#or you write anticipating more and end up with an incomplete story in the end

[flythesail]

I think a lot of what people were saying happened "too early" in s2 of shadow & bone was really the writers saying s3 is unlikely, so this is our chance to give everyone some of what would be to come :(

[addledmongoose]

Good Omens Fanfic Friday (05 Apr 2024)

Almost everything this week is canon-compliant/adjacent. For a change there's only one human AU.

Nice And Ominous: a reluctant eschatology of the Second Attempt (series) (84K currently; Rated T/E)

Every so often there comes along a week where I'm absolutely ecstatic to recommend something. I spend all week in anticipation of sharing it with everyone in the hopes they'll love it as much as I do. This week, it's this series, a three-part post-S2 that definitely deserves way more kudos and attention than it currently has.

Part I (rated T) is from Crowley's POV and focuses on him slowly healing from the heartache of losing his angel. He learns to be friends with Maggie and Nina, becomes like a big brother to Muriel, and even gains an almost-friendship with Eric. The story isn't as angsty as it sounds, though Crowley doesn't always have the healthiest coping mechanisms (a tendency to drink and drive across the world). The author does a great job of not putting all the breakup blame on Aziraphale. You can always tell the difference between Crowley blaming Aziraphale in a story and the author blaming him.

Part II (rated T) is from Aziraphale's POV. This story is definitely more angsty that Part I. Aziraphale's up there doing is best, but with only one real (human) friend back on Earth to rely on and trust, he's mostly on his own. Just as with Part I, the author doesn't put the entirety of the blame for the breakup on Crowley any more than he does Aziraphale. Be warned that it ends in a cliffhanger.

Part III (mostly rated T but some E) is still incomplete, but the author posts weekly and the story is already written, so I feel confident we'll see the end. I can't say much about the plot of this one without serious spoilers, but if you read the first two parts you'll definitely want to read Part III. It hurts at times. A lot. If you need mostly fluff right now, this isn't the one for you. (The rest of today's list is pure fluff, though, because I needed it after obsessing over this story).

If you don't like to be left hanging on a story, read Part I, but hold off on Part II until Part III is complete. It won't be too long; the author has already released two chapters since I started writing this note (7 of 14).

This series is incredibly well-written. It's almost certain to make my year-end best-of list, as it's easily one of the best "what happens next" after Aziraphale leaves for Heaven. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it all week.

***

Break the Rules (1.4K; Rated G)

Aziraphale has a beard. Crowley loses his mind.

***

In Love We Rise (11K; Rated E)

One of two AJ_Constantine stories on my list this week filled with fluff and gorgeous writing. It's Easter Sunday and Aziraphale is feeling a little down about the holiday. Crowley decides to cheer him up.

***

Bad Communications (series) (15K; Rated T)

Funny post-S2 three-part series where Crowley and Aziraphale are made to realize (by Nina/Maggie and Muriel respectively) that they might not have communicated with each other as clearly as they thought during the Final 15. I particularly love how Muriel is written here.

***

Heaven On Wheels (3K; Rated M)

Aziraphale buys a Scoopy moped and convinces Crowley to go for a ride. The author, CopperBeech, describes it as "a sappy, happy, old-fashioned s1-compliant (and s2-defiant) post-Nopocalypse getting-together fic."

***

Caramel Delight (16K; Rated E)

Human AU. Another wonderful bit of fluff from AJ_Constantine. Crowley is delighted when his terrible neighbors move out and even more delighted when he sees his new neighbor is a gorgeous blond man. The neighborly thing to do would be to bring over a jar of his Nan's caramel sauce as a welcome to the neighborhood gift, of course. Crowley is really dense here; hilariously so. The "they share one brain cell" tag would be appropriate, but Aziraphale is the only one using it.

[loving-villanelle]

THIS. All of this. I've seen parts of the fandom argue that it was unrealistic of us to expect anything other than the same old conflict we've seen for 3+ seasons and I'm going to explain why that's NOT true.

Reason #1: Season 3 ended on a positive note. Does that mean the show had to pick up and continue with that thread? No. But the writer of 3x08 was also the show runner for season 4, so I don't think it was "unrealistic" for us to anticipate that she would pick up where she left off rather then retconning her own writing

Reason #2: Killing Eve intentionally put LGBTQ+, sapphic writers in their writing room this season. That excited us. Because clearly they were looking for sapphic material right? Well technically yes, but instead of using that material on the couple we've waited on for 4 seasons, they constructed an Eve/Helene arc in 5 episodes. Some of the audience loved it and great, happy for you. I didn't, because why could they give Eve and Helene more sapphically charged material in 5 episodes than they could give Villaneve in 4 seasons? And in the final season no less where now, even if we are thrown some moments, they will feel all too rushed and their story will feel like it was not fully explored/incomplete

So no, we weren't being ridiculous or unrealistic in our belief that the first showrunner to previously write for the show might actually be capable of sustaining some consistency. We weren't being ridiculous or unrealistic in our belief that LGBTQ+/sapphic writers would result in the Villaneve content we've all been waiting for

The only ridiculous thing about any of this was the show's complete inability or unwillingness to deliver on any of these things

[ajwamiju-archives]

Project WIPS

Code:

Published: 🌊

Finished writing: ⛲

Being written: 🏖️

Planning/plotting stage: 💧

Prone to change: 💦

Ｔｅｍｐｏｒａｒｙ Ｓｅｐａｒａｔｏｒ

This list order might change, as in I decide to put in other long fics unrelated to the current series in the list. (Also this list is like a self-expose post bc I'm that much of a scatter-brain, I made this so I don't continue coming up with more half-assed stories and getting distracted by them)

Unfinished (in order):

Ｔｅｍｐｏｒａｒｙ Ｓｅｐａｒａｔｏｒ

To Love an Enemy: Kita Shinsuke 🌊🏖️

Summary: You, [Surname] [Name], are one of the best spies in Japan's yakuza scene. When you turned 20, you were given your first official mission, to retrieve stolen documents in a building the Inarizaki clan has taken over.

However, things don't exactly go your way as you get captured and are forced to work for Inarizaki, things get convoluted when feelings start to come into play, especially when your former nemesis, a.k.a your current boss, can effortlessly make your heart flutter just by talking to you.

Ｔｅｍｐｏｒａｒｙ Ｓｅｐａｒａｔｏｒ

No Title Yet (Sakusa Kiyoomi x Reader) 🏖️💧💦

Summary: In a world where powers determine a person's social standings, commoner murder done by nobles is far too common. You are an imperial knight who was saved from this attempted murder by the Empress, then prince's personal knight, who is known as the best knight the Empire has.

Training under her wing, you flourished and quickly climbed up the ranks to the point where you're a personal knight for the princes and princesses of the Empire, even though you have to share the job with this mysterious and brooding knight whose origins are unknown even to the best information collector of the Empire.

But when things take a turn for the worst, you're left in an unstable position, not knowing who to trust while you protect the now incomplete imperial family.

Ｔｅｍｐｏｒａｒｙ Ｓｅｐａｒａｔｏｒ

To Love an Enemy: Miya Osamu 💧

Summary: Four years have gone by ever since your twin sister was kidnapped and presumed dead by your family. Four years have you and your brother plotted revenge towards Inarizaki for taking your sister away from your family, causing rebellions and power imbalances in your clan.

On the day you acted on your revenge plot, everything crumbled as your brother's body disappeared while you got kidnapped by Inarizaki, if that's not enough, you got the shock of your life to see your sister not only alive and well, but also co-leading Inarizaki with her husband.

With your old clan reduced to crumbles, you have no choice but to join Inarizaki to continue living, it would've been much easier if the certain twin you've caught feelings for would look at you instead.

Ｔｅｍｐｏｒａｒｙ Ｓｅｐａｒａｔｏｒ

Singing My Love to You: Ennoshita Chikara 💧🏖️💦

Summary: Being an idol in a girl group has always been something you've dreamed of ever since you were a child. The flashing lights, the screams of adoring fans, and the influence your presence will have in the media. At 22, you finally got to achieve that dream and become the leader of a girl group of your own through years and years of training, but what you didn't anticipate was how hard it would be.

From the front you've been stuck with for a year, to the toxic fandom you've garnered, to the restrictions it came from being an idol, to problems you have with certain members. Everything you've ever believed in has diminished and you're left with a miserable reality that being an idol isn't as easy and good as it sounded.

Ｔｅｍｐｏｒａｒｙ Ｓｅｐａｒａｔｏｒ

To Love an Enemy: Suna Rintarou 💧💦

Summary: Being surrounded by kids has always been something you enjoyed ever since you were young, that's why you ended up becoming a daycare teacher, and at 26 years old, you're living your best life with the cutest and well-behaved little students and reasonable parents that won't blame you mindlessly for every little thing that is out of your control.

You're quite familiar with the parents of each child, so you're quite suspicious of the new, tall and lanky man picking Isui and Hayami up because you've never seen him around, but why is Hayami calling him daddy? Now that you mention it, she never calls her usual parents mommy or daddy, only Isui ever does.

Confronting the handsome man, you instantly feel attracted to him, but what you don't realise is the moment you struck up a conversation with him is when your relatively peaceful life ends.

Ｔｅｍｐｏｒａｒｙ Ｓｅｐａｒａｔｏｒ

Singing My Love to You: Kita Shinsuke 💧💦

Summary: Being an idol has never been your dream, you've always wanted to go to university and study until you have a master's degree with a job you love. But fate has never been so kind with its plans and it always seems to disagree with you.

As you reach your third year of high school, it turns out you don't have the money to go to college, not to mention you have two younger siblings to think about, so when an agency offers you a position to be an idol because of a video your friend submitted of you singing, you accept even though you've never liked the idea of being in the spotlight.

You thought you could handle the fact that you have more haters than you do fans, but really, you feel like you're close to your breaking point, and this upcoming movie that you’re forced to star as the main character in isn’t making things better.

Ｔｅｍｐｏｒａｒｙ Ｓｅｐａｒａｔｏｒ

To Love an Enemy: Semi Eita 💧💦

Summary: After three years of working at Inarizaki, you're finally sent on an away mission far up in Miyagi to help seal a weapon trade deal with Shiratorizawa. Most things went as expected, except one:

One of the negotiators from Shiratorizawa’s side, Semi Eita, seemed to have taken an interest in you.

You thought it would just be a fleeting crush, but after two years of secretly meeting and texting each other, you’re starting to think that this might end up being something more serious, much more serious than you thought.

So, after negotiating with your bosses, you’re finally given permission to transfer to Shiratorizawa to be closer to Semi, things will be easier from here on out, right?

Ｔｅｍｐｏｒａｒｙ Ｓｅｐａｒａｔｏｒ

Singing My Love to You: Suna Rintarou 💧💦

Summary: Being one the most popular idol in your girl group and one of the most popular idols in general has its perks. For one, people treat you better in general and you receive more money from personal projects such as promotions, movies, and whatnot.

But you think it stops there.

You’ve never been able to date freely and have healthy relationships. Most people, whether pursuing a romantic or platonic relationship with you, end up wanting roughly the same thing: money, fame, and pride.

Toxic relationships are nothing new to you at this point in time, you do have good, trustworthy friends though they can be counted on two hands at most, but you wish someone would just swoop in and actually pursue a healthy romantic relationship with you, well, you suppose you still have a long time to find that someone, for now, you’ll just focus on this upcoming collaboration with one of the most popular boybands of Japan.

Ｔｅｍｐｏｒａｒｙ Ｓｅｐａｒａｔｏｒ

To Love an Enemy: Ojiro Aran 💧💦

Summary: You never thought this is where you’ll end up. All your life, you thought you’d have a successful job at the age of 25 with a small, happy family in the making, but you ended up dropping out of high school just before you graduated and spent almost a decade killing countless of people and jumping from one man to another.

Now, as you approach your thirties, you can only watch people around you living the life you thought you would have. Even as you try to find that life for yourself, well, as close as you can get to that life at least, you're only met with failure after failure and you're honestly starting to lose hope.

Ｔｅｍｐｏｒａｒｙ Ｓｅｐａｒａｔｏｒ

Singing My Love to You: Semi Eita 💧💦

Summary: Being an idol in a girl group means you've listened to too many songs in almost every single genre known to existence, but somehow, you never really liked indie and alt music, but out of solidarity in your friendship, you decided to watch a concert of Semi Eita's single. Shiratorizawa as a whole was never a band that caught your ears, but damn does Semi's song sound catchy, and he doesn't look too bad himself.

As it turns out, your friend actually knows Semi Eita and dragged you to the backstage for a quick chat. Semi seems to have taken an interest in you and you're honestly flattered by it, if it weren't for the personal problems you have in your bucket right now, you'd probably have been more in tune with the conversation.

But how can you? When the girl group you're apart of, one you love so dearly and is the only source of your livelihood, is thinking of disbanding?

Ｔｅｍｐｏｒａｒｙ Ｓｅｐａｒａｔｏｒ

Singing My Love to You: Kunimi Akira💧💦

Summary: You'd say you're one of the lucky ones compared to your friends and groupmates. You're not forced into some personality that's completely opposite of yours, you don't have an overwhelming amount of haters, and you're generally fine with your job with a few backup plans in any case your group suddenly disbands.

But because of your generally miniscule problems compared to the other girls in your group, or anyone throughout your life for that matter, you don't exactly have a deep bond with anyone, and you wish you have someone to listen to your woes or tell you what's nagging them. You want someone to be there for you and for you to be there for them. You just hope you can make a close friend before something big finally hits you that makes you drop to your all-time low.

Ｔｅｍｐｏｒａｒｙ Ｓｅｐａｒａｔｏｒ

Singing My Love to You: Shirabu Kenjirou 💧💦

Summary: A life in the spotlight has always been something you and everyone else around you thought you'd have, you just never really considered being an idol in a girl group would be the path you ended up traversing since you don't think your voice is good enough for it.

But here you are, watching and becoming the middle person in just about any problems your group faces even though you're not the leader and with the added fact that if you're not careful, cameras would be in your face in an instant, you're starting to think a life in the spotlight is not for you.

You hope you have time to wind down, sooner or later.

Ｔｅｍｐｏｒａｒｙ Ｓｅｐａｒａｔｏｒ

Singing My Love to You: After story 💧💦

Summary: A collection of six (or seven) one-shots of the lives of the girls after the events of Singing My Love to You a few years into the future.

Ｔｅｍｐｏｒａｒｙ Ｓｅｐａｒａｔｏｒ

Finished (in order):

[wheredidhiseyebrowsgo]

👉👈 Okay so do you have any fics where stiles is lonely and the pack cheers him up? I'm feeling the same way and I'd like something to cheer me up Completely fine if you can't. Sterek please! And thank you!!!

AND

Anonymous said: do you have any fics where stiles is alone/lonely, like not bullied or anything, just alone. Perferibly Sterek and/or pack

Hi @youdontgettolikemyhaircut! Sorry for the delay, I hope you’re feeling better. Here’s some virtual love.

Silence by VoidSterekOTP

(2/2 I 2,425 I Mature)

Silence, always silence. No matter how many times he calls, whenever the pack are together all he receives is silence.

His grades have dropped. The nightmares are back. And his friends? Well, maybe he doesn't have any anymore.

Seven by 5sosquiff

(1/1 I 8,764 I Not Rated)

Detective Stilinski gets a new partner on the most publicized Beacon Hills case in history. But this case just gets more and more elaborate and its culprit is closer to Stiles than he could ever anticipate. And then there's the fact that his friends keep on dying and his new partner is sex on a stick.

Epic, Teen Love Story by WordsCreatedWorlds

(1/1 I 10,412 I Mature)

Stiles is Derek's mate, and everyone else seems to know but him. He's waiting for his epic, teen love story, but he may jut miss the one unfolding in front of him.

Necrosis by Aris

(4/4 I 23,218 I Teen)

Wings are thought to be a reflection of who you are inside.

After the Nogitsune, Stiles's begin to rot.

No Time Like the Future by isthatbloodonhisshirt (wasterella) 

(1/1 I 40,950 I Teen)

It wasn’t until he was ten that the full explanation came to him, because every year when a group of kids turned ten, schools had a one-day course specifically about soulmates, what they meant, and why everyone had weird writing on their arms.

Derek remembered sitting in that all-day class, completely horrified, and absolutely devastated. The course leader made it sound like a good thing. Soulmates were the other half of your own being, they were the person you were supposed to love and cherish, who would understand every part of you, and all that other garbage nonsense. He was not here for this.

It wasn’t that Derek had any understanding of love—not romantic love, and certainly not at ten years old—but he read a lot of books and watched some shows and movies with his family, and love looked like something different in those environments. Love looked like a choice, like the meeting of people, and the getting to know them, and actively falling in love with a person because they were amazing and nice and just fit.

Soulmates didn’t sound like that.

Lone Wolf by Kikileduc

(19/19 I 46,444 I Teen)

Stiles feels forgotten, he feels left out. So he does something about it, while getting reacquainted with nature he stumbles on to something else. If the pack doesn't need him, if his dad wants him to stay out of it all, well, maybe he just needs a distraction in the form of 3 adorable wolf cubs!

It's (Not) a Cult by lhr111

(19/19 I 56,062 I Explicit)

“Well Stiles, you told me a few weeks ago that you thought Derek was leading a cult.”

At that Derek whipped his head toward Stiles in shock. “You thought I was a cult leader?”

Stiles will not be shamed. “Well, either you or Peter. Peter made more sense, but since he deferred to you that one time I was a little unsure. I mean, what else could I think with all the weird shit going on. You, hanging out with random high school seniors, doing secret things, ordering them around like you are their parent, them actually doing what you tell them. It’s really weird, okay?”

“Are you familiar with Harry Potter?” Derek asks.

Talk about a non sequitur. “What? What does that have to do with anything? And, of course I know Harry Potter!”

“Well to quote Sirius Black, ‘Once again you’ve put your keen and penetrating mind to the task and as usual come to the wrong conclusion.’"

The Sheriff starts snickering, and Stiles is both insulted and also a little in love.

A Life for a Life, Makes the Whole World Bound by augopher

(26/26 I 90,697 I Mature)

Stiles was lonely; there was no other way of putting it. The Nogitsune had left the pack a wary of him, not that they thought it had been his fault. No, they worried it would happen again. Once bitten, twice shy. The morning after his 18th birthday, his torso was covered in mysterious green tattoos. He hadn’t been that drunk. He'd definitely remember that. Great. Something else to make him feel like a freak. Insomnia led him to his mother’s diary and a tale of how she helped an odd man once who gave her the warning, “Be careful of your wishes three." Everything clicked into place. So...he was a djinni. He subtly changed things about himself. More muscle? Done. Better hair? Done and done. End his crippling insecurity? Done, done, done. He hid his new gift until he found himself bound to Derek. With Deaton’s help, they translated meanings in his tattoos, but they were incomplete. A passage of his 'Rules and Regulations' was missing. Everything was fine dandy until Stiles’ new powers and penchant for mischief and karmic retribution threatened to destroy him, fracture his mind, and turn him into something which couldn’t be contained. Could the pack save him in time, and at what price?

[naktergalen]

Rivamika Fic Suggestions List 2

Hey there again! It’s been a while since my last rivamika post and I apologies for that. I caught the reading bug and have just been hitting book after book. I might be doing a book of the month suggestion starting in March. I’m still thinking about it but if that is something your interested in let me know. Or if you just want book suggestions just message or ask me. But for now, I’m back with my second Rivamika Fic Suggestions List.

First of all, I want to thank you for all the comments and messages I received from my first list! I think it has over 150 notes now which is crazy for me. I was going to be ecstatic if it got like 10 likes or something hahaha! I’ve enjoyed talking to some of you about fics and other snk stuff. Feel free to do the same after this post! I know I take awhile to respond but swear I get there eventually.

Same rules as last time. I’ve split this list up into four categories. I wanted to let people know the status of some of these fics in case they did not want to start an incomplete or in progress story. All of these fics can be found on AO3. I’m going to try to link them but we will see how tumblr acts today. If you have any fic suggestions for me, feel free to message me with them and I can add them on to the next list. If any author sees their story on here and wants me to take it off the list, please let me know I don’t wish to make anyone feel uncomfortable. Also, last thing, I highly recommend leaving comments and kudos to the authors. I know that they greatly appreciate it and it helps them with improving their writing through feedback. Okay shutting up now, ON WITH THE LIST!

DISCLAIMER: I know that not all of these stories are not for everyone, these are just my opinions and suggestions.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Completed:

- Thunder Clouds

Author: K_Lionheart

Rating: Mature

Sometimes I like to go to the very back of the Rivamika archive on AO3 and look for fics that have gotten buried over time. Low and behold what I have found lol! I enjoyed the emotional roller coaster when I was reading this fic, though sometimes I wanted to pull my hair out. Set after the titans are gone, humanity has to repopulate so arranged couples by the monarch are made to be wed. While this new order is being enforced, Mikasa and Levi are trying to work out their strained relationship. A slow burn with angst that will have you staying up till 3am dying to know what happens next. I know that there is a sequel to this fic called Nimbus and I’m slowly working my way through that one. Honestly, it will probably go on my next list.

- Red is the Only Colour

Author: mongoose_bite

Rating: Mature

A cute fic that was a quick but wild ride. A Little Red Riding Hood type of AU where Mikasa is a hunter of some sorts traveling through a town. I don’t want to say how Levi plays into all of this since it gets border line spoilers but just know that he is there. It is an opening ending fic for the author to come back if they plan on doing so but it can be interpreted in different ways. All in all, a fic worth of the quick read.

- Sing Me a Song

Author: LazyTrash

Rating: Mature

First I have to get this off my chest, I love the author’s name hahaha! I freakin wished I would have thought of that for mine! Anyway, this fic is wonderful but I will warn you that its a gut punch. If you like hurt and angst put together, then this is the story for you. I love these types of fics because I adore them so much but they hurt me in my soul. I don’t know what that says about me but whatever. I don’t want to delve into the story too much for spoilers but I would suggest rivamika fans to check this one out.

- Midnight Musings

Author: Raewyll

Rating: Teen

I just started to read Raewyll’s fics so I’m slowly working my way through all her works. This one caught my eye and I had to read it. This is a cute take on a chance meeting through texting the wrong number. I love the way Levi and Mikasa’s relationship blossoms into something more serious after causally texting back and forth. It’s one of those stories that I can only describe as being cute as shit! I’m definitely going to be checking out more of Raewyll’s fic in the future.

Ongoing:

- Beyond the Walls

Author: helena3190

Rating: Matue

If you love RIvamika angst, then look no further than this baby right here. This is currently my favorite ongoing fic. It was supposed to be a shorter story, but the author keeps adding more chapters so I’m not complaining hahaha! This fic is pretty much how I would *personally* picture canon Mikasa on how she would deal with realizing that she’s falling in love with someone. Its mostly told in the perspective of Mikasa as she is dealing with the after effects of war and trying to figure out what should she do with her life now that she is no longer a solider. Her feeling for Levi come with a lot of confusion as she’s discovering emotions that she has never felt before. She has a hard time pinpointing on what exactly describes her relationship with him. I’m anxiously waiting for the final chapter for this fic and dying to see how it will end for Mikasa and Levi.

- After the War

Author: loneackerman

Rating: Mature

I am loving this rivamika slow burn fic right here. Its similar to Beyond the Walls but I think the author adds their own taste of the 1920s into it. Set after the war is over (obviously), Mikasa and Levi have to figure out what they are going to do the rest of their lives. It has great tension, a perfectly paced gradual romance and just the right amount of humor to combat the emotional turmoil it puts you through. Again in my opinion, this is close to how I would realistically perceive Levi and Mikasa’s relationship evolving. I’m really enjoying this story and I’m looking forward to more updates to come!

- The Sound of Lightning

Author: LycheeGreenTea

Rating: Mature

A new fic that is just getting started but I can tell that what the author has in store is going to be interesting. Set several years after the end of the war, Levi and Mikasa are loving parents to a single child. Their peaceful life comes to an end when the family has a threat against them. There are not many long fics about Mikasa and Levi being parent so I was very happy when this one popped up on the AO3 feed. An exciting adventure awaits the Ackerman family now and I can’t wait to see where this fic goes in the future. There are three chapters as of now so head over there and check it out.

Incomplete:

- Home

Author: MissErikaCourt

Rating: Mature

One of the gems I found when diving back into the Rivamika archive. Ugh I HATE that this fic is incomplete!!! Its a good long fic but I’m greedy and I need more! I will give a warning first that this fic does contain heavy themes. Mikasa and Levi are in the underground to fight against a criminal ring. This story is a slow burn with action and emotional trauma. There is a wonderfully written OC that you easily get attached to its not even funny. Even though its not completed, I would highly recommend checking it out. I still have three more chapters to finish but I had to put it on this list. I know that I’m going to be pissed once I reach the last chapter written. If someone know MissErikaCourt, let her know that she needs to comeback to finish this masterpiece!

- Shiver

Author: bornsinner

Rating: Mature

Another one that I DISPISE its incomplete!!! Ugh such a great Office AU. It’s everything that I would want in an Office AU setting. Mikasa struggles between her committed long term relationship and her growing attraction (which starts to develop into some feelings) to her boss, Levi. Its hot, sexy and intriguing and it pisses me off that its not finished! The author writes each chapter as a one-shot but collectively together they tell the whole story. Highly recommend even though its so short. BORNSINNER where ever you are in the universe I hope you come back to finish this!!!

- Two Lines

Author: Crejhov

Rating: Mature

When this was getting updated it was my favorite on-going Rivamika fic. I would find myself checking to see if the author updated with a new chapter every week! The unplanned pregnancy trope is a classic one, but Crejhov does a fantastic job on keeping readers enthralled with soo many anticipated character meet up that are bound to cause hurdles for our expecting parents. This story is told from the perspectives of Mikasa and Levi in order for us to understand where their mindsets are as they plan for their expecting child and deal with their relationship. AHHHHH I want more of this!!! I was soo excited to see where this awkward journey was going to take Mikasa and Levi. CREJHOV COME BACK PLEASE I KNOW YOU HAVE WORK BUT PLEAAASEEEE! I NEEEEEEDDDD!!!

- Cabin Fever

Author: AmayaOkami

Rating: Mature

All I should have to say about this is that its written by AmayaOkami and that should explain it. Amaya is the one that gave us the beautiful incomplete rivamika fic Romance and Rivalry. I just adore her writing. Levi and Mikasa relationship evolves as they are standing guard over the arrested Kenny Ackerman. Secrets are discover about the Ackermans and it gets pretty steamy between our two favs. Great fluff and great sexual tension that leaves you wanting more chapters! Again AmayaOkami where ever you went I hope for some miracle that you come back and complete this one too!

One-Shot:

- Jade

Author: shulkie

Rating: Mature

This one-shot feels like I read a novel, it has such a great storyline. An arranged marriage between Mikasa and Levi leaves the relationship strained in the beginning. Their relationship evolves over time as Levi patiently brings down Mikasa’s wall. With smut added for all of your one-shot needs. Definitely worth the read in my opinion.

- What Remains

Author: Mirime

Rating: Mature

This one-shot gives us a glimpse into the secret relationship that Levi and Mikasa have been having while there are still scouts. This fic is sad but I would say it has a bittersweet ending. I think this was supposed to be part of a collection but I can’t find the rest of them. Still a great read by itself.

- Agape

Author: alienheartattack (Sanneke)

Rating: Mature

This fic is cute as shit! A College AU where Mikasa and Levi are childhood friends. Levi has to deal with Mikasa being at the same college as him while he is struggling with his changing feelings towards a grown up Mikasa. Worth the read as I said cute as shit, leaves you all warm and fuzzy lol!

- As Seen in Shadows

Author: MoraLeeWright

Rating: Explicit

FUCKING MORA! LEE! WRIGHT! UFFFFGGHHH Fuck I’m in love with her writing style. I really have nothing to say more that just go read it! Its hot and sexy and the sexual tension is off the fucking charts in this one. Its just MoraLeeWright smut thats all I can say. It’s great! JUST READ IT LMAO!

- Remedy

Author: NSummer

Rating: Mature

Another hot smut one-shot coming your way! Levi and Mikasa have had an ongoing affair and this just recounts their first time together. Its just some good ol’ Rivamika smut that I think that everyone in this community would enjoy.

- Nutty: Drunk in Love

Author: Hallow17

Rating: Mature

A fun smut to read about Mikasa getting “revenge” on her asshole boss, Levi. Things don’t go the way she plans as things get a little heated in the sexy way. A quick smut that I think is perfect for a little Rivamika crave.

- Spicy: Jalapeno

Author: Hallow17

Rating: Explicit

Another fun smut to read by Hallow17. Levi has been stressed out at work and Mikasa finds a way to help him get his mind off it (if you know what i mean). Again perfect for a Rivamika quick fix.

[unimooshi]

Christmas Fluff Snippet Megapost

(brought to you by your host Mooshi bc I’m stuck at home and wanna procrastinate cleaning my room :) )

Rated: G/Fluff

Relationship(s): Literally as many I can think within the span of 3 hours as they’re all basically 1 paragraph long. Feel free to read whichever ones you want I’m making word soup rn. We smackin’ tonight kings, queen, and royals in between😌😭✨

All relationships can be whatever universe you want, unless stated otherwise. Have a good time

Also please keep in mind that I haven’t read a lot of the comics and have a limited knowledge on the cartoons bc I haven’t watched some of them, but I’ll try my best to write out the dynamic as I see it.

1) Starscream/Optimus (StarPrime) you knew we were gonna start with OTP

“I know you wanted to visit Earth for a small vacation, but did you really have to choose the coldest of Earth months to visit?”, Starscream said with borderline disgust as he stared at the snow at the bottom of their ship, the only redeeming thing about the environment was the setting sun.

He kneeled down and scooped up a pile of snow, watching it crumble away between his digits. His internal heating system kicking into overdrive to compensate, little puffs of steam floating into the air. It wasn’t that it was cold, the issue was how wet it would be. The mess that would be made inside their circuits and the water dripping from exposed wiring made Starscream shiver.

“No, I didn’t have to but Earth has such a happy culture this time of year and I wanted to share that with you. I think you’ll like Christmas. Cheer up, let’s take a walk.” , Optimus planted a small peck on the side of Starscream’s helm and stepped outside, the soft crunch of snow following the Prime.

Starscream reluctantly stepped into the snow and groaned with how much water his sensors were already detecting, “How happy could this holiday possibly be with frozen condensation falling from the sky and getting into your circuits?”

“Well, according to what can be found on the internet, it’s an annual religious festival, but most humans use it as a time to see loved ones and celebrate their love for one another.”, Optimus took Starscream’s servo and interlaced it with his own, removing his battle mask to reveal a soft smile with blue optics to match, “and besides you can take a warm lather in the washracks later while I warm up some energon. I know you like watching Earth movies every once in a while.”

Starscream really couldn’t argue with his conjux and just vented out more heat, the puff leaving a trail of white steam as it floated into the evening sky. If being on a mud ball planet meant Optimus would be relaxed then he supposed it would be worth getting his circuits drenched for. Honestly, doing anything was worth it if it meant his Prime would stop thinking about his responsibilities even for just a cycle.

“Your strobes are blinking by the way.”

Starscream stopped walking and flapped his wings into view then dipped them low, brushing it off.

“It doesn’t mean anything.”

“I’m sure it doesn’t.”, Optimus rolled his optics and laughed, holding his conjux’s servo a little tighter.

———

2) Knockout/Breakdown (KOBD)

“Merry Christmas Knockout!”, Breakdown burst into the Medbay with a clumsily wrapped box.

Knockout nearly dropped his datapad and jumped from the sudden intrusion, his servo switched out for his buzz saw until he saw who it was.

“Breakdown!”, Knockout vented out and transformed his servo back, “Don’t scare me like that so suddenly.”

“I’m sorry, but I just wanted to finally give you this. I knew you just had to have it when I saw it and I really hope you like it.”

“All is forgiven. Thank you.”, Knockout casually tore away at the wrapping and lifted the lid, his optics glowing brighter.

“Well...do you like it?”

“Like it? I love it!”, Knockout unfolded the white stripe vinyl inside to it’s full length, laughing with a full smile, “You always know just what to get me!”

He put his gift down on the examination table and went to go hug his conjux, climbing up a little to properly plant a kiss.

As high as the mood was brought up, it was quickly shot down again.

“Wait, I’m not done with your gift yet.”, Knockout left for his datapad and scrolled through something.

“It’s alright, you don’t have to give me one. Your company is the only gift I need.”, Breakdown tried to comfort his conjux, but Knockout held out a servo to stop him.

“That’s a sweet sentiment, but it doesn’t feel fair if I had my gift before yours is even done and I don’t want you seeing it while it’s incomplete.”

“I’m sure I’ll like it even if it’s unfinished. The thought matters more than what it is. Can you tell me what it is?”

“Are you sure?”

Breakdown nodded excitedly.

Knockout sighed and handed over the datapad, “It’s only about 75% of the way done, but it’s a transcription of that Earth book you wanted to read but couldn’t find an online PDF version of it.”

Breakdown scrolled through the pages of words and felt his frame melt.

“I know it’s not as good as what you gave me but—”

“I love it!”, He lifted Knockout off the ground and squeezed, “Thank you!”

“You’re welcome but watch the paint!”

———

3) Bumblebee/Blitzwing (TFA Blitzbee)

Bumblebee wasn’t one for snow to be perfectly honest. Sure, making snowmen and having snowball fights with Sari were fun, but he mostly did those activities to make her happy as her best friend. The frosty windows on the base served as another reminder as to why he liked to stay inside where it was warm and there was plenty of oil to drink, so it was rather ironic when he started seeing a mech who could make ice and enjoyed just burying himself in the frozen stuff.

“Come outside my little bee~”

Random sang softly and taunted him from outside the Autobot base. The heat from Blitzwing’s system fogging up the window further. Everyone else in the base had retreated back to their rooms for the night, leaving Bee free to do what he wanted in the living room. At least, he would be if there wasn’t a giant beige and purple bot trying to get him outside.

“No way Blitzbrain. It’s beyond freezing out there. I’m not locking up my servos just so you can eat street snow again.”

Bumble whispered harshly and opened the window, a gush of frozen air creeped their way through the cracks of his frame. His central heating system kicked online.

Random’s glossa slithered out of his intake, “Aww why not?”

“Because it’s gross. And that’s saying something when it comes from me!”

Vrrrr.

“I suppose that’s true.”, Icy’s lips pouted outward as he pressed his digits to his chin. His sharp features standing out in the crisp darkness of the night, “But aren’t you the one always wanting to go out? Why is it so different this time?”

“Because time impossible to drive in snow and I don’t wanna deal with traffic.”

“It’s the middle of the night.”

“So?”

Vrrrr.

“So why don’t you want to come out here and spend some time away from this stupid base you tiny bug bot!”

Bee held a digit to his intake, “I’m right here idiot, you’ll wake everyone up and then they’ll see you and then we’ll have to fight.”

Vrrrr.

“You’re afraid of the snow aren’t you.”

“What? No. That’s not—I’m not afraid of it are you kidding me? Only sparklings are afraid of stupid things like that.”

“Ok, so you just don’t like the cold.”

“So what if I don’t?”

“Even if you can’t drive, it’s still a nice night for flying.”

Bumblebee’s optics widened, “Flying?”

“Yes. Calm winds, clear skies, no organics or bots in the streets, what more could you wait for?”

“You’re gonna take me flying?”, Bee’s voice rose in pitch and he looked up at his mechfriend with stars in his eyes.

Vrrrr.

“If you keep repeating the same thing I’ll crush you with this wall!”

Vrrrr.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen something go splat!”

Random laughed at his own morbid thought.

“Ok, first of all, don’t crush me. You’re like three times my size, you don’t need a wall. Second, as long as I don’t have to get my servos wet I’ll be there in a nanoklik.”

Bumblebee gave a quick peck before racing away to touch himself up a little for his small impromptu date.

———

4) Megatron/Soundwave (MegaWave)

Megatron was busy. Again.

Soundwave didn’t mind it much as he just worked on his reports, but deep in his spark he really hoped he would’ve made some time to be with him. There was no such luck unfortunately. Soundwave knew his leader was always busy which is what made their small times together all the more special and intimate. Nobody ever saw the side of the warlord that he did and he was quite proud of that. It made him feel special.

>Soundwave.

A private communication line blipped open from Megatron. What convenient timing.

>Yes, Lord Megatron?

>I need you to send a message to Shockwave about the latest export of energon. There will be a delay because of Autobot meddling, but it shouldn’t take more than a couple earth cycles to have everything in order.

>Message received. Will be sent as soon as possible.

>Good. By the way Soundwave, I’ve left something for you in your desk compartment. Consider it a token of my appreciation for all you’ve done staying loyal to the Decepticons.

>Understood. Thank you Lord Megatron.

With that, the line cut off and Soundwave was left alone again in the communication center. His optics glanced over at the large compartment in his desk and opened it. Inside he found a small stack of datapads and one single use datapad filled out.

—

‘To: Soundwave

Silent as a thief in the night

You crept into my spark and took flight

Your visor so full of mystery

Yet take away much of my misery

In war there is treachery

In war there is loyalty

No words could ever be strung to say how much you mean to me

Merry Christmas,

From Megatron

—

A/N: I’m done with this post. Whoop. 4 short stories in one post. This is all I could crank out in a few hours. I didn’t anticipate this day to be so busy for me😭😭. I’ve been hanging out with family and dropping off gifts for friends at their door step. You can kinda tel I gave up at the end and poems aren’t really my thing. I’ll finish the rest tomorrow, so just pretend that whatever I post tomorrow was done today. Tell me what you think and have a nice night. I’m gonna pass out now. Mwah.

AND YES WHEN I WRITE MEGS IN ANY FIC HE IS A MUSHY BASTARD WHEN HES NOT AN ASS HAT AND THATS ON SOFT BASTARDS😌✨✨

[toast-the-unknowing]

How do you know as a writer that one of your episodic series is complete? For instance, the Boston verse has only 4 installments while the LA verse is at 11 and counting. If you can't tell, I'm sentimental about the Boston verse (Ronan's aimless and confused first day of solo driving around the city as a metaphor for how Adam gives him direction in every sense of the word!), even if I've come to love LA Adam and Ronan just as much as their canonical counterparts.

LA verse is marked as incomplete on AO3 because it doesn't have enough of a unified plot for me to feel like it's "done," and because I have two WIPs for it at the moment and have had at least one WIP for it at every point in time since starting the second installment, and because I have vowed to myself that I'm not allowed to call it complete until I finally finish the ding-dang Sarchengsey installment. (Actually when I finish the Sarchengsey installment I might then mark the series as complete, because that has become such a finish line in my mind, but I will feel enormously free to keep adding things to it and will probably continue to do so; any such marking shall be a formality only.)

I also reserve the right to add new fics to Boston verse, because these are my series and I do what I want with any and all of them, but I don't anticipate doing so unless some unexpected inspiration comes along. The reason that series is marked as complete, and the reason that it feels very complete to me after the fourth installment, is that the second installment set up the very obvious need for a very specific emotional beat, that just stood out to me as something that was missing every time I thought of the series, and the fourth installment answers that beat.

Specifically: the tension in the second story is that Adam and Ronan both want the same thing but neither of them feels like they are allowed to ask for it. The story resolves with Ronan finally being the one to ask for what he wants. So for the series to stop feeling like it was missing a note, at least in my ears, I needed a moment where Adam takes the initiative to state what he wants and unequivocally ask Ronan to sacrifice something for him so that he, Adam, can have what Adam wants, even if it means that Ronan loses something. Now that I have that moment, it all feels very complete to me.

(You'll notice that this means essentially the series ended with the first scene of the fourth fic; the rest of that fic is in my eyes an epilogue. An epilogue that is ten times as long as the story it wraps up? Yes.)

LA verse doesn't really have an equivalent "there's one big emotional moment that is going unmet." There are...at least three fics in that series that were inspired by one single sentence in another fic -- who knows what other lines in there might suddenly demand I write three or four or eight thousand words about them! There's a TON of questions in my mind that I keep wanting to know about -- someone asked at some point when and how Adam met Declan in this verse, and you know what, I don't know! But I sure am curious! To the other anon who asked (ages ago, whoops) about a time when Adam is the one to be reassuring Ronan about the relationship, you're totally right! That sounds like a cool thing to see, I'd like to check that out some day!

And all of this is on top of the fact that I like hitting the same notes in this series. Someone or more than one someone has pointed out "all of the porn in this series is just 'Ronan gives Adam what he wants without Adam having to ask for it'" and yeah! It sure is! I like writing that and I might very well write more of it! And then hey, that makes me think, what about porn where Adam gives Ronan what he wants, without Ronan asking for it? Got a WIP like that going now and might do another one after that!

So yeah. It is hard to feel like you have satisfied all requirements when the requirements are vague and multiplying.

I suppose it comes down to "do I feel like this series has discrete, identifiable, specific story points that I really want/need to write, and if so, have I written all of them." If yes to both, then it's complete in my eyes. Obviously if there is one and I haven't written it, then it's not complete in my eyes. But also, if there aren't really specific points that I want/need to write and it's just a question of "I want to play around some more in here," then it doesn't really feel complete because it doesn't really feel completable. LA verse has become something not quite finite, so I don't know that I'll ever really feel like I told all of it.

[maxwell-grant]

What would a spider man: life story look like for the shadow?

Now that I've actually read Spider-Man: Life Story I can give this one a response. I'm gonna obsess about this question for a while because man what a ride Life Story was.

To those not in the know, the premise of Spider-Man: Life Story is: "In 1962, in AMAZING FANTASY #15, 15-year-old Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider and became the Amazing Spider-Man! Fifty-seven years have passed in the real world since that event — so what would have happened if the same amount of time passed for Peter as well?" and basically it tells the story of Spider-Man as one continuous narrative spanning 57 years, from his beginnings to a potential future, allowing Peter Parker and his cast and world to age in real time and factor in elements from the character's major stories over the decades.

And it's got a lot into it that the premise doesn't convey and there is no way I can even begin tackling a project like this for the 90 goddamn years of The Shadow's history without seriously just writing an entirely different fanfic continuity (and I already have 5, plus multiverses, possibly more) and tipping off way too much about my own plans for the character. Even I have my limits.

So instead, what I'm gonna do is go over the broad strokes of The Shadow's history as it would look like if you could try and condense it all under a consistent narrative, if you could focus on each decade's highs and lows, what kind of story would arise if a deranged Shadow maniac like me were to try and build a basic skeleton for a The Shadow: Life Story story.

Basic rules first: I'm sticking to the idea of Life Story and spanning every decade from the beginning of the character's life to the end of it. The aging and death parts are important so I’m sticking to those. The character's canonical birth date is 1892, so he's not making it intact to the 2000s. We're capping this off in the 90s, although it doesn't mean no further stories can be told. I will avoid mentioning specific historical events like Vietnam and 9/11 for this post to instead focus on The Shadow's trajectory. I will also not be including other characters, only somewhat referencing whatever aspects I deem relevant. I'm not sticking to any continuity, I'm pulling literally everything I can for this one

And putting this one below the cut

The 1930s: The golden years. In 1930, after a long line of life experiences in the Great War and traveling around the world under dozens of names, the man formerly known as Kent Allard has taken to fighting crime in the Great Depression. This chapter would be more of a standard narrative showcasing the trajectory of The Shadow's 30s career, how he's started off as a urban myth fighting gangsters and then progressed to urban avenger with dozens of allies fighting spies and supervillains. Despite being in his home element, he is restless. Another war is on the horizon. We gotta know where he starts, to get a clue of where he's going.

The 1940s: Despite it being the "family friendly American hero" Shadow era, shit gets very, very chaotic in the 40s, way more so than The Shadow could have anticipated. The pulps were relatively tame for this period, by this point instead you have the radio with it's constantly rotating writers and sensibilities, and comics that had far less reservations about either being really boring or really wacky. Far more encounters with the supernatural than before and with supervillains like Devil Kyoti and Monstradamus and Solaris, plus Khan is still around. The Shadow is forced to spend a lot more time traveling the world to deal with the war, spending a prolonged period establishing headquarters in Japan to aid Japanese underground organizations opposing the military. The agents perform rescue missions on concentration camps, and this is the period where you could have the "real" Lamont Cranston start filling in for The Shadow a bit while he's overseas.

There's a particular blurb that got released during this period that explains The Shadow acquired the power to cloud men's minds not by training, but by journeying to Tibet in an unrecorded adventure that forced him to beg the monks to grant him assistance in saving the world. I have some very mixed feelings on this whole backstory but I think there's something to this idea. Some shit went down in the 40s that was way beyond what The Shadow could have anticipated, and to protect the world from it he had to tap into forces that perhaps should have been left untouched.

The 1950s: The Shadow has dissappeared from America alltogether. He gathered up his agents and announced he wouldn't return for at least a decade, and left them with enough money to last a lifetime and retire should they feel like it. Burbank and Cliff Marsland dissappeared with him, and this chapter would probably be told from the Agents's perspective as they face the 50s while we get snippets from Marsland on what The Shadow's been up to. Some of it involves The Shadow helping protect Tibet after Mao's takeover of China. The real Lamont Cranston doesn't put on the costume anymore and instead operates as a fairly regular detective, although he's training on the skills and powers he's picked up overseas. Whatever fantasy madness haunted the 1940s is all but gone.

The 50s had basically nothing in Shadow content other than the last legs of the radio show, which are 200 episodes from 1950 to 1954 that currently don't exist anymore outside of a few scripts. During this time, The Shadow's sole appearence in US content was a parody in MAD Magazine. Overseas however, there were original Shadow novels published in Norway (a story for another day), as well as a Mexican radio and film series, which also featured Cliff Marsland. I have little information on either.

The 1960s: The OG Shadow is still embroiled in conflicts overseas, but the rise of the criminal organization CYPHER forces him to mobilize Burbank and agents old and new alike to deflect CYPHER away from where he's at, although most of them have retired by now. He still cannot return, but he has been secretly instructing Lamont Cranston on furthering along his own latent abilities if he intends to take over in his stead, and Cranston's powers have grown and developed to a point that, although he is pushing 60, he is able to do things even the original Shadow could not. He also invests a lot in merchandising and costume changes, which...doesn't pan out. Nothing in this era really pans out. It's just a really, really frustrating period of bad luck and supervillains that the aging superpowered detective Cranston is able to stop. Lamont Cranston seems to die in this decade.

The 1970s: Inspired by The Shadow's DC series, and most importantly Michael Kaluta's spiffy redesign.

The original Shadow returns to a crime-torn America, intent on starting anew, and sets to rebuilding his network. But something is off about him. He's leaner, meaner, less compassionate and trusting. Just as what happened the first time he returned to America following years abroad, what happened in his sojourns overseas has fostered something inhuman in him, another sacrifice of his own identity for the sake of a world where the weed of crime has only proven more insidiuous. His powers have grown and so have his resources, but despite that, he's bordering on 80 years old by now, and cumulative trauma deep within his bones hampers his effectiveness. He's doing a lot better than he should, by any rights, but he can't keep this up and he knows it. And so, as before, he starts planning for it.

The 1980s: This was the decade where Walter Gibson died with his final Shadow story incomplete, all the movie plans from the 70s were canned, and Howard Chaykin happened, plus the other DC runs. It's the SHIT decade, basically, where everything goes to hell. Whatever plans The Shadow had blew up, dipshit copycats start ruining everything, his network crumbles, and this is probably the ideal decade to kill off Kent Allard.

But this is also the decade where something weird started happening outside of the story: The Ghost of Gay Street hauntings, where visitors on the hotel Gibson wrote the stories in repeteadly claimed to see a ghostly visitor looking exactly like Lamont Cranston, and Gibson himself claimed that to be a tulpa he created by accident.

Kent Allard may have died. But death can never claim The Shadow.

The 1990s-onwards: Somehow, The Shadow is still active. Still elderly, in a much more limited fashion, but still as sharp as ever if not more so. His powers have grown more so than ever before, even blossoming into a limited form of telekinesis. Is he a ghost? Did he somehow survive the events of the previous decade? Somehow, both Lamont Cranston and The Shadow linger on, but is it Kent Allard or Lamont Cranston? Is it someone else?

Who knows?

This is the decade in particular where he's going to be interacting with more prominently with a new generation, whether it's descendants of the original agents, or new heroes that have found themselves in his orbit. Inspired mainly by the Dark Horse Shadow comics, Ghost and The Shadow, and Peter Straub's Mystery and modern takes on the character like Batman x Shadow and the 2017 mini that play up the miserable immortal and ghost teacher aspects, also inspired by my recent realization that The Shadow's ideal future in-universe may be getting to age and mentor the next generation in some capacity.

Anything beyond that, only The Shadow Knows.

[errata98]

Fanfiction I Read in 2020 

I didn’t realize how long this post was going to be until I was about halfway through. And it still is not even close to exhaustive. 

Soo, while 2020 has been such a tumultuous year one great thing about this time in my life is that I’ve had more time than ever to read. I am always so blown away by how much talent there is in fanfiction, so big, big thank you to all the writers that share their work and for whisking me away from real life into something far more pleasurable. It definitely makes my whole day when a fic I love has been updated, and I enjoy catching glimpses of rough drafts and the writing process via tumblr (I’m still trying to understand how their galaxy brains even work lolol). 

It’s long, but I am not putting it under a cut! They’re too good!

Long Fics (>= 50k words)

Roses From Where Thorns Grow by @bdafic​ [incomplete]- I started this a while ago, must have lost track of it, and then found it again this summer. Feels weird to type because this is not really me irl lol but accidental pregnancy fics are one of my favorites kinds of fics. Papa Solas is amazing. Somewhere, I once tagged something with ‘solas dad best dad’ and I think that probably sums up my feelings on the matter. The last chapter I read has left me anxious for more, so I’m eagerly awaiting what will likely be the first chapter posted in 2021. 

Ruins by @luzial [incomplete] - A real story of a couple who broke up, fought each other for twenty years, got sent back in time, and are now trying to make things work again ;) Lavellan here is older and wiser in all the ways that matter, and Solas is... well Solas in many ways is everything we wish he would (and could) be now. Had the most wonderful realization that I somehow missed the last chapter that apparently came out on my birthday, so I know what I’ll be doing later.

Fen’Harel’s Teeth by @5lazarus​  [incomplete] - the conversations in this fic are one of my favorite parts. They’re in character, but they’re also just interesting to read. The words just fly across the page -- it’s smooth, seamless, pithy. I love politics and I love a main character who has her wits about her -- both are in this fic. Also features fatherly!Solas, which I just adore.

By the Still Waters by [orphan account]. This is older, but I knew it was popular so I gave it a shot and... yes, I understand now. I loved reading something from Fenris’ perspective. I loved how he’s a foil for Solas. I love seeing Lavellan as this near mythical person because we see everything through Fenris’ eyes. I love Hawke and Fenris together. Merrill also featured more heavily than I anticipated and she had some of the best lines I’ve ever read.

Pressure Point by 17734 [incomplete] - this fic leaves me constantly unsettled (in the best, most addictive, under-your-skin kind of way). I’ve read the first 18 or so chapters twice, and it’s one of those stories that’s slightly different the second time you read it. I really like the author’s take on immortal beings, some of it is very reminiscent of some of the Greek mythology I read in school - characters are at turns both magnificent and terrifying. The language is also very beautiful, and I’m a sucker for anything close to prosaic. 

Out of Time by destinies - so, I don’t know how I found this beyond just “Twitter.” This isn’t Dragon Age related -- it’s from The Greisha Trilogy, which I had never heard of before -- something just told me I would really like this story. Forced/political marriages’, memory loss, enemies to lovers, the dichotomy between light and dark embodied by a single couple... yes, thank you. I had to kind of piece the world together as I read, which was admittedly a lot of fun, and um... wow, I really loved this! Another one of my ‘binged in a single night’ fics.  

Message Sent by @aicosu [incomplete]- this is coincidentally how I got my former partner into Dragon Age lol. I had originally read it the first time as it was coming out. The second time I read it aloud to them over the course of a few days, feeling very much like Cassandra trying to do certain character’s voices. It reminded me of how much I loved it, and so I feel like it deserves a mention here. Definitely an unorthodox but memorable way of cursing someone with being emotionally invested in the Solavellan romance 

Short Fics (< 50k words)

nothing on my tongue by @ellstersmash - the chapters here are short, and I loved seeing the fic updated put of order. This was my first time experiencing that, and I loved guessing where we were in the in-game timeline, and also, as more chapters were posted, which chapter numbers were still missing and therefore what the missing chapters might be about. I associate this fic with feeling kind of melancholy a lot. I think the word constraints really lent itself well to the Solavallen romance -- beautiful and poignant, but always leaving me wanting more.

In and Out of Time Again by @luzial - hoo boy did I have a fun time reading this one. I actually rarely go for AU’s this “AU”, but I trusted this author, and it paid off. In fact, I think I subconsciously had more doubts than I thought because what started a curious perusal ended in one of those “up until 3 am reading” kind of nights. It was such a fast-paced, interesting read, I couldn’t wait to see what happened next. Ink is one of my favorite Lavellans; she’s just too cool.

The Fourth Day by sass_bot (@knightava) [incomplete] - this was just such a perfect example of how to build tension and dread for the reader, that I still think about it frequently. Also, who wouldn’t love a Skyhold murder mystery?

Beyond the Veil by Pyreite [incomplete] - A 200 years post-Veil fic. Abelas is in it, which is how I knew it was gonna be good hehe. I really like the world-building, and I like explorations of the romance with a more hardened Lavellan. 

I Come to You With Nothing by CommonEvilMasterMind. I’ll preface this by writing that this made me cry with a mixture of sorrow and happiness. The premise is an undercover mission in an alienage which involves Solas and Ellana masquerading as a married couple. It’s beautifully written, and just honestly kind of bittersweet. The writing is itself very touching but I also think it’s almost difficult to read because the Solavellan romance has an arc that looks like it’s just exponentially deviating from anything remotely happy lolol 

That Girl Is Like A Sunburn by @yourstrulycommandershepard - I just discovered this person’s writing this year and I’m kind of obsessed? I went on a whole binge this past summer and *fans self*. I picked this one for my list because I haven’t read that many Solas/Trevelyan fics, and hers are by far some of my favorites. I also love that the titles of some of her fics are Taylor Swift lyrics. I get Solavellan vibes from so many of Taylor’s songs - glad it’s not just me!

Aravel by @playwithdinos - More Papa Solas. I can’t say anything more than it hit me right in the vhenan. 

Wake Up by queenofkadara (@pikapeppa) - One of those fics I thought about for days afterward. The characterization was incredible, and it hurt me to read about Varric brining up Lavellan and seeing Solas’ reaction, and it hurt even more to be left wanting for more, just like Solas. 

[loosesodamarble]

Happy Birthday, Inosuke!

Puffs of steam rose from the pot of miso soup that Shizuka stirred as she prepared dinner for that evening. Slivers of daikon and carrot swirled around in the broth. Shizuka set aside the ladle then reached for the tofu on the counter. Just as she tilted the cutting board to slide the tofu in, the kitchen door slammed open and Inosuke burst through.

"Yuzuka!" he exclaimed and bolted towards Shizuka. "You gotta listen to—!"

Shizuka turned, giving Inosuke a nasty look, and hissed, "One step closer and it'll be your fault we have an incomplete soup for dinner."

Inosuke stopped short. His shoulders slumped, as though he were a wilted flower. He waited and watched as Shizuka added the tofu and then wakame. Shizuka lowered the heat on the stove then turned to Inosuke.

"Proceed, Boss," she urged while gesturing forward with her hand.

Inosuke perked up immediately, the smile hidden beneath his mask was still felt. Perhaps it was because Shizuka appealed to him with his favorite nickname or maybe it was because he was free to approach Shizuka. Regardless of the reason, Inosuke closed the distance between himself and Shizuka in a single stride.

"Listen to this, Umeka! You're not gonna believe it!" he exclaimed as he shook Shizuka by the shoulders.

Does he have to shake me every time he's excited for something? As much as it annoyed Shizuka, it entertained her more to experience Inosuke's glee in an admittedly unique way. It gave her a headache though so she had to shrug his hands off. "Tch. What is it?"

"So Gonpachirou, Kanitsu, and I were doing laundry—"

"Why does it matter that you were doing that specifically?"

"Shut up, I'm getting there," Inosuke said before returning to his story. "I was cleaning my underwe—"

"Ew. I know it's yours but I don't want the mental ima—" Shizuka was silenced by Inosuke's hand over her mouth. Oh gods! Why is he doing this? What if someone walks in? The warmth of Inosuke's hand, so calloused and strong, was nothing compared to the heat that rose to Shizuka's face.

"—and as I was cleaning, I realized I could read some of the stuff besides my name on it."

Wait, there's more? Shizuka shuddered at the thought of inspecting undergarments of all things for writing. Since Inosuke hadn't let her go, she raised a brow to press for more information.

"It was 'four,' 'moon,' 'twenty-two,' and 'sun.' I showed it to Ryuujirou and he said that it must be the day I was born!" Inosuke let go of Shizuka's face only to grab her shoulders again. "Can you believe it, Mokuka? I have a birthday!"

"Tch. Well duh, you have a birthday," Shizuka groaned as Inosuke rattled her body. "Everyone has a birth—" Wait. He said it was April twenty-second. That's tomorrow! I have to get him something! "AAAHHH!" Shizuka writhed out of Inosuke's grasp and bolted out the door.

Shizuka heard Inosuke scream after her, "Hey! The hell are you going?! What about dinner?"

"Tch! It should be ready! I can eat later!" Shizuka screeched back. I need to get something perfect for Inosuke!

Shizuka ran like her life depended on it and didn't stop until she reached town and the shopping district. While pausing to breath more relaxedly, she looked around at the shops. A general store, a bookstore, and various other buildings lined the street.

What would Inosuke want? First, I have to go off what I know he likes. Shizuka closed her eyes and crossed her arms. Fighting, training, sleeping, showing off... A frown crossed her features. Not exactly things I can shop for.

Shizuka inhaled deeply. An array of delicious smells entered her nose. She saw an eatery to her left but ignored her growling stomach.

I know he likes tempura. And... Shizuka spotted a pair of women talking out of a store, a folded up article of clothing in one's arms. He prefers cotton fabric when it comes to choosing blankets. Shizuka looked down at her haori. Maybe I should get him something for when it gets colder.

Nodding to herself, Shizuka made a plan.

After having gouged her wallet, Shizuka returned to the Butterfly Mansion. She held her purchases close to her body as she entered the mansion. Tanjirou and Zenitsu would be sure to figure out what she was planning but she would try to keep it a surprise for Inosuke.

The night passed and morning came.

Shizuka scrambled out of bed the second she felt conscious. She wrapped her first present to Inosuke before hurrying to the kitchen to begin prepping the second. The vegetables needed to be washed thoroughly. There was also the shrimp that needed to be shelled. Chopping and actually cooking everything was yet another matter.

Did I go overboard buying twelve kinds of tempura foods? Shizuka wondered while staring at the cluttered counter. Shaking her head, she reassured herself. I'm not going to do this halfway! Not for Inosuke!

Shizuka rolled up sleeves and got to work. For vegetables, there were standard produce like shiso leaves and pumpkin but Shizuka also dared to add broccoli on the suggestion of the seller. The meats of the tempura feast would be shrimp and squid.

"Good morn—What on earth?!"

"Good morning, Kochou-sama," Shizuka greeted over her shoulder.

"Shizuka, what is all this?" asked Shinobu as she walked up to the counter.

"Tch. I think it should be obvious but it's tempura ingredients."

"Tempura?" Shinobu picked up a slice of sweet potato, as if to inspect it. "But why so much?"

"It's Inosuke's birthday so I want to treat him."

A choking sound came from Shinobu before she giggled, "You really are like his wife."

SNAP!

Shizuka stared at the cutting board, snapped in two by her own hand, then glared at Shinobu. The Insect Pillar kept her blithe smile then walked away. It was as though she wasn't guilty of stating something as ridiculous as she had.

Breakfast was prepared by the mansion's staff but Shizuka couldn't let herself take a break. Her work was interrupted however, ironically by the person it was for.

"OI! Nodoka!"

"Yes?" Shizuka moved slowly while gutting the squid she had bought. There was only one so she couldn't afford to mess up. "What is it?"

"Come train with me!"

"Tch. I'm already busy with this."

Inosuke huffed, quite loudly, before stomping footsteps were heard. Then, a hand clamped down on Shizuka's wrists. She locked her body so the knife wouldn't go awry. Looking to Inosuke, Shizuka saw him frowning, not in anger but more petulance.

"C'mon!" Inosuke tugged on Shizuka's wrist. "Let's train!"

Shizuka sighed. She really couldn't turn down a request. "Very well. Just let me wash up first."

"Why bother? You're gonna get sweaty and nasty anyway."

"Tch." Shizuka rolled her eyes. "The mess from cooking and the mess from training are different."

"Whatever."

Training with Inosuke, Tanjirou, Zenitsu, and Kanao lasted longer than Shizuka had anticipated. Midmorning turned to afternoon as the hours passed until the teens collapsed from exhaustion.

Shizuka felt her whole body tremble and her vision swam. Their training wasn't especially intense though. Still, she felt absolutely drained.

"It's time you guys took a break!" a voice called from the door. "Wash up and then come grab lunch!"

Dammit! Shizuka buried her face in her hands. I guess I can have everything prepared for dinner!

A soak in the bath and a hearty meal revitalized the teens, Shizuka most of all. Shizuka finished eating and was prepared to return to the kitchen only for Inosuke to stop her.

"Hey. You're gonna teach me how to read more stuff, got it," he said plainly.

"Inosuke, you can't just demand things from a girl," Zenitsu chided. "Besides, me and Tanjirou can teach you too."

"Well you two suck at teaching!"

"Say that again, you swine!"

"Calm down, guys!" exclaimed Tanjirou as he tried to play peacemaker. "Inosuke, you don't have to be so critical. And Zenitsu, you don't need to be so offended!"

"Tch. Seriously?" I was going to agree anyway. Shizuka glanced at Kanao. The other girl gave a close-eyed smile and shrugged her shoulders.

In the end, Shizuka ended up bringing Inosuke to her borrowed room at the mansion to read through some children's books, courtesy of Shinobu. They sat side-by-side on her bed, the book of focus held between them. They went back and forth reading sentences and if Inosuke ever stumbled, Shizuka would get him back on track. Occasionally, Shizuka would glance at her pillow, under which her gift was hidden.

The reading session lasted until evening due to Inosuke's insistence of reading every book.

"The end," Shizuka said while closing the final book. She looked out the window and at the early night sky. The dinner is going to be late I guess. Her eyes were drawn to the pillow. Shizuka reached a hand under it and slowly slid the wrapped haori out from under.

"Hey, Shizuka."

Immediately, Shizuka's head turned at the sound of her name, her actual name. Inosuke smiled at her, differently than how he usually did. This time, his grin was soft. He slung an arm around Shizuka's shoulders and buried his face in her hair.

Shizuka felt feverish from head to toe. Her heart skipped. Her breath hitched. All because of Inosuke's closeness.

"I know I drag you around a lot but it's 'cause I like spending time with you," Inosuke whispered. "Especially today. It's the first birthday I really got to have. And having you be a part of it was nice. Thanks."

Turning, Shizuka let go of the wrapped gift then embraced Inosuke.

"Anything for you," she whispered back. "Happy birthday, Inosuke."

[greatqueenanna]

A Grain of Salt: The Rumors Surrounding the Frozen Franchise

When a film releases, and becomes popular, its only natural for fans and others to try and dig deep to find out what the film could’ve been. Throughout the Frozen Franchise’s 6 year life, many people began to spread rumors of possible alternate versions of both Frozen and Frozen 2, with very shaky sources and claims. The following claims have been dis-proven and/or do not have physical, substantial proof other than a few empty claims.

Now let’s talk about a few of these rumors and have  good laugh.

The Aurora Princess Claim

The above is part of a concept art piece by Scott Watanabe. Someone started up a rumor, I believe here on Tumblr, that claimed that this art was supposed to be an early concept of Anna having powers over the Aurora Borealis. This was proven to be false, as both Jen Lee and Chris Buck have confirmed a few times that Anna’s only superpower was unconditional love. Thus, the above picture was simply misinterpreted by hopeful fans, when it was simply a visual concept art meant to invoke a feeling. On top of this, it was actually never confirmed who the girl in the drawing was, and if this girl was actually controlling the Northern lights or maybe just witnessing some strange phenomenon.

The Good Guy Claim

This one is a made up of two claims, but both with the same idea. Some fans could not accept that Hans was always a villainous character. Many tried to claim that Hans could’ve originally been a good guy, using the above concept art by Bill Schwab as proof of a previous version of Frozen where Hans and Elsa were meant to be a couple. Then of course, there was the popular rumor started here on tumblr and later picked up by popular you-tuber MattPatt, that the Troll’s were somehow involved in making Hans do the terrible things he did. All of these claims were proven false, as Jen Lee and Chris Buck talked about the troll theory in this interview, saying  “I have to say, we have to give Hans all the credit for what he did" . Jen Lee also confirmed this via twitter, stating that “He was never quite good, but for a while he was just sort of dumb. Sociopaths are more interesting.” As for the concept art, it was proven to be Anna, not Elsa. As we can see in this concept art, Anna is wearing the same outfit and has the same hairdo, only her braids are down. Thus, depicting the typical concept that Anna meets a dreamy guy and has a dance with him.

The Permanent Death Claim

This controversial claim is actually still widely believed, claiming that in Frozen 2 Elsa was meant to be killed off permanently, with no revival. The rumor states that this previous ending was seen at early showings with test audiences back in June-July, and that it was too sad for the audiences so the Disney executives demanded that it was changed. While the creators themselves have yet to outwardly disprove the claim, concept art and early scenes do disprove it. In the Art of Frozen 2, the last piece of art features the ending we see in the film with only slight differences. There are also a few designs and concepts of Elsa’s Fifth Spirit dress. Since it takes over six months to a year to write, edit, and publish a book, it is not possible that this ending was last minute. On top of that, a bit of personal jest, why would they design a new, marketable dress for Elsa if they planned on killing her off? Also, there is an earlier version of the ending released in Elsa Reveals the Truth. This proves that the intentions of the creators were always to have Elsa survive and live in the Enchanted Forest. For them to have a set ending, then change it to make Elsa’s death, then change it again to feature the current ending is very unlikely. To also accomplish all of this within 5 - 6 months is a bit much to accomplish in such a short amount of time.

*UPDATE 6/29/20*

Thanks to Into the Unknown: The Making of Frozen 2, we now have physical evidence of Elsa being alive since June in this incomplete version of Frozen 2 that was made for the June audience screening. We also now know that the supposed March audience screening did not happen, as it was for Disney professionals only. June was the first time the film was shown to a general audience. We also now know the reason for the serious delay in April and why the ending of the Frozen 2 books were so vague. It was due to issues with Show Yourself, because they couldn’t figure out who the voice was and how to make the scene visually make sense. It was not because they were redoing the ending to keep Elsa alive. Lastly, in the first episode, one of the directors that were criticizing the film asked “What does Elsa Become?” further showing that Elsa was alive. This was in late 2018.

The Redemption Story Claim

Ever since an interview with Santino Fontana, the voice actor of Hans, where he states that the creators of Frozen wanted to ‘redeem’ him, many Hans fans were anticipating that Hans would have a redemption arc. When it was hinted that this wasn’t going to happen, many fans clinged onto a claim by someone on Twitter. They stated that there was indeed an early version of Frozen 2 where it was centered on a Hans redemption, even releasing a full synopsis. This was supposedly supported by Disney releasing two doll sets with Hans and Elsa as a test, as this version of Frozen 2 featured the two becoming a couple. This one has also yet to be disproven by the creators, however this can also be disproven easily. The Hans and Elsa dolls were not meant to be shown as romantic, as they were a part of a Disney Fairytale Designer Collection featuring Heroes and Villains. Also, in the Podcast Inside Frozen 2, Robert and Kristen Lopez both state that All is Found and The Next Right Thing were the first songs written for Frozen 2. Official work on Frozen 2 did not begin until around 2017 - 2018, and this is when the songs were also starting to be written and recorded. Before this, the team took a trip to Norway where Jen Lee had journals for Elsa and Anna. It is not possible that with everything that they were doing to plan for this version of Frozen 2 and with other projects the creators were working on that there was another alternate version.

*UPDATE 6/29/20* 

Thanks to Into the Unknown: The Making of Frozen 2, we now know a bit more details on the timeline of Frozen 2′s development. 2015 is when Jen Lee and Chris Buck were brainstorming story concepts and writing/drawing journals for the sisters. This is also when they took their research trip with the whole crew to Scandinavian countries like Iceland. 2015 - 2016 is when the story started to form and 2017 - 2018, as I mentioned, was when the hardcore work began with scenes being made and thrown out, music being written, ext. 2019 - 2020 is when they had the story pretty much planned out the way it is now, just with some issues with some scenes (Like Show Yourself and See the Sky). Thus, we can conclude, that this Frozen 2 was the only version for the past 5 years of development.

These are all the claims for now, I will be adding more as I find them and updating these if new, valid information comes out.

[sagemoderocklee]

2020 has been a weird fucking year, to put it mildly. There have been a lot of ups and downs, and with New Year’s Eve and the start of 2021 upon us, focusing on the ~positive~ seemed like a better way to end the year, and hopefully start 2021 feeling inspired and proud for overcoming this horrendous year.

For many people, it was difficult--even impossible--to get anything done this year (myself included), and that’s okay! But if you were able to make progress on writing projects, even if it was just one or even if it was just part of one, you should celebrate that! I wish I’d thought of this sooner and organized it better, but regardless I wanted to celebrate my own accomplishments with regards to my writing, and encourage others to do the same! I was going to tag people, but I’m not sure with it being 2 hours til midnight for me if that would feel like putting too much pressure on others, so if you want to do this too please do!

This wrap up is honestly just a self-indulgent look back on the works I’ve made and what I learned/gained from each, maybe what I don’t like about them, some totaling on what I did, and some resolutions for the next year. It’s silly, but I think it’s kinda fun and if you missed any of the things I have posted this year, you’ll find them here!

2020 Fic Wrap Up:

Kado: Parts II+III (COMPLETED)

Kado was started in September of 2019 for the @puregaalee​ summer event. This was a last minute thing that I started the day the prompt was due and managed to write the first part in about 6 hours while sitting in a cafe--remember that? Sitting in cafes? Man, I miss that. I hadn’t anticipated working on Kado, but I decided that I was going to finish it this year, and I’m honestly amazed that I did. This fic is sweet and fun, and surprisingly popular, though it isn’t my favorite of my works. However, it is a light, fluffy little romcom modern AU, and I learned a lot with it because despite my struggles with modern AUs and their horrible lack of political intrigue, this fic forced me to work within set parameters. I was only writing a 3 part story, and each part could only be 9 scenes long. For those unfamiliar, kado is another term for Ikebana, and in Ikebana there are specific elements to follow. Certain styles will only use three branches, some will use nine. So my goal was for the structural elements of the fic to mimic Ikebana. In doing this, I was able to do something I don’t usually do, which is keep this story more concise.

I’m still not sure how I personally feel about the ending, but I think endings are always a struggle, especially with something like this.

Gate of Dreaming (COMPLETED) 

This is a fic that I started last year, then left to sit untouched with only 2k words. Getting back into it was a bit difficult because I was writing something very different from my usual: stream of consciousness. This fic was very experimental for me not only because of the stream of consciousness, but also because of the changing tenses. This was another exercise--unexpected though it was--in brevity. With this particular story, it couldn’t be dragged on and on, because--despite the 100 year time span--the events take place within the Infinite Tsukuyomi. This was also the first time I’d worked from Lee’s PoV in quite some time, so that was fun because I do enjoy writing him, but usually write from Gaara’s PoV. This is definitely one of my favorites from this year, and since it had been sitting on the back burner for so long, I’m so excited that I could finally get it done.

Another one where the ending really wasn’t easy to achieve, but I did end up liking it more than I expected, and I think the best thing is that it’s open-ended which leaves room for others to guess at what the future holds.

It Eats Your Heart (WIP)

This was an unexpected fic for me in every way imaginable. Starting another fic? Making another modern AU? Tackling the horror genre? None of those were things I’d planned to do this year, but lo and behold, that’s just what I did. I really enjoy a good bit of horror, but it is NOT an easy genre to work within, and this fic has definitely been a push for me. But with it being such a push, the payoff is far more. Stepping out of my comfort zone is something I like doing, but I think this is the biggest step outside of that and I am so incredibly proud of how that first chapter turned out because of it. I was really able to surprise myself with this fic, and I am hoping to update the next chapter early on in the year.

Absolution (WIP)

This fic is probably the second oldest idea/longest unpublished fic I currently have up. Formerly a much longer title, the idea for this fic came to me in May of 2017 when a friend, @brianadoesotherjunk / @brianadoesart, posted a piece of GaaLee fanart that sparked inspiration. The fic took off, morphed into something much bigger than the one scene depicted by the art, and now 3 years later, the first part is up. Initially, this was meant to be a long shot, but after sitting with this for so long, I realized that I needed to split it up into 9 parts, which allowed me to use this for GaaLee bingo and finally publish it. Much of the first part was already written before this year, but I’d been quite stuck on it until now. This is actually probably one of my favorite GaaLee concepts to date. I remember back in the day, there weren’t a lot of different takes on getting Lee to Suna so he and Gaara could fall in love, so (at the risk of sounding cocky) I think that Lee as a nanny is rather inspired. I think with this fic, I pushed myself the hardest to get past the hurdle of writer’s block and accepted that publishing is probably the best way to motivate myself to keep going. The feedback for this fic has been really motivating, so I think I’m probably right about that.

I do think there are some parts in the middle or towards the end that could maybe use some tightening up, but I’m just happy to finally have this fic out in the world.

The Art of Love: Chapter 11 (WIP)

TAoL is such a ridiculous labor of love. The chapters for this fic are novellas in and of themselves, so each time I update it takes a lot of work to get them out. This fic is one of those like magnum opus type fics. I have put so much into it, and I’m honestly amazed that it’s only been up for 3 years because I’m approaching the halfway mark on it, and I don’t think I expected to be there by now. Despite being able to churn out 30k chapters, I have a hard time focusing on one thing and I often struggle with mental health related writer’s block, so big works are always sort of sporadic in their updates. 

This particular update of TAoL was definitely one of my favorites though. Initially, I didn’t plan to go the sort of dark fantasy rout that I did with Shikamaru, but I actually really love what I’ve done with him, though I worry others won’t be as into it or that the execution isn’t quite there. One thing I would like to work on with future chapters of TAoL, however, is maybe pairing things down a bit--though I’m not sure that’ll always be possible. The next chapter is a Naruto PoV chapter, though, so I expect that one to be a MUCH shorter chapter than the last three and should be able to get it out sometime next year.

Before I could publish this chapter, however, I did go through and make some big changes, which is something I often struggle with because of such long breaks in between working on certain projects. I will say, though, that TAoL continues to push me to greater heights as a writer, and I look forward to actually finishing this fic someday.

Thirteen Strokes: 1 + 2 (WIP)

Another unexpected fic this year, however, this one was actually an idea for about a year, unlike IEYH. This fic has really given me a lot of perspective on my own writing and world building, and has inspired me to sit down and really start committing the things I’ve developed to paper to create a cohesive view of Suna, Wind, and the shinobi world. This fic is meant to be a Romance. Like just full on Romance. I write a lot of tragedy and focus on a lot of darker themes in my writing, so while I don’t think of this as stepping outside of my comfort zone, it is very different from my usual, and a really nice change of pace. I think, in all honesty, it is one of my best works, and I do hope I can continue to deliver on the remaining 11 parts of this story.

if this were the last i felt you breathing (COMPLETED)

Ugh. This fic has been my enemy for 2 long years. I signed up for a Secret Santa exchange, and of course, I regretted doing it when I found that I was not motivated and, after the month of October where I was churning out fic after fic for GaaLee Bingo, that I was massively burned out. I wasn’t able to think past writer’s block, and so I ended up settling on dusting off an old, unfinished piece for my giftee, and I hope they can forgive me for not coming up with something brand new for them.

This fic was a struggle. Working so closely with the canon--following the Rescue Kazekage Arc as closely as I did for this fic--made this a much bigger challenge and this fic sat and sat and sat for two years, untouched and incomplete. I’m still not sure how I feel about it. I know it’s not my best work, but I am glad that this fic isn’t hanging over my head and that I was able to deliver something to my secret santa giftee.

My goal with this fic was to rewrite this particular arc from Lee’s PoV to give more depth to the arc and shift the emotional core of it away from Naruto. Naruto as a character has a lot of flaws that never get addressed, and one of the things that is consistently frustrating for me is the way the emotional core of the series rests on him in unrealistic and often superficial ways. Naruto hasn’t spoken to Gaara in three years, but I’m supposed to believe he’s this affected by Gaara’s kidnapping? Temari and Kankuro are right there! Lee is right there! I wanted to see that, so that’s what I set out to do, and ultimately I don’t think I fully succeeded, but I tried. I guess not everything can be a resounding success

---

This year I managed to do a lot more than I realized. New works, updates, and COMPLETED pieces?! I never would have thought, but staying home gave me more free time, and when I was too broke to work on costumes, writing fanfiction was something free I could do.

Total new works: 5 Total updates: 9 Total completed works: 3 Total words this year: 143,587

---

I have a lot of goals for the coming year, and I know I won’t make all of them, but that won’t stop me from trying.

2021 Writing Resolutions:

Reach 1million words (+238,073 words)

Finish IEYH

Finish Pearl-Filled Lungs

Update TAoL (Chapter 12 and 13)

Update Absolution

Update 13S

Update Find Me (Chapter 6)

Start the Ballad of the Dragon and the Phoenix

Start editing Alliance

Return to working on Honor Bound

Return to working on We Need Not Be Yellow Tulips

[thenotsolittlelady]

i am Greatly wanting that Xah'jo non-lore friendly lore that u have 👉👈👉👈 if u want 2 share 👀👀👀

Naaw!! Omigosh, thank you for asking ;; A ;; I'm always scared to share my OCs' story, cause it never feels as... developed and coherent as the stories of other people's OCs... And since I have pretty much no idea what's going on in the world of warcraft lore (I only played WotLK and not even there I cared much about all of the lore... -sweats-) I can only say pretty vague stuff about my OCs.  HOWEVER there is some lore to them after all even if it's incomplete. I'm not sure if you wanna hear everything I can say about Xah'jo, but I can tell you a few things surrounding the last drawing I uploaded. (After the cut, cause it’s actually more than I anticipated...)

  So I think I already mentioned that he mostly got into trouble because he was caught stealing. Why did he start stealing I don't hear you ask? He was hungry and frustrated. And stupid. Mostly stupid.    As an orphan (or at least as a child abandoned by his parents) he grew up in an orphanage, probably in Orgrimmar, which he hated. He was a weird, antisocial kid so he didn't have friends (in fact he disliked the other children as much as they disliked him) and he felt like he didn't belong in such a place. Early on therefore he started asking questions about his parents, without however getting any answers that would satisfy his curiousity. He ended up questioning the honesty of the orphan matron and eventually was convinced that she was keeping information from him and that his parents were actually still out there and he could have his family if only he could find them.  Eventually he ran away when he was still quite young, believing he was better off alone anyway (which - spoiler alert- he wasn't), with the thought of his parents in the back of his mind. However as an orphan in the streets he soon had to admit that things weren't as easy as he thought - people were rude to him, they'd ignore him when he asked for a few coins or food and when he was given some money to buy food for himself he was accused of having stolen it and was driven away. Yet his pride kept him from going back to the orphanage. He lived off scraps for a while until he got so hungry and desperate that he started stealing. And people had already accused him of being a thief anyway so he might as well be just that. In the beginning he only stole bits of food every now and then to keep him from starving and having to eat rotten food, but soon he felt more confident and daring so he stole more, not only food he desperately needed, but things he wanted to have. Most times he would get away with it, but a lot of times people caught him, forcing him to give back the stolen goods and in some cases calling the guards on him. During that time he started to distrust and despise everyone, while everyone got to know him as a dirty little thief. Of course he was brought back to the orphanage every now and then, mostly after spending the night in a jail cell, and the orphan matron tried everything to convince him that the orphanage was his home, but it was of no use. He had already decided that he wasn’t gonna stay. His parents were still out there and he had to find them, by all means. ALRIGHT, DEAR LORD I didn’t realize I was still capable of writing texts like this! But there you go, a rather incoherent and questionable story of Xah’jo’s early years, right before he started his numerous quest to find his parents, getting tangled up in some more serious crimes, which lead to him getting into much bigger trouble than just being caught for stealing. And before meeting his mentor, a lady who I still haven’t designed, but who taught him everything Xah’jo knows and made him into the troll he is now! I should really design her... But yeah, if you have anymore questions about Xah’jo’s story (or anyone elses story for that matter!), or want me to write down the rest let me know! ;; v ;; Writing this already took super long, but it was also fun and it did help me finally think about a few more details I gladly ignored before 👀👀

[sweet-cynical-writer]

Thank you to everyone who waited patiently!!! The long overdue update is here for Soukoku's Love Child!

Word count: 1.6k

Warnings: Suicide, Gore, Death

Special thanks to @soukokuwu naturally for proofreading & of course continuing to be my partner for the series! ♡

Soukoku's Love Child - Nikkō's Past

The soft piano music carried on a reminiscent sound as Dazai walked into Lupin. As he settled into his seat, a certain ginger haired mafioso let out an exasperated sigh as if he'd been expecting company for quite some time. His partner was late as usual.

“What kept you this time, shitty Dazai?”

He took his drink in hand to take a sip before replying. And naturally it made Chuuya upset. A warning glare shot towards the barkeep who was only there to do his job and nothing more. Dazai didn't mind ;In fact for as long as he'd been coming to Lupin, he was always served without having to place a single order.

“I was visiting someone along the way. Turns out, they need my help.”

His partner opened his mouth to retort that there's no way he would assist in helping him but was cut off as if it were expected.

“Chuuya. I know you don't want me to get involved in anyone's problems. But this is a special case. And it will affect you as well.”

The way he released an audible, ‘Tch’ made Dazai smirk with amusement. It was his partner's way of saying, ‘go on and explain yourself fast before I rip your head off’.

“I'm glad you understand. Now. To put it bluntly, I found out more about this kid I ran into. We should adopt him. There's too much risk keeping him in that orphanage and if someone else comes along to grab him.. well let's just say it will only create more work for us.”

Chuuya was irritated at the idea of having a child to look after. He hardly would have patience for Dazai as troublesome and childish he could be. Taking care of a real child would be a nightmare.

“Now listen here, if you think that you could just make all the decisions here and I would just go along with it, you're dead wrong.”

Sure, Chuuya was aware that when it came to making life changing decisions that Dazai had a natural gift for choosing right every time. But that didn't mean the ginger had to mindlessly agree every time something like this occurred.

The way he cooly took his drink to his lips only made him more angry. That sly smile played on his lips like he could order the mafia executive around like some second hand maid.

“Look you bandaged bastard, I mean it. If we just ignore this child and we do end up with more work, so what? We could always use an alternative to helping the kid find a stable home rather than have us watch him.”

Even given their separate roles, it would be impossible for either of them to always have visual watch on the kid. Was he expecting the two of them to play hot potato taking care of him? And then there were always the possibilities of the kid wandering off. Chuuya shook his head after drinking from his glass.

"No, Dazai. There's too much maintenance to bother having this kid in our care. I say make him someone else's problem or just forget about it.”

He knew better than to doubt Dazai's intuition. As insufferable this man was, he never made a wrong call on a long term decision. Ultimately, that was part of the pros of dating such a man. Still, no matter how sharp Dazai was in taking the lead, Chuuya refused to cooperate. This time, Dazai was asking for too much on his part.

To be honest, the burnette anticipated a reaction like this from Chuuya. He didn't look surprised in the slightest as he watched his partner express the facial expression of a stubborn dog who didn't want to move an inch. Unless his owner was going to drag him along by the leash.

“You may be against it now, Chuuya. But when I tell you what kind of capabilities this child has, you'll change your mind.”

Dazai took another sip from his glass before setting it down with a soft clink against the glass coaster. His warm chocolate gaze filled with sorrow as he parted his lips to tell the story of a child that lost everything at once.

***

The child was only six when this took place. A meeting that was long overdue on a night when the air was bone chilling. It whispered desirable sins in the ears of two lovers that tore a bond that was at wit's end. There was only a matter of time that this would happen but the way it happened was something not fit for children. So it was only natural that they waited until their son was put to bed before they took action on leaving him behind.

Nothing was going to stop them from reaching what they both wanted most. The one thing in life that was irreversible that was both feared and wanted by man. It was something that their son wouldn't understand until long after they left.

“The only thing I hope for.. is that he won't hate us if he ever finds out.”

Her silky voice came out in a soft whisper. Sweet honey coated eyes staring back into that freshly cut emerald gaze of his. They were sharp and confident the way he reassured his wife with a gentle press of his lips to hers. The moonlight shone down on them like a spotlight. They danced against death for their whole lives. But tonight? Tonight they would dance toward it.

They had decided a while back; they’d do it here, near the river, under the bridge where it’s quiet, barren. It wasn’t too far from the house, but far enough so their child would be able to sleep through it. Doing it at their home would be too much, too troublesome.

Tonight was the last time they could breathe. The last time they would see each other. Their fate was sealed with the guns they both held in each other's hands. They intertwined arms with the barrels resting on their foreheads. With a silent exchange to one another, they released the trigger.

It was roughly 6:45 A.M. that the boy had woken up from his slumber. He was in a daze, rubbing sleep from his eyes as he rolled out of bed to search for his parents. Their bedroom being empty sent his heart into a panic. Where did they go? And without him? Frantically, he opened the front door to rush to the first place he thought of. The river. It was a favored area that Nikkō loved to spend his time skipping rocks.

There were even times when he would hide from his parents to play out here. It was an obvious spot to be found, but that didn't matter to him, he always wanted to be found easily. However, this time, Nikkō's parents were the ones easily found.

Two bodies, side by side and covered in red, tainting the usual clear blue gentleness which was the river. It no longer held the innocent and kind memories of his family. Instead, it haunted him as he stared wide eyed and unmoving like a statue.

He was snapped out of his blank state to the sound of an incomplete call made out to the caller ID labeled, ‘YASU’. The cell phone was found in his mother's hand. He broke down in uncontrollable sobbing. Nikkō was there, curled in between the decaying bodies of his parents. Crying hysterically with an erratic heartbeat that was visible to the naked eye. A man who possessed blond hair and kind eyes had shown up before to tame the child before police arrived.

It was decided from the note left behind that he would be put into the orphanage for the sake of not learning of his dark past. Out of fear that the child would possibly take things the wrong way or attempt to take his own life out of guilt. His parents did not want the chance of Nikkō ever finding out about losing his family. There was also the logical fear that someday, learning about his ability that he could use it to hurt everyone around him.

As long as he remained oblivious to his ability, he could live out a full life of happiness. If he remains in the orphanage, some loving family will pick him up and raise him to be a sweet child. There were too many risk factors to expose Nikkō to such sensitive information. All they could do was hope he would never have to go through the stress and strain that came with having an ability.

Including knowing about Yasu, he was left with no choice. His parents found it too risky that one day, the truth would slip out if they allowed Yasu to raise Nikkō. Their last request of their old friend was to take him to an orphanage. No further contact was allowed with him after he was dropped off. But Yasu loved Nikkō like his own. He kept his promise to take Nikkō to the orphanage, only to go against their wishes and keep in contact with the boy by exchanging gifts and letters with him as time passed.

The moment the orphanage learned about the child's ability to manipulate emotions upon physical contact, they had him separated from the rest of the children. He was considered a walking disaster that only wanted those to suffer with him. When in actuality, the child not only had no clue he possessed an ability, but he wished for someone to explain what he was feeling. He was confused and often became docile at the mention of any word similar to ‘family’.

He was often asked many questions referring to his past like what happened to his parents and if he knew why he was there at the orphanage. Nikkō couldn't answer with certainty, given that the disturbing image of two bloodied bodies seen at a tender age made his brain block out those memories. Something in him refused to let him access his past. Telling him to keep pushing forward and never look back.

Tags for notification: @suehiro @jounos-teashop-writing @aiya-chan03 @i-am-sleepy-as-heck @tapioka-boi @wildnya @chihxru @dazedbydazai @bandaged-writer @daffodildazaiwrites @orphic-osamu

[makeste]

One thing I really don't get about the so-called fulfillment of the potential quirkless bakugou is that narratively, it's all good and dandy, technically (i disagree but anon doesn't allow for long asks) but when it comes down to it, it's impossible. How is he supposed to overcome being quirkless? Had deku not received ofa, that would've been the end of the road for him. Literally. It's impossible to be a hero, especially the kind they want to, without their powers. There's no practical progress

historically I’m not the most reliable at answering very long asks, so I appreciate the brevity in this case lol. I anticipate that this is going to be something I’ll be discussing a lot more next week, if things go as I suspect they might (and hey, they might not. I got burned by Horikoshi on the whole Hawks killing Twice thing, so for all I know things might play out in a completely different way than I’m predicting), and so for now I’m saving up most of my Bakuessaying energy for then, even though I’ve gotten quite a few asks about it. I have a feeling I’d end up repeating myself a lot, and at this point there doesn’t seem to be any point in discussing it more until we’re sure one way or the other that this is actually happening.

that said, speaking of repeating myself, I do have a quirkless!bakugou tag, as well as a list and description of all my quirkless!bakugou posts over in my post index, and a lot of the asks people have sent me have already more or less been answered in the essays there! I’m kind of obsessed with this theory lol. I haven’t talked about it in a while because I got the vague sense that it was possibly starting to annoy people, and also because I had already kind of emptied out all of my thoughts on it and felt like I was circling around the same points over and over again. anyways, regarding your specific ask though, I’ve posted my thoughts about how Bakugou would make out without his quirk from a strictly practical standpoint here, although it’s buried a ways down. if you want you can just skip to the last three paragraphs lol. and there’s also this post, which probably best sums up my very vague and incomplete theory of how he might actually get his quirk back. mind you, this involves another highly controversial Bakugou theory, and some crucial pieces of said theory are still unknown to us. it’s more of a vaguely theory-shaped idea than anything else right now, but it’s something I keep coming back to and trying to turn over in my mind every so often in hopes of it eventually clicking for me further lol.

lastly, fwiw, I received an ask a few months ago that had a very different perspective on this. it was from someone who had a disability, and they were very excited at the prospect of a quirkless Bakugou. I’m trying to find it now but it’s buried like a hundred asks down sob.

...okay it took some digging but I finally did find it!

anyway, so let me first extend my very sincere apologies to this second anon for taking FOREVER to answer your ask and then finally only doing so as part of another ask. I suck at answering asks. (;-_-)/ that’s all there is to it. but anyway, so bringing this back around to the first person, I just wanted to mention this, because for me it was a reminder that perspective makes such a huge difference in how we view things, and that a development which doesn’t connect for some people might actually be hugely personal and inspiring for others. and for me it was also a reminder to check my privilege as well! anyway, so this definitely shifted my own perspective on things a bit. I do think he will more than likely get his quirk back just because of the kind of story this is and because I think the groundwork has already been laid out for that, but honestly, if it doesn’t happen then you know what? that’s fine too.

and what I’m hoping is that fandom will pounce on this development either way, and go to town with it in fic and art and such, because that’s one thing that fandom has always been great for. it’s something I would love to see explored more in depth, and I think there’s a very real chance of that happening both in canon and in fic, and that’s exciting! hell, if he doesn’t lose his quirk in canon I would probably go ahead and just write a fic about it myself at this point, because I just have so many thoughts and ideas about it that I don’t think I’d be able to stop myself lol. I have honestly been ruminating over the possibility of Bakugou losing his quirk ever since I first read chapter 59 two full years ago, and realized the framework was there for that to actually be a possibility. and so I am beyond excited at us being this close to it finally happening for real. pump that character development into overdrive, baby. and Horikoshi is the one and only manga author I actually trust to be able to do something like this right. he’s batting 1000 when it comes to redemption arcs imo. so I will place my child’s future in his hands and let him do as he will.