#and written two novels worth of words (going on 3)

[cloud-somersault]

it's kinda hard for me to discuss canon things because I always am like "oh yeah! in my AU--" and people are like "no...i meant in canon" and it's just

i don't wanna talk about canon LMFAO why would i do that when i've sunk all these hours into this fucking AU man

[takes1]

p.2 bratty tsukishima x manager!reader enemies to lovers

warnings. nsfw. m!masturbation at the end. midterms mentioned. minors DNI content. misinterpretation of emotions. tsukki not knowing how to handle a crush. enemies to lovers. or maybe enemies with benefits, i haven't decided yet. manager!reader. tsukki being so incredibly horny. tsukki not understanding facial expressions. sexual frustration. male masturbation + implied previous. kiyoko being a friend. yachi being a friend. 1.7k words notes. 3 more parts planned! ask to be added to the taglist if you don't want to miss one! links. PART ONE HERE. PART THREE . PART FOUR. FINAL PART. masterlist for mha. my ao3. masterlist for haikyuu

Despite your iced latte being mostly just water by now, you still sucked it down in desperation to get every ounce of caffeine you could. Midterms were just around the corner and one of your most difficult classes involved writing a 10-page scientific paper.

You had the whole semester to do it, so the dread you felt now was the amalgamation of months' worth of opportunity that you could've and should've used to work on it.

Thankfully, you didn't have to churn the majority of this thing out alone.

"What the hell does ameliorate mean." Kiyoko asked, though her soft frustration was starting to sound more like a statement now.

Yachi took every opportunity she could to stop doing her work, including this one. For her, there was less pressure to do perfectly on her finals since she had another two years to get those top marks.

She scanned her laptop screen for a moment, lips perched on the lid of her strawberry refresher: "Ameliorate means... To... make something bad or unsatisfactory better."

Kiyoko muttered something about how it still didn't make sense. Of course it wouldn't- she was taking an organic chemistry course.

The plan as it stood now was to rot in this spot all day until hunger moved you, so you all made an event out of it by putting on something cute, grabbing some coffees and pastries from a cafe nearby, and settling into this local library.

It wasn't planned, but you all simultaneously chose to wear skirts and cute summer tops. The mutual reaction of humor helped ease the pain of having to study all day. Suffering together was preferable to suffering alone.

The chance finally came again to stretch your legs and find another vaguely relevant reference to add to your bibliography.

With a rewarding, careful stretch, you rose out of your chair and took your time walking up and down the aisles to find something to support the fifth theory you'd written about so far.

Midterms were one stressor, but you weren't afforded the privilege of having tunnel vision over it.

Qualifiers were just around the corner, and you had the Tokyo training camp to prepare a load of equipment and personnel logs for.

As you selected a thick novel from a shelf above your head, you let out a small sigh.

The front matter described a concept you could start to look into and fluff up to your liking for the paper. Your mind fell back to the team, and how you wanted to do well on these exams so you'd have less to worry about going to Tokyo.

The side of your face was growing warm, probably from the East-facing window to your left, so you raised the back of a cold hand to cool yourself down.

You were just deciding to take this book back when, in the process of dropping your hand, you caught a blur of blond hair and glasses in the corner of your eye.

Your stomach jolted, heart starting to race, and an uncontrollable surprise took over your features.

Tsukishima was sitting, leaned over a table on his elbows, his head twisted all the way to the side to look at you over his shoulder.

You quickly looked back to the shelf and sucked in a breath. God, that must've looked so lame- you regretted every millisecond of that reaction and prayed he wouldn't ever bring it up.

He hated you. You didn't want anything to do with him. There was no pleasant exchange to get out of saying hello, or even acknowledging each other. It's not like you were friends.

Why was he even here? You started to get worried, but realized that he did ride the same train back with you after practice in the evenings.

Now you were really remembering. He got off one stop before yours and always moved to create the most space possible between you. You usually didn't see him again until he got off. Even then, you didn't care enough to look for him anymore.

You glanced back to him, expecting to now have to speak to him after you'd exchanged a mutual acknowledgment of each other's presence.

He was staring. But... that wasn't exactly the right word for it.

He was distracted. You wondered if he knew who you were, because you'd never seen him stare at you for more than a few seconds.

His brow wasn't pinched like usual. It was relaxed- in fact, everything about him was relaxed. The way his head was held in his hand, the loose grasp on his pencil, the subtle part of his lips. The lazy, yet measured scan of his eyes.

There was a reddish tint at the tips of his ears and highest points of his cheeks. It was astoundingly easy to notice, since he was so fair-skinned.

A strong chill ran up your spine when he finally made eye contact with you. Even then, it took a glance down to the book clasped against your chest, then back up for him to really notice your gaze and stiffen right up.

That new side of him vanished in an instant. It was replaced with a brief, stone-cold glower before he turned back to his own midterm work.

On the stiff walk back to your table, you smoothed your skirt out and pulled on the edge a bit before sitting back down.

It took a minute of silent sitting to even begin to unpack what you felt.

"Do I look stupid?"

Yachi instantly piped up, "Of course not! You're very pretty!"

"You really shouldn't waste your breath asking," Kiyoko glanced up at you.

It was brief but it rested your immediate insecurities.

"Why?" Yachi, once again, wanted nothing more than to just hang out and talk.

Another surge of chills. It was sickening.

You put your head in your hands, elbows on the table. "Mm-mm, it's just-..." You thought to tell them, but held back at the last second, "I dunno."

Another big sigh and you were back to typing to take your mind off of it. You'd have plenty of time to see what this spun into once you were free from this academic prison. It was too confusing right now.

Kiyoko didn't read into it, but Yachi lingered until 1) it was obvious you simply didn't want to disclose and 2) an abnormally tall boy from school walked past your table. She watched him watch you on his way towards the exit.

Her eyes narrowed with keen intuition.

the keen intuition in question:

Kei felt himself practically melt against the closed door of his bedroom. Breathless from a difficult and quick walk home, he fumbled with the tie of his sweatpants and the lock on the door concurrently.

"Finally," He sighed with a desperate laugh, "Fuck..."

His bag hit the floor with a sharp and careless thump. He stepped over it and fell onto his back on his mattress, a long arm stretched toward his side table for some lotion.

It was useless trying to study after that. Library or home, it didn't matter unless he could fuck this one out.

This time he didn't have to stalk your Instagram to spark his imagination; it was already running rampant with filthy ideas of what he'd do to you in that short skirt.

An ignored, aching erection sprang out of his waistband as he pushed it down and out of the way.

Light grey sweatpants had (for the first time in his life) ended up being a shit idea. All he could worry about on the 20 minute walk back was if anyone could see the tip of his cock tucked up just under his shirt.

Every shirt was too short. Every pair of pants was too big in the middle.

His slippery hand was beautiful relief. He was quick to get himself lubricated, and quicker to pump in slow, twisting motions to the image of you reaching, reaching, reaching up to that book on your tippy toes.

All the worry in his tight brow washed away in crashing waves of steady-growing pleasure.

Soon he didn't care about the harrowing journey home, the threat of midterms, nor the growing dread of that training camp.

It was just you.

It felt like fate that he got the only chance anyone might ever have to see the curve of your ass just under the hem of your skirt. You were able to get that book all too quickly.

If everything were different, he would've gotten it for you. You would've thanked him, kissed him on the cheek- he would've pulled you in for a heated, raunchy kiss with a hand palming you closer. He would've savored the view of you spread on the table for him -homework long forgotten- and his massive hand over your mouth to keep you quiet. It was a library, after all.

He seethed and stalled for a moment--, "a-ahh- Mm..."

His cock twitched hard with the need to cum, but he stopped just soon enough.

An oversized hand was holding the base; he looked at his other dry one, then closed his eyes in an eager but fruitless attempt to visualize just how they'd look on your thighs. Fuck, anywhere at this point.

Just one touch, that's all he wanted. He never let himself get close enough to even consider it, but my god, the internal struggle he made to stay away was commendable.

His tight, lightly sweaty stomach flexed with effort as he slowed down again.

You were so quick to switch up when it came to him. He could tell he had a special place in your heart, the way your lips pursed into a small frown and your eyes narrowed when he tested you.

It was out-of-this-world cute from his vantage point. A smile might just kill him.

"Mmm, fu-ck," He croaked, mind circling back to today.

His chest swelled with a shaky inhale- he smirked at the thought of you finding out about his terrible secret, how you would punish him for his unprofessional behavior. You were so pretty when you got mad.

The breath caught in his throat. He wasn't even thinking about the skirt when he finally came all over his stomach. Just that pretty face of yours did it for him.

taglist:

@hotvinimon @cyzvx @aloveablechaos @kozumesphone

thanks for the support!!

reply to be added!

[etheries1015]

In memory of the Apology Mug Story (and because I walked past a super old building recently; guess what it had on the facade)

Reader who knows how to carve rocks into specific forms and is very skilled in it makes Malleus a gargoyle for his birthday. He's so happy he ends up accidentally confessing his love to them.

Bonus points if that was Lilia's idea because he got tired of seeing them dance around each other and wanted things to happen already

This is really cute <3 for those who aren't certain what the apology mug story is; the link to that is Here!

A special birthday present for our favorite draconic prince <3

Being in Ramshackle with a limited amount of entertainment (being unable to afford many electronics) you had to resort to other forms of entertainment. Reading, cooking, sewing, board games, long walks outside, musical instruments, and your most recent of endeavors; rock carving. You had learned a few things here and there from Malleus, he was an avid crafter of gargoyles within his club and was more than happy to teach you a thing or two. Although most of your attempts seemed to fail in his eyes, you were actually secretly incredibly skilled at this. You were leaving your skills to set up a surprise present for the fae for his birthday; January 18th.

It wasn't hard to figure out what you were planning on doing for his birthday, Malleus was incredibly easy to read. Although money was scarce for you, using your skills to handmake something would be much more worth receiving than any amount of money could pay for. At least, that's what Malleus had said when you inquired what he would like at his celebration.

"A present is not necessary," He told you with a graceful smile, "Bring yourself, and your smile. That is enough for me." ...you were not going to take that as the final verdict, thus began your journey to create a gift he was surely going to enjoy.

His birthday came upon you, and your gift was finally completed. You did not hesitate to rush over to Diasomnia for the celebration, bringing over two things; A homemade ice cream cake, and your gift box. The cake was pretty much the start of Malleus's excitement, ice cream cakes exist?! It wasn't common in Twisted Wonderland much to your surprise, so sharing your handmade cake with his enjoyment of icecream implemented already sent him over the moon. The joy that was written all over his face was the easiest text to read, soon pouring out of his mouth in a theatric novel after unwrapping his second gift from you- two gargoyles. They were miniature and made for décor less than actual function, however, his excitement seemed to explode off the tip of his tongue.

His bright green eyes were sparkling, his mouth ajar, and a blush painted across his pale cheeks.

"It's us! See, one has your horns and the other-" Malleus immediately wrapped you into his embrace, much to the protest of Sebek nearby, yet the smiles of amusement of Silver and Lilia quickly hushed the student. It seemingly seemed the words held inside had burst at the seams, and Malleus had begun setting free the things he had been eager to share for some time now.

"I am in pure infatuation with you," Malleus blurted out, "I have not received a gift so heartfelt and beautiful," it almost sounded like he was holding back tears of happiness.

"Two gargoyles representing you and I, shall I take this as a declaration that you wish to be my pair?" He did not await your response, the tall fae was already shooting off at the mouth. "I reciprocate. Your beautiful craftmanship will forever be my treasure, next to you, of course." You could not hide the clear redness from your face, and the dumb smile that planted permanently at his sudden confession.

"it's about time!" Lilia laughed, "Now, let us celebrate not only our prince's birthday but also the union between these two lovebirds!" Malleus pulled away from the hug and smiled again at the gargoyles you intricately designed, turning to face his dormmates.

"Yes, let us resume the festivities. We shall celebrate all night long, this will be a birthday well worth remembering. Come now, my dearest." Setting down the Gargoyles in a safe place, he grabbed hold of your hand dragging you into the joyful celebration <3

Happy birthday, Malleus!!

[copperbadge]

Royals/Ramblers is DONE. I split the difference and made two epilogues from the five, and one of them just looks like it's part of another chapter. I am devious in my ways.

I'm letting it marinate for the rest of the day; I'll give it a quick pass tomorrow, then let go of it for a few days so when I come back I'll be ready for slightly deeper editing. Aiming to post it perhaps October or November, we'll see how life goes.

It meant I could finalize a lot of dates in the timeline that I've been building. I've had to shift some things around, so now the trick is to figure out timing for the stories now in the pipeline, based on my notes. There's ten, more or less, and whether I end up writing them all is dubious; it reminds me of plotting out Laocoon's Children, an extremely ambitious task, but unlike Laocoon's Children, I control the canon and I don't have to deal with anyone's stupidity but my own. And I'm really only focused on five of the ten right now. Which, given I wrote four of these books in fifteen months, plus three books' worth (Royals/Ramblers) for a total of "seven" books in less than two years....I guess we'll find out. Might take a break at some point to write something more literary, that's up to the ADHD I think.

Anyway, it's not necessarily the order in which I'd like to write the stories, but I've been holding off on some of these for a year already, they'll keep. I think the slate coming up is:

2023 Autumn - The Football Novel, which is already 2/3 written; it will run through spring 2024.

2024 Spring - The Chicken Salad Wars, Simon's novel, pushed out from this year to next; it has to end in August, because of Plot.

2024 Autumn - The Roman Ruin story, aka Classics Nerds In Love; this has to come relatively soon because it's prior to Jerry finalizing the dissolution of his estate. There's no set ending for this one, but it will likely need to cover at least until late spring 2025.

2025 Spring - The Let's Legalize Psychedelic Davzda story. Not ideal to push this one so far, but it's possible when I get there I could swap it with the Roman Ruin story, though that could make certain plotlines awkward.

2025 Summer - Ofelia's story, which culminates in Galian elections in early fall.

Fortunately most of them should be less work and words than Royals/Ramblers, which is a bit of a sweeping familial epic. Those five are all more-or-less unrelated to the royals directly.

The rest of them are either barely conceptions or can be set at any time (like the Quaker Whaler novel that happens in the past anyway). Which is kind of nice; I now have both a specific agenda for the immediate future and resources that I can build out once I get closer to the end of that agenda.

Phew. What a ride, and I'm still in the middle of it.

(I'd post a bit of story from Royals/Ramblers but for the last 4-5 chapters it's all spoilery.)

[bettsfic]

Hi, Betts! Apologies if you‘ve already answered something of the sort before, I tend to forget that tumblr exists for a few months every once in a while, so I‘m not super up to date with all the topics you‘ve previously discussed! But. I‘ve been writing fics for a couple of years now and, after getting medicated for my adhd, I‘ve also established a pretty reliable and enjoyable system to finish the (long) fic projects I start! However, every time I try to work on something original, I usually tap out after 5-10k words. The excitement, the itch, the brainrot, the daydreaming, it‘s all there but I just lose my motivation at a certain point. Part of it is that creating and writing original characters is incredibly challenging. I‘m using to having a solid base when I write fic characters so it makes sense that having to come up with that base all by myself is new and slightly overwhelming, but ok, I already have ideas to deal with that. However, there is also the fact that I *know* my original stories won’t see the light of day for a hot while — not like my fics that I get to share on ao3 — and that kills my ends up killing my motivation more often than not… I think! Some of my friends and mutuals have offered to beta/read my original stories, so that could help, but since I‘m here writing this, I still haven’t found that push to properly work on my original wips. (Also, I feel like my original writing style is just 10x worse than my fic style… but maybe that‘s just the normal new project bad kind of writing?) I was wondering if you have dealt with something similar and whether you have any tips and tricks to convince myself that my original wips are fun and worth the effort too? Love your advice and your fics :3

when you've written fanfic for a long time, there's one creative muscle that can atrophy, and that's building parameters. in fanfic, the most ridiculous, far fetched AU is still grounded in some way by the text it's responding to. you're playing a game that more or less already has rules. but in original fiction, you have to write the rules before you can play the game. a lot of times that means you write an entire book to figure out the book you're trying to write, and then you rewrite the book.

i almost always come to a grinding halt at about 10k of any original project because that's how long it takes me to find the parameters of the inciting incident. and once i have the parameters, i start over. usually there's one or two paragraphs i keep and which end up guiding the rest of the project. sometimes the parameters are never set and i have to set the whole thing down until a solution comes to me, which can take months or years.

as for external validation/motivation, if you can find a couple good cheerleaders who will read chapters as you finish them and who get invested in the story you're writing, i find that can offer a simulacrum of the immediate satisfaction of posting/updating a fic. i had to have cheerleaders through my first two original novels. i can motivate myself now and don't need them anymore, but lacking them does make writing original work a very lonely endeavor. but if you have good cheerleaders, do whatever you can to keep them. buy them little trinkets, send them birthday cards, kiss them on the mouth. because that kind of friendship and dedication can be such a rarity in the grand scheme of things.

and as always, writing is an endurance sport. it can take years to build up the patience, discipline, and drive to write a novel. even if it doesn't feel like it, getting down a bunch of false starts is still progress. like chess, it's good to know your opening moves, and that initial 5-10k of parameter-building goes waaaaay faster when you know you're going to scrap it anyway. all you're looking for in those early words is that one paragraph that turns the ignition. and once you're on the road and headed in a direction, there's no better feeling than seeing your word count go up and getting obsessed with your own world and characters.

[elfieafterdark]

I'm trying a thing, we getting a happy ending and here's why.

Preamble

Okay, @locked-in-the-tomb has me thinking about this. So let me outline why as a writer, I believe we're getting a griddlehark ending.

Firstly, credentials. I have written over a million words, 70+ works worth of fan fiction over the last 2 and 1/2 to 3 years. Including some that got pretty popular. However I will admit that I am not classically trained, I have a computer science degree not an English degree so bear with my horrible layman way of describing these things.

Lastly, I could just be full of shit. This could just be a whole bunch of cope. Because by the tomb I am coping so hard for a satisfying ending.

Beginning

So let's talk about the ending of the locked tomb. And also the beginning. I find my best received works are the ones that don't trick people.

An example would be my fanfiction called There's No One Like You, it's the most popular one I've ever done, it is novel length, it's a combination of a high school drama with a mystery thriller.

And I very clearly telegraph what the mystery is in the very first chapter. I won't spoil it too much just in case someone wants to read it, but in the first chapter is a very clear hint of where the story is going.

It's classic setup, you set something up, you telegraphed that it has been set up, you let it hang there for a bit, and then you pay it off. That's how you create a satisfying element to a story.

Now I'm going to argue that the entirety of Gideon the Ninth is setup. The entire book is, at its core, about Gideon and Harrow coming to terms with how they really feel about each other. What is my proof for such a bold claim?

Well let me ask you a question, what did we all think when we realized that Harrow spent all the previous night burying bones just so Gideon couldn't escape? We all thought the same thing, who the fuck would do that? And, why the fuck would you do that? And then we all got it, ahh, these two are enemies to lovers. Gotcha.

And let me ask you another question about Gideon the Ninth. What is the one scene that sticks out to you the most? When you think of the book what's one of the first scenes that comes to mind?

The Pool Scene.

The pool scene is arguably the most important scene in the entirety of the book. It's the scene in which we get answers to most of this book's mysteries. Why did 200 children die in the 9th? Why didn't Gideon die? Why was Harrow so vicious to Gideon?

All of these questions are answered, The 200 children were murdered to create Harrow, Gideon didn't die because the nerve gas had no effect on her, Harrow was so vicious to Gideon because Gideon was a reminder of what Harrow is.

Notice how most of those mysteries have to do with Harrow and Gideon. Because whatever themes you can extract from the story,

I would argue that Gideon the Ninth is about their relationship. They both need to come to terms with the shitty lives they've had, and they need to come to terms with the fact that those shitty lives aren't their fault.

Gideon forgives Harrow, and all but explicitly declares her love for her. In that pool, and Harrow is so happy. It's the emotional crux of the story (heh)

And it's setup for the series

If you haven't noticed, this series is about two people. Everyone else is incidental to that story. The series is about Gideon and Harrow. It's about their relationship.

Gtn is about them actually coming to a mutual understanding and respect. The very instant the other is in danger all of the pretense is dropped and that goes both ways.

Htn is all about everybody and everything telling Harrow that she should give up and move on, and her resoundingly telling everyone to fuck off. It's about the sacrifice she made to save Gideon's soul.

Now I've only seen Harrow mentioned twice in Nona so far, and both of those times are her hanging out with who I suspect to be God? I don't know I don't want to analyze that too far. We haven't seen Gideon at all so I'm not going to talk too much about Nona.

But the pool scene very clearly sets up the endgame, and that end game is cemented by the letter Harrow writes to Gideon, knowing that Gideon survives being consumed.

One Flesh, One End. Aka, I love you. I've talked about how this phrase is really a declaration of endlessly devoted love before, but they come to terms with their relationship, they sleep in adjacent beds which is as close to sleeping in the same bed as you can literally get without doing it, and they fight like hell to save the other.

Subverting Expectations: the Devil's Writing Trick

It's a pretty compelling setup isn't it? Fate has cruelly ripped them apart, and neither of them is willing to accept that, to the point that Gideon willingly became a part of Harrow; not to mention the point that Harrow is willing to lobotomize herself to preserve Gideon's soul.

That's a big setup, with Gideon's death, we understand the emotional conflict for the rest of the series. A conflict that is only confirmed by literally every single page of Harrow the Ninth.

How are they gonna fix this and be together? Remove all the awesome world building, remove all the excellent supporting characters, remove all of the religious theming, carve away all of the gay shit; and I earnestly believe that's what you have left.

How are they going to fix this? How are they going to be together? These are the questions that keep us all coming back. These are the questions that have us chomping at the bit for Alecto.

Now imagine after all that setup, after all that telegraphing, imagine that the answer to this question was

"they don't fuck you."

Let me ask you all something? Is that a satisfying ending? Is pouring all of this effort into these characters who in turn pour all their efforts into saving each other worth it at all if they don't succeed in the end?

Now some people might say that there's a beauty in tragic endings. And there is. I just think most of the time they're cheap.

I think I speak for many people when I say we want a story where characters go through all sorts of Hell, get beat the fuck up, struggle mightily against impossible odds, and maybe they lose some stuff along the way; but then they triumph.

The setup in Gideon the Ninth, that is continued through Harrow and I suspect we'll also be present in Nona is that they're going to fight everything in order to be together.

And based on how Harrow blatantly refuses to look back at the end of Harrow? The obvious trajectory of those decisions and these character moments is that they're going to succeed.

They've come this far, they've defied death itself. I just can't see the books ending any other way. Any other ending is going to feel like muir is spitting in our faces.

You paid attention to all that foreshadowing? Go fuck yourself on an iron fence.

Like do you all see what I'm trying to say here? The setup is that they get together, and there better be a goddamn payoff otherwise I'm going to riot.

Anyway, I would apologize for the length of this but I had a lot of fun writing it. And that's all that really matters in the end.

Thanks y'all, more to come soon 💖

[perryavenue]

rainjoy Has A New Post. It's Personal

rainjoy is one of my favorite Klaine fanfic authors. Their first Klaine fanfic was published on LiveJournal in 2011, their last in 2021. Health issues have become more intense over time. Their most famous works, All The Other Ghosts and Grey, were published in 2012 and 2013. So those who've joined the fandom fairly recently may not even know about their other fics, the most recent one being from 2021. rainjoy has written Klaine in every genre: high school!Klaine, college!Klaine, married!Klaine, supernatural!Klaine, fantasy!Klaine, and even superhero!Klaine.

Here is a link to rainjoy's works on Live Journal

Here's a link for Dreamwidth

I hope that you'll help boost it by re-blogging. Thanks in advance, @klaineccfanficlibrary and @todaydreambelieversfic

This is rainjoy's post from today (October 27, 2023).

"Hello, I’m still alive.

Hello, I do mean it, hello anybody around to see this, I really hope you’ve been well, I’m sorry I haven’t been around, I *haven’t* been well. But I have, over a course of fucking months, actually written something, so I’m writing *this* here so I don’t need to leave a novel-length author’s note on it, as some kind of explanation of where I’ve been.

Largely, I’ve been in bed, I’m likely going there again after posting this, they need to invent new words for how tired I am so much of the time, my upgraded wheelchair is worth about as much as my *laptop*, my life revolves around Can I? Probably not. and lots and lots and lots of ‘resting’. I’ve not been well, but please don’t worry, I’ve not been unhappy. This is the golden age of being ill, the sheer quantity of stuff out there to amuse the bedbound – I have books and podcasts, all of Netflix, I practically live on Sky: Children of the Light, when I’m too dopey even for that I have Animal Crossing, when I am genuinely such a puddle of not-human lethargy that all I need is for time to pass until I feel just slightly better again I have videos of other people playing video games on YouTube and I’m sorry my darling baby moths I will pick you up and help you every single time but it will never not be funny watching someone go through Eden for the first time on YouTube, it just never will not make me laugh, oh my gods I’m so *sorry* my loves <3

So anyway, there’s all that, that’s where I’ve been, life really does not work out the way you planned it to, huh? Because outside of my bed, I know I have messages and emails and someone got a tattoo?? You got a tattoo and I’m just really sorry I haven’t been in touch, my energy has to be paid out like a miser, if I want to wash my hair then wow the world is really not getting anything else out of me, you know? But I am still here, and I do still love the things I love. I still think all of it is worth it. I think the world is a *lot* of fun, though I bear in mind that still, and always, we live through very frightening and distressing times. Which actually makes me think we need to cling to the things we love *more*, not less, love makes better people of us, when we let it.

So I did watch the new season of Good Omens when it came out, and safe to say I was not impressed, but it did jog in me the memory that didn’t I write a sequel to it? Yes I did, and it involved *all* that blood. But I reread it – it’s like reading a stranger’s writing after so long – and that jogged the memory: Didn’t you start a sequel to *this*?

Yes I did! Two thirds written, actually, hurrah for my past self. The last third took, I don’t know, when did the new season come out, it took that long. I used to sneeze out this sort of thing. This, now, is getting at my arms, it’ll be another lie down soon. But anyway, the point of all this: I live yet. In the next few days I *hope* I will be formatting and posting a sequel to But Thou Readst Black because of course everyone wants *that* back in their heads again, my gods. And I hope hope hope you’ve been well, I do think of people while I’m stuck doing nothing but pooling my brain out of my ears on YouTube. Look after yourselves, take care of each other, my gods you tattooed yourself I mean more power to you but it alarms me when things I make turn out to be *permanent*, you know? It feels like I barely touch the world anymore, my circumference has become so small, but it makes the world seem only more precious. Take good care of it, and of yourself as part of it. And very, very much love, to anyone remaining to see this, much love <3"

[ikeromantic]

Hiii omg congratulations on 1k subscribers!!!! 🥳 It's been wonderful to see you reach such milestones over the years, has it really been three already? Ig time really flies when you're having fun 😉 For this one, could I please get Chevalier, Observatory and Gingerbread? Thanks a lot in advance, I'm sure it will be just as creative and incredible as every fic you've written so far! 🥰 I hope you're having a great holiday season, XOXO

It has been 3 years ^_^ Hard to believe really. Time flies when I'm having fun! Your kind words are one of the things that keeps me sharing here <3 So here we go, approx. 1400 words of a spicy and sweet Chevalier. IkePri New Years Event story

Chevalier followed his love up the winding stairs, a bemused smile on his lips. A ‘mysterious’ invitation had replaced his bookmark in one of his new novels, and this was the address listed. He wondered what his precious Belle had in mind. It better be worth all the stair climbing.

At the top, the entrance to the observatory swung open. The space, usually dedicated to the scientific study of stars, was now decorated with roses and candles. A small, round table sat to one side, with a bottle of wine and two glasses. The Belle stood beside it, an anxious smile on her face. “What is this?” Chev raised an eyebrow.

“Umm. Welcome, Prince Chevalier. This is - ah - a romantic dinner?” She shuffled from one foot to the other, far less confident of this presentation than her lovely dress would indicate. It was silk, and clung to her curves suggestively, hiding and showing all at once. The sort of dress a seductress might wear to lure in her prey. 

He shut the door behind him and closed the distance between them. “You set this up?”

She nodded. “I . . . thought you might enjoy it? It’s really pretty up here, with the view. And we can use the telescope! I - I got one of the scholars to show me?” 

“Why?”

The Belle looked down and took a deep breath. When she looked up again, her eyes held that flame of defiance that Chevalier found so alluring. “I wanted to celebrate our time together. And to show you what romance looks like in real life. It can be really nice.”

Chevalier snorted. Though his expression was cool, he felt a sudden tightness in his throat. He could not think of a single time someone had done something like this for him. There were only official celebrations, mandated by tradition, put together by servants, and attended by the ambitious. This was none of those things. He avoided replying by looking around.

“I made the bouquets just for us. See, apple blossoms and red carnations to tell you how much I like you and how my heart aches when we aren’t together. And baby’s breath with red roses to say our love will last, and -”

“I know what flowers mean.” He interrupted her to stop her from saying aloud all the things he could read himself in the careful arrangements. When she spoke those words, it made his heart beat faster, his breath shorter. Feelings that he eschewed. Storybook reactions that were inappropriate for a prince. 

The Belle nodded mutely. She walked over to look out at the night sky. The moon hung above them, full and bright, its cold light distant and beautiful. Nothing like the close, warm affection she carried. 

Chevalier followed, unable to let her away from him, even if it would be best for them both. He knew what this emotion growing in him was, with its hooks deep in his heart and mind. It was too late to let her go. Far too late. He grasped her hand and pulled her to him. 

She gave a gasp of surprise, her eyes wide. “My Prince?” 

“I did not say that I do not like it.” 

“So . . . you do?” Her lips curved up in a small, satisfied smile. 

Chevalier brushed a lock of hair from her face, the gesture awkward and a little brusque. Gentle touches were outside his experience, yet with her, he wanted to be gentle. To coax a smile from her that was just for him. “Silly fool.”

There was high color in her cheeks and a heat in her gaze. Chev smiled. “What else did you plan for us?”

“I -” She cleared her throat. “I thought we’d have some wine and th-then look at the stars.” 

He gestured to the table. “Then pour.”

“Right.” She reluctantly let go of him and hurried to the table. 

Chevalier enjoyed watching her as she moved about in this dress. It was revealing in the most interesting ways. Hugging the curve of her backside, clinging to the side of her breast and hip. It made him want to tear it off of her to reveal her beauty in full instead of these teasing glimpses.

The Belle returned a moment later with two cups of deep red wine. “This is a malbec. The sommelier said it was a good choice, since I’m not sure what you like.” She handed him his glass.

“Try it.” He watched her eyes widen at his order. And it was an order, spoken in his crips, chill tone.

“Ok. I thought you might taste it first but . . . just so you know, I don’t know much about wine. Sariel says I don’t have a good nose for it because I didn’t -”

Chevalier interrupted sharply. “Stop delaying.”

She gave a self-conscious laugh. “Yeah, alright. Sorry.” Then she lifted the cup to her lips and took a small sip. Her eyebrows lifted and her lips curved in pleasant surprise. “Oh! That’s really good! I was afraid it might be bitter but it’s sweet!”

“Let me see.” He took his glass and held it to her lips.

“Y-you want me to drink from your cup?” 

“Don’t ask foolish questions.” He tilted it a bit so that the dark red liquid nearly touched her.

The Belle understood, though there was a hint of confusion in her gaze. Still, her lips parted and a trickle of wine poured over them, leaving a bead of moisture at the corner of her mouth. Then he set the cup aside.

Chevalier leaned close, and took her chin in his hand. Then he licked the wine from her lips. She was right, of course. It was sweet, but not nearly as sweet as she was. He pressed his lips to hers and slid his tongue into the heat of her mouth. It was not the sweet kiss of a kind lover, nor the passionate skill of a lothario, but it was the kiss of a brutal beast that hungered for her honeyed warmth.  

The Belle clung to him, kissing him back with as much inexperienced desire. Her fingers tangled in the fabric of his shirt as if she would hold him in place. 

His hand slid down her side, tracing the line of her breast, her waist. Calloused palms rasped against the delicate fabric, catching. It would take only a small effort to tear, he thought. To take. But he wanted her to give. 

Her breath caught as his hand caressed her lower still. Sliding over the cloth that draped her hips, her thigh. The glass of wine slipped from her fingers, and shattered on the ground. She gasped, and he breathed her in. “Prince . . .” Her murmur was lost against his thirsting lips.

Chevalier didn’t care about the broken goblet. He lifted her up, pressed her back against the thick glass wall of the observatory. His mouth moved from her lips to her throat, where her pulse raced against the velvet of his tongue. Down to her shoulders, nipping the line of her collarbone. 

She arched into his touch, her legs wrapped around his hips, dress riding up her thighs to reveal her satin skin beneath. His hands explored this revealed territory, claiming it with every rough caress. 

“Was this what you imagined,” he asked with a teasing smirk.

“I . . .”

He laughed, a low, hoarse sound that sent a shiver up her spine. “Fated.” He nipped her throat. “That is where you got this idea.”

“Y-you knew?” Her breath was ragged, her voice trembling.

“From the moment I got your invitation. You created the scene where the emperor finds his stars align with the maid.”

The Belle nodded. “Sh-she left him a message in flowers.”

Chevalier’s smile grew. “And when he summoned her, the scene ends with them making love under those same stars.”

Her cheeks were hot, the flush of desire all the way down her neck and up to the tips of her ears. She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t need to. Chev knew what she wanted. He wanted her as well. All of her. The woman that loved him. The woman he had come to love, in defiance of all wisdom. 

“Let us see if reality is better than fiction, then.” His smile was that of a predator about to devour his prey. An appetite that could never truly be sated, a desire that would never fade.

[praeobscura]

Cross-posting from my mention of this on Pillowfort.

Yesterday, Draft2Digital (which now includes Smashwords) sent out an email with a, frankly, very insulting survey. It would be such a shame if a link to that survey without the link trackers were to circulate around Tumblr dot Com.

The survey has eight multiple choice questions and (more importantly) two long-form text response boxes.

The survey is being run from August 27th, 2024 to September 3rd, 2024. If you use Draft2Digital or Smashwords, and have not already seen this in your associated email, you may want to read through it and send them your thoughts.

Plain text for the image below the cut:

D2D AI Rights Licensing Survey:

This survey is going to all authors and publishers of Draft2Digital and Smashwords. We seek feedback from our community regarding potential rights licensing opportunities.

This survey is anonymous and should take only about five minutes to complete. Survey responses will be accepted until Tuesday, September 3, 2024.

Introduction:

In recent months, a growing number of AI developers have begun approaching large publishers, seeking to license books for the purpose of training Large Language Models (LLMs).

Books – both fiction and non-fiction – are highly prized for LLM training due to their long form narrative structures which teach Natural Language Processing.

Common uses for these LLMs include powering personal productivity applications such as customer service chatbots, virtual assistants, and the drafting of written communications for marketing, customer service, and internal communications.

What are your AI training rights worth? There’s no hard and fast rule to answer this question because each licensing deal is different.

Some early compensation models for news publishers suggest the equivalent of about $100 per license for LLM training rights for a 75,000-word novel, which works out to a little over 1/10th of a cent per word.

Some experts believe training rights for long-form book content justifies higher compensation for training rights than news content.

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Sunday, September 15th

Faith: Let’s have another go at it. See who ends on top.

~~This Year's Girl~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

First Stage by veronyxk84 (Spike, Dawn, PG-13)

Sugar Water by thisyearsgrrl (Buffy/Faith, Explicit)

Smoke & Ashes by Grundy (Hunger Games crossover, Spike & Effie Trinket, T)

Swallowed Whole by SomeKindOfADeviant (Spike/Angelus, M)

Now I’m ready to close my eyes by Anewhope303 (Buffy/Faith, Explicit)

I Might Be On To Something by Skyson (Buffy/Giles, M)

the leather jacket by sapphistically (Spike/reader, not rated)

First Stage by VeroNyxK84 (Spike, Dawn, anthology rated PG-13)

[Chaptered Fiction]

After Old Friends Leave - Chapter 1-3 (COMPLETE!) by eevol76vamp (Angel, Angel Investigations, Anne Steele, Gunn & Rondell, Angel/Nina, Angel/Spike, not rated)

Buffy Summers’s Baby - Chapter 1-8 by Zetared (Buffy/Angel/Spike, M)

All's Fair in Love and Loss - Chapter 1-2 by Scar_Eve (Buffy & Giles, T)

Because the Night, Ch. 9 by CheekyKitten (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Lost in Desolation, Ch. 8 by Melme1325 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Love Letters You Never Sent Me, Ch. 2 by Spikelover4ever (Buffy/Spike, R)

Out of Time: 1942, Ch. 59 by Jonayla (Harry Potter crossover, Buffy/Tom Riddle, FR18)

Blood of Kings, Ch. 4 by Taskmaster (Young Royals crossover, Buffy, Scoobies, FR18)

The Key To The Future, Ch. 2 by LoneFrog (Dawn, FR15)

Happily Ever After, Ch. 1 by Dusty (Buffy/Spike, R)

What Happens at Willow Creek, Ch. 1 by Alyot (Buffy/Spike, R)

Perfect Clarity, Ch. 29 by VeroNyxK84 (Buffy/Spike, R)

[Images, Audio & Video]

Gifs: Spike, Oz, Buffy, Willow, Cordelia Tara, Faith (worksafe)

Buffy/Spike manips by spyder-baby (probably worksafe, some nudity)

Vidlet: buffy hits hard but let's be honest, spike loves it by Tiktok user bloody_awful (Buffy/Spike)

Drusilla and Buffy sketch weeee by mistyintherivers (worksafe)

a sort of. classic movie musical poster style thingy bc i loooove once more with feeling by mistyintherivers (Buffy, Scoobies, worksafe)

slightly happier graduation by mistyintherivers (Willow & Jenny, worksafe)

Ep. 4x09 "Something Blue" by o-cm-draw-o (Buffy/Spike, worksafe)

Ep. 6x13 "Dead Things" by o-cm-draw-o (Buffy/Spike, probably NSFW)

Buffy gets a driving lesson by slurping-up-grass (Buffy & Giles, worksafe)

spike + textposts by spikespeaches (NSFW text, canon-typical partial nudity)

Digital drawing: Buffy by stateofdreaminn ()

[Vid] Let Go crossposted by winterevanesce (Angel & Connor, T)

[Reviews & Recaps]

i feel like if btvs 5x18 “intervention” had not been written by a woman... by lesbianmarrow

Becoming part two (you have to give David Boreanaz his due) by Trixieswizzle

The Horror Bandwagon react to "Something Blue" and "Hush"

Is this book any good? [Demons of the Hellmouth: A Guide for Slayers] by bkv-hbl

SHE'S OUR SABRINA! Up The Buff! Ep 3 - Witch - Buffy joins a cult! by BigBadLlama

At the end of Season 3 (how timeless the show is) by EnterTheBlackVault

Are The Novels Good and Worth Reading? by friendofathena

The Gift - First Watch by VikTone

How are the tie-in novels? by flandsfroghurt

Whose friendship did you feel was the most genuine to you or really stood out to you in the series? by veganbethb

Which characters were the most perfectly cast? by beeemkcl

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season One - Review by Marisa Quinn-Haisu

[Recs & In Search Of]

Video rec: Words can't express how much I'm loving these Buffy reactors. Ashleigh is a trip. by mileenaxyz

[Fandom Discussions]

Re: Hardest character to write/get the characterization correct for? by coraniaid

Headcanons re: being angel's gf and how it would be dating angelus by fedcrypt

Why isn't Alexa Davalos part of Angel season 5?, Your thought about her character. [Gwen Raiden] by BabyBlueN7

What's on your Spuffy playlist? by Xenonand

If Cordelia Chase was a teenager in the 21st century - would she be a Influencer? by jdpm1991

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Original Xbox game help. It's super difficult! by Goosetiers

What's the most iconic Angel look? by bkv-hbl

If Xander Harris was a teenager in the 2020's - what social media would he use? by jdpm1991

Creative ways to connect Buffy [the Vampire Slayer] and Angel [the series]? by sadhungryandvirgin

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

Join the editor team :)

[lulu2992]

Hey ! First thanks for this blog, it's full of really great posts :) And second, I saw you gave advices to fanfics writers for John and Jacob but I didn't see anything about Joseph, I believe I'm not the only one to think The Father is the hardest to write ! Any tips, advices or anything else ? Thanks a lot and continue this wonderful work !

Hi! And thank you :D

I suppose you’ve played the game and already know Joseph’s story, but as I did in my previous posts, I’m going to give you (and anyone reading this who might not be familiar with the Far Cry 5 universe) a few links and resources:

The Book of Joseph: an official but rare book that seems mostly canonical. Its real-life author is unknown, but it’s written from the Father’s point of view and provides details about his life before Hope County. Contrary to popular belief, though, this is not Eden’s Gate’s sacred book; that’s The Word of Joseph and we can’t read it (except one page; see below).

Joseph’s sermons: the “first” one, “Soul Search”, the one about “the elite”, and “The Truth”. The latter is him reading the only page from The Word of Joseph we can find in the game. There’s also this one for Jacob’s Armory, and this, supposed to be broadcasted in the Heralds’ bunkers when the Collapse has arrived.

His only radio call.

The message he left for John at Seed Ranch.

His lines during the final fight against him.

His Arcade lines: Part 1 & Part 2.

His scars and tattoos.

I wrote a summary of what other characters say about him (masterpost here), but the cultists and Resistance/civilians’ comments can be listened to here and here. And chances are they’re not relevant anymore, but you can listen to his deleted lines here and read even more here.

The Far Cry 5 lore is all over the place if you want to take all the content they’ve ever released into account, but there’s also:

The song “Now He’s Our Father” (choir version here and reinterpretation here)

The two live-action trailers, The Sermon & The Baptism

The novel Far Cry: Absolution (not legally available for free)

The short film Inside Eden’s Gate (and, as a bonus, the long version of one of the scenes)

The comic Far Cry: Rite of Passage #3 (not legally available for free)

The game has an official sequel, Far Cry New Dawn... but it’s not really canon to me because of the retcons. And I have to talk about it because it exists, but there’s also the Far Cry 6 DLC, Collapse. It takes place in Joseph’s mind, and you would think that would make it the most reliable source of information regarding his psyche, but it was developed by a new team and there are many discrepancies between it and Far Cry 5, so I would personally advise against using it as a reference... Finally, this isn’t only true for Joseph, but take everything you see on the Far Cry Wiki with a grain of salt, especially unsourced information that makes you go, “oh, I didn’t know that”; that’s very suspicious :’)

In the Far Cry 5: Official Collector’s Edition Guide by Prima Games, the game’s Lead Writer, Drew Holmes, said the following about Joseph:

What we really focused on was creating an enemy that truly believed in his mission—that only he could protect humanity during the end of days. We wanted to create a villain who had pure intentions but who was so consumed by his own madness that he could not see his own evil. He views himself as Noah—but everyone else sees him as a madman. (...) Joseph Seed is a villain we haven’t seen before in Far Cry. Yes, he’s magnetic and crazy...but there’s also an honesty to him that makes him compelling. He believes he has purpose. He’s not crazy for crazy’s sake—he has a very clear message that he’s trying to impart on the Player—and hopefully makes you stop and think whether or not he’s actually right.

He talked about him in other interviews, such as this one.

Joseph was co-created and has always been played by the same actor (except once), Greg Bryk, whose opinion on the character is always worth reading/listening to. Here’s a selection of videos, some of them also featuring Drew Holmes and Dan Hay (Executive Producer/Creative Director/Writer):

Cult of Personality (UbiBlog)

Meet Greg Bryk Joseph Seed Actor

Interview - Greg Bryk and Drew Holmes (Gaming Trend)

Greg Bryk (Joseph "The Father" Seed in Far Cry 5) - Game On Expo 2018

FORGED ep10 - W/ Guest Greg Bryk

SacAnime Summer 2018 Greg Bryk Far Cry 5 Panel

Joseph Seed "The Father" aka Greg Bryk talks FAR CRY 5 & FAR CRY NEW DAWN

How Far Cry’s Iconic Villains Were Created (IGN Inside Stories)

Fans also asked him questions on Instagram and I compiled his answers here (and here). In the latest live stream, he said Far Cry 5 had been “an amazing chapter in [his] life” but that Joseph’s story was “finished”, implying he didn’t feel like playing him anymore...

Finally, it’s not really informative, just fun, but there’s this.

Now, my analysis and interpretation! Despite the fact Joseph is an antagonist in Far Cry 5, I wouldn’t really call him “evil” or describe him as a villain because he’s (weirdly) well-intentioned. His followers undeniably do awful things for him and his siblings, but even though he’s a cult leader, he’s neither hypocritical nor a liar, and his primary goal isn’t to take advantage of people. Joseph heard a Voice he believes is God’s and It entrusted him with a mission. Although who that Voice belongs to is up to interpretation, it’s clear to me It’s not a figment of his imagination; It’s real, and It’s powerful. Joseph has unwavering faith in It and will obey It, whatever It asks him to do, even the worst, because he’s extremely devoted and convinced he’s only doing what’s right. He genuinely believes the Collapse is coming and that he’s the prophet chosen to save as many “souls” as he can (at least 3,000) from it to march them to Eden’s Gate, which is why he started his Project.

I said he was well-intentioned but, as the saying goes, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”, and I think Joseph embodies this proverb perfectly. The fact he’s convinced his actions are righteous is precisely what makes him dangerous and almost unstoppable. He won’t let anything or anyone prevent him from fulfilling his destiny and get in the way of his divine purpose, even if it means people have to die. To Joseph, this is “God’s will” and those non-believers will perish when the Collapse comes anyway... The people his Family saves might fight or not want to join them now, but he thinks that in the end, when they finally understand he was right, they will be grateful. As the Father, he feels he knows what’s best for his Children.

I believe the Voice showed him several versions of the future and that Joseph isn’t sure which one(s) will come to pass. He may know his siblings are likely to die and not see the New Eden, but he hopes they will live because he truly loves them. As for the Deputy, they’re the person destined to trigger the Collapse, so they’re special to him and he doesn’t want his followers to kill them. That said, he also hopes he can make them join his Family so everyone can be safe in “The Garden” the Voice promised.

I think Joseph hasn’t really moved on from the loss of his wife and is still, in some way, in love with her. That doesn’t mean he could never love someone else, but in the game, he’s not quite there yet. That may seem paradoxical, and he’s still convinced he did the right thing, but I also believe his daughter’s death was a tragedy to him because evidence suggests he loved her more than he loved himself. Joseph is a man of strong convictions… and contradictions.

He’s usually calm and collected but can still feel and express extreme emotions in some cases. When he speaks, it’s like he’s naturally solemn and charismatic, which is probably why so many people follow him. Again, the fact he doesn’t lie to them and sincerely believes in his message is probably the reason others started to believe in him in return.

Because of what he went through in his life, it appears Joseph is always desperately trying to build a family and surround himself with loved ones. Sadly, he also seems doomed to always lose them, one way or another… His commitment to the Voice is absolute, and serving God is what keeps him going. In the end, he’s certain everything he’s endured and sacrificed will be worth it. Unfortunately, while he always aims to do “what’s right”, the tragedy of Joseph is that he usually ends up inadvertently making things worse, for him or the people he loves. His faith is his reason for living, but it’s also, too often, the main reason for his suffering.

[alexanderwales]

The Current WIP List

Inspired by this post by @a-memory-a-distant-echo, this is a list of ongoing works-in-progress, where "in progress" I will define as "I have added at least one sentence in the last year as an indicator of actual mental load being used". This does not include worldbuilding or planning documents, which spring up like weeds. I am also including the ones that I get paid for via Patreon or publication deals or whatever.

Thresholder is my currently ongoing web serial, publishing two chapters a week (in theory ...). It's about a guy who travels between worlds and fights other people who travel between worlds, with each world being a relatively contained book. Currently about 750K words.

Doomsday Pivot! is, in theory, the follow-up to Thresholder, about a start-up that has to make a sudden change in plans when the end of the world gives everyone a character class. First book is rough draft complete but needs some responses to developmental editing, sitting at 104K words. (You can read a noncanonical first chapter here, which I had previously made public on my discord.)

Millennial Scarlet is a webcomic I write about a gig-economy demon hunter. Writing comics is awesome, mostly because I get to see my words come to life. In word count ... I'm not sure right now, but probably not all that much. In the middle of writing the fourth issue right now.

Glimwarden was a web serial that I abandoned, a black mark on my record. I intend to go back to it at some point, because it was my wife's favorite. You can read it up to the point where it was abandoned here. There are currently ~3 unreleased chapters, but most of the effort put into it has been rewriting it and bringing it up to snuff, as well as fixing some problems with it. Will get a relaunch at some point, probably, when I'm ready to commit to that. No idea on the word count.

Untitled Dance Magic story is probably a short story, currently ~5K words. It's based around a magic system where people do ballroom dance to create architecture, and is a somewhat traditional romance and/or coming of age story. I started writing it on a whim after a conversation with @etirabys at LessOnline, and hopefully they haven't started their own story, and hopefully if they have, hopefully their story doesn't overlap mine. I'll check before posting, hoping to get this one finished and out there.

Kensuke Fucks the World is an existentialist horror erotic novel, which I describe as being "like the Erogamer, but sad". Currently 75K words, and might never see the light of day. I think I can wrap it up in another 25K words, but I think it needs a lot of work.

Long Stairs will probably be novella length in its finished form, and will probably not be finished. It's an old story, which predates Worth the Candle by a few months, and is about a military fireteam making a routine delve into an endless shifting dungeon that the US military has already pulled a lot of magic out of. Medics with clerical healing, wands and firearms, high fantasy and military. There's unfortunately some stuff in there that I cannibalized for WtC that needs to be changed so it's not a repeat, but nothing structural, and there are a lot of plot beats that I enjoy in both the 15K words that are already written and what's in the notes. I did not put a bunch of work into this one, but it was one of those cases where I was reading through old stuff and got enough of a head of steam that it latched onto me again. (I also don't know enough about the military or how to write that kind of stuff, which is one of the reasons that this fic never got my full attention.)

The Lot is a story that's basically just "the backrooms, but with cars". It think it was inspired by a tumblr post, but probably won't be finished, since it's probably novella length. Currently 9K words, more a character study than it is about people stuck in an infinite parking lot and scrounging off what they can find in glove compartments.

Kitchen Sink is a bureauporn/bureaupunk novel about the agency created to deal with the rise of mutants circa 1977. Currently a mere 9K words, but the plan was for each successive part of the book to focus on another genre being discovered by the department, so you'd get a book with wizards, with vampires, with aliens, etc., mostly with a focus on how these are handled on an administrative level. No way I would ever be able to sell it, unfortunately.

Robot Team Isekai (not its real title) is about a van full of kids on their way to a robotics team meet that get transported to another world where their individual specialties grant them awesome abilities in a "your hyperfixation makes you perfectly adapted to the fantasy world" kind of way, but for five people with different hyperfixations. 2K words, probably will never see the light of day.

Full Meta vol. 2 is a novel about a group of high school students who get metafiction powers, so like ... one girl gets the ability to read the text of the novel they're in whenever someone is engaging in exposition, one guy can read the flashbacks, someone can read all the romance scenes or whatever, and they have a dysfunctional time dealing with each other through college and into adulthood. I fully recognize that calling it "Full Meta vol. 2" when no first volume exists is a gimmick title and would be confusing enough to immediately turn people away.

Dark Wizard of Donkerk was an old NaNo novel, but got halfway dev edited before my dev editor on that one flaked. I think it's a good story, just a matter of getting into the guts of it and making it great, but that takes time. 173K words, but this is old old. If you like rough, unpolished creative output, you can read it on my website.

Untitled Hermione/Draco fanfic is, uh ... I guess according to the logs was something that I put effort into in late 2023. I have read vanishingly little HP fanfic, and I'm sure there's a ton of this stuff, and that some of it is even good. This one doesn't adhere too much to canon or fanon, and is mostly about trying to write a realistic racist who falls in love with someone he's racist against. 14K words, I cannot believe I added anything to this recently, but apparently I have.

Technically by the criteria set out, I should count all seven of the NaNo test chapters I wrote. Of those, the only ones that have retained any brain space are "The Inevitable Return of Nathaniel Greene" and "Dungeon Core".

There are a few more that are technically outside the arbitrary time limit of one year, but I'm going to include them because I have thought about them in the last year (and will not include the ones that I have not thought about).

Of Witches and Wizards is what I thought was a romance but was told does not fit the apparently pretty exacting mold of a "romance novel". It's about a widowed witch whose two sons have left for college and a wizard who travels the world writing about places for a travel guide. They fall in love. Tons of worldbuilding stuff as they visit different cities and see the breadth and beauty of magic in the world. 15K words right now, was going to be a nice and slender novel.

Eager Readers in Your Area was a short story I wrote a year and a half ago. The WIP is a novel-length version of that about ... art, artists, AI art, dealing with people online, and a bunch of other stuff. I wrote an outline I thought was quite good, but if the short story is the first chapter, then I want an equally good and tight second chapter, and that's hard to do.

Slaver Slayer (not final title) was about a slave who assassinates a high-ranking member of the kingdom and through an oversight gets a magical artifact that might possibly let her kill her way through the monarchy in an attempt to end the institution of slavery. The other protagonist is a detective who's grappling with his complicity in the system and is trying to stop her. Made it to 13K words. Another one of those that was outlined to be a nice tight novel.

[alexturne]

A very Milex Christmas fic rec list!

I love reading cozy Christmas fics in December, so I've compiled a little list of lovely Milex stories set during the holidays.

(amazing graphic too, right?🎅)

Enjoy!

Wonderful Christmastime by @alex-band-gay-and-the-hurrikane

Words: 49k - Chapters: 13

Tell him what you want and baby he can find you anything you need.

Or in fact don’t bother to tell him what you want because he already knows what you need and he intends to give it to you (12 times) in the form of 12 little gifts given in the run up to Christmas Day.

The 12 days of Christmas begin — in untraditional fashion, but in earnest — on the 2nd of December one chilly Yuletide.

In other words, Miles accidentally starts something but runs with it when he realises just how happy it’s making his …. Friend :)

This is solid gold FLUFF maestro!

An Evening In London by @richiebrook

Words: 14k - Chapters: 5

It's the 23rd of December. This is Miles' evening in five acts.

This was written for the Milex Big Bang 2019.

Or: the tale of why I'm (not so) secretly in love with Miles.

This was based on one of my favourite novels, The Evenings: A Winter's Tale by Gerard Reve.

Happy Ending on Sale! by @girlinthepictureframe

Words: 16k - Chapters: 5

A gift of the very unexpected variety leads to the reawakening of Alex's sexual curiosity.

Christmas Eve will find me where the love lights gleam by litereverie

Words: 19k - Chapters: 1

Positive. It was positive. Fucking hell.

How ironic - he’d thought at the sight - how negative a positive could be. Two little lines and all his plans for the holidays had to be discarded. He sighed sadly and hid his face in his hands at the prospect.

Alex caught covid just before he was about to head home for Christmas. Now he's stuck alone in London, pretending to be brave about it all.

But Miles finds out and decides to visit him to drop by some of his mums' famous christmas cooking to help him feel less lonely. Plot twists occur of course.

Wondrous Place by @fiireside

Words: 5k - Chapters: 1

Snow prevents Alex from making it home for Christmas, and so he finds himself spending the holiday with Miles' family instead.

Something in Your Magnetism by @elorianna

Words: 5k - Chapters: 1 - Part 2/3 of Never-Ending Spirals

On a night close to Christmas, Miles invites Alex for some innocent fun at the fairground in Hyde Park. But what begins as a trip down memory lane turns into nostalgia of a very different sort, and in the end Miles is faced with a difficult choice…

Home for Christmas❅☃ by pandreea

Words: 2k - Chapters: 1

True At First Light by @tightredpants

Words: 2k - Chapters: 1

Alex and Miles find themselves snowed in, and with the cold weather comes the ghosts of their past, and promises of the future.

Christmas Antics by charmlesstrans

Words: 611 - Chapters: 1

Holding Back by @markslittleproblems

Words: 2k - Chapters: 1

On Christmas Eve, the pressure of losing Miles over silence is too overwhelming and Alex has a confession to make to his parents.

In The Country by Alexturner_strikes_again

Words: 2k - Chapters: 1

James ford invites the last shadow puppets to stay at this cabin he has for a little touring vacation, imaging they could use some time off the road.

I will also include my own Christmas stories:

nobody ought to be alone on christmas by alexturne

Words: 12k - Chapters: 1

"And it's not my fault he's all the way away in LA! Stupid, far away LA. London's a nice place too, you know! It's worth sticking around for, especially at Christmas!"

"What's stopping you from seeing him? You're obviously miserable without him, with nowhere to go for Christmas. Get out of your joggers. Go to LA. Go see him. Tell him you love him."

i'll be home for christmas by alexturne

Words: 13k - Chapters: 1

Alex Turner had it all.

A massively successful global tour, adoring fans everywhere he went, amazing sales figures, another number one album, a gorgeous house, a jealousy-inducing collection of vintage cars and motorbikes and the best bandmates you could ask for. 

But one fateful Christmas eve has Alex realizing that none of that truly matters. And that the one thing he could truly never live without is the one he let get away.

and now it's christmas every day by alexturne

Words: 16k - Chapters: 1

Little white snowflakes kept falling outside the window, giving the illusion of the train traveling at much higher speeds than it actually was. Miles wouldn't mind that, actually, eager as he was to reach his destination. He couldn't wait. Couldn't wait to see him. Alex. He was going to Sheffield to visit Alex. His best friend in the entire world. And he had no idea he was coming.

[onwriting-hrarby]

Hi Hera!! How are you doing? You most probably don’t remember me but I’m a huge fan of eremika and was a bit active on aottwit during 2022. I remember being so happy and ecstatic to find my people on the internet with whom, I could talk to about my love for aot in general! But the part I loved the MOST, was being able to read the extraordinary fics that the talented people of this fandom were able to produce. Amongst them, was yours! I remember when RJ and Instead They Said were still being written and EremikaFics would post an update, the fandom would go crazy gushing about your writing. I don’t know why I never picked up your works until it was too late. I wish I could go back in time and read RJ and ITS while they were releasing (lol)!!

unfortunately, I also remember the drama that went on in aottwit and the incessant hatred towards so many skilled writers.

This message is erratic, random and completely irrelevant… BUT I wanted to thank you for being such a major part of one of my favourite communities on the internet (however stupid, people may be on aottwit haha). If, by any miracle, you decide to put RJ and IST on ao3 again, I will run as fast as I can and make up for all the times when I didn’t read them, even though I could’ve 💗

Once again, thank you so much 🫶🏼

Oh my god, Lavanya!!!!!!!! It IS you! This ask has made my day, so thank you very much for taking the time to write. How has your life been? I've been not only very busy, but also writing a lot of OG novel, so I've been growing apart for fandom for a bit. <3

Thank you very, very much for your words. I was talking about it with my fandom friends just recently: it did have bitter moments, but in the end, writing for this fandom make me more skilled, and to realize what I truly wanted to write in real life. So every word and hate I got, I think it was worth it!

Oh, RJ and ITS are my babies. As you may know, I hid them because I am a little bit paranoic and i don't want to train any AI or be of inspiration of any writer (because I want to do OG novels with them) but it makes me very happy that you still remember them. I would put them up for a bit for you, too, or I would send you the link, but I fear that when I've done so in the past, people hasn't answered (in the literal way: I sent the files and I never got an answer) and that made me a little bit sad. Because even though I'm trying to protect my fiction and making it (and me) vulnerable by sharing it, not having a reply makes me fret a bit, I hope you understand.

BUT! I do have two other fics I wrote, more recently, about Eremika. It's called The Ploy and Liquid confidence, and also a little oneshot. Let me send you the links if you are interested! They are much better written, but I don't think they have the pull or the "touch" of RJ and ITS, which are still my best works. But if you're craving some Eremika, please, dig into them :)

And if you ever want to talk, or interact, I am so glad you are back, and so, so grateful for your comment again, truly. I don't have emoticons in my computer keyboard, so you'll need to imagine the hearts properly: <3<3<3 <3

[tsukimefuku]

Fuku you're my next target, I need to know : 5. What is the fic you're most proud writing ? (I'd prefer fics, plural but one is fine too) 18. Most words/chapters ever written for a oneshot or fic ?

Ohhhh buckle up, let’s go.

First off - my rewrite of The Event pt 1 (Nanami x Reader smut). It took A LOT of work and effort to put that one out, because I kept editing and redoing it until it felt ✨on point✨. My FAVORITE thing to do is writing dialogue and developing nuanced/layered character dynamics, and this was THE FIC to do it between reader and Nanami for the jujutsu partners AU. I suffered, but it was worth it.

Second - Blunt Trauma, featuring villain Nanami. As I was writing, the ideas kept coming, and I don’t know HOW, but I got to weave into this fic EVERYTHING I wanted to put in it (which is a rare occasion for an adhd crazed person who has a million ideas at a time). I was also happy to have brought to life a version of villain Nanami the way I could see it happening in canon (finding curse Nanami fics is kinda hard tbh). I liked this rendition of Nanami so much I’m writing a part 2 that takes place in the shibuya incident and then the culling games.

Third - Old regrets and Guilt Ridden Pasts. This was my actual first attempt at non-explicit smut with a motif (I think Higu is very moon coded and I will die on that hill), and I actually read Sylvia Plath and other poets a few days prior to get inspired about rhythm in prose. It was something that from the technical pov, was a pretty fun and lovely exercise (and I’m looking forward to writing other pieces like that).

Fourth - colleagues in arms. What can I say? Nanami and Higuruma written honest to God to their canon traits and being the most perfect duo jujutsu kaisen has ever seen. I was plagued by my need to have these two working and being awesome together because THEY GO SO WELL. This fic drained a lot from me, it took me a good while to finish because I wanted their depiction to be perfect, and it is faaaar from being one of my most liked pieces, but I love it with all my heart.

And for the unpublished ones, my favorite so far is “Eulogy for the Love Departed” (which references “Old Regrets and Guilt Ridden Pasts” a lot).

About size: my jujutsu partners AU is, to date, the biggest fictional thing I’ve ever written. Putting together all the stories from the series, I have something around 120.000 words in it, and it is like 2/3 written 💀 it’s a whole ass book. I’m planning a sequence of original light novels (featuring hot priest as a second protagonist) and I’ll take a lot that I’ve learned from writing this AU into these LNs.

[morningstargirl666]

When is The Big Bad Wolf Act 2 coming out?? Are you going to release monthly or all at once?? (I just finished the series and I’m in love 🩷🩷 no rush to write, just wondering if you have an idea because you have loyal readers waiting to love it!!! Have a great day <3)

Hello! Lovely to meet you and thank you so much for reading, that fic is a BEAST. So glad you enjoyed it!

So. When is the next update coming out? [nervous laughter]

Thing is, I told myself now I'm halfway i'll go back and edit, smooth things out before this fic literally becomes too long to tackle and that kinda...turned into a full rewrite?

I'm not changing the plot. That's exactly the same. But my ideas for the lore have changed since I first started writing and I wanted to add in a whole lot more of characterisation and set up for the chapters to come. I rewrote The Little Wolf back in December and recently did some tweaking to chapter 5 of it just this last week (I couldn't work out how to fix it when I first did the rewrite but I had an EPHIPHANY okay). So The Little Wolf is around 35k now, which is a huge difference to the 11k it was in November when I posted chapter 35 of tbbw. It's got tons of new scenes, a sharper forcus on the Mikaelson siblings not just Klaus and two whole new chapters. Of course, you've probably already read that as it is posted and you're a new reader, but that's what I was doing before Christmas, essentially.

As for The Big Bad Wolf itself...boy, where do I start. I'm approaching 85k on the rewrite...only on chapter 7. Which technically used to be chapter 6, because I got 5 chapters in before I added a new chapter. I guess that's a record for my restraint, at least.

So, in terms of what's happening: I'm re-writing tbbw. The plot isn't changing, but new scenes are being added, conversations are being tweaked, the lore is being more consistently fleshed out. Grammar for dialogue is being given a complete overhaul because that was a mess. But. Listen. It's so much better. It's so fucking better. I re-read the chapters I've done and in some places, the drafts aren't quite finished yet, like my writer brain is like fix this later BUT omg it's like, THE shit. It's so good. I've very excited.

I'm not sure how long it will take to finish. I might be able to stop halfway and post the rewritten/edited chapters I've got so far but I make no promises because I feel more inclined to keep going and get it all done in one. Some chapters won't need much work at all as they've been more heavily edited in the past (chapter 8 and 9 should be done pretty quickly, just giving them a facelift), while others I'm really ripping into. There's one chapter I know I'll either delete or delete scenes from to be replaced with something else (don't worry, the scenes will go into my deleted scenes fic on ao3, it's not gone forever).

So yeah. At the rate I'm going, I'm not gonna lie, it may take till the summer before I get all this editing done AND finish the new chapter 36 update - and you may get two new chapters at once, because it might be a long one and I might split it. But by the end of it, tbbw won't be 378k anymore. It'll probably be closer 450k. So you'll get a 50k+ update (along with some bonus stuff) to the whole fic and then a week later I'll post the new chapters (I used to post fornightly, a chapter every two weeks, and I'll go back to that when I'm done).

But yeah. I've written like, 110k since December, which for context is is closing in on the equivalent of the second book of TLOTR trilogy: The Return of the King was 137,115 words. That's an epic novel's worth. In three months.

An arguement could be made that I'm making this fic way too long but I don't really care? I love writing this. It makes my head spin and makes me tear my hair out but...it's so much fun too. And I get to rewrite canon, the way it should have been (we were so ROBBED 😭😭😭), so hey! It's free therapy too! I'm not going to stop as long as I'm loving every second.

Thanks for reading, and thank for listening to my insane plans! Hopefully, I'll see you there on ao3 when this fic is back for business!!

-And it WILL be back.