#LycoRogue's added two cents

[lycorogue]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Originally started by @izanae. **EDIT: Seems izanae was also tagged by someone, but didn't state who. So I'm not sure who truly originated this questionnaire... Thanks for the tag @tree-reads

The "original" Fic Writers Ask thread (that izanae started) was getting lengthy (by nature of the game), and I was about to double its size (by nature of my writing style). But please go and check that thread out to see how other wriblrs answered. You might find a new favorite that way!

Alright, let's get to it.

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

49 (really? It feels like I have so many more...) You can also find me over on FFN and DA still, and I do post my stories here too... just... FYI.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

357,107* *I feel like I should clarify that the 49 stories and 357k words is since I started publishing fanfic in 2010. I feel like this doesn't seem all that impressive now... (also... holy hecken! I've been publishing fanfic for 13 years!?)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mostly Miraculous Ladybug (31), but I originated in the "Hey, Arnold!" fandom (7*). I've also written for Fruits Basket (4). I have a couple of D&D fanfics - 1 each for 2 of my D&D characters, and I have written one story each for the following fandoms: - Left 4 Dead/Jonathan Coulton's song "Re: Your Brains" - Graceling Realm series by Kristin Cashore (specifically, the novel Bitterblue) [Rated: Explicit] - Ender Series by Orson Scott Card (specifically, the novel Speaker for the Dead) - Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (the LoZ franchise is one of my main fandoms... I'm shocked I haven't written more for it...) [Told in 1st person] - An all-OCs fic set in the X-Men: Evolution universe *I have more HA fics over on FFN that I didn't port over because they aren't completed works.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Woven Heartstrings Summary: Chat Noir needs a Christmas gift for Ladybug. Marinette is a very crafty and creative person, so Chat Noir asks her for some help in making a gift for his lady. While hesitant in aiding Chat Noir's attempts to woo her superhero self, Marinette reluctantly agrees. Although, after a week of working side-by-side with Marinette, Chat Noir's not so sure he wants to gift the scarf he's making to Ladybug after all. Could Your Paradise Also Be Your Hell? Summary: Marinette is not coping very well when she's magically transported into her older-self's body, and discovers she's now married to Adrien Agreste. [Unofficial companion piece to Remember That Time When... by @mostlovedgirl-writes ] Peeping Tomcat Summary: Something called to Adrien, and before he knew it, he was addicted to sitting outside Marinette's window as Chat Noir; just watching her. His voyeuristic habit needs to stop, but things have gotten far too complicated now that he realizes he's growing a crush on her. [Story told in 1st person; non-sexual voyeurism] I Was Thinking of You Summary: Girls' Day derails when Marinette realizes the male lead of a romance movie reminds her of someone other than Adrien. [Lukanette story] Is it True? Summary: Marinette instantly regrets confessing her feelings for Adrien. He decides it might be time for a confession of his own.

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

Always. I may run out of spoons and miss a comment for a little while, but I make a point of going back and still replying eventually. Even if it's months later. EDIT: I neglected to copy/paste the whole question originally. So, here's the answer to the why/why not question. I make sure to respond to all comments because people put in the effort to read my story and then tell me how they felt about it. I NEED to send the love right back to them. I need them to know that their words matter and warmed my heart. (That said, even if you don't leave a review, I do love you, Reader)

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Despite my friends teasing that I'm "the queen of angst", I actually don't have too many stories that don't end on a hopeful note. So, if we're going "pure angst ending" I only have two: Unsent Letter for the Fruits Basket fandom and True Husband for Speaker for the Dead (Enderverse). Both are shorter stories of people believing they are unworthy of love, pity those who do love them, and believe they have sinned and are deserving of being miserable. If you want to stick within the Miraculous fandom, I'd say I'm Not Allowed to Love You [contains s4 finale spoilers]. That was angsty enough that I had to end on a hopeful note via an epilogue that I added to the closing author's notes.

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

Oh goodness! As mentioned, I try to end just about all of my stories on a high note. I was able to narrow the 49 stories down to 8 with a fluffy, happy ending. Out of those 8? I think Woven Heartstrings has the most optimistic, love-filled ending? Everybody is just showing their love and appreciation for everyone else (even Adrien and Gabriel... written pre-Chat Blanc, I believe???). It's just a lovefest story. Runners Up categories: - Favorite LoveSquare Fluff winner: I Just Wanted to Kiss You - Happiest Lukanette content winner: I Was Thinking of You - Happiest Family Unit winner: Build Your Own Luck - Happiest Platonic Love winner*: The Truest of Friends *excluding Woven Heartstrings - Happiest "I'm probably going to rework this as original fiction" winner: I Don't Care [a Gabriemilie story written before s5 lore drops]

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I have been so so SO lucky that I have not. My heart goes out to you writers who do. :'(

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

I have written smut 3x (working on a 4th). I published 1. I am cishet, so I am vanilla and write cishet. Smut is also a rare genre of writing for me to venture into. So rare that my current "smut" story is more "plot with eventual porn" than it is "porn with(out) plot". The sex is a significant character development moment in 3 out of the 4 stories I wrote. The 4th was more of a character study for a pair of OCs. No shade on the "porn without plot" folks. Those stories are so fun and indulgent and I appreciate them so much. My brain just won't let me pare down to that style no matter how much I try. It's like "Nope. Must have character growth. Throw emotions into this mess!"

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

I think I've only attempted to write a crossover once... and it was not a very successful result. It was Arnold Shortman and Helga Pataki from "Hey, Arnold!" in the world of Familiar of Zero. Helga was Louise and Arnold was her familiar Saito.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Uh... I don't think so???

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not to my knowledge (although I'd be down if someone wanted to translate any of my works). That said, Woven Heartstrings does have the only non-English review I've received (it's in French). So.... maybe someone translated it into French without letting me know??? I just assumed the reader knew enough English to understand what I wrote or otherwise used a translating service....

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

Three different times. One was partially published. Prior to the Hey Arnold Jungle Movie officially being made, @chibisunnie and I attempted to write up a fanscript (is that how we met? I can't recall....). My friend Ronoxym and I have also attempted to write two different X-Men OC stories centered around his OC Devon. Although, in both cases, it was more he wrote the story and then I kind of unintentionally hijacked it???? The incomplete co-written fic that I actually attempted to publish* was one of the two I wrote with Rono: Please, Let Me Explain. *not published on AO3; on FFN and DA only

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

That I've written for? Love Square. Specifically anything where Marinette is herself instead of Ladybug: MariChat or Adrienette. They just remind me so much of myself and my husband. Fave in general? My OTP of OTPs is probably Gambit and Rogue from X-Men. I tend to refer to my husband as Gambit to my Rogue. (Are you sensing a theme as per my relationship vs my shipping tendencies?)

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

My poor unintentionally abandoned "Hey, Arnold!" epic What is Truly Meant to Be. It is on FFN and DA only.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I am frequently told that I keep the characters and world so in-character/canon-accurate that my stories read like "lost episodes" of a show. I'm also fairly good at dialogue and conveying emotions.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

- Naming things. Titles. Naming a McGuffin. Coming up with superhero/villain names. etc. - Anything with a LOT of action in it. Be that fight scenes, chase scenes, or sex scenes. I'm someone who can picture things in my head as clear as if I were watching a movie, and I try to convey what I'm seeing to the reader as if I were writing visual media such as a show/movie or comic. This usually leads me to micromanage the movement of the characters and the action ends up feeling clunky and repetitive. - Allowing the characters to get physically hurt in a way that professional medical treatment is needed. Broken limb? Stab wound? Concussion? Injured eye? Poisoned? Nope. Can't do it. Mental block tells me "no". - Write short, sweet, concise stories/drabbles/ficlets (can't you tell?)

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

Huh. With the exception of proper nouns (such as Chat Noir), I'm not sure if I've used non-English words that aren't just borrowed words within English or words most English speakers would know anyway (such as enchanté, cómo estás, or dōmo arigatō). I know I italicize thoughts, so I don't know if I'd italicize a non-English word to signal that it's a foreign word??? I'd assume the readers would know that already. I think, if I were to ever use a foreign word within dialogue it would have to depend on the circumstance. If the foreign word or phrase is important for the POV character to learn, I may include it along with a translation. Otherwise, I may just state that the characters are speaking in this other language and then write it in English so my readers have a better chance at understanding what is being said. Also, I am far from multilingual, so that would help me avoid translation errors.

19. What’s the first fandom you wrote for?

Technically, I think it would be X-Men???? I think I came up with X-Men OCs and storylines for those OCs back when I was in, like, 5th grade????? Then I did some Batman fanfics in middle and early high school. Mostly solo roleplay/dressup in my basement because I was that nerd still playing pretend by myself when I was 16. First fandom I published a fic for? If you don't count play-by-post RPGs*, then my first published-online fanfic fandom was "Hey, Arnold!" *the play-by-post game was for Batman.

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

YOU'RE ASKING ME TO PICK MY FAVORITE CHILD!? Unlike parenthood, I GUESS I could put effort into actually answering this.... I've got it narrowed down to 4. These are the 4 I have probably reread the most. Two of them are the stories I wrote as kind of fanfics of @mostlovedgirl-writes 's fanfics. Take what you want from that, but, basically, I guess I love living in the worlds MLG creates??? The other two finalists are my personal headcanons for Miraculous Ladybug. Headcanon stories: Build Your Own Luck - cute little Dupain-Cheng family bonding story about the origins of the lucky charm bracelet that Marinette gave to Adrien. Forever in Darkness - What Plagg's life was like with his previous holders, and why he thinks Adrien is the best one he's had. Inspired by MLG: Could Your Paradise Also Be Your Hell? - How Marinette spent the night before heading off to NYC. Unofficial companion story for Remember That Time When... Rolling Thunder - Adult Marinette and Adrien stumbling their way into a romantic relationship, finally! Based off of Finding Yourself in the Details Honorable Mention to my longest story and first completed chaptered story: Peeping Tomcat

Phew! That... was a LOT! Thanks for sticking around until the end! It was fun going back through my portfolio.

All that wish to answer this, consider yourself tagged!

Official no-pressure tags for: @mostlovedgirl-writes, @captaintoomanybattles, @thetauruspixie, @livrever, and @cyhyr

[lycorogue]

Same deal with Halloween. Please make sure your kitties are safe.

This is VERY serious. Please keep you black cats inside this Friday the 13th!

Via trustmeimafraggle

[lycorogue]

I posted 474 times in 2022

35 posts created (7%)

439 posts reblogged (93%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@galahadwilder

@apopcornkernel

@enberlight

@flightfoot

@skarabrae-stone

I tagged 474 of my posts in 2022

#reblog - 408 posts

#ml - 109 posts

#miraculous ladybug - 109 posts

#includes image - 81 posts

#includes images - 53 posts

#fanart - 44 posts

#adrien agreste - 40 posts

#lycorogue's added two cents - 40 posts

#lycorogue original - 38 posts

#includes image id - 36 posts

Longest Tag: 99 characters

#(hubby and i were just raging yesterday about the war on single-use plastic vs corporate pollution)

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Question: Maybe it’s because of how old the song is, but, considering the Miraculous season 4 finale, why hasn’t anyone done an AMV to Alanis Morissette’s “Head Over Feet” yet?

63 notes - Posted March 25, 2022

#4

I'm eating one of these every day. Am I doing it right?

[ID: picture of me holding up a bag of Hershey's Halloween-themed Kisses: strawberry Dracula Kisses. /end ID]

69 notes - Posted August 30, 2022

#3

Lord, I love my dash right now!

[Image ID:

Screenshot of my dash. Four people I follow all sharing the latest “episode” of @buggachat‘s Bakery “Enemies” AU comic, all in a row. Then, two suggested blogs’ previews, the left-most one also sharing the BEAU comic. Then two more people in a row sharing the BEAU comic strip. Then a post by @heywriters. Finally, Buggachat’s upload of today’s BEAU comic.

/End ID]

256 notes - Posted August 27, 2022

#2

Broke: Oh, hey, it’s Marinette in her PJs

Woke: Oh, hey, it’s Marinette in her Date-Wear

1,711 notes - Posted November 5, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

See the full post

3,383 notes - Posted November 3, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[lycorogue]

Starting to Update Tags

To make life easier both for myself and for others, I've started the painfully slow process of going back through all of my blog's posts and updating the tags section to be a bit more unified.

I could have been playing games on my phone, or planning my gaming session for Monday, or empty out my epic pile of posts dumped in "drafts", or read fanfic, or WROTE fanfic. But nope. Decided to do this all day long. 😅

For posts I simply reblog, I've now included the #reblog tag.

For posts that I add to when I reblog them, I've now included the tag #LycoRogue's added two cents.

For posts that I've penned myself, I'm making sure I remember to include the tag #LycoRogue original.

I'm also trying to make sure any/all references to my writing goes under #LycoRogue writing.

I have gone through all the posts/reblogs I’ve done since the start of 2022, and it will take some time to further back, but it’s a start. 🤷‍♀️

[lycorogue]

FYI, if it also helps, there's an app that kinda does this. It's called Habitica. I used it for a few years. It's free. Actually has a website to play online if you prefer, but is also an app. You can pay a subscription to get bonuses, but nothing is really locked away in the free version.

You can get outfits and pets and backgrounds to customize your pixilated little avatar. You then start up quests to conquer various chores like dishes or laundry or dusting. You don't necessarily have to do that chore, though. Instead, you create your To Do list that you then check off. Each item you complete adds attack damage against the quest monster. Each day you don't complete your list, however, the quest monster attacks you for each remaining item. So, that is the main caveat. I know that, while being "punished" for incomplete tasks might be incentive for some, it can also cause unnecessary stress for others.

Also, feel free to put ANYTHING on your To Do list. My husband had "didn't have negative thoughts about myself" on his list 12x and he'd try to cross one off each hour.

Anyway, I enjoyed Habitica for about 5 yrs or so. However, once my friends and husband slowly stopped using the app, and each quest then took WEEKS to complete solo, I eventually dropped it too.

The app clearly isn't for everyone, but if you need that "gamify" push and you don't have the same support as OP, maybe this could work for you?

you know that post that's like "if thinking naruto would be proud of you for brushing your teeth gets you to brush your teeth go for it" well today i texted my friends and asked them to pretend to be wizards sending me on a grand quest to eat lunch and buy hand soap and it worked so well i put a load of laundry in and did the dishes too so. i don't know what the lesson is here but maybe give that a try

[lycorogue]

This video is amusing without sound. I was in tears once I turned the sound on.

[lycorogue]

[Video Transcription:

Did you know you can put a sock on with a towel without bending? Shout out to a follower who sent me this hack. It's great. If you don't have a sock aid at home you can use a thin towel folded into thirds or halves, depending on the thickness of the towel. And then you're going to slide the sock over the towel end, making sure that the toe is all the way down to the tip. That's super important. Otherwise it will get stuck halfway up. Next, you're going to drop it down to the floor so that your foot goes into the kind of fold that you've created. Then you simply pull until the tip of your toes touches the tip of the sock. And pull the towel out.

/end transcription]

*Transcription note: The towel used in the demonstration appears to be a full-body towel; something long enough to reach the floor while still being comfortably held without the need to bend. The towel is then folded to narrow it enough to fit inside the sock without shortening the length. Keep folding towards the center to create that sort of chute for your foot to slide into. If it is an extra-wide towel, fold in half first, and then fold towards the new center to create that chute.

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Your blog was followed by 1386 bots

tumblr wrapped you were misinterpreted 3702 times your posts were taken in bad faith 5697 times you got 1090 hate messages

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6. Be wary when attacking the Fire Lord. The Fire Nation knows their weakness and will be prepared with traps.

Important safety information about the eclipse on Monday

You *can* remove the eclipse glasses during totality; not before or after.

If you find yourself falling apart instead of falling in love, turn around, bright eyes.

It is no longer considered best practice to cut the beating heart out of a human chest at the top of a pyramid to bring the sun back; nowadays, they just short out a LUCAS device.

If you are imprisoned by an evil bishop, break out, and look for a hawk and a wolf who are in love.

Most critically - No matter what, do not buy any strange and exotic plants which mysteriously appear during the eclipse.

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One of my husband's coworkers had a stray cat give birth in their yard. They were able to domesticate the litter and were planning on giving the kittens out to forever homes before getting the mom fixed.

They named the kittens things like Camry, Corolla, Prius, Tundra, and Tacoma (all Toyota car models).

They then promoted the kittens being old enough to be given away by announcing their own "Toyota-thon".

No clue if any of the new owners kept the Toyota car names their kittens originally had. Wouldn't doubt it if they did....

[lycorogue]

Is it currently summer where you live and you are going outside? Wear sunscreen*

Is it currently winter where you live? Still wear sunscreen. ESPECIALLY if you are out among fresh show. That shit reflects and intensifies the rays. There’s a reason skiers/snowboarders get sun burns too.

Are you driving long distances and it’s sunny out? Wear sunscreen. You’ll still get a significant amount of sunlight unless you have tinted windows (which is illegal in most US states; iirc).

Are you a darker complexion and were told you don’t need sunscreen because your skin absorbs sunlight differently? THOSE WERE LIES! WEAR SUNSCREEN! 

If you’re protecting your eyes from the sun, you need to protect your skin too!

And don’t forget to apply with enough time for the protective barrier to absorb/form before going out into the sun (usually about 10-20min) and to re-apply every couple of hours (more frequently if you’re getting wet/sweating). Also, don’t forget your scalp! If you have thinner hair, short/shaved hair, have defined parts - just generally can SEE your scalp - you need to protect that too! Slather that with sunscreen as well, wear a hat, sit in the shade, carry an umbrella, etc.

*I personally go for sunBLOCK. I am so pale I’m practically see-through, and I have a family history of skin cancer. Please learn the difference between sunSCREEN and sunBLOCK and decide which is best for you. (Can I also note how much I love that the linked article uses an image of a black family putting on sunscreen/block?)

be pro-aging but wear sun screen. sun protection is not beauty industry propaganda it will save you. wear it. or else.

[lycorogue]

Also, to your first point, we never really see what happens post-island. So we have no clue if the mystery spray even worked. Or if it was a false sense of security, and that island trip turned into a super-spreader event. Still very on brand for Miles.

A storytelling moment I love in Glass Onion is the throat spray. It works in the metanarrative as an excuse to not have any of the actors wear masks despite the setting, but it works in story too.

We're assuming this is set in late 2020 due to the Among Us popularity, so we're looking at peak first wave pandemic. The fact Miles has a throat spray that can, through some magic, stop the transmission of Covid for at least 4 days at the height of its spread, and the fact that, evidently, he has made no effort to mass distribute it, means either

1. This thing hasn't passed FDA approval and Miles still felt comfortable giving it to his 'friends', foreshadowing his apathy towards regulation and safety standards with Klear.

2. He's a selfish arsehole.

Both work.

[lycorogue]

Best friggin use of Blaze. 😍

[lycorogue]

B:TAS writer Paul Dini literally wrote Harley for Arleen after being inspired by her performing in a jester costume on a soap opera. We would not have Harley Quinn if not for this woman.

I love that, because the character she helped mold is an abuse survivor, celebs are honoring Arleen by donating to domestic abuse charities.

it breaks my heart to say that Arleen Sorkin has passed away

She might be best known for her role as Harley Quinn in Batman: The Animated Series, in which she had a major impact on how that character was created. From Harley’s accent and personality, to her Jewishness and appearance, it was all Arleen.

She will be dearly missed by her friends, family, & fans.

May her memory be a blessing

[lycorogue]

Congrats on this thread breaking containment, buddy!

The Joker’s violent attention-comedy bullshit would 100% just not work if his main opponent was John Constantine. Both because John is funnier than he is and just does NOT care. Joker would be bouncing around like “look at me, I’m so EEEEVILLLL” and John’s just bored because this isn’t even in the top ten evil things he’s seen this morning

[lycorogue]

I love the juxtaposition of this depiction of the locals vs Dracula’s opinion of them: “Because your peasant is at heart a coward and a fool!”

You can FEEL the conflict between these two entities. How utterly BELOW HIM Dracula finds the locals (or, really, humanity as a whole) are. That underestimation of humanity becomes his downfall, and it is delicious to see it happen.

God bless all the locals looking out for Jonathan Harker like giving him gifts and rosaries and praying for him. The carriage driver heard where he was going and made excellent time JUST to get him there an hour early so he could say "oh what a shame the count's not here let's go to town instead how's that sound?" which COULD have worked if Dracula didn't hire the buffest weirdest driver who just happened to pull up immediately after.

Everyone is trying SO HARD to keep this idiot foreigner safe and Jon is just over here like "uh I'm not Catholic but the woman putting the rosary around my neck is weeping so I guess I'll wear it to be polite on my way to Murder Hell Castle"