#i totally didn’t forget to upload this to tumble

[acaiis]

vio for FWOF! I also wrote a short oneshot for him; it’s not directly related to the art but it’s still vio week content!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/32542261

#linked universe #linked universe fanart #the legend of zelda #linked universe vio #linkeduniverse #vio link #four swords #four weeks of four #caseywrites #caseydraws #linked universe four #linked universe fanfiction #i totally didn’t forget to upload this to tumble #ahaha #definitely not #zelda fanart #etc and so on #caseydrawsLU

[neo-culture-taste]

Subscribe! - I Can’t Stop Kissing You

Pairing: Jaehyun x Reader (fem)

Genre: AU, romance, comedy, fluff

Word count: 2981

Summary: A YouTube inspired drabble series where you and your boyfriend upload videos catering to the couple tag.

Author’s Note: Inspiration finally struck! Please enjoy, lemme me know what you think, and please pass some motivation along so we can get these other fics out, lol. Yours truly, C.

For other members, see masterlist.

"Hi everyone!" you whispered excitedly at the camera. "And welcome back to my channel! I have to whisper because Jaehyun is downstairs and I don’t want him to hear my intro," you explained before turning the camera around and pointing it down your staircase towards your living room. Your boyfriend was facing away from you on the couch and you zoomed in on the back of his luscious head of hair before you tiptoed back into your bedroom. "Anyway," you continued to whisper, "today is a special day! Why is it special you may ask? Well it’s because I'm going to be doing yet another--," you paused for dramatic effect and took a moment to bring your face close to the lens so your lips took up most of the frame, "--PRANK.” You pulled away from the camera and shook your head in offense at how much that last word hurt while whispering. “Hold on. Let me move again.”

You moved to sit on the floor inside your closet. But it wasn't that big, so you ended up trapped in a corner with some of the clothes you had hanging up dangling in your face. “So many of you have requested that I do the 'I can’t stop kissing you prank' and I figured now would be the perfect opportunity since Jaehyun has come to visit me for the weekend.” A sound bite of applause and cheers played as clapping hands emojis appeared on the screen with a burst of confetti. “I’ve already set up the camera downstairs and it’s currently recording Jaehyun playing Mario Kart. His favorite game these days. Well, his only favorite game because that’s all he ever plays.” You rolled your eyes dramatically with the matching emoji appearing next to your head. “And we have a special treat! You remember our close friend Yuta from my vlogs, right?” Just then the thirst-trappiest picture of Yuta you could find on his Instagram popped up in the corner of the screen. “Well, he’ll be calling during the middle of the prank to ask Jaehyun something complicated whilst I slobber him down.” You rapidly flicked your tongue between your lips as if you were a lizard and accentuated the sound it made. “It’s going to be great!” In your excitement you raised up your arm and accidentally hit the stack of shoe boxes next to you, causing one of them to come tumbling down with a loud thump on your head and then one on the floor. “Shit, ow!” you cursed under your breath.

“Babe?” Your boyfriend called to you from downstairs. The audio of his voice was low, therefore subtitles were placed onto the screen whenever he spoke. “Is that you?”

“Yeah!” you answered him while making a nervous face at the camera. “I’m just changing clothes!”

“Oh, okay--MOVE PEACH!”

You rolled your eyes again and exaggerated the deep breath you took before addressing the audience one last time. “Let’s start this prank before he comes up here to check on me.”

With an old school static transition, the video cut to a front view of Jaehyun sitting on the couch with you descending the staircase in the distance behind him before coming into full view of the camera. You sat down on the couch next to Jaehyun and wrapped your arms around his neck, startling both him and your puppy who was laying between you, and who seemed to forget your existence whenever Jaehyun visited. 

“Oh, hey babe. How was your nap?” he said, pausing the game to fully greet you.

“It was alright. I woke up because you weren’t lying next to me anymore.” Ew! How were you able to say that with a straight face?! It had always amazed you how sappy you got when the two of you were together. You forced a pout onto your lips before hugging his upper body and moving your face to the crook of his neck to plant a soft kiss onto his exposed collarbone. He smelled like peppermint mixed with his unique man musk. 

“I almost woke you up,” he said as he let you kiss your way up from the base of his neck to just below his ear. 

“Oh, really. Why?” you said against his skin before nipping at the bottom of his earlobe.

“Because I missed having you next to me, too.”

You jerked your head back to look at him in mock disgust. “Jaehyun, you’re so freaking cheesy,” you said then went back to his neck and placed a loud wet kiss against his Adam's apple. “I appreciate the sentiment, but it just sounds so icky coming from you.” It was one thing when you did it, but when he did it it made your insides all gooey and gross. You hated that you loved it.

“But it's true.” He grabbed your chin with his thumb and forefinger and tilted your head backwards, allowing himself easy access to your lips. He gently pecked your lips and you revelled in the soft plumpness of his moisturized skin cells. He moved his hand to grab the side of your face to steady you as he deepened the kiss and his tongue swept across your lips, asking for permission to enter. But as soon as your tongues connected, your dog whined and climbed onto Jaehyun's lap, feeling left out from the attention, and thus breaking yours. 

Now that you had planted the initial kissing seed, it was time to move into phase two of your prank. “Do you want a snack, babe?” you asked him and stood up from the couch.

“Sure. Surprise me.”

Having previously set up the camera, the video cut to you walking into the kitchen, then to you opening the freezer, and then to you popping a plate of pizza rolls into the microwave. While they were heating, you walked over to the camera and pulled out your phone to send a quick text to Yuta telling him to commence the next part of your plan. When finished, you held up your phone to the camera and showed the exchange between you and your friend.

You: It’s your time to shine. 15 minutes.

Sir Yuta: I forgot I had to do this. Umm lemme search the internet and find something to call him about lmaooo

You: 🤦‍♀️

The video cut again to you placing the plate of pizza rolls and two bottled waters on the coffee table in front of Jaehyun right when he let out a shout of victory as his Metal Mario crossed the finish line in first place. 

“What cup was that?” you asked him, pretending to be interested.

“Flower cup, 200cc,” he said as he reached for a pizza roll without looking and ended up burning his finger on the hot snack. “Ow! It’s hot!”

“You knew that before you picked it up!”

Affronted by the pizza rolls, he grabbed one of the bottles of water and took a sip before returning his eyes to the screen. “Do you want to play?”

“Nope. I’ll just watch you play.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yep!”

You watched him customize his kart with some of the new items he had just unlocked before he selected a different cup to play. When the opening sequence of the first race began to play, you repositioned yourself on your knees on the couch cushion next to him and planted a kiss directly on his lips. You felt Jaehyun hum against your lips in satisfaction as he returned the kiss, but when he heard the countdown for the start of the race he quickly pulled back and moved his head to look around you at the TV.

But of course, that didn’t stop you. You forcefully grabbed him by his head and began kissing the spot just below his jaw that you knew drove him crazy. It was a relentless onslaught of teeth, tongue, and lips all at a slow, teasing, and torturous pace.

Believing that Jaehyun was already feeling totally affected, it was confirmed by the absence of noisy cartoon chaos from the race right before Jaehyun ripped you from his neck to counter your attack by shoving his tongue down your throat. The kiss was so heated the two of you had to be censored on the screen by a big blushing emoji. The video quickly cut to the end of the kiss, which lasted way longer than you had anticipated, to where Jaehyun was gently pushing you away from him. “Lemme finish this race and then we can make out or whatever afterwards.”

“Okay,” you agreed happily then popped a (now cold) pizza roll into your mouth.

You allowed him to play through a full race before you resumed your kisses, this time foregoing his neck to smooch him on his cheeks, nose, and anywhere else there was skin available on his face. You obviously prevented Jaehyun from seeing the TV screen and he quickly paused his game before he lost his first-place spot at the beginning of the second race. 

“Did you dream about me?” he asked you dumbfounded but still bearing a smile on his face. “Did I promise you all these kisses in the dream?”

You planted a kiss on each of his eyelids before shaking your head and looking him in his eyes. “I just love you.”

“I love you, too. But--”

You didn’t let him finish talking as you threw your leg over his lap to straddle his waist. You proceeded to kiss him hungrily on his lips, your tongues doing a dance once again as he kissed you back with gusto. You were overcome with a sense of satisfaction when you felt the thud of the pro controller hit the couch next to you (in which the video zoomed in on it as it was falling) and then both his arms wrapped around your waist. 

You revelled in his kisses, thankful that you had a boyfriend with soft, pillowy lips whose kisses you could get lost in for days if allowed. You were so into the makeout session that you forgot you were filming a video and the scene had to be censored once again with another big emoji and quickly cut to the next clip. Luckily, before the two of you got too crazy, Jaehyun’s phone began to ring with Yuta’s name lighting up the top of its screen.

“Noo, baby. Don’t answer it. Kiss me instead,” you genuinely whined for him to keep going. Yuta was a part of your plan but now you just wanted his attention to remain on you. 

Jaehyun removed your hand from his face and picked up his phone off the arm of the couch. “Hold on. It’s Yuta. Let me get rid of him, first.” You pouted at him as he swiped his thumb across the screen to answer the call. “Hey Yuta. I’m kind of in the middle—" You don’t know what was said exactly but you were able to hear Yuta’s tiny hysterics through the small phone speaker. “Wait slow down? When did you get a hamster?” asked Jaehyun in confused concern.

Was that really the best Yuta could come up with???

“Y/N is here, too. Let me put you on speaker.” He did so and held the phone next to your heads. “Okay, start from the beginning.”

Since Yuta’s story was bound to be dumb, you decided to up the hotness on your kissing. You grabbed Jaehyun's face with one hand and planted a kiss on his lips slightly less aggressively than the ones prior, but still pretty roughly.

Yuta’s words appeared as subtitles at the bottom of the screen since the camera’s mic couldn’t pick up his voice that well from the phone’s speaker. “I purchased a hamster the other day from the pet store down the street from my house. His name is Hamster--“ 

“Ow!” Jaehyun pulled you from his lips and gave you a displeased look. You had accidentally bitten his lips a bit too hard as a reaction to Yuta’s dumbass statement. You mouthed an apology to him before returning to nibble on his ear.

“Is everything okay?” asked Yuta.

“Yeah, keep going.” 

“Gladly.” You replied before sticking your tongue in his ear, causing him to flinch violently away from you in protest.

“Ew! Not you!” Jaehyun whispered harshly as he tried to wipe the inside of his ear with his shirt.

“Well, I was cleaning out his cage, but I think I forgot to secure him in his temporary cage and now he’s disappeared! I’m afraid to walk anywhere, so I need you to come over and help me find Hamster.”

“Umm, can’t you call Johnny or Taeyong or--” You started playing kiss tic tac toe with Jaehyun’s forehead.

“They didn’t answer their phones. Trust me you weren’t my first choice,” Yuta said flatly as if he was actually disappointed that he had to call Jaehyun for help.

You couldn’t help but laugh, and now you were trying to locate another PG-rated place to kiss Jaehyun.

“Yeah, I’ll come over.”

“Cool. Y/N can come too after she stops trying to suck your face. Y’all are gross.”

Jaehyun’s brows knit together in confusion. “How did you--” he began to ask, but you snatched his phone from his hand before he could finish his question.

“BYE, YUTA.” You hung up the call and tossed your boyfriend’s phone on the other side of the couch. “Now, where were we?” You leaned in to continue kissing him, but he dodged your lips by turning his face away from you. Your kiss landed on the side of his jaw instead.

“Hey, cool it, babe. Lemme finish this race and we can go to Yuta’s to help him find his hamster.” Obviously, Yuta’s lost (made up) pet wasn’t more important than finishing first place in the special cup on 200cc. He was just so competitive.

You grabbed his arms to thwart his attempts at resuming the game but he was quicker as he threw the controller down his shirt before grabbing your legs and gently tossing you on the other side of the couch. 

“Jaehyun!”

“Y/N!”

You turned your head and the video zoomed in on your eyes as you narrowed them at the camera before launching yet another kissing attack on Jaehyun. In doing so you knocked over two of the pizza rolls and the bottled waters while Metal Mario got hit with three red koopa shells in row.

“Babe, alright! Enough!”

Jaehyun never was one to get this perturbed, so seeing his distress was something new for you. He grabbed you by your thighs before standing up and hoisting you over his shoulders. “Let me give you what you want.”

“Wait no! Jae, stop! STOP! It’s a prank!” you yelled as you flailed helplessly in his grip.

“You can’t back out now--“

“No! Look behind the switch!”

“What?” He turned around completely to walk towards the camera, your butt now on full view as your front side faced the couch. He found the camera hidden behind the game console and picked it up while he lowered you back to your feet. He stared blankly into the lens as he tried to comprehend what had just happened between the two of you.

You swiped the camera from his hands and smiled triumphantly into the lens. “Hey, again everyone! I hope you enjoyed seeing Jaehyun lose his cool and literally THROW ME.”

Your boyfriend stood behind you, still void of emotion and staring into the camera. “You kissed me for a prank? And not because you wanted to?” Aw, no! Why did he sound so dejected?!

“Wait, no! I wanted to but...yeah?”

“I’m hurt.” He said while clutching his chest. Nooooooooo! A bunch of crying faced and heartbroken emojis appear sporadically on the screen.

“Why are you hurt? I was being annoying!”

“Yeah, but I was still into it.”

“We can continue what I started if you want to, babe.” Holding the camera with one hand, you reached out to him with the other to give him a one-armed hug, in which he returned unconsciously.

“No. I’m over it. Let’s go help Yuta.” You smiled at him mischievously and then looked back at the camera. “What?”

“That was part of the prank, too. Yuta was in on it. He doesn’t have a hamster.”

Jaehyun looked at the camera, then at you, and then back at the camera before walking away from you and sitting back on the couch. “I’ve been tricked,” he said absolutely flabbergasted.

You followed him to the couch with the camera and sat beside him, then linked your free arm with his. “Well, that’s it for today! Thanks for watching! I’m going to reheat our pizza rolls now and then I’ll kick his ass in Mario Kart.”

“You wish.”

“Give me a kiss, babe.” You puckered your lips for him, but Jaehyun had other plans of the revenge variety. He cornered you on the couch and put his big body on top of you as he placed sloppy wet kisses along your neck, causing you to shriek and drop the camera to the floor. The only thing visible on the screen was a slanted view of your puppy ripping apart one of his plush toys underneath the couch.

You giggled and squealed as your boyfriend prevented you from closing out your video in one of the most pleasant ways. You knew he didn’t plan on letting up on you anytime soon, so you had to manage. “Don’t forget to like and subscribe, and follow us on social media,” you began yelling from the top of the couch. “I put out a new video every week--Ah! Jae, wait!”

The scene cut out with another static transition and the video ended with the ‘no signal’ color bars accompanied by the notorious elongated beep.

- C

#jaehyun #Jung Jaehyun #Jung yoonoh #nct Jaehyun #nct #nct u #nct 127 #nct fic #nct scenario #nct fluff #nct smut #nct drabble #jaehyun smut #c writes #subscribe!

[uwua3]

Hello! Sunflowers hold a really special meaning for me so when i read the "sunflower dreams" My heart was so happy!! I havent felt this happy in a long time since quarantine started so thank you for taking the time to write it! It really made my day. If i could request a kazunari x reader where they're both artists that would be amazing. Maybe the reader can be a famous anonymous art influencer? Its up to you! Again thank you so much for writing "sunflower dreams" 💜

i’m so happy i could make you smile ‧⁺◟( ᵒ̴̶̷̥́ ·̫ ᵒ̴̶̷̣̥̀ ) it’s messages like these that absolutely make my day! thank you so much for taking your time to even read it, i’m glad to know it touched your heart ♡ i hope you have a good rest of your day—please know all of a3! love you vvv much!!! ｀･ω･)9 i hope this makes your heart happy just like before! thank you, anon, for everything

summary: every time you fell in love, you made a new art piece

author’s note: please smile from this absolutely soft and endearing kazunari fluff! in times like these where negativity is all around us, it’s good to take a break and purposely give yourself happiness. i hope this is a light in your day and makes you experience all the goodness of love! ♡ — concept based on “to all the boys i’ve loved before”

word count: 3,389

music: i like me better – lauv

to everyone i’ve loved before.

🌻🎨 miyoshi kazunari

you created art every time you had a crush so intense, you didn’t know what else to do

no matter how big or small it was, or how long or short it lasted, love is love. even if it was a random stranger you’d never see again or someone you knew for a lifetime, love is love

therefore, there was no exact total. because even if you didn’t remember every single person you’ve made art for, you clearly remembered what it was like experiencing the euphoria of love. the phenomenon of your heart selflessly beating for someone else. the attack of getting hit by cupid’s arrow out of no where. the rush of emotions unlike any other

love was everywhere and you made sure to create something that was a memory of it. that was when you decided to practice art after being unable to recall a person’s face a moment too long

it was your form of a love letter. a picture spoke a thousand words you couldn’t write, and art was the perfect way to convey that. online for everyone to see were your love letters in art form: portraits of everyone you’ve loved

you fell in love again and again, a new art piece posted soon over the years of your life. under the username, to-everyone-ive-loved, a lifelong project was in the works for all of social media to see

unknown to the rest of the world, you were the artist behind the blog “to-everyone-ive-loved” who created portraits from memory

but, you didn’t mean to fall in love with another artist as well

all it took was one comment and you were theirs

it was one of your most recent posts, a finished piece on a stranger you saw. you found yourself in veludo way, the ideal street to find people you’d never forget. after witnessing a sudden street act, only one actor caught your eye that day

you didn’t know his name, but you didn’t need to. you were in love

you immediately rushed home without a second thought, the inspiration and creativity infectious after watching him perform. something about his energy was wildly entertaining and bizarre, like a modern pop song as a person. he was effortlessly trendy, popular, and charismatic just from the few minutes you saw him

the moment he stood up on that street corner like it was a stage, all eyes were on him and he knew it. as you sketched into the day, you remembered the small details clearly. dirty blonde hair with no dark roots in sight, glittering green eyes, wide welcoming smile. he had the face of an actor, that’s for sure

when you posted it right after finishing, you didn’t expect any major attention. on average, your posts got 100 likes or so. while it was an impressive feat, nothing could’ve prepared you for that one comment

kaz-PIKO: i’m in love with your art ♡

as your popularity and fame grew before your very eyes, you clicked on his profile and realized it was him. the actor you had seen earlier at veludo way

you didn’t know what happened, but all you knew was you couldn’t forget this one person, miyoshi kazunari, no matter how hard you tried

no matter where you went, you couldn’t draw anyone else except that boy named kazunari. after scrolling through his entire instablam account, you found out he was an actor for mankai company’s summer troupe. he was a star in his own right, with a stage presence like the spotlight was constantly on him and a heart of gold

this was the first time you ever got so caught up on someone that they didn’t leave your mind. hours became days, and days began becoming a week before you let yourself follow him back

everyone you had ever drawn had never recognized themselves before. it was all because a follower connected the visual similarities between your art and kazunari’s unique traits that kazunari knew you had seen him before

if only he wasn’t a social media influencer with followers reaching the hundreds of thousands. at least, his popularity attracted attention to your profile...

this was a problem, however. because if you couldn’t draw anyone else, what could you do? once again, you stalked kazunari’s blog once again like it was a habit

it was never really a rule to make one love letter per person, but you never had wanted to make another for the same person. until, now

video after video. picture after picture. story after story. you could see kazunari’s face even when you closed your eyes. what about him made you daydream about him constantly? was it his charming voice that could make anyone stop and stare? his intricate piercings that were different every day? his ability to make you feel at home? whatever it was (or maybe it was an accumulation of everything and more), you had to draw kazunari again

when you posted it, you typically didn’t add more to the caption than the date and time. except this time, you felt like all your rules were being broken over someone who had no idea who you were

to-everyone-ive-loved-before: XX/XX/20 (3:33 A.M.) — social butterfly

you watched it upload. it was a piece you had never done before. glowing butterflies of all colors surrounded the center of the masterpiece, a smiling kazunari

hopefully, this would solve whatever feelings you were having and the world would go back to normal. you’d move on, fall in love with someone else, and repeat

it didn’t work, because some time later, you woke up to a comment that made you feel the butterflies in your stomach

kaz-PIKO: like a butterfly, i’ll fly to you, wherever you are~ ☆

and for some reason, you wanted kazunari to find you

you had never felt so motivated to draw before. however, your muse was the same. a beautiful boy named miyoshi kazunari who was slowly capturing your heart without even knowing it. you watched the pages in your sketchbook lessen and lessen. the corners of assignments and napkins and anything in between was covered in doodles. if there was a writing instrument in your hand, something related to kazunari would come out of it

it was a fascination. a fixiation, even. you had only seen one performance before falling in love. was it because kazunari responded that it made you feel like you had a chance?

you wouldn’t admit it, but it was becoming embarrassing with how much you were staring at the few unread messages from kazunari in your dm box. they came in right after you had followed him back, and more arrived when you posted the “social butterfly” piece

what was stopping you from talking to your muse? you knew the answer without thinking: what if these feelings were real?

obsessions and crushes come and go, but... love, love stayed. there wasn’t any possibility you could love someone from afar without knowing anything about them, right?

but, then again... you did know some things about kazunari. you knew kazunari was the best actor of all time, with expressions and gestures the equivalent of art. kazunari was art—in every single way possible. everything about him made you want to draw and draw and draw

you only drew kazunari for a certain time, no matter which stranger crossed your path. people you knew you would’ve sketched simply became passer-bys, and it was all because of kazunari’s sunny smile that you were in love. or, what you thought was love

the more you thought about kazunari’s unread dms, the more you wondered what this was. why did kazunari make you so happy? was this truly the first time you were experiencing... a crush?!

for the first time since that street act, you found yourself in veludo way. while half of you was hoping you’d randomly bump into summer troupe’s moodmaker, the other half was petrified about how kazunari was a real person. a very much popular, recognizable person

it was the weekend, and the burden of university projects was telling you to go back and focus. yet, with a sketchbook in one hand and a pencil tucked behind your ear, you were very much prepared to draw to your heart’s content

as you tried to flip to a clean page, you heard something that made your heart flutter. despite the noise and busy atmosphere of veludo, a distinct laugh was audible above the crowd. when you looked up, your eyes barely registered a deep blue jacket before walking straight into the person

you nearly tumbled to the ground before two hands steadied you, a surprised “whoa!” leaving their mouth before being followed by a gentle laugh. the usual embarrassment didn’t set in until you went to go thank the person, only to stop

oh my god. you had just bumped into miyoshi kazunari, your muse for the past month or so

kazunari grinned, even though it faltered slightly at your wide-eyed expression and awkward silence. he didn’t seem to mind as he adjusted his black top hat, pocketing his phone and confidently meeting your gaze

“i’m so sorry~! i hope you’re okay, i’m kazunari!” kazunari introduced and you realized he didn’t know you were behind to-everyone-ive-loved-before. you quickly adjusted yourself, pretending as if this wasn’t the highlight of your entire week

when you introduced yourself, kazunari’s eyes sparkled with interest as he easily led you into conversation. despite being a bit of a socially awkward artist who preferred being alone over anything else, kazunari was... comfortable. you didn’t feel self-conscious of how you acted, because he readily accepted how you were with a smile

was he like this was everyone or... did he find you to be a work of art, too?

standing off to the side, you finally noticed several members of mankai were advertising their latest play. bright, aesthetically pleasing flyers were being handed out to everyone walking by, and you seemed to look a moment too long before kazunari followed your gaze and suddenly snapped his fingers

“oh! are you interested in theatre?” you really weren’t, but you nodded anyways just to see kazunari’s excitement. he pardoned himself for a moment just to snatch a flyer, returning to show it off with a proud smile

“please come to mankai company’s summer performance!” kazunari’s smile sparkled and before he looked around to see if anyone was watching, he winked. kazunari covered the side of his face that was facing his troupe members, pretending as if you two were sharing some big secret

“plus, i’ll be there. if you come, i’ll make sure to do my very best~” kazunari bargained, even though you already knew he was already planning on wowing the audience with his charisma. you took in his genuine want to impress you and the butterflies came back

“i’ll come.” you agreed without even checking the date or reading anything. now all of you just wanted more & more opportunities as the person kazunari was surprisingly interested in, not as the artist who was basically in love with him

agreeing right away was worth it when kazunari shot you a grateful, blinding smile in return. you stumbled over your words with how taken back you were, but asked anyways, “do you like flowers?”

kazunari’s eyes softened for a moment, his usual energy suddenly gone before returning. he seemed genuinely moved by your question, and you wondered how many flowers it’d take to see him smile again like that

“i do, especially if they’re from you.”

“what kind?”

someone called kazunari’s name, insisting they were going to be late for practice. kazunari shouted back an agreement by telling them to go ahead first, before putting all his attention on you once again

“hibiscus.” meaning delicate beauty

before kazunari could ask for your socials, with his hand already reaching for his phone, you cut him off, hoping your voice wasn’t off

“next week. 7 P.M., mankai theatre. i’ll be there, front row.” you promised and took off, rushing off with a wave as kazunari stared after you for a second before waving back enthusiastically

as you left, kazunari was about to leave before he noticed something on the ground. it was a plain sketchbook, unassuming at first but it was nearly bursting at the binding with how many pages there were

when kazunari picked it up, he was about to flip to the first page before mankai called his name again, impatient this time. kazunari held onto the book and sent one last glance towards your direction before disappearing, hurrying to make sure the director wouldn’t penalize him for being the reason everyone was late

when you arrived home, you instinctually reached for the pencil behind your ear. at the same time, you put your hand in your bag, attempting to feel the familiar edges of your sketchbook

then, after turning your bag inside out and finding nothing, you collapsed onto your desk chair with shock and disbelief

you lost your sketchbook in veludo way the moment you met kazunari. what if he had it?

you drew another piece and stared at your screen, wondering if you should post it. it was kazunari once again with a yellow hibiscus flower behind his ear, the same gentle smile you couldn’t perfectly capture gracing his lips

you typed the caption and backspaced before settling on something that only you and him would know

to-everyone-ive-loved-before: XX/XX/20 (8:01 P.M.) — delicate beauty

you hesitated before deleting the post a second after. maybe, you’d keep some artwork to yourself

kazunari had the sketchbook open next to his bedside, his phone in his hands and your profile open. he could recognize your art style a mile away, and the moment he saw the first sketch after practice, he couldn’t believe it

did this explain why he felt such a natural attraction to you? when you bumped into him, kazunari swore he could see the sparks flying. you made him feel like he was falling in love and you only proved him right when you two talked earlier. he wanted to know everything about you, he wanted to see you again

was this what love at first sight felt like? kazunari giddily typed a message over and over again, the unread messages of his filling his screen

kaz-PIKO: heya!! ★>d(,,･ε´-,,)⌒☆ just wanted to say i LOVE your art fr!!! we should totes collab, you know???

kaz-PIKO: thanks for drawing me btw :0 does this mean you live near veludo? let’s meet up!!!

kaz-PIKO: ,,, i don’t usually say this but, that social butterfly piece was breathtaking. you must really like me, huh? (･ω<)☆ jk haha

kaz-PIKO: no but really, it’s beautiful. thank you, honestly. it made my day, you make me happy ♡

kaz-PIKO: you must be really beautiful, too. i would want to draw you as well. lmk if ur up for that haha

kazunari read back his previous messages, all of them delivered but unopened. he realized how... how open he already was with the anonymous faceless artist, despite never interacting with them

now that he knew what you looked like, it only reassured his intuition that he was rightfully head over heels for you

kazunari typed something before deleting it, closing out of instablam and throwing his phone somewhere on his bed

kaz-PIKO: i was right, you are beautiful. i may have fallen in love, too

some things were better left unsaid. after all, you two had until next week to figure everything out

for the rest of the week, all you and kazunari did were think about the other person. a small part of you was afraid kazunari wasn’t the dream boy you imagined, but he was much more. you noticed he started posting more often and turned his notifications, wanting to be one of the first to see his practice videos and university selfies

you didn’t post any of the art you made of kazunari, making it the longest you hadn’t posted ever. kazunari couldn’t help but refresh your account every now and then, hoping he’d see his face again, as selfish as it was. kazunari wouldn’t know how’d he feel if he saw someone else had your heart

the longer time went on, the more you were certain. every fascination you had with someone was temporary, and you remembered the feeling rather than the person. but, with kazunari, you liked him for who he was. everything kazunari made you feel was new and exciting, but even when that went away, you still liked him

kazunari was your first crush, for real

kazunari liked making people like him. so, your online confession through art wasn’t exactly a surprise. but, yours was different. it was earnest, honest, and everything he didn’t know he was needing

kazunari looked through your sketchbook again and again, tracing over the notes you wrote in the margins and admiring your skill

kazunari liked you, and he was certain he would’ve still liked you even if you weren’t to-everyone-ive-loved-before

when showtime arrived, kazunari was oddly nervous. peeking from behind the red curtain, kazunari could already see you were one of the first sitting front row, just like you said. he had practiced his lines a thousand times and summer was fully prepared, why was he nervous?

before he went on, kazunari ignored the urgency of the mankai staff and quickly texted a message to your profile, hoping you’d at least see the notification this time

kaz-PIKO: i like you, too

(when you felt your phone buzz, you quickly silenced it)

the show moved you to a standing ovation, just like everyone else in the audience. as summer walked out to bow and express their gratitude, you watched kazunari’s eyes search for yours as he tilted his head towards backstage. you nodded, knowing you’d do anything to see this kazunari. actor kazunari, who was on cloud 9 with his performance and glowing from praise

you wanted to see, to experience, to draw, all versions of kazunari

after the applause, you looked around backstage before feeling a hand on your arm, the feeling reminiscent of the first time you bumped into kazunari

“you came.” kazunari breathlessly stated, as if he was surprised. before he could say anything else, you presented him with a bouquet of hibiscus flowers. the same shade of yellow you drew him with

“of course, i wanted to see you again.” you honestly admitted, knowing it made you flustered. kazunari carefully took the flowers before grinning, gently placing then beneath his chin. he looked like a vision, you wish you could’ve asked him to stand still so you could capture this moment forever

“i wanted to see you, too.” kazunari softly said, all the energy of being on stage gone. it was tranquil and peaceful, like you two were the only people in the entire theatre

kazunari took a moment to admire you before realizing something, taking something from behind him and presenting it to you. it was your sketchbook on the bottom, but a smaller version was on top of it, signed in silver sharpie. kazunari’s signature was glittering like his eyes as you took it

“next time, let’s draw together.”

kazunari’s sketchbook was filled with you. anything from small doodles to encouraging messages was found inside, with tens of post-it notes of just thoughts about you. kazunari’s art was colorful and extremely out of the box compared to his usual traditional style. it made you smile

kazunari watched you flip through it, already knowing this was the greatest act of love he could’ve declared this early on. he anticipated for you to reach the end

when you landed on the last page, you saw a note

do you want go on a date with me?

“next time, respond to my dms! that way i don’t have to write everything~!” kazunari teased and you two shared a laugh, knowing everything was going to be okay

“yes.”

“yes...?”

“yes, i’ll respond to your dms. and yes, i’ll go on a date with you.”

eventually, you ended up closing your blog for good. your last post was a picture of you and kazunari, with one caption

to-everyone-ive-loved-before: XX/XX/20 (3:33 P.M.) — to the one boy i love now, i love you

kaz-PIKO: i love you, too ♡

#miyoshi kazunari #kazunari miyoshi #a3! act! addict! actors! #a3! #act! addict! actors! #a3! actor training game #a3! headcanons #act! addict! actors! headcanons #mankai a3! #mankai company #a3! x reader #a3 x reader #kazunari x reader #a3! kazunari #a3 kazunari

[halorocks1214]

ბარტერი (a Thunderbirds fic)

Chapter 1: გატაცებული

AO3 Link

Word Count: 3892

Summary: And here they thought getting their father back was the least of their worries.

i make no promises for this fic. the upload schedule will be totally willy nilly because i havent really been feeling the whole writing thing and because of my other fics and projects and irl shit. i hate to admit it but im on the fence on whether or not this will actually be completed, BUT, i still am surprisingly proud of this so im posting it anyway. hope yall enjoy!

“Okay, what’s the dealio?”

Gordon easily skipped around his younger brother with a slightly faux-naive voice. They were currently out in the field, damn tsunamis not being picked up by the D.A.R.T. soon enough, and while Gordon knew better than to talk about personal things during a rescue, it was the first time in a while he even had the chance to talk to Alan.

Who was currently more forlorn than Gordon was aware he could be if the way he watched his toes kick whatever small rock they strutted past was any indication. It took a moment for Alan to register his older brother’s question, but when he did, he blinked a few times before looking at Gordon with a raised eyebrow, “What?”

Gordon was going to play this slyly. Treat it as banter, not an interrogation. Gordon idly leaned over and picked up a stick. He started to twirl it, never meeting Alan’s gaze directly, “I don’t know, you seem off. Just wanted to see if it was anything I could help with.”

Alan went back to kicking the pebbles, shrugging his shoulders in a way that said ‘this was a big deal but I don’t want you to know that’, “Oh, sorry, just tired. It’s not my fault I was having a wonderful nap in the closet only for John to make me tumble out of it due to the alarms. The fact that we’ve been out here for God knows how many hours doesn’t help.”

Gordon’s chuckles at that statement were slightly fake. Alan was hiding something, and if Gordon had to imitate Scott, well, then it was only Alan’s fault, “Yeah-huh. Sounds good.” He focused on the stick, pretending it was a wand and waving it around as such, “Decided on a college yet?”

Alan still didn’t look up, and Gordon could hear the noises of rocks getting kicked and traveling a foot or two. Alan answered him monotonously, “Uh, not really. I’ve narrowed it down to three. I haven’t brought them up with anyone other than Grandma though since the last thing I want to do is create a World War between our older brothers about which one is better.”

Gordon snorted but then got serious again. Dammit, Gordon, you are not letting him worm his way out of this. Again, “If I promise Scout’s Honor will you tell me them?” He cheekily grinned at Alan, which got a small smile out of the younger brother. Nice, getting closer. Now Gordon was doing that rubber pencil trick with the stick, way more immersed with the visual illusion than he probably should be, “Hmm, is it girl trouble?”

Alan rolled his eyes, but Gordon could tell he was getting annoyed, which meant the older brother was getting close. Alan kept his facade up, crunching a stick underneath his feet as he started walking just a little faster, “If you mean ‘Kayo chased me for accidentally spilling paint on Shadow’s nose’ then yes, I’m having lots of girl trouble.”

Gordon winced wholeheartedly and sympathetically. He remembered when he accidentally tripped and spilled water all over the front of her one night. He wasn’t aware she was a fan of throwing them into the pool just as much as he was until that night. It was in annoyance, but still, Gordon considered it a similar hobby between them regardless, “Yeesh, sorry for bringing up traumatizing memories bro.” Squinting at the stick he was playing with, he put it over his lips like a faux-mustache, lightbulb dinging in his brain with joyful glee, “Boy trouble?”

Alan groaned at started walking way faster than Gordon. Once he was about three feet away from Gordon, he shouted while still facing forward so Gordon could hear him, “Oh my god, let it go, Gordon!”

Bingo, Gordon thought he hit the jackpot. Throwing the stick away and keeping his distance from Alan, his grin went ear to ear with excitement at what he thought was figuring it out, “Oh man, okay, wait, hang on, is it that Bear kid? The one Scott rescued for the umpteenth time last week? Or, wait, didn’t Conrad visit you up at ‘Five two weeks ago during your rotation?” Giggling, Gordon rubbed his hands together mischievously, “Allie, how dare you. Romantic or not, it’s my job to help you out with these things--”

Suddenly and abruptly, and shutting Gordon up, Alan turned around and glared at Gordon while his fists were haphazardly clenched at his hips, “Fine, Mr. Nosey, you wanna know? It’s about Dad, okay?!”

Well, there went any ability to joke in this situation. Gordon lost his smile completely and stared mindlessly at his younger brother, who was breathing heavily and still glaring, but Gordon could tell there was a hint of anxiety behind his eyes.

Dad had been back for about two-and-a-half months now, and the Tracy family seemed to be settling into a new routine with him. Everyone was happy Jeff was back in one piece, none more so than Jeff than himself. They quickly figured out how to slowly integrate him back, starting with daily chores, reaching him having permission to help out with IR, and now they were getting ready to reintroduce him back into Tracy Industries.

The anxiety in Alan’s features was suddenly all Gordon could see in them, followed by Alan shaking his head and turning back around, “Shit-- forget I said anything, that’s not why--”

Before he could even think, Gordon shot his arm out to grab Alan by the wrist, his amber eyes wide with careful thought. He needed to think these words through. The idea that Alan was nervous regarding talking about his own dad was... “Allie… I know you didn’t have as much… time with him, but he’s your father too. You don’t have to hide any opinion about him for me, for us.”

Alan still wasn’t looking at Gordon, but the older brother definitely saw the tiny and hidden flinch the younger brother made at your father too. Gordon barely held back the sharp inhale he wanted to make. Okay, that was an entire suitcase, one he, unfortunately, couldn’t unpack right now (as much as he loathed to admit it that was a Scooter problem), so he focused the first problem he figured out, “Allie, are you upset Dad is back or?...”

That got Alan to turn around, “No! Jesus, Gordon, of course, I’m happy he’s back. The only reason I graduated right before we left was that Scott and John both told me to go do something while we waited because “the way you’re bouncing on your toes is going to burn a hole in the ground and Grandma won’t like that,” remember? I’m ecstatic he’s alive and back home.”

Letting Alan gently go, Gordon took a deep breath to reorganize his thoughts, “Okay, then what about Dad has got you so worked up?”

Alan was suddenly much younger than the fresh, getting-ready-to-go-to-college, young man Gordon saw this morning, “You remember that argument between Scotty and Dad, right? The one about five weeks ago that we shouldn’t have listened in on but did anyway?”

Gordon flinched, not wanting to remember that argument.

The two have made up since then, but it was a shock to just about everybody on the island, including John and Virgil, who the blondes nervously told the morning after so they could get some kind of reassurance the world wasn’t ending. In the Tracys’ quest to have their Fairytale Happily Ever After, it never occurred to them that their father might not like how they were running things.

Scott made a decision that didn’t sit well with the older man, and he let his son know that in tactless, Jeff Tracy fashion. Scott’s decision wasn’t the best per se, certainly not the worst, but he could’ve waited for some better options, but Jeff couldn’t just say that outright, that he was concerned about his son taking risks like that. He had to immediately jump to the idea that Scott’s leadership might be lacking suddenly.

It also didn’t help that Scott couldn’t just fucking say that, while he was sorry for being slightly rash, he didn’t like being undermined after years of successful leadership. He went straight for the fact that Jeff had been gone for the past eight years. Scott didn’t blame the man for it, God no, but the insinuation that Jeff wasn’t any better than Scott because of it stung everyone in the room. Because being reminded of the fact that Dad was technically a dead man for a big portion of all of their lives wasn’t bad enough.

Gordon forgot that Scott could be too much like Jeff for his own fucking good, as well as the fact that Scott did get it from Jeff Tracy of all people.

Adult men Gordon’s ass, two old and stubborn as hell mules more like it.

They were both stuck on the fact that now there might have to be challenges of authority, and frankly, now that the oldest outside of Grandma put that idea on the table, it bothered everyone else barely more than those two combined.

Jeff apologized for how he acted after Grandma ripped him a new one, and Scott apologized for jumping the gun a little bit too (after Grandma yelled at him as well), but there was no promising no second fight, least of all one like that.

It was a little like being a kid and watching Mommy and Daddy fight for the first time.

Long story short: it sucked ass.

Alan took a shuddery breath and brought Gordon down from that memory. Alan then proceeded to wrap his arms around himself, rubbing up and down in a weak attempt to ground himself, “I just… what if he had all these ideas about me while he was up there, and what if I’m completely different from those ideas and it disappoints him?”

Oh, sweet Jiminy Cricket.

What the hell was Gordon to say to that? Jeff was a loving a supportive father, more so than others. Gordon remembered all of his swim meets and such for a good reason, so his first response to that statement was easily of course he would be proud of you!

But there was an ever so tiny thing that grabbed Gordon’s tongue from saying that outright. It was honestly minor, so he wasn’t sure why it kept hitting him like a fucking truck.

Eight. Years.

Jeff Tracy was a remarkable man, and even more remarkable father, but nobody spent eight years in isolation, let alone spent it thousands of miles up in space, without it having some kind of consequence. Jeff would never outright disown his sons for anything as long as it wasn’t illegal or got themselves or others hurt, but he was human, and he had preferences just like the rest of them had.

So, disappointed? Hell no. But potentially shocked and uninterested? Less supportive than other endeavors? Gordon loved his father, but he had to admit that he was at a loss. There weren’t Dead Men for Dummies books anywhere, and it sucked to say it, but Jeff was different. They were different, and the only way they would know how this Jeff reacted to things would be an in-the-moment experience, and if Scott’s and his argument was the first concrete example they had...

With how different Gordon was to the rest of his family, he always worried that he would never fully fit in. When Jeff came back he was excited just as much as Alan, as the rest of his family, but Gordon was always worried about his dad the most. He cheered him on at his swim meets, sure, but Gordon was always keenly aware of how the man, outside of taking him to and from them and, well, cheering, lots and lots of cheering, never really asked more than How did it go, sport?

Gordon wanted to be the only Tracy with that fear. It sucked, but in the end, his family always came through even if they weren’t aware of his anxieties. Now that Alan has them, over his father no less…

That just brings them right back around to the start: Gordon would be lying to himself if he knew what Jeff thought of him, let alone Alan.

Alan was a perceptive person, and if Gordon lied to himself, Alan would see that and know Gordon was lying to him as well, and that would very easily make the situation worse.

However, before Gordon had any chance to say something, words pulled from his ass or otherwise, anything to ease his baby brother’s low thoughts, footsteps rustled in the distance, causing the two blondes to snap their heads to look to the side. What they saw were two men, one larger and older, another younger and seemingly out of his comfort zone, in a sense. Gordon was going to chalk it up to ‘being a rescuee after a tsunami’, but his squid senses were tingling, and he felt himself easily go slightly taut.

The younger stranger blinked a few times before snapping his head up to look at the two IR Operatives in front of him. His eyes lit up, and Gordon suspected it wasn’t because he was about to be rescued.

“Oh, shit, these guys are young. How much do you think they would sell for?”

And just like that, Gordon’s gut twisted into a killer pretzel and was dropped off a five-story building. This had to be a joke, had to be. These kinds of people were only supposed to exist in horror stories. In the dark parts of the internet that are mainly regarded as myths, created to scar the poor children who snuck onto their parents’ laptop without permission. Even if they were real, Gordon and Alan couldn’t have had that bad of luck to--

“Remember what we said about famous people? Forget the ages, these guys are International Rescue. Most clients will throw physicality to the wind if something famous is involved.”

Gordon also thought that your pupil shrinking to the size of the tip of a needle when you’re terrified was a myth, but as the blood completely drained from his face and left him white as a sheet, he had to concede he was wrong about multiple things tonight.

Holy hand grenade in a fucking handbasket.

The state of shock his body was forcing him to enter was bad, like, shock-blankets-are-required level bad, but trembles from a different body right next to him snapped him back into attention.

Alan was trembling, his grip on Gordon’s arm so tight that the older brother wouldn’t be surprised to find bruises when his outfit was finally taken off. There was only a marginal amount more color compared to Gordon behind those freckles, and Gordon couldn’t tell if his brother’s pupils were any smaller with the way the kid was flicking them around like crazy, “Wha-- what are they talking about?”

Ah, shock was one hell of a bitch.

Alan was 18 years of age, an adult. He flew a rocket into space for a part-time job. He also lived on an island where he was mainly homeschooled and was soon to be off at some kind of college (maybe even online classes). As embarrassing as it could be, his family wasn’t going to be the puritan fam that shoved the mere thought of sex to the sidelines. Alan had four older brothers who spent a significant amount of time on the mainland around other people more than the youngest could ever dream of. Most time of which was spent in their respective high schools (or Olympics fields, ‘cause Gordon wasn’t exactly of age when he still had school over there) with hot girls and boys-- similar hobbies or not-- that had the same level of hormones flying about.

They knew things and weren’t afraid to answer any question Alan had.

Also, Alan had a huge internet hobby; video games, browsing social media, you name it. The kid’s probably heard stories that would give Scott hernias for days. Alan had to have stumbled across the topic of human trafficking somewhere, whether it was the plot of a teen-rated video game or something as simple as a news article. At the end of the day, this kind of thing was something everyone was subconsciously aware of, but you didn’t think about it because A, it was awful, and B, more often than not, it didn’t happen to you.

But the way Alan stared at Gordon like the prankster held the stars in his palms-- as if he could snap his fingers and bring them to safety in the blink of an eye reminded Gordon that Alan was always a little bit more sheltered than any of them could help it. Alan was one of the last things their mother gave them, and the way John and he essentially became her just split into two people hurt more than any of them would be willing to admit.

Alan knew the horrors of the world firsthand, but he never had to fully grasp it because his older brothers would be there to shoulder it for him.

Always.

Like hell Gordon was going to drop that tradition today.

“Alan, run.”

With a shove and a half, Gordon ripped his little brother’s hand from his upper arm and sent him in the other direction. Gordon also ripped his own heart in half as he ignored the somewhat naive cry of Gordon! as it got quieter and quieter. Despite the guilt, Alan listened and booked it. Like a baby calf being told to run away from starving lions while the mom stayed behind to protect it. Gordon, mostly satisfied that his bro was safe, turned around and swallowed the bile that was rising in his throat.

He was hoping his glare could be as scary as Scott’s or even Virgil’s, but the way the creepy strangers just chuckled as if the threat he posed was no bigger than a tiny kitten filled Gordon with both anger and fear. They knew he was from IR. If they weren’t scared of him, what did that mean they were prepared for?

The older man stated an order, one that had Gordon’s blood run cold, “Go after the other. I got this one.”

Gordon got out half an angry “Hey!” before the man that spoke suddenly charged at him. On reflex, Gordon put himself into a fighting stance and prevented both of them from toppling over. He hardly considered it a victory, though, as the other guy who was ordered to run after Gordon’s baby brother was gone and out of sight before Gordon could even look up after nearly having the wind knocked out of him.

Gritting his teeth and shoving the man off of him, bringing his arms up and curling his fists with a glare brighter than his hair, the only plan he could go with was the one where he took this guy down as quickly as possible. Right now, the only solace Gordon had was the fact that his brother was a quick puppy. He didn’t only need ‘Three to move at the speed of light.

C’mon, Alan, show me why Track was worth it.

Focusing completely on his enemy, Gordon figured the man was intentionally slimy with his words, as the only thing he did in response to Gordon tensing like a cornered animal was to chuckle in cold amusement, “You’re a wily one, they’ll like that.”

Don’t throw up don’t throw up don’t throw up don’t--

Gordon reinstigated the fight with a snarl, landing a punch that didn’t cause as much damage as he wanted, but it was enough for him to gain a slight upper hand. The man wasn’t thrown off balance, nor did he majorly flinch back from the recoil, but he did understand that he had to play more defensively. It was like two stubborn stallions fighting over the mare in the area.

One young and smaller and quicker, his age not a roadblock but an easy strength. If he hit just right his opponent would topple over as quickly as he could throw his fists. The older one, however, was still larger, and while he might have been slower and less agile, his age allowed more wisdom and understanding. He’s probably seen (and kidnapped) many like Gordon, so he knew exactly how to play him like a damn fiddle.

It was hard to say who would win until one of them was either running for the hills, beaten and bloody, or dead at the victor’s feet.

Gordon wasn’t sure how long they went at it, but he knew it was longer than he liked.

He was somehow barely winning it regardless, and he was fully prepared to give Penny a big heckin smooch for the lessons that were currently saving his life, but even with her endless knowledge and background, she couldn’t prepare Gordon for dirty tactics. Stallions fighting over mares usually just involve two of them.

Right as Gordon was able to grab the man’s arms and wring them around his back, a magical third person appeared, different to the second one that went after Alan, like a freaking wizard with his own magic wand.

Which was also known as a cattle prod to most.

The pokey object was jabbed into his side. Fire filled his body, making him scream out in pain. Gordon remembered when he and Virgil messed with one back on the farm as kids and how they learned their lesson the hard way. He was hoping to never “learn” it again. Yet as a couple thousand volts flared throughout his abdomen, even with the suit, he had to relent and let go of his makeshift hostage. His body was on autopilot and it said get away from source of burning pain.

His body tried, oh, it tried, but what was previously his prisoner managed to stand in the blink of an eye and swing a fist into the side that wasn’t being tortured by an agricultural device. With another short, cut off scream, Gordon fell over onto his ass. His wheezes were brutal, the air not wanting to come back into his body despite itself. At this point, the logical part of his brain was telling him he wasn’t going to get away and he should save his energy to withstand whatever these people were going to do to him, but as always, the emotional part was overriding everything.

Shit, guys, help! Scotty, Virg, Dad--

He turned around to be on his hands and knees and scrambled to try and run as Alan did. He might be faster in the water than on land, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t one quick son of a bitch when he wanted to be. It was enough for his gym classes, it was enough when he needed to run away after a successful prank, it was enough when his grandma needed a new test subject...

But it wasn’t enough here.

The cattle prod was shoved into the back of his neck, and with it came darkness and a growing sense of dread.

Please, Mom, get Allie to our family.

#thunderbirds #thunderbirds are go #gordon tracy #alan tracy #my post #my fic #i FEEL like im forgetting tags wtf. im 99% im not but STILL #hang on i added (a thunderbirds fanfic) to this cuz now that i look at it #that title is VAGUE AS HELL lmfao

[atemusluckygal-fanfiction]

Hi! I'm curious, how do you usually go about writting fanfics? Your stories are so great and their plots are eloquently told - how do you proceed when you decide to write something? How many drafts do you usually have? And holy molly, how do you manage to have such an rich vocabulary? I could definitely use some tips for my own writting.

Hi anon!

Thanks so much for the compliment! I’m really flattered that you’d ask me about the process. The key to writing good fiction, I think, is endeavoring to connect with your readers through something both relatable and meaningful. Most of the time the why is at least just as important than the how, if not more.

As far as the mechanics go, any ideas that cross your mind more than once has to go on the paper as soon as you can put it down. It doesn’t matter if all you’ve got is a total mess–99% of the time, it is a total mess. But it’s better than forgetting a potentially good story. (Side note: Most musicians remember song ideas by recording a memo with a guitar or piano as soon as they can, and most of the time it sounds like dog shit at first. But sometimes those little voice memos turn into the next Don’t Stop Believin’.)

I’ll give you an example, from my story from a while back “Dreams of Dancing: The Le Cygne Tour”. When the vague idea occurred to me (I was sitting in traffic), I came home and wrote this on a word doc:

Story idea:Tea auditions for a big important ballet thing dream jobtakes a big risk in audition and gets humiliatedYami comforts herTea is sad and discouraged while she waits for verdictShe wins auditionYami and Tea kiss

(lol how messy was that? it’s barely English)

I let that blob of text sit for a while, because not all ideas catch (I have around 18 “rejects” that will never see the light of day). If I read it again and it seems worth my time, I’ll start writing the main sections of the first draft (the major events, like the audition, judges’ comments, interaction with Yami afterwards, reading the verdict, the kiss, and the ending). I let that sit for a few days to a week, then fill it in a little at a time. By the way, when I say let it “sit”, I mean don’t look at it at all until you’re waited long enough. You’ll be able to see it with fresh eyes. In the final editing stage, I actually read my chapter to myself, out loud. If something doesn’t belong, or if it doesn’t flow like it should, you’d know as soon as the words tumble out of your mouth.

How many drafts do I usually have? It depends on the nature of the story. In a playful and not-too-serious piece like “In the Body of a Boy”, for the first two chapters there were no more than 3 drafts each–the third chapter was highly anticipated by the readers since it took so long, so that had more drafts so I could end it decently. The whole point was to poke fun at Atem’s character, not write the next Shakespearean melodrama.

In “Vices”, a much darker and more serious story with LOTS of exposition, each chapter (both parts and interludes) posted so far had somewhere between 6-8 drafts. I’m a bit of an obsessive editor, so it would’ve been more if I didn’t force myself to just post it and hope that, even if my execution is flawed, my message came through.

Something I’ve been doing lately is, after uploading the chapter on the Doc Manager on ff.net, I pull up the “preview” mode and read it top to bottom a few times. For some reason, seeing the piece on the interface exposes more things you’d want to change. Even a few minutes after publishing it, I’ll read it again from the public page, and go back and edit a few things here and there. (These are clearly pretty obsessive habits, which aren’t required to be a good writer. I’m just a slave to my own standard of excellence, and that’s not always a good thing.)

As far as vocabulary… well, I would hope I have at least a decent one, I’ve been writing for over 10 years! The first and most obvious advice I have to give for that is: read a lot. Read stuff that challenges you. If you come across a word you don’t know: stop, look it up, read the sentence again in context. If you do that, you’ll more likely remember the word and can use it for yourself later. I literally have the dictionary.com app on my phone so I can look up stuff wherever I go, instantly. Am I insane? Probably.

The point of sophisticated language isn’t to sound sophisticated, it’s more about finding words that capture what you’re trying to say in a more specific way. Like, for example, you could use a word like “extrapolate” instead of “plan ahead”, if in context, a character is meant to plan ahead using the knowledge they already have, and extending that pattern beyond the present time to predict a future outcome. Then again, broader terms like “plan ahead” might be better for dialogue than narration, if your character can’t be expected to use a word like “extrapolate” or even know what it means.

Just for fun, I’ll tell you what tabs I usually keep open and handy while writing:1) Merriam-Webster dictionary/thesaurus 2) Urban dictionary3) yu-jyo.net (for referencing canon material)4) tvtropes.org5) grammarist.com6) whatever thing I’m researching for the story7) Wikipedia8) ff.net: previous chapters of my story I’m adding to (if multiple chapters) for consistency

My last piece of advice: it all comes with practice! Lots and lots of it! If you read some of my very first stories (please don’t they’re terrible) and compare to my more current ones, you’ll see that it’s not an overnight thing, not even close. Like I said, over 10 years, and I still have a lot to improve on. Just keep reading, writing, learning, and you will see how much that helps you grow mechanically. Keep feeling, socializing, finding things in the world that inspire you, and you will see how much that helps you grow as an artist and human being.

Wow, that got so long! Sorry! I hope it still helps. Thanks for asking, and good luck on your ventures in your writing!

xo ALG

#atemusluckygal-fanfiction answers #atemusluckygal-fanfiction writes a goddamn essay #will atemusluckygal-fanfiction ever shut up #stay tuned