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am-i-the-asshole-official · 6 months

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AITA for not having time to read my mutual's writing?

Met a mutual on here, bonded through fanfic, have been tight with them for a few years with pretty much no bumps in the relationship, just overall had a really good time hanging around them when I could. We both write a lot and share our writing, and occasionally we talk about that writing/workshop it in passing.

In the past few years I've gone through a ton of life changes. Most notably I went from a multi-person household to a single-person one, and I've been living alone in a prohibitively costly city for a while now working 40 hour weeks and barely scraping by. As soon as the transition started I spent the last of my free income on a shitty little laptop so I could still write, putting down words on my bus/train commutes in the morning and quite literally writing on my breaks at work because I feel insane when I can't create. I bring this up to really stress that I don't have the time for the hobby, I force myself to make the time and even then it never feels like enough.

The only thing I can really stand to do with my 3 hours of free time at night is hang out with my moots online. I'm an extrovert so being around people recharges me. If I don't have designated social time I get super depressed and can pretty much feel my soul withering away. I also feel like I should probably mention that I kinda have a slew of mental issues, personality disorders and PTSD and AuDHD and the works. Point being, shit is rough my dude, but I am a person who likes to work hard and face challenges head on and even though we strugglin, we doing it with a positive outlook.

But! I am an incredibly solution-oriented person and I have found what I personally believe to be a good balance. No one should have to live like this, but I do, and I have found a way to be happy. My writing and my social time is all load-bearing. It is not something I just choose to do on a whim, it's all planned and scheduled and I adhere to those routines very strictly because, I cannot stress this enough, I will go fucking bonkers if I don't.

I'm mutuals with a lot of writers obv, and I sadly don't have time to read their work anymore, unless I get some extra time on my days off or something gets cancelled or like, I end up taking a vacation. I carry a great amount of guilt for this, though, even though I logically know it's reasonable. I try to support them where I can, cheer them on when I see them writing and tell them how cool their ideas sound, hype them up even when I can't actually read & review.

One of the things I do is sometimes I leave a kudos on fic I haven't read. I'm not trying to be ingenuine, and if they asked me I'd tell them like 'Oh I didn't read it yet, just wanted to show support!' but to me it's kinda like ripping a paper tab off a poster so that other's feel inclined to do the same. Plus my pals get a little email and a hit of serotonin.

Except one of my acquaintances, the one I mentioned at the start here, saw that I left kudos on a couple pieces another mutual of mine wrote this year. They more or less blew up my DMs with a ton of accusatory (like, literally presented like a 'GOTCHA!') stuff about how I was selective in who's fic I read, more or less implying that I secretly held some sort of grudge or negative feeling toward them and was making the conscious decision not to read or interact with their writing because of. Something, I don't actually know what they were trying to say. They also told me they vented to their friends about this MULTIPLE times, but they never once approached me to let me know they were feeling paranoid or neglected, they literally just took the most bad faith reading of it possible and then presented that to me like it was something I intentionally did, while the whole time I was unaware.

I tried to explain to them the kudos thing, that I didn't do it to every story, just ones I caught/noticed in my busy schedule. And I laid all this out and asked, multiple times, what free time am I supposed to read with? They didn't answer, and doubled down, kept trying to show me 'proof' that I was shorting them and no one else. Once they started to realize how wrong they were they backed down, but they didn't really apologize, or admit they were wrong, and they tried to end our relationship and left every single server we were in together. Because of some other unrelated stuff going on in my life, I didn't really consider them to be a close friend, but they were someone I really held dear and would've walked through hell for if they'd asked.

I still feel like there is something I'm missing here, and that's why I wanted to ask if I'm TA. I'm a pretty good communicator but one of the things I told myself when talking down my disordered thoughts (guilt about this prior) was "no one in their right mind would use reading fanfic as a metric for friendship." Now that I've had that exact thing happen, I'm starting to think maybe those thoughts weren't so disordered. Maybe this IS a big deal, and I should think about it more, but I don't even know what the solution to that would be. I just. Don't have time to read something lovingly crafted and appreciate it for what it is. All the hours in my week are used up, I'd have to lose sleep for this and with my mental health the way it is that is not an option.

Feel free to be a brutal, my skin is thick. Thanks!

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

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killerandhealerqueen · 4 months

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Can I bitch for a second? Like, I just want to understand why, in the past few years, comments and reblogs on fics have gone the fuck down. Like why? What fucking changed?

In 2020 and 2021, I used to get comments all the time on almost all my fics and now it's like...I'm lucky to get any. I also know that I write for small fandoms so like, that's a contributing factor, but still. Even with my latest multichapter fic, there are no subscriptions. Like, everything has just gone down.

And while I realize that the pandemic happened in 2020-2021, the decline has been happening for a while, especially here on tumblr. Comments and reblogs and asks about fics are just...not really a thing anymore.

And people wonder why writers don't wanna continue. Yeah, yeah, that whole thing of write for yourself, we all write for ourselves, lets be honest. We do. But we also want to share our creations with you because that's the whole fucking point of art. You want to share it with others and have them appreciate the work and time you put into it. And we'd like to hear feedback! It's literally not a bad thing to want comments. And people need to stop making writers feel bad for saying they want comments. And reblogs. Likes and kudos are great but they don't do anything. They just tell us that you liked the fic/work. But they don't tell us what you thought, what moved you, what rewired your brain, what made your heart thump or flutter or clench. That's what comments tell us. That's why we want comments. We want to see our fics through your eyes.

Writers shouldn't have to beg for interactions, so please. Reblog and leave comments on fics. Please. It's really the least you could do

#sass rants #i'm sure someone's gonna get pissy with me for this but i don't fucking care #i shouldn't have to fucking beg people to reblog and comment on my stories #it's fucking 2024 people #how about we start acting like a fandom again and start reblogging and commenting on EVERYTHING #from gifsets to art to fanfiction #(of course let's have the comments be nice we don't do rude comments here)#but yeah #start commenting on fics that you like #because the writers you love WILL stop writing after a while if they don't feel appreciated #because we all need to remember that this isn't a full-time job for most of us #so show your favorite writers/gif makers/artists some appreciate and reblog/comment on their shit

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lurkinglurkerwholurks · 5 months

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If the Sky Comes Falling Down (For You)

First posted: January 25, 2019

Focuses on: Jason Todd and his various siblings

Favorite bookmark: "A variety of permutations and flavors of Robin h/c featuring Jason! The Baskin Robins of BatFam h/c, if you will."

Second favorite bookmark: "and so, step by step, the prodigal stray coaxes himself home."

Tier: #3 in hits & kudos & subscriptions, #4 in comment threads, #2 in bookmarks

This is my “behind the scenes” series where I indulge myself horribly by annotating my fics. Link to the fic itself above. Individual chapter notations below the cuts.

Chapter One

First, to note, the title came last and is from "Hey Brother" by Avicii because it was already on my BatFam playlist and gave me strong sibling feels, so it worked!

Okay if I remember correctly, this fic came about because 1) I had jotted down story ideas, all surrounding Jason, that were all just a bit too similar for me to feel comfortable doing them as one-offs, and 2) it was late 2018 when I start writing so I was deep in 5+1 IronDad fics.

This fic was so deeply indulgent from start to finish, which I think might be why people liked it so much? Like, if you're into the tropes into this fic, you're really into them. It scratches the itch just right, because it's my itch and I wrote it for me.

The plan was to do like I did for my other multi-chapter fics (except Nature and Nurture, RIP me) and write it all out before posting anything, so I could be sure that I would actually finish. I don't have that kind of self-restraint anymore. But it was a fun challenge to figure out what should happen to whom and in what order.

Jason didn’t sleep much anymore. He’d always been a rough sleeper, his years spent in low-security public housing and then on the street grinding away at his ability to rest with ease. He slept lightly, his consciousness skimming just below the surface, ready to spring awake at the softest noise.

As I've said before, sometimes I have an idea for a fic but then, when trying to start it, a sentence pops up immediately as my opener. That's always a wild ride because sometimes it seems to have nothing at all to do with where I want to go, so then I have to backtrack and figure out but why tho????

Moving to the Manor had helped some, after he’d assured himself that no one was going to scratch at his door or steal his shoes. The cold mornings had been the best, spent curled under a mound of the softest blankets imaginable atop a mattress so perfectly contoured to his bones that it’d felt like floating on the surface of a pool. He’d slept, truly slept, at the Manor.

I like the idea of, even at Jason's most toxic and vitriolic, the Manor itself still representing safety and comfort. Maybe sometimes he would twist it into stifling or grossly indulgent, but I think deep in his stomach he would know that distortion was a lie. The Manor was safer than anywhere else, even with his mom.

Those days of rest were long gone. The Pit had done a number on his brain—intensifying and altering his emotions, erasing some old habits and dialing up others, leaving dark chasms where memories should be.

I've seen other fics play with the idea of the trauma of Jason's injuries, death, resurrection, and the Pit all combining to some degree or another to swiss-cheese his brain (a phrase I lovingly borrow from Quantum Leap.) And that of course leaves a bunch of really fun room to play with—how much does Jason know he's missing vs. how much is gone or totally distorted without him even being aware? (Again, another thing I tease out in various fics like N&N.)

It was like someone had jammed a stick in his skull and given his brain a good stir. Or maybe that was just the crowbar. Ha.

I made myself snicker with that one. It's so voiceily Jason but also that ha is so guttural and specific in my head, you all will never know.

He was making progress with his budding criminal empire—splashy progress, as displayed on the crusting cuffs of his sleeves and the splattered toes of his boots, but also more subtle progress, too. The subtle form was harder, so much harder, but he knew its changes would be more permanent, in the long run. Splashy got people talking. Subtle got them bowing.

Jason! Todd! Is! No! Thug! He is smart and cunning and uses violence to make an impact and that's that on that.

And though he’d heard her speak before in the careful neutral of the middle-class, the sounds being beat out of her now were Crime Alley crooked.

I like the idea of Steph and Jason growing up in the same neighborhood. It's not a hill I'd die on, but it makes for some interesting fic.

The girl put up a good fight. She was rough, no finesse, no real training. All knuckles and elbows and feet and knees. He spotted some of the Bat basics pop up in the way she ducked and spun, but she wasn’t lithe like Nightwing or crafty like the Replacement. She was a brawler. And she was losing.

She is who he might have been, without Bruce and Alfred and Dick. A decent fighter, stubborn, willing to brawl it out, but ultimately destined to lose.

It sucked in an abstract way, the way it sucked that someone was going hungry halfway around the world, the way it sucked when a stranger missed his bus. It sucked, but it wasn’t Jason’s problem, and he couldn’t really bring himself to care. B needed to learn to pick up his toys.

Starting with Steph made the most sense to me. She wasn't (and isn't) a member I know super well, with so much of her canon backstory being things I have no interest in, and she's part of the Family but in that awkward "we're maybe siblings but also I have a mom and also I dated one of you too??" ways, so she's got a little bit of distance, for me as a writer and also Jason. She doesn't have the emotional heat of the others. He doesn't hate her, just what she represents. He also doesn't care what happens to her, except—

The knife glinted in the amber streetlight and cast a shadow across the yellow emblem on her chest.

She's not Batman. She's not a Robin. She's Batgirl. And that's a different thing entirely.

Jason knew what they saw when they looked at him. He was big now, broad-shouldered and massive in a way he had only ever dreamed of being as a scrawny, malnourished street kid. His helmet was blood-red and gleaming, its angles sculpted to subtly suggest a skull. And his clothes were still stained with actual blood. He was an Alley myth, a nightmare with more bite than the Bat, because he wasn’t afraid to do real damage. He was death.

Jason Peter Todd is scary smart, and he knows how to make the exact impact he wants.

“I don’t know you, but I know your colors. You’re Ibanescu’s boys.”

I had to google Gotham crime families. I know literally nothing other than the name.

It was one thing to let her get the snot beat out of her. And even if someone else had taken a shot at her, he wouldn’t have minded. But he couldn’t. Not in that suit.

“It’s not about you,” Jason repeated, his voice gravelly and rough. He pointed toward the yellow symbol on her chest, the symbol that, in the world he’d left, the world he remembered, belonged to someone else. “I owe her a debt. And now it’s paid.” Jason was a murderer. A thief. A criminal. A drug lord. He had no illusions as to his own goodness anymore, no hope for redemption or grace. But he had his values, the few precious things that he would not allow. One of those, it seemed, was watch a man restrain and stab a Batgirl while he did nothing.

Someday I'll write more about that. The partner and friend and maybe mentor who was still reeling from trauma and hadn't yet found her way when Jason was snuffed out of existence.

Jason was tired, but the night was just beginning.

So that's where it starts. Jason tired, literally caked with dried blood, stepping in not because of love or hate or curiosity or concern but because he felt he owed a debt to someone else and that debt instead landed on the person in front of him.

#fanfic bts brain dump #fanfic #batfic #batfam #jason todd

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flowerpotmage · 9 months

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Tight Grip, Broken Dam (7)

<< Previous Chapter | Masterlist | Next Chapter >>

You don’t question it anymore, when Miguel appears in your bed at night. He’s not there for sex, no, you’ve never even kissed—though you would be lying if you said you weren’t open to the idea of kissing him. He’s there for comfort. For rest. If only it could stay so simple.

Pair: Miguel O'Hara & GN!Reader

Notes: for series: slow burn, ambiguous relationship, found family dynamics, reader is in their late 20s. for chapter: no warnings. allusions to loss and grief.

Word Count: 3.8k

Read this chapter on Ao3 here. If you like my work, please consider leaving kudos there as well! You do not need an account to do so.

“You should come have dinner with me and MJ,” Peter declares, the two of you hanging by webs and fingertips from the side of a building where you wait to spot this dimension’s Spider-Man.

You whip your head to look at him, waving your hand. “Peter, are you even looking?”

“It’s been a while, and she’s been asking about you,” he says, undeterred.

“This better not be some half-cocked scheme to get me and Miguel in the same room.”

“Nope,” he says, putting up a hand as if swearing his innocence in court. “I completely respect that the two of you are being totally weird and avoiding each other for no reason.”

It’s not that you’re avoiding Miguel, exactly. It’s more that you don’t know what you would even say to him if you had the opportunity to really speak. It’s at least partially because you don't like the idea of approaching someone and being the one to start a conversation about them apologizing to you. Perhaps also because while the two of you had had that not-so-long-ago period of sleeping together—actually sleeping—the two of you had never talked about any of it. It was always work, or sharing grief, or quiet domesticity with quite little actually said.

You realize that you have never even seen where he lives.

So… okay, maybe you were avoiding him.

“I’m not avoiding him,” you say.

“Yeah, uh-huh,” Peter says dismissively. “Come by for dinner.”

“Whatever, fine,” you say. “But only because I like MJ and she’s never done me wrong.”

“Great!”

“Spidey, two o’clock,” you nod your head at a streak of electric blue and cherry red.

“Yup,” Peter says, and the two of you swing off to introduce yourselves.

What you don’t tell Peter, what you don’t tell anyone, is how much you miss Miguel’s presence in your daily life. In your nightly life.

When you go to bed, feeling just that much lonelier in your empty apartment and craving comfort after long nights swinging through your city and/or the multiverse, you often find yourself cuddling up to your pillows. It’s become a new routine for you to wrap one in your arms and press it to your chest, as if the softness of it can fill and soothe the ache around your heart.

In Miguel’s fantasies he has the perfect apology. In his more ridiculous ones he appears in your apartment, or you appear in his. A beautiful speech pours from his lips, ending in a bone crushing hug and him back in your good graces, and then he–

In Miguel’s fantasies he’s not a coward.

Instead, he works in his lab and goes on more missions. He’s antsy, restless, falling back into old habits previously tempered by secret soft nighttime visits. He knows it’s starting to come to the attention of others in the Spider-Society, if the rumors that his slightly more snappish than usual mood is because of the multiverse becoming increasingly more unstable (it’s not) is anything to go by, or even the few Spider-People that have begun to theorize he was dumped by a secret lover.

Which he wasn't. Obviously.

“You need to take a break, man,” Peter says. It’s one of the few occasions that he’s not in that stupid shocking pink bathrobe, having just returned from another recruitment mission with you.

You, who isn’t there when Peter brings the newest Spider-Man recruit to meet Miguel, despite being part of the mission.

“I’m fine,” Miguel says, voice stern.

Peter is undeterred. “I’m not suggesting you take a break from work altogether. I’m just saying, maybe you can get a little rest.”

Miguel sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Maybe spend some time around people, outside of the lab? Y’know, get out for a minute.”

Miguel turns his back to Peter, shaking his head.

Peter continues, undeterred. “Maybe you should come by for dinner with me and the missus.”

“I’m not going to a dinner party in your dimension, and definitely not in your home.”

“Not a party!” Peter says, hands up. “Just dinner with the family. Come on. I know you like Mayday, it’ll be relaxing. Normal.”

Miguel wants to fire back with ‘I would hardly describe your presence as relaxing,’ but instead he says “If I agree to go, will you get out of my lab?”

“You got it, boss,” Peter says, and Miguel can hear the smile in his voice before he even turns to glare at him over his shoulder.

“Honey, are you sure this is a good idea?”

Mary Jane is taking plates down from the cabinet to set the table as Peter pulls Mayday off of the face of the fridge.

“Of course it's a good idea, I came up with it.” He replies lightheartedly, turning to face his wife with a soft, warm smile as May gums at the collar of his casual button up shirt. “Trust me. They need this.”

The doorbell rings.

MJ raises an eyebrow at him, a look that clearly says I have my doubts but I love you so I’ll support your harebrained scheme. Out loud, she says: “I’ll get the door.”

Peter nods in thanks, bouncing their daughter in his arms. MJ leaves the kitchen, and his ears track her to the front door and the sound of it opening.

“Miguel!” He hears her say warmly. “You’re right on time, please come in.”

“Thank you Mrs Parker.”

“Really, MJ is fine. Mrs Parker makes me feel old,” she laughs and Peter hears the door shut. “What do you have there?”

“I wasn’t sure if you were back to drinking wine so I brought coffee. I figure newer parents can always benefit from the wake up.”

Peter smiles. Miguel may give every impression of being a hardass—because he is, he reminds himself—but he’s a thoughtful one as well.

“That’s so thoughtful!” MJ says. “Here, I’ll put it away. Go ahead and have a seat, dinner should be ready in just about fifteen minutes.”

MJ returns to the kitchen with a bag of coffee beans and a pointed look at Peter.

“Thank you, honey,” Peter says and quickly gives her a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Mhm,” she says, playfully stern. “Now go out there while I finish cooking for three whole Spider-People.”

“You’re incredible, have I mentioned that?” Peter smiles at her as he walks backwards to the kitchen door.

“I wouldn’t complain about hearing it more,” she replies, turning her attention to the stove. “Now go!”

Peter slips out of the kitchen and right into the dining room, where Miguel is sitting at his dining table, looking entirely out of place.

“Mr. Boss-Man, so glad you could make it!” Peter greets enthusiastically, pulling Mayday’s high chair up to the end of the table, right beside the chair where he plans to sit later on. “MJ’s a great cook, you won’t regret it.”

“I remember,” Miguel says flatly.

“Ha, right,” Peter says, remembering all of the grief-food he had delivered to Miguel on MJ’s behalf not long before Mayday was born. “Well, it’s gonna be a great time.”

Miguel clearly suppresses a sigh, and if his exhale is slightly bigger or louder than usual Peter makes no comment.

The doorbell rings, and Miguel looks at Peter with a frown.

“Oh, I’ve got it, don’t worry,” Peter passes Mayday to Miguel, ignoring the suspicious frown growing more and more prominent across his face.

Mayday now safely in Miguel’s capable hands and babbling happily, Peter books it out of the dining room and down the foyer to the front door of his house, feet stepping lightly even in his hurry. He reaches the door and swings it open just as the doorbell rings again.

“Hey!” he greets your surprised face, your hand still on the doorbell.

“Jesus, hi,” you laugh, lowering your arm, and holding out the gift in your other hand. “I don’t know if you guys are drinking wine, but I figured you wouldn’t mind having a bottle on hand for later, right?”

Peter just about manages not to let out a barking laugh. “That’s very thoughtful. Here, come on in.” He moves aside so you can step through the door, and once you’re in the hall he closes it with a click. He pauses for a half a second, considering whether he should do the extra lock to delay any escape attempts—

“Oh, it smells great!” you call into the house, and Peter flips the bolt lock shut.

“Ha, doesn’t it?” He replies in an only somewhat forced cheery tone, hurrying after you.

“Thanks for inviting m–” you turn into the dining room, stopping dead in your tracks just inside the threshold.

Peter quickly steps into the doorway behind you, peering past you to see Miguel staring at you like a deer in headlights. That is, until he sees Peter behind you and his face steels into one of well-hidden nearly murderous intent.

Yup, handing Mayday over to him before this was definitely the right call.

You’re still frozen in the doorway, so Peter puts a hand on your shoulder and begins to steer you towards the chair at the table opposite Miguel’s.

“Food should be ready any second now!” Peter says in what he hopes is a bright and casual voice, removing his hand from your shoulder when you finally drop down into your chair with a soft thump. He steps around to his side of the table, on the end between and perpendicular to you and Miguel.

And, oof. You’re hiding it well, but Peter can still see the tension in your shoulders and the look of I am so going to kill you dead you give him, communicated through just slightly widened eyes and a pointed smile.

He definitely made the right call putting Mayday’s highchair between you and him.

Peter is so dead. So unbelievably and entirely dead.

Across from you, Miguel radiates… something. You’re sure your own high-running emotions are poisoning the room with a toxic cloud, the unidentifiable static charge from the man across the table gearing up to turn the clash of your feelings into a summer storm, lightning and roiling clouds and all.

How the fuck did the two of you get here? You can almost understand why Peter decided to interfere.

You swallow, looking down at the table, at the decor of the dining room, at Peter, at May as she passes from Miguel’s hands—damn, you forgot how big they are (focus!) —to Peter’s, anywhere but at Miguel himself.

“So,” you ask. “What are we eating?”

MJ’s voice calls your name in greeting from the kitchen door behind you, and you turn in your seat to watch as she enters with a steaming dish of roast vegetables.

“Seasoned roast veggies,” she says, placing the dish on the table with a smile. She glances from Miguel back to you, and the corner of her mouth tilts into something apologetic. “And rice, with optional chicken. Also, salad.”

“Do you need help getting it?” you ask.

“Sure!”

You get up from your seat with nary a glance at Miguel or Peter, and follow Mary Jane back into the kitchen.

Immediately she whispers to you when you slyly huddle by the stove to grab the last dishes. She takes the salad, and you take the rest.

“I tried to talk him out of it.”

You sigh, and it comes out as a weary chuckle through your nose, whispering back, “I don’t doubt that you did–”

“But not that hard. I kind of agree with him.”

“Wh-?”

“Just stick it out through dinner, alright?”

Baffled, you nod, and are left with no choice but to follow her back into the dining room.

Most of the conversation over dinner is between MJ, yourself, and Peter. Miguel eats quietly, asking MJ the occasional question about her work when it comes up, and then falling quiet again when you and her get into commiserating about working in the creative field.

All in all… It’s not a terrible night. You’d even be able to enjoy it more, if only you could relax and take the edges of your mind off of the man sitting across from you.

And you can feel it when he continually glances at you.

Beside you May yawns in her chair.

“I should put her down for the night,” Peter says, standing.

“I’ll take care of it this time, honey,” MJ says, also rising from her seat. “Why don’t you clean the table up, see if our guests want to take any home?”

You avert your eyes as Peter hands May over and the couple exchanges a chaste, sweet kiss.

“You got it.”

“Why don’t the two of you sit in the living room? It's probably more comfortable,” MJ suggests, turning to you and Miguel, adjusting May in her arms.

Miguel watches you from the corner of his eye when you nod and stand from the table. He follows your example, walking a safe distance behind you to the living room where you watch MJ go up the stairs, leaving the two of you alone.

Miguel takes a moment to observe the room. So far Peter and Mary Jane’s home is as clean and simple as he remembers, without sacrificing any sense of comfort or hominess. Pictures line the hearth above the fireplace, and art hangs over the couch. The space is lit by soft yellow light from a floor lamp in the corner.

The main change is the amount of children’s belongings scattered and half-heartedly tidied throughout the room.

Neither you nor Miguel sit like Mary Jane had suggested. Instead, he stands stiffly by the window, and you linger by the photos, as far from each other as you can manage.

“I don’t…”

He tenses, like he’s ready to take a physical blow, turning to look further out the window.

“I just—Getting hurt is part of the job,” you finally snap, frustration palpable in your voice.

He knows this. He’s almost embarrassed that you think he needs reminding.

“It wasn't even serious,” you continue.

He bows his head, unable to find words he’s willing to say. Shock, he wishes he could, if only to kill the hurt silence swelling like a bubble and pressing against his back.

“I don’t… I don’t know how I’m supposed to continue working here if you…” you sigh, the new shake in his voice sticks in him in the way he imagines his talons feel to those he fights. “If you don’t trust me, if you don’t think I can handle–”

He turns around to face you finally, and whatever you see in his face makes your expression of hurt soften into another kind of pain— sympathy.

He stares at you. Shock, he doesn't know what to do with his arms, but he settles for crossing them over his ribs; a shield protecting the contents of his chest.

“I’m not going anywhere,” you say, so quiet and so shocking soft.

Softer than he’s earned without yet apologizing.

“I owe you an apology.”

You frown slightly, a wealth of emotions mixing together on your face like swirling ocean currents. He can’t help but let his eyes wander over them, the cold current of lingering hurt colliding and mixing with warm sympathy, the strange stillness of caution swallowing both up under a smooth wave.

“I…” he starts, swallowing, glancing away. “I'm sorry. For what I said.” He looks back at you at the end of his sentence, the next words coming easier, knowing he could say them with ease to any other Spider-Person, but not meaning them any less in this moment. “I know you’re capable. And that you can handle yourself.” It’s a far cry from the apologies in his fantasies, but it’s a start.

The bubble doesn't burst, but it begins to deflate. The stillness changes; he doesn't recognize what it is. It leaves his stomach on legs unused to rocky ships at sea. What was the word they used in that old-timey holo from the 2000s? Landlubber?

“Thank you, Miguel.”

He nods, looking away again.

“That must have been pretty hard for you, huh?”

He snaps his head back to look at you, only to find you smiling slightly.

You’re joking, he realizes. You’re teasing him, testing the murky waters.

“You can only imagine,” he responds dryly, the corner of his mouth twitching.

It feels too easy but he thinks, he hopes, that you’ve forgiven him.

Just to make sure, he pulls in a deeper breath, and says in a far softer and more earnest voice than before; “I’m sorry.”

Your lips part slightly, your arms lowering to your sides as you turn to face him. You pull in a breath, eyes unsure and searching his own. He can’t look away, and you open your mouth to speak–

The clang that interrupts is nearly as startling as a cannon.

“It’s all good! I’m okay!” Peter calls from the kitchen.

“Qué idiota,” Miguel mutters, shaking his head and turning away again.

You close your mouth, shaking your head and laughing. “Did you want to kill him as much as I did tonight?”

“You have no idea,” he replies with a sidelong glance at you. He pauses, his eyes trailing over your form, your clothes, and then it slips from his lips in a quiet voice before he knows he’s even thought the words: “You look nice.”

“Oh, uh,” you lift your hand to gently scratch your neck, looking away with a sheepish smile. “You too. I don’t think I’ve really seen you in anything besides your suit, or those pajamas.”

Miguel hums, looking away. “I wasn’t sure if I had clothes appropriate for dinner in this dimension.”

“Well, you look nice anyway,” you say again, so quietly it’s almost a mumble, gentle as a wave brushing over fine sand. But he hears it, and he can’t help the slight smile that blooms on his lips, even as he ducks his head.

You both turn at the creak on the stairs.

“You can come down, MJ,” you call, just loud enough to be heard but still clearly mindful of the sleeping baby upstairs.

“I didn’t want to interrupt,” she says, stepping down into the living room. “Should have known I couldn’t sneak up on you two.” She glances between the two of you, and Miguel can see her taking note of his more relaxed posture and your small smile.

You give her a subtle nod, and she smiles warmly.

“Great! Well, I’m going to see if Peter’s almost done with cleanup.”

Miguel watches as MJ slips from the room, his eyes flicking to you where you still stand by the mantelpiece with your gaze on the framed pictures as you absentmindedly pick at your nails.

“Do you have any pictures like these?” he asks, eyes fixing on the way your smile turns gray and slightly sad.

You glance at him and he quickly brings his eyes up to yours.

“I used to think they were dumb,” you say, looking back at the photos of Peter and his family. “I wouldn’t let my dad take pictures because I hated how I looked in them, and it just felt embarrassing. I don’t know.”

Miguel’s videos of Gabriella immediately come to mind, and his heart squeezes in his chest.

“Now I get it,” you continue quietly, hand resting on the mantel.

Miguel follows your gaze, too see you’ve rested your hand next to a framed photo of Peter with his aunt. He’s young in this one, his nose still straight and skin untouched by time and stress, and he’s dressed in some sort of black robe and a scroll tied in a ribbon is in one hand.

“You don’t have any?”

You shake your head. “I have a few. But it doesn’t seem like enough, now.”

When you and Miguel finally leave, it’s with each of you bearing decent sized containers of leftovers. You could both leave through your own portals via the living room, but having arrived via the front door it only seems proper to exit the same way.

You get the sense that Miguel appreciates the normality of it, at least.

After MJ and Peter wave their farewells and close their front door, you find yourself on the sidewalk with Miguel. The warm yellow light of the streetlamp does little to warm the actual air around you, the deep blue chill of the night wrapping around you both. But you don’t mind it.

“So,” you shift from one foot to the other. “Which way are you headed?”

Miguel pauses, eyes lingering across your face before he moves his head to indicate a direction. “There’s a school that way.”

You nod. “Smart. Empty at night. Good for mysterious interdimensional travelers.”

You grin when your quip earns a small huff of amusement, and the two of you begin walking in silence. You’ve walked to the end of the street when you break the silence again.

“How have you been sleeping?”

Miguel glances at you from the corner of his eye, before he steps into the street to cross it. “Fine.”

You try to ignore the little jolt in your stomach that his glance causes.

“Miguel’s quality of sleep has been consistently poor, for at least–”

Miguel makes a frustrated noise, covering his watch. “Yes, thank you Lyla.”

You look up at him, crossing the road by his side. He glances around over your head, ever watchful and cautious, before he catches you looking in the corner of his eye and turns his whole face to look at you.

“What?”

“I mean… I don’t know if you’d like to, but you can still visit. I mean– You know.”

“I… appreciate that. Thank you.”

Silence, again, as you walk the remainder of the way to the school, finding a spot between two buildings to open your respective portals.

“I’ll see you at work, probably?”

Miguel nods, you turn away to open your portal home, and then a soft call of your name turns you back to face him once again.

The orange glow of your portal behind you washes over the scene, covering everything in a soft glow even as reality around it seems to flicker and shiver. Miguel stands several feet away, but he has that same look on his face from earlier in Peter and MJ’s living room.

Sadness. Exhaustion. Worry.

You swallow around the sudden lump in your throat, feet itching to close the distance, and then you are, and your arms are around his waist and his are around your shoulders and his face is buried in your hair.

When you finally pull back, he looks even more tired than before, as if he can’t manage to put the mask back on.

“Come on,” you whisper, nodding your head towards the portal.

When you step through the portal home, Miguel follows close behind.

<< Previous Chapter | Masterlist | Next Chapter >>

#miguel o'hara x y/n #miguel o'hara x gender neutral reader #miguel o’hara x reader #miguel x reader #miguel o'hara #x reader #atsv x reader

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bourbon-ontherocks · 23 days

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20 questions for writers

I was tagged by @pia-writes-things (ty!!! ❤️)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

46!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

703,271. Which is, um, a lot.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Good Girls (formerly), HPI (formerly), and l'Art du Crime. There's also a random bit for les Combattantes, and one GG fic has a shared universe with Graceland. I'm very mono-fandom lol.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Take A Dip

It's All Coming Back To Me

It Hurts When I See You Struggle

Love And War

We're Living In A Powder Keg And Giving Off Sparks

Unsurprisingly, these are all GG fics, although I don't think my kudos ranking is accurate because most of these were impacted by the great kudos-bombing gate from 2020 so it's hard to tell what's actually my most kudo-ed fic.

5. Do you respond to comments?

Absolutely. My secret goal is to keep the conversation going back and forth for the longest possible time because I love the opportunity for a good ramble about my writing 😈

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

I wanna say Ad vitam æternam (L'art du crime)? I mean, it's literally an MCD fic, so, not that merry... Also if I remember correctly, Always lost in the sea (HPI) doesn't end on a very hopeful note either.

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

I don't know? All of them? None? I generally tend to go for happy open endings with that extra bit of bittersweet so I really couldn't tell. But hey, maybe the ending to that thing I'm currently writing actually is the happiest of it all, because oh boy, things do get cheesy at some point 🥺

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No at all! Unless you count that one person who commented on several chapters of whichever long GG fic I wrote just to point blank hate on Beth character lol

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

Of course I do (in English only), I like my porn toxic and desperate and angsty with just the right amount of power play and mutual hatred. Basically, I write hatefuck 😂

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Not really, no... I've tried a couple of times, but I think I'm better at/more interested in mimicking existing interactions than inventing a dynamic between characters who never met canonically (and also, boy the kind of SETUP you need to justify some characters crossing paths... it's just too much work). I'm more of a cameo/easter egg kind of writer, so once in a while I'll allow a character from another fandom to pop up in a fic and say hi, but it's really a blink-and-you'll-miss-it kind of encounter.

I guess my craziest attempt would be that Crazy Ex-Girlfriend / Good Girls crossover that I never finished though, cause like, super different moods?

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of but I don't really attempt to know

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! By myself lol. I once posted a fic in two languages before acknowledging it was a hell of an additional work 😭

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

Kinda? We never finished nor even posted it but at some point we shared a quite unhinged co-writing story with @whiskeyjack and @00gangfriend00 and it was a lot of fun 🥰

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

You... you guys have that? You don't just live by your Ship of the Moment just to instantly forget about it and hop on the Next Ship when it shows up? I'm sorry but I don't think I have one of those.

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

What a trap question!!! 😂

It's All Coming Back To Me, obviously. Look, I really really want to finish it, not even for me at this point, but for the 120-something people who subscribed to it, for the faithful readers who still leave me comments every now and then hoping for closure. I know how it ends. I have it partially written. I just don't seem to know how to write for Good Girls anymore, and getting my head back into it feels like such an insurmountable load of work, I just- I'm trying, ok?

But like, if someone's interested in helping, or even writing that ending based on my notes (and getting full and proper credits for it obvi), just let me know! I'm really open to it 🥲

16. What are your writing strengths?

Probably dialogues? I've been told many times that my dialogues feel very close to the original, and the thing is, I write about TV shows and I have a very good ear so I think I catch quite easily the actors' voices and tones and mannerisms in my head, so every time I write down a line, I play it several times in my mind with the character's voice to determine whether they would say it like that or not. Looks like it's not working so bad.

Also I *think* I'm not too bad at stream-of-consciousness inner monologues. At least it's one of my favourite things to write so there's that.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Action scenes (that includes sex lol). Filling the gaps between the important parts. Descriptions. Setting up the scene.

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

Like, featuring two different languages inside the same fic, or writing in different languages? I'm not sure I've ever really written the first one? I guess I find it a bit clunky, occasionally I've written scenes that included a character whose native language wasn't the one of the fic, and I'd give them a line or two if that's relevant to the plot (for instance, if characters are lost somewhere in another country, I can add a line/dialogue in another language for comedic effect. Or it can be a way for a character to whisper something for themselves), but the logistics are quite nightmarish, you gotta either assume your audience knows the second language, or translate the lines in the author's note, or have another character translate it in a way that doesn't sound too articifial, that's really really tedious haha

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Good Girls.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

You think I know that? Out of FOURTY-SIX??? Lol. Get out.

Tagging: @sdktrs12 @joeyjoeylee if you're around @riosnecktattoo @humanbra @hemerae-ramblings @sothischickshe @asteraceae-blue

#tagging games #writing #my fic #fanfic

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coffeebanana · 10 months

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How would you recommend interacting with a writer. If a story wasn't to your taste, or left you unsatisfied. But you still want to encourage, the writer. And show gratitude for the free entertainment?

Hi anon!

The short answer is, a simple "thanks for the fic!" or "thanks for sharing!" or even a few emojis will often suffice. You really don't have to let the writer know what you didn't like. At the end of the day, they're not writing the fic for you, and obiously not every story is going to satisfy everyone the same way--otherwise we'd all be the same and that would be a horrendously boring world to live in.

The long answer is probably unecessary, but I like to procrastinate on my WIPs talk 😂

There's a format of commenting that goes a little like this: "i don't normally like [X ship, X trope, the way X acts in canon, etc...], but i love the way you do it!!" And honestly I myself have used that before--mostly for tropes, though possibly for some ships as well. And on the surface, that's reads as a compliment. Personally, when ppl leave me that sort of comment, I'll usually interpret it as a compliment too--unless they're full on bashing the thing I love (which sometimes happens with people criticizing canon). And I do think it's INTENDED as a compliment. (That's how I've meant it, when I used it, so I do try my best to also interpret others in good faith.)

But it can also read as "I don't like this thing that you really like and I felt the need to tell you that." Honestly, I didn't even realize it would come across that way until I saw someone else point it out. And then...yeah, I started to notice the fics I get it on more (A lot lot lot of my ladrien fics, lmao.)

So I'm at a weird cross roads where I try not to use that anymore--unless it's with someone I'm fairly sure will understand how I mean it?because sometimes you do have more of a rapport with certain ppl and they'll understand what you mean--but I also don't want to say it's 100% a bad thing to say. I really do understand the intent.

Anyways, my point in bringing that up is that you never don't know what seemingly innocent "this wasn't quite to my taste" comment is going to read as an insult. And so if you really DO want to encourage said writer, I'd recommend sticking to the positives.

Another big thing that's important to me personally is: don't lie.

People have a tendancy to...I don't want to say be disingenuous, but certainly to exaggerate at times on the internet. You see that in the SCREAMING CRYING EATING GLASS types comments. And those are USUALLY sincere in the way that the emotions they convey are sincere. We as a society understand they're not literally eating glass but that they're in agony because the angst in the fic was so good and they want more. But then--something I've noticed--that sort of lingo has a way of slipping into a default response of sorts. And sometimes that makes me question if people really mean it?

This second thing is probably more of a personal thing than a response to your question, but since it's something I've been thinking about lately I hope you don't mind that I brought it up too. I really don't want people to lie to me about my writing.

Not even if it's "to be nice".

Maybe this is in part because I myself find it...difficult to be insincere with ppl, but I don't want false compliments--that's something I tell my friends too. If I write a trope or pairing you don't like? There's never any pressure to read it. I don't expect comments or kudos from anyone. And I'm not someone who in general believes people are insincere--that's not really fair to other people. But everyone has doubts at some point, and I feel like adding to that by straight up lying to make someone feel better just isn't the way to go? If you can't pick out a detail from the fic that you genuinely enjoyed, then maybe keep it to the simple "thanks for sharing!"

So, I guess the TLDR is: keep it short and sweet. keep it encouraging if that's really your goal. (and, if this ever happens to be in reference to something that I specifically have written? please don't feel like you HAVE to say anything at all)

Thanks for the ask!! Sorry I went on for so long LOL💜

#ask response #anonymous #long post

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yuebings · 3 months

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fic writer meme

thank u @fruitdaze @uhuraisgay @cairoscene @englishsub for tagging me!

How many works do you have on Ao3?

44 currently! double 4s? during MY lunar new year? i gotta change that up quick

2. What's your total Ao3 word count?

315,042 words

3. What fandoms do you write for?

my most written-for fandom is mdzs, but i don't really write for it anymore...if you look at my ao3 profile u can kinda tell i'm a sporadic one-and-done type when it comes to fic hehe no one can predict where i'll go next. my latest fandom is jujutsu kaisen!

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

so you've been robbed by a musuem

the stone-filled sea

the family-dodging bathroom-dwellers association

and his wanting grows teeth

diving blind

it's like a wangxian sweep except for the last sambucky lol

5. Do you respond to comments?

i am trying to get better at that! sometimes i don't have the energy to go through and respond to every single one but trust me when i say that seeing the wonderful comments people leave truly makes my day

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

tbh i don't think i've ever written straight-up angsty endings (or at least the way i see straight up angst). every 'bad' ending has a ray of hope in it, or at least an acceptance that like...yes, this is the way it was meant to be, and to reject the outcome would be to reject everything that came before it. sometimes things were meant to go to shit. there was no other way to go. we were doomed but at least we loved each other. i will suffer but at least i can remember you. so on so forth.

with all that said, it's a toss up between the longest journey (di feijing & lei chun), or all things in pain (wen ning character study). 'angsty' endings, if only in the way i described above

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

a lot of my happy endings aren't super-sweet happy endings per se, but rather a promise or hope that things will get better. idk what that says about me lol like maybe i have more interest in the "how to become happy" part than the actual happiness itself...? but ANYWAY i'd say the sappiest ending is i have is uhhhh feel like a brand new person (msr take edibles together) because 1) their mutual attraction is finally acknowledged 2) they're making out 3) they're high as balls. what's better than this

8. Do you get hate on fics?

not any time recently! i've rarely had negative comments before and all of them have been of such a ridiculous nature that my only response was like "lmfao ok"

9. Do you write smut?

nope! not yet, at least. maybe some time in the future i'll feel like it

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you have written?

haven't written any, don't really read them either! i keep my blorbos locked up in their separate cages. siloed.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

yes! kind of. if this counts, a couple years ago someone on wattpad stole over 100 wangxian fics (including mine) from ao3 and reposted them onto their own account without credit. we got their account taken down tho so all is well...but this is why i say in my ao3 profile that i do not allow reposts. please tell me if u ever see my work reposted anywhere........

i've also come across a fic in a diff fandom that was VERY clearly "inspired" by one of mine (lifting certain scenes and lines beat for beat) and gave no credit. so there's that as well.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

yes! it's always an honor when someone wants to translate my work :)

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

nope! my creative process is so erratic that i feel like i'd be a nightmare to co-write with, so this is probably for the better

14. What's your all time favorite ship?

this is a hard question to answer. i don't have an ultimate favorite that always stays at the top of the pile, cuz my interests change all the time! right now i'm really enjoying platonic yuuji & megumi & nobara & gojo. in terms of what i go to most often when i want a comfort re-read...finnpoe.

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

omg. you want a DEEP CUT? i have a wip for a rarepair in an already sparse fandom...yeongshin/seobi from kingdom on netflix (the historical korean zombie drama). i LOOOOVE that show i comfort re-watch it all the time. i love their bonded-thru-trauma-frenemies healer/warrior dynamic and i have this wip going for yeongshin getting bitten and seobi developing a zombification-reversal cure through sheer willpower and spite alone........there's maybe 2k written and i was relying on a season renewal announcement to motivate me enough to get the rest of it out but uh. fellow kingdom warriors if you're out there. i think we may be losing this battle............kingdom season 3 announcement save me..............

16. What are your writing strengths?

as a haver-of-siblings, i think i do general family dynamics pretty well! someone has told me in the past that i am good at packing meaning into very few words. i also think i'm good at angsty emotional beats (i sure like writing them, at least)

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

bro if there is any action scene in my work, writing it is like pulling teeth. what do you mean he's getting hit. what do you mean i have to think of an interesting way to describe punch #1 and punch #2 and punch #3. STOPPPPPPPP I CANT DO THIS.

in terms of technique i used to struggle with this thing where i NEED to perfect the writing i'm working on before i can move on. like i'd waste huge amounts of time rewriting a three sentence paragraph over and over and over again until it was perfect before i could move onto the next scene. i'm getting a lot better with that tho!

18. Thoughts of writing dialogue in another language in fics?

i've never done it myself, like, full on written-in-a-diff-lang dialogue, but i think it's cool as long as context clues/some form of translation is provided. and if proper research is done if the writer isn't a native speaker

19. First fandom you wrote for?

the man from uncle (2015). lol. napollya could have won in an alternate universe where armie h@mmer wasn't a piece of shit

20. Favorite fic you have written?

HOO. i gotta say it's my sambucky ghost fic the boy who cried ghost. it's by far my longest fic (even tho it isn't actually very long compared to others ive seen LOLLLL) and it took me AGES to write and ended up being quite personal!! part of the reason it took me so long to finish was bc i couldn't bear to write about sam struggling with grief/guilt when i was also going through something similar, so when i finally got around to writing the moment of catharsis i kinda felt like i was helping myself, too! which was a very interesting experience, and definitely served to lodge this fic in my heart forever and ever. it's not exactly popular but i'm proud of it :)

tagging @tantai-jin @bluecrystalrainingdaggers @vinelark and anyone else who wants to participate!

#BTW I AM EATING AN APPLE FRITTER. IF ANYONE EVEN CARES.#and my cat is squeaking very loudly rn. he is so cutie #yue.txt

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nayialovecat · 7 months

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The Ink Demonth 2023 - Day 23. Contraband

Day 23. Contraband Crossover: Craig of the Creek, Disenchantment Apparently Workshop toys are a pretty bad currency at least for the time being, but wait until you have some more of them, Kit, and you can make the best trade in your life: "limited edition toys from haunted studio, only from me!"

Kit, as well as the Trading Tree itself, come from the cartoon "Craig of the Creek" (I drew Craig once), which is an extremely nice Cartoon Network production showing kids playing on the titular Creek. I love it for many things - firstly, it brings back sentimental memories from my own childhood, secondly, it is a wonderful cross-section of different types of kids and their behavior, thirdly - it shows small problems in a completely different light. Every parent should watch this series to understand things better. I especially love the episodes that alternately show what the kids see - and what is really happening (e.g. during the game "the floor is lava"). My objection is the same as against Bluey: that it is a bit unrealistic that all the kids always take part in the games and accept the sometimes problematic rules (e.g. when playing hide and seek or being trapped in a maze) - that no one will say "ok, I've had enough, I'm not playing with you anymore". But apart from that - a wonderfully presented world of imagination, actually a mini-community. This series was also "nominated" for the City entry for a while, but I decided that I wouldn't find anything else for the Contraband (plus wanted to draw Kit).

I really like the character of Kit. This little, enterprising girl is something of a higher instance of the creek - thanks to her, kids (for a small fee) can eat their favorite sweets or snacks without having to leave their playground and go to the store, she also sells toys and gadgets. I ship her with Craig - all the episodes of them working together confirm in my eyes what a wonderful couple they'll be when they become teenagers. I'm honestly counting on it, because of all the girls hanging around Craig, Kit is the one who best suits him in terms of character and common interests.

More observant people may also notice a guest from another cartoon, this time absolutely not for children - the demon Luci from "Disenchantment" - a series by the creators of Futurama aimed at adult viewers, a somewhat modern fairy tale, and partly a parody of many well-known stories. If someone is an adult and doesn't know it, I recommend it. A wonderful story with a very good ending to the whole plot. Luci, the personal demon of the main character, Princess Bean, is undoubtedly my favourite character. I love his physical two-dimensionality, to his absolutely non-one-dimensional character. I love his texts and the fact that in all his participation in Bean's adventures, he never forgets for a moment that he is a hellish being, and his "do it, do it" is always wonderful. In his original storyline, Luci was considered a "weird cat" by those around him, hence Kit's text (while he's actually just another of Bendy's "cousins" that the ink demon is wandering around with).

As for the technical side... it took a lot of time to colour, but was surprisingly fun. It was the first time in a long time that I shaded in such a strange way. Oh, it's worth noting that the colours of Bendy's clothes were entirely developed by my daughter, Ursa. Kudos to her! By the way, I wonder who Bendy stole these clothes from X"D

Finally, I will just mention that the Contraband theme was originally associated with "The Owl House" and Eda's stall, but I moved it to another place with a better idea. And that's why Craig landed here.

PS. I don't like Kopiko, but I'm not crazy about avoiding showing existing products in my drawings. But seriously, I didn't feel like changing the name, so here you have it, a covert advertisement for the hideous Kopiko coffee candies. You're welcome, Kopiko.

Bendy and the Ink Machine (c) Joey Drew Studios Inc. Craig of the Creek (c) Cartoon Network Disenchantment (c) Matt Groening Sammy and the Ink Machine (c) Nayia Lovecat

#The Ink Demonth #Bendy and the Ink Machine #Sammy and the Ink Machine #BATIM #SATIM #Craig of the Creek #Disenchantment #Bendy #Ink Bendy #Ink Demon #Kit #Kitherine #Luci #Lucille Lucifer Jr DCLXVI #Bendy plushie #Kopiko #the Trading Tree #The Ink Demonth 2023 #crossover

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metalheadmickey · 4 months

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fic writer interview

i was tagged by the luminous @energievie & @suzy-queued to fill this bad boy out! i remember doing this last year too, how fun! 🩷

1. How many works do you have on AO3? I've got 20 on there now!

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 143,320

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? kinda raw, float, cinematic, and i'm your warm receiver, watching. the four after kinda raw are all pretty close together in terms of kudos, but kinda raw has a lot more kudos than the one after it and i don't understand why. i have written better fics lmfao! y'all are just nasty. and honestly i appreciate that.

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? i try to always respond, but sometimes it gets away from me! i just really appreciate people taking the time to leave a comment, and i want to show that appreciation.

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? i don't think any of mine have been angsty!

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending? they're all happy, but it might be you outshined the best there was just because of the nature of the story. soft dads, seen from mickey's perspective as he grows into fatherhood over the course of a year, but also so, so plotless. soft!

7. Do you write crossovers? no and i doubt i ever will. one of my very favorite conversations though is when my husband and i insert characters from other media we like into star trek tng or ds9. it's so dumb and so funny. lmao what if i wrote it

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic? yeah! once, on one of my favorite fics, ligature. they told me i should sterilize myself because i'm glorifying abuse by writing bdsm, it's a good read

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? i almost exclusively write smut! nasty and loving. i don't know how to describe it but whenever i think i've written something disgusting i inevitably get comments about how sweet it is. which, yeah, it's not like they're mutually exclusive ways to fuck. so yeah, sweet and dirty husbands

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen? i don't think so! i mean i hope not

11. Have you ever had a fic translated? nope!

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before? i haven't, but i've collaborated on a couple of projects with my dear friend @heymrspatel! i wrote and she made art for cinematic and honeycomb. cinematic was more julissa making art for parts i'd already written, but honeycomb especially was a collaborative process with the way that a bunch of what i wrote was based on things that julissa was visualizing for her art, so parts of it did feel like co-writing. it was the most fun i've had working on anything!

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship? don't make me choose between the angel who fell in love with a faithless man, and the closeted thug who fell in love with the kid who had it bad for him and ultimately had the most satisfying ending. destiel and gallavich are both such incredibly compelling ships!! aahhh!!

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? if there's something i'm not going to finish, it's generally because it became something i didn't want to work on anymore.

15. What are your writing strengths? describing physical sensation and emotional impact, dialogue

16. What are your writing weaknesses? exposition

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? i like evie's idea of just indicating that they've switched to another language without actually writing the language out

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for? gallavich

19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to? i really want to write destiel smut. i think the nonhuman element could be fun to play with. i've read a lot of grace sex and that shit is soooooo. hot. i want to try my hand at it.

20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written? this changes so often! one i come back to a lot is chapter two of 2022's kinktober collection, the prompts were wax & "yeah, that's it baby, just like that" and i wrote some wax play and i suppose cockwarming although it's not tagged as such. i also really fucking love lush, it's inspired by one of julissa's pieces and it's drunk lovemaking and breathplay. i also need to shout out a newer one, beauty in simplicity from this year's kinktober collection. mickey getting his ass eaten on the kitchen table. there's three fics! i don't care!

tagging @howlinchickhowl @whatwouldmickeydo @whatthebodygraspsnot @gallawitchxx @ohkate @sam-loves-seb @sisitrip @crossmydna @thisdivorce @mmmichyyy @arrowflier if you guys feel like playing 🖤

#tag game #most of these answers are needlessly long! i can't shut the fuck up

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baileys-3 · 4 months

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THE SECRET DATING ERA: Chapter 28 NOW online on AO3

With today's part we leave episode 5x11. We'll follow on straight from the baseball game. And, if I asked you what you thought would happen next, I don't think anyone would come up with this version. And I didn't write it for "drama" effect, but because I think the whole change from "We're driving for 12 hours together" to "We're a couple now. But we don't know what's happening with each other anymore. " is not exactly easy. Especially not for Tim, who has a kind of “overprotective instinct” towards Lucy. So let yourself be surprised.

And let me know what you think of it in the comments. Many thanks at this point to all those who wrote comments and to all the kudos. And really... 34,500 clicks on the story... wow... awesome... unbelievable.

Many thanks again to @himynameiscookies. I love it when I get the corrected chapters back.

Sneak Peak:

Unbelievable. They won today's game. Genny still can't believe it. And yeah, the opposing team had also lost every match so far, so they weren't particularly strong. But still. They won. And the boys are delighted, as are the parents, and they are all sitting together in the little restaurant where they always meet after a home match. It's right next to the baseball field. It's a short walk from the baseball field to the restaurant that the Grizzlies team loves. The food is tasty and reasonably priced.

At the table sit Tyler, Matthew, Blake, Tim, and Lucy. Blake is staying with them during the school brake since his mother Lisa is at work.

The restaurant is bustling with noise and a vibrant atmosphere. Currently, the boys are more inclined to run around than sit still, which is permitted in this establishment. Therefore, she is sitting alone at a table with Tim and Lucy, without the boys. However, they are not alone as other parents are constantly joining them, eager to engage in conversation with Tim and Lucy or one of them. It's a constant coming and going and almost funny to watch. Lucy is a very social person and can easily start a conversation with anyone. On the other hand, Tim is more of a listener and doesn't initiate conversations much except when it comes to baseball. He is very knowledgeable about baseball and enjoys discussing it in great detail with other people. They have already had in-depth conversations about the last two Dodgers games with three different dads. Surprisingly, Tim doesn't mind all the attention and seems happy to engage in such conversations when Lucy is sitting next to him. Fascinating.

Of course, she herself is also fully involved in the conversations and enjoys them just as much. They really can't complain about a lack of entertainment. Which is why she can't broach the subject of Tim and Lucy – Tim and Lucy in a relationship sense – as she would have liked to do. It’s not like she is curious, she just wants to know a bit. Okay, maybe she is curious. But even if they can't talk, the two of them seem a little more relaxed in her presence.

A little more relaxed is a good word. She didn't realize her brother was such a touchy-feely guy. He always acts subtly, so that others don't notice it, especially the other parents. However, she keeps a close watch on them.

#chenford #lucy chen #the rookie #tim bradford #tim bradford x lucy chen #tim x lucy #archive of our own #chenford fanfic #chenford fic #chenfordsource #lucy x tim #lucy and tim #ao3 link

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heartofspells · 14 days

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20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you for the tags, @brandileigh2003 @tracingpatternswrites & @mycupofrum!

Username: heartofspells

1. How many works do you have on A03?

96, all of them HP except for one lonesome Supernatural fic

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count?

1,685,584

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Harry Potter, though I've dabbled in a few others, only one fic of which is still available for Supernatural

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

At the Healing Edge of Broken

Prick the Craving, Watch it Seep

Multiplying Parents

How to Succeed in Business

The Tying of Canines

5. Do you respond to comments?

I used to. Hardly ever anymore, and unfortunately, I've got solid reasons for that. I will respond to them if someone asks a question that legitimately needs answering or similar. And while I maybe don't respond to them anymore, I do read every single one multiple times. I love comments, and I'm so grateful for everyone who takes time out of their lives to leave them for me <3

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

Ah...heh. That's really not an easy question to answer for me. I guess, coming from a personal stance, knowing everything I put into it and the build up that led to then ending, I'd have to say Wasteland. That's the one that's still lingering with me to this day.

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

That's also hard to answer, because as much as I love flooding my fics with angst, I have a lot that end very happy or hopeful. Narrowing it down to longer fics with more character arc throughout, I'd probably say This Way We Fall because it leaves them on such a high note after all the struggle.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Unfortunately, yes, but that's part of it, I guess. I've become better at ignoring it.

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

I do, but at the end of the day, it's mostly just typical smut when I look at it, though I do have a few kinkier ones scattered in there (ceiling smut, er...inter-species stuff). There's also the...not entirely nice stuff when it comes to smut as well simply because I like exploring all aspects of most everything.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Haven't so far. Doubt I ever will, but you never know.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of. I hope not.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope

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

I have! I co-wrote Family on the Mend with @tracingpatternswrites and it was so much fun! I'd love to co-write more fics in the future!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

It's gonna have to be Wolfstar just because that's where my heart has rested for years, but there are others that run as close seconds.

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

Oh god. YOU. It's not posted anywhere, still only exists in my docs, but I'm convinced that fic will haunt the rest of my life.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I always struggle with questions like this, but that also means I've spent a lot of time thinking about it over the years. I think, mostly based on reactions I've had and what other people have said, that I'm quite good at capturing heavy and deep emotions, hopefully enough to not only grip a reader, but to plunge them into the heart of a scene and make them feel those emotions as well.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Details? There are times I think I'm terrible at this, and not just in fiction writing. It's in everything. Something might exist in my head, and I sometimes manage to forget that not everyone can see my exact thoughts and know what I'm thinking, so I leave important bits and pieces out of things and explanations that only end up confusing people - or worse, makes me seem not so great in general simply because I forgot the inclusion of a very important point when it mattered most.

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

I'm not against it, though it's not something I generally do because I don't know any other languages and that's a risky game to play. I'll only include it if I've spoken to someone who speaks that language fluently and has agreed to translate for me. But having other languages in a fic is a wonderful thing, especially if you're trying to include other cultures, though speaking as someone who has to rely on things like Google Translate that aren't always accurate, included translations are always appreciated.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

This changes constantly for me. I'm not sure how it couldn't. I love most of the fics I've written, and it's like choosing a favorite child sometimes. However, I think right now I'd have to say it's a toss up between CRuSH (i'm just so proud of this one) and Multiplying Parents (also very proud, and this one was so much fun and makes me grin every time i think about it).

Open tag! Because I'm very late to this and I've got the feeling most everyone has done this by now.

#20 questions #tag game

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