#and I just started reading Star Trek fanfic again

[colorfulsmayles24]

CANNOT believe that 30 years later they come out with their own fix it fanfic and I didn’t find out until four weeks later because another gay ship flooded my timeline because they had to release it on international fandom holiday November 5th

[wwillywonka]

.

[inthemaelstrom]

So we're about six weeks out from another "most important election of my lifetime" and it's predictably making me literally sick to my stomach. When Trumpacabra got elected in 2016, I threw myself into politics in a way I never had in my lifetime and it almost wrecked me. I was one of those people who never voted for religious reasons (long, separate story) and I felt I had to make up for lost time. By the time 2020 rolled around, I was an unhealthy mess. I had stopped reading. Everything. When I wasn't watching MSNBC and political commentators obsessively, I started consuming absolute junk TV: home improvement shows, crack paranormal ghost hunter crap, etc. Things with no plot, no emotional investment, no danger. No fear.

Right before the 2020 election, old fanfic friends from my days in the Master and Apprentice Star Wars listserv found me and saved me.

They dragged me back into fandom, introduced me to Discord, and got me writing again. I updated a story I hadn't touched in 5 years. I made new friends online and in RL. I got some great fiction and fic recs from those friends and discovered a subgenre called Hopepunk—low stakes fiction with very little if any violence and fear and with happy endings. (Becky Chambers writes a lot of what I read, and Amy Crook has also become a favorite.)

One morning, I had one of those really vivid, realistic, linear plot dreams that literally dragged me out of bed to the keyboard. It was a meet-cute modern au of The Phantom Menace's characters, set in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I cranked out about 2000 words the first day. Then another 2000. Then another 2000. Then another 2000. And so on every damn day for the next four years until I had four novels, about 668k words, several timestamps written by three other collaborators who've come on board, some beautiful art I've been allowed to use, and now a fifth book in the works.

This is the Yooperverse.

It's not just The Fic That Saved Me, it's the place where I'm writing a vision of what the world could be like into being. A place where people with fucking obscene amounts of money don't spend it on themselves, or hoard it, or exploit other people to get more, but use it to help other people. It's a place where people who are bigoted dicks either get their comeuppance and crawl back under their rocks, or learn better and do better. It's a place where abused kids get rescued, everybody gets therapy and healthcare and is paid a living wage, people learn to value themselves and each other, and protect each other and defend each other. It's kinky and queer (although I'm neither) and above all, if not entirely safe to be both, I'm trying to write both things as just being another setting on the dryer. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It's not a utopia, by any means, because there are still assholes and the government is still ... the government, and capitalism is still a thing. There's some danger, especially in the first book, and there are accidents and illnesses and the vagaries of life. In the middle of the series, I had spinal surgery and was out of commission for a few months and that made me start thinking more about my main character dealing with aging and the limitations thereof. There's a LOT of mental health issues and the working through thereof, and a lot of ongoing process. Nobody's perfect. The world outside is still pretty much what it is. But in the little corners where my characters dwell, life is pretty dang good, sometimes great.

It's a vision of a life we all deserve. It's the thing I loved about Star Trek's universe, where people's basic needs are cared for and the obstacles to them developing their best selves removed. It's what I've loved about science fiction in general, especially Ursula LeGuin's: that opportunity to explore possibilities that are better than the present. It's modeled on the MacArthur Genius grants, but you don't have to prove your worthiness first. My main character invests in people's potential, young or old, with scholarships and grants and a steadying hand. His partner builds low or no-cost housing for people in need. There's an informal network of queer and straight kid rescuing going on under the noses of unfriendly governments and failed social service safety nets. The main characters build refuges, literal and emotional. They love each other fiercely and respectfully.

Right now, we're living in a country that is almost the antithesis of these ideas, for far too many of us. People are being manipulated by their fears, which are stoked by unscrupulous, lying shitbag politicians whose all too real evil would never make it past the pitch if you were going to try to sell it as a TV show or movie. They're consciously turning us on each other with lies about our common humanity, about the state of our country, about who and what's responsible for many of its faults, sewing suspicion and hate. And though the Yooperverse started as my personal comfort fic, I'm trying in my very small way to counteract what's happening in the world right now.

I've always believed in the power of story to change people's minds and lives, and I've experienced it myself. When I talk about story, I don't just mean fiction, though. I mean the narratives we tell ourselves and others about our own lives as a whole and day by day or moment by moment. I mean the stories we tell about each other when we're together, at the bar, at wakes, at a party. I mean the stories we invest in as fans in whatever kind of media we consume. I mean the stories we spin for ourselves and others to explain what the everloving fuck is wrong with the world.

Stories aren't separate from the world, they are the world. They tell it into being. They give it shape and purpose and meaning and a sense of possibility. Whatever stories we tell ourselves or each other about how things should be or how we should act as human beings (also called our "beliefs" or "morals" or "ethics"), they shape us, and we shape society. We are society, both together and as individuals. One person with a big voice and a story can tip a mass of people into either violence or solidarity.

I have no illusions that the Yooperverse will ever have that kind of power. It has a tiny audience on AO3 and Discord and it's mostly written for me to explore the things I feel deeply about, and wish I could do, and to teach myself to be a better person and live up to my own ideals. It's a world I'd like to manifest, to call into being, even in a small way. Even if it's just a story.

[optimumonprime]

Fanfic Writer Interview

tagged by: @illegalpaladin (dank you kelly!!!)

what fandoms do you write in? Currently, Star Trek and Yugioh. My history is uh. varied.

how many words have you published in 2024? 59,693, though it honestly feels like more.

what is your greatest achievement this year? Not giving up on my first WIP in like a decade plus! I'm very proud of the story I've created with Something Like Magic and I'm excited to write the last chapter.

what are your top three fics you've written this year? My faves were:

Something Like Magic

Physician, Heal Thyself

Hard to Let Go

what was your biggest pit of despair moment? This will sound a bit glib but honestly it was when Physician, Heal Thyself hit 10,000 words. I was like, oh god. This was just supposed to be a pwp how could this happen to meeeeeee

what have you learned? Honestly just to write what you want to read and fuck the consequences. When I started Something Like Magic I was convinced that no one would read it because there were only two mageshipping fics in the 25 year history of the English yugioh fandom before that and I made my peace with that. It ended up being a delightful surprise that people DID like it. Likewise, I'm now writing mostly mccoy-centric star trek porn, and that's because I would like to read it.

did you beta any fics? any faves you want to shout out? I had the distinct honor of betaing @illegalpaladin 's Take Me/Let Me Go and hope I have the chance to do so again for future fics of theirs. I know we're not mutuals so I hope this isn't too weird but I do also want to shout out the work of @muirmarie who understands Star Trek characters, and specifically Bones, in a way I've see very few other writers achieve.

what three fics have you read this year that you love?

oh my god. okay.

Take This Sinking Boat and Point It Home by Punished Pyotr

we won't last long (give it our best shot) by Muir_Wolf

and the last one is kind of cheating because this wasn't the first year i read it but i did reread it and it remains probably the best fic ive ever read:

Send Us a Blindfold, Send Us a Blade by Trinary

what ideas are percolating for next year? It's all porn, babes! Here's what I got in the lineup:

-Bad Case of Loving You: Bones gangbang. When a parasite causes, ahem, tumescence in the away team, McCoy comes to the obvious solution on how to alleviate symptoms, and who is he to argue with Occam's Razor?

-Lay on Hands: the manhandling one. McCoy is the physician here, so why is it that he's always the one getting pushed around?

-You've Got the Touch!: real Spock possessive hours. A visiting Vulcan doctor is flirting relentlessly with McCoy. Spock is the only one to understand. Why he cares is a different matter.

-Debrief: everyone has a mirror!verse porn fic, right? After a rare diplomatic mission, Kirk employs Spock's assistance to recreate the mission for McCoy, so he can get an accurate mission report.

-Don't You Want to Come with Me?: a reversal of the odd man out McCoy fics. Kirk and Spock are together. McCoy loves them both and joins them frequently in bed on a strictly friends with benefits basis. Somehow McCoy is the only person satisfied with this.

I've also had this idea percolating around about bones medically prescribing, uh, himself as a sub to spock and jim who are in a relationship with each other but are both doms. so that will be fun to think about.

who do you want to thank? like Kelly, the @mcspirkevents events server has been so critical to how loved and accepted ive felt in fandom spaces this year. Couldn't do it without all you enablers!

tagging: @charaznablescanontoyota @fruitsboots @ncc1701ohno @cloudilicious

[a-most-beloved-fool]

fanfic writer interview

tagged by: @spirkme915! Thanks for the tag <3

what fandoms do you write in? Star Trek, pretty much exclusively. Only TOS and DS9 so for (and I haven't even really finished anything DS9, I just have plans and WIPs). I may branch out a smidge someday, but I'll probably stay mostly in Star Trek.

how many words have you published in 2024? 4,763. I am a very slow writer lmao. Honestly even answering these questions feels like overkill with so few words published, but c'est la vie. I'll just pretend that I'm a Real Fanfic Author™, and if I do that for long enough, I eventually will be.

what is your greatest achievement this year? Posting anything at all! I had hoped I would, at the start of last year, but I hadn't really expected it. Now, I'm very glad I did (and that I joined Tumblr!).

what are your top three fics you've written this year? I only wrote two! So. Those.

what was your biggest pit of despair moment? I've had a fic that's been sosoclose to done since. like. July. And I have noooot finished it. So, probably that one. I wound up getting wildly discouraged with it, and have just kind of been, um. ignoring it. in the hopes that it'll start feeling salvageable again soon. It's not bad, I know it's not bad, but I can't actually convince myself that it's not bad, and I can't find the right ways to finish the few areas that still need more meat on their bones. I am fighting the urge to just up and delete half of it

what have you learned? That it feels really, really good to receive comments! I've also been slowly figuring out how best to wrangle my brain into Actually Writing, but it's. a work in progress!

did you beta any fics? any faves you want to shout out? So far, I've not had the chance to beta for anyone.

what three fics have you read this year that you love? Um. Oh god. Just three?? I suppose I'll say We can only be who we are by @jennelikejennay, Vision Awry by @walkingstackofbooks, and there may be a power cut (and maybe i love you so) by granspn (who afaik doesn't have a tumblr, but if they do, lmk and I'll tag them too)

(My bookmarks are always a good place to look for fics I've particularly enjoyed, so if ever you are in need of a rec list, that's a good place to start)

what ideas are percolating for next year? Oh, I have so many WIPs. There are a few in there that I'm very excited about, including one where Kirk drags Spock out of Kolinahr early and one where Spock is pining so obviously (to everyone except Kirk). I'd also kind of like to get a DS9 fic or two (and/or my mcspirk fic) published this year, but that relies on me being considerably more prolific than I was this year, so we'll see what happens. (Though, I should be getting ADHD meds at the end of the month, provided that my EKG checks out, which. will hopefully make things a bit easier lmao. I'll need to fight my brain a little less.)

If I am very, very lucky, I'll even be able to get a fic done for the KS Spring Fever. I've got an idea, but, well. Deadlines are rough, and the mind is fickle. I'll do my best (and anyone reading this has permission to hassle me about it and hold me accountable)!

who do you want to thank? Pretty much everyone who has given me a warm welcome on Tumblr & in the Trek fandom, @spirkme915 and @walkingstackofbooks in particular! I have... never really tried to join a fandom space before, and am also Bad And Lousy at starting conversations and getting to know people, so I'm really very grateful to people who have gone out of their way to be friendly and welcoming. <3 Even if all you've done is Exist As My Mutual or Occasionally Reblog My Posts, I am sending you internet hearts <3 <3 <3

tagging: uhhh @walkingstackofbooks, @purple-iris, @wwillywonka, and anyone else so inspired

[pinkgrapefloyd]

fic author q&a

tagged by @zannolin <3 tysm!

why do you write fanfic?

i love everything about it. i love how immediate it is. i can just click post and people can see it. i love when people tell me their favorite part in the comments. i love having 100% creative control. i love having no deadlines. i love shouting something i'm proud of into the void and then getting a reply from somewhere halfway across the world in a mutual second language. i love building community with strangers over things we both love. it's the best.

which of your posted stories do you think of the most even though the story is "finished"?

probably there's daggers in men's smiles because that one has the biggest piece of my soul in it. i also think of anti-hero a lot but i'm still working on the sequel so I don't count it as "finished".

if you could give yourself fic advice from when you first started writing fic, what would that advice be?

if it's a multi-chapter, get to the 90-95% mark before you start posting. not only does this increase the likelihood of you actually finishing it and ending up with a completed story you're proud of, you'll also end up with a better final product because you can go back and edit earlier chapters once the later chapters are taking form and make the themes more cohesive.

what's your relationship to fic stats?

i like em. i used to track them obsessively when I was younger but honestly i have neither the time nor the motivation for that anymore. but it's nice to see a number and picture actual people. 25 kudos is abstract to me, i don't care about that. but realizing that 25 people looked at a project and went "nice. thanks for letting me read it" is wild to me. makes me really happy.

is there a pairing or scenario or friendship that you miss writing? if so, why? if not, why not?

yes and no. i used to read so much fanfic and write almost none, and now it's pretty much the opposite. so there isn't really a lot of content i'm "no longer writing" because there wasn't much for me to abandon in the first place. steve/bucky was my bread and butter ten years ago (how is the winter soldier ten years old already? wtf?) and i don't really see myself returning there, but i keep finding similar vibes in my newer projects and i'm really happy about that.

what motivates you to write?

i don't know how to stop. it's how i deal with being a person. wish i had a smart inspirational answer but that's what it is. it just happens. if i'm bored or sad or happy or tired or nervous, i write.

why do you write for the fandom(s) you write for?

i haven't fully understood why i write for some of my fandoms but not others. there's a lot of media that i adore and have never written a single word for (hannibal, the x files, ofmd, discworld...). often it's specifically the idea of "this character trait / this dynamic feels underutilized, I want to explore it further". cobra kai is a yarn drawer of messy but compelling character arcs that often go nowhere, and i like untangling the potential of them. star trek is comforting and it's good soil for planting angst, hope and humor plus an ensemble cast.

if you're stuck writing a WIP, what do you do?

work on a different one. i have so many and i'm always obsessed with at least one of them. sooner or later i'll have an idea for one of the older ones and then that's back on the menu again. i never force myself to work on something specific.

what do you wish people knew about comments?

a long unhinged comment is the key to my heart (as @zannolin who tagged me in this knows all too well), but i love each and every one so much. i love comments that are just a chain of emojis, comments that say nothing except 'how dare you', comments that dive into themes and metaphors. i love comments that tell me my fic made them laugh out loud, made them stay up too late, made them tell a non-fandom friend about it. there are so many different types of comments that make up the tapestry of a fun community, so please don't assume that there's a right way to leave a comment and the author will be disappointed or upset if you do it "wrong". i'm always worried my comments are not as funny / intelligent / memorable / observant as other people's comments and i hope i can take that fear away from other readers!

(also i try my best to reply fast but sometimes it takes a bit and i'm sorry! it doesn't mean i don't love your comment!)

maybe there's a question you wish had been on here. what's that question (and answer)? -> what are some writing challenges you're personally looking forward to?

writing more funny miscommunication and seeing how far I can push it. scenes that are set in darkness so I don't rely too much on describing visuals. maybe a mystery one day when i feel up for doing something plot-heavy.

tagging @vimesbootstheory @dykesynthezoid @russolaw @ficusin and @blinkasaurus and anyone else who wants to participate <3

thank you @zannolin for tagging me! love that i can always count on you to be just as unhinged about tdims as i am

[moistvonlipwig]

top 5 most formative ships?

oh INTERESTING.....most formative. hm.....how to define most formative!

Elphaba/Glinda was, to my memory, one of the first ships I actually got invested in and read fanfiction for (if you've never read the fics of Frances aka Ridiculous Mavis then you are missing out!!!). I actually never saw the musical but I did listen to the soundtrack (I first got intrigued actually at summer theater camp when two girls sang "What Is This Feeling" for a talent show and I was like. Ummm. Anyone else get a bit of a gay vibe???) and I read the first two parts of the book and kind of skimmed the rest because the rest is a mess LOL sorry Greg. Nice to know that Ariana Grande & Kristin Chenoweth are Gelphie truthers as well, that wasn't on my bingo card for the movie's rollout.

Gen/Attolia aka maybe my favorite enemies-to-lovers ship ever??? I have a lot of nostalgia for the Queen's Thief books because I read them with my mom who was a huge QT fan and was active in the Sounis LJ community for the books and loved Gen/Attolia (she was a big shipper lol, she loved Spuffy too). So I've always felt very fond of them. I re-read the books recently since the sixth book came out and they just won my heart all over again. INVENTED enemies-to-lovers actually!!! No other YA fantasy romance is doing it like them. (Sidenote, I was going through the Sounis archives sometime last year looking for discussion on The Queen of Attolia and I found this fascinating take on one of the key Gen/Attolia scenes by a guest poster and then someone was like 'Wow, your takes are so cool, who are you?' and they were like 'Yeah haha I should make an account! But you can call me [my mom's LJ handle].' Like I was sitting there thinking wow, what a great Gen/Attolia take, and it was my mom's take!!!!! Truly, I was reaching across time and space to hear her thoughts on Queen's Thief shipping, and that is, I feel, what she would want.)

Utena/Anthy because Revolutionary Girl Utena was and is such a formative show for me and they're at the very center of it. Like. Aughhh. I don't even think I can talk about it I just need everyone who hasn't seen Utena to go watch Utena right now and then You Will See.

Angel/Cordelia because getting into Cordelia/Cangel fandom really did change my fannish life and, if I'm being honest, my intellectual life in general. I mean, I joined Tumblr specifically to follow a bunch of Cordelia fans and Cangel shippers, lol. And honestly, even though many (though not all!) of those people have left Tumblr, I owe a lot of the way I think about and analyze media to several of those people and their analyses of Buffy and Angel. (Fun fact about Cangel, I actually started shipping them after "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date" -- I did not enjoy Bangel and I thought Cangel would be more entertaining -- so you can imagine the feeling of delight and vindication I got when I looked up the Angel spin-off a while later and saw that he and Cordelia were going to end up falling in love.)

I think for this last one I'll say Seven of Nine and the Doctor from Star Trek Voyager -- I have no idea what I'd think of that ship now, since I haven't rewatched the show in so long, but I really liked them a lot as a kid (like Gelphie, it was one of the first ships I regularly read fanfic for). Their friendship-that-could've-been-a-romance was one of the elements that kept me emotionally engaged in thinking both about Voyager as it was and Voyager as it could've been. Voyager was one of the first shows that really made me think about how much I wanted to Fix It, and while D/7 wasn't the biggest part of that, it was one of the reasons that I cared enough to think about it, if that makes sense? And that impulse led me to thinking more deeply about Star Trek, and television, and what goes into telling a story in general.

[meetinginsamarra]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

I've been tagged by @totallysilvergirl and @calaisreno TYSM!!

1. How many works do you have on A03?

51 in total

12 "real" fics and 21 ficlets and 18 covers (I didn't know how to embed on AO3 back then)

2. What's your total A03 word count?

271.977

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Sherlock BBC

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Mutual Attraction , Learn My Scars, The toe that didn´t belong, The embers still glow when I´m sober , Gravity is missing from everything

The last three are in fact a series called Here I Am

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

Of course! Always and quickly. I love comments, they make my day and fill me with happiness for hours. Not kidding!

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

None of my fics end angsty. Some of my ficlets might, possibly Time

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

They all end happily.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

There had been a few very weird comments on "Mutual Attraction" that were rude or offensive. Some had been deleted by the cowards who posted them later.

9. Do you write smut?

Yes, I have written porn and enjoyed it. I also write gen and everything in between. Depends on the story.

10. Do you write crossovers?

No, because I define "crossover" as a mix of two existing universes, like Sherlock x Star Trek for example. I have written several AUs though. Alternate Universes with the same characters of my show but placed somewhere else.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have been offered three times but declined because I personally am not comfortable with it.

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

No.

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

Johnlock

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

I have this fairy tale AU sitting in my drafts for literal years. 20k written and several attempts to take it up again, it is mostly plotted but just resists being finished. *sigh*

16. What are your writing strengths?

Learning by doing, I guess? I think of myself that I am versatile. Maybe writing movie-like action scenes. I remember that's been said in comments.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I honestly do not know. (Which is not me saying I can do everything perfectly!! I just try whatever I want.) Finishing the above mentioned fic possibly.

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

If it fits the story, why not? I write in English which is not my native language, so I could do German and some French and Italian, too.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Sherlock BBC.

I've actually never written anything before I started with Sherlock fanfic. I got this idea and it grew and I began to write it down just for me so that I would not forget it. Then I thought, why not write it into a fic? I've been reading a lot fanfic already. Over the course of two years (writing on and off) the idea had turned into a 94k fic. I only started posting "Mutual Attraction" when it was completed on AO3.

I still think it's funny because just imagine this. Never wrote a word of fiction before, not even in my native language. Then, first thing I produced is a novel-length fic written directly in English. Still seems surreal to me.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

I love all of my babies and will not choose a fave one. There are only faves in categories.

"Mutual Attraction" was my first and longest fic.

"Wretched and Divine" was the one that made me find my dear friend and beta @peageetibbs

Technically, I am most proud of pulling off "Learn My Scars" because it is 38k written under a huge amount of pressure due to daily posting for Whumptober 2022. Five weeks of intense writing madness but very rewarding, too.

AU and plot-twist wise it would be "The 13th Book ".

---------

So many people have done this but I think @shiplocks-of-love @shelleysprometheus @cumbercurlygirl have not been tagged yet. And anybody else who wants to share, please.

[lazymcfail]

I went all my life (until recently) never seeing a Star Wars or a Star Trek. It's kind of weird because I love science fiction and space but I just watched documentaries and read books idk 🥹

Anyways back to the point, as someone who went my whole life having 2 fandoms tell me to join... I finally have an answer.

Star Wars is way overhyped, I could for real go the rest of my life without watching again (I am so sorry, my bf with 2 Star Wars tattoos)

Star Trek is where it's at; it's so trippy and weird but everything makes sense and it just makes my mind go AAAAAHHH!!! I DEFINITELY SEE why that show invented fandom and popularized fanfics because oh my goddd I've only seen 2 episodes and I could honestly just watch them again tomorrow and be fine! I'm making up s c e n a r i o s based on these weird little planets. I love u star trek, it's like ive missed you my whole life. For those wondering- since I am a completionist type person, I am starting with the original series.

[leohtttbriar]

I've just read the tragedy of how few kiradax fics there are compared to the other ship and it pains me so much, but for the life of me I can't write a kiradax fic because they come out as flat characters whose names could be replaced and it could be pushed off as a generic fic. They compel me when I consume the show and fics about them but I can't reflect that in writing 😭 it truly haunts me.

i don't think you have to be haunted--if the characters aren't who you really want to be writing about (resulting in a flat depictions) then it's all good! i mean, it's fanfic--it's for fun. do what you find fun. i was just complaining about how the trend is for fans to be way more interested in male characters and male relationships than in female characters and female relationships. it is sort of funny that the stats on "how many star trek fics pass the bechdel test" are probably pretty dismal, considering the progressive nature of most of the fic writers. and i'm not saying "your gay fanfic should pass or you're sexist," because if it's about two men being in love or just fucking nasty then, yeah, probably unlikely it'll pass and that genuinely doesn't matter. fics about queer men are awesome. it's just the sort of thing that reveals the trend of what people, as a collective, care about.

but, again, it's fanfic. it's for fun. i may not understand why anyone could write more than a couple hundred words about quark and odo feeling some kind of way about each other, but some people are clearly invested. fascy self-pitying glob with failed-capitalist woman-hater---cute.

i guess i would say if you really want to write kiradax and it's a project you think would be fun, but you don't want to produce something else generic, you could start with over-exaggerating everything about them. pretend like they're not played by super hot actresses. turn kira into a religious nut who hocks bibles and dax into a complete whacko that licks mold--you'll probably arrive somewhere closer to their actual character than most viewers of the show even get as they watch. neither kira or dax are bland, no matter what fans do or how they connect with them. kira once set bombs that killed whole families and dax was once willing to go to prison for a crime she didn't commit. kira is pretty happy to be possessed by a god, willing to support a caste system, and eager to kill off a proto-universe full of potential life while also unwilling to prevent a small colony of people from existing at the cost of her own life. dax once sentenced all her buddies to a lifelong internment in a timeloop on a whim, captained a warship into battle, and had to save her own life by accepting the presence of a murderer living within the worm that lives within her. kira likes "coffee" and dax thinks all aliens are cute. like. there's a lot there.

[ineffable-snowman]

Get to know the blogger, via five different ships from five different fandoms! (I cheated and made it five different ships from four different fandoms.)

Thanks for tagging me @sky-kenobye!

1. Ineffable husbands/wives/partners/idiots (Good Omens)

My comfort show and ship. What's not to love about the slowest of slow burns hereditary enemies to lovers? For this ship, almost everything works, even several tropes I've never seen the appeal of before make sense to me now (wing fic, gender bending... just to name a few).

On a personal note, it was through this show (or rather its fandom) that I figured out I might be on the aro/ace spectrum, just the experience of "There are other people who feel like that? There are names for that?" was wonderful and so that's also why it holds a special place in my heart. It's just overall a really positive fandom. Plus Neil Gaiman is on tumblr, which - although I hate celebrity culture - is cool.

2. Obikin (Star Wars)

My oldest ship. I started shipping them in 2005 when ROTS came out, I was gripped by the tragedy of the Obi-Wan&Anakin relationship (it was my introduction to Star Wars, I had no idea who Darth Vader was) and started writing fix-it fics to cope. The first fanfic I posted online was an epic Qui-Gon lives (for a while) AU ending in a Vader redemption arc through the power of friendship. I really like reading platonic Anakin & Obi-Wan, but usually go for the Obikin tag on AO3 because I'm too scared of antis and I know the Obikin writers are cool people. Although the Star Wars fandom as a whole has some ugly sides, I really enjoy the smaller Obikin fandom. Shoutout to my Obikin mutuals, who all are such nice, positive and chill people! No purity wanks, no shitting on other people's ships or kinks... maybe because we know we ship one of the most *problematic* pairings and that fiction =/= reality.

3. Stony (MCU)

I ship them not inspite of Civil War but BECAUSE of it. As a seasoned shipper of Obikin, Cherik and Grindeldore (insert obligatory fuck JKR here), I was like: ooooh, nice, this is the good stuff! Unfortunately, most of the fandom doesn't seem to share my excitement.

4. Sambucky (MCU again)

Boat montage, enough said.

In terms of fandom, it was an eye-opener regarding casual or subtle racism in fandom.

5. Kirk/Spock/McCoy (Star Trek)

Normally I'm not that interested in OT3s but I make an exception for these three. I also enjoy any combination of them (Spirk, Spones and McKirk are all great ships) but I need the third one to be there as well, and not just as a friend who sometimes gives advice to help the other two get together but as an important character in his own way.

Let me end with a controversial opinion: Star Trek V - The Final Frontier is my favourite Star Trek movie.

no pressure tagging @starwalkertales, @piecesofeden11, @fangeek-girl, @fulcrum843, @blue-eyed-cutiepatootie, @gingiekittycat and everyone else who hasn't done it yet!

[the-ravening]

9 People You'd Like To Get to Know Better

Thanks for tagging me @six-demon-bag, @zsparz, and @hiddenxplaces-blog!

3 ships: Winterbaron, obviously. Uhhh, I guess the other ships taking up the most space in my brain at this very moment in time are Helmut/Heinrich Zemocest and Stucky.

First ship: Daisuke/Yamato from Digimon was the first fic I ever read. First ship I got obsessed with was prob Paris/Kim from Star Trek Voyager.

Last song: I think the last song I listened to last night was Clever Sleazoid by Dir en grey

Last film: I kinda half-rewatched Captain America: The First Avenger with some friends on NYE while eating raclette, but the last new film I actually watched was probably Saltburn. Unless I'm forgetting something because Saltburn's taken over so much of my conscious thoughts.

Currently reading: Mostly fanfic, occasionally my Scientific American magazines that pile up, and I started listening to Lolita on audiobook a couple months ago but dropped off, though I'd still like to finish it.

Currently craving: We just finished the Tony's Chocolonely bars I brought back from Germany, and I wish so badly that I'd bought more of them.

Fav color: Blush pink & matte gold, preferably together in soft, glorious harmony

Relationship status: Not married, but not not married

Last thing googled: The spelling of Tony's Chocolonely. Before that, probably words to make sure I was spelling them/using them correctly.

Current obsessions: Zemo, Winterbaron, Daniel Brühl, Saltburn, and I've recently gotten really back into knitting again. Oh, and I started nostalgia playing Princess Maker 2 the other day and now I barely wanna do anything else, so I guess that also counts.

No-pressure tagging: @violenciorp, @tales-from-a-maphia-don, @thepiper0fhameln, @ex0rin, @unlikelymilliner, @shadowslament, @winterbonesthings, I can't even think of 9 people who haven't already been tagged, so anyone I missed who wants to join in.

[imcutebutimdepressed]

Nancy’s Twin (Stranger Things Fanfic)

VOL 1 Chapter 1: The Start of It All

It took me 30 minutes to figure out a title for this chapter. This is gonna give me a headache to having to make sure everything is not an error or out of place.

ENJOY. Let me know if there's errors or punctuation errors.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

November 6, 1983, Hawkins, Indiana.

Years past since the Jaws movie for Mickey, and not once has she past the opportunity to watch more horror movies. During those years, she would give her Dad a chance to watch horror movies as long as she takes her the times he goes during when he's done from work. Of course he said no that she's too young to watch them, but a little deal was made with a 8 year old girl and her 37 year old Dad.

"Daddy if you let me watch the horror movies that you go to with me having all the snacks I want, I won't tell mom you went to see Jaws." Mickey keeping the professional stance with her notebook hugged to her chest.

"How do I know she'll believe you honey?" Ted was just ready to leave the house.

"I can recite the entire movie to her step by step."

"Ok I can take you, but no snacks."

"Did I mention that I know you're the one that took Mom's 20$ that she was gonna use for our candy bags on Christmas to buy yourself a 10 pack of beer?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That's how the deal started. Every certain days, Ted would use his breaks during his work to pick up Mickey from school and go see movies.

Movies like Deep Red, Race with the Devil, Rocky horror picture show, legend of the werewolf, terror of Frankenstein, Jaws 2, don't hang up, and assault! Jack the Ripper.

Her favorites started listing like crazy.

Carrie, King Kong, The clown Murders, Halloween (she's really into Micheal Myers), Alien, Tourist Trap (It did scare her a little), Dracula, Friday the 13th, The shining, Evil Dead, Poltergeist, and Creep-show.

Of course she still watched other movies like Rocky, Freak Friday, Star Wars, The rescuers, Pete's Dragon, Cinderella, Grease , Lord of the rings, Battle star Galactica, Star Trek, Muppet Movie, Lupin III, Indiana Jones, Annie, The dark crystal and Pop eye.

You can say she found ways to watch movies almost every day. She would save up her money from the amount of toy cars she sells to kids in her school including secretly selling money worth of candies from Halloween to buy herself movie tapes to rewatch.

Until the years gone by and she just stopped the deal with her Dad. Ted didn't know why, but she just acted quiet for almost a whole year. He didn't make it a big deal and decided to just let it be.

Mickey stopped having physical touches with her family after she was 10. No hugs, no shoulder pats, no surprises, no grabbing her face to kiss it. No touching.

On her 11th birthday, Ted gave her a cassette tape player that she can hear music in. Of course Nancy just wanted new dolls and dresses, but all Mickey wanted was the opposite. She would never want to wear a dress again.

Now 8 years of complete hell was coming and going for Mickey. In her room listening to The Poppy Family as she reads a spider man comic while laying on her bed wearing a graffiti t shirt.

"I can't help crying"

Honestly, Mickey can relate to that one sentence.

"You are my whole , babe"

"My heart and soul, babe"

Distracted from the song, she just tosses the comic to the floor and keeps listening to the song instead. Even at the age of 16, she's curious to how people find such a perfect partner. After watching The Goodbye Girl, Mickey never really sees herself falling in love with a man. Of course she got a huge crush on certain guys from movies, but in an actual relationship, hell no.

After everything that's happened in those 8 years, Mickey would never in her life settle with the boys in Hawkins.

A slight open of her door snaps her back to reality. She removes her headphones and lifts her self up to see it's Dustin, one of her brother's friends.

"You need something Dustin?"

"Actually I wanted to ask if you wanted this last slice of pizza? It's sausage and pepperoni." He says with his adorable childlike smile.

Mickey gets off her head and walks to him. Looking down at the pizza, it's pretty good to eat, so she takes it and thanks him.

"For this free pizza, I shall honor you one of the great trades of them all good sir."

Dustin is already excited.

"What would that trade shall be, oh Lady of the Village Halla?"

Mickey goes to a box under her bed, takes something out of it, and gives it to him.

"8 dollars in cash." She said with a smile.

"Holy shit!! You serious?!"

"It's also a thank you for buying me some big league gum and skittles. Spend wisely my freind."

He smiles and starts to leave, while she goes to eat the pizza, which is pretty good for a free slice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"There's something wrong with your sister."

Mike looks at Dustin with confusion. When it comes to having two sisters, it's a little hard to know which one any person is talking about depending how you describe them. Mickey and Nancy always have something wrong with them, but simple things.

Like when Dustin asked what's wrong with Mickey of why she allows her brother and his friends hug her but not anyone else, or the time when he asked what's wrong with Nancy with why her and Mickey don't get along. 

"What are you taking about?" Mike asked.

"Nancy has a stick up her butt."

Now he knows which sister he's talking about.

Lucas adds, " Yeah. It's because she's been dating that douchebag, Steve Harrington." While preparing to ride his bike back home.

"She's turning into a real jerk Mike." Dustin getting on his bike.

"She's always been a real jerk." Mike clarifies.

Dustin disagrees. "She used to be cool. Remember when she dressed up as an elf for our Elder Tree campaign."

"That was four years ago!!"

"Just sayin!!" Before he could leave, he turns to Mike.

"If there was a chance I can date your sister, can I date her?"

Mike raises his brow with a "wtf" look.

"Which one?"

"Obviously the badass one. Mickey."

"Oh my god no Dustin, I mean she is a badass but I'm not allowing you to date her."

"She likes me!!"

"As a brother, and you're too young for her plus it's a Hell no!!"

"4 years Mike!! 4 years!!"

"You can't blame him Mike." Lucas says with a side smile.

"Bye!!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Nancy don't even lie about stealing my damn lip balm, either give it back or I'm taking one of your pants as my own."

Nancy holds Barbara on the phone again and looks at her with an impatient look on her face.

"Why do even have one? You hate makeup."

Mickey raises her brow.

"For your information, the lip balm keeps my hot blood lips from drying like a mummy while makeup is just an enhancement for certain girls to wear to impress their target."

"Their target?"

"Yeah. Boys, boys with bikes, boys with cool cars, boys with CuTe hair, boys that are nice, and boys who you just feel In LoVe."

Mickey mocking the words "cute" and "love".

"Is this about me dating Steve? He's nice and is really cute, and his hair is cute too. Sounds like someone is just jealous that I have a boyfriend."

Mickey just laughs.

"HAH!! First of all I was just telling you to give me back my lip balm, and second of all, I don't see any reason to be jealous over a guy that probably doesn't even use actual hairspray for his hair."

She looks around for the lip balm until she sees it on a table close to the door. As she grabs it, she looks back to Nancy.

"Does Mom and Dad even know you have a boyfriend?"

Nancy eyes widen a bit, which means to Mickey that it's a no. Why is she not surprised? Nancy tries to counter a comeback.

"Do they even know you have a monster truck without their knowledge?" She smiles.

"I'm making money out of that badass truck, thank you so much for reminding me." As she leaves, she hears Nancy mutter "druggie" before she continues on the phone with her freind. As Mickey closes the door, she mutters "Princess" before she opens her door and closes it to lay back down on her bed.

It is getting late so she'll have to sleep. That means she'll have to wish graduation comes quick. She changes into a simple oversize Christine movie shirt and heads to bed.

"Please just for once let tomorrow be okay." She whispers before closing her eyes. The entire room only lighten by a nightlight of a candle that makes the whole room smell like roses.

Let tomorrow be okay? If only Mickey Wheeler knew.

I gotta practice on Computer for putting Wattpad works of mine to Tumblr. The plan is to use Ao3 and Tumblr when I finish anything for Wattpad. Wish me luck!!!

[cicaklah]

fic author q&a

thank you @the-lady-general for tagging me, I love to procrastinate by doing stuff like this.

1. Why do you write fanfic?

because my brain is a relentless what-if machine and it can't be stopped or tamed. If I wasn't writing it down I'd be losing time just thinking about it, trust me, its far better this way.

and because I love writing, love the fic community, and just love creativity. I've been reading fic literally every single day since I was 11 or 12 and I'm now 38. I'm passionate about the fic writing world and my experience in the 'conventional' writing space has been nothing but anxiety, inferiority and bitterness.

2. Which of your posted stories do you think about the most, even though the story is “finished”?

I don't tend to feel like that about my stories, because I am always up to write sequels or prequels to things, or add stuff onto various universes. I still think often about weibermacht, which is the name of the sex club in my Hitman stories, and one day I will write a proper weibermacht story, but the reason I still think about stories is because they aren't properly finished. I also think a lot about the watch me series because I feel guilty that I never finished it. I have at least another 3 stories in various stages of writing.

I'm planning on doing a WIP amnesty next year (once One Man is finished), and I'm hoping that it will get me to finish some of these things I want to return to, but haven't since.

3. If you could give yourself fic advice from when you first started writing fic, what would that advice be?

Use the momentum of being really into something to make more art. Write as much fic as you can, and don't let guilt catch up with you. It doesn't matter if it sucks; you have to love it, and if you love it in the moment, you are going in the right direction.

4. What’s your relationship to fic stats?

As a professional sort-of statistician I adore them, I wish there were more of them, specifically available over time, and also the number of subscriptions to series would help me as someone who writes in that way. BUT: comparison is the thief of joy. My big fic-related breakdown was over constantly comparing myself to the people I thought were my peers. Stats don't tell you why you aren't doing better than someone, and I know from my profession that you can't just assume things from numbers.

5. Is there a pairing or scenario or friendship you miss writing? If so, why? If not, why not?

I miss Stormpilot (Finn/Poe) circa 2017. What a beautiful time. It will never come again, even if we got something to make the ship sail again, the world has changed.

6. What motivates you to write?

Much like the lady general, I am motivated by wanting to tell jokes, or by specific ideas that enter my brain and won't let go. I am motivated to keep going on one man because there are specific stories I need to share with the rest of the class, but I must tell the rest of the story in order to get there. The journey is the point, but so is the punchline.

7. Why do you write for the fandom(s) that you write for?

Star Trek, specifically SNW, is my current blorbo, so I write for myself and my id on that one. Hitman is for the thirsty thirteen and because its OTP. Oxventure is...complicated. I am so very burned out on that fandom. Super Secret RPF pairing is because of my co-conspirators <3. I've also written way, way too many things because Phoenix and I have talked about them and I've then be POSSESSED.

8. If you’re stuck writing a WIP, what do you do?

As long as I'm still interested in the project, I do my best to push through. I have the philosophy that a story doesn't really exist until it is published anyway. I do have an abandoned WIP folder, and within that is a folder called 'look I'm never writing these ones'. There are 12 stories in that folder. Meanwhile there are 134 I have yet to give up on, not including the 4 that are currently in progress (not including one man.)

Basically I need another WIP amnesty.

9. What do you wish people knew about comments?

They really are the fuel on the fire. I have finished stories because of comments. I have written entire worlds because of comments. I do my best to answer every single comment, and I try to also leave comments as much as I can. At the same time, I have to, for my own sanity, try not to put too much stock in them, because we have to be self-fuelling machines, we have to be self-raising lazaruses. You have to write for yourself, because if you base everything on other people's opinions, you will die nobody.

10. Maybe there’s a question you wish had been on here. What’s that question (and answer)?

I think the question I'd like to ask is what is your personal greatest fic achievement? Not your most popular story, what was the story that you still look at and go: I will never not be proud of that achievement. Mine is the fact I have published 750,000 words and 130 stories and I still feel like I'm only just getting started. That the perseverance over the last 14 years proves that I can do whatever I set my mind to, that I am valuable in a way that matters, and all the doubters of my youth can go fuck themselves forever.

I'm tagging @postalninja, @stickthisbig, @android-and-ale and @alienfuckeronmain and anyone else who wants to do it. lets navel gaze, lads.

[divinemissem13]

20 questions for fic writers

thanks for the tag @ussjellyfish!

1. How many works do you have on Ao3? 76

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? 216,156

3. What fandoms do you write for? Various Star Treks (mostly Voyager, but also Prodigy, TNG, Picard, SNW) The Closer/ Major Crimes Doctor Who

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Gotta Start Somewhere (Trektober 2022) - first thing I ever posted, Trektober prompts for J/C

Rotund - another early one, one shot where pregnant Kathryn messes with Tom and Harry in order to get their table in the mess hall

Kitchen Confidential - one shot where Kathryn is secretly an excellent cook

Aftermath - J/C one shot set immediately post Resolutions (ANGST/ comfort)

Postlude to a Kiss - Part of my 'How Chakotay Met Kathryn' series, set during and after the Vis a Vis body swap incident

5. Do you respond to comments? I try! Often just a ❤️ or a 'Thank you'

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

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Send in the Clowns is not necessarily happier than any of my other endings, but because it's the end of a long and angsty series, I think the payoff is the best.

8. Do you get hate on fics? Not really

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I will write flirting and a little foreplay, but ultimately, I love a good fade to black.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? So many. Mostly Voyager & TNG/Picard for Beverly/Kathryn fics

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?  Not that I know of

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? A short one with @magdalenejaneway from a flash fic prompt. It was fun. I'd do it again.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? I've never written for it, but I'm actually gonna say Adama/Roslin because I've shipped them the longest.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I have a few abandoned WIP one shots that I'll probably never return to... but I also have three multi-chapter WIPs that I still have very high hopes of finishing. I wrote a chapter on one today!

16. What are your writing strengths? Finding character's voices

17. What are your writing weaknesses? I'm trying to get better at describing things (I have aphantasia and so picturing stuff is really hard but if I can find a good image to base things off of, it goes ok.)

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? Phrases here and there, but I don't know any other language well enough to write a real conversation.

19. First fandom you wrote for? When I was in elementary school, I hand wrote a Muppet Babies and Tiny Toons fic. I did not know what fanfic was at the time and I do not remember anything else about it. I only realized it was technically fanfic many many years later when I started intentionally writing fic (for Voyager, which is probably my actual first fandom)

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? All Things Bright and Beautiful. Beverly/ Kathryn set after Picard S3. Writing it was super easy and it still makes me smile to go back and read it.

tagging @curator-on-ao3, @elephant-in-the-pride-parade, @coffee-in-that-nebula, @madamairlock, @caitylove, @holy-ships-x-red-lips, and anyone else who wants to give it a whirl!

[spocksbrainworms]

Hello, just finished chapter 22 of Quell the Cosmic Tides and I wanted to say a few words. Your story is one of the Star Trek fanfics I read over and over again and wait for every chapter every week. It's been a long time since I've had a fanfic that I've been looking forward to so much. Although the plot isn't new, the way you build the characters and details always makes me feel warm after each chapter. As for the fandom, although I watched both TOS and AOS, I came to the fandom quite late so when I started participating in the fandom, everything was quiet and there weren't many people active anymore. So I can't express how surprised I am that someone still writes about AOS and writes it very well. I understand that in the Star Trek fandom, and especially among longtime fans, there aren't many people who like AOS. I also understood why when I watched TOS. But perhaps because of my own thinking, separating the universes of TOS and AOS and considering them as two independent individuals, I feel sympathy and love for Jim and Spock of AOS very much. So I want to thank you for your time, especially for the way you wrote about Jim. I felt like he was truly understood instead of just being a less successful version of Jim TOS (which I see a lot in other fanfics). I hope that if you are still inspired, you will continue to write about AOS. No pressure at all, I will continue to support you in your next work no matter what you write about. Thank you and have a nice day. (English is not my native language, so if there are any mistakes in grammar, please forgive me :>)

This is so incredibly sweet, I love every word of this. Your English is great and so are you because this brought me so much joy ❤️✨

I love your thoughts on TOS and AOS. Going into writing QtCT I wanted to bridge the massive gaps between characterizations. Because so much of TOS was that across universes they were still the same people.

I’m going to treasure this comment for a long time 🥰🖖❤️👽