audition would go for Indy. He knew she was a lock for the role so he needed to stop thinking of “ifs” and start thinking of “whens.” 

Sleep was a lost cause so he grabbed the remote. He wasn’t going to be able to sleep until he knew she was safe on the ground. Flipping through the channels, he came across Alien and decided to stop and keep it on as background noise as he continued to do some research on his tablet. He found a couple of places in Toronto and fired off emails to Liz so she could investigate further. 

Time crawled by. Something else was on TV but Dieter didn’t pay it any mind. He was scrolling through photos on his phone, landing on a candid he took of Belle one morning. She looked so peaceful, a hint of a smile on her face as she lay on her side facing him, the sheet just barely covering her. 

He closed his eyes wishing she was next to him. He ran his hand over his face, his breath hitched just a bit smelling the smallest trace of her musk still on his fingers. It sent an electric pulse down his body, remembering how just a few hours ago her mouth was where his hand had drifted to. His slow strokes picked up as he replayed some of their more intimate moments in his head. It didn’t take long before he found his release, left panting as he reached for his phone. 

One more hour.

He cleaned himself up and stepped outside smiling as he looked across at the adjacent balcony, remembering that morning. He stared out into the darkness, hearing the rhythmic sounds of the waves crashing onto the beach below. It was lulling him to sleep, but before he closed his eyes he set an alarm on his phone.

You were woken up when the flight attendants made one last pass through the cabin before taking their seats for the approach to LAX. “Psst,” you gently shook Indy. 

She groaned, pulling off her sleeping mask with a pout. “I need the largest, most obnoxious coffee concoction when we land.”

“You got it,” you giggled. 

You reached for your phone, itching to be able to turn it off airplane mode so you could text Dieter. The moment the tires made contact with the tarmac, both you and Indy were furiously tapping away at your phones. You felt butterflies when a message came through before you could send one. 

Dieter: My bed felt empty 😞 Hope you were able to get some sleep. I miss you.

You grinned like an absolute idiot at your phone at the selfie he sent complete with his signature arched eyebrow and pursed lips. He was in bed underneath the covers. His broad shoulders took up the whole frame and his hair was as unruly as ever, but what stood out to you most was his sweet smile and gentle, but tired, eyes. 

Belle: Just landed 🙂 You’re still up?!

Dieter: I took a little power nap 😉 

Dieter: I wanted to make sure you got there ok. 

Beside you, Indy whispered into her phone to Sam using a baby voice. Normally this would have made you cringe, but seeing her this happy was actually really sweet. 

Belle: All good. Safe and sound 🙂 You should get some rest.

Dieter: For later tonight? 😏

Belle: lol whatever gets you to sleep a little

Dieter: Yes ma’am

Dieter: Keep me updated. Even if I fall back asleep it will be nice to wake up to your name on my phone. 

Belle: 😘

Belle: I’ll try not to bother you too much

Dieter: You’re never a bother sweetheart

Dieter breathed a sigh of relief knowing the girls made it safely. The anxiety of the last several hours coupled with the lack of sleep finally caught up to him and before he knew it, his eyes fluttered closed as his phone slipped from his hand and onto the carpet.

Getting off the plane through the airport and to the car service was a bit of a blur thanks to the small gaggle of paparazzi armed with cameras, cellphones, and ring lights. Seeing the paps at a place like LAX was pretty standard given all of the celebrities, but what was uncommon was for you and Indy to be the targets of their attention. Once they spotted you, they descended, shouting both of your names as Rhys tried his best to shield you while ushering you to the waiting car. They yelled all at once and you could only make out a phrase or two from each.

“Are you dating Dieter Bravo?”

“Did you and Dieter break up?”

“Belle, can you give us a smile?”

“What the fuck?” Indy huffed as she scooted into the back of the SUV behind you. 

“How’d they know my name?” Your face scrunched up as you looked out the back window.

“Someone must have tipped them off, I swear I didn’t set that up!” Rhys looked back from the front seat before turning around to furiously type on his phone. 

You and Indy exchanged a confused look. “I can see them knowing you Ind, but me?”

“Well, you are dating Dieter fucking Bravo…” she smirked, before switching to a more serious tone. “I’m sorry B, it sucks. It’s one thing if he were here with you; I know how unnerving this whole thing can be. But you rocked it! Your first paparazzi swarm!” She gave an encouraging smile, trying to make you laugh to get your mind off the path it would inevitably go down.

You sat a bit dumbfounded, trying to process. You are dating Dieter fucking Bravo. You are in love with him and he’s in love with you. But all of this kind of attention wasn't something you wanted. Your mind started to spiral thinking about what life would be like with Dieter outside of your little bubble. Whether going out on a date or taking a trip to the grocery store, he was recognizable and your life would always be on display for others to judge and scrutinize.

Deep in thought, you didn’t even register the SUV pulling up to Indy’s apartment. She quickly unlocked the door and ushered you all in, knowing there was limited time for her to take a quick shower and freshen up. Rhys stepped out to make a couple of phone calls while you laid out your kit on the vanity in her bedroom. Once you were all set up, you plopped on the bed and pulled out your phone. Even though you figured (and hoped) he was asleep, you decided to fire off a message to Dieter.

Belle: Sorry it’s been a bit chaotic but we’re at Indy’s now. Audition is at 9 so I’ll be kinda MIA - Rhys says I have some meetings today too. Hope you're getting some sleep 💕

A notification for Instagram popped up which you ignored, opting instead to clear out some emails. But then another notification came through, followed by another and another, and soon your phone started buzzing with texts and other alerts. As you opened Instagram Rhys sprinted into the room.

“Have you seen them?” He asked in a huff, rushing over to you.

“What? What happened? Is everything ok?”

“Y-yeah, it’s just….the photos of you and Indy are starting to circulate.” He looked a bit worried and you weren’t quite sure why.

“Circulate?” You scoffed, trying to put on a calm exterior despite the anxiety brewing in your chest. You fidgeted with the sleeve of Dieter's sweatshirt you were still wearing.

“Just the typical accounts but some…others picked it up too,” his mouth twitched as he averted his eyes.

You furrowed your brows and Rhys opened his mouth to say more as the en suite bathroom door opened.

“I’m ready!” A bathrobe-clad Indy announced before her face dropped seeing Rhys stressed and you confused. “Wait. What happened? Is everything ok?”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, walking over to put his hands on Indy’s arms. “It’s just that the photos from the airport are starting to make their rounds.”

You can’t see the look on Rhys’ face but something in his voice tells you he’s trying to tell Indy something without tipping you off. 

“Have you seen anything?” Indy looked past Rhys, her eyes boring into you.

You shook your head, “No, what the fuck guys?! I literally just sat down. Is there something I should know?”

Rhys and Indy exchanged a look before she walked past him, coming to sit next to you on the bed. “Here let me take a look.” She unlocked her phone and started going through her tagged posts.

Indy had the best poker face but you knew her tells. To the untrained eye, they wouldn’t know the difference but decades of friendship made you all too aware of her microexpressions. The slight purse of her lips, an eyebrow twitch, or a shift in her posture – she was uneasy about something.

“You’re making me nervous, Ind.” Your mind started to race through all of the possibilities but had a sneaking suspicion that the reason both she and Rhys were acting weird was because your appearance was being scrutinized. And if that was the case it was honestly so unfair. You had just come off a red-eye and weren’t expecting to have a bunch of cameras shoved in your face. You tugged awkwardly at the hem of Dieter's sweatshirt as Indy kept scrolling.

Indy let out a frustrated sigh as she put down the phone. “I seriously don’t know what gets into people. They act like they know us, know our lives, and they don’t…” She rubbed the heels of her hands into her eyes.

“What’re they saying Ind?” You say with a bit more bite than you intended. You appreciated her trying to shield and protect you from the online fodder but it was completely unrealistic to think you wouldn’t read stuff.

“Look for yourself,” she turned her body toward you, her eyes watching as you unlocked your phone and started scrolling. There was one thread of comments and replies that grabbed your attention.

>>Omg they look like a hot mess

>>They look pissed off

>>It’s early in the morning they’re probably not awake. Jeez give them a break. 

>>How do you look in the morning?

>>They look kinda sad

>>Oh that’s the girl Dieter is dating huh?

>>Do you think Dieter broke up with her? Is that why they’re back in LA?

>>They haven’t posted anything together ever at least Indy and Sam kinda soft launched

>>It’s probably not serious then. Remember his last chick? Dude wouldn’t shut up about her

>>He’s definitely still shooting. I saw a photo of him at a bar in Hawaii last night

>>The guy was probably hammered huh?

>>Oh no that was probably bad news

>>Wait is THAT who Dieter is dating now? Woof

>>Guy must be desperate

>>How do you go from a Victoria’s Secret model to that?

You skimmed through the rest of it as you felt your blood pressure spiking. People were throwing out wild, unfounded speculation and there was a small contingent doing a deep dive about you and your family and friends. Your mind goes into a tailspin as you read through more. You couldn’t make out the words, but you heard Indy next to you on the phone trying to get in touch with Sam, frustrated when she got his PA instead. 

Meanwhile, you felt that all-too-familiar pang in your gut. You experienced a taste of this when you and Dieter were first spotted in public, knowing that it wasn’t going to be the first or last time people would make comments about you. But something about this felt so unsettling and so invasive. You were a normal person trying to support her friend on what was essentially a job interview. It also made you uncomfortable that the focus was on you and not Indy – she’s the star of the show here not you. Why aren’t people coming up with theories about why she’s in LA when she should be on set in Hawaii too?

The conversations around Dieter were also surprising and a bit confusing. You were on what you thought was a Dieter fan account yet people were speculating about everything from the two of you breaking up to him cheating on you to you both getting secretly married. It hurt to see so many quick to paint him in a bad light – assuming that he had done something wrong.

Indy hung up the phone and you could feel her eyeballs on you but you just kept scrolling.

“What are you thinking B?” 

You shook your head, “This is all so confusing. How does us at the airport turn into all of this,” you waved your phone around.

“It, unfortunately, comes with the territor-”

“Can it Rhys!” Indy snapped. “That’s not helpful right now. Look, apparently Sam and Dee went to the hotel bar after we left, had a couple of drinks, and then went back to their rooms.”

“Wait, you don’t think he actually….”

“No, no not at all,” she squeezed your leg. “No. And it’s ridiculous the way these people spiral off the smallest thing…have you tried calling him?”

You shook your head, “I’m pretty sure he’s asleep. He had a later call time than Sam and sounded like he was up most of the night.” Your mind drifted to a negative place briefly before shutting down that train of thought.

“Well, just try, I’m sure Liz is lighting up his phone too.”

“She is. We’ve been texting,” Rhys chimed in.

You called Dieter a couple of times and it went to voicemail. After the third failed attempt to reach him, you took a deep breath, took off the sweatshirt, and looked at Indy, resolved to not let this derail an important day for her. “We need to get you ready.”

“O-ok, yeah, c’mon let’s go.”

Since it was part audition/part screen test, you were thankful to just have to do minimal makeup and a simple blowout, allowing you to go on autopilot and think. You suddenly felt like you were back in your apartment after you found out Ryan left. The thoughts of unworthiness were quick to make themselves known after they’d been dormant for weeks – the weeks you’ve known Dieter. You were happier, and stronger with him, and being apart only made you see how weak and fragile you were. 

You were annoyed at yourself that comments from people you didn’t know could affect you so much. But words hurt. And it doesn’t help that so many of them keyed in on parts of your body you were self-conscious about. But then there was another voice trying to push through to remind you that all of those things they called out were the things Dieter loved. He celebrated your body, eager to show you his appreciation as you became more comfortable with him.

Thoughts then traveled to Dieter, wondering what his state of mind would be like when he finally woke up and Liz brought him up to speed. You smiled a bit to yourself knowing that his first thoughts would probably be about you and wanting to check if you were ok. But you knew his next instinct would be to turn inward. He hadn’t shared everything, but there were demons from his past he still had to contend with every day. And you couldn’t help but think that seeing people attack you because of your relationship with him was going to send him down a self-loathing spiral. 

For a brief moment, your mind wandered to a territory that scared you – whether all of this was worth it. You continued to work in silence, catching Indy’s eyes in the mirror every so often. She acted like she was rereading her lines but you knew she was trying to gauge your feelings and meet you where you were.

“Ok, ready.” You set down the can of finishing spray and fluffed up her hair in the mirror. 

“Wanna talk about it?” She grabbed your hand, stopping you from quickly packing everything up.

“There’s nothing to talk about. C’mon, we’re going to be late.”

“Of course there’s stuff to talk about.”

“I’m. Fine.” You snapped, instantly regretting losing your temper. “Sorry Indy, I…it’s just the same old shit when it comes to,” you motioned up and down your body. “I don’t want to talk about it. It’s not a productive conversation.” 

She didn’t push it and just hugged you, figuring an embrace would tell you more than she could with words. Rhys interrupted your quiet moment urging you both to get a move on so you weren't late. Indy did one last sweep of her apartment, hoping it would be a long while before she saw it again.

Dieter tossed and turned all morning, his hands seeking Belle only to find an empty, cold space next to him in the bed. He was about to close his eyes again and will himself to sleep when the hotel phone came to life with a shrill ring. Covering his face with a pillow he reached for the phone and brought the receiver to his ear.

“Yeah?”

“Well thank fuck you’re alive. Goddamit I’ve been calling you and texting you all morning. I was about to go get them to open the door if you didn’t pick up. Where have you been? Are you ok?”

This wasn’t the first time Liz had woken Dieter up and berated him, but something about her tone this time caught his attention. 

“Lizzie,” he cleared his throat, starting to sit up. “What’s wrong?”

“Were you asleep? You know you’re due on set in like half an hour, right?”

“I forgot to set an alarm…didn’t get much sleep last night. I wanted to make sure the girls got there ok. Are they ok? Did something happen?”

“Where’s your phone?” A slight hesitation in her voice.

“Uh, I thought it was right here…” Dieter felt around the bed before peeking over and seeing the phone face down on the floor. “Ah there it is, must have fallen….holy shit, what the hell happened?”

Dieter turned over his phone and was pretty sure he had a notification from every app. He saw a bunch of missed phone calls from Liz and Belle, hell even Sam and Meredith had rung him. His list of missed texts was from the same bunch with the addition of Danny, Indy, and even Rhys. 

“Goddamit Liz. Gimme the rundown. Are they ok?” Dieter swung his legs around, feeling dizzy as the adrenaline coursed through his veins.

“She’s fine Dee, they’re ok. The damn paps swarmed the girls as soon as they left the airport. Couple of the blogs caught it and it’s what you expect – people talking about her, how she looks, and trying to find out more about her and Indy. Luckily she’s a smart girl and has a lot of her shit locked down so there’s not a ton for people to find. But it’s only a matter of time before someone comes out of the woodwork wanting their 15 minutes.”

Dieter scoffed, knowing that all too well. When he was at rock bottom it felt like every person he’d ever met was willing to go to a gossip rag to talk about him. It was the usual suspects - jilted lovers, disgruntled past co-stars or assistants, all the way to his old dog’s vet. Anyone and everyone who wanted to give their two cents about Dieter found a way to get their story out. 

His annoyance turned into a feeling of helplessness. He knew how these comments would hurt Belle and with her so far away he couldn’t be there to comfort her. Hell, she wasn’t even gone for 12 hours. It was unfair that he couldn’t protect her from a life he’d unfortunately grown accustomed to. He worked a lot on himself to build back a fraction of the confidence he used to have. It still stung to see things written about him, so he could only imagine the negative headspace she was in because of this all.

“I need to call her.”

“That’s not it Dee,” Liz cut him off before taking a deep inhale. “They’re also talking about you. People have no idea that she’s there for Indy’s audition. They’re assuming both girls left set early due to an incident.”

“What incident?”

“Well, no theory has stuck yet, but it’s the greatest hits.”

Liz didn’t have to spell it out for Dieter to know that once again his past was coming around. He ran his free hand through his hair and then down his face as he tried to quell the frustration. It felt like no matter how much progress he made, people only thought of him as that womanizing, drug-fueled party animal from years ago.

“I need to call Belle.”

“They’re in meetings right now. I’ve kept in close contact with Rhys. He was there when they saw the photos and started reading through the comments.”

“How’d she take it?” 

“As best as you can imagine. Rhys said she kind of shut down on the drive over but turned it on once they got there and started meeting with everyone.”

Dieter’s heart sank, imagining the spiral she must be on as she tried to keep it together for Indy. All the studio execs probably had Google Alerts set for both of the girls as a precaution and as a means to suss out any potential liabilities and issues, so they no doubt knew about Belle and Dieter’s rumored, but very real, relationship. It pained him that he couldn’t be there to comfort her; maybe if he was with her the focus could have been on him instead. 

The smallest hint of a smile came across his face. He felt a combination of pride and awe in her strength – that she could compartmentalize all of these feelings and seemingly put on a brave face for Indy’s audition. She was stronger than she gave herself credit for.

“I need to talk to her….do you know how much longer they’ll be?” Dieter tried to sound even keel but he knew Liz could see right through it.

“I mean, they should probably be done soon. They have to get back to the airport, their flight leaves in a couple of hours.”

Dieter took a deep breath, trying to quell his anxiety. “Well, I’ll have my phone on me. Maybe if I can get downstairs Mere can get me ready and I can - ”

“Dee,” Liz cut him off. “Listen, I know your first instinct is to try and fix this, but she’s a big girl. Being with you isn’t going to be a cakewalk, you can’t shield her from this kind of stuff forever.” He stayed quiet for a moment, rubbing his temples. “What’s bothering you champ?”

“I…I just don’t want all of this to scare her off…like it’s going to be too much. That I'm too much. She didn’t ask for any of this, you know? What if she ends up deciding she’d rather not deal with it?”

“Dieter,” Liz paused, knowing she needed to be a bit more delicate than her normal tough love. “You love her right? And she loves you? Shit is going to be hard. I know it’s scary, but you have to just trust in each other. What do you want from her?”

“I don’t want anything from her. I…I just want everything with her.”

“Well, she’ll be back in…” Liz checked her watch, “eight hours. You can profess your ever-dying love then.”

He rolled his eyes and laughed. “Thanks. Hey, did you see those emails I sent you?”

“Yup, we’re checking them out – I’ll make sure we check out potential security issues to see if anything is an immediate no.”

“Thanks, Lizzie. I should probably get downstairs. Hey, I’ll have my phone on me. Anything else happens…anything…you call me. I don’t give a shit if we’re filming, you call me.”

“You got it champ….it’s all going to be ok, Dee.”

Previous chapter / Final chapter

A/N: So I know I haven’t always been the best with updating, but the last chapter is written and it will come out on Feb. 26!

Tag list: @musings-of-a-rose / @legendary-pink-dot / @bitchwitch1981 / @mysterious-moonstruck-musings / @gracie7209 / @amneris21 / @pastelnap / @maryfanson / @sunnywithachanceofjavi / @sin-djarin / @winchestergypsy90 / @for-a-longlongtime /@harriedandharassed / @titlee78 / @midnightraain / @poodlebae / @partyofone3413 / @guelyury / @weho2kcmo / @missladym1981 / @soapjay / @darkheartgatita

[minniiaa]

Wheeeee another chapter of my favorite story ever! FYI, I am going through and making some edits to older chapters, but nothing important. I just always find mistakes and things I want to change as my writing style develops. I will always be my biggest critic and want to make my stories as good as they can be (and also trying to make them a bit more concise but I just love to YAP about feelings if you can't tell.)

(One Piece, Law x Luffy, Explicit)

Law lost everything—his family, friends, and dreams of being a doctor. Overwhelmed by grief, he turns to a life of drugs and sex. On the first anniversary of his only friends’ deaths, he decides to end his hopeless and lonely existence. However, fate has other plans, and Law wakes up in the hospital accompanied by Luffy, a handsome firefighter who recently moved in next door and discovered Law just in time.

Law had been searching for a reason to stay, and he finds that reason in the form of his sweet yet stubborn savior who selflessly decides he is going to be by his side while he overcomes his addiction and faces the ghosts of his past.

LENGTH - 9 Chapters / 73,116 Words

TAGS - Romance, Suicide Attempt, Drug Addiction, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Drug Withdrawal, Drug Addict Trafalgar Law, Firefighter Monkey D. Luffy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Recovery, Healing, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Bottom Trafalgar D. Water Law, Top Monkey D. Luffy, Everyone Needs a Luffy, Healing Emotional Trauma One Fanfic at a Time, Trafalgar D. Water Law Needs a Hug, Sex Addiction, Anal Sex, Praise Kink, Possessive Luffy, Codependency, Grief/Mourning, Law Has A Lot of Breakdowns,

[tragedybunny]

The Song Divine - Chapter 1

༺Summary༻

Astrid was an opera singer with a glowing future ahead of her when fate crosses her path with that of Prince Folwin, youngest son of the Emperor. The two begin what feels like a romance from tales of old. The closer the two become though, the more Astrid is pulled into the deepening conflict tearing the Imperial Family apart from within. One fateful night will shatter it entirely, leaving Astrid alone in the world and a fugitive. Just as she begins to find solace among the companions who took her in, her and Folwin are thrust back together for a grim mission that will have them pardoned if they can see it through. While the dangers they face are great, the biggest struggle might be having one another close through it all.

༺Warnings༻ Setting appropriate violence, sexual content

༺Word Count༻ 3011

༺A/N༻ Hi Lovelies. This is my first original work. It's been a labor of love for a year to get started on this. I hope you fall in love with these characters as much as I have. I will still be writing fanfic of course, I have so many plans for Astarion. The biggest thank you to @icybluepenguin for editing and being my support! I love you Icy, you're my partner in crime. And thank you for reading.

Also on AO3

The night air was cool on Astrid's skin as she gazed at the sky and wondered if Volant had put a star there to guide her specifically. Perhaps she should pray on it, but religion was never close to her heart. A sentiment many in the Empire shared these days, some even replacing old gods with the Imperial family. It was whispered the Emperor had secretly begun to encourage the practice. 

Astrid shook her head to clear away those thoughts. Politics and state religions weren't her concern. The stage was. And she'd come to this deserted, neglected part of the Imperial Garden to practice. The great opera house, the Helentine, named after the Empress Helentia, was open to her, but there she might be observed and even heard, a mortifying idea.  

Pulling her shawl tight over the plain dress she wore, she began singing scales to warm up her voice. She kept glancing around at the paths through hedges around her, waiting to be interrupted. It seemed that this corner of the Imperial Garden was truly an untouched haven. Softly, she sung the first notes of an aria. In moments, she was lost in the song, transported to that place she could only get to when she sang - that wondrous, sacred place where there was only her and music. To Astrid, singing was divine bliss.

Her voice remained softer than the projection she’d use on stage. Even though she was reasonably sure she wouldn’t be found, no reason for extra risk. Eyes closed, she raised her arms, hands moving along with the melody, keeping time. Every note was effortless, and when the last one came, her heart surged with joy. As her voice died away, Astrid felt herself coming down from the high in a soft, joyous haze, the most relaxed she’d felt since she came to the Imperial complex. For a moment, it felt like things were going to be alright. 

Until she heard the sound of soft applause behind her. 

Blood turned to ice water in her veins as she turned to look behind her. A young man sat on one of the worn stone benches scattered amongst the neglected hedges and flowers. Though his silver eyes were friendly and a smile played about his full lips, she dread was building in her stomach. He was tall, taller than most men. Elven lineage, she surmised, noting the pointed ears almost lost in waves of platinum white hair, and the handsome yet fine features he bore. 

"Bravo, that was delightful, my dear," he said in a cultured and mellifluous tone. 

"T-thank you," Astrid stammered and he didn't seem to notice her struggle. 

"And what's your name? I haven't seen you at the Imperial Opera before and I'm sure I'd remember a voice like that." The smile never left him but it didn't do anything for her unease. 

"Astrid, Astrid Lucerne. I just arrived at the Opera company. And you, sir?" This time her voice sounded blessedly normal… She'd just been caught singing alone in an abandoned garden, she didn't need to embarrass herself further in front of this striking stranger. 

On his feet in an instant, he bowed with a dramatic flourish. "Prince Folwin, pleasure to meet you, Madame Astrid."

"Oh-" the air rushed from her lungs and she felt unsteady on her feet. She had just looked foolish and eccentric in front the most important audience she could ever have, an Imperial Royal. 

"Now I've gone and overwhelmed you, it would seem." Taking her hand with all gentleness, he guided her to sit on the bench next to him while her mind tried to catch up to the situation. “My sincerest apologies.” 

Shaking her head, she collected her scattered thoughts, black hair that had escaped its pins swirling around her. “No need, I had just thought I was alone…” 

“And then some nosy Prince shows up and spoils the evening,” he continued on, in the same lighthearted manner as before. 

Astrid had never had a stranger moment in her life than sitting on a cold bench next to her unexpected royal audience, hearing him poke fun at himself. Her panic was slowly succumbing to a fascination with him and why he was there. “I wouldn’t phrase it quite that way, Prince Folwin.”

“Just Folwin will do, given these rather informal circumstances. But I must beg you, indulge my curiosity,” he leaned in a conspiratorial manner, the two of them now far too close for any sense of propriety, “why are you out here, singing for the hedges?” 

The heady smell of something floral combined with a musky incense clouded her senses. The momentary reprieve from her panic vanished as she scrambled for a way to explain herself that didn’t make her look pathetic. “To be honest…” Her words fell away as she hesitated once again. Folwin rested a cheek in one of his perfect pale hands, eyeing her expectantly. No good excuses came to mind and, admitting defeat, she let the truth out, “I rather hate singing where people can hear me.” 

Folwin balked for a moment, as though he was unsure if she was joking. “Interesting, given your assignment to the Opera.” 

Astrid found a rather interesting spot on the ground to stare at. “My father's idea, he believes my voice is too good to hide from the world. He plays for the grand orchestra and he insisted I come here and begin my career.” 

“Ah, my sympathies. I can understand being subject to the whims of a parent.” 

Astrid chanced a glance back up to find those silver eyes studying her. 

“Although, if you don't mind me saying, I'm inclined to agree with him, your voice is very lovely, and it would be a shame to keep it hidden.” 

The compliment caused her heart to skip a beat and she worried her cheeks would begin to flush. “That's because you only heard me sing while I thought I was alone.” 

A hand of sculpted marble reached out and tilted up her chin, holding her eyes to his. “And what have you to be scared of, sounding as perfect as you do?” All the mirth had vanished from his words and he was suddenly quite serious. 

There was no answer that would come to her, try as she might to think of it; she could only stare into those hypnotic eyes of his. It was madness, being overwhelmed by the beauty of him, the intoxicating scent, the lilting sound of his voice. Astrid scolded herself - he was a Prince, this must just be some game to him. "Like many emotions, fear is not always rational. But I suppose I fear to fail, and to be on display while doing so. Sounds silly, doesn't it?"

Shaking his head, his hand slipped away and Astrid felt its departure keenly. "We all have that which we must overcome. How about a deal?" He didn't leave space for her to answer. "You face your fears and I'll make a point to attend your debut. It will be a glorious triumph then."

Astrid pictured herself waiting in the wings, watching the Royal Box for any glimpse of Folwin. An absurd fancy; he would most certainly forget his promise as soon as he walked away.  

"And how shall I hold you to this?" she asked.

A musical laugh escaped him and the world was light and jovial all over again. "If I fail to keep my word, you must come straight to court and tell my father about how feckless and irresponsible I am. You won't have a hard time convincing him." The bitterness of his last words didn't escape her. 

The great clock tower began to chime the hour and Folwin sighed. "Speaking of, I'm afraid I must bid you goodnight, Madame Astrid." He rose, now towering over her. "I do expect to hear word of your success soon."

"Goodnight, Pr-" she stopped at his sharp look, "Folwin. I'll hold you to your word." 

Sweeping her hand up, his lips brushed her knuckles before he vanished with an almost preternatural grace.

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

"There's just the two guards, that's all, once his Clerk is out of the way," Lyza nodded at Astrid from across the plans laid out in chalk on the floor. 

She sighed. This job was shaping up like so many others. What an odd thought, that criminality had become mundane. 

Two other faces turned her way. The room was crowded with the four of them crammed inside, the last one available at the inn last night. The tang of sea air drifting in through the windows and the crying of the gulls had awakened them this morning. They were as far north as one could get and still be in the Empire of Elyssia.  

“I'll handle him,” Astrid said.

Tallus nodded. “After Lyza and Brecken take the guards, I'll have the locks open and we'll be out before even the rats in this shithole know what we're about.”

"You had better be quick this time. We almost got caught in Gretz." Even as close as their little band had become, Lyza’s words carried a threat, if they faltered, she would save herself first. 

"Relax," soothed Brecken, the half-elf among three humans. 

Where Tallus was nervous ambition cloaked in charisma, and Lyza was staunch pragmatism, Brecken was the calm center of their group. Astrid wasn't sure yet what she was, other than a blind will to survive. 

"Tonight is the Sending Ceremony, and then tomorrow, the whole village will be at the docks, practically. No one will notice anything." Though Brecken didn't have the elven silver eyes - they were green flecked with gold - sometimes his fair features reminded her too much of Folwin and Astrid couldn’t stand to look at him. Even his hair was such a light gold it looked white in the dark. 

“I will relax when we’re out of here with our purses full.” Lyza had been more terse than usual since their near capture in Gertz and the wealthy merchant who’d sworn revenge on them. 

That failed job had brought them here, to Abyssus. Spring had come and with it, the Ebony Sea had calmed, meaning the residents could ply their trade, the hunting of the great beasts that stalked it. Tonight would be a ceremony and festival celebrating the start of the season, and tomorrow almost everyone in town would head to the docks to farewell the ships, including the local Lord.  Brecken was right, they would be done before anyone was the wiser. 

"Then you’ll take it all and retire to a big house in those fertile valleys to the south,” Tallus teased but got another sharp look from Lyza’s black eyes. 

“I’ll never stop taking from them,” Lyza said bitterly and Tallus let it rest… 

"And what about you, Astrid, didn't you say you had a cousin in Faemare? You've got enough from these last couple of jobs to make your way there." Tallus asked and the other two paused to watch her reaction.  

While he was right, she did have distant kin and no compulsion to hold her to this life, the thought of being on her own again made her insides quake. Astrid had spent her whole life either with her father guiding her or studying at the Grand Academy. Those few weeks after the terrible events, running aimless and alone, had nearly ended her. It was the three of them who had seen her weak and starving on the road and offered her a place with them. 

"Maybe someday," Astrid answered lightly, "for now I'll stick around if you don't mind." 

"Oh, you know I don't mind," Tallus's warm brown eyes danced, empty flirting as easy for him as breathing. 

Lyza loudly cleared her throat. "Is everyone clear? Any misgivings? Remember, we can't afford to fail."

They all nodded in unison and began to rise from the unforgiving wooden floor with various laments about their aches. 

"Astrid, would you?" Lyza gestured to their chalk plans. 

"Almost forgot." She hummed a few notes to set the tone and then, singing directly to the dust of the chalk, she wove a song commanding it to depart as though it had never been there. As she sang, she could feel the eyes of her companions on her, staring with wonder, almost as much as the first time they'd seen it. Songweaving was a rare art, only a few left in the whole world knew it. At least Folwin had given her one thing that lasted. 

"Let's get out and mingle, make ourselves too likable to be suspicious. Remember, we're here to invest in one of the companies if we like what we see." Lyza said. 

Moments later, Lyza was tugging Astrid after her toward the docks, dismissing Brecken and Tallus. Most of the locals were headed toward the market or they were at home making final preparations for the festival. The two of them traveled against the flow, out toward the ancient harbor that Abyssus was founded on. The whole town seemed to be made of wood weathered into full gray by the sea winds and battered by the storms that drifted in from it, all of it looking rundown and tired. 

The people though were like day to its night, cheerful, welcoming, and excited for the event. Endless friendly waves and morning greetings followed them as they walked. Mist still hung lightly to the ground as the spring sunshine struggled to burn it away. The gray woolen dress Astrid had favored for the last few weeks of dismal weather kept the chill at bay, while Lyza wrapped herself in a fur lined cloak over her dark tunic and trousers. 

The preparations for the Sending left the docks empty of all but the those working to ready the ships for the coming hunting season. A strange atmosphere hung about the place, sound but not the din of populace, noise but silence in a way.  Around thirty ships moored at the docks, ready to begin their bloody work. Sailors from not just the Empire but all over the world went about their labor in a synchronized harmony.  

Lyza had been strangely quiet as they walked but as they stopped at the edge of the harbor, Astrid could tell she was readying her thoughts. Lyza was quick to command, or become snappish when irritated, but when there was something important to say, she took her time with it. Breathing in the stinging sea air, Astrid gave her friend space to think, watching the great assembly before them work. 

Finally, Lyza drew in a breath. “You know, with what we have stashed away, you do have enough to get out of the Imperial borders. Doesn’t matter if that cousin in Faemare was a lie or not, you could get to any of the three southern Kingdoms, or even Greenhold, if the Wild Elves don’t overrun it first. If that’s what you want. You’re under no obligation to stay with us.”

Lyza cut right to the heart of the matter, instead of dancing and teasing as Tallus had. The thought of Astrid leaving must have been on her mind to bring it up again. Their little group had sworn no oaths to one another nor made any promises to the length of their arrangement, but with a few successful heists now stashed in a cave to the south, it meant there were opportunities to move on. And not just for Astrid. She wouldn’t be surprised if Lyza was going to have this talk with Brecken and Tallus as well. 

“I’m hurt you’d think my cousin is a lie,” she joked, trying to lighten up the dark expression on Lyza’s face. It worked for half a second. “But to be serious, I can’t think of what else I’d do with my life, even if I got there. I was dead. You all brought me back to life, this is where I belong. I’ll stay, as I told Tallus.” There was nothing else for her to do. 

“Astrid, that can’t be the whole basis for your decision. I know that man you were with did something terrible to you, but you still have your whole life ahead of you.” 

Guilt snaked its way around her chest, constricting her breathing. She had never quite gotten around to the truth of how she ended up on that roadside, at first being too terrified they would turn her over, and now worried they would never forgive her. For the hundredth time she resolved to tell them, after this job. 

“Promise me you’ll think about it,” Lyza said.

"I'll promise if you tell me one thing." 

In the space between their words, Astrid watched one ship in particular, the crew seeming a step more lively than those adjacent to it. They were supposed to be creating a cover, after all. With a gesture for Lyza to follow, she wandered a bit closer, trying to appear as though she knew what she was looking at. 

"Fine, what is it?" Lyza had stopped a short bit behind her, now out onto the planks of the docks themselves, playing along with the act. 

"Do you intend to chase us all out and keep going alone?"

"What?" Lyza's voice elevated for a moment, just enough to draw a couple of looks which she returned with a deep glare. The sailors went quickly back to their work and Lyza leaned in closer. "I just need to be sure where everyone's loyalty lies. I don't want anyone with us that's going to be dreaming of being somewhere else while we've got our lives on the line."

"Or maybe deep down, you do care about us and want what's best for us," Astrid teased, something she did less often with their serious leader than with the boys. 

"Hush, you know what you three mean to me. Now let's go make some more cover." Tugging Astrid by the sleeve, she headed towards the ship's foreman stationed at the gangplank,  overseeing the loading of supplies. 

[thatonebirdwrites]

Answering Questions for Fun

20 Questions More

This is a deeper and more detailed version of the 20 questions for AO3 fanfic writers.

I yanked the questions from someone in the supercorp fandom. I forget who. I never get tagged since I'm not really well known writer yet (I'm still a tumblr newbie!), so I'm doing this just for funsies and because I like answering questions.

I will be answering this for the supercorp and korrasami fandoms. My works are here (though I do one-shots on tumblr sometimes).

1) How do you keep getting ideas for your ship / fandom?

By existing, reading, listening, writing, watching things, staring at the sky and watching the clouds drift by. Seriously, my ADHD's superpower is generating ideas. So I have way too many of them, and I have a note in my Scrivener projects with all the ideas. If anyone needs more ideas, I'll spin out so many. lol

2) Which authors inspire you in your fandom, and why are they so freakishly good?

So for the Korrasami fandom, that would be @korrasamibottles for their fantastic oneshots, Progman for one of the best post-series fics I've ever read (seriously, the Asami Sato of RRU is awesome), Shigan for some amazing korrasami oneshots, FuzziFox for an adorable and action-y AU where Asami goes south with Korra, lovedeathcats for the best Indiana Jones AU ever, RainbowRosie for a great AU where bending has vanished, paxbanana's Place in the World is an interesting AU take on Korrasami. @asamiontop's Modern world AU is a must read (she also has some great supercorp one-shots). For supercorp? @jazzfordshire has exquisitely written fics, everything @fazedlight writes is gold, @snowydragonscave's oneshots are adorable, @mycatismyeditor has some great AU's that really dig into the characters, @ekingston has some of the best written AU's I've ever read, @karalovesallthegirls has the most hilarious fics ever (Mime fic), robie's AUs are some of the best slow burn I've read, TheUnforgivingMinute wrote a fantastic spookysupercorp, @coffeeshib floored me with their gorgeous prose, @rustingcat not only does amazing art but the fics are such a great slow burn, @chaotic-super's back to Krypton was absolutely goldmine of fun and digging into the lore of Krypton. I could go on. Let's just say I LOVE Y'all's fics. The above are the people who had the most impact on me personally. Where I learned the art of fanfic writing. Since I'm a science fiction writer, I tend toward creative writing techniques that don't always jive well in the fandom realm, so learning from others helps me refine my writing to use the least amount of words for the biggest impact possible. It's also great practice for my original fiction honestly.

3) Aside from the characters of your main ship, who are the characters you love to write?

I really love writing Sam Arias. Nia is also super fun to write, and writing Brainy and Lena arguing about science is always fun too. Alex is a littler harder for me to write (her snark is hard for me to capture), but she's a blast once I get in the right headspace for it. For Korrasami, I really love writing Jinora and Bolin. Asami considers both of them basically siblings at this point, and Korra does too actually. heh.

4) Are there pairings or tropes you know for sure you'd never write about? Which ones?

I will NEVER EVER writing Makorra - that is a clusterfuck I will never touch. Hell, it's why I didn't rewrite book 1 of TLOK for my Shared Moments series because I really didn't want to touch it at all. lol I just skipped to the six months after and started there. I'll NEVER write Lames or any relationship that features Mon-el. Nope. Not touching it. I prefer to write sapphic pairings for the main protagonists. Sure, side characters can have het pairings (like Brainy and Nia), but I won't write a fic with them as the focus. Other folks can do that.

5) What is your writing process and why is it cursed?

Step 1: Wake up, wash up, and get tea. Step 2. Cuddle the cat to prepare myself. Step 3: Put on my compression gloves and stretch my arms. Step 4: Put on the correct playlist (absolutely essential step otherwise it'll throw off the entire scene and then I have to start over.) Step 5: Try to avoid Tumblr. (Doesn't always work, this place is cursed I swear. lol) Step 6. Open Scrivener project (who am I kidding, these primary projects are always open on m computer). Write while my brain is cooperating. (30 to 40 minutes before I got to rest for 45 minutes then I can start writing again. Chronic illness sucks like that.) Step 7: realize I need to research something and lose two hours to that. Step 8: AO3 emailed me! Who commented this time! Oh noes, now I've fallen down the looking at the Internets.

The other thing I do is carry my journal everywhere to document everything and end up with some weird random poetry, drawings, and dialogue from people I overhear. Oh, and on bad brain days, I'll draw cursed images.

I also use Scrivener and go all haywire on all its features to a ridiculous extent. Like, I try to stuff ALL my outlines, research, scenes, into that Scrivener so it's all in one place, that way I don't forget anything. It makes for large projects. ha.

6) What is your favorite part of your writing process?

Incorporating my research into the story in subtle ways to fill out the world and immerse the reader more fully. It's fun to put some of this research in the end-notes for my fics on AO3. (The power AO3 gave us writers with those end-notes!!)

7) What’s the weirdest thing you’ve had to research for a fic?

Maturation of bird species and the DNA overlap with human beings to see if I can craft an alien species that is at least 90% DNA similar to humans but is more birdlike.

I looked up the absorption of chemicals through skin. (This is why I use duckduck go for anonymity for this sort of stuff. LOL)

8) Is there a particular writing rule you struggle with (grammar, spelling, tense, reality in general)?

Reality in general - ha. Seriously though, the chronic illness makes it really hard to concentrate and have energy for writing or really anything. The second thing I struggle with is I have an annoying habit of adapting my tenses to what I'd last read. So if the story I read was past-tense, I'll jump into my writing using past tense (which most of my stories is that tense, but there's two that aren't so that's when it gets annoying).

9) What was your hardest scene to write so far and why?

The hardest scene was the end of Book 3 for Shared Moments for the Korrasami series. Both Asami and Korra (due to the bond they forged by accident at Harmonic Convergence) are captured by Zaheer, so that was a brutally painful set of scenes. Full of pain, fighting, poisoning, and a struggle to survive. I wept through it honestly. Whew. Yikes. For Supercorp, the hardest scene was when Nia assists Lena with her dreams and memories of her birth mother. Those were so sad and I totally teared up writing them. It was also hard to sort out the best way to reveal details without giving too much away either. Since Nia's powers are a little all over the place too.

10) Have your characters ever done something you didn’t expect, changing your plot completely?

All the time! For the TLOK: Shared Moments series, Asami keeps surprising me, so I often have to sit down and remap her timeline, and it always enriches the entire series. For Supercorp, Nia keeps doing things that surprise me. She's like this chaotic good agent that adds in humor and twists that enrich the tale in subtle ways I think. There's many other surprising moments the characters do. That's half the fun! Seeing where the characters end up and if I need to adjust my plans. :D

11) If you could converse with any of the characters, who would it be and why?

That's a tie between Asami Sato and Lena Luthor honestly. But then I sort of think of them as basically the same person (Lena may be more neutral in temperament while Asami is chaotic good. Also, Asami isn't afraid to fly planes and crash them for Korra. Lena would prefer no flying. lol). I just wanna talk science with them. Oh and ask them about how in-love they are with Korra and Kara respectively. (Lena will try to deny it, but Asami will gush and admit it because she's a little more in touch with her feelings). I just love these two so much. :D

12) What are some of the tropes or themes that you find yourself returning to in your writing?

Healing journeys. I really enjoy writing healing from trauma, because I feel like it's so relevant for our times, and the characters never really get that in their series (well, Supergirl characters don't, and they really need it!).

The theme of chosen family is another theme I come to again and again. Partly due to how my life is -- my bio family is not healthy for me (outright abusive), so my chosen family is my real family. So I like to dig into those dynamics a lot.

I also tend to write the survivor narrative a lot. It's a more interesting narrative structure, but it's also less used so that can startle readers. Sometimes in good ways? A good example of a survivor narrative structure is TLOK actually.

Another good example of the survivor narrative is Sam Arias' journey in Season 3 of Supergirl. Maybe I'll write an essay someday on it.

13) What's your most important resource as a writer?

There's isn't any one most important resource. I'd say fellow writers and artists is a great resource, lore books is another, random research books (yes, I have a guide to weapons for writers, guide for poisons for writers, guide to x or y for writers, because I'm a nerd like that), the Internet, and lots of listening to others.

14) Can you share some of your strategies for editing and revising your work?

For editing/revising, I start with SPAG: spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Once I do a few run-throughs of that, then I look at the dialogue -- Is the dialogue true to the character's personality and quirks? Can I make the dialogue more succinct?

After that, I look at descriptions: Is the description immersive? Do I utilize the five senses in a concise way? Can I pare down the description while still keeping the immersive quality? Is there any description that doesn't add to the scene or character's growth and can that be moved to a different scene or saved for later?

Finally, I do a fresh read-through and check how it impacts my emotions. Do I laugh at the funny parts? Do I tear up at the sad/angst parts? Does it feel too dry or not emotive enough? What words could be used instead to better invoke emotions?

15) Which is worse: making the summary, picking the tags, or the anxiety when you post your fic?

Ugh, summaries are the worst. Sometimes it's easier to just pick an excerpt of a scene and slap that as the summary. Tags are even worse. I never know what to use for tags, especially since people seem to be kind of random with AO3 tags. I mean, I feel like some writers just will write a statement as a tag and it's amusing but also confusing.

16) How do you define success for your fanfic - hits? Kudos? Comments? Bookmarks? Or just if you like it?

I don't really measure success.

If I get comments from folks that say they're enjoying it? That's a source of joy for me but it's not about success. Because I'm writing mostly for my enjoyment, but to hear that others enjoy it too? Damn, that's like the best news ever. It really helps me feel better about myself and my writing. Like I'm valued and not forgotten. That I actually have an impact. So yeah, go leave comments if you like stuff, please. Us writers love it.

17) Do you have a playlist for your favorite character / ship?

YES. I Always make a playlist for each project I do. I craft it based on their personality, their character arcs, the mood of the piece, and I focus on a variety of genres. I think about the lyrics of songs and try to match it all together. I might spend way more time on playlists than I need, but since I have them playing as I write, I need them to fit the mood and atmosphere to increase inspiration.

18) If fan art was going to be made from your work, which fic would you pick and which fan artist would you like to create it?

Um. Huh. This is a hard question. I try to draw my own, but I can't do color (y'all that do color, are freaking WIZARDS). I think Confession fic and the scene where Lena resurrects Kara, and if and when I have money again, I'd ask @rustingcat if commissions are open for them.

For Korrasami, I'd choose Book 3 or 3.5 but I'm not sure on the artist.

19) How many WIPs do you currently have?

UM. If I count just fanfics, probably fifteen. I'm actively working on six. (Three in each fandom. Two are usually shorter, and one is the longer fic) If we include original fiction and fanfiction? Uhhhhh. Hahahah, that's like twenty-five or so. I'm only working on one original fiction piece set on my SF world of Elivera.

20) What's your advice to new fanfic writers?

Pace yourself and take some time to edit and revise before posting. Also, take some time to review the transcripts and how the characters talk. That can give some fun insight into the characters and ways to expand on them in interesting ways.

Ask questions a lot! There's so many nice folks in the fandom, and folks are so kind about answering questions. I know because I still ask questions and talk to folks about this, and more seasoned writers have been so lovely.

Write what you want. Don't write for your readers (unless someone requests and pays you for a fic, then I guess write for them. lol) but otherwise, write what you want. This is supposed to be fun. If you're getting stressed out, take a break otherwise you will get burned out. To avoid burn out, take time to rest. Read a bit, do fun hobbies, do some practice writing, and then dive back into your fic.

Yes, it's important to try to finish things, but don't feel pressured. Remember, having fun is crucial! It's okay to take your time. Readers will stick with you if they like your tale.

Happy Writing!

P.S. I'm going to quote Brenda Ueland who wrote one of the best books on writing (If You Want to Write):

“Don't always be appraising yourself, wondering if you are better or worse than other writers. "I will not Reason and Compare," said Blake; "my business is to Create." Besides, since you are like no other being ever created since the beginning of Time, you are incomparable. ” - Brenda Ueland

And:

“I want to assure you with all earnestness, that no writing is a waste of time, – no creative work where the feelings, the imagination, the intelligence must work. With every sentence you write, you have learned something. It has done you good. It has stretched your understanding.” - Brenda Ueland

[amemenojaku]

Akyuu for the ask game!!

General opinion/How much I care about them: She's a girl she's a boy she's neither she's 1400 years old she won't live past 30 she can remember anything she sees she can't remember her past lovers she's the most influencial person in the human village she writes silly Agatha Christie fanfics!!! I LOVE her!! Easily a top 5 for me. Everything that surrounds her is fascinating, from the lore to her duty to the window on the world of touhou that she opened for the fans. I like that she's a tragic character yet she has such a strong personality, both that of a noble and of a woman who just wants to live her life and have a little fun As A Treat.

A ship I love: Akyuu/Kosuzu is so so so important to me as a tragic best friends enjoyer. I can do literally anything I want with this ship, tragedy, fluff, comedy, historical study pieces, bad ends - it always works. Their interactions are one of the reasons why I loved Forbidden Scrollery so much, the little moments when they just chat together around a cup of tea, when they do research on youkai, the ceremony under the sakura to extend Akyuu's lifespan, the Agatha ChrisQ chapters, the excellent "youkai are the enemies of humans" moments…

why does the panel on the right look like it's from a shoujo manga OUGHHH!! anyway um. I'm also really fond of Reimu/Akyuu (the longing and the parallels toi même tu sais) and Marisa/Akyuu (they'd be so funny together). As a whole I think every variation of Reimu/Marisa/Akyuu/Kosuzu works really well either as platonic or romantic.

A non-romantic relationship that I love: Probably with Yukari. There's definitely something fun to do with the guardian of Gensokyo and the reincarnations of its beloved chronicler. I like to imagine Yukari's existence has become almost reassuring to the children of Miare despite the fact that she's still a dangerous youkai. She'll always be there after all! In my mind it's also like the relatonship between a writer and an artist.

The NOTP: Don't have any!

My biggest headcanon about them: I've got a lot of headcanons for Akyuu which I'd like to do something with in the future, one of them is that she's really into flower language and personally chooses the flowers in the Hieda house. Each of Are's reincarnations also have a flower linked to them :) I love flowers myself so I'm projecting a little haha

An idea for a fanwork I would like to make/see about them: I have this idea for a mystery story on the Hieda family with lots of scheming and backstabbing but I am not very good at writing so it's only a silly dream for now. If someone on ao3 goes insane over Akyuu and a million different Hieda ocs one day that'll probably be me just saying

Something that makes me think of them: April Come She Will <3

[goatcheese-anon]

Okay so, Ace Attorney fans, hear me out. I had an idea for a fanfic, and said fanfic already has 11.000 words in my google docs because I could not contain this monstrosity of an idea any longer. It is one of my best ideas yet, so,, yes.

Basically, this idea is about the saying that lawyers go to hell. It plays during Phoenix' disbarment. He dies. Boom. End of story/J. NO LIKE, he dies, goes to hell, and comes back as a demon. Shenanigans ensue.

I added my own version of hell, as well as a LOT of detailed hell lore.. And yea.. Phoenix can smell lies.. And it will later on involve a case too. It will be one of my biggest projects. I really like it so far and I might post more about this in the future..

[buf309]

Self-Love Tag Game

Tagged by @whateversawesome

List your top 3 favorite works you’ve done (art fics whatever u want) AND WHY :D gotta make sure to do the why👹no self deprivation here🕺Feel free to rope anybody else into this chain we gotta self lovo 🤸‍♀️

----------

If you aren't counting those comics I drew as fanart for my friends' fanfic, I think I'm most proud of these three:

1/ [DOPPELGÄNGER]

My biggest fancomic project to date, which I think most people can't quite understand right now, and they keep a cautious "wait and see" approach 😂 Because every time I updated, there was a spike in new followers, but notes on the post itself is quite low compared to my other short comics.

At least, my test-readers, aka. my friends, who has read the rough draft of this story, told me it was interesting enough 😳 I believe in them. Well, even if no one else likes it, this is a challenge I'm doing first and foremost to entertain myself, so I'll see it through to the end no matter what.

2/ [The Adventure of the GREAT L❤️Y SHIP]

This one was just a lighthearted idea I got after reading many fellow shippers' lament about the TwiYor drought back then 😂

It has 3 basic concepts "tiny TwiYor boat in the middle of nowhere", "Loid sleep on Yor's lap", and "Yuri, Franky and Loid being a pain in the butt to each other". I think I manage to portray all of them clearly enough.

I'm very fond of this carefree Post-Reveal!AU, where nothing will ever go wrong, I have ideas for 2 more stories, one about Yuri and one about Handler. Maybe even one for Franky someday 🤔

3/ [Comfort]

Well, this spot is a toss between this one and a new trilogy comic which yet to be drawn. And the tag said "work I have done", so I choose Comfort instead. And I have no clean-enough pics of the trilogy at all is also a big factor 😂

This one is my most well-known and most stolen piece of work, only the "Bond nap" comic comes close enough. The original draft only had the 2 panels above, the rest are just for the purpose of leading up to them.

Funny enough, like a signal, every time I log into tumblr and see it climbs back to the top post position in my activity and not my other recent posts, I get a feeling of "ah, people get bored already, it's time to make something new then" 😂

-----------

Yeah, that's it.

Well, please only do this if you have the time and feel like sharing, okay? @crucipuzzled, and because I'm very curious @aerequets, what about yours? which of your fanwork is your most favorite?

[secretmellowblog]

Anyone who thinks AI is going to “revolutionize/democratize copyright law” is a fucking idiot and just as stupid as all those people who thought NFTs would revolutionize copyright. Because no, it will not? It won’t? That’s now how any of this works? You are just lying? It’s the same argument people always made about Nfts— “currently it looks like it’s just a scummy way for Silicon Valley types and big companies to enrich themselves at the expense of everyone else, but in our distant libertarian cyber future it will somehow revolutionize/democratize the concept of ownership in some nebulous poorly defined way we haven’t figured out the logistics of yet!”

The thing is. In my opinion the biggest problem with current copyright law isn’t that it allows people to have any kind of rights over the work, or that people having some kind of rights over their work is inherently always bad. The much greater problem with current copyright law is that it is massively skewed in favor of corporations, and benefits them to an insane degree while giving very little to the people who actually create the work. The people who actually make your favorite movies and comics and games usually don’t have any rights whatsoever over their creations, and instead massive companies have complete control over them.

And that’s the whole problem with the unevenness of current copyright law. if I as an individual violate Disney’s copyright by stealing a single image owned by them, or create derivative work/fanfic based on their stuff, they can sue me. But if a big corporation steals my entire life’s work and everything I’ve ever made to shove in a algorithm and create infinite derivative copies, I can do nothing. Theft on a small scale is a crime— but theft on a massive scale is business.

OpenAI is not some leftist project about taking power away from corporations by revolutionizing ownership. it is itself a giant corporation determined to get as much value for its investors as possible. It needs to be regulated. And laws protecting individual working class artists from a massive corporation determined to use their stolen labor to make them obsolete are necessary, actually!

This is not creating a world free of copyright; it’s creating a world where only individuals are bound by whatever rules exists, and whatever pretense used to exist that we had any rights over our work whatsoever is gone, because now only corporations can own things. AI can generate an image but it cannot generate a movie, which is one of the only “products” that can’t be “generated”, so only big companies with the budgets to make larger projects will be able to generate things that can be owned.

I thought we all agreed that the idea that a libertarian world where “~we don’t need laws and regulations let the free market decide and somehow everything will work itself out-“ was utterly stupid, and there needed to be limits on corporate power?

I find it literally insane that people think it’s somehow progressive to cheer on a massive corporation attempting to get infinite power, and that working class artists who are already overworked and underpaid are ~not real leftists- for pointing out it’s wrong to cheer on corporations getting to play by their own separate rules (rules that WE are bound to but they are not), even when their technology relies on the exploited labor of the people they’re going to drive deeper into poverty.

The leftism leaves people’s bodies when you tell them that they don’t actually need a machine whose data was trained by underpaid impoverished workers in Kenya making less than $2 an hour to write free shitty fanfic for them… and that the machine doesn’t create things “withojt labor,” it creates things by finding corporates loopholes to current laws that allows them to avoid paying the people for their labor. Everything you generate with image/text generators is things that are generated by the all the free labor of the artists they didn’t pay, and all the poor people in developing countries that they exploited. It doesn’t create things without labor, it creates things by obfuscating where the labor came from.

[queenofbaws]

Y hallo thar friend! For the fanfic ask game: 👖 👨‍👧‍👧

y ahoy there matey!!! hope all's well on your end!!! 😚

👖Are you a planner, plantser, or pantser? Is it consistent?

i think......i think to answer this question..........i should......i should just provide photo evidence. aklsdjfksadjfl so two of my current active projects are "of mummy men & bathtub soup" and "like wringing blood from a stone," aka the hacketts, right? right?

here's what those projects look like in my writing folder lol

I'M A PLANNER I'M A PLANNER I'M A PLANNERRRRRRRR!!! any project that isn't a oneshot, i have outlined....painstakingly. lmfao. usually that means i have (1) an outline document; (2) a document where the current chapter(s) is being written; (3) a document where future chapters/scenes i haven't decided where to put yet/scenes that come to me in prophetic visions go; and (4) a document where the final, finished, formatted work goes x_x

i wish i could be a pantser. i wish. so much. that i wasn't like this alksdjflkasjldfkjskljfklsjdkfljKSLFJLKSJF

👨‍👧‍👧 Do you tell people in real life that you write fic? 

okay so this one's a funny story actually. i've always been VERY open with my friends about writing fic because they've always been my biggest cheerleaders, so that's not a shock. thing is, i've been more open about it with my family lately because like....why not. there's still a stigma around fic if you're not, y'know, chronically online, but i'm very proud of what i do, and fuck it, my family should be too!

however.

i was talking to one of my brothers about the quarry lately (he plays the supermassive games with me whenever he's in town, and due to a hilarious goof-em-up, affectionately refers to tq as "hog boy," as in "let's play hog boy today," or "how far have you gotten in hog boy?"), and this conversation happened, beat-for-beat:

me: y'know. i write for this game. him: ??? what, like, you were on the team? me: ????? wh, no, fanfiction. fanfiction, you fool. him: wait. you weren't joking about writing that stuff????? me: no. him: but you don't........you don't PUT IT ON THE INTERNET, do you??? you don't let people SEE IT????? me: ????? yes??????? i do??????? him: jesus christ that's embarrassing. no one reads it though, right??? people don't ACTUALLY read it????? me: people read it. him: WHY

so. suffice it to say. i think. perhaps. i will refrain from discussing the finer points of my fuckin' oeuvre to my family from here on out, lmfao. really warmed my heart, that little exchange 🤣

wip wednesday - ask me stuff about my wips!

[averagehomosapien]

Kraaph/Sraaph Doodles +Rant

ok, first of all, remember the au I made with the two new alters? These Tendrils Run Deep? Do you remember that??

I sure do! And I’ve been neglecting them, the poor things!😢🥺

Soooo, I have some doodles to compensate! Just of Sraaph tho (the name is a combination of Savage, Krang, and Raph)

The next doodle has it’s left eye blank, similar to Savage’s—I just wanted to see how it looked

Ok, so from here I’m just going to ramble—

Basically Sraaph is a combination of Savage and the possessed Raph from the movie.

That means that it has a lot of issues relating to being left alone—it needs to be lead and for at least one family member to be close at all times—so abandonment issues like regular Raph and Savage.

other than that, Sraaph is quiet, and obedient while in a space it seems as ‘safe’ like the Lair.

outside though, it acts more like how it did in the movie: very violent, prone to bursts of anger, extremely protective of bale, yet also still obedient to it’s bale as well—if one of its brothers were to tell it to stop, it would stop.

honestly, I have ideas for a fanfic with Sraaph and the aftermath of the movie, but the concepts and ideas my mind are coming up with are way too dark and heavy, so I’ll need to tone it down. Not only that, but I would need to do character analysis’ on EVERYONE, which is going to be a hassle.

That is not including the fact I have work to do and that life exists, so it is not likely you’ll see a fic from me anytime soon. My biggest worry would be concerning the characters—I would constantly be wondering if I wrote them correctly, and that would just drive me insane if I didn’t have a beta reader.

I would also need to be confidant in my writing enough to release something; I do love writing, but 1) I only write original stories with my own characters and 2) I’ve never written a fanfic before 😅 Being me, I would also constantly compare my writing to those with great stories—like @debb987 and The Eldest Brother, among others. I know realistically that every skill requires practice and patience, but I am a very lazy and impatient person. Ok, so to summarize: I have an idea I want to write, but don’t have the time nor the patience to write it—at least, it wouldn’t come out anytime soon.

I am also more concerned with at least finishing/giving a satisfying end to Pools of Acceptance, as well as making art. I have many ideas for future projects and gifts to other creators on Tumblr, so look out for that! Too many ideas and too much work(which is honestly my fault because procrastination has me in a chokehold at all times)

on a lighter note, I just want to say thank you to all that like, comment, and reblog my posts! I hoped I would get support eventually, but I never thought it would come so fast, nor that there would be so many of you who liked my art! I’m just greatly appreciative that you all gave me a chance and decided to stay!! I now have more followers than I do posts and i will do something big to commemorate 100 followers! Just know that all of your support gives me the motivation to continue what I’m doing—each and every one of you helps motivate me!

And a final note—I said back in chapter 3 that you would know who hurt baby Raph soon…

uhhhh, honestly the plot is dragging me I have no control over it; basically it might be a while until you guys get confirmation of what hurt baby Raph, so whoops!😬 😅 I’m just having fun with this whole thing! Might take a few chapters till you meet the attacker (doesn’t that sound harsh?) but it might be in the next hmmm…10 chapters?? Like I said, i have no control over the plot and no plan.

Anyway, this post is long enough, so have a great evening/night/day!! See y’a peeps on the weekend!

[recurring-polynya]

Writing/Art Update 3.19.2024

In case you missed it, the Big Fanfic is complete. You can read the first chapter on ao3.

I spent most of my free time last week working on a drawing requested by my daughter that was, shall we say, pretty far above my skill level. I finished it yesterday, aside from part that she wanted to do. I have to ask her if she minds if I post it here--if not, it was still good practice.

So what's next? Well, unfortunately, the actual thing that's next is my taxes-- those are going to be my biggest priority until they're done.

I do want to pick up a little in love again this year, and hopefully finish it, but I'm not sure I'm ready to jump into that just yet. I may, in fact, save it for my Big Fall Project, which is the time of year I am most productive. I always fall down in the summertime, but it might be nice to have a medium-sized project to tool around with--I have a few ideas/WIPs that would fit the bill.

In the very near term, though, I'd like to maybe relax and do a few short things. I have a WIP that I dug out of the Abandoned pile not too long ago, and I think I can finish it up and post it. It's not too long and would be very appropriate for Kira's birthday, which is coming up. I would also really really really like to do something for ChadIshi week, but so far my brain has been very empty. I really thought we would be doing another Bleach Returns event about now, but at this point, I'm guessing we're looking at the summer for that. I am toying with the idea of doing a Very Small Requests event, just because it's been ages and ages since I've done one, but I haven't really decided yet. I think I want to see how the other stuff goes first.