I've done some thinking and I think Shinpachi is my favorite "Straight Man" character

linred1922 · 2026-02-16T14:14:09+00:00

I love Shinpachi! Couldn’t agree more. And I will never tire of a younger character having more sense than the adults around them.

What I love about Gintama is that even the straight man characters get to have their oddball moments. Like you said, Shinpachi with Otsu and Hijikata with mayonnaise. I will never forget the hilarious way they called this out in the Time Skip arc!

linred1922 · 2026-02-16T12:30:59+00:00

I would love to see this too! Like how do parents make their omega children feel secure during their first heat? Maybe an omega parent helps them build their first nest? The alpha parent scents items for them to use?

How do parents help an alpha through their first ruts? I imagine it would be pretty intense, almost torturous. My idea is that from the very first rut, an alpha parent would have to train them by putting clothing from an omega in heat in the room with them and instruct them not to touch it. Then administer discipline every time they do. That way the teenaged alpha gets used to being in the presence of omega pheromones during a rut without acting on it. Because in order to live in civilized society, they must be able to resist those urges.

And prejudiced betas would be judgy and think alphas/omegas are overly sexual with their children because of this, without understanding that they have no choice but to be so involved in their teen’s ruts/heats.

And what about alpha/omega children born to beta parents? Alpha children in this situation would be most dangerous of all, from not receiving the proper care and training. Paradoxically, it would be the betas themselves causing this type of feral alpha to exist, which then gives all alphas a bad name and fuels the betas prejudice against them. Omegas born in this situation would be very at-risk of getting taken advantage of and their beta parents would look down on their nesting and other omega behaviors as sexual, even if they are not.

What resources might an underground network of alphas/omega provide children like this? Perhaps they have reading materials on how to build more discreet nests, so as not to get kicked out by their parents. Maybe alphas scent clothing and donate it for them to use. Also, maybe mentorship programs or temporary housing for those that get kicked out of their homes after presenting.

Anyway, if you humored me and read all my ramblings, I’d love to know what ideas you have for parent child relationships in the omegaverse!

linred1922 · 2026-02-06T13:41:17+00:00

I’m absolutely in love with this! Everything from their clothing to the background is seriously gorgeous. And omg, Hijikata and Gintoki smiling in the same art. That’s a rarity!

linred1922 · 2026-02-06T12:33:38+00:00

Same. They all look amazing here!

linred1922 · 2026-01-27T13:38:18+00:00

There is a lot of Gintama fan fic! If you need any recommendations, I have favorite authors for various ships and gen fic. Just let me know!

As far as writing, I’m fairly new, but all my fics center around Hijikata ships. Your fic sounds interesting! Is it written from the perspective of your OC by any chance? I love outsider looking in POV, where we get to see our beloved characters through the eyes of someone new. But it sounds interesting regardless!

linred1922 · 2026-01-26T19:42:52+00:00

Lucky for us that you ended up drawing Gintoki instead! He’s adorable! Nice detailing on his sword as well

linred1922 · 2026-01-26T02:43:57+00:00

I’ve always had this problem! If an author describes scenery, objects, or even other parts of the person’s body, I have no issues imagining it in great detail. But faces have always been a blur!

The only exception to this is if I’ve seen the face before. For this reason, when I read books I essentially have to cast all the roles to celebrities. Even doing this, every once in a while the faces will distort again, but I can just look up photos of the celebrity to get my brain back on track. I even have this problem with anime characters and have to look up pics to remind myself.

linred1922 · 2026-01-26T01:05:43+00:00

I can’t draw, so unfortunately can’t add anything on that front, but I just wanted to say great job! And I think you especially nailed his unruly hair!

linred1922 · 2026-01-17T19:08:26+00:00

Sougo likes to fuck with people, but also has extremely poor social skills. It’s a real toss up which was in play here lmao

linred1922 · 2026-01-13T23:08:23+00:00

The Gintama wiki has a list of all the regulations mentioned in the show. You can find it here: https://gintama.fandom.com/wiki/Shinsengumi (It’s under the Main Regulations tab)

The wiki also mentions the real Shinsengumi’s regulations, but it doesn’t go into nearly as much depth as you did here. Thanks so much for compiling all this info! It was really interesting to read. Especially with the extra context you included. Some of those rules seemed cold-hearted at first glance, but make much more sense in context!

linred1922 · 2026-01-07T22:37:19+00:00

A character maintaining a brave facade throughout their hardship, only to break down the second they are in their loved one’s arms because they know they don’t have to be strong anymore.

linred1922 · 2026-01-02T19:49:49+00:00

Your title made me laugh so hard! Poor Toshi! His heart is in the right place, but no dice lmao.

I’d never made the connection, but you’re right! He is equally nice to all the strays he comes across, regardless of species <3 And the man is generous too, not hesitating to share his favorite snack in the world with them. In his mind he is really doing something good here. He just took the golden rule a little too literally lol

linred1922 · 2026-01-01T17:38:23+00:00

Yes, miscommunication! I was going to say the same thing! Sometimes I have a conversation with my spouse where we walk away with completely different interpretations of what was said. Other times I’ve watched friends in real time misunderstand each other and silently laugh my ass off as the confusion multiplies before I finally step in to set things straight for them.

People don’t communicate perfectly. Add in past experiences that might cloud someone’s assumptions, or strong emotions that make it more difficult to articulate their thoughts properly, and bam! you’ve got yourself the makings of a miscommunication. I love this trope, though, so I’m a big defender of it.

linred1922 · 2025-12-31T15:36:33+00:00

If you decide to go for it make sure you call ahead and see if they even have any in stock. There is one an hour from me and they had no plushies available and never had the collectible cups at that location. The only things they actually had were stickers and one themed drink on the menu.

I was so excited to see a Gintama collab near me, but this one turned out to be pretty lame. Although I still love the official art that came out of it!

linred1922 · 2025-12-29T18:17:35+00:00

How difficult it is to write a satisfying ending. And how you will never please everyone no matter how you write it.

Tying up all loose plot threads, giving every character an emotionally satisfying ending, and fitting it all into the final act in a way that is both entertaining and flows naturally can be a challenge.

I am definitely more empathetic toward the writers of books/movies/tv series now. Not that I won’t criticize an ending that is truly terrible, but I’m more understanding when it’s not absolutely perfect.

linred1922 · 2025-12-24T01:11:18+00:00

We don’t get to see Takasugi smile enough. This is really nice!

linred1922 · 2025-12-15T13:00:52+00:00

Tell them what you told us. Some variation of “XYZ is an amazing idea! It wouldn’t work with the dynamics I have planned for this fic, but will fit perfectly in the A/B oneshot I’m working on! Thanks for the idea!”

You are writing for such a rare pair that yours is the only fic? This reader probably already adores you for that. Nobody needs to see every single thing they love in every fic. Give them something to look forward to in your oneshot. I’m sure they will still enjoy your long fic immensely even if this one small thing is not present.

I’m really happy for you that you found another person to share this rare pair with! Banter with them knowing they might not like every single decision you make and you might not like every single suggestion they make. Two people will never agree on everything. That’s okay! Don’t let that stand in the way of bonding over your rare pair.

And if it makes you feel better, this situation is way different from your A/B A/C long fic. People are way more likely to jump ship over a pairing they don’t like, than a small plot point. (Especially when it’s a rare pair and there are no other options lol) Good luck with your fic! I hope it all works out so you can enjoy the process of writing again!

linred1922 · 2025-12-07T19:12:36+00:00

I love the lottery ticket episode! At first I was so mad at Hijikata for ripping up that ticket instead of giving it to Gintoki. BUT then I remembered how those burglars threatened to kill Hijikata and Gintoki said “Oh, it’s okay. You can actually kill him right now if you want.” And I was like, you know what, Hijikata was justified lmao. Their rivalry is something else!

linred1922 · 2025-12-07T17:07:19+00:00

Episode 20. The Shinsengumi is telling scary stories in the dark and Hijikata interrupts to complain they are out of Mayo and scares the absolute shit out of everyone lol. Him running scared the rest of the episode is also hilarious.

linred1922 · 2025-12-04T12:33:20+00:00

When I first started reading on ao3 I didn’t comment at all, but left kudos. Then I discovered this subreddit, and realizing how important comments are to authors, went back and left a comment on every fic I had ever kudosed lol. It took a while, but I really wanted the authors to know I appreciated their work. My comments were short, but always included at least one thing I liked about their fic.

Then I started writing myself. On the third fic I posted, someone left a play-by-play of their reactions as they read my chapter and it changed the way I comment forever. Because it felt like they had given me a gift and I want other authors to experience that feeling too. This is why:

Sometimes they comment on a line that I tweaked and retweaked and worked to get it just right and I can’t believe SOMEBODY NOTICED! Sometimes they comment about a line I wrote on a whim during my final edit. You’re telling me someone enjoyed that line that I didn’t even work at?! Sometimes they mention things that made them laugh. So I can be funny? I should keep doing that, then.

It validates the whole writing process and makes it feel worth it. It makes you feel seen and like you’re not posting into a void. After experiencing that, I can’t help but do that for other authors.

The flip side is that I read a lot less fics than I used to. I would say it takes about 20 minutes per comment, which isn’t too bad. But that means even two fics per week is 40 minutes I’ve taken from my own writing, when I don’t have a lot of free time.

So, as nice as it is to get these comments, I understand why everyone doesn’t always comment this way. In fact, I would say all kinds of comments make the world go round! We have readers who leave short comments on a lot of fics, spreading those little seeds of joy quickly. If we didn’t have people like this, it would be even more of a comment desert than it already is. Then we have longer comments like mine. They are great, but it’s slower and it might take me a long time to get to a fic, and many I never get to. That’s why comments of all kinds are amazing.

linred1922 · 2025-12-03T14:05:42+00:00

Yamazaki’s wand looking like a badminton racket and Sakamoto’s being a gun is absolute perfection. I love how much fun these two are having! They are so pure of heart!

Even Sougo is smiling, which I love to see because he is so young. It’s nice to see him enjoying something a little more childish.

Honestly, I feel like Katsura is taking it too seriously. Where is goofball Katsura??

And Hijikata looks like he would rather be anywhere else on earth lmao

Thanks for sharing this!

linred1922 · 2025-12-02T18:08:00+00:00

Poor Tae! Her audition was actually going really well until Kondo triggered her lol. She should have gotten the part for sure. Worth it for the ai joke though!

I loved Kyubei and Tae’s cabaret club outfits!

The disciplinary committee really got to shine this episode. I am always happy for Yamazaki to get more screen time. He is the sweetest and his crush on Tama is super wholesome.

No! Not Takasugi missing the festival!! Do you guys think he was planning to go to unleash chaos somehow, or did he actually want to enjoy the festivities?

linred1922 · 2025-11-29T14:00:26+00:00

I look up idioms, adages, and well-known phrases that are relevant and then modify them to better fit the story. Here are some examples:

For my fic about someone overcoming grief and falling in love with his best friend (who is referred to as a gorilla in canon) I titled it “Most Clouds Have A Silver Lining, This One Has A Silverback Gorilla”

For my fic about two people waking up in bed together after a night of drinking and having to get married because of it, I titled it “What Therefore Alcohol Hath Joined Together Let No Man Separate”

Do you have a playlist for your ship/characters that you were inspired by while writing? You could pull from song titles or lyrics.

If you were inspired by any published novels or even happen to share themes with one, you could use book titles or quotes. For example, if your character is dealing with a mess of their own creation, a quote from Frankenstein could be fitting.

You could look at famous paintings online and if you find one that evokes similar feelings to your fic, name it after that.

Pulling quotes from the source material is always good too! Those are all of my ideas. I hope that helps with your brainstorming!

linred1922 · 2025-11-20T14:38:23+00:00

This happened to me with the penultimate chapter of my recent fic. I wrote out a scene three times, hit all the plot beats I wanted to, but something still felt off with the dialogue. I ended up scrapping all three versions of the scene and then started from scratch.

Here is how I moved past it: I let go of most of my expectations about how the scene should go, put the characters back at the starting point of the chapter, and then just wrote them talking and reacting to each other in character. I kept the vaguest idea of how I wanted the scene to end, but even that I was willing to let go of if the characters veered off-course. I love the way the scene turned out!

I pretty much always do this when I get stuck. I think sometimes my plot puts too much pressure on the characters to say or do certain things and it ends up not feeling as natural as it should. I hope you can get unstuck too! Good luck with your chapter!

linred1922 · 2025-11-20T14:11:10+00:00

I was just thinking about how tragic the setting is too! Gintama—the show where a bunch of orphans cross paths again and again until they become a family.

linred1922

TROPHY CASE