#and now back to voltron fic i guess

[ethereance]

Au whereupon reviving Shiro and Lance through the power of Altean alchemy, a side effect of Allura’s ability is that they end up bright pink. Everything is the same except they’re just. Bright pink.

[shipskicksandgiggles]

dialogue prompts

hi! I’m Ellis, I’m a college student that that apparently keeps landing myself in bizarre situations and I cope by making prompt lists out of them. they’re usually hilarious and great for short fics, so feel free to send me a number with a character/ship/dynamic, or even just a fandom that you think fits

“Is this about the fax machine? Because if it is, my vote is we put a bullet in it.”

“I don’t need to hear about any of your sex lives. I’m talking to you specifically.”

“Why are you all in the hallway? Is that a dog?”

“Do they remind you of someone?” “Yeah, me when I was that age, I was hoping you wouldn’t mention it.”

“I’m going to steal someone’s kneecaps.”

“Someone just barked at me in the grocery store parking lot.” “Go see who it is.” “You asshole.”

“Why are you standing like that?” “They’re autistic, leave them alone.”

“It’s been like three months. Why are you a different person?” “Catastrophic change and trauma, babe, don’t worry about it.”

“Every day my interests become more and more like a middle aged father’s.”

“Do you want to come build a chair?” “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

“Why do you talk so much about cannibalism in this class?” “Your guess is as good as mine.”

“Everyone gets excited about boobs!” “I honestly don’t think that’s true.”

“Do you need the heat pack more?” “I wasn’t going to bring it up, but you limped home, I think you need it more.”

“Some guy just mistook me for a cis man, this is the best thing that’s happened to me all week.”

“You went to Catholic school? I would have thought you’d gone to public school and then taken a hard left into satanism.”

“Did you have a Voltron phase?” “No, why?”

“You know how I would literally rather die than ask for help?”

“Do you have time for me to have a gender crisis on you or are you too busy?” “Oh, no, this is happening.”

“Dude, they took your door.” “Your door privileges have been revoked.” “What the fuck?”

“Oh my god, quit it with the mother henning.” “If we lose the kid I’m blaming you.”

“Do you have a reason or are you being a nasty cynic?”

“So he’s better than you.” “I’m okay with that.”

“Did you just call me to tell me the person who won Jeopardy! has my chronic illness?”

“I regret asking.” “Why would you ask an autistic person about their hyperfixation when you don’t want an in depth answer?”

“Insane question, but can I put you in hell?”

“If one more person gives you public recognition for a thing I think you’re going to set yourself on fire.”

“Holy shit, you’re like a vampire.” “In all seriousness, you should see someone about that, that’s not normal.”

“Did I just sleep for 16 hours?” “Roughly, yeah. How are you feeling?” “About how you’d expect.”

“Where are you? Oh you’re having floor time.”

“Your taste in men is seriously questionable. If you only want his dick I’m sure we can figure out something else.”

“You need to crash your car right now.”

“Don’t make me pull rank at 6 in the morning again, I’ll die.”

“Are you crocheting right now? God this is such a weird group of people.”

“I got called an anarchist again.” “By the same person as last time?” “Nope.”

“Are we going to talk about what happened back there?” “No, why, what happened?”

“My mom has apparently kissed more women than I have.”

“You goddamn whore!” “What happened?” “She lied to me!”

“Of all of us, I think you’re the most likely to be a vigilante. Like a journalist by day, crime fighting hero by night.” “Like Spider-Man?” “Exactly like Spider-Man!”

“What’s going on?” “There might be a squirrel in the building, let me get back to you.”

“Don’t flirt with me while I’m holding a knife.”

“So imagine you’re a bisexual woman and you want to go to a strip club.”

“You scare people.” “I’m literally the nicest person alive.” “I watched you yell at someone last week.” “And?”

“The group chat is rioting.” “Oh my god.”

“We’re stealing your dog. She’s ours now.”

“I’m going to use my powers of being everyone’s favorite to get out of this.”

“I don’t associate myself with my birth name because no one called me by that name growing up.” “Have you perhaps heard of therapy?”

“My professor thinks I need an emotional support bird.” “No, I know you need an emotional support bird.”

“Okay, so they’ve got some trauma they need to work through. What’s driving the rest of you?”

“I ended up with the straight up rainbow one. Maybe straight is the wrong word. Anywhom-”

“You met this man a week ago, what do you mean you’re in love with him?”

[thotpuppy]

20 questions for fic writers!

this kind of stuff is super neat to read from others and share and talk about sooo thank u so much for the tag @sugareey-makes-stuff!!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

On its face, 40, but 5 are co-creator tags because i illustrated them, 3 of them are art for the steter bang independently posted separate from their fics, 1 was gift art for the steter vday exchange, and 1 is a 60k+ roleplay that i only wrote like half of haha. so its actually 30-31

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

365,587 but again, not all my words. Without the 8 fics mentioned up top, its at 250,197 total. the fic i co wrote is 69,599. Without any of that, my total is 180,598. if i only cut half out, its at 215,397 which is. still pretty good i guess???

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Published, I have fics for Voltron Legendary Defender, Teen Wolf, Danny Phantom, and Sk8 the Infinity. I pretty much only write for Teen Wolf right now. I have WIPs and ideas for DC, Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun, and of course Danny Phantom.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Grandma, What a Big Dick You Have! (the better to fuck you with my dear) (Sterek, WC 5,644, one shot, Rated E)

Churn My (Peanut) Butter (Steter, WC 3,074, one shot, Rated E)

A Collision of Interest is Inevitable  (This is that role-play) (PompousPep, WC 69,599, part 1 of ?, Rated M)

Why (not) Me? (Sterek, WC 6,496, one shot, Rated M)

Now Hiring (Sterek, WC 5,724, part 1 of WIP series that's currently 4 parts. Rated E)

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

I do my very best to meet my commenters however they meet me. If they just drop some emojis, i drop some back. If they give me a long, thought out comment, I give them one back. Etc etc.

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

This question and 7 are both hard because I pretty much exclusively write happy endings. A Snap, a Shudder, and a Home probably has the least upward lifting ending? It's not sad or angsty, but it speaks to unresolved tensions. The problem isn't over, even if they have a taste of peace. (Sterek, WC 1,669, one shot, Rated T)

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

They all have happy endings! ARGH! The most outwardly enduringly positive fic I've written, however, is probably:

Daisies and Daffodils (You Make Me Smile) (Sterek, WC 3,864, one shot, Rated T) I was just in such a smiley, indulgent mood the entire time I wrote it, and it still makes me warm and smiley about it now.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not technically, though I have gotten two particularly unpleasant comments. One was on a Sterek fanfic trope challenge fic, for the prompt "Forced Proximity". Stiles and Derek get put into a '7 minutes of heaven' sort of situation by Lydia and one commenter was SO MAD that I didn't tag the fic as RAPE/NONCON ????? They also lectured me about being sexist and having double standards because it wouldn't be okay if Sterek were Women, which was just all sorts of yikes. (WC 2,912, Rated M, link here.) The other time I got a negative comment was actually on my most recently posted WIP Under My Skin, which is a Stackson fic. The hatefulness wasn't directed at the fic itself, but it WAS targeted at one of the main protagonists of the fic, as if implying I would be "punishing" said character for his "crimes" which were Being Human and Struggling. It made me super, SUPER uncomfortable and I ended up leaving the thread on read because I just got so unhappy every time I read the comment that I decided it wasn't worth even trying to explain myself. (WC 55,613, chapter 18/?, Rated E, noncon warning)

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

Haha.... normally I would say that's literally most of what I write, but I have a surprising number of lengthier non-smutty fics than I realized. I also legitimately have a Just Porn fic series, though, and I've written some pretty horny stuff in general. (Sterek+ others, WC 23,152, Rated E, parts 4/?)

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

I haven't, but I'm not opposed to doing one? I tend to prefer crossovers that are more, characters from X in setting from Y than, like, main characters interacting? But I have read a good few crossovers lately that have made me much more open TO writing a crossover in the future.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Thankfully not, yikes

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Naw, but I'd be open to it! I have blanket permissions for a lot of stuff right on my ao3 profile. (:

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

Yeah :,^)

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

If you'd asked me this like 5 years ago I would have said Drarry. I HAVE answered this question with Drarry many times. I think, at this point in time, however, it is shifting. It very well may be Sterek. Drarry has absolutely shaped a huge amount of how I create, how I write, what i read, etc. though so it would be inappropriate to say it held no influence over me.

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

I think it's entirely possible i will never finish the TBHK Wondering Prince fic I started. It's somewhere between traditional fairy tale, medieval fantasy, and the witcher, with a good bit of TBHK's whimsical supernaturality.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I tend to do well with dialogue IMO, as well as general world building, both fantastical and mundane lol

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

plot. The actual beats of the story. I have wonderful, grand ideas on what a story should be! I even have thoughts on the conflicts, major stepping points, etc, but MAN do i get tripped up on the actual getting from point a to point b thematicall.

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

*wiggly hand gesture* I think if it is a language you speak, and it is only occasional words or a line or two, it makes sense to use the other language, but in every spoken situation in visual media, you would get subtitles explaining what was being said if it went on longer than that. If the audience doesn't speak the language and they have to go to the end of the chapter/fic/etc to translate it, that can be enough for them to just gloss over and not even read it. Or, if you don't speak that language at all and you use google translate? you might have written something very different from your intent that people who DO speak it catch and get tripped up by. I think it's better to just, say that the character is speaking in another language and translate it in text for your readers.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

teeeeeeeeeechnically homestuck? for 'posted on ao3'?? But also, I've lowkey been writing fanfic adjacent works since i was like 6, but i don't rly wanna count that LOL

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

This bitch is my baaaaaaaaby. Stackson, WC 55,613, Chapters 18/?. https://archiveofourown.org/works/48834448 Currently a WIP but with a deadline, so it WILL be finished! This is probably the fic that got me REALLY into writing fic on my own though. https://archiveofourown.org/works/29829636 It really brought me back to my love of writing and was the first finished work in a long ass time. I also think it's really funny and a great example of what I can do when I apply myself. (PompousPep, WC 4,545, 2 chapters, Rated M.)

Tagging: @geekmom13 @always-mimits @sinnabon-cosplay @okdeannawrites @whimsicalmeerkat @clotpolesonly @hedwig221b @wolfspurr @lavender-lotion @adrianfridge

(Blank under the readmore)

20 questions for fic writers!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

3. What fandoms do you write for?

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

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

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

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

8. Do you get hate on fics?

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

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

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

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

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

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

16. What are your writing strengths?

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

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

19. First fandom you wrote for?

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

[phoenixyfriend]

Have another post I wrote up seven years ago and never actually shared. Have not read through it again, but it’s a snapshot of what/how I was thinking about the ways in which I write different POVs in Voltron Fic. I think it stayed unposted because I hadn’t added Hunk or Coran yet, and now I never will.

Pidge processes a lot of details, very visual, tries to break down what she's seeing as she sees it. As new details come up, others get packed away in the back of her mind to get taken apart later when she has more time. When she’s thinking, she’s still fairly visual, but mostly in the sense of mental diagrams and such. She’s pretty good at visualization.

Lance tends to get emotions and motions, to put it simply, and focuses inwards on his own processing of his emotions and shit when panicking. He notices people and how they feel and act before anything else; he’s more likely to be question why a person is feeling a certain way than try to analyze the actual things they’re saying while they lash out. While he does take in visual elements, he files the information away as concepts rather than actually remembering how things looked, and doesn’t really remember details that he doesn’t take note of directly.

Keith is a little more blunt, I guess? I'm not sure how to put it, but he kind of takes in information and does minimal on-the-spot ongoing processing in favor of immediate reactions and then talking things through with people (Shiro and Pidge) afterwards. The Thing is a Thing, and will remain as such until he has a chance to think about it in private later. When he does have a chance to think about it, his thoughts tend to spiral; he treads over the same spots over and over, but eventually narrows in on a conclusion.

Shiro is... tense, I guess? I haven't done a lot of writing from his perspective (some NaA and the Hamilton thing), but it's a lot of long-term consequences and juggling of ethical and moral considerations while he tries to figure out the best course of action. It means that he ends up over-processing some things and under-processing others, so he misses some stuff that he really should have noticed, and puts more importance than necessary on things that aren't quite as important.

Allura's a lot like Shiro, but a little more.. alien, I guess? She's distanced, too. Everything comes through a lens of "these are not my people, I need to consider that" when she remembers, and frustration when she doesn't.

[perpetuallylatetothefandomparty]

3, 6, 10, 12, and 25 from the writer asks please!

3 - how you feel about your current WIP

I'm going to be completely honest here and say that... I kind of hate it? I'm just at that stage where the flaws are obvious and the good parts are a bit obscured from view. Once I've got it all down then I can edit it and like it a bit more. At least, that's what'll hopefully happen.

6 - the word that appears most in your current draft

"Keith" is top, then "Keith's", but excluding names the top 3 are "druid", "eyes", and "guard". Make of that what you will hehe

10 - what is the longest amount of time you've let a draft rest before you finished it?

Not sure if this counts, but when I was younger and doing original stuff, there was a story I left for 2 or 3 years before coming back and giving it a shoddy ending lmao.

Fic-wise... hmm. *glances at Google Drive and looks away from all the abandoned works* Generally that doesn't happen. If a story gets left for much longer than a month I'll take it as read that I'm probably never going to finish it haha because I'll have moved on and lost the inspiration/motivation to write it. (That's the main reason I don't post until it's all written, because I know I can't necessarily be trusted to deliver) I also don't tend to have many wips that I care about going on at once, because I'm slightly obsessive about getting them finished :)

12 - a trope you're really into right now

Ooh, I've been reading some darkfics lately- absolutely consuming that whump. (Which has inevitably bled into my writing hehe) Hurt and angst (accompanying comfort and fluff optional) are still dear to my heart in terms of genre though!

In terms of specific tropes, I love found family- it's an enduring favourite and one of the things I love Voltron for. I also go for trauma, cold-blooded and sadistic torture, Stockholm syndrome, caretaking, self-sacrifice, self-harm, human experimentation, pleading for mercy (bonus points if no mercy is forthcoming!), and of course hugs in pretty much any context absolutely destroy me. I could list more, but oops, the question was only for only one trope and that's... like... thirteen.

I guess my favourite set-up (getting a little off topic here but anyway) would be someone asking to be hurt in someone they care about's place (I'm kind of imagining a Keith scenario here) but that request is rejected and the loved one gets hurt anyway. The helplessness there is delicious to read/write.

25 - besides writing, what are your other hobbies?

I have a few! Still kind of mastering keeping the idea that 'it's okay not to touch hobbies every day' in my head, because really between classes and trying to have a social life and writing and sleeping I really don't have enough free time to pursue every hobby all the time :')

Music was a huge obsession for me a while back, and for a while I thought I'd end up studying it, but no (going for chemistry instead). Still a big part of my life though, so playing piano is one of my go-to hobbies. (Messing around on bass is a little more chill, I do that too.) And I listen to music pretty much constantly, especially when writing or travelling haha

Reading, obviously, whether that's fics or physical books. I used to do it a ton but distressingly less so since my schedule's got tighter and writing (the current dominant hobby) has been using up more of what free time I have.

Those are the main ones! I also do little bits of sound engineering and cycling (although that's usually just for my commute) and I dabble in various arty/crafty things; there's probably more, but that's all I can think of at the moment.

Thanks for the ask! ♡

[fickleminder]

20 Questions for Writers

Thank you for the tag @chocmarss 💕

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

100 woohoo

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

325,362 words

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mainly Obey Me at the moment, but I've also written for Rise of the Guardians, How to Train Your Dragon, Miraculous Ladybug, Spiderman, Power Rangers, Fire Emblem, Pokemon, Voltron, Final Fantasy, Transformers, Sherlock, and Dragon Raja!

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

That's (Not) My Name

Just A Taste

don't you (forget about me)

The Other Half of Us

Second Chances

5. Do you respond to comments?

All the time! I do my best to say thank you to everyone who left a comment :)

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

We Can Be Heroes (Just For One Day)

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

Punch-Punch-Kiss

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I'm fortunate to not have encountered that so far!

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

I can do suggestive content at best; I have no talent for smut.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Hell yeah, I wrote a lot of Hijack back in the day!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Again, I'm fortunate to not have experienced this (or maybe I'm just unaware of any theft).

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

A few, if I remember correctly, though I've probably lost the links to them by now...

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

Yeah, and what a fantastic experience that was!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

C'mon you know I can't pick just one :(

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

...I'm working on them.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Keeping things concise, I guess? My stories are mostly plot-driven, so I tend to move things from point A to point B in a straightforward manner. I try not to repeat words too often as well, and I'd like to say I'm good at writing angst!

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Rushing the plot haha! I feel like being overly succinct makes my writing feel too abrupt; the transitions aren't as smooth as I like, and I can always afford to spend more time expanding and developing a scene before moving on.

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

It's awesome; kudos to those who pull it off, goodness knows I can't!

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Transformers

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

You can't make me choose, my fics are all my babies :(

No pressure tags: @arvandus @misc-obeyme @another-lost-mc @qrowsofafeather @sparkbeast20 @twiceasfrustrating @theevilpretty1 @obeythebutler @elsecrytt @atticsandwich and anyone else who wants to join!

(Questions below)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

3. What fandoms do you write for?

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

5. Do you respond to comments?

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

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

8. Do you get hate on fics?

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

10. Do you write crossovers?

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

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

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

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

16. What are your writing strengths?

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

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

19. First fandom you wrote for?

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

[maplesyrupptarmigan]

Summary:

Katie wanted to be excited. A part of her was. Hang out with her friends, eat food made with love—fun stuff. So what if she had woken up with a nine out of ten on the chronic pain scale? She'd been through worse.

She rubbed her eyes and tried to stretch. I have got to get a stretching routine, she thought. The thought was, thankfully, interrupted by a car pulling up and a person hopping out.

"You good?" Lance asked.

"No, I feel like shit. But otherwise, yeah. I'm fine."

- - -

something different. decided to infodump in the actual notes than in here, although do have things to say about it here.

i think my writing is too dialogue-heavy, and i need to work on actually writing scenes and settings instead of characters and conversations. i enjoy it, and i love writing the way people speak, but it makes the writing feel sparse in my opinion. it works for the kind of really short microfiction stuff that got me back into writing, but i think for more long-form stuff its suffering. a lot of times i want these stories to be longer, but my writing style lends itself more to short forms (this was a slight problem for signals and messages, which were both downsized significantly when i realized i couldn't write as much as i wanted to—strangely, the interludes always seem to end up larger than i anticipated). i'd like my writing to be more dense, which i am trying to work on. anyways

this went for a long time without a proper name. i originally called it microcosms, which is fine, i guess (i'm saving that for something else, now). the lyric title was more of an addition after the fact, but i would like to do more lyric title fics. there are some good lyrics out there.

thanks

[thebiscuiteternal]

got tagged by both @mostlikelytofangirl and @jaimebluesq, so i guess i'm not getting out of it.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

107, unless you were to count the chapters of the big archive separately, in which case 234 (oof).

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 706,507

3. What fandoms do you write for?

On my own wherewithal, I'm pretty entrenched in MDZS. But by request, I'll still write for MLP, Madoka Magica, (with some reluctance) Voltron, and others.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? Including the archive feels like cheating to me, so just on standalone stories:

Cracked and Scratched, Not Broken - Super Danganronpa 2 - 581

Another Cute Animal Video - Tiger and Bunny - 536

The Puppetmaster Moves The War - Star Wars - 401

And One In the Cage - Mo Dao Zu Shi - 392

Finding Balance - Tiger and Bunny - 379

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

I didn't used to when I first started on Ao3 (I did all the time on Livejournal), but I'm starting to be more open, especially if someone has a question about the characterization or worldbuilding.

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

(scratches head) Good question. Probably... either All Your Sins on Display (Instead of Nie Mingjue, it's Nie Huaisang's death Jin Guangshan demands, and though Jin Guangyao goes through with it, he immediately regrets it, especially when Huaisang's unwitting ghost appears) or Broken-Down Fairytale (Tarvek and Anevka Sturmvoraus dealing with her impending death as a result of their father's obsession with The Other).

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

Mmmmh.... I dunno what the objectively happiest ending is, but the one that made me the happiest for the characters was Medical. Allura has her mom back, Coran's managed to reconnect with some old friends and is in a comfortable relationship with Shiro, and Zarkon's dead and the Empire is on the back foot.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I've had a few run-ins with the weird Huaisang hater that pops up every now and then, but nah, not really. I used to get more in my LJ days.

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

Not anymore. I was never particularly good at it and I mostly was just writing it for easy attention anyway. Best I leave it to those who actually have some skill.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I do occasionally if an idea nests long enough, but not nearly as often as I used to. Probably my oldest and weirdest one was in high school, when a friend and I did one of those "cram every role this person has played into a space station" plots and for some inexplicable reason we chose anime characters who'd been dubbed by Scott McNeil???

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yes, ages and ages ago in Sonic the Hedgehog fandom. It didn't take me long to quit caring, the story was crap anyway.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

A few times. Spanish and Russian.

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

Ohohoho have I. So many back in my Marvel and Fullmetal Alchemist days.

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

Nuh-uh, I'm not falling into that trap.

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Ha. Hahaha. Hahahahahahahahaha.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Worldbuilding, inter-character feelings.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Mostly over-planning an idea until it feels too big and complicated to finish. And fight scenes. My god I hate writing fight scenes, and it pisses me off that I usually end up having to do at least one in every long fic.

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

Hah. No. I do that bracketed or italicized shit instead because I know I will butcher any attempt and I'd rather not embarrass myself.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Sonic the Hedgehog was baby's first real internet fandom.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

Whichever ones I've actually finished.

Uuuuhhhhh, I have no idea who's done this and who hasn't, so I'm gonna throw it at @tavina-writes, @gffa, @banahbanah, and @fountainstranger.

[lilflowerpot]

hello flower! i’ve never submitted an ask to tumblr before, but i just wanted to say this.

(btw, everything in this post is true. it’s kinda an unbelievable story)

i’ve been a fan of LB since it’s publish! i’m pretty sure i discovered it in mid 2018, so i’ve been here for a long time!

i’ve been following ur writing for years and watched you improve annually. i fell in love with your story and writing extremely quickly, and i always looked forward to your new chapters. i distinctly remember feeling ecstatic when keith finally revealed his face !!

however, in 2019, i suffered a catastrophic head injury whilst skiing, which caused me to lose most - if not all - my memories. in truth, i should of died or been in a coma, but i escaped with some critical injuries instead. a broken neck, fractured skull, broken eye socket, the whole shebang lol.

luckily, i was not paralyzed, and i can say now that my recovery has been well! i’m back to being fully functional (sometimes) except for a couple motor control issues.

but the real problem was my memory, i could remember my family and relationships, but i forgot practically every fundamental fact about myself, including my middle name. additionally, i suffered a lot from aphasia and neuro problems which made me struggle to understand sounds coming from people if that makes sense. to cure this, my mom and dad introduced me to (guess what!) voltron. they knew it was my fav show before the crash, so in a sense, they tried to reignite my memories and help work on my sensory processing ability.

i fell in love with the show - again- and watched it during my recovery. probably the only reason i can talk today is because of vld! i find it a little ironic that despite losing myself in the crash, i came full circle. and u can probably guess what happens next!

in 2021, i rediscovered ur fic whilst in the voltron tab. it kinda shocked me to see “Visited: 309” under the fic because i had no recollection of ever reading it. the person i was before must’ve loved it, so i gave it a shot! (btw, me before crash and me now i consider different ppl)

so, i began to read, every word from start to finish. and, as cheesy as it sounds, i think i fell in love again. my recovery has been endlessly difficult and was particularly rough 2020-2021, so this kinda supported me in a way. seeing the growing number of how many times i visited LB reminded me that i had existed the day before.

to give context, every morning i woke up, i would forget almost everything abt myself. eventually that got resolved, but it was jarring. so, seeing that number rise, and reliving the joy of reading LB for the first time gave me hope.

LB means so much to me for this reason. sometimes when it felt like i was losing my humanity to depression and pain, it reminded me that, out there, the previous versions of me were hoping to read LB again. in a sense, i was motivated to read the new chapters as an ode to my previous-day self if that makes sense.

now, 7 months after successfully waking up and remembering the previous day, i am writing this with tears in my eyes. i am writing this with a smile, and i’m writing this with the hope that it reminds you that your literature has saved me, and i’m sure countless other people.

in a way, i view LB as the sunrise. even though there’s the chance that tomorrow never comes, the sunrise serves as a reminder that the previous day existed, and that there are more sunrises to look forward to.

and, to be honest, i think that if i woke up forgetting everything everyday, id be okay with it because i get to read your fic for the first time - again. also, the humor in it is 10/10 haha!!

(also, if u were wondering or worried, i’m also okay with waking up with no memories do to other things and not just LB. incase u were worried that i’m strictly dependent on LB, which i’m not LMAO)

i would’ve submitted this a couple months ago, but i couldn’t put it into words. i don’t think i can possibly explain what you and your fic means to me, so the sun over the horizon will have to do.

even if you think that it’s cheesy that a goofy voltron fic means so much to someone, i hope you find it in yourself to treasure your talent and skill in writing.

i’m so excited for the next chapter, and the next sunrise i get to see <3

here is a pic of the sun i took this morning. thank you for writing, and reading this really long ask. there’s no pressure to respond, although it would be cool to see, but i hope you read this nonetheless. btw u can publish the response if u were wondering.

sincerely,

D <3

I have been trying quite desperately to compose an answer to this one since it first appeared in my inbox, and at this point I don't know that I'll ever be able to do you justice, but two months is far too long for you to have waited for something of this magnitude, so please bear with me while I endeavour to do my absolute best.

First and foremost, I am so sorry for everything you've been through (though I can only assume you've heard that sentiment ad nauseam, so do forgive me if you're sick of it), but more than that I am distinctly and unbelievably proud of the grace with which you seem to have taken such catastrophe in stride. I couldn't possibly claim comprehend the true scope of all that you've endured, but I hope in some small way it might give you,,, comfort? a sense of camaraderie maybe? to know that aphasia is something I'm intimately familiar with as a recurrent symptom of my migraines, due to them being hemiplegic in nature, so I know the frustration of being unable to comprehend sounds you know you should recognise- being unable to articulate your own thoughts- feeling half trapped inside your own damn skull- all too well, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, least of so sweet a soul as yourself.

My darling, I'll say again: I am //fiercely fucking proud// of you, for not only enduring but in truth overcoming all that you have. Though we do not know one another, this message alone bleeds with such admirable strength of character that I cannot think you anything less than a remarkable and resilient individual, and to know that my writing could in any capacity support you through such an ordeal is both an honour and a privilege.

All my love,

lilflowerpot ♡

[icypantherwrites]

Fic Update: Worth(less), Chapter Three

Summary:

On their journey to Earth, Voltron stops at a planet for supplies and finds that its inhabitants are not only incredibly generous but powerful and would make strong allies in their upcoming fight. In order to secure the alliance, the king assigns a member of his council to observe each Paladin and judge their worth.

Lance is delighted to find out his evaluator is the king’s own son, Prince Barin, who is a formidable fighter, pilot, and he’s determined to prove himself worthy and make Voltron proud, especially following the horrible game show experience with Bob.

Except Lance discovers that the prince isn’t interested in evaluating his worth as a Paladin; he's just interested in his body. And for the sake of the universe… Lance knows what he has to do.

“Therefore, it is imperative that our next two quintants together go smoothly,” Barin continued, “so I may give a positive evaluation of yourself. Do you understand?” “Absolutely,” Lance bobbed his head. Barin’s fangs peeked with his smile. “Excellent. Then our first order of business...” He leaned forward, smile growing. “Kiss me.”

Chapter Snippet:

Lance looked over his shoulder to where an alien of the king’s race was stepping back, light green skin and dark, wavy curls and an easy smile, dressed in clothing that almost looked like the king—

Lance’s eyes widened.

This had to be the prince he’d seen in the photo. He was by human standards maybe mid to late twenties (although well over six and a half feet tall) and Lance had his confirmation that yes, this race very likely lived longer than Alteans as he had to be over six hundred years given Marla’s comment about the queen.

“Your highness,” Lance inclined his head, matching the smile and dark green eyes widened with surprise.

“You know of me?”

“I made an educated guess,” Lance said and the alien laughed, curls bouncing at the action.

“You are quite observant,” the alien said and a hand — nearly double the size of Lance’s — clapped him on the back and Lance barely kept his plate of fruit from upsetting at the jostle. “Yes, I am Prince Barin, but please, do not stand on ceremony. Call me Barin. And based upon your color I can can conclude that you must be Voltron’s Red Paladin Lance?”

“Just Lance,” Lance corrected, “no need for ceremony, right?”

“Indeed,” Barin smiled at him, fangs peeking out from behind his lips. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Lance. We have heard of many of Voltron’s wondrous feats and accomplishments and it is a true honor to welcome such heroes into our home. Pray tell me, what worth do you bring to such a prestigious team?”

Lance’s smile flickered without permission.

His worth?

What did he do for Voltron nowadays? Keith was back to being the leader and while the first time he’d been in that role Lance had been (he thought) an integral part of Voltron, that wasn’t really the case now as Keith had both Shiro and Krolia and he didn’t need Lance’s help any more.

Voltron hadn’t really been involved in any fights recently and the few they had… well, Lance hadn’t done anything special and he hadn’t been able to do anything useful during the battle with Lotor.

And then, during the gameshow…

Read it here

[takaraphoenix]

20 Questions Game for Fic Writers

Tagged by @blairwaldcrf ! Thank you, dear! <3

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

As of right now, 1214 works! Damn, I've been busy :D"

2. What’s your total ao3 word count?

Currently at 9,167,371 words, slowly inching toward the 10 million mark!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Oh gosh, the total list is so long at this point, with various one-off kind of deals, or fandoms I've moved on from.

I am currently considering myself an active writer in these fandoms though: Shadowhunters, Percy Jackson, Detective Conan/Magic Kaito, DC Comics.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Sorted by kudos, my top 5 fics are:

How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful (Marvel, Loki/Tony), with 7,945

My College Boyfriend (PJO, Nico/Percy), with 6,353

The Lion's Pride (Voltron, Shiro/Keith/Lance), with 6,163

The Ghost King of Summers High (PJO, Nico/Percy), with 5,600

Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades (PJO, Nico/Percy), with 4,985

Which actually looked really fucked up because yeah sure there's four super popular multi-chapter fics of mine. And then there is My College Boyfriend, which isn't just a oneshot, it is a oneshot with under 3k words. What. What.

And the, quite frankly frustrating, part here is that this oneshot only has 24 comments. Not even every 100th reader felt the need to leave a comment. That's just... so sad. Like. Genuinely, I think the kudos system broke commenting because the convenience of pressing a button beat actually expressing yourself genuinely through words and from the bottom of my heart, I find that depressing as fuck.

5. Do you respond to comments?

Always. Every single one of them. Because comments mean something. Someone took the time to tell you, with words, that they liked your work and maybe even what they liked about it.

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

Ooof, multiple contestants from back in my day when I wrote German fics for the Beyblade fandom and wrote about... darker themes. Not all fics used to have happy endings. I wrote some fics that ended in a suicide, so I guess those.

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

Impossible to answer, because for as long as I've been active in English writing, all my fics have had happy endings. The guy gets the guy, the girl gets the girl, and they live happily ever after. The world is saved or the evil defeated, maybe there's even an epilogue of a next gen in there. That's my standard, it ends happily. So that makes it impossible to pick one that somehow ends happier than the rest. xD

8. Do you get hate on fics?

loool

Right. Sorry. Yeah. Yeah, of course. Funnily enough, never on the things you would assume attract hatred - the incest, the explicitly non-con stuff.

Nah, I got death threats and words that were somehow worse than death threats on my Oliver/Felicity fics in the DC fandom... a... straight canon ship... but not the canon ship from the multiverse that these vile assholes liked, so, ya know. Threaten the fans who love a ship you hate.

Also over the years, lotta nasty general homophobia for Nico/Percy in the PJO fandom - I have been writing in this fandom since 2010, and yes, there were really a lot of people especially in the earlier years who just hated the idea of making either Percy or Nico gay.

And the dumbasses who declare Jace/Alec incest and thus hate and threaten this ships fans in the Shadowhunters fandom. But still, inexplicably, like Alec. Even though, in canon, he's the one who was in love with Jace. I don't know, but if you claim the nasty, nasty incest is The Bad Thing, I think you should hate the character with the nasty, nasty incestuous feelings, instead of the fans who write perfectly tagged and filterable fics. But that's just me, I guess.

So yeah, top three of hatred I got over the years - but if you wanna read a highlight reel of bullshit hate mail I got, feel free to go and check out my Dear Anonymous Shitheads tag!

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

All kinds of smut? I don't know how to answer this question, to be honest. xD

I've written oral, anal, vaginal, mlm, wlw, m/m/f, rare m/f ships but usually either she pegs or it's ABOverse and she's an alpha, I generally pepper in some flavors of BDSM into it, I've written dub-con and non-con before, bestiality, double penetrations. I have written a lot.

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

Oh, that is absolutely going to my first ever crossover. Because my usual crossovers are, ya know, that Big Four animated movie crossover verse (Tangled/Brave/HTTYD/RotG), or "I like these two fandoms, how would A's characters fit into B's world/how would B's characters fit into A's world?" for... essentially all my fandoms, and I wouldn't call any of these crazy - because the Big Four crossover is a beast of an own fandom so it's not really "original" or far out there to write for it, and in all my other crossovers, I do pride myself on making it work, like, not just throwing characters together but fitting their backstories and special powers into how the other world works.

So the craziest one is absolutely A Hundred Times Over, which is a oneshot sequel to my first-ever English-written fic and was written as a celebration because it was my 100th fic back then.

The original fic was already a crossover between Detective Conan and PJO, so for the celebration I thought "okay so what if I throw in my current obsession - Doctor Who - and my first ever ship - Shere Khan/Bagheera?". So, yeah, this crossover between Detective Conan, Percy Jackson, Doctor Who and Jungle Book has to be my craziest so far.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

So often. So, so, so, so often.

If you see my fics on watpad or any other platform that isn't AO3 or Fanfiction.net - and if you see them on those two but posted by an author that ISN'T Takara Phoenix - then please, let me know. Drop me a link wherever you can, I always greatly appreciate being told that my fics have been stolen so I can report that person and have it taken down.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No. All of the stealing of my fics has made me incredibly uncomfortable with the idea of my fics flowing around on other people's accounts or other websites, especially since the first like four or so stolen fics I had were translated.

Someone took my fics, translated them into Spanish and Russian, and posted them on other platforms, without ever asking my permission.

I don't want thieves to more easily slip through the cracks in between authorized repostings of my stories, so I have the blanket policy to not allow translations.

If you see my fics in other languages, tell me.

(There is one story that has been translated, but I'm not sure how far it counts, because I did the translating myself, and that's Lass Uns Etwas Dummes Tun/Looking For Something Dumb to Do. It is a PJO fic about Nico/Percy that I wrote in celebration for Germany legalizing gay marriage in 2017; I wrote it in German first, due to that, and then decided to translate it into English since I know my core-audience are English-speakers and not German-speakers.)

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

Yeees!!! With my wonderful, amazing, lovely @kimmycup!!! ^-^

We've written a total of five fics together so far.

Three Shadowhunters fics: Hurting and Healing, a Magnus/Jace oneshot, Three Times the Boys Felt Left Out, a Jordan/Simon/Jace oneshot, A King By Any Other Name, a Alec/Jace oneshot.

A Vampire Academy oneshot about Mason/Christian: The Chance at a Happily Ever After.

And, our pride and joy, our 51k multichapter Shadowhunters/Vampire Academy crossover fic about Mason/Christian and Simon/Jace: Double Puppy Dare.

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

That's such a hard question to answer for me as a multishipper.

But to be quite honest, I think I would have to go with Kaito/Shinichi from Detective Conan/Magic Kaito?

It's the ship I've been the most consistently been faithful to and that, whenever I see it, sparks joy. That has proven that even when the fandom's gone dormant for me for months or years, it can reignite into a wildfire, where other fandoms just fizzle out and disappear from my interests then.

These two get me, they've been getting me for one and a half decades now and I doubt they'll stop any time soon.

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

All of my unfinished German fics over on Animexx. When the German Beyblade fandom started to die, I tried to cling on, but at one point... when all your favorite writers, all your friends, have moved on? And then I started reading fics in English and soon after, also writing them in English. I feel bad about it, but it's just been far too long now.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Personally, I'd say world building. That's also my passion. I love creating elaborate worlds for my stories to take place in - I mean, damn, for the book series I'm writing, I developed my own language, religion and drew a map of the city it takes place in, among other things. A well-developed world is so important.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Oh, fight scenes and action and other things that...

When a character is good at a thing that I am not good in or know a lot about?

Like, when a character is super quippy and funny, but I am not really a one-liners-person so now I have to come up with quippy one-liners to capture his personality?

Or fighting or science, when a character is an expert in a field that I know nothing about and would not understand jackshit about even if I tried because it's not my wheelhouse? Those things, I really struggle with.

Also, I hate action and fight scenes. Like. That's the parts when I check my phone usually to avoid that my eyes glaze over from boredom. So, naturally, writing these things? Not fun. Not good at it either, imo. But certain fics - or rather, certain characters too - require action and fight scenes.

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

Painful if you have to use Google Translate. If you know the language? Yeah, go for it! If you have to resort to Google Translate? Maybe just write it in italics and note that it's in x language. It spares both, the native speakers who will die from second hand embarrassment, and the non-speakers who... won't understand it anyway.

But in the cases that I use foreign languages (and usually when I do, it's just... pet-names. Things you can't really fuck up that much and things that people would say in another language even in English-main-dialogues), I always put the translation right behind the sentence, because it's a special brand of obnoxious when you have to scroll ALL the way to the end of a chapter or fic to see what tf you just read, and then scroll back up again.

Hate doing that, so I won't do that to my readers.

19. First fandom you ever wrote for?

Oh, that's Yu-Gi-Oh!, with a hurt/comfort Kaiba/Joey fic.

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

Can't answer that, it always depends on my current mood which of my babies I love the most ;P

Tagging @kimmycup and @justonemorechapternicercy and @fallenqueen2 for this fun! And anyone else who wants to do it! <3

[sunflowersandcherryblossoms]

Tagged by @bothzangetsus.

I didn't forget, I'm just a damn procrastinator.

Since I'm also @dissociatingdumbass

I'm answering for two tags at once.

Hmm... Who do I know here that writes?

Besides @mondengel that already has been tagged? @ichijager13 . A long lost friend from my Star Wars era @th3rm0pyl43. @archangels-and-timelords .

Template:

1.how many works do you have on ao3? | 2. what's your total ao3 word count? | 3. what fandoms do you write for? | 4. what are your top five fics by kudos? | 5. do you respond to comments? | 6. what's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? | 7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? | 8. do you get hate on fics? | 9. do you write smut? if so, what kind? | 10. do you write crossovers? what’s the craziest one you've written? | 11. have you ever had a fic stolen? | 12. have you ever had a fic translated? | 13. have you ever co-written a fic before? | 14. what's your all-time favorite ship? | 15. what's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? | 16. what are your writing strengths? | 17. what are your writing weaknesses? | 18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? | 19. first fandom you wrote for? | 20. favorite fic you've ever written?

Answers

1. I have 116 works on ao3.

2. My word count so far is 553,118 words.

3. As of now, I'm fixated on the Bleach fandom.

But I've also written for:

Star Wars (Original Trilogy and Original Expanded Universe)

Voltron Legendary Defender

Carry On | Simon Snow Series (Rainbow Rowell)

Legend Of The Galactic Heroes | Die Neue These

4. Top Five By Kudos

5. I always respond to comments. Even if said comments are just emojis.

6. I'm not really an angst writer, but I do have some sadder ones, especially in the Star Wars fandom.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14457942 - Like An Image Passing By (Oc X canon character fic)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13950306 - Like Darkness... (Wes/Tycho)

I guess my very first Byaichi fanfic fits that category also.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/45676618 - Letting You Go (But Take My Heart As You Leave

7. Happiest Ending? That would absolutely depend on the readers opinions. I always give my pairings happy endings.

But if we're going for the one who's been more successful in its fandom, I'd say this one:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16625780 - Talking Is Hard (VLD - Klance fanfic)

8. I did... On the Star Wars fandom. I straight up deleted the comments. Rule of thumb: Don't like, don't read.

9. Yes. I began writing on ao3 with smut for my Wes Janson/Tycho Celchu pairing.

Star Wars was were I wrote pretty much all of my heavy smut with an attempt at writing light bondage.

VLD and Carry On are smut free.

Legend Of The Galactic Heroes has smut, but my style changed heavily to focus more on the feelings than the act itself.

I slowly got back to a more explicit smut on my Bleach fanfiction. But I tend to write more feelings than sex...

10. I wrote exactly ONE crossover for Star Wars and VLD.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17876876 - When Galaxies Far Away Meet

11. Not that I know of... I've had co-op writing straight up deleted by the other author, but nothing more.

12. No.

13. Yes. See answer 11. Will never do that again. Got burned...

14. All Time? It's like asking which of my sons is my favourite. They're mostly different versions of the same character type over and over again. Or maybe I'm just projecting...

I love all of them honestly. Right now I'm all in with Byaichi.

15. Something I've started for the Captive Prince fandom and then dropped... It was supposed to be a Modern World AU in the island of Astypalaya, with an Architect Laurent and a Single Father Damen.

16. Apparently I'm really good in keeping coherent characterization and also good with introspection and feelings. Sometimes I'm funny... But just sometimes.

17. Battle scenes... I'm not so good at it... In fact I avoid them like the plague.

18. My native language is Portuguese. I write in English because I honestly prefer it.

19. Star Wars Expanded Universe

20. Talking Is Hard (VLD) and my recent My Dream Has Your Eyes (Bleach). I'm also really proud of Bonds Of The Heart (Bleach)

Unfinished but with a special place in my heart: More Than Rogues (Star Wars)

[beingatoaster]

Twenty (Fic) Questions

nabbed from @kidlightnings

1. How many works do you have on AO3? Total, 110 (they are not all on main).

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 881,798

What fandoms do you write for?

Largely Genshin Impact, some Voltron, and then occasional other fandoms now and then.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Storm Shelter, Child Soldiers, All of Our Secrets, A Study of Love, and A Convenient Facade

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

On main, I almost always do! I hope it encourages people to comment more (on other peoples' fics as well as mine) and I'm always excited when people tell me they like things I wrote and like to thank them for the compliment! I also secretly always hope it is going to lead to a conversation and/or eventual Friends. :>

On the porn alt... well, I made it a policy when I first created it that I was not required to reply to every comment there, in part because it's not what I'm usually logged in to, and since I have also gotten comments there that make me grateful for that policy.

What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

There is a whole series on the porn alt that is just like 'what if everything was terrible, actually,' in which most of the fics would qualify, especially the second one.

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

Kind of hard to say! I think most of my fics end more happily than not? Even going for 'particularly mushy' I can't narrow it down to less than five, which is more than I want to link, so. XD

Do you get hate on fics?

I have not had any on main! See the question about the comment-response policy in regards to the porn alt (where I also allow myself to delete comments if necessary). In the awkward space in between, I have a series on-main-but-posted-on-anon that has gotten some... interesting responses.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I refer you here to the existence of the porn alt. XD It's pretty much all either kinky or... IDK, I am apparently too ace to write sex for sex's sake, and I'm not sure 'kinky' covers 'there are complex emotional situations here to which the sex is important and yet also incidental,' but, yeah. Kinky mostly covers it, and even if it's in a series so far it's all PWPs.

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I haven't written crossovers themselves since my early 2000's fic days, but I do a lot of fusions--all of them are currently isolated on Tumblr, in one place or another. I like to mash any universe I particularly like together with the Sekirei 'winging' system (one group of people can kiss another group of people to give them magic powers and also symbolic but non-functional wings, oh, and also there's an empathic connection and subtle mind control), which I guess could count as 'craziest' but honestly feels to me like what everyone was doing with Loveless when Loveless was big. I just happened to read Sekirei instead of Loveless. XD

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don't know but, likewise, have never looked!

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Someone in the Genshin fandom translated Filial Assistance and Lost and Found into Russian once, and I'm still pretty thrilled about it! :D

What's your all-time favorite ship?

Honestly, I don't even know where to start narrowing that down, though TBH it would definitely be for a fandom I haven't written for (since the early 2000s, anyway, if I tried I might end up back on Livejournal). Joke answer: the Normandy. :P

What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

There is some D&D OC fic that I refuse to list for this, because someday I will finish them. I swear. I still love them and I want to go back....

In lieu, a style experiment/cumulative writing exercise (in the Genshin Impact fandom) in which, pre-canon, Jean has a sexuality crisis and hooks up with Lisa and Eula, while un-hooking-up with Kaeya, written in 'layers' with everything written from Jean's POV first, then scenes added in from Eula's, then Lisa's, then possibly Kaeya's (though I think if I ever did try to finish it to "publishable" status it honestly might work better with his left out, and another follow-up written later that starts with his POV and layers in reverse, which is a moot point as I genuinely do not expect to "finish" this). It's currently still in the "Jean's POV" stage and as stands can be, and has been, described as "technically this is a Jean/Kaeya breakup story except that the breakup is the least important thing happening here." I keep determinedly having to detach Background Political/Mystery Plot.

What are your writing strengths?

I likewise consider myself good at worldbuilding when I don't get too tedious about it! I've had positive comments on my prose and pacing, which is funny because I know and lean into deep purple with the prose and pacing is one of my biggest struggles, so. XD I can't really say accurately from within!

What are your writing weaknesses?

Pacing is hell and the worst part of revisions and second drafts. I often stuff a whole bunch of stuff I just don't want to write into an eliding paragraph or a hole between scenes and don't always fix that in revision. I'm infinitely distractable and everything takes so much longer than I expect. I struggle very badly to stay concise. I'm sure readers could list others, but those are the ones that ping internally!

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Honestly, only something I will do with conlangs. A narrative "[Character] said something in [language]" or an italicized translation both suit me better.

First fandom you wrote for?

Also Pokemon! And I likewise wish I still had the stories. :( The first place where I encountered the concept of fanfiction (instead of writing OCs and situations very similar to whatever books I was reading at the time) was on a Pokemon site, it's also where I published my first fic, and I really badly miss my first fandom friend, who drew me fanart and whom I meant to give a cameo (except that I never wrote past chapter 7 and then the site went down and we lost touch).

Favorite fic you've written?

You make me choose between my 110 (+ the Livejournal-era dozens) children? ;o; But okay, fine. I could pick any of several I'm very pleased with, for various reasons, and the Genshin ones are the most recent and thus probably technically the best, but (leaving out the Livejournal-era fic that I am not going through tonight XD but might contain something), it's Dressed to Suit.

Tagging... anyone who would like to do this! I should've gone to bed half an hour ago and certainly don't have the brainpower to remember who on my dash writes and likes memes about it, but if that includes you, please feel free. :>

[whitecatindisguise]

Hello! Here are some questions I'm asking fanfic writers for fun and for you to answer if you feel like it!!! :DD:

1. What is your favourite fic you have written and why? (This can be something you haven't published yet or a general story idea)

2. How long have you been writing fics for? (In general regardless of fandoms)

3. Best friend you have met through the Sonic fandom?

4. Another writer in the fandom who's work you admire?

5. Favourite Sonic oc you have made and why? (If you haven't made any then skip this one)

6. Your favourite (or favourites if it's hard to pick) fanfiction you've read?

7. Which fic have you written which has the most sentimental value or story behind it?

8. Favourite Sonic character?

If I have sent you this, love your work!!! Hope you have a good day and thank u for your contribution to the fandom!!!

Hi there 😊😊😊 I'm more than happy to answer some questions for you, dear anon.

1. My favourite fic, so far, is Mind Games. I guess it's because I got to play with the amazing "what if" scenario and create something that people enjoyed. Although the sequel, which is still very much work-in-progress, will probably either take that spot or become close second.

2. I've actually been writing fanfics for almost 20 years now. Though, the earliest ones were written in a notebook which has been used as a fire-starter at some point 😅 (my choice, don't worry about it).

3. That one is easy. @passionartx hands down, no doubt there

4. Now this one is more tricky, because I admire many writers from the fandom. I like @myyla-x stories, but I'm also fully entranced by @skimmingthesurfaces fics, works of Leodragon678 on AO3, wholesome Sonic Movies series written by Invader_Sam and Humanities_Handybag, @andtails Sonic X Reimagined series... Plus there's the Of The Pack series from Voltron fandom by Kokochan and TheBlueSpanch which is absolutely stunning in terms of worldbuilding, lore and everything. There are probably many more, but those are the ones that came to my mind on the spot.

5. I haven't made that many Sonic OC's, but there's one I like the most. She'll appear in the sequel of Mind Games, and I'm not entirely sure now how big of a role she'll play. Anyway, she's Vivian (Viv) the Cocker Spaniel and let's just say she's in a certain way connected to our favourite fox. 😉

6. Um... I think I kinda replied to that one while replying to number 4 so... Onto the next one 😁

7. Okay, so there are two that I can think of and they actually belong to Tangled the Series fandom. The first one is Let Me Make You Proud (LMMYP), which story is that I started writing it, lost interest somewhere along the way, left it for several months and then actually came back and finished it! That almost never happens for me. The second fic is The Sundrop Alchemist (TSA), which started as a fun idea to toss around in the group chat, back when Tumblr had group chats. And then I went and wrote it. Plus, a good friend of mine drew some amazing art for it, which just makes it better.

8. Tails, hands down. Kitsunami is close second, but the little genius fox will always have the first spot.

Thank you for the questions. I had fun answering them. Have fun 😊

[kinosternon]

20 Questions

Got tagged by @marezelle (like a month ago, whoops) and this looks fun, so I'm gonna try it!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Officially 37, unofficially 57-ish (I have a lot on anon right now, plus some semi-ancient FFN stuff posted under a pseud)

2. What’s your total AO3 words count?

Apparently, 644,538.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Kind of a lot? One "it's complicated" fandom which I tend to stay on anon for, especially lately; a fair bit for a very specific corner of Free!, also for Natsume's Book of Friends. Voltron's an ex-fandom but I had fun with it right when it started; there's a handful of other anime I've cycled through. I've got an Undertale longfic I'd really like to get back to one of these days. Lately, a whole bunch of stuff for the 9 Worlds series by Victoria Goddard, which is both amazing in itself and also has my favorite fan community to date.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Names Gone Before—my one and only Adventure Zone fic, and a oneshot, but apparently it was a hit lol

Chasing Silver, Chasing Gold—my beautiful monstrosity of a love letter to the characters introduced in the third season of Free!, and which came out too late for most of the English-speaking fandom to notice it very much (this goes for the show itself and also the timing of my publishing🥲). I am so grateful that so many people have managed to find it regardless!

Equivalence—aforementioned Undertale longfic. I really want to finish it one of these days, but I know what's coming in the last arc and it intimidates me. XP

Omimai—of all my Natsume fics, I'll admit I wouldn't have figured this to be the top one. But I guess Natori is a fan favorite, and I do appreciate that it's very solidly a gen fic that gets a lot of love regardless.

Like trust falls from towers—aforementioned s1-era Voltron fic. It was an experiment to get me posting more, I had fun with it while it lasted, and I got some truly wonderful comments and support from folks reading along while I was working on it. I still go back and reread it sometimes, and I think it was pretty good.

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

I always try to! I want to show appreciation and make sure people know that going to the effort it takes to write a comment means a great deal to me.

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

That's a tough one. Probably Pistachio Christmas Tree, as it's a snapshot of a really rough time in the POV character's life and doesn't really show any signs of things getting better for him anytime soon. (All my angsty endings come from canon compliance, lol)

OH. Or Chasing Fingerprints, which is a Nabari no Ou AU oneshot that I wrote back in high school. I wrote it under some weird constraints and don't really like it all that much, but the ending is ambiguous and deeply angsty.

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

That is also weirdly difficult to say! Snapshots for Natsume, Slow your breath down (just take it slow) for Victoria Goddard's novel Plum Duff, and turning in your hand for At the Feet of the Sun (also by Goddard). Two of those three are wintertime fluff; I enjoy that subgenre a whole lot.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No. I've occasionally had some slightly weird interactions, but overall I'd say even those were well and enthusiastically meant.

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

Occasionally, and I'm not sure what kind it'd count as. Insecure, possibly? (me or the characters, either-or XP)

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

Only two so far! The weirder one was my first-ever fic, where I technically crossed over Twilight with both old!Who and new!Who. Then there's Clowder, which crossed over two of Yuhki Kamatani's manga from pretty different eras and genres and which I'm pretty darned proud of.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge, no.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I had someone ask once, a while back, but at the moment I don't remember which fic it was, or if I ended up hearing how it went.

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

...If adding to a bredlik compilation counts, then yes? And I've also done a fair bit of writing to requested prompts for gift exchanges and the like, which isn't the same thing as cowriting but which feels at least a little bit similar.

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

Oh man, how can I choose? 😭 At the top this has to be a tie between Miharu & Yoite (Nabari no Ou, QPR extraordinaire) and Yukito/Touya (Cardcaptor Sakura, TRC, etc). But also Merthur was my first ship-ship. HiyoIku (Free!) for writeability and general fucked-up-ness, but I'm not always 100% sure I ship it, tragically. Natsume and Tanuma for the same uncertainty minus about 90% of the toxicity, whee.

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

I'm not going to say "doubt," but uh. A couple of "it's complicated" fandom pieces (especially the ones I originally meant to be series) and also the Undertale longfic. Also some 9 Worlds WIPs, but I haven't started publishing those ones yet, either.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Characterization is a big one—it matters a lot to me and also I've been complimented on it. Fic is my love letter to canon and so I tend to focus on what I love about canon the most, which is almost always the characters' interiority and/or relationship dynamics. I also think I'm usually fairly good at matching the tone of the original, though admittedly the translation aspect of anime stuff gives me a bit of leeway there.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Logistics. I will forget who I put in a room over a certain number of characters, and explaining how people get to and from things (or even appear in a scene) is a terrible chore. (And that's just people—my track record for items, especially furniture, is even worse.) I suspect that my overall pacing also suffers from this because coming up for practical reasons for scenes to start can be difficult.

Also scene transitions, because I write things out of order. :B

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

I probably won't, for several reasons. For one, I feel like without a dedicated beta, my errors would be immersion-breaking for anyone with high enough Japanese proficiency. Also, on the other side of things, presumably most of my readers wouldn't be able to make the jump from English into Japanese (which is the only other language I'm remotely able to write in), so accessibility would be an issue. That said, I've occasionally tried to factor in what I know about Japanese and "translate" (at least a bit) to adjust how I write dialogue, when writing fics based on anime.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Doctor Who/Twilight, lol. (I cared a lot about them both, okay? Also I thought trying to mash up their canonical vampire mythologies would be funny! And I was definitely right about at least one of those things.)

20. Favourite fic you’ve ever written?

Oh this is also mean. It's gotta be Chasing Silver, Chasing Gold though. It kicked my ass but I also put my heart and soul into it, and its length, completion, and the responses I've gotten to it have all combined to profoundly affect how I see myself as a writer. (Which may sound a little suspect, but the thing is, I spent years massively looking up to people who could write longfic, most of all to people that could do so and finish. It meant so so much to be able to join those ranks myself, whether or not I manage to do it again someday.) It genuinely feels like one of the most significant things I've done with my life, and it's something I think I'll always be proud of myself for managing to write through to the end.

Annnd done! I'm gonna tag @octopus--writer just for fun ;)

[void-tiger]

please tell me more about the fic where Ke/th doesnt get to be a paladin again, i keep seeing shit like how the team abandoned/failed Ke/ith and should have apologized to him when it was literally the opposite (i am sorry but the team almost DIED because K/ith fucked off to run off with the Blades, werent for Kuron entering Black they would have actually died, i do not understand how anyone can see this and say the team was in the wrong/Ke1th was in the right, and still be considered a team player let alone a team leader is beyond me. Really really sorry about salt in your askbox)

No worries! (Although, disclaimer: I had to set aside my voltron fics for a bit ‘cause I can’t work on them without getting salty, and too much salt is bad for you. So they’re…curing, I guess. I’ll stop with the bad salt jokes now XD)

But short answer? Keith’s their comfort blorbo, and it’s incredibly easy to have that become “can do no wrong ever it MUST be EVERYONE else!” and…not recognize that kneejerk bias. Ask The Real Fandom Olds TM who’ve participated in fandom culture since the 80s and 90s and that’s a key issue with Current Fandom and especially younger fans (ie, probably our generation and younger.) Add in that a lot of us online trend (in my antidotal experience) towards having untreated anxiety or depressive symptoms and/or undiagnosed neurodivergent brain wiring that an individual might’ve not quite learned how to cope with yet (and many come with emotional regulation symptoms) in addition to…human brains really just Don’t stop developing until mid20s regardless of someone’s birth gender and brain development is particularly chaotic and…well.

That’s a recipe for a volatile fandom, and since the VLD Characters in particular were geared towards Teens or Teen Nostalgia? [Comfort Blorboing Intensifies.]

Now, in one fic series Idea, Keith DOES become the Red Paladin again, but he has to work for it. Really work for it. Like, the Team is still incredibly hurt that he left and never really apologized for ditching them before THAT Scene where Jiro is forced to step in s4. I think I have in my notes somewhere [coughs] prolly a random post or very buried DM to a friend that Red Lion finally outright takes Keith for a joy ride (much like Blue and Black did with Lance and Shiro) and literally has him bouncing around in zero g and gforces until Red’s really willing to accept him back as Paladin. (Also it makes me feel better.)

[tags: blackbox verse, rewrite the stars, blackbox, veeladee fixit. Note that some of the older posts especially I’ve probably discarded. But I do my best worldbuilding thinking aloud, and hey. It’s fanfic. Who gives af about spoilers? Not me.]

But, in Blackbox verse, I wanted Jiro to have his very own Lion…and the Sincline Meteor is right there. Plus, y’know. Fixing-fixing. Making as much work as I felt like since it was intended to be a series, anyway.

Buuut, that’s not the fic idea you asked about.

The one you asked about is actually a Redo of The Black Paladin’s episode following alteanroyals’ prompt of “what if Shiro’s the one who fights the clone, and the clone gets to just come home. Have his own name.” Because, c’mon. The visuals would’ve been incredible, and Josh Keaton and Studio Mir adores Shiro and Jiro even if the EPs and arguably NONE of the writers (even the better ones trying to patch job before bailing out) gave a shit about Jiro as his own character.

So. Back to Keith.

He actually tries flying Black Lion, same as the (egh) canonical episode…and…

WHOOPS. He gets lasers shot at him for his efforts (hA HA~)

Allura steps in, and has a battle of wills against Black Lion, then realizes that what has Black so torqued is Keith tried to dominate the Lion. (Imo? The only reason why Keith could fly with Black in s2-4 was because of the bond they both had with Shiro. “Help me help you.”) And well. Allura’s learned a thing or two: trying to dominate a Lion does NOT work. She learned that for herself with White Lion, she’s now realizing that’s why Black Lion accepted Shiro as it’s Paladin over Zarkon at all. So Allura changes tactics, senses Shiro’s Quintessence still inside Black Lion nearly two years after he vanished, and calls the others in. They do a reverse-balmera ceremony via their voltron bonds and pull Shiro back out—in his OWN body, tyvm.

And well. Remember how it’s technically a “Shiro vs CloneShiro” prompt? Yeah, they fight. (I’ll try not to have them totally wreck the place. All Shiros are Good Shiros.) And when Black Lion comes for them now that the Lion can get a clear shot? Red Lion also comes.

Because Keith isn’t the only character who holds the needed qualities for a Red Paladin. (Reactive instincts, laser focus, loyalty, but often emotionally volatile.) Jiro does too. And unlike Keith, Jiro stayed even when he “no longer” had a Lion to fly from his POV, and he struggled with the rest of the Team to adjust to Lions that no longer suited them in the wake of Shiro’s Absence. So Red chooses Jiro and flies to him. (Black would’ve saved Jiro, too, even though Jiro wasn’t Black’s true paladin. But seeing a Lion accept him, and further proof that he’s not just a poor copy but his own person and even a Paladin in his own right?)

[gemini fic, shiro vs jiro]

Basically, in starting writing and continuing to ruminate on ideas, I realized that Gemini works best as a single fic, so having Firm Consequences make more sense. Other tidying up?

-Allura and the Paladins take the Castle and immediately head out for the Altean Colony while Shiro (and Black Lion at Black’s literal insistence) go after Jiro. (And with Shiro here to lead and analyze + Convenient Recap/Alternate Explanation, Pidge is able to shut down the virus far earlier before it makes the Castle truly dead in the water.) Haggar never gets her claws into them.

-Keith formally leaves the Blades. He had a family, and he turned his back on them. Those relationships won’t be what they were before (ie, symbolic in losing his Red Paladinship), but this time he’s willing to put the work in to repair their trust in him. Meanwhile, the Blades never were going to help him find his mother intentionally no matter how many times he sacrificed his life for them, and his life and the lives of all the other Blades ultimately meant very little to Kolivan and the Blades as an organization. He surrenders the knife to Krolia, and walks away if Team Voltron will let him stay. It not, he can do better good with the Rebels. (Infiltration was Pidge’s thing, anyway. He’s the showy diversion maker.)

-Lotor returns to Orionde. But when he faces the Ancients and White Lion again, he stops attacking and running from his sins. He sacrifices his full life force, and the Drained Alteans revive fully restored. The tragedy his family caused and he ended up perpetuating ends with him. (That does leave…y’know. The Galran Empire without an Emperor. But hey. IF I finish this fic, that’s potential sequel material, baby!)

-

…anyway. Point is, Keith Antis put a bad taste in my mouth, but the point of “Keith loses Red” wasn’t to punish Keith (okay…maybe a little. But that was still mostly Black blasting lasers everywhere. For catharsis.) The point was, “There are consequence, and while some relationships can be repaired or make new ones with the same people after you’ve hurt them, others can’t. You lose them. It’s important to put in the work, but it’s also important to accept loss and endings, especially after you’ve fucked up.”

And well. I felt that Keith Losing Red, Jiro Gaining Red made things narratively tidy.