Reioki's Corner

Where a coffee snob tries her hand at fanfiction

[alevolpe]

Quitting was always easier.

[literarybrainrot]

Unfortunately, the paradox of “finding your Mr.Darcy” is that a true Mr.Darcy is not at the club, nor is he on dating apps, a true Mr.Darcy lurks in his home or on the sidelines of parties unless his friends force him out, in which case he doesn’t want to be there and probably won’t talk to you anyway.

[reiokiscorner]

More fun with AI and bringing fanfiction to life!

"Still, why this…?" He asked in a low voice.

He seemed intent on getting an answer and he was close enough now that Usagi could feel his breath on her forehead.

"More specifically…why me?"

She found herself looking at his mouth as he asked that last question. She was so focused on the curve of his lips and how near they were that she didn't think about the words that easily tripped off her tongue in an automated response.

"Because you're practically a monk who considers sexual interest beneath him."

Mamoru jerked back, as if a bucket of ice water had been thrown in his face.

"Wait…WHAT?!"

Usagi was quickly back peddling. "I mean you have never looked twice at anyone, EVER! But despite that, Natsumi, while horrible, had most of the male population at our school wrapped around her finger…so she probably figured...she would have a better chance... than I would."

Smooth Usagi, that'll win him over.

"You…who thinks I'm a monk?!" Mamoru gestured to Usagi, his voice rising.

"It's not that crazy of a theory!"

It had already been a long night. She didn't want to be having this conversation where she had to convince Chiba Mamoru, of all people, to not kiss another girl.

Now, he was trying to make it seem like she was totally wrong. Like she didn't know anything.

She found herself backing him towards his bike with her finger indignantly pointing at his chest. All the embarrassment and awkwardness she felt over the conversation had disappeared.

"All you do is read books, drink coffee and ignore everyone…except when you're being an ass to me!" He was back up against his bike and couldn't go any further. His eyes were dark and there was something unreadable in them as she spat, "So...SUE ME FOR THINKING THAT YOU'RE A MON…"

She didn't get a chance to finish her rant, because at that moment Mamoru pulled her towards him and captured her lips with his.

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

[reiokiscorner]

are you posting ai art ..

Yes, that is definitely AI art!

[reiokiscorner]

Usagi in the epilogue from the Heatwave - developing photographs in Mamoru's bathroom.

[moonfairygeek777]

Brief summary of the different versions of Mamoru Chiba:

Because I have brainrot

Mamoru: Crystal/Manga

16-18 year old high school student. Later enters college.

Often reading a book with like 3 more in his other hand or next to him.

Searching for Silver Crystal to remember who he is

Kinda a loner

Takes the bus to and from school.

Loves kids especially Chibiusa

SOS whenever he encountered Usagi he would comment on her studying.

Very studious himself

Little confidence in his abilities especially when it comes to protecting Usagi

Gets kidnapped and brainwashed a lot.

Started falling for Usagi before he knew she was Sailor Moon

Very quick to initiate physical affection with Usagi

Killed by Kunzite and later revived

Legendary Golden Crystal

Psychometry powers

Tuxedo Mask: Crystal/manga

Basically Mamoru in a Tuxedo, mask and cape.

Dissapears like Batman sometimes

Actually doesn't wear his hat or mask too often

Often forced to fight Sailor Moon against his will.

Tuxedo La Smoking Bomber

Fell for Sailor Moon real quick

"My life means nothing if I can't use it to help you Usako"

Endo/Brainwashed Mamoru: Crystal/manga

Revived by Metalia because he was fricken dead

Only focused on getting the Legendary Silver Crystal

Was also tasked with killing Sailor Moon

Doesn't recognize or care about Usagi or the senshi

Throws Luna across the room

Commits identity fraud and takes the place of Motoki's friend

Has evil dark kingdom powers

Very very manipulative

Cold Red eyes

Ugly clothes

Mamoru: 90s anime

18 or something college student

Basically the hot and dreamy guy

Motoki's best friend

Insults Usagi and gets into fights with her but actually enjoys talking to her

Not aware he's Tuxedo Mask at SOS

When he does become conscious of it he's actually pretty cool and badass especially when he challenges Zoisite

Motorcycle, car and eternal green jacket

Interesting sense of fashion

Briefly dates Rei

Loves kids

Roses

Flare for dramatics

Prefers privacy when with Usagi

Gets flustered easily

Body shield go brrrr

Dies at the end of season 1 and is reborn in season 2 along with everyone else

Tuxedo Mask: 90s anime

Eloquent speeches about beauty

Dramatically flowing cape

Roses as darts

Never takes off mask and top hat

Honestly kinda ridiculous

Like a totally different person from Mamoru

Fights with a cane

Enters with signature theme song

Different entrance each time

Always saves Sailor Moon at the right time

Usually the one who tells Sailor Moon when to finish off the enemy

Walking meme

Dark Prince Endymion: 90's anime

A total douche

Brainwashed by Queen Beryl but just does things however the hell he wants

Flirts with Sailor Moon

Doesn't recognize Usagi

The only thing he knows is being Prince Endymion

Going after the rainbow crystals

Black turtle neck and sunglasses

Black roses

No powers. Just uses his palms and a sword.

Also transforms into Tuxedo Mask

Prince Endymion:

Pretty much the same in all versions.

90s throws roses and wears the Tuxedo Mask attire

Protective of Serenity

Ally to the Silver Millenium when the Earth's people attack

Very affectionate to Serenity

Sacrifices himself to save Serenity's life

I did this because I wanted to give appreciation to all sides of Mamoru Chiba. For as much as I may criticize the 90s anime, that Mamoru is equally as likeable and charming as manga/crystal. Plus manga Mamo isn't perfect either. Cuz where 90s Mamo is a little cold to Usa sometimes and doesn't always make the best decisions, Manga Mamo has incredibly low self esteem and keeps things from Usa so she isn't worried. They've both got their strengths and weaknesses!

TLDR: I love Mamoru Chiba a totally normal amount.

[usamamoweek]

Meet the Creators - Reioki

What username(s) and platform(s) can folx find you on? (Please include links!)

@reiokiscorner can be found on AO3

(Fun Fact) What is your favorite kind of potato?

Fried :)

How long have you been creating works in fandom spaces? How long have you been active in the SM fandom?

Since winter 2019

What type(s) of creative works do you usually make? (fanfics, digital art, cosplay)

Fanfic

What do you enjoy about creating for the SM fandom?

The positivity! I love how supportive and kind this fandom is, particularly of new writers/creators!

Are you strictly UsaMamo or do you create for other pairings as well?

Exclusively UsaMamo

What inspires you to create works for Usagi and Mamoru?

I'm a big proponent of creating more nuanced and imperfect stories of relationships. I'm a big believer that the typical formula of boy meets girl, boy and girl go through some challenges, boy and girl ride off into the sunset in a happy-ever-after ending has simplified love stories. This formula is so pervasive that I think it has had an unhealthy impact on how people actually view relationships and love. What drew me to Usagi and Mamoru is that they continue to have to combat real challenges even after they get together. I also really like that they continue to be depicted as individuals with their own lives and unique challenges, rather than two people constantly joined at the hip.

Do you tend to work on multiple projects (WIPs) simultaneously or try to finish one at a time?

I get a little obsessed with a story, so I have to focus on one at a time.

Do you prefer large projects (chaptered fics, webtoons/zines, highly detailed art) or small projects (one-shots or simple art)?

I'm still a new author with only one story, so I'm going to go with one large project.

Are there any common themes, situations, tropes, or mediums in your work?

Enemies to friends

Is there anything you haven’t explored artistically and would like to try?

Sailor Moon having an illicit dalliance with a civilian Chiba Mamoru (whom she can't stand as Tsukino Usagi) and being all mixed up about it/ Dark Sailor Moon that deals with the psychological consequences of being a teenage superhero and the toll it takes.

[reiokiscorner]

Thanks @random-mailbox for including me in this!

[iamcharlotte88]

Say Cheese

Loosely based on @reiokiscorner ‘s #Heatwave

I’m try on different coloring styles and this one is a bit messy

[reiokiscorner]

@iamcharlotte88 this is gorgeous! You so captured them!!!! THANK YOU for creating this!

[reiokiscorner]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Now that summer is officially in full swing, I'm re-reading one of my favorite fics ever! It's been a few years, so I'm so looking forward to getting lost in this :) @idesofnovember you're seriously a genius writer!

[reiokiscorner]

It took three years, but the Epilogue to the Heatwave is officially up!

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Thanks to everyone's support on this story. This community has been a bright spark for me throughout this journey. Special thanks to @ninjettetwitch and @daikon1 for doing various reviews of this last chapter over the years. I hope you all enjoy it!

[reiokiscorner]

3. Do you have a favorite scene you’ve written from The Heatwave story/chapter?

4. Did you have any ideas that didn’t make the final cut of The Heatwave?

21. Is there an idea you’ve always wanted to write, but haven’t yet? 

3.) Yes, there are two scenes that were my favorite to write! The entire party scene was honestly a ton of fun but the specific scene that I loved writing was Mamoru and Usagi actually flirting with each other and Usagi inadvertently spreading a rumor around the party that Mamoru is into Yaoi manga.

The second scene was the scene in the coffee shop in Chapter 6 where Mamoru and Usagi see each other for the first time after the whole party incident. There was a lot of things unsaid in the scene and a lot of realizations for Usagi that I felt very satisfying to describe....

"Or maybe you're dating all of them..."

Mamoru's eyebrows shot up. He genuinely looked surprised and a little hurt at the accusation.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, especially to the girl who called me a 'monk' a few weeks ago...but are you slut shaming me?"

Usagi gaped at him.

That wasn't…when he put it like that...but that wasn't what she meant…

"I'm not dating…" he began to explain.

But she didn't want to hear it. This was the type of conversation she should actively be staying away from...she didn't want to know what he was doing or not doing with Natsumi or any other girls. It was easier that way.

"I didn't ask." Usagi said, cutting him off.

Mamoru appeared to deflate a little bit, but his eyes were still boring into hers, "Didn't you?"

It was systematic of the game they had started to play over the last few weeks, but only in that moment did Usagi realize it. He was baiting her into asking him a question. The notoriously private Chiba Mamoru wouldn't flat out deny an assumption she had about him. But he would dangle the idea that she was wrong, and it was obvious he wanted her to ask him...are you dating anyone, what do you have a large collection of in your living room, what is your total number of sexual partners, why did you kiss me that night?

....the last part was something that I had been grappling to figure out between them and then I just wrote that last paragraph and it was like, "EUREKA!" Then of course it comes up again in the last chapter when they are having it out.

4.) Yes! I won't share all of them because a few of them I want to use as plot points in other stories. But, a big reason I have had issues with the epilogue is I actually DON'T want to run through a check-box list of what everyone has been up to since we last saw them and everything gets wrapped in a perfect bow. It has made it a bit harder to write a GOOD piece of story because I think there is pressure to do that. So, once it gets done I will likely just say ASK ME what didn't get wrapped up on Tumblr and just answer them here. However, here are a few storylines that didn't make it into the main piece or were changed:

Very early on, I imagined the Evil Three having a bigger story line and being a constant source of irritation at the Crown. It was going to be a good plot point for Ami to prove her slightly ruthless streak where we see her finding out some things about Natsumi and using that information to get the Evil Three to leave the Crown forever. But, it was WAY too much to add onto the photography plot line and I found a better way to use the Evil Three later (hence the party).

I initially imagined having both Mamoru and Usagi's POV but nixed it because I wanted the reader to genuinely feel like they didn't know what was going on with Mamoru either at times. I wanted to try and create that nervous energy and it is way more easily achieved when it's just through one characters eyes (at least for me!)

The drinking game at the party was very nearly, Never Have I Ever and I was going to put a scene (although it would have been almost satirical) where someone actually does say, "Never Have I Ever fantasized about Chiba Mamoru."...and almost every person playing the game (including the two geeky guys Usagi had been hearing complain about how smart Mamoru is) drink. The exceptions would be Minako and Ami.

There was initially supposed to be a second kiss between Usagi and Mamoru before they sleep together. But, it would have just been too much and taken away from a lot of the tension.

Initially, Mamoru was supposed to be the one that storms out of the backroom after Usagi throws a milkshake over him (albeit in a new shirt). But, when I started writing it -- it just came out the way it did and her turning and taking a photo had NOT been planned.

Finally -- the piece that I wanted to try and fit in somewhere but could not was what Mamoru said to those two women at the Shadai Gallery who were making crude commentary about him and Usagi. What he said to them was, "maybe, it's both." But, by the end it just felt too unimportant and odd to try and fit that into the final conversation. So for reviewers who have asked -- that was what he said them at the gallery.

21.) Yes, it's a case of trying to write one story you have laid out -- but I keep having another form in my head. The working title is called, "Thieves." It's a story about what happens after Sailor Moon and the Senshi actually defeat the Dark Kingdom. I wanted to explore the real cost of what that does to five teenage girls (guilt, PTSD, loss of innocence, insomnia) and how a city like Tokyo is still rebuilding after all the monster fights. So, the idea is that a few years after the Dark Kingdom has been vanquished -- Usagi is not in a good way at all. She refuses to be Sailor Moon after suffering great personal loss and a tremendous amount of guilt over the death of a loved one and she doesn't talk to Rei or Minako very much for those reasons. She is working temp jobs and is a constant insomniac who reads graphic novels at the bar where the Crown used to be (before it was destroyed). But, when a masked jewel thief commits a series of high-profile robberies, Usagi is strong-armed into becoming Sailor Moon again to catch him!

[kaitoscarlett]

I liked The Heatwave so much! And it’s really nice to read some “deleted” scenes/ ideas of the story <3 

[reiokiscorner]

@dinkycharlie I forgot one! It was killing me but i remembered when I was on vacation last week.

The thing I REALLY wanted to try and fit into the last chapter was that Mamoru was SPEEDING through Tokyo in the middle of the rainstorm to get to Usagi. After the whole thing about him being such a careful driver, I wanted to show him being totally reckless and blowing through two speed cameras in the middle of a rainstorm. I was going to try and fit that into the epilogue too but it became too hard and again, seemed unnecessary.

[reiokiscorner]

I reread The Heatwave every few months. I have such a hard time believing that was your first fic! I was going through a really difficult time in my personal life when it was being posted, and the anticipation for those last couple chapters were such a bright spot during such a dark time. I feel more attached to your Usagi and Mamoru than the canon versions!

It gives me such a boost to hear that something I wrote was a bright spot for you! Having been through some dark times myself (like we all have), I know the feeling of excitement of seeing a new fic posting or a new episode of your favorite show coming available. Those small things can make your day. I'm ridiculously honored to hear my fic got to be that for you! Thank you so much!

[reiokiscorner]

3. Do you have a favorite scene you’ve written from The Heatwave story/chapter?

4. Did you have any ideas that didn’t make the final cut of The Heatwave?

21. Is there an idea you’ve always wanted to write, but haven’t yet? 

3.) Yes, there are two scenes that were my favorite to write! The entire party scene was honestly a ton of fun but the specific scene that I loved writing was Mamoru and Usagi actually flirting with each other and Usagi inadvertently spreading a rumor around the party that Mamoru is into Yaoi manga.

The second scene was the scene in the coffee shop in Chapter 6 where Mamoru and Usagi see each other for the first time after the whole party incident. There was a lot of things unsaid in the scene and a lot of realizations for Usagi that I felt very satisfying to describe....

"Or maybe you're dating all of them..."

Mamoru's eyebrows shot up. He genuinely looked surprised and a little hurt at the accusation.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, especially to the girl who called me a 'monk' a few weeks ago...but are you slut shaming me?"

Usagi gaped at him.

That wasn't…when he put it like that...but that wasn't what she meant…

"I'm not dating…" he began to explain.

But she didn't want to hear it. This was the type of conversation she should actively be staying away from...she didn't want to know what he was doing or not doing with Natsumi or any other girls. It was easier that way.

"I didn't ask." Usagi said, cutting him off.

Mamoru appeared to deflate a little bit, but his eyes were still boring into hers, "Didn't you?"

It was systematic of the game they had started to play over the last few weeks, but only in that moment did Usagi realize it. He was baiting her into asking him a question. The notoriously private Chiba Mamoru wouldn't flat out deny an assumption she had about him. But he would dangle the idea that she was wrong, and it was obvious he wanted her to ask him...are you dating anyone, what do you have a large collection of in your living room, what is your total number of sexual partners, why did you kiss me that night?

....the last part was something that I had been grappling to figure out between them and then I just wrote that last paragraph and it was like, "EUREKA!" Then of course it comes up again in the last chapter when they are having it out.

4.) Yes! I won't share all of them because a few of them I want to use as plot points in other stories. But, a big reason I have had issues with the epilogue is I actually DON'T want to run through a check-box list of what everyone has been up to since we last saw them and everything gets wrapped in a perfect bow. It has made it a bit harder to write a GOOD piece of story because I think there is pressure to do that. So, once it gets done I will likely just say ASK ME what didn't get wrapped up on Tumblr and just answer them here. However, here are a few storylines that didn't make it into the main piece or were changed:

Very early on, I imagined the Evil Three having a bigger story line and being a constant source of irritation at the Crown. It was going to be a good plot point for Ami to prove her slightly ruthless streak where we see her finding out some things about Natsumi and using that information to get the Evil Three to leave the Crown forever. But, it was WAY too much to add onto the photography plot line and I found a better way to use the Evil Three later (hence the party).

I initially imagined having both Mamoru and Usagi's POV but nixed it because I wanted the reader to genuinely feel like they didn't know what was going on with Mamoru either at times. I wanted to try and create that nervous energy and it is way more easily achieved when it's just through one characters eyes (at least for me!)

The drinking game at the party was very nearly, Never Have I Ever and I was going to put a scene (although it would have been almost satirical) where someone actually does say, "Never Have I Ever fantasized about Chiba Mamoru."...and almost every person playing the game (including the two geeky guys Usagi had been hearing complain about how smart Mamoru is) drink. The exceptions would be Minako and Ami.

There was initially supposed to be a second kiss between Usagi and Mamoru before they sleep together. But, it would have just been too much and taken away from a lot of the tension.

Initially, Mamoru was supposed to be the one that storms out of the backroom after Usagi throws a milkshake over him (albeit in a new shirt). But, when I started writing it -- it just came out the way it did and her turning and taking a photo had NOT been planned.

Finally -- the piece that I wanted to try and fit in somewhere but could not was what Mamoru said to those two women at the Shadai Gallery who were making crude commentary about him and Usagi. What he said to them was, "maybe, it's both." But, by the end it just felt too unimportant and odd to try and fit that into the final conversation. So for reviewers who have asked -- that was what he said them at the gallery.

21.) Yes, it's a case of trying to write one story you have laid out -- but I keep having another form in my head. The working title is called, "Thieves." It's a story about what happens after Sailor Moon and the Senshi actually defeat the Dark Kingdom. I wanted to explore the real cost of what that does to five teenage girls (guilt, PTSD, loss of innocence, insomnia) and how a city like Tokyo is still rebuilding after all the monster fights. So, the idea is that a few years after the Dark Kingdom has been vanquished -- Usagi is not in a good way at all. She refuses to be Sailor Moon after suffering great personal loss and a tremendous amount of guilt over the death of a loved one and she doesn't talk to Rei or Minako very much for those reasons. She is working temp jobs and is a constant insomniac who reads graphic novels at the bar where the Crown used to be (before it was destroyed). But, when a masked jewel thief commits a series of high-profile robberies, Usagi is strong-armed into becoming Sailor Moon again to catch him!

[shaparecium]

3. i love, love, love how you build up the tension between them! And I especially loved the interaction between them in this particular scene!

4. I love that you only used Usagi's POV, it kept me on edge always asking myself what Mamoru's thinking. Also writing strictly from one POV prevents redundancy.. some writers tend to simply repeat the same scenes with different pronouns, or tell too much too early and the tension is gone.

The milkshake scene is probably in my top 5 favorite sm fanfiction scenes ever. The fact that you used exactly this scene (or photo) for the big finale and went full circle with it was just genius! It's funny, I always imagined that her turning around and taking the photo was the initial story idea, what made you start writing the story hehehe.

I would really love to hear what exactly went through Mamoru's head when he visited the exhibition and saw his photos for the first time.

21. The plot sounds SOOOO interesting!!! There are for sure not enough stories out there that deal with post-catastrophe and trauma. As someone who does research on graphic novels my heart jumped a little bit when I read that. Graphic novels often deal with dark themes and trauma. I can see why Usagi would wanna read them. i can't wait to read it!! Til then I'm gonna give the heatwave another read. 😊

[reiokiscorner]

4.) Funny enough - the scene that made me start writing is just the first two chapters. I knew for a long time that the synopsis would revolve around the heatwave hitting Tokyo and creating a lot of feistiness in the city (initial inspiration came from a Roswell episode from the early 00s). Initially the commitment was just to end it with the first kiss and Mamoru driving off. Since it was my first fic, I didn't know how well it would be received and if I felt like I could commit to a bigger story. I did have ideas, but nothing else fleshed out -- except for maybe the idea of the blackout run-in and them finally giving into the tension. I didn't even know that Usagi was going to have the photography plot line until the third chapter. I had a prompt in the first chapter with her debating bringing the camera but when I knew it would be a bigger story, I took the opportunity to turn it into a whole other part of the fic.

A very messy perception of what Mamoru was feeling when he saw the collection....

Well, we do know from that final conversation that he showed up to the gallery, pretty understandably infuriated. He's been in love with Usagi for the last two years and the morning after they sleep together, she implies to him that it was just because of the heatwave, which is pretty devastating to him. Then to add insult to injury, a photo she took of him half-naked is now trending across Tokyo. Both of these facts are all the information he is operating with. He would feel betrayed, hurt and just down-right angry. I think if it had been any other photo, he would have felt all those emotions too, but I don't think he would have risked going to the gallery. The fact that it was THAT photo though -- one where he's vulnerable and one they have talked about and passed back and forth -- holds a lot of importance. Because it's specifically that photo, he throws on a baseball cap (Mamoru trying to be incognito) and marches down the to the gallery to get answers or an explanation as to how Usagi could do something like that.

And I think when he finally sees the photos - it just stops everything for him. He would see the photos and just initially be amazed that there are so many. I think after the two women who were making the crude commentary leave he would take in everything more and finally understand what the collection is. He would feel total shock that 1) Usagi loves him and 2) she's actually been in love with him longer.

But even more than that...I think Mamoru (who is an orphan) would just be blown away at seeing himself from the perspective of someone who loves him and cares about him.

It would be a moment of pure clarity and resolution for him. It's what gives him the courage and determination to finally pursue something with Usagi. He just needs a little patience for the right moment (i.e. the heatwave breaking).

21. I'm glad you think so! Ugh, one of these days I will get back to writing. I might just start doing smaller increments on Sundays to get back to writing. I would like to write it!

Thanks for all the interest in my story :) Always fun to revisit and chat about!

[reiokiscorner]

3. Do you have a favorite scene you’ve written from The Heatwave story/chapter?

4. Did you have any ideas that didn’t make the final cut of The Heatwave?

21. Is there an idea you’ve always wanted to write, but haven’t yet? 

3.) Yes, there are two scenes that were my favorite to write! The entire party scene was honestly a ton of fun but the specific scene that I loved writing was Mamoru and Usagi actually flirting with each other and Usagi inadvertently spreading a rumor around the party that Mamoru is into Yaoi manga.

The second scene was the scene in the coffee shop in Chapter 6 where Mamoru and Usagi see each other for the first time after the whole party incident. There was a lot of things unsaid in the scene and a lot of realizations for Usagi that I felt very satisfying to describe....

"Or maybe you're dating all of them..."

Mamoru's eyebrows shot up. He genuinely looked surprised and a little hurt at the accusation.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, especially to the girl who called me a 'monk' a few weeks ago...but are you slut shaming me?"

Usagi gaped at him.

That wasn't…when he put it like that...but that wasn't what she meant…

"I'm not dating…" he began to explain.

But she didn't want to hear it. This was the type of conversation she should actively be staying away from...she didn't want to know what he was doing or not doing with Natsumi or any other girls. It was easier that way.

"I didn't ask." Usagi said, cutting him off.

Mamoru appeared to deflate a little bit, but his eyes were still boring into hers, "Didn't you?"

It was systematic of the game they had started to play over the last few weeks, but only in that moment did Usagi realize it. He was baiting her into asking him a question. The notoriously private Chiba Mamoru wouldn't flat out deny an assumption she had about him. But he would dangle the idea that she was wrong, and it was obvious he wanted her to ask him...are you dating anyone, what do you have a large collection of in your living room, what is your total number of sexual partners, why did you kiss me that night?

....the last part was something that I had been grappling to figure out between them and then I just wrote that last paragraph and it was like, "EUREKA!" Then of course it comes up again in the last chapter when they are having it out.

4.) Yes! I won't share all of them because a few of them I want to use as plot points in other stories. But, a big reason I have had issues with the epilogue is I actually DON'T want to run through a check-box list of what everyone has been up to since we last saw them and everything gets wrapped in a perfect bow. It has made it a bit harder to write a GOOD piece of story because I think there is pressure to do that. So, once it gets done I will likely just say ASK ME what didn't get wrapped up on Tumblr and just answer them here. However, here are a few storylines that didn't make it into the main piece or were changed:

Very early on, I imagined the Evil Three having a bigger story line and being a constant source of irritation at the Crown. It was going to be a good plot point for Ami to prove her slightly ruthless streak where we see her finding out some things about Natsumi and using that information to get the Evil Three to leave the Crown forever. But, it was WAY too much to add onto the photography plot line and I found a better way to use the Evil Three later (hence the party).

I initially imagined having both Mamoru and Usagi's POV but nixed it because I wanted the reader to genuinely feel like they didn't know what was going on with Mamoru either at times. I wanted to try and create that nervous energy and it is way more easily achieved when it's just through one characters eyes (at least for me!)

The drinking game at the party was very nearly, Never Have I Ever and I was going to put a scene (although it would have been almost satirical) where someone actually does say, "Never Have I Ever fantasized about Chiba Mamoru."...and almost every person playing the game (including the two geeky guys Usagi had been hearing complain about how smart Mamoru is) drink. The exceptions would be Minako and Ami.

There was initially supposed to be a second kiss between Usagi and Mamoru before they sleep together. But, it would have just been too much and taken away from a lot of the tension.

Initially, Mamoru was supposed to be the one that storms out of the backroom after Usagi throws a milkshake over him (albeit in a new shirt). But, when I started writing it -- it just came out the way it did and her turning and taking a photo had NOT been planned.

Finally -- the piece that I wanted to try and fit in somewhere but could not was what Mamoru said to those two women at the Shadai Gallery who were making crude commentary about him and Usagi. What he said to them was, "maybe, it's both." But, by the end it just felt too unimportant and odd to try and fit that into the final conversation. So for reviewers who have asked -- that was what he said them at the gallery.

21.) Yes, it's a case of trying to write one story you have laid out -- but I keep having another form in my head. The working title is called, "Thieves." It's a story about what happens after Sailor Moon and the Senshi actually defeat the Dark Kingdom. I wanted to explore the real cost of what that does to five teenage girls (guilt, PTSD, loss of innocence, insomnia) and how a city like Tokyo is still rebuilding after all the monster fights. So, the idea is that a few years after the Dark Kingdom has been vanquished -- Usagi is not in a good way at all. She refuses to be Sailor Moon after suffering great personal loss and a tremendous amount of guilt over the death of a loved one and she doesn't talk to Rei or Minako very much for those reasons. She is working temp jobs and is a constant insomniac who reads graphic novels at the bar where the Crown used to be (before it was destroyed). But, when a masked jewel thief commits a series of high-profile robberies, Usagi is strong-armed into becoming Sailor Moon again to catch him!

[reiokiscorner]

I just wanted to tell you that I read The Heatwave now for the forth time in under two months and it's really one of my most favorite AUs I've ever read. This story was so frickin beautiful that i keep coming back to and everytime I find another new detail that i love about this story.

I hope you will someday put another story out because you are crazy talented and your words really touched my heart. 💜

Thank you so so so much for your note! I have stepped away from the ficdom for a little while, even though I keep meaning to return, simply because life has taken over. I’m so glad that you enjoy the Heatwave and that you keep finding new things! I still remember when I was in the process of writing it, I finished chapter 5 on a cliff hanger and had so many reviews going crazy over what the answer was going to be. I finally told one of my fellow ficdom friends that if they re-read chapter two, the answer was already there XD. 

[wacca005-deactivated20250807]

It’s my day off today, I’m gonna spend the whole day relaxing🐰

Prod.seekx 🎧

[reiokiscorner]

I just finished re-reading The Heatwave for the second time, and am going through withdrawal a second time, lol. Seriously it was such an amazing fanfic. So amazing that I can't help wishing for a little bit more of UsaMamo to see how they ended up after the HEA in Chapter 10. No pressure, but if you are still planning on an Epilogue, I am totally here for that ;) or any other fanfic you may be up to writing. Thank you so much for this story!

Anon,

Thank you so much for the note! I'm so flattered that you enjoyed the Heatwave so much. I actually DID start the epilogue and keep meaning to return to it. However, over the last year I moved to Europe and life kind of got in the way of writing.  Comments like yours certainly help with the motivation :) And I am TRYING to slowly flesh out a new fic called Late Night Cafe. I'm hoping the winter weather will help be be productive since it's more staying indoors!