#Rereading this thing is the funniest thing I've ever done oh my god

[anistarrose]

20 questions for fic writers, tagged by @holdmecloser-gandydancer (thanks reese!) tagging @fexalted @3hobbitsinatrenchcoat @novantinuum and anyone else who wants to!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

86, very soon to be 87!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

397,102. my god.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

The majority (over half) of my total fics on AO3 are Gravity Falls, but my current passion right now is obviously TAZ Balance, which is a pretty close runner-up. TOH is a lot further behind, but I have at least one WIP I want to finish up early next year!

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Some Sunny Day (Gravity Falls), Tulip's Return (Infinity Train), Stan and Ford Vs. The Future (GF), Fateful Detours (GF/IT crossover), Missteps and Miscommunication (GF).

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

Usually, and especially when they give me a chance to infodump about the writing process! I just don't necessarily respond quickly lol

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

In recent memory, it might be but the strange lights in the sky were shining (TAZ). I write more happy/bittersweet endings than sad ones, but that one... that one has one of my absolute favorite twists :)

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

to eat from a poisoned plate (TAZ) is one that I almost didn't write a happy ending for, but I'm so glad that I did, because I go back and reread that one a lot, admittedly.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Usually no more than annoying but generic "please update" comments, but back in the Gravity Falls fandom, there was this one person that you've probably heard of/encountered if you wrote a lot about Bill Cipher back in the day.

They were a guest account user who'd get so mad if you killed off Bill, to the point of making threats (albeit exaggerated, not really realistic ones), and also one time they told me I should go read a particular MLP fic and take inspiration from it in my own. Which, no shade against MLP, but as someone who's never been in that fandom, that's literally the funniest entitled comment I've received in my life.

9. Do you write smut?

Nope, but I do occasionally write characters being horny. There's a huge difference between those things for me, and that probably has everything to do with where I lie on the ace spectrum lmao

10. Do you write crossovers?

A couple times, though I used to be way more into them than I am now. There was the aforementioned GF/Infinity Train one, and my gateway into writing TAZ fic was actually a very silly "what if the Pines family were the protags of TAZ Balance" fic.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge, and fingers crossed it doesn't happen 🤞

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, a few times! My buddy @yourbonesarenowmycoat translated several of my Gravity Falls fics into Spanish back in the day, for one thing!

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

Nope!

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

This should come as no surprise but it's Blupjeans forever and ever <3

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Oh, god. Probably the one that I wrote like 9 chapters (out of 10 planned ones) to cope with being chronically ill and to convince myself to go to therapy, and then abruptly stopped writing when it was almost done because I figured out how to manage my chronic illness and soon after, started going to therapy. On the one hand, it would be tragic for it to never see the light of day, but on the other hand, it kinda... served its purpose for me already?

16. What are your writing strengths?

Fic as character study! Sometimes I set out with the goal of elucidating a particular theme or character motivation, and sometimes it just happens along the way, but I am a genius with regards to character analysis and my brain is galaxy and I'm not afraid to share it.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Dialogue is one thing for sure, I get a lot of compliments on it but it's also such a challenge for me. Possibly because I, personally, don't talk like a remotely normal human person irl. The other thing is brevity and killing my darlings — I literally can't count the number of times one of my fics exceeded the expected word count by orders of magnitude.

The aforementioned character study thing? Yeah, that's also a weakness, because a lot of my fics (even including some very, very long ones!) exist to explore themes I couldn't figure out how to word in a simple headcanon post. In fact, I'm probably gonna post a fic of that exact variety this weekend, lmao.

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

Definitely not fluent enough in any language to do it on any larger scale, unless I get serious about learning Spanish again.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Not on AO3, but in general, it was definitely Pokémon! I was writing time travel stories set in Sinnoh before Legends Arceus made it cool.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

As previously mentioned... probably "to eat from a poisoned plate". In the vaguest possible terms, learning to love cooking again in spite of some prior bad experiences has been a struggle for me, too, and I truly think that without having written that fic, I wouldn't be succeeding.

On a related note, I'm about to spend my afternoon making a blueberry pie.

[thomtrebond]

y'all i'm revising ornate ceilings and if you were ever like 'yeah roxas's descriptions of debilitating joint pain sound like standard mental illness fare' you probably have rheumatoid arthritis

[academicdisasterfic]

nv-md fic recs

Today marks @nv-md's one year fanniversary, and I thank the Drarry gods every day that we get Ali in this fandom. In addition to being a phenomenal writer and beta, she's also the world's kindest, funniest, most incredible person, and a top tier BFF (yes, that is most definitely a brag).

To celebrate Ali Day, here are my top five favourites that she's written over the past year - and this was bloody hard, because she's written FIFTY FIX works. In one year! Fifty six!!!!

So - after much deliberation, and in no particular order, here are my top five Ali fics:

Operation Dragon's Shenanigans (Drarry, 14k, E) - Ali's Cluefest work is one of the funniest stories I have ever read. It takes my favourite tropes - Harry thinks Draco's up to something, Harry is an idiot, Draco is super hot - and turns them into an epic tale of a lovestruck dumbass annoying everyone in his life because he's got a crush. A must-read on days you need to smile.

On Hope & Healing (Drarry, 14.5k, E) - this story has a very special place in my heart. Harry and Draco's relationship is heartbreakingly sweet and so full of tension and forgiveness and love. It examines prejudice in a really masterful way and has the most satisfying, lovely ending.

Just Stay (Drarry, 2.7k, M) - I think this was the work that made me click the subscribe button to nv-md. Hurt/comfort done to absolutely perfection, and a gorgeous friends-to-lovers arc that leaves my heart aching and soothed at the same time.

Everything About You (Drarry, 2.5k, E) - Ali's Transfest made me absolutely sob. She took such care to make this representation accurate and sensitive, and it really shows in this stunning T4T fic. Drarry's dynamic is stunning and the mutual pining and UST is chef's kiss.

Do It All Over Again (Tedrarry, 2.2k, E) - oh my god. Ali's smut honestly takes me to a separate plane of existence, and she absolutely nails this triad. Reverse chronology is a really fucking difficult thing to pull off, and Ali does it to utter perfection. I've read this maybe ten times and will definitely continue to regularly reread it.

Happy one year, Ali. This fandom is so much better for having you in it x

[set-in-stardust]

akhldfsl yes i did, in fact, mean chapter 19 oh my god

firstly scar? at the beginning? scamming grian and probably mumbo the same way? beautiful. we love to see it. scar deserved to snap he's been dealing with this for too long. and the fact he used their meetings as the bargaining because he knew neither of them wanted to lose them? adfs;jkl bmmmm

how mumbo doesn't hesitate to come help grian when he said he needed to fly? when mumbo said he wanted to land and, even though grian was questioning it, did it without a doubt? listen i'm soft

your description of the cave: gorgeous. immaculate. i want to go there and have a photoshoot. i could see it in my mind and there are so very few works i can say that about. it sounds beautiful and how in the world did you manage to convey it in a simple 8 sentences? oh my gosh

grian is very,,, selective about what he qualifies as lies and truths, i've noticed. if we end up going very technical on what qualifies as lies grian tells, he most often ends up telling lies of omission- these are 'the intentional exclusion of important information'. when it comes to his wings, he calls these lies. when it comes to anything else, it's a half-truth or doesn't even register it as any lie at all.

also scar what was your plan for the ordering of questions in this tunnel?? yes i understand having a question at the beginning to lure them into a false sense of security to make sure they understand the concept, but how did we go from ship names to favorite traits? please the vibe change is too much between those questions

grian. not even realizing mumbo's kissing him for the first couple seconds. sir what the-

ahh hehehe mumbo being immediately worried he overstepped boundaries again and apologizing immediately! a) it does show, again, he's learned a new response to what to do when he's hurt someone, how to properly convey his emotions. he's telling grian that he doesn't want to put him in a position where he's uncomfortable ever again, and, while stuttery and stilted and very mumbo, it's much more direct than what he's done before.

b) '"It's something that I've given a lot of thought, and if you don't want this, that's okay! Maybe I read into it too much, or if you're just not ready, then I'll wait; I'll wait as long as it takes,"'

i'll wait, i'll wait as long as it takes. bm. BM. hello. hi. uh. yeah.

yeah grian i would agree a mustache seems like it would an odd texture to feel while you're kissing someone but go off i guess? you got the guy after 75000 words so enjoy it all you need. we're all just glad you finally got there.

mumbo reiterating the point that he doesn't want to force grian to do anything. and then grian without a singular hesitation dashing those thoughts away. mm. they ✨

hAH Scar being found out by the two of them! i cannot wait for that conversation. it is going to be one of the funniest things.

the wings the wings the wings came out oh my god i love that trope

and, simply to bring this back to my initial freakout ask, the last 4 lines:

'Mumbo looked over at him. “What’s the right answer?” he asked softly. Grian’s cheeks grew warm. He bit his lip, laughed, then said: “Everything.”'

yes. bm. that dialogue oh my gosh. you have stolen my heart through these two fictional characters. they're so sweet. i- :p i just think they're neat (:

woof. this one is Very Long. sorry about that. i held a lot of thoughts and i've reread the fic just a ~couple~ times over the past 5 days (i've read it over so many times. fun fact- i actually skipped the love tunnel scene the first 2 times i read the fic because i was getting so much second hand embarrassment. i read it the third time and every time since though!). i just. ahhhhhhhh. bm. you are a very good writer and you need to know that.

~☁️

AAAAA I ENJOYED READING UR THOUGHTS ON THIS SM TY FOR THIS SHFHS

It amazes me how much stuff ppl point out that I don't even do on purpose when I plan this stuff,,, like them agreeing easily wasn't on purpose it was just for plot, BUT it does work out to show how close they r now soooo-

Also I don't think scar had much of an order with the questions, just wanted that first one, then a silly one, then I think he'd planned to get more serious the closer they got to the end in hopes that they'd like,, confess right in front of him LMFAO

And ty!!! The description for the tunnel was rlly hard tbh,, I struggled putting what was in my head into words a lot with it

And yep yep yep, grians always telling lies of ommision. They come the easiest, as it's easier to keep his mouth shut and not explain himself than to open up to someone else. Scar tells white lies, and mumbo prefers to not lie at all, or avoid saying anything (also ommision)

And Hehe hehehe u don't even know how much of the dialogue came to me before writing this chapter- hell, before even planning it. I knew I wanted that ending line, I knew what mumbo was going to say when he pulled away. I could literally see so much of this chapter in my head and it took sooooo long to get it just right ahfhhf

Also fun fact I talked to my friend whose ex had a moustache what kissing a man with a moustache was like for this fic,,, she just said it was weird so I left it vague LMFAO

THE WINGS CAME OUT THING WAS SO AAAA get ready for more it's so funny

And omfg yeah I don't blame u for skipping the OG tunnel scene,,, It was hard to write it cuz I kept having to like, step away I was so embarrassed LMFAO

Anyways lovely to hear your thoughts!!! Tysm for this!!!

[genderbinarysunset]

@oblivioustoast I was like "I'm gonna reread TYA and TMITIM just to answer this question because I always skim Raoul's parts," and got halfway through TYA before my eyes rolled back into my head. So here's the thing... the first half specifically of The Three Musketeers is the funniest thing ever written. It's consistently hilarious, and stuffed full of character moments; it has a fast pace and enough detail so modern readers know what's going on, but it isn't bogged down by it. It's an action adventure story, maybe one of the best ever told. The second half of the book is slower and more serious, but because the setup is so incredibly good you don't really care - you'll power through it because the character interactions remain top notch, and there's a satisfactory ending barring the friends going their separate ways. TTM is a complete story that doesn't necessarily need a sequel.

And that's not Dumas' fault. Like, I'm not gonna be mad that he crafted a masterpiece and the other books didn't live up to the first. And I've talked at length with @inkbee and @attentiondeficitohlookasquirrel about why that might be - Dumas having other projects (TCOMC), Dumas giving most of the work to his assistants and not touching up as much with his own particular wit and charm, Dumas going through a rough patch in his life and being generally depressed. At the end of the day, we don't know. But I've always stood by the fact that the main four Musketeers are what make the stories so damn good. TYA tries to expand the world, and as a historian I appreciate a work of historical fiction, but it goes deep into the political intrigue that was very surface level in TTM, and worse, it commits the cardinal (lol) sin of D&D - it splits the party.

Theoretically, it should be interesting to see a different mixup of characters. You get Aramis, Athos, Rochefort, and sometimes Bazin and Grimaud on one side; and d'Artagnan, Porthos, Planchet, and Mousqueton on the other. When these parties clash, it's kind of engaging! The characters are still good, even if this is where Aramis begins his slide into villain adjacency (which makes sense and is set up, but saddens me as a reader), so the scenes do work. But then we keep getting yanked away to visit Mazarin, whose every chapter is just "and he's not as cool as Richelieu" over and over like yes, we noticed, at this point we don't even need the narration to tell us this, your villain is not as compelling it's true! And that's a huge problem in these stories, because Richelieu was everything in the first book, but oh well, time marches on. When we're not with Mazarin or Beaufort, we're with Raoul. And Raoul...

Raoul... is Bomoko. Not Boruto. Bomoko. The sequel character who's supposed to be the new d'Artagnan but lacks his charm, because d'Artagnan is set up so well, and the energy of the book is so high that he just works, and is beloved. Raoul is in a far slower adventure and... isn't a Gascon. He doesn't have anime protagonist in his blood, he has Sad Boy genes, and God is he a Sad Boy. I'd be sad too if the only person I had to work with for a good while was Olivain! He's like Crash Bandicoot at the end of a bad level, and every box is a new character who we will meet for five minutes and probably never see again, with a few rare exceptions. Raoul just has everything stacked against him to be a painfully boring protagonist. And if you get enjoyment out of him, GOOD. I hope someone likes him! I just do not.

But then, Athos loves Raoul so damn much, and I love Athos, so I cannot stave off warm and soft feelings towards the IDEA of Raoul. I also think he works as a great foil to Mordaunt, and wish they had more interactions than they already do. Character clashes are the bread and butter of Dumas' finest writing and Raoul spends so long alone or with underdeveloped passerby that he doesn't get to shine. The parts where he and Grimaud meet Mordaunt are great though.

As for d'Artagnan's feelings about Raoul, I wish they had had more of a brotherly relationship under their mutual dad Athos, but I'm nevertheless glad that he slots so well into the family. Again, if a character I love loves another character, I must love that character too, so it helps to salvage Raoul for me. I'm sorry Raoul my sweet boy you had such potential and were done so very dirty by whatever Dumas was going through when he wrote this monstrous tome. I'm not gonna talk about TMITIM bc I'll have to think about the lads dying and I'll just die.