#there have been times I thought about participating in a shipping week but didn't... really like most prompts

[multishipper-baby]

Thinking about it more deeply, I think maybe it would be best to attempt a general FHS event first and then maybe see if there's an audience for a more specific one later.

[tastesousweet]

⭒ blurb : podcasting

bf!hamzah x poc!reader

summary: based on this ask!!! little blurb of the times you pop up on the ooc podcast

mickey speaks: this was so funny to write!!! also i need to be hamzah's gf yesterday bitch

─────────── · · ୨୧ · · ───────────

hamzah having you in an episode with mandy and martin

“oh wow this couch gets kinda tight when four people are squeezed on here” hamzah says while adjusting a few pillows

“yeah,” martin starts before addressing the audience, “and, well, you’re probably wondering ‘who the heck is that?!’” he gestures his hand over to you, beside hamzah with your legs folded and knees lying against his thigh

you can’t help but smile as hamzah introduces you, “and, yeah, believe it or not i have a girlfriend.”

“i’m right next to you so i’d hope they believe it” give a soft giggle

“only hamzah would announce he has a girlfriend with ‘believe it or not’” mandy adds and hamzah throws a hand up in the air in defeat

★

martin: “i can’t help but think this feels like in middle school when people were just group dating all the time”

hamzah: “was group dating that common? i don’t remember that”

you: “i remember certain friend groups at my school doing that but i definitely wasn't participating”

mandy: “this isn’t really a group though martin, more like a double date? there’s four of us”

martin: "it's not all about numbers mandy sometimes there's just a vibe"

★

martin: “but you two have been dropping hints about dating for a while now”

you: “yeah, we’ve been doing a little soft launching here and there”

martin: “i like that term a lot actually”

mandy: “i think it’s cute, but i've seen a lot of people online that don't use it properly”

you: "i agreeeee, like you didn't soft launch by posting the back of his head if we already saw the front of it a week ago- we know who he is!!! there is no mystery"

martin: "oh so the appeal is the mystery... almost like scooby doo?"

hamzah, nodding his head: "mhm... exactly"

you: "it's always two dumb bitches telling each other-"

you and hamzah together: "exactlyyyyy"

martin looks over to mandy as the two of you laugh: "oh come on this is their first episode together and look at them mandy! we have to be cuter, come on. lock in."

hamzah: "hey no need to be jealous, my friend."

hamzah pats martins thigh

mandy: "so what was that right there?"

hamzah: "you wouldn't understand..."

martin: "no but seriously mandy you never soft launched me- only hard"

mandy: "there was no need to??? next time i'll do it i guess"

you, laughing: "next time???"

hamzah is sat in thought for an extra second before he replies to martin, making them both laugh

hamzah: “okay martin you said like that term so much? boy, now imma soft launch these nuts in your mouth”

you: "and i know you were thinking on that joke for a minute"

martin, through laughs: “okay, okay, enough”

hamzah, wiping his eyes: “well, now the jig is up. you know it's all aired out and public”

martin: “yeah... a hard launch on the podcast, that’s crazy bro”

you and mandy, mocking: “that’s craaazzyy brooo”

★

hamzah answering your call during a podcast

martin: “hamzah whenever you buy clothes from the store or get it shipped in the mail always wash your clothes!”

hamzah: “i do wash my clothes but if it’s new that doesn’t make any sense”

martin: “so you’re just gonna open it up and put it on?”

hamzah: “yes!”

hamzah’s phone starts ringing

martin: “and wow. now look who’s breaking the phone rule!”

hamzah: “stop shhh. it’s y/n”

he answers, hamzah: “hey what’s up?”

you see the mic in his hand and widen your eyes, you: “oh shit, i’m sorry to interrupt”

hamzah: “it’s okay i have something to ask you now anyway.”

you: "okayy.. do you wanna go first or me?"

hamzah: "you go ahead"

you: "okay quick- is this business casual enough for an event tonight?"

hamzah: "nobody is doing business lookin' that hot, you can't be serious"

you: "kay thanks"

hamzah, jokes: "you are not anyone's office siren, girl"

you: "i'm gonna hang up"

hamzah: "no!!! i need to ask if you wash your clothes after you buy them."

you: "if they smell like stale water and factory chemicals, yes"

hamzah: "martin is educating me on the importance of this unimportant thing right now."

you: "and you should listen to him, stinky"

martin: "thank you!"

hamzah: "oh nahhh, now i'm gonna hang up"

you: "mkayy bye, sorry for interrupting! bye martin!!!"

martin: "byee"

★

you drop something off at the warehouse studio while they’re filming

hamzah: "what was that noise?"

martin: "i don't know..."

hamzah: "it sounds like someone's actually trying to break in, what?"

martin: "were you expecting company?"

hamzah: "no, were you?"

martin: "no...i mean let's ask the audience"

martin turns to the camera, concerned

hamzah: "okay i'm actually about to go check. this is weird."

it cuts to a clip of hamzah sat again and you peeking your head in the frame to wave

hamzah: "nevermind. it was just my sweet girlfriend bringing us lunch, sorry if that scared you guys."

martin: "should we make like a super artifical thumbnail for clickbait? somethin' like; 'someone tried to kidnap us in our studio!'

hamzah: "no"

★

they have a trolling episode where you and mandy both sub in and act as martin and hamzah for an entire episode

mandy: "you know i find it crazy how we manage to talk about nothing for an entire hour"

you: "this is the talent people expect from us bro! and if we ever get too boring we can always discuss the state of sabrina and barry's relationship."

mandy: "true. and don't make fun of me but everytime man-crush monday comes around i'm always picking barry..."

you: "well if i can't make fun of you then i'll just stay quiet for your sake."

taglist -★ (some of u didn't ask to be tagged but have frequently liked my hamzah content lol, just lmk if you'd prefer not to be tagged!!!)

@sirenedeslily @333michelle @thatmartinkitten @@maybankfr @imsosillygoofylol @certainfestivalnerdshepherd

[nethhiri]

Chapter 55: Flatline

Warnings: references to rape, violence, murder (ish)

Curiously, you woke up without the familiar cage of Kid's arms around you. Stretching out, you could feel that Killer wasn't beside you either. It took a few seconds in your groggy state to notice, but the shower was running and there was a fast-paced rhythmic thumping sound followed by a string of strangled moans. Oh. While this normally would have encouraged you to go join them, you were understandably not interested in sex in the least bit. Physically you were fully healed and, while you could participate in that aspect, mentally you were not there yet. 

You thought about waiting for them to finish, though depending on how long they had been in there already, that could take a while. It was also a reminder of something that you didn't want to dwell on, another way you weren't the same person you were several weeks ago. Killer had been thoughtful enough to bring some of your own clothes to the room for you, so you grabbed them and tossed them on. It was a few minutes of fumbling with where the holes were on things and how to figure out if they were right-side-out or not before you could get them on. The shoes weren't as hard as you thought they would be. There wasn't any underwear, which was odd, but he probably just forgot.

You got to the hallway and had to pause, remembering where everything was and trying to imagine spatially where it would be. You didn't get far before there was a wet nose prodding under your arm. Mini slid her head under your hand to guide you to the deck. There were people on deck, you could hear them talking, getting slightly more hushed when they noticed you there. The majority of them hadn't seen you at all since you had been back. The sound of someone running and feeling of arms wrapping around you alerted you to the presence of Quincy. 

"Y/N! It's so good to see you out." She squeezed you once and let you go. "How are you doing?"

"Probably better than most would be."

"Yeah... If you need to talk or anything... I mean I'm sure Kid and Killer have it covered but..."

"Thanks, Quincy. I'll..." You were about to brush her off, but it might actually be nice to talk to someone else. "I'll keep that in mind." 

She bounded off to complete her duties. You didn't really have anything to do. You didn't even know where you were going. You could go to the infirmary, though it wouldn't do any good to be there. Mini helped you wander around until you found yourself leaning against her, sitting in the skull at the ship's bow. It felt good to walk around, and even better to breathe in the fresh, salted sea air. The sound of the bow cutting through waves was calming. You had a lot of bottled anxiety given your new normal and you hated it. This was the first time in your life that you weren't confident in anything that you did and you were very unsure where you were headed. With the loss of your log pose, you had no way of tracking down the last person on your hit list. If you were lucky, maybe you could torture it out of Warthin. At least you had that to look forward to. 

"Mind if I join you?"

The voice made you jump. 

"Sorry!" 

"For a big guy, you're light on your feet."

There was a faint jingle as the hoops on Heat's belt dinked together when he sat. "I didn't mean to be." 

The two of you sat there in silence. You continued to half-meditate, yet there was something prickling at the edge of your mind. It feels like I'm being watched. It was such a strange feeling and it was beginning to unnerve you. At the same time, you thought that you could tell where it was coming from.

"Heat? Are you staring at me?" 

"O-oh. I didn't think you could tell." Heat paused. "Wait. How can you tell?" 

"I... don't know." 

"It's just... you look so sad. I've never seen you like this." 

Hearing that, coming from the saddest looking guy to ever do it, made you snort. "Yeah, well, when you've been assaulted and permanently maimed, let's see how well you handle it." You thought about how little you knew of Heat and his scarred smile. In reality, he probably had been through something similar. Maybe that's why he was eternally sad-looking. Maybe you had more in common than you thought. You were instantly guilty. "I didn't mean that. I wasn't thinking." It was silent and you thought he might have left.

He laughed, despite what you thought was a fairly mean attack. "Now I know you aren't doing well. You? Apologizing for being mean?"

That made the ghost of a smile appear on your face. 

Heat rested a reassuring hand on your knee. "I like it when you're mean to me anyway." 

You were grateful for Heat trying to make it seem like a normal day even though your comment probably did wound him deep down.

"It won't be permanent." Heat scooted next to you and put his arm around your shoulders, resting his head on yours and giving you a side hug. "Kid is going to fix you up, just like he did for me. Maybe he'll even give you an upgrade, too." 

"I hope it's not fire breath or one of us will have to leave," you deadpanned.

"That's the Y/N we know and love." Heat ruffled the hair at the top of your head and patted it before getting up. He did have other duties to attend, but he wanted to check on you first. "And then when you feel up to it, you can try to fix the other one with your devil fruit."

"I already tried." A frown settled on your face. "I can't make something from nothing."

Heat was confused by this. "What do you mean 'from nothing'?" 

"I need at least a part of something to restore the rest of it. I can't create something out of thin air." You sighed. You really didn't want to be thinking about this, which is why you came out here in the first place. "And that eye is long gone by now." It had been over a week since Warthin had gouged it out of you and who knows what happened to it afterwards. 

Now Heat understood. You didn't even know they had your eye. He told Killer that he thought it was a bad idea to keep that from you, but obviously he didn't listen. "Y/N... " Heat tore his eyes away from you. He wouldn't be able to tell you if he watched your face.

You gave him a puzzled look.

His face was one of concern and perhaps regret. He was silent.

"Heat?" You prompted, suspicion evident in your voice.

He didn't want to get Killer in trouble like this, though he did make it clear he thought it was wrong to keep your eye from you. 

"Heat, tell me," This time your tone was serious. It left no room for him to back out of whatever he was trying to tell you.

"Please don't get angry." He knew those words would have no hold over you. 

Your heart sunk, knowing whatever he was about to say was most assuredly, going to make you angry. 

Perspiration broke out on Heat's skin after seeing the dark change in your expression. He couldn't backtrack now. And he couldn't lie to you. Maybe he could frame it in a positive way to soften the blow. "It's actually good news when you think about it-"

"HEAT, JUST FUCKING TELL ME." The anxiety of what he had to say was eating at you and you could already feel your temper flaring. 

"Your eye is fine. It's here. We have it."

"What?" Venom dripped from your voice and you stood up.

Heat backed up a step as you walked towards him. "Warthin sent it to us along with the video transponder snail." 

"So you've had it this entire time," your voice cracked as it boiled with anger, "and you all let me think I would never see again." 

"That would never be true, even if it really was gone. Kid can fix anything."

"So that's it? He kept it from me so that he could make me completely dependent on him? Held it hostage so that he could be a knight in shining armor huh?" 

"No! Killer thought-"

"Killer!?" Kid had done some stupid stuff before that made you mad, but Killer had really never done anything that hurt you. It was hard to believe that Killer could do something so cruel. 

"He thought it would be best to wait until you could heal. He was worried that you would fuck up your eye if you tried to mess with it too soon!" 

"That is not a choice that he gets to make." You stepped to Heat until your chest was flush with his body. "Do you know what was the most traumatic thing for me?" You paused. "It wasn't being force fed every day. It wasn't getting beaten. It wasn't having a permanent brand carved into my skin. It wasn't being raped over and over and over again, not even when it was broadcasted, not even when it was multiple people, and not even when a fucking beer bottle was shoved up my cunt. It was getting my fucking eye ripped out and wondering if the last  memory I had of Kid would be him getting shot in the head, wondering if he was alive or not. Or if all my memories of Killer would slowly be replaced by the last face I saw, the face of someone I despise. I was more worried about what you would all think of me if you found me than if you were actually coming at all. What would I be without my eyes? What worth would I have? And the whole time I've been back, I've been stuck in an endless loop of these fears. I have been tormented every fucking second of every fucking day that once you all realized that I was useless, the only reason to keep me here would be to fuck me, because that's about all the worth I have right now. And even then, why would you want to, after seeing what he did to me?"

You shoved Heat aside in your anger and made a furious beeline back to Kid's cabin. Your throat was pained from yelling and the way the air was cold against your cheeks made it known to you that tears were streaming down them. It was unknown if it was your ominous aura that kept people out of your way, or the haki you didn't even know you possessed leading you in a clear path. Even in your rage, you didn't want to harm either one of them. That was the shitty part about catching feelings. It made you soft. Before, you wouldn't hesitate to start swinging. That didn't mean you weren't going to go apeshit though. You kicked the cabin door open so hard you could hear the frame splinter. 

"WHAT THE FUCK, ROTTEN?"

"SHUT UP, KID!" You and Kid were both shocked at how vicious you sounded. You could sense Killer somewhere in the room, taking a millisecond to locate him. You pointed at him. "GIVE ME MY FUCKING EYE!

"Y/N-"

"And don't say a fucking word because I don't want to hear anything you have to say right now!" You were livid and it bled through in your voice the way it cracked and was slightly raspy from screaming. 

This was a complete betrayal. How could they do this to you and claim they loved you? You cried in their arms and bared your heart to them. They knew how much torment you had endured and all the fears that seeped into your mind. They consoled you and reassured you that you would see again, all while having the ability to do so right that instant, yet still withholding that information. How could they have been extending your anguish purposefully like that? It was not an accident or a misunderstanding. It was a deliberate choice to keep you from seeing. The heart you bared to them, that loved them, that only kept beating for them, they held it in their hands and crushed it. 

Killer silently led you to the infirmary, where he had placed the jar with your eye in it on one of the highest shelves. He could almost imagine a hole burning through his chest with the way you were projecting vitriol towards him. He could feel it flowing freely from you. He could hear it in your heated breaths as you followed him. Killer knew there was a possibility that you would be pissed. He didn't think you would be this mad. He expected to be yelled at. The way you were completely silent after you had screamed at him was unsettling. He wanted you to say something, even if it was just more yelling. His own heart was sinking, realizing that this might have been the wrong call. 

Kid followed the both of you, also freaked out by the way you lit into him and were now clearly brimming with wrath. Part of him was there to back up Killer, and by how unpredictable you were being, he didn't know if that meant physically or with words, or emotionally. He could see from behind you, how tightly your fists were clenched, and the short moments where your devil fruit flickered to life within them. The hair on Kid's neck stood on end as he realized that he and Killer were within an arm's reach and could peel their skin off with a simple touch, if you really wanted to. It looked like you were fighting to contain it. 

You heard the sound of glass sliding on the counter to rest in front of you. After making sure your hands were clean, you felt around in the jar until something slimy bumped your hand. Scooping it out, you held it, feeling around for the various attachments it should have. There was no foul stench from the jar. That was a decent sign that your eye hadn't decayed yet. The harsh smell of formalin burned the inside of your nose and throat instead. The tissue was dead, but preserved. You could work with that. It was heavier than you thought it would be, as you ran water over it. If you put it back in as is, the formalin would give you a chemical burn on the inside of your skull, which may actually be preferable to whatever you were feeling currently. 

Taking a deep breath you tilted your head back, separating the eyelids on the left and dangling your eye above the opening. You lowered it back into its original setting, using your devil fruit to part the newly forming scar tissue that had filled the empty space your eye's absence had left behind. Your power worked at the neural tissue, reforming bonds with the nerves in your eye. The foreign feeling of your brain being altered made you lightheaded and ill. As the nerves in your eye made connections, light, without color or shape, became visible to you. It was like someone was shining a light through fog. Your breath caught in your throat with hope. You were afraid to breathe until it was done. Shape came next, in the form of blobs in varying shapes of gray. Tinges of color crept into the blobs and they began to sharpen. The colors became more saturated and the blobs turned into more recognizable shapes. The readjustment for your brain made it ache. Vision was not unfamiliar to it. The portions used for vision had begun to be allocated to other functions, so reversing that did take time. It was a soreness akin to using a muscle that hadn't been used in a long time. When the shapes became clear and the color had fully returned, it was still slightly off. Holding your hand in front of you, it looked sideways even though you knew it was straight. You rotated your eye in its socket until everything was going in the right direction, then you healed the musculature around the orb, securing it in place and making it able to move. You could let your breath out. You made several slow blinks, moistening the long-dry eye. You could see.

You turned cautiously, stopping, unsure if you wanted to look at either of them right now. Continuing the turn, part of you was relieved and you wanted to cry tears of joy that you could see again, that you could see them again. The other part of you was utterly mangled, seething, unwilling to give them the time of day. Your newly restored vision only settled on each of them for a millisecond before you breezed past them, yanking Kid's pistol from his belt as you did so. Whatever they said to you as you went, you didn't hear it and you didn't care to. Right now, even though you wanted to really let them have it, you didn't want to say something you would regret. The feelings you had for them held you back. The same feelings are what made you so livid in the first place. If you didn't love them, their actions wouldn't have hurt you this badly. 

So you would do the next best thing, take it out on someone who really deserved it. 

Mini followed closely behind you as you stormed out on deck and down into the bottom level of the ship. The bubbling anger that was roiling within you was laced with a certain malicious giddiness. Finally. Finally, you were going to give that sick piece of human garbage what he earned. The sound of several heavy footsteps followed you. You ignored them. When you slipped into the ship's dungeon, you slammed the door behind you and sealed it with your devil fruit. The heavy footsteps stopped at the door for a time, and eventually walked away. 

You turned your attention to the man at the far end of the room, one you would never mistake for another. Your steps were solid and intentional as you stalked towards him. His eyelids were sewn open and he was swollen with joints at unnatural angles. In spite of your hostility towards them, you couldn't help but feel your lips tug up in a smile at what was surely Kid and Killer's work. It was incredibly satisfying to see Warthin sagging in pain. He recoiled at the sight of you, appearing as if he was trying to disappear into the wall behind him. You raised the pistol as you neared, firing one shot into his abdomen, reloading, and doing the same thing, then again, and again, until you had one bullet left. With that one, you ended your walk by pressing the barrel into his eye. You cocked it, letting him get a good look at the person who was going to end him.

And pulled the trigger.

Next

Tag List: @bbnbhm @nocturnalrorobin

[genork-the-fandork]

Not-So-Standard Procedure

Word Count: 620 Prompt: Cuddling/Nightmare A/N: I haven't written a lot for Fairy Tail, or really anything that anybody can find, but I just had to participate in NaLu week. NaLu was my first major romantic ship that I supported (that wasn't Digimon-related), and they hold a special place in my heart. I can always smile when I see or read NaLu content, and so I wanted to show them my appreciation, even if, at times, I accidentally get OOC. ;w; In any case, for most of the days, I plan to incorporate both prompts as much as I can, though at least one day I'm only capable of (1). Hence the red circle! This prompt I had a cute idea of having Happy prompt the cuddling, and so I ran with it! Thank you for reading, if you do! @thenaluarchive @allaboutnalu

By now, Lucy should have been used to the sounds of someone breaking into her apartment in the middle of the night. It was such a regular occurrence, her sleeping pattern surely had changed over the years to accommodate the frequent intrusions. Still, she was tired, and her eyelids were heavy as she tried to open them. Her limbs felt like they were moving through molasses as she pulled them into a sitting position, her hand fumbling for her keys, holding fast to Virgo's.

Her footsteps were light as she crept along the wall to find the light switch. She closed her eyes as the light turned on, holding her key in front of her at the ready. When she opened her eyes, the expected sight was waiting for her on the armchair.

Well. Sort of.

Yes, it was Natsu and Happy, as expected. But Happy was crying and curled around Natsu's shoulder. The Dragon Slayer had one of those rare soft looks about him as he comforted his Exceed companion. Lucy lost all will to yell at them seeing them like that. Partially because she knew Happy would say something obscene, and partially because she wanted to preserve this moment, at least for a little bit, in her memory. Her heart was having a hard time staying in her chest looking at Natsu like this.

"What's wrong?" she said gently, perching on the armrest.

Almost like there was something magnetic between them, Natsu angled toward her, leaning subtly into her arm. She tried to will away the flush rising up her neck, knowing he probably wouldn't notice even if he looked at her. Which he didn't as he explained, "Happy had a nightmare."

"Oh, Happy, I'm so sorry." Lucy reached behind Natsu's head and lightly stroked the fur between Happy's ears, the best she could do in their current position.

A sniffle. "C-Can we stay here with you, Lucy?" Happy warbled, lifting his head to implore her.

As if she was going to say no. Just as she opened her mouth to say yes, Natsu finally looked up at her, his own eyes pleading, if a little apologetic. The corner of his mouth was quirked up, an exasperated expression of "what can you do?" that she hadn't seen before. Seeing that look on his face made her chest constrict, and she swallowed before smiling. "Of course, Happy."

Lucy went to shut the light off as Natsu carried Happy to her bed. It was standard procedure of course that they would end up stealing her bed, but it was becoming standard procedure, too, to let them steal it. At some point she'd stopped fighting it, though she couldn't pinpoint when precisely this change had started.

She set her keys down on the table and sat down on the bed. In the dark, she could sense Natsu against the wall, by the window. Happy was in the center, his tail tucked around him. When Lucy slipped under the covers to join them, the warmth from them both hit her like a brick. But a nice brick. A nice, fluffy brick. Wow, she was tired.

Rolling onto her side, she blinked through the dark at Natsu, whose attention was riveted to Happy. If she was someone else, she would have pointed out how this almost looked like they were comforting their child, but just the thought of saying something like that to him filled her with embarrassment.

"Thank you, Lucy," Natsu whispered in the darkness.

After all this time, Lucy didn't need the lights on to find his hand and hold it. "Always."

They three fell asleep, with Lucy and Natsu angling toward each other until their foreheads met perfectly above Happy.

[lemotmo]

Hello lovely, I am the anon blog and I am so sorry! I feel your pain because life in the trenches sucks. I don't allow my stuff to be posted to Twitter either, that place is a dumpster fire of vileness. I never know what people are sending to you but I have posted a message on my blog asking everyone to take a break for a bit. I'm not sure how this became a big deal in the first place, lol, but it can be very overwhelming and is very much why I go out of my way these days to be harder to find. My ask box is a lot. I do check in on your blog from time to time and will be happy to tell people to stop sharing with you at any time. I think we're close to the end though so hopefully peace will be restored relatively soon to both our blogs. I am so sorry for any trouble, that any of my followers might have caused. You seem so lovely and I don't want to be a party to anything that is troubling or upsetting. I hope your break is peaceful 💗

Hi dear! I'm so happy to hear from you.

I have thought so much about you today. I cannot even imagine what your inbox must look like. I so sympathise.

I very much agree on the Twitter thing. I lurk there once in a while, but never participate. It's a scary place.

As you probably already read on my blog, the lovely anons that send me your messages have reached out to me asking if I wanted them to stop sending them. I told them to keep on sending them, but that I wouldn't be posting them yet. I'm just going to be laying low for a couple of days, before I resume posting them. I refuse to back down because of some bullies. I have been in fandom for too long at this point. I'm too old to be pushed into a corner. xD

Listen, the reason why your posts have become such a big thing is because Tumblr has always been a fairly quiet and peaceful place to ship Buddie. Then episode 7x04 came along and brought utter chaos. Most of us had no idea what was going on. We were flabbergasted. I just remember thinking: 'Yes, Buck is bi now. It's obvious this Tommy guy isn't going to last, so maybe we'll finally get buddie. Everyone will be happy about that.' Anyway, you know what happened next. LOL

We were all over the place during that first hiatus and 7b, never sure what to expect from the whole BT relationship or the obvious Buddie they were still pushing on the show. We needed some stability and common sense back in this fandom and your posts have partly brought that back. I have so many people in my asks talking about your posts in a constructive, meaningful and sensible way. That is exactly what this fandom needs. It doesn't need negativity and spewing hatred and slurs, but it needs logical thinking and the deconstruction of patterns. Next to that you also give us a great insight into the inner workings of fandom. I find it all utterly fascinating.

Thank you for checking in on my blog once in a while. That's really sweet. If it ever comes to a point where I need a break from posting all together, I'll make sure to let you know. But I really don't think I'll ever get to that point, because I too have a feeling that the end of all of this is near.

And don't worry. Don't feel bad about any trouble you or your followers might have caused. I made the choice to post these asks in the first place. I could have backed down at any point, but I didn't. So, no one to blame here. Don't worry.

Have a great week! Feel free to check in once in a while. Oh, when all this is over and done with, don't hesitate to jump into my DMs. I'd love to say 'hi' to the real you one day. I have a feeling we could have some interesting conversations. ;)

❤️❤️❤️

[danceworshipper]

@hphm-ship-week Prompt 5: Second Wizarding War

Fun fact, none of my ocs directly participate in the war!

Ship: Gracie/Charlie 💚🐉

Date: late June, 1997 (been in Romania for 6 years)

Fuck, it was supposed to be a good day. There were new Norwegian Ridgeback eggs that were set to hatch sometime before noon, and the whole sanctuary was throwing a party after. Someone was making fresh pizza. Would it be considered a bad coping skill to just ignore what they'd learned until tomorrow?

...yeah, it would.

Bill had been attacked. A bunch of Death Eaters and Fenrir fucking Greyback had been set loose on Hogwarts, and while no one had died, it sounded like Bill had come close.

"It's bad," Arthur said through the Floo. "I almost didn't recognize him."

Gracie thought her fingers might fall off, but she wasn't about to ask Charlie to let go of her hand. Not now. He looked like he might faint, and while Gracie was a Healer, she'd really rather if he didn't collapse on their living room floor.

"But he's okay?" she asked.

Arthur sighed. "He should be, but we can't know for sure. It's close enough to the full moon that Remus is worried something could happen, but he doesn't think it'll be anything serious. We're just going to have to wait and see."

"Is he awake? Can I come talk to him?" Charlie begged.

"He's still asleep. And these fireplaces aren't set up for international travel," Arthur responded. "He was up for a little while last night, and he was talking fine and remembered everything. I think the worst bit is the scarring."

Bill had been scarred before - he was a cursebreaker, he'd gotten a lot worse than that - but werewolf gashes on his face was a whole other level.

Gracie felt ill just imagining it. For probably the millionth time, she cursed the general wizarding world's lack of research into werewolves. There was no fixing a scar left by a werewolf, even in human form. Someday someone who actually gave a shit would figure it out, but not while this war was turning more and more people against the idea of werewolf rights.

"I've got to get some rest," Arthur said after a long pause. "I'll call you again later, alright?"

Charlie didn't answer. Gracie took one look at his face and sighed. She knew that blank expression a little too well; he wasn't there anymore.

Arthur knew it too. "Take care of him, Gracie," he said. "Bill's fine, really. I promise."

"I will," Gracie said, and the flames went out. Charlie didn't react at all.

Even as broken as he was, there were some things that Gracie knew Charlie couldn't miss, and one of those things was a hatching. He'd be devastated if he didn't get to watch their little baby claws stomping around while they squeaked. Resigning herself to a long fucking day, Gracie steered Charlie toward the kitchen to get some breakfast in him.

(Bill was one of her first ever friends, dammit, why wasn't she allowed to break too?)

She got some toast in him, and that was probably as good as she was going to get, so she gave up on the idea of a big breakfast so that they could skip lunch.

"We're going to his wedding," Charlie said suddenly.

Gracie turned the sink off, dishes half washed, and sat down next to him at the table.

"I don't care what's going on here," he continued. "I don't care if they fire me. We're going to his wedding."

"They wouldn't fire you for that," Gracie said, taking his hand.

"Even if they did."

"Okay."

"Should we move back home?" Charlie asked, looking at her for the first time since Arthur called. "I hate that they're all fighting for their lives and we're just carrying on like nothing's happening."

Gracie wanted to say an immediate no, no fuckingway, she wasn't doing that shit again and he couldn't make her, but she forced herself to breathe. The answer was still going to be no, but she understood where he was coming from. This was his entire family at risk. Hers was far from the action, so of course it would be easier for her to choose self-preservation. Plus, Charlie was a dumbass Gryffindor, so it was in his nature to be bold and rash and get himself fucking killed -

"No!" she snapped, and then sighed, because she hadn't wanted to say it like that.

Charlie stared at her in surprise.

"We can send them money and supplies, or we can bring them over here, but I'm not risking you," she said. "I can't risk you."

Squeezing her hand, he nodded. "But we're going to the wedding."

"Of course we're going to the wedding," Gracie agreed. One wedding wouldn't kill anyone. "And right now, we're going to see the hatching."

Finally there was a small spark back in Charlie's eyes. "Yeah, okay, lets go."

Somehow, they managed to make it through the hatching and even the party with only a couple of people asking if everything was alright, but it was a close call. Gracie practically fell into her favorite armchair - the one Charlie had found in an antique shop that was the perfect shade of Slytherin green - and let her eyes close. She had a pounding headache, induced both by stress and a bit too much alcohol.

She could hear Charlie pacing by the fireplace, waiting for Arthur to call again. It had better be good news when he did.

"Love, wake up."

Gracie forced her eyes open. When the hell did she fall asleep?

Charlie had tears in his eyes, but he was smiling brightly. "Bill's on the Floo, if you want to talk to him."

Wide awake, she was wide awake. Gracie jumped out of the armchair and ran to the Floo, and there his image was: beaten, scarred, and clearly exhausted, but smiling.

"Don't I look badass?" Bill joked. "I'm thinking I should get another piercing, really lean into it. Maybe a lip ring?"

"Fuck off," Gracie said, and Bill laughed, and it was all okay.

[yrrtyrrtwhenihrrthrrt]

1, 2, 7, 15, 18 from this ask game

1. What was the first fandom and/or pairing that you wrote fic for?

Like, ever??? When I was in 6th grade I wrote (and published on the ancient ff.net) Warrior Cats fanfiction 😭 in Year of our Lord 2011. It has since been erased. When I got back into writing as an adult, Nimona/Goldenheart was the first fandom and ship I published for. I'd been writing disconnected drabbles for various fandoms before that, though.

2.Do you participate in any writing events or challenges throughout the year? If so, what do you like about them?

I am participating in the Nimona Big Bang and I participated in Nimona Week! I may also be participating in Goldenheart Week once I check out the prompts!

What I really liked about Nimona Week was seeing different people's take on the prompts. For a lot of them I really assumed everyone would have the same idea but they really didn't! It was great to see so many interpretations and to see stories/art made that otherwise probably wouldn't have been :)

7. What do you struggle with when writing?

I have a really hard time writing action sequences. I think they usually come out okay, I just find them boring to write. This even happens with smut sometimes, if the characters are just DOING and not TALKING or ruminating, I get bored lmfao. I also find it hard for characters to communicate emotions to one another without using "therapy speak" which I see writers get made fun of for a lot but like, I'm neurodivergent. So are most people I love. I'm used to explaining how I feel and having others do the same, everything else is foreign to me. I don't quite understand how to write characters unintentionally miscommunicating their own emotions because like, I don't even know how to do that irl lmfao.

15. A Hollywood producer tells you that they want to film just one of your fics. Which fic would you want it to be?

This one is hard bc it means it would have to be both good, adaptable to film, and capable of standing without the source material. I think Ballister Has Brain Trauma and Ambrosius Wants to Beat the Ever-Loving Shit out of Todd Sureblade would be the best to adapt into that medium because it's more of a Things Happen than a People Talk fic like most of my others. As a sidenote what the fuck was July Yrrt thinking with that title? Lmao

18. What is a line/scene you’re really proud of? Give us the DVD commentary for that scene.

It's super hard to say, because I can't remember half of what I write 😭 I think I really like the scene from What Still is Yours where Ballister looks at the portrait of Ambrosius hanging in the Champion's Mansion.

"The person in the portrait was beautiful, as Ambrosius was, but he did not have the mischievous lilt in his smile that was somehow always there, even when his intentions were completely genuine. He didn't have the same eager softness in his blue eyes that bored into your soul and screamed "Here I am, love me, love me, love me." His teeth were perfectly straight and didn't have the little gap from sucking his thumb too much as a child that years of orthodontics hadn't been able to fix."

I just thought it was super sad and sweet and spoke to how well Ballister still knew Ambrosius and how much he still loved him even after all that had happened. One of the main things I notice about loving someone is their face becomes sort of etched into your mind, I experience face blindness so someone has to be pretty close to me for a long time before they become recognizable, and I thought this was a nice contrast between the Institution's image of Ambrosius versus how Ballister saw him / how he really was.

Ty for the ask!!! Please feel free to keep asking 💕

Questions Post

[pain-in-the-butler]

you said you've been a kuro fan since 2009, I have to know what got you into the series and what has made you stay with it for so long?

what about the fandom did you enjoy back in the old days?

Ahahaha, oh wow, these questions feel loaded. Thank you for asking them, though, I haven't fully considered them before...

I'll start with the second question, because it's easier to answer. What did I enjoy about the fandom in the old days? I didn't enjoy the fandom in the old days! Not on the whole, at least. I was just on the outskirts of it, more observer than participant. I wrote fanfiction, but most people didn't read it because it wasn't romantic. The memes weren't funny, the shipping wars were insane, and SebaCiel was completely unavoidable. The current fandom is way better than the old one! (I'm sure there were cool people around back then too, but I didn't go looking for them because I didn't think they existed.)

I kind of started dipping my toes in the fandom water in 2012 in the midst of the Campania arc. But even then, by 2014 I felt a little meh from all the cricket and I varied in my interest during Green Witch, so I really didn't participate much until around 2017. The Blue Cult stuff had me bored, but then when things started ramping up towards the twin reveal, I was back in the game. Or rather, in the game for the first time. The explosion of actual good memes had me hook, line, and sinker.

Now for your first question. My initial exposure to Kuroshitsuji was season 1 of the anime. It had wrapped in Japan less than a year ago, and my sister told me that she sort of liked it after seeing the first few episodes at our high school's anime club. She gave me a brief rundown of the premise and I guess the seventeen-year-old me was interested because I went to anime club for the first and last time next week. It was the episode with the corset scene and I was appalled. I was also appalled by my peers, because the teacher hadn't shown up that day to moderate, so a lot of kids were making out and drawing on each others' bodies with sharpies, and the few people watching the episode were wolf-whistling and clapping. It was a lot for a dweeby little goodie-two-shoes to take in.

But for some reason I persevered and watched the rest of the series on my own time. The first episode also appalled me. I think the whole show did. I don't really know why I watched it, other than perhaps a fascination with historical anime, but I definitely found Sebastian and Ciel worthy of parody, because a few months later, I was writing fanfiction about them. In high school, I wrote solely humor fanfics, and they were always about Sebastian and Ciel trying to make each other's lives worse through japes and antics.

Then in early college, I started reading the manga when I caught wind of Sebastian being "dead" and thought that sounded like an interesting development. I gave the earlier chapters a try and shocker, it was so much better than the anime (though I skipped the curry arc for some reason, only read it for the first time like a year ago). Then I got to the Circus arc scene where Sebastian has to help Ciel with his eyepatch strings and I felt the epiphany grow. Dadbastian is love, Dadbastian is life, etc. It was hard not to feel like a one-man army at the time, but a handful of others enjoyed the concept too.

And then the Campania arc happened and I was absolutely gobsmacked by how good it was. I will never forget what it was like to be there for the badass Lizzie reveal. That day, anime and manga fansites and subgroups across the net were all united in Lizzie love. It was so real 🥹😭

Moments like that kept me going, as well as a hope for small Dadbastian-esque moments and the promise of more Victorian flair. Over time, I've only gained more appreciation for the side characters and the themes, and I love the current fandom to pieces, so even though the story is slow, I'm more invested than ever.

I'm sorry that was such a damn essay, thank you for your interest in my little Kuro journey! 😊 I hope you are enjoying fandom life too!

[argisthebulwark]

Ao3 20 Questions

thank you @kagedbird for the tag!! <3<3 i will tag some friends @daedrabait @miraakswhore @somethingscarlet13 @queerbashir if u wanna participate <3

How many works do you currently have on ao3? Currently 25. holy shit, i thought it was more than that lol

What's your total ao3 word count? 98,336. Used to be like 200k before i cleaned out some old works i didn't care for anymore.

What fandoms do you write for? Skyrim and Star Trek TOS & AOS

What are your top five fics by kudos? Sorry Lass, Make Me Feel Mortal, Don't Shut Me Out, Fascinating, and Destroy Rebuild

Do you respond to comments? Sometimes! Honestly it depends on whether or not i'm online and see them. if i don't respond right away it feels rude to respond weeks after the fact, but for repeat commenters or usernames i recognize i try to!

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Idk i used to like to emotionally beat up Jim a lot, so probably one of the short stories where i explore all his traumas

What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Probably Sorry, Lass. I originally wrote it in 2015 and i'm fairly certain it ends with a mushy marriage scene.

Do you get hate on fics? Surprisingly, no. I think i got a few rude comments back when i first started, but honestly everyone's been too kind to me.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Hell yeah brother that's what i do!! I love angsty, emotionally charged smut. my personal favorite to write is angry, hatefuck type of stuff. or when they're using it to avoid talking about feelings.

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? Not that i've ever posted lmao. I don't usually post non canon compliant fics for whatever fandom i'm working in.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Kinda. a few years ago someone let me know that my work had been reposted to a fic site i don't use and one quick message got them to take it down. Also, i once posted a fic as a one off, forgot that i'd done that, and used the same scene much later in a larger story - and some nice commenter on the original let me know that someone had stolen my idea lmao

Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope, never had anyone request that and don't want to do so incorrectly.

Have you ever cowritten a fic? Kind of? an old friend and i used to write separate chapters of our self insert marvel fics and mush them together into one story lol. never posted it anywhere, it was just shared emails and google docs.

What's your all time favorite ship? God, that's hard. probably McKirk. as i've gotten older and unlearned all the internal shame about self inserts it's gotten easier to do a self insert story instead of an established pair.

What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Every few weeks i pluck away at my regency au Miraak fic. i don't think i'll ever actually finish it because it's just so big in my head it's hard to get on paper, but i hope i do someday.

What are your writing strengths? I'm very comfortable writing sex scenes. I think that often when the author is uncomfortable about writing explicit sex the reader can really feel it in the story and i put in a lot of work to get over those mental hurdles. i've been told i'm good at characterization, which is awesome! i love getting in a character's head!

What are your writing weaknesses? Very often i find myself bogged down with the need to describe every little scene. it's a major reason i haven't posted a longfic in a while - i want to write these big stories but find myself getting lost in the little details. i also have a terrible habit of editing myself while i'm writing, which just gets me stuck in an unproductive loop.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? Since i'm only fluent in English, this isn't something i am confident in. i've written in a few fictional languages for fics before but would probably reach out or suggest another author if a reader wanted something that heavily involved this.

First fandom you wrote for? Twilight babey!!! self insert oc to smooch Edward Cullen when i was a little middle schooler!!! i didn't know what fanfiction was but i knew i had a big ol crush on him.

Favorite fic you've written? not to be cringe on main, but most of my favorites are things that never got published. they're the little things still hanging out in my google docs that i go back to over and over. i rewrote all of star trek into darkness word for word just to make bones and jim kiss, i made a self insert just to smooch skurge after hyperfixating on thor ragnarok, and the weird time a few months ago where i wrote like 40k words of a cowboy romance. i read them often and wish that i'd written more on many of them but i do not read my published works.

thanks to anyone who read my rambling lmao. love you all sososo much, thank you for reading my silly little stories and caring about them. <3<3<3

[ryehouses]

i was tagged in this by @bobafett, who wants to bring back ask box games! this was really fun and really helped drive home the fact that i am maybe a little too wordy!

y'all know the drill. copy, paste, fill in your own answers! feel free to share!

How many works do you have on AO3? impossible for me to say because i have shed ao3 handles like a particularly robust hermit crab, but if i'm just counting everything under iridan, thirteen!

What’s your total AO3 word count? ......1.3 million, as iridan. if we throw in some of my other psueds and the truly awful eragon fanfiction i wrote when i was fourteen, we're probably loking at 2 - 2.5 mil.

What fandoms do you write for? presently, star wars, jujutsu kaisen, star wars again. i have some witcher fic in my gdocs and older projects in rdr2, dishonored, anything that can catch and hold my attention for long enough for my brain to produce a bit of dopamine,

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? all five of them are in the ast 'verse except for lost country

Do you respond to comments? i try to, but it's really hit or miss! i am painfully shy and usually can only go '!!!!!' in thanks

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? of my completed fics, none! i am not really in to the angst ending. if i ever do get around to finishing it, i started a dishonored/his dark materials au that would have ended with corvo going slowly, gently nuts and taking over the outsider's place in the void

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? i like happy endings, so all of them!

Do you get hate on fics? occasionally. i still think about that one commentor on ast who accused me of blaming the jedi for order 66 like, all the time. mostly no, though, everyone is really nice!

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? i've been told that 'wrestling as nasty foreplay' is something of a signature move of mine, so! 1) yes and 2) whatever kind of smut 'wrestling as nasty foreplay' applies as

Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? yes, but almost exclusively his dark materials crossovers. i do have a witcher/temeraire fusion au sitting in my gdocs

Have you ever had a fic stolen? no, not that i'm aware of. i do semi-frequent google searches to see if my shit pops up anywhere.

Have you ever had a fic translated? i don't think so! ast was podfic'd, if that counts.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? i don't think so, because i am a whole idiot and am hard to collaborate with.

What’s your all time favorite ship? of ALL TIME? impossible to say. i am inconsistent and flighty. bobadin hit me pretty good, though

What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? haha too many. i started a jedi!din fic and didn't get far. i've had several WIPs on ao3 sit without an update for years. i have drafted, redrafted, and drafted again a novel that will most likely never see the light of day. finishing even one of those would likely water my crops for several years

What are your writing strengths? i take particular pride in my settings! somebody on ao3 told me last week that i have nice turns of phrase, too, and i am proud of those too

What are your writing weaknesses? i have never once said anything in six words when i could say them in six hundred million billion instead

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? obviously i've experimented in various projects, but i am fundamentally kind of lazy and prefer to sprinkle in a few words here and there instead of spending the time to learn about another language's grammar structure

First fandom you wrote for? the first fandom i published anything in was eragon, way back in the day! the first fandom i wrote for was his dark materials, in a composition notebook in like the fifth or sixth grade!

Favorite fic you’ve written? could not possibly pic! they are all like my children and also my therapist.

i'm tagging @meyerlansky and anybody else who wants to participate! consider yourself invited!

[nevis-the-skeleton]

What if after Starscream saves Miko, he decides to escape the Decepticons (with energon and other supplies)... Because he knows that Megatron would destroy him, for helping an Autobot Ally... The Autobots + the kids find Teamless Starscream, weeks later... (Thank you for the story! I thought you were only doing headcanons!) ^_^ 

Thank you for this new request sweety anon :D! it makes me very happy X3. I mostly write stories, rarely headcanons, even though I have two or three. In fact, when I start to make a summary it always ends in story XD.

~~~

The Nemesis was profoundly silent when Starscream decided to return to it. It was already dark, the darkness choking through the clouds that hid the stars. He had delayed his return as long as possible, his anguish growing every second as his fatal fate became less and less uncertain...

He tried to walk as discreetly as possible. It seemed to him that the ship was staring intently at him, waiting for the slightest suspicious movement on his part to destroy him.

The Seeker didn't know what exactly was going to happen to him, but he knew it was going to be nothing good… It was sure and certain… He walked slowly past the main room, the door of which was ajar, and It was then that he heard voices.

"That damned Seeker is testing my patience! What is he waiting for coming back here?!

- Surely he is aware of the stupidity he has done. And delay his return.

- Awareness?! Him?! Ha! He barely has one!"

The jet plucked up the courage to look through the crack in the door, and saw Megatron with Airachnid, Soundwave was not far away, quietly working on his computer, as usual.

His Master was so angry with him? It was however not the first time that the flyer left him. Maybe it was too much…? But, there, he looked particularly angry… More than usual, if we can say so…

"That wretch dared to help an Autobot ally! cried out the leader of the Decepticons angrily. It's more than stupidity on this one!"

Starscream froze in horror as the world crumbled around him! Scrap! Lord Megatron knew about the human?! But how?! The Seeker hadn't given any indication of where he was, or what he was doing! Then how?!

It was then that he saw Laserbeak hovering around the room, before joining Soundwave by landing on his shoulder. The Communications Commander patted his head gently, causing the minicon to squeal happily. Well, the jet now had his answer…

“Starscream is a traitor, that's nothing new." Airachnid sneered.

Starscream sincerely wanted to make the damned spider swallow her hypocrisy. As if she were well placed to speak! Why was Megatron still picking on him, when he had that filth right next to him?!

Unlike Airachnid, the Seeker had never left the cause! Never! For her part, the Techno-organic had never done anything to integrate and participate in the cause, only coming back when it suited her! And yet, the leader of the Decepticons welcomed her among them as if she had always been there! It was unfair!

"As soon as he comes back, that damned traitor will hear me! I was too patient with him!"

Wow… if that was when he was patient, the jet really wondered what it was when he wasn't…! Ha! … Starscream lowered his wings, as his Spark tightened in fear, when he realized he was going to know it soon!

The people in the room started to move, and the Seeker ran away, not wanting to risk his Master crossing him! Would he calm down tomorrow?! It was unlikely! If his Lord was known for one thing, it was that he held a deep grudge. It was easy to see it with Optimus, but the difference was that the Prime didn't live H24 with Megatron!

Would if Starscream surrendered, his Lord would be more merciful?! Honestly, there was little chance… But the longer he hid, the more terrible the sentence would be! Especially with Airachnid who kept adding his two cents!

The Seeker locked himself in his room, and slid down the door, shivering, as his Spark compressed in anguish… His Master was about to finish what he had started in the cave! It was sure!

Primus! Why had he decided to have pity on this child?! It was stupid! Now she might not be in mortal danger anymore, but he was! Why did he put that brat's life ahead of his own?! He became crazy?!

The jet dared not turn on the light, lest anyone notice that he had returned. He knew he was going to be off again for a good night of insomnia, if not more. At least, if he resists the eternal sleep that Megatron would surely give him...

It was then that the flyer thought of one thing… Why did he feel obliged to stay to endure this? Why should he suffer the wrath of the leader of the Decepticons? He… He didn't have to… He was wrong, yes, he always was. But that didn't mean he had to accept his punishment… did he?

The Seeker slapped his cheeks, as an ugly thought started to cross his mind. He shook his head, flatly denying the idea he had just had. No! He was definitely not going to leave! No way! He couldn't leave! No! That would amount to deserting! He couldn't do that!

"… Why… ?"

The jet asked himself the question, without realizing it, aloud. But, it's true… Why did he feel the obligation to stay? Why did he stay? His Master had told him over and over again that he was useless and worthless. So why was the flyer stubbornly staying in a camp that he couldn't even help…? Why should he die at the hands of Megatron?

“I… I don’t want to die…”

Starscream lowered his wings and brought his knees closer to him, as his body continued to shake... The Seeker clutched his hands against his knees, and closed his optics hard.

Finally, the jet's wings lifted with more confidence, as the decision his mind had been denying for so long came back stronger. He looked up, his optics shining with determination! It was decided! He left the cause! He was going to desert! This evening!

Starscream finally found the courage to come out of his room, and looked around apprehensively… If he got noticed by Soundwave, he was over. He didn't know if he could really avoid being seen by the spy plane, but he was going to do his best.

The primary items he needed to take were energon and a medical kit. And for that, it was towards the medical bay. Normally, KnockOut should already be sleeping, as well as Breakdown. The doctor always wanted to get a good hour's sleep. It was, according to him, the best way to keep a perfect complexion, and a radiant beauty.

"On that point, it obvious that you don't sleep often, Commander Starscream!" KnockOut once joked.

That day, the Seeker had to do his best to restrain himself and not slap the doctor. He knew he was ugly, he didn't need a moron like that cheeky red robot to tell him!

The jet arrived quickly in front of the medical bay, having done his best to avoid the patrols of Vehicons. He entered the room as discreetly as possible. The two lovers slept in an adjoining room, and the flyer knew, in spite of himself, that the doctor was a very light sleeper.

He had once been caught stealing medical supplies, after a "conversation" with Megatron. So this time he was going to try to be more discreet. He didn't want to have to come up with a decent lie to the red robot.

Starscream took the opportunity to steal the energon from their cupboards, because it saved him from going to the storage room, which was particularly well guarded. The less noticeable he was, the better.

The Seeker tightened his wings as he heard the sound of a door opening, then heavy footsteps crossing the room. The jet froze in place, even though he could recognize those footsteps among a thousand! He remained on his knees and hidden behind the cupboard, while Megatron knocked on the couple's door, in a rather brutal way.

“Lord Megatron? There is a problem? Breakdown asked.

- Is Starscream here? growled the leader of the Decepticons.

- Uh… I must confess that I haven't seen Commander Starscream since this morning.

- He is no longer Commander!

- Oh…? Uh…

- Where is he?!

- A problem, Lord Megatron? finally came KnockOut.

- I demand to know where Starscream is!

- I don't know, my Lord."

Starscream wasn't really surprised to have lost his title of Commander, for the umpteenth time in a row, surely it was going to come down to that plague of Airachnid. But, honestly, the Seeker didn't care. That wasn't what worried him now.

"Soundwave saw him enter the medical bay! Don't you dare lie to me!" the big silver robot got angry.

“Scraap!" the jet swore in his mind. He was in a bad situation! Very bad! He would soon be spotted if he stayed here! He had to get out! Now! The flyer began crawling toward the exit, trying to hide as best he could behind medical tables and cupboards.

"I assure you we haven't seen him…!" KnockOut insisted.

Megatron clenched his fists, and shouted:

“Starscream!! Show yourself now!!!"

The Decepticons leader's sudden outburst startled the jet, which lifted his wings and screamed in fear. He quickly put a hand over his mouth, but it was too late… Without seeing them, Starscream could easily feel the heavy stares on him, as he couldn't move.

He finally found the strength to come out of his hiding place a little, now that he was spotted. But did not come out completely. Megatron looked at him intently, and gestured sharply in his direction. The Seeker ducked right away, fearing the Decepticon leader would fire his cannon! But he didn't.

"Starscream, come here now!" snapped the tall silver robot.

The jet rose a little more, having to struggle to stay upright as his legs kept shaking. He didn't want to die!

"Come here! It's an order!" his Master got angry.

Starscream didn't really know how the next happened, but when he had come to his senses he was already running down the hall, with Megatron hot on his heels!

The Seeker screamed in panic, and tried to accelerate, seeing the exit in front of him, when he felt a firm grip wrap around his forearm, crushing him totally! The leader of the Decepticons also attempted to grab one of the jet's wings, but missed his grip, his claws sliding down the flyer's wing, clawing it in the process!

Starscream yelled in pain, while being pulled back by the force that held his arm, his legs leaving the ground squarely, while the exit was only a few feet away!

“Where do you think you are going?! Eh?!" cried out Megatron.

The Seeker tried to free himself as best he could, then aimed his missile at his former Lord, before replying:

“To Freedom!!"

The jet fired, causing the leader of the Decepticons to let go to dodge the missile, which continued its course against the wall, pushing the two robots to the ground with its explosion! The flyer regained his senses faster than Megatron, and transformed into his alternate mode, not without pain!

His wings were in bad shape from the attack of the big silver robot, and the explosion hadn't helped his condition. But Starscream didn't care, he had to get out of here, no matter what!

The Seeker fired his last missile, blasting the exit door, before dodging Vehicon fire and rising out of the darkness! To the Moon and the stars!

~

Two weeks had passed since his escape, and Starscream felt he wouldn't survive long… His wounds weren't healing, being too serious for the equipment he stole from the medical bay to be of use to him.

His wrist was broken, and without a welder it was impossible for him to repair his wing… He had been able to treat his burns, but he quickly ran out of disinfectant, causing his untreated wounds to get worse day by day… This doomed him to stay on the ground, forbidding him the slightest escape if ever the Decepticons found him...

This also added another problem, and that was his energon reserves... Since he kept losing it, he was forced to take it much more often than usual, causing the energon to he had stolen, which were supposed to last two months, barely lasted the two weeks…

To treat his wounds he often went to clean them in lakes, for lack of other means. But he wondered if the water was really effective, or was just infecting his wounds even more with the micro-organic aliens hidden inside… Again, he was paying for his ignorance of Earth and his life on it…

~

Another week passed, and Starscream knew his condition was not getting better… He was growing weaker every day, his systems getting harder and harder to keep up. He was now completely unable to walk long distances, causing him to stay in one place, near a large lake, not far from a cave.

His energon cubes were completely depleted, and he didn't even have the strength to extract any more in his makeshift shelter… If only he had planned his escape better, he wouldn't find himself in such a situation…

He had to face the facts, he was definitively condemned... He found it ironic to have escaped death, to suffer an even more terrible one... But, the Seeker knew that he could do absolutely nothing about it...

The jet moved with difficulty towards the lake, but collapsed before even reaching it... He thought he saw figures on the other side of the lake, one of the smaller forms pointing at him and looking very agitated.

The largest shadow crossed the water, and the flyer never managed to distinguish it... His processor seemed unable to process the information, leaving him in a total blur... Starscream did not know more, because his body gave up completely, leaving him at the mercy of this imposing figure.

Optimus slowly approached the fallen sky Seeker, and shook him gently, trying to wake him up, but to no avail. Prime frowned a little in concern, and Ratchet soon joined him, complaining that the water was freezing and unpleasant in his circuits. The doctor approached his old friend and said:

“Miko was right, Optimus. It's indeed Starscream.

- Yes. nodded the Autobot leader. But he doesn't appear to be on patrol for the Decepticons.

- No. Megatron doesn't like him too much, it's true, but I would be surprised if he sent him like this on patrol.

- There's a possibility he's hiding.

- From whom? Megatron?

- …

- If he tried to betray him again, it's likely. But that's not our problem. He must have hurt himself in his flight, a bad fall perhaps.

- Can you estimate the severity of his injuries?

- They are mainly infected, badly treated. Given his condition, he must have been injured for a while.

- How long do you think?

- What do I know? If you want me to do a better diagnosis, we should take him to the base. But that is out of the question!

- So you're suggesting we leave him here?

- What's wrong with that? It's not an Autobot but an enemy…! Optimus, it's because we help the enemy camp that we don't win!"

Prime looked more closely at the condition of Starscream's wing, and his worried expression deepened, before he answered:

“Something tells me he's not with the Decepticons anymore."

The ambulance gave a confused look, as he faced his friend's grave face.

“That is clearly not due to a bad fall.

- Then what?

- I can recognize Megatron's mark when I see it. The most likely hypothesis is that Megatron tried to catch Starscream.

-…?! You... You mean that...

- That Starscream deserted. And, it is our duty to protect the Neutrals, Ratchet."

~

When Starscream opened the optics, he was immediately blinded by a strong light. He put an arm in front of his eyes, and quickly noticed that the latter had a splint.

The Seeker widened his optics in surprise, and felt panic invade him as the prospect of him being back with the Decepticons hit him hard!

The jet suddenly rose, losing his senses in his sudden movement! He detached himself from the machines, and looked in all directions, without really seeing. He felt a strong grip on his shoulder, and screamed, before slamming his claws at the thing that had grabbed him!

Ratchet gasped in pain as he pulled his injured hand away, as Starscream tipped back. He was caught by someone behind him, and he looked up to face Optimus. The Seeker tried to break free, until the Prime said softly:

"It's okay, Starscream, we're not here to hurt you.

- Wh… What?! What does it mean ?! How's that?!" the jet stammered, looking around, quickly realizing he was in what appeared to be a military base.

The Autobot leader was calm in front of him, as the doctor was already fixing his injured hand while grumbling.

"We found you unconscious by the lake, and-

- And the first thing that comes to mind when you see an injured enemy is to bring it back to base to fix it?! Starscream finished in disbelief.

- You see?! Even him finds it absurd! exclaimed the ambulance a little further.

- Do you still consider yourself an enemy for us, Starscream? Are you still with the Decepticons?" asked Optimus.

The Seeker lowered his wings a little, and looked away, before pursing his lips in a thin line. He finally decided to shake his head, and replied:

"No… I'm not one anymore…"

The rest of the team moved closer, accompanied by the children, although they kept them close to them. They had agreed to Optimus' request not to tie up Starscream, but it was very reluctantly. The Seeker was still a dangerous robot.

The jet tensed a little seeing Arcee and Bulkhead, knowing well that things hadn't ended so well between them lately. Especially after his failed attempt to abduct the human child.

His gaze went to Miko, who greeted him quite happily, and he saw that the big green robot didn't seem as angry as he should have been. The Seeker guessed without problem that this brat had shown the message to his friend! Scrap! He should never have written such a thing!

"What is your purpose, Prime? hissed the airman nervously. If you want to know anything about the Decepticons I'll give it to you, as long as you leave me alone afterwards.

- Are you going to try to live in nature again? scoffed the green Wrecker. So far it hasn't really worked for you!"

Starscream frowned, and had to hide his shame as best he could, as some of Megatron's words kept coming back to his mind.

"You need me!", "You can't live alone!", "You are incapable of accomplishing anything without my help!"

This whole situation proved how right his Master, well, former Master, was, and it was really painful and humiliating… Especially to show such weakness in front of the Autobots! He had never asked for help from them! Honestly, what wrong with them?!

“I don't want to extract information from you." Optimus finally replied.

The Seeker couldn't hide his surprise at this statement, and he quickly noticed that he wasn't the only one. Apart from Ratchet, everyone seemed surprised.

"Actually, I would like you to become a member of our team, by joining the Autobots."

The jet raised his wings in shock, a look of amazement on his face, before shouting, in chorus with all the other robots present in the room:

"WHAT?!!"

[hikennosabo]

now that i've marinated in trimax's ending, i wanted to reflect a bit. i definitely don't have it in me to write a full review or anything lmao, but... it was a really incredible story, and i had a great time. i don't think i've ever cried this much over a manga, lol... usually i cry over audiovisual media. even all my crying about one piece has mostly been over the anime. other manga i've cried over off the top of my head have been different types of crying, if that makes sense (like crying over shimanami tasogare because the queer themes hit home, not because i was overly invested in & emotional about the character arcs). other manga like devilman and csm hit me emotionally but i didn't necessarily shed tears over them, and if i did certainly not as much as i did trimax lol.

i (predictably, if you know me, i love characters with complicated sibling relationships) latched onto knives when i watched tristamp... he is definitely hard to like in the manga sometimes, but his character arc is fantastic, so i ended up starting and ending this journey crying over him LMAO. i really really love all the characters in this story, except for like... the cartoonishly evil one-off bad guys and, as we all know, chapel. lmao. most of the characters are likable in one way or another, by some combination of being cool, strong, charismatic, funny, etc... just being complex and fantastically human, which is only natural in a story about human nature.

and of course i need to give a huge thank you to @trigunbookclub, @revenantghost for organizing, @trigun-manga-overhaul for the incredible scans & translation, and everyone in the tag for making this such a fun experience!

i loved reading everyone's posts, it really helped fuel the brainrot, and writing my own posts ended up being A Task but also fun. even though i feel my posts were mostly an exercise in inventing new ways to portray crying and screaming over text as opposed to everyone else's thoughtful observations and analysis LOL. and participating in book club kept me reading at a good pace, otherwise i either would have binged the whole thing in like 2 weeks or gotten distracted and not finished, so thanks for keeping me on schedule lol.

this is not the last you'll see of me in the tag, i still have art (memes) i want to make, there are a LOT of things i want to draw, a potentially (relatively) big project in my brain which i have no guarantee i'll get to lmao, plus character/ship playlists if i finish them, and maybe some other posts as i rewatch tristamp and 98 again. and i've still got to read multiple bullets ofc.

also i was holding back on following people because i was trying to avoid spoilers (which i failed at anyway because i have no self-control), but now i can follow people in the tag sooooo hello and sorry if you see me going through your trigun tags

[punk-is-notdead]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thanks for tagging me @bayoubodycount, @eyesofatragedy67 and @queerwolfsstuff.

How many works do you have on A03? 115, but that will change soon

What's your total word count? 1,132,676 (how did that happen?)😲 this will also change soon

What fandoms do you write for? Amost exclusively Supernatural and Supernatural RPF, although I have written a fic for Cherry Magic, plus a crossover with Supernatural and What We Do In the Shadows

Top 5 fics by kudos: Long Friggin' Week (co-written with RidinCastielInTheImpala) 1,075 kudos; Closer (Fuck You Like an Animal (co-written with @anyreiart and @queerwolfsstuff) 891 kudos; Mistletoe Mishap (co-written with @anyreiart) 607 kudos; Stop and Smell the Roses 538 kudos; Friends With Benefits? Yeah, Right... 527 kudos

Do you respond to comments? I try, but I've gotten very behind with that lately. My next task is to do just that.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Angsty endings? I don't know them. 😁

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? All of them, but in terms of happy ending compared to the level of angst in the story, I guess either Against the Light or Stop and Smell the Roses.

Do you get hate on fics? I've had the odd unhelpful comment, but I've only had hate once. The commenter didn't like what I'd written, but my dear friend @bayoubodycount quickly leaped to my defence.

Do you write smut? Yes, although lately my solo fics have been smut-free, but I can't really account for it. However, I've signed up for this year's reverse Bang Bang, so I will have to push myself to write smut.

Craziest crossover? What Destiel Does In the Shadows, which is a crossover @anyreiart and I wrote for @queerwolfsstuff's birthday a few years ago. Not just one pair of idiots in love, but two pairs of idiots in love. 😂

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I'm aware of.

Have you ever had a fic translated? Yes, but it was so long ago, I can't remember what fic it was, or what language it was translated into.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Ohhh, yes. About a third of my fics are co-written, and my biggest collaborator by far is the lovely @eyesofatragedy67, with 15 fics together and counting.

All-time favorite ship? Destiel... they're my OTP. I have other ships that I enjoy, and I'm happy to write Dean and Cas in poly relationships/situations, but destiel has a special place in my heart.

What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I don't have any WIPs... Not on AO3 anyway. On Google Docs though, that's a completely different matter.

What are your writing strengths? Um... dialogue?

What are your writing weaknesses? Description. I struggle with that, and when I read a beautiful piece of description, I wish I'd written it. Also, I'm guilty of endless micro-editing while writing, and despite knowing that I shouldn't do it, it's hard to stop.

Thoughts on dialogue in another language? No, I wouldn't touch that unless I had help from a native speaker.

First fandom you ever wrote in? Supernatural.

Favorite fic you've written? Against the Light. I'm not ashamed to say that I go back and reread it every once in a while, and I think it's a fairly decent piece of writing.

I don't have anyone to tag, as they all tagged me first, or have already done this, but if anyone wants to participate please go ahead.

[sometimesanalice]

Hello, Alexa!☺️

How are you?

A bit of a random Q, but! I remember you saying that the first fanfic you wrote

was ‘Oh Christmas Tree' and I was just wondering if there was any other fandoms

you ever thought about writing for? Even if you don’t want to publish them! :) An even more general question, what other fandoms would you say you're into?

I know it's a little random, but I just love hearing about other people's interests/loves! 🥰

(I’m sorry if you’ve answered these in some way before)

Have a lovely weekend!

Hi Bo!! 🌟 I'm so good! I'm having the best afternoon with some coffee and a treat from Trader Joe's and working on a fluffy oneshot! I hope you're doing well! I love seeing you pop in my inbox!

The call of Bradley with a pine tree allergy and getting his best girl a fluffy pink one was too strong for me to resist! It was such a new thing for me that I wrote the whole thing on the notes app on my phone, it didn't even cross my mind to open a word doc for it, lol.

It's such a funny thing that for the years and years that I've jotted down ideas and dialogue that I never once thought of actually sitting down and trying my hand at writing fanfic until last year!

More for you under the cut!

My first foray into fandom and fanfic was when I was a nugget out there wilding on fanfic.net and shipping Clark/Lana from Smallville and Padme/Anakin from Star Wars. (back when I didn't even know what shipping meant, lol)

In college, I didn't have much time to read books because of all the school work, so I turned to fanfic again and got really into The Hunger Games. Dandelion Peeta had my heart, and all the modern AUs really softened the dystopian angst. That fandom had so many truly terrific writers, ones that I still follow even today.

Which is how I ended up becoming a big The 100 girlie. Some of my favorite THG authors started posting and writing for a couple of the main characters on that show and I was hooked. (it's been a lot of fun to learn that some of my fav TGM babes were also the 100 babes, so we've trauma bonded over it, haha)

And let me tell you, I need to be financially COMPENSATED by the CW for the chokehold this man had on me for like 5 years. (the hair! the gravely voice! the chin dimple! the biceps! the grumpy king with a heart of gold!)

If I was going to write for another fandom, it would be that one. Bellarke (bellamy blake and clarke griffin) still has my heart. At the height of it, I was spending hours every day reading fic for them. The chemistry between them was bananas and every week I was waiting on baited breath for any little interaction between them. It's funny now because the actors are actually married now, haha! The show gave us crumbs and went out with such a tragic whimper, but the fandom and the incredible talent there is probably why I was so invested and still read fics about them on AO3.

When I reread my favorite series The Winners Trilogy by Marie Rutkoski I fall DEEP into an Arin/Kestrel spiral. It's such an underrated YA series that I'm pretty sure I've read every piece of fanfiction that's out there (which isn't nearly enough) at least 5 times.

There was a brief Jon Snow/Daenerys Targaryen GOT era, but it was short lived.

I also like the Darkling/Alina dynamic from Shadow and Bone. I read the series when the books first came out before the show, and wasn't particularly enamored with them as a couple. But then they had to go and cast the pretty bearded attention whore that is Ben Barnes and I had simply no choice but to ship, lol.

I always joke and say that I don't pick the hyperfixations, that they choose me. But it's really true. The 100 ended in 2020 and I didn't have anything really capture my attention in the same way until TGM. This is the first fandom that I've really participated in, like getting to know other people and creating content! And it's been so wonderful!

Oof! Well, this got out of control quickly, lol. This was such a fun ask to get! I haven't been asked before, so I really went off the deep end here giving you my full life fandom history, haha!

[starfall-spirit]

20 questions for writers

Thank you for the tag @tunaababee and @whatishowedyouinthedark!!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

63 (and another in my drafts for omegaverse free day)

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

237,274

3. What fandoms do you write for?

ACOTAR and Fourth Wing mostly, but I'm looking to get more works posted for ToG and Assistant to the Villain (esp with book 2 in hand). Once upon a time I was a Miraculous LB girl too.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Dragons Know Best (Riorgail)

Your Claim on My Heart (Riorgail)

Our Own Little Show (Violiaden)

So This is What Heaven Feels Like (Feysand)

High Lord, Cold and Cruel(Feysand)

5. Do you respond to comments?

Definitely. A single comment can be enough to turn a shitty day or even week on its head and I want my readers to know how much they mean to me. I also just love discussing my work with people who genuinely care about it.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I'm not an angst writer and I haven't looked at this one in a couple of years but my miraculous oneshot Agony has MCD. So does The Night the Stars Fell on Velaris, even if it turns out to just be a nightmare in the end.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Last year for Feysand Week I wrote All's Fair in Love & Paint Wars which is pure HEA tooth-rotting fluff and smut.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I don't thankfully. There have been a few snotty people who claim i should use a beta or whatever, but I have been very lucky to avoid major hate and entitlement to updates. Part of it is probably that I'm not as popular as other writers in the fandom and I keep my Ao3 locked. People don't like to be a bitch when their name is there for all to see.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Oh yes. Both fluffy and dark.

10. Do you write crossovers?

I don't, unless you count combining characters from the SJM universe. In that case I have a worldwalking next gen fic and a modern au for Feysand x Ruhn.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but I'm not opposed to the idea.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes!! You guys should check out the ACOTAR Writing Circle. I participated in the 3rd circle. There's another thing I'm working on with a friend, hopefully for Feysand Week, but we'll see.

14. What is your all-time favorite ship?

Feysand, the Rowaelin. After that, probably the rareships Feyre x Eris x Rhys and Violiaden.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Oof. Um, I've really been struggling to find motivation for Remember me? (Feysand x Ruhn) I started it when I saw an ask @captain-of-the-gwynriel-ship asked, but I'm very much a pantser and didn't do anything more than write one crappy chapter before hitting post.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Banter, I think. It's so much fun to write and since I'm lacking in most other components I let it lead my fics. I've had several people tell me I write great dirty talk, but idk. I just make mean men say 'good girl" repeatedly, so...

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Describing anything. My fics are too dialogue heavy and I'm well aware of it, but I've yet to improve my writing.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I'm great when it comes to learning sign, but I've never managed to hold onto spoken languages beyond English. I'm not brave enough to trust google translate.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

My Percy Jackson and Harry Potter was never published, so probably ACOTAR.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Burning in the Starlight/How Can I Loathe and Crave You? as well as Precious Collateral. Also super excited about my submission for this Saturday.

They're more about the vibes than making a fic that's actually worth reading and there's something so refreshing about just writing for yourself and like, three dark romance/poly fic girlies who hype you up. I'm in my happy little dark!rhys bubble and will be staying here a long while, thank you.

Tagging: @captain-of-the-gwynriel-ship // @panicatthenightcourt // @writtenonreceipts // @thelovelymadone

[iapetusneume]

so i don't go here, but you seem really into warhammer right now, so tell me about your favorite wh40k fic you've done. pick something you are particularly proud of.

For this, I went only with my one-shots.

I was torn between Actions Speak Louder Than Words and The Gift of the Rope. I'm going to go with the former, as I think the story behind writing it is probably a bit more interesting.

This story is my most... well, pretty much everything of my 40k fics, besides subscriptions. Most kudos, most comment threads, most hits, most bookmarks. It has since been translated into Chinese (with my blessing). And let me tell you, I had so much anxiety writing this story.

See, the 40k fandom has an exchange at Christmastime, and it's named after a holiday in canon that happens around the same time, called Sanguinala. It's a really wonderful time because it's one of the few 40k-exclusive exchanges, and a lot of people participate who don't usually do exchanges. Among the many amazing writers and artists, participating in this exchange is one of my favorite artists in the fandom. And I thought to myself "Becky, what are you going to do if you get them for your assignment?" And I was like "haha there are like 30 people participating, what are the odds?"

So you can guess what happened. I got them for my assignment.

For the prompts, they had three options. I was only really familiar enough with one of the prompts, so I knew immediately what I was going to write.

So in canon you have these 18 demigod-like characters, called primarchs. And they had a civil war (the sides referred to Loyalist and Traitor) and some of them died and some of them turned into daemons and some of them have gone MIA.

And since you don't go here, I'm going to give you the extreme cliffnotes version of why their prompt was a big deal.

Fast forward 10,000 years. There's only 1 known Loyalist primarch in the current canon for a while who is awake and active... until very recently. A second one is no longer sleeping MIA, and these two primarchs have a history. They are, in fact, 2/3rds of my favorite triad, and the triad is one of my absolute favorite romantic relationships in the fandom.

And whether or not one ships them, so much of the fandom is looking forward to them seeing each other again. We don't know when it's going to happen - but we're hoping that it'll be in a novel in the near future.

40k, in terms of writing fic, is a fandom on the smaller side. There have been a few fics written about this supposed reunion, but I think there were only two when I wrote mine? And the ones written were not smutty, and my fic was going to be smutty.

And my anxiety was getting really bad, and I had writer's block. I'm not as current about a lot of the events in "the present" of 40k. I was afraid to get something wrong.

So, in my last ditch attempt to get inspiration, I picked up the novel that had recently been released that talked about the primarch who recently returned. And its one of the best books I've read for 40k. And I found out later that the author is queer, and it is obvious that he crammed as much queer subtext as he possibly could.

And the very end of the epilogue was what I needed to start writing.

My anxiety didn't vanish because I was writing, but at least I was making progress. Which at this point there was less than a week left before assignments were due. I did not have time to second guess myself. Two friends in the fandom were pre-readers for me, and reassured me it was good.

And I submitted my assignment on time, but it wasn't a version I was super happy with. But then I had a week more to come up with a better ending and edit my submission.

Christmas came around, and the recipient loved it.

This fic deals with aging, and I compare and contrast what we-the-readers once saw them as, to their new reality. How it might manifest. And as their bodies have changed, so have they. They've been through so much, and no one really understands what they're going through but each other.

This fic also gave be a massive confidence boost in regards to my writing, and how I engage with the Canon. 40k is hundreds of novels, with plenty being contradictory. And then there are the things one ignores because its dumb. And then all the AUs one writes because one's favorite character died, and yes I understand the narrative significance, but I love him and want him to be happy. ANYWAYS. My knowledge of current events in the canon were not great, and I knew the recipient knew a lot more than me. That didn't stop them from loving my story.

40k is really unlike any series I've written for before. When I wrote for anime/manga, I could say "this is based on [x] version." When I wrote for Dragon Age, I could say "this is only off of the games," and people would understand the scope. 40k is so nebulous, I'm still honestly figuring it out. And I sometimes wonder if the desire to "know the canon" is a barrier to entry for other writers.

I took a giant chance with this story, and I'm still feeling the benefits.