#anyway yes fic writing i've distracted myself enough

[pyjamacryptid]

I'm currently rewatching the dark tower for reasons (fic reasons), and when Gwen said "Morgana's enchanted it to protect me," it rang an alarm bell, this time 'round.

"[...]to protect me."

hm. huh. you don't say. interesting. As in, the knights are the enemy not the rescuers? hm. curious.

Maybe I'm reading too much into it (i mean, hey, that's the fun of it), but that choice of language stood out to me.

[drabbles-mc]

Lucky For You

Tyler Owens x F!Reader

Warnings: 18+, fluff, mentions of hospitals/injuries, no use of "y/n"

Word Count: 1.4k

A/N: earlier tonight i lied to myself and said i wouldn't work on any new oneshots until i finished a wip. but I've been marinating on this idea since last week and i just had to write it down. just a short cute little fluffy somethin'! my first twisters fic. hope you enjoy!

You were shaking your head as you walked back over to the side of the picnic table that Tyler was sitting at. You had a beer bottle in one hand, the other resting on Tyler’s shoulder as you stepped in so you could plop back down beside him at the table.

“I’m still trying to figure out what you guys told Lily to say,” you gestured to Lily then Kate with the bottom of your beer bottle before taking a quick sip, “to get Kate to cave so quickly.” You gave Lily a playful smile. “What’d you say to convince her? Hm? ‘Cause lord knows it wasn’t either of these two,” you said as you nodded to Tyler first, then Boone.

Both men looked at you with dramatic looks of offense. “What?” Tyler asked, grin starting to curl his lips as he spoke. “You don’t think we were charming or convincing enough on our own?”

You rolled your eyes as he draped his arm around you. “No, I don’t.”

It got another wave of laughter. Tyler took the momentary distraction as an opportunity to lean in and kiss your temple. “Seemed to work just fine on you.” He reached across and stole your beer bottle from you, taking a sip before allowing you to snatch it back. “And you said yes to a way more dangerous proposition.”

You shook your head even though you were smiling, even though you could feel your cheeks warming. It was no great secret, or even breaking news at this point after the last few years you’d spent married to the ridiculous man sitting on the picnic table bench next to you. Sometimes, though, you couldn’t help the cheesy grin that crossed your face when you became a little more aware than usual of the wedding band on your hand.

“That’s different,” you said, not that it mattered, not that it helped your case at all as Tyler continued to nettle you good-naturedly.

“How’d you two meet, anyway?” Kate asked.

It was a fair question. You didn’t chase with the rest of them, never had. You’d met and fallen in love with Tyler before he decided to make a career out of it. The journey wasn’t always a smooth or easy one, but you never doubted him, or your relationship, not even for a second. Even in the hard times. A lot can happen over the course of six years, but you still clearly remembered when you first met him.

Tyler had started watching you the second he realized where Kate’s question was going. He watched the little twitches and shifts of your hands and facial expressions as you went rapid-fire back down memory lane. When you ended up with a little smirk on your face, he knew that you were all too happy to tell the story.

You took another drink from your beer bottle before just handing it back to Tyler, rather than trying to make him steal it again. “When I met Tyler, I’d say about, oh, seventy percent? Yeah, seventy. About seventy percent of his face was covered in bruises and bumps. Fractured cheekbone, split lip.” You turned and looked at him even though you were talking to Kate. “He was lookin’ real cute.”

She laughed, but you could see the mild confusion in her eyes as she looked back and forth between the two of you. “You find him after a rough chase, or…?”

You smiled and shook your head. “We met back before he was the infamous Tornado Wrangler.” Leaning forward, you braced your arms flat on the picnic table, Tyler’s hand sliding from your shoulder down to the center of your back, his palm warming you through your tank top. “They brought him to the hospital that I work at after he got stomped out by a bull at the rodeo.” You felt his fingers drumming against your back and your smile stretched a little wider. “I wasn’t even supposed to be checkin’ in on anyone in the wing he was in, but the nurse who was supposed to help discharge him had to leave.”

Tyler had a cocky little smirk on his face. “Lucky for you though.”

You gave him a look that didn’t pack nearly as much of a punch as it should of since you were grinning. “Yeah, real lucky for me that Jay’s kid got in a fight at school so he had to leave and he left you to me.”

Tyler laughed. “He was cute but I gotta say, I think you’re a little cuter.”

You gave him a playful shove, which he responded to by looping his arm around your waist and pulling you closer again. You shook his head at him before looking back at Kate. “Anyway, as I was saying. I go into his room to talk through some of the paperwork with him, and with one eye practically swollen shut still this man right here is tryin’ to get my number.”

“Actually, if I remember right—”

“You were concussed into next Tuesday—I doubt you remember much of anything right.”

“If I remember,” he repeated with a laugh, “I was actually tellin’ you that you should just jot my number down from my patient forms so you could call me sometime.”

You looked at Kate with a feigned nonplussed look. “Told me somethin’ about making a ‘house call’. Real bold for a man who was about half an inch away from some serious brain damage.”

“Probably what gave him the confidence to ask in the first place,” Lily piped up with a laugh.

Everyone was laughing, and listening. Kate might’ve been the only one in present company who hadn’t heard the story before, but it wasn’t as though it was something that the two of you were constantly rehashing all the time. The two of you usually kept the retellings amusing enough anyway, allowing the rest of the crew to throw in their two cents even though they hadn’t been there when it all started. After all, Tyler might’ve been the one you met first, and under some pretty dire conditions, but you’d been around to help out the rest of the team plenty of times since then. Whether you were making sure they were all alright after a rough chase, or meeting up with them in the towns that had been blown through to see who you could help even if you weren’t off the clock. You might not have chased with the rest of them, but you were still part of the team.

“How long did it take for him to wear you down, then?” Kate asked.

 The shit-eating grin on Tyler’s face grew tenfold. He lightly bumped his shoulder against yours. “Go ahead. Tell her.”

You dropped your forehead so that it rested on top of your forearms for a moment before looking up and at Kate again. “I gave him my number after I pushed him to the lobby in his wheel chair.”

“Doctor’s orders, by the way,” he interjected with a shake of his head. “I didn’t need it.”

You rolled your eyes but kept going. “He was pretty persistent the whole way down, so I told him if he still remembered my name and number by the time his fractures all healed up, I’d meet him for a cup of coffee or somethin’.”

“Cup of coffee ended up bein’ a split six-pack and a failed bonfire at her cousin’s place, by the way,” he added on with a chuckle.

“Yeah, and your lip still wasn’t fully healed.”

He smirked. “Didn’t stop you though.” You lightly swatted his chest with the back of your hand but you didn’t say anything to refute his statement. “So really, what I’m hearin’, is that you shouldn’t be havin’ any doubts about our charms.”

“Sayin’ yes to a date is nothing like—”

“You also said yes to marryin’ him,” Lily added on, always happy to stir the pot just a little. “Y’know, with the ring that he almost lost in a chase.”

Tyler rolled his eyes. “If I left it at home I was sure she’d find it!”

“Yeah,” Lily laughed as she argued, “and if the chase went wrong somebody on the other end of the county would find it. Then what?”

Tyler laughed and shrugged. “Corner store sells Ring Pops.”

You had no shot at tamping down your smile. “Prob’ly still would’ve said yes, too.”

(divider by @saradika 💞)

Twisters Taglist (please let me know if you'd like to be added to any of my taglists): @garbinge

[ghost-with-a-teacup]

𝟐𝐀𝐌 𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐞𝐬 ~ 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐧 '𝐆𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭' 𝐑𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

Summary: Everyone has their own coping mechanisms when dealing with stress, their way of simply forgetting whatever was happening in their life, at least for a moment. Yours happened to come in the form of baking in the late hours of the night as you tried to ignore your worries for Simon as he was on his mission.

OR

You bake at 2AM as you wait for Simon to come home.

Warnings: None! Only the fluffiest of fluff, you know the drill.

Pairing: Simon 'Ghost' Riley x Reader

Notes: This definitely didn't come to mind as I myself was baking at 2AM, no! Never! (side note, the cookies and cinnamon rolls came out great, hehe). Anyway hi, this is my first time writing for Simon, recently fell down the COD rabbit hole and all so apologies if anything is off. Aside from that, this is just a short lil fic that started off as a headcanon that spiralled out of control. Happy reading my lovelies!

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You're up late at night, again. Not that you could help it, thoughts were flying through your head at just about a million miles per minute. About how worried you are about Simon on his mission, about what could have happened to him, if he was uninjured, healthy, safe. It was like this every time he had a mission, and yet every time it became no less difficult. Being a part of an elite task force was an honour yes, but with honour comes the dangers of being placed on the most difficult of missions. And while even though you were at home, safe and sound, it scared you, the unknowing of what could happen to him. But more than that, you missed him. More than anything.

So to get your mind off of all the 'what-ifs' in your head, you bake. All sorts of things, cinnamon buns, apple pie, those lemon crinkle cookies you knew Simon adored so much. Following a recipe step by step to ensure a lovely end product managed to distract you at least for a bit, until you were left to your own devices once more after it was done. But it acted as salvation while it lasted, allowing an escape from the dark corners of your mind.

✧

Music fills the kitchen as you hum along, measuring and mixing ingredients as you swayed to the beat.

Your focus is entirely on what's in front of you, the task was for getting your mind off of Simon after all, so unbeknownst to you the door opens as the one person you were trying to distract yourself from comes home.

He walks in almost silently, there was a reason his callsign was Ghost, and drops his gear down by the entrance to go in search of you. It wasn't difficult, the lights acting as a pathway straight to where you were, the music going along with it. Stepping quietly, Simon makes his way over to the kitchen and for a moment he just stands leaning on the doorframe watching you flit about. An impossible fondness fills his eyes and chest as he does, you being so in you element always left him feeling that way. You doing anything really with him being there to witness it, because it means that he's finally home, at long last. But any place he could call home, so long as you were a part of it.

Once you finally stood still for a bit, mixing a part of the recipe, Simon makes his way over to you. Without a word he wraps his arms around your waist as you let out a gasp of surprise, tensing for a moment at the unexpectedness before relaxing once more as you realize who it is. In an instant the bowl is forgotten as you turn in his arms.

"Simon," you say softly, a smile overtaking your features as you return his embrace.

"Darling," he says, tone matching yours as he gazes into your eyes.

Nothing more needed to be said, he was home, and that was enough.

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Notes: And done! Just a really short fic, I think maybe even the shortest I've ever written, but sweet nonetheless. I hope you enjoyed!

[its-all-papaya]

for the ask game :

👗 put away clean laundry (a trope you’d like to see me write)

what about accidental marriage landoscar or a trapped in an elevator fic ?

okay i got two of these (thank you deeply, i've been fishing everything out of The Pile for the last few days and it sucks) so i put away HALF of the laundry and i'll do the other half after this and answer the other ask after that.

↠ please make me do my chores

trapped in an elevator landoscar is fascinating to me because i feel like depending on when it is, the vibes would vary so incredibly wildly. my first thought was like after a mid qualifying or a bad race, trying to get back to their rooms and lando is just a Bitch because he's moody and wants to be face-down in bed and this so incredibly inconvenient and he just. can't be here. oscar's being mild and trying to joke to make lando feel a bit better, and lando's trying to be kind bc that's his boy fr, but eventually he's like "this is a fucking joke, are we ever going to get out?" not sure where it would go from there, but feels like eventually they'd either Talk About It or Oscar would go anybody, nowhere mode and be like "if you sit in my lap and i rub ur back for a bit and you can put ur nose in my neck, would that help you chill out until we're free?" i'm partial to that one but i can't just write the same landoscar narrative over and over you know? maybe i can. who's to say.

the other option kicking around in my silly brain is Drunk getting-together Landoscar in an elevator bc i think we are all aware of lando's favorite post-drinking activity of finding a man to hang onto. so oscar trying to get him home to his apartment or hotel room but then they get trapped. and lando is like plastered to oscar's side already (probably oscar's been holding his hand since they left the club or whatever so lando would stop looking so sad) so when the elevator stops he's amenable for a bit. leaning into oscar's side with all his body weight so oscar HAS to put his arm around lando to keep him from collapsing. and when it's been long enough, eventually, they're sat together on the floor, lando's head on oscar's shoulder, "osc, can you play with my hair? i like when people touch my hair" and oscar is like "is that true?" bc lando is like. kind of neurotic about it sometimes. and lando is like "yes, of course! not at work, you muppet, that would be crazy" (even though oscar's totally touched lando's hair like a dozen times at work and lando's only ever grinned at him about it) "only when it's the right time. like when i'm sucking someone off and they pull my hair, that's the right time for sure." and oscar is like... oh! okay! cool, that's such a fun fact about you! and who knows where lando's drunk ramblings would take them from there!! (fuck me this feels so strongly like another fucking wip i need to lay off the microsoft word 'new document' button so baddddly)

accidental marriage landoscar.... (almost forgot the second half of this bc got distracted thinking about drunk lando telling oscar he looooooves it when men call him pretty). okay... idk how this would even happen and i need to sell things to myself to make the fic work, like it's got to be at least distantly very abstractly believable to me... but you know they'd be a disaster. it's not speaking to me the way trapped in an elevator is, but i love domestic shit so i could probably make this work if i thought about it longer than like 35 seconds... i'd probably make it kind of fake dating-y in theory like forced proximity...rings...that lando tottttttalllly doesn't get sooooo attached to why would you even ASK him that?? anyway.

[ghostinthegallery]

I can't believe The Silence and the Storm is over a year old! The first anniversary was May 27th (yes I missed my own fic's birthday in my defense I was traveling and forgot how time works).

I'm trying to compose my thoughts because this sure feels like a time a blog post would be fitting. However, my engrams are scrambled because...wow do I have too many feelings.

As some background, I've been a writer for a long time. And I've written 3-5 books (depends on how you count "completing" a book but it's 5 full drafts, 3 of which were heavily edited). I wanted to be a trade published writer (still do) and for a while I was feeling good about my chances! I got lucky and received some wonderful professional mentorship (and met one of my best friends during that program!). I took that guidance to query agents (a necessary step for access to most big/medium US publishers). I knew it would be hard and take time but...4 years later all I have to show are a few requests, hundreds of rejections, and one agent who asked me to rewrite my entire book only to reject me anyway (me, bitter? No not at all nooooo).

I'm a creative person and sharing my work feels like sharing a part of myself. Something that is not easy for me to do. After a while I just assumed I was missing something necessary. My work didn't resonate, but I didn't know how to fix it. I’d never reach anyone in the way I so desperately craved, and it was my fault for not being good enough. I felt broken.

During one of many major depressive episodes my spouse bought me a copy of The Infinite and the Divine. That book has changed my life. I was never much of a fanfic writer before. Either I thought the original work was too good and I didn't think I had anything to add or it was too bad so why would I bother with it when I could just go read/watch something better? 40k inspired me though. The ideas are incredible but underutilized enough that I felt like I had something to add.

So I started writing necron fic because why not? There wasn’t enough for me to read, and I needed more robot stories. Maybe I could rediscover my love of the craft, make some friends, make some robots kiss. Distract my mind from the horrors. So I posted a little OC fic and actually got some nice comments. Hey! Positive reinforcement! Hadn't had that in a while.

Emboldened, I continued in the most normal way possible. Going from a 7 chapter OC story to a giant civil war epic including every named necron character I could find with 6 (then 7...then 9) POVs. It was the type of grand space opera I've always wanted to write but never did because I didn’t think I had the skill and it's harder to sell. Luckily AO3 is free. Ain't no playing to the market there!

Now, a 40k necron civil war space opera is...niche. So I wasn't expecting much. I would have been happy with some kudos, some comments. Fan art felt like a pipe dream, but what are writers if not dreamers? The main goal was to enjoy myself. It was low pressure fun, I love the characters, what could go wrong?

Nothing, but I was wholely unprepared for things to go as right as they did. Y’all have been amazing. So many great comments and ideas exchanged, gorgeous art, fun asks, a lot of screaming (it’s fine probably don’t worry). I’ve never had such a strong outpouring of support for my work. It feels incredible. But also sometimes confusing. I’ve trained myself so well to handle rejection that I kind of forgot how to handle acceptance. Especially for something so personal. This is a weird story about undead space robots, there’s a lot of politics, sometimes the robots have sex. It’s got out there head canons, and 99% of the tyranid parts are pulled out of my ass because nobody knows how the space bugs work okay. My weirdness being embraced on this scale is one of the greatest feelings of my life. But it’s also new, and way out of my comfort zone. I’m being seen and adjusting to that.

Still, writing in this space has been one of the most consistently joyful things in my life for…well, over a year now! It’s changed how I view my art. I actually can create stories that touch people and make them feel things. I can take risks and have them pay off. I know not everyone will love this, but some people really seem to love it. That is mind blowing to me.

It’s making me reassess a lot about how I approach my art. Writing and other. I still plan to pursue publication. I want to get paid for my work, but this is making me consider alternate paths that might fit my style (and psyche) better. I don’t know what the future holds, but if you’d told me a year and a half ago that a big part of it would hinge on an AO3 gay robot skeleton space opera…I would have thought you were nuts, but also hoped you were right because that sounds rad as hell.

So in conclusion, thank you all so much for reading <3

[ikilledyvette]

Definitely not distracting myself from Election Day anxiety! Despite the first sentence of this fic, this is a standalone for now. I've got a whole multi-chap story in my head, but IDK when or if I'm gonna get to it. If you'd like to be tagged on the off-chance I do write more, just let me know!

Eddie is the first one to get stuck in a time loop and predictably takes the longest to accept that, no, he doesn’t have a brain tumor, and no, he isn’t going crazy, and yes, this is really happening to him. Once Eddie finally acknowledges this, he becomes convinced that fixing things with Christopher will break the cycle. It doesn’t. 

Eddie, well. He maybe has a very small emotional breakdown then because he’s long since lost track of how long he’s been trapped here, and finally, finally he managed to get his son back; finally, he was actually happy, and then—

It’s Tuesday again, and Chris is gone, and Eddie is all alone.

So yeah, maybe Eddie has a very minor breakdown where he just sorta ... lies down on the station floor and listlessly tells everyone there’s no point in getting up, no point in doing anything; he’s just going to stay here until it isn’t Tuesday anymore, which won’t actually happen because it’s always Tuesday; it’ll never stop being Tuesday, and is it possible he died, and this is literal Hell? This really feels like it might be literal Hell. At which point, Chimney and Hen lift him up on a gurney and drive him to the hospital, and Eddie is admitted overnight and then wakes up the next day in his own bed, alone again. It’s Tuesday.

Well. No point wasting more time feeling sorry for himself. That’s not how Eddie was raised, so he gets back to work on breaking the loop, this time (reluctantly) telling people in order to get their advice. He tells Buck first (because he always goes to Buck first), and Buck believes him because, well. He’s Buck. (Maybe YOU’RE in a coma dream this time, Buck inevitably says each and every time they have this conversation.) Eddie also goes to Chimney (because he must have some idea right, all those movies), and Chimney pretends not to believe Eddie but obviously does; at least, he does once Eddie predicts the next six things that happen. (Thus begins the 118 Time Loop Movie Nights. Eddie’s pretty sure he’s now seen every single time loop movie and television episode that was ever made. His favorite is Edge of Tomorrow.) And Eddie inevitably goes to Bobby, too (because Cap always gives good advice, even if Eddie can’t always follow it), and Bobby clearly doesn’t quite believe him, but humors Eddie anyway. (Also, if Eddie asks early enough, he can get Bobby to change the menu. Eddie is so sick of pancakes. Eddie will never eat a pancake again.)

He never bothers trying to convince Tommy or Hen about the time loop because Tommy only goes along with weird shit when Buck is involved (Eddie gave Tommy so much shit for dressing up for that mummy funeral), and it’s just too hard to imagine Hen “this time he only got stabbed” Wilson humoring anyone. Honestly, Eddie respects her for that.

He goes back to church. (It doesn’t help.) He screams at his parents. (It doesn’t help—not with the time loop, anyway, but on a spiritual level, it’s pretty great.) He shaves off his mustache, not because he thinks it’ll work, but because Buck, Chimney, and Bobby each independently suggest that it might. (It doesn’t, and Eddie scowls for the remainder of the day because everyone at the station keeps coming up to him and saying things like, “Finally came to your senses, huh, Diaz?” or “oh, thank God,” or “YES! Pay up, bitches, I WON!”)

Eddie stumbles into the actual solution entirely by accident. Three days after the Mustache Solution fails—and maybe, maybe in the middle of a second emotional breakdown—Eddie, refusing to get up out of bed, calls 911, and says, “Well, turns out I’m still stuck in this time loop. Any advice?”

Maddie takes the call, and while she clearly thinks Eddie is either having some kind of psychological meltdown (possibly true) or has a terrible head injury (not true, unfortunately), she’s also ... nice, offering good-natured commiseration about the time loop in between more professional questions like “are you bleeding” or “is there anyone else around, Eddie?” She sounds worried but also calm, like this isn’t even in her Top 10 Weirdest 911 Calls, and for some reason, he finds that oddly soothing.

Eddie ends up in the hospital again, but the next day when everything resets, he asks Maddie to lunch, saying yeah, it’s kind of out of the blue, but isn’t it weird how little time they’ve actually spent together over the past seven years? Maddie agrees, and lunch goes great. They have a surprising amount in common: Buck, obviously, but also complicated relationships with their parents, and struggles with depression, and a history of leaving newborn children behind and lying to themselves that it’s for the best. So. Not all positive stuff, exactly, but it’s kinda good to have someone else to talk to about it. And they chat about lighter stuff, too. Maddie says she’ll try one of his telenovelas if he tries one of her k-dramas. He formally accepts with a handshake, and she laughs and says, “Deal.”

Eddie goes to bed that Tuesday, thinking I needed this break, and hopes to hang out with Maddie again someday if he ever returns to his own timeline. And then he wakes up, and it’s—Wednesday? And Eddie doesn’t know what the hell to do with that. 

He’s not ... could he ... could he be secretly in love with Maddie? 

Eddie barely gets through the thought before making a face and immediately shaking his head. No, Maddie’s pretty, and she's nice, and he can see why both Buck and Chimney adore her—but he doesn’t love her, and she definitely doesn’t love him, and getting tacos together doesn’t exactly feel like the kind of Important Life Lesson that all of Chimney’s movies taught him to expect. Eddie considers having a third mini breakdown about it, but it’s Wednesday now, so unfortunately, there will be actual consequences for that.

Instead, Eddie goes back to work and just ... continues on with his life. He doesn’t tell anyone about the time loop, obviously, because no one but Buck would believe him, and even if they did believe him, they’d just tease Eddie that his Important Life Lesson was to make a friend. (Eddie has friends! Ones outside the 118, even! He has Tommy! And ... and other people! Okay, Eddie used to have a lot more friends, but lately, he’s just ... he’s been so busy with work. He’s picking up all the overtime he can because otherwise he’s home alone in an empty house, looking at old pictures and collapsing in his son’s bed and crying where no one can see him—but it’s fine. He’s fine.)

Okay, maybe he hasn’t been fine. But other than Eddie’s new aversion to pancakes and a neurotic need to check the date roughly twenty times a day, he’s actually doing pretty great now. For one thing, he and Maddie keep getting lunches and swapping TV shows. (Chimney and Buck squint at them, suspicious of this newfound alliance.) And most importantly, Eddie hasn’t forgotten what he learned about finally reconnecting with his son. (The short version: honest communication and lots and lots of therapy.) Three weeks after the time loop ends, Christopher finally comes home on two conditions: Eddie keeps going to therapy and also finally shaves the mustache.

Eddie does both.

[wedriftlikelonelyplanets]

please tell us more about 'Small Talk, Big Love' <3

OOOH happily, i've posted a little bit about it here, and between "I'm So Lonely and You're the Only One That Knows Me," this is the only other fic that I've been working on (mainly bc i started my a/b/o charlos one but then got distracted by having to do a bunch of looking into the race schedule for Reasons tm

More below the cut because i LOVE monologuing

The long and short of it is as follows, Charles and Carlos are teammates first, it's normal, everything is fine. Really, they're both incredibly good at ignoring their feelings, both masquerading as straight, both pretending they're completely normal. They run into each other at a sex club/dungeon (which really is a word I despise using but whatever) and Carlos has the most REELING experience in his life when he sees Charles down on his knees for someone, pretty and perfect and everything he wishes he could have, and that's just...that. He can't stop thinking about it, can't stop orbiting around Charles, and it becomes something more.

It starts off as a D/s relationship, before they both become increasingly unable to be normal about each other, and end up getting married about 1.5 years into whatever the hell they have going on. And then it's all well and good for a while before mid-way into the 2023 season, which is kinda where everything goes to shit. (i'd love to have it go to shit in the mattia era but then they really wouldn't have had time for things to develop between them)

I'll likely be following the 2023 season as closely as possible but we'll see based on timelines. Anyways, a combination between them fighting on the track, and a scene that just kinda goes sideways because Carlos gets a little out of hand and Charles has to safe out and just RUNS, Carlos starts pulling away, because it's the only thing he knows how to do.

Charles asks if he wants a divorce, he says yes in a panic, because he doesn't know what else to say, and it spools out from there.

The premise of the fic is them realizing they never stopped loving each other to begin with, and that they just hit the worst of a hard patch and stopped trusting each other. With the handy-dandy help of the ferrari media team (HAVE YOU SEEN THE BLINDFOLDED TRACK DRIVING VIDEOS?!?!) they find a way back to making it work again.

BECAUSE i am who i am, and I don't trust myself to write multichaps, this is probably going to be one long-ass oneshot, HOWEVER, I may break it up into a few chapters because i have so much background information i want to explore with them and the dynamics of their relationship.

Especially because i definitely have a scene planned where Charles gets upset bc no one doms him the way Carlos doms him so 🤭

IF you've made it this far, i apologize PROFUSELY for the absolute rambles of this, please appreciate another small snippet. AND if you have more questions PLEASE send me more asks I love to yap.

The worst part is that sometimes he simply forgets how calculating Charles can be. It was easier when their relationship went hand in hand with Charles’ submission, because when Charles was on his knees, head resting in Carlos’ lap, he was his most transparent. He never turned the calculation towards Carlos unless they were on the track. 

And maybe it brought false hope, a false sense of security. Maybe it was his mistake for letting his guard down, for thinking love was enough to shield him. 

[philaet0s]

WIP Wednesday

I need to free myself of the shackles of my Capri fic and write more Carry On stuff but I CAN'T. I'm reading Capri fics at the moment which makes it Worse. Oops.

Let's start with the Carry On-related stuff anyway

Natasha/Malcolm

Malcolm

“You seem very organised,” she comments. 

“Really? Would you repeat that on a call to my mother?”

She chuckles. “You’re cutting corners, Malcolm Grimm. It’s far too soon to introduce me to your parents.”

I freeze, the door to my wardrobe half-open. “That’s not what I… I only meant…”

“I know what you meant. You’re cute when you’re flustered. May I take a closer look at your books?”

“Hm… Yes, sure.”

She won’t see much. I’ve forced myself to keep most of my books at my parents’ place, so that I have little distraction in my room here. I work more efficiently that way. I hope it doesn’t make it seem like I don’t read. I believe that’s something Natasha would not see in a positive light.

I try to focus back on my task, but hearing her moving around in the small space of the bedroom makes it difficult. Did she feel that way too, when I was in hers?

Probably not. A bedroom is less intimate in dim lighting, when two bodies meet on a mattress. She’s seeing more of me here as she takes in my belongings than I saw of her when she was naked underneath me in her room.

(I do realise that those extracts I've been posting make it look like half of Malcolm's POVs are him reminiscing the fact that he and Natasha had sex. I promise it's not. Man's just being particularly horny in that moment of the story)

Post-canon Lamen

Jord loved his job. But he did not get paid enough for whatever this was. 

It was hours past the end of his workday. He should be in bed, resting. Instead, he was following the Prince of Vere, dressed up as a woman, into the streets of the unfamiliar city of Ios.

He did not even speak a word of Akielon! 

Well, that wasn’t exactly true. He knew a few words. Hello. Goodbye. Exalted. Kyros. Stop. Prince’s orders. And the strings of insults he had learnt from the Akielon guards, of course. Definitely not enough to feel comfortable out and about, alone with the most important man in Vere, at night. 

“Your Highness, I would really appreciate if you could tell me what is going on.”

The prince looked at him over his shoulder. Something mischievous and juvenile was glinting in his eyes. It made Jord want to sigh.

He often forgot his prince was merely a boy of twenty. 

“I want to have fun, Jord. Aren’t you sick of being stuck in that castle?”

“After the weeks we spent on campaign? In truth, my prince, I cherish the chance to be stuck in a castle. It makes my job much easier.”

Except when Laurent decides to go and have fun. 

“Jord, you disappoint me. I thought you liked a thrill. Isn’t that why you fucked Aimeric?”

(Jord does NOT get paid enough for this)

[triumphantfury]

Hi!!! Just dropping by because I was missing your fics so I reread them and now I have to tell you how much I love you. I love you a lot, by the way. Like literally every time I read a chapter of yours I love you more because GAH the writing is so damn good. Ahem anyways thank you so much for the update on Wrapped in Red and I still have to fan myself every time I look at Upside, but I've been thinking the most about "To Suffer a Witch." I don't mean to put any pressure on you or anything but may I inquire on the next chapter's status? Or perhaps just request a snippet? Also when you asked the readers whether or not they'd like an eventual lemon I'd like to vote yes to the lemon. Please. Possibly-Demon Hiccup is hot as hell and I'm greedy. 😅

Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful writing with us and I hope you have a wonderful day, week, and at least a virtual cabin in the woods where you can relax, read, and at least think on writing!

Oh boy….

It’s taken me forever to get around to answering this ask, but as the new chapter update is almost complete (after way, WAY too many rewrites), I feel like I can finally post this reply with some measure of confidence. Sorry it’s taken so long. I wish I had a good excuse, but my brain sometimes just shuts me out.

Anyway, after much anticipation, and likely a little cursing, here’s an excerpt from the soon to be posted next chapter of TSaW:

*The next couple days seemed to drag by for Astrid. She felt trapped between a longing to see Hiccup again just to prove she wasn’t mad, and a strong urge to just write it all off as a delusion. Perhaps one brought on by some bad grain or curdled milk. Countless times she’d been sure she heard hoofbeats outside, only to have them grow into a roll of thunder the next second. Or she’d catch a glimpse of a dark shadow approaching on the road, only to have it melt from her sight a moment later as if swept away by the driving rain.

Some small part of her was starting to worry she was actually going mad. Her mood darkening as she channeled her other feelings into straight anger so as to help herself deal with it better. It wasn’t as if she could really speak of it to anyone, anyway. She was still too confused about it herself.

Resigned to bear this burden alone, Astrid had kept to herself as much as possible while trapped inside. Waiting impatiently for a break in the weather when she could distract herself with repairs outside instead. The Lord knows there was always plenty of work to keep her busy. That, and manual labour was better than wasting time dwelling on… Whatever it was that had occurred here the other night.

Fortunately - or maybe unfortunately - she’d soon discovered that the storm hadn’t done anywhere near as much damage as she’d expected given its ferocity. The house, shed, and barn had all weathered fair enough at least. An old tree had toppled near the back of the pasture though. She’d gone out to repair the section of broken fencing yesterday. Her brothers helping her as much as she would allow them to - which mostly meant keeping the opportunistic goats from escaping through the hole while she worked.

It had been while she was winding the last of the rope around the newly set post that Ruffnut had approached her from across the field. Somehow always keyed in to the local to-dos, Tuffnut had heard from one of their other neighbours that some people had started to fall ill in town. The worst of which was little Argh — Mr. and Mrs. Ack’s youngest son, who was not yet a full year into this world.

“Gunnar thinks it’s because of those witches that Trader Johan was talking about the other day,” Ruff stage-whispered over the fence. Her thumb gesturing towards the home on the far side of Mildew’s plot as she glanced around, as if to make sure no one else was within earshot.

“I’d be rather foolish to agree,” Astrid huffed. “It’s likely just been brought on by the rain. We all know that a chill in the air today sets a chill in the bones tomorrow.” Looking away from her gossipy neighbour, she dressed the knot as her father had taught her before pulling it good and tight. Then she stood and gave her work a proud once over. Nodding, as if to show her approval to the craftsman.

“Maybe…” Ruffnut’s hesitant reply trailed off thoughtfully, and she was chewing on her lip when Astrid at last looked her way again. It was almost as if she had something she wanted to say, but wasn’t sure if she should speak it aloud.

“Go on,” Astrid grumbled. “Whatever it is, spit it out.”

“Well, Gunnar told Tuff that Trader Johan said the evil, or what ever it is, would arrive first in the form of a black shadow on horse back…”

“Trader Johan has always enjoyed adding plenty of dramatic nonsense about ghosties, ghoulies, and other such things to his tales,” Astrid felt the need to point out. “He seems to think it makes the stories more exciting.”

“I know,” Ruff agreed. “Thing is, Tuffnut swears he saw a stranger dressed in all black when he was out in the woods yesterday. A stranger riding atop a huge black horse. When he tried to get a better look, man and horse were already gone. Maybe the horse was just really fast, but… Tuff said it gave him the creeps.” Her eyes were shifting all around again as she leaned closer over the fence, and she looked unexpectedly nervous.

“Oh, that was probably just…” Astrid’s words died on the way to her mouth as she thought better of it.

Astrid knew how Tuff felt. The unease of not being sure exactly what you had just born witness too. This did not mean that she should necessarily encourage him to repeat his tale. Especially when she didn’t yet know what to think of the whole thing.

Would it truly be wise to mention it to someone else? The twins had never been known for their discretion, and Astrid’s words would simply confirm Tuff’s suspicions — which he would then feel required to share with every person he came across. At best, it could cause a slight scandal that a young man had spent the night in their home. At worst, the superstitious townsfolk may think the Hofferson clan had entertained something entirely inhuman, instead.

No, it was best to keep what she knew of Hiccup Haddock to herself for now. Surely the others would learn of him soon enough. “Just… because Tuff was busy snacking on unknown mushrooms in the forest again.” Astrid finished awkwardly. Covering her near slip-up with an eye roll, just to be safe, and hoping Ruffnut wouldn’t notice.*

If anyone wants to read it, here’s a link to the rest of the story. Or at least the beginning…lol

[sassy-cissa]

20 questions for fic writers!

I wasn’t tagged *sad face* but decided to do this anyway. Even if no one reads, I’ll have a record.

Here are mine! (under the cut)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

I have 111 works right now. (mostly fics and some poorly done art)

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

768,637

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Harry Potter!! Mostly Drarry and a couple Snape/Hermione

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

We Found Love Right Where We Are (mpreg)

The One Where Draco Loses his Mind and Gains a Boyfriend

There's No Espresso in Azkaban

Into My Heart

Regardless of desire, life hands you who you are

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I really try to, but especially when it's a fest fic I feel like I keep saying the same things over and over. Sometimes I try to go back – but truly I suck at responding.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? There are two: First: All you left me (are the whispers in the wind)  and also Then the Tears Fall  Both are MCD…so yeah

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

Except for those two I'm all about the happy ending. I guess the endings I like the best are Every Hour Has Led to This and The White Dragon

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Only once. I took some real shit on a fic I wrote over 10 years ago.

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

Personally, I think I'm an abysmal smut writer. And it's only if a fic if I feel it works. Outside of a few things, I generally don't add smut for the sake of the rating.

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

Nope

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

There's No Espresso in Azkaban into Korean - HERE and into German HERE

The Toad's Hollow School into

German: HERE and into Spanish: HERE

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

Yes – a few times. I co-wrote with  @timothysboxers, and a little ficlet with @lettersbyelise and @maesterchilland. I've also done one with oldenuf2nb.  I'm always up for a collab.

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

Drarry – hands down. Once I found the pairing there was no turning back.

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

A couple. One I'm working on (sort of) and the other continues to lie dormant from 2012. If I do ever pick it up again, I'll have to really almost start over. I think my style has changed since then.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think I do okay at dialogue and plot. But honestly I'm a much better continuity beta (for everyone but myself)

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Being overly detailed. I must keep telling myself every minute of every day does not have to be accounted for. It's my nit-picky nature that often tires me out and why things go unfinished.

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

I don't do it much. Lord knows I have enough trouble with English. On one hand it frustrates me, since I don't know what it says and if they add the translation – it distracts me. On the other hand, it's generally not enough for me to hit the back button.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter. First and only!

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Really…I can't pick one. The two I mentioned above for their endings come to mind. Is it cocky to say if I posted it – I actually liked it? But the one I'm most proud of was my Big Bang fic - Every Hour has Led to This.

No tags, but feel free to do it if you're of a mind.

[librathefangirl]

i need to know about all of these fics NOW (no pressure take your time ofc ofc)

Wrath of a Captain

Moment of Rest (a Decade Too Late)

Hitmen!Demon bros AU

Galand exposes Meliodas' demon secret

How to Demon (Yes, Captain, This is Really Necessary)

Meliodas and the Kids AU #1

also never realized how silly i name my documents till now 😭😭😭‼️‼️‼️

Ahh hearing you excited about all these is making me excited to write them again (hoping to get back to writing more soon - october was a mess and a half :( but I have 2 whumptober fics that I almost finished that should maybe might be posted soon?)

Okay so...

Wrath of a Captain

Fun fact about this one is that it was one of (possibly the) first nnt fic ideas I wrote down when I first got into the fandom. Tho in what - 1-1,5 years? - I've still barely started writing it (oops). But not for lack of interest! I'm still excited about this one, I just haven't been able to specify the scenario enough to start writing (I keep getting distracted by other fic ideas lol).

To summarize the idea in three words: Protective Captain Meliodas.

And here's a rough summary I wrote for myself:

The Seven Deadly sins were a well-known force only fools would take lightly. Though faced with a captain that was small and short, and seemed the complete opposite of wrath itself, it was easy to underestimate him. But just because the captain didn't get angry, didn't mean he never got close. Especially if one were foolish enough to dare attack his team.

A Moment of Rest (a Decade Too Late)

This is a fic I started this summer and then kinda forgot about (oh the art of finishing a fic before moving on to the next one). It takes place after the Capital of the Dead arc and deals with the aftermath of Sins being split-up for 10 years from King's perspective. Now, I can't remember, if it originally was supposed to be "Meliodas was alone for 10 years" angst or "Meliodas was alone for 10 years and demons don't do well in isolation" angst, but it's probably gonna end up being the second one now. Which means the rest of the Sins, while not knowing Meliodas' full story, knows he is a demon and how these past 10 years would have affected him because of it.

Here's a little sneak peek:

The princess had already retired into the Boar Hat, while Ban had simply settled for grabbing Meliodas and sprawling out on the ground. He wasn’t sleeping. His ease was a facade at best. King knew that he too was plagued by these past ten years, and the guilt they brought. It had never been supposed to go this far… Meliodas seemed dazed. A state hopefully only brought forth by the lull of sleep slowly claiming him. He wasn’t quite asleep yet though. To an outsider he might have seemed to be, but King knew him better. His guard was still firmly up, although slowly but surely being picked apart by Ban’s hand repeatedly running through his hair. Meliodas was curled up tighter than he normally would, yet at the same time more relaxed than King had seen him since before they were framed. His head was neatly tucked on top of Ban’s chest. Ear over his heart, no doubt. He’d always had a particular fondness of that, their captain. Easily soothed by the beat of a heart – by the beat of their hearts at least.

Hitmen!Demon bros AU

Oooh this one. thiiiis one! I'm still mostly in the planning stage for this one, but I can't wait until I get to share the full thing with you all. Like the name suggests, it's a modern (possibly slight futuristic) AU where the DK raised his sons as hitmen. It's gonna be a multichapter fic (probably my longest wip yet) and there will be lots of demon bros angst!

Fun fact, while the I had thought about this AU a bit, I wasn't necessarily planning on writing it at first. Then my mind provided me with this super angsty demon bros scene and an awful chapter cliffhanger, and well, now I'm invested. I need to know how this story ends. (If this sounds familiar, I did mention this once before).

Anyway, I have written the first 300-something words, setting up the angst before a jump back in time, so here's a sneak peek:

Perhaps one of the most defining moments in Meliodas’ life happened on January 29th the year he was turning 26. The day Meliodas found himself on a rooftop staring down his own little brother, a raised gun in both their hands aimed at each other. The only sound was the falling rain as the world itself seemed to hold its breath waiting for who would make the first move. At that moment, Meliodas had thought he had known exactly how the day would end. He had known it in the calculating part of his mind that he never could quite shut off, and had felt it in his heart that seemed to break every time he saw his little brother. He had thought he knew what would happen. He had been wrong. Everybody has a choice, but sometimes it doesn’t matter what you chose.

Galand exposes Meliodas' demon secret

Now this one I've shared a bit about before - partly to complain about my (still going strong) habit of stopping my writing in the middle of a sentence. Sadly, I haven't really made any progress since then. Mostly because I can't remember where tf the story was supposed to go (did I even have a plan?? I found the story aka the snippet of writing in a school notebook I hadn't used for months, so who knows).

Anyway! What I do know is that Galand fucks everything up on purpose, and is the one to reveal Meliodas' demon secret to the rest of the Sins. How the story continues from there, well, I'll figure that out eventually. For now, the last part of the fic looks like this:

It had all started with a confrontation with one of the Ten Commandments. Galand of Truth. He hadn’t even seemed to be looking for a fight – not in that moment anyway – King had noticed. He’d just been there to stir up trouble. Always playing games as usual¸ Meliodas had said. Well, games or not, Galand really had caused trouble. The demon had been quick to pick up on the rest of the Seven Deadly Sins’ surprise that Meliodas seemed to know him personally, and then deduced...DEDUCED WHAT??

How to Demon (Yes, Captain, This is Really Necessary)

This is actually a request/fic idea I got from a reader on ao3. It's also mostly still in the planning stage, having taken a backseat to my Febuwhump fic. But the idea is basically Melin giving a lesson on demons to the Sins with the (reluctant) aid of Meliodas. Or in other words, Merlin is sick of being (almost) the only one who knows how to keep Mel alive and will make it everybody's probably whether they want to or not. It'll also take place in the same AU as The Heat of the Storm (which means more of my demon thermoregulation, yay! - oh, actually, sidenote: I'm working on a post about that hc).

So, we'll have random demon lore/headcanons/stuff, some humor, and, of course, angst (probably more angst than should come from this otherwise humorous idea).

Meliodas and the Kids AU #1

The first of (at least) three fics taking place in the Meliodas and the Kids AU (aka Meliodas Adopts the Sins). In this AU, instead of the Sins becoming knights together way down the line, Meliodas ends up adopting/taking them in as kids* over the years.

Now, I use the term kids loosely here since neither King nor Gowther will actually be kids in the normal sense. But Gowther will be on his own for the first time and also still new to the world, and King, well, I still got some ideas for his relationship with Mel (and also, he is still significantly younger than Mel, so I say he still counts as his kid).

This first fic will consist of six chapters (one for each "kid"), exploring how Meliodas ended up taking them all in, and the dynamics of this mismatched little family (mostly the kids relationships' with Mel).

(Also Elizabeth is probably gonna be dead-dead in this AU).

Here's a sneak peek from the first (Merlin's) chapter:

When you find yourself stuck in time, it’s good to set up some rules for yourself, unless you want to lose yourself to madness. Meliodas didn’t have the luxury for madness. Madness was not going to solve anything. He would still be stuck here, unaging and undying, without an end in sight. Submitting to madness would also be admitting that the only purpose his life had left was suffering. An eternity alone in the human realm as a punishment for his crimes against the Demon King. His father was a huge asshole, okay? Meliodas was not about to give him the satisfaction of watching him break. So, he made some rules. The most important one was: do not get attached. [some other stuff not included in this sneak peek] Do not get attached. It was simple and important – and Meliodas had broken the rule before he had even made it.

(also I love your wip titles XD and will definitely send an ask for some ramblings of your own - but that will have to wait, I've got an 8am lecture in less than 7 hours and need to get some sleep, so Imma put a to be continued on the wip talk for now)

WIP Tag/Ask Game!

[bakedbakermom]

sorry theres so many but i genuinely want tko know alllll your answers and it was too hard to pick! so for the ask game: 5, 18, 19, 40, 46, 58, 66, 85, 91 💜💙🩵

hoo-boy, wifey, this is quite a list! from this list.

5. have you ever made a playlist about something you were writing as an elaborate means to procrastinate when you could have been actually writing and if yes drop a link, son

this is actually not something i do. i find music really distracting most of the time when i'm trying to write, and crafting playlists (or mixed tapes, as we used to call them) is something i haven't done in a long time. maybe someday.

18. what is your most and least favorite part of writing?

my favorite part is when the rest of the world falls away and it's just and my characters, and i can type with my eyes closed because i am so deep in whatever is unfolding inside my head. least favorite is every moment that isn't happening lol.

19. what are some books or authors that influenced your style the most?

i read anything and everything. i am a book magpie. unfortunately this makes it REALLY hard to pick any individual author or work as an influence. it's like i've woven into my soul everything i've ever read and it just comes out wherever it wants. i will say that i love transcendentalist poetry and that sort of synesthesia of imagery tends to work its way into everything.

40. best piece of feedback you’ve ever gotten.

i posted "Enough" last year after more than 20 years away from fic. a few weeks ago i got a comment from someone (👀) saying they had come back and read it again and again over the course of the year. that one has stuck with me and i am seriously considering printing it out and putting it in my wallet.

also when i'm writing horrible angst and people are like "OMFG I HATE YOU THIS HURT SO MUCH. i love it, please hurt me again."

46. what time are you the most productive when it comes to writing?

afternoons. tummy full of lunch, caffeine at full effect, duties and responsibilities of the morning taken care of so my mind is free to wander and bloom. i also do most of my brain storming at night while reading in bed, like half my mind is occupied by the story i'm reading and the other half is picking through the brambles of whatever i'm trying to write. (i'm also usually a little stoned at this time, which helps.)

58. what is the last thing that a fic made you google when you were writing it?

whether a particular sex toy my characters were using actually existed. (it does not. i am sad.)

66. when have you felt the most confident in your writing?

absolutely never lol. i am a jumble of self-doubt and nerves at all times. which is why feedback is so damn important. nothing combats imposter syndrome like a friend taking your face in their hands and gazing into your eyes and saying, "you done good." i don't necessarily believe it, but it's nice to hear anyway.

85. what would be on a moodboard for your current wip(s)?

porn. artsy, black and white, slow and smokey PORN.

91. how has your writing style changed over the years?

i like to think i've gotten better at censoring myself less, become less afraid of really diving into the dark. i basically write smut and angst, both of which take me to places i used to be super uncomfortable exploring. sex and intense emotions? oh dear, no, i'm too irish-catholic for that. it's actually been really good for me to let go and truly understand that i can go to these places and bring back something worthwhile, without getting lost forever.

[itsjaywalkers]

Hello Laurie! How are you? How are your holidays going?

I'm the same person who messaged you 2/3 months ago about the fic that I was writing and being scared to post it because it's not my native language. I was wondering how your writing goes, like how do you edit? What do you struggle with the most? I know you said it's not your native language either, and I just wanted to know what slows you down the most? Because for me personally it's grammar, structure of the sentences and its punctionation. I always wonder if my commas are in the right place and if I used right marks, obviously the placement of it differs in every language. And do you have any tips for me? ANYWAYS i'm so sorry this is such a long question bahahhaha, also I've read your new Bartylily fic and I love it. I'm on my knees for them, can't wait to see what you got in store for them. Hihi have a good day! <3

hi darling!! i'm okay, doing some writing!! and my holiday is going great <3 i've been at the beach all week, swimming and reading and eating delicious food. i missed my parents and my sisters like crazy, so it's been very fun to get to spend so much time with them <333

oh, yes!! i remember you!! i hope that fic is going well, and that you'll decide to post it someday. i feel like i already told u this, but i'm sure it's lovely, and if deep down u wanna share it, u should be able to do so, fear be damned (im aware it's not that easy but . u get what i mean)

and my editing process is . very boring and very long . i usually just write the whole chapter out, exactly how i have it planned in my mind, without stopping to check for mistakes, or letting myself get distracted by . a paragraph or a line i don't like, all that can be fixed during the actual editing. once it's done, i try to give it a day?? to let it breathe a lil. and then i reread it all!! i go scene by scene, and sometimes it means just fixing the grammar of some sentences and deleting a random line here and there, and other times it means deleting a whole conversation, or rewriting an entire scene bc it's not working how it's supposed to. editing can take me from a couple of hours to actual days, so it's not a process i really enjoy </3 writing can be a pain, but it's when i get to be messier and have fun and not worry about the end result. editing means polishing and rereading until you grow sick of the story. it's necessary but it's not my fav part of the process, that's for sure

i don't think i'm that bothered by grammar, but it's mostly bc this is just fanfiction and i kinda just . have fun with the language?? sometimes i'm aware i'm not structuring a sentence the Proper way but it looks more beautiful my way, and it sounds nicer, so why would i change it?? not a single one of my uni profs is gonna be reading it anyway. but as someone who isn't an english native speaker either, i totally get u, bc i used to be very insecure about this, and i still am a bit sometimes. i had this fear that ppl were gonna be able to tell english isnt my first language at a first glance. but so what if they do?? theres nothing wrong with that, and bc im bilingual, i speak and write in english in a manner native speakers cant replicate, bc i see and understand their language differently. and i think thats lovely!!!

the thing i struggle the most with is descriptions?? i feel like im not detailed or accurate enough, and like i lack a lot of vocabulary. i do my best to fix it during editing but it never quite works i fear.. i also write ridiculously long sentences, bc i use way too many commas when i should be using periods. and i think that my dialogues are pretty good, but at the same time im always . concerned about characters sounding real enough yk?? since, again, english isn't my first language

and i don't know about tips darling. i keep saying this, but i feel like i'm not the best person to ask about this At All, bc i'm not that knowledgeable, or talented, or skillful. i can tell you to remember that at the end of the day this is fanfiction, and we're supposed to be having fun and being self-indulgent. try not to worry so much about grammar and proper sentence structure or putting commas in the right place. bend the language until it sounds pretty enough for you and a sentence rolls off the tongue the right way. who cares if it's not Correct or Proper. it's not meant to!!! also, don't edit right away, let the story or the chapter breathe for a bit, otherwise you're gonna hate the whole thing and believe it's a Mess. it's usually not!! you just need a break and to put some healthy distance so u can edit more honestly, less unbiased

don't apologise!! my answer was even longer SIGH i hope some of this was at least a little helpful <3 and thank u so much!! more ppl than i thought are reading and enjoying the bartylily fic, and it fills me with joy <3 next ch is coming VERY soon and i can't wait

wishing u the best and sending u all my love MWAH <333

[zenaidamacrouras1]

Oooh, ask game! I am also looking for distractions, yet cannot focus enough to get absorbed in anything, so let's go! (Obviously only answer as much or as little of this as you feel like):

I feel like I've read your answers to most of the actual asks before. Maybe not 🪄?

I'd love to request Bishova ficlets, but have no prompts to offer.

You mentioned reading up on experiences of recognizing one's orientation later in life - were there any stories that especially stayed with you, or any common threads that surprised you?

What to share any thoughts on Becca's post-US life?

Yes after I posted it I realized I may have posted it already. And yay distractions!

what is your post-writing/sharing aftercare? How do you take care of yourself or celebrate yourself when you've finished a fic?

Oh my gosh. Well Unpredictable Synchronicity has been my most popular fic by far so reading the comments and replying has been a nice way to fill their weirdness. It's definitely a big nervous energy! I do write my author's notes with random reflections and try to be reflect in how I grew with the fic.

You mentioned reading up on experiences of recognizing one's orientation later in life - were there any stories that especially stayed with you, or any common threads that surprised you?

This won't surprise anyone but there is a lot of shame around virginity which is awful. I was a bit of a late bloomer and didn't kiss anyone till my second semester of college (and then got mono/Epstein Barr from the first person I kissed, fucking classic) and I was very anxious about my sexual inexperience to the point that I had panic attacks (this was in a soup with US Evangelical Purity culture which I am a survivor of that - like 1. Why haven't I had sexual experiences am I unlovable and 2. If I have sexual experiences I am an unlovable monster)(lalala).

So I really like exploring virginity in my fics because it is so vulnerable and it's a lovely fun thing to write first times. The thing I learned when I was in my sluttier phase is that some people are better at kissing and sex than others and experience is not always a factor in that. ANYWAY! That's not what you asked.

So my favorite stories where very much like Steve's which were like "I never really let myself think about sex for (life reasons and/or because I was queer) and then I started yearning for it and was really nervous and now I feel really good about my sex life" - some of these people were 30 or 40 or 50 or 60 etc when they acknowledged that part of themselves, which is both very sad because usually it's because they were queer and closeted but also lovely they found this new source of joy! That's what I was looking for - examples of people who had for various reasons ignored their sexuality because that's how I pictured Steve and I wanted to see first hand examples of that.

I didn't want it to be like Bucky was so handsome he magically gave Steve a sexuality but more like Steve is finally in a place where he can go to a hierarchy of needs beyond survival, and also in a place where he can be more subconsciously comfortable acknowledging that he finds men attractive, and he starts to be curious about the sexual side of himself.

So to make sure I wasn't falling into that cliche I wanted to read about real people who had a similar arc.

Bucky is coincidentally nearby and very interesting to Steve as he starts to slowly realize his body maybe isn't just for fighting Nazis. I think if Bucky hadn't turned up Steve would have dated someone else and still come out of the closet because he was going down that rabbit hole.

Another trend is I wish more people had the asexual label available to them as many stories to me read as Ace (aka lots of stories like I am 40 and never had sex and honestly don't care or want to am I broken? No you aren't!). Like we need to acknowledge that sex is not the only interesting thing in life and it's really normal if people don't do it or rarely do.

Another trend is obviously lookism, and people saying they aren't conventionally attractive enough to attract a partner which is a whole thing I want to acknowledge but don't have the spoons to write about because waaaahhh the world sucks.

A last trend is sexual trauma. I have a friend who had a lot of severe sexual trauma and no interest in sex. Her first husband was asexual which was a great fit for her. But they divorced and now she is trying to find her place in that and her sexuality with a new partner who she is shocked to realize she wants to have sex with in her early 40s but her body is also terrified of sex so it's a whole thing.

Anyway, to me sex is like food. People build shrines to food and get really into it, and honestly I do not know why it's so boring. I fucking hate cooking and find eating a chore. Except when I don't. I occasionally enjoy a really good meal. I love Thai but don't really feel sad if I go a year without eating it.

So that is seen as fairly normal re: food, but people who feel a similar ambivalence towards sex are seen as really missing out and I think that is dumb.

This is a VERY long way of answering your question but those were some of the themes.

What to share any thoughts on Becca's post-US life?

I think Becca stays single for a long time. I kept trying to imagine her with different partners and none of them stuck. She has a great career and awesome friends and she and Bucky stay roommates and Bucky and Steve split their time between the Tower and Bucky's house for pretty much forever.

[notasapleasure]

Fanfic ask meme: I am asking ALL the ones you haven't done yet! YES ALL

ohmygod ok, ok? thanks? Sorry? [fanfic ask meme]

Do you listen to music when you write? If yes, what kind?

My automatic response is yes, I need music ALWAYS or some kind of noise around me.* But I do write a lot on my notes app on my phone which often means I'm not really paying that much attention to the ambient noise. However I will always have some kind of playlist for characters/wips, and often that will involve a specific artist or album that fits the vibe and kind of becomes the default background noise - when I want music that Fits without being distracting the best thing is an album I've listened to to death already. For Only Ever Just One Night it was Jon Boden's Afterglow, which I hadn't listened to for ages, and right now it's a lot of early Elvis Costello and Springsteen. Usually I tend to...match what I want to listen to anyway to the fic and characters, but obviously with the Lymond band AU (@theartistknownaslymond) I worked on playlists first and then listened to them when I needed to capture the right feeling for the characters.

*The one noise I Cannot Work Through is the dog whining. He loves the sound of his own voice and has perfected the 'woe is me pay attention to me' whine that just. Cuts right through thought like the proverbial hot knife through butter.

2. Do you have a trusted beta reader?

For my epic And Then We Danced fic, @erinaceina very generously read and betaed EVERYTHING. For the.... crunchier parts of the band AU I know I can always send stuff to @stripedroseandsketchpads first before posting live. And Kay will even read most SW drafts when I'm mired in self-doubt and loathing! :') (clowned myself by writing one of her squicks into the current wip though, so it's just me and the endless possibilities rn)

But generally We Die Like Men. It's not that I don't want a beta reader for the other fics, it's just I've never bothered going to look for one. Usually I don't write things with enough plot to worry. I don't know how I got through my old Cassian/Jyn longfic on my own tbh, no cheerleader, no beta! Loyal readers were very ready to point out flimsy aspects of the plot :') so having learned from that I would definitely get a beta for a fic like that if I did another (well, the ATWD longfic proves that).

3. First person or third person?

Usually third person, but I've written at least one fic in first person - it seemed to fit 'Cornelius Hickey's' ego.

4. Past tense or present tense?

Usually past tense, but I can't explain why the Andor fic all wanted to be in present tense. That's just how it came to me. Probably something about wanting to not subconsciously be thinking of how it all ends :')

5. How long do your fics tend to be?

Longer than is decent or desirable, generally. I know this is a feature/bug of not really planning stuff and just writing on vibes, I'm mostly at peace with it.

6. Multi-chapter or one-shots?

The one-shots have an unfortunate habit of growing lore/sequels/prequels.

7. Rarepairs? Yea or nay?

Oh very much YEA. I have obviously written for big ships too (I stand by my Jyn/Cassian love), I don't go out of my way to pick the rarepairs, but god they're just so much more fun. Writing for them, reading them, fandoms for them - it's all so much better. The shared headcanons, the emphasis on a couple of really significant scenes, the extrapolation from crumbs...

8. In character or ooc?

....why would I write for a fandom/character only to write it ooc? The best crackfic and satire is good because it's still in character.

9. Tropes - answered elsewhere

10. Omegaverse?

....no. Not even a bit. I was never into spn, and my earliest fandom interactions were before it was invented. Werewolves? Sure. But just reading the words '[character] was in heat' brings me out in hives

11. OTP(s)?

That I've written/intend to write and stand by as OTPs: Reid/Deborah Goren (Ripper Street), Francis/Jerott (Lymond Chronicles), Marthe/Oonagh (Lymond band au nobody dies), Goodsir/Silna (The Terror), Merab/Irakli (And Then We Danced), Cassian/Jyn, Baze/Chirrut (Rogue One), Cassian/Brasso (Andor), Lee from Utopia/physical pain, his own or others' (Utopia)

That I haven't written for but (would) love to read: Trevor/Alucard(/Sypha) (Castlevania TV series), Captain/Havers (BBC Ghosts), Éowyn/Faramir (LotR), Assane/Benjamin (Lupin). Probably any combination of Wedge/Tycho/Hobbie/Janson (X-Wing series). Luke/Bodhi (Star Wars). That random IRA guy/Matthew MacFadyen's character in Spooks - yes fic exists, yes I've read it.

12. Notps

I'm....really resistant to post-S1 Bix/Cassian and Bix/Brasso. Partly it feels like enforced heterosexuality. Partly I want her comfort and healing to come from community and her own working through it rather than a single magical external healer? Partly I want to know more about her and Timm still (Bix finding the most pathetic little man but genuinely seeming to care for him). Partly I'm petty.

I don't care for big unbalanced power dynamic ships or saviour/damnation type deals like R+ylo. Jyn/Krennic is such a huge NOPE. Reid/Cobden (this is mainly spite ok), Reid/Mimi. Crozier/Silna (lol book version what book version?). Ed/Calico Jack (it's my inner, petty Stede. Also I can't look at Will Arnett, I'm allergic).

It's canon, but Jerott/Marthe can still be a notp. The less I have to think about Anakin/Padmé the better, frankly.

13. Fluff or smut or both?

Oh smut, definitely. But smut that veers unpredictably from fluff to feels to fucked up and back to feels, ideally.

14. Answered elsewhere - I love angst!

15. How do you come up with fic ideas?

I'm pursued by a scene or character or concept until it gets written down, I guess. Sometimes spitballing ideas with people helps, or just gazing lovingly at the same gifsets time and again.

16. Are you a planner or do you just write by the seat of your pants?

Pantsing. Sometimes when I'm already in too deep I'll sullenly plot out a few bullet points, but by and large I just try to dissociate until words happen.

17. Do you title you chapters?

Oh hell no, titling the fic is hard enough

18. Overused words or phrases that just make your eyes twitch?

I probably don't read enough fic to have a list of these. I try not to be a Britpicker, but I like to read fic that's been properly researched, where the setting and language has been considered so obvious oversights around the setting can be off-putting.

19. What's something that you struggle with as a writer?

Oh, the big picture, passage of time type stuff connected with a solid plot and plan. I zoom right in on scenes and mannerisms and expend thousands of words on not very much happening, and then I read a fic that is so succinct and well conceived and covers several years in a character's life and leaves no wiggle room at all but is like. 3-5,000 words? And I just die a bit because how do you do that?? But I'm trying to be happy with what I write anyway - it's a different approach and it suits the way I'm able to find time for writing these days.

20. Any writing advice?

Leave your shame behind and just write what you want, how you want! Tag well and post it because you enjoyed creating it and maybe someone else will enjoy reading it! Also don't be afraid of restarting a draft from scratch, but don't delete anything you've written - keep those files. And probably just...go for a walk or a shower or whatever and have a think away from the draft for a bit, things will often be clearer with some distance.

[ajscico]

Thank you @nancyheart11

How many works do you have on AO3?

27. More than I thought. Cool.

What's your total AO3 word count?

82,870. Also cool. Maybe I'll get passed 100k.

How many fandoms have you written for, and what are they?

Published on AO3, only the one. They're all Legend of Zelda and Related Fandoms aka Linked Universe.

I have some unpublished Crit Role, a BBC Sherlock in Mercyverse and a cracky crossover I'd started with @tshmarie two of those I need to get back to...

Top five fics by kudos:

Untamed Wild

Meet Sky

A Knight's Heart

Another Time

I do not sleep

Do you respond to comments?

I try. I really do. If nothing else, I have to approve comments on my fics so I do have to interact as far as approving them. But then sometimes I get distracted and forget and then it's now over a month later and... yeah.

What's the fic with the angstiest ending you've ever written?

Probably Betrayal? It's probably my only one with an implied end rather than stated resolution.

Do you write crossovers?

LU is a crossover of sorts? I'd certainly be open to it (see question about other fandoms).

Have you ever gotten hate on a fic?

Honestly, I don't have enough published and don't commit enough overtly heinous fanon sins to get hate? (I see comments on the tags I follow pages occasionally about my pet fanon thing after I'll mention it in a fic... I know it's not how it works. I know, Imma keep it anyway. I'm sorry) But potential for hate is honestly the reason I don't allow anon on my blog and why I moderate comments.

Do you write smut?

Nope. Can't even write a proper kiss story. Just ask the two friends of mine who have tried to get me there.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No? That being said, I'm simultaneously too aware of the quirks of the internet and oblivious to the world. So if you find a fic of mine like that, let me know.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Back in ye old early HS days, I tried to translate some of my original fiction as an exercise in speaking a second language but ultimately some part of my brain just violently protested so yeah.

If you're that talented to do it without your brain screaming "cringe!" And want to, go for it!

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

I don't have a good answer for this one. @moraynisdeath jokes I'm the most Ace straight person she knows so... I will read shippy stuff if it doesn't get explicit. I can be convinced that (insert ship) works for your fic if you do it well. I don't think I have a favorite I'll read or write every time?

What’s a WIP that you want to finish, but don’t think you ever will?

I don't know if I could pull off my Rescued from Cia idea. I kind of lost the motivation for it? That being said, I'm open to the idea of bouncing ideas off someone to get it rolling again? Just if left to my own devices... it's very low on the list

What are your writing strengths?

Emotion and dialog I love getting into the inner turmoil driving someone’s thoughts and get comments that I do it well. And have been told in writing groups that I manage to make dialogue sound like real people talking to each other.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Getting a fic completed. I write the part that demands to be written right now, and get maybe one or two rising action scenes, sometimes a beginning but after the climax/catharsis point of change? Nope, brain don't want to. So I often find myself with great ideas but there's huge gaps between what I've written and what needs to happen for the plot to be there and then I get bored and move to the next thing screaming for attention.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fics?

I think it's really cool? I love the Star Wars fics with Mando'a. I love multilingual characters. LU has a wonderful streak of writing the Links with varying fluency in Sign. It's great. I... am probably not doing it properly in my own writing. I'm sorry.

What was the first fandom you ever wrote for?

Um... ignoring where my middle-school- through-college writing was inspired by...

First time acknowledging I was writing fan fiction was Crit Role stuff.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written so far?

Probably A Knight's Heart. The idea of the story and where it went was so much fun. I enjoyed describing the spar and Sky’s title drop far too much.

Oh yeah, tags um... no pressure but

@moraynisdeath @majorproblems77 @silvercaptain24 and any of you lurking in the background waiting for an invitation.

Ao3 tag game!

THANKS @ragecndybars FOR THE TAG I APPRECIATE IT

*cracks knuckles* lets do this

How many works do you have on AO3?

24 works! I would have never expected to have that many 5 years ago, hahaha

What's your total AO3 word count?

186,291! oh wow, almost 200k!! (unsurprisingly PT minato takes up over a third of that LMAO)

How many fandoms have you written for, and what are they?

10 fandoms! I'm counting Persona 3, 4, and 5 and separate, but I'm grouping all the Zelda fandoms together since it's all Linked Universe fic.

Here's the breakdown!

The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms (6)

Persona 5 (5)

Persona 3 (5)

SPY x FAMILY (Anime) (3)

Wizard101 (Video Game) (3)

SPY x FAMILY (Manga) (3)

Runescape (Video Games) (3)

Pirate101 (Video Game) (3)

Persona 4 (2)

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom (2)

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga (1)

Star Wars - All Media Types (1)

The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Warriors (1)

Top five fics by kudos:

The Ghost of Mementos/Stygian Ringlet (Persona3/5) - to the surprise of absolutely no one, since this is currently my longest fic. I'm very happy with Stygian Ringlet being the top because I love my boys :)

True Crime Special on the Midnight Channel (Persona 4/5) - my Ren has a TV Dungeon fic! also very proud of the dungeon concept for this one, I really need to finish the last two chapters

Dark Clouds on the Horizon (Linked Universe/TOTK) - I feel like this one got a lot of momentum partially because it was directly in the wake of TOTK's release, but I'm happy with how it turned out :)

Strangers Are Just Friends You Haven't Met (Persona 3/SPY x FAMILY) - this was a collab series with mewrose and a few others in the marigolds discord! we were throwing ideas at the wall to see what stuck and I really had a lot of fun with Shinjiro-related prompts, because I LOVE him and hitting him with the isekai baseball bat into a universe with Anya brings me great joy

Salt Tears and Raindrops (Linked Universe/TOTK) - directly related to Dark Clouds, and I'm glad people enjoyed good ol' fashioned angst >:) (I do need to post more of my wips, I do have a couple more roleswap AU wips that I want to post)

Do you respond to comments?

Yes! I almost always do because I really appreciate them and its my way of saying thanks for the comment! If I don't comment it's because I lost track of it or because I can't think of a response.

What's the fic with the angstiest ending you've ever written?

Probably Salt Tears and Raindrops. I was in a Mood and decided to go for the tried-and-true method of putting fictional characters I like through the emotional wringer. That's how I got the rough draft for this fic :)

Do you write crossovers?

*looks at my persona fics and recent LU fics*

...I think it's safe to say most of my fics these days fall under crossovers lmao

Have you ever gotten hate on a fic?

I wouldn't say I have? One or two comments that came off as rude, but no actual hate, thankfully. If I did, I forgot about it. I've been blessed by wonderfully nice readers <3

Do you write smut?

Nope. I don't read it, so I wouldn't know how to write it anyway.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of? I sure hope not.

I have seen a couple short fics slightly imitate Ghost of Mementos though, which I thought was really sweet that they liked it enough to inspire their own writing.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope, but I'd definitely be open to it!

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

RYOMINA. Hands down. I love them so much, I am so mentally unwell about these two

What’s a WIP that you want to finish, but don’t think you ever will?

My two Runescape fics, Whispers in the Temple and Welcome to the Jungle. I absolutely loved going hogwild with rewriting old quests in Runescape, but I psyched myself out of Welcome to the Jungle because I got overly anxious about accidentally doing bad representation.

(in hindsight, it probably wouldn't have been as big a deal as I thought; it's hard to make it worse considering how bad Legend's Quest was with the british-african stereotypes. that quest DID NOT age well.)

I also want to finish Snake in the Grass; that was my first attempt at a genuine mystery plot and I really liked playing with Warriors in that fic in the context of the gang trying to figure out who the heck is trying to murder him.

What are your writing strengths?

I feel like I'm pretty good at dialogue! I try to make sure it matches the character's speech patterns and personality. Really well-written dialogue can tell you who's speaking without actually telling who it is. (For example, the way I write them: Minato speaks as few words as possible and has very little filter with his observations when he does share them, and Shinjiro is pretty rough around the edges, with shortened words and the occasional swear. Warriors is good with words and wit, but he has a certain military-esque directness and doesn't dance around the topic.)

I do try hard to keep the plot clear and understandable over everything else, so probably that as well.

Also, now that I think about it, maybe fight sequences? I don't do them much, but I do enjoy the challenge of making a clear sequence of what happens in a fight and trying to make it understandable. Fight sequences are easy to skip or gloss over, but I think of them like their own miniature plot. What happens? What surprises are there? What are their movesets? How do they get the upper hand? (and of course, what looks cool as fuck)

What are your writing weaknesses?

Time management. I tend to over-proofread since I beta my own work, and often I'll go back to tweak stuff if I had additional thoughts to add to it, or extra insight. Lately, it takes longer to write chapters than I'd like.

Also, dialogue-heavy scenes often get very chaotic in my WIPs because of the way I rough out fics. I'll throw together a bunch of dialogue bits I think would be cool to include, and sometimes they'll clash or get really messy, especially if there's lots of characters (looking at the latest two chapters of Stygian Ringlet)

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fics?

I think it's cool! It adds flavor to fics. If it's more than one short phrase though, or if it's story important, then I do prefer that there is a translation in the author's notes. I haven't done any non-English dialogue in fics, save for one memorable adventure into trying to figure out how Latin grammar structure works for a character that didn't speak English.

What was the first fandom you ever wrote for?

Wizard101 and Pirate101. I was obsessed with those two for YEARS. I really, really liked pirate stories in high school, and having a cast of crewmates that accompany you throughout the game really inspired me to write my first fic featuring my OC. (I was also into One Piece at the time, but I never wrote for it.)

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written so far?

Stygian Ringlet. It's really dear to my heart. I have poured so much love and effort into that fic, and the reception on it has completely blown me away.

THANKS FOR THE TAG!! Uhhhmmm for tags I'm going to go with @skyward-floored, @catreginae and @breannasfluff (but only if you want to!! no obligation of course)

and of course any other writers that want to do it as well!! go forth