#I say sort of drabble but the goal is to turn this into a novel length fic

[thehamletdiaries]

Hamlet/Horatio sort of drabble

Hamlet winced slightly as he sat up and the bright morning sunlight shone into his eyes. He moved slightly and winced; his left shoulder ached for some reason. He paused, considering waking Rosencrantz. What was the proper etiquette here? Should he let him sleep? Wake him and suggest breakfast? Wake him and do again what they had done the night before? He glanced around at the scattered litter of clothes strewn across Rosencrantz’s floor. A further moment's hesitation and he was up and getting dressed. 

He left the room discreetly; slipping out into the open courtyard. He was exhausted - he could only, he reckoned, have had about two or three hours sleep - but his mind was also racing.

He saw now what it could be like; why this was something men throughout history had pursued with such a degree of passion as to wage war on Troy or destroy dynastic lines or go against God himself. His body felt different. But there was something in his heart that knew now that this act, this intimate and powerful act, would be different with someone else; with someone whose face was beautiful to him. He thought of Ophelia for a moment, and found himself calm at the thought that one day he would be able to love her in that way. It was a safe thought, in so many ways. The kingdom would have children born of his true friend, and they would find joy in the act, he was sure.

But as he thought - and really he could not stop thinking about it - the idea of doing what he and Rosencrantz had done last night but with an object of beauty, he found his mind drifting to the boy with the beautiful blue eyes he had watched many times speaking to many men at the tavern. He saw Horatio in the library too - from what he’d seen of him, at least, Hamlet supposed all he did was read and write or find men to take home. It seemed to Hamlet like a beautiful life, that.

[keyofjetwolf]

Bonus Question Answers! (anime heat 3)

I asked a silly question! You gave me incredible answers. SO VERY MANY INCREDIBLE ANSWERS. If yours is listed below, you’ve earned an entry in a random draw to win a GIFTENING liveblog OF YOUR CHOICE

SURPRISE EVERYONE WHO ANSWERED THIS ONE GETS AN ENTRY (with extra entry if you pulled a specific line). This has been such a struggle for me for the past ... you know, million years or something, and each of you made me feel so good, thank you. ♥

—

Q: This is reaching back into the memory a bit, I know, but what's your favourite of my fanfic? (BONUS BONUS ENTRY if you pull a specific line!)

*  i cannot remember a specific line off the top of my head but i remember the post-S series dealing with usagi's trauma from pharaoh 90 (sound of silence?) was a gut punch and a half --  anewconstellation

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* "Blue shirt. Pearl buttons." I think this was the first time I read you writing the Outers, particularly Neptune and Uranus, and, uh, holy shit. Absolutely note-perfect dialogue and dynamic, particularly for that period of Sailor Moon S when Michiru and Haruka used intimacy of speech and gesture as an instrument of distancing and obfuscation (of their goals to the Inners, of their hearts to themselves and to each other, of the heli-pad to the staff at Mugen Academy, etc). It was so clear, and so clearly *them* that I could actually hear the intonations of their respective seiyuu. And then to deploy such spot-on character elements in combination with the stakes and the maturity the anime never reached for, my WORD, are you trying to kill me??? The pacing, the restraint! What an absolute gift. You're a wonder. (also your drabbles are fuckin peerless, and the BTL concept is such a clever series framework)  -- @rasiqra-revulva​

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*  This was so hard to pick from, but I finally settled on "Cause and Affect" - it's such a heartbreaking story, but the juxtaposition between the clinical lines of information from the computer to the memories Ami is dealing with to the horror of the visuals around her... it's so bright and sharp and PRESENT.  It keeps me in the story, that mix of tones and feelings.  And the final line?  Perfection.  "Number of regrets: none"  What an amazing take on Ami and how she processes information and how she deals with the situation she is in.  I still get chills up my back when I read the story.  -- @amberlilly​

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*  I love your Between the Lines series, it's how I found your Tumblr and liveblogs back in the day -- @amboato​

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*  Author Alert.  “So never, ever, going to live this down.” -- @crunchbuttsteak​

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*  "Of her word" quote "But for all that, it remained sand. Rei erased it with one swipe."  -- Dei

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*  Between The Lines. Adding further character/emotional depth to canon is YES PLZ. I really liked the whole idea of Usagi having trauma post-Pharaoh 90 and all the chapters that hit on that. On a less serious note Chibs' circus-related PTSD and freaking out when Hotaru wants to go to the circus kills me every time. ("But your precious dreams Hotaru-chan!")  -- forgottenfae

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*  This is probably the obvious choice, but "The Sounds of The Silence" has haunted me in all the best ways since I first read it. The way you write Rei, Usagi, and Rei and Usagi hits me right in the heart every time. This particular fic, with Usagi so traumatized, and Rei being as soft and gentle as Usagi needs, will always stick with me. I pulled up the fic to try and narrow down a single line, and ultimately there's no real debate. "She would never stop trying to do more, but for now, she simply did this." That line is, at its core, the essence of Rei Hino. And it is perfection.  -- gatorsandglitter

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*  I don't expect this to win at all, just sharing,, but I just super fondly remembered the goggles and all the amazing content, meta, and fic those inspired, both from you and others  -- @goosebytrade

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*  "You Win or You Die"  my favorite line is "She and Rei WOULD have The Moment, they WOULD get their thousand years of bliss, and they WOULD be making out after all this was over. Like, SO HARD."  -- @i-needa-nap-please

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*  I'm always really bad at answering questions like this because my mind has pretty much become a goldfish in my old age and I have a hard time remembering specific fics; it all sort of starts to jumble up in my brain and things get lost. But I have always loved reading your writing, it's what got me onto this godforsaken website in the first place -- it was just before Crystal dropped, and we were all foolishly full of hope and excitement, and you were going through the Moon Pride video and waxing poetic about the FRIENDSHIPS and I was like, "YES! Finally! Someone who understands why I love this stupid kids' show!" I think I sent you an ask saying this before, (but who knows if you ever got it, Tumblrs being what they are - indifferent) but I tried reading fanfic and even published novels based on properties, like the Buffy novels and Star Trek and Star Wars novels, for a long time, and mostly found it frustrating and annoying and just... wrong. It always had this awkwardness and clunkiness to it that didn't do anything for me and just constantly screamed "THIS IS A FANFIC IT IS NOT REAL WRITING" at me. Didn't like it. But, I liked yours. Yours didn't feel awkward or clunky. You have never written any sentences like, "Rei watched the blonde stand up" where "the blonde" is Minako, and I don't know why fanfic writers think that calling characters "the blonde" or "the redhead" or whatever is sexy or cute but it ain't (sorry, pet peeve tangent). So, when you were writing stuff more, I would read it like it was going out of style, and you led me to Doc's writing, which had the same natural, "this is real writing" quality, and I loved hers, too. Anyway, my favorites of yours have always been the Between the Lines stuff. I just love the "hidden" moments that we didn't get to see. The Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead bits of Sailor Moon (speaking of fanfic that actually works) that bring so much depth to characters we know and love already or to characters we see only briefly. Also, the Shadow Senshi, because FUCK. Just... Kill Me. In any event, I know that writing has been difficult for you of late, and I know how that feels, so I hope that people who are actually able to answer this question have given you some places to go and draw strength from so that it can become part of your life again. TBH, I've been using the bonus questions on your Giftening surveys and Doc's 8 Days surveys as an excuse to try doing some small bits of quick, no pressure, nobody's gonna see it unless you or Doc actually LIKE it, don't think about it writing, and it has been helpful. I hope you can find something that gives you the same opportunity. Now that I've written you a novel that doesn't even answer the question you asked (goldfish, remember? *sigh*), have a gorgeous Tuesday!  -- @incorrecttact

~~

*  The one with Pluto and Queen Serenity, where Serenity is selfish in a very Usagi way, but her arrogance combined with that selfishness makes it a fatal flaw? I liked that one a lot. -- Jules

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*  the bit you wrote to 'fill in' a gap for why during r did mamoru act like a distant jerk. My favourite parts were Rei coming to see the same dream, and despite being the one to have the biggest reason to believe in these kinds of prophetic visions, Rei still doesn't believe fate is set in stone. -- just... a fan. a well-baked one

~~

*  Make It To New Year's -- @kaleidodreams

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*  ahhh, where is a link to all of your fanfic? It's the series you started after S, with Rei comforting Usagi, because like you I was let down by the fact that they never followed up on what Usagi saw, or even how she dealt, with the end of S. runner up: the one where Usagi is about to give birth because everything you write with Rei and Usagi is amazing. -- kari

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*  There was a drabble/draft/something that you used one of my prompts for, and I prompted you with Usagi and Rei, but you did it from Luna's perspective and THAT WAS SO UNEXPECTED and it turned out SO GOOD cause like!!!!!! You made Sailor Moon both someone Luna cares for, because still the legacy of the moon, and someone utterly discouraging for her because *this should not be*, and wow what a way to make it both about Usagi herself and about her powers.  -- katrani

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*  I love the btl fics, they fill in the missing gaps, add depth to the story, and sometimes smooth over things (SuperS) when canon is just...blah. One line I really liked was: “I was listening, at first, but then I started thinking about how hungry I was, and how a pork bun would be really good right now, and then I wondered what makes a thing a bun, and like, if you put ANYTHING in a bun, does it become a Thing-Bun, so could you make a bun out of another bun and would it be a Bun Bun, and wouldn’t that be the greatest thing to– Rei?” It's a great run-on, stream of thought sentence that just really catches Usagi's voice, is hilarious, and such a natural progression. -- @kumeko

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*  “HUG,” Usagi demanded again, because dammit, she’d been promised a hug and SOMEONE was going to deliver. (The one where Michiru has the hiccups. Because it's fun HaruMichi stuff, because it weaponises Usagi in a useful way, because it manages to (gently) make fun of both perfect!Michiru and saint!Usagi without being mean to either character, and also because I get hiccups a lot and I haaaaate them.) -- nerdy-flutterings

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*  I can't remember a specific fic, but I LOVE your Shadow Senshi headcanons and they're the main reason I started writing my own Shadow Senshi stories. -- @notesfromtheidiotbox

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*  The Figuarts saga is the Sailor Moon fic I never knew I needed -- Raye

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*  Special Delivery is a delight. So much Rei Certainty (that ends up being misplaced). So much Usagi being The Most Usagi About Pregnancy. So much Comedic Hijinks, because why the hell WOULDN’T ‘the Senshi get blindsided when Usagi goes into labor’ end up going full screwball? There’s a lot of great lines there (Rei’s theory about Chibs taking control of the Gate of Time and manipulating things is fantastic, as is the ending,) but my favorite is definitely “Rei Hino if I give birth to my daughter on the side of the road I swear I will go back in time and tear all the pages out of your favorite coloring book! [...] I’ll break the crayons too, Rei-chan!” Delightfully specific and childish, especially since Usagi sticks with it, and that particular brand of comic specificity is definitely a highlight of yours. -- Regalli

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*  Fire on Mountain!!! When I got to “Her voice was deeper than most expected when facing the certainty of her. It was rough, sandpaper running over cherry. She’d been a singer, once. Nobody would have believed her.” I was like oh. OH! -- Sasha

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*  My favorite of your fanfic, one one of the first I read is 'Hard to Break'. And my absolute favorite line is Usagi's panic when Minako tries to smoke: "Minako who was almost certainly dying, the cigarette had spread its evil and killed her instantly oh god."  -- @shavedjudomonkey

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*  Tonight Ami would grieve, and wish she understood why.'  This Between the Lines about Ami getting her mini computer both haunts me and brings tears to my eyes.  -- @shonasof

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*  I can't remember the title, but it's the one where Minako realizes that Rei's been writing Sailor V fanfic under the name Red Bow -- Somariel

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*  You would think Mako-chan's Happy Ending, but nope, this one goes to Hard to Break (although I had to look up the exact name.) This thing is filled with such great lines. How am I supposed to pick out one? "[Watch out, boys,]" Minako said in smooth and entirely unnecessary English. "[Lady Super Cool is on the prowl.]" -- Ultrace

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*  I forget the title, but it's the 'last senshi standing' fic where Ami is reflecting on the battle that took the others from her. Detatched and cold as she analyzes Rei Minako and Mako and finally Usagi's death with a medical efficiency, going through her Visors readout and then reflecting that the clinical words were nothing compared to what she'd actually seen. following up the method of death of the senshi with a statistic in relation to her friendship with the girl. Number of milkshakes shared, number of conversations lasting well into the night, number of hugs, number of smiles that brightened the darkest of moods. Describing how Rei's heart was pulped in a monster's grip, Minako's once beautiful face smashed against the rocks, Mako's lightning that outlived its mistress as she and Usagi ran off, and then finally that one last attempt to protect Usagi failing as 'Cervical Fracture' flashes on her visor. And From there she just... accepts death. sitting beside where Usagi had fallen and waiting for the end. it's dark af but it's the first one that always comes to mind when i think about ur fics :>  -- Vega

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*  I am extremely predictable here with two of my choices, as you know that I am obsessed with Fire on the Mountain and Blue Shirt, two things you wrote when you "definitely couldn't write" (Sidenote: My new year's resolution is to be harder on your about writing) We all know why I love blue shirt, it's basically an underhand pitch to the face for me, but Fire on the Mountain has a quality of regret and longing that I really connected with, something that really struck me in a way that was powerful. It's different from a lot of your inners work, and I think about Mina posing as Rei, in her disguise magic in the woods, and all the reasons why, fairly often. Something that MAY come as a surprise to you, is I really wish we got more ofyour overwatch stuff, and maybe I'll just keep asking for this for my birthday for the rest of our natural lives, but I think of like, the one you wrote on 7/14/20, with Pharah longing to have a man to shoot in the face because that would be easier than the emotions around whatever's going on with her, and I'm utterly tantalized. And I loved that hurt/comfort you wrote for me, where Pharah had this single minded drive to find out what had happened to Angela, and Tracer's trying to, well, comfort her, on some level, and the way you described Pharah's "animal cry" was FANTASTIC, and as always I am deeply jealous of your Tracer voice and IF YOU WOULD WRITE IT MORE IT WOULD HELP ME. -- WRITE, BITCH.

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*  The one were Hotaru confronted Michiru and Haruka about how they had tried to kill her in order to stop the Silence. Such a good little moment =w= -- zorrito

~~

AND THEN THESE WERE UNSIGNED SAD FACE

*  Chosen. I like your Overwatch stuff but Chosen was a goddamn masterpiece.

*  Operation: Heart Angels. Senshi going after Mamoru for his bullshit was something I didn't know I needed.

*  The entirety of Beggars Would Ride, including every single line of Anya's dialogue.

—

I’ll be drawing for the bonus liveblog around the start of THE GIFTENING 2020 (currently looking to be Monday, 11 January 2021). Each bonus question is another chance to earn an entry! I CAN ABSOLUTELY AND SHAMELESSLY BE BOUGHT.

[eloarei]

1, 2, 3, 7, 9, 13, 17, 23 (some of these are random and some aren't)

Thanks for the many questions, Socks! Sorry I didn’t answer them earlier; I decided answering asks on mobile sucks.  ALSO, this is going to be super long haha sorry.  1.  Tell us about your current project(s)  – what’s it about, how’s progress, what do you love most about it?       Well, my most current project is one I just started brainstorming. It’s (hopefully gonna be) a Fallout 3 series, with my latest fic being the starting point. LW/Fawkes is a ship I liked immediately when I played the series some years ago, but I never got around to writing for it, probably in part because there’s already a super good longfic about them, and I just didn’t think there was much else I could say. But my LW is different from Choco’s LW, and lately I wanted to start something self-indulgent. Although I have enough ideas for this to maybe be a single 30k fic, I’m choosing to do a series of shortfics instead, so that I’m not burdening myself with another long project. Fic series are great in that way, because it’s basically complete with every new fic.       On top of that, I have... probably 3 other things I want to make significant progress on this year. First is another Fallout fic: Same Heart. I’ve posted 8 chapters already and have almost 2 more done, but due to the slow-build nature of it (and my tagging) I don’t expect to have almost any readers until at least chapter 10 (when the ship characters finally meet). I’d like to at least get that far this year.       A project I’d love to finish by fall is the unreleased “The Wilderness”, a Venom zombie AU that I started for NaNoWriMo 2 years ago. It’s about 55% written, and my goal is to have as much of it done as possible before the sequel movie comes out. If it’s not done by then, I still plan to post whatever I have.       And lastly-ish, my novel... thing. Rogue. I’m in the process of editing it, although I’ve taken kind of a break lately. And as soon as I’m done with the edits and can get a couple of people to read it (just so they can tell me if certain parts are stupid and need changed) I plan to start the next book in the series... which will probably end up being book #1, actually, if I do them modern-era chronologically. It’s... gonna be a process. ^^;  2.  Tell us about what you’re most looking forward to writing – in your current project, or a future project.       In my upcoming FO3 fic series, I’m honestly just kind of weirdly looking forward to... how do I put this? Exploring my own vaguely-traumatic experiences through fic. I’ll always do a happy ending, if possible, but before we get there I really want to run these two through the ringer of... being given something they were led to believe was impossible, being judged for it, having it taken away, and then being told “well maybe it’s for the best”.       When it comes to future projects, I guess I’m really excited about writing the new Rogue book. “Reaper”, I guess, is its unimaginative working title. I’m anxious about it, because I thought Rogue had some really deeply emotional scenes, and I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to accomplish that as well with this new one, simply because the characters don’t have the same level of desperation about each other. I need to figure out what’s unique about their dynamic and push that. I guess I’m looking forward to the challenge.  3.  What is that one scene that you’ve always wanted to write but can’t be arsed to write all of the set-up and context it would need? (consider this permission to write it and/or share it anyway)       Hmm gosh. Technically there’s a scene in the later chapters of Mobius that I already wrote, but it wouldn’t take place until probably chapter 3 or later, and I just lost all steam on that fic, sadly. But every time I poke through my notes I make myself cry reading it. It’s a scene where one character knows it’s going to be the last time he sees the person he loves most, and he can’t explain his pain to anyone. I really just want to get there so I can see if it makes other people cry like babies haha.       But on a completely unrelated note, there’s also this ZADR fic I started writing in like 2009, and I absolutely didn’t want to do the work to get to the fun middle scenes, but basically it was an AU where young adult Dib went to live/work in the thriving multi-species space community, where he’s... I dunno, studying alien biology I think?, and he ends up with Zim as a roommate. The scenes I really wanted to write were about the two of them getting into like a bar fight with some tough types, and Zim gets his pak ripped off/damaged in the process, and Dib has to sort of take care of him through a horrible fever. But then it turns out that the pak was not a life-support system like they thought, but actually a growth inhibitor so they (the people in charge of the Irkens) could choose who became the Tallest (the leaders). (And also it hindered reproduction, etc.) So basically the two of them accidentally start to unravel a galactic conspiracy which also involves corruption in the Earth government, etc, and Zim gets taller but spoiler alert, he still doesn’t get tall enough to challenge the Tallest lol. Sadly, I doubt I’ll ever actually write that fic. Sounds like too much effort lol.  7.  What do you think are the characteristics of your personal writing style? Would others agree?       That’s such a hard question. Ummm. How do I put any of that into words? ...I think one of the things about my writing is that a lot of the time nothing really happens in a scene, and the story mostly focuses on a character thinking. Like, enough happens so there’s something for them to think about, but I think I tend to put a lot of emphasis on POV character’s thoughts, to the point of sometimes seeming stream-of-consciousness. I’ve been told that this makes my stories feel alive though? So I think it appeals to some people, though I’m sure others would find such stories boring.       Oh also, somewhat along these lines, I like to add commentary that is only somewhat relevant, usually in parenthesis at the end of a sentence or paragraph. (Honestly, it’s not unusual to see one in every paragraph if I’m writing something slightly humorous.)  9.  Are you more of a drabble or a longfic kind of writer? Pantser or plotter? Do you wish you were the other?      I would LOVE to write primarily longfics! However, I just don’t have the time or energy for it, and I don’t write fast enough. So I end up with a lot of oneshots under 10k. I had to challenge myself to learn to write short things though, and then it’s really about writing something short, not about writing a specific story.       Generally, I’m both pantster and plotter. I tend to write the first chapter/few scenes/maybe as much as 10k, just by the seat of my pants. After that, I look at what I’ve got and write out a plot to continue from there. Plotting everything out before I start just doesn’t work for me, but if I try “pantsing” anything longer than 15k I know I’m gonna have an absolute torturous hell of a time.  13.  Do you share your writing online? (Drop a link!) Do you have projects you’ve kept just for yourself?      Lol I think anyone who’s reading this knows I share my stuff online. Primarily on my AO3, though there’s some other stuff floating around here on tumblr too.  Most of the time if I keep something to myself it’s only because it’s not finish enough to share. So, sure, there’s plenty of that, but the goal is always to share it eventually. If I ever get around to finishing a novel, those will probably be the only things I don’t just post online. (Though I do post most of my OC stuff currently.)  17.  Do you think readers perceive your work - or you - differently to you? What do you think would surprise your readers about your writing or your motivations?       I think that inevitably my readers will always perceive me and my writing a bit differently than I do. That’s just... interacting with people. Nobody knows you entirely. However, I am as open and honest in my writing as possible, and I actually think that reading my fic is the best way to get to know me. I like to hope that I am an open book to anyone who has read many of my words. =] While you may not know the details of my life, I think you would have a good insight into my personality.    23.  What’s the story idea you’ve had in your head for the longest?       Like... my oldest fic/story that I’ve never written or posted? Not counting stuff I’ve consciously abandoned (things from middle school, mostly), my original fic series, “Damsel and Company in Distress” aka DamselCo. is definitely my oldest story. I think I started fiddling with it in 2006-- which makes it pretty disappointing that it’s gotten next to nowhere. XD; But the story is my baby, and it’s been my baby for so long that anyone who’s followed me ever is probably at least vaguely familiar with a few of the characters.  Now maybe one day I’ll actually give it the attention it deserves, though I’m sure it’ll need significant revamping. After all, a lot has changed in 14+ years. Ideas that were new and subversive then are probably already stale. 

[luthienebonyx]

2019 Writing review

Gacked (because I’ve been posting on dreamwidth and I’m feeling fannishly old-fashioned) with a tweak or two, from @nire-the-mithridatist and @agirlnamedkeith

Total number of completed stories: 25 (not including various ficlets and prompt fills that have been collected together as one work)

Total number of WIPs started this year and still WIPs: 3

Total word count: 227,381 published words

Fandoms written in: The break-down of my writing fandoms for the year goes like this:

1. Frederica - Georgette Heyer: one 100 word drabble 2. A Countess Below Stairs - Eva Ibbotson: one 13,727 word Yuletide fic 3. Game of Thrones: 27 works totalling 214,004 words 

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d expected? Let’s put it this way: in 2018 I posted NOTHING. Apart from a brief burst of activity from late 2016 to mid 2017, I had written NO fanfic in four years. I’d reached the point where I thought I might not ever write fanfic again. 

I expected this year to be the same as last year in terms of fic. I wrote a hundred word drabble last January, and I thought that would be it. And it was, until Game of Thrones finished at the end of May. I started writing the day after the finale aired, because I couldn’t NOT write, and I’ve barely stopped since. 

I’ve written ALMOST (hey, I’m a writer, not a mathematician) a quarter of a million words in seven months. This has never happened to me before in the 20 years since I first started writing fanfic. I’ve never been well enough to do that before. I’ve never written anything like that much in a year, let alone in seven months. But right about the time I started writing again, I also made a few small, but what turned out to be hugely significant changes to my treatment regime. It turns out that when I”m feeling really inspired AND health crashes don’t get in the way of my writing momentum... I just keep going.

What’s your own favorite story of the year? I don’t think I can pick just one. There’s a couple that are favourites for different reasons.  More Than a Memory is special because it was the story that broke my writing drought and wouldn’t let me stop until it was done. I’m also very fond of Beloved, because it’s a particular type of story similar to others that I’ve written in the past, and I was glad to find I hadn’t lost my touch with that sort of thing. And I’ll also include the Aussie Coffee ‘verse in this list, because right now it’s very close to being the longest thing I’ve ever written, and I’m just amazed that I’ve been able to write something like that at all. And there’s my Regency, You I Know, which is the story of my heart that I’ve been wanting to write, in whatever fandom, for YEARS... Am I allowed to have four favourites? Too bad. I do.

Did you take any writing risks this year? I’m never entirely sure what a writing risk is. I’ve written so many things over the years that could be seen as risky from some perspectives that I don’t really think like that. I just write. I suppose starting out in a new fandom writing a story where one half of the main pairing was dead was maybe a little risky. I was honestly surprised that anyone read More Than a Memory, given the premise. I’m not sure that I’d call the Aussie Coffee ‘verse a risk, exactly, but it certainly turned out to be a bit like my own personal accidental Everest. I thought I was writing a series of loosely connected ficlets, but they turned out to be an epic length modern AU instead. The risk with that one is that I did it without a firm outline - at least at first. Once I got a little way into it, I realised what it was and hammered out the shape of it in my head - guided by Writer’s Month prompts, since that’s what it had originally been intended for - but it still feels a little like I’m writing by the seat of my pants.

Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the new year? 

Fanfic goals:

1. Finish the Aussie Coffee ‘verse (by the end of January if I can possibly manage it). 2. Finish Life’s Not a Song, my Sansa bystander POV fic. (Remember that one? Anyone? My health crashed for most of November and that fic was one of the casualties. I WILL finish it, though.) 3. Once those first two are out of the way, focus on my Regency AU, You I Know, which has been waiting for months now as the Aussie Coffee ‘verse accidentally turned into a behemoth.

Profic goals: Maaaaaaaybe adapt the Aussie Coffee ‘verse into an original novel. We’ll see. @undun-duz is keen to provide art to go with it, which would be fabulous.

Best story of the year? I... don’t know? Maybe Beloved. Yeah, probably Beloved.

Most popular story of the year? By hits, kudos and bookmarks, More Than a Memory. By comments and subscriptions, You I Know. But if you treat the Aussie Coffee ‘verse as one entity, then it has more hits, kudos and comments than anything else.

Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: My fic usually gets plenty of attention, so I don’t really feel like I should be saying that anything is under-appreciated. I feel that maybe some people have grown bored with the Aussie Coffee ‘verse - though, that said, there are also people who are incredibly enthusiastic about it. Readership dropping off as it goes along is the way it goes for most long stories, though, so it’s not anything unusual. I THINK all of it, including the pacing, will make more sense once the final instalments have been written. The plot is about to hit the home straight, so hopefully people will enjoy how the storyline unfolds from here on in.

Most fun story to write: I think the two that made me cackle the most while I was writing were Coffee on the Rocks, which was the very first Coffee ‘verse fic, and After Party, which was my story inspired by the dress that Gwen wore to the Emmys. Oh, and the first chapter of the most recent Coffee ‘verse fic, The Last Day of Christmas, which features the pole.

Most unintentionally telling story: The Aussie Coffee ‘verse, in the sense that it’s set a lot closer to home than anything else I’ve ever written - not just that it’s set in Australia, but that it’s set in the Australia that I know. And it also features bits and pieces of memories from when I was growing up, too. There’s very little of that sort of thing in any of the other fic I’ve written over the years.

Biggest disappointment: That I couldn’t finish Christmas Day in the Coffee ‘verse before actual Christmas Day! It ended up taking 33,000 words over three months to get through Christmas Day. At least I got it done before New Year.

Biggest surprise: That I wrote ALMOST A QUARTER OF A MILLION WORDS in seven months. That one will be very hard to beat ever again.

[zombiequincy]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; Mun & Muse - Meme.

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

My muse is:   canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless /

Is your character popular in the fandom?  YES / NO.

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK.

Is your character considered strong in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK.

Are they underrated?  YES / NO.

Were they relevant for the main story?  YES / NO.

Were they relevant for the main character?  YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG.

Are they widely known in their world?  YES / NO.

How’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL.

How strictly do you follow canon?  — I’d like to think I follow canon fairly decently in regards to Giselle’s powers but then again there really isn’t much to follow. So we’ll go with a shaky ‘ehhhh’.

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals.  —  She’s one of the most objectively fucked up Sternritter. Her powers completely spit in the face of everything the Soul Reapers try to abide by and their cycle of life and reincarnation by basically crushing it under her heel and refusing to allow the process of death to run its course. She’s also just such a cheery and utterly irredeemable villain which is so refreshing sometimes. None of that brooding ‘woe is me my powers and situation makes me so sad’ no no no, she is here to FUCK shit up for everyone and laugh while doing it. Also the whole idea of forcing someone to fight against their will is just so supremely fucked up but always interesting to see in action. She could have singlehandedly turned the tides of the Quincy invasion if she got her hands blood on the right people and that’s a terrifying though. Also a lot of her motif and powers link closely to the sort of biblical fucked up imagery of angels that you can see in novels like Paradise Lost or Dantes Inferno or the Old Testament, that just themeatic attitude of like show no mercy even to the weak and how morals are meaningless in the face of war and if you’re doing everything in the service of god then even the most fucked up actions can be justified, so if like me, you’re a huge nerd for that shit, she is PERFECT.

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?).  —  She’s one of the most objectively fucked up Sternritter. She’s annoyingly over powered in the sense that she just doesn’t die, which can really be a sticking point for some people because it just seems like there’s no threat present when she’s around. I also don’t blame anyone for being disinterested with her portrayal and character as it is in the manga since her whole identity seems to just be a shitty allusion to predatory lesbian trope and god awful transphobic jokes, so seeing those it can be easy to think that’s all there is to her character and not even want to entertain everything else she has to offer. Also the way that she treats Bambi, turns even my stomach, so I absolutely do not blame anyone who might want no interest in any of that and the implication of those scenes.

What inspired you to rp your muse?  —  (Kaiman lol) She was one of the femritters I naturally gravitated towards because of her fight with Mayuri and I fucking hate Mayuri soooo, queen rights! Also I just love characters who can like puppeteer and control others against their will, there’s something so really interesting about that power in fiction and it always gives way to tons of angst and sadness which is absolutely my shit. I also had a ton of issues with the way that Kubo presented her in canon, especially in regards to her trans identity and I kept obsessing over that and wanted to kinda push away from all those shitty moments and try to focus more on her powers and attitude as a young Quincy who was eager to join a war and murder her way up the ranks. 

What keeps your inspiration going?  —  My love for evil women. But you know, mainly music and goth aesthetic posts. Also other pieces of gothic literature and undead monster lore and mythos. If there’s a will and way, I will always find a way to bring it back to Giselle.

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice?  YES / NO.

Do you frequently write headcanons?  YES / NO.

Do you sometimes write drabbles?  YES / NO.

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day?  YES / NO.

Are you confident in your portrayal?   YES / NO.

Are you confident in your writing?  YES / NO

Are you a sensitive person?  YES / NO.

Do you accept criticism well about your portrayal?  —  Haven’t gotten any yet but I am always open to it. I know there’s a ton of choices I���ve made in my portrayal that are open to heavy scrutiny, like making her very young contrasted against the other Sternritters, making her a serial killer, making her a self declared man eater etc etc. Even though my main goal with rp is to just have fun, I’d never want to do so at the expense and well being of others, so if anyone has some serious critiques to make about Giselle or to say that she’s making them feel uncomfortable, then it’s the absolute bare minimum for me to listen and be considerate about that criticism! 

Do you like questions which help you explore your character?  —  If I say no that makes me look like a mad woman and an asshole but like GKJLASDKDJSA look its really hard to try to explore a lot of the inner depths of a character like Giselle who just joyfully takes pleasure in others suffering. Like she’s just here to kill and eat people, trying to explore the why and how and who led her into that way of thinking and informed her deeper beliefs, high key gives me a headache. Sometimes she’s just evil and a dickhead for the sake of being an evil dickhead. I have to be in a very specific headspace and mood to want to discuss in detail her attitudes and beliefs and how certain personality traits of her came to be and even when I do that, it’s not usually public. As I write with more and more people, her views and ideals begin to reveal itself in the threads and situations so I prefer to do the exploration that way via my writing and threads. I’m always open to questions which help me explore her ideals and beliefs and reckoning with her past but because I haven’t made any plans for her to really confront or express those beliefs directly yet, it’s hard for me to explain them accurately or correctly.

If someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why?  —  Yes! I’d never declare myself as an expert on Bleach since I learn a lot of the nitty gritty details through osmosis of people who do know more than me, so if I get something wrong or a headcanon is a little bit far fetched, I’m always open to hearing the details as to why and how I can improve it. Also a lot of my headcanons are just stupid jokes so if you have one that’s funnier, then I will always love to hear it.

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it?  —  In my stride. I always say this Giselle is mainly just a goof so I don’t take it too personally if someone thinks I’m doing her wrong, half the time it’s just be making bad jokes about murder and maiming and cannibalism. There are about a hundred different ways to approach someone like Giselle and mine is FAR from being the most accurate or correct one.

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it?  —  I can certainly understand why considering her actions in canon and how brutal and cruel she was. She kinda is a figure made to be hated and disgusted by and in certain threads I do really lean into her more ‘evil’ side. So I’d never take it personally. 

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors?  —  Dear god please do it. I’m dyslexic and English technically isn’t even my first language I struggle with this VERY bad. Let me know please please PLEASE.

Do you think you are easy going as a mun?   —  I think sooo? I’ve never rushed anyone for replies, I take my own sweet time to get stuck into threads and I approach any headcanons or ideas people have for Giselle with a sense of optimism and good faith! I’m always down for some silliness but I’m always cautious about how far to go with her considering that the way she acts can be triggering in some regards so I like to think I’m both pretty careful and laid back!

That’s about it, congrats for filling out!

Tagged by:  @windstormwielding cheers my dear !! Tagging: @fleshpurifies @bazzardburner @hyouketsu @oscuras and YOU!

[misha-moose-dean-burger-lover]

Happy vacation! 🌴 For your prompt request, may I submit Dean and Cas taking a non-hunt road trip for you consideration. Maybe they're on vacation too? As much as they can ever be? Destiel ship or not, and whatever other characters you want to include, if any. I hope that gets your brain juices going, and you have a not-sad before long! 😘 Thank thank thank you!

Thank you very much for the prompt!! Yeah, I had a not-sad XD It did get some of my brain juices going, and I did write something - it’s like a five-piece drabble, but I hope it’s up to your liking! The pleasure was all mine! You’re awesome!! ^-^

***

“‘Driver picks music, shotgun shuts his cakehole’, I know.” Cas declared, quoting Dean to Dean, and earning himself a grin, as he withdrew his hand from the music deck. “I was just trying my luck.”

“Your bad,” Dean shrugged, before turning up his own music. Bob Seger.

But around the time 'Beautiful Loser’ ends, Dean has given in, and is actively trying to reach a compromise with Cas on the music decision.

They listen to 'Let it be’, and okay, that’s a fine enough coincidence. Sam would’ve abused any such right Dean gave him to listen to One Direction maybe, so Dean’s grateful its Cas with him on this long-ass drive, when he’s in a sharing mood when it comes to Baby’s casette player.

*

Cas was looking out the window, serious and pensive, as if he was contemplating the truths of the Universe.

Dean could’ve scoffed, but he tried a novel approach. 'Vienna’ had just ended, following some other inspirational songs like that - and the mood was all set for a joke. Dean cleared his throat.

“And that’s the thing about life too,” Dean began, all of a sudden, hiding his smirk, one hand on the wheel and the other demonstrating in the air with vague hand motions, which Cas tried to follow, squinting and trying to process it. “Its about the journey and not the destination. You hear me, Cas?”

“I do.” Cas replied stoically, perfectly serious.

“Yeah, that’s life, man.” Dean dramatized, pulling off a straight face with much efforts. “A road, which goes on and on, and there’s no destination in sight, only in mind. Such is life too, man, and it’s the journey that’s important, because you may have goals in your head, but you can’t see them - you’ve just gotta keep living, and keep going down that road.”

“Oh.” Cas absorbs, like Dean is spilling gems of wisdom here.

“Driving to a hunt is something completely other than driving for the sake of driving, Cas,” It’s getting harder and harder for Dean to keep up the act of wise, when Cas looks at him that straight-faced. “Driving on an open road, on the road to nowhere yet everywhere is the best feeling - driving without a destination that’s the true essence of living, and of driving.”

“Dean.” Cas blinked, and began to speak in his monotonous baritone. “I don’t know how to tell you this, but we do have a destination.”

Dean frowns at him.

“Do you not remember?” Cas goes on, sincere as all hell. “We’re going to the beach. Sam is driving there with Jack, but he took a detour to pick up Claire and Kaia - and I - I have Google Maps on my phone, in case you forget the route as Sam said you might.”

“Goddammit Cas,” Dean rolls his eyes, unable to believe his freaking ears. “Did you really just think I was serious, right there?”

“You sounded explicitly like you meant it. I believed you were influenced by all the Billy Joel we’ve been listening to.”

“It’s called a goddamn joke.” Dean glared back, incredulous. “It hurts me to think you could ever think of me as that kind of a pretentious dumbass, I sounded worse than Kale-Sam, you dumbass!”

Cas fell silent. “I’m sorry..?”

“You just lost the right to be subjected to a joke ever, Cas. Think about what you did, I’m not talking to you anymore.” Dean smirked at him, and turned his attention more dedicatedly to the road, feeling the nag of Castiel’s disappointed-in-himself stare until he turns up the volume and Bon Jovi begins to play.

*

“We could talk instead,” Cas suggests, all of a sudden, when Dean’s sifting through his CDs. “There’s been a lot of songs, all day.”

“You say it like that’s a bad thing.” Dean shot back. “And talk, Cas? What about? The whole point of a vacation is that we don’t work or talk about it -”

“Then let’s talk about something else, Dean.” Cas adds, as if it were that obvious.

“Like?”

“I don’t know,��� Cas defended. “The talking was my idea. If I suggest the topics too, what will be your contribution, Dean?”

Dean laughs at that, because it’s a well-worn joke but hearing Cas say it is different, because he’s Cas, and he’s not really supposed to say things like this. Except when he does, and surprises him, and Dean’s speechless for a pleasant fucking change. “'Kay, smartass, I’ll contribute.”

Cas waits, with a smile prompt on his lips, bringing out some newish dimples.

“I’ll contribute by laughing or in monosyllables, as you tell me a story.” Dean spoke, without really thinking about it. “I’m driving, so you should be the one doing the talking anyways - and it was your brilliant idea, so hit me with your best move now! Amuse me, Castiel.”

“Fine. May I speak of themes which don’t include your Earth?”

Dean has to turn his head ninety degrees to see the expression on Cas’s face before he realizes that the angel is hella serious.

He nods, stifling a grin, and Cas begins - sounding more into 'talking’, than he’s hardly ever been - and it’s a good look on him.

*

“Its getting late, Dean.” Cas remarked. “Will we drive all night?”

“Yeah, probably.” Dean replied, unthinking. “Why?”

“Well, Sam told me you’d probably put up at a truck stop since we’re on a vacation, and I’d like to be ready if you do.” Cas answered, simply.

“Ready?” Dean repeated.

“I mean, mentally.” Cas nodded. “To be around company.”

“Yeah, you around freakin’ chicks is a fairytale.” Dean chuckled, before shaking his head. “And, nah. No truck stops, no cheap roadhouses. If you want, though, we can check in at some motel.”

“I don’t sleep.”

“Peachy. Then we can dine in that awesome steak place in Aspen,” Dean hummed under his breath as he reminisced upon the said item. “And take it on from there, for the rest of the night.”

“Of course. And if you’re ever tired,” Cas smiled. “I don’t sleep, so I can drive.”

“That’s never happening, but hey, you offered,” Dean raised his eyebrows and smirked at him. “Points for efforts, Cas. But I’m staying behind the wheel and you can stay put just where you are, all night.”

Almost obstinately, and with a deliberate frown, Cas shifted an inch towards the middle. “I’m more comfortable here.”

“Ah, a rebel,” Dean threw his head back and laughed, having to swerve dangerously to get out of the way of a truck - which made Cas stretch to take the wheel from him, which resulted in Dean swatting his hand away and telling him to trust my skills, Cas, driving’s the one thing I can actually do!

*

Cas was smiling. That was the thing. He didn’t smile all that much, and when he did, it was mostly because of a lame joke that earned him a courtesical smile - or genuine prevention-of-an-apocalypse happiness. But here he was, smiling for the sake of it, fucking glowing even in the little light of the moon. All eye crinkles and multiple dimples, and absolutely no words on his lips, as he prepped his elbow on the rolled down window - mirroring Dean - and looked our the window.

Dean liked seeing him like this, and if there was a warm feeling behind his ribs, it was probably because he felt sorta responsible. He had to be, right? Cas and him had driven, side by side, across miles and miles of road, for hours on end. They’d listened to classics, talked about craters on the moon, and occasionally, steaks medium rare. It had been a good day.

“You’re in a good mood today, buddy.” Dean couldn’t help himself, when Cas sipped from his beer with the smile consistently dangling from his lips.

“Yes, well, I do not like being stuck in the backseat as much as you’d think.” Cas threw back, with as relaxed a tone as one’d ever get from him.

“If you want me to advocate you being shotgun, or at least suggest rock-paper-scissors between you and Sam for getting to sit next to me - what’s in it for me?” Dean smirked, sliding closer to Cas.

“I’d like to believe that I take up less space, will let you play your albums without sneaking mine into the player, and am considerably less likely to complain about your driving.” Cas returned, crinkling into a smile that even showed his gums, and yep. Dean could live with this sort of smiles from his Angel.

“Throw in being like this all the time, and Sold.” Dean winked, resisting the urge to lean in and do something, because Cas looked happy and wonderful and yeah, this was a goddamm vacation that they’d earned, and he was gonna celebrate the hell outta it.

[wizcrdingheadcanons]

Excessively Detailed Headcanon + Draco Malfoy + Any Admin 😃❤️❤️❤️❤️

Admin = Chloe :)

What does their bedroom look like?Slytherin Green … Duh! Draco is a big believer in house pride so his room is a combination of greens and silvers, his ‘pride’ possession is his green fluffy beanbag that he hid in his cupboard so that his Father wouldn’t find such a “muggle piece of filth” in the manor.

Do they have any daily rituals?Although Draco has to act all snobbish in public and around his Father he gets up really early every morning and sneaks down to the kitchen where he sits and chats with all the house elves as they make him hot chocolate with extra whipped cream and marshmallows.

Do they exercise, and if so, what do they do? How often?The only exercise Draco would ever even consider doing id Quidditch, he flys every day and - if he does say so himself - he is quite toned and fit because of it.

What would they do if they needed to make dinner but the kitchen was busy?The kitchen was never busy in the Manor, neither his mother nor father ever entered it and the house elves had their own kitchen in the basement where they cooked all of the food. This meant that Draco had free reign of the room, when he was younger he would create a mess everywhere while making milkshakes, cakes, cookies etc. Nowadays, he cooks more refined meals but ever once in a while indulges on the foods of his youth.

Cleanliness habits (personal, workspace, etc.)oohhh Draco is big on everything being clean, if things aren’t clean then it makes him feel dirty. He’s definitely not opposed to cleaning himself, he doesn’t care who does it as long as it’s not left in a state. His draws are organised and desks pristine, tbh he’s a pretty big germaphobe and hates untidy areas.

Eating habits and sample daily menuDraco isn’t one to eat loads, he has a very bad sweet tooth and, if he could, he would eat all the dessert at the table in the Great Hall. He especially loves Strawberry Ice-Cream and Chocolate Cake. He enjoys eating his breakfast really early, lunch at midday and his dinner fairly late.

Favorite way to waste time and feelings surrounding wasting timeDraco isn’t a big fan of wasting time, he likes being productive and getting as much done as possible, he HATES it when working in a group and others in the group are just sat there wasting time when they should be involved and helping the group instead of doing nothing.

Favorite indulgence and feelings surrounding indulgingDraco is all for indulging, he loves it. His fave indulgence is most definitely Strawberry Ice-Cream, or buying himself a bunch ingredients and baking whatever comes to mind. 

Makeup?ngl, he had tried it before. When he was younger he used to raid his mothers make-up and play dress up, Narcissa found it hilarious while Lucius would stand there and pout at the actions of his son. Also, who’s going to know if he wears foundation and concealer to make his face look like perfection?!

Neuroses? Do they recognise them as such?Draco knows that he has some issues, he’s depressed a lot of the time  - all he wants to do is act like a normal teenage boy and not a stupid pureblood ponce. His anxiety is the worst though, he’s expected to be this perfect pureblood son, but that’s now who he is.

Intellectual pursuits?Draco wants knowledge, he craves it, although not in the way most may believe. Draco has a fascination with muggles and their technology, just the idea alone of a telephone excited him. He wants to learn all he can about muggle scienes, technology, math. He has hundreds of books which he asked the House-Elves to get for him in a secret library hidden via Elf magic in his room.

Favorite book genre?Don’t tell anyone but Draco is a big fan of romance novels, like the really mushy, lovey-dovey ones that make you cringe when you read them.

Sexual Orientation? And, regardless of own orientation, thoughts on sexual orientation in general?bi-sexual, he’s attracted to both genders and although he didn’t share his preference to boys until later in his life he’s always known how he felt and what he liked in terms of a partner. Although he was brought up in a strictly heterosexual environment and that is all he knew, when he went to Hogwarts his opinion changed drastically and he learnt to accept every type of orientation and know believes in all of them and that it doesn’t matter what you’re sexual orientation is, as long as you’re happy.

Physical abnormalities? (Both visible and not, including injuries/disabilities, long-term illnesses, food-intolerances, etc.)Draco is allergic to peanuts and raspberries, that’s about it for physical abnormalities tbh.

Biggest and smallest short term goal?Draco’s biggest short-term goal is to get a black Labrador puppy, and his smallest is to change the colours of his room because although he loves Slytherin colours his favourite colour is Black and that’s what he wants his room to be.

Biggest and smallest long term goal?Biggest long term goal is to get his own flat with money that he earns, he doesn’t want to use any of his trust fund or the family money, he wants to earn it all himself and have something that he can feel proud of, because he bought that flat and earnt the money off his own back. Then his smallest long term goal is to grow his hair out so that he can tie it in a man bun or a low ponytail.

Preferred mode of dress and rituals surrounding dressHe just like to look fashionable tbh, as long as he looks good and his clothing is suitable for the event/day then he’s all set.

Favorite beverage?MILKSHAKESS - specifically strawberry.

What do they think about before falling asleep at night?Draco is an insomniac so rarely sleeps, his mind is always awake and thinking of new ways he could include muggle technology into the magic world, or a crazy idea for a new spell/potion.

Childhood illnesses? Any interesting stories behind them?Draco was a pretty sickly child, he was very susceptible to colds and the likes. He had dragon pox when he was younger, of course he had to be difficult and have an allergic reaction which caused him to stay at St.Mungos for a couple of weeks.

Turn-ons? Turn-offs?Turn-offs are things like bad manners, bad fashion sense, just rude and impolite and then turn-ons would be like good hair (i know i know), good sense of humour, small frame, stubborn - basically Hermione ;)

Given a blank piece of paper, a pencil, and nothing to do, what would happen?Draco would just doodle and write down any ideas he had, cool inventions anything really.

How organized are they? How does this organization/disorganization manifest in their everyday life?Draco Malfoy is organised af! If anything is unorganised then it stresses him the hell out and he NEEDS to sort it out before he can eve think of doing anything else.

Is there one subject of study that they excel at? Or do they even care about intellectual pursuits at all?In terms of magical subjects, he’s best at either Spell creation or potions. Then on the muggle side of things, he’s getting exceptionally good at maths, physics and chemistry.

How do they see themselves 5 years from today?Living in his own place in muggle London, making a name for himself - his own name, not one that was handed to him because he’s a Malfoy.

Do they have any plans for the future? Any contingency plans if things don’t workout?He’d love to travel the world if his muggle/magical dreams don’t work out!

What is their biggest regret?Joining the death eaters, just everything to do with the prejudice against others. He wishes that he’d never listened to his Fathers drabble about muggles ad the likes, he wishes that he had stood up for himself and listened to his heart, followed his own beliefs instead of trying to please a man that was veering him down a path worse than death.

Who do they see as their best friend? Their worst enemy?Best friend would probably be Blaise Zabini, Blaise didn’t get himself involved in teh war and tried to stay neutral. Draco admires him for that, plus the two of them are like brothers and share everything with each other, knowing that the other would NEVER betray their trust. His worst enemy is funnily enough his father, he didn’t change after the war and if it weren’t for his father then Draco wouldn’t have been dragged into the hole of darkness.

Reaction to sudden extrapersonal disaster (eg The house is on fire! What do they do?)Panic for a couple of seconds and then snap himself out of it and call people to help, before trying to tackle it himself while he waits for people to arrive.

Reaction to sudden interpersonal disaster (eg close family member suddenly dies)He’d be really angry and unwilling to talk to anyone. For a while he’d become really depressed and broody, not wanting to talk to anyone or do anything. His mother would always help him heal, she was always there for him and tried to assure that he didn’t fall to deep.

Most prized possession?The fluffy green beanbag that Narcissa got him when he was younger, contrary to popular belief Narcissa ventured into - and loved - the muggle world regularly.

Thoughts on material possessions in general?He has a lot of them, he’s not opposed to the idea because obviously he’s grown up with them his whole life.

Concept of home and family?He was brought up to believe that family was everything, that you weren’t to betray them etc, he realised over time that family are those you choose. He loves his mother dearly, and she him. The two of them were like two peas in a pod and she looked out for him as much as she could. After realising what Lucius had done, Draco refrained from addressing him as Father instead calling him Lucius. The manor was never really a home, more like a prison and later on a literal prison. Hogwarts was his home, like so many others in Slytherin.

Thoughts on privacy? (Are they a private person, or are they prone to ‘TMI’?)Most definitely a private person, he hates people knowing too much about him unless they’re really close.

What activities do they enjoy, but consider to be a waste of time?Draco doesn’t consider any of the activities he does a ‘waste of time’, he likes to believe that everything he takes part in has a significance and is productive in some way, shape or form.

What makes them feel guilty?Letting people down, or promising someone something and being unable to complete the promise. It makes him feel like he could’ve done better, or that he’s failed that person and, as a result, himself.

Are they more analytical or more emotional in their decision-making?Definitely analytical, although for certain decisions he’s extremely emotional - especially when it concerns those he cares about.

Would they consider themselves a Type A or Type B personality?Ohhh, it definitely depends on the situation that he is put in. He’s a mix between both the personalities tbh.

What recharges them when they’re feeling drained?Sugar, he has such a sweet tooth!

Would you say that they have a superiority-complex? Inferiority-complex? Neither?Draco does have a superiority-complex, he had tried his best to tone it down over the years but sometimes it can creep out.

How misanthropic are they?Pretty misanthropic, he dislikes socialising but knows that in order to succeed he needs to be sociable and push down that part of him.

Hobbies?Muggle Sciences, Quidditch, watching movies etc 

How far did they get in formal education? What are their views on formal education vs self-education?He went back to Hogwarts for his ‘8th year’ so that he could sit his NEWTS without the horror of the war looming over him, he also attended a muggle university a few years later after teaching himself all the materials and taking online GCSE and A-Levels. He’s a fan of both forms of education.

Religion?Draco is not religious.Superstitions or views on the occult?Obviously believes in the supernatural … he is a wizard … He’s not a fan of divination though and doesn’t believe that people can tell the future.

Do they express their thoughts through words or deeds?Deeds, he hates speaking to people about his thoughts as he considers them private. He also enjoys doing things anonymously because he doesn’t want people to think he’s try to rise to to top, so to speak, by throwing around the ‘Malfoy money’

If they were to fall in love, who (or what) is their ideal?Any gender, preferably long hair, small frame, petite, nice smile, funny, caring, formidable, smart, interesting, shares the same hobbies, doesn’t care about blood-status (could be a muggle for all he cares) and just a generally nice person. He does like dark hair and tan skin though!

How do they express love?Many may not believe it but Draco is a very affectionate person in private, he loves cuddles and holding hands, small chaste kisses. He enjoys giving gifts and just telling them that he loves them.

If this person were to get into a fist fight, what is their fighting style like?Draco doesn’t fight, he’d much rather just walk away instead of risking getting hurt himself or hurting someone else. If he has to then he will resort to spells as a defence but he would never throw the first punch unless he had a good enough reason.

Is this person afraid of dying? Why or why not?Yes, he is rather afraid of dying. He accepts that he will but that doesn’t make him any less afraid, he hates to think that he may die and leave behind those he cares about, what if he never sees them again? 

Send us a EDH + character! 

[nihilnovisubsole]

a few things i’ve learned from trying to write more in the past couple of years

usual disclaimer that i’m not published and these are things that work for me, when i say “you” i’m being abstract and referring to myself, etc, etc

this is a VERY LONG post, to everyone on mobile, i apologize

- first things first: it’s okay to disagree with things that people offer to you as writing advice. yes, this includes the things that i’m about to tell you about my methods. there are plenty of people who will try to scold you or say you’re not doing it right, but remember, writing is an art. neoclassicists disagree with cubists. that’s just the way it goes

- almost every “don’t do [X]” piece of writing advice has some great counterexample in literature. seriously. write how you want

- okay, now, onto the nitty gritty habit stuff: when your schedule allows it, write around the same time every day. i get up and start writing over breakfast

- sometimes your “peak time of day for writing” will shift around. again, if your schedule allows for it, just go with the flow. you might be able to write after breakfast every day for a month, and then you might start writing at 7 PM for a while

- set your daily quota bar a little lower than you know you can meet. if you stayed up until 5 AM once and binge-wrote 2000 words, you know you can do it, but can you do it every day? really? probably not. pick a word count you know you can hit most of the time, so you’ll feel like you can set goals and meet them, plus avoid burnout

- it’s okay if your goal is one paragraph, or 100 words. there’s a salman rushdie quote a professor told me about 750 words, but salman rushdie is an esteemed intellectual who’s been at it for a very long time. you wouldn’t walk into an expensive private gym for the first time and get mad at yourself because you couldn’t bench press 400 pounds

- you don’t have to hold yourself to it 7 days a week. give yourself at least some kind of weekend, because, again, burnout. i don’t follow the nanowrimo philosophy - i intend to write all year, and if i’m trying to do it for 52 weeks, the breaks feel very nice

- if you’re on an inspiration kick today and you intend to write the next day as well, don’t “drain the tank to empty.” leave some space ahead of yourself. maybe don’t finish that scene, or that conversation - leave yourself a note about where you want it to go. then, when you sit back down tomorrow, you can get right back on the road

- i feel like i should interject something important here: all the things i’ve said so far have been about me trying to build habits, and the thing about building habits is that they don’t happen overnight. when i first started doing daily quotas, i was not meeting them most of the time. when i did, i was exhausted and it took me until late at night, and i probably wouldn’t meet it the next day, or the day after that. it can start to feel insurmountable, but i can’t stress this enough - you’ve got to resist the self-hatred. do not beat yourself up. sitting there and going “i’m such a useless piece of shit, why do i even try” can be comforting and easy, but it doesn’t make you work better. it shuts you down. after a lot of time and hard work, i had to get to a place where i could say, “okay, i didn’t do it today,” and try again tomorrow, maybe with a smaller goal. each writing day is a self-contained unit - you only have to handle one at a time.

- okay, anyway

- coming back to the weightlifting metaphor - eventually, if you keep at it, you’ll notice yourself writing more. this is why i say it’s okay to start at one paragraph, because you’re probably not going to end at one paragraph. that’s just the point where you start to grow. it’s amazing what the combination of being used to writing, and feeling a sense of empowerment with writing, will do. [you also might get faster, whether you intended to or not. it used to take me all day to hit my quota. now i finish it around 2 PM.]

- you don’t have to start at the beginning. you can start where you get your first idea, even if that’s the love scene in chapter 23 or some random dialogue in chapter 4. i know many writers talk about the blank page being the scariest part, so the point is to just make it not blank. once you’ve done that, you can work backwards or forwards from what you’ve got

- you don’t even have to write complete sentences in order, if it makes you more efficient not to. if you want to script out an entire scene’s worth of dialogue like it’s a 2005 RP, then go back and fill in narration later, you can. those introductory paragraphs where i set the mood of a scene are usually the last things i write

- read your dialogue out loud

- actually, if you're able, read the whole story out loud. i’ve never found a more effective way to catch awkward wording and typos

- if you want to work on a bigger project, try to find some type of outline, or at least have some kind of extra document where you write your ideas down. i know there are people out there who can just write novels by the seat of their pants, but they’re rare, and it often involves binge-writing, which goes against the ‘slow and steady’ method i have to follow. i never go into a long project without an outline like the one i explained in this post

- speaking of “big projects:” how people will sort different types of stories based on word count is weird. i’ve heard people say a novel is 40,000 words. i’ve heard people say it’s 50k, i’ve heard people say it’s 80k, which, what the hell? it’s nice to have a benchmark, but don’t lose sleep over it. just keep writing

- word repetition is not as big a deal as i thought it would be. i’ve talked to many other fans who are big readers. they say they don’t notice it that much. if they do, they don’t think it’s distracting unless it’s some irritating thesaurus word like “splendiferous”

- the first draft of everything is not actually always shit. this goes back to the “stop talking to yourself like that” thing i mentioned earlier. some people write drafts upon drafts, and scrap them, and the final product is unrecognizable. some people only have a couple, because they edit as they go. neither type of writer is wrong. you’ll just have to figure out which kind you are

- you don’t have to show people everything you write. if you feel shame about the pairings you like or the types of stories you want to see, and your dilemma is “i would write that, but people will make fun of me,” write it for yourself and just keep it private, or publish it under a different name. it’s kind of good to be able to write for yourself anyway.

- if you feel anxiety about posting your work online, start small. start with posting excerpts if you want, then drabbles, then maybe some oneshots. if you’re posting it on tumblr, turn anon off. sure, it’ll be nerve-wracking at first, but like the daily habits above, with enough exposure, it should feel ordinary. i noticed this when i was posting tgoed

- social media feedback isn’t an indicator of whether something’s good or not. many platforms like tumblr are very image- and instant-gratification based, so pitching something like writing on them can be a hard sell. this may feel discouraging. it’s not easy, but all you can do is press on

- not all crit is created equal. that universal truth about “every individual approaches things from their own place” is never more true than when people interact with art. you may have a beta who tells you something really great and it helps you grow, but people can just as easily have random style pet peeves, or be snobs. you may very well get some anonymous twit in your inbox saying “this is the worst thing ever and your characterization made me want to die,” and you really don’t have to grovel and change your writing until they’re satisfied. if you choose to say, “hey, i’m not soliciting crit right now,” or not even read the comments people leave on your stories, that’s fine. there are many hollywood actors who don’t read reviews of the movies they’re in, and, you know, whatever, they’re millionaires. if they can do it, so can you

- speaking of which, here’s a diagram about ‘brutal honesty’ versus ‘loving honesty’ that may help. i don’t think it was written with writing in mind, but it’s good nonetheless

- this is also a nice post to read when you get down, about how most fanfic writers are better than they think they are

- finally, if nothing else: know your body. you may [and likely will] have to adjust things if you have illnesses going on. i’m a young, healthy person who just has issues with rejection, confidence, and getting up on time. that puts me at a handful of advantages you may not have. just remember that the best is the best for you, no matter how much people tell you otherwise.

[eloarei]

Drabble prompts, part 1

oldseablues replied to your post “PLEASE SEND ME DRABBLE PROMPTS. ”

Aside from horrible advice. Idk a walk in the park? The beach? Cooking together. Reading books to each other? Cleaning- anything a married couple would do lol. Can you get that all in with only 100 words? Hmmm

Awesome, thanks for the prompts. =D lol none of them were 100 words, but they’re all under 400, so that’s something.  6 prompts (1500 words total, Dekumight and related stuff), behind the cut: 

-----a walk in the park (151 words) Years ago, Izuku would have considered 5:30 in the morning just too damn early to be up, let alone taking a walk in the park. But he didn’t adhere to quite the same nightowl schedule from his teen years anymore, and Toshinori definitely tended more towards being a morning person as he got older, so Izuku had adjusted his schedule. He found he liked working mornings. The to-work rush was different from the from-work rush, but no less full of people who needed saving, and honestly he didn’t miss evenings. The best thing about waking up so early was getting to watch the sunrise as it peeked through the silhouettes of the trees in the distance. He held Toshinori’s thin hand and they ambled down the path towards the spot of pink growing in the horizon. These days, yeah, sunsets held no appeal to him, but sunrises? They were everything. -----the beach (213 words) Training was important, and nobody had to convince Izuku of that. Most of the time, he was able to really focus on his goal, no problem. But some days? The sparkling ocean just called to him. He felt like he’d been doing pretty good lately, so he felt justified in taking half an hour out of his routine to swim. (Besides, swimming was good exercise, right?) He hadn’t thought All Might was going to show up that day; he had other things to do, couldn’t be there to supervise his training all the time. But as Izuku’s head crested the water, coming back up from his search for fancy shells, he noticed the man standing on the pier next to his little collection, looking out at him with a mild (probably feigned) amused disappointment. “So you’ve decided to add swimming to the regimen?” he asked, as Izuku approached. “It’s hot,” Izuku said in his defense, grinning sheepishly. “That it is,” All Might agreed, and Izuku could see that he was indeed sweating through his tight t-shirt. He was still learning All Might’s temperament and sense of humor, but he had the feeling the man would refuse if he suggested joining him in the nice cool ocean. So he didn’t give him a choice. -----cooking together (253 words) “How did you get to be fifty-two years old and not know how to cook?” Izuku asked, staring up at Toshinori in disbelief. “No wonder you were so thin when I met you.” “I… can cook,” Toshinori tried to protest, but Izuku just scoffed and shook his head, smiling knowingly. “Really? What’s a recipe you’re good at?” In truth, there was only one recipe Toshinori had ever bothered to learn. “Lobster risotto.” Izuku laughed, an inelegant snort of a noise. “You don’t know how to make a grilled cheese, but you can cook Lobster risotto? How?” Embarrassed, Toshinori admitted, “To be honest, I was trying to impress a girl, and it was a long time ago.” Izuku’s eyes widened. “A girl? Wha--?” He laughed. “What girl were you trying to impress with Lobster risotto?” It was said that a healthy relationship let you keep a few good secrets, but he hoped letting your boyfriend make fun of you for an embarrassing past crush would work too. “You remember me telling you about my predecessor?” he asked. A sort of glow came over Izuku’s face; he looked absolutely gleeful. “You were in love with Shimura-san? That’s amazing. Suddenly I feel so much better about all those years I crushed on you in high school.” Grinning, he hugged Toshinori, burying his face in his collar, and Toshinori sighed happily into him. It took a trip to the store, but they decided to have Lobster risotto that night, and Izuku grinned through every bite of it. -----reading books to each other (290 words) As he’d gotten older, one thing Toshinori had really taken to was reading. Newspapers and magazines, of course, because he wanted to keep up with what was going on, even if it was a little painful and frustrating not to be able to do much about it anymore. (Though if something caught his attention, he could always point Izuku in that direction.) But he also read a lot of the classic novels he’d missed while he was so busy being a hero, and whatever manga was popular those days, because he liked to know what the kids were into. So it was kind of hard on him and Izuku both, when his eyesight began to fail. He’d never really gotten into music and movies, things he could do without having to focus on tiny little letters that all looked the same when they blurred together. In recent years, technology had advanced enough that there were definitely devices capable of reading to him, even if he was trying to read a print copy, but honestly, he didn’t prefer them. What he prefered was having Izuku read to him. “It’s not that I mind,” Izuku said, between paragraphs of a lengthy news article, as they sat together on the couch after dinner. “But wouldn’t it be easier to use the text-to-speech device? Then you wouldn’t have to wait for me to get home.” “I use it sometimes,” Toshinori said with a shrug. “But I like to hear your voice.” Izuku blushed, and even in the dim light and with his bad eyes, Toshinori could obviously see it. Somehow, after all this time, they still kept having that effect on each other. Izuku didn’t know what to say, so he just continued reading. -----cleaning (324 words) Inko, being a Good Mother™, had gotten them a vacuum as a housewarming present. (She got them other things too, but this was the big one.) It was really thoughtful, since the new place had these really lush carpets, compared to how the old one had had mostly hardwoods which hadn’t necessitated owning a vacuum. The problem: they were both shit at cleaning. Oh, their house (like the apartment before it) was pretty well-kept; dishes and laundry washed on a regular basis, clutter collections mostly contained to their shelves, bloodstains always handled promptly. But when it came to cleaning (dusting, mopping, and god forbid doing anything with the bathroom), their former bachelor status shined through. It simply didn’t occur to them to vacuum things, and when it did-- they tended to ignore it until the thought went away. After all, they were both busy. Doing… other things. Teaching kids, saving innocent lives. Important stuff. Inko, being an Important Person™, was one of the few people with a key to their house, and one day after they’d been living there for about four months, she invited herself over when she knew they’d both still be at work, with the intention of cooking them a nice meal to come home to, because she was, as previously stated, a Good Mother™, possibly The Best™. But when she got inside and turned on the lights and opened the windows to air the place out, she found, much to her dismay, that the beautiful vacuum cleaner she’d gifted the idiot boys was sitting in a corner, a cape and a hat draped over it. She did not send them passive-aggressive texts, because she was a Good Mother™, but when they came home two hours later to a lovingly prepared dinner and the cleanest, airiest, most sanitary house either of them had ever lived in, and found their vacuum cleaner with a flowery new sunhat, they got the message. -----other married couple stuff (225 words) (this is really more “pre-married couple stuff”, sorry ^^) They had managed to keep their relationship pretty under wraps up until then, but it had been some time, and they were genuinely happy with each other and ready to take the next step. They hadn’t technically had an engagement period at all, but Izuku supposed, well, this was it right here. They had a small ceremony planned for a few weeks from then, but before they could legally tie the knot, they had to go apply for a marriage license, which meant going together down to the city hall. Nobody batted an eye at them as they strode through the halls (...any more than usual, given that they were both famous), because there were a lot of reasons to go to city hall, and a lot of them had to do with hero work. But when they entered the office for requesting marriage licenses… well, they knew they were going to have to go public soon anyway. Izuku’s Twitter feed was crazy that night, though as embarrassing as it was, he had to admit he kind of liked being bombarded with well-wishes and retweets of the photo the clerk had snapped of them, standing arm-in-arm and awkwardly holding up their application. (He liked it, but it was pretty bad as photos went; he hoped they’d get a few nicer ones from the actual wedding.) ----- I’ll do more of my prompts tomorrow! Send more, if you like! =]