#I have so much left to finish but I thought I'd post the WIP

[ryan-is-a-god]

Do Not Photograph his Daughter 😤💢

They will stab you

[shirogane-oushirou]

not ready to post him properly yet, bc i want to give him some pants first JHABSJHDBJHB but. i finished the ren plushie earlier today, and i've just been petting him and smoothing him down all evening. i just picked him up to keep doing it, and i unconsciously starting kissing his little forehead. i'm definitely not feeling soft for him. anyway.......... [sick to my stomach bc i love him and he's so cute]

ghost sighting of the boy:

[ruvviks]

// wip day.

i'm working on a new project that is (for once) not connected to any of my bigger original universes, so i thought i'd share some of the writing i have for it! taglist down below, feel free to take this opportunity to share your own wips (in a separate post of course) if you have any!! the first part is a sort of introduction to the story, from the perspective of main character marshall! the second part is a snippet from a scene much further into the story, to kind of paint a picture (for both you and myself lol) of what the setting and the tone of the story is gonna be like. it's a bit different writing than what you're used to from me so please take a moment to read the warnings first!! warnings >> blood, cult, death, implied cannibalism, gore, religion, violence

God won't speak to me.

He spoke to my sister when we were eleven, her howls echoing through the backyard of our childhood home as the venom of a wasp spread quickly through her veins.

He spoke to my mother the day we buried her oldest son, the hem of her alcohol-stained dress torn where it had caught on the thorns of a blackberry bush she had blankly passed through.

He spoke to my father the day he put the barrel of a .44 in his mouth, reenacting what he had classified a sin for all the wrong reasons, his trembling finger on the trigger strong enough to rip apart the last tendon holding our family together yet not to finish the job.

I was eighteen, when I was found on the river bank near Overture, Louisiana, the sharp end of a jagged knife plunged deep within my side and my bloodied hands clutching the cross necklace of my brother, my breathing akin to the ice cold shallow water grazing at my ankles as I stared up at the star-spotted sky with glazed over eyes, blue chapped lips shaped in the final hum of a prayer.

A black abyss stared back, a strained vacuum without comfort, leaving me with a plea unheard and the metallic taste of blood in my mouth.

And God did not answer.

'Gotta dig… Just gotta dig. Gotta get 'em out of there… Gotta take 'em home…'

The physical distance between Marshall and the grave did not muffle the continuous mumbling, the shaky voice of the young priest clear as day like a whisper directly in his ear as the eerie silence looming over the church's cemetery left him with not much else to focus on. He knew he should turn around and leave, at that hour of the night— get back in his car and return to Posey in the motel, get some sleep while he still could— yet curiosity held him tight within its grasp, and each step he took pushed him closer into the wrong direction.

'Just the bones… Just the bones…'

The man was hunched over, back turned towards Marshall and partially obscured by the few last rows of gravestones stood between the two of them. His neck twitched— a sudden and unexpected movement at an angle Marshall did not hold for possible, yet it had happened entirely too fast for him to clearly see.

'Hey, is everything alright?' he called out; well against his better judgment, hairs on his forearms standing up straight as his feet carried him another few inches closer to the priest.

And the closer he got, the more he wished he had listened to himself.

If he had just turned away, he wouldn't have had to notice the unusual and unplaceable noises bubbling up from the priest's direction. He wouldn't have had to realize the priest was sat next to a coffin, yet to be lowered into an undug grave. (A curious practice, but Marshall was not one to judge— Overture'd had to endure a rather tiresome series of curiosities as of late, and an unburied corpse in the middle of bumfuck Louisiana in the midst of a yet to be explained power cut would be the least of its problems.)

'Just the bones…. Gotta dig… Gotta bring 'em home.'

'Do you need help?' Marshall persistently asked, his voice muffled by the thrumming of his own heart in his eardrums while his eyes trailed over the coffin— splintered and shattered at the lid, the glimmer of the distant church lights barely enough to reveal the outline of an axe resting on the dirt at the priest's ankles.

'Have to do it, there's no other way. Gotta dig, gotta dig, gotta dig—'

'Hey!'

Marshall should have never stayed in town.

He realized that now, as the priest's obsessive muttering came to a sudden stop forcing Marshall to hold still too— yet he had already approached too closely, and realized that no dirt had been dug in at all, and realized that the priest's hands were instead stuck inside the coffin repeatedly plunging deeper and deeper into the rotting remains of the corpse inside, once white vestment covered in blood and gore and he stared up at Marshall with a faint glow in two milky white eyes and with a wide grin exposing bloodied and shattered teeth, much akin to a predator looking at its next prey.

'Just the bones,' he repeated, the nodding of his head nearly belittling— as if to convince Marshall this was how it was supposed to be, as if to convince him the Word of God was not to be neglected and his fate as a sinner was a gift to the Divine Light and as if to convince him as long as he would not struggle it would all be over soon.

'Gotta dig.'

Marshall could not move, lamb to the slaughter as the priest rose to his feet with the axe in his hand.

'Just the bones! Gotta take 'em home.'

taglist (opt in/out)

@velocitic, @deadrlngers, @euryalex, @ordinarymaine, @gurathins;

@mojaves, @shellibisshe, @dickytwister, @mnwlk, @rindemption;

@ncytiri, @calenhads, @noirapocalypto, @florbelles, @radioactiveshitstorm;

@strafethesesinners, @fashionablyfyrdraaca, @aemondtargeryen, @radioactive-synth, @katsigian;

@estevnys, @elgaravel

[the-family-business-83]

Unexpected Calling – Part I

Part 1 | Masterlist WIP

Fandom: Marvel

Prompt: A world class contract killer finds an envelope at his dead drop. Inside are $23.42 in short change and a letter handwritten by a 9-year old girl.

Type: Series

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x F!Reader's daughter (platonic obviously), Bucky Barnes x F!Reader

Genre: fluff, action, slight angst, might get smutty but idk yet

Warnings: Be prepared for some adult language! Nothing too crazy in this first part though, we're just getting started so that's my only warning for now.

Word count: 1.6k

Send me an ask to let me know if you wanna be added to/removed from the taglist!!

This post was Beta'd by @mariekoukie6661. Thanks a million!

A/N: Thought I'd throw my hand at a prompted fic! Hope you guys like it, I'll add a chapter directory and update as needed as the next parts are posted. So stay tuned 👀 Text dividers made by @firefly-graphics <3

Every morning is always the same when you're paid to kill. He'd been trying to be better about the whole actual killing part lately, but that didn't change his morning routine very much. He woke up to the sound of his alarm clock going off—yes, he still used one. If you asked for his reasoning, he'd tell you it's because it's less complicated and you can always count on it to work because it simply stayed plugged into the wall; in the event that the power went out? It had batteries for backup power, and you can't find that kind of peace of mind with just the alarms on your phone. He's still an old soul, sue him. He woke up at 6:45 am, on the dot, every morning without fail that way so it was rather effective.

After the blaring sound of his trusty alarm clock came the process of forcing himself out of bed and cleaning up for the day; shaving if necessary, freshening up, getting dressed, the works. This was generally when he'd change his appearance should the need arise, as well. But he didn't need to do that this morning and so he flicked the light to the bathroom off as he left the room when he was finished, heading out to his kitchen thereafter. The next step? Food. It was always 7 am sharp by the time he got done with his wakeup process, the only time that changed being when he added any extra steps in the bathroom. And breakfast was always simple: a cup of hot black coffee, sliced avocado, and bread toasted to perfection with an egg over medium to be dipped in. And it never failed to be a pleasant way to start his morning, usually followed closely after by a session of watching the morning news. He found it a good way to see what was going on in the area and across the country so he could plan accordingly.

If he didn't have a job, which by chance was the case today, he'd generally find any sort of quiet way to spend the rest of his morning; reading a book, cleaning up all his weapons, or a walk in the park if he felt like it. Today, he felt like it. And it was mostly peaceful, if you excluded the grating sound of car horns, tires squealing, and buses chuffing past. And of course, if you chose to ignore the rumbling from the subway, the people shouting either in their urgency to get to work or just simply because they were an ass, then it was really utterly plain and quiet to walk through Central Park. By this point Bucky had truly gotten used to it. He supposed in some ways it wasn't too much different from his home in the past. But that didn't mean he liked to spend too much time there anyway. So long as he got out and went back home just in time, he could skip the gradeschoolers and dog walkers that came around for the afternoon.

There had been nothing unusual about his day so far, and he liked that. He liked the rhythm of it all, and how it always went according to his carefully curated schedule. He began the process of unlocking his apartment door after making his way up to his floor, and pushed it open to take a step inside. Crunch.

What the helll...?

Bucky frowned as, seemingly, something sat under his boot and crinkled where he'd stepped, making the same sound again as he carefully pried his foot off. The poor, crisply folded, paper envelope that had earlier been slotted through his dead-drop, suffered a dirt-covered footprint but aside from that, it seemed harmless and intact as he picked it up to inspect it. A curious thing to find when you hardly get mail aside from the bills. What was even more curious was the contents within it, feeling a bit lumpy and—quite frankly—heavy for a letter-sized envelope. He closed the door behind himself with one hand, locking it once again out of habit while the other kept hold of the envelope. Moments later he flicked out a switchblade to slice it open revealing not only a handwritten letter but also $23.42.....Exactly. All in small change.

It was quite honestly the oddest thing he'd seen or received to date, and that was including the number of quite-literal backstabs he'd received, numerous other maiming injuries, and the odd encounters he’d had with a talking raccoon, tree, and robot...man…thing. To name a few. That was also including the number of odd jobs he'd been offered and peculiar payment methods he'd been given. Never had he come across such a specific payment with a letter that….upon further inspection….looked as though its penman couldn't be much older than 9 years old, at most.

'Dear mister,

My name is Rosie Jones. I am 9 yeers old. My mommy says you're vary good at helping people. Well, I need your help. Mommy also said you like to be paid for helping, so I broke my piggy bank open so you wood help us. Mommy doesn't know yet thoe, so please don't tell her.

My mommy dissuhpeered disappeered last night. She told me to hide and I did but now I can't find her and so I need your help mister becuz you're really good at finding people too, mommy said so. Please please help me find my mommy, I don't know what to do mister.

– Rosie'

"You've gotta be shitting me." He muttered to himself. The first question Bucky had, quite honestly, was how did this little girl even know who he was? Or where he lived? Not many people did, if any, truth be told. If they did? They were usually dead within minutes. It was one of many reasons that kept his renowned status intact. But here he was, sitting at his own table, with proof that some little girl knew both of those things. Frowning down at the paper and envelope of change, the assassin ran his hand back through his dark brown hair momentarily, processing what he'd just read. On one hand, it could be an elaborate trap. By all rights he had to assume it, considering the nature of the letter and the fact that a little girl of all people had written it. But on the other hand, there was a certain dedication there that he simply couldn't ignore. And some part of him couldn't help but at least look into it. So moments later, the man was pulling out his laptop and began searching for answers, anything that could give this little girl's story any sort of credit.

Much to his surprise? It checked out. Every last bit of it. There was a mother, connected to the Rosie Jones in question, who had gone missing under rather mysterious circumstances. "I'll be damned, mystery kiddo."

'Y/N Jones, aged 37, a single mother, was nowhere to be found the next morning after reports came in that a struggle and silenced gunshots were heard from the house that night.'

He probably could have gotten away with just keeping the money and letting it go. It was some little kid somewhere hoping for someone to hear her plea, he could get away with it. But it was that name…. he'd seen it before, he knew he had. In all fairness though, he really only remembered faces exceptionally well. Names didn't matter in the long run, names didn't tell him who he was shooting within a crowd of people. So why did it keep nagging at the back of his mind?...

Spoiler alert: he shouldn't have went digging. He should have just left it alone. But he had always been a curious mind and he was nothing if not thorough on top of that. Popping open the top to his bottle of whiskey, Bucky carefully poured out a favorable portion into a glass tumbler, before letting it down onto the counter as he heard an agreeable noise coming from his laptop to signal it had finished its task. Glancing over his shoulder, he sipped on his drink as he made his way back over to the table, having waited for what seemed like an hour to get the information he wanted. And the minute he looked at the screen was the very same minute he regretted it.

He knew that face.

He knew it like the back of his hand almost, he knew it the same way he knew the taste of bourbon or the sound of a .22 magnum. That was the face of Y/N Y/L/N and it was a face he had been trying to forget for years now. But most of all he knew it was a mistake to have even touched this with a ten-foot pole. Because now he had a target, he knew what the target looked like, and he had been paid in- well, maybe not-so-full, but in 9-year-old currency $23.42 was basically a million dollars considering it was all her savings.

In short?

He had to do it now.

He knew that. And it damn near made him groan at the prospect. Because this was going to be a long-ass job, and if he was going to ensure the rescue of that little girl's mother, then he needed to ensure that child's safety. The less leverage the 'enemy' had, the easier his job was. So as he sighed out, "Damnitall, this better be fuckin worth it kid," the hundred year old assassin finished off his drink and went about packing his things to take on a job that he never asked for, but knew damn well he was stuck with until it was over.

But at least if he had to go through with this, he was going to be damn sure he did it right, that was for sure.

Taglist: If you weren't tagged it's because I couldn't get it to tag you or I didn't know which account was yours – @aingealcethlenn @deaan @idabbleincrazy @impala-1979 @kadet-jb @myinconnelly2 @princessmisery666 @rosedemica @tvdspngirl314 @darsynia @buckys-zomdoll @cookingglitterfairy @emilyshurley @fictionalabyss @jotink78 @mariekoukie6661 @manawhaat @mishkatelwarriorgoddess @scarletwinchester84 @sorenmarie87 @until-theend-oftheline @starryeyes2000 @thing-you-do-with-that-thing @betweengalaxies2 @focusonspn

[romaine2424]

For the Love of WIPs (Drarry style)

There's a lot of things I miss about LJ, but right up there was the weekly posting of the H/D Prophet run by @sassy-cissa and groovelover at the conclusion. It began posting in 2005 and It stopped posting in 2021. I know it was a ton of work for the mods to run it, but it truly kept Drarry fandom informed of all the one-shot fics, art released that week, and chapter updates for current Drarry WIPs, recs, etc... Also listed were the fests and what state they were in. Take a look at the links I posted above and see all the goodness. It was very centralized. *sigh happy times*

What made me think of this was I love reading Drarry WIPs but keep finding recent chapter fics that I missed while being posted and only found them completed and others that I'm currently reading but found by chance.

So, I thought I'd share the WIPs I'm keeping track of and those that have been completed recently that I've read.

Notes: Most WIPs (chapter fics) are long fics (over 50K and up to 1M). There are readers that see some lengths of completed fics and wince. That is one reason why chapters are often released weekly or whenever, so you have digestible amounts (5-15K). Sometimes as an author I feel in a Catch 22, readers don't have time to read long fics, but then won't read a WIP until completed. LOL

Below the cut are WIPs that I've read and that have been recently completed. I'll post ongoing WIPs that I'm reading tomorrow! I'm not listing the Warning and Tags for these fics as I'll leave that up for you to decide on what to read or not. But, there are a few here that do have strong warnings in the tags and/or Author Notes. One final note: I'm listing WIPs (chapter fics) that were posted over a time period, not completed chapter fics that were listed on one date as a whole. OMG this is a long post!

Recently completed Drarry WIPs

Passing Stranger (53K) by @lettersbyelise This just completed yesterday! I have 2 chapters left to read. :) Summary: Five years after the war, Harry, listless and depressed, stumbles upon Draco Malfoy playing the violin in an underground bar in Muggle London. The catch? Draco lost his memories five years ago. Ignoring his friends’ advice, Harry befriends an unwitting Draco, overlooking the fact that their mutual attraction might not survive if Draco’s memories return. Comment: Haven't quite finished but I love, love, the Draco in this fic. You could feel that this is Draco stripped of all the heavy responsibilities he grew up with including having a bigoted father. The tension is palpable with Harry being attracted to this Draco but feeling that Draco needs to be Draco Malfoy to move forward. *ugh*. 2. The Boy from the Piano Shop (90.5K) by @soliblomst completed 2/25/24. Summary: After going blind in a reckless attempt to avenge Ginny's death, Harry battles with severe depression. One day, he stumbles upon a quaint piano restoration shop in the heart of London and meets the owner, a kindly old man, and his introverted young apprentice, whose voice sounds strangely familiar. As Harry and Draco slowly reconnect through private piano lessons, the small workshop becomes Harry's refuge, offering him a glimmer of hope in a world without eyes. Set five years after the Battle of Hogwarts. Comment: I binged this fic bad!!! There is so much to love in this fic but one of the standouts is the OC Richard. You will love him, too. The gradual build up of Drarry is so well done. The dealing with Harry's depression is so raw and real. No cutting of corners. The ending was one of the best I've read in celebrating what is to come for Harry and Draco. And Draco, in the final scene will make you cry *happy tears*. 3. The Star Splitter (219K) by @oflights completed 3/22/24. Summary: On a routine time travel assignment to the past, Draco stumbles upon 7-year-old Harry Potter and witnesses his neglect and mistreatment by the Dursleys. In the moment, there is only one solution, even if it goes against all his training as a Time Agent: he has to bring Harry back to the future with him. In which Draco burns his life down for the sake of his former school rival. Comment: I think I followed this one from the start as I do everything @oflights! OMG the action, the tenseness, the magical lore, the worldbuilding, and the sweetness of Draco raising young Harry will have you banging that "next chapter" button. The Drarry in this happens slowly and has its ups and downs but so so worth the wait. The bond is strong and at the end and you will recognize and cheer for this Harry who says Fuck it all, I ain't letting this go.

4. Spotlight (All Eyes on Us) (58K) by @pixiedunhoff completed 3/15/24. This is the 5th and final installment of the Dark Arts to Dance Floor Series (317K) which began posting in July '23. Spotlight Summary: The spotlight can scorch.

“Has the wizarding world ever seen a couple quite like Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter? Though the pair remain frustratingly private and out of the spotlight, hardly ever seen in public together, our readers understandably demand to know more.

‘They’re happy together,’ Minister of Magic Hermione Granger exclusively tells the Prophet, before quickly ducking into a meeting for Squib Rights. ‘They’re so very happy.’”

- Daily Prophet, 2 February 2018 Comment: Pixie says in the notes, you may only need to read the 4th installment to completely get this fic, but hell, I say read them all. Pixie is newer to Drarry writing (longtime reader). I love the casualness and realness of the characters and how they interact. In Spotlight they so capture the feel of being backstage to a 'music rock star' (in the Muggle world) and on the rise in the magical one. As you're reading this fic, it might come across as being a lighter AU type fic, but don't be fooled there is much depth and layers upon layers to both Harry and Draco. Pixie just eases you into it. There were points that I just had to stop reading for a moment and digest exactly what was going on. Pixie will be on my Current WIP list, too! 5. Skybound (61K) by @xanthippe74 Summary: No matter how much Harry Potter wanted to believe he’d left danger behind when the war ended, it found him again anyway. All he had to do was step out his own front door on a Tuesday morning. A Drarry re-imagining of Howl’s Moving Castle.

Comment: I haven't finished this one, yet, but wanted to list it here. It's 6 chapters and I'm only 2 chapters in, but holy hell what world building and magical lore (and one very nasty curse). I'm not familiar with the original source, but that's okay. I'm very happy being carried along in one floating house! I'm a big fan of @xanthippe74 and am fully confident I'll love this as much as the author's other stories. Okay, I'll be back tomorrow with a list of currently posting Drarry WIPs, including two stinging hot A/B/Os, but in very different ways.

Enjoy!

Rom

[sailing-on-a-puddle]

WIP Wednesday

This is supposed to be a quick fic just for fun, but I said that two weeks ago and I've still not finished it, so I thought I'd do my first post for WIP Wednesday and hope stimulates my muse somehow :-)

“Good evening Mr Tracy. I'm Sophie and I'm going to be your guide this evening.”

“Hi Sophie. Please call me Scott. And this is my brother Virgil.”

Scott gestured towards Virgil, who was admiring a large model train set for sale in the museum shop area near where they were standing. 

“Hi Sophie” Virgil replied, suddenly paying attention. “Perhaps you could show us our dad’s space section first?”

“Yes of course” Sophie nodded at Virgil, turned round and started walking towards the entrance to the museum galleries. Scott and Virgil followed her. She was a petite woman, about their age with a bright red bob.

Scott was so pleased the museum had created an exhibition for Dad’s collection from his space missions. They had so many artefacts from the missions stored on Tracy Island, and Scott was keen to display them to inspire a new generation of space enthusiasts. The museum’s offer had been excellent, to display the items alongside interactive exhibits in a large space. Now they’d invited Scott to check he was happy with it before it opened.

Scott had no particular idea why Virgil had wanted to come along too, especially since it would have usually been Alan and John with the particular space interest. Virgil usually left these things to Scott but he seemed interested and Scott wasn’t about to quiz his adult brother on his reasons.

Sophie showed them the exhibit and both brothers were really pleased. Scott said as much to Sophie, who replied that was what the museum did best, bringing objects to life and explaining their current and historic relevance whilst displaying the originals.

Scott noticed that although Sophie was polite, she clearly wasn't a space enthusiast or had a particular interest in speed. He wondered why she’d been allocated this job in particular, since clearly somebody with more energy for the topic had set up the exhibition. 

He thought about saying that to Virgil, but then he knew what Virgil would say, you think she’s unenthusiastic because she’s not flirting with you.

The in-his-head Virgil was probably right.

After about an hour Scott and Virgil both agreed that they'd seen everything they needed. “Thank you so much for giving up your time this evening Sophie. Virgil and I have seen all we need to see. The exhibition is fantastic and I hope Alan can join you for opening day next week.”

 “Oh” Sophie looked confused

TBC

[gotstabbedbyapen]

Too Long; Didn't Read: I'm working on a trilogy fanfiction for Apollo and Hyacinthus called "Singing For A Flower" because I have way too much time :)

Too Short; Need More: For those who don't know (actually, I don't think anyone knows), I've been writing fanfics for a long time now. I've written for many fandoms, couples, and characters, but never in a million years I'd thought I would dedicate a portion of my life to writing a whole ass trilogy fic for an OTP I only started to ship in the summer of 2022.

How did I get into this?

Well, for starters, I've taken a ride to Greek mythology since June 2022. And as you may know (you must know if you've been sticking around long this blog enough), the myth of Apollo and Hyacinthus is my top favorite. And you probably know that I have lots of thoughts for them. Like, a lot. I'm storing too many Apollo/Hyacinthus ideas inside like an inflated balloon and if I don't dump them out soon, I will explode into a million pieces.

So in that case, I decided to write a fanfiction to pour all my OTP heacanons into it.

No, really. I won't even call it a retelling because it is not qualified to be one. Let's just say it's a high-effort fanfiction written by a foreigner who was raised and lived in a very different culture and always be more to learn.

Introducing:

Singing For A Flower

At first, I only planned it out as a meet-cute oneshot. But the short and sweet story soon branched out and couldn't be contained under 10K words anymore.

I want to write Hyacinthus and Apollo flirting but also having anxiety about their relationship.

I want to include Polyboea and give her a character arc about joining the virgin huntressess.

I want to explore Clio and the Muses' relationship with Hyacinthus, their mortal son and nephew.

I want to flesh out the other occurring characters who are in or related to the myth.

Endless scenarios and questions keep coming and they don't stop coming, and now I'm left with bits of prompts to string into one coherent plotline. There will be a lot for me to rewrite, add in, cut out, and more before I finish the first draft.

The "Singing For A Flower" trilogy will be written in Vietnamese and then translated into English (the VN version will be posted on a different platform, but you don't need to care about it). I can write the whole thing in English in the first place of course, but as with the second language, I can't convey all my ideas as fluently as in Vietnamese. When the English version is done, I will publish it on Archive Of Our Own and maybe other novel platforms.

It will take time to do everything all by myself. You'll have to wait a long time - we're not counting weeks or months, but years. But not to worry, because along the way, I will publish some (translated) WIP snippets to keep myself motivated and keep you guys up-to-date. So, we cool?

If you're interested in my planned Apollo/Hyacinthus trilogy and wish to see the final product, I admire your dedication - thank you a lot! And if you can't stick around to the end - it's okay! I'm glad we can be companions for a while.

Let's hope all of the gods above, my sheer determination, and an unholy amount of coffee will help me make it to the end of this project and not crash and burn before that!

[grahamfolgersdeliciousnotebooks]

20 questions for fic writers

[EDIT: sorry if you got a notification that you were tagged in this post even though I didn't tag you. Tumblr's being weird about this one.]

Tagged by @cirrus-grey - thank you! (Also, sorry this took me like three months to do, executive dysfunction is a hell of a thing)

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

33

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count?

197,768

3. What fandoms do you write for?

The only fandom I've written for as an adult has been the Magnus Archives (and I actually have a lot of thoughts on why tma was sort of a perfect storm for getting me back into creating and consuming fanfic, but I'll spare you for now). There are a couple other fandoms I wrote for when I was in middle school back in the fanfic(.)net days, but some things are better left in the past.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Say You Love Me (Learn to Lie)

I'll take "A Flagrant Misuse of Beholding Powers" for 200

stay with me, hold my hand

Come, my dear, and be a part of my home

please, hurry, leave me, I can't breathe (please don't say you love me)

5. Do you respond to comments?

Sometimes. I really want to get more consistent about it, but my executive dysfunction makes it hard. My big problem now is that it feels weird to go back and respond to comments I got months ago, but it also feels rude to respond to more recent comments without ever responding to those older ones, so I'm feeling kind of stuck. One day, though, my ADHD will be properly medicated and I will get back to responding to every comment I get.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Angst is one of those things that I love to read but don't always think to write, so pretty much all of my fics have happy endings atm. The only ones that can really be said to have angsty endings are the pre-Unknowing and safehouse fics where the knowledge of what will happen next in canon makes any ending automatically bittersweet. With that in mind, let's go with Hold My Hand When My Courage Fails, because I DO think a pre-Unknowing kiss makes season 4 angstier.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Like I said, I write almost entirely happy endings, so it's hard to narrow this one down. I'm gonna go with Say You Love Me (Learn to Lie) because I threw in the completely unnecessary (but still necessary to me) detail that Sasha survives the Prentiss incident at the end of that one.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No! I've been very lucky on that front.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I haven't, though I might someday. As an ace person (somewhere in the sex-nuetral/sex-averse realm) I don't feel super confident in my ability to write good smut. It's really intimidating, but I'd love to try some day.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Not really? The only thing I've written that could be crossover is my fic where Jonathan Sims competes on Jeopardy!, but I'm not really sure that counts.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I know of.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

My AO3 history should make it clear I'm pretty fond of Jonmartin, but I'm also a big Griddlehark (tlt) fan.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I've started a tma fic that's essentially a Marple AU (with Gertrude as the Miss Marple surrogate) that plays with the idea of sleuth-as-Beholding-avatar, but it's very tricky to blend all the plot threads I want to include together into one cohesive mystery, so I don't know if it will ever get finished.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I'll be honest, I don't think I'm a very good judge of my own writing, especially my strengths. It's not that I think I'm a bad writer necessarily, but I really struggle to pinpoint any one thing that I do well - especially because for every aspect of my writing I like, I can point to five writers in the same fandom who do that much better. Right now I'm just glad I'm getting stuff written at all.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I worry that my characterizations tend to be pretty thin. I also struggle in juggling more than a few characters at a time, and sometimes I will omit characters who logically should be in a fic just because I can't think of anything for them to do.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I don't have anything against it. I could see people running into problems if they write dialogue in a language they themselves don't speak (relying on Google translate, for instance) but in general I don't see anything wrong with it.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

The Uglies series by Scott Westerfield, back when I was in middle school.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Don't make me choose!

I might have to go with Say You Love Me (Learn to Lie) because that was the most fun I've ever had writing and publishing a fic - the response to that one was really great, and since that was one of the only times I actually managed a consistent release schedule, it felt really nice having that to look forward to every Tuesday.

But SYLM(LTL) was my answer for like half of these questions, so I'll also throw out Cut My Hair and Changed My Face (I'm Learning How to Forget That Place). I did a pretty terrible job of tagging that one and it didn't get a lot of hits, but it's one of my favorites. I love s4 Jmart angst, I love Jon & Daisy's s4 friendship, and I frankly can't believe it took me so long to write a fic combining the two.

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

WIP Wednesday

I'm still trundling along over here... my biggest project right now is the Hermit embroidery. Which I have been avoiding by doing all the other, smaller pieces I've posted lately, because I put WAY too many annoying tiny sections in this pattern 😭

Luckily last night I finally finished those two loopy blue sections , which I started like a month ago. Honestly I regret my shading/color selection here a bit in several ways, but it's too much to redo (and I'd rather die probably) so I will just stick it out. I don't think it will look BAD but not perfect. Oh well. Once the rest of the colors and thread are in it will look better, though it'll probably be another 30-40 hours of stitching even though what's left will hopefully be a lot faster.

I don't think I've posted any WIPs of this yet in part because I tried a different spray adhesive to attach the stabilizer to the back, and it left these gross looking dark spots on the front of the fabric. They won't be visible when it's done or anything but it annoys me greatly to look at them as I stitch. I'm so sorry ProStick Textile Spray Adhesive I will never forsake you again in favor of another 😭

Second thing I'm working on/avoided all my real work to hyperfixate on today, is I wanted to join in that flower-face trend... i thought since the original inspo image had the kintsugi-esque look plus cracked off parts it'd work really well translated to my stained glass images hahaha. I vectorize'd my Lavellan's whole face from a screenshot (so I can have an intact stained glass portrait of her too), and my intent once I've colored/textured/etc it to look like glass, go in and draw on top to look like it was broken/fell down/has plants growing through it now. I do very much suspect my artistic vision FAR exceeds my actual artistic talent here but yknow whatever, i'll see how far i get.

(Jacinth's screenshot was taken by the wonderful @i-a-w-v ♥︎)

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

Every Little Thing She Does is Magic, Chapter 7

Pairing: Platonic Steven Grant x Reader (for now 😏)

Rating: T

Word count: ~2k

Story Summary: Steven meets a beautiful woman in the Egyptian exhibit at the British Museum...

...Too bad she's his new boss.

Tags/Warnings: Canon Divergent since Steven still works for the British Museum post-canon, No Jake Lockley, developing friendship

A/N: Sorry that it's been a minute, folks! Non-fandom life is crazy right now and I also took a hard left into the Zorro (as in the 1950s Disney show) fandom for a hot minute before deciding that I need to finish at least one of my WIPs (most likely this one) before getting too deep into the fic I'm writing for Diego.

(Funny enough, I did the same thing to Matt Murdock with Steven. 😂)

Either way, updates should come a bit faster again than they had been!

Tag List: @runny-mascara

Being able to walk to work is so much more convenient than having to rely on the bus, Steven thought as he made himself a cup of tea in the staff kitchen. 

The bus route that ran nearest to his old flat had usually put him getting to work with just barely enough time to put his things away before he needed to get to work, but now that he had moved into his new flat closer to the museum he was able to come in, put his things away, and make himself a cup of tea before starting his day. That reminds me…

He picked up his cup and headed upstairs to Dr. Y/L/N’s office, smiling when he saw Helen sitting at her desk. “Good morning, Helen.”

Helen looked over at him with a smile. “Morning, Steven. I'm afraid Dr. Y/L/N isn't in quite yet.”

Steven shook his head. “Actually, I came up to speak with you.”

Helen nodded. “Oh. Well in that case, what can I do for you?”

“I need to update my home address, please.”

“Okay, that's no problem.” Helen put her glasses on and turned towards her computer. “You could've just emailed me, you know. There's no actual paperwork involved.”

Steven grinned. “Ah, but then I wouldn't have gotten to see your smiling face, now would I?”

Helen giggled like a schoolgirl and waved a hand at him. “Oh Steven, you charmer. You know how to make an old girl blush.”

She pulled up his employee information record. “Okay, what's your new address?”

Steven recited his new address as Helen typed the information in. “Mobile number and everything else is still the same.”

Helen nodded. “Alright, then, you're all set.”

“Brilliant. Thanks.” Steven turned as Dr. Y/L/N walked up. “Good morning, Dr. Y/L/N.”

“Morning Steven,” Dr. Y/L/N replied with a smile. “Morning, Helen.”

Helen smiled back at her. “Good morning, ma'am.”

Dr. Y/L/N stopped by Helen's desk. “Steven, I'm glad you're here. I wanted to chat with you about a few things… if you have time right now, that is.”

Steven nodded. “Yes, ma'am, I have time.”

“Wonderful. Let's go to my office.”

Steven followed Dr. Y/L/N into her office, pausing as she closed the door behind them. “How are you this morning?”

Dr. Y/L/N smiled. “I'm well, thank you. How are you? Have a good weekend?”

Steven nodded. “Yes, ma'am. Busy, but good. I spent the weekend getting settled into my new flat.”

Dr. Y/L/N’s eyebrows raised slightly in surprise. “Oh, I didn't remember you mentioning that you were moving.”

Steven nodded again. “My lease was up on my old flat and I wanted somewhere a bit bigger and closer to work. I'm actually not far from you, just up the street a bit.”

Another smile spread across Dr. Y/L/N’s face. “Oh, really? Well then, welcome to the neighborhood. Maybe we'll see each other around.”

“Thank you.” Steven bit his lip. “Er, actually, if you're not working late, maybe we can walk home together since we're going in the same direction.”

Dr. Y/L/N nodded. “Yeah, I'd like that. I don't have anything pressing on my schedule this afternoon, so I should be able to leave on time.”

Steven grinned. “Brilliant! So I'll meet you out front at 5?”

Dr. Y/L/N nodded again. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

Steven took a sip of his tea. “So what did you need to see me about?”

“Few things, actually.” Dr. Y/L/N gestured to the chair in front of her desk.  “Have a seat.”

Steven sat and waited as Dr. Y/L/N walked around her desk and set her travel thermos of coffee down.

Dr. Y/L/N also sat. “Okay, first I wanted to thank you again for offering to help out in the gift shop last week until I could get the schedule rearranged in order to fill Donna's shifts. You really kept them -- and by proxy, me -- out of a bind.”

Steven shrugged. “It was the least I could do, ma'am. To be honest, I felt a bit responsible for causing the situation.”

Dr. Y/L/N shook her head. “The only person responsible for causing the situation is the person who is no longer employed here, but either way, I really appreciate it.”

She took a sip of her coffee. “The second thing is that we've had several new members join the board of trustees in the past couple of months, so I'd like for you to give the board a tour during the next meeting.”

Steven nodded. “Absolutely, ma'am. When is it?”

“Next Tuesday at 10 AM.”

“No problem. I'll put it on my schedule.”

Dr. Y/L/N paused to take another sip of her coffee. “And actually that brings me to the other thing I wanted to talk to you about. It's time for your 6-month evaluation.”

Steven nodded. All new hires and employees promoted into a higher position were given a performance review after their first 6 months before being shifted into annual reviews. “Wow, has it been 6 months already?”

“I know, I was surprised too.” Dr. Y/L/N gave him a soft smile. “I’m sure you already know what I'm going to say, which is that you're doing an absolutely wonderful job as our Visitor Engagement Specialist. We've gotten absolutely zero complaints about the tours since you took over the position -- in fact, our guided tour numbers have skyrocketed and museum memberships are the highest they've been in decades. And not only that, but you've been an excellent leader amongst the rest of the programming staff. I can tell that they really respect and admire you.”

Steven huffed out a breath of relief. He had figured that he would be getting a favorable performance review, but it was still nice to have it confirmed. “That's good to hear, ma'am.”

Dr. Y/L/N’s phone chimed with an alert. “Oh, sorry. Let me put that on silent.”

She pulled her phone out of her pocket, smiling brightly as she looked at the screen. She then tapped at it a few times before silencing it and putting it back in her pocket. “Sorry about that,” she said again. “My best friend is coming into town in a couple of weeks and she just sent me her flight information.”

“Oh that's lovely,” Steven replied. “Is she also an archeologist?”

Dr. Y/L/N shook her head. “No, she's a novelist. Amy Callahan?”

Steven tilted his head as he thought. “The name sounds familiar, but I don't know if I've ever actually read anything by her. I’m afraid I don't read much fiction.”

“It’s fine, I honestly wouldn't have expected you to have read anything Amy’s written.” Dr. Y/L/N shrugged, a small grin on her face. “She’s a spicy romance writer, so you're not exactly her target audience.”

Steven chuckled. “Well either way, I'm happy the two of you will be able to visit. How long will she be in town for?”

“Four days. Amy’s UK publisher is bringing her here on a book tour for her latest novel, but she talked them into flying her in a few days early so she and I can spend the weekend together. She'll be arriving next Friday evening and leaving for Manchester on Tuesday morning after her book launch Monday night.”

Steven took a sip of his tea. “How long has it been since you've seen each other?”

“Since right before I moved here. We FaceTime a few times a week, but it's not the same as getting to hang out in person.”

Steven nodded. “That's understandable.”

Dr. Y/L/N smiled and shook her head. “Anyway, that was all I had for you, so if you'll sign your review for me I'll make a copy for you then let you get back to your day.”

She slid the paperwork over to him and handed him a pen.

Steven quickly signed his performance review and handed it back to Dr. Y/L/N. “Here you are, ma'am.”

“Excellent. Thank you.” Dr. Y/L/N signed it as well, then stood and walked over to the printer to make a copy.

She handed Steven’s copy to him. “So I'll see you this afternoon then?”

Steven nodded as he stood. “See you then.”

He left her office, giving Helen a friendly wave as he passed her on his way to the elevator.

Once he had gotten back downstairs to his own office, he sat down at his desk and added the tour for the board of trustees to his calendar before beginning to read through his evaluation.

Employee Name: Steven Grant

Employee Personnel Number: P0013547

Employee Position: Visitor Engagement Specialist 

Date of Review: 19-August-2024

Reason for Review: 6-Month New Position Evaluation 

Steven skipped through the part that listed the museum’s mission statement and expectations of his position and instead focused on Dr. Y/L/N’s review of his job performance.

Steven has been extremely successful in his first six months as Visitor Engagement Specialist, Dr. Y/L/N had written. He has gone above and beyond in his role and has been instrumental in improving museum services and fulfilling the museum's mission statement. 

Steven is willing to assist other departments whenever needed to the best of his ability and without complaint. He is kind and respectful towards his colleagues and handles conflict with grace and professionalism.

As the Visitor Engagement Specialist, Steven has created tours that are insightful, educational, captivating, and  that highlight the museum's diverse and ever-changing collection without feeling rushed or overwhelming. He is highly praised as a tour guide by museum visitors and has done a remarkable job of training the Programming staff to present tours at the same level of quality. 

(See attached documentation.)

Steven flipped through the pages of notes and comments, smiling at the copies of thank-you cards and drawings he had received from school groups after their visits and the comment & suggestion cards the museum had collected from other visitors.

He glanced over at the large cork board on the far left wall of his office, which housed even more drawings and thank-you notes and cards from teachers and students. They were Steven's favorite groups to give tours to and he always loved knowing that the children had been excited and intrigued by their visit.

He finished reading over his performance review then tucked it away into a file folder in his desk drawer before sitting back with a smile.

Feels good to be appreciated, doesn't it? Marc said.

Steven’s smile widened into a grin as he caught Marc's reflection on his computer screen.

He picked up his work phone so if anyone passed by his office they wouldn't see him technically talking to himself. “Yeah, it does.”

Nice move offering to walk Dr. Y/L/N home, by the way. Gonna see if she wants to stop for coffee on the way?

Steven shook his head. “I probably shouldn't. Don't want her to think I'm only asking her because she gave me a good performance review.”

Marc raised an eyebrow. Do you honestly believe she would think that? The two of you have coffee and tea together all the time. 

“Yeah but that's here at work, that's… that's completely different.”

*Is* it though?

Steven bit his lip as he thought. Having tea with Dr. Y/L/N at a coffee shop really wasn't all that different from having tea with her in the staff kitchen at work -- as long as he maintained the same level of professionalism. “Yeah, I suppose you're right.”

So you're at least going to ask her, right?

Steven nodded. “Yeah, I think I might.”

He hung up the phone then finished his tea before setting his cup back down on his desk, energized for the day.

[emeraldhazeart]

Twenty Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you so much for the tag @hikamaus 💚 This looks really fun.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

At this moment, I have 32 works on Ao3 (most of them oneshots)

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

At the time of posting this, it's 146,576, but I'm very close to posting the next chapter of Solace

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mostly Undertale right now, but I also occasionally write for Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons and Sonic the Hedgehog

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1. Leaving a Mark

2. Robin's Nest

3. Solace

4. In Your Corner

5. Riding Therapy

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I love responding to comments! Even if it's just an emoji, I try to say thank you in reply, so they know I appreciate them taking the time to leave a comment.

I know there are some comments that I haven't gotten round to responding to, and those haunt me. Please know that it's either because I don't have the spoons at this moment, or because it's been so long that I'm shy about replying. But I genuinely do appreciate each and every comment I receive. 💚

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Probably No Man's Land (which also happened to be my first Undertale fic)

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I've got to say Photograph for that one. It still brings tears to my eyes rereading it, but they're happy tears.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No one has said anything directly to me, but I did stumble upon a comment someone left elsewhere saying that one of my fics wasn't their thing because they "[didn't] like how the story is being told".

That really hurt at the time, especially as there was no other context as to why they felt that way. But my friends gave me encouragement and support.

Please be aware that anything you say online can eventually find it's way to the author, so please be kind.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I don't, sorry.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Not really. I've written crossovers featuring characters from separate games in the same franchise before, but nothing that spans entirely different franchises

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I would be delighted if anyone enjoyed my work enough to want to translate it

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, but I would love to 💚

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

Do Canon Character x Reader stories count? No?

Hmm... I can't think of any that would be my OTP. I generally prefer familial/platonic relationships, tbh

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

None of my WIPs are abandoned. But probably most of the original stories I've started and then never finished over the years. It's just much harder for me to maintain motivation when I don't have anyone reading my work and cheering me on.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I've always loved painting a scene or an emotion with words.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Oof, so many 😅 one thing I struggle with is wanting to post what I've written straight away. Sometimes that can work, like freshly baked bread. But most of the time it's like a plain cake: it needs time to cool, and then be assembled/decorated/finished in order to get the best experience from it.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I'd only do it if I was totally confident that I'd gotten it right. A common or short phrase would be my limit otherwise. If I really wanted to write dialogue in another language, I'd ask someone fluent in the language to help me with the translation and proof read my work.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I think it was actually Legend of Zelda. I was about 12, and my brother, his friend and I made ourselves LoZ Ocarina of Time OCs. We started writing a fic of them, but never got very far.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Probably Photograph. I'm a sucker for a moving reunion scene, and that fic genuinely brought tears to my eyes as I was writing it.

No pressure tags (I'm going to try to avoid tagging anyone that @/hikamaus already tagged 😅) : @sneakyfox55 @hannah-heartstrings @lizzie-tempest @robanilla @thebeckster and anyone else that would like to have a go 💚

[wings-of-ink]

If you're still looking for thoughts on Patreon: I haven't subscribed to many Patreons before, but so far it's been for extras + early access. Unfortunately I don't have enough money to subscribe to everyone I want to or for long periods of time, so I normally dip in for 1 or 2 months when something is released, cancel my subscription, and resubscribe at a later date.

It seems like people are willing to pay more for RO content (like side stories & RO POVs), nsfw content, + early access. So those might be ideal to place at higher tiers? I've also seen some creators do tiered early access. Like the highest tier will get the demo update 1 month early, then the next tier 3 weeks early, etc. with the lowest 1 week before it's released to the public. That might make the higher tiers worth it over the lower tiers, instead of giving them all the same amount of early access.

One concern is that some creators get burnout from having to create all the extra content for Patreon. I think a lot of people underestimate how much time & effort it takes and it may not be worth the payoff (depending on how successful the patreon is). I'd also be concerned that with Patreon extra content + multiple new WIPs there won't be much time left for the main game and it's likely progress will slow down. I've seen this happen many times before, even without Patreon it seems like most creators who have multiple WIPs don't end up finishing any of them.

Absolutely, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me, I appreciate that a lot.

The feedback I've had has given me some ideas on how to streamline what I would do. When I've done Patreon for others, I've rotated support between the projects that resonate with me the most as well. There's so many to pick from, I can't blame anyone for popping in once every so often instead of staying subbed. If you have the ability to afford it, more power to you, but most of us just don't.

Those key benefits are really what I'm wanting to focus on. I do like the idea of a tiered early-access too especially for peeps who just want that.

Patreon burnout is something I want to work hard to avoid; I've seen other creators struggle and stop enjoying their arts too. I want to do this in a way that I can produce things for you to enjoy in a way that is still enjoyable for me too. This is my passion and I don't want to turn it into "work."

I have the benefit of probably being less busy than most others who do this, at least as far as I can tell. I'm married with no children and no plans for any either. I'm older, out of college and settled in the drudges of a career. I've been at my job long enough I could do it in my sleep and it doesn't cause me a ton of stress at this point. When I work on the IF or on Tumblr, it's because I want to and it drives me - it's a form of entertainment for me as well. I'd rather do this than watch TV or scroll mindlessly. Even before I started the IF, I'd get comfy and just write something all evening, lol.

I do also have a tendency to take too much on because I get excited, so I'm using the info I've gathered to help me roll things back and keep myself realistic. So, I've determined that anything I do will be reserved to just a few tiers. We can always grow bigger later. I still do plan to rotate up to 3 projects. The second is to keep me from burnout on GC, and the 3rd is simply an outlet for me that I think others will find entertaining as well.

I have some solid time available coming up in October for me to hammer things out more definitely, so I'll be posting more around then about it. ^_^

Thanks again, my dear!

[justagalwhowrites]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you for the tag, @sawymredfox!!!

1. how many works do you have on AO3?

21

2. what’s your total AO3 word count?

1,032,269. When you throw in the Tumblr only stuff I think I'm closer to 1.2 million overall.

3. what fandoms do you write for?

Pedro Pascal fandom, mostly TLOU! But I'd love to spend some time with Poe Dameron, my beloved, so I might dive into Star Wars beyond Mando at some point :)

4. top five fics by kudos 

I'm really not sure on Tumblr? Individual chapters don't get as much attention and I don't write many one shots, my highest single post on Tumblr is probably a one shot but I have NO CLUE which one!

On AO3:

Lavender

Beskar Doll

Yearling

New in Town

Lavender No Outbreak AU

5. do you respond to comments?

I used to be so much better about doing this and I've just not been keeping up with it lately. I want to get back to it! I LOVE getting comments, they make me so happy! Part of my issue is I read them immediately even if I don't have time to respond and I'm like "I'll respond when I post the next chapter" and then I post the next chapter super late at night and I'm so tired and I'm just like "I'll reply later" and then I never do.

ANYWAY! I want to get back to replying to comments because I love them. I used to reply to every one. Less now.

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Probably Proof of Life, an angsty as hell QZ!Joel era one shot. I traffic in angst but I like my happy endings, especially for long fics :)

7. what’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Lavender I think. After all that angst, they got the life they wanted and saved the world. Not too shabby.

8. do you get hate on fics?

I haven't really! I've had a few people disagree with directions I took characters or plot lines and a few people send asks that didn't feel so nice but I'm not sure they were intended to not be nice. I try to not take those things personally. But everyone as been exceedingly kind, probably kinder than I deserve!

9. do you write smut?

I do but I feel like it's my weakest area. If you're looking primarily for smut and reading my stuff, you're probably in the wrong place, I'm sorry! I wish I was better at it! I feel like I'm getting better at it. But alas!

10. craziest crossover?

I haven't written any and I haven't really read any, either. Closest thing I came to a crossover I think is tying the prequel trilogy and the original trilogy of Star Wars into Doll's history in Beskar Doll.

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

None so far!

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

Not shared anywhere but I do have commenters in other languages tell me they've put my fic into Google Translate to read it! I think that's immensely cool .

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

I haven't but I'd be open to it! 

14. all time favorite ship?

Of characters that actually exist in canon? Probably Han Solo and Leia Organa. I LOVE them. Love love love love LOVE them. The "I love you" "I know" in Empire followed by the reversal in Jedi? TO DIE FOR.

15. what’s a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

As far as fics go? None. I have the stories so thoroughly planned there I'm compelled to finish them, I can't help it. I wasn't always this thorough of a planner, though, and I have so many books that I've started and written like 40k words of that I'll probably never finish. That breaks my heart a little. All these characters who won't get to live their whole lives because I can't get their stories across the finish line. But I'm not sure I have enough hours left in the rest of my life to tell every story I've got inside me so it'll have to be what it will be!

16. what are your writing strengths?

Dialogue.

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

Everything else lol especially smut. I feel like my descriptions are often lacking, too.

18. thoughts on dialogue in another language?

Yes please! As long as the author can do it right (either because they know the language enough or get help from someone who does - the translate tools just aren't great at grammar and it takes me out if it's a language I know.)

19. first fandom you wrote in?

The Pedro fandom! Specifically, the Mandalorian. Beskar Doll, my first baby <3

20. favorite fic you’ve written?

Probably Lavender? Maybe Yearling. It's so hard to say! I'm probably the most attached to Doc and Joel, though.

NP tags: @dancingtotuyo @beardedjoel @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin @netherfeildren and anyone else who wants to play!

[ladynamida]

Hi all!

Happy @verladyweek Day 4! I've been working a story featuring two of the prompts for Day 4, Confession and "Except for your eyes, no blade can control me, no sharpened knife."

First I'd like to say another big thank you for the inspiration - the brain worms are so wriggly about this.

Second, this week has been so fun I don't want to ruin the vibes, so no one has to reblog this post.

Third, this story has become something larger and more personal to me than I originally intended. Some might say, extremely self-indulgent writing-as-therapy. I'm just saying "oops". It deals with some sensitive topics that I'm not sure I'll be confident in sharing widely. Not until I can do them justice at least. Either way, it won't be finished this week. 😔

But!

I'd still like to contribute by sharing a wip snippet or two! The snippet under the cut gives a flavour for the rest of the story. (I promise there are more upbeat moments amongst the angst I could share, but didnt want to mislead on the overall vibe). Let me know in the tags/asks/DMs.

Trigger warnings: depression, mental health crisis. If you're worried about the content but want to find out more, I'd be happy to respond via DM. Please take care of yourselves first and foremost 💙

Dante's voice was hoarse as he whispered, “I don’t know what to do.”

Okay, this did sound like it was shaping up to be some kind of crisis, and Lady did pride herself on her ability to salvage the best possible outcome from bad circumstances. Being thrust into world-threatening situations on a semi-regular basis and life-threatening situations practically every week did wonders to sharpen your disaster management skills. “Whatever it is, we’ll take care of it, that’s what we always do, right?” She gulped the rest of her coffee in one long draw, and dropped the cup from chest height into the waste paper basket. She retook her seat. “So what’s going on?”

“Nothing, and that’s the problem. Have you seen much of Vergil recently?”

She shakes her head, thinking. He had been missing in action recently, though she hadn’t really thought too much about it. He was weirdly quiet at the best of times, unless he was arguing with Dante or Nero, even then he was just as likely to storm out as he was to fight back. She couldn’t remember the last time he’d raised his voice, even when fighting. They’d had a few brief conversations after he and Dante returned from hell; about coffee, about the weather, about nothing significant. Just normal, everyday stuff. She didn’t really care for boundaries, but she didn’t particularly want to push his and cause the group any problems, so when he ignored her she ignored him right back. The implications of what Dante might be suggesting started to sink in. “Can’t say that I have. You think he’s up to something?”

A single, dry laugh. “Nah.”

She trusted his judgement, since no one knew Vergil better, and Dante had agreed to keep an eye on him. “Then what’s the problem?”

“He never does anything.”

She snorts, trying to keep the tone light despite her growing sense of dread. “Like drinking and going to strip-joints? Maybe he just has a better taste in hobbies than you.”

“No hobbies. You don’t get it. He doesn’t do anything, doesn’t go anywhere. He hasn’t left the shop in three weeks.”

She lowers her voice, realising he must be upstairs while they’re talking about him and not wanting to provoke any awkwardness should he hear. “Maybe he’s just doing his thing, reading or something. He’s always quiet.”

“Lady, he hasn’t left his room in nearly a week… not even to use the bathroom.”

Now, that shocked her. “So what, he’s just rotting in his own filth? That’s not like him.”

~ to be continued ~

“Nah, nothing like that. He’s not eating or drinking either, so there’s no mess. I’ve been in there, he’s just sat there on the floor like some kind of fucking zombie.”

Lady felt her face pale. She stayed quiet and still for a moment, letting the weight of Dante’s comment settle between them, as she racked her brains to try and work out how she could help them.

“Do you think he’s still sick?... Like V was?”

He sniffed, and bowed his head, his hair hiding his face. “Nah, I dunno, he looks normal. Can’t see any marks or anything.”

“Did something happen the last time he was down here?”

She could almost smell the guilt. “I don’t even know when that was. I don’t think so.”

“Okay.” She absentmindedly kicked her feet, slowly tapping her heel against the side of the desk. “And you’ve tried talking to him?” Silence, and a nod. “Well, maybe I’ll head up there and give it a try?” She stood and pulled her shorts down, making herself more presentable. She didn’t know why, but she felt slightly nervous. Dante she knew well, she had a pretty good handle on his moods and how he might react to her poking and prodding. Vergil… well, Vergil was a different animal.

[the-blind-assassin-12]

20 Questions for Writers

I was tagged by the lovely @maggiemayhemnj - thank you!!

1. how many works do you have on AO3?

Ten. I was cross-posting everything for a minute there, but I lost steam and now I only post here - except for Aphelion, which I am co-writing with @something-tofightfor. That still gets posted in both places.

2. what's your total AO3 word count?

68,449 - not counting Aphelion. My tumblr word count is... a lot higher.

3. what fandoms do you write for?

Right now just Pedro Pascal characters.

4. top five fics by kudos?

Gonna go by notes on tumblr instead because that's where most of my stuff is:

Bes'laar Din Djarin x F!Reader (based on artwork by @stealyourblorbos!)

Survivor Blues Joel Miller x F!Reader

Forever Din Djarin x F!Reader

The Cold Offends Me Oberyn Martell x F!Reader (The Viper & The Wild Thing universe)

Point of No Return Ezra x OFC Clara

5. do you respond to comments?

I try to respond to all comments because I appreciate them SO MUCH MORE than I can accurately convey. I love hearing from people about what they liked or what shocked them or what made them feel things, and I really love the chance to sort of have a micro mini chat about it in the comments. That being said, sometimes I completely check out and miss a whole batch or a whole fic worth of comments goes unresponded to for far too long. And I always feel bad when that happens, which sometimes results in me responding to things WAY after the comments were left, to the point where it wouldn't surprise me if the person has already forgotten the fic/what they wrote... but I haven't forgotten how much it meant to me that they read and commented on my work. So even if it's 6 months to an eternity late, I intend to respond to them all.

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

It Pours From Your Eyes Joel x Tess

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I feel like most of them have happy endings, but we'll go with A Little Christmas Magic - Frankie x F!Reader as perhaps the fluffiest happy ending.

8. do you get hate on fics?

I have gotten non-fic specific hate directed at my writing before, but that was a few years ago and it hasn't happened since. Which is cool because the fewer people wasting their time and energy on being unnecessarily mean about things - let alone about stories about silly little fictional guys - the better.

9. do you write smut?

I do, but I do not consider it one of my strong suits, and I typically only include it if it fits with the overall story though a few times I have written smut just to be filthy as a challenge... and as a treat.

10. craziest crossover?

I've been slowly spinning a True Detective x Tim Rockford crossover like a rotisserie chicken for months but I've only managed to jot down a few unconnected snippets thus far. And a title. It's gonna be called (maybe, if I ever actually write it) Flat Circle, Twisted Game.

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

No, but if I did I would be absolutely PISSED. And I can't say I'd be nice about it.

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope, but that would be cool AF.

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes! I am currently co-writing Aphelion with @something-tofightfor and it is so much FUN.

14. all time favorite ship?

In all honesty it's probably Leslie Knope and Ben Wyatt. I was straight up ready to stop watching Parks and Rec if they didn't end up together.

15. what's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

lol what kind of passive aggressive, self-doubt feeding question is this? I'd like to finish them all and I try like hell to believe that I will.

16. what are your writing strengths?

I think it's probably describing natural settings? But maybe dialogue. Idk.

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

Smut. Also keeping the momentum to finish things in a timely fashion, but mostly smut.

18. thoughts on dialogue in another language?

I try to only use it when it makes sense or when it benefits the story and not just as like... a novelty or an afterthought.

19. first fandom you wrote in?

Teeeeeeeeeeechnically? Like first one I ever made content for? I guess that would be the Twilight series. But I will not be sharing where to find that here. And if you find out where it is, you take that knowledge to the grave with you, you hear me? DO YOU HEAR ME, FRIENDS?

20. favorite fic you've written?

Even though it's nowhere near done, I love and am so very proud of Survivor Blues. But then again, even though it's a few years old now and I feel like my writing has grown since finishing it, Point of No Return will always have a very big piece of my heart.

Tagging: anyone who sees this and wants to play! Please tag me so I can see your answers!!

[auroraknux]

If it is okay to ask a second time: 🤲, 🎉 and 🧠 for the fanfic game? (if not pls just ignore this ask ;) )

Oh that's totally fine! (Barely anyone is sending anything anyway.)

--

🎉 What leads you to consider a fic a success?

If it gets a decent amount of attention, I guess. Lots of views, comments, and/or bookmarks. (Warmth and Safety once got recommended twice in the same Twitter thread, so I'd definitely consider that a success lol.)

--

🧠 Pick a character, and I'll tell you my favorite headcanon for them.

You didn't give me a character, so I'll just pick the Bros lol. I love the really common idea that Mario protected Luigi from bullies growing up. (The movie even seems to support this!)

--

🤲 Would you please share a snippet of a wip?

Sure! I considered posting something from the eel scene rewrite (which I can still do if someone asks!). But instead, here's a snippet from the post-movie fic where Luigi and Peach bond over cake and trauma.

Please remember that this is part of an unfinished draft, and will get revisions when/if it's finished.

(For a bit of context: Peach has baked before, but it's been a long time since then, and she's very rusty.)

--

The timer dinged, shaking her out of her thoughts. She nearly forgot to use potholders when taking the cake out of the oven. Fortunately, she remembered before she could burn herself.

After the cake had a chance to cool, she tried a bite of it. It was crumbly, and fell apart at her touch. She frowned. What had she done wrong?

"Hey."

She whipped around, karate hands at the ready.

Luigi put his hands up. "Sorry, sorry! Didn't mean to startle you."

Peach relaxed. "It's fine." She smiled. "What brings you here? Where's Mario?"

"Mario's at his therapy appointment, so I'm by myself today." Luigi scratched his hand. "I'm…bored, I guess."

Peach figured it was more than that. She had noticed how the two were almost never apart. Apparently it had been this way since they were young, but they had become especially clingy after their adventure. Luigi was probably feeling anxious by himself. She could use the company anyway.

"I tried baking a cake today. It came out a bit…bad."

Luigi inspected it. "Hmmm…yeah, it looks a bit dry."

"A bit" was quite the understatement.

He stroked his mustache. "You might've used too much flour, or too little butter and eggs."

"Oh, was that the problem?" Peach smiled, an idea coming to her. "I have enough ingredients left to try again. Maybe you could help me this time?"

Luigi's face lit up. "Sure!"

Peach did genuinely want his advice, but that wasn't the main reason for doing this. She knew Luigi needed a distraction right now, and this seemed like the best way to do it.

The two set to work on the cake (after scraping the remains of the other one into the garbage). Luigi showed her how to properly measure the ingredients, and gave her other advice every now and then. Before long, they had another cake in the oven.

"Thanks for the help," said Peach. "Where'd you learn all of this?"

"My Ma. I've helped her out in the kitchen lots of times. I've always paid close attention to what she does. I want to be able to cook for me and Mario when we someday get our own place."

Peach smiled. She thought it was sweet how the brothers intended to stay together, even as adults. While she'd been raised alongside other children, she'd never had any siblings of her own. She wondered what it was like to have a bond like Mario and Luigi's. To have someone that had been by your side since birth, who understood you like nobody else. She was almost jealous of what they had.

"Thanks for letting me hang out," said Luigi.

“Of course. You're welcome here any time.”

The timer dinged.

Luigi grabbed the pot holders. "I'll get it!"

He opened the oven. His cheery face suddenly changed to one of terror. He screamed and scrambled backwards, bumping into the counter.