#fanfic authors just have fun

[mai-komagata]

Since people seem confused on this issue

“Regarding the origins of the Vulcan gesture involving touching of two fingers with two fingers, Leonard Nimoy explained in his book I Am Spock that the gesture was not meant to be the Vulcan equivalent of a Human kiss, but rather the Vulcan equivalent of holding hands in public: "The question came up as to what public sign of affection, if any, Sarek and his Human wife would display. Handholding was clearly out, but perhaps finger-to-finger contact of a ceremonial, dignified nature might work. Mark [Lenard] and Jane [Wyatt] took my comments to heart, and came up with the wonderful gesture where Amanda rests her first two fingers lightly upon Sarek’s two fingers. It worked beautifully, and added to the texture of [the episode]." Nimoy also described Vulcan finger-touching as "the beginning of the Vulcan mating ritual", "the Vulcan two-fingers-touching 'embrace'", and "the Vulcan version of foreplay". (I Am Spock, hardback ed., pp. 71-72, 237)”

1) hand holding was clearly out — why? Because handholding would be more intimate for a Vulcan than a human. To convey the same meaning as hand holding Vulcans touch *only their fingertips*

2) read the last sentence then watch the enterprise incident. That is foreplay. Spock is being a James Bond type character and using sexual wiles to distract the female romulan commander. The scene is sexy I’m not sure how this is confusing. Vulcans and romulans have the same basic biology.

3) watch the pon Farr scene in search for Spock. Again. This is a sex scene. Vulcan hand stuff is there to be foreplay and to indicate sex without showing sex.

Obviously not every finger touch is foreplay. There is a range from handholding to more. But it is there to show Vulcan sexuality as alien and different. It is not a 1-1 parallel with human mores. And yea fanfiction embellishes this — if you are writing erotica you exaggerate things. I’m pretty sure adult human men over 40 can’t orgasm that often either but nobody writing posts on that being fanon.

As to why snw doesn’t include it? Idk probably because they have emphasized Spock exploring his humanity not his Vulcan side. Or maybe the authors forgot or think it’s confusing to new audiences. This isn’t a documentary, writers aren’t perfect and we know writers have had shitty work conditions of late. Or maybe in a world free from the hays code they wanted to be spicier. Who knows.

#Vulcan finger touching #has nobody seen tos #or ENT? #like t’pol won’t even eat with her hands it’s considered improper #even like popcorn #Spock #Leonard nimoy #memory alpha #fanfic authors just have fun #hand stuff is sexy #stop insisting tos isn’t sexy and full of innuendo #Star Trek #abrams was a coward from omitting it from the Kelvin movies #snw #star trek: strange new worlds #star trek tos #enterprise

[doodlewizardry]

Have you ever wanted to find your old Ao3 comments? Easily keep track of which (and how many) fics you've commented on? Rediscover a fic that you left a time capsule of a gushing essay on?

Well, you can! And it's simple! (* Note: it only works for comments written after you turn this on.)

Go to your Preferences:

There's a checkbox labelled "Turn off copies of your own comments". This is selected by default. If you deselect it (and save your preferences) then you receive an email for every comment you leave.

But I don't want to get my inbox flooded by Ao3!

Understandable! Luckily, most email clients allow you to set up rules for incoming mail depending on their sender and contents. For instance (using Gmail), I've made it so that these emails skip the inbox, are marked as read, and moved to a label I call my "Comment Collection".

The result? A complete, organised and fully-searchable repository of any comments you leave from this point onwards! Search by fic name, author, date, that one sentence you vividly remember leaving!

I've set up other rules, too, like starring emails that are replies to my comments - I'm always excited to receive them!

I love this system, and I think it's motivated me to leave more comments. I hope that others find it useful too. Happy commenting!

Original preferences trick from this Reddit thread. Tagging @justleaveacommentfest, which motivated me to write this post!

#archive of our own #ao3 #fanfiction #fanfic #reference #comment comment comment guys! short or long! it's fun for you AND the authors! #i only set this up like three months ago and it's already paying off #for my older reading history i only have the comments that authors have replied to #also i wrote out this post like three times pressed CTRL-Z or something and nuked the entire thing. whoops that's why you use drafts #just leave a comment fest #// tikposting

[ghouljams]

Ngl I love that you haven’t gone in and explicitly explained how magic works in this world because it’s like the readers are figuring it out alongside MC is and it’s very fun. Also with the addition of Koenig and his magic, I love the idea that different magic users have different…textures? So that MC has gotten so used to the way that Ghosts magic feels that having Koenig or anyone else tap her makes it feel like she’s wearing a super uncomfortable sweater or an I’ll fitting pair of jeans and she hates it. Just another way for Ghost to keep her coming back home to him.

You have no idea how much I love writing magic systems, especially from an outsiders perspective. Even the language around the magic is from the MC's limited terminology: tap/tapping. It's all very tactile because that's the only way to experience it as an outsider to it.

Anyway I've rewritten this answer a million times and I've explained too much every time so instead of explaining anything I'm going to give you some magic we haven't experienced yet. Fae names >:)

"Do you have a last name?" You ask, feeling warm and floaty, still coming down off of whatever Simon dosed you with. Your thoughts are still sticky with him, you blame that for your suchor sweet ideas of where this relationship might be going. He pauses with his lips against your shoulder, his fingers tracing senseless circles over your stomach.

"Not anymore," he tells you quietly, resuming his affections. Dragging his lips up your neck, and moving your hair aside to kiss the top of your spine. You're held tight against his chest, and your brain is still a little slow to catch on to whatever that might mean.

"That's fine," you sigh, cuddling back against him, and sinking into the haze of Simon's aftercare, "you can take mine."

Something in your chest lights up gold and pulls taught. The ever present buzz of shadow under your skin stops, at the same time Simon does. It's jarring to lose after feeling it so long, jarring enough to snap you back into yourself fully before the buzz returns.

"That's-" he cuts himself off with a hum, buying time for himself. You wiggle a little, loosening his grip enough to turn over so you can face him. "That's not something you can offer lightly."

You still feel that shine in your chest as you say his name, subbing in your last name for him. He shivers, his pupils blowing wide, eating away at even the whites of his eyes. Theres that pulled taut feeling again, like something latching into place between you. You start to say it again, enjoying the way it feels in your mouth, but he stops you.

You say it again with a smile and shriek with delight when Simon rolls on top of you with his own grin.

"That'll do," his voice is strained. He's quiet for a long moment, the gold in your chest holding you quiet as well. "Only when you need me," he tells you finally, seriously, "and I promise I'll come running."

#just as a fun author's note in my mind the offered last name is Darling #because i have a nasty habit of calling MCs Darlings #this is subtitled the MC accidentally fae marries Ghost #cod mw2 #cod x reader #cod x y/n #cod ghost #ghost mw2 #ghost mwii #simon ghost riley #simon ghost riley x reader #simon ghost x reader #call of duty modern warfare #simon riley #reader x ghost #ghost x reader #mw2 fanfic #simon riley x you #fae!ghost

[celestie0]

when ppl get too caught up in the accuracy of situations in fanfiction or if things are super realistic or as they should/would be in real life etc etc im like. my tumblr user in christ. it's fanfiction.

#ff writers don't get paid to put hollywood level research into their stories lol #also keep in mind ff writers don't have professional editors either #ALSO i've read a lot of published books and watched massive scale high budget production tv shows/movies that have put way less #effort into researching n making sure things are cohesive n legit compared to some fanfics i've read #js thinking ab a m00tie who had an anon come for her for something like this n i'm still pissed ab it #just enjoy the fic you're getting to read for free #like obv i think realism makes for a great story and is part of what good writing entails #but?? it's ok to bend the rules in some places?? it's a STORY #that's like getting pissed at a fantasy book for having dragons cuz they don't exist irl #just say u have a bad imagination n go #the author's pen is the will of the world in the story perioddd #either accept them or dont. but don't make fun of or criticize authors if you're not fuckin w it when ur just sittin behind a keyboard #also sometimes i just wanna read stories that don't remind me of the harsh truths of reality lmfao like get outtaaa heeerreee #just writer things

[irenespring]

Possible House MD AU Project Plan

Someone stop me from making my next project a House MD/School for Good and Evil AU. I think SGE is such a fascinating world (and so much darker than I think people realize, especially people who are only familiar with the movie, there are two genocides in the first three books). I've been obsessed with it since before the third book was published and it is so much fun to adapt characters into. The possible project would be Hilson based, and involve some teacher characters from the actual SGE books.

I did this project with SVU a couple years ago and it was SO MUCH FUN. And all my readers were like "okay I have no idea what SGE is but I trust you" and ended up like "I care about this so much what the fuck is going on at the murder school how will the characters escape." I think the same reason it worked for SVU could make it work for House, though obviously it will be different because the characters are different and have different reactions to things. The issue is I only attempted such a crazy AU after like fifty works published in SVU, compared to what will be seven for House.

So bear with me, here are three possible options:

Everyone (Cuddy, Wilson, House, most side characters) are already in Good, but from vastly different backgrounds. This worked for the SVU AU because I think Good is the more interesting and more horrifying school (at least in Evil you're allowed to be gay). Wilson would be the character from "Woods Beyond" or outside the traditional fairytale realm, from a small village, Gavaldon. House is from an upper-class backgrounds within the fairytale realm. House already knew about the evils of Good, and really doesn't want to be there, because it's what his father trained him for. Wilson realizes he's gay and therefore doomed unless he and House (with help from Cuddy) can escape.

House is sorted into Evil, Wilson is sorted into Good. Mainly focuses on how unjust the sorting system can be, since in the books illustrated that a lot of Evil students were abused as children, which spurred on their behavior. Focuses on whether or not someone can be different from what is assumed (Wilson hates the restrictions and fear in Good, House doesn't want to be Evil).

SGE traditional AU: Wilson is sorted into Evil, House is sorted into Good. They are both from Gavaldon, where they were codependent friends (Wilson was the golden boy, House was the outcast). Everyone is shocked, especially them. But like what happens in the books, they both learn that yeah...maybe there is some truth to the sorting. Wilson does like not having to pretend to be perfect and conform to societal rules, and also having an outlet for his inner mean-streak. House likes not being immediately treated as a monster and learning healing potions. They plan to wait out the school and live together with magic in the woods. Except that House hates Good's rules too, and Wilson discovers about 75% of Evil's students die. Things reach a boiling point when House and Wilson are discovered, and House refuses to apologize. Then they must find a way to escape before they are summarily destroyed.

#house md #hatecrimes md #fanfiction #alternate universe #fanfic writing #gregory house #james wilson #hilson #school for good and evil #I just remembered SGE exists and feel compelled to write about it #It's such an interesting fantasy dystopia and it is clear the author created it that way on accident #There is so much creepy horror-adjacent writing to be done #It would but the characters in so many Situations #However the premise is so bizarre I would need to bet on having enough readers trust me from past work that it wouldn't suck #Or readers who are just morbidly interested in whatever crazy nonsense is going on over there #I PROMISE IT WOULD BE COHERENT AND FUN

[facetsofthecloset]

i'm sure it's been said but i feel like both Raxtus and Ronodin can be argued as "the only gay kid in the family and consequently shunned/rejected" and it's like. so weird bc Mull is so Mormon he'd probably rather eat his shorts than even acknowledge the possible existence of gays but

i mean. Raxtus literally has a fairy form. he's a fairy dragon.

Ronodin was just emo lol

and they both get so thoroughly rejected and sidelined by their families their whole lives and it turns Raxtus into an awkward but basically decent guy who runs back to the approval of his family once he's performed masculinity/violence enough to be accepted, only to then realize that he's basically just being used and still not fully trusted/accepted and having to betray them to save his real friends

(who sadly are probably actually homophobic but that's ok bc they're not dragon-phobic so that works out for him)

while Ronodin's like "fuck it. chaos and murder then!" and can you really blame him? he spent his entire life trying to conform to the "right" (in this case, Light) way of life, started spending time with the outgroup and learned to question things, then was told he was "too corrupt" to remain in his home

like. the symbolism is right there.

it's so funny, because sure Raxtus isn't a bad guy, but Ronodin definitely is and he pretty much gets sent to a type of hell at the end of Dragonwatch

and while Raxtus gets kind of a happy ending, like, him becoming an effective killer in a war and being accepted by his dad for being Good At Murder in the first Fablehaven series is presented as a happy ending. if Celebrant didn't wind up being the main villain for Dragonwatch, that probably would've been the end of it! gay kid learns how to soldier and is finally accepted by his homophobic family bc he's finally aggressive enough for them to love him

(i mean i have MANY issues with Celebrant being the main villain later and the reasons he's framed as bad but like. that's a separate rant lol)

the queer reading is right there. but also it's very bad and you can tell completely unintentional. or at the very least highly repressed. idk man i don't look into Mull as a personal individual bc i doubt i'll like what i see and i don't care that much but Dragonwatch was SO MUCH MORE MORMON than Fablehaven already was and it's so weird, seeing the fingerprints of it all over.

i feel like he either has a new editor or he's been doing this for long enough and sold enough books that he has the clout to veto changes made by editors or SOMETHING, bc i feel like? he's gotten worse?? and more unfiltered?? that or something happened and he's like. even more religious than before or something idk

like fablehaven was just kinda generic/bland fantasy with some fun ideas for magic items/powers/one sentence character premises, with just a hint of sus Mormon ideology, and then Dragonwatch just went. Full Mormon.

but then there's somehow even more weirdly queer shit. like. he's repressing so hard he's approaching queer from the other side??

idk man i wish this deeply mediocre man's writing wasn't a formative piece of middle school reading, leading to me still giving more of a shit than i really should over questionable children's literature now

#i mean it seems like his wife may or may not have divorced him between the series's so maybe that had something to do with it #i didn't look too deeply into it i just kinda guessed from his about the author blurbs wording changes #also wtf was up with the weird borderline piss/humiliation kink thing in the latest candy shop war book? #like. that was. that was not funny at all if it was meant to be comedic. like the execution was SO BOTCHED if so #and if it wasn't??? it was just????? UNCOMFY??? #sorry i'm tired and kind of delirious and for whatever reason this man's writing's squandered potential still haunts me #like genuinely if i ever publish original fiction there's a good chance it'll be fanfic of this with the serial numbers filed off #like 'MINE I'LL DO IT /RIGHT/ OK GIMME' #fablehaven #dragonwatch #i know ronodin is overrated and like. yeah he's not really a sexyman to me but he IS still compelling as a character #i think he's funny i wanna be his therapist #like stereotypical him lying down on a chaise longue thing #but also i reserve the right to make fun of him so like. not a very ethical therapist lol #get it all out queer boy let's get you to a gay club and find some fairies who WILL accept you #just cool it with the murder and the manipulation a bit y'know

[fefairys]

i think that vriska homestuck and vriska pesterquest are two distinct versions of vriska and i think that a lot of people are thinking more about PQ vriska than HS vriska when they discourse about her because they remember PQ more clearly than HS and so they don’t remember like… the true, canon vriska from the comic, they mostly just remember a version of vriska that was one person’s exercise in projecting onto a character to write about her experiences, but was actually not all that in character when you compare it to HS vriska. so the discourse goes nowhere because we are now talking about two completely different characters.

#this is basically me saying i need to stop caring so much #i see people be so heinously wrong abt vriska yet talking with so much authority on the matter and i’m like #what is going on. #but then i realize they’re talking about PQ vriska #and yknow what. they’re right about pq vriska. but pq vriska is wrong about hs vriska #so like i need to just go ‘oh u mean pq vriska. not real vriska. ok moving on’ instead of getting mad that they don’t understand her #when i first played PQ i remember loving vriska a route and thinking it was in character #but then i read hs and then played pq basically back to back #and it was like. oh this is not my vriska. this is someone else #and its not like i haven’t done the same thing: written a character (vriska in fact) to just be a projection of myself #to express my feelings #but i’m not writing official stuff i’m writing fanfic for fun #like honestly almost none of the PQ routes feel in character to me off the back of reading HS proper #which isn’t a crime i still have fun playing PQ it is fun! #it is not so heinously out of character to be unenjoyable #it is just… not really accurate to canon #and shouldn’t be held up as the truth of the characters

[victorluvsalice]

Oh hey, remember when I wrote that story about Alice becoming the Malkavian Fledgling in Vampire: the Masquerade -- Bloodlines and doing all the Santa Monica missions in her snarky, snarky way?

Here's the first chapter of the sequel. :p Enjoy!

#londerland bloodlines #fanfic #archive of our own #vtmb #alice liddell #malkavian #posted this just last night #so it's pretty much fresh off the presses here #and look at me I even remembered to do some author's notes this time #gotta update Santa Monica's Vale of Tears with some of those at some point #but yes have Alice's first night Downtown #it involves her being smacked in the head by the Sabbat #having to drag the information that there's a plague going around out of Strauss #getting insulted by two-thirds of the major Anarch players #and getting sent back to Santa Monica to sneak around a ship by LaCroix #all very fun activities :p #on the plus side she'll FINALLY catch up with Victor again next chapter #something to look forward to! #queued

[compacflt]

Did your Ice and Mav like *genuinely* not care whether the other was flirting-with/sleeping-with other people on the side, during their golden-period in the nineties, when they were both working at Miramar: living in the same house, sharing their lives, raising their kid? ‘Cause Ice explicitly states that ‘he only wants it when the opportunity presents itself, but every other time he couldn’t care less: Mav could be fucking the little green men on Mars’, and Mav is all but catapulting Ice into the direction of any woman he thinks Ice might like, just hoping Ice sticks the landing. On the face of it, both of them seem to be operating under the implicit assumption that their life together is temporary, right up-til and even beyond Ice’s promotion to RADM, and his departure. But then, after Carole’s death, when their relationship has crumbled ‘round their ears, Ice does seem to be bothered by Mav’s in-your-face flirting with the waiter, and the radar-techs, and the WSOs, and the anonymous-individual he brought back home that one time, and Ice even thinks to himself, that it doesn’t matter whether that person’s a woman/a man, ‘cause I guess: either way, it doesn’t change the fact that Mav’s with someone who isn’t *him*. So, what I really wanted to know is: was Ice sub-consciously fooling himself, when he thought that he’d be *totally* okay with Mav finding someone else to be with—a woman/another man—or would he really have given Mav his blessings to move-on with someone else, made it easy for him, and quietly walked out of his life?

ice would’ve been fine if mav found someone else. like, good for mav. Ice HIMSELF would not have been fine. single for the rest of his life. he was too late to take the shot in settling down & getting married to a woman. Now, how do you explain to a serious womanly wife candidate the 10-year gap (during which you were fucking/falling in love with another man) between your last serious relationship & this one? And how do you explain the off-the-charts levels of fucked-up you are from this hidden decade-long sexual/romantic relationship that you literally can’t talk about without scaring off any potential date/fucking your career? this is a little cliche but mav has truly ruined ice for anyone else. not because he loves mav so much but because they are both sooooo fucked up, and for the exact same reasons and the exact same secrets, that theyre literally the only people on Earth who understand each other.

no neither of them care about the cheating/“open relationship,” because 1. Ice wishes it wasn’t happening/feels like he’s wasting mav’s time 2. Mav is down for anything (definitely suggested threesomes on multiple occasions) 3. they both KNOW 100% that they’re both so fucked up that at the end of the day, for better or worse, they’re coming back to each other. (the reason ice was such a mess during their breakup was because it was not eminently obvious they would come back to each other. and then where would he go?) And they’re completely exclusive post-getting-back-together (too old to have that much casual sex, and also finally figured out that they super-unfortunately only want each other) so whatever. also, i think in the 90s, mavs “let’s get ice a girlfriend” campaign was kind of like a tongue-in-cheek way for him to rib ice— “we still have to keep up appearances, but you KNOW you wanna fuck me more than any of the girls here. You KNOW it’s me you’re really going to be fucking tonight.”

#and he’s soooo right <3 #again #my story isn’t super happy #they are in love but. it’s mostly they’re just fucked up. #yes they’re in love but. they literally do not have any other choice but to be fucked up together #so might as well make it work :) #answering this winedrunk so like #i love these asks anon #feel like i recognize ur writing style #this is good feedback writing wise though because i kind of wanted this to be in the story itself #idk. Don’t listen to me. like none of this is wwgattai canon or real canon #this is just me the dumb fanfic author deep into my own interpretation of top gun (1986) #like it’s not that serious 😭😭😭 this is fun for me but i promise this isn’t like my set interpretation of tg like im just making shit up #pete maverick mitchell #tom iceman kazansky #top gun #top gun maverick #icemav #asks #just uhhh mixing my $6 Pinot grigio with my in n out sprite & answering icemav asks #back in Southern California <3 driving on the 405 just like Tom iceman Kazansky

[baejax-the-great]

Sometimes I think writers are more prone to the "If I'm not perfect at this on the first go, and if I don't get incredibly popular immediately, it was pointless and I quit forever."

I totally get that impulse. I have it, too.

Writing, like anything, requires practice and time. I think this is difficult to internalize, because unlike art, the difference in quality is not immediately obvious to your eyes. Two chunks of writing side by side just look like two chunks of writing.

I think I was writing for three years before I felt like my writing was noticeably better than my earlier stuff AND I had started writing much more quickly. That is a long time to wait to see improvement. Moreover, that improvement wasn't reflected in my AO3 metrics at all, because I had gone from writing a more popular ship to a less popular one (and from there a rare pair, hah!). If popularity had been my goal, then improving my writing was far less important than writing ships and tropes with wide appeal.

I started drawing in 2020, and I'm still terrible at it (which absolutely reflects my lack of dedication to practicing). I think for me, the difference was I had never picked up a pencil with the intention of drawing something, so that first monstrous picture I made wasn't discouraging at all. I was surprised I was able to make anything that looked remotely like a person.

Most of us have been writing in some form since we were children, even if that writing was never specifically fiction, so we feel like we should be automatically better at it than a 30yo who picks up a marker for the first time and can't draw a straight line. But writing a story is a different skill than academic writing, and much like drawing, if you don't practice it with some regularity and intention, your improvement won't be that noticeable.

This is not meant to discourage people by saying you have to write for an hour a day if you want to be any good at it. I don't believe that. My point is more that when nobody likes my fail-drawings, my reaction is pretty much, yeah, not surprising. I'm drawing for niche fandoms and I still have a ways to go before my compositions have any sort of universal appeal. Popularity and "success" (whatever that means) was never the point.

I could choose not to post any of my drawings until I'm an expert some ten years from now or whatever, but I don't really mind if my flops are out there on the internet. I drew them with love.

Writing is much the same. And if the love is there, others who share that love will find you.

#do I just wake up and write essays now? #on random shit? #is this who I am? #on writing #fanfic #also I think everyone underestimates the effect of having a large following #like we all know this intuitively on tumblr #if nobody reblogs #nobody sees it #and the more people following the more liikely a reblog etc etc #ao3 is the same in that user subscriptions will get you readers immediately after you post #even if you switch fandoms #AND there is some number of people who are reluctant to try authors until they hit some arbitrary metric #so if you have user subs you are not only getting them reading BUT more likely to pull those randos by seeming popular out the gate #not to mention whatever rec'cing happens behind the scenes #popularity is a fickle beast with so many components and I wish people didn't use it to hurt their own feelings when it came to writing #anyway it's a hobby who gives a shit if you suck at it like write the words it's fun

[whattimeisitfic]

3, 16, 29, 30, 32

Ask game answers. I’ll put a below the cut thing because I don’t want to force anyone to read or scroll past my blocks of texts of they’re just scrolling for fun pictures in any of the tags. However if you ARE interested in Lucifer-centric angst fics PLEASE consider giving my Ao3 fanfiction “What Time Is It?” a shot! _______________________

3 - Tell me about one of your fics you think is underrated/underappreciated.

Okay, not a Hazbin Hotel or Luci fic (go figure I’ve only posted two and both are pretty well liked) but a Voltron one (again, go figure, the onky other thing I have publish. At least on Ao3). It’s one of the one-shots I have in my collection fic (probably why it’s under-appreciated). It’s called “Notice Me” and I won’t go into too much detail b/c this is definitely NOT the fanbase for it, but basically it’s just some yummy angst, pining, and just Lance feeling like shit after months of being ragged on. With a delicious little panic attack that I had lots of fun writing (there’s nothing wrong with me I swear—)

16 - Is there a type of fic you would never write?

Hmmm… that’s a good question. Definitely nothing that’s like… the really taboo shit like incest or M!preg (sorry y’all I am NOT in the Lucifer birthed Charlie train). Also will probably not, as of right now, ever write a Lucifer ship fic with any canon characters (expect MAYBE Lilith, but even then it won’t be the focus). It’s just… NONE of his ships appeal to me (maybe b/c I just want him so bad but I didn’t say that). And obviously angst is where I live so I probably wouldn’t write anything super smutty. I’ll read it any day of the week, but I’ll stay in my little bubble of giving Lucifer a million mental breakdowns tyvm!

29 - What's your most popular fic?

Gee. I wonder:

30 - What do you struggle with most when writing?

Hmmm… this is a good question. I think there are a couple main things.

One, trying to fulfill the wishes of my ducklings while also not taking forever w/ certain plotlines. Obviously I’m not gonna please everyone all the time, but I try to include requests pretty soon after I read them if I don’t have a specific plan for them to show up in the future (B/c otherwise I WILL forget).

Two, sometimes motivation is a real bitch man. I’ll have all these ideas floating around, then open my fic and realize I can do ANY of that yet because I’ve gotta finish writing this specific part that I’m stuck on how to make it flow right. Also this is gonna sound weird but sometimes I think I straight up zone out while writing. Like if I’m bored, I’ll write and convince myself that everything I just put on the page was trash B/c I didn’t absorb any of it.

Three, proof-reading. I love it and hate it. I need to do it B/c if you’d SEEN some of the whack ass typos I’ve made you’d been pointing, laughing, stomping me into the dirt. But it also takes so much time. It’s much better in the tummy angsty chapters where I’m genuinely excited to read through it again. I’m always so worried about my lacing in certain scenes, whether it’s too fast, too slow, etc. Though, I have noticed, I am a LOT easier on myself when I proof-read in the morning or afternoon as opposed to at night. Which is a little strange but whatever.

32 - What's a fic you'd love to write, but probably never will?

Oooo… there are a LOT of like… ‘head fanfictions’ that have been kicking around up here for YEARS that I know I’ll never get around to B/c like… ugh. Here are a few that are Lucifer/Hazbin Hotel based:

Cast of HH reacts to the show fic. Okay, call me cringe but I actually eat those types of fics up and there is NONE out there. I just want people to react to how BAD Lucifer’s living and mental situation is right now and coddle him, is that so bad? But I know I never will because those kinds of fics take SO! MUCH! WORK!

When I’m not thinking of this fic, there’s this other general concept that gets rolled around with Lucifer basically like… sacrificing himself for both Heaven and Hell in front of like… everyone. He lives in the end b/c like they all cliché stand in a circle and sing and their ‘good’ energy comes together to help him. But like it basically gets heaven and everyone to see him in a new light and realize just how much he ISN’T the monster he’s been pained to be. And what rlly hurts is me imagining his ‘last words’ to be something like: “I didn’t fuck it up this time.” Because. You know. Angst.

OOOO and one where like… it’s set somewhere in the future where Heaven is actually being nice and giving the Hazbin Hotel a chance. Multiple sinners have been redeemed at this point and the angels are down in hell having like a celebration at how far things have come. Lucifer feels both jealous that HE will never get that chance, and just absolutely hates himself because like ALL THESE SINNERS got the chance to go back, but he’s too horrible of a person to be able to have that forgiveness. Lots of feels that I actually DON’T wanna say too much about B/c after WTiI is finished I may want to try and make this happen. I’m only putting it under THIS ask because… u know… I have no clue where my headspace will be if/when WTiI does reach its final chapter. ________________

Thank you for sending in the asks! These were so fun to respond to!

#hazbin hotel fanfiction #fanfic content #lucifer fanfiction #fanfic #hazbin hotel lucifer #hazbin hotel #fanfiction #i love luci #lucifer hazbin hotel #lucifer #fanfiction ask game #tumblr asks #ask blog #ask answered #voltron #lance mcclain #brief mention #langst #author #just some fun thoughts #thank you so much #I didn’t think I was gonna have super long answer for these #but ofc if u get an author to write #they’re gonna go ham 😔 #oopsie. #anyways #enjoy my rambling #seriously though I rlly wanna do that last fics at some point

[thevikingwoman]

They would not….

Well maybe the author is having fun and this fic is not for you

#honestly I’m tired of these #just so negative #I know it’s meant to be funny but idk I’ve had it #just worry about having fun trying new things making yourself (& your dick) happy #only the original author can tell if it’s ooc #and they better not read fanfic of their stuff #anyway everyone has a different interpretation and things that make them happy #just go for it

[doctorweebmd]

coming out of my baldurs gate 3 delirium (aka i am working a night shift and can't physically play it. at work.) to say that horikoshi. horikoshi when i GET YOU. you are NOT leaving izuku with no quirk and no arms. i am in your walls

#bnha spoilers #also. more evidence that horikoshi read zero-sum game #like come on the twins thing the izuku losing his quirk thing the losing his arm thing the shiggy getting decay from afo thing #TELL ME THE TRUTH HORIKOSHI. DID YOU READ MY FANFIC. #i'm joking of course. he's just done a really good job of foreshadowing through the series. its a marker of an amazing author #and i know that izuku probably won't lose both his arms and his quirk. i fully expect it to be a happy ending in some way shape or form #this is a sixteen year old boy who sacrificed EVERYTHING. more than he ever had to give #and he had less than a year. LESS THAN A YEAR. #sorry i'm already crying thinking about the scene of him holding shigaraki's hand even though it will decay him........ #izuku who knows better than ANYONE what shigaraki's power can do.... reaching out to him. caring more about others than about himself. #he's just. he's so good. he's SO GOOD. he deserves the world #tbh i feel like eri HAS to be involved at this point. she's the deus ex machina in all this #that or overhaul #both of their abilities can at least physically restructure izuku's body #it would actually be a very interesting redemption point for overhaul....... #i mean WHY ELSE RESCUE HIM. and why give him THE SAME FUCKING INJURY #what a powerful thing it would be to have eri give overhaul his arms back #and overhaul learning about goodness and forgiveness from this girl he's done nothing but abuse and torture #and saves izuku........ #its about ATONEMENT. its about GROWTH. its about IT NEVER BEING TOO LATE. #AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I LOVE YOU MY HERO ACADEMIA #... ok. i'm normal. its fine. #on another note #i loved the ending to my first bg3 run which i think i finished Tuesday/Wednesday. i cried. #IMMEDIATELY started a durge run where i'm playing a male human bard instead of the female half-wood elf ranger #i was like 'haha. i'll make a character based on hisoka from hxh! i'm gonna be SOOOO evil! >:)) #and guess who still isn't good at being big evil. ME. at worst i'm probably chaotic neutral. #its wild i'm already finding SO MANY new scenes i missed on the first playthrough even though i'm making a lot of the same choices #so it still feels super fun and fresh. more so now because i kind of know the characters and the mechanics better #my current playthrough i'm with lae'zel shadowheart and asterion with no intention of switching out

[transvampireboyfriend]

ur all closed minded and short sighted. i think he WOULD say that. i think he'd say anything. when it comes to fic im a yes and kinda guy

#it's how i learned im kinky afsgjsksls #no but im so serious that i have never once thought 'he wouldn't say that' i just usually think #'oh wonder why the author chose this' or straight up 'ok this ones not for me' and just back out of it #'he would not fucking say that' is for the canon media #it's for eric fucking kripke and the duffers and all those idiots #it's for whoever makes marvel movies #bc they got funded to show this to so many people!!! it better be consistent! #fanfic is for free and for fun im not here to offer critique. im here to share in a mutual love for specific characters #however we choose to portray them #fanfiction #.

[nebulaleaf]

woe... my peak of thinking my writing is at least tolerable is over... the feelings of inadequacy shall seep in...

#i dont want to be 'anything' or a 'somebody' and have my works be the no.1 fandom fanfic or passed around or referred to as like #'omg THAT writer???' i just want them to be good quality and readable and not fucking embarrassing and written like the author is in #elementary. but they are! they are written like that! all my friends are writers and i dont want to BE them either but #it hurts to see what they do and how quickly or impressively and know no matter how hard i try i just cant do the things they do #and i shouldnt have to but *I* want to write multichapters or deep character pieces or just something FUN #but i cant hold onto an idea long enough or i cant get in a character's head. im unable to convey my feelings into words and its just #SURFACE LEVEL GARBAGE! #i just want to be able to comfortably link a writer friend or .. anyone one of my fics and not feel so terribly ashamed

[yersina]

If you have the time, there’s this no powers soulmate AU idea that I have. In a regular world, where everyone has a red string around their finger, that connects to their soulmate at first contact, Han Yoojin has a pink string. Anyway, I think it’d be funny if regular construction worker hyj got stuck together to CEO/stupidly rich Sung Hyunjae by the hot pink string forcing them to be around each other, and all the fights and funny things that happen because of it. Neither of them can catch a break, and I think it’d be hilarious.

(I headcanon Han Yoohyun as aromantic, so in this AU he doesn’t have a string, but idk how relevant it it would be if you decided to write it)

Yoojin doesn’t actually figure out what the strings mean until he’s out of high school, because for a long time there doesn’t seem to be any pattern to them. His own dark blue string connects him to Yoohyun, but not all of the siblings in his classes have the same string. Sometimes, he sees a golden thread connecting a classmate with their parents, but neither he nor Yoohyun have any tying them to their own. He sees red strings most commonly, which sometimes connect parents or married couples, but sometimes the strings lead away from the person’s spouse. Not a single person who boasts that they’re dating in his class has a red string that connects them to their significant other of the week.

Yoojin hasn’t seen anyone with a bright pink string like his, either.

Despite the ambiguity, though, he does work out a few rules:

Strings that float off into nothingness and disappear a foot or two away from someone’s body means that they haven’t met the person on the other side yet. The entirety of Yoohyun’s string stays visible no matter how far away Yoohyun goes, but even when his end of the pink string bobs and moves, it never seems to point anywhere specific.

The whole string materializes when the people on the two ends touch. It doesn’t have to be skin-to-skin contact—as far as Yoojin can tell, it’s more about the symbolism of the meeting than the actual touch.

The color of the string is related to the relationship. Yoojin hasn’t worked out all of the colors yet, but he knows the blue string connecting him and Yoohyun has to be for siblings. Gold seems to be parental and red is romantic, but there are other, rarer colors that Yoojin still has yet to puzzle through.

For a while, Yoojin worries about Yoohyun’s lack of strings. Yoojin is already at the low end with only two, and Yoohyun has even less than him. But Yoohyun never seems to be worried about it, even when Yoojin tells him about the strings, and Yoojin gradually stops asking. Maybe Yoohyun is happiest with his one string, and whatever being is tying the strings between people got it right for him.

He does wonder, sometimes, what the pink string means for him. He doesn’t trust the red strings, not really, not when one tied his parents together and didn’t leave room for a single golden thread between them and him or Yoohyun. But the pink… Maybe it’s something better.

-

Yoojin boards the bus that’ll take him home, squeezing in between the people already on board until he finds a space around the middle of the bus, standing next to a row of seats.

He’s prepared to spend the ride staring out of the window like he usually does, watching the blur of buildings and trees pass by outside, but this time, when he lifts his head, his eyes catch on the strings tied to his pinky finger. More importantly, his eyes trace the pink one, which no longer drifts off into space like it used to.

Instead, it’s attached to the man in front of him.

What.

Yoojin stares in disbelief at the businessman sitting in the seat in front of him, pale hair slicked back perfectly and dressed in a neat and obviously expensive suit, even to Yoojin’s inexperienced eye. A leather briefcase is propped up in his lap and Yoojin is pretty sure that the watch he spies on the man’s wrist costs more than Yoojin’s monthly rent.

Their shoes are touching.

Yoojin has never seen a person that he is more convinced doesn’t belong in his life. How is Yoojin connected to this man? The whole idea seems absurd.

For the first time, Yoojin doubts the accuracy of the strings.

“Can I help you?” Yoojin winces. Apparently his staring has caught the attention of the man.

“I—” His breath catches in his throat as he abruptly becomes overwhelmingly aware that this is his chance to get to know the person on the other end of his string. This person, who wears uncomfortably expensive clothes, looks proper and put together in a way that Yoojin will never be able to manage, and looks like he hasn’t done a second of menial tasks in his life. “No, sorry. Excuse me.”

He dips his head hastily in apology and spends the rest of the bus ride staring out of one of the windows to his right, refusing to take a single glance at the man. He thinks he might feel a gaze on his face during the ride, but the man never speaks up, and Yoojin steps off the bus at his stop, convinced that he’ll never see the man ever again.

-

“No, you don’t understand, he was wearing a suit,” Yoojin emphasizes. “Can you imagine me with someone wearing a suit?”

“Hyung.” Yoohyun’s exasperation is loud even over the phone. “I wear suits.”

“Yeah, but that’s different.” Yoojin tests the ripeness of a tomato carefully. Hm. He sets that one down and picks another one up. “I look at you and all I see is the kid who used to pick his nose and wipe it on my shirt.”

“Hyung!”

“It’s true! My clothes went through the wash at least twice as often as yours did because of it.” Yoojin puts the third tomato in his basket and moves on to the green onions.

“Hyung, that’s not true.”

“You can’t tell me it’s not true because you never did the laundry.” Yoojin manages to browse through the selection of green onions and make his pick without a single word from Yoohyun. “See, you know I’m right so you’re not saying anything.”

“No, I’m speechless from how wrong you are.”

“You just won’t admit it—” Yoojin’s attention snags on the way his pink string suddenly jumps in the air, pulling taut just in time for the businessman to walk through the sliding doors of the grocery store.

“Hyung?”

Yoojin turns his back to the door, heart pounding. “He’s here,” he hisses.

“Who’s there?”

“The guy!”

“What guy?”

Yoojin groans. “I’ll call you back.”

Yoohyun hums a note of confused agreement. “Talk to you later, hyung.”

Yoojin ends the call right as the businessman joins him near the produce. The businessman is still dressed too formally—he isn’t wearing a suit jacket anymore, but Yoojin doesn’t know anyone who would wear a dress shirt and slacks to poke through the green peppers available at the nearest grocery store.

Whether it’s out of innocent or morbid curiosity, Yoojin stays rooted in his spot, watching the man pick up a cucumber and turn it in the fluorescent lighting like it’s a scientific specimen. “That’s not how you’re supposed to do it,” he can’t help but say when it looks like the man is about to put a bruised zucchini into his basket.

The man turns to him, eyebrow raised. “Oh?”

Yoojin, cursing himself all the while, reaches over and points at a scratch in the skin of the zucchini. “It’ll go bad more quickly if you choose one with scratches. Also, it’s better if you pick one with shinier skin.” Yoojin inspects the available zucchini quickly and picks one that he’d buy for himself. “See, this one is better.” He presents the zucchini to the man.

The businessman slowly puts the one in his hand back on the shelf and reaches out to take Yoojin’s. “Thank you,” he says. Yoojin feels the brush of the man’s fingers against his palm down to his bones.

“If you want to buy good cucumbers, you should choose the ones that are more firm,” he adds, not sure what else to say. He subtly shakes his hand out by his side, trying to rid himself of the lingering sensation of fingertips on his skin.

Thankfully, the smile growing on the man’s face pulls his attention away from his hand. It’s the kind of smile that people use when they’re trying to hide amusement, and Yoojin’s hackles automatically rise at the thought. “This fellow customer has been so helpful,” he says amicably, tucking the zucchini that Yoojin handed him into his basket. “Perhaps you’d be willing to help me with the rest of my groceries as well?”

Yoojin makes a face. “I have my own things to shop for.”

“Then we can accompany each other.”

“There’s no need—”

“Where do you suppose the aisle with noodles is?”

His pink string is, Yoojin finds, a complete asshole.

Unfortunately, Yoojin can’t figure out a proper excuse before the man begins herding him in the direction of the opposite side of the store, so he resigns himself to his fate. “You’re going in the wrong direction,” he says once they pass the noodle aisle.

The man hums with interest. “Am I?”

Yoojin revises his assessment. His pink string is actually insane.

The man ends up dragging him down the sauce aisle. Yoojin leaves him to stare blankly at the array of soy sauce while he grabs another container of gochujang and a bottle of rice syrup. Yoojin watches him stare at the shelves of bottles for a very amusing twenty seconds before reaching out and snagging the brand that he uses at home. “Here,” he says, pressing the bottle into the man’s hands. This time, it leaves less sparks. “Have you never cooked before?”

“Knowing how to cook and shopping for ingredients seem to be two different skills.”

Yoojin snorts before he can stop himself. “This ahjussi is good at talking around the topic. Whatever he means, he should say.”

The raised eyebrow is back. “And this customer isn’t very polite to his fellow customers.”

“The other customer was impolite first, so it seems both are at fault.”

The man rolls his shoulders in an aborted shrug, like it’s true but he can’t be bothered to acknowledge it. “What is this impolite customer’s name?” The interest in his expression feels genuine.

“If that’s what you want to know, then you should give your own.”

“I’m Sung Hyunjae,” the man says easily, though the way he looks expectantly at Yoojin afterwards makes Yoojin think that he should recognize the name.

“I’m Han Yoojin,” he says, despite the very Yoohyun-like voice inside him that says he shouldn’t give his name to strangers that he’s known for all of two minutes.

“Would Han Yoojin-ssi like to help me choose a bag of somyeon to buy as well?”

And Yoojin should say ‘no’ and continue with his own grocery shopping, but he feels the incorporeal weight of the string around his finger and finds himself saying, “Will Sung Hyunjae-ssi be able to choose without my assistance?” instead.

Sung Hyunjae smiles.

When they go to check out, Yoojin finds out that Sung Hyunjae already paid for his groceries when he goes to hand over his card. “That was unnecessary,” he protests once he’s caught up to Sung Hyunjae at the entrance.

Sung Hyunjae hardly even blinks. “What if I wanted to pay for Han Yoojin-ssi?”

“It’s still unnecessary.”

“Then see it as someone paying for their junior.”

Yoojin pauses. “Should I call you hyung, then?” he says, trying not to laugh. It feels unwieldy and informal in his mouth, and even without asking, he knows that Sung Hyunjae would agree.

“Let’s get closer first,” he says, as expected.

Yoojin chooses not to linger over the choice of words—when are they ever going to meet again?—and instead nods politely to Sung Hyunjae. “Thank you for your assistance today,” he says, even though he was the one to help Sung Hyunjae choose his items and having him pay for Yoojin’s groceries felt more like a favor to the other man than himself.

“It was my pleasure.”

Yoojin leaves Sung Hyunjae at his car and heads towards the bus stop, doing his best to convince himself not to look back as he walks away.

(He gives in eventually while he waits at the bus stop, watching the pink string bob and shift as Sung Hyunjae drives back to wherever he must live. It’s much more active than it ever had been before, and unfortunately just as attention-grabbing and annoying as the person it’s connected to.

Maybe that’s what the pink color stands for, Yoojin thinks wryly as he boards the bus. Annoyance.)

-

Yoojin really, really expects to never see Sung Hyunjae again. Seoul is a big city, and it looks like they run in completely different circles. Why would he ever meet the man again?

Unfortunately, Sung Hyungjae does not seem to have gotten this memo.

“Ah, Yoojin-gun,” Sung Hyunjae greets when he steps up to the counter. He’s wearing his full business suit again, and Yoojin has a brief flash of worry that his workplace is near this coffee shop. Will he have to see Sung Hyunjae all the time from now on?

Yoojin shoves this impending spiral to the side in favor of giving Sung Hyunjae a dry look. “If Sung Hyunjae-ssi will call me Yoojin-gun, then I will continue to call him ahjussi.”

Sung Hyunjae, the bastard, just smiles. “Would you prefer Yoojin-ah?”

Yoojin can’t help the shudder that runs down his spine, face twisting like he just took a bite of a lemon. Coupled with that expression… “Yoojin-gun is fine,” he says reluctantly. “What does ahjussi want to drink?”

Sung Hyunjae just orders a black coffee, which seems terribly in-character for him. “Does Sung Hyunjae-ssi not have a coffee maker to make coffee for himself at home?” Yoojin asks, handing Sung Hyunjae’s card back to him and beginning the incredibly arduous task of filling a travel cup with coffee that has already been brewed.

Sung Hyunjae follows him around the counter. “Either way, I’m here to see Yoojin-gun, of course.”

Yoojin frowns. Sung Hyunjae would’ve had no idea that Yoojin works here, if this is his first time visiting the coffee shop. Has Yoojin just not seen him?

He fits a lid over the cup and hands it over to Sung Hyunjae. “Have you been here before?” he asks curiously. It’s possible that he came in during a rush hour and Yoojin just didn’t have time to register who he was, though that seems unlikely.

Sung Hyunjae smiles and takes the coffee. “No. Thank you for the coffee, Yoojin-gun. I’m sure I’ll see you again soon.”

Yoojin frowns at Sung Hyunjae’s retreating back. Surely he’s just imagining how foreboding that sounded.

-

“No.” Yoojin stops in his tracks and gapes.

Sung Hyungjae waves. “Hello, Yoojin-gun.”

“You—” Yoojin looks around wildly, not sure what he’s expecting to see, but it’s still just the walking path next to the Han River that he was strolling along before, and still just Sung Hyunjae sitting on a bench to the side of that path. “Are you stalking me?”

“Why would I stalk Yoojin-gun?”

“That’s the question I should ask my stalker.”

“I’ll wait here until you’ve contacted them.”

“Then I’ll ask again: why are you here, Sung Hyunjae-ssi?”

Sung Hyunjae just smiles. Yoojin wonders how he always manages to make the expression so that it perfectly gets on Yoojin’s nerves. “I’m just here to enjoy a walk along the river.” It’s a completely reasonable explanation, but somehow Yoojin doesn’t believe him. “It would be more enjoyable if I could join Yoojin-gun.”

Yoojin doesn’t even pause to think about it. “No.” He spins on his heel and heads back the way he came, never mind the fact that he really did come out here to take a walk.

Walks can happen any time. Avoiding Sung Hyunjae takes priority.

-

A week later, Yoojin spots Sung Hyunjae standing outside of a high-rise building, looking down at his phone.

Yoojin crosses to the other side of the road.

-

“No,” he whispers to himself, looking in through the window of the coffee shop he was prepared to step into, and resigns himself to going without caffeine for the morning.

-

“I cannot believe you.” Yoojin frowns at Sung Hyunjae.

They’re back on a bus.

He resolutely does not make conversation for the entire, twenty minute commute to the stop that he gets off at. He also resolutely does not look at Sung Hyunjae, who, based on what Yoojin can see out of the corner of his eye, spends that time smiling at Yoojin.

He does see a young woman sneaking peeks at the handsome businessman sitting a few seats down from her and wishes that he could live in her blissful ignorance.

-

“So you’ve never spoken?” Yoohyun frowns and puts a hand out for the bowl of cut potatoes that Yoojin passes to him for the pot of doenjang jjigae simmering on the stove.

“We spoke once,” Yoojin corrects. “Twice, if you count the coffee shop. Wait, three…?” But do any of those meetings really count as talking to Sung Hyunjae?

“And you know for certain that he’s the one who’s connected to you?”

Yoojin shakes his hand at Yoohyun even though he can’t see the string dangling from his pinky. “It’s hard to miss.” It’s actually rather eye-catching when Yoojin is standing next to Sung Hyunjae, since it contrasts so sharply with the man’s entire look.

Yoohyun shoves Yoojin’s hand out of his face with an exasperated look. “Fine, fine. I just thought I’d ask. Can you get the eggs from the fridge while I cut the mushrooms?”

Yoojin does as he asks, grabbing the container of gyeran jangjorim and bringing it over to the table where they’ll be eating. “Like I said, I see him around everywhere, but I don’t want to talk to someone I don’t know.”

“You don’t know anything about him, then?”

“He’s probably rich,” Yoojin says, wrinkling his nose. “He said that his name is Sung Hyunjae. He drinks his coffee black.”

Yoohyun stops in the middle of putting mushrooms in the pan to turn around and stare at him. “Sung Hyunjae?”

“Yes?”

“You’re sure?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Yoojin impatiently gestures for him to turn back to the stove. “Yah, Yoohyun-ah, if you have something to say, just say it.”

Yoohyun slowly turns back around and gives the mushrooms a few half-hearted swipes. “Hyung, if you’re right, the Sung Hyunjae that I’m thinking of might be one of the richest men in Korea. Top one hundred, at least.”

That can’t be right. “He rides the bus,” Yoojin points out reasonably.

Yoohyun gives him a look. “Rich people can’t ride the bus?”

“Why would they?” Sung Hyunjae does seem like the type to have a chauffeur drive him around everywhere. It fits his arrogant, handsome chaebol look.

“Hyung, can you…?” Yoohyun gestures vaguely to the pan before raising his phone. “I’ll see if I can pull up a picture of him.”

Yoojin sets his hands on his hips in indignation. “You’re asking your brother, the person who raised you, so rudely?”

“That only worked on me the first two times you did it,” Yoohyun says, raising an eyebrow. “Eventually you have to run out of ways to guilt me into doing things for you.” Yoojin keeps staring. Yoohyun sighs. “Hyung, could you please make sure the mushrooms don’t burn while I look up this person to help you?”

“Sure, Yoohyun-ah.”

Yoohyun snorts and steps to the side so Yoojin can take over at the stove. “Whoa, he has a lot of overseas investments, apparently,” he hears Yoohyun mutter after a few moments. “Mostly in technology—oh, here we go.” He tilts the phone in Yoojin’s direction. “Is this him?”

Yoojin’s not sure what he was expecting when he looks over at Yoohyun’s phone, but it’s still not a professional picture of the same man who may or may not have been stalking him for the past month. “Huh. Yes, that’s him.” He returns to cooking the beoseot bokkeum, but for some reason, the only thought that runs through his head at that moment is that the Sung Hyunjae he saw once in the grocery store, sleeves pushed up to his elbows and looking confusedly at the shelves of soy sauce, looks much better than the one that smirks at him through the screen of Yoohyun’s phone.

Yoohyun elbows him out of the way of the stove so he can begin adding seasonings to the pan. “You said that you’ve never seen a thread in the color that you’re connected with before?”

“Pretty much.” He has seen the pink before once or twice, but it’s hard to tell what it might mean when it connects two strangers. He catches Yoohyun’s concerned look and shoves him gently on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about it so much, Yoohyun-ah. Let’s focus on dinner, okay?”

If his current track record with Sung Hyunjae is any indication, he’ll be forced to figure it out soon anyway.

-

When Yoojin next spots Sung Hyunjae at a crosswalk intersection, the most he can muster is a deep sigh of resignation. “I’ve seen Sung Hyunjae-ssi more often than my own brother recently,” Yoojin says, waving to him in greeting. It’s somehow reassuring to see Sung Hyunjae look equally startled to see him this time, rather than infuriatingly smug. Of course, his version of startled is a delicate raise of both eyebrows rather than just one, but Yoojin takes it as a victory.

“Yoojin-gun,” he greets. Unfortunately, Yoojin has no other option than to join him at the crosswalk, waiting for the light to change. “Yoojin-gun does seem like an older brother type.”

Yoojin eyes the man next to him and tries to imagine him with any siblings. Not any younger siblings, surely, but perhaps one that’s older? Though the thought of Sung Hyunjae calling anyone hyung or noona… “Sung Hyunjae-ssi is an only child,” he declares.

“Yoojin-gun seems very confident about this.”

Yoojin is, strangely. “Yes.”

“Hm,” Sung Hyunjae hums. “I have a sister who’s older by thirteen years.”

“Do you?”

“Certainly.”

Yoojin narrows his eyes at Sung Hyunjae’s guileless expression. “Sung Hyunjae-ssi doesn’t have any siblings,” he decides.

The light changes. “My sister will be so disappointed to hear this when I tell her,” Sung Hyunjae says mildly as they cross the street.

“Sung Hyunjae-ssi shouldn’t lie to strangers.”

“Yoojin-gun is so cold for calling me a stranger when he said himself that he sees me more often than his brother.”

“Don’t make up strange meanings to my words, ahjussi. I can always just look up the real answer on Naver.” Once they reach the other side of the crosswalk, Yoojin takes two steps before he realizes that no one is following him. “Oh, are you headed somewhere else, then?”

Sung Hyunjae’s pause lasts for another second before a corner of his lips lifts. “The best place for me to be is by Yoojin-gun’s side.” It’s a statement, but there’s a question buried beneath it as well.

Yoojin throws his hands up in surrender. Perhaps if he and Sung Hyunjae get sick of each other, the universe will grow tired of pushing them together. “Fine. Fine! If you do anything suspicious, I will call the police,” he threatens. “I’m going to go eat dinner at that restaurant over there. Come on.”

The dinner, surprisingly, goes no worse than any of their other interactions. Sung Hyunjae, in his collared shirt and slacks, should look out of place amongst the worn tables and chairs of the family restaurant that Yoojin and Yoohyun have been going to since they were children, but instead he looks… comfortable. Softer.

Yoojin glances down at his string once during the dinner, throat crawling with some thick, unnamed emotion. It’s still there, swaying gently in the air between them.

Maybe he can give Sung Hyunjae a chance. Maybe there’s something more to their chance meetings, a reason why the string connects them.

When he looks up again, there’s a there’s a split second where he’s convinced that Sung Hyunjae’s eyes are unerringly trained on the base of Yoojin’s pinky where the string is tied, but between one blink and the next, he has his infuriating smile plastered back in his face and Yoojin uneasily brushes it off as his own mistake or a trick of the light.

Strange.

“Ahjussi,” he says once they’ve finished their food. “You’ll be paying, right?”

“I should get something in return for paying for Yoojin-gun so often, shouldn’t I?” Despite his words, though, Sung Hyunjae puts down his card without waiting for a promise.

“Sung Hyunjae-ssi seems like he has the money to spare.”

“Is Yoojin-gun so confident that he’s what I prefer to spend my money on?”

“I trust that Sung Hyunjae-ssi is polite enough to pay for the person in need in front of him instead of waiting to purchase another unnecessary accessory.”

“Yoojin-gun should be my next accessory, then.”

Yoojin makes a face. “What nonsense is this ahjussi saying?” Is he just an item to this rich person? Thankfully, one of the restaurant employees interrupts to return Sung Hyunjae’s card and that line of conversation is dropped.

Yoojin takes a deep breath once they step out of the restaurant, feeling like there might be something different, something changed in the air. The sun is just starting to set on the horizon, and the rays of golden light reflecting off of metal and glass are equal parts warming and blinding.

“I’ll see Yoojin-gun again, hm?” Sung Hyunjae hums, turned away from the direction that Yoojin will be going. He still doesn’t know anything about Sung Hyunjae, much less have his contact information, but he believes it. He’ll have time to unravel all of this man’s mysteries in the future.

They’ll meet again.

“See you, Hyunjae-ssi.”

#definitelyhuman10 #can I just say that I find your username so funny #sina writes #sctir #s classes that i raised #red string of fate au #I hope you don’t mind that I kinda played around w the universe concept a bit? #this is really only abt half of what I originally planned to write #but I was reaaaallly starting to struggle w the story towards the end so you get this halfhearted cliffhanger instead orz #my headcanon is that pink is for qprs #but that doesn’t have a huge bearing on the story as it is rn lol #also btw it’s fun to hear that someone else headcanons yh as aro haha #happy pride month from this aroace fanfic author to you all #I’m still working on prompts btw!! it’s just taking me a bit to get thru them