Hello!!

Ok so after reading ur fic for the 27th time i've decided that dazai likes to hold chuuya's wrist .............. (it'll shift to hand AMEN.) NO ONE CAN CHANGE MY DELUSIONAL MIND GO AWAY!!!!!

Aaahh do you guys really revisit the fic this often?? I'm so flattered!!

Lol you bet it will!! It might take some time for it to happen but it WILL shift to hand holding!!!

what’s your writing process like? (how do you plan, do you outline, etc.)

also, hope you’re feeling better soon!! :] 🫶

Hi!! Great question! Okay, I have a lot of thoughts but I’ll try to keep this short and coherent lol

So I start off with a scene or dialogue and think to myself how did this character get here and why? Everything that comes to mind I type into a doc, even if it’s just a word or two. Then that evolves into writing down what I would like to see play out like character interactions, certain settings, themes I’d like to explore, conflicts, etc. Once I have enough information down, I start piecing together a story and outlining it with bullet points of major plot points. I also make a chart with character information (their personalities, backstory, connections, etc.) Only after this is set up can I finally begin to write. (The brainstorming doc can get messy and I constantly add more things to it).

Sometimes a bullet point from the main outline can span a few chapters, so I break it up into more detailed sections and assign a chapter to it. Whenever I sit down to write a new chapter I make sure that I have at least a general outline for it and rough estimate of the word count. The next step is what takes me the most time because I tend to overthink a lot and end up rewriting scenes or deleting them altogether. However, it’s also the step I enjoy the most because even adding a sentence means I’m pushing the story forward! This is when the chapter outline comes in handy because if I ever get stuck on a scene or piece of dialogue, I can just skip ahead and come back to it later. My first drafts are always full of notes I leave as I write for future me to use as a reference for an unfinished scene.

I’d like to add that I also like listening to ambience music while I work but I always end up zoning it out or shutting it off when I get in the zone lol

Then comes the editing which I also love doing because it means I’m in the home stretch! By this point, if the chapter doesn’t already have a title, I make it a goal to come up with one as I read through it (this can be inspired by a scene or theme but it has to be important to the chapter. Oh and I also like to sneak in double meanings for them). After this is done comes the tedious part of converting everything into the format Ao3 uses, but again, doing this means I’m almost done :D and all that’s left is to copy it into the Archive and type up an author’s note (which by then it could be anywhere between 1am-3am because nothing beats late night writing!!).

Hitting the “Post” button never fails to make me nervous but it’s a feeling I look forward to!

what was your inspiration to write the story?

(btw loved the update! you’re a great writer. i recently reread the whole thing and i just love how well everything flows together)

Hi! First off, thank you <3

The idea of pirate skk had actually been on my mind since late 2022-early 2023 (I know this because I have a note on my notes app dated 1/1/23 that says "Pirate AU: skk" and nothing else lol)

But it wasn't until October-November of 2023 that I really dove into it. I had just finished watching all of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and OFMD, which is how I came to learn of "matelotage" which were same-sex unions that pirates often engaged in. That term combined with the fact that pirates are seen as symbols of freedom and rebellion got my gears turning.

I mean, gay pirates just made sense, you know?

Hey honeybumi!!

I hope the AO3 curse will fade away asap (jokes aside I really do wish you all the best and I'm manifesting that you will feel better)

Hopefully you had wonderful holidays!!

Happy new year too!! 🌠🎇

Can't wait for the new chapter, no matter when it comes out i WILL be there for it, just finished re-reading the fic for the 4th time. I love you for writing this<3

Thank you :)

Hi! I’m SO sorry I missed this but tysm!! This made me so happy :)

I’m also so, so sorry this hiatus is dragging out this long… but the wait is almost over!! The update is over 10k so I’m finding myself rewriting and editing things I wrote weeks ago (hence why the word count just keeps growing lol) and it feels like I’m stuck in a never ending cycle but it’s coming together bit by bit.

your health family and work life come after your first priority which should always be 2 fictional characters fucking each other

fake ass idgafer. I saw you gazing off into the distance like you were looking at something far away, something no one else could see but you

Hello! I sent this ask before but I’m not sure you got it. Can you pinpoint in the fic when exactly Dazai started climbing into bed with Chuuya to sleep? Was it ever sneakily alluded to in the fic? If not, can you tell us? Thanks!!

Hi! Sorry I took a while to get back to you

I had a section of Dazai's pov that dove into that topic in one of my earlier drafts of chapter 14, so I wanted to reference it to answer your ask...but because I went through several drafts (it was actually the part of the chapter that took the longest to write), I couldn't find it for the life of me 😔

And then I did (stashed in a completely different writing software of all places!) but then I couldn't decide if I should just fully flesh out that deleted scene or just vaguely reference it later down the line.

But to answer your question: it happens the night Chuuya falls asleep on the deck at the end of chapter 5!

Since the fic is mainly through Chuuya's pov, he doesn't suspect a thing so there's no hints he picks up on during the timeskip that happens after. The only instance we can see that something is up is when Chuuya asks Dazai in chapter 8 where he's been sleeping: Dazai avoids answering because by that point he's been sleeping in the same bed as Chuuya and he doesn't want to admit to it.

HEY BESTIEEE

just wanted to drop by and say—ur literally the coolest person for me here and there ( on ao3 ) like fr ur blog has been feeding me sane here and the way u answer asks with so much kindness?? ur like the sweetest person and( i was so nervous at first to send you an ask cause i get nervous while talking to people but then you replied so kindly ) and i hope u know how much ur existence means.

pls keep being your amazing self, drink water, take breaks, touch grass (only if u want) and take breaks no pressure ( cause NOW i know how life keeps bombing you when you are out of ur nest and now my whole mood is like idc it is whatever it is 😭😭 )

sending you ✨all✨ the serotonin and sparkles and chill vibes. stay safe, stay slay, and take care ( oh also do u have a DOG asdfghjkl OMG i love dogssssss qwertyuiopasdfghjkl)

okok love u bye

Want me to make it more chaotic or more soft?

HI!! You're so incredibly sweet!! Seeing this in my inbox made my day :')

Sending you all the best too and ty for being here <3!!

(YES I have a dog!! He's my angel and my companion in my writing endeavors (aka he curls up in my bed and watches me cycle through endless drafts for hours lol))

double black, a rare moment of peace

Are Dazai and Chuuya the same age? If I understand correctly Chuuya is 18 (he said that when he was 13 he got that scar in chapter 10 and that it had been 5 years since then so 13 + 5 = 18). It was said in the first chapter that Dazai couldn't be older than he is, so the logical conclusion would be that Dazai is 18 as well? Is it true?

Yes it is! They’re around the same age but Chuuya is slightly older (similar to canon). However, he’s closer to being 19 now and will probably reach that age by the time the story ends. I considered aging them up considering I added canonically younger characters but these ages made the most sense when I got to Chuuya’s backstory and when I found out that pirates were usually in their early to mid 20s. Poe, Ranpo, and Yosano are older than skk by two or three years and Aku and Atsu are younger by one.