#also most of my writing is not on ao3 but the actual like edited decent quality ones r but fjbdhd

[transfemzedaph]

That anon needs to fuck the hell off what compels people to be so rude?? I don't read fic anymore but I am going to make a point to go read all urs when I'm off work because I know they're awesome and anon is just being a dickhead ☝️☝️ - @helsex

fr! i was assuming the first ask was like in good faith bc hey tone is weird sometimes jn text but the second one (which im assuming was probably the same person) was just straight up rude and 🥺🥺🥺🥺 thats so nice of u dude

[sharkieboi]

actually re: Neverafter but just re-read the rewrite I did of Little Red Riding Hood for my Fairy Tales class and i was a fucking genius for it

[bansheeoftheforest]

So, I am not in the TGS fandom anymore, but I am currently exanimating my Fake Kidnapping fic (A Moment of Glory, which can be found on tumblr and ao3) under a microscope as I am actually writing my first book at the moment and AMOG turned out to be an entire book. So, now, a little over 3 years since I wrote it, I have some stats for yall.

AMOG is 96,868 words long, which means that it is;

Twice, and almost thrice, as long as books like The Great Gatsby, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.

In the top 10 longest TGS fics (as of now on AO3)

A decent bit into the Novel category of book lengths. -

It is, with proper book formatting, around 202 pages long (times new roman 11p and 1.5 spacing).

The average chapter length is 6919 words (nice) and 14.5 pages.

As of now, at least 4300+ people have read AMOG on AO3 which is a little daunting. I don't think I have ever met that many people irl.

It is my most popular fic in turns of hits, comment threads, and subscriptions, with only Truths Be Told taking the #1 spot with kudos and bookmarks.

It is the 15th fic I ever published, which is at the moment 10 fics ago.

On tumblr, the entire series got 217 notes, and on AO3, it got 179 kudos.

I started writing it on July 4th 2021 and opted to write everything before I published anything. The first chapter was published July 15th (also 2021), so it took me about 11 days to write the entire thing.

I did also edit it a bit as I published. Old readers will know that it was once named something akin to "Shattered Mirrors and Bloodstained Feathers".

To this day I have absolutely no fucking idea what possessed me to write AMOG and all I have now is bragging rights.

[space-writes]

hello (again) writeblr! i decided to make a new intro that has all my current wips on it, since i have way more than when i first started out on here.

about me

I go by Space, my pronouns are they/he, and I’m in my third decade of existence, which is absolutely wild. I’ve been writing for most of it, so I like to think I’m pretty decent

I write mostly fantasy and erotica (sometimes at the same time), both original and fanfiction, and all of it's queer

You can find my work on my AO3 here, crossposted to my neocities here, and under my snippets tag

I’m open to tag and ask games, and my inbox is currently open to anything as well. I don’t always reply the fastest, but I’ll get to it eventually! (I don’t take part in chain asks, so please don’t send me them)

I use obsidian.md for all my writing, and it’s my favourite notes app ever, so I also talk about that occasionally. The tag for it is here, and I’m hoping to write some more showcases/tutorials this year!

my main goal is to actually finish some damn books and also to inflict my OC brainrot upon people. so far the second one is the only thing that’s actually happened, but i live in hope

My current wips are Chronicles of Valloroth (Renegade Prince being book one), Obedience, Obsession, and claws—summaries and links for all four are under the cut!

this is my writing sideblog, you can find my main @thespacelizard, and i follow/like from there

tag directory is here

current wips

Chronicles of Valloroth

⚔ Genre: Fantasy Adventure

⚔ Features: Queer cast, found family, A Whole Entire Dragon, magical mishaps, The Mere Concept of Doing The Right Thing, a grumpy assassin, a sparkly mercenary, knock-off tieflings, a handsome prince (he’s gay), more banter than your average dungeons and dragons campaign

⚔ Status: Book One: First draft completed, re-drafting in-progress || Books Two & Three: outlined

⚔ One Sentence Summary (Book One): A runaway prince seeks freedom in a new world and must find a way to convince a rag-tag group to defeat an ancient dragon, all whilst he is being hunted by a band of mercenaries and an infamous assassin.

⚔ Series Tag: valloroth blogging

claws

🩸 Genre: Queer Horror

🩸 Features: teacher/student relationship (university edition), toxic romance, gender fuckery, broken identity, demonology, murder, self-harm, obsession, stalking, infidelity, a lot of blood, pact-based magic system, corruption, jealousy, eldritch entities, love is a wound, body horror, attempted suicide, and a little bit of arachnophilia

🩸 Status: First draft complete!

🩸 One Sentence Summary: A young student’s obsession with his demonology teacher sparks a twisted romance that draws him to the limits of his humanity—and into the web of an eldritch horror.

🩸 Series Tag: wip: claws

Obedience

💜 Genre: Erotic Romance, D&D fanfiction (original characters, Forgotten Realms setting & loose 5E ruleset)

💜 Features: a variety of BDSM scenarios, one closed off wizard dom, one enthusiastic nerdy sub, weird uses for dnd spells, a painful amount of pining, somehow; worldbuilding, emotional slow burn, as much self indulgence as I can possibly fit in a fanfic series

💜 Status: Arcs 1-3 are complete (read on AO3 here, or my neocities here). The first book of Arc 4, The Perils of Wanting is currently being posted bi-monthly here. The second book of Arc 4, A Question of Trust, is on its second draft.

💜 One Sentence Summary: A D/s M/M series featuring two wizard boys, the kinky magic they get up to, and the feelings they definitely don’t have for each other.

💜 Series Tag: obedience fic blogging (it began on my main, so the tag there has more snippets)

Obsession

🕷 Genre: War of the Spider Queen/Forgotten Realms fanfiction, also Erotica, Horror and a smidge of Dark Romance

🕷 Features: OC/canon, a nightmare transmasc wizard boy, obsession, stalking, jealousy, violent impulses, dubious consent, possessiveness, evil gender dysphoria, incest, gore, the inherent horror of Having a Body, and occasionally actual school things happening at Sorcere

🕷 Status: Ongoing serial, which you can read on AO3 here, or my neocities here

🕷 One Sentence Summary: Pharaun Mizzrym is everything to Vizaeth Thaezyr. He’ll do anything for him—even if Pharaun doesn’t know it yet.

🕷 Series Tag: obsession fic blogging (it also began on my main, so check the tag there for additional content!)

[velvethopewrites]

The sob story with this is that I wrote this yesterday and it got deleted before I could save it. I wanted to die cry, basically. Somehow I managed to re-create most of it, after working on it all damn day. (I basically ended up writing over 6,000+ words in one day. Yowza) I still feel as though the first version was better, but…no one knows that but me, I suppose. (And my partner, who got to read it right before the horrors happened). Regardless, I am proud of this and proud of myself for not giving up when it really would have been easy to. So huzzah to the fickle hand of fate and all that stuff.

For Suptober 2023 prompt “starlight”

I tag @fellshish and @canonblastedships and @clarkenting for being super cool reblog buddies, lol (which is just a thing I made up) This is the longest destiel fic I’ve written yet and it will be my first official AO3 destiel! (As soon as I remember how to do that, oy)

Edited: Now with Spiffy AO3 Link! Here!

The Starlight

There were three types of people that visited the Starlight Lounge — drunks, people desperate to score, and the employees that made their bread and butter trying to tame the other two.

Dean Winchester, unfortunately, was a member of that third group. Oh, sure, Dean had been known to put away a fair bunch of liquor in his day, and sure, Dean had definitely been known to do the Bedroom Rodeo whenever the opportunity presented itself. Hell, back when he’d first started at the Starlight he’d often been three types at once. Work, drink, get laid. Sometimes, not even in that order.

But that was past Dean. Current and newly mature Dean (hah) just wanted to work, go home, eat and fall into his bed. Working at the Starlight wasn’t that bad – it had fairly decent pay and it was often interesting. And like everyone else, Dean had bills to pay and he gave more than his fair share to Sammy. Not that Sam really needed it anymore; he was busy working as a law clerk downtown, putting himself through school. But still, Dean wanted to help as much as he could and besides it was his brotherly duty. Heh. Duty.

Tonight, due to the cold and rainy weather, the bar was fairly empty and business had been slow. There was only one of his regulars, a writer by the name of Chuck crying into his notebooks at the back of the bar. To be honest, Dean had never seen Chuck write a damn thing but the man sure could put scotch away like a pro.  There was also a young couple making out in one of the booths near the restrooms. He’d been keeping an eye on them most of the night, actually, making sure no one lost any clothing. The Starlight didn’t need a public indecency charge on the books. At least, not so soon since the last one, at any rate. 

Dean yawned and finished cleaning up the bar, hoping Chuck and the couple on their way to Soft-Porn Town would soon be leaving. Maybe Dean could even push them on their way a bit early, so he could get home at a decent time, for once.  As he walked over towards Chuck to perhaps lightly suggest the writer hit the road, the double doors of the bar blew open – bringing in the rain, the cold rush of the wind and a new customer in a beige trench coat with seriously fucked up hair. Great.

Dean sighed and turned back around as the new guy slumped onto the first stool at the bar. His dark brown, messed up hair looked even worse up close, and he had a scowl on his face as he glared down at the bar in front of him.

“Whiskey. Neat,��� Messy-Hair said, voice low and very rumbly.

Dean pulled down a clean glass and poured some of their nicer whiskey into it. Dude looks like he could afford it, at any rate. He had a nice suit on under the coat, now that Dean could properly see it and his watch was one of those big clunky things that could probably tell the time on Jupiter or some shit like that. The man’s hand reaches for the glass before Dean has barely pushed it forward. He throws back the drink in record time and hits the bar with it so that it makes a loud thunk.

“Another one.”

Dean shrugged as the man kept glaring down at the bar as though it contained all the answers to life and everything else; Dean knew for a fact that it didn’t. It didn’t even have a ‘42’ scratched into it or anything. (RIP Douglas Adams)

This time the man just wraps his hand around the glass, his fingers clutching at it and woah, Dean thinks, dude’s got some huge fucking hands. They’re big and they’re strong looking. The fingers are nice and long and graceful and oh, oh, oh. Maybe it’s a kink, or maybe it’s a preference, but Dean loves hands. Manly looking mitts like Messy-Hair here and even smaller, more delicate hands like on most women, with pretty nail colors. But Dean’s not choosy.

He sees motion out of the corner of his eye and notices Chuck signaling that he’d like to pay up. Glancing at Messy-Hair he figures he has a few minutes before having to pour him another so he sets the bottle down and heads over to the other side.

“All right there, Chuck?”

“Yeah, yeah, thank you, Dean.”

The older man is flipping through his wallet and counting out his cash slowly. Dean wipes the bar and puts Chuck’s last glass into the bucket for later cleaning.

“Write anything tonight?” Dean always asks this question. It’s like a little game he and Chuck play because it always has the same answer.

“No,” Chuck says looking up at him. He places his finger to his temple solemnly, almost like he’s holding a gun. “But I did a lot of work up here.”

He always gives Dean this look as though Dean should know exactly what he’s talking about. But, of course, Dean never does. He likes to read but he sure as hell would never attempt to write. Personally, he thinks Chuck is sort of crazy, but hey, to each their own, right?

Chuck pushes his notebooks into his old canvas bag on the bar. It’s bulging with everything he carries with him and looks fit to burst. Dean supposes that writer’s block is heavy business.

Chucks nods goodnight as he slips his bag over his shoulders, buckling a bit under the weight. Dean watches as he wobbles away and he’s not sure if it’s from the alcohol or the bag. He’d normally be worried (hey, no bar can stay in business if all its clientele got themselves killed), but he knows Chuck lives nearby. He’ll be all right and probably in his same spot tomorrow evening. He puts Chuck’s money into the till and realizes he tipped Dean more than usual. He really did have had a good night, then.

He notices the couple trying to break the world record for smooches in a single night are getting up and putting on their jackets. Maybe Dean can get out early; he’s got the DVR set for Dr Sexy already, but he wouldn’t say no to catching it live for once.

Glancing over he sees Messy-Hair is now resting his head on the bar, but he lifts it as the doors bang shut behind Chuck, the cold burst of wind making his hair looking even more disheveled. Dean heads back over to see if he needs a refill and is suddenly struck dumb by the other man finally looking at him. Holy Mother of Blue, those are some eyes. The dude is handsome. Like old-time movie handsome. Strong jaw, with a smattering of scruff, pink soft lips and eyes that look like they can see into your soul, no, scratch that, not see, but pierce. Dean swallows roughly and picks up the whiskey bottle. 

“Hey, uh, it’s getting late. One more for the road?” Dean assumes the dude doesn’t know the Starlight is technically open until midnight. Assumes, hah. More like prays.

Blue-Eyes stares at him and frowns. “I thought this establishment closed at midnight.”

“Er, yeah. I suppose it does.”

“Then I’ll take another,” Blue-Eyes pauses and holds out his glass. “And keep them coming for the next forty-five minutes, barkeep.”

Dean blinks at the old-fashioned word and pours another round. They stare at each other until he hears a giggle and a clearing of a throat. He looks over to see the couple and wonders how long they’ve been waiting. Judging from the churlish look on the guy’s face and the barely contained laughter emanating from the girl, it’s been awhile. He settles their tab and takes their money (lousy tip, of course) as the two saunter past Blue-Eyes and escape out into the night. Well, at least Dean can see it’s stopped raining.

Making up his mind, he follows them from behind the bar and locks the door after them. He flips off the sign, too. He may be stuck here with Blue-Eyes, but he’ll be damned if he’ll let someone else come meandering in to make him get home even later.

He comes back to stand in front of his customer and makes a decision. Pulling down another glass, he pours some of the whiskey into it and sighs as the warmth of it hits his system. What do they always say about good whiskey? It should warm the cockles of the heart, or something like that. Not that Dean actually knows what a cockle is, but hey, it went down smooth.

He realizes Blue-Eyes is watching him and Dean decides to bite the bullet. He’s tired, bored and probably on his way to cranky town if Blue-Eyes keeps his word about the next forty-five minutes.

“So, what brings you out on a cold and rainy night like tonight, Mr, uh…what’s your name? I can’t keep calling you what I’ve been calling you in my head.”

The other man squints and tilts his head at Dean like a tiny, confused bird. And no, Dean doesn’t find that adorable at all. Nope.

“What have you been calling me in your head?”

Dean purses his lips. Sometimes he’s really an idiot. He gives Blue-Eyes a shaky laugh.

“I said I wasn’t gonna keeping doing that.”

They stare at each other again, neither one budging until Blue-Eyes releases a breath and blinks, shoulders slumping a bit more. By the end of the night Dean expects this guy to be melted into the floor.

“Cas.”

Dean frowns. “Your name is Mr Cas?”

“No, just Cas.” Blue-Eyes, no, scratch that, Cas then holds out his hand so Dean can shake it like they’re fellow professionals meeting at a party or something. As he grips the other man’s hand in his own he realizes Cas’s hand is warm, dry, and, yep, strong. The dude is seriously ticking all of Dean’s boxes without even trying. It’s a bit unnerving, really.

“Is that short for something?” Dean asks, wondering what type of name that is.

Cas just looks at him over the rim of his glass. “Perhaps.”

Neither of them say anything else for a long moment and Dean shakes his head. “People ever tell you you talk too much?”

“Yes. All the time,” Cas says with a smirk.

Dean laughs. “Well, whatever. It’s officially nice to meet you, Cas. I’m Dean. Humble and professional barkeep at your service.”

“Hello, Dean.”

Cas’s voice is deep but there’s a warmth to it that makes Dean happy.  They chit-chat for a bit, just like Dean would do with any newbie to the bar. He pours them both another round and then tries his question again.

“So, you seemed a bit upset earlier. What brought you through my doors, Cas?”

Cas sighs and glances away. He taps his fingers lightly on the polished wood of the bar. He stares at Dean as though assessing him and then looks as though he’s made up his mind.

“My…er, the person I’ve been dating, dumped me tonight. We went to an expensive restaurant and ordered far too pricey food for the serving size and drank outrageously fancy wine. Then they ordered an expensive bottle of cognac, drank it all and then told me I wasn’t worth it.”

Dean winces. “Ouch. How long were you together?”

“Six months.”

“Well, it’s not too long for a relationship, but it’s long enough to hurt.”

Cas nods, looking sullen again.

“What special occasion was it?”

Cas stares at him. “How could you possibly know that?”

“Fancy restaurant, the way you’re dressed, the cognac. Nobody orders that unless there’s been a birth or an anniversary or both.”

“It was my birthday,” Cas says, looking down again.

“Fuck,” Dean blurts out without thinking. “And they dumped you? Seriously bad juju, man.”

Cas nods and takes another drink of his whiskey, looking miserable. Dean tops off both of their glasses and hums.

“What was his name?”

Cas whips his head up, suddenly looking confused and more than a little worried. “I never said it was a he.”

“It was your distinct lack of pronouns, dude. Always the dead giveaway. Trust me, as a guy who plays for both sides, I know. Pronouns are key. Hey, relax, Cas, this is a safe space.” Dean points to the small pride flag he keeps above the bar and watches as Cas visibly relaxes.

The silence that falls between them is comfortable now. Welcoming, even. Cas clears his throat and rests his hand on his chin, peering at Dean.

“So…you’re bi, I assume or, pan, perhaps?”

“Got it in one. Just another bisexual loser ruining the world one lay at a time.”

Dean winks to show he’s only kidding. He’s proud to be bi, but it doesn’t mean he can’t make a joke at his own expense. Of course, if Sam or his friend Charlie were here they’d both tell him what they thought of that.

“His name was Bartholomew.”

Dean snorts. “It fits him. Douche-y name for a douche-canoe.”

Cas barks out a laugh and it completely changes his face into something truly beautiful. Dean suddenly feels the need to always make Cas laugh like that. He can’t imagine anyone not wanting to – his laugh is infectious. And the light it puts in his eyes is irresistible.

Cas looks serious again as he swirls the rest of the whiskey in his glass. “To be honest, Bart was just the last in a long line of failed…connections. I’m doubting my own self-worth at this point. Everyone ends up leaving or they get fed up with me. I’m too introverted…too socially awkward to deal with, I suppose.”

“I don’t know, you seem to be doing okay right now.”

“I’ve been drinking,” Cas says, deadpan. “And also I’m paying you.”

Dean chuckles. “Not really, I decided to stop charging you as soon as I poured my first one.”

“Your hospitality know no bounds. Truly.”

Dean laughs. Cas’s dry delivery and poker-faced expressions really are the limit. He feels that familiar warmth he always gets when he meets someone new. A someone new that excites him. But he pushes the feeling aside because he knows on some level that trying to get into Cas’s pants is so not what the other man needs right now. Dean shivers as he realizes how damn mature that sounds. Next he’ll be looking into 401ks and cemetery plots.

“Well, consider them birthday drinks. Of course, this stuff doesn’t cost a small fortune or anything, but I figured you’d already paid out enough tonight.”

Cas smirks and shakes his head at Dean. “Thank you, Dean. It’s actually very kind of you to…take pity on me.”

He says it jokingly but Dean gets the sense that he means it. He reaches forward and touches Cas’s hand.

“Hey, no pity here. You are ridiculously attractive and if I didn’t have a conscience, I’d definitely be throwing out my best lines here to help you relieve some tension, if you know what I mean. And you are not awkward to me, but even if you were, it wouldn’t be enough to stop me from asking for your number or seeing if you wanted to meet up sometime. I barely know you but you seem like a decent guy, Cas. And I think all of those people that don’t get you can just fuck right off. You need to keep trying, man. Don’t give up just because a few losers couldn’t see what they had.”

Cas blinks at Dean, blue eyes getting huge. “You think I’m ridiculously attractive?”

Dean thinks back. Did he say that? Yeah, he said that. Figures that would be the only thing to register with the dude.

“What sort of line would you use on me? I mean, if you were going to, that is.” Cas shyly glances away and then back, a curious look on his face.

“Oh, uh, probably something like, well you know what they say — the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else.” Dean waggles his eyebrows and smirks, faking a leer.

“I’m not sure that would work with me,” Cas says, mirth clear in his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah. You’d make me work for it, I know. But seriously, you need to regroup, clear out the douche-canoes from your life and find a new guy, man.”

Cas smiles at him in fondness, and nope, Dean is not going to do it. He will not break his rule about dating people just out of relationships. Not even for big huge blue eyes that make him feel sappy like a love song. Cas, however, clearly has other plans.

“This may be forward but, um, Dean would you allow me take you out for dinner? As a date, in case you were wondering how I meant it.”

“Oh, wow, Cas, um, I mean…”

Cas’s face takes an interesting journey in two seconds – from hopeful joy to miserable and wretched. Dean feels his heart break a little bit for him in that moment and mentally kicks his own ass for being a tool.

“Oh, I see. I…I’m sorry, Dean. Thank you for hospitality.” Cas fumbles with his wallet and places far too much money next to his glass. “I won’t keep you anymore. Go home and enjoy whatever is left of your night.”

Dean watches dumbly as Cas sits up straighter and then turns in his seat, his broad shoulders unyielding, suddenly. Dean knows he just can’t let it end like this.

“No, wait, Cas!”

Dean practically flings himself around the bar to reach Cas before he can unlock the door and leave without a backwards glance. He rests his hand on Cas’s shoulder, stopping him.

“It’s only because I have a rule about dating people that just got out of a relationship. It has nothing to do with you, I promise you. You need to focus on you, dude. Figure out what you’re looking for. If this one was just the last in a long line of guys who don’t understand you, try and see what people you’re going for. I mean, I’m no expert, and God knows I’ve had my fair share of jumping before looking moments, but I think you just need some Cas time right now, you know? If we ever start something I do not want to be rebound guy and you deserve something better than a one night stand.”

Cas stares at him, blue eyes half in shadow.  Dean holds his breath, hoping he didn’t just lose something. All he can hear is the clock ticking behind him and the pounding of his own heart in his ears.

“That was quite the speech,” Cas finally says. “You sound like you know from experience.”

“Cas, man. You have no idea.”

“I have some, like I said, a long line of rejections. Still…”  Cas’s eyes search his face and then nods to himself. “Maybe you’re right. I do tend to do things without thinking in this area of life despite being very practical usually. And you’re also right on anther point, Dean. You do not deserve to be “rebound guy”.”

Dean can’t help his grin as Cas makes the quotes motion with his fingers. They stare at each other for a bit longer before he unlocks the door. Cas steps out as the cold air filters in between them, causing them bother to shiver. Dean pauses, and then holds out his hand. “Let me have your phone.”

“My phone?”

“Yeah, you have one, right? Or have you moved on to something flashier like sky writing?”

Cas snorts and shakes his head. He fumbles in his pockets and then pulls out a slim, black smartphone. He unlocks it and hands it over. Of course, it’d be that kind of phone that can help you bake bread or turn off all the lights in the world with just a click or something. He finally finds what he’s looking for and puts his contact information in.

“There. There’s my number. Text me to let me know you get home, okay? And as for the rest, we’ll take it one day at a time, Cas. Let’s be friends, first.”

Cas smiles shyly as he looks down at his phone and nods. “Friends, first. I like that. Goodnight, Dean.”

“Goodnight, buddy. Be safe.”

Cas slips out and away, leaving a coldness in his wake as he takes his body heat with him. Dean watches him go, the black of the night almost swallowing him up. Cas pauses to pull his coat tighter, the glow of the streetlight lighting up his profile. To Dean he looks pure—angelic, almost, like a painting or a sculpture. With one last look at Dean, he eventually fades away, disappearing back into the world. Soon all Dean can see is his own breath in the air and the twinkling starlight from the surprisingly clear sky above. He locks up again and finishes his routine for the night. After he’s put the money in the safe and headed out back to his car, he feels happy inside. Like something good just occurred — like some new path has been cleared for him to travel. His drive home is quick and easy, there’s hardly any traffic mostly due to the earlier rain. It’s just as he’s pulling into his driveway that he feels his phone buzz in his pocket. It’s from an unknown number and his heart beats faster as he reads the message.

From unknown: I arrived home safely, Dean. Thank you, again. Would you like to get coffee tomorrow, or, perhaps I should say, later today? Oh, this is Cas, by the way. In case you didn’t know. :)

Dean saves the number and then returns to the message to reply, a grin creeping onto his face before he even realizes it.

Dean: Of course, dude. Coffee sounds great. Around 1pm?

Cas: Perfect. Do you know the Blue Java Café on Marion and Elm? It’s across from the park and one of my favorite places.

Dean: Sounds good. Can’t wait to talk to you sober, ya lush… (lol j/k hah) 

Cas sends him a sticking-tongue-out emoji as a response and Dean chuckles as he locks up his car. He has a nice, happy feeling in his heart as he thinks of Cas. Like maybe this is something special. Or maybe it’s just that it could be and has the potential to be. He knows he told Cas friends first, but Dean’s willing to see where it…where they, can go.

[kittonafoxgirl]

[gently pushes door open] hiiiii <3 🎱🍬 🦴!

Hello and thank you for the ask!

Soooo my AO3 total stats are lies. *Especially* the word count. There's I think five big bang fics I'm co-creator on because we posted the art and fic together. And then there's been a lot of multivoice podfics where I had like. Two lines. So I'll post my totals, but then I'll try and give you more accurate numbers.

User Subscriptions:47 Kudos:5,644 Comment Threads:1,144 Bookmarks:1,574 Subscriptions:442 Word Count:175,657 Hits:101,625 So my actual word count is 10,911. Which is honestly a lot higher than I thought it was going to be.

The thing with the most hits that I have (3994) is the Podfic of 'Of Queens Knights and Pawns'. It's a 600k fic that 27 of us have been taking turns doing sections of. When it's done, I think my contribution will be around 90k (so 9ish hours) The thing with most kudos that I feel like I did enough work on to count is my fic 'When You're Gone' with 173 (there's three podfics that have more than that, but I had very small parts in them)

The most comment threads (56) is my podfic of 'When Darkness Seems to Hide This Place' It's my longest finished podfic at just a bit over 11 hours.

The one with the most bookmarks that I had a decently large part in is the podfic of 'Face the Music'. It's a multivoice and I did Anakin. My friend @flowerparrish did a phenomenal job editing it (if you aren't familiar the premise is Anakin starts hearing a soundtrack for his life. So there's a bunch of different music in it).

Subscriptions is also 'Of Queens Knights and Pawns' with 39

Total number of works: Drawing: 3 Writing: 9 Multivoice Podfics: 87 Solo Podfics: 119

An unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character. Hmmm the first thing that comes to mind is that I think Mace Windu is a good person and is at least begrudgingly fond of Anakin.

Is there a piece of media that inspires my writing? Hmm I think books like 'In the Forests of the Night' by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. Things that are fairly short and light on details but still tell a fantastic story.

[mixelation]

i thought about replying to this post, but then decided it'd be better to make my own. tl;dr OP states that they don't mind a lot types of comments AO3 writers commonly complain about and then calls for writers to read their comments in good faith. i was going to just scroll by this as it seemed to be presented as "this is my personal preference," but then OP calls for more writers to share their feelings. so i thought it might help to explain why i personally don't like certain types of comments

first, OP brings up pointing out typos multiple times. i absolutely despise having typos pointed out, although personally i don't know any other writers who care too much. i delete comments that just point out typos with no other commentary, and the fact that i don't delete comments with actual comments AND a typo pointed out is mostly because the idea makes me feel bad for the commenter. my personal hatred for the typo comments is linked more to being bullied for being dyslexic than anything else, but i do think a list of typos with nothing else is a pretty rude comment, and it ties into why giving unsolicited "constructive criticism" is, imho, rude or at the very least largely annoying

a lot of people say unsolicited concrit is bad because "fic is free." this isn't the reason. it's still rude to personally contact a writer with your criticisms even if you paid for it (assuming you didn't, you know, commission it or otherwise have a right to give such feedback). it's because concrit is essentially useless unless the person providing it understands the goals of the writer and wants to help the writer to those goals. on ao3, the writer's goal might have been to write a little story in one sitting. it might have been to write something hyper self-indulgent and so niche that it makes no sense to any other human being. the writer's goal might not be anything that would necessitate concrit at all. and, no offense, but most "constructive criticism" from random people on the internet is just "you didn't write the story i personally wanted to read" rather than anything that has to do with the story itself. on top of that, when i give people stuff for spelling and grammar, a stunning percentage of the time, people make "corrections" which are simply unnecessary or flat out incorrect. you are not a copy editor, and unless the writer asked in their notes, they have not asked you to edit. don't do it.

also, when you point out typos, there's an implied assumption you expect the writer to fix them. otherwise, why point them out? and the writer has no obligation to do things for you

other types of comments in the post:

‘I don’t usually like this ship but this fic made me feel something’ - I don't personally mind this one unless the tone is REALLY hostile to whatever ship (or trope, or character, or whatever). The reason why this one is often construed as rude is that the writer presumably is a fan of the ship, since they're writing about it. If you criticize other fics about the ship, then you might be criticizing things the author really enjoys. I think tone is a big factor here; this genre of comment can get way more hostile than OP's example.

‘looking forward to the next update’ / ‘I hope you update soon!’ - The wording of both of these is mild, but keep in mind writers with lots of fics have likely fielded a decent number of "update now you [slur]" comments. Also this is inappropriate to say on a fic marked completed (surprisingly common!). My experience on AO3 is that the really aggressive "update now!!" comments are fewer than they used to be and fewer than on FFN, but a lot of writers are still made tired by them. I'd suggest saying something more like "I'm excited to see where this goes" and make sure the fic isn't complete.

‘I love this fic but I’m curious about why you made [x] choice’ - I don't think most writers would mind this one, actually. Usually writers like it when you ask them questions about their work. If I gave any commentary, I'd be a bit careful about tone again-- if you just write "why'd you do [x]" with nothing else, it could come off abrasive or like you think the choice was bad.

i do agree with OP's contention that one's experience as a writer on AO3 will improve if they engage comments in good faith. i disagree with the idea that reading in good faith means every type of comment below outright harassment is appropriate or not annoying. i do not think reading in good faith and just accepting anything anyone says to you are the same. i also don't really believe that writers complaining about annoying comments is creating a comment scarcity, mostly because i don't believe in the purported comment crisis everyone is upset about, and also because i know there were entire LJ communities dedicated to asshole comments. it's not really new.

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week’s writer spotlight feature is:  MuseumGiftShopEraser! They have 9 works on AO3 in the Stranger Things Fandom, and 6 of those are in the Steddie tag!

Our anonymous nominator recommends the following works by @museumgiftshoperaser:

Paint the Devil on the Wall

Conversations About Love

Now I'm A Stranger

An Exercise In Denial

Baby, You Were Meant To Follow Me

Her fics are BEAUTIFUL. When I first read Paint the Devil on the Wall I was so obsessed I immediately recced the fic to everyone I knew who would be vaguely interested in a steddie fic. -- anonymous

Below the cut, @museumgiftshoperaser answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

I stumbled into it immediately after season 4 came out. I’ve felt very attached to Steve as a character from the beginning of the show and I think I was subconsciously waiting for someone to pair him up with. I think they’re both such great characters to explore themes of dealing with expectation (either by conforming, or fighting against it) and that’s something I always love to write about.

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

Absolute sucker for fake dating. Can’t get enough of it.

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

Enemies to lovers! Though now that I’m looking through my AO3 I haven’t actually written that much of it. It doesn’t have to be very intense enemies, though. I just like it when characters don’t immediately get along.

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

My brain has been forever rewired by took you for a working boy by pukner. It’s such a gentle, nuanced queer story. It feels vulnerable to me in a way that really only fanfiction can be. Can I sneak in another one?? Because everyone should also absolutely read the shame is on the other side by scoops_ahoy. It taps into this very specific kind of queer compartmentalizing, that I’ve never seen written this well. It broke my heart and patched it right back up.

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

I’ve been stupidly busy with my masters lately so there’s probably not a lot of writing on my horizon. I do have a wip called Doll that I’m slowly chipping away at. It’s a little darker than stuff I’ve written before. I know ‘dark’ isn’t really a trope, but I’m excited to see if I can push these characters a little further. 

What is your writing process like?

Absolute chaos. I write non-chronologically, without an outline, all in the same document. I keep writing snippets and scenes until the whole thing slowly comes together. 

Do you have any writing quirks?

Italicizing words for emphasis. I love it so much, you can rip it from my cold dead hands. It accidentally makes its way into my academic writing for my degree sometimes which is a little embarrassing, but I just love the flair of it. 

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

I don’t really do schedules, it doesn’t work for me at all. I try to make sure I have a decent amount of the story written before I start posting to give me a bit of a head start, but forcing myself to finish something by a certain date is a surefire way to kill my motivation.

Which fic are you most proud of?

Probably Paint the Devil on the Wall. It was the first time I’d written the entire story before I started posting so it went through way more rounds of editing than normal. I think you can really tell. It’s also the longest story I’ve ever written (in general, even outside of fanfic). The whole project gave me a lot of confidence as a writer.

How did you get the idea for Paint the Devil on the Wall?

I knew I wanted to participate in the Bigbang and the deadline was coming up, but I still didn’t have an idea. I decided to work backwards and try to think of something that would be fun for the artist(s) to draw. I had a vision of Eddie wearing dungarees without a shirt, absolutely covered in paint and I knew I had to write something to make it happen. I set the story in 80s New York because neo expressionism is really the only kind of art I could see Eddie making. I think it suits him very well. I do actually have a background in art, though! I’m currently getting my MFA, but I’ve worked full time as an artist for several years before that. I had a lot of fun working my passion for art (and all those art history classes I had to take) into the fic.

When writing Paint the Devil on the Wall, what was something you didn’t expect?

All of Steve’s character, to be honest. The fic is written from Eddie’s POV and for a large part of it he has a very hard time figuring out what Steve’s deal is. Right alongside him, I also had an incredibly hard time figuring out his character. It wasn’t until I was working on the final chapter that he finally clicked for me. I realized very late, just like Eddie, that Steve liked him from the very beginning. Most of the enemies to lovers premise was all in Eddie’s head.

What inspired Now I'm a Stranger?

Oh boy, that was forever ago! I remember I started writing it while I was camping with friends because I liked having something to do after everyone went to bed at night. I think I had the idea for that very first scene where Steve doesn’t remember Eddie and it all sort of spiraled from there.

What was your favorite part to write from An Exercise in Denial?

That was the very first fic I wrote, right after season 4 came out! I’ve never written something that fast, I think the whole thing took me less than a week. My favorite part was probably Robin being completely exasperated with both of them. They’re such complete idiots in that fic.

How do/did you feel writing Baby, You Were Meant To Follow Me?

Ahhh… I never got around to finishing that one. I probably never will, to be honest. I wrote the first two parts quite quickly and then the idea I had for the plot spiraled out of control and I realized I didn’t actually feel like writing the rest of it. There were going to be a lot of misunderstandings and I learned that I find that an incredibly frustrating trope to write (when done for drama at least. For comedy, I’m a sucker for misunderstandings.) So I guess I felt a little in over my head.

What was the most difficult part of writing Conversations About Love?

The ending! That fic is so incredibly personal to me and I knew from the beginning that I wanted it to have a very sappy, happy ending. It was important to me to write an aromantic character getting everything they wanted, but I realized as I was writing it that I don’t actually fully know what that means. So it took a bit more soul searching than fics typically do, but it was very much worth it. 

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

I still think the short little prologue for Paint the Devil on the Wall is the best thing I’ve written. “You don’t draw on things that aren’t yours, baby” is probably the best summary I have for that story.

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

Not really!

Thank you to our author, @museumgiftshoperaser, and our anonymous nominator! See more of @museumgiftshoperaser works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

[1425fivefive]

hii amelia, i've been really enjoying your fic process posts and i'm wondering if u have any advice for new-ish fic writers? i wrote a few one shots back in the days when i was really young and although im fond of them it's not great work. now that i'm writing a new one (landoscar brainrot has forced me to get back to writing) longer format too, i really want it to be good- i don't know how to make sure it isn't absolute shite before posting it because after rereading it a thousand time for editing my brain is incapable of telling whether it's any good. but anyways. if you have any wisdom or tips and tricks for writing/editing to share i'd be endlessly grateful 🥹💛

Hi lovely anon, thank you so much for sending this ask!

First of all, I just want to say how much I adore you for wanting to write and share it with people! It took me a very long time to get comfortable enough to share my work publicly and I still get really bad indigestion every time I'm about to post a fic because I'm convinced this will be the fic that makes everyone realize I'm actually a terrible writer. So I fear the feeling of "this is absolute shit and everyone will hate it" is maybe a permanent thing, at least for me.

BUT, I do have some tips for making sure things aren't "absolute shite" before posting (below the cut because it's a bit long).

First, taking some time away from a fic can be really helpful, just to be able to see the fic with fresh eyes. I know that can be hard because you want to just post things, but stepping back can help you come back and read the fic as a fresh reader.

Second, I always try to make sure everything's formatted correctly. So, proper dialogue tags (comma vs. period), sufficient line breaks, making sure a new character speaking or a new action is a new paragraph, etc. (here's a post I shared ages ago about proper fic formatting).

Third, and this is the most important to me especially with a longer fic, I try to think about whether any parts of the fic are boring. Not slow, but boring. Try and look at each scene and think "what is this scene trying to accomplish?" That can be a variety of things (character development, plot, character interactions). But once you feel like the scene has achieved that thing, it's okay to move on to a new scene. One of my biggest complaints about most fics, especially longer ones, is that scenes can feel draggy or repetitive of other scenes. I cut so many scenes from Learned Behavior because I realized I was only including them because I liked one little piece of dialogue from it or had some other attachment to a random thing about the scene. Don't be afraid to delete scenes by copy-pasting them into another Word doc or Google Doc tab. You might be able to rework them into something else later down the line, but not every scene you write needs to be in the final fic

Fourth, there is such a thing as over-editing! I, at least, edit so much as I write that most of the time the "first draft" is already pretty polished (like I wouldn't be horrified by posting my first draft). When I start spending ages editing, I often start making things worse because I'm overthinking every sentence and it stops flowing together and sounding like me. I try to remind myself that I wrote/edited the sentences in a certain way for a reason

Fifth, remember that this is just for fun! At the end of the day, "good" vs. "bad" art is highly subjective. My least favorite fic I've ever written is my second most popular fic, while my personal favorite will probably never come anywhere close to my most popular fic on AO3. It's also just really hard to judge objectively whether your work is good or bad! If you have a decent time reading it, then I'm sure other people will enjoy it too

Anyway, I'm so sorry for the ramble, but I Iove hearing that you want to share your fics! I have total faith they will not be absolute shite, and my inbox is always open to talk about writing 💕

[strawberryrosess]

Flowers in the Wind

Pairing: Arthur Morgan x Charles Smith

Warnings: period typical homophobia, light angst.

Summary: A little Charthur fic of the boys being oblivious to their feelings.

A/N: I didn't edit this so please ignore any mistakes! I also suck at writing correct 1899 dialogue, so I gave it my best shot.

This fic is also on AO3!

From the moment Charles joined the gang, Arthur knew he was in trouble. From the moment he laid eyes on the new member, Arthur was absolutely smitten. Arthur had never seen a more beautiful man than Charles Smith, and he didn’t care that his risky thoughts about the other man were wrong. 

For as long as Arthur could remember, he was attracted to women. Sure he could admire a handsome man, like Javier, but he couldn't ever remember feeling any sort of attraction to them. When he was out at a bar with one of the girls and they pointed out a handsome man, Arthur would agree with them, but who didn’t appreciate a pretty face. Of course Arthur would never say any of these things out loud as it wasn’t socially acceptable for someone to like another person of the same sex. This didn’t stop whatever happened behind closed doors, but in the streets it was severely frowned upon. Arthur never truly understood why, he figured people could like anyone they wanted, but then again the gang was a lot more tolerant than most people.  

Arthur was one of the first people to invite Charles on jobs and hunting trips, and it was very self-serving; he really wanted to get to know Charles better. But he also enjoyed working with Charles, the two of them discovered that they work very well together. They could perform a robbery or a stick up job in record time. Even though they had only known each other a few months, Arthur and Charles understood each other and could read the other person very well. Charles had also been helping Arthur improve in a number of skills, especially tracking. Arthur admired how Charles could track pretty much anything. Charles had definitely caught Arthur staring for a little longer than he should but the other man didn’t seem to notice, or if he did, Charles never said anything. 

The two of them would often go on multiple day outings together, hunting and robbing, often bringing back a decent haul of goods back with them. Dutch never seemed to mind when the two men would leave for days at a time because their return would always be worth it. As time went on and Charles’s position in the gang became more permanent, Arthur found himself falling harder and harder. To the point that his feelings were getting harder to hide around the other man. Sometimes Arthur would fumble around when Charles was speaking to him or Arthur would be a little clumsy with his hands. Multiple times he had missed shots with a bow when Charles was explaining to Arthur how to shoot properly, especially when he would place his hands on Arthur’s. Arthur wasn’t a religious man, but he prayed that Charles didn’t notice the effect he seemed to have on Arthur. Arthur had a certain facade he had to keep as Dutch’s fierce right hand, but Charles would turn him into putty the moment he started talking to Arthur. Arthur also sometimes hid his face under the brim of his hat when Charles would make him blush. 

Arthur felt like a foolish girl with his school girl crush on Charles. Eventually, his feelings got too confusing for him and he confided in Hosea, after making the man swear on his life never to tell anyone. Of course, ever the understanding man Hosea was, he listened to Arthur's every word and offered him some fatherly advice. Hosea seemed pleased that Arthur had found someone else that caught his eyes, especially after Mary Linton. Hosea resented the girl ever so slightly for breaking his son's heart. Hosea also appreciated that Charles seemed to bring out a different side of Arthur. Arthur was the type of person to watch from afar and observe, only participating when he needed to, but he found himself actually engaging in conversations with Charles and always left wanting more. As he promised, Hosea never told anyone about Arthur's affections towards Charles, especially because those types of affections were frowned upon in that day and age.

Charles found himself also falling for a certain rugged cowboy, but he was able to hide his affections a little better. Choosing to shove them down instead of thinking about them. Charles had always been a bit of a loner, hopping from gang to gang, never really staying for more than a few weeks, but after meeting the van der Linde gang he found himself wanting to stay. Especially after becoming friends with Arthur. Charles liked that he and Arthur could just coexist together, no one needed to always be talking. Charles liked silence more often than not, and Arthur didn’t seem to mind this. Charles also liked that Arthur was efficient and meticulous about his work, he could be a bit violent but he always got the job done. Arthur was also one of the only people who could get Charles to crack a smile or get a laugh from him, whether it be his effortless digs at gang members or blatantly roasting other people. There was just something about the cowboy that Charles was so captivated with, and he was always ecstatic whenever Arthur chose him to take on hunts or jobs.

The two of them continued to dance around each other and be completely oblivious to the other person's feelings. Arthur was getting tired of having to hide his feelings from Charles, he wanted nothing more than to confess to the other man but he was also terrified of what Charles would say.

Arthur said goodbye to Hosea and Dutch, saying that he and Charles would be back in a few days. The two older men didn’t mind, they knew that Charles and Arthur would bring the gang some decent resources. Arthur mounted his horse and nodded to Charles, who was sitting on his own mount. The two of the trotted out of camp and headed towards the Heartlands, their camping spot for the next few days. 

The two of them rode in silence for most of the journey, Arthur occasionally whistling a tune. They both heard thunder in the distance and turned to look. Thick black storm clouds were rolling in their direction.

“We should pick up the pace a little bit, we don’t want to get caught riding in those.” Charles said, his smooth voice breaking the silence. 

“Agreed.” Arthur drawled, kicking his mare into a canter. Charles followed suit, riding on Arthur's heels all the way to their destination. Their camping spot was a rocky outcropping which partially shielded them from the incoming winds. Charles made sure the horses were safely tied down and also safe from the harsh winds the storm was bringing in. Arthur set up their tent, he had packed a two person tent so they could both fit inside comfortably. He made sure to pound the spikes into the ground extra hard just in case. Arthur took one last look of the clouds now overhead before retreating into the tent for the night. While waiting for Charles, he lit up two lamps for a little bit of warmth and opened two cans of beans and peas for their dinner. He heard the first few raindrops on the tent and watched as Charles slid into the tent. His wet skin glimmering slightly in the low light,

 Arthur couldn’t help but stare for a moment too long. Charles settled down into the spot beside Arthur, placing his weapons beside him. Arthur handed Charles a metal coffee cup full of beans and peas, Charles raised his eyebrow at the other man. 

“We don’t have any bowls.” Arthur said, noticing Charles' confused look.  

“I knew we forgot to pack something.” Charles replied sarcastically, with a cheeky smile. 

“Shut up.” Arthur mumbled, blushing slightly and Charles laughed softly. Arthur relished the sound of his laugh, he could listen to it forever. The two men ate their dinner listening to the rain and wind pound the surroundings. After dinner, they did their own thing, Arthur writing in his journal and Charles whittling a small piece of wood. 

Arthur flipped through the pages of his beloved journal and his drawings of Charles caught his eye. He stole a glance at the man across from him, the look of concentration on his face as his skilled hands worked away at the piece of wood in his grasp. Arthur wondered what he was making, or even if Charles knew what he was making or if he just picked away until something came out. Charles had gifted Arthur a small wooden horse he had carved once, and he felt pride seeing it sit on Arthur's shelf in his quarters at camp. Arthur wished he had that type of skill, to take an ordinary piece of wood and turn it into something so amazing, instead he was blessed with the ability to draw pretty much anything. He desperately wanted to tell Charles how much he truly loved the man, and apparently his brain did too because Charles looked up at him. Arthur hadn’t even realized he had said Charles' name.

“What’s up, Arthur?” Charles asked softly. Arthur debated for a moment if he should actually tell him, but Arthur figured he could always run away to another country like Canada or France if this goes badly. 

“I, Uh, wanted to tell you something.” Arthur said, trying to keep himself calm by fiddling with the pencil in his hand. Charles sat there in anticipation, the low light making his face seem even more handsome. Arthur took a breath before speaking, his nerves going crazy. 

“Charles, I really like you, like more than any person should.” Arthur tried, he was never really great at expressing his feelings. 

“Are you saying you are sweet on me?” Charles asked, his expression impossible to read. Arthur nodded, and Charles scooted over so he was face to face with Arthur. He could feel the heat radiating off the other man, he could also see the slight dusting of pink on Charles cheeks. 

“It’s okay if you don’t feel the same, I know things like this are frowned upon an-” Arthur’s rambling was cut short by a pair of lips on his. Charles was kissing him, Arthur kissed back. Their lips fit together like puzzle pieces, and they had both waited many weeks for this moment. They broke for air, both panting slightly. 

“Does this mean you like me too?” Arthur chuckled and Charles rolled his eyes. 

“Yes, Arthur, I do. I have since the moment I saw you.” Charles replied. He placed his hand on Arthur's cheek and placed another soft kiss on his lips. The two of them sat in silence for a moment, just enjoying the other person's presence.

“If you are worried about what people will  think, we can keep this,” Charles gestured to the two of them, “for just in private.” Arthur nodded.

“I would appreciate that, Charles, but the odd hand holding never hurt anyone.” Arthur smirked, Charles kissed that stupid smirk off his handsome face. 

The two men laid together in the tent, Arthur’s head on Charles' chest while he ran his hands through the cowboys dirty blond hair. They chatted softly and listened to the rain. The storm had calmed down a lot since the beginning of the night. The two men were content for the time being, just the two of them in the middle of the wilderness where no one could disturb them. Charles was grateful he decided to give the van der Linde gang a chance because he got Arthur out of it and that was all he ever wanted was someone to make him feel wanted and valued, especially in the world they lived in. Arthur on the other hand was ever so grateful that Charles decided to stay in the gang because after being Dutch’s right hand and errand boy for so long, Charles made him feel like he was more than just a pack mule and that was something he treasured. 

[devondespresso]

Writers 20 questions tag game!!

tagged by the beloved @eriquin 💕💗💖 i haven't been able to participate in a lot of tag games lately (as evident by this being at least a week late ahnsgdsynkd)(edit: its been way more than a week) but i still really really appreciate the tags!!

divider by @/saradika-graphics

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

7 !! I think i still need to put one up there but i haven't yet cause i wanna edit the ending a tad

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

10,746

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Stranger Thingssssss, and i think its fair to say the Steve Harrington fandom specifically gdnzngxngxgn

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Sweet and Spicy (the one steddie drabble tdnydyndny), My Sunshine, I Can Only Hope Now, Never Again, and Mr. Crayola Henderson

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes absolutely!! its usually a lot of heart emojis and keyboard smashes mixed in with my actual response zgnzgbzgnzng

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

uhhh itd probably have to be Never Again still, i usually like to lean positive with my endings, that whole love-being-alive thing, so whenever i don't its usually because the focus is a different strong emotion that'd conflict with blatant positivity.

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

oo okay also hard to decide for the same reason, I'd say the ending that feels happiest is probably from either I Can Only Hope Now (the Claudia prompt) or Now That We're Alive because both go from sad to happy and hopeful for the future. My Sunshine ends on a good note but its less "aw yippee!" and more "AAAAAAAAAAAA". I like my drabbles (under 400 words) to end pretty fluffy so far, and stuff like Mr. Crayola Henderson stays a pretty consistent light and fun so I don't think the happy end hits as hard.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

no, thank god, not yet anyway

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

nopeeee tho Never Again has an E and M version it's not exactly fun enough to be smut i don't think

10. Do you write crossovers?

also nope

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that im aware?? I'd be pretty pissed if it was but also like. is it doing well? is it popular? 👀

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

not that im aware but i give full permission if anyone wants to

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

nope, most ive done is bounce ideas or beta, but I'd be down to try it!

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

i don't know if i have one?? just in general for stranger things i enjoy steve ships a lot. big fan of Vi and Caitlyn from Arcane but im not really in fandom for that show cause what would i change?? im very much a gen fic enjoyer and if i had to list all my fav platonic dynamics... we'd be here a while xgnzngzgn

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

oh irony my cruelest adversary. a few months ago i was happy and ignorant in my haven of only one active wip. Now there's a small handful, and unless i get possesed with the same emotions i was venting in it, i fear the short Robin-centric letter style thing won't be finished soon. its decent so far but there would be a good bit of editing trying to actually articulate the feeling in a realistic way plus fitting it to Robin's first-person writing style. I don't intend to drop it but lately it just calls to me the least, but that could change

16. What are your writing strengths?

i think its a strange mix of intuition and a technical understanding of writing that works really well for the way i think. Its very broad and basically has no rules, just a understanding of how my favorite stories work, how most writing rules are really trends that tend to work better and then you can dig deeper behind a lot of them to see the *why* behind it. that plus trusting the nagging feeling that something's off makes editing my most productive stage, i can vibe check the area and then start digging dgnxnhxngxng

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

god this changes every time i revisit this draft xumxhmxmxhm this time its probably character introspection. i love writing like a movie and having character action or dialogue or setting or symbols communicate things, but putting down what the characters thinking with similar tact is soooo harddddddd and especially in angst or emotion moments, i want my readers caught in the same thought process as the pov character, i want it to feel so real that even if they never experienced the situation the characters in and even if they know logically the characters wrong, they understand. and that unfortunately involves bypassing their stance as an outside perspective on the matter, which is uhhhhh very very hard xhmznhxhnxhm

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

Depends on the intent, i think it works best when the author speaks the language themselves, and especially with stuff like asl it helps clarify the grammatic differences. I think if its a language the pov character isn't supposed to understand then "said something in x language" works better for universal immersion.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Stranger things babeyyyyyy, i actually started writing the Steve Henderson au first, tho the first drafts of chapters are very different from current ones

20. Favorite fic you've written?

MY SUNSHINE!!!!!!! i am so open about my favouritism with that one, its the most contemplative and atmospheric and emotional and its short enough that i was spending time on every word, every line to make sure it felt right and contributed to the picture i wanted. they say its more achievable (compared to long fiction) to make a perfect short story and that's what My Sunshine feels like to me, the perfect little taste of themes I'm enjoying most in writing rn, specifically with the Steve Henderson au (my second favourite fic xgnxngxgn)

i forget how many ppl im supposed to tag so im gonna do 20, no pressure ofc!! @marvel-ous-m @acasualcrossfade @pearynice @imfinereallyy @tinytalkingtina

@klausinamarink @puppy-steve @queenie-ofthe-void @eyesofshinigami @stellarspecter

@dreamwatch @lightoftheseraph @withacapitalp @findafight @hbyrde36

@vegasol @carolperkinsexgirlfriend @lingeringmirth @momotonescreaming @sourw0lfs

[finalgirlminamurray]

alright i'm gonna do it. my tcm fanfics:

The Sawyer Sisters, Fifty Years Later. the first one i posted which i wanted to get done in time for the 50th anniversary of the events of the first movie (not the movie itself, that was this year). consider it an introduction of sorts to the setting and characters of my gender-swapped au. written as an in-universe journalistic article but the kind that someone may have written out, sat down and looked at for a while, then discarded. i wrote it a few weeks before posting and i think it came out well enough. i felt like i should do something to celebrate the date and also establish my ideas.

The Texas Chainsaw Tarot. a conceptual piece that just consists of my descriptions of what i'd imagine a tcm-themed tarot deck would look like. i'm interested in tarot from an artistic/symbolic perspective and designing fandom-themed tarot decks is always fun, but i can't draw so i have to write it out instead. i'm glad i posted it on ao3 because it got some decent engagement. i still stand by all my choices.

don't question the virtue names: the sawyer sisters saga. this is my collection of all the sawyer sisters-verse fics i've posted. i'd already had these written but i did some significant edits before posting, and i think they turned out alright. still it's a very niche thing to have written so i didn't expect much of an audience. it's possible to read these like original fiction, but it would be too much to make the necessary changes to make it actual original fiction, you know? anyway what i've posted so far is focused on chastity (chop top's counterpart) and what she was doing in 1969-1973, because i felt that needed the most elaboration in this universe, and it turned into a whole thing because i just kept writing more and more detailed lore. i'll probably post more stories focused on other characters and time periods at some point, but for now we have a three-part history. (chass has kind of become my blorbo from my brain due to how much i've expended on her story, and she's not even really my favorite of the sort-of ocs!)

features a lot of 60s-70s cult stuff, partly inspired by some of the true crime literature i read around this time for "research", and partly by just the general vibe of the era. i deliberately didn't want this directly based off of any real-life things even though it's impossible not to be influenced, just as real cult leaders were probably inspired by the tactics of others before them. also features a lot of ocs.

i actually wrote these in reverse order of how they ended up being posted. i just kept going further back in the timeline while i wrote

ace of swords, or the rhythm of life (is a powerful beat). the first in the aforementioned series. chastity goes to la, meets and eats a girl, joins a new community, meets another girl, and... this was just meant to establish how she got to the final point, but it became its own thing soon enough. 2 chapters, 14k words.

hit the floor (and crawl to your mama). chastity goes to a party and has her first negative experience with the cult, then goes home, but not for long. originally written as an interlude of sorts. the last chapter takes place later in the timeline than everything else that's been posted so far, because again, these were written in reverse order. 3 chapters, 12k words.

the flesh failures (let the sun shine in). the last part...for now. chastity does something she's not proud of and unintentionally performs a heroic action, then gets her head bashed in for it. 3 chapters, 14k words.

more to come if i ever post the rest, and then...who knows? i'd also really like to expand on this verse here in ways that wouldn't fit into a published fanfic, regardless of whether anyone else cares lol.

[not-poignant]

Hi Pia

Just to be clear, will the old version of Fae Tales remain available on ao3 or will it be replaced with the newer edited versions?

I'd appreciate knowing so I'll know whether to download the older versions before their replaced.

Thanks x

Hi anon,

I've talked about this a lot over the years. But basically I have actually edited and tweaked all of my stories many times over the years firstly, so that's a thing that does happen and it's worth backing up versions (if you want to keep the typos and some of the continuity errors x.x)

Secondly, I will save the 'references to SAL' version of Game Theory, so that this version is always available. I'm still on the fence about whether I'll make the AO3 version fully original, I always said that I would, but that was before I made the decision to actually try publishing, and now I think I could probably keep both.

However, even if I do that, I get a lot of people saying they find Game Theory confusing - why was Augus defeated? What did he do wrong? What's the difference between Seelie and Unseelie fae? Etc. etc. Questions that got answered in SAL for some, and certainly get addressed in COFT and TIP, never get addressed in GT, and that's kind of an issue for a free serial that is meant to help people get interested in my writing.

Some people overcome that (or have no issue with it), but it really is the biggest barrier to folks picking up the series.

In that sense, I have considered adding extra scenes, and also removing the scenes that have been completely OOC for over 8+ years, like Gwyn masturbating early on in GT, or the spanking scene later on. Neither one fits Gwyn's character, and it's very quickly established after that - and then maintained for almost a decade afterwards - that they really don't fit his character.

Those inconsistencies might be charming for some, but they're actually really frustrating for me! I haven't been able to reread Game Theory for enjoyment for like 4+ years because of it.

So, will I fix those things to make GT have decent continuity of character and add new scenes to GT on AO3? Maybe. Will I keep the references to SAL? Maybe! This one's more likely, especially for the folks - the many of us - who love fanfiction and love AO3 and came to GT (including me) from fanfiction. There's always a transitional story for people who need it.

My biggest stumbling blocks are the character continuity issues.

Also for those who probably don't know, I've made some actually pretty big edits to SAL for character continuity re: Gwyn and Augus. Augus, in particular, has had some major reworking in that story (like 4-5 years ago).

Every single one of my stories gets edited over time, especially if I do rereads. Most don't get new scenes, but like... oof I'd say there's about 2000 extra words on Gwyn and Augus in SAL, and I remember I did an edit about 6 years ago which easily removed about 12,000 words.

No one's ever brought it up, so ideally the edits felt smooth and just made the reading process more enjoyable.

But yeah if you want old versions of anything I write, anon, save/download them.

But if I make big structural changes (removing scenes / removing chapters), I will make a back-up copy myself and host it on Dropbox or something for folks to download going forwards. But hopefully they try the edited version too :)

[benjineedssleep]

(fanfic) stardew valley character outfit descriptions <3

something i wish i saw more in fics and stuff are the finer details. like what characters are wearing. not all the time, and not always super detailed, but sometimes. which is why i'm doing it myself in my current wip :3

all screenies are spoiler free!!! (or too out of context to be spoilers.) i'll be posting the fic on ao3 once it's finished and edited. i'm currently 93.6k words in and still have 3 seasons left to write! so it won't be out for a while but if you wanna beta... get a sneak peak... i'm lookin' at you XD

ANYWAYS ONTO THE POINT OF THIS POSTTTTT

(alt text after "keeping reading"... also be easy on me this is a DRAFT)

none of this is chronological btw... don't come for me i was doing a word search so i didn't have to doom scroll for these scenes (the document is currently 168 pages long--)

ALT TEXT :3

please let me know if this is not an efficient way to do things btw, i'm new here!!!

Though Sam didn’t have an umbrella, his typical outfit changed a bit to accommodate the weather. The hems of his baggy jeans and fabric of his daily Converse were equally as wet, but his signature spiky hair was safely tucked into the hood of a primary color blocked hoodie. This would’ve been fine ten minutes ago, but now the rain began to pick up.

Most days Sebastian walked around in one of his many black hoodies or band tees, not bothering to accessorize. But the past couple of weeks he’d been trying a bit harder. Today he dressed up his skinny jeans with a pair of layered belts, one studded with stars and the other a solid white with a sparkly buckle. Up top he layered a number of necklaces, rubber wrist bands, and spiked bracelets. He even put the studs and rings back in the cartilage of his ears, having only tunnels in his stretched lobes for the longest time.

Evelyn sifted through a basket behind the door and pulled from it said mittens, sitting them in Sebastian’s hands. They were a solid black with a marbled button on top. “Thank you, wow.” He put them on, rotating his hands around. They fit perfectly. /// “Look.” She pulled back the mitten flap and secured it down with the button. “They’re regular gloves underneath so if you need the full extent of your hands, you don’t need to take them off. Usually they’re fingerless, but I wanted to make sure you were extra warm no matter what.”

Sebastian flattened the collar of his leather jacket, adjusting his tucked in black button down. For some reason, he felt the older woman would judge him if he wasn’t properly put together. “My mother would appreciate any gift from you, Evelyn. You know how much she loves you.”

At this point, Sebastian had a decent idea of what he wanted to wear. It was very typical for him, either a sweater or long sleeve shirt, his favorite pair of ripped jeans, and probably a heavier coat to compensate for all the holes in his pants. He was even considering wearing a hat, which he never did.

Sebastian bent over in the stool, tossing some of the discarded clothing to the side so he could get to the side of the room Sam was on. “I dunno.” He sifted through a mess of hats inside of an old bookshelf that he kept in the closet. From it he pulled a grey ushanka and a loose fitting tassel beanie. He had a few of those beanies, each a different character, but this one in particular was a skeleton cat. “Pick.” /// Sam tossed the hoodie over his shoulder, picking up the beanie. He stared at the front, turning it to the back and tugging at the ears a bit before speaking. “You own cutesy stuff?” /// “I own a lot of cutesy stuff actually.” Sebastian dug through the pile again pulling out a similar hat, just Hello Kitty this time. It had her distinct red bow and everything. “How about that?” He then pulled out a Gir one, shaking it in front of Sam’s face. “Mmm?”

Sebastian sat on the floor of his best friend’s bedroom, watching her through a mirror. She’d been at this hair thing for a while now, having trimmed it for him, but she now focused heavily on sectioning it off to be dyed. A number of colored claw clips were clamped to her pink Hello Kitty pajama pants. “You wanna talk about it?” She struggled out, comb between her teeth as she twisted a section of hair. /// “What’s there to talk about, Abby?” He knew but, as always, someone needed to pull those conversations out of him. /// Abigail pushed the comb into Sebastian’s thick hair, crossing her arms over her chest. Sebastian could see her shoulders square clearly in the spaghetti strap tank top she wore. He didn’t believe her when she’d said she was getting stronger the further down the mines she went, but there was no denying it now. “Why do you look like you’re gonna beat me up?”

Sam dried his hands off on his blue flannel pajama pants and fiddled with a leather hardshell case. From it he pulled out a glossy electric guitar. The color was almost identical to the dice Sam used when they played Solarian Chronicles together. It was several shades of red and orange, twisted together in a wispy under-blended fashion. A few spots were scuffed or chipped, stickers torn and fading, but all Sebastian saw was a well loved instrument.

Sam pushed his head back to look at Robin upside-down before rolling over. “I’m alright.” He fixed his cargo pants and loose t-shirt. “Just got too into it I guess.”

Abigail had apparently felt similarly about herself. She expressed obvious discontent with Sam’s lack of care as she braided the overgrown mop of his hair into two identical French braids earlier in the day. “I just don’t get you, dude. How can you just not care?” /// “I mean, I do.” He leaned forward slightly so Abigail could get the tension right. “I have a style and things I like but it’s very… what does my mom say? Formulaic? Y’know like, I have a real repeatable kinda style. Pick a pair of jeans, any shirt, match my shoes, which are almost all the same, just in different colors, and throw on a jacket or a hat or something. All the stuff goes with each other. Very few decisions.”

[tossawary]

I finished rereading SVSSS’s main story and I’m going to get to the extras again next. I forgot how funny this story is. I forgot just how sad this story can be as well (Tianlang-Jun and Su Xiyan, Tianlang-Jun and Zhuzhi-Lang, Yue Qingyuan and the Original Shen Qingqiu, Luo Binghe’s abandonment issues).

Update on the Daemon AU, “Sit With Your Soul”. (Summary: Still planning on continuing it with more and plottier arcs, but I want to do a reread and edit of the first arc beforehand now.) 

I think that I am going to have to do an edit of the first arc of my new Daemon AU, “Sit With Your Soul”. Not a complete overhaul of plot or anything, not changing anything to do with the structure or what happens in scenes, but I feel like I’ve gotten a much better handle on Shen Yuan’s narrative voice now, and so I want to tighten up my narrative style (the wording of certain things, mostly) to bring it more in line with SVSSS. I also want to tighten up a few world and character details, even if it’s an AU and I’m overall pleased with how I’m managed to keep a decent foundation in canon in most of my fanfiction even when I’m intentionally jumping off it.

I’m also going to have to go back and name some of the OCs and the daemons if I’m going to commit to writing a longer and plottier story. When I started writing the Daemon AU, I didn’t know how far I was going to go with it; it was mostly about Shen Yuan and Shen Jiu’s relationship. As I got really into it, by the time I posted, I was like, “Oh, I’m definitely writing more of this.” When I was mocking Airplane Bro in the story for not bothering to name daemons... I was kind of calling myself out for avoiding naming so many OCs. I wasn’t sure whether or not it was going to be worth establishing so many OCs...

(This is exactly what happened with “pride is not the word I’m looking for” and the An Ding disciples... They didn’t get names because 1) it felt right for Shang Qinghua, but 2) I didn’t know if they were going to matter that much...)

The edit shouldn’t take too long. I was going to need to reread the first arc anyway to write the Shen Jiu POV reflection on the first arc that I’ve been planning, so it slots neatly into my to-do list of writing projects. (Now that I’ve reread most of SVSSS, I feel like I’ll be able to write a proper commentary for “love to the ones I’ve never met” and better reflect on PINTWILF.) 

I’ll keep a copy of the original version of “Sit With Your Soul” around somewhere. And I’ll alert people to when I’m actually going to post the edited version, so they can download the original if they like, to compare and contrast. I’ll also try to keep a “patch notes log” for people to review afterwards.

Oh, side note: I recently edited all my stories on AO3 to adjust the spacing between paragraphs (thank you, Find & Replace functions). There are a few spacing issues here and there still, which I’m tackling as I notice them. So if you’re like, “Hm, this looks different,” then that’s probably why.

[daughterofhecata]

for the writer's asks: 2, 3, 10, 19 <3

[ask game]

2. Tell us about what you’re most looking forward to writing – in your current project, or a future project

Well, I'm currently in the process of writing some Bob/Sax, and I'm actually really looking forward to some horny Sax description xD Other than that I'm really excited to write the Whumptober Day 18 fill (I'm doing them pretty strictly in order), because I have a *very* interesting idea for "Revenge / Unreliable Narrator / Loss of Identity" :)

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)

Hm, had to think about this for a while, because, uh. I usually just write directly what I want to write and then care about set-up and context later - if at all. But there certainly are a lot of bits and pieces rotting deep in documents that haven't been touched in years, and some of those scenes I would love to share, but it doesn't make sense to do it, because they would need a lot of build-up to hit emotionally the way they're supposed to.

10. How would you describe your writing process?

A very decent mix of order and chaos? I do try to sit down to write/edit every day, I can usually produce like at least 200 words a day, I'm extremely disciplined when it comes to prompt challenges (ie - keeping the word count I#ve set myself, filling all days even if inspiration is sparse, goign in order if I told myself that'd be what I'd do, etc). But I'm also drowing in WIPs, most of which will probably never be finished, my ADHD is the one deciding what I'll work on and most documents are a mess of unconnected scenes that I inevitably struggle to stitch together in the last steps.

19. Is there something you always find yourself repeating in your writing? (favourite verb, something you describe ‘too often’, trope you can’t get enough of?)

"gelinde gesagt" & "unwillkürlich"... 🙈 Also I love describing people (esp hot older men), even though I'm not convinced I'm particularly good at it, and there is probably too much "character looking at something/someone" happening - the person holding our Creative Writing class even remarked on that after reading a text of just five pages 🙈 And my ao3 is overflowing with fic tagged "Dom/sub undertones" (or varietes of that tag) and/or "Age Difference". And I'm not going to be ashamed of that either 🤷‍♂️😄