#but I also want to like. wait until I have everything written before publishing
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blaithnne · 2 years ago
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The adhd urge to post every chapter immediately after writing it vs the autism urge to wait until the entire fanfic is finished and has pictures to go along with it before even mentioning it exists
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varda-star-queen · 12 days ago
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Fanfic Update
📜✨ Bound to the Enemy ✨📜
This is the fanfic I’ve been teasing for months — I think it’s time I told you a bit more about it! It’s Roman AU Adariel fic, where Adar leads a ragged auxiliary cohort in the freezing northern reaches of the Empire, and Galadriel is a Celtic village healer with every reason to hate him.
💀 He’s the enemy who could destroy her and her people. 🌿 She’s the only one who can save him and his soldiers.
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It’s planned to be 38 chapters long, and as of right now I’ve written 28 chapters and just over 73K words. I don’t plan to post it until the full draft is finished — Sorry, I know that’s mostly on me! I just want to make sure all the ends are fully tied up before it goes live. 💬✨
It’s full of Adar/ Galadriel moments that mirror the show and has supporting characters also from TROP, including Elrond, Disa, and Glug (to name a few). It also features Celeborn (in a slightly altered role!). And then there’s sneaky Halbrand and also Emperor Sauronius (sorry, had to be done!)... Halbrand and Sauronius may or may not be connected. Guess you’ll have to wait to find out what’s going on there!!
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Thank you so much to everyone who’s shown interest, shared kind words, or asked to be tagged — your support means everything. ❤️
If you’d like to be tagged when it’s published, feel free to drop me a message or comment on this post — I’m keeping a list (and those who have already asked are on it)! ✍️📜
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11queensupreme11 · 1 month ago
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Hey it’s the one who sent the ask about the HOO reaction fanfic!
So I decided to go with the brilliant idea of doing the first couple chapters and last chapter of The Lost Hero! And when I tell you I was struggling to pick when I wanted to stop at the beginning I was STRUGGLING! I kept reading it over and saying “It would be cool to add this..” and I just couldn’t stop.
I’m already on Mark of Athena! It helps when I have nothing to do while in the hospital so I’ve been writing my heart away.
Most likely won’t post it until just before the the start of Ragnarok or Percy’s fight (which she will TOTALLY win bc my girl never loses.. right? RIGHT!?) since by then I feel like most of the characters who would care or have a reaction would be somewhat attached since I want to add the human fighters as well.
I wouldn’t mind going over and editing anything or everything I’ve already written if I feel like it doesn’t go well with the Arsenic Blues opinion or feelings of Percy at that time. I really want it to be as close to Arsenic Blues since it is an Arsenic Blues reaction fic. (I would kms if I don’t do your glorious fic justice)
If I finish before those Chapters are released I will most likely go on to do The Chalice of the Gods and Wrath of the triple Goddess as a “what if” reaction (not putting fuel in the yandere fire… totally not..).
I’m also really interested in going something with Kane Chronicles and maybe Magnus Chase. I really want them to see the different pantheons which are in the Rick Riordan universe and how different they all are. IF I do write even more I’ll only do Demigods and Magicians and then a few chapter of Magnus Chase which I think would be interesting or in someway, shape, or form, hint at (or straight up mention) other pantheons and characters.
Sorry for this word vomit, it’s late and I’m tired. I just really love reaction fics and the possibilities are endless! Cant wait for the next chapter. 😋
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YOU'RE BACK!!!! HELLO ANON!!!!!!
you have no idea how hopeful i got after reading your progress but at the same time i'm in disbelief?????? i feel like it was only just a month ago when you sent me that ask asking for some suggestions for the fic, AND YOU'RE ALREADY IN MARK OF ATHENA?!??!?!?!?!?!?!??!
like, i know you probably skipped some chapters and stuff, BUT STILL, HOW??????? that's so fucking impressive tho but HOWWWWW. you finished son (technically daughter now lmao) of neptune and everything???? omg?????????????? got the reactions and all that??????
ALSO, I SAY THIS TO EVERYONE WHO WRITES FICS FOR MY FIC, BUT PLEASE DON'T BE AFRAID TO TAKE CREATIVE LIBERTIES!!!!
it's gonna be very hard to write for something that's unfinished. and this is me talking from experience. anubis, loki, and cú chulainn are not as fleshed out in the canon manga right now and since ror and apoc release monthly, i did NOT wanna wait years just to get crumbs of their character/background, so i decided to take creative liberties and do my own thing for them regardless of whether it ends up being grossly wrong when canon stuff about them is revealed. i just do not want to wait any longer 😅
it's the same case for my own fic! arsenic blues is ongoing and my updates are... sporadic lmao. so yeah, feel free to go on ahead and make up your own thing. and if you really want, you call also just private message me (tho you'd need a tumblr account and cant do it on anon) any specific questions you have 💖💖💖
anyway, I CAN'T WAIT FOR YOUR FIC! we're all very excited for it hehe 💖 i'm almost tempted to speed-write and upload arsenic blues up to ragnarok just so you can publish it, but nah 😂😂 i will be patient and let you cook
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elliesbelle · 1 year ago
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Since reading ncty literally NO OTHER FIC COMPARES TO IT! I love it so much but now my standards are really high :´)
Belle sweetie I think you already suggested some other fits buuuut…do you know any other series (need something long) that’s also Ellie or Abby x reader that you liked and would suggest? Trusting only you with recs
haha well, i'm gonna plug the works of my mutuals again then!
@lonelyfooryouonly has PLENTY of amazing ellie series that are long and got a lot to read! (can't even choose a fave between them honestly)
@seattlesellie's not about love will have you crying and screaming and screaming with the s all at the same time! i still go back to it every now and again.
i'm not kidding when i say that @carmellie's see you next summer is everything to me. one time, carm released a chapter while i was at work, and i legit excused myself to the bathroom and didn't leave until i finished reading it!!!!
my wonderful love @totheblood has several series as well, superposition being one of my all-time faves (literally was already obsessed with the series before i even started publishing on here and before star and i were even friends)!
@callmelola111 has a bunch of ellie series, one of my faves is color me purple! i love flirty tension ugh
@s-4pphics has a BUNCH of ellie and abby series, literally just go through my sal love's page and you'll find so much content fr
@spaceshipellie's we were never just friends had me screaming and crying on the bus ride home, it was so so SO good
@glowstickfracture doesn't have a whole abby series perse, BUT they have so much amazing and sexy firefighter/fire medic!abby content that it's basically its own series!
sorority secrets by @cinnnamongrl was just so bellisimo chef's kiss, i did naught want it to end
my babes @phantombriide has a shit ton of smaus that are so immersive and they feel like reading a full blown series fr (and she has a new one coming out soon that i helped with so 😘)
@elliespeach's the air that i breathe isn't done yet, but it's everything to me and i'm at the edge of my seat waiting for the next chapter!
my love my life @cherriesxinthespring's seattle grace hospital is the reason i breathe, rose hasn't finished it yet but idc cause it's just so good
@coeurify's perfect girl is one of the very first elie fics i ever read and rinie is such a talented writer that you should just read everything they've written regardless
this isn't a complete list and i need to get back to what i'm doing skldfjdskls (i'm compiling this during a break from cleaning my apartment), but that's a start!
you can also check out the other list of fave ellie fics i made of my mutual's works too here.
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Part 4 of Gotham Characters React to You Getting Easily Scared by a Movie 👻☠😈😨🎃:
Oswald Cobblepot, Renee Montoya & Carmine Falcone <-last part (part 3) Part 1
Oswald Cobblepot is the only one who gets angry — but only because he cares about you. Your reaction has him insulting the people who didn't put enough warnings on the movie, in true Gertrud Kapelput style! 😌😠 He also questions whether he does you good...
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You're glad that you have someone to cling to as the movie gets scarier. No doubt Oswald would frighten the villains. Ah! Why does this movie have to be that scary? Oswald notices right away that you aren't fully enjoying yourself. He knows how strongly you usually hug him and this is harder than usual. You too realize that you're almost sinking your nails into him, and try to relax.
He pauses the movie and diverts his attention to you. "Are okay, dear?" Oswald looks you over, his sea-green eyes mirroring a fracture of the TV's light. You try to smile. "I'm just more easily frightened than you are." "Do you want to stop watching?" "Yes, if it's alright for you—" "We'll stop right away."
He presses few buttons until the TV is off and then tosses the remote control to the other side of the sofa. "Why wouldn't they put warnings before this?! Now you had to suffer! Not to mention: no doubt lots of children will be watching this too, allowed or not. Whoever's responsible should be fired, incompetent fools!" He makes a wild gesture, furious in an endearing way, and catches your look. "What?" "You can be so cute when you're protective, even if you're angry." "I—" he feels warmth spread in his chest, "I'm glad you feel safe with me."
Perhaps you shouldn't: what scared you on screen is often his reality. If this was already hard to watch for you, then— You give him a kiss. "Now I know who I can turn to to fight off movie inspectors." He chuckles. "That you do, my dear."
Renee Montoya has seen her fair share of horrible things but watching something spooky around Halloween or autumn is such a classic date idea that she really wanted to try it. Having her arms around you, bringing you a mug full of tea or hot chocolate or another beverage of your choice, and leaning back to for once get frightened by something fictional seems like a perfect pastime...Until she finds out how you feel about it.
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The evening starts getting uncomfortable for you when the story picks up its pace, the vibe becoming creepier and creepier. At first it's bearable, Renee leaning towards you and giving you some warmth, but then she gets up to bring you something to drink, insisting that you can continue watching, and now you're shivering in front of the television.
"There you go," she announces, and hands you a warm cup, which you take with quivering hands. "What's wrong?" "I'm scared." "Of the movie?" "Mhm." "We can stop watching. You don't have to do this to yourself." You sigh. "Thanks, that's best decision, I think." She strokes your back and kisses you. "It is."
Carmine Falcone doesn't want you to feel as if you were the odd one for being scared. He knows how resistant he's become to horrific occurrences because of his position, and wants to preserve your justified reactions to these things where he can.
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You're trying to be patient, wait a little. Maybe the movie turns out to be less scary than you think. But right now it is definitely scary. Suddenly the film pauses and you feel his hand on your shoulder. "Let's stop here. There are classier movies, my dear." You're sure he means less frightening, but nod regardless, glad that he took the initiative.
______________ Author's note: Everything after the beginning of Carmine's part was written after Halloween, so that's the upside to me not publishing these headcanons/one-shots then 🤗 ->part 5
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esoteric-joke · 9 months ago
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Interview with Darling28
(#Interview1)
Welcome to the first interview of The Dear Writer Project and a massive thank you to the wonderful Darling28 for being so supportive of this whole idea since the beginning!
Darling28 about her writing process, her inspirations, her experiences with writers block and her future plans on writing:
What does your writing process usually look like and is it always kind of the same for every story you’ve written?
Oh interesting question. It's usually the case that ideas come from the simplest things and suddenly a complete plot is in my head within minutes or sometimes even seconds. At least the rough outline. Apart from that, my characters often like to take the plot for themselves and I just watch in amazement at what they let me write. I often suffer as much as the reader when I write because I let it flow out of me and often don't know what to expect. Most of the time, though, I have a specific scene in mind in the beginning, often for the middle of the story, and I can hardly wait until I finally get to the point where I can write it. The end of a story quite often involves a marriage proposal, I realise, even if I don't always intend to, but Louis and Harry in my stories are very stubborn about it.
But other than that, my writing process is pretty simple: get excited about a new idea, start writing immediately, often at a speed that makes my betas despair and end up questioning the whole story until I reread it myself and suddenly love it.
Do you have any sort of structured writing plan before you start writing or do you just write what comes to mind?
I'm absolutely far from structured. I have the problem that my best ideas about what to write next come to me when I'm driving and I have to memorise whole conversations or scenes for the rest of the journey. As soon as I've parked, I write it down as a note. But there's really nothing more than these few notes, no mood board or major characterisations, I just let myself go with the flow. I also think that would take some of the fun out of it for me personally, I love getting to know my characters over the course of the story and I don't want to plan everything in detail beforehand.
You said before that you write a lot, especially after you’ve got a new idea in mind. How much time do you invest in writing in your day to day life?
I actually write every day and usually around 3-4k. I think it takes about 3 hours of my time, but that's really just a rough estimate. I usually write already in the morning at breakfast before I have to go to work and then spread the rest over the afternoon and evening.
Our Souls Intertwined is your longest work at the moment. Was it also the one you wrote the longest on?
Our Souls Intertwined… I wrote this story together with freakingmeout and we took turns writing chapters, each of us wrote one character. Despite the length, I don't think we really needed much time to finish it because the other author is just as fast as I am at writing and often each of us had finished a chapter within a day. It was perhaps a little worrying in hindsight haha.
If it wasn’t Our Souls Intertwined, what work of yours did take you the longest?
Oh wow I think you've got me now and I can't give you an answer off the top of my head.
I'm guessing it might be Calm after the storm because that's my longest story that I wrote on my own. So it makes sense that it probably took me the longest to write.
But when I think about it, it could also be the current one I'm writing that hasn't been published yet. My last few weeks haven't been easy for personal reasons and I haven't had time to write and everything has stalled. I just started writing again a few days ago and am catching up.
She also told me that she sometimes drives her betas crazy with the amount and pace that she writes. On some Sundays she writes all day and sometimes feels a bit empty inside afterwards, she admitted.
What work of yours did come together the fastest?
I would say Men are shit. This story practically wrote itself and I could just let my thoughts, which I put into the story as Louis’, run free and didn't have to think about them any further. It was a great experience and I love this Louis so much!
Do you finish writing the story completely before you start publishing or do you start publishing whenever you finished a chapter?
For my first stories, I posted while I was writing. So I finished a chapter, had it proofread and then published it.
However, my only beta at the time had of course her own life and sometimes couldn't keep up with the speed at which I wanted to update again.
So at some point I started to finish writing and only then published it.
What worked better for you, personally?
Both definitely have their pros and cons. But I really liked publishing in the writing process. You get immediate feedback on what you've written, sometimes even ideas for the rest of the plot from readers' comments.
However, it would have stressed me out a lot, like in my situation the last few weeks where I couldn't write anything and had to make the reader wait for updates.
What inspires you in your day to day life the most?
The story often comes to me really quite by chance, mostly inspired by songs, not so much by the lyrics but by the feelings they convey, what lies between the lines.
Did you ever have a writers block and what helped you out of it / What do you do if you feel unmotivated?
Yes, I've had a writers block for the last few months and I've missed writing so much. But there's no point forcing yourself and for me it was best to wait until it felt right again. Before that, I didn't have anything like that as far as I can remember. Sometimes I just didn't know what to write next and got a bit stuck, but my advice here is: just start writing. Don't think, just do it.
And if I'm just unmotivated then I leave it for the day because I know it'll be definitely easier the next one.
What do you find most stressful/annoying/repetitive in the process of writing a story?
For me it's the hardest thing to end the story because then I'm usually so connected to the characters that it feels like saying goodbye to a dear friend every time and I'm actually really sad.
Oh and one thing that really frustrates me is that my Louis and Harry very often crash the chapter with sex. I love writing smut but sometimes they overdo it (okay it amuses me a bit too).
Darling28 also told me, that one of her favourite phases in writing a story is the getting-to-know-each-other phase. She said that she loves it because that’s when she feels like the characters come to life and the tension between them grows.
Can you tell me something about any future projects you’re working on?
I'm happy to tell you about future projects!
In addition to my many ideas for stories that I haven't started yet, I'm currently writing four open ones. Two with other authors and two of my very own. I hope that I will soon be able to present the readers with something new from me, because for me it is always the best thing to finally be able to share my work with the fandom.
For the next part of the interview, I asked Darling28 more specific questions about her works.
What work of yours is your personal favourite?
It's really difficult to name THE one. But I'll go with the three that come to my mind first, okay?
Calm after the storm, because I love their love in this story and I felt for both of them while writing it. It still touches me today.
Men are shit, because Louis is just chaos but so sweet at the same time. I loved describing his ADHD brain, letting his mind run wild. I wanted to give neurospicy people a story in which they can find themselves and feel understood.
True Colours, because I wrote this story for my friend and beta who wanted me to make Harry really suffer as it's usually Louis in my stories who has to go through everything horrible. I love the development of the two of them in this story. They heal together and I don't think there's anything better.
What fic of yours would you recommend to someone who isn’t familiar with your works and why?
I think that would be Paparazzi. That's the most popular one of mine and it contains a bit of everything but it's not as extremely angsty as others that I wrote. A bit of enemies to lovers, gay awakening, smut, fluff - what more could you want?
A lot of your works are based around complicated and complex topics like having a bad relationship with your parents, mental health issues and homelessness and everything that comes along with it. Why do you specifically choose to write about those topics?
I love the drama and the big emotions.
But also because none of our lives are perfect. Everyone has their own struggles and their own traumas and I love picking up on that. It especially touches me when readers find themselves in it, feel understood and heard. I think for some it's some kind of validation. It's wonderful to turn something very sad into something very good. As much as I love the drama, I also love the happy ending.
And of course it's also free therapy in a way. There's always a part of me in most stories.
The Magic Within You is your only story, that doesn’t really have any of those topics (besides of Louis’ tendencies to panic quickly). Why did you want to write something so different to your usual writing style?
The Magic Within You is a pure, cheesy Christmas story that was set up like an advent calendar when I posted it, but I think it can be read very well throughout the year.
I always find Christmas a difficult time of the year myself. Lots of people come together and I'm often overwhelmed. I especially wanted to give people who might feel the same way a cute story, offer some distraction and sweeten the day. I hope I succeeded.
By the way, I love how you mentioned the panicky side of Louis. So adorable.
Is something like an advent calendar planned for this christmas season too or was it a one-time thing for you?
No, I haven't planned another one, but never say never. Maybe I'll suddenly get an idea in October and start writing like crazy.
Actually, a sequel to The Magic Within You was planned for this summer but unfortunately I couldn't do that for personal reasons that I had already mentioned. But I definitely want to publish the sequel next year!
You wrote Our Souls Intertwined and Bring me to life with freakingmeout. How did that go?
Oh it's a totally interesting experience because here too we only had the rough plot, but because everyone wrote their character in alternating chapters it was always exciting for the other to see what would happen in the chapter of the other. Sometimes I sat there shocked or totally amused and had to think about how I was going to live through certain situations with my character. It's definitely anything but boring and you experience it as an author as well as a reader.
When I asked her if it feels like a roleplay kind of thing she actually confirmed that it does sometimes feel like exactly that.
Paparazzi is your most popular work. Why do you think this one in particular got the most attention?
I have absolutely no idea why Paprazzi is the most popular one. I often ask myself that but maybe it's really because it's not such a heavy one? But instead of looking for answers, I prefer to be happy that so many people like it.
Is there a work of yours that you’d like to get the attention that Paparazzi got or just more attention in general?
Oh yes, definitely. In my personal opinion, Holding On To Heartache has far too little attention. I know where it comes from, or rather I suspect that the tag 'suicide attempt' puts a lot of people off, but I still think it's worth reading. You can always expect a happy ending with my stories.
Is there a work of yours that you wouldn’t publish again in hindsight?
I must confess that I have already deleted my very first story. And I know that my betas and friends will kill me if they read this now. Because they kept stopping me every time I had a crisis about this story but I did it nontheless one day. I guess my secret is out now... oops. If you read this, please don't be mad!
But I'm actually thinking about revising it and publishing it again at some point.
Are there any characters in one of your stories that are inspired by people or animals you know in real life?
Yes... Bree in 'Paparazzi' is my friend and beta. But I don't think I realised until the later chapters that I was using her as a role model for this absolutely wonderful character.
For the last part of the interview, I asked Darling28 some personal questions that are more about the fandom and less about her experiences with writing.
Since when are you in the fandom and what made you become a part of it?
I am a Lockdown-Larrie haha. I was watching Tik Tok videos out of sheer boredom like probably so many others and suddenly a video with two guys popped up. It's this one where Harry is sitting on the armchair, Louis is sitting on the armrest while Harry is looking up at Louis, absolutely enamoured. I was just sitting there and I remember thinking: who the hell are these two guys that are so in love?
I read through the comments and searched the web for more informations. After that, my days were filled with watching all the YouTube videos and then making a Twitter account. I was absolutely down the rabbit hole and I don't regret it one day. At first I was in the lane of LHH (I mean, come on, just look at him) but then I listened to Louis music and he got my number 1 and never lost rank again. Also, the song Just hold on saved me, the lockdown was not a good time for my mental health.
Your favourite Louis and Harry Era?
LHH forever. If I had enough money I would bribe him to let them grow long again. Although I'd have to meet him first. My plan isn't finalised yet as you can see but yeah... I think you know now how serious I am, haha.
And Louis... Hedgehog and FITF. I just love when his hair is fluffy.
Your favourite movie H starred in?
My Policeman. Damn, I was broken after watching it but it's so good.
Who’s your favourite writer in the fandom at the moment?
One of my favourite authors is BoosBabycakes. I especially love their a/b/o stories!
And your all-time favourite fic in the fandom?
Oh, that's really difficult. There are too many good ones and I really need to think about it for a moment. But I would like to name a story that is not one of the fandom's always recommended ones.
Okay... I go with this one, it's definitely one of my favourite a/b/o stories, the nesting is so sweetly described and I think I really need to read it again:
You've Got A Higher Power, You're Once In Any Lifetime by BoosBabycakes
What makes you want to stop reading something?
If the story is written in first person or the plot doesn't make sense to me and I question too much in the story. Some stories are also too artificially drawn out for me. I don't like slooooooow burn. My attention span doesn't last that long.
Your favourite song at the moment?
Call me by Neeve, it's a small german indie band but I like them a lot.
Of course nothing beats Louis music, I hope I don't have to mention that, do I?
Do you have a favourite movie or a favourite series at the moment?
No, neither of them. I haven't watched anything for ages. I prefer to spend my free time writing.
What was the most unusual thing that inspired you at some point?
Erm I hope this doesn't come across as weird but Louis' bum and waist. For some of my a/b/o stories and ideas that I still want to write.
What is your favourite season?
Spring, when everything turns green again and starts to blossom.
She also told me, that she has hay fever and that sometimes it’s unbearable for her until autumn but she still loves spring the most, especially after the darker months.
Who would you like to read an interview from?
I don't have a specific author in mind but I'd like it to be someone with a smaller fanbase to draw more attention to them.
I wanted to make it a little tradition for every interview, that every writer gives every of their works a colour and a season. It’s just a fun little thing for the end of the interview I thought would be interesting. Thankfully, Darling28 thought it was a great idea too, so here are the results:
Captured Ink, Hidden Hearts - pink and black, spring.
Bring me to life - darkblue, autumn.
Our Souls Intertwined - dark red, late summer.
True Colours - rainbow, obviously, autumn.
Men are shit - pink and green, summer
The Magic Within You - ice blue and white, winter (on a sunny day)
Tainted Love - brown, winter
Calm after the Storm - purple, early spring
Tank tops and a phone call - red, summer (a very hot day)
Letters - dark green, last summer days
I'm with you - white and grey, autumn
Paparazzi - yellow, summer
Holding On To Heartache - black with golden sprinkles, winter
Paradise is in your own mind (Sequel HOTH) - dark pink, spring
You Sunshine, You Temptress - green, summer
Careless Whisper - dark blue, winter
A huge thank you again to Darling28. Thanks for understanding my vision and being so open and kind. I appreciate it so much.
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zenkindoflove · 2 months ago
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30-37 for the ask game!!
30. Do you share rough drafts or do you wait until it’s all polished?
With my friend, beta, and co-writer @crazy-ache she definitely sees the roughest versions of my drafts. I do try to at least give her a once-over edit because my first drafts are very drafty. But I'm most comfortable showing her the roughest stuff.
31. Do you start with the characters or the plot when writing?
I'm not sure how to disentangle that. I guess characters more than plot. I'm always thinking first who do I want to write about before I think about what I want to write about.
For fanfic that looks like focusing on a ship I'm really interested in exploring the dynamic, and the plot ideas come to me about how I want to explore their dynamic under that specific scenario.
For my original writing, I sort of did that same thing. I started with what are the types of characters I really like and would enjoy writing about, and then I crafted a story around them and what would serve their relationship narratives. For this work I'm currently working on, I do have a very specific sort of setting, world, and plot in mind too and so some of it was the reverse of figuring out which of the characters and relationships would best serve that story.
32. Name three of your favorite fanfic writers.
Only THREE. RUDE, ANON. Okay who I list is really just because I'm very, very limited here.
@crazy-ache of course. My love. My partner in crime. My bestie. She is so talented in everything she does, she writes with poetry in her prose, and I always know when diving into her stories I'm going to have a great time. Check out her fics here.
@olenvasynyt her Lucien backstory fic has some of the best Autumn world building I've ever encountered and she inspires me when it comes to doing better with my own world building. Dana is basically going to be the person I go to with my original fic when I need someone to give me critiques on the world building lol. Check out her fics here.
@the-darkestminds I've really enjoyed the bits of Elucien and Eris x OC fics she has written, and of course her hilarious Feysand series (with a little twist ;]). She really knows how to write angst that made me stare at my ceiling in agony for several minutes and also hot, immersive smut! Check out her fics here.
33. Do you want to be published some day?
Absolutely. That is my next goal. It's always a dream I've had and I think I'm in a place in my life - both as a writer and emotionally - where I'm ready to give it my best try.
34. Five years from now, where do you see yourself as a writer?
I see myself regularly writing novel-length books and probably still coming in and out of fanfic as the muse arises. I really don't want to take a long break like I did during my 20s. I want writing to be a regular part of my life.
35. What is one essential thing to remember when writing a villain? 
For me, I love villains the most when I understand their motivations and can find places to empathize with them. So I think the key is to dig into the why of their actions, and if there is a rationality there that you can see what pushes them towards their cruelty, then I think those are the best types of villains to read. When I think of "evil" or antagonistic characters, I really am inspired by George R.R. Martin and his approach to writing darkness in his characters. Even the ones who are so repulsive they make you want to vomit (lol - Ramsey) you can still see how the world twisted them into this.
36. How do you write kissing scenes?
*cracks knuckles* Okay, so I think I'm pretty stinking good at writing kissing scenes. I've written tons of them and I'm always looking to make them a little different from each other.
There are some big things that I think make a kissing scene great. First, I think build up to the kiss is the most important part, especially if it's a first kiss. The tension is what makes when the lips touch electric. You need to build up to why these characters want to kiss each other and what finally creates the instance that they are going to kiss each other in this moment. Second, physicality is extremely important, and I don't just mean how you describe their lips moving, though that is important too. Talk about what their expressions are like before they kiss. Where are their hands? How are they touching or grabbing each other? What is their body doing when the kiss is happening? What do they smell? Taste? What sounds are they making? All of these really place the reader in the moment with the characters and hopefully allows them to visualize when they've had a kiss like this or can easily imagine one. And third, I think it's important to give the kiss it's own after moment. People don't usually just kiss each other and then they immediately move onto the next thing if it's a meaningful kiss. How do they react to the kiss? What emotion does each character have and does it align with the other? Are they shocked and regretting it? Are they bashful? Are they suddenly in desperate need to kiss them again? Linger there for a bit. Allow the kiss to impact the characters and have us see it.
37. How do you choose where to end a chapter?
I imagine chapters are sort of little stories onto themselves. What is the big point that this chapter serves the overall narrative, whether it's progressing the big plot or a smaller plot, an event that pushes a character in a new direction, etc? So usually where I end a chapter is when I feel like that point as been served and there is either a firm resolution or a new opening that will lead us into the next chapter. I tend to end on the latter more than the former because I like cliffhangers lol.
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pastafossa · 10 months ago
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hi, pasta :)) i really hope you’re good !!
my bad if this is something you’ve talked about already but i was just wondering what inspired you to write trt??
also is it okay for me to say that (like just from all the notes you put at the end of chapters and being able to get in your head a lil bit from all that) you genuinely seem like such a cool person <3
THIS IS SO SWEET, thank you so much!😭 My chapter end notes have absolutely turned into a little director's commentary session so those are definitely a look into my head, so I'm delighted you enjoy them!
And I haven't answered this question in a long time, I don't mind answering again!
Behind the cut so I don't clog everyone's feeds!
TRT basically started because I was talking to a friend about the list of POVs I'd written in (1st, 3rd limited, and 3rd omniscient at the time), and she threw out a, 'You're literally just missing 2nd person, DO IT YOU COWARD. I DARE YOU'
she thought i'd just do a oneshot she did not mean for me to go out and write War and Peace: Daredevil which is hilarious in hindsight
Anyway, my brain went 'CHALLENGE FUCKING ACCEPTE-wait I don't know how to write 2nd person. I'd only ever experienced it in RPGs and Choose Your Own Adventure books/stories up until that point (hilariously, I didn't even know about Reader fics at this point), but I liked those well enough, so I went and did some research, checked out CYOA library books to figure out how I could write a good You like the ones I loved in games and books. The whole time I was also trying to think of what the hell I'd even write about. I knew I wanted it to be Daredevil since it was my favorite fandom, and obviously it would have a You in it like CYOA books (discovered Reader fics around here during the research phase, which helped a bit), but I had no real plotline beyond that. Then I had a post come across my previous tumblr account's feed. It was one of those prompt-type idea posts for writing, and it said (paraphrased since it's been like 7-8 years):
'According to myth, there is an invisible red thread that binds two soulmates together. Though it may tangle or stretch, it never breaks.'
And... something clicked.
What if you could see them?
What if there were more colors?
Colors not just for a soulmate's love but for all love - love for friends and family, for teddy bears and your old car, for all our sweet dogs and purring kitties that love us wholly, for forests and the sea, for books and music and your old house and your entire city and holy shit that's it-she can see them, and if she can see them, she can track them, and how useful would that be to those in power? And if you have these psychic connections that's basically a way into someone's soul so what if it was like a whole other realm and obviously it's not physical so emotions would look like this and memories like-
A general plotline began to fall into place after that, built on my favorite plotlines and archetypes and tropes and my love of DD - an Evil Scientist/Defeat the Monster story arc; bring in the Bad Dude But A Good Dad archetype combined with the Cool Mafia Guy (partially inspired by Jonny Marcone in the Dresden Files); a slow burn romance which I loved watching/reading but had never tried writing before; a conflicted, morally grey protagonist to further explore the theme I loved in Daredevil of redemption and ethical dilemmas and the question of choosing who we become, etc. Once I realized how big this story was going to be, I decided to go all in and throw everything I had into the arcs and plotlines, sort of as an experiment to see if I could write a longer story at that point since I want to be published one day. And it just kind of kept getting more and more detailed from there, as I came up with twists and turns to throw in, ways I could more deeply explore this section of Hell's Kitchen and the wider Marvel universe because goddamn did I love this world the writers had created, found ways to incorporate tropes that I adored, until eventually it became TRT: this love letter to both Daredevil and all of my favorite tropes and storytelling in general. <3
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bingebuddie · 1 year ago
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Here... We... Go...
Hi all,
Well, so far, 2024 has sucked for me... but anyway...
I've been feeling pretty out of sorts mentally, and depending on where my head is at, I've been bouncing back and forth between Fics and my Wes and Cole novel.
I am going on a writing retreat May 4-12th... so... expect some major movement...
I wanted to provide a few updates on where I am with my Fics and other works.
Sideways:
Published updates here have been slower than I wanted or anticipated. This has nothing to do with the story, as I have this outlined for Arcs 6-10... Yes, up to Arc 10.
My personal life has gotten in the way a lot over the last few months and has just eaten up my time to write.
Now, Arc 6 will lead right into Arc 7 and 7 into 8. You will want to throw some stuff at me for some of the wtf moments and having to wait between arcs... but it's all coming. Anyone new to the series has had the benefit of reading five fully finished-out arcs that took me about a year to write. Have some patience with me. It will be worth it.
Arc 6, Into The Unknown, has multiple chapters drafted. I just need to clean up some edits from my beta, and they will be posted. May is going to be a big month for this arc.
This is a pivotal point in the series. It spans Chapters 37-48, making it the longest arc so far. This installment will delve into the Seals' backstory, their connection with Buck and Eddie, and much more. It’s a substantial piece of the puzzle that you won't want to miss.
This one does have some heavy moments...
This does end with a cliffhanger... But I promise, it's not our boys directly you are left wondering about...
Arc 7—Strong—Eddie will need his friends and family like never before. This is a heavy Diaz family arc. The outline is eight Chapters.
This also ends in a cliffhanger and that promise I made above... does not apply here.... insert evil laugh...
Arc 8 Genesis—This is the big one. It all comes together here, and it is the part I am most excited to write. It is also the longest, with an outline of 16 chapters. You will find out more about Genesis in Arc 6.
This arc will change all of their lives and the status quo as we know it. Grab your seats and tissues. The previous title for this was Unleashed...
Arc 9 - Experience/Circles - Tentative Title - No tease, as it will spoil what's to come...
Arc 10 - My All - googles Mariah Carey ...
Sideways isn't going anywhere...
Shifted:
Volume 1: Nevermore
This was originally planned to be 30 chapters. I have 20 published right now. The rest of this is outlined, and chapters 21-25 are written and ready to be published. I haven't posted these because Chapter 25 ends on a massive cliffhanger, and I don't want to leave you all hanging. I will be finishing this... after Arc 6 of Sideways ...
I have a plan for the second arc... but that's all the way behind everything else on my docket...
Impossible:
If you have read this one, I have yet to post the last chapter...
This has an MCD, and while I was writing this, I lost a friend. It was hard to finish. I have finished the outline, and this will be completed soon.
Run:
This is on hold. I have too much else to focus on. Consider this on hiatus until I say otherwise. It might even be scrapped... will see...
Would You Mind:
This one was a lot of fun... The wrap-up/epilogue is done; it's with my beta...
Lap Dancing Eddie will return... in Sideways...
I Don't Want To Be Your Freind:
As of today, 7 of 11 chapters are posted. This is all outlined. I have drafts of chapters 8-11 done. Going to beta and will be posting soon...
I started this leading up to Season 7; it was my mind dealing with all the rumors and leaks... In my mind and my group chat, I was calling this my Anti Tommy and Marisol fic...
This got way out of hand and became a monster of a fic...
Now... on to what else I have brewing...
Future Shock - 3 Part Series - Magic/BAMF/Mayhem/Found Family/Soul Mates/Redux/Ryan Throw's The Timeline Into A Blender and Tada...
As It Is - 2030 and the 118 have been a fractured team since the lawsuit. When members of the team start to be picked off one by one, Hen, Chim, and Bobby, have no one to turn to until friends and family return in their most desperate hour.
As It Was - Details what led to the fracturing of the 118. A retelling of Season 2 and part of season 3...
As It Was Always Meant To Be - Now reunited, will the 118 be able to rally around each other, or will their painful past be too much to overcome.
This has a loose outline and it's very large ...
Depressed, Devasted, and Destroyed aka Something To Hold On To:
I keep calling this Triple D or DDD... This is a pure angst fest... major whump... like I'm mad at myself for the whump here ... seriously...
This has an outline...
Relationship Goals—In an effort to rebuild their friendship after their recent relationships crash and burn, Buck and Eddie join a local hockey team along with some of Buck's old seal friends. This was pure fan service to myself and a way to get Buck, Eddie, Wes, and Cole to play hockey and not have to do it on Sideways. This currently sits around 60 pages.
Stolen - A stolen kiss changes everything between Buck and Eddie... This angst fest is somehow incredibly soft... This is about 35 pages right now...
The Ties That Bind - Buck breakdown fic... This might get scrapped and merged into DDD from above...
All I Want for Christmas - Think Scrooged Vs. It's A Wonderful Life Vs 911... This won't be posted until holiday time...
The Wes and Cole novel is still moving along... it's my refuge when the show does something stupid...
I should probably get to writing... it's not like I have nothing to do....
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sweetprfct · 1 year ago
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Written in the Stars
Joseph Quinn x Fem!Reader
Summary: You are a believer in fate but after getting your heart broken, you had stopped believing it. Until you met Joe. Suddenly, it got you questioning if fate is real or not.
Author's Note: I think I'll publish two chapters at a time as I try to re-edit these parts. :)
Wordcount: 5.1K
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part one - part two - part three - part four - part five - part six - part seven - part eight - part nine - part ten - epilogue
AUTUMN 2022.
“Sara, I’m getting off work a bit early. I’m stopping for pizza. Let me know if you want some.” You left that voicemail on Sara’s phone for the second time now. 
You were supposed to go out for drinks with your co-worker, Nicola, tonight but unfortunately, Nicola was out sick today due to a bad case of seasonal flu. So, there goes the Friday night plans that you two had. In all honesty, you were sort of glad that you weren’t able to go out tonight because the thought of having to go and change into a nice dress and fixing your hair and makeup was kind of making you feel exhausted. You stood in the middle of the busy and crowded subway car and checked your phone again.
No phone calls or messages back from Sara. 
Seriously, what was that girl doing? 
“Hey, I’m getting off the subway soon. I’ll just get you some dinner too, so I hope you haven’t had any yet. Also, please call me back. You’re starting to worry me now.” You left another voicemail for Sara before exiting the subway car once it arrived at your stop. 
You passed by one of the pizza shops near your apartment building and decided to go inside and order some dinner for you and Sara. As you waited, you checked your phone to see that there were still no messages back from Sara. You knew she left her bookshop café an hour ago, and she didn’t mention anything to you about having some plans for tonight. You were starting to get worried because the both of you usually communicated well with these things in order to keep a clear and relaxed mind for the both of you. Letting out a sigh, you took the two boxes of pizza from the counter and headed to your apartment building. 
You just hoped that Sara was taking a nap or something because it was just unusual for her to do this. Entering your apartment building, you stood inside the elevator, looking up at the ceiling, thinking how you were ready to get out of your work clothes and just sit and relax on the sofa, eat pizza, and watch your favorite show. Stepping inside your place, you saw how the lights were all dimmed, making you wonder why because you and Sara never dimmed your lights like this. Innocently thinking that maybe Sara just left it like this to try something new, you walked in your living room, and your eyes widened in shock. Immediately, you let out a scream from the scene that you just saw. 
“Ohmygod!” You covered your eyes with your hand and looked away. 
You did not just see a half naked man on your sofa. Sara immediately came from under him, also half naked, and yelled, “Ohmygod!”
Without even trying to say or do anything else, you quickly ran in your room, trying your best to look the other way and not see whatever was going on in your living room. You exhaled sharply, locking your door and setting the pizza boxes on your desk. You set your hand on top of your chest, breathing heavily. 
What the fuck?!
Your heart was beating so fast as you tried to process everything that you just saw. This was not the Friday night that you expected it to be. Not a few seconds later, you heard a knock on your door, and you hesitated to even open it. You didn’t want to see what was on the other side of it. You heard a second knock and you took a deep breath, covering your eyes with your one hand and opened the door, letting Sara in before quickly closing the door behind you. 
“I’m dressed.” Sara stated. 
You took a peek from behind your hand before dropping your arm completely on your side. You let out a sigh and saw Sara was playing with her fingers nervously.
“I’m sorry I didn’t—” Sara shook her head, trying to find the right words. “I’m sorry I thought you were coming home late.”
“I—” You also tried to find the right words, still trying to erase the little show you saw in your living room from your mind. “Nicola was sick, so my plans got canceled— Is this why you haven’t answered your phone? Who is that guy?” 
“We met at the bookshop like four months ago.” Sara bit her lower lip. 
Your eyes widened in shock. You were just hearing and seeing news after news tonight. What did she mean she met him four months ago in the bookshop? Sara hasn’t mentioned anything about this nor have you seen that man in the bookshop at all. 
“We have gone out on dates and well, we kinda talked everyday and flirted…” Sara cleared her throat. “And I didn’t tell you because I thought this was just some stupid thing that wasn’t going anywhere, but now…”
You raised your brow at her. “...And now?”
“Now, we kind of made it official, and I wanted to bring him to meet you.” Sara explained. 
“Oh, okay. So, you decided that it was a good idea for me to meet him butt naked in our apartment?” 
“No!” Sara scratched her forehead. “I didn’t think you would be home early tonight. I was going to let you meet him tomorrow… with clothes on.”
You let out a soft chuckle as you shook your head and stared at your best friend for a moment, who was giving you her puppy dog eyes to forgive her.
“Well, the image of his bare ass is still glued into my brain.” You teased her.
“I know. I’m sorry! I didn’t—ugh!” Sara buried her face on the palm of her hands and shook her head in embarrassment, making you laugh softly. 
“Hey,” You laughed, taking her hands away from her face as Sara looked at you with flushed cheeks. “I’m kidding—Well, not really because it is technically still glued in my brain, but still. It’s okay. I understand.” 
“Really?” She kept her pout on her face.
“Really.” You laughed, “I have one question though… Are you happy?”
“Yes.”
“Okay,” You grinned, pulling her into an embrace. “Then, I’m really happy for you, and I hope he is treating you right. Don’t be like me.”
Sara chuckled softly. “He is. Um… We’ll move into my room.”
You shook your head and said, “You know what, do whatever you want. I’m gonna stay in my room for the rest of the night, eat my pizza and watch Friends.”
Sara’s jaw dropped on the floor, “You’re going to watch Friends without me?”
You gave her an evil smile as you shrugged, unlocking your door and opening it for her. 
“That’s so unfair. Just because I got caught.” Sara mumbled under her breath, walking out of your room.
“Oh, here take this.” You laughed as you handed her the other box of pizza. “You do whatever you want with that.” You teased her as Sara’s jaw dropped on the floor again, stunned by your joke before you closed the door behind you. 
You shook your head at the situation and went to freshen up before sliding yourself under your bed covers. Turning your TV on, you watched Friends and ate the pizza you bought for dinner. It had been a long day, and you surely didn’t expect what greeted you in your apartment when you arrived home.
Though Sara finally has someone that makes her happy, you couldn’t help but smile and be overjoyed for your best friend. She always had put everyone else first, and she deserved someone that would care for her too. You just hoped that this man wasn’t like your ex. That he wasn’t going to break Sara’s heart because you knew how that felt. Losing your whole self after the breakup was not what you wanted for her. Even though you knew she was tougher than you, you still hoped that she wouldn’t know the same pain you felt before. 
Spending the rest of the night on your bed and watching reruns of Friends, you eventually fell asleep and when the morning came, the sun was shining brightly through your big glass windows. The city was already busy outside as you got up from your bed, took your throw blanket, wrapped it around your body and tiptoed towards the kitchen. You could hear some clattering noise going on and realize maybe Sara was already awake. When you entered the kitchen, you saw the man that Sara brought back last night, making some tea.
“Oh.” You paused in your tracks, pulling the blanket closer to you.
The man turned to face you and smiled. His blond hair all disarray, and he was holding one of your mugs in his hand. The both of you stood there for a moment and just stared at each other, thinking about the little encounter you two had last night.
“Good morning.” His English accent slipped through his voice. 
British.
“Good morning.” You muttered, still frozen in your place.
“I’m sorry. Sara told me I could make some tea here in the morning.” He looked down at the mug that he was holding. “I want to apologize about last night.”
You finally were able to move as you walked towards him and opened the cupboard, taking a mug out. “Hm… You mean when I saw you butt naked on my sofa?” You teased him.
You watched as his cheeks flushed, scratching the back of his head, “I’m really sorry about that.”
You laughed softly, pouring yourself a cup of coffee. “It’s fine. I know.” 
“I’m Wesley, by the way. Wes.” He held out his hand to you. 
You introduced yourself and shook his hand, chuckling softly. You watched as Wes’ eyes caught the Friends poster on your living room and nodded his head towards that direction.
“You and Sara both love Friends, huh?” He asked.
Technically, that poster was yours, and you had that in your dorm room back in college. It was the show that you and Sara first bonded over when you first met and ever since you moved in together, you had hung it up there as a reminder how your friendship started.
“Yeah, we’re obsessed with that show.” You grinned.
“That’s quite funny because my best friend loves that show too.” Wes commented before the both of you were interrupted by Sara.
“Joe?” She smiled, coming out of her bedroom in her fuzzy robe. 
Wes leaned down to kiss Sara on the cheek, making her smile. You couldn’t help but look away, feeling like you were interrupting a moment between them. Though, you also couldn’t help but smile about the fact that they were really sweet together. 
“Yes, Joe. I was just telling her how Joe loves the show Friends like the two of you.” Wes explained.
“Which by the way, you will be watching with me too.” Sara stated, making Wes roll his eyes. “But speaking of Joe, I feel like the two of you would get along very well.” Sara turned her attention to you. 
You saw the smile on both of their faces, and you knew exactly what Sara was doing. She had been encouraging you for a few months now to go out there and date again, but you had refused many times. It was not like you didn’t want to go out there again. You did. But it was hard after Carter. You felt like you couldn’t trust anyone so easily anymore. So, you just raised your brow at Sara, who was grinning at you before she changed the subject and turned her attention to Wes.
“I have to go to the bookshop for a few hours because two of my employees are running late today.” Sara said.
“Okay, I actually have to head home, but I’ll pop by later on. I’ll bring Joe if he’s not busy today.” 
“I’ll come with you. I need to find a book anyway and finish my work.” You said, drinking the rest of your coffee. “And maybe I could help you out serve coffee.” 
Sara nodded her head, “Sounds good.”
Leaving the couple in the kitchen, you made your way to the bathroom to freshen up to get yourself ready for the day. Sara’s bookshop café was only two blocks away from your apartment building, and she opened it up the year after you both graduated. It was something she had been wanting her whole life. The bookshop only started off small but once everyone had started coming in, Sara was able to expand it and add a little coffee shop inside for everyone to hang out and feel comfortable. It was Sara’s little baby, and she was always protective and picky with people to hire because she wanted to have someone that she trusted whenever she wasn’t at the bookshop. 
“I know what you’re doing, you know.” You told Sara later that morning as the both of you walked down the street. 
Sara was looking down at her feet, stepping on each crunchy leaf and  laughed at what you said. 
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She replied, side eyeing you.
“Please. I’m not dumb. I saw that expression on your face when you mentioned John.”
“It’s Joe.” Sara corrected.
You rolled your eyes, “Whatever his name is.” 
“You need to go out there again. I’m not kidding, Joe really is nice. I really do feel like you two will get along really well.” 
“Well, maybe I like what I have right now.” You argued back.
Sara gave you a look as you both arrived at the bookshop café, knowing full well that you were lying through your teeth. You purse your lips as Sara chuckled and unlocked the bookshop doors.
You always loved Sara’s bookshop. The tall shelves and walls were made of dark wood that made the place look warm and cozy, especially during autumn and winter. It was two stories. The little coffee shop was at the back of the store and there was a little lounge area right by it. Upstairs, you could look down and see the first floor of the bookshop. Sara had also made a little lounge area at the back with string lights hanging on the ceiling and little bean bags set on the fuzzy carpet. Though, other than that, most of the upstairs were just a series of tall bookshelves. 
Looking around, you smiled as you adored the bookshop. You couldn’t get used to how beautiful and cozy it was. It has been a few weeks since you came over to the shop due to the fact that your work has been keeping you busy, and you would work late all the time. As you walked with Sara towards the back, you set your stuff in the lounge area and opened your laptop before following Sara behind the coffee counter and helped her set up the coffees.
Back in the earlier days when it just opened, you and Sara used to be so busy just bumping into each other and making coffees for everyone. Now, Sara has hired two people to help her but lately, you have been trying to convince her that she should hire another extra pair of hands.
After setting up everything, you made your way upstairs to find the books that you needed and for a while, you sat at the table and focused your attention on your laptop in front of you until you saw Sara struggling behind the counter. You were quick to get up from where you were sitting, put on an apron and helped her ring up some customers. 
“Don’t you miss working with me?” You teased Sara later that day as you steamed the milk for the latte.
“Yeah, remember when the counter was small and we would just bump into each other and spill coffee all over.” Sara chuckled.
“Sara, you really need to hire one more person. I think you need two more extra hands around here.” You suggested as you watched the crowd of people finally started to go down.
Sara let out a sigh, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. “I know. You know how picky I am.” You watched as she opened the fridge underneath the counter. “I’m gonna go to the back and get some more milk. I can handle it from here. Go back to your work, I know you still have some stuff to do.”
“Okay.”
Wiping down the countertops and putting everything back to its place, you kinda missed the rush that it gave you. Sure, you were busy at work but you were always behind a desk now. Though, at the same time, you couldn’t picture yourself being like this everyday. It would stress you out. You honestly didn’t know how Sara was doing it. 
“Hello, may I get a small cappuccino?” 
Your thoughts were interrupted as you finished wiping down the countertops. “Yes, give me one second, sir—”
As soon as you glanced up, you froze in your place and saw him. It had probably been a year already, but you knew that face. You remembered that face. You could tell he remembered you too because he had the same expression as you. His eyes widened in shock and suddenly, a small smile tugged on his face.
“Hi!” He greeted you.
“Hi.” You smiled, nervously wiping your hands with the towel that you were holding. 
Why did you keep bumping into this man? Manhattan was big enough for the two of you to not be constantly running into each other. 
“I didn’t know you work here.”
“Oh, I don’t. I was just helping—”
“These crates are heavy!” Sara interrupted, coming back carrying a crate full of milk. You quickly dropped the towel you were holding and helped her carry it over and set it on the counter. 
“Joe!” Sara exclaimed as soon as she saw him. “It looks like you two finally met!”
Wait, Joe? 
Was this the Joe they were talking about this morning? Was this the Joe who is Wes’ best friend? Your eyes widened at Sara, and you slowly turned to Joe who was smiling at your best friend like they have known each other for a while.
“You’re Joe?” You asked, stunned. 
Joe nodded his head, giving you a warm smile as he held out his hand and introduced himself. As you shook his hand and also introduced yourself, you couldn’t help but wonder how many times you two kept running into each other and you just now were learning his name. 
Joe.
“Where’s Wes?” Sara asked as she started making Joe’s drink.
“Oh, he’s in the restroom.”
Not a few seconds after, Wes came up behind Joe with a big grin on his face and said, “Oh! You two finally met!”
Wes squeezed Joe’s shoulder, while you and Joe stared at each other for a moment. You could see how Joe was holding in his smile, while you looked down and bit your lower lip. Sara and Wes could feel the different vibe that was radiating from the both of you when you gazed up and saw them exchanging looks.
“Okay, what is with the weird vibe?” Wes asked.
Joe cleared his throat as you let out a soft chuckle and said, “We met before.”
“When?” Sara and Wes exclaimed in unison as both of their eyes widened in shock.
You turned to Sara and said, “The night that Carter broke up with me.”
Joe did the same to Wes and said, “When I proposed to Rue.”
“He’s the handkerchief guy?”
“She’s the handkerchief girl?”
Both Sara and Wes said it at the same time again as they stood there and stared at both of you with wide eyes. You felt the blood rushed to your cheeks as soon as Sara mentioned the little nickname you two had for Joe. You told Sara about that night. The night how Joe had given you his handkerchief because he found you crying, and you thought it was weird how both of you had the opposite situations that night. You also had mentioned that you ran into him at the mall the next day. Letting your eyes study both men in front of you, you couldn’t help but feel embarrassed about the little nickname. Then again, Wes and Joe also called you the same thing. So, what were you so embarrassed for? 
Turning to Sara, you could see the playful smile that was slowly curving on her face, and you shook your head, knowing exactly what she was thinking. You were just glad that you were saved by Sara’s two employees walking in the shop because the conversation immediately ended as soon as they entered. Hoping you could avoid this conversation to continue, you untied the apron from your waist.
“I know what you’re thinking.” You whispered at Sara as you passed by her before hanging the apron on the wall. You let her employees take over as you slipped yourself away from behind the counter. 
Walking back at your little table where you had set your things earlier, you sat down and went back to work on your laptop. Joe didn’t take his eyes off of you as he waited for Sara to finish making his cappuccino. Letting Wes and Sara have their own space, Joe grabbed the drink from Sara and paid for it before walking towards where you were sitting at the lounge area. He could see you were focused on whatever you were doing in your laptop, and he couldn’t help but think how you looked beautiful. 
“We meet again.” Joe said as he stood in front of you with a smile on his face. 
You gazed up from your laptop and said, “It seems like it.”
“How are you?”
You bit your lower lip and said, “Better. How’s everything with you? Are you finally engaged?”
Joe sat across from you and let out a scoff, shaking his head. “Um… no. We broke up two weeks after that night.”
You furrowed your brows as you completely stopped what you were doing and gave Joe your full attention this time. “Oh? I thought you said you were working things out.”
You watched as Joe took a sip of his drink and said, “Well, you can’t really work things out when one of you is cheating on the other.” 
You raised both your brows and shook your head. You didn’t know the woman but this was probably the third time that you had judged her in your head. Pushing the thoughts away, you focused your attention back to your laptop. 
“Idiot.” You mumbled under your breath, low enough hoping Joe wouldn’t hear it, but he did anyway. 
Joe smiled to himself as he heard your little comment. Sipping the rest of his cappuccino, he watched you work for a moment. His eyes lingered towards your long hair and the way you typed on your laptop. Then, his eyes fell to your long lashes fluttering, and your sparkling eyes that were focused on the screen. He never noticed it then because his mind was too busy with Rue but watching you sit there in front of him, he couldn’t help but think how stunning you were.
“How about you? Have you yelled at anyone lately?” Joe teased you, knowing that he would be able to see your smile.
He was right. Because not only did he receive a genuine smile from you, a soft laughter also escaped from your lips. It was the first time he saw you smile and the sound of your laughter was music to his ears. The last two times he had run into you, you were upset, and he couldn’t blame you, honestly. He still remembered that night. He remembered how much of a dick your ex was.
You glanced up from your screen and saw the playful smile that tugged on Joe’s face. You could tell he was teasing you as his chocolate button eyes sparkled.
“No, I don’t yell at people.” You said. “That’s just for you.” You added, teasing him back.
You watched Joe laugh at your joke and thought about Sara’s little comment this morning. Maybe she was right. You were able to get along with Joe easily. Interrupting your little conversation, Sara and Wes walked over towards the two of you. Wes’ arm was around Sara’s shoulders as they smiled at the both of you, knowing full well that they were right. You both were getting along quickly.
“I’m quite peckish. Do you want to get some pizza down the street?” Wes asked.
“Sure.” You and Joe said in unison as you closed your laptop and packed your things.
The walk to the pizza shop was only two minutes. You and Joe walked right behind Wes and Sara, and you tried your best to keep your focus on your feet and let them step on the crunchy leaves on the pavement.
Left, right, left right. 
It wasn’t like it was awkward between you two. You just didn’t really know what to say or talk about with him. After all, you two just officially met. Joe was quiet too. He tried to find something to talk about with you but nothing really came to mind. As the four of you entered the little pizza shop, you settled yourself at a corner booth. Wes was the most talkative out of everyone, and you could tell how happy he was. His happiness was radiating out of him. You couldn’t help but laugh and smile at his little jokes and glanced at Sara from time to time. 
She’s happy. 
“You know what? I’m still absolutely shocked over the fact that you and Joe have met before.” Wes said, his attention turned towards you. “What are the odds that I’d meet Sara too?”
Joe chuckled, sipping on his soda. “Wes was completely down on his knees the moment he met Sara.”
As you sat there, you realized one thing. You now just found out about Wes and Sara, but everyone else knew about all of this except for you. 
Even Joe. 
You turned your attention to Sara and asked, “You know you haven’t told me exactly how this happened.”
Sara gave you a smile and turned to Wes and Joe. Both men exchanged looks before Wes said, “So, we were walking down the street after a long day. Joe just finished filming a movie, and I was there visiting him on set, and it started pouring hard outside. We found Sara’s bookshop café and since Joe was already crying that he wanted some coffee because it was cold, we decided to enter.”
“And there was Sara behind the counter making drinks, and Wes just stood there frozen in line and drooling over her. Ever since then, he started coming in almost everyday.” Joe laughed.
“It’s so funny because I started noticing him, and he would come and talk to me. He started ordering a different drink everyday.” Sara added.
The four of you laughed as you saw how Wes’ cheeks flushed. “Hey! I was coming in everyday. I might as well try all the beverages.”
“Well, that took you four months, and you were finally able to let her say yes, did you, mate?” Joe teased, nudging Wes on the side.
“That’s so cute. I’m so happy for you.” You murmured to Sara, who was sitting next to you. “And you said you’re an actor?” You turned to Joe.
“Oh, yeah!” Sara replied to your question. 
“You know, she works at a production company.” Wes added, pointing at you. 
You furrowed your brows, wondering how Wes knew that and figured maybe Sara had mentioned it to him. It wasn’t really something you like to brag about because it was just some normal office work in your opinion. 
“I work at the office. I just do paperwork and… other things.” You shrugged. 
“Do you ever want to work on set or be in front of the camera?” Joe asked.
“No, not really. I mean that would be great, but I don’t think I’m good at that part of the business.”
Joe nodded his head in understanding as the four of you continued to eat pizza and have little small conversations. You learned that Wes was too afraid to actually ask Sara out at the beginning and that was why he didn’t do anything about it, which made Sara think that it wasn’t gonna go anywhere. Joe, however, was able to finally convince Wes to ask Sara out on a date and just two days ago, they finally made it official. 
You thought that story was actually really cute, and you couldn’t be more happier for Sara. Looking at Wes, it seemed like he was also very genuine towards her. When the four of you walked out of the pizza shop that day, Joe and Wes had to go their separate ways since they both had plans, while you and Sara decided that you would spend time together and shop.
“So, I guess I’ll see you around.” Joe said to you.
Wes and Sara were saying their goodbyes a few feet away from the both of you, and you thought this time, there would be an actual chance you would see Joe again. Not run into each other in surprise but actually see him because you knew he would be tagging along with Wes from time to time. 
“Yeah, I guess so. It was really nice to finally meet you officially.”
Joe chuckled, “Yeah, it was nice to finally meet you two… officially.”
“Bye.” You smiled at him before locking arms with Sara and walked in the opposite direction. 
“So?” Sara raised her brow at you.
“So… I like Wes.” You replied to the question you already knew she was asking. “He’s really nice and funny.”
“Really?” Sara’s eyes widened in happiness. Her whole face glowed the moment she heard you say those words.
“Really.” You laughed, nudging her lightly. “Even though our first encounter was a little… traumatizing.”
You both laughed together at your little joke. Sara knew you would never let that subject go now. 
“And Joe?” Sara asked.
“He’s… nice.” You smiled. 
Sara didn’t say or ask anything else as she lightly nudged you on the side, making you stumble a little. As the autumn leaves fell from the trees, both of your laughter filled the streets as you both continued down the sidewalk. 
********
Taglist:
@palomahasenteredthechat @sunvick @eddies-acousticguitar @demonsanddemogorgons @joesquinns @mmunson86 @ghostinthebackofyourhead @corrodedcoffincumslut @figmentofquinn @tlclick73 @browneyes8288 @bylermaxmayfield @ali-r3n @ficsbypix @capricornrisingsstuff @missonlypost @ali-in-w0nderland @amberolivia666 @lalalala-melmosworld @niallersfreckles @nanas-lasagna @emma77645 @indulgence-be-thy-name @readergf @ladamari68 @1paire2vans @d4rk4ng3l86 @paleidiot @josephquinnsfreckles @readergf
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katherynefromphilly · 5 months ago
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20 Questions for Fic Authors
Because @tansyuduri asked… ;)
1. How many works do you have on AO3?
18
2. What's your total AO3 word count?
640,000
3. What fandoms do you write for?
Merlin, now — in the past, also Spider-Man, Star Wars and Star Trek
4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
1. And like the cycle of the year, we begin again, 2. Our destinies our own, 3. The word you’re looking for is consort, 4. Ever onward, through magic, through love, 5. Sweet dreams of mistletoe.
5. Do you respond to comments?
Yes. Um. I mean. Eventually, yes. My inbox is, er, a little full right now. Sorry about that, lovely people!
6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
I feel like maybe ‘the return of magic (on dragon’s wings)’ has the angstiest ending, because we’re sending Merlin off to wait for Arthur 1,500 years and Gwen off to rule the kingdom alone. Until she and Leon hook up I mean. ;)
7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
Wait and see.
8. Do you get hate on fics?
Of course. It’s rare but it does happen. I am a huge believer in “no anonymous comments” and “delete comment” and “block user”. I lived through the early internet and had to deal with the trolls and flamewars. If I can block that stuff now, I will.
9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?
I’ve written everything from explicit to gen. The story dictates the sex. Our destinies was the smuttiest of the Merlin series, because it depicted the beginning of a relationship between two sexually active adults, and typically people go at it like horny little rabbits in that honeymoon phase.
10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?
Just once, a Bounty Hunters / The Fall crossover, posted as anonymous. And yes, that one is the craziest. But the characters were nuts to begin with so. You know.
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?
Probably? I think anyone who has a highly rated fic probably has it published somewhere. I do look sometimes — including made-up Brittonic phrases in a story is an excellent way to find things online — but haven’t seen it yet. I’m sure it’ll happen though.
12. Have you ever had a fic translated?
Yes, and I would like to send my huge thanks to all the people who have, or who are currently, translating We Begin Again. What a huge effort!
13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?
Nope.
14. What’s your all time favorite ship?
The kids call it “spirk” these days, which still makes me think of bodily fluids. To me it will always be K/S (pronounced by fandom grammas as “kay-ess”)
15. What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?
There’s a WIP sequel to “Just a Face on a Train” that’s called “One Night Out” that I really doubt I’ll ever finish. You never know though.
16. What are your writing strengths?
Writing in character, I think. I’ve always written that way. I think it’s just how my brain is wired. Like… I want to see more of canon. So that’s what I write.
17. What are your writing weaknesses.
SPEED. *laughing through tears*
18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?
Are we talking about writing dialogue in another language? Or writing foreign language in a story? I doubt I’ll ever be good enough at foreign languages to do that first thing. But writing foreign language within your English language story… I did that in We Begin Again, and tried to keep the sentences short enough, with English replies, so that the contest was clear. And then put translations at the end of the story for the linguistic nerds. ;)
19. First fandom you wrote for?
Battlestar Galactica (the original version)
20. Favorite fics you’ve written?
I’ll always have a soft spot for “Just a Face on a Train”, the story that Tobey Maguire and Spider-man 2 prompted me not only to write, but to post online. That was the first story I shared beyond a couple of friends. And the reception I got on ff dot net was so supportive that it brought me to where i am. Also, obviously, I have a huge soft spot for We Begin Again, because that one brought me further into fandom, and enabled me to get to know so many people, and talented creators, and real life friends. :)
Tagging @bluesimplicity73 and @lenetaylor and anyone else who wants to participate!
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vryivs · 5 months ago
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fanfic writer interview
thank you @tiesanjiaoshenanigans
How many works do you have on AO3? 52
What's your total AO3 word count? 571, 768
Your top 5 stories by kudos/likes:
Tangerine, Macaron (seongjoong)
the dirt that you're made of (yanqing)
恋の予感 (the longest path to us) (seongjoong)
If I Can Leave One Memory (sansang)
the stars are here (seongjoong)
Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? yes!! i usually go through my comments right before i upload a new fic or chapter, just because that's easiest
What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending? god um ok. one sec. it's definitely 白镜 - White Mirror. tragic lesbians... most of what i write has a happy or at least ambiguous ending but this one follows canon so it's a tragedy instead
What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending? oh man! tbh it's probably 恋の予感 (the longest path to us) again. although nearly everything i write ends happy
Do you write crossovers? not rlly... they just don't appeal to me that much so I've never written them. i dont read them either
Have you ever received hate on a fic? nope! considering how long ive been writing it honestly kind of surprises me--its not even like i write particularly safe stuff either. i figure that maybe its because so much of my work is so personal that a people tend to maintain good etiquette and dont talk shit directly to me
Do you write smut? If so, what kind? yes. the cinematic kind lol. last time i wrote something explicit was fine, but i much prefer writing smut in a more literary style? not sure if that makes sense. the writing equivalent of close shots and fancy camera angles and lens flare, although that doesnt mean that i cant be crass when i want
Have you ever had a fic stolen? i dont think so, but its not like i check
Have you ever had a fic translated? nop! someday i want to get good enough to translate my own hsr work into chinese just bc so much of what i write is influenced by reading and learning about chinese culture and linguistic quirks, but that wont be any time soon
Have you ever co-written a fic before? yes!! several actually. lonely 'til you hold me was a collab with a pinch hitter for the event it was for. then i also wrote on my old account Accursed Spawn with @shineoftherainbow which to this day i am obsessed with
What's your all-time favorite ship? oh man... i am fickle and my tastes change by the week, but i think i will always have a soft spot for einsla, even if i dont write them much
What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will? never say never but probably the seongjoong royalty au. i had it planned and everything but then people started discoursing around eden and the planned ending i wrote was potentially too topical, so i waited and then i lost steam.
What are your writing strengths? flow i think? ive always been pretty good at keeping things moving at a good pace. i edit myself a lot (and practice editing on some actual published books too!) so its become second nature to chop and change and move things around.
What are your writing weaknesses? actually writing. just kidding. probably that when i get stuck on something i tend to focus only on the fact that im stuck and cannot continue until i have unstuck myself
What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? depends on what is meant my this! if it's about honorifics in dialogue (eg, hyung, -chan, dajie etc) i support it, since a lot don't translate well to english. Same with terms of endearment like -ito and -ie. if it's whole dialogue, it really depends. am i supposed to be able to understand the dialogue? is it something that could've been written just as well with 'he says, in [language]', does the author understand what they're writing, is it a text based or verbal conversation? does the pov character understand what's being said? (personally the best way to have dialogue in other languages is if the pov character isn't supposed to understand it. but always be aware that a native speaker of that language may still read the fic)
What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to? kiamei! i love my lesbian mothers.
What's your favorite fic you've written?
白镜 - White Mirror. lets go lesbians! i really enjoyed writing in this style
tagging: @shineoftherainbow @himbodevotee @nicenightmare13 @morifiinwe @marichild @linhuine
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tc-doherty · 7 months ago
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Book One | Chapter Twenty-Three
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Index | First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
Tag list: @bloodlessheirbyjacques @magefaery @did-i-do-this-write @marrowwife
@muddshadow @outpost51 @full-on-sam @bluberimufim
@unclear-contributions @talesfromtheunknowable @guessillcallitart @flowerprose
@ashirisu @xarrixii @the-letterbox-archives
(ask to be added)
Now published, please see this post for details!
On the fourth day, they received their first contact from the outside world just after lunch – letters from the capital, delivered by a few large eagles who had been bred to the task. Patrice was surprised to find that she, too, had a letter. At least until she saw who it was from. Johan and Rothert had written it together. She didn't wait, but retreated to a corner of the dining room and popped off the wax seal.
Johan had written first.
"Hope everything is well at summer court. Have they taken you hawking yet? If not, they will – at least once a week. What about a guided walk through the grounds? Uncle had them completely redone after he and my aunt were married and is very proud of them. If someone hasn't suggested it yet, they will eventually!
"In less pleasant news, we've been looking into things here, but no one was around when your room was broken into. We know some who were at court at the time – all the heirs, and the duchess - can be ruled out. A lot of other nobles too, I won't bore you with the list. It seems like the break-in was done quickly. Someone must've been keeping watch on your rooms, but nobody remembers any lurkers. I thought to check with the royal library and see if anyone has looked at books about dragons. A tidy little group, since you made no few people curious. Neither Countess Elizabet nor Leroy are on it, but I've arranged to drop in on social gatherings of some who were. Hopefully I can tell you more later!"
After that, Rothert took over with his own letter. His handwriting was an untidy scrawl, especially compared side-by-side with Johan's much neater printing.
"Greetings! I hope the weather is better there than here, I wouldn't want to be trapped inside with that lot every day. It's been nothing but rain northwest of New Iber, but I'm making the best of it.
"I stopped by a certain trying Countess' estate for a visit. Meddlesome as she is, I doubt she's behind the theft. She found herself another, much more suitable, protégé and seems to be enjoying herself. Considering your continued friendship with people she finds undesirable, I believe she's left dragons behind.
"Leroy has more pride than sense, but he's got more lust than either. Let alone you, he's also forgotten his lady from the tournament and has spent the past few days drinking at bars and chasing a well-built merchant's daughter. I doubt he'll cause you any trouble in the future.
"I'm continuing to make rounds of the parties over this way, but no news yet. Admittedly, most of the people out here aren't terribly involved with the court but you never know who might've heard something. Wishing you the best!"
Patrice sighed and crumpled the letter into a ball before shoving it into her pocket next to the spirit stone. That neatly ruled out the three most offensive people she could think of, although in truth she hadn't really thought Leroy was behind it.
Felisjyta gave her a bemused look when Patrice returned to her seat at the table. "Bad news?"
Patrice shook her head and rested her arms on the table. "No news, more like. Did you get any letters?"
The Serzek knight laughed. "I don't know who in the capital would write to me. Errys got a few though." She nodded towards the other knight, who was studying three letters with an irritated expression on her face.
One by one she crushed them – with considerably more force that Patrice had exerted, and dropped them onto her plate to be taken out with the trash.
"Bad news?" Felisjyta asked again.
"Bad enough when I was just pretty!" Errys said, scowling. "Now that I'm respectable too, I'm afraid I'll get marriage offers from every unattached person in the city – and even a few from those who aren't!"
Princess Emilia was sitting only two chairs down from them, how could she help but overhear? She didn't look up from perusing her own letters but she laughed. "The best cure for that is marriage, dear cousin. If you have someone in mind it might behoove you to move a little faster."
Errys shook her head vehemently. "I've no interest in anything of the sort, not that they'll listen."
Patrice laughed. "At least you'll never have any trouble keeping a fire lit, if you get love letters every day."
Errys huffed and shoved her plate with the offending letters away. "Laugh all you want. I don't see you in any hurry to the altar."
"I am a dragon after all," Patrice said, using the same explanation she had when the maids brought the subject up. "Whether I'm interested or not, this isn't necessarily the best place for me to look for partners."
Errys gave her a loaded look. "Well, that doesn't stop some."
Patrice knew that Errys was referring to her mother, and to her own uncertain status, but she refused to take the bait. She did not respond.
"From what I hear, you spend a great deal of time with my cousins. Of course Johan is already spoken for but Rothert wouldn't be a bad choice."
Patrice shook her head. “I view them both as friends, that is true. But humans are confusing enough already. If I were to court a human, it certainly wouldn't be anybody attached to a royal family."
Emilia laughed. "Fair enough. I suppose a dragon like you would prefer a country like Serze anyway."
Patrice said nothing, although she couldn't help but glance at Felisjyta. When she turned back around, she saw that Emilia had done the same.
Thankfully, Felisjyta guided the conversation in a slightly different direction. "And what of you, princess?" She asked. "You're the heir, so shouldn't you be the one getting married rather than Lord Victor?"
"That's exactly why I'm not the one getting married," Emilia said. "Political arrangements are one thing, but my king-consort must also be good for the nation on a day-to-day basis. I'm certain I'll end up marrying for peace, or for war, but there are other factors that need to be considered as well. In that respect, my younger siblings make much better political offerings."
But as she said it, she glanced down at her brother and Rozhalea, and the look she gave them was not exactly friendly. It seemed that the princess did not like Rozhalea any more than anyone else, but she was either polite enough or wise enough to hold her tongue on the matter.
Patrice also looked at them. Although Rozhalea tended to ruffle feathers everywhere she went – at least in her experience – Victor seemed to get along quite well with his bride-to-be. They chatted and laughed together with the queen and their body language was quite open and relaxed. Well, she supposed, everyone was bound to be liked by someone.
Errys interrupted. "It seems none of us are particularly fond of this topic, perhaps we can discuss something else."
"Yes, perhaps that would be for the best," Emelia said. And the four of them chatted about inconsequential things until the queen stood to announce their next activity.
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The next morning, Felisjyta was not in the cobblestone grove.
Errys was there, working through some complicated maneuver by herself. She answered Patrice's question without looking up or breaking concentration. "I haven't seen her, she wasn't even in her room. Want to work with me today?"
"Perhaps later," Patrice said. "I was hoping to find Felisjyta."
"Come back if you get bored," Errys said.
Patrice made a noise of assent and wandered back into the gardens. In truth, she didn't mind having an excuse to meander around. The ornamental plants were nothing like the untamed wilderness she was used to, but it still reminded her of home. In the carefully trimmed roses surrounding their usual practice space, she could see the beginnings of the massive, sprawling roses she was used to. Patches of well tended flowers surrounded ornamental trees on either side of stone pathways. In her home the trees had grown and flowers had spread, and the stones had broken due to time and weather. But now, seeing a garden like this, how it should be, the grounds she had always played in made more sense. Is this what it would have been like, had Iberia not come to a disastrous end? If her parentage was truly what she was beginning to suspect, could this have been her life?
The sound of hoofbeats spurred her from her thoughts. She increased her pace, heading in the direction of the sound, the cat moving silently at her side. It was not a great leap of logic to find herself headed for the stables again. As she rounded the corner of the manor that gave way to the stables and paddocks, a very mismatched set rode in from the estate beyond.
Rozhalea looked every bit the proper lady, perched delicately on top of a fine boned black palfrey. She wore a bliaut of patterned, shimmering indigo silk which – when contrasted against the black horse – looked stunning. Only the thick gathering of pearl necklaces at her throat, the gem-bedecked circlet decorating her shining red hair, and a minimal amount of embroidery showed that Rozhalea was not a Runerian noble born and bred. Her face was mildly serene, but Patrice could see her eyes were hard and anger showed in the slight lines around her mouth.
Felisjyta, riding Vasya at a distance far enough to be considered impolite, made no attempt to hide her fury, or her contempt.
Patrice leaned against the wall and waited. The cat, sensing her intention, curled up at her feet, the tip of his tail twitching as he watched the scene.
Rozhalea had no interest in loitering. She slid to the ground in a graceful swirl of indigo silk and tossed the reins to a groom who materialized from inside the stable before sweeping off towards the house. Her path brought her past Patrice, although there were quicker ways to return indoors.
"Felisjyta isn't very reliable, you know," she said. "It's possible only dragons would have enough patience to deal with her, but you could easily find better company among the Serzeks, and perhaps even the Runerians for that matter."
Patrice just looked at her, with all the impassive disdain a dragon could muster for humankind. Despite Felisjyta's warning that Rozhalea could be dangerous, Patrice simply could not bring herself to even pretend to respect the other woman. But Rozhalea had been prepared for her this time. She didn't even falter.
"Then again, if you have no interest in politics, there's simply no reason for you to be here at all." With that she passed Patrice and vanished through the nearest door.
The cat growled low in his throat, but Rozhalea was already gone. Her comments were nothing but air, since Patrice did not care about her opinion. Although she certainly didn't like Rozhalea's rude comments about Felisjyta, it wasn't worth it to reveal anger over something like that. She knew from previous experience that it would only serve to amuse the duchess.
Felisjyta had vanished into the stable to take care of Vasya, so Patrice continued to wait. She had no intention of going into the stable and causing a panic among the horses of less robust temperaments. Instead she occupied herself in trying to brush the ever present white and black cat hair off of her skirt. Today she was wearing a simple bliaut of finely woven red wool, so the cat's fur not only clung to her with enthusiasm, but both the white and black hairs showed clearly.
She dropped her fussing as soon as Felisjyta reappeared.
The knight's humor had not improved much. She was still scowling, and seeing Patrice waiting for her did not immediately change that expression. "I'm in no mood to be a proper teacher today."
"That doesn't concern me," Patrice said. "Errys already offered to teach me if I wanted, and it isn't as if I haven't skipped days before."
Felisjyta stalked off into the gardens and Patrice fell in line with her. She made no move to either talk or to take the knight's arm as she had been doing of late, but simply walked in silence continuing her earlier admiration of the plants.
"Aren't you going to say anything?" Asked Felisjyta after they had walked together for a quarter of an hour.
"Why should I?" Patrice asked. "Your thoughts are your own. I am simply enjoying the exercise."
Felisjyta laughed and Patrice pretended not to notice that it was a little more forced than her usual joyful abandon. "I sometimes forget how differently you think than the rest of us. A human would be eaten alive by curiosity."
"Long lives breed patience," Patrice said, repeating a quote her mother had often used. "I will listen if you wish to talk, or walk in silence if you wish to think, or make idle conversation about the weather. It doesn't matter to me."
"Rozhalea doesn't like me being friends with anyone," Felisjyta said bitterly, "especially not her future sister-in-law. And she doesn't like my reluctance to get dragged into politics here." She fell silent for a moment, still scowling. "Lovely weather we're having, isn't it?"
Patrice nodded, and let herself fall into the conversational dance she had heard so many times. It had never really made sense to her, but now she thought she understood how talking about inane things might be useful. Humans didn't like silence, but if they weren't willing to talk about certain things, what else could they speak about except something pointless? It was support without needing anything in return. "I suppose, for now. I think it will storm soon again. It seems much like the other day before it rained."
Felisjyta let out a disgusted sigh. "Why is the weather here so nonsensical? In Serze it has the decency to follow set patterns and give us ample warning. Everything about Runerians is crazy!"
"You think the chaotic nature of their weather is reflected in the hearts of their people?"
At first Felisjyta was taken aback, but she soon grinned. "Everyone is shaped by the land they live in. If you have a stable country like Serze, it breeds stable respectable folk. If you have a crazy country like Runeria, well…" She offered her arm to Patrice, and Patrice took it. They naturally drew closer together walking in such a manner.
"You do realize," said Patrice, "I would not discuss such silly things with anyone else."
"Oh, I know," Felisjyta responded.
Patrice smiled. "Very well. Tell me, oh wise teacher, what wrongness this land creates in Runerians."
"Well you see, it's like this." Felisjyta gestured in the air with her free hand as she spoke, underlying her points. "This land and its weather are so unreliable, the people here simply have no room for traditions to take root. They always look ahead and always aim for progress, and that's certainly admirable. But they have nothing to fall back on, no traditions or stability they can all cling to."
"That's no way to live."
"Exactly."
They walked further into the gardens together, chatting about nonsense, black moods and enemies temporarily forgotten.
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tryhardgwen · 7 months ago
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hi gwen!
tysm for writing and posting, I really love all of your work!
quick question just for fun: if someone could only read five of your fics and no more, and you got to pick which ones, which five would you want them to read? you can include wips if you want
happy writing and i can’t wait for your next update!
anon i am so sorry for the late reply, i just. had to think about this a LOT. then i may or may not have forgot about it. oops. but thank you so much for the submission and for enjoying my fics!!
ok we are NOT including wips because that would make this answer infinitely harder. also because i can’t really judge them because… they’re not… done. im also not counting i want your violence, since it's not finished. i AM including kim suhwan vs. the world, however, because it's essentially finished. so i'm picking out of my 25 fics. that being said, here is my list of my 5 fics i would want people to read:
kim suhwan vs. the world
all my love
the mouth of the wolf, the eyes of the lamb
and all of my dreams, they’re growing lucid (i mean, can we do two here? just the whole busan boy series. this and the beach.)
don’t blame me
pour one out for the fakenuts sure, but i havent written one im incredibly proud of yet. if the one im working on turns out good, then well… 😶‍🌫️ but thats neither here nor there since it is NOT FINISHED and i dont wanna torture myself with choosing.. really op i have 26 published fics and ur making me choose FIVE of 25. ok, i will delve into my reasoning under here.
ahem. so, to start with... kim suhwan vs. the world. i feel like this one is a little self-explanatory, if only because it's my most recent fic. i do think it's one of my best written (my older fics are definitely lacking in skill, i didn't get good at writing until late 2023 i'd say) and i just... love the plot. so writing quality is great, concept also great! description amazing, dialogue amazing. my best work so far... i guess that makes sense, since im improving in skill as i write and grow more. i love peyz. i love writing fics about love and growing up and coming of age, and okay i DID project a bit onto peyz because i too have an unrequited crush and uh... i struggle with my emotions being a "lot" a lot. especially as of late, ive been "feeling" a lot. i get angry, i get sad. i mean my dad died lol! (i do sort of separate my fics nowadays as pre-dad death and post) but this story is just so special to me. you can see my growth as a person and a writer in comparison to my first fics. i mean, its been two years, pretty much. suhwan here is so special to me, and so is jihoon, honestly. wangho is too, and... god i do love geng 2023 so much. AGH. i know chapter 5 isn't out yet, but it will be tonight, or tomorrow! before t1 geng semis, at least. i hope.
next, all my love. also self-explanatory i think. it's my most popular fic, and even though i don't even really like onerzeus, i love this story and i love my iteration of them. i really badly wanted to write a second chance homecoming story (fun fact, aml was almost a bengifaker instead of onerzeus!) and i ended up doing that. i chose onerzeus since i thought they fit it. and then the fic sorta snowballed. i initially wanted 3 chapters, 10k each, 30k total word count. hoo boy that didn't happen LOL. EVERYTHING snowballed. i started putting all my favorite music in it, and putting cars and stick shifts in, and making the almost-family have an auto shop. i put jojopyun in bc i fucking love the guy so, so much. i put many bits of myself and my dad into it (i look back on this fic with a tad bit of sentimentality because it has so much of him in it. i did write that fic before he died). but i put just.. things i wanted to put in. it was SO self indulgent! gumakeria marriage, jojopyun, music, and cars... i remember working super hard on this fic in particular, and i think it paid off. all the "surprises"/cliffhanger type-things were something i put a lot work into. i think the writing quality of this fic is... halfway decent/pretty good... description was almost amazing, and dialogue was pretty good. conceptually, one of my best. this fic will always be special to me.
next would (maybe surprisingly?) be the mouth of the wolf, the eyes of the lamb. conceptually, i believe this is my best fic conceptually, which is why i chose it. i really don't think this shows my best writing at all (not even top 5 best writing) but i think i execute the CONCEPT well regardless! i did write it in pretty much one sitting because i was in the midst of burnout and i just got the idea and knew i had to get it out, so that's my excuse on the sub-par writing quality and possibly choppy plotline. it has pretty okay description, not bad dialogue. i definitely could've made it smoother. but in general, i just love the "lck mid holy trinity" of faker, showmaker, and chovy. i love lck midlaners so much. the idea of showmaker and chovy being kindred and faker the grey man descended upon me like a blessing from the gods. BY GOD DID I COOK. i didn't write a ton of au fics prior to this fic (ntm any fantasy aus), but i really should more. i love it so much, and i love the ending (which i wrote at like 4 am in the morning in a haze because i randomly thought of it half asleep!) i'm super proud of this conceptually and i need to write more lck mid fics in general (this time with scout too!?)
okay, i really wish i could count the busan boy series as one. but i cannot, so i am choosing and all of my dreams, they're growing lucid. despite it ill be talking about both fics in this section. i think this is my best work slash series of canon-compliant gumakeria i've written thus far--(i haven't written a ton since it came out, if at all, honestly). i feel like i really perfected their characterization here, over writing so much gumakeria. the reason i pick aaomdtgl over the beach is probably writing quality/skill. busan boy is by far my "favorite" of the two concepts, but it's lacking in execution, and it's noticeable especially in comparison to its sequel. the beach has okay writing, pretty decent description, and amazing concept. and all of my dreams has great writing, great description, and great concept. i was always grumpy the beach got so much less attention than and all of my dreams, but... i guess it's for a reason, lol (also bc its um. SAD! they LOSE!). (please go read the beach if you haven't though... i do love that fic so, so much.) also stream niki and the neighbourhood... read! my first songfics i guess, i just love those two albums. also i was a tad bit insane for these two fics--i wrote the beach because i was like, worlds in Korea? lets win. time to write losing in Korea fic first to set up for it. then i wrote a large percentage of and all of my dreams before t1 even won worlds because i was so sure of it. 2023 gwen was insane.
lastly is don't blame me. this is largely because of concept, because the writing is ass. don't blame me was my second published fic, so that's my excuse. the writing IS bad, i was waltzing along lacking in skill... yeah. the prose is so short and empty and fucking hell i could nitpick all day. i guess it sort of fits the fic?? (no im lying to myself lol it just sucks.) the description is meh, the dialogue gets the point across. but CONCEPTUALLY... the fic eats! it slays! demon keria yes pls! good job 2023 gwen! you did slay! my au fics do slay, and i had so much fun with this. i really fell into the rabbithole of league lore... god i love it so much. it's just so fun to write. and the ending! i love the ending a lot and i just like the tone and mood of the fic. i mean, its chilly, a little haunting... im not sure. dbm still has unwritten sequels LMAO i may or may not choose to write... i want to, but it's been a long time... i guess only time will tell.
so... yeah! that'd be my list. if you're interested in hearing why i DIDNT include some (one) fic, keep reading :] (wjnstt was the only one i wanted to address.)
now i think the main question to myself when choosing was... do i include we just need some time together or not? i know its a rather popular fic of mine, but i nixed it in favor of dbm i guess because i prefer dbm. and in terms of canon compliant gumakeria, busan boy clears it and does it a whole lot better in everything (characterization, writing quality, dynamic, everything). i don't... like wjnstt, not really. i mean, i haven't read it in a long while, so i couldn't tell u if that's 100% accurate of a conclusion, but. it was the first fic i ever started writing, and you can TELL. hoo boy writing quality be IN THE GUTTER. oh my GOD. to be fair, again, i haven't read it in a while so my judgment is probably a bit skewed/i could be misremembering. but i haven't reread it because IM SCARED OF IT. IM GOING TO GET SO MUCH SECONDHAND EMBARASSMENT AND CRINGE AT MYSELF OH GOD. ITS SO ASS. FUCKING HELL. my characterization is kinda ass (all of the characters), my writing quality/skill is unpolished... so many things. my description is okay... meh... i guess. my dialogue is probably the best part of the fic, and that's only halfway decent. but at the same time, i remember pouring my heart into this fic. i really do. conceptually, i think it was okay, and i remember it meaning a lot to me. i guess i just... sort of grew up and out of it. i mean, its been two years, pretty much. i wrote it in the midst of a bad depression slump, and i was younger, and... a lot changed since then, bascially. okay maybe i should reread it. fuck. we'll see i guess. i have a love hate relationship with this fic, that's all ill say for now. it'd probably make... top 6 or top 7. yeah. not sure. not top 5 though, sorry.
anyway, thank you so much for the question again op, and i'm so sorry for the late reply! and for yapping. i yapped a lot. hopefully you liked reading it though. much love, hope you have an amazing day, and let's gear up for worlds semis this weekend!!
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mrsbsmooth · 1 year ago
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….hiiii. um, i'm the gary season 2 pov anon. i'm so warmie at the thought that literally anyone else would want to read the fic, it's been such a labor of love, like two whole years of writing. it's also veeeeerrrry spicy lol, which was another concern of mine, as i've published fics before for other fandoms and such, and had fun doing it, but i had a really awful experience with a now ex friend of mine who had previously beta read literally everything i've ever written. but i'd found out that she was shit talking about my writing behind my back and when i confronted her she just doubled down about it and even posted in this writer's group chat we'd both been in for *years* about how awful my writing was and how glad she was that she would never have to read it again, with a literal picture of something I'd written when i was like, twelve and had sent to her as a joke. anyway, i've been really…insecure about my writing ever since, and i hadn't even realized it until now, and i just wanted to thank you?? you're such a fantastic writer and you're such a wonderful spot in the fandom as well. i've decided to go ahead and start publishing the fic, though it's prooobably going to be a long process, haha. first chapter is up, and if you're into it, i hope you might give it a shot? https://archiveofourown.org/works/52324489/chapters/132367141 anyway just wanted to thank you and say that i love your writing!!!
Okay so before i address a single other thing, I've just finished chapter one and AAAAHHHHHH I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Gary's internal monologue is so intriguing, and honestly right now, I needed this. Male POV is one of my absolutely favourite things to read (and write!). I love Cass she must be protected at all costs!
Here's the Gary fic: if i fall (can you let me down easy)
Now, onto the rest.
Firstly, I am so, so sorry that happened to you, but you've gotta fix your language. That's not an 'ex friend'. That's someone who was pretending to be your friend, but never, ever was. It doesn't matter if they did favours for you, or were kind to your face. If they're deliberately putting you down behind your back, they're not your friend, they never were, and you should stop giving them the honour of referring to them as such. Especially not if they took something you shared with them in confidence and used it against you.
Not. A. Friend.
Writing is unbelievably personal. You are putting a piece of your soul, a tiny bit of your own history and story into everything you write. So to share that with someone and have them betray your trust? I can totally understand why you would feel anxious or insecure about sharing it. But I can tell you right now, you have absolutely no reason to be insecure about your writing. Absolutely NONE. This is good. Like I had to go switch the laundry and do the dishwasher, but i had my phone in my hand the entire time just scrolling because I was having a great time reading it.
It absolutely warms my heart that you're publishing it, I hope you continue to do so because I think this really is a great fic. It's such perfect timing as well, given the eps have just disappeared and this is so close to canon so far, urgh. I can't wait.
Encourage everyone (especially the Gary stans!) to go and read <3
x
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threerattsinatrenchcoat · 1 year ago
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12, 14, 17 for fic writer asks! :)
12: trope I'm really into
I did a stupid laugh reading this question. I'm really into the "they asked for no pickles" trope. Heists, I've been trying to figure out how to write one forever and I keep getting paralyzed, but watching heist movies is my comfort. The one where you apply modern technological/programming ideas to fantasy worlds. The sunshine and storm cloud couple.
14. Where do I get inspiration?
1) Daydreaming. Whenever I do anything physical I daydream and a lot of that is "what if this character did this?" Most of them are silly but if I get a scene I like I'll write it and that might turn into something. I try to not dismiss any idea.
2) I get it a lot of inspiration from other people. Shadows of the Lost came from a post about imperialism and the Gerudos' relationship with death/zonai came from a post about lore theories. Flowers was based on a tumblr post about flower language. Arcanus Fisticuffus was from the MMMay posts, Wine, Iron and Other Damnables from a post about enchanted weapons. Stranger Flames have Burned was from a @naughtybg3confessions post. I always try to link my sources in fics!
3) Talking with people, especially joking about things. I feel like I'm always taking my jokes to absurd levels, but in Arcanus Fisticuffus the idea for Liam and Cal to be filling everyone's heads with stories about Rolan came from a bit where they were going to make sure he won (as well as the incoming cobra kai jokes). Honeypot came from a joking demand for a thirst fic. Hornoscopes from joking about horoscopes. Sometimes an individual inspires a fic and I usually gift that fic to them.
4) Going off that, writing absurd stuff and trying to make it work, like when Astarion and Minthara crash a patriar party to make sure Wyll is getting the respect he deserves in Dance, or when I explain the "fade to black" sex scenes at Sharess's Caress... and then involve shovel (Sharess's Mess).
5) Exchanges! I've written a lot for exchanges.
6) Fixing problems I have with the story or finding solutions to things that make me uncomfortable. Like, I don't want to write overly gendered language/insults. That led to my current fic-canon (which I don't remember if it made it into my published fics but if not, I'm going to fix that) where Ganondorf being male doesn't make him the leader; it's that he's Ganondorf, the same guy, reincarnated. And that led to Gerudo having a huge reincarnation culture that lined up nicely with the lore post I linked above.
17) talk about your writing and editing process
I write on my phone, in google drive. I'm not stoked about this set up but it means I can write while waiting in line or on a walk so I do it.
I make a new doc for each fic, put in the prompt or idea I have, and then let it sit until something hooks me. Rarely am I'm writing at this point, but I might be researching or brainstorming. All links, ideas, notes, etc, go into the doc. Everything stays in the doc until I'm finished.
For long fics, I have to break it out once the total work count is around 30k because drive gets wonky. For short fics I do not do all this prep haha
I often make a list of character beliefs, lore, vocab for me to reference. Examples (sorry for the photos of text):
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Dialogue patterns:
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And body language (or kinks, erogenous zones, etc):
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I usually write a few scenes I like first, or a bunch of random lines. Those might not make it into the story, but I'm the kind of person who has to do something to figure it out? I can't think my way through it (or, at least, I haven't tried to build that skill).
I often pick a "voice" scene, which is the scene I read to remember the voice the rest of the story should be written in. If possible, I read that scene before I write new stuff.
I edit as I go, normally. I usually make notes of what I want to add at other points so I don't forget
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I also make a timeline:
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And I try to note any plot holes, any points where I can put hooks or foreshadowing in, etc.
Once a story is done I go back through the "to add" list and make sure it's in the story, try to patch holes, make sure it matches the timeline, make sure the characters match my notes, etc.
I also break it out into chapters that are about 3000-5000 words long (if it's not already there) and rewrite the endings of each to feel nice.
I write up my fic breakdown (for long fics) and link my resources.
Then I make my partner read it. They do it solely to amuse me/hype me up and they are amazing.
Then I post it! And the moment I post it I notice 5,000 errors.
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