#... will I be creating a 'sequel syndrome' fic?

[theinternetisfulloftrash]

It has to be discussed……..any possibility of another coachella fic? I know you said you wanted to leave it up to interpretation but maybe Dylan and reader actually did NOT end up together because one of them ghosted the other but they crash into each other at coachella this year

Oh, SWEET anon...

YOU'RE FUCKING KILLINGG MEEEE!!!

You think the people are dying for a P2, huh? Gosh. I think about that story a lot and have thoughts about what happened with the two of them, of course. I love your idea of things just kind of falling apart or waning in the real world when the reality of how different their lives are hit (it's definitely one that's rolled around in my mind as well). I'm VERY tempted. Trust me. If someone spots him at Coachella this year, I probably won't be able to help myself ;)

anon is thirsty for a sequel to Collision Course Coachella. anyone else? Lemme know if this is in high demand. I do aim to please my readers, that's for sure ;)

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Off the Page 2

Warnings: non/dubcon and other dark elements. My username actually says you never asked for any of this.

Characters: skinny!Steve

Part of the Bookstore AU

My warnings are not exhaustive but be aware this is a dark fic and may include potentially triggering topics. Please use your common sense when consuming content. I am not responsible for your decisions.

As usual, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I’m happy to once more go on this adventure with all of you! Thank you in advance for your comments and for reblogging.

You take a page out of Maria’s book and sleep on the train. The night at the hotel wasn’t long enough. By the time you ate, you were too tired to enjoy the fancy tub and your alarm woke you well before you were ready. As your stop comes, you’re still groggy and barely ready for your evening meet and greet. 

Isn’t this the dream? Running yourself ragged as a bestselling author? Seeing all the fans who love the words that you wrote? Who see themselves in the characters you created? So much a dream that you feel as if you’re falling asleep again. 

Wake up! You splash water over your face in the bookstore bathroom. It’s not glamourous. You have the small space to refresh before you face the masses. You hoped for a smaller crowd given the time of day and the lesser known location. How wrong you are; you can hear the buzz of fans through the walls. 

“Hey,” Maria enters without knocking. She’s like that. You and your agent have gotten rather cozy in those last weeks. A bit too much at times. “Almost ready?” 

“Yeah, sorry, I... is this blouse okay?” You ask as you touch the satin, patterned with violets, “I don’t even know why I bought this?” 

“It looks fine,” she assures, “you’re not a writer if you’re not at least a little eccentric, right?” 

“Oh, and what about book agents?” You challenge, “are they all so stylish?’ 

“Of course. We’re the face that sells the tour. All you have to do is smile and sacrifice your hand to carpal tunnel syndrome,” she teases, “just you wait until the interview. That's the heavy lifting.” 

“Interview?” You check yourself one last time in the mirror. 

“Didn’t I mention? The local station wants a sit down before we’re off tomorrow,” she explains, “I said yes. It’s a decent check and good business. Any publicity is good publicity. Publisher signed off on it too so... can’t back out.” 

“Oh, and you were going to tell me when?” 

“Right now,” she shrugs, “come on, your adoring fans are waiting for their elf queen.” 

“Oof, don’t,” you cringe, “you make it sound so lame.” 

“If it was lame, you wouldn’t be here,” she asserts. 

“Suppose you’re right,” you pack your things up into your bag and shove it in the corner. “Alright, I’m ready.” 

You follow her into the hall and through to the main area of the bookstore. It’s been closed early for the event, a meet and greet exclusive to those who claimed the limited one hundred tickets for sale. Each ticket includes the cost of a free signed edition and bookmark. Funny to think you’d once been on the other side of one of these things. The eager beaver reader aspiring to be the star author. 

As you come into sigh of the audience, they cheer. You’re still not used to that either. You wave and smile out at them. The moderator, an employee of the bookshop chain, calls for their attention over the microphone and introduces you. There’s another softer round of applause. 

You take your seat on the stool and let out a breath. You start with the reading. You try not to do the same chapter, instead cycling through your favourites. Some you even know by rote now. 

Then comes the Q and A session. You know all the answers. You find it’s always the same questions. Besides, you created this world, these characters, if there isn’t anything written, then you get to decide. 

A group a giggly women finish asking their questions about the ‘rumoured’ sequel to which you give your PR friendly deflection. After them, you wait for the next person to appear. There’s some scuffling at the microphone as they lower it. You wait patiently and smile at the slender blond man. He’s vaguely familiar. 

“Hi, um, my question is, whether Emeris is truly the promised knight or if he was just in the right place at the right time?” 

You nod as you listen, your thoughts whirring. It’s not an entirely out-there question. It isn’t what he’s asking that gives you pause. You swear you’ve seen him before. 

“Well, we can’t know for sure. I like to think of the promised knight as not a specific person fated from birth but rather a possibility for all. The promised knight is the one who can step up in that time of need and do what it is needed,” you explain. “I hope that makes sense.” 

The man doesn’t speak right away, himself stalling before he can respond, “yes, I guess it does. Thank you.” 

He lingers at the microphone for a moment as he watches you. He clutches a worn copy to his chest tightly. That’s familiar too. 

Strange. You're sure there’s lots of people who double dip. You have to admit you did it once yourself. Sometimes you just need that thrill.  

The blond man steps back and lets the next person ahead of him but he doesn’t go far. He stays close to the queue of people and you feel him staring you down. Everyone is watching you but his gaze just feels so much more intense. You do your best to focus on the person at the microphone. 

Several others ask their questions or just give their praise. The man remains. You can’t shake the sense of him. He’s like a shadow. You don’t know why you’re so aware of him. 

Finally, you finish up and it’s time to announce the special prize. It’s a raffle set up by ticket number. The package isn’t anything special; a collector’s edition, a mug, and some pens that look like quills. The moderator brings up a box filled with slips and you reach inside. You read out the number and the crowd mutters. 

“Me,” a deep voice rings out, a hand popping up from lower down. The blond man steps forward and waves his ticket, “it’s mine.” 

Strange coincidence. You keep your smile plastered on. You don’t need another Maria lecture about your tired moping. You’re handed the prize basket and you carry it down to meet the man. 

“Congratulations,” you say as he meets you at the lip of the low platform. 

“Thank you,” he beams up brightly, “it’s nice to see you again.” 

You try not to show your surprise, “yeah, uh... you too.” You don’t know what else to say. You don’t remember exactly where you saw him and definitely not a name; you hear too many of those to keep track. 

“Really?” He breathes. 

“Er, enjoy your prize. Thank you so much for coming.” 

“Of course. Always. Anytime,” he avows shakily. “’To you, my queen, I bid my blood and breath.’” 

You hesitate. That’s from the book. Emeris proclaims it to the elvish protagonist on her quest to reclaim her stolen homeland. It’s flattering yet slightly unsettling to have it recited to you. 

“Have a good night,” you say gently and turn to walk back across the platform. You’re tired, you need to get out of here. 

[kwanisms]

I came back to read Otherworldly and I think it’s going to be one of them stories where you can read 1000 times and never get bored. I love how much detail went into this, especially when Minho was explaining his home. it’s beautifully written and i will forever love this story, the emotions written by the colour of his eyes is just amazing, as someone whose all for ‘eyes tell you the true emotions of a person,’ it makes it fun to remember what colours link to Minho’s emotions!

On a real note, I really think Minho would suit an alien type movie because I believe his eyes tell us everything he’s feeling because he’s not as expressive as the others, if that makes sense?

I would love to hear if you have any updates on this fic and I hope you have an amazing day/afternoon/evening :)

Thank you so much for your message! I love hearing things like this. Otherworldly is one of my favorite things I've ever written! It was supposed to be a simple oneshot and done but I fell so in love with the universe and characters I created with that. So hearing that other people love it as much as I do makes me feel all warm and happy inside!

The emotions being linked to the eyes is something that I just came up with on the spot and it's been so well received and I think it's such a neat concept because not only is Minho like that but his entire species is. It's interesting because no matter what, in their society, those around you know what you're feeling immediately. Masking emotions in their world is nearly impossible.

As far as anything further, I do have a couple things related to Otherworldly. I have a sort of sequel piece in Kinktober this year where Minho and Y/N are exploring an alien moon together. That is coming on Minho's birthday.

I also have a series planned for this universe. I'm still working on the outline and planning so I'm not sure how long it'll be. I'm thinking 10 parts at least if I write them as like 20k words each but we'll see. The series will see Y/N leaving Earth and starting a new life on Minho's home world, Ninsa, and integrating into his life, meeting his friends, learning the language and customs as well as dealing with feelings of homesickness, imposter syndrome, and feeling wildly out of place. She also learns that her pristine image of Minho is not as exactly as clean as she thought and that there's a lot more to him than she knows. He's a vastly complex individual with a past and she gets dragged into that, regardless of how much he tries to shield her.

I don't want to give too much more away so that's all I'll say for now ꒰｡•◡•｡꒱ as I get closer to finishing the outline and some other projects, I will be releasing more details about the series so keep an eye out for it! It will most likely be called Star Lost with You. And to anyone who also reads for the lovely hyunjinspark, I've already spoken with Jade and she's okay with me using the title since the stories are nothing alike.

Thank you again for your lovely message and I hope you have a wonderful time of day as well! 💙💜🩷

[annabtg]

Hey, I hope you are doing well and wish you have a great time on your trip ❤️

I wanted to ask if other than James and Lily is there someone who you think would be a great partner to Sirius?

I also believe that Sirius and Remus would definitely it work and their friendship isn’t as strong as James/Sirius. In my opinion I feel as James is the glue of the Marauders and he saw something “unique” in each of his mates. He does have a heart of gold which at times can cause him to give too much trust into people (Peter Pettigrew and the Order, because I still don’t understand how the Order members didn’t do much with Harry)

Especially during those eleven years he was living at the Dursley’s like come on where was the welfare check? So many Hogwarts letters, but no one really bothered checking on a child? Hmm, seems like a parallel to real life issues with child protective services.

Anyways, back to the question. Do you think someone would be a good fit for Sirius, if you exclude James and Lily? Even excluding Marlene McKinnon, I don’t want to ship shame anyone at all, because at the end of the day all these characters are in fact not real.

I don’t really see Sirius with Marlene, and honestly fanfic/fanon just tries to create this couple who is all leather jacket and go above the rules, plus Sirius with tattoos? I don’t he would be covered in them, but that’s just me 🤷🏽‍♀️ (also what do you think of leather jacket Sirius? I for one am not a fan, I believe he has a different style since growing up in the House of Black)

I’ve read a few well written fanfics (sadly I forgot to bookmark) in which Sirius is asexual and it’s actually quite interesting. I did enjoy those fics especially since they stayed true to his character and not making him ooc.

[i realize i written more than i expected 😅😅 dang it i try my best to condense but i keep adding more. Then again, i would be ooc if I didn’t write so much lol 😂 Sorry, love to know your thoughts ❤️]

Hi there, my dear Nena! ❤️

Your ask is very interesting and poses a lot of questions! So let's see:

For one, I don't headcanon Marlene McKinnon as someone in the Marauders' age range. I sometimes use her when I need a throwaway character, and I don't mind it as a background ship, but overall I don't care about Blackinnon.

(As I've seen argued before: Lily, in her letter to Sirius, mentions "the news about the Blackinnons". If Marlene was someone who Sirius cared about, wouldn't she at least ask him if he's all right?)

And yeah I don't really care about pairing Sirius with a pureblood witch which is his mirror image. I can see it, and many people can make relationships work with very different people, but I tend to believe that Sirius would need a romantic relationship with someone he can be tender with, and who would have a softer personality. In the sequel of a story that's still unfinished, he was sort of getting interested in a Muggleborn girl who had a bubbly personality and wasn't super skilled - I felt like a young Sirius would be attracted to someone he'd feel the need to protect, kind of a knight in white armour syndrome. Not so much because it's her but because he's protective by nature and a situation like that just works for him, you know? Otherwise I believe that, if you asked him what his ideal partner would be like, he'd tell you about a strong personality, intelligent and with a sense of humour.

Btw for years I COULD HAVE SWORN THE LEATHER JACKET WAS CANON - apparently it's not?? But well, motorcycle drivers wear leather jackets for protection from the wind/cold so it makes a lot of sense that he'd have that sort of gear. Wizarding robes (the way I imagine them, like long dresses) shouldn't be very convenient on a bike. :p Tattoos - I don't really see him having any in canon, definitely not being covered in them. Though that's easier to swallow than him being short, for instance. :p

I am very on board with an aroace/demi/sapiosexual Sirius. It's basically why I see him so easily with James and Lily, because they are people who we know he cares about very much so he'd get into a relationship with them much more easily than with some random person. Other than that, I can very much see him as the person who just doesn't bother with the whole romance thing.

So that's pretty much the extent of my Sirius shipping preferences. I can see very interesting scenarios with other people (Snape? Bellatrix? Even Remus) but they are not the sort of thing I'd care to read.

[meep-m33p]

Thank you for tagging me in this game @witheringfears and @singingkestrel !

1) Ride or Die ship: Ereloy, I love their Canon friendship so much, and this was the first pairing I fell in love with.

2) Most Annoying Ship: not really annoying but I just think it's gross. Aloy/Beta, if you want them to be in a romantic relationship or family members for that matter, imma stay far away from you.

3) Second Favorite Ship: Seyloy, these two are so so so important to me, you have no idea.

4)Favorite Platonic Relationship: Aloy and Erend. I adore their friendship, and I want them to hug more.

5)Underrated Ship: Gaia/Lis, Lis was SMITTEN with Gaia, and Gaia adored Lis. You can't convince me otherwise. Gaia misses Lis so badly, I think about it constantly.

6) Overrated Ship: I don't really get the appeal of Kotallo/Aloy 🤷

7) One thing I would change in canon: Varl's death. He did not need to die just to act as a transition for meeting Tilda >:(

8) Something Canon did right: Literally everything else, and you can fight me on that. I love the story of these games.

9) A thing I'm proud of creating for the fandom: All of my art and my long fic Dawn of the Avatar and its sequel A Tale of Twin Stars.

10) A character who is perfect to me: Elisabet. That woman can do no wrong. She is The Woman of All Time.

11) Character I relate to the most: Aloy. I was a social outcast when I was little and I have mountains of imposter syndrome and plenty of trauma to go with it, plus I'm queer :)

12) Characters I hate the most: Ted Faro, that bastard erased the entirety of human history cus he sucked so badly that he didn't want anyone to ever know how badly he sucked.

13) Something I learned from this fandom: How to be comfortable with my insecurities and how to be proud of my queerness :)

14) Three tags I seek out on ao3: Aloy/Seyka, hurt/comfort, established relationship

15) A song I strongly relate to my OTP/favorite character: Karma by AJR for Aloy cus poor girl has been through so much. Another song I usually think about in relation to Aloy is Meathook from the DOOM Eternal soundtrack. The amount of times I've fought massive machines while listening to this is too many to count lol

Tagging my mutuals and people I wanna get to know better :3 @aloyxtilda @yoursaltytears @artekai @bluejaybytes @lifeismakingmetired

[coleoffduty]

I was initially guilty about spamming you so I'm really glad to see the asks cheered you up!! I'm trying not to abuse the functionality but the universe you created in legacies is really interesting with so many complex dynamics. Can you talk more (if you want) about

- the relationship between viserys I and rhaenyra

- how all the kids see daemon (couldn't gauge how baela felt about the custody battle but she seems unsettled by the nettles thing)

- the closest real life voice/music/face claim for lucerys (and others if possible, i know that you said daeron ~~ damon albarn)

- was rhaenyra's rebellious youth a product of her upbringing (tumltuous as drew barrymore's was) or an idolising of notorious troublemaker daemon or because of her mother's loss

- what are the worst targaryen scandals in this universe? (Assuming maegor exists)

-where laena & laenor specifically stand with everything going on (the abuse lucerys suffered from his mother seemed like something laenor wouldn't accept unless he went through the same and thinks of it as normal)

oh em gee hi—welcome back <3 i rlly do wanna preface this by saying if you have questions and interests about something: flood my inbox as much as you want! i love interacting and getting to go back and forth about my fics, especially legacies since it’s so intricate and very slowly being unraveled due to slow updates (i’ve got like 6k words written up for this current chapter and i’m not even halfway so…).

but with that being said; change my first name to yip and last name to yap because boy do i have a lot to say.

viserys and rhaenyra’s relationship.

there’s a lot to cover on her story and perspective in this universe, but one of the main ideas i tried hammering in when it came to ‘you turn me inside out’’s first chapter is her only child syndrome. she’s very lonely but still incredibly doted on. growing up, i feel viserys made certain to tell everyone how much he expects of rhaenyra solely because that’s his only child. not because of what she can do or who she is as an individual away from him. i’ve always really liked the idea of how viserys names her his heir or focuses on how rhaenyra will take on his role in the family as the next generations successor is not because he actually believes in her, but because he’s already talked it into existence. it’s why he doesn’t really prep her or genuinely take the time to spend time with her. if he says it will be, then it must because the whole world’s watching and he can’t look like an idiot if rhaenyra fails. very much more of that in the prequel and impending sequels…

daemon and his relationship with the kids.

jace understands that daemon is his stepfather, the person who his mother chose to be with after harwin and eventually got cheated on, but he ultimately holds his tongue because he understands that he is baela’s father. she’s the one allowed to be mad and angry while he takes the more adult approach. luke was away at driftmark when rhaenyra and dameon married so, he doesn’t hold a really weighted opinion on him other than he was a great paternal figure with how he gifted him his cello and treats the littles, especially with visenya and her disability. joff is just angry about how daemon was the main father figure he grew up with even if he’s laenor’s favorite and then all the things coming to light. definitely one of those ‘i used to idolize you and you let me down’ moments aemond and lucerys talk about when it comes to their family. all the littles (aegon iii, viserys ii, and visenya) just know their parents love each other still but can’t stand one another anymore. when i was editing legacies, i forgot that in the scene for chapter 5 when aemond and luke start speaking in high valryian in front of visenya, she becomes immediately curious and luke alludes to how she’ll become angry if she doesn’t know what’s being said. i added that detail because i feel like rhaenyra and daemon would argue in high valyrian so the kids don’t understand/can't keep up with what’s being said, even though they can clearly see the tension. as for baela and rhaena, it is similar but different. both are very unsettled and repulsed by their father being with nettles because maybe i’m the only one who thought it was weird but: nettles is their age, with their similar phenotypes, and is a dragon rider so most likely related to them. i'm not saying in this fic that nettles is daemon's daughter, but there are clear parallels between his children with laena and her. i also feel the twins have become women who have grown out of that similar idolization period with their father to notice his patterns of getting with a young girl, having kids with her, and when times get too tough— leaves her to then repeat the process. baela is more outward and direct with her disdain about it while rhaena internalizes it. more of that will be covered in the legacies sequels, since the rhaenicent continuation will be in rhaenyra’s pov following that whole ordeal.

face and voice claims.

for lucerys, i mostly reference kurt cobain’s style of singing and combine that with his face claim, timothée chalamet. i’ve always felt luke has a deep voice even from what the actor portrays on screen, so something that sounds very low but can pitch high if strained. so yeah, kurt ('been a son' is lucerys writing about rhaenyra but anyways). daeron’s voice claim is indeed damon albarn’s and i felt this direction was kind of funny to have. damon's accent really comes through so daeron being the only singer with a thick brit voice i felt could tie back to how he studied music in oldtown and the technique taught there is also another thing that differs him from his family. in legacies i envision daeron as the ever popular face claim lucas lynggaard tønnesen. rhaena’s face claim is taylor russell (my love) and her voice claim is Beatrice Laus (beabadoobee, my other love). cregan was written before the actor was introduced so i said his face claim was jaime flatters which i still feel fits right with legacies. dalton greyjoy is young aaron paul and i feel with his voice claim, i could get away with some gerard way. for rhaenyra and alicent’s voice claims though, i always felt like fiona apple fit rhae and mitski for alicent. again though, we’ll have more of that in the future. 

rhaenyra’s upbringing.

a lot of the ideas you listed actually all factor into why rhaenyra was pretty wild during her teenage to young adult years. she grew up in the scene, at clubs, surrounded by adults smoking and drinking and partying and being this little kid who is essentially her parents’ party trick. like ‘oh look at little rhaenyra pretending she’s doing shots’ kind of thing when she should’ve been at home in bed. it’s what she’s used to and feel like she’s born for. daemon is also another addition to it as he only encourages her, which is one of my favorite key points in the prequel. and of course, with aemma’s death, rhaenyra goes off the deep end. she’s surrounded by the same people her father is, which are yes-men who will feed into anything she wants. i’ve always liked how rhaenyra antis are like ‘she was so entitled’. it’s like yeah, any 15 year old with the world at their fingertips, surrounded by people her entire life who make her feel she can do no wrong as ’the realm’s delight’ would probably be a spoiled diva. targs have done worse.

the worst legacies universe targaryen scandals.

honestly, i’ve only barely started making a dent into world-building before the young rhaenicent period as i’m writing rhaenys/corlys’ little story so i haven’t given it much thought. i feel like though in the previous periods, since social media wasn’t around and especially with jaehaerys and alysanne’s children, not a lot of them became musicians and their dirty laundry wasn’t aired out. i have aemon written as holding an army job which i feel also allows for the family to have larger ties to political aspects of westeros in the same way some actual celebrities do. hence if maegor did do all the things we know he does also in this timeline, the targs are probably well connected enough to have it forgotten about/utilize public stunts to move on. i feel like legacies really embodies the idea of a modern take of ‘the dance’ without the aegon vs rhaenyra succession plot since even though there’s so many musicians in the family and they should be at their peak, there’s all this internal affair happening with scandal and wondering who the leak is.

laena & laenor.

oh, how i think about those two. in ‘all apologies’ i wrote about how they’re basically ghosts in the house, just shells of themselves. they still reside on driftmark and live with their parents and teach music, but are incredibly burnt out. laena is sober and constantly battling addiction after overdosing and nearly dying + other things while laenor is trying to lead a quiet life after being married to rhaenyra. i don’t know if i mentioned it in the actual fics, but with how everyone knows laenor is gay, it wasn’t on his terms. he was outed and harassed on a national level which does a lot to a person, especially one without a clear support system. so when it comes to trying to intervene with the cycle of things (lucerys’ treatment) they’re pretty much rendered powerless. they know baela and lucerys are the substitutes of what their parents wanted them to become, which also adds another level of fuckery to their dynamics. but what i want to highlight is that a lot of the direct and seen abuse is mental (the physicality comes from how the kids' bodies sort of break down after practicing for so long or being neglected in order to prioritize perfection), and the person it's normalized from would be corlys (as it happens to be with baela). so rhaenys being how she is with luke is almost seen as a lesser pain and uncharted territory since she’s laenor and laena’s safer option. she's never been that way with anyone and so they don't see it as concerning as it actually is. they especially don't say anything since what happens is behind closed doors and not for long since rhaenys teaches luke when he’s 15-19, as well as because he’s corlys’ heir. he’s fitting into the mold fine, so they see stepping in as possibly messing up lucerys’ future the way they did to their own (for now at least). 

hope i covered most of the questions without veering off too much!

[captainaikus]

Blue lock character analysis + chapter 198 spoilers

Getting back to asks soon - I’m beat from working today but muah to all of you and I hope your pillows are the way you like ‘em and that you don’t step on a Lego 💚

Octopus 😭 he called Reo a fucking Octopus 😂😂😭 (istg I laughed hard for 15 minutes straight - seems like our boy is good at giving names)

*sigh* that one coach - Noel Noa is just 🤌🏻 I do have a fic in mind for him btw v.v - look at me creating work for myself smh

Kurona is the most underrated character - my shark boy literally reminds me of Hiccup but like… more 🦈

Chigiri called him a midget 💀 out of all people that is last guy who should be calling him that

Kaiser on his king syndrome again. Obviously he hasn’t learnt shit from what Isagi handed to him -shameless ass. He’s making me wanna make a sequel to interrupted rn and I’m gonna do it. I wanna bully him

Can’t get over Nagi’s expressions. *nagishook*

In short, No aiku lT.Tl

Is asking for him too much? It’s been three months already

😭 ofc he’s not the main character but still 😭

[oblivions-dawn]

For the writing asks! Let's see: 🎉how often do you celebrate completing & posting a work? how often do you give yourself the credit/validation that you seek from others when you post? (if you don't, you should!) 🕯️was there a fic that was really hard on you to write, or took you to a place you didn't think it would take you? 🍭why did you start writing?

HOHOOHO. Interesting choices >:3c

✑ How often do you celebrate completing & posting a work? How often do you give yourself the credit/validation that you seek from others when you post? (If you don't, you should!)

Oh, I often am very excitable and celebratory after I post a chapter almost every time these days--especially if it's been a while or if shit goes down in said chapter ldfkjgkldfjgdf. I've certainly gotten much better about it in recent years, although I do still suffer from impostor syndrome and have doubts about my abilities when I'm in a foul mood. However, I've been training myself to seek validation from within myself and not from others. If other people like it, great! If not--also great! I know I ultimately love what I have and what I've done, and that's all that matters. I'm not perfect and still struggle to love myself, but for the most part I think it's definitely helped both my writing and overall creativity. Just let go of the silly, wasteful ideas of perfection and do it because I love it and it's fun. And because flaws are beautiful <3

✑ Was there a fic that was really hard on you to write, or took you to a place you didn't think it would take you?

The hardest thing about Petrichor was rewriting it. That was . . . daunting. And scary. Converting it from a series of one-shots to a full-fledged fanfiction and watching as my girls ran off with plots and ideas and dramatically shifted the narrative . . . . Terrifying. And now, in the sequel, I lack that structure that I had before, which is both freeing and . . . also scary AHA. I fear that my quality isn't the same, or that I'll run out of ideas . . . . Vigdis already walked in and axed a possible third book [for good reasons], so that's proven difficult as well. BUT! The challenge is half the fun! I love where the story is going and where the girls are taking me and I'm so very excited to keep following along to see how it all ends ;3c

✑ Why did you start writing?

My answer will probably sound a little silly . . . but if I go back to the very beginning of my writing journey--which was already half my life ago . . . . I started doing it because I wanted a piece of the magic that was 'Holy shit these words on a page can create an entire world in my head? What the fuck?? THAT'S AWESOME.' And then I had my own stories I wanted to tell. I would read books and play games and became so enamoured with those worlds that I just . . . I wanted to create in them, too. While Vigdis' story has certainly changed over the years, it's still a story that I very much want to write, and tell, and follow until the very end. It's a bit of a love letter to myself in some ways, addressing my own experiences in life, and allowing myself to indulge in a world and characters that I love beyond words. And that's a beautiful thing--to create out of love, for love. I wrote my very first story when I was 9 years old, but didn't really delve into the writing world until I was 12 [thanks Percy Jackson]. I wish I could tell her and show her how far she's come, because I think she would be so proud and so ecstatic to see how much she's grown. I thank her for discovering the beautiful and joyous world of writing because I would not be here, still writing, if she didn't. <3

[returnsnull7404]

Gonna be real, this is not a curated collection that I would think anyone in particular would like and more just a collection of the fics that I think of when someone asks me "what are your favorite fics in this fandom". As a result it's leaning pretty Tommy heavy. I have no solution to this. I am very sorry. He's my blorbo and I like to watch him be squished.

My fics

Starting with my own fics

Misery Meat:

Fic or series: Fic

Status: complete

Word count: 160k

Chapters: 26

Characters: Tommy & Techno

You like bedrock bros? Like kidnapping? Serial killers? Like longfic? Angst? Slowboiling Stockholm syndrome? Cows and chickens? Sassy Tommy and funny, eat the rich believing Techno? You might like this one. Mind the tags though, it is dead dove.

It also has a sequel, People Eater, that's a WIP

The Godson:

Fic or series: series

Status: work in progress

Word count: 39k

Characters: Tubbo, Tommy, and Ranboo

There isn't enough dark Tubbo in this fandom. This is a series all about dark tubbo, it's a modern with hybrids AU focused on organized crime, murder, and manipulation. If you want to watch Tubbo gaslight everyone he interacts with then this might be the fic for you. Again, mind the tags.

Other authors

Now onto the good part, other people's works.

The Dreamwalker by hydre:

Fic or series: Fic

Status: complete

Word count: 135k

Chapters: 22

Characters: Tommy centric, with heavy Dream, Tubbo, and Wilbur inclusion

I'm gonna be real, I only just started this one, so I can't get too in depth, but imagine a foster care au intertwined with day to day dsmp drama. That's what this is. In Tommy's waking life he has to deal with his shattered family, his trauma, and the dangers of the dsmp, while in his dreams he goes to another, softer, gentler world where he has to navigate being cared for by a strange, caring, other worldly version of his abuser, Dream.

I love the style of this so far, the author really nails Tommy's sass and irritability, along with his softer moments without making him too soft. If you like my Tommy you'll probably like theirs too.

Belonging by boonsbeans:

Fic or series: fic

Status: complete

Word count: 41k

Chapters: 9

Characters: Tommy & Wilbur

Classic kidnapping fic, Wilbur kidnaps his friend Tommy and Tommy tries to resist social isolation, abandonment and Stockholm syndrome while he learns how truly possessive his friend is.

This fic again manages to nail the Tommy sass and how he speaks, along with giving Wilbur shockingly understandable motivations, methods, and a backstory that makes sense. There are some great twists in here and it's overall a very fun read.

AITA For Kidnapping A Sixteen Year Old?

Fic or series: fic

Status: in progress

Word count: 36k

Chapters: 54/60

Characters: Tommy, Dream, Tubbo, Ranboo, George, but really a lot of the cast members are roped in

Modern kidnapping discduo au told through Dream trying to get validation on Reddit mostly. You have an angsty teen, a weirdo Reddit user, a chronically online teen, and a mentally ill young adult. What could go wrong?

Very unique and funny presentation style, but honestly the story within a story that comes from the author only updating when they have a funny story for the authors notes is also great.

And I Thirst for What Holds Me Back by Aimandfire:

Fic or series: fic

Status: complete

Word count: 2,800

Characters: Tubbo, Quackity, and Schlatt

Finally a tubbo centric vampire kidnapping fic. It's short, but a neat little snack for vampire fic lovers.

Throughout The Seasons by Poker

Fic or series: series

Status: in progress, multiple fics finished

Word count: 172k

Characters: Tubbo centric, SBI, Schlatt, Dream etc all make appearances

Fae au! Honestly one of the best fae stories I've ever read. Poker weaves elements of Canon and folklore together really well and creates a story with ever-present tension that never gets old, plus their characterization of Tubbo is spot on. The first three fics are dsmp but the fourth one is looking like it's gonna be hermitcarft.

The Case of the Fire Inside by trying_to_spell_both_our_names_at_once:

Fic or series: fic

Status: abandoned

Word count: 198k

Chapters: 24/27

Characters: Tommy centric, but also heavily focused on the rest of SBI and Dream

Techno, Phil, and Wilbur volunteer as lighthouse keepers on a remote island in an attempt to save their fractured family after the death of Kristin. Things are difficult, and boring, and tense, but at least they have the company of a strange, friendly seal off the coast and the weird neighbor boy.

Honestly an amazing fic, some of the best writing I have ever seen, I feel transported to the sea every time I read it. I know the lack of an ending is sad, but I promise, it's still worth the experience of reading.

Coming Down Blue by electibunny

Fic or series: fic

Status: incomplete, likely abandoned

Word count: 65k

Chapters: 26

Characters: Tommy centric, with a lot of Phil, Techno, tubbo, ranboo, Niki, Karl, Wilbur, just a lot of cast activity

Slice of life of what it's like to recover from a kidnapping. I really like this because it's just thr day to day journies of a whole friend group of deeply traumatized and problematic but well meaning people. Again, the lack of an ending is sad, but it's not about the end, it's about the journey, and this is a story worth experiencing.

Stranded on an Island With a Ghost Inside Your Head by MolluskSauce

Fic or series: fic

Status: complete

Word count: 9,800

Characters: Tommy and Dream

Funny enough this is probably my favorite fic in the whole fandom. This fic details a modern Tommy's long and boring captivity at the hands of Dream. It's more of an experience than anything else and it's a very evocative and powerful experience, plus it only has like 10 comments??? Mollusk needs more love for this

Inspired by @theminecraftbee -- you know what I haven’t seen going around in a while, and could use some of myself? How about some fic recs??

Consider this both a rec and a self-promo post: recommend some fics to me in the reblogs and I’ll reblog your recs! In general, try to include both a summary and why you’re reccing it (whether it’s a self-promo or someone else’s), and let’s get some eyes on fics!

[senadimell]

On “Writing it anyways”

There’s definitely something to be said for “no matter your skill level, if you’ve got a dream, do it anyways,” because that’s how I managed to write a 70k fix-it fic after not writing fiction on my own since literal 6th grade (that’s 11-12 years of age).

But there’s also something to be said for “help, I’ve got so many ideas and they’re literally beyond my capacity to create because I know from experience the toll required to make them reality—and I cannot afford to pay that toll.”

I’m thinking here about Susanna Clarke after Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell here. I haven’t yet read Piranesi, though I’ve heard it’s brilliant, but I do know it’s not a book of the same scale and scope of Norrell. That’s not an indication of quality, by the way—just saying that it may not ever be possible for Clarke to create another monstrously intricate, brilliant, massively long book like Norrell again due to health limitations. I hope she can, and I’m sure she also hopes she can, but there’s no guarantee. Writing something requires a toll.

On a slightly different but still related note, we joke about how fanfic writers are able to churn out stories through the wildest of circumstances, and that’s certainly true, but for every one of those “sorry for the late update, I just gave birth!” people, I’m willing to bet there are many who produced one or two things and then didn’t keep going. Or, think of the thousands of unfinished stories out there. The thousands of unpublished drafts. The one-hit wonders and the cryptids, the people who publish once every seven years. That 125k unfinished monster story that hasn’t been updated since 2007. I’d argue that the vast majority of fic writers are stopped by car accidents and health crises and family challenges and jobs. Turning to writing to cope is one response, but leaving writing by the wayside is another common response.

I dunno, I keep seeing posts that are about “write it anyways,” and I keep refraining from reblogging them with snarky commentary because I realize I’m not the target audience here. Those are primarily aimed at people intimidated by the incredible amount of skill they see and are afraid to be novices. Or people who think that beginning at something means only doing incredibly tedious beginner projects like what dick-and-jane readers are for kids. You know, not learning to knit at all because you think you have to suffer through making a garter stitch scarf before you can make a sweater. To that target audience, those posts are probably really inspiring! You don’t have to do the boring thing before you graduate into being allowed to write interesting things!

But on the other hand, there is something despair-inducing to realize the amount of work required to produce your dream, especially when you don’t know if you’ll ever have the spoons to be able to create it. So yes, write it anyways. But leave room for grief at what you can picture but not accomplish, and learn to make peace with the beauty you can find and cultivate. That’s how we got Piranesi, by the way.

...What Piranesi is not is the longed-for sequel to JS&MrN. Only months after the publication of her debut, Clarke became ill with what was eventually diagnosed as chronic fatigue syndrome. “I was doing a lot of travelling and promoting and getting on and off aeroplanes – the sort of thing I’d never done before. And then in the spring of 2005 I collapsed, and that was the beginning of it. It’s hard to remember an illness because it’s just a lot of nothing. It’s very hard to make it into a shape.”

Writing became torturous – “all the projects I’ve tried to work on while I was ill kept flowing down a lot of alleys, that was part of the illness” – and the JS&MrN sequel is still “a long way off” completion. “I think it may be a feature with chronic fatigue that you become incapable of making decisions. I found it impossible to decide between one version of a sentence and another version, but also between having the plot go in this direction and having it go in that direction. Everything became like uncontained bushes, shooting out in all directions. That’s the state that the sequel to Jonathan Strange is in. It’s almost like a forest now.”

An invitation to the set of the miniseries in Yorkshire helped to clear the path. “I was really uncertain about going, I thought it would be too much for me, but I loved it. I’d felt ‘I’m not an author, I’m just this invalid and I have been for years,’ but they treated me as an author and that made me feel it was a possible thing again.”

With “the consciousness of all the years that I hadn’t written and all the projects I hadn’t completed” weighing on her, Clarke decided “to simplify what I was asking of myself”, returning to an old work in progress that was to become Piranesi (“it probably predates JS&MrN”) as a more manageable prospect. “I thought, it doesn’t have hundreds of characters and it won’t require a huge amount of research because I don’t know what research I could do for it.”

Susanna Clarke: ‘I was cut off from the world, bound in one place by illness’

So you might not be able to ‘do the thing anyways.’ You are allowed to grieve at what you can’t see yourself doing. But that doesn’t mean you will not find a more manageable garden to tend to. It is often hard to anticipate any kind of recovery when in the doldrums of sickness or pain, and yet we often do find easier and more enabling ways to live.

[buoyantsaturn]

13 17 21!

hiiiii katherine!!!

13. What is a subject matter that is incredibly difficult for you write about? What is easy?

relationship angst is actually very difficult for me bc like. i dont know whats reasonable for couples to fight about bc ive never been a part of a couple lmao. like whats a disagreement and whats a fight and whats enough to break you up like yeah i know the red flags and whatever but i genuinely am the last person who should be writing romance fics lmao.* easy is usually anything where people are just like joking around and picking on each other although i WILL say that i take a million years to workshop jokes and yes my mutuals suffer from it. that being said the ass eating joke in the camp counselors au is still the funniest thing ive ever written and i still cry laughing every time i go back and reread the conversation that made that joke happen in alabanda

17. Talk to me about the minutiae of your current WIP. Tell me about the lore, the history, the detail, the things that won’t make it in the text.

my CURRENT wip (technically 2 most current wips) are secrets. the things that i Can tell you include: wip #1 is an extension of something i absolutely ADORED writing but continuing it makes me nervous bc like. you know how sequels are rarely as good as the original? i suffer greatly from that syndrome in my writing imo so it might be 1. worse for people to read (and yes i know i know yall will read whatever i write and will love it with your whole hearts but thats not the point) and 2. less enjoyable for me to write :/ but im having fun planning it right now at least!! i even got a new idea for it right when i got home from work so that was just jotted down in the planning doc :3

and wip #2 is a surprise! it is a very very new idea that is also technically not even My idea but i Got the idea by reading two entirely different fics (like not even both by the same author, and i doubt the two people even know or know of each other) and it was kind of like. what if i take THIS aspect of this writing decision and incorporate it into THAT storyline to explore how things might differ. and i have no idea how the end result is going to turn out bc i did Most of the planning at 11pm last night after working a 9 hour shift and then practicing my bass for like 2 more hours so. i might have to rework the whole thing anyway and may not even post it at all <3 we shall see <3

21. Could you ever quit writing? Do you ever wish you could? Why or why not?

i will admit i have Thought about quitting. I could never quit writing Altogether bc like ive said before ive been writing fun little stories literally for my entire life but like. right after i graduated college i was like. i should really stop paying so much attention to fandom and fic writing and focus more on like. finding a real job that isnt at a tourist trap that doesnt respect me and i kept telling myself not to plan too much further ahead in the year with my fics because who even knows if i'll be writing fic come october or november of 2021 (lmao) so like. i kind of did try to at least slow down my writing and that. failed miserably lmao. but i have decided that actually no i do not want to stop! writing makes me happy and its something that i enjoy doing and i think it keeps my brain active and gives me something worthwhile to do while im relaxing on the rare chance that i get a day off from work. i DO wish i could write more of my own original stuff but i simply do not have the brain space for creating original characters and relationships and such which is why i feel so comfortable putting the pjo characters into so many wildly insane new situations. at least that way it FEELS like i'm being original and creative even if im just playing around with the same puppets in front of a bunch of different cartoon backgrounds <3

thanks for asking!!

send me numbers!

[locke-writes]

Contemplate

Author: locke-writes

Title: Contemplate

Summary: A look at migraines and the effects they can have on a person For: Follower Voted Content #2

Sequel to: Twitch (Part One) and Speak (Part Two)

Rating: T

Word Count: 1,573

Tag List: @ofthedewthesunlight​

AN: All parts can be read as individual fics and do not have to be read in order. The only connector between all three fics is details regarding BFS (Benign Fasciculation Syndrome) of which affects the motor neurons. A syndrome in which I have.

Talk. That's what people seemed to do whenever you were around, talk. You found it funny just how much people were willing to open up to a stranger, how much they were willing to reveal. Sometimes you found it sad knowing they simply needed an outlet and you were there. When all else failed at least they had someone with willing ears they could speak to. The thing was, you weren't willing, you were just quiet because it was part of your job. Doc needed people analyzed and what better way of analysis than learning about someone from themselves.

No one could really be trusted. People would talk, would open up but that didn't mean they were honest or that you received the information that you needed. They just talked because you kept quiet. And you kept quiet because you knew they would talk.

But talking could become excruciating when noise turned into pain.

You supposed it was foolish for someone with a neurological condition to think that everything about your mind was normal. Headaches, surely everyone experienced them as you did. Noise hurt, light hurt, everything hurt. It was better to go to bed than to try and fight it, most medications didn't help. Which was normal, completely and totally normal — until you were told it wasn't.

Migraines, not just bad headaches, that's what you had.

Migraines.

They were bullshit.

Talk. That's what everyone was doing as you were standing in the middle of the museum people watching. Could you call it people watching when you were simply monitoring one persons routine? Doc had needed details on a few of the bank tellers hoping to perhaps involve one in another heist, not as a hostage but as the weak target, the one that would break the easiest. What you could gleam online was good but nothing was better than the real thing.

Conversation was had and you went on your way, watching, waiting for the next location. And talk surrounded you, and noise became daggers in your head, and your arm began to twitch, and your eye began to twitch.

And then everything went to hell.

Miles was the one you always called, Miles was the one you trusted to come get you in moments like this. You wanted to call, stared at the last text he had sent you only a few hours ago wishing you could respond and ask him to come pick you up. He knew, he understood, yet you didn't call him, didn't know why. Instead there was someone else you wanted to greet you, someone else you wanted to bring a sense of peace and calm as the noise surrounded you and pulled you deeper into the pain.

Buddy.

An address was texted along with your location in the museum. There was no acknowledgments that he read the text. No acknowledgement that he understood what was going on, and why would he. He knew about the twitches, knew about you going nonverbal, yet migraines. It didn't matter who knew about the migraines except part of you was afraid of what he would think.

Weakness.

You hated feeling weak, you hated people thinking you were weak. While you couldn't help the pain that you were in you could help how people perceived you. Buddy could not perceive you as weak, that was what you kept telling yourself. He was a friend, perhaps the only true friend that you had and if you emptied your list of ailments into his lap you were worried that he would leave.

Except it didn't matter now.

Glancing at the phone in your hand you waited. There was no way of knowing where he was or if he was coming. You wondered how long you'd be willing to sit on the bench staring at paintings you had no interest in while the pain roared around your mind and while the muscles in your leg moved around furiously. It was luck that you were seemingly ignored by those around you, able to twitch without curious looks or spiteful stares.

Time ticked on, every noise growing louder, lights growing brighter, muscles moving beneath skin. Your senses were bombarded on all sides. For a moment you were certain you might pass out due to the pain.

Then there were footsteps, then there was a hand on your shoulder. Buddy was there. Buddy came to get you. Not a word was spoken as he ushered you out of the exhibit and out of the museum entirely. Leading you to his car you shook your head indicating that it wasn't the right time to speak and you stopped him from turning on the radio while driving back to Doc's where you knew you were supposed to have made an appearance after your reconnaissance mission.

Buddy worried, you'd gotten good at reading him. You wanted to tell him what was going on but the pain in your head and the twitching in your body made it difficult to focus on words. Tired, that's all that you were. In pain and tired, you wanted words to be understood without having to be spoken. As Buddy pulled into the parking garage you leaned back in your seat with your eyes closed for just a moment. Walking to the elevator was going to be strenuous with you being required to keep eyes open and walk on twitching legs.

Slipping out of the car you wandered into the briefing room, Buddy trailing behind you. He watched as you went to Baby, signing to tell him what was happening before grabbing the bag he had for you. Upon request he'd been holding your laptop. Removing headphones from the bag you slipped them over your ears and looked at Doc who nodded.

When the migraines were to unbearable you needed a way of communicating with Doc that let him know you were not to be disturbed. Any noise, any light, anything at all really — could make the migraine worse, could increase the pain tenfold. Your headphones were noise cancelling and never used for anything other than blocking out sound. When you were wearing them, you were not to be disturbed. You made your way across the room, slipping into your office ignoring Buddy who tried to engage in conversation.

You felt regret for not being able to vocalize what was going on, for not even having the energy to sign to him. Although what good was signing when your hand was twitching too much to form any movement?

Slipping into your office you made sure the door was shut tight and the lights were off. The offices were kept secret everyone who was brought in for jobs. Only Doc, Baby, and yourself knew of there location down a hallway away from the main meeting room. There were desks and tables set out in that more public area as a presentation yet they were never really used with no one around. You had created a space for yourself to be at peace within your office, something that worked with everything that you dealt with on a day to day basis.

There was nothing to help the twitches of course, there never was going to be. Nothing helped and there was no cure, no treatment. The least you could do for yourself was provide space enough that you could simply sit and allow the twitches to happen. For the migraines you wanted pure and total darkness.

It annoyed you somewhat, that this was something you had to deal with, that this was out of your control. There was medication for the migraines but when they were sudden there was nothing that any pill could do, the medication was preventative. So you sat in the darkness and in the silence and you fretted. You worried.

People were often accepting up until a point. You often wondered where that point was with Buddy.

Baby was your brother, Doc your employer, each had different reasons for tolerating any affliction.

But Buddy was neither, Buddy was just a friend and you worried. You worried if you were placing a strain on the friendship that you weren't aware. Had you been pulling and tugging at the string binding you together, was he going to cut the chord and drop you out to sea? Or perhaps if you were lucky this was just another item in the arsenal of things he'd become used to. He understood the twitches, he understood your being nonverbal, yet migraines were different.

Well, they were more common, easier for him to research if he chose.

Time ticked on, the pain and the fear twisting in the pit of your stomach. You sat, back against your desk and a hand on your leg, feeling the muscles move beneath your hand. A knock on the door forced your eyes open (not that there was much to see in the dark), you grunted as a way of admitting entry and from the shadow in the doorway you knew it was Buddy.

You knew he had questions.

You knew he deserved answers.

You wanted to provide them yet there was no way of explaining, the pain bringing exhaustion.

Without a word he sat next to you, back against the desk. Silence enveloped the both of you. In the darkness you smiled.

Through whatever pain brought with it, there was one thing it could never take away. And that was Buddy, a constant.

[danpuff-ao3]

Project(s): Fanfiction..and meta!

Worked on:

HP Astro (series)

The Making of (series)

Miscellaneous meta

Swap (dropped)

Dralbus feat. Snarry

Devotion

Challenges:

Deadlines. Working on a deadline is never good for me. I ended up dropping a few fests.

Illness & injury. A combination of medication changes, stress, exhaustion, and overexertion led to me feeling very unwell fairly often.

Mental health. My anxiety levels are truly horrendous. I faced the 1 year anniversary of leaving my old fandom group. My ex stepmother (who I had a complicated relationship with) died. Work stress and expectations. Loneliness.

Insecurity/Imposter Syndrome. That's always the biggest hurdle. Not smart enough, or interesting enough, or talented enough. Too open, too vulnerable. Why am I doing this? Who do I think I am?

Dralbus has been over a year in the making. It's connected to one of many dramas with old friends. Any progress in this has been hard won. It's hard not to feel haunted by the past when I sit with this work. It feels tainted. But I'm determined to finish it all the same. One way or another, however long it takes!

Devotion. Ah, my passion project. With this I've faced not only having to return to Contempt to make sure everything aligns, but also worries that adding a companion piece/sequel to my pride and joy will ruin it. Oh and: caring way too much, being too invested, being too into it, etc.

Thanksgiving...cuz oh yeah, there was a holiday. And holidays = stress.

Accomplishments:

Therapy! Okay technically I started therapy a month or two or so ago, but I've continued going, and I've talked about fandom/writing with my therapist.

Calling it quits! aka, I dropped some fests when I realized I couldn't complete them without a whole lot of sacrifice. (Thanks to the friends that talked sense into me.) I have a hard time accepting defeat and letting go. But I managed! (With minimal beating myself up.)

Daily writing! I wrote every single day. My lowest word count in a day was 127 words. My highest word count in a day was 7,137 words. Not too shabby, I think!

Completed NaNoWriMo for the 4th year in a row! And for the 4th year in a row: I surpassed the 50k goal! I hit 50k on Day 12. (actually I hit the halfway mark by Day 12, oops! But still!)

Celebrating ALL progress! I have a bad habit of feeling like a failure if I don't accomplish what I set out to do, regardless of what I do accomplish along the way. Letting myself count meta work towards my word count has gone a long way in mending that mindset. I didn't get as much work towards fic done as I wanted, but I still wrote a lot of words! And I chose to be happy about it.

Leaning into my passions! Another happy effect of allowing myself to count meta work was that I was able to focus on subjects/projects I was most enthused about! I feel so much pressure all the time to be super productive. It was so freeing to let myself have fun. To set aside all my well laid plans and pull out my astrology books instead!

Sharing WIPs! I am so ultra paranoid about giving too many details about in-progress works. Let alone letting people read my rough drafts! But I've done both. I've shared the roughest of drafts with friends. And I've spoken more openly about my unpublished works.

...oh hey I mentioned progress, right? I wrote a lot. I also brainstormed a lot. Not to mention all the non-writing progress I've made. My partner and I are decluttering/rearranging our apartment. I'm learning self-care. I'm working on my mental health (therapy and meds, hoorah!) Also I've done hella baking. Many pumpkin loafs. Many cookies.

Improved relationship with creating. Once I get this last fest wrapped up (and this one I'm not dropping!), no more fests for me. As fun as it's been, it's better for my mental health and my creativity to work with lower pressure. It's important to remember that I write out of love and passion, so I need to focus on what I most love and am most passionate about. Not what I need to do. Not what other people want from me, or expect. Step by step I'm going back to writing for the pure joy of it.

Ending: 11/30/22, 2:34 PM.

Ending Count: 74,484

NaNoWriMo 2022

Goal: 50,000 words

Project: Fanfiction

Plan to work on:

Devotion

smile with sweet surprise, chapter 3

Swap fic

Hoggwartyxmas fic

Dralbus fic

Aim: to write what I love and what inspires me.

Starting: 11/1/22, 7:45 AM

Starting Count: 0 words

Note to self: If I don't succeed, I will not beat myself up. It's okay if I can't finish. This is meant to be fun. With luck this will keep me focused and on task. With luck, I'll have at least one complete work. But if I don't, that's okay. I will take care of myself above all else!

Note to friends: if anyone else is participating, good luck! May the muses stay with you to the end!

[withthekeyisking-writer]

What's your fav fic that you wrote yourself?

This is such a challenging question! Like asking which of my children is my favorite 😂 I could definitely tell you a few of my least favorite though lol, no prob. Some of my older stuff—oof.

Alright, so since I really can’t pick a singular fav (I currently have 101 posted works, that’s just not gonna happen) how about I give a top 10? Not exactly what you asked, but eh life is like that 😁

So, in no particular order, my top ten fav fics that I’ve written:

1. Starting with the one that’s a large presence in my mind, (No) Places of Safety. This fic is my baby right now, shaping up to be one of the biggest things I’ve ever written (already at 69k and not even close to done) which is super amazing, because I usually have a problem with sticking to things after a while. I really love the way I’ve handled Dick’s deteriorating mental state, and I love the fact that I know exactly where it’s going, and have from the very beginning (again, rare for me. Usually things come together as I’m writing, and while that’s still happening, it’s been awesome having an actual solid plan and destination). I love the universe I’ve set up here, and am so excited with every chapter to show you guys what comes next. Hell I love this universe so much that I already have the whole next fic planned out 😋

2. Next I’ll say Three Little Birds Sat On My Window. I loved writing a reverse batfam, and am so proud of the way this fic turned out. I really spent a lot of time trying to get everyone’s voices right, how different they would be considering how different their life experiences would be. Tim and Jason especially were important to get right, with Tim being the one who died instead. I always hated in reverse batfam fics when people just make Tim’s version of Red Hood exactly the same as what Jason was like, because they’re different people and would have different ways of approaching things. So even in just the little glimpses I wrote, I’m really proud of their characterizations, along with that of Damian and Dick! I’m just overall very proud of this fic, and definitely wan to write more of this AU at some point in the future.

3. Third we’ll go with An Active Imagination (and, with it, the sequel Rules of Architecture). Thinking about these fics and working on them ways makes me excited as a writer. Like I don’t really have a lot to say about these, just that I really love the way I handled Dick’s shifting mental state, going back and forth between the brainwashing and having him be not at all aware of what’s going on. I also love how super creepy Slade is lol, how unabashedly awful. Plus writing a BAMF Dick is always a blast, and the Dick in these two fics is especially badass.

4. Next up is Take My Hand Through the Flames, because writing dark!Dick was so fucking fun, and something I need to do again very soon. Dick is so messed up here, so blood-thirsty and masochistic and crazy, which is something that I’ve never been able to truly do when I mainly write Dick. So that plus building an Earth 3 universe (pulling in Joey and Rose and what Dick’s dynamic with Thomas is like) was a blast to do.

5. Hmmm then let’s go with If Night Falls in Your Heart (and am just now realizing how often I use song lyrics and quotes for my titles). Exploring the trauma of what Catalina and Mirage did to Dick was something necessary for me to write, and it helped me work through some of my own shit I was struggling with. (Writing is the best coping mechanism!) Dick desperately needs people to help him and tell him none of that was his fault, and since canon certainly isn’t going to do it, I took it upon myself lol. Plus I’ve become strangely fond Dave the Unimportant Villain 😂

6. Sixth on the list is How Arbitrary Fate Is, an AU I am extremely fond of and seriously need to come back to. Teen Titans (cartoon) ‘verse is always something I enjoy writing, and extending the apprentice arc, playing with Stockholm Syndrome, blending Dick’s loyalty to his friends with his growing loyalty to Slade, how he reaches acceptance that this is his life now—I am so proud of the way this fic turned out. I have an entire sequel planned out in my head, other things have simply taken precedent. I will come back to it, though. Lol I want to scream from the rooftops to get everyone to love this fic as much as I do 😁

7. Now I’ll say A Current of Fate, which is something I go back and forth on loving but it always draws my attention back to it. I hate that I’ve set it aside for so long, I think there’s so much fucking potential in this world I’ve set up, and I really want everyone to see the way it’s playing out in my head!! But for that I’d actually have to keep writing it lol, the horror. Sometime soon (when I have less active projects on my hands) I’ll go back to this fic and edit it a little, update it to how much more confident I’ve become in my writing, especially of DC characters. Also Chapter 4 has been half written for literally a year now and it has Black Mask in it; since beginning that chapter I’ve become far more familiar with Roman (and written a lot of him lol) so reworking that chapter in the main priority, and then I think I can really move forward with this fic. I know exactly what happens, I just have to get there!! (Coincidentally, today is the year anniversary of the last time I updated this.)

8. Leaving the DC fandom, next we’re going with The Source of Grief. My Harry Potter fics have been touch and go, I can admit that, but I’m very proud of this one. I really loved doing the outside POV, everyone observing the actions of Harry and not really knowing who he is or what his motives are. I also got to address all my feelings about Severus Snape, which was awesome. Just, fixing problems and making things better was wonderful to write, and I got to put in some subtle Wolfstar lol, and talk about how Regulus Black doesn’t get enough credit. Idk, I’m kind of rambling, but I’m proud of this fic.

9. Ninth is One of the Legion Lost (plus its sequel Want the Strange and New). They’re both my Fuck You to Infinity War lol (which I liked a lot more than I know most people do, but still it needed some help). Loki is one of my favs, and bringing him into the plot of the movie and adjusting things from there is the kind of thing I love to do—what are the repercussions if just one thing is different? Also I enjoyed exploring the magic of the infinity stones! There was so much that could be done with them, with their level of sentience that was never really expanded upon, so I liked doing that.

10. Now we have People Who Move the World. A James Bond & Sherlock crossover, where Q and Jim are brothers. I got super far in this fic! 15 chapters and 94k, it’s a real beast. I love how I wrote Q, his relationship with Jim and Bond and Sherlock, and the odd little Q/Mycroft ship that I’ve become strangely fond of considering how strange the ship is lol. Just writing a bunch of absolute geniuses BAMFs ruling the world and making things go the way they want to them. Like, Q and Jim make such an awesome team and I know it’s such a niche fic but I’m really proud of it. Sucks that a majority of the ideas dried up lol, because I’m very pleased with what I created.

+1: Honorable mention! Breathe with Confidence. First time I ever wrote anything in the Star Wars universe, and it’s absolutely something I’m gonna have to come back to. The AU has a lot of potential, and I know exactly how I’d address the future of Dick’s story. Plus some side fics of the family’s reactions to what happened, the confusion over Dick’s disappearance. And in this fic itself I liked writing Slade’s manipulations, Dick’s desires, the small amounts of background I included. Idk, I just think this world is super cool.

Well, I hope you enjoyed reading this long drawn out thing! Probably more info than you were looking for 😁😅

[caledfwlchthat]

happy new fic year, homestucks!

Oh man, it’s been stupid forever since I actually posted anything about the content I am, despite appearances, continuing to create on this here very internet.  I might consider getting better at promoting myself, though I suspect that if I raise that aspiration to the status of an actual resolution, it will probably fizzle and go limp.  But, who knows.  Maybe 2020 will be the year it happens anyway, and, dare I say, keeps happening.

So what the hell, might as well start here.

Looking back on it, 2019 was a good year for writing fic! 

I added over 60,000 words to my long-running meteorfic serial, Rose: Remember (Rashomon Roshambo) -- usually tagged and abbreviated as “R^4″.  In the process it has transformed from a fairly pedestrian dream-bubble sadstuck about GAME OVER into an epic tale of one dead Rose’s quest to forge an alternate path to victory.  There are also, naturally, endearing Rosemary and awkward Davekat moments along the way.  Come for the meta, but stay for the shipping.

I also threw my hat in for Polyswap Derse 2019, yielding a new 20,000-word JohnDaveKat fic, cozy as fuck in there, which is also set in the dream bubbles.  It’s rapidly catching up to R^4 in kudos and bookmarks despite having been complete for months, so I guess I did something right with it! 

2020 is off to a good start!  Besides continuing R^4, I’ve also started two new relatively short fics which will be done soon, so keep an eye out for them:

Close Encounters Of The Slurred Kind is a sequel/tribute to @laurasauras‘s charming Rosemary short fic Observation.  It’s basically a farce in which Drunk Rose commandeers Kanaya’s Sburb-like reality cursor technology for the noble purpose of fucking with all her friends, in an otherwise no-game AU environment.  Hilarity ensues.  I’ve got this one mostly done and am posting a chapter every AEST morning, so it’ll be done soon.  Don’t miss it!

Doors, a fill for the Polyswap Dusk Winter Promptfest, is a JadeRoseMary hurt/comfort/fluff fic about found family and the trials of raising wiggler Vriska Maryam-Lalonde in a loving (non-Epilogue-compliant) Earth C home.  This prompt has taken me hostage and I am now Stockholm over Syndrome for grub!Vrissy, so you’ve been warned.  I got five chapters into it before going down all kinds of Vrissy-flavored rabbit holes.  I’m still looking to complete this in the relatively short term once Slurred Kind is finished.

Throughout all of this I’ve been lucky to enjoy the stalwart encouragement of my lovely fic friends @katreal-fic​, @laurasauras​, @hussianphilosopher​ and @gavelenvy​, each of them worth their weight in unobtainium.  I salute all four, and look forward to a great 2020 making awesome stuff with them!

[kylorengarbagedump]

does it annoy u, or does it pride u that so many people want a fya sequel??

I’m very very VERY happy and grateful so many fucking people have read and enjoyed a story I wrote, especially one I wrote coming on 4 years ago. Many people dream of having the sort of engagement I’ve had, and I will never, ever, ever take that for granted.

I do deal with some sort of imposter syndrome from it--ah, that will be the only thing I do people like, I’m washed up now, no one wants any content from me that isn’t FYA--but that isn’t necessarily true, either. My current main fic is more niche, and my work has leaned considerably darker since FYA, because it’s what I’ve grown an interest in writing. It makes sense that the engagement on that level just isn’t there.

All that being said, I would say that I am far, far more grateful and proud of what I’ve done than irritated with the people (for whom, ultimately, I created it) who enjoy it.