AHTLAS' ¹ st STARTER CALL .    ( still accepting.   ) please expect me to be slow to post !

ft. @wildlike

THEY, THE ODD PAIR THAT THEY ARE— have truths that neither one asks the other. 𝚒𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 𝚖𝚞𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚕 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 that there are some scars that just aren't meant to be questioned, while others are free reign, so long as that reign only reaches over the mundane . . . covering childhood blunders; stories easily swapped versus 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚑𝚒𝚍𝚎 close to their chests.

it is at relative peace that jack finds himself beside the other man once again, glancing over to him only once- before handing him blindly a cup of coffee in the next; steam wafting off the top of a fresh brew. " if you're going to stand in my kitchen, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚖𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚊𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚕 have some. "

i'm stayin'

for @steddieholidaydrabbles prompt 'who did this to you?' wc: 869 rated: m cw: off-screen violence, mentioned childhood abuse (not in detail) tags: steve harrington has bad parents, established relationship, secret relationship, pre-season 4, hurt/comfort, asthmatic steve because i've made him go through everything else why not this too

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Steve's vision was blurry, his hands shaking as he tried to put his car in park in front of the trailer.

His backpack, no longer full of what he needed for school, sat in the passenger seat, half-zipped and telling the ugly truth of what he wasn't sure he could process right now: his parents had kicked him out with only the possessions he could shove into his bag.

Steve winced as he reached for his inhaler, a last second grab when his dad had decided he'd given him plenty of time to pack only three minutes into his rushed efforts.

He didn't need it at this moment, had managed to calm down on the drive to Eddie's, but knew it was only a matter of time before the anxiety would set in again. Hopefully, he'd have Eddie next to him when it did.

Wayne's truck wasn't in the yard, probably working another night shift. Eddie's new-to-him van was parked crooked by the front porch, like he'd been in a rush to get inside when he got home earlier.

Steve immediately stepped out of his car into mud.

Right. It rained earlier.

No lights were on in the trailer, but Wayne had given him a key only a few weeks before, saying something about how he should always have a place to go if he needed it.

Almost like he had a feeling about what was to come.

Steve opened the door, surprised to find Eddie passed out on the couch, blanket pulled up to his nose and the space heater turned off.

If his eye didn't hurt so bad, he'd roll them both. No matter how many times he told Eddie to just turn it on before he sat down so he would be warm, it didn't seem to sink in.

He turned it on, cursing quietly when it made a loud popping noise.

"Wayne?" Eddie asked, rubbing his eyes and sitting up as he tried to wake up. "Work?"

"Not Wayne, Eds. Go back to sleep." The last thing Steve needed right now was Eddie freaking out about what he was sure was ugly proof of his father taking out his prejudices on him. "I'm gonna be in your room."

"Steve?" He sounded much more awake now, and Steve couldn't resist turning fully to look at him. "Holy shit. Who did this to you?"

Steve grimaced. He knew they couldn't ignore it, he was just hoping to patch himself up a bit before morning when Eddie would start asking questions.

"Um."

And then the damn tears started falling before Steve could give any explanation, and Eddie's arms wrapped around him carefully, like he was terrified to hurt him more. Eddie was always so careful with him, like he knew there were plenty of invisible bruises already.

He cried for so long, his entire body felt numb, and he could vaguely register that he was shivering. Eddie's hands were rubbing his back slowly, comforting him the best he could.

Eventually, Steve's tears stopped, his breathing slowed back to normal, and his chest didn't feel as heavy.

"Is that your inhaler or are you just happy to see me?" Eddie teased gently, leaving room for Steve to ignore him if he wasn't in the mood for jokes.

Steve snorted. "It's my inhaler. But I am happy to see you. Always."

Eddie's lips brushed the top of his head, so faint, Steve almost thought he imagined it.

"You wanna talk about it?" The caution in Eddie's voice was enough for Steve to pull his head away from his shoulder, flinching when he felt the pull of his split lip.

"Not now. Kinda tired." Understatement of the century. Steve felt like he could sleep for hours. "Can I sleep here?"

"Stevie, you can stay as long as you want, you know that."

Steve knew Eddie knew, and Eddie knew Steve wasn't gonna come outright and say it until he'd had time to come down from it all.

"Can we sleep in your bed?" Steve asked, resting his head back on Eddie's shoulder.

Eddie wordlessly led him down the short hallway to his bedroom, helped him get into comfier clothes, and used a washcloth to wipe any of the blood he'd missed at the gas station earlier.

They got in bed, Steve curling against Eddie's side like he'd done so many times before.

This felt different though. This felt like an end of something, a beginning of something else.

*-*-*-*-*-*

When Wayne saw him the next morning, he gave him a sad smile, a hug, and handed him a cup of coffee.

"You stayin'?" he asked, like it was simple.

Like Steve could stay.

"I-"

"I have two rules. One, you go to school. Two, you tell me if you're gonna be out too late, especially on a school night. You follow those, you stay. Sound good?" Wayne raised a brow.

If Steve hadn't spent the last six months at the Munson's trailer more than his own home, maybe he'd be intimidated.

As it stood, all he could do was give a small smile and grab a frozen bag of mixed veggies from the freezer to put on his swollen eye.

"I'm stayin'."

Hi RK! I think about you a lot as far as seeing the writer I want to be out in the wild. You self-published, right? Do you have a Guide for those of us wanting to follow your path, or advice on Where to Look for going in the self pub direction?

Hello and thank you so much!! I apologize if this gets rambly- there's a lot to cover, and I hope you stick with me through it.

I am indeed self-published! Everyone's situation and goals are different, but for me, I work full-time, write on the side, and want to push out professional-looking books because...well, because I want to. I currently don't plan to move to writing full-time, and I do have a job that helps cover the costs of an editor, cover designer, etc.

That's all important to establish up front, because that majorly impacts basically everything else about my strategy.

Because I work full-time, I can't write as fast as other folks. I also don't have as much time to spend on marketing. But because I work full-time, I can set aside money for a line editor, a cover designer, a proofreader, and an illustrator if needed, as well as cover a website, pre-order goodies, author copies for giveaways, a BookFunnel subscription, etc.

So, with all that...

Step 1:

Assess your goals, your abilities, your limits, and plan your strategy around that.

I realize that sounds really vague, but there are so many aspects to self-publishing, and so many things that can either cost $0 or $1,000, that it's worth jotting down the following first:

What you are comfortable & proficient with doing yourself (cover design? proofreading? making your own pre-order swag?)

What you have time for (things like social media, newsletters, and designing your own cover all take time)

What you have the money for (if you're going to spend money on anything, the conventional wisdom is cover design + editor)

What you have the energy for (book release speed, marketing, etc)

What your end goal is (publishing for fun? for a career? for something in between?)

Once you have all that jotted down, I'd plan out the following (and this is really starting from square one):

Your Books' Content

What genre do I want to write in? And do I want to put effort into targeting a sub-genre or sub-sub-genre (a successful strategy for career-focused indie authors), or would I prefer to keep myself flexible for creative purposes?

How much research do I want to put into this genre? A lot of intense indie authors will read a ton, research genre expectations, analyze tropes and covers, etc. But if you're just having fun, that's totally cool!

How quickly do I want to write? And the corollaries: do I want to write a bunch at once, then rapid-release? Or write and release one at a time?

What do I want my editing process to look like? I'd consider things like beta readers, sensitivity readers, and professional editors and/or proofreaders. (For later: don't forget about front and back matter, like copyright pages, acknowledgments, "leave a review and sign up for my newsletter!" pages, etc.)

Your Author Presence & Marketing

How do I want to appear as an author? Do you want to go all-out with a website, newsletter with reader magnets, Patreon and/or social media presence? Or pick and choose a few/none of those things? These are major time-sucks, and the conventional wisdom is that you don't want to try everything at once (particularly social media sites). Master one thing first, then move on to the next. (This is a, uh, do as I say and not as I do kinda situation...)

How do I want to handle cover design? Maybe the most important part of marketing besides your blurb. Please please don't skimp on it.

How do I price my books? Check other books in your genre and see what their average cost is.

What do I want my release strategy to look like? Pre-order goodies? ARCs? Giveaways?

Do I want to participate in any promos or paid advertising? The answer is typically 'no' at the beginning, but I've found BookFunnel to be helpful when it comes to distributing reader magnets and joining group promos.

The Technical & Business-y Aspects

(Not things you have to worry about right now, but things to eventually research and keep in mind.)

What format will my books be in? E-books are cheaper to produce than paperback and net you higher profits. But if you really wanna hold your book in your hand (like me) and write in a genre where readers buy paperbacks, then it could be worth planning for that as well.

How do I want to distribute my books? There are a ton of ways to distribute your book. Amazon, IngramSpark, Draft2Digital, Gumroad, Itchio, selling directly on a personal website, etc. If you also want your books in libraries and brick-and-mortar stores, that will impact your distribution strategy.

How will I typeset/format my book? You can do it through Word or Scrivener or even Reedsy's site, but there are also paid programs that make it easier and freelancers who can do it for you.

What sort of licenses do I need to sell books? The really not-fun part. Check your federal, state, county, and city for any required selling permits, business licenses, and tax rules. I'd also look into if you want to set up a DBA ("doing business as") or an EIN (basically a business tax ID number so you don't have to use your personal SSN).

What sort of ID numbers do my books need? For example, in the US, you need ISBN codes sold by Bowker. Not required for ebook, but required for paperback, with a separate code needed for hardcover, translations, or subsequent editions.

How do I copyright my books? For the US, it's the US Copyright Office.

(US Only) Do I want an LCCN (Library of Congress control #) for my book? This helps you get into libraries. If you want a #, you need to fill out a form before your book publishes.

Resources!

I realize this is a LOT to research. Please don't feel like you need to do all the research at once or know everything right away. Put most of your focus into writing and set aside some time to tackle the other topics as you go.

Here are some resources I found to be helpful:

FB Group: Wide for the Win (all about distributing across multiple platforms)

FB Group: 20Booksto50K (very business-focused, almost to a fault, and has some failings, but also has some great advice and detailed insights. I'd recommend using this page only if you're very serious about self-pub)

FB Group: Author Unleashed (great for getting blurb feedback!)

David Gaughran's "Starting from Zero" free online video course, all about marketing when you're totally new to the game

Tammi Lebrecque's Newsletter Ninja books and resources, if you want to delve into newsletters and reader magnets

The Complete Guide to Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Bucket Siler

The Indie Author's Bible by Christopher D Schmitz

Becca Syme's series for indie authors

A word of warning...

There are a lot of people out there making money off writing resources, aka selling mining equipment to the miners rather than mining themselves. There are thousands of self-publishing gurus with books, consultation packages, sales funnel advice, etc. Before you throw a lot of money at those resources, do some research and take a look at what other indie authors recommend first. (If it helps, I really do trust David Gaughran, Tammi Lebrecque, and Becca Syme for starters.)

Okay that's it!

That was a lot. I'm so sorry. I'm happy to answer any specific questions or concerns you have!

The Bumbleby scene feels too random at this point. It’s like they literally picked the scene out of a hat to “confirm” it. As you mentioned, the don’t even hold hands. You’re telling me that’s more intimate than the freaking cheek holding head touched in V8? Wait a minute, didn’t everyone think BB started back in V6 after they killed Adam? What the fuck is even going on anymore?!

People have always shipped it, but yeah, 'canonizing' them started post-Volume 3 and ramped up into 'Oh damn I think they're really gonna do it!' territory in Volume 6. We've got:

Yang grappling with Blake leaving post-Beacon. (She's not, for example, similarly concerned that Weiss 'abandoned' her too. Yang shouldn't have any idea that Weiss was essentially kidnapped by her dad)

Tender and then rejected hand-holding in the shed at the farm

Agreed upon hand-holding while fighting Adam which, yeah, a lot of people read as the moment they 'solved' their relationship troubles, seguing into something new. Hand-holding is often used in RWBY to indicate a romantic relationship, the only problem with using this as a confirmation is that all our other examples also have something more overt: Saphron and Terra are married, Nora kisses Ren/he says "I love you," etc.

Adam's "What do you see in her?" line. Although, this one is severely complicated by a contradiction in the fandom. Many fans claim this implies that Adam recognizes Blake's interest in Yang precisely because she was once interested in him - how can you like her over me? That's compounded by his motivations changing from being politically focused to what feels like stalking and hunting down an ex. However, these fans don't want to admit to the other implications that Blake and Adam were an item due to a lot of anti-men sentiments, biphobia, gold star lesbian nonsense, and the like. Basically, some fans want to use Adam's potential relationship with Blake as proof that she's in a relationship with Yang now, but not actually admit that they ever had that relationship because ew, how could perfect Blake like a male villain? There's also some of that with Sun: fans using Blake's interactions with him to support an interest in Yang ('She has a type!'), but simultaneously denying that blacksun was ever a possibility because that supposedly (not actually) threatens the sanctity of her One True Sapphic Love.

Forehead touch after Adam dies + a promise to never leave

More hand-holding in the airship

Blushing over Yang complimenting her haircut

Having fun pre-outing in Atlas that kinda implies it might be a date, but no one actually establishes it as a date and everyone is going out together, so...

Taking silly pictures together when they get their licenses

Nora's comments to Ren about how they're likely more than friends

Yang being worried about Blake even though she fought with Ruby

Yang tenderly cupping Blake's cheek when they're reunited

Blake loosing it when Yang "dies"

Tackle-hug when everyone else gets...uh, a knee touch?

Blake being flirty, leaning in, finger brush

Weiss' "It's about time" comment

I've probably missed some stuff, but the point is that it's been four years (or even six years depending on how far back you're willing to go) and we're still in this flirty, teasing, ambiguous stage where, as demonstrated above, reading a romantic relationship often requires making a lot of assumptions that rely on having a lot of trust in your writers. I don't know if I'd call all this random, but it is a holding pattern. They blush, hold hands, and others vaguely comment on what they might be. But unlike our straight couples, we're not given anything solid to canonize them with.

I mean, even if you're a fan who believes that these little breadcrumbs are enough to prove the love between them (and here I'm addressing the fandom at large, not you specifically, Happygaynoises2) we get how the queer couples aren't given equal treatment, right? Pyrrha kissed Jaune. Nora kissed Ren. Ren said "I love you." Jaune asked Weiss to the dance. Weiss blatantly chases after Neptune. Ozpin marries and has kids with Salem. Everyone but Adrian has married, straight parents.

Compare that to our queer rep (with May being an exception due to her gender) and it's pretty obvious that this glacial "slow burn" has less to do with the needs of the story and more about RT hesitating to make two of the main girls unambiguously queer. After all, if most of your fans are happy with those breadcrumbs and a canonical relationship would drive away the homophobes... why not just toe the line to keep both groups around, giving you more money?

That's a form of queerbaiting and it's why so many of us remain nervous. I seriously hope given what we've seen so far that this will FINALLY be the Volume when we can set the 'Will they, won't they?' to rest. But who can actually say.

Hey friends!

Lots of works today :] ! I had to split up the post because Tumblr hates links - the rest of the works will be in a reblog.

A new work, A Chance For Adventure by phoenixash234flames, was published today, with 1/1 Chapters released! It has a rating of General Audiences and No Archive Warnings Apply, with no additional tags :]!

You can read it here:

A Promise, A proposal by favouritesacrificiallamb, was updated today, with 2/? Chapters released! It has a rating of Teen And Up Audiences and No Archive Warnings Apply, and Graphic Depictions Of Violence, with additional tags "pickling, yeah..., Alternate Universe, Possessive Behavior, Violence, Injury"

You can read it here:

This work is based off of Shuueep's AU here on Tumblr, which you can find here. :]

All the Leaves are Brown (And the Sky is Grey), by Oswalish, was updated today, with 3/? Chapters released! It has a rating of Teen And Up Audiences and No Archive Warnings Apply, with additional tags "Slow Burn, Alternate Universe - Office, Office AU, Wow tagging is hard, Enemies to Lovers, Kinda, Bitter Exes, Pining, Mutual Pining, Chronic Pain, Scarab has Chronic Pain, Walking Canes, Alternate Universe - Human"

You can read it here:

A new work, Along For The Ride by WaokeVale, was published today, with 1/1 Chapters released! It has a rating of General Audiences and No Archive Warnings Apply, with additional tags "Vague Threats, what did you expect from scrabby, Some angst, More to Follow - Freeform, fionna and cake spoilers, i guess"

You can find it here:

A new work, Come Earn a Place in My Heart by biteof22, was published today, with 2/? Chapters released! It has a rating of Teen And Up Audiences and No Archive Warnings Apply, with additional tags "Slow Burn, this. is THE Slow Burn i have ever written, Unresolved Tension, Denial of Feelings, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Office, less office au and more Auditor!Prismo but human tomfooleries, Involuntary Teamwork"

You can read it here:

A new work, Electric Purple by Mitch_D_Punk, was published today, with 1/1 Chapters released! It has a rating of Teen And Up Audiences and No Archive Warnings Apply, with additional tags "Pre-Relationship, Post-Canon, Fluff, past violence is quickly referenced, No Smut"

You can read it here:

A new work, Everything Is Fine by TJade, was published today, with 1/1 Chapters released! It has a rating of General Audiences and No Archive Warnings Apply, with additional tags "Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Communication, not at first but they get there"

You can read it here:

NSFW works are below the cut :].

Aeidae in a Waterbound Planet, by TheAutismGoblin, was updated today, with 2/? Chapters released! It has a rating of Mature and Graphic Depictions of Violence, and Major Character Death, with additional tags "So much character death, as per usual in Subnautica, Big boys, Ocean, Mute Ryley Robinson, Sign Language, Leviathans, Alterra Corporation is Terrible (Subnautica), Emperor leviathan babies are adorable, Survival, Survival Horror, Correct anatomy, I DID TOO MUCH RESEARCH, Octopus, Ox beetle, Aliens, Alternate Universe - Subnautica Fusion, Animal Traits, Bugs & Insects, I'm serious y'all I did too much research, Eventual Smut, Eventual Romance"

You can read it here:

A new work, Cicada's Last Song by othersin, was published today, with 1/2 Chapters released! It has a rating of Explicit and Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, with additional tags "reverse, Role Swap, scarab is a version of the wishmaster, prismo is a version of the god auditor, Rough Sex, Accidental Voyeurism. Voyeurism, is is weird to watch your alt selves doing the nasty, probably, ProhibitedWish, Relationship(s), Romance"

You can read it here:

been sitting on the subject of like. general vague dissatisfaction i have with the handling of recent hsr writing and after reading a comment on reddit along similar lines im realizing how hoyo kinda just? overplayed their hand with the HCQ lore?

like they leaned way too hard into the "hehehe tune in maybe youll learn the truth THIS time~ SIKE its still vague and inconclusive as shit!!!!" and trying to tease and wink and nod to extend the shelf life of the initial hype far too much to the point where the 'promise' of new HCQ content doesnt even like... really excite me as much as it just makes me pre-emptively irritated bc i genuinely dont know if theyre just gonna keep on dodging the big questions bc uhhhhhhhhh reasons!!!

its not like we havent gotten SOME answers, true, like bailu = baiheng but post dan fengs terrible horrible no good DNA soup more or less confirmed Was pretty huge but its still like. that mission still left more questions unanswered than it did answer them and it just feels frustrating when it feels the ratio of questions answered and questions unanswered hasnt changed much at all since 1.0 at least when it comes to the big lore stuff

like unironically imo if they didnt want to reveal dan hengs past or answer HCQ questions upfront and do the characters involved justice this early on they shouldve left luofu as like. the 3rd or 4th world we encounter and just foreshadowed shit much more gradually. which probably wouldve resulted in the entire luofu arc being way better too lmao. but they just had to sell DHIL asap so now dan hengs pivotal character moment is pretty much forever sullied by the writing and pacing failing both him and the larger HCQ & luofu plotline and thats just. Unfortunate

again its not like shits unwatchable or completely terrible it just. fell short. and when your gameplay loop is by default more simplistic and barebones than something like genshin factors like the story content each patch should really be as polished as possible and not... this. its ok to build up with less stakes arcs in between! spend time expanding the express gang dynamics with wacky space shenanigans! explore the setting! and then once the stakes have had the time to be established and everythings lining up thats the time for a major arc bc imho its better they leave the subject completely unexplored than rush things and feature it in a subpar manner like this

like. man. its really just that im more disappointed and sad than angry tbh.

BLACK ORCHIDS, BLUE LILIES, AND BLEEDING HEARTS

I wanted to do a “capsule reviews of random obscurities” type of post. I didn’t anticipate a theme would emerge of how the potential exhibited by unfinished work might be superior to work that concludes in an unsatisfying way.

BLACK ORCHID

Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean did a three-issue miniseries reviving a forgotten DC superhero before getting The Sandman off the ground, and while that comic has been kept in print, that’s not what I read. What I got the urge to track down (after seeing pages on Tumblr) was the attempt at an ongoing series circa the 1993 launch of Vertigo that’s never been reprinted, written by a dude, Dick Foreman, who didn’t have much of a career in comics but I believe remained friends with Alan Moore — He was a contributor to Dodgem Logic and (maaaaybe? This is a vague memory) got a shout-out in the From Hell annotations for some kind of research assistance. The first few issues are GREAT. Jill Thompson handles the art, and she really is just a rock-solid storyteller, nailing backgrounds and body language and favoring straightforward grids. The story, as people in the letter column point out, is a Thelma And Louise riff: We’ve got this one woman with hypnotic mind control powers, and we’ve got the woman she’s manipulated into being her best friend, and they’re on the run from an scientific/governmental organization. There’s a supporting cast of likable people established that our hero is implicitly manipulating, generating some tension. Each issue is pretty self-contained, they get into some Vertigo horror/fantasy shenanigans.  One of these is a Swamp Thing crossover, I don’t have the Swamp Thing issue, drawn by Rebecca Guay, who becomes the series’ regular artist once Jill Thompson leaves. Guay is not nearly as solid an artist, and Foreman’s stories get more fantasy-oriented in a way that leaves me cold. It’s cool the creative team abandons any pretense to superheroics, but since the shift in ambition coincides with the loss of a storyteller that can ground it, I may discard all the Guay issues. With Jill Thompson there really is a high level of control over the visual storytelling that allows the writing to do ambitious things, structurally and with language, but also chill out and let moments exist.

Foreman was supposed to do a creator-owned series with Vertigo called The Rites Of Alchemy, illustrated by Paul Johnson, that never came out, though the completed work was posted on a blog maintained by the book’s assistant editor.

The covers are by Dave McKean, really rocking that early nineties 4AD kinda vibe. DC isn’t having his art on the covers of the newer Sandman reprints, favoring an illustration-style approach to the goth vibe. It’s interesting, the design choices of pre-Vertigo really were meant to signal “THIS ISN’T LIKE OTHER COMICS,” but now DC really does want to present that stuff as part  and parcel with what they regularly do. Different times! Comics are more widely accepted culturally, but they’re also a lot worse.

THE BLUE LILY

I think the only person I’ve ever seen talk about this comic is Joe McCulloch tweeting about it. I know Angus McKie as the person who handled computer coloring for Dave Gibbons on the Martha Washington series, I would not have expected his authorial sensibility to be that of a post-underground cartoonist who is making a lot of jokes as he makes a very dense genre pastiche. He also doesn’t over-model the coloring on his own stuff, which would surely make this unreadable. There’s a lot of text on these pages, each issue is 48 pages long. This was originally meant to be a 4-issue miniseries but it got canceled halfway through, but what exists is still fairly satisfying, and somewhat exhausting. Tonally and visually, it’s reminiscent of Mack White or Tim Lane, only doing a noir riff in a science-fiction setting where the private eye is a robot, which is honestly more ambitious than those dudes would do, but the tone is thoughtful and comedic enough that it never tips into that genre mashup style I find so distasteful. McKie is also known for a book published by Heavy Metal (and partially adapted for the movie) called So Beautiful And So Dangerous, but I don’t know anything about that.

STORYTELLER

I came across two (late, non-consecutive) issues of the Barry Windsor-Smith comic Storyteller at cover price in a shop and honestly just wanted to brag about it. Really beautiful color and format. He’s serializing three stories, two of which got conclusions in graphic novel collections Fantagraphics put out. I am going to convince myself I have no interest in being a completist about this work, that reading a graphic novel collection would be unsatisfying on a narrative level, what makes this comic fun is the ambition of it -- I’m interested in seeing the process of BWS trying to get somewhere, less so in where he’s trying to go. All of these things are trying to be comedies to some extent, nothing is as out-and-out dark as Monsters is, and his sense of humor seems kind of dumb. But he’s a really dense storyteller, he’s making sure that every story moves forward on every page, even if it’s sort of incremental or picaresque none of it ever feels like filler. It’s a really ambitious comic but it’s easy to imagine the fans of good comics in 1997 being put off by how the cover of every issue depicts fantasy images of either a viking warrior or a maiden showing her cleavage at way larger dimensions than anything else on the racks. I think of BWS as working a similar vein to Michael Kaluta -- this fantasy style that has seemed out of date the entire time I’ve been reading comics -- Kaluta being who they’ve got doing the covers to the new Sandman trades.

BLEEDING HEART

This was a one-person anthology series Fantagraphics ran in the early nineties by Peter Kuper, whose later Vertigo miniseries The System may have competed with Storyteller for a comic buyer’s dollar. Kuper does a pretty cool style with spray paint over stencils that is as appealing as it is plainly labor-intensive. In The System we get a full color version, though here he just does it in black and white, alongside stuff done with a pen. He’s mostly known as a political cartoonist, one of the founders of World War 3 Illustrated, and he basically connects the lineage between woodcut books and Banksy. Here we also get him doing autobio comics about how he jerks off, that classic early nineties alt-comics comedy routine, that comes off charming here due to the context of Kuper doing enough other stuff to not get pigeon-holed.

BAOBAB

I was trying to figure out if this Igort comic, that had three issues published as part of the Ignatz line co-published by Fantagraphics and Coconino, ever got a conclusion and a book collection in Italy. I didn’t find that out. What I did find was Teddy Kristiansen -- known in the U.S. primarily for this work on Vertigo comics like Sandman -- rating each issues 5 stars on Goodreads. I wouldn’t have thought to make that associative leap, although Joe McCulloch, writing about his issue of Solo, did compare one story to the Loustal/Paringaux collaborations. Baobab is beautiful: A story of comics in the early twentieth century, evolving in parallel across continents with different visual traditions, that really works the angle that the way to pay homage to Feininger and Herriman is to experiment with visual language. A plot point, that newspaper serialization can be interrupted by political events, roughly foreshadows the story’s interrupted and abbreviated form. That a work in progress can nonetheless engage its readers is explicitly text here. I still think there is likely a great number of greater effects a work of this caliber and ambition could achieve were it to come to a conclusion, but for now I’ll have to seek the potential narrative satisfaction that would follow from finding a copy of the first issue, which I still have yet to track down.

💝what is a fic that got a different response than you were expecting? 💥find your least kudos'd fic - say something wonderful about it.

Oooh, that first one's got me thinking, hm... there's a lot of stories I've made over the years but in terms of volume of responses I wasn't quite expecting, I have to say probably that old 'From V to U' fic I made, because as it happened I got corrected by like four people why Maru's name is Maru. A part of me wants to redo it because of that but you know what? It's one headcanon, an old one at that, so I'm not worried about it. Y'all can live with it.

Another one, for a strikingly different reason, is basically any of my popular ones. I almost never "expect" to get a lot of traction on them, per se, I kinda just expect the usual handful of views and kudos, but some of them - *cough cough* Chance of Rain - just seem to take off on their own accord. It's extremely welcome and appreciated but it's definitely unexpected, too XP

Also I found my least kudosed piece (it's actually a tie) and I'm...GENUINELY surprised? Like. It's a smutfic. Are you- are you guys okay? The horny people totally passed this one up? (to be fair this is an OC/OC piece so I can understand that much, but still)

Now 'Unknown' I get, y'know - it's a Cabbie-ISH fic, it's vague, it's short, there's a piece of lore behind the piece of lore and it won't make any sense if you don't read the first one and you really don't NEED to read this one because the only thing it is is finishing the job and closing the book on one part of Cabbie's pre-military life. But still.

Oh wait I needed to say something specifically good about them I just remembered LOL

On 'A Canine's Pet' I just absolutely love the wording. It's technically in an in-between place of 'vanilla' and 'very much not' but Lucky and C4NIN3 are an established couple (and they're adorable) who can admittedly be a little kinky from time to time too. They're both characters that belong to my buddy @yaboymacaroni and they're super cool and fun to write. I think I'm just trash for small bratty twink characters but you know lol

And for 'Unknown', hmm...Well, I can tell you I made Unknown before I even finished making Sweet Child of Mine (the brother fic to it). I knew exactly how I wanted it to end, though getting there was the trickier aspect. And if I'm being really honest here (I always end up that way because I can't bend truth to save my life) the fic was its own kind of vent in a way, it just wormed its way into the ties of headcanon lore. The only thing it's meant to reference is cutting connections with your past and, well without putting too fine a point on it, leaving the past to rot in your stead. Finishing a chapter of your life so to speak, no matter how messy severing that connection may be. Is it a little extreme? of course, it's fanfiction. Then again, I've also seen a lot worse. And when you're a writer, your own self starts to get sewn into the fabric of fics you weave, whether we wanted it there or not.

(One of these days I'll finish Blindfall, I swear to you)

hm hm hm arasulahn left clan lavellan when she was 10, so like ~9:20 dragon, whiccchhhh means *if* ur lavellan character is over 25 by 9:41 dragon they might’ve known each other briefly in their childhood and remembered it???

I wanna hear about why you love Zonic so much

@stillafanofsonic @lunasilverpelt 1. He is cool as fuck okay /j Cut bc this is LONG

No but in all seriousness. I only JUST started liking him recently. I don't care much for his pre-reveal characterization or design, because he kinda just looked like a shitty megaman oc with some generic mumbo jumbo about protecting the multiverse or whatever. And I guess it was a pretty cool moment when he DID take his helmet off, but it kinda just missed the mark for me. Idk why it just did The writers mostly used him, along with Naugus, Mammoth Mogul, echidnas, and racism to give Sonic and the gang (mostly sonic) shit to do while Eggman was being set up. While the others were more serious villains, the zones Zonic took Sonic (OR THE READERS!!!) to were mostly just silly, one-off parody zones. After Eggman's return, Sonic had his hands full, and I assume Zonic and the zone cops did too. But while we're here, can we talk about the very CONCEPT of zones?? In the games, they were just areas to go in. Which is completely fine. But the inclusion of the special zone and the Zone of Silence in SatAM indicated that zones could also be seperate dimensions or realities. Sonic had a few fun times in zones before any Zonic shit was revealed, like in Super Sonic vs. Hyper Knuckles, when he met Anti Sonic, or in that trippy zone with Al and Cal or whoever the fuck. And it's either been established or was common knowledge that those zones are either parallel universes such as Moebius/The Anti Zone, or pocket dimensions, like the Special Zone or Zone of Silence. The "COSMIC INTERSTATE" was just a gateway to Anti Sonic, but the IDEA that those zones are connected somehow was set up. Funnily enough, Zonic didn't even THINK to rear his ugly head (affectionate) during the Giant-Borg Crisis, so the Sonics solved the problem on their own. Although later down the line, he'd say he knew about all that and partook in some shenanigans with the Sonic Underground crew. The Cosmic Interstate would later be expanded into the concept of the No Zone, a zone that runs perpendicular to all other parallel ones, thereby intersecting and connecting all of them. This leads to the fact that every inhabitant of this zone is dedicated to preserving the multiverse, a group known as the Zone Cops. These motherfuckers never even took their sorry asses outside of their zone, however, leaving Zonic to do all their dirty work for them. How rude. He was involved with a lot of other miscellaneous shit over the years, which isn't really important, but I'll give a quick overview. He arrested Evil Sonic who then escaped jail after beating him up but then was promptly put back in jail. Mammoth Mogul tried to destroy every zone ever because he's cringe, so Zonic and Sonic teamed up to create the monstrosity known as Titan Tails. And then Anti/Evil Sonic was a little bitch and turned into Scourge, caused some mayhem, and was then beaten up by Sonic, who called Zonic out on his bullcrap, because the Eggman they have is not from their zone. Zonic comes and takes away Scourge, and says some vague ass shit about how he's "needed for the stability of your zone" or some shit. Which is why a lot of people dislike him actually, rather than just calling him mid. However, and this is encroaching headcanon territory, I think there's just enough clues to interpret for yourself. Chaos energy is extremely important in both the games AND in the comics, although in a more subtle way. So when Zonic says there "HAS to be a Sonic and an Eggman," he most likely means how the perpetual conflict that takes place between Sonic and Eggman sustains the natural chaos affinity of that specific zone, and when things get TOO chaotic, that's when the Zone Cops step in. He also says how the Zone Cops are fighting against Eggman N. so need to do a little bit of some zonal social distancing. He then calls Scourge a fucking loser or something and peaces out. Then the funny little jailbreak happens, and then reboot. Boom. A lot of character things here, but I won't go too into detail because I can't. I'm too dumb. Sorry :(

But now we need to go into personality, and a lot of VERY interesting concepts relating to zones imo. Zonic's usual personality is, like @burningdepths said, a lot more serious and focused than Sonic, due to the responsibility he has. It's also interesting to note that he rarely uses his super speed, if EVER, or if he even has it at all. (I like to think he does, just because. Well. He's a fucking sonic.) Sonic's speed obviously representing his freedom, contrasts with how Zonic is not free and can not be free. He's bound to his duty by some inexplicable rule, which creates conflict with the character of Sonic- ANY Sonic. Which are two very important things. (Also important- he DOES have Sonic's attitude and personality, just buried down a lot. IT does surface very rarely though.)

Starting with contrast: I always believed that every alternate zone version of a character starts the same, and is shaped into the person we see them as. This also means that nobody is BORN "good" or "evil". A bit of nature vs. nurture. A prime example of this is Scourge. What are common personality traits of a Sonic? Specifically in Archie, Sonic is a lot more of a dick. He has an ego and he's a little impatient. But he's still a hero at the end of the day, kind and respectful and fun and all that jazz, even though he does half the things he does just for the thrill of it. Archie's Sonic is a bit more grounded, although not by a lot, since he lives in a house with a family and friends and a team. He is also confirmed to be the embodiment of chaos, adding to the thing I said earlier about Eggman and him. Sonic is the way he is because the people he loved were taken away from him by Robotnik, and he wants to fight to get them back, and then keep them, as well as doing the same for others. The person he is today is a result of his character traits being molded by his situations.

Scourge, on the other hand, has been presented as what Sonic COULD be, if everything had went wrong. Unlike Sonic, Scourge had massive daddy issues, like all good villains do. The Great Peace also meant Moebius was weak and ripe for takeover. Since Kintobor is a big softie (I have no time nor energy to start on HIM), Scourge just waltzed in and took over. Good for him. He also committed murder. Now, WHY is he like this? Remember what I said about Sonic's character?? In for the thrill, has an ego?? (None of which are inherently bad, mind you) Well, so does Scourge. Sonic has mentioned that he used to be a bully, meaning that being a hero isn't a part of who he is. It's a product of who he came to be. Those character traits are present in Scourge as well. He came to find Sonic multiple times, because he was fucking bored. Even after powering up, he wanted to go test his powers against Sonic and Shadow. He is very obviously egotistical, and when taking over Moebius, referred to himself as a king. Not very humble. But in this case, he's a massive fucking dickwad, since there was no big bad to put him in his place, whether that be war or a mad scientist, and teach him to fight for the right cause with his friends.

Now Zonic, you can argue, is neither good nor bad. He is leaning a bit to the good side, seeing as most Sonics ARE good, but he's not a pure hero like the regular Sonic is. (credit to @id-f87 for some of these ideas too) Just like how the No Zone is perpendicular to the Prime and Anti Zones, Zonic's moral compass is perpendicular as well. He is technically a "good guy" at the end of the day, but not in the way Sonic is. That ego and thrill-seeking hasn't been toned down, rather redirected by the establishment that he was raised in. He's an Elite Cop, meaning he probably puts a lot of time and effort into all of that, and the multiverse is most likely no stranger to adventures. There's a lot to be said about the Zone Cops being a corrupt establishment and everything, but that's another discussion for another day. Zonic's brief conversation with Warden Zobotnik shows that he doesn't really care too much for minor rules, and if convinced that something is the right thing to do, would probably do it, regardless of what his orders are. Unlike Sonic, who isn't willing to cut any of his losses, Zonic seems more willing to make sacrifices for the "greater good," meaning that it is possible for him to end up against Sonic Prime. Like Sonic and Scourge, he seems prone to making rash decisions sometimes, and definitely has his fair share of mistakes, such as when he forgor to call Underground Sonic to fight Giant Borg. It does feel like he doesn't WANT to be a Zone Cop at times, but genuinely does not know any other option for himself. He pretty much represents the Zone Cops to other zones, (specifically the Prime zone, which might have to do with the fact he's a Sonic) and it's very hard to separate his personal identity to the identity of his bosses. Which is something I think can be explored, especially when his Zone Cop need to maintain order clashes with his own chaotic nature, outside of a workplace.

My pet AU is Kiyotaka and Mondo somehow out in the post-Tragedy Japan, surviving and saving people. Like either they didn't agree to stay locked in Hope's Peak for safety, or they survived the game and left with the others but didn't join Future Foundation. Major points up front, details divided into sections under the cut:

Mondo's objective would be to find his gang, and Taka's goal, besides finding his dad, would be repairing society while punishing those responsible for its destruction. But their direct task is keeping each other safe & helping victims along the way.

Mondo even stresses calling Taka "Ishimaru" instead of "bro" or his given name in front of others, so they might KNOW who's saving them. Taka caught on quick & is very grateful.

Taka would have kind of a breakdown reconciling who he is with what he has to do in a lawless world where every public moral is ignored. He keeps a small ledger of places they loot from, to compensate in the future.

At the start, Taka can only sleep burrowed against Mondo's chest or back, blocking out their damaged surroundings & pretending everything is as it was.

He cries in Mondo's arms one night after he couldn't avoid killing someone to save Mondo's life, and that's the tipping point. He thinks if he was better, stronger like his bro, he'd have noticed sooner & found a better option. Mondo is being so brave; he's Taka's rock and Taka wants to be as steady for him too. Their souls are already connected so obviously he just has to borrow more of Mondo's spirit, right?

That's how Ishida is created.

(In reality, Mondo just compartmentalizes and shoves down unhelpful feelings. You thought he needed therapy BEFORE all this, oh man-)

Ishida:

Taka ends up slipping into the Ishida facade for fight and flight; any time adrenaline kicks in and he feels he needs that boost. Sadly, that's most of their waking time. He guards Mondo and anyone they're saving like a fierce watchdog, and won't hesitate to bite.

He'll only come out of the role when he personally verifies it's safe and if Mondo can confirm it. Survivors are confused by the dual-sided Ishimaru switching right in front of them, but they're so grateful (and so much weird crap has happened) that it never phases them long.

Too many times, Ishida will go all day without a break. This means when their hideout for the night is absolutely safe, that it's okay to let go, Taka just collapses in exhaustion. But Mondo is there to catch him.

Mondo feels conflicted over the Ishida role because Taka is just a beast in it--it's very flattering and a little hot--but it also makes him worry more than before about Taka's health. He comforts Taka with a lot of praise and reassurances, and Taka sleeps lightly but otherwise fine.

Relationship: (slight mature warning)

When they touch, Taka swears he can feel the link between them flare to fuel them. Twin fires ignited. Mondo doesn't know about all that, but when their eyes meet it definitely makes him feel invincible, so, he can believe.

If they weren't already new boyfriends when The Tragedy hit, all this closeness makes sure of that soon after. Being together is their happiness and, for a while, their only link to pre-Tragedy lives. Vows not unlike marriage were exchanged one night. Where one goes, the other will follow. Anywhere. Always.

When they kiss, safe and alone, Mondo will ask what Taka wants; what he can handle that night. Sometimes it's just the kisses before passing out, sometimes it's more intimate touches to please them both after another hellish day.

Sometimes Taka will ask to be made love to, for obvious couple reasons, but also because Mondo inside him makes their tether feel stronger, more complete. Like going over the invisible line in bold marker. Taka believes any marks they can create with their mouths, any traces of themselves they can leave on or in each other, the easier they can find their bond and tap into it. (He had started a nervous habit of pressing in on lovebites to keep Ishida going when tired.)

Mondo tells him he doesn't need to find a poetic excuse for fetishes and Taka lovingly answers with a stomach punch.

Crazy Diamonds:

Mondo's gang members, the ones not dead or overcome with Despair, are slowly found and joined back up.

Any smaller and sturdier motorcycles are kept when found. If Mondo was able to keep his own in this version, it's a bit heavier than would be good for any off-roading--and much too loud for any stealth--but he refuses to part with it.

Every gang member respected Taka/Ishida the second they saw him fight beside their leader. Before Mondo says a word about him. They readily take orders from him in either form. The change in appearance was a surprise, but they're already used to some members wildly changing demeanor in or away from the gang, so it's easily accepted.

With the gang as backup to keep watch during downtime--after Ishida sized each one up and watched them for loyalty--the pair can feel a lot more relaxed. They joke about having a date in a blown-out restaurant they find, and they can finally enjoy a deep sleep.

When the group finds safehouses with more than one room, Mondo & Taka are given their privacy. Taka tries to insist everyone deserves a chance at privacy and they should rotate, but changing a gang's long-established hierarchy is a losing battle. And Mondo's not on his side because when they're alone he can be as sappy or touchy as he likes.

Legends:

Taka and Mondo save a lot of people over their journey and kinda become a legend that gets spread around and gives people Hope.

This area still needs work from me. Probably some research into Japanese myths and supernatural symbolism. A placeholder right now is something corny like "Two Men with burning eyes and thunderous voices will answer your cries for help. But if you're evil, the two will appear to you as One Demon and drag you down to the land of the dead."

There's also probably a need for costume changes since their color scheme is the same black & white of the Despair Remnants and monokumas killing people. Legend or not, it'd be easy for traumatized survivors to not know they're good guys at first.

Darker Moments: (blood, violence and vague attempted sexual assault)

After he killed a man to save Mondo, Taka luckily (he wouldn't use that word) doesn't have to again. Hurt? Yes. Beat unconscious? Yes. Maim? Yes, but some of the vile dregs of humanity are caught doing things that deserve worse--

--That deserve Mondo. Once when they were still traveling alone, a group of Remnants jumped them, managing to separate the two, and one knocked Taka out with a bad blow to the head. Mondo dispatched the others attacking him and got to Taka right as the Remnant was about to do something unforgivable.

Mondo snapped. He still doesn't remember what he did, he just remembers coming to in all the blood and dazedly picking Taka up to take him to a place he knew was safe.

Taka never finds out. He woke up a day later with a bandaged head and Mondo crying and kissing his hands. Mondo just told him he beat some and scared away the others.

Minor Details:

They try to always fight back-to-back and, to observers, seem to read each other's mind for where to move.

Taka/Ishida would use a sword or hand-to-hand. The pickaxe might just be a random pickaxe they find, if he uses it at all. Kinda hard to carry both a sword and a railroad pickaxe on your back, and I can't imagine it balances very well. (The size in official pics would be a 5lb head w/2-3lb handle.)

Mondo seems like he would use anything lying in debris to fight. Poles, pipes, chains. Aaaand maybe the knives he mentions in School Mode.

For any costume changes, Mondo would keep his jacket at least. A beacon for the Diamonds. Maybe a purple tank top, and different pants better for knife holsters. Unless the holster should wrap around his waist or hip instead?

Any changes to Taka's outfit would keep his armband. It's a reminder of his Talent and his goal to make Japan even better than before. Also wanna keep his boots or change to more rugged ones.

End Goal:

Obviously they'd end up in Towa, after the events of Ultra Despair Girls. They're reunited with Takaaki and Takemichi. Maybe they help set things right there a bit, or Makoto would get word to them about his plans vs Future Foundation's. Look at me, do I look like someone that knows how to end things?

There is no way you read all that. (I love you if you did.) But feel free to use all or any bits of it in your own works. Almost positive I'll never get to compose all this into a coherent fic format. I might update in short scenario posts under a 'Tragedy-survivor au' tag if I think of anything.

If you have a question or want something expanded upon, ask away.

alright this isn't a poly post but being Childe's best friend while he's pining for Kaeya??? like he's being all dramatic saying the beauty of the universe can't compare to Kaeya and you're all like 'have you even talked to him???' and he's like 'nooo but he's my soulmateeee' and just dealing with the chaos known as Chaeya (+bonus if you're Diluc's s/o and both of them just DONE with their pining and lock them into a closet to 'CONFESS FOR FUCKS SAKE')

consider this my offering to diluc to come home to me on feb 3rd on xiao’s banner on my first 10 pulls PLEASE IM BEG 

also nonnie you’re so big brained- i can’t get over this request like- chaeya pining??? diluc?????? ??????????????? i love it so much thank you for this request

being childe’s best friend is chaos enoUgH

he’s always getting into trouble, and you always have to help him??

but it’s also him telling you about his problems and him being there for yours? 

you two being plenty affectionate as friends too because you’re like best buds

childe’s always buying you shit and you always have to beat the shit out of him for buying you shit because wtf dude

little do you know he wants to fight you is why he’s finding ways to riles you up

pls you’re like one of his true friends because yeah he has cliques, the harbingers (whatever they are in this AU), and they hang occasionally, but they’re not like friends friends- 

so he really appreciates you as a person??? also zhongli!! they’d be buds too

y’all could be a little trio!

now you kinda know kaeya? from diluc-

wait idk how to do this- there’s so many possibilities??? pre-established diluc x you? or???? you pining for diluc??? or you being buds also w kaeya and know diluc??????

ah but for here i’ll do you and childe were both single at first? then you meet the loves of your lives-

i like to think you kinda know kaeya or know of him? and childe’s like kinda know him too but not really maybe acquaintances? they talked like once and my boy fell in love so hard (what au is this helP?? uNI?????? THE POSSIBILTIES i’ll leave it vague)

you know kaeya better after like meeting diluc? and you know oh they have some sort of relationship but diluc Does Not Want to talk about it

so one day childe’s acting all strange moping around and you’re like bro wtf?? and he confesses he’s into this guy

you being the good friend you are is super supportive and wants the hot deets

and you find out how fucking stupid your bff5ever is??? HAHHAHA he’s made eye contact w his crush once (1) and he’s thinking about marriage???

you do try to help him too and it’s a lot of childe talking about this mystery man for a long time HAHAHHA

zhongli comes by now and then and is like ah yes that man you will marry

zhongli is a little stupid too, thinks he’s already dating Kaeya but he doesn't know- because childe speaks as if they’re already dating so imagine zhongli’s surprise when you tell them they barely know each other HAHAHHAHAHHA

you get to know Kaeya better first, because he approaches you! mostly cuz he noticed how diluc’s around you a lot? so he approaches you out of curiosity

you don’t know this is childe’s man yet, so you’re all like whomst???? stop talking to me, you’re making diluc not look at me???

oh my god it’s a whole mess

you start hanging out with kaeya unwillingly but Diluc comes hang out with you twice the amount too

he’s lowkey jealous about kaeya hogging you he needs to be with you to cleanse you of kaeya lmAO

one fine day zhongli was shopping with childe and he sees you, he fucking sees you with kaeya and his heart sTops pulls zhongli aside into a bush to stalk you and zhongli’s all like “Childe, what are we doing in this bush” 

HAHAH childe telling him that’s the guy his soulmate, his one and only

zhongli like i feel he knows Kaeya too? kaeya gets around a lot so he moves over so he can join you and Kaeya-

childe’s in whole ass panic mode wtf zhongli what are you doing you’re gonna blow our cover!!! but follows also because what if zhonglie tELLS

you’re approached by two more men and really, you just want to vibe and get like matcha bubble tea or smth maybe visit diluc but Kaeya suddenly appeared and now zhongli is on his way and why does childe look so flustered??

y’all go thru the whole “oh you know them too!” bs 

zhongli’s glad to catch up with his friends, childe trying to get you to help and trying to tell you it’s hiM but also trying to play it cool (he’s doing a good job tho), you just want to vibe man, and kaeya’s like

kaeya’s reaching over to childe, eyes focused on childe’s neck, fingers light brushing against it and everyone’s attention is suddenly on them

Kaeya laughs, lightly patting on childe’s clothes, he asks if childe just walked into a tree or something and childe is  f l u s t e r e d  blushing, stuttering all that mess

you’ve connected the two dots, you didn’t connect shit, pining childe’s just easy to read when he’s panicking, but you connected them

zhongli opens his mouth to say the two of them were just hiding in a bush, but you manage to elbow him in the stomach so chaeya can have their little moment

KAEYA THE LITTLE SHIT, knowing full well now that childe’s got a crusH, plays it off and leans over, and tries to flirt w you????? he’s reaching over to you

but you’re suddenly yanked into someone’s chest

it’s diluc, glaring at Kaeya, doesn’t acknowledge anyone else just drags you away “we’re going on a date”

mmmm it’s your turn to get flustered now

leaves the other three stunned 

zhongli is the first one to recover tho, having seen a cake he wants to try, all but drags childe away

Childe’s too shooketh to do anything so he just gapes at Kaeya and Zhongli as he’s being dragged away while Kaeya waves cutely at him

i want to say kaeya slips his phone number into childe’s pocket but i kind of want childe to pine more and make it even more of a mesS-

but you- after being dragged away and once diluc deems it’s a safe distance away from Kaeya he’s suddenly flustered about holding onto your hands so tightly 

he’s all like “he’s trouble don’t hang w him” not looking at you, there’s tension but you don’t want to push so 

you tease him ofc tf “so a date huh”

and he fucking blushes 

he tries to leave because he just embarrASsed himself but you’re like nooo come back and say you’re gonna go do a thing and would love company?

so diluc agrees to take you, since he doesn't have much else to do- it’s totes not a date tho

plS HAHAHHA you can try to ask him about why he was around but he won’t tell you 

but you’re happy about how things are playing out right now? you’re content to walk beside diluc, a dumb smile plastered on your face

group ask for lost fics #32

Hi y’all! Below are a few lost fics that us mods just can’t seem to find. That being said, we’re hoping that you lovely followers are able to help! If anyone knows any of the fics below please reply below or send in an ask with which anon/user and group ask that the fic corresponds with!

Note: previous group asks and all lost fics!

Anon 1 asked:

Hello! First of all thanks so much for everything you do for the fandom! Also, I’ve been trying to find a fic for a while where Merlin and Arthur are both super into each other and Arthur keeps trying to seduce Merlin but Merlin thinks he has to remain pure until the dragon tells him that’s not the case w Arthur and I was wondering if you could help! Thanks so much 💖🥰

Thanks to statistical-nightmare for suggesting Touch Me (Not) by veronamay!

@ohmytimeturner14 asked:

Hey! I'm kinda getting back into the merlin fandom and I was looking for a fic I once read and can't find it. It's a sick fic where merlin gets sick with pneumonia I believe. Can't remember how long it is, at least 3k and most likely under 20k? I think part of it had Morgana offer to read to Merlin when he was sick? I think it was Merthur but I couldn't swear to it. Love your blog, Keep up the good work!!!

Hey! I love your blog. You always do such an awesome job.

I lost a fic, its at least 5K probably leaning twords 20 though. It involves Merlin getting sick, I think pneumonia. I remember that at one point Morgana reads him a book when he's sick, and Arthur almost leaves to get Hunith because he thought Merlin wouldn't make it. May have something to do with a formalwear tunic that made him cold and got sick, but that might be a different one. I also think he was going to go to a party of Gwen's before he got sick?? sorry if this is kinda vague

Thanks to fractalinferno for sending in Midwinter Festival by Miss_Em!

Anon 2 asked:

hello!! yay the ask box is open again!! 🥺 I’ve been going through the asks for a quartermaster/007 thing but I can’t find this particular fic where Merlin was Q, and closer to the end of the fic he gets kidnapped on a train (to be specific.) It’s slash, but not pre-established, happens during the fic. Arthur bursts into Merlin’s apartment and manages to have flashback about the laptop’s password or smth too! Thanks in advance!

Thanks to wiggly-jiggly-higgledy-piggledy and overworked-bookworm for suggesting You Only Live Twice by storyforsomeone (WIP)!

Anon 3 asked:

Hello! I was wondering if you'd be able to help me find a fic. The only thing I remember from it is that both Arthur and Merlin are in the crystal caves and Merlin sees Arthur's death through one of them and completely freaks out and comfort ensues with Arthur. Sorry it's so vague but I'd love to see if you can find it! Thanks again!

@eyra-j-nee asked:

Hi!! I’m looking for a fic that was on ao3, (TW: non con) in it Merlin was assaulted in the stables and he called I think both killgarah and aithusa come and won’t let anyone pass into the stables except gaius and eventually Lancelot. Arthur figures out it’s Merlin and I can’t remember what happens after that. I’ve looked through your hurt and abused Merlin tags and I didn’t see it. I can say it’s not “all of himself” by StormDancer but they are very similar! Any and all help would be appreciated. As always THANK YOU for what you do, this blog and your hard work is a godsend!!

Thanks to fangirl485 for sending in The Fire of a Dragon by ma_r (check warnings!)

Anon 4 asked:

hi I am looking for a fic, it's post canon au and magic is legal, arthur & gwen aren't married though and all the people of Camelot are used to see Arthur and Merlin together or near each other and one time they don't, so they ask merlin who tells them that the king is on holiday today so they come to merlin with their problems and even after the holiday is over they still come to him and start calling him lord and Arthur is very amused and they get together at the end of the fic

honestly I'm a little annoyed that I remember this much but not the name of fic but I can't find it in my bookmarks, so thanks

Thanks to onceandfuturekid for suggesting King of My Heart by illiterateowl!

Anon 5 asked:

hello! i was wondering if you know about this one fic where merlin receives a purple tunic as a reluctant gift from arthur and he worries about it because it's the colour of royalty. i think it was gen? i can't really seem to find it and this is very vague, so im sorry. thank you for all you do!! <3

Anon 6 asked:

Hi I’ve been looking everywhere for one particular fic. It’s pretty dark and modern au. Merlin is immortal, has lost his memories, not thinking clearly, and is suicidal. Arthur is reincarnated and has the urge to kill. They somehow? come to an arrangement, and Arthur “consensually” kills Merlin, and then is filled with regret. But it kind of “resets” Merlin so when he comes back his memories are restored and he’s ok again? Any ideas??

onceandfuturekid asked:

hi I'm looking for a fic where there's a new servant master (?) who is harming servants so arthur disguises himself and pretends to be servant and merlin & gwen take him under his wing,,, also the servant master (?) was a druid I think or atleast banished from them and was looking for power of emrys

Thanks to atlantablack-chaotic and avery28 for sending in The Serving of Servants by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle!

Anon 7 asked:

Hi! I've been looking for this but can't seem to find it and I would greatly appreciate it if you guys could help me. It's a genderbend!Merlin. The story basically follows canon with Merlin becoming Arthur's manservant just that on top of magic she has to hide the fact that she's a woman and when things go "further" Arthur thinks he's forcing himself on Merlin, since he can't "feel his desire". Thank you do much for your help! ❤

Anon 8 asked:

Hi, I've been trying to refind this fic for a while but I'm having trouble finding it. I can't remember much of it which makes it difficult, but I just remember that Merlin gives Arthur a gift, which I think is a ring, and he finds out Merlin had magic and questions whether Merlin enchanted it against him. It's in the canon era where Merlin is his servant.

Thanks to fractalinferno for sending in A Little Roughing Around Never Hurt Anyone by melennui!

@emritz86 asked:

Hi, it's been a while I asked smthng. Caught up with work and stuff. I read a fic where Merlin was a doc and married to Arthur but Arthur didn't like Merlin at first and didn't even let him enter to their bedroom. Later he realised how awesome Merlin was and tried to reconcile but Merlin already thought about filing divorce. Do not remember the name but I'm certain I read it and saved it somewhere. Anything similar would be great too. Thanks.

Anon 9 asked:

Hey! I was wondering if you could find a fic for me where everyone thinks Arthur is dead and then Merlin goes to look for him but the knights are like he’s dead and Merlin says something like “half my soul resides in him. I would feel his death like a wound” ps this blog is literally my life

Anon 10 asked:

I'm looking for 2 kind of similar stories. The first is a canon au where Merlin is actually a dog that Arthur finds in the woods. I remember toward the end they both get injured and Arthur is frantic when he wakes up. Asking Gaius where his dog is.

The second is modern au where Merlin is blind and Arthur is reincarnated as his seeing eye dog. I don't remember much more than that, sorry. Thank you for all the work you out into the fandom. MUCH MUCH appreciated!

Thanks to fractalinferno for suggesting Familiar To You, Strange To Me by TheYaoiChick for the first part!

@gaylord1027 asked:

Hi,

Do you know of a fic where Merlin was raised by Balinor in the cave after Hunith died and Merlin has some for of mental affliction. It starts with Arthur coming to them for help and then he wants to protect Merlin. Nimueh is in it and she befriended Merlin and died when Balinor lived to keep the balance.

Anon 11 asked:

I was wondering if you knew of the fic where Gwaine and Arthur are fighting to see who's merlin's best friend but in the end they realise it's Lancelot

Thanks to fractalinferno for suggesting Merlin's Favourite by OwlsWithFins!

Handon Pre-Legacies Headcanons

(So I was rewatching some the originals clips and these just popped into my head)

-It's already been established that Landon worked at the Mystic Grill and that's probably where he met Hope for the first time

-Now don't get mad at me but I'm gonna be honest, I don't think Landon stood out to Hope all that much...at first

-Keep in mind that at the time she did have a crush on Roman and we've all seen how committed she can be when it comes to romance

-But on the other hand Landon's trying to get his heart to start functioning properly again because who is that???

-And why does she have such a weird milkshake order???

-So anyways time goes on and whenever Hope's not locked in her room on campus she's at the Mystic Grill

-Thanks to her reclusive nature she doesn't really interact with anyone sans her server and kinda just sits there quietly enjoying her food and the scenery

-Meanwhile Landon's just in the background drooling and pining silently

-And don't get him wrong, he wants to talk to her but he always chickens out halfway through and just writes down his feelings and thoughts onto a napkin or something

-lowkey the reason why he's always writing her letters. because he got used to expressing himself best that way

-So even more time passes and Hope vaguely notices that Landon's the only waiter that's memorized her orders for the most part

-Hope being Hope, she calls him out on it. Politely of course but Landon still panics and nearly has a heart attack while he stutters and sputters out a defense that he's not a creeper

-okay so maybe he's kinda cute or whatever

-Hope thinks it's sweet and tells him so. Leaves him pretty good tips too (which sends Landon into a spiral because she's nice and she tips well?!?)

-True interaction doesn't really take off until she notices Landon being harassed by some Mystic High goonies and sees him forcing himself to bite his tongue

-But just because he has to hold back doesn't mean she has to and she's ready to rip these little shits a new one until they lock eyes and Landon shakes his head at her

-cue the start of hope wanting to hit shit and landon presenting another option...not to mention protective!hope

-Hope respects his wishes but still feels bad that he has to deal with it. Since she can't be reactive maybe she can be proactive

-She's seen him bobbing his head or singing under his breath to the music that plays on the speakers. So one day, during a moment of particularly vicious heckling she asks him who his favorite musicians are as a means of distraction

-And ladies and gentlemen they are off. Shy as he may be, if you want Landon to open up to you almost immediately ASK HIM ABOUT MUSIC OR SCI-FI SHIT

-They go back and forth talking about which artists they like and why and constantly go off on tangents. Almost like they can talk to this person about anything and they'd get it (how strange...)

-It's on one of those tangents that Landon finds out that Hope is from New Orleans which just sets off another 20 minute conversation

-They talk for so long that not only did the bullies get bored and leave but Landon gets scolded by his manager for abandoning the other customers

-worth it

-Before they know it, an odd little friendship has formed in a place that seemed to exist suspended in time, away from both of their worlds

-Hope spends more and more time at the Mystic Grill since she didn't really have friends at school (leave me alone, it's canon)

-At some point Landon just starts spending all his breaks with her and when he's working Hope is still content to watch Landon scurry around while she doodles or does her homework

-Discounted milkshakes anyone?

-They don't really talk about deep shit but their presence becomes a comfort to one another

-And Hope has to regularly remind Landon to get back to his job before he gets yelled at again

-They talk about and do so much random shit

-Ranking the menu items? Check

-Scoring all the contestants on karaoke night? Check (those two are utterly ruthless btw)

-Playing darts or pool over free leftover fries? Check

-Silently judging rude customers? CHECK

-And yes, Landon's crush just grows steadily day by day because he can tell even without knowledge of the supernatural that Hope Mikaelson is quite special

-And Hope is just so damn happy to have a genuine friend who doesn't judge her or want her for family's past or her powers

-Hope only comes over like 2 or 3 times a week but it's almost like a refuge for both of them to look forward to during a tough week

-That is until Hope gives Henry her blood, she gets suspended from school, and life proceeds to go to utter hell

-Hope's life is chaos and Landon's wondering where his lunchtime buddy went

-First it's just a couple days and then Hope's gone for weeks

-(the napkin notes just pile up)

-During that time separated Landon decides that he can't just rely on her being at the Mystic Grill to hangout with her. He's been extremely lucky so far and now's the time to buck up and finally ask her out

-Especially when he gets the news that his latest foster parents don't want to keep him and he's probably gonna be leaving soon

-Eventually he does see her again but doesn't comment on how much more...subdued she looks

-He figures it's none of his business unless she tells him and remembers the promise he made himself

-Sure, he wasn't expecting an audience (hi uncle Elijah) but it's now or never

-He gets shot down. Politely. But shot down nonetheless

-But hearing about his #1 tormentor's car blowing up did cheer him up quite a bit

-He's literally packing all his meager belongings when he decides to go out into the town while he still can

-AND GUESS WHO HE RUNS INTO?!?!?!!!?!?!

-Sure, they only really spent twenty minutes with each other but they danced. They danced.

-Landon's smiling like a goddamn idiot for the rest of the night. And sure enough, the following morning, there's a social worker waiting for him ready to relocate him

-He's sad, not so much because he'll miss the town or school or even his job but because he'll miss her

-But at least he can remember how they danced together

-About a month later, when Hope can think of human interaction and not automatically curl up inside or want to bare her new fangs Hope actually finds herself at the Mystic Grill

-Yes, she wants a milkshake, and maybe a burger but she mostly wants to see Landon

-She's actually there about half the day until she figures he's not coming in today (and to think she thought she had his schedule mostly memorized)

-It takes about a week of not seeing him before she finally asks another worker about Landon only to find out that he doesn't work there anymore because he moved

-”...oh.”

-After that Hope kinda just goes back to school and stays there

-She still goes to the Mystic Grill but only once or twice a month if she's nearby (no one gets her orders quite right anymore. especially the milkshakes)

-Now if Hope's not in class or training, she's in her room by herself, locked away from the world (no one else can leave her if she's always alone)

-Life goes on

-But every now and then she'll wonder how her friend is doing

-Little does she know that he's wondering the same thing

(flipping hell. look at them. disgustingly adorable. i love it)

For the writing meme thingy: 🍄how do you get yourself in the mood to write? 🍑 do you/would you write smut? 📒 any fics planned?

🍄 How do you get yourself in the mood to write?

Getting in the mood to write and actually wanting to sit down and start writing are two very different things, but they're connected, so I'll explain both.

To set into “creative mode” it helps me to do these things:

Listen to music that makes me think of a character/situation in my story/stories. I've got playlists separated by character and pairing. Sometimes I also just work on curating those playlists for fun and get my brain going.

Bounce overall ideas off of my friends and husband/editor (but he's my best friend, too 💗)

Reread old chapters or recent ones and future snippets based on what I want to do.

Once I actually want to put words down, I get a little more strict with myself. I get distracted verrrry easily sometimes and I have to fight the urge to open a million more tabs when researching a small detail.

I move to instrumental music (I have playlists for different moods like “emotional”, “soft”, “sad”, etc. I usually listen to “soft” as a general soothing background sound, as I can get pretty dang emotional when I write, especially with the stuff I've been churning out lately.

So, yeah, I need tissues within reach if I get upset. (Wow, I'm not making this sound fun at all, lmao)

After sound has been established, I like to eat a snack (something with protein) because I can be under for hours, lol. Eat it and finish it. Otherwise, I get distracted.

I also like to have drinks available. I always have a bottle of water, but I also like having a hot cup of tea. I think it's the time of year for me to switch to cold barley tea.

I write while seated on a recliner with my feet up. I have my laptop on a lap desk and it's a pretty cozy setup.

I basically try to remove any excuse I have to get up once I start writing, because I am the worst procrastinator I know.

🍑Do you/would you write smut?

Heheh... heck yeah, I do. Waaaaay more than most people realize. Stuff I've actually posted? It's pretty limited. I posted a couple pieces (Let Me Love You and You're Like the Sunshine) a few years ago, but I've been practicing ever since. One of my planned stories literally has what I refer to as a “smut dump” in the draft where I've been experimenting with writing different moods. I like the intimate scenes to play a role in the overall plot or have it be a bonding experience.

Despite that, I do have a shameless Gray x Mary story I should just get out there that has zero plot, just two cuties in love. In my mind it's so naughty and kinky and I get flustered thinking about it (Mary is hot, okay?), but it's probably hella vanilla, lmao. I really am grateful that people have been really supportive about my writing smut despite what I usually write, and they've been so encouraging, too! I honestly feel like the smut I've posted is really stilted because I was so self-conscious about it. I don't feel like they are terrible for first attempts, but I have definitely grown more comfortable writing it.

Will The Shy Newcomer become explicit? I kinda really want it to, but I might separate the chapters for those who don't care for that content. Overall, I'd like to write more and post more, and I want to write more than just male x female smut as well. I have some of those in my planned pieces (more about them later).

📒 Any Fics Planned?

Firstly, I'm super tickled more than one person was interested in this. I copied the answer I wrote earlier.

Short answer: Yes. I also plan to bring more of my stories over from ffn to Ao3.

Long answer under the cut, heheh. I rambled quite a bit.

Ask me about my writing processes and stories!

I have so many WIPs that haven’t been touched in years that I’d like to finish, so new planned fics aren’t posted yet. Some of them have more adult themes than most of the stuff I’ve been writing, so I get flustered sharing them. I’ve been at a crossroads, as I feel that you can’t have growth without changing things up. On the other hand, I feel like a lot of my readers associate my works with a specific “wholesome” feel-good mood. It’s kinda nice to be known for something, although that might just be my ego talking, thinking that people recognize my work as a “type”.

Regardless, in the end, I feel growth is necessary.

I don’t want to leave a lot of unfinished WIPs waiting because they stress me out and I have too many of them already, so I’d like to have a bulk of my new stories with a good chunk written before I decide to post them.

Among those include:

A longfic featuring Pete’s farm in Forget-Me-Not Valley (A blend of HMDS with the FoMT plugin and AWL). It takes place in the same universe as The Shy Newcomer (Claire in Mineral Town) and there are a few overlapping moments, although Pete’s story starts first. Pete’s personality is verrry different from Claire’s, and his story was kind of supposed to be the yang to TSN’s yin. Pete’s best friends in his story are Ruby (not sure if I’m adding Tim yet), Nami, and Rock. Readers will be treated to a poorly-socialized pre-Mineral Town Cliff (if you think he was bad at the beginning of TSN, well… heh… he’s a wreck here).

Another planned unpublished story is a crossover of Harvest Moon and the movie “In This Corner of the World”, based on a manga of the same name by Fumiyo Kouno. It was written as a gift for a friend. I have the entire outline figured out and have slowly been filling it in. My friend asked for an AU where Claire and Cliff have an arranged marriage and live with his family in Akiyama, the hometown I had created for Cliff in The Shy Newcomer. I took the opportunity to expand the characters in his family. I have it written during the same time period and society as “In This Corner of the World”, but had decided to write a spreading disease as an allegory for war, but then COVID happened and some parts of it just got really hard to write. There are also a lot of sexually explicit content as Claire slowly grows and learns from her spouse that it’s okay to express what she wants despite sex being a taboo issue. If there’s enough interest in the story, I’ll post it, but I worry it’s a little too niche for there to be many people into it.

Pastor Carter and Doctor Trent are one of my favorite rare pair ships. I’ve had a partial draft for a story about them for a few years now, especially focusing on Trent growing up and acknowledging that he has an unhealthy addiction for things that he knows he can’t have. There are some more adult/sexual themes in this piece, too, including the main character lusting after a married woman (who also happens to be his patient) and some lemons. (Does anyone call it that anymore or is it just referred to as “smut” nowadays? Haha) I always feel so bad for neglecting the folks at the clinic in-game and wanted to write a piece that focused more on them, Trent specifically. It’s a multi-chap fic, but I don’t think I’m going to let it get as long as some of my other pieces.

I also really want to write a short romantic oneshot for every marriage candidate in Mineral Town, around 1,000 words each. So far, I have one for Cliff and one for Gray. I want to write Claire with everyone, because I think it would be fun to explore all the different personalities.

I have more installments planned for A Single Day, including a day in the life of the following characters, all with drafts in varying degrees of progress:

Anna

Doug

Nora (yes, I’m writing from the point of view of the cat living at the inn)

More to come – I think Lillia and Thomas would be especially interesting to explore

I do still have that Legend of Zelda Majora’s Mask piece I’ve been pondering where Link befriends the soul of the deku scrub child while possessed by the mask. I don’t have much written about it, but I really love the world of Majora’s Mask. Such a fun game.

I also think about the lead carpenter’s son in Ocarina of Time and that weird side quest involving the blue chicken and the son being lost to the forest. Then that unique-looking kokiri girl explaining that all who get taken in the lost woods become stalfos. Like, did the guy die? Was he sick? Did he want to die? There’s just so much going on there that would be fun to explore.

I also have played OMORI recently and have like… A LOT of feelings about it. I don’t know what I’d write, but I’m still damn impressed at how well the characters are developed in such a short game.

Other games I’ve had vague ideas about writing for include the following:

The Flame in the Flood: I’m thinking a survivalist/action story fleshing out Scout’s backstory a bit more and her thoughts as she’s traveling. I feel like she’s a very lonely person, but isn’t given the chance to really dwell on it.

Night In the Woods: I’d love to write more about Mae’s dreams and what they mean to her. She doesn’t really talk to anyone about them openly, so it’s really hard to tell her feelings about them in some regards. We know that she’s distressed about them, but I’d like to dive a little deeper. Do the nightmares end after the games does? What about Bea’s new nightmares?

Hades (Supergiant Games): I think it would be fun to write more about the events that take place before the game starts, like Zagreus’s duties in the house of Hades, and expand on the strained relationship with his father.

Fic Rec (Part 19) :)

Hi everyone! And welcome to day 1273198172 of quarantine lol. On a serious note, I hope you all are staying safe, happy, and healthy. I know these stories in this list provided me much needed entertainment for the past week or so, and I’m hoping they will help you all the same. I love this AU, its always so fun to see the different routes people take, so without further ado welcome to the Vampire!Bucky Rec List :) *** Means Smut Sorry its a bit short, theres not many out there. The links weren't working so there is none in this.

Biting Cold by @hootyhoobuckaroo

OK so this one I think is a perfect start to the vampire list. This one is absolutely fantastic. So it’s about Bucky and the reader being in a pre-establish relationship, when suddenly some freaky stuff starts happening very close to home. So Buckys a Vampire, and the reader doesn’t know it. But the reader is terrified of vampires. Obviously that causes a little problem. I just really liked how unique of a storyline this was, I love just how genuine the fear was and the emotions they had were. It constantly kept me on the edge of my seat because I was wondering what was gonna happen. I am absolutely in love with protective bucky so you know that this has it lol. And honestly I just really loved how one it was well written, but to reply with something that I had never read before. And I don’t wanna spoil it or anything, but it was just a real nailbiter. Definitely recommend. 

All My Friends Are Heathens by @sebseyesandbuckysthighs ***

OK, so I think this one was the first vampire Bucky story that I ever read, and it’s absolutely fantastic. So this one is about Bucky being a vampire, and he’s amongst the avengers who are all their own sort of “monster“. And the reader comes to visit them, and Bucky is just absolutely drawn to her, and unfortunately she is human. I think my favorite thing about this story is just how well drawn out each character is, I was absolutely invested in not only their relationship growing, but the whole storyline in general. I was obsessed in learning about what the different monsters were, what their little thing was that they did. And I really loved how absolutely cocky and mysterious Bucky was. This one is smutty, but nothings wrong with that LOL. This is just a really good, really head turning story. A lot of twists in this

Bad Things by @xbuchananbarnes *** (kinda)

All right, now this one is really something. So this one was incredibly interesting. It’s about Bucky in the reader being in a pre-established relationship, and he promised to turn her when she turns 28, but in the meantime he makes her move to 10 different places so that way she can get used a whole bunch of different things that she would have to win when she does actually become a vampire. I really liked how mysteries this one is, just how sweet they are together. The fact that her 10th Pl. is what it is, for the reason it is, is something that is incredibly sweet to me.  anyways, I loved seeing all of the little snippets in to how they met, and everything like that. but I really honestly just love how sort of vague it is? If that makes sense? Like there are so many possibilities that your mind is running for miles after you read it. It’s one of those stories that you just keep thinking about, you keep thinking about what the other eight places were, what’s going to happen in the future it’s really awesome. The sequel is even wilder lol.

Thirsty by @jobean12-blog ***

So this one is a short yet sexy little Drabble. It’s technically a vampire Bucky, though it’s not necessarily like a main focus of the story. But I really liked it so I’m going to include it anyway. This one is just you know really cute. It shows the fun little feisty side to them, it’s pretty sexy, some dirty talk that’s like....damn lol. But I really just like stories that show couples are kind of so obsessed with each other, and so in love with each other, that they’re able to have fun in that way no matter where they are. I really liked it 

Craving You by @propertyofpoeandbucky ***

So this one is really cool, this one is about vampire Bucky and succubus reader. It is a compilation of little drabbles, and it’s really interesting. So I love seeing the dynamic between the two of them, just how interesting it is to see how they deal with their lifestyles, and having to do it together. And stuff happens that they have to navigate how they’re going to deal with it. I don’t wanna spoil it but it something that is very interesting to see. It’s also kinda smutty so that’s nice hahaha. Just a really cute, really interesting story

Blood Bound by @the-omni-princess ***

Ohhhhhh man! Now this one! This one is like a TV series I swear, like vampire diaries but a lot better. So this one is about vampire Bucky and a witch reader. And it is so freaking good, and so interesting. So currently is on hiatus, but I thought it was awesome enough to put it in there anyways. Because it doesn’t matter how much of it there is, what there is is amazing. It is like so nailbiting, there’s so many twists and turns and angst, but it’s also incredibly cute. i’ve never read a story like this, and I’m not sure if anybody else could do it like this. And I love how the soulmate idea is interwoven in there, I’m a sucker for soulmates. Honestly it’s like every trope that I love is somehow in this story, but it’s not overwhelming, it’s just really well done. In the world that’s created is so immersive and awesome

In the Dark by @persephone-is-here-omg​

All right, I really like this one too. I think my favorite part about this one is the fact that it relates Canon Bucky to vampire but you. It talks about how Hydra made him a vampire and the torture that he went through because he was a vampire. I really like how it didn’t completely get rid of his story, it wasn’t fully an AU, and that’s so interesting and cool to me man. And I also thought it was interesting seeing all the small little snippet into their relationship. It’s interesting to see EV juxtaposition of how she willingly gives up everything for him, but he got that stuff stolen from hydra. It’s just a really interesting story

Sunshine by @iwillbeinmynest ***

​Alright so this one was amazing. This one is about vampire Bucky, and it’s honestly pretty sad, at the beginning he had basically resigned himself to live a life in the cold. However he needs the reader who somehow can make him feel warm. And that was honestly the cutest part of the story, just how much he loved feeling warm, and she made him feel warm in so many different ways both physically and emotionally and it was so soft. But don’t let that trick you into thinking that this is just a soft story, there are absolutely some crazy things happening in the story. And I absolutely love Tony in this, I think it’s a great representation of him. Such a really awesome story

Men of the Moon by @hellomissmabel

So this one is really cool. It is a vampire diaries a you. It’s also kind of a Stucky x reader but not a Stucky fic if that makes sense? Like Bucky x reader and Steve x reader but no throuple. Obviously, that would be weird because they’re brothers lol. Anyways, now that I just rambled through that. I really love this. I think that all of the characters fit into the vampire diaries characters very well. I’ve honestly never liked vampire diaries, but this made me really like it LOL. I think it was done so much better than the actual show was, why couldn’t the show be like this. anyways, it was just so interesting to read the dynamic between the three characters, and everyone else really. I also loved just how invade the ending was, it’s like I can imagine so many different things happening after it and that’s always something that’s really nice with the story when I can kind of finish it myself.

Hungry Eyes by @lenavonschweetz ***

OHHHHHH this one is SPICY lol. Bucky is one cocky son of a gun. So this one is about vampire Bucky, and for the betterment of the town, him and the reader make a pact that he would feed off of her to avoid suspicion. Except for he would only feed on her wrist because anything else is too intimate. Well that went out the drain real fast. This one was honestly kind of just straight smut lol, but there’s some plot in there that’s really awesome. There’s some awesome tropes, friends to lovers, cocky Bucky, vampire Bucky, SMUT. It all comes together to form a really interesting really well done story. I really liked it  

In the Dark by @waiting4inspiration ***

Oh man, so this one is really interesting too. So this one is about vampire Bucky and werewolf reader, and the reader is an arranged marriage with werewolf Steve. There is a sort of creature war between vampires and werewolves, and that leads to a bunch of problems. But surprise surprise, the reader falls in love with her sworn enemy. And that’s awesome, I love those tropes. I think it’s Really incredible just how well she balances the two worlds, it’s way better than twilight I’ll tell you that right now LOL. But I just really love the dynamic between everybody, there’s angst, there’s fluff, there’s never a time when you’re bored. It’s just left and write something that either leaves you on your toes you’re feeling everything at once. It’s really great. It’s not finished yet but what it’s there is amazing.  

Special: For Heavens Sake by @221bshrlocked​ ***

wow OK, talk about unique. So this one is a vampire reader story, but it was so cool I have to include it. So obviously it’s vampire story obviously, but it also an ABO story, like whaaaaat. So ABO is admittedly the main aspect of a story, but I just thought it was absolutely incredible how well they combined the two tropes. I loved how oh much fuck he was actively trying to be with her, I really love the dynamic between them. I really loved how raw and genuine emotions are, I can’t imagine how scared them both must have been during certain parts of the story, I’m not gonna spoil it but there were definitely some parts where I was on the edge of my seat wondering what was gonna happen because it was so interesting. There was so much happening in the story and it was just awesome.

Thank you all for reading, again, sorry its so short. and sorry it took so long lol. I appreciate you all. :)