I Only Have Three Modes During My Finals: A Raccoon That Crawled Out Of A Trash Can And Just Learned

Three One Piece story ideas I might (or might not) write someday:

- The Faces I See In My Sleep: Ever since he was taken in by the Revolutionary Army, Sabo draws the same two faces over and over again without ever knowing their names. A little boy who smiles like the sun and another with stormy eyes and freckles like stars. And when Portgas D. Ace makes his debut on the high seas, Sabo can't help but notice the similarities between his wanted poster and the boy in his drawings.

- Pieces of Me: Nami had spent more than half her life serving Arlong. Arlong had stolen her mother, her childhood, and her freedom. He had taken everything from her. Her maps, her time, her hope, and her blood. Little by little, he had ripped away essential pieces of her, leaving behind only a broken, empty shell, just functional enough to be useful to him. But with the help of her crew, Nami becomes whole again, regaining the pieces of herself that Arlong stole from her.

- My Father Is The Worst Man Alive (And I’m His Favorite Daughter): After touring Wano, Yamato sets sail to see the world. His first stop: the grave of the friend he never got to know, the only person in the world who could understand the burden of being born of a monster, the pirate who gave him his first taste of freedom. Portgas D. Ace. It's been years since Yamato saw his vivre card go up in flames, but better late than never.

If this is something you would like to read, please let me know so I can motivate myself to write it. And if this is something you would like to write, please let me know so I can read it!

the specific tragedy of marineford's events aside ace is just a wild character to watch. he's the coolest big brother on the seas. he's a fucking dork. he's hated himself his whole life. he goes around tits out all day every day. it's because he's tattooed his devotion to whitebeard on his back and wants everyone to see it. he can solo a buffalo with a metal pipe at age 10. he cannot shut up about luffy even when he's in jail waiting to die. he's narcoleptic. he's a serial dine-n-dasher. he's the patron saint of daddy issues. he learns manners specifically to thank shanks for saving luffy. he's kinda shit at them. he doesn't run from fights. he doesn't let himself run from fights. he doesn't think he CAN run from fights. he crashes a party on buggy's ship out of nowhere and steals the food. he infiltrates a marine base and doesn't even bother to hide the very recognizable tattoo on his arm. he steals THEIR food. he immediately blows his cover because he decks the shit out of someone for dissing his captainfather. he's still eating while he gives them the slip. he goes to kill kaido and bonds with his son instead. he knows how to make a kasa. he forgets he's fire and keeps accidentally burning them. the narrative doomed him and yet his love and the love for him refuses to die. the world loathes him on an existential level. he chooses to be kind to the people in it, even so.

Snippet Sunday !!

What do you mean I'm finally writing for Children of the Sea again? To celebrate, here is a little snippet from the next chapter, without the names obviously so as not to spoil anything.

Publication date is tentatively set for December 25th. A little Christmas present.

"The ties that bound them together were forged in the heat of battle, sharp and broken metal melding to create the most powerful weapon of all. A crew, a family. Through blood, sweat, and tears. To the ends of the ocean."

I want everyone to know that this is me every time someone drops a comment on something I've written:

AO3 Wrapped 2024 [Writer's Edition]

As I only started writing in 2023 and haven't been able to write since October because of my exams, it's not as much as I would have liked but here is my AO3 Wrapped 2024 ! Based on this post if you want to do it too.

Sorry if this is long, I loved doing this and looking back on my year of writing.

How many words have you written this year?

I published 445,335 words this year on AO3, so I probably wrote more but I have no idea how to count them. But I'm cheating a little since all my One Piece stories are in French and English.

How many works did you publish this year?

I've published 35 works in English, 61 if we count the French translations.

What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?

At The Dawn Of Time, a story where Portgas D. Ace travels back in time for a day after Marineford to meet his mother Portgas D. Rouge while she is still pregnant with him in Baterilla. His arrival has no impact whatsoever on the timeline, all events remain the same after his visit but it has such a big impact on Ace, on how he sees himself, how he sees his parents and the world. It's the moment where he learns to love and forgive himself with a little help from his mom and it means so much to me, especially at the time I wrote it.

I love this story for all it represents and I also think it's really well written. Kudos to me.

What work of yours has the most hits?

It's Children of the Sea, my story about Rouge adopting Shanks and Buggy after Roger's death, with 24,428 hits ! But considering that it's also my longest ongoing project, that was expected.

What work of yours got more feedback than you expected?

Between the Waves and the Stars, a story for Nami's birthday (One Piece) about the first few weeks of the crew with just her, Luffy and Zoro. I love this story but I honestly didn't expect so many people to agree with me and take the time to write so many lovely and kind comments.

(The title may also be the inspiration for my username. I love astral imagery, sue me.)

Favorite title you used

I hate having to come up with titles for my stories, it either comes to me directly because I pull it directly from a song or I stare at my story for hours trying to come up with a title. That said, I think one I'm very prouf of is Gold On The Fingers, Gold In The Heart because the title plays on Roger's name and the attraction Rouge already feels for him without admitting it to herself.

If you use song lyrics, which artist’s songs did you pull from the most?

These are not stories that I have already published but I have a whole series of stories inspired by Livingston's music and lyrics.

Pairing you wrote the most for this year?

The focus of my stories is rarely romantic and I focus more on platonic and familial relationships, especially and equally Ace & Sabo & Luffy from One Piece and Dean & Sam from Supernatural. However, the romantic pairing I've written the most about has to be Rouge/Roger from One Piece.

Favorite pairing you wrote for this year?

If we talk about romantic pairing, Rouge/Roger (One Piece). There is not enough content on them and if I have to do it myself, I will.

What work was the quickest to write?

Ghosts of the Past (And Those of the Present), I have a series where I write stories for One Piece characters' birthdays (which I've totally neglected since September, sorry) and I had forgotten about Perona's birthday until the last minute but in a few hours, I wrote almost 3000 words in one go. I've been trying to chase that high ever since.

What work took you the longest to write?

It's obviously Children of the Sea, for once because it's my longest work but also because I have a lot of things to tell and I want to do it in the most perfect way possible. The first chapters were super easy but I'm at an impasse in my story where I would already like to be at the next arc of the plot. BUT it's the first thing I'm going to get back to when my finals are over.

How many WIP’s do you have in your docs for next year?

So many, honestly I'm drowning. I'd say I have over twenty and sometimes I wish my brain would just shut up.

But I'm also eager to start writing them properly. One mistake I won't make next year though is to start posting without a head start no matter how much I want to.

What’s your longest work of the year?

Once again, Children of the Sea (the French version anyway) with 59,166 if my calculations are correct. And I'm only at the beginning of the second part of the first book. At this rate, I'm going to get my master's degree before I finish this story I think, but it's so worth it.

What’s your shortest work of the year?

Blood On The Car Seats with 905 words, a story about Bobby's last moments with Dean and Sam in Supernatural.

Before starting Whumptober I rarely if ever wrote stories under 2,000 words but with the time constraint I had to learn to say less sometimes which was both very painful and educational.

What WIP are you taking into next year with you?

Without surprises, Children of the Sea. This work is my child and my sister has instructions on what to do if I die before I finish writing it.

What’s your most common “Additional Tags” tag?

Canon Compliant, which is a bit boring so I'll go with my second most used which is Found Family and totally represents my writing.

Your favorite character to write this year?

PORTGAS D. ROUGE! I love her dearly, she's my wife and my everything. And then I remember that we see her a grand total of once in the manga, which makes me sad. Oda, give me more content on Rouge and my life is yours.

But more seriously, since we have so little content, she has, even more than the other characters of One Piece, became my character and she more than anyone else has made me want to write an original book one day.

The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?

Luffy. I love him, he's one of my favorite characters in One Piece but he's so hard to write. He's so complex and well written with so much natural in the manga that I'm always afraid of not doing him justice and making him a two-dimensional character. And don't even get me started on when I have to write from his point of view, a real nightmare. But I love him, he's so interesting.

What’s one pairing you want to explore next year?

I don't know yet, I have a lot of ideas.

A lot of them are about Dean/Castiel (Supernatural) or Nami/Vivi (One Piece) if we're talking about romantic relationships. But if we're talking about platonic relationships, all the dynamics I'm going to be able to explore in Children of the Sea when I finally get all the characters to meet.

All the relationships, whether seen romantically or platonically, in the Straw Hat crew are also fascinating to me. I have a collection of one-shots about them in progress, I might have to pick it up again.

Which work of yours have you reread the most?

I have no idea, I must have reread all my stories once or twice to see if I could expand on this particular idea. The last one I reread though was Day Trip with Grandpa, the story about Garp's birthday (One Piece) because I got a comment on it today.

How many kudos in total did you get this year?

4,130 kudos, which is huge! Thank you so much to everyone who has ever left a kudo on one of my stories, I love you, I cherish you and I hope your pillow is always cold on both sides.

Which work has the most comments?

It's Children of the Sea again but that doesn't surprise me since most of my other stories are one-shots.

Did you do any collaborative works this year? Did you write any gifts this year? Did you receive any gifts this year?

No, maybe something for next year!

What’s your most common category?

Gen, and by a long way! Not surprising.

What do you listen to while writing?

I listen to absolutely anything and everything, probably more music with a dramatic vibe or a theme that is related to the story. I made a playlist a while ago for Children of the Sea, but I need to update it.

Favorite work you wrote this year?

Argh, I honestly like all of my stories, or almost, but I'm going to say At The Dawn of Time or Children of the Sea. I've talked about them enough already so I won't do it again but they really hold a special place for me. Coincidentally or not, both have Rouge as a central character.

Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

[Not pictured, me freezing for ten minutes because I don't know which line is my favorite.]

Chapter 14, Children of the Sea

Excerpt from the correspondence between Portgas D. Rouge & Gol D. Roger, 17 years ago RETURNED TO SENDER My love, It has been seven years since your death today and even more since the last time I saw you, touched you and kissed you. I learned that the cells of the body renew themselves, and that every seven years, each cell of our bodies is different. Which means that from now on, no part of my body has been in contact with you. Only my soul and my heart. And the trace you left there can never be erased. I will forever carry you in my heart and in each of my actions. You will always be a part of me.

I don't know if this is my absolute favorite, but this letter and this whole chapter are very close to my heart.

Biggest surprise while writing this year?

I can write! All the stuff I was hesitant to write, fight scenes, romantic moments with tension. It may not be my strong point (yet) but I can do it! I can basically write anything I want.

As a writer, receiving long comments with quotes and rambles is the best feeling in the world. There's nothing wrong with hearts, keyboard smashes or even silent readers, but the energy boost to keep writing that some of the comments I've had have given me is incomparable.

And as a reader, I often read my favourite fanfics on my laptop with two tabs open to comment my thoughts on real time. It works great for me !

BTW i see these posts all the time like "ohhh i dont know what to comment on fics.." and every response is "keysmashes! or hearts!! anything works :3" and thats GREAT!! thats helpful!!

but: consider. if u genuinely like analyzing writing.. do u know ur just allowed to go through and quote your favorite parts and ramble abt what they mean to u and the author will LOSE IT WITH HYPE?

genuinely. i felt SO WEIRD the first time i did it.. but like. holy shit authors love it. its crack for authors. the first time i did it, it was on a fic that hadnt updated in half a year, give or take, and the author made 3 updates that month BECAUSE OF MY COMMENT.

LIKE. as an author every comment is INCREDIBLE!!! but also, dont feel like your comment has to be short or otherwise ur invasive or smth!! authors ADORE long comments more than ANYTHING.

Eating is secondary. You know what's really important? Testing every possible combination of the picrew that @mischa-makowka made.

So, look at what I made during my discourse analysis class. Plus, I had this exact hairstyle today. I would have loved to use this as my profile picture but I really like my current one (baby luffy!) so I'm putting it here instead.

My most kudoed fic is by far Children of the Sea, but when I went to check by how much I noticed that several of my other One Piece fics had more kudos than I remembered which makes me very happy.

My favorite fic is probably also Children of the Sea because I got severely attached to the characters throughout the chapters. It's a family-centric story where Rouge raises Ace, Shanks and Buggy (and coming soon, our favorite rubber kid!). And bonus point, everyone survives their tragic backstory.

But I still want to mention another one of my fics that I absolutely love, At The Dawn Of Time. I put a lot of myself into this story and it means a lot to me on a personal level. This is again a story about Rouge (shocking, I know) where after Marineford, Ace travels back in time for a day and meets Rouge when she was pregnant with him in Baterilla. This story is not so much about fixing the past but rather Ace's journey towards self-acceptance, particularly with regard to his parents, as well as self-love.

OH OH reblog game: fic writers, what is your most kudosed fic, and what is your favorite fic you've written? are they different? have any commentary?

So I wrote maybe 1000/1500 words, but I don't think I'll be able to finish it tonight so I'm going to go to sleep. After much consideration (my sister bullying me), I decided to finish a story I started in June right before watching 15x18 for the first time.

(I needed something cute and fluffy as mental support.)

So if you want, you can go read the first chapter and I'll try to post the second and last chapter this week. But in the meantime, I'll leave you a little snippet because I'm pretty proud of myself.

Castiel watched the scene silently, a feeling of pure contentment washing over him like a ray of summer sunshine, warm and comforting. The kind of sunshine that cats lounged under outside the library windows. Castiel met Dean's amused gaze, his irises sparkling like a breeze of wind in the spring leaves, and his smile grew even wider if that were possible. Dean's eyes softened, smile lines deepening at the corners of his eyelids. Castiel had seen humanity crawl out of the water, empires rise and fall into dust, and the creation of the seven wonders of the world. But nothing was as beautiful as the man in front of him.   (He might have missed not being able to see Dean's soul anymore — the one that was so deeply entwined in his grace and his flesh and his being that it could no longer be separated from him, a beacon of light in the darkness of the Empty and the pain of Hell — but it shone so brightly in Dean's every action that Castiel could see it every day.) (That Castiel could fall in love even more every day.)

I need the people's opinion, tonight do I study or do I write something for Destiel Day?

DAY 10: Did It Hurt When You Fell From Heaven? (Like A Bitch)

Castiel is learning to be human. It hurts. In more ways than one.

Why is Castiel so hard to write? I have a lot to say about him and his character but he's so self-unaware that it's impossible to write. I love him but he's very frustrating. Fandom: Supernatural Character(s): Castiel Words Count: 1,317 Triggers Warnings: - Glaring Self-Esteem Issues - Minor Blood and Injuries (at the end) No. 10: BLOW TO THE HEAD Slurred Words | Passing Out from Pain | "I can't think straight."

The cashier sighed heavily and Castiel looked up long enough to offer a small, embarrassed smile before continuing to count the coins in his hand. The credit card Dean had given him had stopped working and was requiring Castiel to enter the PIN. But Castiel didn’t know the PIN, it was written on a post-it note and hidden in a book in his locker. He hadn’t had to enter the PIN in the few weeks since he’d left the Bunker and had simply used the “contactless payment” but now the “contactless payment” wasn’t working.

Embarrassed, Castiel set the money down in front of the cashier, the coins falling from his open hands like a waterfall and clanging against the metal counter. Behind him, the line continued to grow as the supermarket’s customers grew impatient in hushed tones.

“Is that enough?” Castiel asked.

“Dude, seriously?” complained the cashier.

With a glare, the cashier began counting the coins, much faster than Castiel could have. He was an angel (not anymore) , he had been an angel with all the knowledge of the world, past and present, but he couldn’t count a few coins.

Being human was much harder than he could have imagined. The world was both brighter and dimmer than it had been. He no longer heard the prayers of Humanity but heard the birds singing when dawn broke; he no longer saw the invisible forces of this world but saw animals forming in the clouds.

He also had to sleep and eat and wash and relieve himself and it never ended. It was exhausting .

The experience gave him a whole new appreciation for humanity—for Dean and Sam.

(Castiel didn’t know if he could do it.)

(Castiel didn’t know if he wanted to do it.)

A feminine hand rested gently on his shoulder and Castiel resisted the urge to fight or flee as his skin quivered from his shoulder to his heart (a blade cutting into his flesh, the buzz of a drill approaching his eye, the cracking of his bones under a punch) . Castiel calmed his pounding heart and turned, staring into deep green eyes.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” the stranger smiled. “Do you need help?”

“Oh no, it’s fine—”

“There’s not enough,” the cashier cut in impatiently. “Twenty dollars short.”

Humans only had two eyes, but Castiel could feel the weight of dozens of eyes on him, as heavy and terrible as the forces of Heaven. Castiel didn’t know until then that he could be embarrassed.

“Oh, I’ll go put some items back in then,” Castiel replied.

“I can take care of the difference,” the stranger intervened behind him.

Castiel didn’t have the chance to refuse, the cashier practically snatched the bill from the stranger’s hands and signaled Castiel to make room for the next customer. Castiel put his groceries in his bag and waited for the stranger, wanting to thank her and reimburse her.

“Thank you for your generosity, I can reimburse you if you so wish,” Castiel offered.

“It won't be necessary,” the stranger replied kindly. “You needed help and I was able to give it to you.  A little help and kindness can go a long way.”

(Castiel couldn’t remember a time when he hadn’t had blood—that of his enemies and that of his friends —on his hands.)

(Castiel couldn’t remember a time when he’d been kind .)

“But if you want, you can help me carry my groceries to my car. I hurt my wrist last week,” the stranger explained. “My girlfriend’s going to scold me again for moving heavy loads.”

“Of course,” Castiel replied, carefully taking the bags from the stranger’s hands.

“Thank you very much,” the stranger smiled. “My name is Claire, I’d shake your hand, but it looks like your hands are full.”

“Steve, nice to meet you,” Castiel said, his throat tightening inexplicably.

But the hardest thing about his new humanity was the guilt , the memory of all the people he’d hurt. How did humans function when they felt so much? On the best days, Castiel felt like he was going to shatter under the weight of his emotions.

“Are you new around here?” Claire asked. “I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”

“It’s only temporary,” Castiel replied, knowing he was lying to himself.

(A part of him hoped Dean would change his mind, that he could go back to the Winchesters. But now that he was no longer an angel, he was nothing more than a burden, someone they had to protect and who would slow them down.)

(He didn't want to cause them any more trouble than he already had.)

(Dean had already been kind enough to give him enough money for the first few months.)

"I hope you like it here then," Claire said pleasantly, opening the trunk of her car. "It's a quiet but nice town."

"Thanks," Castiel replied, putting the groceries in Claire's car. "Have a pleasant day."

"You too Steve,” Claire returned the sentiment. “It was nice meeting you."

Castiel greeted Claire and left the parking lot towards the gas station. He still had time before his shift but he didn't want to be late. This job was the last thing he had in addition to being his place to live. He couldn't afford to lose it.

The sun was warm against his skin and a cat was lounging on the hot tarmac outside the supermarket. Castiel crouched down to pet it, a small smile forming on his face. The cat was grumpy, not appreciative of being woken up, and its scowl reminded him of Dean. Castiel pulled out his phone to send Dean a picture but changed his mind at the last moment. He didn’t want to bother him.

(He didn’t want to know if Dean would answer him or not. Probably because he already knew the answer.)

Castiel straightened up, the heel of his shoe digging into his damaged skin. Even walking hurted and Castiel didn’t want to spend too much money on bandages to cover his blisters. He just hoped he hadn’t bled through his socks again. He couldn’t vanish the blood off his clothes with a wave of his hand anymore. 

(Humans were so fragile. Castiel wondered how they didn't die immediately.)

“Have a pleasant day,” Castiel said to the cat who curled up to resume its nap.

Castiel continued on his way, quickening his pace, and more than ever missed his wings. Not necessarily because he could cross the globe in a second if he wanted to—although that was very convenient—but because he couldn’t remember the last time he had flown just because he could.

(His wings had been clipped—by Heaven, by the Winchesters , by himself—long before his Fall.)

(His feet had not left the ground these days, not even in his dreams.)

(He had only himself to blame.)

.

He wasn’t the only one who thought that.

A sharp pain spread through his skull as a metal bar came down hard on the back of his head. Ears ringing in shock, Castiel dropped his groceries, his carton of tomato soup exploding as it hit the ground.

Castiel staggered, leaning on the wall to keep himself from falling. His head spun uncontrollably around him. He felt like he was falling off a building. But no one was there to catch him.

A warm liquid flowed from the back of his head to the back of his neck, his blood pulsing mercilessly in his temples. Silent tears ran down his cheeks as he fought back vomiting from the pain.

He couldn’t hear anything, he couldn’t see anything.

The pain clouded his vision, turning the world into a series of blurry, indistinct shapes. Every sound seemed distorted, like a distant echo, as terror began to overtake the pain.

Green eyes glowing menacingly were the last thing Castiel saw before he lost consciousness.

Dean.

Fun fact, the story with the credit card at the beginning happened to me when I was eighteen and got my first credit card (the part where I forget my PIN after only using contactless payment for weeks, not the part where someone pays for my groceries). So Castiel is going to experience my embarrassment too. Poor Castiel, he discovers that being human sucks. You have to sleep and eat and even worse you Feel Emotions. And that's not the worst thing that will happen to him later. Speaking of later, I have ideas in mind but given the number of stories I have to write, I think I'll only write it if you're interested. (Or in several months but it's not sure.) Let me know what you think.