#this was really fun I got to revisit some fics I haven't thought about in a while

[thesokovianaccords]

One line, one fic

rules: pick any 10 of your fics, scroll somewhere to the mid point, pick a line, and share it! Then tag 10 people. 

I was tagged by @theawkwardterrier​ @lavellenchanted @beautifulwhensarcastic​ - thank you all so much!!!

I have no idea who’s already been tagged but here’s a few (and if I miss you please feel free to take this as a general tag lol) - @doctorhelena @steggyisimmortal @cafecitowriter @formerlyir @3pirouette @teaandatale 

(press you to) the pages of my heart - (steve/peggy)

With a huff, Peggy merged back into the right lane, preparing to take their exit. “Well, it will be fun, but don’t think I don’t see you backseat driving right now.”

Special Relationship - (steve/peggy)

“Football, Steve!” Peggy yelled, flinging her hands up in the air. “For the love of God, man, it’s a football match. Foot. Ball.” 

stealin’ a kiss or two - (tony/pepper)

He had flown into space and broken the sound barrier and saved the world several times, but none of that compared to holding Pepper Potts, the gold band of her engagement ring cool against his cheek as she pressed her lips to his.

a second time (within these arms) - (steve/peggy)

Steve starts at the old endearment. They are so close that Peggy can feel the tension vibrating through his every muscle, and she curses herself for spending the last few years ensuring his total distrust in her.

Arrivals - (steve/diana)

Themyscira was never far from Diana’s thoughts despite the near century she had spent in the world of men, and she was sure there was no other island that could hope to be its equal.

All’s Fair - (steve/peggy)

“It’s okay,” Steve says, lifting his free hand to cup her jaw. “Really, Peggy. We’re both where we need to be right now. I just missed you.” 

King Me - (steve/peggy)

Peggy smacked his shoulder and sniffed loudly. “I did not try to bludgeon you. My God, Steve, you’re so dramatic.”

Partners - (steve/peggy)

The look he threw her was one she had never seen from him in public, and her knees threatened to give way under the weight of it.

the pain of parting is nothing (to the joy of meeting again) - (steve/peggy)

The man gave a stilted nod, and his voice was strained. “Of course, Director Carter. Let me just call the rest of my team in.” He lifted his left wrist to his mouth—right hand still holding the gun—and said, “Hey, man, I could use some backup. Southeast quadrant, the cell block.”

you can count on me - (steve/peggy)

Something settled in Steve’s chest as they went, the sharp edge of constant uncertainty dulled by Peggy’s presence.

[bonesandthebees]

haven't heard from me in a split second whoa :0

anygays i was going about my hyperfixation-brain filled day as one does when i thought of a question i wanted to ask you, seeing as recently you commented on how you missed your old stories

do you ever plan to revisit those universes? write in them again, or even just reveal something about them that we didn't know beforehand?

/genq /gencuri, not just because i'd kill for more clinic or world forgetting content lmaoooo

- 💫

heyyyyy I'm gonna ramble a bit about ideas here hope you don't mind

while I said I don't plan on fully rewriting any of my old stories like world forgetting, I'm definitely not opposed to writing more one shots in the universe. however, I'm trying to think of what in world forgetting's universe I'd be interested in writing. the only scene outside the main fic I ever really wanted to write was the crimeboys fight scene that led to tommy getting kidnapped by dream before the start of the fic, which I've already written and posted. I know people would probably want to see more from after the story ends but I really like leaving it up to reader's imaginations how things play out after the final chapter. I also don't feel like writing a proper prequel about how tommy joined the syndicate in the first place or anything. my interest primarily lies in the main storyline itself.

that really only leaves me with two options: rewriting chapters or filling in 'missing/deleted' scenes. I actually like the sound of both of those, although I don't know if I can think of any 'missing' scenes in the fic. like, there were definitely scenes I cut out, but the information conveyed in them either got brought up or changed later on making them non-canon to the story itself.

I do like the idea of rewriting an individual chapter. if I were to choose a chapter to rewrite I already know it would probably be ch 12. that was probably one of my favorite chapters in the entire story in terms of the plot events and how it's a huge turning point for tommy's mental state, but I definitely feel like I could've executed it better. maybe I'll do an experiment sometime and see if I can rewrite it. could be fun.

I also like the idea of possibly exploring a tiny bit of an au for WF (of my own au lol). I knew very early on I wanted most of the story to focus on tommy's strained relationships with sbi as he slowly regains his memories and their own shifting perspectives of the person they knew vs the person he is now, so it wouldn't have worked out to do it this way. but a part of me always wondered how things would've gone if wilbur hadn't removed tommy's lucid mask right after they kidnapped him from dream. what if they let him keep it on? what if sbi didn't find out he was their tommy right off the bat? how would that have changed the way tommy regained his memories? I feel like that could easily spin into something way bigger than I'd want to work on, but it's definitely an idea in the back of my head lol

anyway, tdlr; there's a few things I could do to write more in WF's universe and I might do that at some point, but no promise. as far as clinic goes, I feel like I've already said most of what I want to say with that world with all the side one shots I've already written for it.

[johaerys-writes]

[20 Question Fic Writer Tag]

tagged by @baejax-the-great thank you!

How many works do you have on AO3? As of now, 47.

What is your AO3 word count? 1,084,458

What fandoms do you write for? Currently neck-deep in my Patrochilles (Iliad/TSOA/Hades) obsession. But I've also written for Dragon Age (Pavelyan), Voltron (Sheith) and Castlevania (Trephacard, Lenector).

What are your top five fics by kudos? High-Flying Birds, Like Friends Do, Winter's Fruit, Jasmine and Yarrow, Where Blood Roses Bloom.

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I love responding to comments!! Even if it's just to say Thank you. I absolutely love rambling in my replies and getting into discussions about lore or characters' motivations and such. This is the fanfic experience at its best for me.

What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Honestly I'm not great with angsty endings haha. Even if the fic as a whole is very angsty, the ending tends to be happy. I think the fics with the saddest ending are Loyal To The End and The Wound That Never Heals, both Hector/Carmilla (Castlevania). Some people have told me they found the ending of At The Water's Edge quite bittersweet.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Now we're talking haha. Of my most recent ones, Twin Flames has a very sweet ending. Fall Into Your Tide also has a super hopeful ending, and another favourite is A Place To Be. I'm all about that comfort after the hurt babey.

Do you get hate on fics? I think I've only ever got hate once or twice? As far as I remember. I honestly couldn't care less about it, I forget it as soon as it happens lol.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Yessir. Not exactly sure what kind? Are there different kinds? I would say that my favourite to write is angsty smut with lots of complicated feelings. And also I do like sprinkling some kink here and there whenever I feel like it.

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? I've only ever written one crossover and I still love the fuck out of it, it's a Witcher/Dragon Age one with my OC Tristan Trevelyan and Dorian Pavus and it was sooooo fun to write oh my god. I would love to revisit that universe ngl!!

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of? Depends on what we mean by stealing. I have had parts of fics of mine lifted and used in other fanworks without credit, it wasn't great but it's been a little while since then and I haven't noticed anything else (not that I've gone looking though).

Have you ever had a fic translated? Yes! A super lovely person has been translating High-Flying Birds into Vietnamese.

Have you ever cowritten a fic before? Yes! I've cowritten several fics with friends and it's always so nice, I love working with other people.

What's your all-time favourite ship? Oof that's a tough question. If we go by number of fics written, it would have to be Patrochilles. If we go by number of words written, it would have to be Pavelyan (almost 450k 💀). If we go by number of fics I've read and bookmarked, it would have to be Sheith. So idk if I can give a straight and clear answer lol.

What's a WIP you'd like to finish but doubt you ever will? God I really do want to finish A World With You and I do think I will do it eventually, it's just that I know there's a LOT of it left and it's often really daunting. I also want to finish Where Blood Roses Bloom but, again, the plan I have in mind is kind of ambitious and it will take me a while to get there. Also, Blood Roses In The Snow is one I want to get back to, and that one would be easier to finish since there's only like a couple chapters left.

What are your writing strengths? Probably imagery, introspection, and I've also been told I write good action scenes!

What are your writing weaknesses? Dialogue, probably. It stresses me out the most haha. I also used to be able to write complex plots but it's gotten quite hard lately, idk why :(

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? I don't love it. I'm fine with a word here and there or even a phrase, as long as it's been sort of explained before or it's one that's widely recognised. I just feel like having a big chunk of untranslated dialogue in the middle of a story breaks immersion and I try to avoid it whenever I can.

First fandom you wrote for? Dragon Age, specifically Inquisition.

Favourite fic you've ever written? Noooo you can't make me choose, don't make me choose 😭 Damn that's tough. Twin Flames is still a huge favourite. A Place To Be is one I often come back to and I'm super proud of how it turned out. A World With You is the first fic I ever posted and the longest, I have spent so much time with it and it has a special place in my heart. And this might be cheating because it's my current fixation, but I feel like you're a walking disaster, and yet— is some of my best writing yet, I'm very fond of it.

Tagging forth to: @elveny @pikapeppa @mary-aries @darlingpoppet @pinkfadespirit @sketchass @starlightvld @petrowriting @in-arlathan @figsandphiltatos @heypax and anyone else who'd like to do this! (Also, if you don't want to be tagged for these memes let me know!)

[sentientcave]

WIP WEDNESDAY - 141 Paranormal Investigators

BEST TIME OF THE YEAR EVERY WEEK. WIP WEDNESDAY BAYBEE Had this silly idea for a fic where the lads are like, youtube ghost/monster hunters who get accidentally stranded in a weird American town. I haven't been working on it very much because I really want to get Impound done next but this is such a fun concept I really want to revisit it soon.

I have a lot more plotted out for it than I do for Impound but I'm not really a planner so who knows what I'll keep and what I'll toss. But feel free to ask me about it if you've got questions! I went on about this with everyone's favourite black cat, Morg, for like a full afternoon so I have a lot to say.

“— And while we didn’t find any sign of hauntings in this forgotten corner of Washington state, we did get to see some truly facinating peices of America’s history during the Gold Rush.” “Thanks for watching! Don’t forget to like and subscribe, and follow us here and here for more updates on our Great American Roadtrip!”

“Not bad, Si,” Gaz said, closing the laptop with a satisfied snap. “Once we get to the motel we can upload it.” “Do ye always have to use such unflatterin’ shots of me?” Johnny asked, pouting a little in the backseat next to Gaz. “I didnae do all that much yellin’, but from tha’ ye’d think it was all I was ever doin’.” “I’m jus’ givin’ the people what they want, Johnny,” Simon said, eyes laughing. “And it’s you wet, shirtless, scratched up and screamin’ bloody murder.” “I wasnae screamin’,” Johnny protested, running a hand over his shaggy mohawk. “I was just expressin’ myself.” “Loudly,” Gaz added, helpful as ever. “And in a very high frequency.” “Awa’ an’ bile yer heid, ye fuckin’ roaster. I wasnae screamin’.” “Sounded like screamin’ to me,” Price said, giving the two younger men in the backseat a stern look through the rearview mirror. “Now settle down. I’m not listenin’ to six more hours of this.” “Might be more’n tha’,” Johnny said, leaning forward, hooking a brawny arm over Simon’s shoulder, blue eyes scouting the valley below as they crested another bump in the road. “Traffic ahead. S’never a good sign when there’s vehicles lined up in the mountains.” “Bloody hell,” Price grumbled. “Why’s this country got to be so fuckin’ big?” “Where’s that bloody map?” Simon asked, yanking the glove box open. “Maybe there’s a way around.” “Might no’ be a good idea,” Johnny said uneasily. “We could get lost easy.” “You want to sit in fuckin’ inchin’ traffic for twelve hours?” Simon asked. “There’s a road off here—” He held up the map and jabbed his finger on a side road off the main highway. “Just before that bloody mess. It’ll be on the left— Take us up and around, looks like.” “Why is no one else takin’ it then?” Johnny asked, voice gaining the extra burr it always did preceding an increase in volume. He wasn’t shouting yet, but all three of the others knew the signs to look out for. “No one uses physical maps anymore,” Gaz said soothingly. “Maybe it got unlisted. Private road? If someone stops us we can always turn around.” “I’m takin’ it,” Price grunted, turning off of the paved asphalt road and onto the narrower gravel one. “I’d rather be movin’, at least. If I wanted to sit in traffic I’d drive around London.” “Oh suit yerselves.” Johnny pushed himself back into his seat and crossed his arms. “Don’t listen to the fella that actually grew up around anythin’ bigger than a hill. Noo, wouldnae wan’ ta do tha’.” “Relax, Soap.” Price used his stern teaching voice, the one that could command a rowdy hall of college students (most of whom only took his class because they thought it would be an easy credit) to be quiet and pay attention. “If we get lost you’ll get to gloat about bein’ right, how about that?” “Rather no’ get lost, but Ah suppose it’ll do.”

[brick-a-doodle-do]

For the FICS ask game → 6, 10, 17, & 18

Have a cookie 🍪 :D

6 : are there any fics from others you re-read all the time?

ghghhh honestly no not ALL the time but i do like rereading a lot of cory's little streamer stuff cause there's soooo much to sift through. i think this and this are the ones i run back to the most. if i re-read something it's always on a whim or something that i've read a LONG time ago and want to revisit :D

also for non g/t stuff i listen to passerine a lot because i have the audiobook for it downloaded on spotify. also i like reading the first few chapters of guided evolution every so often cause it's always so fun how tommy handles his new powers djfjfjdb

10 : is there a fic that got a different response than you were expecting?

hhh not really? i mean i guess the amount of notes on my 100+ noted fics are really surprising like i never intended for hush to do so well. usually i can guess the kind of response i can get based off of what kind of fic it is,,,,,

also i didn't expect wilbur chocolate to ever get a full plot. i thought MAYBE 2 chapters at max (after i'd started the first one,, it was supposed to be a funky 3 am idea) but now i am thinking maybe 4+ :D

17 : what's something you've learned about while doing research for a fic?

mmm i think the general answer would always be like wound stuff, like how someone would react to being stabbed in the heart rather than the arm or something,,,

i've learned a little bit about plants asw for some botany au's, superhero stuff for the batman au, and a LOT of superpowers,,, there was asian takeout manipulation on the list and i was like ????

18 : what's one of your favorite lines you've written in a fic?

aha i went looking for one of my fics and found a response to an ask game with the same question! so my answer remains the same

in a haha sense it would be "Wilbur is just a jealous, confused, tired man who doesn't have a real job and uses Spotify as an escape"

anddd in a more serious sense i really like "He had forgotten about Tommy’s piss-poor scheme of letting him bathe in the lie, fermenting it just right until it was inevitable that the betrayal would sting just a little bit more." from shroud you savior

but i haven't really read any of my fics lately so that could change !!

thank you for the ask and the cookies !!!!

ask game !!

[howtobecomeadragon]

7, 9, 19, 29, 35 for the writing ask thing :)

hello!!! sorry for getting to this so late, yikes haha. and thank you so much for asking!!!

7. what is your deepest joy about writing?

i like putting words together in ways that give me a little shiver. i like having a little plot and characterization puzzle to entertain myself with even when away from writing, trying to get everythingto fit just so. i like feeling pride at having finished a fic, a project. i like to imagine readers giggling and getting lost in my fics like i myself have done so many times as a reader before i was writing much. there's a lot of joy to writing 🙂

9. do you believe in ghosts?

i do not!! i haven't really experienced anything that's made me question that, but hey, if something happens that makes me wonder, i'm open to it.

19. tell me a story about your writing journey. when did you start? why did you start? were there bumps along the way? where are you now and where are you going?

my childhood dream career was always becoming an author. i read a lot and that translated to wanting to write stories too. i wrote a lot as a kid, and then stopped entirely until after i graduated college. i tried writing a story a couple years after that, and never got more than 10k words in. i stopped writing again until last september when i finally decided to hop on the fanfic train and i've been writing regularly since then. i think fanfic was just an easier method of writing, with characters i already love and less pressure of wondering whether i could ever truly publish the story i'd been working on. fanfic is just fun. maaaaybe someday i'll try to revisit writing a novel, but i'm having a ton of fun doing what i'm doing now 😊

29. where do you draw your inspiration? what do you do when the inspiration well runs dry?

i draw inspiration from fics i'd want to read myself, thoughts about my own life, other stories i've read. when the inspiration well runs dry, i tend to just stop and walk away for a few days. i never outline or do much planning so i'm often just coming up with ideas as i go along and sometimes need some time to let the ideas marinade as i figure out how the story works together and what should happen next! i often just need time and space.

35. what's your favorite writing rule to smash into smithereens?

well, as mentioned above, i do not plan or outline. i don't plan character arcs or what happens one chapter down the line or what conflicts pop up. i just go with the flow and somehow everything usually just lines up, whether it takes massive rewrites of earlier chapters or sitting for a week with no progress as i figure out what tf happens next. sometimes i'll just write a throwaway line of what a character is thinking and that ends up changing the direction the fic quite a bit. it is chaotic and frustrating at times but works for me!

questions from this post!

[rahleeyah]

i shall dub myself your d.c. anon. first time asker, long time reader. I have some thoughts and wanted to share and get your perspective on some things… (this might be a long one)

1- I loveeee your bunny. we have wild rabbits in our neighborhood and it’s the best part of my day when I get home

2- your fics are just ::chefs kiss:: I literally can’t read them until your done bc I just want updates right away and I can’t wait. did I mention I livedddd for the epilogue of monsters?!

3- svu/oc have been so much better this season esp with the new sr on svu and the moving on from the casino story line on oc BUT why do you think it’s so hard for us to even get a mention from the characters that they are even in each other’s lives from the sr?

for example, if fin walked into Olivia’s office and she was hanging up the phone and mentioned to fin that it was stabler and they were talking more and working on things. And then just move on with the episode.

I know we got a little last week from Elliot and Amanda but I’m just genuinely curious. I completely understand the limitations of money, time, problems with syndication when it comes to crossovers, sr turnover, etc. and I’m not one to just complain but even just a mention would cost nothing but would make so many ppl happy.

I have more thoughts but I’ll leave it here for now. I’ll be back soon!

hello dc anon!!! welcome aboard lovely to hear from you lmao

sammy says thank youuuuuuu lol he is the cutest it must be said. i do love bunnies so much so thank you for this

oh my god thank you so much?? i'm so glad that you're enjoying the work, and i'm super excited that you got to read the monster epilogue. i don't often revisit fics once they're done but that seemed like a fun thing to do, and i really enjoyed it

i actually haven't been loving oc, it's felt a lil off to me; like last season oc felt to me like the stronger of the two by a long shot, but this season svu is really pulling away. mr david really knows what he's doing and i've really been enjoying the changes. all i can do is speculate about why we haven't heard anything about eo talking to each other outside the shows; i like to think it's bc we're building towards something. a confrontation, maybe. a festivus level airing of grievances that would require them to have still not spoken about a lot of things so that they could explode about those things in our faces. i think they're trying to leave the door open on what eo's relationship looks like right now so that when they pick a direction to go in they aren't shoe-horned in by something they've already written. that may be wishful thinking on my part tho lol

[ovaryacted]

Questions 3 and 30 for the ask game <3

Also hiiiii nic, how've you been? 🩷🩷 I'm so glad the ask box is open again. I hope you are feeling better since you said you were really busy a while ago, if I remember correctly?

Also OH MY GOD THEY WEREN'T KIDDING WHEN THEY SAID COLLEGE LIFE WAS WILDD 😭😭 ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO DATING 💀 tell me why I met this boy and got into a relationship with him after an embarassingly short amount of time, then he lovebombed me, had a mental breakdown, got bored and attempted to fake his own death 😭😭 safe to say we're over, though I'm still a little worried about his mental health lmaoo. It's a shame though, I thought I met my brunette version of Leon Kennedy irl, he was really sweet and dorky and all I could ask for. But whatever, life goes on. I think I might quit dating real men until I graduate tho 💀💀 Leon and Chris it is until then!

Sorry if this felt like a rant, but it was too hilarious not to share 😭😭 I hope you're having better luck with real men than I am nic 🥲 it's okay tho, who needs some crazy Texan nerd when Leon Scott Kennedy is right there?

Also, if you have any vague details to share about your upcoming fics, please do! I always stalk your blog for updates, your writing is just that good!! I can be patient though, no pressure. I hope you're having lovely writing time :3

Take care pookie, sending lots of love <3

-🌑

writer ask game

Omg hey new moon anon! It's always so nice to hear from you. 🫶 I'm doing alright for the most part, dealing with migraines so that's fun but I'm handling it. I hope you're doing good too. And yeah, I was busy and a little burnt out from answering all of those asks for like a week straight so I closed my ask box to regroup, but I'm more energetic now so that's good!

#3. how do you feel about your current WIP?

Oh my current WIP is a pain in the ass LMAOO. I've been working on it for like a month on and off and I'm about to revisit it today and re-edit it completely. Sometimes I think I overstress myself about writing certain things because I'm a perfectionist and want to put out stuff that I am happy with, but I'm really hoping I get this done. It's the first chapter of my series, which is hilarious cause I've been drafting this idea out for like 6 months and I still haven't uploaded it. I will though, eventually, I'm just scared about putting it out into the world since it's something I've planned so thoroughly.

#30. share a fic you're especially proud of

I believe I've answered this already but definitely One Of Those Days simply because of how cohesive it is and how easy it was to write. It's one of my favorite things that I've written, and because lord knows I want a dilf to take care of me after a stressful day so it's personal.

Now college boys? Babe, as someone older I'm going to tell you, stay away from them boys at school. Obviously, have fun and be safe duh, but don't let these LEWSERS derail you from your education. I'm sorry that happened though seriously, being lovebombed is the absolute worst thing ever, but he sounds crazy for that like. Don't think that what happened determines your worth romantically, believe me, you will be okay. <3

As for me? I haven't had a man within 6 feet of me in 2 years by choice HAHA. They just get dumber and dumber and frankly I don't want to be stressed so I choose to keep my peace, I can't deal with another dating horror story and trust me I've had plenty. Celibacy does get annoying though, I feel like as you get older, your hormones get out of wack and every ovulation cycle gets more intense. I'm literally at my limit but I'm trying to stay strong and not let the voices get to me. May break my celibacy this summer, I'm feeling reckless, but nobody is a #realfucker like me so I'd rather save myself the dissapointment. Sadly, real men are nothing like the fictional ones we all thirst over, so we must all suffer booo.

And as for my fic ideas, I have a lot written down and I'm actually deviating from Leon Kennedy because I'm fixating over Chris Redfield so I'll tell you some of the things I want to write for him in particular!

Essentially, I have a DDLG fic idea I want to crank out with Chris and it kind of extended to me wanting to create a mini universe of Chris and his sub partner just navigating life and learning more about kinks and how to grow in a dom/sub dynamic. I originally wanted to do that with Leon, but the ideas I had just didn't fit his characterization naturally in my head, it felt forced. And now that I've been doing a fuck ton of character analysis and plotting with Chris, my brain changed and everything that didn't fit Leon fits Chris in my head (because they're foils of each other). So yeah, I'm definitely planning on doing that, probably several different one shots about Chris and his gf in a dom/sub partnership and how they explore it together, and they can all be read as stand-alones or in the same "universe" type of deal.

I'm still hesitant cause of how people think about DDLG as a whole and how they view Chris, but I'm just learning to not give a fuck anymore and post it anyway. :)

[hyeque]

RISU. I have been marinating in your tags all day. And let me just say I LOVE YOU SM?!? on both your tags for my akaashi and ushijima fics... there's a lot to unpack SO firstly,

WE ARE READER. i have only recently considered annotating with transparent post-it notes but honestly I like my books looking 'unread'. BUT ALSO YES. so, pretty much all of those books are books I have read!!

1Q84 - I've read MANY Murakami books but I always really liked this one!! There are definitely some uh, adult themes that people might not vibe with in Murakami books and I get that but overall I LOVE his worlds.

Night Circus - I'm actually halfway done with this book and I really, really like it so far!

Love in the time of Cholera - my ultimate favorite book, probably? I actually lended my copy to my bf when we had first started dating.

Before The Coffee Gets Cold - I have not read this yet but I want to!!

Memoirs of A Polar Bear - I picked and read this book and a whim and I liked that it was literally a generational book on this polar bear family. My bf and I are in a LDR and this was one of the first books I chose for our little book club. The other book he chose was Circe, WHICH I HAVEN'T READ YET BUT HAVE HEARD GREAT THINGS ABOUT.

ANYWAY, that honestly warms my heart so much that this is probably your favorite piece of my writing??! I wasn't feeling confident about writing for akaashi because I don't feel like I have a strong grasp on his character BUT it made my day to read that. :'))))

SECONDLY, so sorry for making you hungry whenever you read my fics!! i literally have another wip for komori and it's literally pasta night LOL so. but of course I had to throw in some tendou crumbs! i feel like my fics aren't complete without referencing another character lol. ooo, but honestly lemonade from scratch sounds SO SO GOOD. and takes me back to when I was a kid collecting lemons in our yard to make lemonade in the summer :'))

This got really long BUT, I just want you to know that I love you and I super appreciate your tags in a way that I don't think I could articulate well in words. I just get filled with warm fuzzies and stuff when i see your name pop up in my notifs <3 <3

LAURA MY BELOVED ‼️💗💗💗 i’m so sorry for not replying right away, my fatigue got the best of me and i literally passed out and went to sleep in the middle of cleaning.

but literally ilysm, and yanno i gotta tell you how much i adore u and your writing all the time LMAO but i totally feel you about akaashi’s characterization bc he’s quite complex sometimes imo. but the way you wrote him was so seamless and (perhaps he reminds you of your boyfriend in ways?) makes sm sense.

i never thought of giving transparent post it notes a go, so i’ll have to revisit that idea bc at least that can make things somewhat neater (? idk if that makes sense) and i also like placing color coded markers (for like quotes, or new words, characters introduced, etc).

i’m going to write these books down and check them out! i haven’t read solid books in a good minute (only manga lol) and if you say they’re good then i just know they’ll be amazing !! i think that it is absolutely adorable that you and your boyfriend have a little book club, that sounds like literally a scene out of a movie <3

omg pasta w komori sounds lovely !! i love pasta a lot and haven’t read for komori so i’m excited to see how you do your boy justice !! i think it’s always lovely to reference other characters and i do the same bc it just seems natural to hehe <3 but ty for the tendo crumbs !! making homemade lemonade is fun, i haven’t done it in awhile but it’s therapeutic to just make something, yanno ? :0

i appreciate leaving tags behind on ur work and that they make you happy !! you deserve the love bc you write the most beautiful things and the world deserves to know!! i’m gonna finish your ushi series tomorrow and can’t wait to read the rest of it ! ilysm laura dearest <3

[syuga-s]

As long as we are together, even the endless maze is paradise.

w.c 1.8k

pairing. Changkyun x gn!reader

genre. fluff, still dont know how to classify it but it’s my take on relationships in real life(?)

a/n. mention of svt members <3, this takes place on the universe(?) of the fic i have in progress, got excited and went for this lil scenario, i'll always try to make them as gender-neutral as possible, hope you enjoy (• ε •)

You finally had gotten off work. This shift had been unbelievably chaotic and you couldn’t wait any longer to get home. But of course, it’s raining, today of all days.

Adding the fact that Chloe’s been extremely unpleasant today. You’ve been on bad terms for a while now since she found out about you and Vernon.

You clocked out at the same time and she just wanted to get on your nerves. But you were past being this immature, especially when it came to a guy you haven’t seen since you graduated.

"Just go already, Chloe". 

With that, you went to exit the building and that's when you saw Minghao waiting for a cab –in the rain–.

You tried to get Minghao's attention, so he could get inside with you but you both just ended up at the door frame barely safe from the rain. You hugged even though he was soaking.

You didn’t mind because you haven't seen him in years, and you didn't know you missed the way you felt when you were with him. Strangely so, his hug felt like being 17 again. Can’t tell if it’s a good or bad thing.

You made some small talk about the weather and teased him for standing in the rain. “Are you shooting a music video or something?”

He laughed but quickly changed the subject, "I hope you've been good, I haven't seen you in years but you look really happy".

How can he still be this good at reading me? You could only smile to the ground and gave him a side hug. "I've really missed you Hao; hope you’re doing well too". 

Suddenly, his phone started to ring, and you caught a glimpse of the screen before he asked you "Mind if I answer?" Wonwoo was calling him. "Not at all, go ahead!" You told him with a smile.

Not to be nosy but you wanted to hear this conversation. "I've been waiting for you to pick me up for almost an hour dumbass, are you aware that it's fucking RAINING?"

And of course, you couldn't hear the other person on the line, but you knew perfectly he must've been making a hell of an excuse. "Right, yes, I'm still here, no I'm not alone… just hurry I'm freezing". 

Guess it was inevitable that you'll see Wonwoo in a few minutes.

You broke up more than three years ago and haven't seen him since then. You’re more than ready to rip the band-aid. You didn't exactly end on bad terms, but maybe some awkwardness is still laying in there. Actually, you haven't thought about him in a while. You started to wonder how has he been all this time.

"I thought you were waiting for a cab Hao!! I can still give you a ride if you want"

"Aw y/n no, don't worry about it, I'm going out with the guys, so I'll have to take you up on that offer another time"

"Alright then, you have to promise me we'll catch up soon, it’s been too long”.

It was as if the world was telling you to wrap it up because you saw a very familiar car approaching the street, and immediately your phone started ringing too.

You saw that it was almost 9:00 P.M. Changkyun hasn't got here? You signaled Minghao that you were going to answer your phone and got inside the building again.

"Hi my baby!!! I'm sorry for running late the guys got me caught up at work BUT I AM ALREADY ON THE WAY I'LL SEE YOU IN LITERALLY TWO MINUTES"

You could hear how worried your boyfriend was and it was so endearing that you couldn't help but laugh at the way he was screaming in the car.

"It's okay baby I ran into someone here at work too, I got distracted and didn't notice the time, but please DRIVE SAFE IT’S RAINING BUT ALSO hurry upppp” You ended up with a pout as if he could see your expression.

"I'm hurrying I swear!!! —YES — your man has arrived at the destination". “Ok, ‘my man’ needs to come get me please” he made you laugh at his words. “I'm here at the door BYE"

With that, you went outside again, and you couldn't have imagined that you would see all these guys in front of you EVER AGAIN. Nor that they would get out of the car just to say hello to you. But maybe that's your mistake cause they have always been friends, still after everything that happened.

So, there they were, Wonwoo, Jihoon, Chan, Jun, and Minghao. All eyes on you, all of them waiting for the other to talk to you first, but everyone noticed how your eyes immediately went to Wonwoo and you both smiled at each other. Jihoon was happy that you made eye contact with him, even though he noticed there was nothing for him behind your eyes.

You were the first one to talk. 

"Hey there you guys, Hao told me you were going out!" You said while looking at Chan. "Yeah, we're headed to the Lucky 94!!"

"Want to join us?" You heard Jun ask, and before you could say no, your knight in shining armor shouted your name. "BABYYYY!!" Yes, your official name is baby, what about it? 

All of you turned to the left side of the street where Changkyun was power walking to you. It came as a surprise to all of them, no one knew you were in a relationship at the moment, but after all these years they should've known, they knew how private you were about your entire life. 

When Changkyun got by your side he just wrapped his hand in yours and flashed all the guys in front of him one of his prettiest smiles. As if he didn't look threatening as fuck.

Your love for him was only growing by the second. "Guys this is my boyfriend Changkyun, unfortunately, I have to deny your offer tonight because we already have plans, but I hope we see each other again soon!”

"It's okay y/n we can plan something another time, you look really good by the way" Wonwoo finally spoke and Changkyun tightened his grip on you.

"Thank you Wonwoo, have fun tonight. It was nice to see all of you" Having said this, your eyes landed on Jihoon, who was now leaning against the car, ready to get away from there.

Maybe at another point in your life, you would've sensed something negative by seeing him in this circumstance. But all you could find inside you was a trace of the love you had for him when you were a teenager. 

You quickly decided that you wouldn’t give him this space in your head. Neither of you deserved to revisit those feelings that you already went through years ago. 

Especially now when you have this wonderful person by your side, it wasn't a coincidence that he got there at this exact moment. Making you appreciate the little things he does for you that say, “I’m here, and I care so deeply about you”. Your life with Changkyun has intertwined so profoundly that everything comes easy with him.

You all said your goodbyes, and you started walking to the parking lot. You got to your boyfriend’s car, but you didn’t get inside just yet, Changkyun stared at you and your eyes told him everything he needed to know. Your boyfriend swiftly wrapped you up in a much-needed hug.

Since he called you, he knew something was going on, he has gotten good at sensing the way you were feeling. In moments like this, you were happy to know that his heart was as invested in you as you were with him. He softly spoke in your ear “Let’s get inside baby, it’s cold as hell in here”.

He opened your door, and you waited for him to get inside. You searched for his embrace once again, his arms made you feel so at home that you were glad he came to get you tonight, and you had to let him know this. “Today was hard,” You said, still clinging to his arms, not minding the incredibly uncomfortable pose you got yourself into just so you could be hugged by your boyfriend for a few more minutes. “Thanks for picking me up tonight”

“You know that I would come for you every day if you just let me, you stubborn baby” You laughed against his chest and gave him a light punch at this arm. “Hey, hey let’s not get violent in here, I’m sensitive,” He told you while laughing and ended up with a tender kiss to the top of your head. 

You don’t know much, but you do know you love him. When he smiles like this, the world seems to fade away with all your problems, and he’s all you can see. Every time he’s singing in the car on your way home, the outside noise doesn’t even exist anymore. All you want to do is grab his face and kiss him, but that would mean he’d stop singing. And when he looks at you with those beautiful brown eyes, when he places his hand on yours, when he lets you rest your head in his chest, and listen to the beat of his heart, just his mere existence makes you believe that you found this little piece of heaven within him.

The love you were always searching for, you found it with him. No one else had been able to make you feel like you were bursting with love, and you always believed that that needed to happen for you to be in a relationship with someone. You always knew that love isn’t meant to be hard, nor it makes you lose the person that you are. For you, it was about sharing your souls, goals, and perspectives, cause when the time to be together would come, your lives would already be made, and you would just be together supporting each other, still maturing. And that this person would only make you feel safe, happy, and loved. Changkyun was your definition of love.

Your relationship with him made you further confirm this. You thought it would scare you to be vulnerable around him but opening your heart to him was one of the easiest things you’ve ever done. You’re aware you were complete without him. And he knew this. But being by his side, experiencing life with him, made you want to be so much better. You only wanted to support him every step of the way. It made you want to be stronger with him. You wanted both of you to grow together and help each other grow individually. And the fact that he was on the same page with you about this, knowing that you don’t need each other but you really fucking want to be together, makes you think you have a pretty great shot at this. 

You know, undoubtedly, you are in love with this man. And it feels a hundred times better to know he loves you too. 

[shimmershae]

Waltzing might have stalled (for the moment), but all the words and worlds crowding my brain haven't.  Wanna have a look-see at some of the other little Caryl drabble-verses I'm considering turning into their own full-fledged stories (eventually)?  Here you go.  Tell me which one(s) you'd most like to revisit.

First up, the AU Caryl married fic where they raise Sophia.  And a puppy. 

 1. 

 “Please, Mom.” 

 “Sophia,” Carol warned. 

 “But it was an accident, Mom.  He didn’t mean to.” 

 “Tell that to my begonias.” 

 She heard a snort behind her, and she whirled around to glare at her husband.  He was just as complicit in the laundry list of crimes as her twelve-year-old.  He didn’t know it yet, but he would pay.  “Daryl, don’t even.” 

 “Didn’t say nothing.”  He grinned, edged a little closer, penned her in against the counter.  “You know you want it, Sweetheart.”   

 “Mommy,” Sophia pleaded. 

 Three pairs of puppy dog eyes stared at her until she folded, completely melted. 

 “Okay.” 

***

“Daryl, have you seen my favorite…” 

 Daryl tried to hide the chewed-up shoe behind his back, but it was too late.  She’d already spotted it. 

 “Where is he?”

 “Sweetheart, just remember.  Harvey’s still a puppy.  He don’t know no better.”

 “Harvey Dent Dixon!” 

 Sophia appeared behind her mother, their happily slobbering new addition cradled in her arms. 

 Daryl tried to warn her away with his eyebrows, but he didn’t marry no fool.  His wife whirled around and angrily wagged her finger beneath the puppy’s nose.  

 “How do I even put up with you?”

 “Mom!”

 “We should have named you Wreck-It-Ralph.” 

 ***

 “Harvey, you know you’re not supposed to be in the bed.”

 The puppy responded to her half-hearted scolding with a sweetly pathetic whine and a broad swipe of his pink tongue across her chin, burrowing beneath the blankets with her and flopping down in an exhausted heap. 

 Caught between a giggle and a sigh, Carol merely smiled and opened her eyes, thankful her husband and daughter were at soccer practice and not bearing witness to her utter failure disciplining the little obedience school dropout.  “Oh, you.”

 Harvey’s tail thumped lazily. 

 “I have a secret.  Two, actually.  Promise not to tell?”    

 ***

“You can’t just hug me and think everything’s okay.” 

 Daryl peeled back, let his arms fall to his sides.  His blue eyes darted over to Sophia, but the preteen was looking elsewhere, anywhere but at them. 

 Harvey was flopped down between her daughter’s bare feet, his tongue lolling, mouth panting as he tilted his head this way and that, happily, tiredly unrepentant for the latest episode of chaos.

 “Help me out here, Soph.” 

 “It looked dead.” 

 “Weren’t, though.  How’s I s’posed to know Mama and Pa would go all Commando on us?  Fucking squirrels.” 

 Carol snorted out a laugh.  “Daryl!” 

 ***

“No more dogs.  How hard is it to understand?” 

 “Really?” Carol sighed as her husband mimicked her oft-repeated words.  Twisting in her seat to face him, at least as much as the seatbelt cinched snug across her hips would allow, she challenged, “C’mon.  You can do better than that, Pookie.” 

 Behind them, Sophia giggled. 

 Catching his stepdaughter’s eyes in the reflection of the rear-view mirror, Daryl narrowed his eyes.  “Traitor.” 

 Sophia grinned, stretching out her legs and wiggling her socked feet between them, her smelly socked feet. 

 “Sophia!  Shoes back on!” 

 “What your mom said.” 

 “Technically, it’s a kitten.” 

 “Pfft.” 

 ***

 “You fell asleep in the tub?”

 “Third time this week,” Sophia piped up oh-so-helpfully, fingers tightening in Harvey’s collar when he made another playful lunge at their newest family member.    

 Coined Poison Ivy by her feline-averse husband, the kitten squeaked.  Blue eyes huge, just as wet and bedraggled as Carol thanks to this latest disastrous romp, it shivered and snuggled itself into the open vee of her robe. 

 “Third time, huh?”

 “Not now,” Carol frowned.  “Sophia.  Take Harvey outside.  Let him chase some real squirrels.” 

 “But Mom…” 

 “Please?”

 Once alone, Daryl reached for her.   “Something you wanna tell me, Sweetheart?” 

 ***

 Eyeing her husband’s pale face warily, her bottom lip tucked between her teeth, Carol murmured, “Did you hear…” 

 Daryl staggered a little on his feet, hands fumbling to find the edge of their mattress, just flopped there like a fish out of water.  Still looking a little stunned, he nodded at her when she made her careful approach. 

 Smiling hopefully when his hands found her waist, Carol tenderly brushed his hair back from his forehead.  “Use your words.” 

 “A baby?  You’re…” 

 “I’m...” 

 “Holy shit, Sweetheart.  We’re living in a sitcom.”    

 “Daryl!” 

 Frightened from her doze, Ivy mewed plaintively. 

 “Cat agrees.” 

 **************************************************

 Second, the AU where Carol and Daryl are partners.  Purely platonic.  Or are they?

2. 

 “Bed, Soph.  Now.” 

 “Fine.” 

 “Love you.” 

 “Sure.” 

 “Teenagers,” Carol muttered, falling back against her bedroom door.  Kicking her heels off, she bent to peel the stockings from her legs, made short work of her blouse and skirt.  She was down to her underwear and thigh holster before she realized she wasn’t alone. 

 “Keep going, Partner.” 

 “Fuck!  Dixon!  Is there a reason you’re naked in my bed?” 

 “Exterminators, remember?”    

 She took off her gun, turned on the bedside lamp, rolled her eyes at the erection tenting the sheet pooled around his waist.  “Seriously?” 

 He shrugged, grinned.  “Happens.”    

 “Stay on your side." 

  ***

Thing about Mason was, she was fun to fuck with.  And Daryl?  He loved fucking around.  Both in the bedroom, and…well.  Barring the field, everywhere really. 

 She’d left her bra on.  Sexy little number.  Just a lacy shadow against her pale, freckled skin. 

 His hands, body burned with the need to touch that skin, touch her.  He didn’t.  Didn’t trust himself not to take them both down a long, dark road that would consume them both.  Didn’t want to put their partnership on the line that way, but fuck.  She was right there.  He groaned. 

 “My name isn’t Leslie…who’s Leslie?” 

 ***

Carol rolled over, glared at her uninvited bedmate.  “Answer me, Dixon.  Who the fuck is Leslie?” 

 His smirk was slow.  Sly.  “Why?  You jealous?”  He deftly avoided her attempt to knee him in the nuts, pulled her leg over his hip instead. 

 “Dixon.” 

 Heeding her warning, he let her go.  “Relax.  Been watching tv with your ball-busting daughter.” 

 Carol softened.  “She loves that show.” 

 “Yeah, well.  Didn’t do much for me.” 

 “Your taste is questionable at best.” 

 “Mine?  What about yours?” 

 “Excuse me?” 

 “Your UPS man wear his little shorts on your date?” 

 “Dixon.” 

 “…” 

 “Scoot over a little bit, please.” 

  ***

“Quit moving.  I’m trying to sleep.  Wait.  Are you…what?!” 

 Daryl’s hand stilled under the sheet just long enough for him to hiss, groan.  “Jesus, Mason.  Think you can stop screaming in my ear?”  That was absofuckinglutely the wrong thing to say because those blue eyes flashed and caught fire, and shit.  Shit.  His hand quickly went from tugging his dick to shielding it as his partner’s small hands balled into fists, and she growled.  She fucking growled.  He was equal parts terrified and turned on.  Alright.  More like 60% terrified, 40%...

 “My kid’s…” 

 “14 going on 40 and not here.” 

  **************************

Third, teen besties Caryl AU where they both grew up with absent parents and found each other early on. 

 3. 

 “We really doing this silent treatment shit?  S’not my fault they only had one room.” 

 Carol heaved her duffel on top of the bed with a roll of her eyes, started digging through it like it held the secrets of the fuckin’ universe. 

 He wished.  Some last hurrah this was turning out to be.  Stuck in Bumfuck, Nowheresville in this Bates Motel wannabe.  With a best friend who’d sooner rip his nuts off than utter a civil word.  “Got a beer in there?” 

 “…” 

  “Shit.  Sorry.  Jesus.”

 “…”

 “Is that…That’s my shirt.  So is that…wait.”   

 “…” 

 “S’Walsh, right?  You crushin’ on me, Sweetheart?" 

 ***

 He was almost asleep, first decent forty winks he’d managed since they’d started this trash-fire trip when he heard it:  a blood-curdling scream worthy of this place’s whole Psycho ambience. 

 “Daryl!”

 The bathroom door bounced against the wall when he burst through it, practically broke his nose on the rebound, but that was all beside the point.  Two steps inside, and Carol was in his arms.  Shaking, still squealing, naked as the day she was fuckin’ born.  “Shh.  Got ya.  S’alright.  Somebody…shit.” 

 “Kill it.” 

 “A roach?  Seriously?  Thought you were bein’ murdered.” 

 “It’s prehistoric…what?” 

 “You’re so clingy.  I love it.” 

 ***

 They checked out, ended up at some Waffle House knock-off a half mile down the road that smelled like grease and maple syrup. 

 Daryl had already demolished his burger, was on the second refill of his shake before he addressed the huge fuckin’ pink elephant in the room.  “So, I saw you naked.  No big deal.” 

 Carol tugged at one of her wet curls.   “Great.  What every girl wants to hear.” 

 “Yeah, well.  Waxing poetic or some shit ‘bout your world class tits would only make things weird.” 

 “World class, huh?” 

 “Fuck.” 

 “Sharing is caring.  Now, give me your fries.” 

 ***

 “Oh.  Did I scare you, big boy?” 

 His fingers still fumbling with his half-zipped fly, Daryl scowled.  “Fuck off.” 

 Carol sighed, gathered her loose curls in one hand, lifted them from her sweaty neck.  “Would you relax?  I didn’t even see anything.” 

 Daryl remained skeptical.  “Sure?”

 This time, Carol rolled her eyes.  “Yes, I’m sure.   Want me to tear the hinges off a bathroom door next time?” 

 Daryl’s ears burned with the pointed reminder, and he joined her on the truck’s old tailgate, cast his eyes to the evening sky, their surroundings.  It was too…

 “Children of the Corn.” 

 “Stop.” 

 ***

 Fourth, Sophia finds herself in a spot of trouble. 

 4. 

“Quit stalling.  Where’s your father?” 

 Beside her, Sophia moaned into the cover of her hands.  “Mom, please.  It’s not Cade’s fault.” 

 Feeling her blood pressure tick up another notch, Carol wryly reminded her teen daughter, “Of course not.  I paid attention in health class.  It takes two.” 

 “Which makes it both their faults.” 

 The screen door slammed shut behind the man as he belatedly joined the fray, and Carol did a double take.  “Daryl?” 

 The boy’s shoulders lifted defiantly, but his blue eyes still looked just as worried. 

 “You’re Cade’s father?” 

 “Uncle,” Daryl clarified. 

 “This keeps getting better and better.” 

  ***

 Finally, because this post is too long and I'm going to have to do another one, AU.  Carol and Daryl are two neighbors not-so-secretly pining over each other, and the waiting game for one of them to make a move is killing Carol’s visiting friend Aaron.  He decides to help things along. 

  5.   

  “Hold my hand so he gets jealous.” 

 “What?  But you’re, well.”  Her cheeks almost as red in that moment as her hair, Carol couldn’t even sputter out the word. 

 Aaron, as always, was quick to bail her out of the awkward moment.  Hiding his smirk in her mad cap of curls, he took her hand in his own and pulled her against his side, ushering her quickly down the hallway to her apartment door while her neighbor—her hot, adorably awkward, single, and undeniably interested neighbor—watched.  “What Dixon doesn’t know…” 

 “But…” 

 “No buts.  Just play along.” 

 “He watching?” 

 “Definitely.” 

[seyaryminamoto]

I've been browsing your blog for Sokkla research as I feel like it has similarities to what I'm trying to write with Azula and Soren. I haven't begun tackling Gladiator yet, as it looks a little daunting, but I feel I should since I keep hearing so much. I am a little hesitant over accidentally using anything you wrote for my own story. I'd be proud if I could make it as long and epic as yours. It's very personal to me. What motivated you to write Gladiator and keep writing for so long?

Yeah, I saw your post about your crossover ship having potential similarities with Sokkla and I agree that it would, since Soren shares a few traits with Sokka, character-wise. Admittedly, Azula interacting with a character like Soren would present quite a lot of fun possibilities, so it seems to be an idea worth exploring :)

As for reading Gladiator and accidentally using similar tropes… well, I don’t know if it will ease your mind much, but there are several tropes that I’ve run into in many Sokkla fics, mine, other people’s, just… lots of them xD and it’s not really a problem. Storytelling can lead to similar places, but usually, every writer handles their tropes and character development differently.

My plan for a certain, poignant scene in Gladiator’s 96th chapter was set in stone in my head back when I started plotting the fic (like I said in that ask I answered yesterday). The scene in question is one I depicted in some artworks for Gladiator’s second anniversary: Sokka defeats Azula in combat for the first time, pins her down, aims his sword at her, and they just stare at each other before things take a pretty heated twist...

A few months after planning this, I read another fic where practically the same thing happened between them (it’s a Spanish fic, I hadn’t tried reading it yet because it was incomplete, sometimes I still scold the writer in question for never finishing it), only, rather than it happening when they could no longer resist the attraction between them, it happened when they were barely getting to know each other: Azula followed Sokka into a forest clearing, where he was training on his own. Upon noticing someone was hiding in the bushes, he leaps at her and pins her down, aiming his sword at her as well. Of course, he freaks out upon realizing it’s her, she isn’t very happy, and no heated things happen other than a lot of blushing, especially on her part xD

So, as you can see, even if the trope is “Sokka holds Azula down, at swordpoint”, the context was entirely different, the outcome was completely different and heck, the wording and even language we used was 100% different.  I came up with the idea for Gladiator before reading Majesty, later on I found out that someone had written a very similar scene already (and it was a close associate of mine, no less xD). As much as I didn’t feel like I was all that original anymore… I didn’t change my plans because of that. As long as I didn’t pull a Cassandra Clare and copy-pasted the whole scene my friend wrote into Gladiator, where was the harm in trying my own hand at it? I wrote the tropey situation in my own way, with my own words, and it’s completely my own thing.

There was something else that happened with Gladiator, another friend read it and thought I was taking inspiration for my portrayal of Sokka and Azula from a couple in a TV show she loved. Turns out I’d heard about the show, but I hadn’t watched it until she nudged me enough to do it (no regrets!), and after watching it I understood where the similarities were, but the context was all different. More than that, a certain situation (Sokka admitting his love for Azula for the first time, she asks him to say it again) was close enough to what happened between the main couple in said TV show…

… But I actually had been inspired by another couple, in ANOTHER TV show, that had a slightly similar exchange too xD

Therefore, tropes are tropes. I’ve recycled so many tropes in so many things I’ve written that people could probably psychoanalyze me and figure out all my brain chemistry damn easily if they did. I tend to have a very particular structure when writing, too (the original story I wrote and finished had 3 parts, Gladiator has 3 parts too, to name the most superficial similarity only), and I’ve frequently explored similar topics in them. It’s hardly a crime to do it again, but as long as you do it in a unique way, there’d be no harm in testing how some tropes would turn out with Soren and Azula. It could be worrisome if you portrayed Soren reacting to events exactly the same way Sokka does, but that’s not very likely to happen. As similar as they can be, they’re also different in several ways and in the post where you compared them you seemed to see those differences pretty clearly.

Therefore, I don’t think there’s any real harm in trying your hand at certain tropes and situations. If the context is different, if there’s logic to what you’re writing, and of course, as long as you write it yourself, there’s absolutely no need to worry about repeating things other people have done before.

That being said, don’t feel pressured to read Gladiator at all. I’m glad people have recommended it, but I understand if it feels not only daunting but that maybe you won’t be sure what to write if you see all the stuff I’ve done so far. Gladiator is many things, and one of them is my playground for testing Sokka and Azula’s relationship in just about every way I can xD it’s so long that I’ve been free to play with all sorts of possibilities with them, to fulfill all my shippiest wishes for these two. Therefore, if you’d rather be true to your own ideas and not get too influenced by it, it’s absolutely understandable not to read it until you feel comfortable about giving it a shot (presumably, once you’ve plotted plenty of own story and feel like you won’t be at risk of taking too much inspiration from it).

As for what motivates me… well, I guess there were many factors. One of them is that Gladiator was an idea worth digging into, with so much to explore that I was completely overwhelmed by the possibilities and I got completely caught up in it. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted the story to exist, so I decided I needed to make it happen. As it’s practically a full re-write of ATLA’s storyline, I had a chance to just… handle everything on my terms. And that meant the developments I didn’t like from the show could change: I could improve on things I thought needed improvements, I could add things that I felt the show needed, and so on and so forth. There were nearly no limits, really, and as I was absolutely lost in the beauty and glory of my OTP, I couldn’t help myself and I decided to dive right in.

It helps a lot that Gladiator’s kind of a multi-faceted thing: as I’ve been developing my art too, whenever I was bored in class I’d sketch things related to it and then, if I had a chance and the sketch was good enough, I’d finish the art digitally later. I have a lot of music that inspires me, so sometimes I just sit down, listen to it, and I let myself evoke scenes that I want to write or draw. Fact is, the whole fifth anniversary project was a mix of art and music: the songs that inspired many arcs of Part 1, along with images that referenced them.

Lastly, though… I generally know where Gladiator’s going, so I don’t usually reach a point where I’m like “Woah I have zero plans for what to do next”. I plot things for the story whenever I have nothing to do (when I’m traveling places, when I’m showering, when I’m waiting for something? Just, whenever, wherever). If an arc isn’t shaping up to be particularly fun, I try to figure out what to do to make it more interesting and appealing for me to write. Whenever I come up with something I’m hyped about writing, it helps me keep on writing until I get there. Sometimes that’s also a curse because I go overboard and write like… 12K in a single day because I am that hyped about whatever I’m doing :’D happened a couple of weeks ago xD

Anyways, always try to fulfill your own needs with your story, first and foremost. Sometimes your public won’t be 100% receptive to your ideas, but sometimes they’ll actually want exactly what you’re putting out there for them. The magic of fanfiction is that, if someone doesn’t like what they’re getting, there’s absolutely nothing to stop them from taking to writing a story they do want, right? So, why should we try to please other people instead of writing what we’d want to read?

Make your story something you can revisit and smile about, make your story something you can find value in, regardless of whoever tries to undermine it. Make it yours, make it everything you want it to be. Want humor? Set up humorous situations (I mean, your lead couple would be Azula and Soren, humor’s basically guaranteed xD). Want tragedy and angst? You can have it too. You really can do anything, as long as you make up your mind to get it done. Figure out what it really is you want to write, the key scenes, the development you’re looking for with your main characters, come up with plans on how to get them where you need them to be, and once you feel you’re in solid grounds for it, feel free to start writing and always keep on looking forward to the big things you’ve wanted to write for your fic.