#cross-posted on ff . net

[a-crimson-dawn]

Pirates of the Carte Seas - Chapter 2 | Hearts

Mereoleona wasted little time following after her father, anticipation making it difficult to stay put. Sure, it could just be Augustus, however…

She runs off, leaving the poor maid calling after her meekly, forgetting that her hair was still a red mess atop her head. Mereoleona, of course, couldn't care less, as she fast-walked through the hallway, dress dragging a little behind her. She passed by pictures hanging off the wall - paintings of happier times; her mother embracing her brothers and her, eyes warm and smiling; the two eldest siblings in their toddler years, both in matching red dress (it was more practical in those days), her auntie and governess, Acier (back then, both women were alive and full of energy).

Below, she could hear her calling a name that made her heart flutter, just a little bit.

"Ah, Mr. Vengeance. It is good to see you again!" her father greeted and she found herself glancing over the curving bannister, down below where a young man stood in the foyer.

Unsurprisingly, he was nervous, glancing around, seeming uncertain what to do with himself. In his hands he held an elongated presentation case - she perks up, wondering if what was in there would be staying with them. (She had a fondness for fighting of any kind, and there was unmistakably a sword in there.)

William himself had grown quite a bit since she'd first met him. His face, though scarred, is - at least to her - a handsome sight, and she hasn't the slightest as to why he constantly seemed to wish to hide himself from view. His hair is still the soft white of his younger days, if maybe a touch longer, and though he's dressed rather roughly, his face stained with a few lines of a darker colour, he's still a sight for sore eyes.

"Good day, sir," the young man nods over to her father, smiling in a friendly greeting, holding out the case.

Her father walks over to the case, opening it, to reveal what is indeed a gorgeous-looking dress sword. A fine craft, sharp and elegant looking and she suspects - though he doesn't say it - produced by him. She doubted the man he works for has even a fraction of the care and ambition.

Governor Vermillion takes the sword out with reverence.

"The blade is folded steel. That's gold filigree laid into the handle," Will explains, gesturing to the different parts of the sword with his hands. It's tempting to grin at his eagerness. He rarely gets this excitable about anything, which makes it all the more obvious that this is his work. "If I may-"

The Governor nods.

The younger man takes the sword, balancing it on one finger. "Perfectly balanced. The tang is nearly the full width of the blade…"

"Impressive, impressive," her father remarks, looking to the sword and then to William, whose face has ever so slightly brightened with the praise. "Commodore Augustus will be pleased, I'm sure." Mereoleona scowls internally at this, not keen on having to see such a nice blade being given to someone so ill-fit for it. "Do pass my compliments onto your master."

She tenses, wondering if her father is truly this oblivious, or if he is secretly just that cruel.

William's face falls. Perhaps out of spite he flips the sword with ease and grabs the hilt, returning it into the case for a little show. "I shall," he bows, "a craftsman is always pleased to hear his work is appreciated –"

It is then that they locked gazes, blue meeting purple, and she can tell he's surprised - whether by her presence or get up or both. She can't help but grin.

"Mereoleona, you look stunning," her father said what she couldn't help but wish William had, as she rushed down the staircase, half-tempted to tackle Will and half wanting to know what he thought of this.

"Will, it is good to see you!" she exclaimed, her hand unconsciously reaching to the medallion, reminded of it by him. "I dreamt about you last night!"

She is sure she sees a faint hint of red on William's cheeks. "Truly?"

"Mereoleona-" her father tries cutting her off, but with their meetings getting so scarce as of recent, she is not having it.

"About the day we met – do you remember?"

The younger man nodded, "how could I ever forget it, Miss Vermillion?"

"How many times must I ask you to call me Mereoleona, Will," she insists, watching him smile sheepishly, turning even redder and she couldn't but find it endearing.

"At least once more, Miss Vermillion, as always." Damn propriety.

"But you will spar me later, won't you?" It wasn't like William to deny her requests, he hadn't done since they were little, and he was the one who taught her the basics on her urging. Back then she'd been bored out of her mind and curious to see the boy having decent skill with a sword. With reluctant permission from her father - who was currently looking at her with mild exasperation at her forwardness -, she'd trained alongside him.

"Ah, I am certain you've better partners to spar with - you have surpassed me…"

His excuses stung. Had she misread something?

"Well, said, Mr Vangeance. Now there's a boy who understands propriety," her father said, pointedly. "Now, we must get going," he adds as he takes the display case, and steps towards the door, opening it for her.

Frustrated with her father, and reluctant to part, she nevertheless looks to William, wondering if he felt the way she did when he saw her. "Good day, Mr Vangeance," she says, straightening her posture and fixing her skirts, before turning away from him and walking out the door, followed by her father.

She doesn't see his longing gaze, only hearing him say, "good day," which leaves her chest a littly achy.

Outside a gold embellished carriage awaits, comfortable and pulled along by stunning white horses, well-bred and raised. She knows William would have loved to pet them - he'd always been an animal lover in secret (he was a lot of things in secret), but he restrains himself, being that it'd be improper for someone of his standing to be anywhere near the carriage without Governor Vermillion requesting it himself.

For her part, she only gives them a glance - non-humans and humans alike had always been wary of her -, before accepting the carriage driver's assistance.

Settling in the carriage, she sees the door close, and looks out the window, at William's soulful expression. Does it hurt him to be so formal the way it hurts her? Or is it out of politeness and obligation that he responds to her at all.

She turns away, letting the carriage drive off, not hearing the young man whisper to himself "Mereoleona" as he follows the cab a little ways.

"Daughter, I hope you demonstrate a bit more decorum in front of Commodore Augustus," she could hear her father chastise her, and feel his glower on her. She doesn't pay much attention though, instead thinking back to one of her fencing sessions as the older man keeps on talking. "After all, it is only through his efforts that Port Raquey has become at all civilized."

[a-x-s-c-e]

Long time no see :')

I just remembered this account exists and finally logged on for first time in a decade. And possibly to the surprise of no one, I still write fanfiction and it's still SasuHina. Go figure.

Some general updates:

"Differently" - AU, Divorce, Rated M, Cross-Posted on FF and AO3 is updated pretty frequently, maybe too frequently, but I've become kind of obsessed with where it's headed. I just updated today! It's posted on AO3 first but I'm about to upload the newest chapter (9) on FF. Maybe it's because I use AO3 a little more, but the review traction is a lot slower on this. If you happen to like this story or give it a go, feel free to review. :')

"Inevitable Reality" - AU, Rated M, only on FF was last updated September 2023, a whole 8 years later from previous chapter. Don't jump me. :( I'm planning on finishing this story this year, or early next. I re-read it recently (and cringed at my old writing) but somehow didn't hate it as much as I thought I would. I forgot how much I love weirdo Hinata and anxious Sasuke, they're too cute to give up on. I was searching the title of this and found it surprisingly on a few recommendation lists. Thanks to those that read it/still message me about it! I promise to work on it this year. I would offer to re-write and fix, but I am not as motivated to do that. We'll see.

SasuHina Month 2024 - I am considering doing it...we'll see! I want to work on writing in universe - I've been so stuck on AUs because I'm always hesistant to write something incorrect with the series. I'm actually re-reading Naruto (and in deep, nostalgic pain from it) and plan to give Boruto another chance. So, if I participate, I'm hoping to write it entirely in universe as a challenge. Stay tuned!

Finally (and just as a bonus wtf comment)

"You're Welcome" - that one's from 2011 (I was a child when I wrote this) and I will never read it again. I cringe at the thought LOL. I want to delete it but I love reviews and sometimes I read them (even if they're old) for a confidence boost. Idk why some of you read it within the last four years, I know it's not well written and that's just me assuming who I was back then - out of all my other stories, this is simply one I physically cannot re-read without my face scrunching up. Anyway TL;DR I won't delete but I wish I had the guts to. Read my other fics instead LOL

In an effort to avoid spamming the SasuHina Discord, I'll just post chapter updates here. I don't know if I'll post as read-mores whatever linked there, and I haven't really been active on tumblr in forever either, so we'll see. I'll likely prepare a fanfic recommendations post soon but don't be surprised if non-SasuHina fics make the cut - I've expanded the net when I run out of things to read heh.

Thanks for reading!

[hxans]

Hey

Hey

Hey

I got an Ao3 comment on a fic today that has made my day.

I originally wrote and posted this fic on livejournal and cross-posted to on ff dot net back in 2007. Added to my profile on Ao3 in 2013. This fic is old, okay?

And someone not only read it and liked it back in the day, they remembered it so much that they're delighted to find it and reread it.

Comments are love.

[safyresky]

Frostmas: Year 9 FINALLY up on ao3

I've been staring at this year for much too long. Had it ready on the 13th but the final edit PLAGUED me. I THINK it's good now though. Emphasis on the THINK. hhhhhhhhhh

Year Nine

A battle of wills is fought as Jack, new wife at his side, begins making questionable changes to the Resort. Bernard and the elves fight back at every opportunity they have. Jacqueline, meanwhile, dons her detective hat and gets to work figuring out just what exactly the new Mrs. Claus is...

Find it on ao3 HERE!

Check out some behind the scenes notes (like the place I got the idea for Chrys from lol) HERE :)

And of course! Obligatory fic summary below because I'd feel weird and presumptuous without including it 😅😅

The Twelve Years of Frostmas

Nobody but he and I knew the truth. Jack wasn’t supposed to be Santa; I wasn’t supposed to be Jack Frost. He thought being Santa would fix everything. He was horribly, horribly mistaken. [My take on Jack’s reign as Santa during the Escape Clause. MAJOR OC involvement AND First Person POV from said OC. Finally cross posting THIS behemoth! Enjoy!]

Curious? Take it from the top: [ao3 | ff dot net]

Snip below the cut!

“So are we gonna chat at all? Or are you just gonna keep pulling on those curls of yours? They’re beginning to look like those fwoofy bows on presents.” Bernard’s eyes swung upward and narrowed. “Alright, alright, chill out.” I put up a hand in defence, taking a moment to sip my cocoa. “You keep doing whatever this is, and I will simply sit here and enjoy my cocoa while I watch my friend pull out his hair wondering which one will trigger the explosion, since you look like you are about to explode.” It was mid-January and Bernard and I sat in the café, steam wafting up from our warm drinks as music played in the background. He had barely touched his treat whereas I had about halfway finished mine. Something was definitely up with him. He looked really bad, to be frank. I'm fairly certain he had bags under his eyes. His glare intensified. “Are you actually concerned for me?" he rested his arms on the tabletop, crossing them as he stared me down. "It’s just, I can’t tell what with the massive amounts of snark coming from you.” I frowned. “Still? Yeesh. I literally just woke up from a sprite sleep TODAY. I guess I’m still cranky? I don’t know. Maybe I’ll take a nap after this.” “I don’t blame ya.” With a sigh, Bernard finally loosened up, helping himself to the massive Danish pastry glistening on his plate, icing soaking into the freshly baked dough. “I could use one myself.” “I can tell.” “It’s that obvious?” “Yeah, man. I’m like, seconds away from yelling BAG CHECK ON B-MAN’S EYES!” The way he managed to continue eating while giving me the sassiest dry look he could muster was honestly masterful. “Woof. I felt that look! I think maybe you need a sprite sleep.” He laughed, a quick, hearty guffaw. “I don’t think it works like that, Jacquie.” I shrugged. “Fine, then. An elf sleep.” He laughed even harder. “Elf sleep?” “Yeah! You know, like a sprite sleep! But for elves.” Bernard’s laughter shifted into a chuckle. “That’s not a thing for us.” “Yeah, but those bags under your eyes are, yeesh.” He grew serious suddenly, his face stony. “I'm telling you, Jacqueline. It’s Chrys. Being around her has you feeling like you’ve just woken up mid-sleep cycle after an all-nighter! I can't go near her without feeling completely drained! The elves, too! She upsets them in passing. Even the humans are a little off put by her! Only a little, mind you, considering where they are." “I guess the North Pole would be a little off-putting for a first timer with none magical experiences.” “And in the current state?” Bernard gestured out the window, where people—yes, literal actual people, not elves or other magibeans, straight up human beings (ordibeings as us magibeings refer to them colloquially, given that magical humans exist)—wandered the square, rushing to the ticket gate outside the Workshop doors. “It’s weird even for us.” “But just another family trip to a silly little amusement park or a regular day at the mall for them.” I sighed, gripping my mug tightly and enjoying the warmth emitting from it as I stared out the window. January and the Pole was still busy. It was nuts. "Yep. It hasn't been fun." There was a brief silence as Bernard inhaled the rest of his pastry. "I was beginning to think you were gonna stay away all year," he said, mouth full. "Is that why you called me?" I smirked. "Awh, did you miss me?" He swallowed his bite, a cheeky little smile on his face. "I just didn't think it was fair that you got to hide from one Claus while I've been dealing with both of 'em." I hid a smile behind my mug. “Y’know, B-Man, there are several ways I could reply to that but I think I’m just gonna point out the obvious.” Placing it down, I shifted in my seat and scooted closer, switching to a whisper. “The tunnels are done. You could easily head to the foyer and poof away. It's a poofable place.” Bernard shifted, leaning in close to whisper as well. “That’s not a word.”

This was always one of my favourite scenes bc, as a fun Dani fact, it's the first scene I wrote where I went back to reread it and got hit full force with how much improvement there's been in my writing! Also, Bernard and Jacqueline are so silly and funny and I love them dearly. Bernard looking back at her all seriously and leaning in only to be like THAT'S NOT WORDS, JACQUIE gets me every time!

Check out Y9: 2024 edition HERE on ao3! And of course...

🆕What's NEW this time around:

Cheri has grown more as a character; her role (and Gwen's, by proxy) is more developed in ye olde brain box so her chat with Jacqueline and Mother Nature has had a huge, very last minute shift/adjustment

Expanded the Jarring Third Person POV to the PRESENT cut a bit!

And of course, grammar, syntax, awkward phrasing, and slight ooc moments :)

Primarily with Blinter moments and Thawed!Jack moments!

(like. my god. I did NOT go off with the Blinter. BUT NOW I HAVE!!)

And I may have upped B-Man's sass a bit more? hehehe

Enjoy!

[timetravellingpaperbag]

I nuked my FF net

I feel bad because I know there was at least one person hoping for an update to a story that I had going on there from last summer when I had just started up again, but every time I went back to the story and compared it to my current stories, I just felt really not good about it. Not the writing necessarily, but the plot, or lack there of. I think I might try to edit it into a ficlet or something one day, but it's just not where it needs to be and I think because it was one of the first things I tried writing it was definitely noticeable. There are also a lot of problems with the site. I won't get into it; most of you know already, suffice to say, it's become a lot more difficult to use with no signs of improvement. And lastly, AO3 and Tumblr have really done all that I was hoping FF net would do when I returned. I think FF net still has an active user community but I do think the site itself makes it difficult for those users, wether writers or readers, to thrive and enjoy the works. Depending on your fandom I'm sure it could still be worth it to post or cross-post, and I'm keeping my account for nostalgia and reading purposes, but I couldn't commit to having both anymore. I kept Plight or Pledge up because that was the first story I wrote and finished and FF net was where I initially uploaded it; I only decided to cross-post to AO3 later on at the suggestion of a friend and I'm glad that I did! I made the Tumblr from there to meet more fandom friends and learn more about AO3. It's been a fun ride! Anyway, that's what's going on with my FF net account. I've been using FF net since like, 2003, so it took me a while to finally just admit it and let go, in terms of using it for posting. RIP.

[dunefandomevents]

Dune Mini Bang

Artist Sign Ups open in 2 weeks!

Artist Sign Up / Art Claims - July 1st - until all stories are claimed Check In 2 - July 14th Rough Draft Due - Aug 18th Posting Claims  - Aug 18th - Aug 25th Posting Schedule Announced - Aug 26th Final Drafts/Art Due - Aug 31st Posting Starts - Sept 3rd

GENERAL FAQ

What is the Dune Mini Bang? A Mini Bang (or Big Bang) is a collaboration between writers and artists who work together to produce fandom-inspired content, in this case Dune, and share it with the world. A writer and an artist are paired up, the writer well writes and the artist will create some form of visual content to go along with their story. The work is then posted together on a selected date at the end of the writing period.

Where can I post my fics/art? Stories and art can be posted to your own personal journal, Tumblr, ff-net, AO3, or wherever you like. For those of you with AO3 accounts, we will set up a collection that will go live on the day of the posting. If you don’t currently have an AO3 account but would like one, you can contact the mods for an invitation code to see if they have any available. You can also add yourself to the AO3 Invites Request queue.

For posting on other social media platforms, such as tumblr or twitter, please tag duneminibang2023 and @dunefandomevents , spread the word!

When do I start posting? We will open the posting date claims ahead of the close date. How many days it will be spread out will depend on how many writers we have signed up. If your story is multi-chaptered it does not need to be posted all at once, you should start posting chapters early so the story can be listed as completed by your posting date. You will be able to select a preference for where in the queue you are but ultimately your posting date will be selected by the moderation team.

What platform are these being advertised/posted on? AO3 will host the main archive collection - The collection will be created and ready to go for the Sept 3rd posting start date. Tumblr - Used for advertising signups and after posting starts we will cross post all stories to a masterlist. Twitter - Used for advertising signups and after posting starts we will be cross posting -  Linking AO3 collection / Tumblr masterpost. Reddit - Will be used for advertising signups.

What if I have issues or concerns with my artist/author? Sometimes authors and artists do not get along and this may cause problems with working together. If this happens to be the case with you, please email or contact the mods on Discord and we will try to do what we can so that everyone has a chance to have fun!

If you have not heard from your author/artist in some time after trying to contact them, you can reach out to us via email/discord and we will try to get in touch with them for you.

Extensions? I am pretty attached to the idea of starting posting on the anniversary of the Dune Premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Sept 3rd but if you really really need one please email the mods as soon as possible. One easy option would be to select one of the later posting dates but if that doesn't work we may allow a few extra days.

Can I drop out? We have high hopes that everybody who signs up can actually finish the round and share in the joy of the reveal with us, but real life can unfortunately get in the way and we completely understand! If you feel like you just cannot finish in time and no amount of assistance from us can help you, just let us know by asap! Ideally we would wish to know before artist claims have opened.

Is it possible to be banned? Yes it is. The following events will result in being removed from the event and a one event ban on next year; Lying about your age in order to gain access to the 18+ content Hate on another participant for their ship/character/content - we are allowing ALL content for the mini bang. Hate on another participant for any reason really Failure to meet the event requirements

ARTIST FAQ

Minimum/Maximum requirements for art? There is no strict minimum, but we do ask artists to remember that the authors are writing a minimum of 5,000 words and your artwork should reflect that. You can do anything you like, including banners, wallpapers, icons, mixes, vids, gif sets, picspams, etc. Suggested guidelines for art are 500x500px (or equivalent of smaller pieces like banner + spacers, cover + icons, etc.) for traditional art, digital art, and manips around 3 - 5hrs; 2 minutes for vids; 10 songs + cover art for mixes; and 6 images for gif sets and picspams. We also ask that when you are in contact with the author, you work with them to see if there is anything specific they would like (i.e. a wallpaper, book cover, etc.). The art is your work, but having ideas doesn’t hurt!

At this time we will NOT be allowing AI Art. There are a lot of reasons for this. If you have questions please send a mod a message!

What are art claims? Artists sign-ups and art claims are the same thing; we use one form for both things, and that way the artists don’t sign up for an event they may not end up participating in. Writers will have submitted 2 short excerpts from their story for artists to read and get a feel for the work. It is based on a 'first come, first served’ and artists may choose up to three potential stories (in case their first choice is unavailable). If there are more stories than artists, there will be a second round of claims wherein artists may choose a second story to work with. And on until all stories are claimed for art.

If a fic up for claiming is rated explicit (R, NC-17, etc.), please only claim the story if you are over 18 years of age. Some authors may be uncomfortable working with underage artists on explicit works. We do not verify ages in any way for the bang, so this is solely on the honor system. Artists are encouraged to join the discord server and follow along with everyone a head of the artist claims being opened.

[daisyachain]

ao3 this ao3 that. I cross-post on FF dot net AND they’ve got the better stats system.

[rose-quartz-cloud]

Harry Potter Fanfiction: Sea of Constellations

Title: Sea Of Constellations

Rating: Mature

Fandom: Harry Potter

Pairing: Hermione Granger & Draco Malfoy

Summary: When Harry is defeated by Voldemort in their final duel and all hope is lost. Hermione is determined to fix what went wrong in the past and breaks the fundamental laws of time when she misuses her time turner to send herself back to their first year, into an alternate reality where she becomes her younger self instead of being an alternate & older version. She halts from being her outgoing and bossy self to stepping back and looking at the bigger picture. Events good and bad are so interwoven that she misleads herself, Harry and Ron and ironically Draco Malfoy, their arch nemesis, Of course, once you remove the bitterness and assumptions he can appear like a different person.

Cross-posted: A03 , ff-net, Wattpad

[sharpestsatire]

ok genuine question to those who have moved old (10+ yo) fics from ff dot net to ao3: do you transfer it over completely, authors notes and all? or do you clean it up before cross posting to ao3?

i ask because on the one hand reading old author notes is very much an interesting snapshot into fandom culture at the time (disclaimers, song fics, etc) and we should preserve the history somewhere right especially if ff dot net goes down. on the other hand: reading my own old author notes is, im sorry, really horrifying to me and as the author i want to burn them with fire

[flameof]

You want to know one of the single most motivational phrases you can use to do something, or get into a new interest?

I'm serious. The phrase 'I'll do it myself' has done wonders for me trying out new and different things.

A particular fanart idea? Bought a Wacom and attempted to draw it myself (the Discworld/Getter Robo thing from a while back).

Super obscure fanfic idea, crossing over Gundam SEED and Touhou Project? There are literally only two fics on FF-dot-net and AO3 that cover that crossover category, and I am both of them!

And just recently, because for some ungodly reason, nobody has translated and posted volume 4 of the Date A Live side-manga Date A STrike (or Date AST Like, if you prefer), I've gone and dropped the money to get the raws for myself from Book Walker, bought the ImageTrans program, and just translate the damn thing myself, because after three damn years, nobody else has!

Never let your skills in something hinder you! If you want something to be done, but nobody seems keen on doing it, then get up off your knees and do it yourself! Sure, it might not be as good a quality as some of the more skilled people doing it, but half-assed is 1000 times better than not assed at all!

Say what you will about the current MCU, but Thanos was spittin' facts.

[a-crimson-dawn]

Pirates of the Carte Seas - Chapter 1 | A Decade Later

Mereoleona's eyes snap open, her breathing shallow, her chest tight. It has been a decade and the nightmares have continued - that ominous feeling haunting her every other night as she closed her eyes.

From the corner of her eye, she can see a silhouette and leaps from her bed, this time ready to fight. But the looming shadow turns out to be a trick of her restless mind and so she settles down, reaching out for the oil lamp beside her bed. Lighting it up, she carries it over and sat it atop one of the dressers.

Pulling out the top drawer, her hand digs into the drawer, pushing out the false bottom - a precaution against a nosey servant, father, or worse still, Augustus -, and exposes a golden medallion, its skull grinning up at her.

Not so easily intimidated, she's free to move this time, sliding the false bottom atop the real one.

It is the knocking at the door that startles her, if only because she knows she's sneaking behind people's backs - not something she does with anything else in her life -, and that there could be dire consequences - a short stop and a sudden drop - perhaps, if she were found to be harbouring and protecting a pirate.

She knocks over her chair as she spooks, and it falls with a faint thud. Ignoring it, she is quick to first close the drawer, then raise the chair once more.

"Mereoleona, is everything alright?" her father exclaims from behind the door. "Are you decent?"

"Yes," she responds, putting on the medallion, hiding it beneath her dressing gown, moments before her father enters alongside a maid.

In his hands is a box that draws in the eyes.

The maid - Grey - is quick to open the curtains, and sunlight floods the room. Clear blue skies hang over Port Raque, and the faint call of sea birds, the chittering of land birds, can be heard through the glass. Mereoleona's grimace at the blinding sunlight turns into a briefly softer expression, something almost akin to a sentimental smile, before it turns neutral again.

The window reveals that beneath and beyond the expansive building she lives in stands a large stone wall lined with canons - a precaution against attackers, a reminder that she, that they are safe. Safe, she sighs to herself, and bored.

And beyond that, the natural harbour lies, a slightly sheltered area, with a stunning view out towards the ocean.

"Still abed, at this hour?" Governor Vermillion comments, seeming almost amused. "Pity to waste away such a good day inside, no?"

He was in a surprisingly good mood, all things considered. In fairness, that was a good thing.

'No point hanging onto ghosts.'

"I have a gift for you," he breaks her out of her thoughts, extending the box to her as he opens it. It reveals a dress - of expensive material, rich with regal colours. She can't help but admire it for a moment, before stepping back, a little confused and maybe a tad bit suspicious.

"May I ask of the occasion?" A dress like that surely couldn't be worn lightly, she decides, pulling the dress out to feel its soft fabric.

It wasn't of a material or length one would do chores in or spar in - if she could get away with such a thing today.

"Does there have to be a reason for a father to spoil his daughter a little?" he response evasively, with a question of his own. Despite this, she accepts the gift, disappearing behind a flame pattered screen, with Grey following her, holding the box. "Though I admit I did hope you would wear it to the ceremony today."

'And now he reveals his true intentions.'

She halts mid-dress. "Ceremony?"

"Well, yes. Augustus is getting promoted today, and he would likely wish for you to be there," he explains away. She is sure that she has heard this somewhere before and filed it under "marginally important, but personally, not really", and then proceeded to forget about said file's existence.

Nevertheless, she finishes pulling her slip over her and peaks from behind the screen. "Of course, of course." She can't quite hide the annoyance - she'd just been tricked into dressing pretty for someone's stuffy ceremony.

Specifically, Augustus Kira's stuffy ceremony.

A waste of a dress.

And for what, some man's unearned promotion? Almost certainly it would have come from a place of being connected to the right people. Last she checked, Augustus couldn't even hold a sword properly. Last she'd met Augustus, she managed to make him jump without even trying.

(In fairness, her making people jump out of their skin seemed a curiously common occurrence.)

Her father appears sheepish.

"Commodore Kira appears to have grown fond of you," he appears oddly tense about this, having harped on about the fact that she was twenty-six and could stand to get married soon. If he was trying to advertise a union with her distant relative, he wasn't doing a particularly good job of it; even by his usual standards.

She pulls her hair away, along with the medallion, careful to hide the skull symbol from her maid's eyes.

Still, it does its job, curling her lip downwards in distaste, even as the maid helps her put her corset on. "No tight-lacing, Grey," she says in a low voice, having enough bull-shit for the day to be more than happy to go without suffocating herself for a couple less inches at the waist.

The maid "eeped" and assured her there wouldn't be tight lacing, not that it spared her ability to breathe.

"How's it coming?"

'Oh, it was coming fine, until you told me my distant relative had a crush on me.'

"Difficult to say."

The maid laces up the corset, firmly enough for it to stay in one place, but not so firmly as to cut off circulation. She resigns herself to forcing her posture straight, reminded of the limited mobility at her torso. Well, if Augustus tried anything, she could still kick and punch.

"I'm told that dress is the very latest fashion in the Royal Capital."

"And I suppose marrying one's relative is too?" she mutters under her breath, too quiet for her father to hear. Grey stifles a giggle, much to her surprise. She was normally too shy to express much of anything.

The maid helps her into the dress, looking at her with awe as Mereoleona turns around in it, glad to note there was still room to move her legs and feet.

As she steps out from behind the screen, she notices the butler - Gauche (who seems to draw out a very shy "hi, Gauche!" from Grey) - appear in the doorway.

"A caller is here for you, Governor," he announces curtly.

Always a sullen one, but even his gaze seems to light up a little after Grey's greeting, however subtly.

[starlit-mansion]

okokok. i am not entirely sure i have ever seen you talk about this and how dividing the books all are is fascinating to me so... what's the opinion on the novel trilogy, or even frights/tales if you're willing to touch that w/ a ten foot pole --scrappedbaby

I feel like this is a pretty controversial take but I think the Silver Eyes itself is… fine. Okay, I tried to actually read it once and I couldn't get more than a couple pages in, because it read like when someone posts their homework assignment that was secretly fanfiction on fanfiction dot net. I have a little bit of a soft spot for the graphic novel, actually, due to it being bad in an interesting way rather than blandly decent like the other 2, which I've only flipped through. (Also the shitty saturated coloring fucked over the inks. Setting aside any opinions of the artist as a person, i think her style has character and added something to the series that is still present in other parts I like much better, like the glamrock concepts. And the muted test pages that someone scrounged up from a trade show copy or whatever would have probably done wonders for the atmosphere.)

As for the story of TSE itself… Idk, I think it's kind of funny that it's Stephen King's IT for fourth graders. Also, because it's aimed at that demographic, they had to conjure a young protagonist from somewhere, and I think the concept is pretty solid, and Charlie's a good character, and I'm also fond of what a little freak Dave-era William is. That's really my favorite concept of the villain motivation in the series, actually: creating this twisted little dollhouse to go sit in and pretend to be a robot. The immortality/mad science/lich/trancendance from the flesh thing is… it's fine. I made my peace with it. But it's a little too Herbert West for my tastes. (Also like… this is why I like Glitchtrap. He's kind of doing the same thing, making is little diorama and reliving his glory days.) All in all, for what it is, a solid 7/10, imo.

As for the rest of the trilogy……. ah, it's not for me. Like I said, I've flipped through the graphic novels a bit, and own them secondhand as curiosity pieces/weird little relics, but it seems like it gets up its own ass to cater to people who like lore (a separate but related demographic as people who like the horror part of the games, in my 100% honest opinion). I hear about the illusion disks and I am austin walker's iconic "do you ever see a take so bad you immediately have to go to sleep?' tweet.

As for Fazbear Frights: I'm not gonna lie, i think it's pretty good. I feel so fondly about the ghostwritten chapterbooks of my youth (I was a Babysitter's Club and Animorphs girlie, and weirdly… not an inaccurate cross-section for Fazbear's Frights), and I think it's perfectly fine to play around in the universe and create a bunch of AUs and related concepts. Is there criticism to be had of the stories themselves? SURE. They're very weak on diversity, QUITE fatphobic at times, and some of them are unnecessarily ghoulish, though there's only so much disgust I can muster for undeserved child death in the child death series… NONE of them deserve it, even the ones that are mean to their siblings or too vain or whatever, and the fact that it's equally likely for any given story to end in brutal death or "wow I really learned my lesson!" is actually pretty fun. Reminds me of Goosebumps a bit (though I was never a huge fan. Too easily creeped. That was my brother's preferred ghostwritten series though, so I sampled here and there. I also somehow had my hands on a novelization of one of the Tales from the Crypt movies too, and that made a big impression).

I don't love that FF takes every fan theory and milks it, and I'm sure the process for actual production has some ethical problems based on everything I know about the industry. But I do firmly believe that a little body horror is good for the youths, and just making it a multiverse rather than sticking to any one canonical thread lets you have your animatronic rabbit and wear it too, as it were. I also kind of like the lower middle class vibe that the series has… There's very frequently a sense of economic desperation and cheap escapism that resonates so well with the games, and reminds me of how going to Chuck E Cheese truly was the marquee birthday activity of my youth (though I liked the arcade more than the animatronics as a wee millenial).

Part of my fondness for FF is just that I had 2 months during late quarantine where I would buy a copy of the next one I hadn't read while I was doing my weekly grocery/target run and ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ELSE OUTSIDE OF MY HOME, and I would read these very unchallenging short stories and be like "I liked that one! …I did NOT care for that one" and it was a little pumpkin full of meat to chew on in my cage. I stopped it pretty abruptly when the proof of Scott's Republican political donations came out (I mostly do not buy any new fnaf items now, though I have ended up doing it here and there, and I mostly class it on the scale of like, buying Overwatch microtransactions even though activision blizzard is a shitty abusive company or smth. Not a moral good, but not on a "funding a person actively involved in politically crushing trans people" level of problematic).

As for the stories themselves, I liked Into The Pit (it really reads like a reused movie script, but in a good way), Count The Ways (a friend of mine, iirc, did NOT like the two non-title stories in vol 1, but I have a soft spot for Funtime Freddy's villain era in that one, and Millie's safe and self-inflicted teenage self pity reads as an affectionate self-callout to me), Out of Stock (this one's just so CLASSIC kiddie horror and also a really good use of an otherwise forgettable part of canon), Room for One More (another good use of forgettable parts of canon, i think the series really shines when it clicks into stuff like that), Coming Home (the jewel of the series, and gets me in the Sixth Sense nostalgia too), Bunny Call (mostly forgettable obvious moral lesson story with a surprising twist of poignency in the middle and an iconic antagonist), The Man in Room 1280 (I wish this was better utilized in the game series, it feels like Security Breach juked around this concept for a much worse and dumber version, and also Andrew is my special little bastard child), and The Real Jake (a sweet, if maybe a bit maudlin, exporation of the deeper concepts in the lore that is solidly a cut above the average FF story, and i like the stitchwraith parts of the books too).

There's none that I have a huge hate-on for, though I thought 1:35 am in particular was VERY bad (I skimmed the last half). While it's notorious, to me, In The Flesh is just dorky, particularly fatphobic and I don't know how everyone is getting MatPat from it. Mat's persona is kind of smug, but not cruel and hateful towards women or a shitty friend (if anything, his peers speak SO warmly of him that makes me give him more credit than he deserves as a cc), and you'd think a real hit piece on him would involve... a theory. A G A M E theory. Okay, I did it the legally required time.

I stopped at Book #6 and i'm not sure if i'll ever go back. I just got a library card so maybe I'll get around to it the next time i'm sucked into the franchise, but for the most part, I'm dormant except for things I really adore about the series (Springtrap, the Funtimes, Afton Family Drama in general, nostalgia for the first few games, etc), so I can't muster up too many more opinions on middle reader books as a 34-year-old. Tales has no appeal to me even as a future "maybe if the fixation hits hard" option, because a bunch of satellite stories around a setting that couldn't muster a third act in the tentpole game is just. Sad.

[i-am-gek]

Four works up on AO3 so far. Cross posting from FF.net is exhausting.

AO3 username: i_am_gek

FF..net username: i-am-gek

[safyresky]

Happy June 13th on July 2nd, apparently ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Year Six

Just managing to avoid detection, Jacqueline escapes! Only to find herself face to face with a very shocked and concerned Blaise and Winter. Preferring to avoid explanations, Jacqueline hides in the Pole in the hopes of working with Bernard to somehow put a stop to Jack's plans…

I'm getting very bad at going by this particular ah, aesthetic, aren't I?

Anyway! Frostmas Y6 is now up on ao3, freshly swept and tweaked here and there! It's all neat and tidy and up to SafyreSky Industries 2024 Standards so that's lovely! Check out Year 6: 2024 Edition HERE on ao3 and, yes, ff.net has been updated to match :)

What's 🆕 NEW 🆕 for Year Six?!?!

Word count has swung up: went from 16k to 21k. All I did was add a bit more dialogue lmao, WHOOPS!

Once again YEETING any instances of third person POV! It's all Jacquie baybe

hehehe. ANYWAY

Made the motivations STRONGER; upped Jacqueline's "ANNOY JACK" mode to MAX HIGH HEAT BABY!

Also refined the B-Man/Jacquie chat where he's like "hey man what are friends for" and she's like "😲😲😲 we're FRIENDS?!?!?"

YEAH JACQUELINE. ALWAYS HAVE BEEN

(this may or may not be one of my fave memes lmao)

And I think that about covers it NO WAIT I LIED! A Year Six BTS HERE.

(As a heads up it IS a little bit (a lot) personal—a literal diary entry prefaces the post because there was a nasty gap between Y5 and Y6 bc of some personal shit? So heads up! I did make it VERY clear where personal shit ends and BTS begins so you can skip the Dani rambles and get right to the BTS rambles :)

Frostmas? You are saying. This thing again? Aren't you the Crystal Springs person? What's Frostmas? I am SO glad you asked. Let me share the summary!

The Twelve Years of Frostmas

Nobody but he and I knew the truth. Jack wasn’t supposed to be Santa; I wasn’t supposed to be Jack Frost. He thought being Santa would fix everything. He was horribly, horribly mistaken. [My take on Jack’s reign as Santa during the Escape Clause. MAJOR OC involvement AND First Person POV from said OC. Finally cross posting THIS behemoth! Enjoy!]

Intrigued? Take it from the top: [ao3 | ff dot net]

And here's a Year Six snippet for you, chosen with utmost care (MAXIMUM ANGST) in mind :)

"You know, I really didn’t think you’d do it!”

“Do what?!”

“Freeze that elf! I never even thought you’d agree to it! And when you did I thought wow, she’s really ready to go far for this whole fake freeze thing,” he laughed. “And then! You actually did it?! A little extra, but, I’m a fan of the style that went into it. You took the ice sculpture thing and, and ran with it!”

“Then why keep me here too? What, you still think I’d go to the Council with everything? That I’d stop this?”

“Uh, duh. What do you think I am, stupid?”

I opened my mouth to reply in the affirmative.

“It was rhetorical. Don’t answer that.”

I shut my mouth and pulled a face.

“Besides! I’ll need your help getting all this ready! What with your easy access to our shared heritage. It’ll take AGES if I attempted to do this on my own. Between decorating and the airport—"

I could barely focus as he began listing everything he needed my help doing, and continued walking. I could feel the beginnings of a sprite sleep clawing its way to my eyes as I stifled a yawn, trying to keep my two feet moving forward as I followed Jack down the corridor.

“—and I simply cannot do this all in time if you're out and about all willy-nilly. Also, just in case you're that good.”

“That good?”

“Y’know, actually faking it! Willing to go the distance to keep this up! Then the moment I let you go you’d run to the Council and we can’t have that.”

“Okay so, let’s say, theoretically, I WAS faking it. How would all that—” I gestured back towards the steps, where ice-Mason still sat beyond the walls and halls and twists and turns— “Convince you otherwise?”

“Because it’s exactly what I would’ve done.” The full impact of what he said hit as he turned around, surveying me with an unreadable look. “And you did it.”

I came to a grounding stop, my heart falling in my chest.

Jack chuckled quietly to himself. “Exactly. Now, I’ve got tons to do! We will chit chat later, Jacqueline—I’ll make sure your rooms are done up for your stay. Ciao!”

And, shooting me a smile and double finger guns he disappeared, leaving me alone in the corridor as the crushing weight of what I had just done—and what I had agreed to do—came falling down on me.

I stood in the hallway, motionless. The sounds of the chaos of the Workshop dulled before disappearing completely, nothing but a white noise as the world faded out from me and I realized that yes, Jack would've done it.

And I had done it.

I was turning into Jack.

---

>:D ANGST!

Check out Year Six HERE. ENJOY! 😘😘

[timetravellingpaperbag]

Down again

Actual footage of FF net as of 2023:

As a long time FF net user, I totally didn't believe people when I started researching what sites were still popular for fics earlier this year. I was there for the purges, I was there for the citrus rating system, and I figured, I would be there in 2023 on a site whose mods I correctly assumed were as active, it seemed, as the user activity (I remember my particular fanbase swarming, not as much on return).

Sure, sure. I thought, I'll just join FF net again and lightly poke around AO3. It's what I was used to. The low activity actually made me less embarrassed to post my stuff, hoping only a few people would see it and I could just coast off of the enjoyment of a little feedback and a few favourites. I looked at AO3. Oh nooo, it's different. Anxiety. Abort.

Then it went well on FF net so I thought,

Well, maybe I'll just cross-post to AO3. Followed by,

Well, maybe I'll make an AO3 exclusive as well.

Why the hell is FF net down

Okay wait users have explained the tagging system and now this actually makes sense

Why is my story on FF net not showing up, wtfdym Story Not Found?

Holy shit there's ART on here?

Why does FF net suck so much RU SERIOUSLY DOWN AGAIN I'll just go back to AO3 while I'm waiting

*habitually forgets about the remaining story I have on FF net*

The story there will probably go into hibernation and I'll see if anything can be salvaged one day, unless someone asks me to continue - it was a plotless daydream and one of my first practice start-ups before I even wrote Plight or Pledge. Yesterday, before today's current crash I actually updated my bio to let any readers on my last story know that it's likely I'll end up jumping ship.

AO3 Ahoy.

(Me leaving FF net to read stories on AO3)

[dunefandomevents]

Dune Mini Bang 2023

That’s right folks we are approaching the biggest event of the Dune Fandom! The Dune Mini Bang 2023!

There have been some changes from last year, an update in the timeline and the rules! Please check it out! (You do not have to wait for the event to open ti join us over on discord! Link in BIO)

Writer Sign-Ups Open - May 1st - May 14th Check In 1 - June 14th Snippets Deadline - June 30th Artist Sign Up / Art Claims - July 1st - until all stories are claimed Check In 2 - July 14th Rough Draft Due - Aug 18th Posting Claims  - Aug 18th - Aug 25th Posting Schedule Announced - Aug 26th Final Drafts/Art Due - Aug 31st Posting Starts - Sept 3rd

GENERAL FAQ

Join the Dune Fandom Events Discord! Discord: https://discord.gg/5gSj9EPTC6

Lots of good information and resources to help you with this event, as well as information on other events which I run.

What is the Dune Mini Bang? A Mini Bang (or Big Bang) is a collaboration between writers and artists who work together to produce fandom-inspired content, in this case Dune, and share it with the world. A writer and an artist are paired up, the writer well writes and the artist will create some form of visual content to go along with their story. The work is then posted together on a selected date at the end of the writing period.

Where can I post my fics/art? Stories and art can be posted to your own personal journal, Tumblr, ff-net, AO3, or wherever you like. For those of you with AO3 accounts, we will set up a collection that will go live on the day of the posting. If you don’t currently have an AO3 account but would like one, you can contact the mods for an invitation code to see if they have any available. You can also add yourself to the AO3 Invites Request queue.

For posting on other social media platforms, such as tumblr or twitter, please tag duneminibang2023 and @dunefandomevents , spread the word!

When do I start posting? We will open the posting date claims ahead of the close date. How many days it will be spread out will depend on how many writers we have signed up. If your story is multi-chaptered it does not need to be posted all at once, you should start posting chapters early so the story can be listed as completed by your posting date. You will be able to select a preference for where in the queue you are but ultimately your posting date will be selected by the moderation team.

What platform are these being advertised/posted on? AO3 will host the main archive collection - The collection will be created and ready to go for the Sept 3rd posting start date. Tumblr - Used for advertising signups and after posting starts we will cross post all stories to a masterlist. Twitter - Used for advertising signups and after posting starts we will be cross posting -  Linking AO3 collection / Tumblr masterpost. Reddit - Will be used for advertising signups.

The only account we really recommend to have is AO3 as it is the main collection but so long as you have somewhere you can post your story when it is completed and link it to us that is fine. If you do not already have an AO3 account and would like one please contact us on the discord server or send an email to duneminibang@gmail.com and we will see if anyone has an invitation code available.

What if I have issues or concerns with my artist/author? Sometimes authors and artists do not get along and this may cause problems with working together. If this happens to be the case with you, please email or contact the mods on Discord and we will try to do what we can so that everyone has a chance to have fun!

If you have not heard from your author/artist in some time after trying to contact them, you can reach out to us via email/discord and we will try to get in touch with them for you.

Extensions? I am pretty attached to the idea of starting posting on the anniversary of the Dune Premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Sept 3rd but if you really really need one please email the mods as soon as possible. One easy option would be to select one of the later posting dates but if that doesn't work we may allow a few extra days.

Can I drop out? We have high hopes that everybody who signs up can actually finish the round and share in the joy of the reveal with us, but real life can unfortunately get in the way and we completely understand! If you feel like you just cannot finish in time and no amount of assistance from us can help you, just let us know by asap! Ideally we would wish to know before artist claims have opened.

Is it possible to be banned? Yes it is. The following events will result in being removed from the event and a one event ban on next year; Lying about your age in order to gain access to the 18+ content Hate on another participant for their ship/character/content - we are allowing ALL content for the mini bang. Hate on another participant for any reason really Failure to meet the event requirements

I have a question/concern that’s not mentioned here. Email: duneminibang@gmail.com Discord: https://discord.gg/5gSj9EPTC6

WRITER FAQ

What are the word count requirements? Stories for this event should have a minimum word count of 5000 words. There is no official maximum word count but keep in mind the story must be completed and ready for posting by the due date. Ideally we are asking for the stories in this event to be brand new, started and finished during the course of the event. If you would like to enter with an existing WIP we ask that you do not post any updates to the story until the event has finished.

Allowable story types; Prose, screenplay, poetry, podfic, or a translation of an existing story. One-shot or multi chaptered. So long as the 5k word count is reached then it is good to go.

What is Allowed? It is open to all duniverses/adaptations, any rating or pairing. This includes OCs and Y/N stories though we want to warn authors that those kinds of stories have historically been hard to get an artist claim. If you are able to provide references such as face claims that would be great, or if after consulting with your artists they may choose not to include the OCs at all. These extra details should be submitted with your snippet submissions. Open to AUs or crossovers with other fandom universes but we require that the main character or cast of characters be from Dune.

Ex 1. Original Main Character set in the Dune Universe with the cast of Dune characters along for the ride. A-OK. Ex 2. Paul Atreides gets teleported to the Star Wars Universe and is now a Jedi. A-OK.

If you are not sure if your concept will be allowed please feel free to message mods ahead of time.

What is Not Allowed? At this time we are saying yes to everything. ((except the scenario mentioned above)) Yes, EVERYTHING (even incest pairings), so long as your story is appropriately tagged. Like tag all the things, over tag, cannot have too many tags. Please keep in mind if you are using a pairing or a trope/kink which is considered controversial that you might receive negative feedback after posting or struggle to get an artist claim.

How many stories can I submit? We are limiting entries to one per writer but your story may be multi-chaptered so long as all chapters are completed by September 1st and has been fully uploaded by the assigned posting date.

What are check-ins? These are a way for us to see what you’ve been up to and for you to make sure you’re still on track. It will give you a little nudge/reminder if you need it, but they are not compulsory. A form will be emailed out to the address you provided at sign up and posted to the discord server.

We will not be mandating a certain percentage completed between each check in but a good goal point would be; check in 1 = 30% story written, check in 2 = 60% and rough draft due = 80%

What are snippets? We are requesting 2 snippets from each author, 500 words maximum each for artists to use for artist claims. They can be from any section of your story. Literally, just copy and paste a few paragraphs into a document and send it to us. You should also include any visual references needed if your story contains an original character which you may want your artist to incorporate. They can be submitted via email anytime after the event starts until the snippet due date on June 30th.

Once claims have been finished we will be emailing, and posting on discord the final pair ups.

This year we are allowing Writers to find an artist prior to registration and have their concept pre-claimed. If this is the case then a snippet is not required. You just need to provide us with the artist's name when you sign up and they will need to complete the artist sign up when the time comes.

Rough draft requirements? For the rough drafts, stories should be at least 80% complete. You will not have to turn them in to us, just assure us that you are at that point. Anything less is at the discretion of the mods and those authors should speak to one of the mods asap. We will help you as much as possible to ensure the story gets completed on time.

What is, and do I need, a beta? A beta is basically a person who goes over your work to make sure that there are no spelling/grammatical errors and they can even be of assistance in helping you with story lines, etc. It is highly recommended that a beta looks over your work before posting. If you are having trouble finding a beta, try the event discord server. Don't wait too long to go looking though!

ARTIST FAQ

Minimum/Maximum requirements for art? There is no strict minimum, but we do ask artists to remember that the authors are writing a minimum of 5,000 words and your artwork should reflect that. You can do anything you like, including banners, wallpapers, icons, mixes, vids, gif sets, picspams, etc. Suggested guidelines for art are 500x500px (or equivalent of smaller pieces like banner + spacers, cover + icons, etc.) for traditional art, digital art, and manips around 3 - 5hrs; 2 minutes for vids; 10 songs + cover art for mixes; and 6 images for gif sets and picspams. We also ask that when you are in contact with the author, you work with them to see if there is anything specific they would like (i.e. a wallpaper, book cover, etc.). The art is your work, but having ideas doesn’t hurt!

At this time we will NOT be allowing AI Art. There are a lot of reasons for this. If you have questions please send a mod a message!

What are art claims? Artists sign-ups and art claims are the same thing; we use one form for both things, and that way the artists don’t sign up for an event they may not end up participating in. Writers will have submitted 2 short excerpts from their story for artists to read and get a feel for the work. It is based on a 'first come, first served’ and artists may choose up to three potential stories (in case their first choice is unavailable). If there are more stories than artists, there will be a second round of claims wherein artists may choose a second story to work with. And on until all stories are claimed for art.

If a fic up for claiming is rated explicit (R, NC-17, etc.), please only claim the story if you are over 18 years of age. Some authors may be uncomfortable working with underage artists on explicit works. We do not verify ages in any way for the bang, so this is solely on the honor system. Artists are encouraged to join the discord server and follow along with everyone a head of the artist claims being opened. We will be reposting the FAQs frequently and posting the links to sign ups closer to the open date! Keep an eye out here on the blog or join us over on discord! Things are a little quite atm but pick up closer to the event! Feel free to join even just as a spectator!