#and all the writers don't even be writing anymore

[jd-loves-fiction]

Hey there! I might have an oddly specific request, but like. I am craving a trope but I am too lazy to write anything myself. Feel free to not accept this :"D

Could you write maybe like a *micro* oneshot about Boothill finding his past lover (from before his planet got nuked), but here's the thing, the lover did an ftm transition, so Boothill may have not realised at first.

And secondly, there is a child. Boothill's, but he had no idea.

The circumstances under what they reconnect is up to you. Wether it's fluff or angst, also.

Thank you in advance, cool writer person!<3

🌑felt that first part😭 ALSO this idea is so good rAAAH I CANT STOP THINKING ABOUT IIITT (idk if this sucks but i hope i did this wonderful idea justice my dear, i poured all my love into this ❤️)

ALSO ALSO listened to 'Would you fall in love with me again' on loop writing this cuz the vibes are immaculate :)

Warnings: Spoilers for Boothill's backstory, mention of reader pre-transition as 'her' once but by male descriptors everwhere else, I have no experience writing ftm reader's so forgive my ignorance and let me know if I did good if you can 🥺

𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 / 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠

The saloon is lively, crowded, not Boothill’s usual scene but fate or whatever sorry god is in charge of his path brought him here. His mission is complete and he’s exhausted – so out drinking he goes, even though he can barely feel the drink’s effects anymore. He supposes it must be the principle of the thing, a sort of tradition that helps him not lose his mind along the way.

Boothill scans the room by instinct, seeing dancing couples fill the entire room up to the corners – some slowly, some so fast it’s as if the universe is about to implode. A flash of a memory stings at the back of his brain, but he ignores it.

“Uhm! Mister!” Chirps a high pitched voice from below, clearly directed at himself. Looking down he spots a chubby-faced little girl, at which he raises a brow. Why a girl her age would ever think to approach him of all people in the saloon, he cannot imagine.

“Can you help me up, please? I wanna ask for some water,” she asks, polite but determined.

“Oh, well of course little lady!” He responds, gently holding her up and placing her onto the stool, once the cloud of nostalgia is gone from before his eyes. She just looks so familiar… The particular shade of brown of her eyes–

“Thank you mister!” The girl says brightly, sitting all cute and proper as Boothill waves the barkeep over, “It’s no trouble. Whatcha doin’ here, anyway? Y’ain’t alone, right?”

“Oh no mister, I’m here with my papa!” She replies cheerfully, pointing to the center of the room where the most people gather. Between swaying bodies he finds who she points at – twirling a giggling old lady is who Boothill suspects is the girl’s ‘papa’.

The cyborg cowboy no longer has a heart, nor a chest really, but it feels as if it stops in that moment. You don't spot him yet, lost as you are in your own little world, twirling around as sweat builds at your hairline.

But to Boothill everyone else fades as the pieces click into place – a grassfield beneath a starry sky, the love of his life before him, his flesh and bone hands around her blushing face… your face… no matter how you’ve changed, it’s you, he’d recognize you anywhere.

He must be seeing ghosts, surely. The girl’s father must just look like you, that’s it, it has to be, you’re dead… you have to be.

But Boothill knows in his soul that it is. You’re right there, dancing without a care in the world, changed and yet the same.

“Mister?” The little girl to him again, grasping at one of his sleeves and he turns. Her eyes, that particular shade of brown… it’s his, from when he was still flesh and blood. His head hurts. He feels drunk and crazy, maybe he should stop drinking after missions.

“There you are! You should’ve told me you wanted to rest,” You lightheartedly tell the girl, panting as you wipe sweat from your brow. From this close he’s sure it’s you, but Boothill still feels a little crazy for his thoughts. “Made a friend–?!”

The moment your eyes meet his, Boothill is finally sure it’s you. And he can tell you remember him too. Both of you seem stuck in time, gazing at each other like you’ve seen a ghost, which maybe you have, all things considered. The both of you should be dead.

Your mouth opens to speak but no words come out and you’re aching for a glass of water of your own. He’s here, alive and…

“You’ve… changed.” Boothill says lamely – so many things he wants to say, things he should’ve said long ago, things he would’ve said if he knew you were alive all this time.

“S-So have you!” Your voice cracks as you gawk at him, “You’re all… metal?”

Boothill chuckles, nerves eased by the familiarity that settles over the two of you – seems you haven't changed where it counts. “Yeah… it’s a long story.”

“Well, all I have is time.” He can tell you’re still upset with him, perhaps you will be for a while– heck! He’s upset with himself! He should’ve gone back for you, checked, double checked, triple checked!

“Just tell me one thing first;” The cyborg asks, watching as the girl sprints off towards who he assumes is a friend of hers, “Is she…” he points at himself.

“... Yeah. Her name’s Julia.” You tell him, sitting where she was, shoulders still tense as you watch him closely. He’s still as handsome as always, more rugged perhaps, more tired and grim, but the sight of his face still makes your heart stutter with affection. 

Boothill sighs heavily at the information, like the air’s been punched from his lungs, slumping over the bar and covering his eyes. You, alone as your planet burned while he went off to punish the ones who did it, was a heartbreaking enough picture to paint, but with a child? His child?

If they hadn't taken his tear ducts, he’d be filling the saloon up to the ceiling with his tears.

“Hey now, you can cry about it later, ok?” You say awkwardly, knowing you might start crying too if he does. 

He does as you ask, finally raising his head to look at you properly. You’re as beautiful as he remembers, of course you are. You could never stop looking so unfairly stunning to him, never.

Squirming in place as his cybernetic lock onto you, you feel the need to fill the empty space between you – as much as you wish to act like nothing had changed, a lot had, “How did you… recognize me?”

He finds it to be an odd question, of course he’d recognize you, yours is the only face he seems when he closes his eyes, haunting the few dreams he does have like a siren’s song beckoning him to linger within the memories of a better life before he became what he is now, “Y’haven’t changed that much.”

You blink at him, suddenly self-conscious, “... haven't I?”

Oh no, you look upset. He should’ve just said what he was thinking instead of whatever that was, “I– I didn't mean it like– I mean, you look great! Fudge I–”

You’re laughing, open and bright and lovely. Laughing at him no doubt, but laughing, “W-what– why do you– Fudge?”

“Ah, well, that’s part of that long story I told ya’bout.” He replies bashfully, because yeah, it would be strange to hear that coming out of his mouth to you.

Catching your breath and wiping the tears from your eyes, you smile fondly at the cowboy, “Sounds to me like we have some catching up to do.”

The farm boy in him wishes still that nothing had changed, that he could wake up from his dream and lay in the field beneath the stars again, hold you against his warm chest like always and have no IPC blood caked under his metaphorical nails, only dirt and sand from a hard day’s work. But the galaxy ranger he is now likes it better this way – change is inevitable and all things considered, this is one of the more fortunate outcomes of your story. 

You’ve both changed, but not where really it counts.

“That we do, sweetheart.”

[mybiasisexo]

who are your fav or go to tumblr pages that write exo fics? or any specific stories you enjoy on here?

I have a tag for the fanfics I like

and im an old lady so I don't really know any new writers (I am so sorry I need to get back on it) but I do have my personal icons @baekberrie @yeoldotcom @j-pping @yeoldontknow @biaswreckingfics @ninibears-erigom @baeklination @byuntrash101 @breakyeol @vampwrrr @whimsical-ness (also rip to all the amazing work we have lost, all the talented writers who have gone. Thank you for your service)

my HIGHLY recommended fics are:

Break a Sweat by @breakyeol

I read this literally whenever my yeol thirst is too much and its gonna hit every time!!! My all time fav yeol smut

Sweet Lies by @vampwrrr

This is hands down one of the best bbh fanfics I have ever read. She writes bbh so damn well and its just so so amazing. I reread it every fall lmfaooo and I have hope that one day we will get a new chapter, amen 😔

Guardian by @kpopfanfictrash

An oldie (all the fics I love are like from 2016 smh) but GOODIE even if you feel some type of way about chen fics now I still HIGHLY recommend.

Exception by @moonlightjongin

Now, this story also isn't finished and prob won't be but...the edge of your seat??? The DRAMA?!??? Ugh I just love this one so much I really need to reread it cause its just amazing and I feel not enough people know about this one. A gem, truly

The Greatest Gift by @wonderlustlucas

Its giving everything it needs to give. Literally idk its just so good! The chemistry, the writing, the smut, chanyeols characterization. Just v brilliant and smart and truly my writing inspo. The sequel is just as scream inducing god I love it

and of course there is this little writer called @mybiasisexo who has this one story called Entangled that's ok. like she's cooking or whatever 👀😂

[bedlamsbard]

talking about SteveNat is always a bizarre experience because I probably cannot be clearer about the fact that I ship them and want them to kiss on the mouth and yet whenever a post moves out of my orbit it immediately morphs into "yeah they're such good friends, I love a brotp."

[thatbuddie]

i'm sorry. i have kept quiet about this for so so so long. but i can't any longer. i'm just sorry.

if you call buck "evan" you don't understand him as a character. if you call buck "evan" you don't understand the show.

the minute someone refers to buck as "evan" they are immediately telling on themselves.

[kryptonbabe]

You will get a new Wonder Woman run planned to be a long and structured one - but it's written by Tom King

You will get a new Black Canary run - the thing is, it will be written by Tom King

You will get a series of some silver age partially forgotten characters you like - Adam Strange, Omega Men, Metamorpho - but here's the catch: they'll all be written by Tom King

Why all these times I got something I wanted from DC it was like meeting this wise and cruel Jinn trying to warn me about the potential harm of my heart's desires?

"Be careful what you wish for, little one. Now take this Tom King book" the creature whispers while I sob

[seraphic-sibyl]

On waiting for the perfect day to create.

Something I've learned--and it's taken me a while to realize what it actually means--that "write it now, edit later" is a real thing. You can always revisit it in a few years if you think it's not strong enough and re-tackle your story with a little more experience under your belt. But the "half-written Word doc" phenomenon is also real; often we start stories and then lose steam halfway through, and that's fine. Creating anything is a good thing.

But if you never start, you won't even have a half-finished Word doc. You might think about that really cool story idea you had and realize you just don't think that way anymore, that you just can't bring yourself to write it anymore. And people change, it's true, and looking back at something you created and realizing it doesn't reflect you anymore is a real thing too. But maybe it would have been really good, even if you can't believe in it anymore, and you kinda wish it existed while you still did.

I dunno. I've been thinking lately about the novel I wanted to write when I was 15, and how so much has changed since then that I don't know if I could write such an optimistic story. I don't know if it would just be tone-deaf at this point. I think the way I view the intended themes is a bit more nuanced. But I wish it existed. I wish I hadn't waited until I had more writing experience and just...put words to a page. Made something, even if it never saw the light of day, just so I can look at the way I used to see things and the product of it.

It may not have been perfect, but I think I would have loved writing it, and I wish I didn't keep waiting for a flash of inspiration to give me the rest of my world, characters, and story. The flash would never come.

Make your stories. If you know you don't like it or you need more experience to do it justice, you'll at least have a framework to come back to. Create the thing.

[hearts401]

We need to start treating bad writing like bad art and im not kidding

[majortomwaits]

so i haven't used fictionpress since i was like 16 or 17, i used it to post my original stories at the time, and today, so after nearly 10 years, someone messaged me there, telling me how much they love my work and i'm baffled?? like thanks, i suppose, but man.......

[midnightwind]

sometimes I wonder how obvious it is that I grew up writing on rp forums lmao

[kleiner-detektiv]

I just love™ doing a collab event where I'm supposed to draw something for a fanfiction, but the writer won't share or write anything until the 3rd or 4th check-in at all.

If one doesn't have the time for it, they shouldn't participate.

Or at least they should communicate!

Artists have a schedule, too!

No writing, no art! We artists, too, need some time for a decent artwork and this is not my only project! Dx

[not-poignant]

Hey there. Do you have any tips on how to stay consistent with writing, and how to stay focused on the task at hand?

Hi anon!

So firstly, I've answered versions of this question quite a few times so you might want to go into the 'Pia on Writing' tag because they'll be there.

A quick look has found:

How to write more words regularly - This one is good for just...straight up practical advice.

But I wanted to speak frankly which is - what works for me might not work for you! We all have different strengths and weaknesses and depending on how we orient towards writing depends on what those weaknesses are. For example, I need to learn how to take more breaks and rest more, and not write as much. The 'writing a lot and sometimes too much' comes pretty easily to me these days.

Not all writers are meant to be consistent writers. I don't have a daily habit and I haven't written anything at all in a week and a half. I have my monthly wordcount and that's it. Someone else might need to write or edit every day, in order to not lose sight of their projects. Someone else might need five intensive days a month. It will depend on their nature, their personality.

Not all writers have the same reasons behind why they can't stay focused on a task. I have ADHD, but I can also hyperfocus on characters and a storyline. Others have ADHD, and cannot hyperfocus on their characters or storyline long enough to finish a story. That's a problem I don't know how to remedy, because I don't have that kind of ADHD, so I've never had to 'solve' it before. Some writers are perfectionists which hamper them, I am not a perfectionist and I'd rather the thing be out in the world with some flaws, than on my computer talking to no one. I need the dopamine more than I need something to be perfect. So you see anon, sometimes the things that impact us just aren't universal, which means you need more specific advice. There will be perfectionist writers who will have lots of great advice, there will be ADHD writers who get bored of a story who have great advice. :D

What I will say is that pretty universally, writing consistently and staying focused are both like muscles in the body. I'm where I'm at today because I've had 9-10 years of practice doing this, and when you start out (which the above link addresses) you will need to aim more realistically and reasonably, and start there.

It's also worth having a really grounded sense of why you want to write more consistently / focus more on your writing. Is it for fun? Is it because you want to finish a project? Is that project something you'll feel good if you finish or are you over it? Is it because you want to make an income? (Have you considered there are approximately 40 billion easier ways to make an income?) Is it because you just want to see if you can do it?

Sitting down and thinking about your motivations here will help motivate you if you can keep your goals in mind. And it will also help clarify what you get out of writing in the first place.

Re: Staying focused. It depends on your distractions. I use music, that helps me. That might be terrible for you. I make sure I'm eating well - the brain needs carbs and fats, and my whole body needs protein and fibre - so I'll have a decent breakfast before starting out. Sleep is important. Drinking regularly is important. There's very basic things here which seem obvious that help a ton with concentration, but if you're not doing them, they're a good place to start. You'd be surprised how much just 'eating balanced meals, drinking regularly and sleeping enough hours' helps with concentration. Like, so much.

A friend of mine uses the Pomodoro method (that would drive me nuts), there's using write-ins like Twitch streams to basically 'body double' with other people who are writing at the same time (I find this very motivational). There's gamification like 4TheWords (love this site). There's 'I get to have a cookie if I write another 200 words.' There's 'actually I've lost focus because this part of the story might be broken and if I just do this the river will start to flow again' as a writing technique.

Mostly, you'll need the time and space to just amass the number of techniques you need to help with both focus and writing regularly. But in all of this, it's vital to be patient with yourself. You can't expect yourself to take a week to end up somewhere that someone else took 3 or 4 years to get to. And it won't be...consistent. Don't side-eye me or anything, but like, we're not meant to be machines, even people who write relatively consistently (like me) need breaks, get burnt out, get tired, are over it, and sometimes need brand new techniques to start working again. Knowing that it's not a linear upward curve of ever-increasing focus lets you also just...be compassionate and patient with yourself.

Oh yeah, because you'll have to get good at both of these too anon. :D Learning discipline and being firm with yourself can't work successfully if you also then mentally punish yourself for not doing it 'well enough' to the point where you don't want to do it anymore. Cultivating the 'I'll try again tomorrow' or 'I did great today!' parts of your brain help a ton with consistency. If you know you're going to be kind to yourself for doing well, and firm but compassionate with yourself when you don't, all of this gets way, way easier.

[sally-mun]

Since I've been settling back into Tumblr I keep thinking about the fact that this is where I did most of my writing. About all kinds of things.

I haven't really written anything in a couple of years. It started as a bit of burnout but got exponentially worse due to a very bad thing that happened. My therapist has been trying to help me find that piece of myself again. It's been lost for a really long time, and is probably a big part of why I have so much trouble being 'me' anymore, or even knowing what 'me' is. It's really difficult to like 'me' now. On the off-chance I actually do, I feel guilty for having done so, because I still haven't quite shaken the instinct that shouldn't like 'me.' I should be ashamed of 'me.' Maybe that's a big part of why my writing disappeared. I always really liked that about me. Writing would threaten my the paradigm where I can't and shouldn't like myself.

But I mean... I do really miss it.

I hope it comes back.

Maybe being here again will help with that.

[bipaulinadlm]

what if simone/manuel was haunting the narrative

(aka there are worms in my brain)

The past coming back to haunt you (to set the scene): DANTE (episode 2): Perché il passato ci segue. Ciò che abbiamo vissuto, le cose per cui abbiamo sofferto vivono nel nostro presente, sempre. (Because the past follows us. All we've lived, the things we've suffered for, they always live on in the present. VIRGILIA (episode 5): Non si può lasciare il proprio passato in sospeso, perché prima o poi ritorna e ti chiede il conto. (You can't leave your own past hanging over you, because sooner or later it comes around demanding an explanation.)

Things that repeat, not least among them: a. "Hai una cotta per uno che non ti pensa" (Manuel to Simone s2) vs "Tu hai perso la testa per uno che manco te se incula" (Simone to Manuel s1); b. Simone getting drunk at a party because Manuel hurt him; c. Simone's feelings for both Manuel and Mimmo leading to him helping with criminal activities; d. Conversation By The Pool; e. Anita & Dante getting together being the ending of both seasons, to which Manuel and Simone say this:

(episode 12) (What are they doing, starting over? / What do I know? I have no clue.)

Parallel universes + source material (or, what if you were two characters in a story that's been told before and you should be fated for each other, but for whatever reason you're not):

(Episode 6) (MANUEL: Do you ever think about parallel universes? / SIMONE: No. Do you? / MANUEL: Yeah, sometimes I wonder what my life would be like there.)

(An image of the scene in Merlí where Bruno and Pol are about to get married)

In conclusion:

(episode 12) (SIMONE: Have you what horrible tricks destiny plays? / MANUEL: I have. / SIMONE: It seems like a bad dream.)

So basically, what if you were two people trapped in a TV show and somewhere there's a world where you're fated for each other, but it's not this one, but you can't help running through the same moments again and again, and you can't keep the past from coming back to haunt you, and the narrative hates you so bad, and either everything goes wrong or you're not yourself.

[strawberriesinmoominvalley]

i would tell so many stories to people growing up, but my teachers would always tell me my written stories weren't the best :( so i stopped trying to write

anyway, kept telling stories aloud until one day i had so many thoughts i had to start writing them down. and people in my life went "hey! this isn't too bad, it's a cool idea!" and it all spiralled from there :D

idk who to tag, so anyone! feel free to pile on from here :)

“how did you get into writing” girl nobody gets into writing. writing shows up one day at your door and gets into you

[frownyalfred]

I'm seeing a lot of "ugh, so we can't even criticize fic authors anymore?" posts popping up on here and the ao3 subreddit and I just want to say, for the record: No one's saying you can't criticize (fanfic) authors publicly. They're saying it's rude and antithetical to positive fandom experience. And, yes there's a difference.

If this website was a conference and I had just spent a whole afternoon listening to a presentation on [unpopular fic trope] and after that was done, I got up on stage and very publicly told the audience that [unpopular fic trope] was illogical and anyone who writes it is woefully misinformed and should be banned from writing [relevant character], that would in fact be a dick move.

"But the canon character would never--" it doesn't matter. You're shouting down the hall at the person who just happily did a whole seminar on their OOC version of that character. "But I don't like that the author chose to make them--" good, you're well-acquainted with your likes and dislikes, time to find another fic.

We all run into fics and interpretations we don't like. But there's a huge difference between loudly talking about it on Tumblr where the author can see it, and just venting in a private discord or other group. Also, gentle reminder that this is a hobby for most writers and something they do purely because they enjoy it. Stop being massive dicks just because you feel entitled to a certain flavor of fanfiction you will probably be chasing until the Reformation of Krypton.

[galedekarios]

[source]

i had not seen the "durge/astarion is canon!" post until earlier today with that discord screenshot and honestly ... a writer being like "i managed to shove in all this extra content for astarion/dark urge, but then we simply ran out of time for the other characters" is not good, actually. that doesn't mean your ship is the most canon. it means that astarion kept getting extra attention and other companions kept getting neglected. that other companions simply do not have the amount of content astarion has is not a good thing, it is a bad thing.

and like i'm saying this as someone who really loves astarion/durge. it's unplatable to me and that larian writers are sitting in fan discords going "yeah we just didn't do that for other characters but somehow i found the time for this!" is kind of gross to me