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spacejammie-eimmajecaps · 6 months

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20 Q's for Fic Writers

Thanks for the tag @grungeeuvu

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

At present, I have 46 fics posted on ao3. Used to have over 50 but I deleted/orphaned some

2. What's your total Ao3 word count?

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Haikyuu is the only fandom I write for right now

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes, almost always

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

Probably this one

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

Most of my fics have happy endings so this question feels impossible to answer lol

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No, I've only ever gotten 1 comment that was a bit rude, though it didn't seem intentional

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

Not often, the vanilla kind

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

Setting counts as a crossover, right? I used to have a haikyuu fic that was set in Neverland (like from Peter Pan) but I deleted it because I wasn't happy with it. Was going to fully rewrite it, just have not had time/energy to do so. And I have an outline made for a haikyuu fic that's set in the Jurrasic Park universe (starts out similar to the first movie and goes from there, and almost every single haikyuu character is in the story somewhere)

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of

12. There was no question 12 so I'll make one up myself: What's the longest you've ever spent working on one fic? And the shortest?

I've been working on SGB for almost 2 years now, that's the longest. The shortest would probably be just a couple hours.

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

Nope

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

Impossible to pick a favorite

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

SGB😭😭😭 (jk, I'll finish it no matter what, it's just gonna take a few more years probably)

On a serious note, I don't think I'm actually going to rewrite the Neverland AU I deleted, and I'm not sure if I'll ever get around to finishing the Jurrasic Park AU

16. What are your writing strengths?

Ermmmmmm I'm not sure, maybe dialogue? I think I've gotten much better at that than I used to be

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Adding last-minute details that aren't necessary and only serve to create openings for plot holes that I later have to fix somehow

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

Don't really have thoughts on this

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Haikyuu

20. Favourite fic you've written?

Tie between these two

I'll tag: @astrowaffles @wewindondowntheroad @paintbrushyy @stormears @axreliono @redrocketpanda @maybe-a-dinosaur @sunflowersatori @themultifandomdisaster @chameliyun @kleiner-ghost @tsukikitsune-exe @novatix

#tried to remember who all my ao3 writer mutuals are but i think i forgot some #sorry if i missed anyone #feel free to say i tagged you if you want to do this<3

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benetnvsch · 7 months

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I love it when im looking at my own post on my own Tumblr and it shows me the 'more like this' collection of posts and it shows posts from blogs I've blocked like?? Yes girl that’s exactly what I wonna see :D man this site is insufferable lol

#ig this is kinda like a vent but not really im just being petty :p #man I fucking hate this webbed site #would y'all hate me if I left Tumblr and moved to twitter fr this time LMAO #this also happens to posts by people I've blocked reblogged by others like?? Tumblr STOP I do not want to see that askdjhadkj-#I don't really need to know when my mutuals are doing that come on now ://#also the blacklisting feature?? why do u need to give me the option to see posts just just let me mute things for good <//3 #in some strange way I think twitter functions work better than Tumblr lol #at least my notifications are real there and half my followers aren't bots </3 blocks actually fucking work #so much easier to tell what people believe in/stand for too akjdhjd-#someone liked a tweet of mine and right in their bio they had like all the twt factions they're in and Saw Some Alarming ones and nope righ #to the blocklist- I don't have that type of security on Tumblr ppl actually keep parts of their lives private here wtf /lh /hj #the issue with twitter though is that im afraid to be annoying there cuz I mostly just post art and interact with like the 5 mutuals Im -#not afraid of #also tags on Tumblr my beloved <33 #also no one on twitter knows im a Furry Artist Primarily and atp im too scared to let it be known </3 #im just a silly wolf girl who accidentally grew a following release me from this hell /lh #Maybaps it’s time for me to take a Tumblrer break now that the season is bungover

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thaliagrayce · 7 months

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i've been talking abt my voltron playlists and @iveofficiallygonemad asked to hear them and i want to share with anybody who wants!! i know they're not perfect, i'm working on them & trying to make them better. if you have any recommendations for any of them, let me know!! there's like A Lot and i want to give a lil explanation for most of them, so i'm putting them under the cut ^-^

SO first i have my favorite one <3 it's just. all of them. it's the whole team. it's a mess and it's a bunch of different genres because it's them fighting over the aux cord on a road trip. it's them trying to make each other laugh or annoy each other or play something catchy enough it will infect everyone in the vicinity with brain worms.

Hunk: i'm pretty happy with my Hunk playlist! chill vibes. he strikes me as the kind of guy who listens to calm music to try to find his own calm, and that's what i got here :)

Pidge: this is messier and less cohesive than my usual playlist because frankly i think pidge would have a shit taste in music. all over the board. this is a mix of meme songs and 8-bit covers and vocaloid and stuff that i think pidge would genuinely connect with, and i think pidge listens to all their music on shuffle without any regards for genre or mood because they're a gremlin. nobody gives pidge sole control of the aux.

Coran hears 80's music for the first time and loses his mind. He thinks ABBA is humanity's single greatest achievement.

Lance: i have ideas about where I'm going with this but haven't really settled yet. Lance seems like the kind of boy that loves to dance (is that canon? i forgot) so most of these are Bops That Make You Move in some way or another. he likes to present an upbeat face to the world, so there's no angsting in this playlist! we are clinging to the things that make us happy with both hands until our knuckles turn white!

Keith: i'm gonna be honest. i made him a playlist but i honestly don't think he cares about music very much. it's very important to some people! he's just not one of them! i haven't cracked this playlist open in a while but i'm pretty sure it's full of songs that i think he would conceivably train/work out to.

Shiro: this playlist involves the dumbest headcanon i have for shiro that has just not left me alone since i first thought of it. most of the playlist reflects the fact that he had an emo phase in middle school (that one isn't a headcanon, you just have to look at him to know) but BUT there are a few songs on here that are on here because. little known fact. he also went through a Twilight phase that he told nobody about. (keith knows. keith was there.) he has the entire twilight soundtrack memorized. he moved past the story but the music stays forever. he used to daydream about slow dancing to Flightless Bird, American Mouth. the first time Coran mentions that they have to avoid a place because there's a supermassive black hole there, he has to bite his tongue in order to keep a straight face. do NOT ask me why i believe this so wholeheartedly.

Allura's playlist sucks right now. I think it's because in my heart of hearts i know that, were she on earth today, she would go fucking nuts for taylor swift. i have ambivalent feelings for taylor swift. i cannot do allura justice like this. if you see my vision and have recs as to what might actually fit her, PLEASE.

Klance: i haven't done it yet but i'm gonna go through this and sort it to be a sort of progression of their relationship, starting with the more combative Rivalry songs, then slipping into "oh shit oh shit" songs, then maybe ending on the more lighthearted purely romantic songs <3

(i have two songs in a shallura playlist which does not at all encapsulate how much i'm obsessed with them. the tiny cop inside my head is just constantly screaming at me that i'm going to get yelled at for liking shallura. i am going to kill the cop inside my head.)

#mj talks #oooooh i don't know if i actually want to put this in the show tag. that's a lot of people. that's a lot of people that might see this.#fuck it we ball #voltron #anyway. as i said if you like music and you have songs that you think fit please send em over #also who wants to talk about shallura? i want to talk about shallura.#i rewatched the first ~3 seasons (the best part of the show and some of season 3) with my roommate a while back and.#ngl if we're strictly talking about the show itself and not fanworks. i care about shallura SO much more than i care about klance.#oh i should probably tag #klance #in case anyone has that blacklisted and just doesn't wanna see it #BACK TO MY POINT.#rewatch seasons 1 and 2 and you will see there was a REASON everyone included shallura in the background of their fics #and it wasn't just shoving 'space mom' and 'space dad' together #there is a very real and very compelling dynamic there. the mutual respect. the connection that comes with taking responsibility.#watch shiro's whole deal after allura gets herself captured so that he can go free and try telling me it's all in my head. just TRY.#anyway i have a lot of complicated thoughts about shiro's sexuality and most of them boil down to I Don't Think It Was Planned #i think they shoved it in last minute because somebody higher up #(not the writers i don't blame u writers i know that you have people breathing down your necks telling you what you can and can't do)#some higherup didn't like any queer storylines that might have been in the works and pulled them from the show #but then there was fan backlash because... gay people are loud now? people wanted A Queer In Space? wild thought #so they had to save their ass and actually deliver on what they had promised in interviews/on the internet/idk i didn't keep up too much #because it was so clumsily revealed! there was no buildup!#it felt very shoehorned to me unfortunately. when a) they had already built a solid and compelling potential relationship for shiro #(see above)#and b) klance was? right there? like. dude. you /had/ to have seen that. or at least some of it????#backstory dead fiance was not the best move vis a vis queer representation and i reject him #if you want me to care about a relationship try going back to storytelling basics and Show Don't Tell :)#not giving you brownie points for that 'queer representation' :)#anyway. that's my shallura manifesto in the notes.

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avallachs · 9 months

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talking about the way people approach having / being mutuals with others w a friend is highlighting how insane the approach is in some corners of tumblr im so ??

#ophelia.txt #wack. anyway #i really hope this doesn't come off as pretentious or up myself but i love ppl & chatting to ppl so if u ever want to say hi to me for any #reason ur absolutely welcome to <3 mutual or not !! mwah #also tag games and things like that !! i'm notorious for not doing those but the idea of being perceived as unapproachable due to #who u do or don't follow is Baffling to me. and the fact that some ppl WANT that ??? ok...

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andoutofharm · 1 year

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the mcr tour is about to start back up again which also means i’m about to go back to liveblogging/reacting to shows and generally posting a lot more mcr than i have the last few months. I have a lot of new followers since the last show and I know not all of you followed me for mcr purposes, so i’ll be tagging my liveblogs/reacts as mcr lb and will be tagging (most of) my mcr posts with mcr.

#i love all my new followers and especially my fob mutuals! <3 #i know not all of you go to mcr though and i dont want to flood your dashes TOO much so i’ll try to tag my shit as much as possible #some stuff will likely get missed but i’ll do my best!

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majesticmagics · 9 months

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I was tagged by @transactinides but the original op disabled reblogs, so:

rules: shuffle your On Repeat liked songs playlist and post the first 10 tracks, then tag 10 people ✨

Gymnopédie No. 1 - Erik Satie

WHAT YOU GONNA DO??? - Bastille, Graham Coxon

Sunlight - Hozier

Life Will Change - Lyn (Persona 5 OST)

Adore - Free the Robots

Fighting Trousers - Professor Elemental

Siren - Kailee Morgue

Vampire Money - My Chemical Romance

BULLY IN THE ALLEY - Kimber's Men

Woe To the People of Order - The Shiny Snivy

@rinmession @scolek @v4mp123 @aguahouse @kanameows @capadipdap @morphogenetic-velvet @dontsteponthatfish @nacisses @scin7illa

#(for the people that i tagged no pressure to do this at all if you're not in the mood or otherwise don't want to for any reason <3)#(also i've only tagged mutuals in the order that you appear in my activity tab so yeah)#but yeah this is pretty much what my likes playlist looks like in terms of variety except there's several non-english songs too #next non-english song that comes up is the 15th one along and it's 如果突然想起我 / If You Suddenly Think Of Me #then there's some spanish songs and a bunch of k-pop #i recently added a nice vietnamese pop song but it doesn't show up in the shuffle bc it only loads so far :(#adore is great i like the vibe. Kinda weird and wonky but in a way that i enjoy #bully in the alley is just a good sea shanty. What more do you need?#i love the contrast of [gentle classical music] and then [alt rock song about the rise of the attention economy] at the start #god i hope i'm doing this right. if something's not right here pls lmk the paranoia's kicking in but if i don't post now i never will

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pikslasrce · 2 years

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if a guy musician doesnt look like a pathetic little man just a guy plagued by thoughts and imagery making his tunes i dont want him

#same goes for the women. but they could never be pathetic to me <3 #debating whether to make it unrebloggable or available for tbe mutuals if they choose to take this #anyways gonna tag this w my silly lityle bands bc i want it in the tags on my blogue #bastille #joywave #csh #uh. i dont have any more?#id tag lord huron for the thoughts and imagery part but ben schneider is all but pathetic little man #also white lies also idk how wet sopping pathetic they look. to me at least. hm. i mean neither do the guys i already tagged so ig ok.#tbh this is abt me simping to some extent so yeah <3 not them actually #piksla.txt

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avatardoggo · 1 month

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i held a man’s hand today

#this has been in my drafts since the 10th so please forgive me on the late update i’ve been Busy ™️#it all started on the weekend FG dropped me off at my choir performance for school and i’d been running around all day so i was all 😵‍💫 tryi #to do everything in a timely manner and he was such a big help driving me around everywhere and stuff so sweet 🥰 and as i was outside the #theatre he was handing me something? i can’t even remember rn and he was like you’re going to do great all that good pep talk stuff and as i #was reaching for what he had in his hand i kinda just kept my hand there and he did too but i had to go so i just left and then he picked me #up after and that was that and then on sunday we we hanging out and i just went out and said it bc ya girl is no coward 😤 i said “i wanted #to do something yesterday’ and he said “’ok?’ and i was like i wanted to hold your hand and he asked why didn’t you? ‘bc i was nervy 😣’ and #then after some back and forth small joking he just took my hand and we held them in silence for a bit and i was explaining how im in my #head a lot and i’m really trying to not do that anymore esp with him and he was rubbing 👏🏾 my 👏🏾 hand 👏🏾 with 👏🏾 his 👏🏾 THUMB 👏🏾#LIKE ANSJDKKFKFKFKLLDJCNCNJDJENNXXJJD #you see normally that makes me reeeallllyyt ticklish but it was so soothing i could’ve fell asleep right then and there i promise you and he #was so gentle with his voice and omgoodness this man #so then i had to go and he was like yk you’re going to have to let go bc there’s no way im letting go 😭😳🙄 LIKE SIR #but ya that’s the latest update 🫣#mutuals my beloved <3 #vk overshares in the tags #friendly giant ™️#fg

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izloveshorses · 3 months

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#going into the main ship tag is always so scary for me #idk if it just means i'm a fandom old™ or if this is normal at this point #bc 1) seeing takes that haven't been peer reviewed by my beloved mutuals? whose opinions are the only ones i trust??#and 2) i really do live in fear of seeing if certain ppl from Back Then are still posting this ship and what they have to say asdkljfh #bc that was some of the worst chronically online behavior i've ever witnessed and nearly ruined the whole thing for me #and i don't want to get triggered by any of that or if i see a Bad Take it will bring me right back there #but i ventured into this tag today bc i feel like the girls need some enrichment on the dash #and u know what. i was so pleasantly surprised <3 #so maybe we will be brave and venture there more often #not all the time but sometimes #anyway #tbd #sorry i don't mean to vagueblog asdjlkhf iykyk i guess

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hellhoundlair · 1 year

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im granting non-incest shippers free reign to rb posts from incest shippers (even posts abt incest) without feeling bad or that ur mutual circle r going to shun you for interacting with ‘problematic’ users/content

#in return u just need to take the ''w* jump of a bridge'' shit in ur bio <3 #dude when i was closet wincestie i was SO SCARED ALL THE TIME bc i was mutuals w some samblr ppl and wanted them to like me so bad #and whenever i realised i rbed a post from a wincestie i would panic n delete the post n get so stupidly scared #nd then i stopped giving a fuck :D #idk just a msg to any1 in that position rn. stop feeling guilty its okay if anyone cares that much abt screenshoting wincest posts uve liked #then theyre the weird ones #**amendment 2 the second tag. even BEFORE i started getting into wincest content. theres like an invisible line of content ur allowed to #interact with and ur just supposed to know otherwise ppl screenshot ur rbs on discord servers nd warn ppl to stay away frm u. when ur doing #nothing lol #that attitudes soo weirddddd its tumblr who cares

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archiephd · 1 year

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this doesn't even have to do with the holidays really but i don't think people realize what kind of supreme loneliness trans people can experience, especially trans people trapped in isolated rural areas. i didn't even fully grasp it myself until i thought of myself as trans, not just nonbinary, despite my many trans friends. suddenly news headlines and articles and comments from coworkers don't just feel horrible because they're directed at people i care about, but now furthermore so severely something that's hard to put into words. over time, without really noticing, i've begun to experience a deeper kind of existential fatigue than i was used to due to so many other parts of life as we know it. as the new year approaches, it feels all too easy to despair at how many of our trans brothers and sisters and siblings won't be facing 2023 with us, and how hard it is still to face it ourselves. at this point survival alone is rebellion and the fire of that is one of the things getting me through this winter, and i can only hope the same can be said for others, but please don't forget to check in on your trans friends and family this time of year. whether or not the holidays are celebrated, many are still with or think of family and community and find themselves too often alone. if you're one of them, i can only say i see you, and i think of you often. we are not alone even when we're most alone, there are so many of us reaching out in our hearts and minds to lift each other up, those still here with us now and those who came and went far before us. we will find our people and we will feel at home, and most of all we are worth the struggle and more to keep putting one foot in front of the other until the sun rises on a new year, and the next one, and the one after that. remember that we are divine and we divinely love and we are divinely loved. remember that we belong here just as much as anyone else, not by any condition but being here in the first place. you are here, we are still here, and we always will be, and that's something worth celebrating if nothing else as this year comes to a close and a new one opens, and at every moment you remember it.

#trans tag #just having. such a hard day at work for some reason #yesterday i was torn up over not being w my mom this christmas so to feel so grieved suddenly over this is putting my whole day off kilter #but not in a way i don't want to appreciate #and the grief kept welling up in waves just over how many we've lost and how many are afraid they'll be next #when we just want to Be Here like everyone else #alongside it came an overwhelming love and my own loneliness wasn't just a weight but a frustration #that i know others feel the same and that i can't be with them now #i know we're juat words on a screen to each other but this is all i can do! sometimes! so i will hit post #and love as many of you as hard as i can for as long as i can and hope even one of you can feel it #you are so so loved because i say so! and because you are loved by so many in your life and also This stranger on the internet #you are so loved and i believe in us i refuse not to #survival is rebellion and fuck it if nothing else can keep me going at my lowest fucking spite will be enough #ok to rb #but if only my trans mutuals see it this is for YOU and i am holding ur hand so tightly this week and new years and beyond <3 like buzz #lightyear :)#j.txt

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vampthropologist · 2 years

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@rockbottle (I think I missed your online window but here it is!)

Happy Birthday my dear Tooth! You absolute angel! Chaotic, funny, and just plain spectacular. Wishes for the best!

NO kin/id/me/irl tags UNLESS you are him!!!

#let's hope on another year of being internet friends and mutuals!#[🦇] my art #do not tag as kin/id/me/irl UNLESS you are Sydney!!!#please don't crunch the quality tumblr #I want to type what mushrooms i drew #Mushies!!: indigo milk cap. shaggy ink cap. boletus edulis. lactifluus volemus. (my friend gave scientific name only for some)#you said indigo milk cap was your favorite right? :)#earthworm for that drawing of syd you did with the earthworms in the hair <3 #ladybug i think you said you like them a lot once #jewelry is pretty self explanatory. you vibes (and i think you drew tooth necklace once) ALSO CINAMMAROLL NECKLACE that's cut off the scree #there's tiny heart catchlights #That's the references baybeee!#sydney o sargent #camp here and there #ch&t #sydney sargent

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arklay · 2 years

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help besties am considering uploading my nonsense to ao3 but i have no idea how that website works :)

#like not just the tags but also how in the world i'm going to organise everything... and i was like okay do i put like prompts as multiple #chapter things but then that would probably get confusing cause they're all over the place and also like warnings i'd want them to be for #each prompt not the whole work arghghgh but also like the prompts have no fancy names either so do i just leave them as the prompt #you know? does this make any sense? organisation is my best friend and my sworn enemy i hope that helps #but for real am also terrified of my stuff leaving like my mutuals circle lmaooooo i don't want diana to be perceived by the masses are you #JOKING like she's so special to me i am terrified... also cause i get scared i write him ooc even though like. i apparently don't. but i #freak out a little cause i write some sappy shit and then go oh yeah you're like evil and stuff huh oh well <3 rambling cause i'm nervy and #don't know what i'm doing send help i need my hand held at literally all times figuratively and literally #i mean it already technically escapes the mutuals circle but like typically people who follow me you know not just like searching for #character and they just seem my stuff oml terrifying #see* good lord i already fixed too many typos i cannot #leah.txt

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fungal-wasted · 2 years

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Canyon - WoH chapter 9

In which some past sins start crawling on their back but they ignore them.

Summary: Two travelers climb the steep caverns of Fog Canyon. There are unsettling thoughts making their way through the surface, which the wanderer will try to make sense of.

Words: 2.2K

Start from the beginning here

(full chapter under the cut)

“Rough shift?”

You nod, taking a sip of warm tea, struggling to restrain the shiver running through your hands. You don't wanna go into details.

“We lost another one. A fly.” You lost a couple of bugs too.

You ask if you have to write to the family.

“No, don’t worry about it. This one has no relatives on our records.”

You nod again, eyes on the tiled floor.

“Look, none of the standard methods are working so far. We can try keeping them stable for some time but it’s always the same end result. I heard many of the people in the research department are quitting. They don’t wanna raise an alarm, but they can't find anything of use.”

You ask about the bug’s feelings on the current state of things. You can’t remember this insect as clearly as you wish. There is some familiarity. Colleague.

“I don’t know. We really chose the best time to train to become healers. huh?” The sarcasm in those words makes you uneasy. So does the colleagues’ nonchalance. “I don’t think I’m quitting, though. Recently, I was listening to my supervisor. She was talking about an incident with a particularly violent patient. I didn’t hear most of it, but they say they made a… discovery.”

Your digits drum on your cup, faster in pace. You are hesitant to reply or voice an opinion, so you nod to let the other elaborate.

“This man, head of the magic department, has been studying the properties of bugs as they pass away. He believes the cure to this plague is in the power of Soul…”

You wake up before that sentence ends.

Being honest with yourself, you had feared what would happen when you fell asleep. You find that instinctively, you seek darkness now, as if light threatened to burn you from the inside. In that regard, sleeping should be helpful, but it makes you vulnerable to dreams. Dreams were supposed to be inspiring, blissful, sometimes confusing, but the thought of them now simply causes an instinctive rejection. Thinking about it too much felt as if a swarm of lumaflies flew towards you, threatening to poke at the deepest edges of your memories. What you just experienced wasn’t as bad, so you reassure yourself that there is nothing real to fear.

(But why did you wake up so soon? Why do you feel so nauseous?)

Dreaming doesn’t burn now, but it certainly brings back unpleasant images. Nobody was exempt from such things, you thought as you turned over yourself, pressing your side on the cold floor. Asking about your experiences during the first wave of the plague was similar to asking someone about the weather, as if the breeze in the caverns and the new body count were comparable. But you doubted everyone had seen the same things as you did.

The truth they painted is not a good one. You feel your insides twist, making you shiver at the implications of your dream.

You could not manage to sleep again, so you sat up, pacing around in hopes that the images would assemble into a coherent story that let you fill in the blanks (that you knew the answer to but didn’t dare to actually think about), and flopped on the nearest seat once it became clear it would take more than merely rotating the same things in your mind to make any progress (admission).

Some time later, you took out the maps you had picked up recently. You were examining the possible routes in Fog Canyon’s map as your companion awoke, and after exchanging a few words and watching them leave, you pick another piece of paper, a new idea on your mind. It is time to do some self examination.

You take a quill, an incomplete map of the Crossroads and write down what you have cleared so far.

And this is where your thoughts go blank for a moment, as you reach the “present” events.

First you write your full name, which you then erase and just leave the first name in there. It feels less formal. Something about your first name still stings, but you dismiss the unease.

Then you write down your age. You are not a young bug just out of the nest, but you are not as experienced as older bugs either. You were old enough to have a job, but you weren’t quite stable back then.

You see a spot at the bottom right corner of the map, which seems unfinished. You wonder if the cartographer just never finished to chart down there, or if the place is inaccessible now. The map of the Crossroads seems to focus on the main corridors, where trading took place. You scribble a few homes in there. Your drawings aren’t as good, but you understand the general concept.

That’s Blueshore. The town behind the Blue Lake.

That… was your hometown.

(Not anymore.)

You had moved to an apartment in the City, back when your application for a scholarship was accepted.

Scholarship! That rings a bell (one that you’re willing to hear, at least). You can remember the tablet you received on your doorstep: its weight as heavy as the significance of the words in it. Clay is not a common writing material anymore, but prizes of such relevance needed a firmer constitution, for those that wished to preserve it. Your family wanted to hang it on your front door, as a sign of pride. You didn’t let them, embarrassed at the idea, but you still thanked their compliments.

Maybe you should have hung it, just for their sake.

You write that down. That is a reason for being in the City instead of Blueshore, working at home. You were a student. (A healer?) But you also worked. Students like you were doing their internships earlier to account for the demand of healers.

You write down the place you frequented during your internship. You then add a cross next to it, disgusted. You left, you remember that. You will never associate with that place again, and you hope that it's fallen to ruin like everything else. Nothing of value is left in there, and the best it can do is fade into oblivion. (But that doesn’t change the fact you knew of it, and what already happened.)

You close the map and fold it carelessly. It’s started to wrinkle. You don’t mind.

The Archives also come to mind now as you fix your eyes on the bubbles growing from the walls. The trips there bring happier memories. You studied regularly in… the City, but on occasion, bugs like you would visit the canyon’s building. You would hang out by the Queen’s Station and make your way up to the Teacher’s facility along with your fellow classmates.

The thought cheers you up somewhat, serving as a nice distraction from the previous current, just by the time your friend returns from their walk around the station. They grab your arm and their bag as they talk about their findings.You nod along, feeling a rush of energy in anticipation.

You know exactly where to take them.

The foggy caverns west of the station are as bright as you remember them. The wind blows colder and faster in there, but it is nothing you are not used to. The trihorned bug next to you has their eyes fixed on a group of lumaflies that float around one of the metal signs. There is an improvised drawing of Geo in it, clearly covering a different symbol. After a moment, they speak:

“This looks so much like a scam, look at that paint,” they rub the tip of their nail against it, watching the paint crack beneath.

“Was that supposed to lead somewhere?” You ask, not finding anything that remotely looked like a bank. You don’t recall there being any building of the sort.

“A dark alley, I guess. You gotta be naive to fall for it though.” They laughed, a memory resurfacing. “One of my brothers, uh, Big Guy, once brought one of these signs home. I’ve no idea how he got it. I bet he stole it though.”

“How did he manage to get away with it?” You ask, puzzled.

“Eh, I think he just found it while partying, he or a friend broke it and took it. Almost everyone was asleep at that time of the cycle so nobody caught him with it on the street. Thing is, I wake up the next day and the fucking Golden Scarab Avenue sign is hanging right next to my head.”

“Did it startle you?”

“Nah.” They shrug. “I thought it was awesome of him. He was great, it’s why my siblings and I called him ‘Big guy’.” Their pride is palpable in their words. Then, they walk towards the broken sign. ”I kind of…. wanna take this one with me, for old time’s sake.”

You ask them if there is anything that stops them.

“You’re right, I can just take it. Would it fit in my bag? Maybe not… but I can carry it on my arm. It makes for a shield too.”

“I don’t think anything here will try to attack you.”

“I just wanna play it safe, pal.” They wave, dismissing the topic and taking the closest staircase. Rigid vines and bubble tree roots have overtaken the walls and some of the tiles on the floor stick out. The taller bug is careful not to trip on their way up. “Hey so, you know where we’re going, right?”

“I do, yes. We are on the right path, even if some aspects have changed.” You touch one of the once smooth stone walls, now covered in branches. “Did you know that the Canyon used to be a part of Greenpath?”

“I think I heard about that once?” They shrug, standing on a stop, waiting for you to arrive. “What do you know?”

“Oh, well, the Archives were a common visit for students and others interested in innovation. Sometimes bugs would take the stag from the storerooms to the Queen’s Station, but I personally liked walking if I had the time.”

“Did you study there? I heard they had some of the best technicians in Hallownest.”

“I actually just took a class or two there”, you fidgeted with the handle of your nail. “I was not a technician, but I can confirm their expertise. The lumaflies native to this area are used all over the kingdom, and they provide a quick source of energy. That is why a lot of technology was made here.”

“Do they hurt to touch?” They ask, as a swarm gets closer and sparks come out of them.

“Only if they charge like that. I think there are some ways to lure them but don’t quote me on that.”

You reach a higher passage, clinging to the thin branches for support where the railings are lacking. The canyon was known for being the nest of the few creatures that could withstand the acidic water in its lakes. Oomas, strange, floating creatures made their home in it. They were a common sight in smaller, less crowded caves, but they had proliferated in the absence of bugs to keep them out of the way. It was no surprise that the most resilient organisms were the ones to thrive in spite of the harshness of nature. Though passive, the oomas made use of the wind and acid for their benefit.

Even if thousands of bugs wandered into these caverns in a constant stream of travelers, its inhabitants would adapt and regrow. Thin, yet strong branches fed from soil that would kill most other plants and fungi. Those are the often called bubble trees. You think there is some lesson you can get out of their resilience, but you’re sure that many others before you have already done that in the past, likely through more creative and eloquent ways. There is nothing new you can add to the discussion. (And frankly, it feels almost insulting that you, knowing yourself and what you did, should have a say in regrowth of any k—)

“Watch out!”

The trihorn bug tackles you, as an ooma core speeds through, hitting solid rock behind you. The shock causes both of you to trip, their weight turning you over your side. The core collides on a corner, exploding into an orange mass. You hold to your weapon for support as you get up.

You hear hissing, horror flowing through your veins as you realize the explosion has caused a chain reaction on another ooma, this time closer to you both.

“Hide in here!” They say, holding the street sign as a shield.

But you don’t have enough time.

You stretch one of your limbs, close your eyes, and focus on yourself, knowing it’s over.

The explosion does not occur where you expect it to, you’re unharmed.

The core has exploded in the middle of the air. Far enough from anything that could potentially perpetuate the chain reaction of explosions.

You sigh in relief.

“How did you do that?!”

Do… what?

“Is that some kind of magic? That was like a fireball!”

“I don’t know.” You reply.

(But you do know, and they know you do, too.)

#my writing #im not even putting this on the main tag because it doesnt feel enough like fanfic anymore #but its also not original enough lol #woh #hk oc #im kinda anxious about my friends or mutuals reading this #bc i feel like this whole thing is weird #so if you see this try it at your own risk but i don't guarantee quality #and my beliefs in some stuff has slightly changed ever since #Ok so lets be honest #i didnt update in over 3 months #i didnt spend those months writing or planning ahead #i spent them debating whether i should just delete this thing #and i won't #im just gonna write whatever i want for my own sake #and stop cringing so bad at it #i may go back to older chapters and change a few details #but rereading... i actually do like some parts #so while i have no idea who would find this appealing #i will move on #I wanna talk about the chapter itself too #like half of the writer's block was N1s fault because they're unreliable as hell #and like if I were n2 i'd be pissed but n2 hasn't seen through those inconsistencies yet #so basically ive spent weeks thinking of how to make that play out #i have some... ideas #hmmm what else #i also wanted to keep the backstory as vague as possible but meh we're gonna drop more story #anyways n1 is tough to write because theyre the most Normal except im putting them through trauma now and they're feeling guilty #so good for them i guess lol #fran ocs

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